Crafting and Tumbling.....

I've been using Tumblr to help me keep track of some of the great ideas I find online. You can check out my Tumblr page here: http://childcentralstation.tumblr.com/

I have one more big project to finish for my class, otherwise life is starting to slow down enough to blog again :).

Here are a few photos of some of our recent art/craft endeavors.....

Dane is super excited about being in the Wolf Pack for Cub Scouts. We decided to make a wolf t-shirt. I found a wolf pattern on one of the boy scout sites, enlarged it and made a plastic stencil. After I used silver paint with the stencil, Dane colored it in with fabric markers.

Then we Tie Dyed the shirt with all kinds of great colors....

I finished it off with a second coat of sliver paint and Dane added another coat of fabric marker.

We also put his name on the back:

Wintery weather has started to arrive, and I needed to whip up a couple of new pairs of mittens! Dane's new coat is orange, gray, and black....

I've been itching to try out some of the felt food patterns I found online awhile back..... I made a couple of things, but hope that I will find/make time for a lot more soon! I'd love to replace our plastic food in the play kitchen with wooden and fabric food instead. Here is the start:

I decided that my little cook's cannot be without a chef's hat.... So, I whipped up one of those too. I looked at a few tutorials, but ended up making my own pattern:

I have a few other projects for the sewing machine, but Dane has taken over my sewing machine! He wanted to learn how to sew, and he picked it up quickly! His first project was a dinosaur pillow case:

He decided that he likes free form sewing better and opted to make a piece of felt pizza:

There will be plenty of time for learning how to cut and follow patterns, and I know he will learn all kinds of techniques as he works and explores on his own!

I have a few more things to share, but I'll save some for later this week!

Easter Egg Caterpillars!

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A Few Ideas With Marker Caps (As Promised)

Yesterday, I hope I convinced you not to throw away your markers that "don't work." Today, I will share with you a few ideas for what to do with all of the caps. The possibilities are nearly endless, but here are a few of our recent creations: 1) A Leprechaun/Fairy Ladder/Rope Ladder: 2) #1 if not permanently secured can also double as a rope bridge: 3) #1/#2 can also be made into a train track for your homemade trains :). (No photo available) 4) You can use them as beads for a necklace: 5) You could make them into a wind chime. (No photo available). 6. You can use them as small manipulatives to count, sort, and make patterns with. (No photo available). 7) You could use them as playing pieces in your own homemade board game. (No photo available). 8) You could put them on a wire and glue them in place to make a twirling whirly-gig. 9) You could top them with a lid from a milk jug to make tiny tables or toadstools. 10) You could make them...

My friend died

I learned a hell of a lot from Dan Hodgins. He was mentor, a friend, and a "bone shaker" for many of us in the field of Early Childhood Education. He was and will always be a champion for children, and protector of childhood. I have so many great memories of time spent with him, it just doesn't seem like we had enough time. Dan died this past Saturday. Interestingly enough, Dan and I talked about death quite a bit. It is one of those topics that isn't talked about all that much in our field, but is super important. All living things eat, all living things poop, and all living things die. Dan and I recorded a podcast for awhile called "Shaking Bones." Dan was always shaking bones, even before I met him. To say I was honored to be asked to be his co-host would be putting it lightly. I loved recording with him. He was never afraid to touch on topics that were a bit edgy, or issues that sometimes weren't talked about much at all. We even...

Ms. Amy's Blog @Child Central Station

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