Kids Crafts - Moving Hand & Mask

You may have noticed that Boogs and I have not been doing very many crafts lately. He has "not been in the mood" to do anything that involved paint, crayons, glue, scissors, etc. Last week, we had some friends over and I had set up the supplies for a really cool craft - making a hand with bendable fingers. Before we began this craft, we talked a little bit about how muscles tug on your tendons to make your fingers contract. Our two friends were really excited about making it. Boogs told me I could trace his hand but he did not want to do anything else with it. He did watch and make comments while we worked on it. Once the hand was complete, Boogs was all over it. I found directions for making this craft here on De Tout Et De Rien. It is so much fun to pull the strings and watch the fingers curl. It looks just a touch creepy.

Today, out of the blue, Boogs said, "I really want to do some crafts today. What would you suggest? I will do anything you can think of." Hmmm... maybe being back in school made him want to work on something with me during the reduced time we have to spend together. I tried to think of something he would enjoy and came up with Battle Card Face Masks. Boogs and several of his school friends began making Battle Cards in kindergarten. They are hand drawn cards of creatures with special powers. He has been talking about them all week. So, I pulled out a bunch of paint, a couple of cardstock masks and we began painting.

I don't fully understand the rules to Battle Cards. Boogs asked me what power my Battle Mask had. I told him it had sun power. He said, "It can not have sun power because you did not put any yellow on it. The green part looks like a reptile so it can't be anything with hot because reptiles are cold-blooded." Boogs mask has lots of powers because he put in blue (water), brown (earth), orange (wind), and red (hot lava). Apparently, my mask lost the battle before the battle even began.

Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! 

Lunches August 23rd - 31st

Boogs' lunches are inspired by the books we read at bedtime the previous evening. Each night, Boogs reads one book to me and I read a book or a chapter of a book to him. I usually post his lunches once a week. Click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post to see lunches from previous weeks.

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
Boogs took this lunch to school for his first day of 1st grade. We love this sweet book about a raccoon who is nervous about going to school. The raccoon mother showed little Chester that he can carry her love with him wherever he goes. In the Laptop Lunchbox: Make your own pizza inspired by Momables. Heart-shaped flat bread, pizza sauce, shredded cheese, heart-shaped pepperonis, 1st grade written on a marshmallow, salad with cucumber & tomato hearts, and plums with a strawberry heart.

originally posted Monday

Mrs. Watson Wants Your Teeth by Alison McGhee
On the first day of 1st grade, a little girl learns that her teacher is a "300-year-old alien who steals baby teeth from her students". She knows this is true because a 2nd grader filled her in about Mrs. Watson.The little girl is so freaked out that she spends the entire day keeping her mouth closed to protect her teeth. Boogs laughed all the way through this book. There are so many unusual things going on in the illustrations. We had to carefully study each and every page to discover all of the hilarious happenings. In the ELB lunchbox: pb&j sandwich ball girl covering her mouth with crust hands, Babybel tooth, collection of teeth pistachios, Chex Mix, berries, and salad.   

When Charlie McButton Lost Power by Suzanne Collins
Boogs picked this book out at the library because of the crazy illustration on the cover. I told Boogs the boy in this story reminds me a little bit of him. He did not agree. Charlie McButton practically looses his mind when a thunderstorm knocks out all of the power to his house. Charlie is addicted to electronic games. He even tries to steal his little sister's batteries to get a game fix. By the end of the story, Charlie realizes that he can survive and have fun without being plugged-in. Boogs and I kept pretty busy during the summer, but sometimes the 14 hour days seemed a tiny bit long. So, I gave in to letting Boogs plug-in more than I should have. Now that school is in session, we are back down to 30 minutes of screen time a day. In the Laptop Lunchbox: four ham & cheese mini sandwiches representing wii/Netflix/computer games/other electronics with a "no" symbol made of cheese, an orange sun for the joy of sunshine days, blueberries for Charlie's dark mood, yogurt, and a crazed cucumber Charlie with carrot hair and a screaming tomato mouth.

Click Magazine: Working On A Farm

Boogs loves getting mail. For Christmas, he received a year's subscription to Click Magazine. The September 2012 issue is all about farms. Boogs wanted to read the entire magazine as soon as we got home from the mailbox. He asked that his lunch include sheep, grass, and the word click. In the ELB lunchbox: Nutella & pb sheep sandwich, "CLICK" cut out of cheese, orange slices, animals picks with tomato/cucumber and  salami/cheese, and a salad under the pig and cow.

Nibble Nibble by Margaret Wise Brown
Boogs has been fascinated with rabbits since we pet sit my niece's rabbit during the summer. So, I have been checking out quite a few books and stories about rabbits. Nibble Nibble is a book of five poems about rabbits. The first poem began "Bunnies zip and bunnies zoom bunnies sometimes sleep till noon." Boogs had to disagree with that statement. He said he never once caught Skyler sleeping. Boogs enjoyed all of the poems and the beautiful illustrations. In the ELB lunchbox: boiled egg bunny with a dark fur patch around his eye like Skyler, cheese bunny head, sesame sticks rabbit food, carrots with ranch dressing, green apple with "carrot", and Zbar.

 Here are a couple of pictures of Boogs with Skyler.

Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! If you want to see more book inspired lunches, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post or go to My Story Themed Lunches board on Pinterest. I would love for you to leave a comment to let me know you stopped by.

Kickball

Boogs' YMCA Kickball season ended this past weekend. I was truly surprised at how much fun he had playing kickball. He said he would play on a kickball team again.

Boogs' favorite part was of course the end of season party. He got a medal and a popsicle. I could not tell which of the two he was happier about receiving. 

One Lovely Blog and Very Inspiring Blogger Award

My blog received the One Lovely Blog and Very Inspiring Blogger Award from Bent On Better Lunches. I am very honored that Cristi would pass this award on to me. I started making my son's story themed lunches last year when he entered kindergarten. Cristi and her blog have been a tremendous source of inspiration and support. Thank you, Cristi!

This is how the award works:

• Thank the person who nominated you and link back to them in your post.
• Share 7 things about yourself.
• Nominate 15 bloggers you admire.
• Leave a comment on each of their blogs letting them know they have been nominated. 

7 Things About Me:

1. I am married to an alien - legally registered, of course. My husband is Canadian. We met on Match.com twelve years ago. He is definitely my match.

2. My favorite weird and tasty snack - saltine crackers topped with a slice of cheddar cheese and a pickle. 

3. I am a recovering pack rat, not a hoarder. Moving last year was the best thing for getting me to let go of so much stuff that I was keeping "just in case".

4. I grew up in a house where people from all over the world would stay for a few days to a couple of years - exchange students, teachers, missionaries, university students, and others.

5. I have a Master's Degree in Elementary Education. I love working with kids,  love kid's crafts and children's books.

6. Ninety percent of my wardrobe consists of Old Navy, solid colored t-shirts.

7. One of my favorite songs is Good Mother by Jann Arden. 

                                ...feet on ground, 

                                heart in hand, 

                                facing forward be yourself, 

                                just be yourself!

15 Blogs I Admire (in no particular order)

JDaniel4's Mom

Living Life Intentionally

No Time For Flash Cards

Gigglegum

Stamp-n-Design with Lynn Pratt

The Brooding Hen

Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational 

Preschool Powol Packets

Keeley McGuire 

Stamping T!

Counting Coconuts 

Kitchen Fun With My 3 Sons 

C. Beth Blog.

Diana Rambles

The Bloggess

 

I chose these blogs because I connect with and admire their creativity, attitude, voice, and dedication to their families/craft. Thank you, ladies, for being such an inspiration. 

First Day of 1st Grade

Boogs headed off to 1st Grade this morning. I think I was more nervous about it than he was. I am going to miss my boy! Our morning ran smoothly. Boogs woke up at 5:55. I am so glad that I don't have to wake him up in the mornings during the school year. (During the summer, I wish he would sleep in until at least 7 a.m.)

I can't believe he has gotten so big!

He said, "Just take the picture real quick."

Just like last year's first day of school lunch, today's lunch was inspired by The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn.

Boogs said he had a good day at school but could not think of a single thing to tell me about his day. Little stinker. I asked a couple of different ways and he gave me a silly smirk and said, "Nunya! That is all you will get out of me." Hmmmmm... maybe it hasn't been such a good idea to tell him 'Nunya', as in nun ya business, when I am discussing grown-up things with his dad.  Oh well. Later, he let me know that he had a good day.

Last year after his first day of kindergarten, we went to the bookstore and Boogs got to choose a book. We did that again this year. Overall, Boogs had a great start to 1st Grade!

Lunches August 20th - 24th

Boogs' lunches are inspired by the books we read at bedtime the previous evening. Each night, Boogs reads one book to me and I read a book or a chapter of a book to him. I usually post his lunches once a week. Click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post to see lunches from previous weeks. 

This was the last week of summer for us before Boogs starts 1st Grade. We had a very busy and active week. So I don't have "lunches" this week, just one little story themed lunch. We did read other books together this week and I did feed Boogs lunch every day. Each evening, Boogs read Look! I Can Tie My Shoes! by Susan Hood. While reading this book, Boogs followed the steps and has learned how to tie his new school shoes. I will admit that I have been a lazy mom and have put off teaching Boogs this skill. It has just been easier to buy shoes with velcro. When I first checked out this library book, I thought Boogs would think it was too young for him. He was very interested in reading it over and over and over while he practiced tying his shoes. In the ELB lunchbox - pb&j Boogs with Babybel cheese head wearing carrot sneakers, "A" letter cookie for his hard work, pistachio nuts, raisins, blueberries, and salad.

I bought these really cool dual-colored shoelaces from Tying Is A Snap. They made it so easy for Boogs to figure out which part of the shoelace to wrap and what to pull through. Boogs loved being able to perfectly match the shoelace colors to his new "tying shoes". The laces were delivered within four days of my on-line order.

SWEET SUCCESS!

Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! If you want to see more book inspired lunches, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post or go to My Story Themed Lunches board on Pinterest. I would love for you to leave a comment to let me know you stopped by.

Family Fun at Main Event

Rain, thunderstorms, and my husband's work schedule cancelled our planned trip to Fiesta Texas over the weekend. So instead, we spent a few hours at Main Event. We arrived at 9:30 in the morning and the place was perfectly empty. 

 

Glow-in-the-dark Golf Course

My camera flash really lit the room.
It was difficult to see what you were doing.

Alien Stomp challenge - Boogs held his ears the entire time.

 

Boogs started out bowling with the ramp.

Then he decided it was more fun to bowl without it.

 

4-D Cosmic Coaster - the seat rocked and twisted along
with the 3D video of a super duper rollercoaster ride.

We had a lot of fun at Main Event. I think I enjoyed the Laser Tag game the most. The vest weighed almost as much as Boogs does, but he enjoyed it anyway. Family time is so precious for us right now. My husband started a new job a couple of months ago that is keeping him very busy! 

Austin Nature and Science Center

A few times a year, Boogs and I head over to the Austin Nature and Science Center. Boogs was fascinated with the plexiglass beehive. Bees are able to fly in from outside through a small tube. We watched the bees for almost half an hour.

We spent a bit of time exploring inside the center before heading outside.

Weighing items

Checking out the animals

Investigating the collections of natural objects

Boogs really enjoys the outside areas of the center, especially the water areas. I ALWAYS bring a dry set of clothes because I know he will fall in the water. When he fell in the water this time, he looked at me with a freaked out expression on his face. I told him not to worry and that I had extra clothes. I said, "I had predicted that you would fall in." He then wandered around doing all sorts of goofy things just so he could ask, "Well, did you predict that too, Momma?" 

Boogs always like to hang out and watch the bobcat.

Wonder if he will fall in?

He only fell in from the waist down. It was cool and refreshing.

We had a fun time exploring the center for a few hours.