Enchanted Woods today at K&F

Enchanted woods today at K&F - this is our last stocking before summer break! Don't miss it!

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Together Tuesday

We are all about the bugs lately here at our house! Yesterday at a Memorial Day picnic, Kenna and Holden spent quite some time catching caterpillars and creating a nice cozy little "habitat" for them inside an empty water bottle. Complete with sticks to climb on, leaves to eat and grass to hide in. If your little ones like to go on a bug hunt as much as mine do, then they will surely love this movement activity that I wrote a few years back!

* “We’re Going on a Bug Hunt” (Chanted, like “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt”)

We’re going on a bug hunt to catch some little bugs.
We’ll look here, we’ll look there, we’ll look everywhere!

Here is a meadow, a green and grassy meadow.
Can’t look over it, can’t look under it.
Guess we’ll have to look through it.
Look! I see a beetle! A bright and shiny beetle!

We’re going on a bug hunt to catch some little bugs.
We’ll look here, we’ll look there, we’ll look everywhere!

Here is a tree, an old oak tree.
Can’t look over it, can’t look under it.
Guess we’ll have to look in it.
Look! I see a caterpillar! A little green caterpillar!

We’re going on a bug hunt to catch some little bugs.
We’ll look here, we’ll look there, we’ll look everywhere!

Here is a path, a long rocky path.
Can’t look over it, can’t look under it.
Guess we’ll have to look on it.
Look! I see some ants! Some tiny black ants!

We’re going on a bug hunt to catch some little bugs.
We’ll look here, we’ll look there, we’ll look everywhere!

Here is a field, a wide open field.
Can’t look over it, can’t look under it.
Guess we’ll have to look in the air.
Look! I see a butterfly! A bright and colorful butterfly!

We went on a bug hunt to catch some little bugs.
We looked here, we looked there, we found bugs everywhere!

Copyright Bonnie Elizabeth Vontz 2005-2009, Earth*School "Going Buggy"

Proud mama moment :)

Kenna and Holden have both taken gymnastics since they were a year old. Both started out at the Southington/Cheshire YMCA for their Mommy & Me program from 14 months to 3, then moved over to American Gymnastics for their on classes. This year, we started at USA Gymnastics since it is much closer to our house. The year is just about over, only on more week of classes then the final week of "shows" for family and friends.

Holden had class this morning and when I was walking in with him, the owner stopped me to tell me she was recommending Kenna move to the Level 2/3 Junior Olympics Team. Competition starts at Level 4; Kenna isn't so sure she wants to compete, but is so excited that she is deemed good enough to be on the team. Way to go, my little gymnast!

These pics are from 2006. I can't believe i don't have anything more recent on the computer! Well, there is always "show" week - I will have to get lots of pictures then!

Together Tuesday: Metamorph-art

Reading about the life cycle of the butterfly? Then try this art activity to illustrate!
You will need a white paper butterfly wing shape, green paper, half a pipe cleaner, wool roving in your choice of caterpillar-y colors, wire for antennae (if desired), a tiny white pom pom and some paint.
First, paint one side of the butterfly wing cut out to resemble butterfly wings. Leave the other side white. To make the caterpillar, wrap wool roving around the pipe cleaner until it has reached the desired size. Needle felt into place, or use a tiny bit of glue to hold the ends of the roving in place. Add wire antennae if desired. Cut the green paper into a leaf shape and add the little white pom pom.
The pom pom is the egg. Once your egg, “hatches’ remove it and replace it on the leaf with the caterpillar. Let the caterpillar “eat” as much of the leaf as possible. My kids like tearing the leaf up a little at a time at this point. Once the caterpillar has eaten his fill, wrap him in the wing paper, with the white side showing. Now is has made his chrysalis. Open the chrysalis and now you have a beautiful butterfly!
We usually do this activity over a few days time. The kids make the items on the first day and let the egg sit. Overnight, I replace the egg with the caterpillar. The caterpillar eats the leaf the next day and the next night I put it in the chrysalis. The following morning the kids find the chrysalises and open it to find their butterflies!

from Earth*School: Going Buggy, copyright 2005-2009

LWI

I have been meaning to take a pic to show the differences in LWI dyeing. I finally got a chance to do that this afternoon while packing up the wholesale order, which included 5 BedBugs in our parrot colorway. The above picture shows 4 of them, all dyed at the same time with the same dyes and the same method. LWI yields beautiful results, but each one is always unique!

What I've been up to

I haven't been posting too much the past couple of weeks. I have been busy with a wholesale order for Bums 'N' Roses, which finally went out this evening. Here are some of the highlights :) Hope you like everything Nyree!

May Contest

I meant to post this yesterday in honor of Mother's Day, but my weekends are generally spent away from the computer nowadays, and it completely slipped my mind.

As moms, we have so many things to get done in a day. Add in homeschooling and/or working at home and it can be nearly impossible to find balance, to find a way to get everything done in a day. I asked Santa for 4 more hours a day after 10 PM, but unfortunately, I didn't get it.

So our May contest is about balance. How do you find time to get everything done in a day? What tricks do you have up your sleeve to fit everything into a day? Share your best trick, organizational skill, strategy, etc. in the comments section and I will pick one random winner next Monday (5/18, using random.org). The winner will receive one custom OBV pillowcase - to ensure you get a good night's rest, something every mom needs :)

Child's Play

It's Child's Play today atK&F! Here is a sneak peek of what we have in store this week.

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