Raising the Next Generation of Pilots

We just finished up a unit called “Flying Transportation” this past week. This was a theme I obviously enjoyed very much. The kids already love anything having to do with airplanes, and it was fun to see them learn about several other ways to fly through the sky. I especially enjoyed finding ways to explain how planes fly, how the different parts of the airport function, and what the pilots do-- all on a 3-year old level. Of course, the art was fun, too. We made an airplane, a parachute, a helicopter, and a hot-air balloon.

We made the airplane with a clothespin, 2 popsicle sticks, and a few pieces of paper. Each child cut out their cloud and glued it to their paper. Then they colored the popsicle stick wings. They glued one wing to the paper, then glued the clothespin on top, then attached the other wing. The last step was to glue the tail to the back of the clothespin. 

We used marble-painting to make the hot-air balloon. I cut out the balloons ahead of time, and then each child had a turn to put their balloon into a shallow tub. I splattered the paint on the paper, then they tilted the tub back and forth, side to side, to make the marbles roll through the paint several times. After they were done painting, they glued on the paper “ropes” and basket. Of all the projects we did this week, it seemed they enjoyed this one the most. 

Snow Days

For our first week back at school our theme was Snow, which was fitting considering we came close to having a snow day our first day! This theme was particularly fun for me because it presented so many opportunities to make Art a sensory experience for the kids. We used puffy paint, sponge-paint with stencils, we explored vertical drips with glue, and we used several textures to create our snowmen. I wanted to share two of my favorite (and more importantly, two of the kids' favorite) art projects from this week.

The first one was “Snow Tracks”, inspired by the book The Snowy Day.

For this project, I mixed up puffy paint (1 part glue, 1 part shaving cream, and just a tad of white tempera). The kids painted their entire paper with the paint first. Then I had a bowl full of objects for them to drag through their “snow” to create different shapes and textures, like combs, golf tees, and straws. They had free reign over how they wanted to use each object. What was fun was seeing how differently they all used the objects.

The second project we did that I loved was “Snowflake”.

This was a practice in understanding stenciling, a concept which is tough for 3-year olds to get. Many of them painted on the stencil, expecting that to be their final product. It took quite a bit of prodding to get them to paint around the edges of the stencil, but it was a great exercise. For this project I created simple 6-armed stencils with construction paper which I “laminated” in masking tape so they wouldn't get too soggy after being used by 35 kids! Then I let each child choose where they wanted me to place 6 small pieces of masking tape to secure the stencil-- this made each snowflake (proverbially) unique. Then the kids used sponge brushes to paint in blue, white, and purple. They loved getting to mix up the colors, and getting to paint with something other than a brush.

I hope these are useful ideas for your winter plans, either at school or at home with the tiny humans!

(Belated) Christmas How-To

This Christmas I gave homemade hot chocolate for the second year. Last year it seemed to be a hit, so I decided to do it again, but I also wanted to step it up a notch. So I added very cute (and yummy) peppermint marshmallows!

This was probably one of the easiest homemade gifts I've ever given, but that doesn't mean it wasn't also delicious (I may have taste-tested one or four times...) If you want to give it a try, here's what you'll need:

An empty glass jar (I just saved my pasta jars, washed them, and used Goo-Gone to get rid of the sticky label stuff on the outside)

1 cup baking cocoa

1 cup sugar

1 cup powdered milk

½ tsp salt

Jumbo marshmallows (I put 4-6 in each bag)

chocolate chips for melting

crushed peppermint candies

To make the cocoa I just layered the powder ingredients in the glass jar. I glued cute paper to the lid to make it festive and attached the recipe:

“Add 1 cup hot water to 1/3 cup mix”

If you're like me you can add ½ cup mix.

To make the marshmallows, I melted the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments to make sure it didn't burn. Then I rolled a marshmallow in the chocolate, and then rolled it in the crushed peppermints. I set the marshmallows on a chilled plate to set, then packed them in these handy-dandy treat bags I found on sale!

The end result was very cute:

Sip-tastic!

Here is another simple project I did to perk up the apartment: a coffee/drink station!

I had seen a few ideas on Pinterest of how to set up a station like this, so I used what I had. The shelf unit is from Target; I got it in Chicago to add a little counter space to my 30 sq. ft kitchen. Now it sits just outside the kitchen here in Tulsa, next to the small dining nook. There are hooks on the left of the shelf unit that I use to hang mugs, and there is also a small box of mugs on the middle shelf. The bottom shelf is where I store pitchers and our tiny stock of rum and scotch. The top shelf houses the coffee maker, as well as a small basket with a kitchen towel (for spills) and our coffee. It's a great way to free up space in the kitchen.

To hang over the shelf unit, I found a small knick-knack shelf at a thrift store and painted it with acrylic paint. I replaced the original wooden knobs with cute vintage-y ones from Hobby Lobby. To redo the whole shelf cost $8. I found the “G” at Michael's and just painted it a bright color with acrylic paint, and I cross-stitched the caption in the frame, which I also painted. The saying says “C is for Coffee”-- simple, cute, and cozy. 

What I aimed for with this station was a balance between storage and appearance. We have a much larger kitchen here than we did in Chicago, but counter and cabinet space is still precious, so this was a great way to open up the storage a bit more. Every little bit helps me feel closer to living in a finished, comfortable home!

It Has Great Bones

Moving to Tulsa from Chicago presented a slue of logistical and practical challenges, the largest one being a lack of furniture. Over the last few months, Eric and I have slowly been accumulating pieces in order to fill the apartment and allow us to stop living out of boxes (we're down to 2!) My goal was to find cute furniture for as little cost as possible; in other words, I knew I was going to be hunting through consignment stores and painting things myself. Here is one piece that I'm particularly proud of:

I found this little accent table at a consignment shop in town for $20. What I liked about it most was the simple finish it had when I bought it (easy to paint) and the great design of the legs. I like having different shapes and textures throughout the apartment, and the curved legs and rounded surfaces helped to balance out the straight edges of other pieces in the living room.

To redo this piece, I started by lightly sanding each shelf. Then I applied two coats of Zinnser Primer. This stuff sticks to everything, but I found that it sticks best after a piece has been sanded. I didn't have to sand anything very thoroughly, just enough to put a little scrape on the surface. 

Then I used Valspar paint for the color, and I sealed it all with 3 coats of Poly-crylic. Here is the finished product:

The wreath is a nice touch. My future sister-in-law made it for me for my birthday, and the pillow is from my other future sister-in-law. They know the way to my heart-- Sooner pride! You can check out their business page here.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed seeing the step-by-step on this piece. It was VERY easy to do and pretty inexpensive. Now go forth and conquer furniture challenges of your own!

Pumpkins for Teachers!

Because I love my job, I want to start sharing what I do. I teach Art in the 3-year old “Pod” at my school. I probably should have figured out that this was my calling much sooner than I did, considering that I taught preschool art several times in several settings since the age of 12. It only took me 11 more years to realize there was a reason I kept coming back to it! One thing that has helped me get a solid footing has been having access to online resources. I have found so many ideas for art projects (which usually have to be tailored to our specific age and/or theme), centers, discussions, and general ways to explain or explore concepts by simply looking online. It's fun to finally be able to contribute to that pool of information. Here goes:

We recently did a unit on Pumpkins at school in the 3-year old group. As an art teacher, it was a bit challenging to find several different projects focused on the same thing. It would have been one thing to have Halloween as the theme, but with such as specific theme, I had to really reach for some variety.

I wanted to share one project that went over really well with the kids. It's very simple but gave them cutting, gluing, and puzzle practice, as well as some sensory exploration.

The kids cut out their pumpkin shape first, on the fold with guidelines. Then they cut the pumpkin into three strips using guidelines I drew on the pumpkin. The next step was to glue their pieces onto a background page in the right order. Then they got to do the fun part-- they glued pumpkin seeds onto their pumpkin!

The kids really enjoyed using real seeds (that I had dyed with Liquid Watercolor) for their pumpkins. It added texture and reality to an otherwise simple project.

Ta-da!

Keeping it Simple

Eric and I finally got a Sam's membership. It sounds good doesn't it?

Nope. Not good. AMAZING. Let me tell you why.

I bought the most ginormous pork chops at Sam's. 9 chops, about 2 inches thick, for $15! I couldn't believe it. We fixed our first batch the other night and they were just as good as I imagined, although most of that was due to the talented chef cooking them (thanks, Eric!). We had a wonderful dinner, healthy and flavorful, and it was so easy!

First Eric seasoned the chops with a pork rub we got in Albuquerque from a local vender. It was spicy and sweet, almost apple-y. In other words, I couldn't stop drooling. Then he tossed them on the grill pan for a few minutes until both sides and the edges were golden brown. They baked the rest of the time. Absolutely delicious. To go with our pork, we heated up some broccoli, garlic mashed potatoes (just boiled, added butter and garlic powder), and-- here's the real treat-- sauteed mushrooms and onions in red wine.

Sauteed mushrooms are one of those side dishes that instantly make a meal seem fancy. They are so quick and easy and there are several different ways to go. I usually opt for either red wine with onions, or white wine with garlic and lemon. To make the red wine and onion version, we just tossed about 2 cups of sliced mushrooms in a pan with olive oil, over medium heat. I added a clove of chopped garlic, and about 2 slices of onions that had then been quartered. I let those simmer for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms had released their liquid. At this point I added about ¼ to ½ a cup of red wine and let the mushrooms simmer until all the liquid had cooked down. 

We served the mushrooms over the chops and proceeded to enter food nirvana.