Lego Minecraft

My friend's son, Ethan, LOVES Minecraft! (what kid doesn't nowadays?)
The funny thing is that CJ and I are the only adults he knows that "get" Minecraft. We play it ourselves, so we actually know what he's talking about when he talks about Minecraft stuff. All the other adults at church don't get it. Maybe it's because we're the only ones who don't have kids and we actually have time to play it.

Anyway, because Ethan knows that I "get" Minecraft, he was excited to show me his new Minecraft Lego set!

So I took some pictures of his little Lego Minecraft scenes...

Babysitting Hijinks: Sidewalk Chalk Photo Fun

I had a ridiculous amount of fun yesterday taking these pictures while babysitting my friend's kids! 

I had brought some art supplies and sidewalk chalk to do an art project with the kids.  After they'd done their projects, they wanted to play outside, so I let them use the sidewalk chalk on the patio.  All of a sudden, I remembered this idea I'd seen on Pinterest that I've always wanted to try.  So I started drawing some balloons and called the kids over and explained what I was doing and told one of them to lay on the ground and act like they were holding the balloons. Of course, after that, everyone wanted a turn!

Oh no! He's floating awaaaaay!  

 

I didn't even need a ladder, since they have a small back deck overlooking the patio that was perfect for me to stand on to get these overhead shots.

But I couldn't stop with the balloons!  We made the kids into flying superheros next!

He got a little bit of chalk on his butt while he was trying to get into position!

This girl is going to be a model.  Look at her looking into the camera with that cheeky little smirk!  

Laurel couldn't quite get the idea that she needed to lay on her side.  But it's okay... she's 3, and it's still cute!

I wish I could have done one with their 5 month old baby brother to complete the set, but he's still nursing and was out with mom and dad on their dinner date for their 13th anniversary!

Behind the scenes.  Eli decided to color in the balloons.  It looks like Lula is letting go of the balloons and falling!

Art Lesson With Little Kids: Mini Muffin Pan Crayons

Even though melting old broken crayons into "new", swirly, multicolored crayons has been done (and is almost cliche), you can't deny that kids love it! (which is why it's been done so much!)

Last time I had the "little" kids for art class, they found some crayons I had made with another girl a couple summers ago.  The kids were doing some texture rubbings during free-draw time and found that the "muffin pan" crayons worked better since they were flat.  When they asked about where the flat crayons came from, I told them about making them and said that could be the project for their next class, and they could make their own. 

It was a pretty laid-back class today.  Most of it was the kids peeling the paper off old, broken crayons and trying to break them into smaller pieces.  I brought out a knife and cutting board so I could help cut them into even smaller pieces.

3 kids...3 rows of four...so each kid got to make 4 crayons.  I suppose I could have taught a bit of a quick, simple math lesson here, but these kids are a bit small to be learning division.  

 The kids were SO excited to get them in the oven!

 

They were so cute!  When I put the pan in the oven, they all sat right down in front of the window to watch the crayons melt! 

 We had a bit of a mini science lesson about solids and liquids.  I explained that the crayons they cut up are solid, but then when heated they turn liquid, but then turn solid again when they cool.

 I always like how they look on the bottom!

When I took the kids home, their older brothers saw the crayons and said they wanted to do this project too, so I guess I know what project I'll be doing again next week!  Good thing I had broken crayons left over from today!

Art Lesson With Older Kids: Making Nubbins!

The older kids have been asking me for months if I can teach them to make their own Nubbins in art class. (for the uninitiated, "Nubbins" are little armless plush monsters I make). The kids see me working on the hand-sewing on them at church a lot and want to make their own. (the Nubbins are pretty popular amongst the church kids!) I finally decided to take the plunge and give them a crack at it...and they've learned that making Nubbins isn't as easy as I make it look! (and teaching them isn't as easy as it sounds!)  I'm sure they'd have an easier time if they used a sewing machine, but I'm not confident enough to let them use my sewing machine just yet!  Plus, I think it's better to get a foundation in hand-sewing first.  After all, that's how I started out!

A few of the life lessons I tried teaching  through this today was that no one is perfect, mistakes happen (so don't freak out), and that the only reason I make it look so easy is that I've has LOTS of practice! (I'm not sure exactly how many Nubbins I've made to date, but it's most likely in the hundreds.)  I've been doing this for almost as long as these kids have been alive!

They actually had started these last class...sewing on the teeth and heart. One of them had gotten to stitching up the sides, but was having trouble getting the stitches small enough (I made him start over twice), so before class today, I used a marker and made dots for them to follow to make their stitches.

Stuffing the Nubbins after stitching them, turning them right-side-out, and attaching the safety eyes.

Stitching the Nubbin closed.

The finished product!

They were so satisfied to have made their own Nubbins!

Art Lesson with Little Kids: Color Mixing Chart Placemat

Today in art class, I did a project for little kids to teach them about mixing paint colors...their own Color Mixing Chart!

We've been working with paint lately and I thought it would be a good thing to cover (besides that it's a standard art requirement for homeschooling). So last night, I used a circle stencil and drew a blank chart onto pieces of 11x17 construction paper. (I have a bunch of this paper that I was given by a teacher friend I used to work with when I was a one-on-one aide for a kindergarten girl with autism)

To cut down on my costs, I only bought the primary colors of tempera paint. So whenever we're working with paint, I usually get asked "what colors make...~insert secondary color here~". Now, I can just ask them, "What does your chart say?"

I'm planning on either putting clear contact paper over them or taking them to Office Max to get them laminated so the kids can use them as their placemats. I've been using those blank pieces of paper as their placemats in an attempt to protect the table a bit, but un-laminated, they soak in water, paint, glue, or whatever else the kids are working with and I always end up throwing the paper away. When I laminate them, the various mediums can simply be wiped off and the placemat can be reused!

Art Lesson with Older Kids: Toilet Paper Tube Owls & Cats

The little kids had so much fun with the Toilet Paper Tube Owls/Cats that I decided to do the project with the older kids too...