tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58854576302169803292024-02-21T01:35:19.308-08:00WeavingsOur lives are like weavings, with long strands and smallish bits of different colors, types and textures of yarns woven in. Our prayer is that the finished weaving will reflect the joy and beauty of our creator, who weaves alongside us day by day.Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.comBlogger101125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-80178285912510038982023-11-25T12:14:00.000-08:002023-11-25T12:41:37.048-08:00New Happenings<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Wow, it's been a long time since I posted on this blog . . . a lot of changes in my own life, and all my children are grown now.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">But I'm still working in the field of education-- learning and teaching are both things I really enjoy doing.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Since 2010, I've been working as a tutor . . . so a variety of ages of students, with a variety of different needs (kind of like homeschooling . . .). And also, I have had the opportunity to teach some music classes for preschoolers, and give piano and ukelele lessons (what could be more fun than all those things?).</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBtVya2fcDFKuA6Yeihmr0uZA9_tiCsBt15qtWeo3SLc2uOs2X7zuT7ipOus0EOonGs4hypWNlEW_AY7jK1z7rm2zriE6jISiHJXnkzLoKmLwIIbtg0oaBWw2eAtsfCESs5vF_69_hQHhyCg6SBIqHZkL18FMlLGTzqoD_2XpswHzmjXozBFist8SZbA4/s931/Opus_picture_mini_music.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="931" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBtVya2fcDFKuA6Yeihmr0uZA9_tiCsBt15qtWeo3SLc2uOs2X7zuT7ipOus0EOonGs4hypWNlEW_AY7jK1z7rm2zriE6jISiHJXnkzLoKmLwIIbtg0oaBWw2eAtsfCESs5vF_69_hQHhyCg6SBIqHZkL18FMlLGTzqoD_2XpswHzmjXozBFist8SZbA4/s320/Opus_picture_mini_music.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I still have a website with educational related information and curriculum available, but alas -- it is in great need of remodeling . . . and time has been scarce to work on that, but it is something I am very much wanting to do- hopefully sooner than later. Here is the website as-is: <a href="http://www.gentleshepcurr.com">www.gentleshepcurr.com</a></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaP9rYF_1M4LXYxph73-kTmDIsZTN8Rvt40HNfSWpwiUvVTs9w9svmT-7wktEcQ9sefUl4wMpALDyoD7NEYXYqnEN4IKpePZ5FjpT39dg7lcPQfh6qscBVwwmaZ47-K9ixgM4UEqEr8XhkYeYnO_HrhjZbkmQV0_284w8saLvUr4BfMFZj2_lXryRn4QI/s4000/gradient_shorter_orange_banner1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1808" data-original-width="4000" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaP9rYF_1M4LXYxph73-kTmDIsZTN8Rvt40HNfSWpwiUvVTs9w9svmT-7wktEcQ9sefUl4wMpALDyoD7NEYXYqnEN4IKpePZ5FjpT39dg7lcPQfh6qscBVwwmaZ47-K9ixgM4UEqEr8XhkYeYnO_HrhjZbkmQV0_284w8saLvUr4BfMFZj2_lXryRn4QI/w462-h209/gradient_shorter_orange_banner1.jpg" width="462" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I think there will be some more teaching/learning materials to come, since working in tutoring gives me a way to try out different ideas.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Also, I'm pursuing activities in visual art such as making lots of color pencil drawings, a few paintings, and some with misc. other media. I completed a graphic arts degree in 2019 and started putting some artworks in art shows, misc galleries, and making some cards and prints. If you'd like to see a few of the pictures, there are some here: <a href="http://www.dianehurstart.com">www.dianehurstart.com</a></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsJgnop3vfBr42NQOjWwnoKgJxCIxJWa3aJUuu6oBNYDlQ77B33jIIVSAxt1dX4hb74NfKfXKFLVixcoiL-XYUKb15ieyfXSakVpdx5HByEroj3KQXvJ6zTsHUckWv0xJRqDOvdLC88wBXjCZ9omylu3zLp5YVIHvJB0qu4dqoZwY38wtHZtcd1H7-1LQ/s756/2cards_picture.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="756" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsJgnop3vfBr42NQOjWwnoKgJxCIxJWa3aJUuu6oBNYDlQ77B33jIIVSAxt1dX4hb74NfKfXKFLVixcoiL-XYUKb15ieyfXSakVpdx5HByEroj3KQXvJ6zTsHUckWv0xJRqDOvdLC88wBXjCZ9omylu3zLp5YVIHvJB0qu4dqoZwY38wtHZtcd1H7-1LQ/w423-h299/2cards_picture.jpg" width="423" /></a></div></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrtl0ewSL7X11uwXOPbwYmB769yWvhr4z8sJ25QxzYItnlPuPJNm5tkCWjBOazn4vfqIh4jxVEqm2zgqDEoc5ggL_8jiHIwAtNbQ98OaIecXrb41Stvh-tWdfJqGaOsqHACDAS0L-DETk9gbUpp_uCCiwF2yOVTmoK-Jxo1cQGeB3bmoqfnNef_1Zzvg/s1200/shop_banner2019_26_Etsy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="1200" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrtl0ewSL7X11uwXOPbwYmB769yWvhr4z8sJ25QxzYItnlPuPJNm5tkCWjBOazn4vfqIh4jxVEqm2zgqDEoc5ggL_8jiHIwAtNbQ98OaIecXrb41Stvh-tWdfJqGaOsqHACDAS0L-DETk9gbUpp_uCCiwF2yOVTmoK-Jxo1cQGeB3bmoqfnNef_1Zzvg/w566-h141/shop_banner2019_26_Etsy.jpg" width="566" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Besides the visual art things, I really enjoy playing music, writing songs, and basically doing anything/everything with music. I have a <a href="http://notesandnotions.com" target="_blank">music blog</a> that I've kept up with a little better than this one, and there is a songwriter website, too: <a href="http://www.dianehurstmusic.com">www.dianehurstmusic.com</a></span></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii7qMOGrdT81kkRLaYTVQBFscC_qBKxezStcOp0xcLHCm2hztIbwloqFi0RrHzC0l0iYi6NqQd5SO2E4a2vrCC1KCtvsuDZdgcK1WsaRI6a4gzXe4VccaRpzyfeQ1ydpdX0-qxTIKdO8SzunNgCvS5bpINWOC0WBIjQwECU7JkUYsXPJ7sOOaI_BUHQkk/s724/front_and_back_Journey_CD_cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="724" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii7qMOGrdT81kkRLaYTVQBFscC_qBKxezStcOp0xcLHCm2hztIbwloqFi0RrHzC0l0iYi6NqQd5SO2E4a2vrCC1KCtvsuDZdgcK1WsaRI6a4gzXe4VccaRpzyfeQ1ydpdX0-qxTIKdO8SzunNgCvS5bpINWOC0WBIjQwECU7JkUYsXPJ7sOOaI_BUHQkk/w482-h239/front_and_back_Journey_CD_cover.jpg" width="482" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So I am going to be posting again, here . . . to give info, ideas related to education and the arts.</span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, have a happy end of November. I think my next post will be about LEAVES. </span></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><p><br /></p>Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-57604571764042864332016-12-03T10:34:00.004-08:002016-12-03T18:13:43.250-08:00Thoughts about Who I Am -- Navigating through Life, Past and Present<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> I am 55 years old,
“over the hill” you might say, or at least over the half-century mark.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiErDokSiU_hFtxvZQnQ2DiyOSGftleA3cWP_be1ryjrHfefOIkUptOx6AYOp7BJietQET-y4g2pr8M2y3MLJMReMSRmcuQrzgDBv8rucgMJ_8znCZivHbcZjTiKhr2-ETYaIU6awvtYBs/s1600/diane_sq.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiErDokSiU_hFtxvZQnQ2DiyOSGftleA3cWP_be1ryjrHfefOIkUptOx6AYOp7BJietQET-y4g2pr8M2y3MLJMReMSRmcuQrzgDBv8rucgMJ_8znCZivHbcZjTiKhr2-ETYaIU6awvtYBs/s320/diane_sq.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> I was thinking about
my life—both past and present, and who I am in conjunction with it, and wrote
this description of the way I view myself and life in general.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> This is me— besides
being a graying-haired woman with small body frame, sometimes intently working
at a computer, sometimes cooking a family meal, sometimes running to catch the
bus:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> First of all, I am
someone who cares. I care about others
in my sphere: spouse, family, friends. I
care about the world—our physical environment and its well-being, and the socio-economic
fluctuations that affect earth’s inhabitants.
I care about God, and want to know Him as a dynamic reality and personal
friend. I care about myself—recognizing
frailties and limits, but wanting to prosper physiologically, and to grow in
greater expression of soul and spirit; if I want anything it is to be a force
for good, as an active member of God’s kingdom and created in His image.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> Also, I am someone who has lived a life of nurture. Being a mother of nine children has been an incredible opportunity to apply caring in a limited human context, and homeschooling them at least through junior high has been a rich and rewarding experience—though not without tripping over the perils of insecurity, self-doubt, feelings of inadequacy—with occasional head-long plunges into failure-- and the puzzle of practical logistics for implementation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> Emerging from
homeschooling to enter the next phase of life has been awkward. I am still a mom, but my children are mostly
not here. I am not “needed” in the old,
familiar sense of the word, but caring and friendship are always needed, by
anyone at any time in life. So my new
role is shaping itself gradually, as the old one winds down. It’s like putting on a garment you’ve been
knitting all your life . . . one that is not without blemishes, and in which
repairs may be needed— but one that is fascinating and filled with wonder as
well as being functional.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> I am an artist, in
just about every sense of the word—visual art, music, literary art, filmmaking,
and if the opportunity comes along, theatre art. This is just who I am; it is what I am “made
for.” These areas interest me and
creativity itself is a huge opportunity for adventure. I will never want to climb the Himalayas, but
might want to draw an illustration of a watermelon-slice “mountain” with
determined mountaineers (this is a current project in process).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> I am also an
educator . . . “once a homeschool mom, always a homeschool mom” is how I see
it. I’m not currently teaching anyone
anything . . . but after 30 years of day-in, day-out walking along a teacher’s
path, the love of learning and joy in facilitating discovery for others is a
part of my makeup. Working to develop
educational materials is something that resonates strongly for me— I want to
pass along materials that have been helpful and successful, to other educators,
and also do really enjoy creating brand new materials— even if at present being
without anyone in my own household to try them out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I am someone who
hopes.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Hope is like an underground river
that can be accessed at any time, bringing the means to sustain life in times
of drought.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I try not to put my hope in
futile things that will not deliver, like praying to “Martians” . . . hope is
accompanied by effort, and I think these together can be an effective means to
bring eventual desired results . . . a sort of slow-moving escalator made up of
many, many individual steps. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If there are
setbacks, or I fail to do the needed work— so nothing happens— I can start
over, or maybe try a different approach, and there’s no need to abandon any
goal that I really and truly want to keep.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> Although it is my
nature to hope for the best, I can also be completely devastated when face to
face with the ugliness of unconstructive criticism, coercion through threat or accusation
or belittling or bribery, or harshness that is experienced during an extended
period of time. But this doesn’t mean
there is no hope. It is still there,
just waiting— and with some nurturing it can bring continued growth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> I like these verses
in the Bible, from 2 Cor. 4: 7 – 9:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“But we have this
treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and
not from us. We are hard pressed on
every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not
abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "avenir next";"><o:p></o:p></span>Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-21203547001466946132016-11-26T22:37:00.001-08:002016-11-26T22:44:01.451-08:00Preschool Notebook Pages for Easy One-on-One TimeHere is an easy way to help preschoolers with learning, and also just to enjoy spending some time together:<br />
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Create a preschool "notebook." <br />
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This is not something they write or draw in . . . instead the pages are already made, and printed out, and then you and your preschooler will talk about the pictures/sing a song/ do counting, etc. for just a few minutes each day.<br />
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When I was homeschooling with a large family, it was part of our routine to always have a young child do his/her notebook first, right after breakfast, while the older ones were getting started on some kind of independent work. <br />
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We thoroughly enjoyed going through these simple pages (with an alphabet, letter sound activities, counting, days of the week, etc.) repeatedly . . . the same few pages would be in the notebook for at least several days, and often a week or longer, before switching in some different ones.<br />
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Here are some pictures of some of the pages in the "Preschool Beginning Notebook Set I," made by Gentle Shepherd (similar to the type of pages we used-- but these are made to be computer print-outs, and our original ones were hand-made with markers on paper).<br />
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You can find this set of 15 printable pages at: <a href="http://www.gentleshepcurr.com/preschool-beginning-notebook-set-i.html">http://www.gentleshepcurr.com/preschool-beginning-notebook-set-i.html</a><br />
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<br />Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-4840516674421035202016-10-09T20:59:00.001-07:002023-11-25T13:00:24.190-08:00Making Felt Forest Animals<span style="font-size: medium;">Hand-sewing is a hobby for me. I like to do it while riding in the car, while waiting for meetings to start, or in just about any spare few minutes. <br />
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I've been making felt toys such as felt doll families, felt puppets, and felt dinosaurs . . .</span><br />
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And now have made a new pattern set . . . it is for felt forest animals. This new hand-sewing project is available at my educational materials shop on Etsy, AlltheTimeLearning; here is a link:<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/605173957/forest-animals-felt-pattern-set" target="_blank"> </a></span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/605173957/forest-animals-felt-pattern-set" target="_blank">Forest Animals Felt Pattern Set </a></span></div>
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Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-84178147011580843682016-10-05T21:03:00.003-07:002016-10-07T22:41:12.396-07:00Making Paper Clowns! Here are two different clown designs, to be used as craft projects --<br />
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First there is a clown that has hinged joints, using metal brads:</div>
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For this clown, the pieces are first colored, then cut out, and joined together. Notice that if you want to make a shorter clown, the same parts can be used, but without the upper arm and leg sections. </div>
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This was a really fun project to make. The clowns can be posed in various ways, and played with, so it is a craft that also can become a toy.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj61cWNlUhbmaHP85mpmD5MPIXTW59hO09pXAVfUNWStkuZ0YyGHsnQBV66WLPqm5pYI3CfM7S6Tt8WAdQTV3-bb5IWY789BxaHo6thRQQjXqWnL5pekeGj9vcLOAZmJCJBTtOruD1Nk2c/s1600/hinged_clown2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj61cWNlUhbmaHP85mpmD5MPIXTW59hO09pXAVfUNWStkuZ0YyGHsnQBV66WLPqm5pYI3CfM7S6Tt8WAdQTV3-bb5IWY789BxaHo6thRQQjXqWnL5pekeGj9vcLOAZmJCJBTtOruD1Nk2c/s640/hinged_clown2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The second clown project is a simpler project, but also makes a moveable figure. The body is an accordion-folded strip of card stock, and the head is a cardstock circle, with a triangle hat. Both arms are made together as one long strip, that is taped or glued to the back of the folded body.</div>
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For pattern pages to make both types of papercraft clowns, see Gentle Shepherd's Arts and Crafts Freebies page: <a href="http://www.gentleshepcurr.com/arts-and-crafts-freebies">www.gentleshepcurr.com/arts-and-crafts-freebies</a></div>
Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-70025814996994958552016-04-07T16:22:00.000-07:002016-04-07T16:28:11.603-07:00The Wonder of Words -- "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbzSlyInVt5dHFlMlQyV7Gk0ZTyKGzz88Xaw0T4DyNVuYzELGmMP5OMjnLpIuY1BpAGzNFvywyoC3S0lDsiliX3WgfDuTS1NC3c2oYHazr7_HQY-ziLhT3A2lhEA_LDBMvkecZDfZO6Bs/s1600/phantom_toolbooth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbzSlyInVt5dHFlMlQyV7Gk0ZTyKGzz88Xaw0T4DyNVuYzELGmMP5OMjnLpIuY1BpAGzNFvywyoC3S0lDsiliX3WgfDuTS1NC3c2oYHazr7_HQY-ziLhT3A2lhEA_LDBMvkecZDfZO6Bs/s400/phantom_toolbooth.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
Several years ago, <i>The Phantom Toolbooth</i>, by Norton Juster, was a read-aloud in our homeschool. My son and I found it to be a delightful story. Much of the book is made up of plays on words . . . and there is an underlying plot, where a boy travels on a quest to bring "rhyme and reason" (two princesses) back to the kingdom.<br />
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It almost seems to be an "Alice in Wonderland" type of story, because the boy travels to some very unusual places, meeting with a whole cast of interesting characters. He is accompanied, for most of his journey, by a dog named "Tock," who keeps time by carrying a huge clock that is built into his side. <br />
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Although this is a children's book, as an adult I've found it very enjoyable to read-- and have recently been reading it through a second time-- just for myself, and just for fun.<br />
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If you read this story, here are just a few of the characters you will encounter: The Spelling Bee (a giant bee who is always spelling things), the "Which" (whose job had formerly been to choose words), Chroma the Great, conductor of color (who directs an orchestra which plays music and simultaneously causes the colors to come into the world, at dawn). There are many more characters, and intriguing events, in this book-- and it is highly recommended as either a read-aloud or a read-to-yourself book, that will enliven the imagination and take its readers on an enchanting adventure.<br />
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And if my opinion could use some bolstering, here is a quote from the New York Times, that says what I've been trying to say so far in this post:<br />
"Most books advertised for 'readers of all ages' fail to keep their promise. But Norton Juster's amazing fantasy has something wonderful for anybody old enough to relish the allegorical wisdom of <i>Alice in Wonderland</i> and the pointed whimsey of <i>The Wizard of Oz."</i><br />
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So there you have it -- and I hope you will consider <i>The Phantom Toolbooth </i>as one of your next novels to read; it is surely a "novel" read . . .Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-48149035417635304012015-12-20T14:56:00.001-08:002016-10-07T22:37:46.794-07:00A Winter Art Project: Drawing Winter BirdsBirds can be an interesting subject to draw; and in the winter time, items such as leafless tree branches/trees, or evergreen boughs, can also be part of the picture.<br />
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In a recent art project with 4th grade children, their assignment was to draw a winter bird, along with some kind of tree branch or tree. They sketched in pencil, then colored the picture with crayons. <br />
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There were some printed pages they could look at, to see different types of winter birds and basic bird shapes.<br />
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Here is what the birds shapes page looks like; I made these drawings by looking at bird photographs:<br />
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And here are the photo pages we used:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd8NFw5Hnb2lMXitiPjNLwWHgyu_v9wi7DszxHr9senqfqztL05WZljEPQt-r0_EyKqteaQmp_TE_7tuhku5QLzFechFXmcw_ujXssLTlz4DxgmEmtpgd4gBA72eWvycTunXiqi69MndY/s1600/winter_birds_border_pictures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd8NFw5Hnb2lMXitiPjNLwWHgyu_v9wi7DszxHr9senqfqztL05WZljEPQt-r0_EyKqteaQmp_TE_7tuhku5QLzFechFXmcw_ujXssLTlz4DxgmEmtpgd4gBA72eWvycTunXiqi69MndY/s640/winter_birds_border_pictures.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Using these pages as a reference, the children made a variety of bird pictures with various backgrounds, such as a city scene (Central Park in New York, including the Statue of Liberty off in the distance), birds in a yard, bird perched on an evergreen bush, etc.</div>
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If you would like to download these bird drawing reference pages, they are available on Gentle Shepherd's website on the Arts and Crafts Freebies page-- <a href="http://www.gentleshepcurr.com/arts-and-crafts-freebies">www.gentleshepcurr.com/arts-and-crafts-freebies</a></div>
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Here are some example drawings; the bird on the left is an imaginary type; the ones on the right are wrens.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-85xAiv0HfildaqBEiIP68DOuywsuvhYD9Mx-NQ_4ggc3vk15wtm3cgHGZVBEVcR87D3nHDbNULVkFu5eWw9awpk34epkFWUhvkURdDyYXMw2mSv9EIAjocf9kLc37Bykw12MnL1KS4c/s1600/bird_drawins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-85xAiv0HfildaqBEiIP68DOuywsuvhYD9Mx-NQ_4ggc3vk15wtm3cgHGZVBEVcR87D3nHDbNULVkFu5eWw9awpk34epkFWUhvkURdDyYXMw2mSv9EIAjocf9kLc37Bykw12MnL1KS4c/s640/bird_drawins.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-75367593079107415012015-11-15T20:30:00.003-08:002015-11-15T20:36:17.248-08:00Plaster Pictures"Fresco" means "fresh," and in art a fresco is a wall painting, usually painted directly on wet plaster. The paint will actually seep in and become part of the plaster.<br />
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Here is a fun way to try out painting on fresh plaster. All you need is some plaster of Paris, water, some plastic plates, and some paints.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg3ebwG9hgyOOcos4xTC3A4Jkg6Wg1VxfLDEbYVIAVaze8Tp8XOJT1X4-jKvIZGStZ7X4QgEnzXSOpMHwC7JaqM5AsuooLNwuskQI0c_HYQ0wzdad7pj3uG3n-kF59IVtEmafdGhGRaec/s1600/800px_plaster_plate.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg3ebwG9hgyOOcos4xTC3A4Jkg6Wg1VxfLDEbYVIAVaze8Tp8XOJT1X4-jKvIZGStZ7X4QgEnzXSOpMHwC7JaqM5AsuooLNwuskQI0c_HYQ0wzdad7pj3uG3n-kF59IVtEmafdGhGRaec/s320/800px_plaster_plate.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Mix up the plaster and water according to the proportions given on the package, then pour it into the plates. If you'd like to have a hanging hole in the plaster, shortly after pouring you can put a small (about 1 ") tubular piece cut from a plastic straw into the plaster, leaving it there while the plaster is firming. It takes about 30 minutes for it to get fairly firm, ready to be painted on. Just before painting, remove the straw tube-- which will leave a small hole.<br />
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Tempera paints can be used, but be sure to use a fairly undiluted paint-- because the plaster will absorb some of the paint, the design will tend to fade; you may want to put on a second coat of paint.<br />
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Using acrylic paint will result in brighter colors (less fading).<br />
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Here are some designs I made, using tempera paint:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFj9Q-2B6tuwSgT0xKvzQmK9-zmrE0Ak1RKfvclO9fPvj-4ZnoUcDzcca9gmpINWamiQSRmlLBv5kQ1MRRWCqioILBvSUq9vH7BEPv6_Lj8UAT9bHwLGtGZaPNCzCuDi4Bx16WTMYilU/s1600/plaster_painting_examples2_edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFj9Q-2B6tuwSgT0xKvzQmK9-zmrE0Ak1RKfvclO9fPvj-4ZnoUcDzcca9gmpINWamiQSRmlLBv5kQ1MRRWCqioILBvSUq9vH7BEPv6_Lj8UAT9bHwLGtGZaPNCzCuDi4Bx16WTMYilU/s640/plaster_painting_examples2_edit.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I experimented with making some indentations in the plaster, also-- the design on the right has markings made with the end of a spool pressed onto the plaster, and the other two pictures had some lines made by "drawing" with a plastic straw (using something heavier, like a popsicle stick, didn't work well-- it went right through the plaster, tearing it).</div>
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Here are some plaster pictures by students in the 4th grade glass I was doing this project with:</div>
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Once the plaster is dry, it's easy to take it out of the plastic plate. (Please note: don't try to do this project using paper plates; paper tends to bond with the plaster instead of resisting it.)</div>
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It takes several days for the plaster to completely dry; in the meantime it is especially fragile-- so the pictures need to be set somewhere that they will not be disturbed.</div>
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This was a fun project; next time, I'd like to experiment with making different picture shapes-- maybe rectangular or square, depending on what kinds of plastic plates or containers I can find, to pour into.</div>
Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-4766450787819335842015-10-22T16:27:00.000-07:002015-10-22T16:27:17.706-07:00Finger Puppet Pattern Set -- Dog, Cat, RabbitThere is another pattern set up at Gentle Shepherd; it is for making finger puppets. These are very easy to sew; they can be sewn on the sewing machine or by hand, and have a small amount of embroidery for the face.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">These animal puppets are different than many other finger puppets, because they have arms and legs.</span><br />
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They would be a fun stocking stuffer item for Christmas, or could be a sewing project for an older child.<br />
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Here is what they look like when finished:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC5HZvwGtzS8s0NxrbS5QOJCPacRQt-AfQZ46UVYMkRLXP-cpBVSOK6DKm2NuULBFLNlqYKfASZhhzzbsPv2tSm-SWqw-Z_2DfgQag__XipSaEI_JjD4qNHVr6uVNvs8SkvR3GDY5tKGg/s1600/marbled_3_finger_puppets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC5HZvwGtzS8s0NxrbS5QOJCPacRQt-AfQZ46UVYMkRLXP-cpBVSOK6DKm2NuULBFLNlqYKfASZhhzzbsPv2tSm-SWqw-Z_2DfgQag__XipSaEI_JjD4qNHVr6uVNvs8SkvR3GDY5tKGg/s400/marbled_3_finger_puppets.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Any color of felt can be used. Here are some in white and tan colors:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhloYJls9xbiWv1lEzb4lQgwY7pNfVPxnm5c5LpizPAYdMUNj02XLtz03GiGmnPMYCQDYGdjBRpvvv8Bl2YtwA5CeRrfXAOutzLsJRwXEYgzjOryjFnjGRFsvFQfxek7pViPwudS5nD7IU/s1600/dog_cat_edit2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhloYJls9xbiWv1lEzb4lQgwY7pNfVPxnm5c5LpizPAYdMUNj02XLtz03GiGmnPMYCQDYGdjBRpvvv8Bl2YtwA5CeRrfXAOutzLsJRwXEYgzjOryjFnjGRFsvFQfxek7pViPwudS5nD7IU/s320/dog_cat_edit2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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The pattern set is available at Gentle Shepherd's website: </div>
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<a href="http://www.gentleshepcurr.com/felt-patterns.html">www.gentleshepcurr.com/felt-patterns.html</a></div>
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It is also available at my educational materials Etsy shop, along with some already sewn felt items:</div>
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<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/allthetimelearning">www.etsy.com/shop/allthetimelearning</a></div>
Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-41351605144166766432015-08-22T13:19:00.000-07:002015-11-15T20:36:58.004-08:00A Tale of 3 10-bead Abacuses The abacus is a wonderful math tool. After trying numerous math manipulatives in our homeschool (pennies, Cuisenaire Rods, plastic interlinking cubes, etc.) we settled on "beads on a wire (or string)" as our very favorite.<br />
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There is something satisfying about pushing the beads along a string or wire -- and besides, with an abacus, all the little pieces stay in the abacus-- not ending up scattered on the floor, in a crawling baby's mouth, or finding their way to unusual locations all around the house.<br />
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Although the abacus was originally a Chinese counting system that is a bit more complex than the ten rows of ten beads that we've used, the term "abacus" has been borrowed to describe the simpler type, also.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZsFl4myTpj8Btk5l63woNXF2TzlrWqpv8hyphenhypheneBcWjw_5k1mQ6pKfELqdzsD30Fy8E8ZpY98CrKYU_y58VGdAAEYEqTDaztz7xcCUvCyXOP0JM5kjsOKNgqkKcvrp5om6LaYpd9eUeJXD0/s1600/2_kinds_abacuses.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZsFl4myTpj8Btk5l63woNXF2TzlrWqpv8hyphenhypheneBcWjw_5k1mQ6pKfELqdzsD30Fy8E8ZpY98CrKYU_y58VGdAAEYEqTDaztz7xcCUvCyXOP0JM5kjsOKNgqkKcvrp5om6LaYpd9eUeJXD0/s400/2_kinds_abacuses.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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We used a 100-bead abacus for kids in K-2nd grade. And for preschoolers, we found that offering a 10-bead abacus was just right; they might know how to count much higher, but when adding and subtracting they were using just numbers up to 10. And giving them a 10-bead abacus made doing their math activities so easy, successful, and enjoyable.<br />
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There are many versions of the 100-bead abacus available in stores, but it can be difficult to find one that is only 10-beads.<br />
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The first one we used was a homemade abacus, made with a metal coat hanger.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcbS-Gr5gYFLOkLey7cGLG5-FtSIzu-GAw_m1OM5rdRlVgoblkS0wLZk4T28lTKiZgfcxNXVi0OwIuwK8feAM2nUrY0BhaB1Jvp9foqstu9p0I9ibdbbQeoaJvySfMQeZws9CGO_a9SvE/s1600/abacus1000px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcbS-Gr5gYFLOkLey7cGLG5-FtSIzu-GAw_m1OM5rdRlVgoblkS0wLZk4T28lTKiZgfcxNXVi0OwIuwK8feAM2nUrY0BhaB1Jvp9foqstu9p0I9ibdbbQeoaJvySfMQeZws9CGO_a9SvE/s320/abacus1000px.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We used this type for many years (with several of our preschoolers), and the kids loved it! It was a little bit tricky to make, but very sturdy and worked great. This abacus has very large wooden beads (the type used by preschoolers for stringing). Instructions for how to assemble a coat hanger abacus are given in Gentle Shepherd's <a href="http://www.gentleshepcurr.com/math.html" target="_blank">Preschool Math: Number Tiles</a> (also there are lots of different work pages in this ebook, to be printed out and used with "number tiles" for simple adding and subtracting).<br />
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In a recent journey online, I came across a unique type of wooden abacus. This one can be 10-bead, or 20-bead, or 30-bead, or . . . up to 100-bead. The individual 10 bead sections are stackable, so they can be used in any combination or individually. This looks like a great option for a preschool, and/or early elementary abacus. It is sold by <a href="http://www.imaginechildhood.com/">www.imaginechildhood.com</a>. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7B65pTp1tMKHviONqIa-_S60lUN33zplkigzmgW3tyKvIVzc7tNX9XBSH5ndD0JDfNN12YHzTkf4tB5GWqDdAfoBzeR5nmixQDfAAWk3aiZ4qlDMGlCcgdRXLUfk8jdJJrjHnbZznA_8/s1600/2_pics_counting_frames.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7B65pTp1tMKHviONqIa-_S60lUN33zplkigzmgW3tyKvIVzc7tNX9XBSH5ndD0JDfNN12YHzTkf4tB5GWqDdAfoBzeR5nmixQDfAAWk3aiZ4qlDMGlCcgdRXLUfk8jdJJrjHnbZznA_8/s400/2_pics_counting_frames.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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For more info take a look at this blog post about it: <a href="http://blog.imaginechildhood.com/imagine-childhood/2014/09/-our-favorite-things-.html">http://blog.imaginechildhood.com/imagine-childhood/2014/09/-our-favorite-things-.html</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsRTT9hgkaq81-Xd1kjWjl7KxoIC4Tk7nMF9qiivEnW7Z3lrI21lslb1yVCke7et73mpuYfUid3jX3mh9NVPsHIwAHuJ6YT8GNOc0_w_b9I7cv02ETPoBKbNJbvG4AfwIKjpuejNoldc/s1600/800px_orange_string_abacus_photos+copy.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsRTT9hgkaq81-Xd1kjWjl7KxoIC4Tk7nMF9qiivEnW7Z3lrI21lslb1yVCke7et73mpuYfUid3jX3mh9NVPsHIwAHuJ6YT8GNOc0_w_b9I7cv02ETPoBKbNJbvG4AfwIKjpuejNoldc/s640/800px_orange_string_abacus_photos+copy.png" width="204" /></a></div>
And here is a third 10-bead idea. This handmade abacus uses string instead of wire or wood, for the beads to slide on. It is a sewn abacus, made using felt and string-- with the type of wooden beads used for macrame. These felt and string abacuses can be found in my Etsy shop, <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/allthetimelearning" target="_blank">Allthetimelearning</a>. One advantage to this soft abacus is that it can be folded or rolled up-- so it would be easy to travel with, tucked away in a bag or even in a purse.<br />
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You may find ideas for other types of abacuses to make-- for example, using cereal loops on a string or building a very large version using rings from a baby's plastic stacking toy . . . but no matter which version is used, the abacus is a learning tool that is very useful and helps kids learn math in one more way; besides thinking and seeing, they are also touching the beads. Using the tactile sense is especially helpful for kinesthetic learners, but also can make doing math problems easier and more fun for any young learner.<br />
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If you're looking for a joyful math experience for young children, give the 10-bead abacus a try!<br />
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Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-66503365693210435252015-06-14T08:42:00.000-07:002015-11-15T20:40:42.515-08:00Dinosaurs!Here is a felt project I've been working on lately. It is a dinosaur play set-- several kinds of dinosaurs, with a volcano and lava.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht4zt3SwncaEgOHdYKly_KTjVVRa6mTMX2Srs2X7ayO0f_4yj-2AHQv1nSp2E-v-y82MjW26x2IPdz9LkHGVZY1xig23SKEthzoHff0e7rkSZfpFNTB0Byqlu5_rghV_-s2hwaJzFQ2oI/s1600/800px_dino_set2B.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht4zt3SwncaEgOHdYKly_KTjVVRa6mTMX2Srs2X7ayO0f_4yj-2AHQv1nSp2E-v-y82MjW26x2IPdz9LkHGVZY1xig23SKEthzoHff0e7rkSZfpFNTB0Byqlu5_rghV_-s2hwaJzFQ2oI/s400/800px_dino_set2B.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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The lava is in loose pieces, so it can be arranged when playing . . .<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWx2eJkvyvvlPfBr0tzx9D1UcEVlB0rEBwwI81PD0-TZ8RBpTW8w7Jig1mUIJ8srSYkr6Mt3p5we8Pw9TCVQ84lWfTJuSOwMLZXhdG-tfaDo0n8lOb8a9QV4UWlNObfZk8uj6lI0IPXpg/s1600/800px_lava_set2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWx2eJkvyvvlPfBr0tzx9D1UcEVlB0rEBwwI81PD0-TZ8RBpTW8w7Jig1mUIJ8srSYkr6Mt3p5we8Pw9TCVQ84lWfTJuSOwMLZXhdG-tfaDo0n8lOb8a9QV4UWlNObfZk8uj6lI0IPXpg/s320/800px_lava_set2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here are the individual dinosaurs -- a long-necked purple one</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb1Rtf_UB9oUiXne7mZGs4gb4uDR5gFlIU7UlKJcCHvWbqHf26HEs0z1V5LdgK4blMPZZX4eAl71yEZJDEP-iiC6P2-d8h4_T5KGJQ5HtYX-Arv4iaa63iMAe7PQMxiBpEQxcTt4HN2CQ/s1600/800px_purple_dino.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb1Rtf_UB9oUiXne7mZGs4gb4uDR5gFlIU7UlKJcCHvWbqHf26HEs0z1V5LdgK4blMPZZX4eAl71yEZJDEP-iiC6P2-d8h4_T5KGJQ5HtYX-Arv4iaa63iMAe7PQMxiBpEQxcTt4HN2CQ/s320/800px_purple_dino.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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a bright green stegosaurus</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-JIe02L6dArDpNhItGSEBu71I-56nc67yMG2qtv8-3Wgoqr9ZV7aRvWJFykSRVKEu_k2ZQSXZ_uqx9YGb_iyV2F1ozvfyx3d9vyVtkZVUiBeomDaMKdonST2yA_CqoCcVkAiMlY5uqBs/s1600/stegosaurus_set2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-JIe02L6dArDpNhItGSEBu71I-56nc67yMG2qtv8-3Wgoqr9ZV7aRvWJFykSRVKEu_k2ZQSXZ_uqx9YGb_iyV2F1ozvfyx3d9vyVtkZVUiBeomDaMKdonST2yA_CqoCcVkAiMlY5uqBs/s320/stegosaurus_set2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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a flying pterodactl</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinzXvqJ0aakQn1t55qhIfWHcKVNKP-yUC_u8X90McJSCzWijlyFPxbjyie5YKKBPNJzoTTaLjYfTXg6DxpQLobIGRNAnqYL8UletfvaBXwkvYOkhpsTsC-11DV5gHkJ7210R1AckRfYBk/s1600/pteradactl_purple_pink.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinzXvqJ0aakQn1t55qhIfWHcKVNKP-yUC_u8X90McJSCzWijlyFPxbjyie5YKKBPNJzoTTaLjYfTXg6DxpQLobIGRNAnqYL8UletfvaBXwkvYOkhpsTsC-11DV5gHkJ7210R1AckRfYBk/s320/pteradactl_purple_pink.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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and two blue tyrannosauruses</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghWlPEVeE-nuR8jeWt5lO5YOjsSXOnI6l7fM1o6mjlDEJj6yC9wg-L6Kvoa__MRK2aE6Un0pbs2FaBGFjQFQakbqG3s2GnEaHpsQm8OMMCv_s54Nik5xp52u2gSzbvAVJDGZ3O0hkBCvs/s1600/800px_2_blue_dinos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghWlPEVeE-nuR8jeWt5lO5YOjsSXOnI6l7fM1o6mjlDEJj6yC9wg-L6Kvoa__MRK2aE6Un0pbs2FaBGFjQFQakbqG3s2GnEaHpsQm8OMMCv_s54Nik5xp52u2gSzbvAVJDGZ3O0hkBCvs/s320/800px_2_blue_dinos.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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They are made with a double layer of felt-- so can be held and played with, as well as using on a felt board (or anywhere-- on a blanket, rug, tablecloth, etc.).</div>
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This is a set for kids who like playing with dinosaurs!</div>
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Here is my Etsy listing: </div>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/254821153/felt-toys-dinosaurs-felt-play-set-kids" target="_blank">https://www.etsy.com/listing/254821153/felt-toys-dinosaurs-felt-play-set-kids</a></div>
Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-14474252129688954802015-05-30T05:56:00.001-07:002015-05-30T05:59:41.525-07:00A Picasso Project -- Fragmented FacesThis drawing project can be a great way to introduce the idea of cubism; we did it when also reading about Pablo Picasso and looking at some of his works. The children's biography we especially liked using was <i>Pablo Picasso</i>, by Linda Lowery; it was a book at the library.<br />
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Here is what a finished picture looks like. This is an example I made, using felt pens and crayon.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKiG8xiZ8kk3Td1TSQyspEVmptsPFPBJpHFGBtw97ymNjqfccbZ1zR-KuLPgyY5uOO6A2Fty8xZ8wDoLLv0MIO9FrmfqTQvRmaXZ0R_3sYaBQrRK_CFIuSbS-zjdswuCgok4tpKUkqtwY/s1600/cubism_portait2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKiG8xiZ8kk3Td1TSQyspEVmptsPFPBJpHFGBtw97ymNjqfccbZ1zR-KuLPgyY5uOO6A2Fty8xZ8wDoLLv0MIO9FrmfqTQvRmaXZ0R_3sYaBQrRK_CFIuSbS-zjdswuCgok4tpKUkqtwY/s640/cubism_portait2.jpg" width="476" /></a></div>
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We decided to not make self-portraits, or to draw each other, but just to make random face pictures. This one doesn't have hair, but it can also be put in by making some sections around the head . . . </div>
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Here are some students' finished pictures:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBo_IaLUNS0EBz4gw_UFZdWIjqgUnsC-zTkO36jkXIY7JeIJotFrlFklHHWLYXKg7gQ0GEQsmTLQPc2flkf9TqYgfMX5xgenVpZNwGm_miISNKM91j6z57doKIFI3pbNLTIzW1e15xSbc/s1600/800px_2_student_Picasso_portraits.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBo_IaLUNS0EBz4gw_UFZdWIjqgUnsC-zTkO36jkXIY7JeIJotFrlFklHHWLYXKg7gQ0GEQsmTLQPc2flkf9TqYgfMX5xgenVpZNwGm_miISNKM91j6z57doKIFI3pbNLTIzW1e15xSbc/s640/800px_2_student_Picasso_portraits.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Making these complex pictures was pretty simple-- here are some instructions:<br />
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Start by using pencil-- make a large oval shape for the head. Then, make a side, profile view line going down the front of the face. Then draw in the lips. Next, make eyes-- keep in mind that they don't have to be aligned exactly like normal eyes are, and one could be drawn from a side-view angle.<br />
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Then add ears, and a hair section, if wanted. Now make two large curving lines right over the face. Add in a couple of straight lines, breaking the face (and hair) up into more fragments.<br />
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If needed, erase any unwanted lines-- especially where extremely small fragments have formed; you want the fragmented parts to be fairly large.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2xsI8_5JPb3ITTjCawLpYV1pew92x05Jo20LP4aNTAdGoH-FVOhIhiKWJYd4tSUN290WJS7edWQPcjNhogC6us5PzHpcjo7obkoCATYBRAg7EKKm1LLPajTaH9UZpkHzebXliqqCFSU8/s1600/pencil_sketch_plus+eye_views.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2xsI8_5JPb3ITTjCawLpYV1pew92x05Jo20LP4aNTAdGoH-FVOhIhiKWJYd4tSUN290WJS7edWQPcjNhogC6us5PzHpcjo7obkoCATYBRAg7EKKm1LLPajTaH9UZpkHzebXliqqCFSU8/s400/pencil_sketch_plus+eye_views.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Then go over all these lines with a black felt pen.<br />
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The next step, using colored felt pens, is to make some line designs, dots, etc. in some of the fragments, and to fill in others with solid color, always having different colors in adjoining fragments.<br />
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After all the felt pen coloring is completed, you can add in some fill with crayon; putting crayon in over the felt pen designs in some of the fragments will help create more warmth and richness in the finished picture.<br />
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Here is another example drawing made entirely with felt pen (no crayon); you can see that having high contrast areas (colored felt pen and white paper) throughout is less pleasing to look at.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixsfVPWWyAHcHKvzdZ-6o3swVoYBdtkYrBnkpy0ViSKKUBExz6QQVwvudDJK0g97pT6oueBS_4GX1gvD-GYsd4f_AJ9iAAzN22c8N1kUMXMiXStLSSYqZy68lK3OP_5ixg7_sSD8WA9Rg/s1600/cubism_portrait3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixsfVPWWyAHcHKvzdZ-6o3swVoYBdtkYrBnkpy0ViSKKUBExz6QQVwvudDJK0g97pT6oueBS_4GX1gvD-GYsd4f_AJ9iAAzN22c8N1kUMXMiXStLSSYqZy68lK3OP_5ixg7_sSD8WA9Rg/s640/cubism_portrait3.jpg" width="476" /></a></div>
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Here are a some more finished student pictures:</div>
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This was a fun exploration of cubism; the kids (third graders) seemed to enjoy the freedom of making all kinds of colors and patterns, and the results were amazing!</div>
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<br />Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-72575924908596769482015-04-21T17:38:00.001-07:002015-04-21T17:45:27.540-07:00Counting Cards . . . for Re-Doable Counting Fun!My older kids, in elementary grades, were doing math work pages and other written schoolwork. My young 3 year old was just beginning to learn his numbers, and I was looking for a special activity in number recognition, for him. <br />
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Thinking it would be fun for him to place number tiles to match with pictures, I made up some pages with pictures of items in groups . . . and a blank square near each group, for placing a number tile.</div>
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And it worked! This activity was one of my young kids' favorite ones. The picture pages were passed down through several children, and it gave them something special to do for school-- just for them-- and just like their older siblings, they were doing "math pages."</div>
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Because we had a variety of different pictures, a very young child could go through them, doing one each day, and then start over again in random order-- so these pages could be continuously used for quite a while.</div>
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Later on, I redrew the pictures (our originals were getting worn), and made a set of these full-color pages that can be printed out (onto card stock); it is called <i><a href="http://www.gentleshepcurr.com/counting-cards.html" target="_blank">Counting Cards</a></i>, and is available either by itself, or in a <a href="http://www.gentleshepcurr.com/preschool-math-bundle.html" target="_blank">preschool math bundle</a> (along with Preschool Math: Number Tiles).</div>
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Here are some examples of the picture pages; there are 15 different printable pages:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ARuMgugl_Y3JxARldY1mqDFtIU5fuAifZg5KHwH33O7QbLmUi7Ce0sNW-mjbfMW6KT8xB5vPU5graFhUzBNgKoCBzrD7taCYT-PNE3ALXvqt34C2ekQg4LArCOMbqymVZnjOgKHPVnM/s1600/2_counting_cards_vehicles_blocks.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ARuMgugl_Y3JxARldY1mqDFtIU5fuAifZg5KHwH33O7QbLmUi7Ce0sNW-mjbfMW6KT8xB5vPU5graFhUzBNgKoCBzrD7taCYT-PNE3ALXvqt34C2ekQg4LArCOMbqymVZnjOgKHPVnM/s1600/2_counting_cards_vehicles_blocks.png" height="411" width="640" /></a></div>
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For more info see <a href="http://www.gentleshepcurr.com/math.html">www.gentleshepcurr.com/math.html</a></div>
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Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-90031079876987244652015-03-07T09:18:00.000-08:002015-03-10T05:49:23.808-07:00Watery PointillismI helped with a recent art project in my granddaughter's third grade class. We were making "waterway" pictures, showing a stream or river (or waterfall) and scenery/background of some kind around the waterway.<br />
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We also learned about James Seurat, and the art technique known as "pointillism." Using lots of little colored lots (pointillism) to make the water areas made them really stand out -- the rest of the picture was done in black line art.<br />
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Here are a couple of samples I made:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxwfFMhCQPylIICdjVWBLZjQ4JJFcbOauxR4fbWhRH5N2LI-HZC57XVsyOCGWTbC7mW_5uOtbxBsypJ_-0VvgiGeX4WRiAiKxCRNEBYdJvEegOb4hvbSd2IVMZz3ZFGjfzMpy7IX1jCqQ/s1600/800px_stream_picture_square.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxwfFMhCQPylIICdjVWBLZjQ4JJFcbOauxR4fbWhRH5N2LI-HZC57XVsyOCGWTbC7mW_5uOtbxBsypJ_-0VvgiGeX4WRiAiKxCRNEBYdJvEegOb4hvbSd2IVMZz3ZFGjfzMpy7IX1jCqQ/s1600/800px_stream_picture_square.png" height="640" width="632" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRV957G_fdCU4c_1uB9FrXDRPZF_RkrNE4BiE22ZlLzBxPEcN_Lm5X1EXBqnRDlIBtVteKdAjBcZqovPKEcCeQTisxz7tEpNV3lCpgufHYJh0sVLOIDVKMVH7NNpgfx2XvWGkgJD8dSW0/s1600/houses_stream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRV957G_fdCU4c_1uB9FrXDRPZF_RkrNE4BiE22ZlLzBxPEcN_Lm5X1EXBqnRDlIBtVteKdAjBcZqovPKEcCeQTisxz7tEpNV3lCpgufHYJh0sVLOIDVKMVH7NNpgfx2XvWGkgJD8dSW0/s1600/houses_stream.jpg" height="466" width="640" /></a></div>
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For making the dots, oil pastels worked very well; the colors were vibrant, and it was fairly easy to make small dots; but this same idea might also be done using color crayons.<br />
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Here are some of the many wonderful pictures the kids created --<br />
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This river was still in progress when the photo was taken . . .<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQaaGDe_XAtNUBCbQWJZkAVOC0LIVeqSd3Jty9paG8E4RgZdrAT99YL_6wvZIzu2DMbzVWJVnEL9Kd65PkIOdboEoGE-TxKHMtCmK7uPlkgQQMWCE4mPh6ncwDHMr8XfIrgNlQ0-tsd0A/s1600/pointillism_river_in_progress.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQaaGDe_XAtNUBCbQWJZkAVOC0LIVeqSd3Jty9paG8E4RgZdrAT99YL_6wvZIzu2DMbzVWJVnEL9Kd65PkIOdboEoGE-TxKHMtCmK7uPlkgQQMWCE4mPh6ncwDHMr8XfIrgNlQ0-tsd0A/s1600/pointillism_river_in_progress.png" height="614" width="640" /></a></div>
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and here is a waterfall . . .<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3m7d2vyIZFq0doE2kamFCLetrG5frui-UjbxeaXrsVAKWAACnT-q-yGneaqM9z8fy0dtuK30ZIRLn0Rz53sIjHmPM7tj1AA84FJVGnHGOmtBDsQmQrxXHfPXtYr9HRta8wz_9Am0n9aI/s1600/pointillism_waterfall.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3m7d2vyIZFq0doE2kamFCLetrG5frui-UjbxeaXrsVAKWAACnT-q-yGneaqM9z8fy0dtuK30ZIRLn0Rz53sIjHmPM7tj1AA84FJVGnHGOmtBDsQmQrxXHfPXtYr9HRta8wz_9Am0n9aI/s1600/pointillism_waterfall.png" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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and another waterfall --<br />
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I like all the animals, insects, and creatures of all kinds in this one, by my granddaughter:<br />
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Here is one more picture; in this one a stream is joining a river . . .</div>
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Pointillism worked out very well for making the watery parts of these art pieces. Maybe we'll try out some partial pointillism pictures, for other things, too . . . </div>
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Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-85052548757735921962015-02-16T09:19:00.000-08:002015-02-16T09:55:19.973-08:00World History Shorts -- a middle school history frameworkWhen studying history, it's really helpful to use a "framework" or backbone type of resource-- some people choose a book series, such as Susan Wise Bauer's <i>The Story of the World</i>, or Joy Hakim's <i>A History of US</i>, for this. They read aloud, or assign reading, in these books to provide a continuing, overall story, and supplement with historical fiction and other resources that greatly enhance and enrich the total learning experience.<br />
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While reading aloud is wonderful, and both of the series mentioned above are well-written and interesting for either group reading or individual silent reading, there are situations that may come up where a certain child needs to do his own history studies, at his own pace and level, and doing a lot of reading just does not fit into his/her learning style.<br />
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This has happened several times in our own family's homeschool journey, and we were thankful to have found a great resource that has world history broken down into short, easy-to-read vignettes, just to cover the main events in chronological order.<br />
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It is called, <a href="http://www.proedinc.com/customer/ProductView.aspx?ID=5860" target="_blank">World History Shorts (volume 1 and volume 2)</a>, by Kristina M. Swann, and published by Pro-Ed/PCI Publishing.<br />
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Volume 1 covers ancient history (Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, Greece, Rome) and progresses on through the Middle Ages and Renaissance, ending with Japan's culture in the 1600's.<br />
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Volume 2 begins with the Scientific Revolution and Age of Reason, and covers major wars and politics as well as the Industrial Revolution and other social/cultural changes over the time period of 1600's through the 21st century (ends with the concept of terrorism, with the Twin Towers attack).<br />
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What I liked about this resource is that not only does it provide a short reading selection (one page-- about 6 paragraphs) for each topic, but it also has copy masters for reviewing the material; each topic has one page with info to read, one page with multiple choice questions, one page with a crossword puzzle, one page with a map or chart activity, one page with suggestions for extension activities that use writing, and one page with a short quiz. This turned out to be a "perfect" fit for older kids (middle school) who were wanting or needing to do much of their work independently. They could get an overview of world history, supplemented by reading some historical fiction (also independently), with very minimal direction/help needed from me as a teacher (just giving the assignments and looking over their written work was all that was required).<br />
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I found that the review pages could be assigned in different ways, depending on the situation-- for some kids doing one topic per week was a good pace, others might cover the same material faster-- there are six pages per topic, but we usually did reading on one day, then combined some of the other pages on 2-3 other days. Because all these pages were about the same topic, the student's attention was brought back to what they had read about on the first day, helping to retain the information.<br />
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I liked that this history study resource included all parts of the world -- not just Europe and the United States, but also topics on some Asian countries, Latin America, and Africa. It truly gave an overview of world history, and also the information was presented in a fairly "neutral" manner regarding politics and religion; the readings didn't appear to be slanted strongly in favor of certain ideas.<br />
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When I purchased this 2-volume set many years ago, it was only available in printed form, which meant I had copy masters and needed to make lots of copies . . . but now this resource is available in ebook format, as well, so you can have computer files that are printed out (and this takes no space on a shelf!) which is very convenient, as everything in these sets is presented in work page format (there is no actual book to read).<br />
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With our younger kids, we did lots of history related read-alouds, and there are many great series and individual books for this. But when some of our older kids desired or needed independent world history materials, we were really happy to discover <a href="http://www.proedinc.com/customer/ProductView.aspx?ID=5860" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">World History Shorts</a> !<br />
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Note-- for some more curriculum recommendations, please see the "links" page at Gentle Shepherd: <a href="http://www.gentleshepcurr.com/links.html" target="_blank">LINKS</a>Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-37491445055847940172015-02-08T15:03:00.001-08:002015-02-12T08:28:11.660-08:00Bugs in the house . . .Here are some felt bugs I've been making . . . some have pin backs and some have magnets. Their legs are made with crochet, and the eyes are small beads.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">This one is a curtain climber . . .</span><br />
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This one likes to stay on the refrigerator . . .</div>
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Besides being around the house, these two are also up in my Etsy shop, <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/fuzzlemania" target="_blank">Fuzzlemania</a>.</div>
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Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-85812053380027608742015-02-01T17:24:00.001-08:002015-02-01T17:30:01.140-08:00Super and Simple Primary Grades (Creative) WritingDo you sometimes wonder what assignments to give your younger students for writing? After all, they are just starting to gain proficiency in doing handwriting and spelling, and if you tell them to "write a story" they may look up at you with a blank stare.<br />
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But, on the other hand, asking them to "tell" you a story will probably produce a lot of imaginative ramblings.<br />
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What I found worked the best in our own homeschool was to give a topic (so there is something to focus the creative energy toward), and listen to my 1st or 2nd grader tell about it while writing down the words. Then, over several days, the young student would copy his own story over, using nice penmanship.<br />
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I set up a whole series of topics, so it was easy to just pick the next one after finishing a writing piece. <br />
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And now, this extensive list of topics is part of a small ebook about how to teach writing in the primary grades.<br />
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There are some other creative writing ideas, too, and a writing journal template printable. These ideas are for 1st and 2nd graders, PLUS a section for 3rd graders. There are some sample pages up on the Gentle Shepherd website, <a href="http://www.gentleshepcurr.com/super-and-simple-primary-writing.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>. <br />
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So if you're looking for an easy-to-use creative writing program that gives great results and can bring much joy to both the creators and to you, this small idea ebook may be just what you're looking for . . .Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-57308263323612524352015-01-09T08:37:00.001-08:002015-01-09T08:42:12.455-08:00Winter Trees -- Paper with Accordion FoldI wanted to do a craft project with 6-year-olds that would be winter-themed, fun, and not very complicated . . .<br />
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So in thinking about this, I envisioned some paper evergreen trees, all joined together like they are part of a forest. The idea of a paper doll chain type project started to form . . . and this is the result . . .<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEKyfZrgcMC0VMCegw2bh3OHQf27mEgpQjZGDOznWmKEvqIl3LhUmC_ZmMCKqj_XbccyOjCtaax9AyZ6MPrUvuyZ8mqVBZA0sEl5DwW39R0ph-YkCiBvpS6V2z8iyqOT3j2wU7tKK9WpE/s1600/close_up_spatter_painted_forest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEKyfZrgcMC0VMCegw2bh3OHQf27mEgpQjZGDOznWmKEvqIl3LhUmC_ZmMCKqj_XbccyOjCtaax9AyZ6MPrUvuyZ8mqVBZA0sEl5DwW39R0ph-YkCiBvpS6V2z8iyqOT3j2wU7tKK9WpE/s1600/close_up_spatter_painted_forest.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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To make it look snowy, I used spatter paint, with a toothbrush, brushing it over a plastic needlepoint canvas --<br />
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The tempera paint I used needed to be watered down to make it fairly thin, so it would spatter through the holes more easily. However, I did find that the holes tended to clog up with paint, and when there were a lot of clogs it worked really well to just blow the paint out (bending down close to the plastic mesh and blowing fairly hard).<br />
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Using the plastic needlepoint canvas was much less messy than if I had just flicked the paint off the toothbrush, as it directed the spatters to go directly below the canvas. So I was excited to see how well this method worked :)<br />
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Now back to making the trees . . .<br />
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The first step is to cut a long strip of paper; I tried out some different sizes, that's how I got some of the different trees in the photo above. Those ones were cut using strips of regular size paper (colored typing paper, construction paper), in different widths. I also experimented by cutting some really big ones, using strips from large size construction paper. <br />
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As you can see, after the folding, cutting, and painting was completed, these large trees stood up more successfully when the center one was folded out, as in the picture above . . .</div>
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When making a group of paper trees, the way to fold the paper is just like when cutting a paper doll chain, or making a paper fan -- it is an accordion fold. Look closely at the top photo of small trees, to see how this looks; you have to be sure to start cutting on an outside edge, not on a folded edge. </div>
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When doing this project with kids, I made a pencil mark for where their first fold should be, and they took it from there . . . they did the folding, then I drew a pencil line in the shape of a zig-zaggy evergreen, along one end piece, and they did the cutting. It was kind of hard to cut through many layers of construction paper, so sometimes help was needed.</div>
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This did turn out to be a really fun project-- there is an exciting "surprise" when you undo the folded and cut paper and see how there is now a whole set of trees! And adding spatter paint was another hugely fun activity . . .</div>
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Maybe you'd like to make a winter trees paper forest of your own; if so, try using this accordion fold technique!</div>
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What other accordion fold crafts have you tried? How did they turn out? Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-90820467284135035162014-12-27T18:18:00.001-08:002014-12-27T18:27:48.830-08:00Make Big Paper Bugs -- FREE pattern!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh31vR_O45JQu8DvTv5Gb4UFTXyvgg9QKj9CzYChPThyVb-pflmo-m1N2MU2ElKkokPsO7_AWKv3Mt_R1mmH9EXZ9jVA4rlGdbN7DFkXaSU1QYozWNLgnxaITtDdB9x1aE1R-1P4xsTqxs/s1600/800pxpaper_beetle_3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh31vR_O45JQu8DvTv5Gb4UFTXyvgg9QKj9CzYChPThyVb-pflmo-m1N2MU2ElKkokPsO7_AWKv3Mt_R1mmH9EXZ9jVA4rlGdbN7DFkXaSU1QYozWNLgnxaITtDdB9x1aE1R-1P4xsTqxs/s1600/800pxpaper_beetle_3.png" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Making BIG paper bugs was a recent project . . . I did this with a class of first graders. They had been studying insects, so putting paper bugs together by using three insect parts (head, thorax, abdomen) plus legs and antennae fit right in, and helped to reinforce what they'd been learning.<br />
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It was great to see the variety in colors and insect types of the resulting big paper bugs . . .</div>
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Also, I was glad that the pattern pieces I'd come up with worked so well, and wanted to make the paper bug pattern available to others. So here it is! The pattern pieces are in a short PDF ebook called <i>Paper Insects Project</i>, and it is up as a freebie on the Gentle Shepherd educational materials website: </div>
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<a href="http://www.gentleshepcurr.com/paper-insects-project.html">http://www.gentleshepcurr.com/paper-insects-project.html</a></div>
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Please feel free to share this link with others who may like to have a ready-to-go pattern for making HUGE paper insects :)</div>
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Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-68827688296062974662014-12-08T14:08:00.000-08:002014-12-08T14:21:15.922-08:00Van Gogh - style art pictures!Van Gogh used a lot of tiny dash lines in many of his paintings. So using this technique, I made some Van Gogh-style pictures.<br />
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First, a sketch --<br />
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Then with markers, lots of little dash lines; some of them go in twirly patterns, and some are in straight lines.<br />
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Next, color crayon is added -- to put in some more color flecks and shading.<br />
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Here is another set using felt pen first, then crayon added in:<br />
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This is a pretty easy technique, and the pictures turned out so nice; kids could easily use this method to make some beautiful impressionist-style artwork!Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-48049007969769670992014-10-15T10:40:00.003-07:002014-10-15T11:21:37.174-07:00Apple Mosaic with Paper SquaresLast Friday I was helping a group a kids make apple mosaics. This was a project the kids really enjoyed; they were around age 6, and I heard several of them say, "This is fun!" as they were working on it.<br />
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My part was to bring all the supplies, and some finished examples. I also used pencil to draw an apple shape on the papers beforehand, so all they would need to do was glue on the paper squares (our time was limited, but if you have the time, drawing the apple shape could be an extra step and some kids would probably like drawing their own or using a template to trace around).<br />
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The supplies:<br />
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<b>colored paper for a background,</b> cut to the small size we wanted (about 7' x 8 1/2"). I offered the kids a choice between four colors-- light blue, dark blue, yellow, and pink. I was kind of surprised when every single girl wanted pink . . . so most of my pink supply was depleted. The boys mostly chose blue, though one brave fellow decided on yellow.<br />
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<b>glue and some small plates</b> to put it on, and <b>cottons swabs</b> to use in applying the glue.<br />
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<b>paper squares</b>, in various shades of red, pink, and orange-- I did have a small amount of these precut, but mostly just had long narrow strips (cut with a paper cutter) and went around cutting these off into squares with a <b>pair of scissors</b>, to replenish the squares as needed.<br />
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some long strips of <b>brown paper</b> (even more narrow) for cutting the apple stems-- I saved this for near the end, when kids were almost finished with their mosaics.<br />
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Here is what a finished mosaic looks like:<br />
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One thing I did to make some different shades of colors for the squares was to use paint (tempera and also watercolor) and paint some cardstock with reddish paint. This also gave an interesting texture to some of the pieces-- because there were brush stroke lines. It also gave more variation in the color among the squares. Watercolor paint gave me pinkish-red shades; the tempera paint I used was reddish-orange. <br />
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In the sample above, some of the squares were cut into rectangles and triangles, to better fit in along the lines.<br />
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An apple is a great subject for a fall mosaic, because apples are harvested in fall, and it is a simple roundish shape. I think this could be also be very easily done for pumpkins or jack-o-lanterns.<br />
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If you'd like to see some more mosaic ideas, using all kinds of materials, there is an assortment here on this Pinterest mosaics board:<br />
<a href="http://%20www.pinterest.com/weavings/mosaics/" target="_blank">http:// www.pinterest.com/weavings/mosaics/</a>.Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-59062813458965816722014-10-09T16:17:00.000-07:002014-12-08T14:09:22.081-08:00Dragon . . . Fly<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">What? Do dragons fly? Well, maybe some of them do . . . </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">But this is actually a compound word, for beginning writers to copy (writing in the space below the letters) when they are beginning to learn to write -- all in capital letters. </span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">This page is from <i>Easy Peasy Penmanship</i>, an ebook with 141 different printable pages, all in capital letters. Children who are 4-5 years old are usually ready to start with these kind of penmanship pages.<br /><br />You can see some samples of other pages from this ebook at<a href="http://www.gentleshepcurr.com/easy-peasy-penmanship.html" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.gentleshepcurr.com/easy-peasy-penmanship.html</a></span>Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-91534580716628564632014-09-25T16:16:00.001-07:002014-12-08T14:09:46.038-08:00Word Box Writing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Word Box Writing . . .</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">The way this works, there are six words in a box, that are kind of related -- for example, "cactus, desert, sand, water, lizard, prickly." Below the word box are some lines for writing, to write 4 sentences using all</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"> six words.<br /><br />This takes some thinking! You can't just write one sentence with each word; some of the sentences will have to have more than one. . .<br /><br />So what is the purpose of all this?<br /><br />Well, number one is to have some fun doing writing.<br />Then also, there is the thinking part . . . and kids might like to use the words in the box as story starters, sometimes.<br /><br />Would you like to see what these printable work pages look like? Take a look here: <a href="http://www.gentleshepcurr.com/word-box-writing.html" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.gentleshepcurr.com/word-box-writing.html</a></span>Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-7167432200919545402014-09-09T14:05:00.003-07:002014-09-09T14:11:02.221-07:00the Creation Story -- in felt!This past couple of weeks I've been working on sewing some felt pieces for a "Creation Story" felt set, to use in kids' church.<br />
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Here are some pictures:<br />
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In this one, day four is represented (light, the sky, land and sea, plants, and sun and moon and stars have been created).<br />
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Here is day 5: birds and sea creatures, fish<br />
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And day 6 part one: land animals<br />
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Adam and Eve have some skins on . . . this is getting a little bit ahead in the story, but oh, well . . .<br />
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Here is a close-up picture with people and animals together (this time they are on a brown rug, instead of a blue felt board):<br />
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For Adam and Eve, I used the <a href="http://gentleshepherdweavings.blogspot.com/2012/09/cookie-people.html" target="_blank">"cookie people"- shaped patterns</a> from <i>Fuzzle Family Felt </i>pattern set, available from either <a href="http://www.gentleshepcurr.com/toysgames.html" target="_blank">Gentle Shepherd</a> or <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/fuzzlemania" target="_blank">Fuzzlemania</a>. The tree shown in the earlier Adam and Eve picture is from that set, too.<br />
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This creation felt set is bright and colorful, and the pieces are easy to handle (most things are sewn with a double layer of felt so they are sturdy and can be played with off the felt board, too). It was a joy to make this set-- and it came together pretty quickly because I already had a lot of sewn animals in my felt toys inventory-- the only ones I needed to sew were the fish and birds and dinosaur. The piece that took the longest to make was the bright green tree with all the parts hanging down. It is an interesting tree to look at, though-- I think it is worth the extra time.<br />
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Have you ever wanted to make a Bible story felt set? I hope these pictures give you some ideas. The story of Creation is a fun one for kids to help tell, too (putting up the pieces either with or for you).<br />
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Day 6 part 2: people<br />
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<br />Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5885457630216980329.post-88685504439326898262014-08-27T18:47:00.002-07:002014-08-27T19:23:17.994-07:00Touch Typing -- A Simple System, with Stories . . .When I learned to type, many years ago, it was in a high school typing class. We typed for almost 40 min every day, using the now antique electric typewriter (at the time it was exciting new technology). The things we typed were rows and rows of all kinds of phrases and sentences. The only one that sticks in my mind now is the saying, "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country." Such was touch typing in the '70's . . . and it served me very well. Because I had memorized the finger positions, I could type fairly quickly and even with my eyes closed (or while looking at what was being typed-- which was a useful skill).<br />
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When my kids learned to type, starting in the '90's, instead of using a typewriter they used a word processor. This allowed for all kinds of fancy and wonderful things-- you could easily erase (delete) what you'd already typed-- no need to use a correction ribbon or White-Out. . . and you could rearrange words, sentences, paragraphs . . . without having to type the whole thing again! This was almost magical, and truly a timesaver, though my kids never knew what they were getting out of having to do.<br />
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They used computer software to learn and practice their typing skills. I remember some fun games they had, with letters falling down from the sky and other strange things. For the typing lessons themselves, the kids typed lots of mostly nonsense syllables, at least in the beginning. Later on, they got to have some words and much later on, some sentences.<br />
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My oldest child thrived on competition, and the falling letters games were plenty enough to help her perfect her speed and accuracy. This software for beginning typing had worked fine for her, and we expected to continue with it. When the next child started his learning process, I decided to try out the program myself, to see what it was like. I disliked making assignments for things I wasn't very familar with. So I sat down to type the beginning lessons-- row after row of nonsense syllables, usually in groups of 3 or 4 letters. It might be because I already knew how to type that I found this process intolerably tedious and dull, but at any rate my reaction sparked a thought; why not make typing lessons that use actual words and sentences . . . maybe even an entertaining story, early on in the process?<br />
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So I started making lessons, and my second child switched to using them. He had 7 more siblings who would eventually go through the material, and in the process would help me discover a few things that needed changing. My husband taught technology at a public school, and found that his middle school students enjoyed these short lessons, too-- each one took only about 10 min, and within half a school year the entire course could be completed.<br />
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Later on, I created an ebook with these typing lessons, and began offering it online, through a new business we were starting, Gentle Shepherd. And it is still available there, today . . . if you'd like to learn more about this touch typing course, please visit the <a href="http://www.gentleshepcurr.com/typing.html" target="_blank">"Typing" page on Gentle Shepherd's website</a>.<br />
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Dianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06158613025711059236noreply@blogger.com0