End of Year Teacher Gift

We love our teachers - they deserve 

a lot (of candy and Cheesecake Factory)!

Valentine projects

This year the kids gave an easy Valentine cut from thin

craft foam.  I found patterns online and the boys

got a mustache and the girls got lips.

A new wreath- so easy to make!

2" squares of red fabric, wrap center around

a pencil, dip in glue and shove into a styrofoam

heart.  It took about 3 yards of 

fabric and about 3 hours.  

Games - UGH!

I have always just stacked the board games on a shelf.

The boxes on the bottom have always collapsed under the weight 

and it has always been a mess!

I decided to re-work the toyroom starting with the games.

I'm sorry I didn't take a before picture, but you can imagine stacks

of broken game boxes.

After some research online, I had two choices:

Game Savers at www.obhenterprises.com/GameSavers.html

and to be honest my organizing heart yearns for these nice, clean, blank

boxes that store board games but the price is too high.  About $11 per game.

Fix the boxes (mostly the corners) with clear packing tape, put all small pieces

in ziplocs, throw away games that had missing pieces and store them like books

on their sides.  Brilliant!  Why haven't I thought of doing that????

Each game can easily be pulled out without dumping five others on top of it.

Each box is only holding its own weight.

Each game can be seen.

Our toy toom will never be the same.  

The dread of getting a game and putting it back is over!

I love these colorful shelves now!  So organized....

Art Display Boards

I have always struggled with what to do with the continuous

stream of artwork my kids produce.  I've had a rotating collection

for 14 years and have always used bulletin boards.

This week, I tried a new approach - art that holds art.

I bought clipboards at Michael's that happen to be 12" wide

but any clipboard will do.  I painted the top 3 inches and Mod Podged

scrapbook paper onto the bottom.  They are cute enough on their own

to hang on the wall, or Ethan can display his Picasso's as he wishes.

Ethan had art going as the paint was drying.  He was excited to use them

and impatient about drying paint!

Play Dough Valentines

Play Dough Valentines

For a class of 30, I quadruple this recipe and have some

leftover to keep at home.

In a saucepan place:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup salt

2 tsp. Cream of Tartar

1 cup water

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Cook on medium heat for about 3 minutes 

stirring constantly.

 (your arm WILL scream in pain!).

It is done when it is thick and pulls cleanly 

from the side of the pan.

Dump on counter and knead until smooth.

Add food coloring and knead until marbling 

is gone and color is consistent.

Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick.

Cut with a heart shaped cookie cutter.

Place in a sandwich bag and seal so play 

dough stays fresh.

Create labels on the computer and you have 

a cute valentine.

Sometimes I say on the label, 

"My heart is soft for you, Valentine!".

(Pictures lovingly taken by Makenna the Awesome)

JOB Chart

In our home, everyone works.  I usually have a clean house and it's because we

all contribute to it everyday.  Afternoons are filled with homework, extra-curricular activities, church activities and family fun so the morning is when we get our work done and out of the way.  I used to just have a schedule printed out on paper and it worked fine, but I had a hard time figuring out who

still needed to do what before school.  That's when I found frameable chalk/magnet boards at Aaron Bros. Art Mart.  I made a plan!  I found vintage pictures online that represented each task, printed them, cut them and glued them on foam core squares (I used Elmer's Glue and it bled through 

the pictures in green.  When I have time, I'll re-do them all with different glue) and laminated them with packing tape.  I then glued a magnet on the back of each one.  I had an old, gold frame that I brushed some bronzer paint on to antique it a little bit.  I framed the chalk/magnet board, ordered a chalk pen from www.chalkydoodle.com and drew the chart.  

As the kids finish the task they move that picture from 

"Do It!" over to "Done!".  

Here it is in the morning before the kids start:

 

Each child has 4 matching magnets representing 

(from left to right):

make bed, practice piano, get dressed, eat breakfast.  

The fifth picture represents the 

cleaning job they have that week. 

These jobs rotate up on Sunday.

Dishes:

Vacuum family room:

Trash and T.P. refill:

Vacuum upstairs hall:

Wipe down bathroom counters:

This is the chalk pen from Chalkydoodle - one of my 

favorite things!

Some questions you might have:

Do my kids really do the work?  Yes, every morning or they get to do another one.

Do my kids have time to do the work before school?  Yes, they make their lunch, pack their backpacks  and lay out their clothes the night before so everything is ready.

Do they complain?  Yes, a lot.  But work is not an option, it's a part of this life - and I remind them that we have a clean house every morning and are able to spend the rest of the day focusing on other things.

What age do they start the clean job?  My toddlers and pre-schoolers are Mommy's Helpers.  When they start Kindergarten, they are added to the rotation and get a little help from Mom each day until about the middle of 1st grade when they don't need me to help.

I love having systems.  This just happens to be pretty enough to leave out and be seen!