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I wrote this post several years ago and just found it when I was "cleaning out" my old blog to move things here. I'm not sure why I never posted it. Dragonfly still loves them and asks me to make more of them all the time.
The leash is made from a 1-inch ribbon. I used my machine to put a "handle" loop on one end, then added a key ring and tacked that down on the other end. The key rings and clasp came from a pack that I found at Walmart, but I think these
lobster clasps would work better. The leash is about 3ft long* and just right for Dragonfly to drag around.
*Strangulation danger*
The collar is made from 3/4-inch ribbon. I added a
plastic buckle on each end, sewing the loops with the machine. The leash and the collar probably took me ten minutes, including the time to gather the supplies and set up the machine. Very easy, but so cute.
Maybe I decided not to publish because the post was so short. It's a great stocking stuffer for Christmas or jus…
This week in US History, we learned about the early colonies, including the Pilgrims at Plymouth and the Dutch in New Amsterdam. The kids were all surprised to learn that Thanksgiving had anything to do with the Pilgrims, which I found amusing since I know we talked about it last year. I even put together a list of
Youtube videos about Thanksgiving for them.
For our main notebooking activity, I printed off the
map to the New World page from this Thanksgiving early reader and had them color it. We talked about how difficult the journey would have been and how long it took. Together, we imagined what it might have been like to arrive in a place without already built houses, grocery stores, transportation, etc. It's so foreign to anything we experience in this era.
This week, our hands-on history project was
Beeswax Candles! I bought the sheets of wax from Amazon and cut one in thirds for the kids to try rolling them into candles. We haven't lit them yet, as they decided …
I absolutely love apples in autumn! From the apple festival in first grade, which included apple tasting, to all the trips to the orchard in my childhood, to the first apple pie of the season, apples are the perfect way to start a new school year. Every year, as the weather turns cooler, my thoughts turn to apples once again. To see all the
apple ideas and printables, click on the colored text.
I talked about our cinnamon apple salt tray last week in my end of the week post, but I wanted to add a free printable (did you know I have nearly 300 FREE ones). To make the scented salt, take about an ounce of salt in a ziplock bag and add some cinnamon or other spices. Then, add a small amount on a shallow tray and allow your child to form letters or draw pictures in the salt.
The sensory writing experience helps kids to remember the feel of the letters as they write them. As well as being seasonal and fun, the spices add an additional sensory element to make the whole experience more…
We finally and officially started our new homeschool year! Although the kids have been eager to begin our new year for about a month, I held them off until after Labor Day, because I'm a traditionalist (wink). We were very fortunate this year that the wildfires in our area weren't very bad, so we actually got to enjoy our summer by spending
a lot of time outside. It was a good couple of months, and we're ready for the next season.
We always like to start September with a bit of apple fun (see
this menu for ideas and printables), so I put together an easy apple pie writing tray for the boys. They spent a bit of time during school working on the troublesome letters in their names and learning how to write them more efficiently. They both enjoyed the smell of cinnamon and other spices in the salt (more
sensory tray ideas here).
On the Tuesday after the long holiday weekend, when all the schools around were back in session, we celebrated our homeschool freedom with a NOT…
I'm in full school mode over here, as we started our new year this week, and have been painfully adjusting to a schedule (haha). I love to start every school year off with some apple themed stuff, which is why I couldn't let this year slide by un-fruited. I probably won't end up having a full week of stuff, but I did post
some math a few days ago and the focus today is on letters.
My kids enjoyed helping me make a Bingo game for letter identification. We made 22 game boards, making it a thorough set for a small classroom or group. Kids can also use the boards as a "boggle" game and challenge themselves to make as many words as possible from the given letters.
I LOVE making Montessori-inspired moveable alphabet sets! It's totally my jam! I have one for several different themes and have ideas for even more! These letter disks can be buried in a sensory bin or hidden for a treasure hunt.
Kids can use either the recording sheet pictured or a tracing sheet…
We've been enjoying the last snippets of summer and cleaning our house to prepare for the new homeschool year. The kids are excited to start this week. It's our tradition to start each year with some apple learning activities, including our
first apple pie of the season. Every year, I try to add a bit to our
apple printables collection, too.
My kids use 10- and 20-frames for their math workbook, which is part of why I make so many of them. Plus, they're super easy to customize for all the different themes, seasons, and characters. Whatever your kid gets excited about can be made into a 10-frame to make math a bit more fun. (comment below if you have one in mind) I have several themes available- look for them on my
math printables menu page.
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If you've been following this blog for a while, you know that I love using these
1" Wood Disks for all sorts of themed printables. I used them in my
Donut Letters and…
