tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47679138196955871882024-03-13T10:38:52.617-07:00The Handley HomeAdventures in parenting, homeschooling, fostering, tinkering, traveling, crafting and more.Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.comBlogger309125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-24043536476994710972017-06-18T13:20:00.000-07:002017-06-18T13:30:21.379-07:00Game Review: Battle Sheep versus Battleship<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today we played Battle Sheep and then played Battleship to have a battle combo!</div>
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In Battle Sheep you control stacks of sheep and try to get as many sheep in their own pasture.<br />
<b>Mom thinks Battle Sheep is a very good game for every family to own.</b></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;">Battle Sheep:</b></div>
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<b>Matias gives it: 9/10</b></div>
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<b>Mom gives it: 10/10</b></div>
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<b>Results: Mom won best of 3</b></div>
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In Battleship you call out coordinates and try to sink all 5 of your opponent's ships before they sink yours!</div>
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<b>Battleship:</b></div>
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<b>Matias gives it: 9/10</b></div>
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<b>Mom gives it: 8/10</b></div>
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<b>Results: Tie 1-1</b></div>
Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-49867116937789701462017-06-18T13:04:00.000-07:002017-06-18T13:04:15.523-07:00Game Review: Hive<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today we played Hive: A Game Crawling with Possibilities</div>
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Hive is a 2 person game that has 5 different types of bug pieces. Just like in Chess, each piece can move in a different, specific way. The best thing about this game is that it is portable, it doesn't take very long to play (5-10 minutes), and if you like it there are game expansions you can buy: the mosquito, the ladybug and the pill bug. Overall a good game!</div>
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Matias gives it: 9.75/10<br />Helen gives it: 7/10<br />Game Results: Helen won the best of three.</h3>
Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-25034315000464712032017-06-06T09:25:00.001-07:002017-06-06T09:25:42.696-07:00Game Review: PompeiiToday we will review <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Downfall-Pompeii-Board-Game/dp/B00DGKNQEI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496765730&sr=8-1&keywords=pompeii+game">The Downfall of Pompeii</a>.<br />
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The Downfall of Pompeii is a very fun game that includes lava, escaping, and throwing people into a volcano. The COOLEST part of this game is the 3-D volcano on the board that you throw your opponent's pieces into.<br />
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This game has two halves. First you put people into the city, then the volcano erupts - BOOM - and you try to get your people OUT.<br />
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The rules in the first half of the game are a little more complicated than necessary and it is not that great, but the second half of the game is a lot more fun. You get to throw people into the volcano, and of course, you are required to scream when your guys burn up. A little violent, maybe, but fun.<br />
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Matias gives it: 9.5/10<br />Helen gives it: 7/10<br />Game Results: Matias beats Helen 18 to 16. Yea Matias!!!</h3>
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<br />Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-9645303773282291502017-06-06T09:11:00.000-07:002017-06-18T13:05:14.680-07:00Welcome to GAME REVIEWS!Welcome back to the Handley Home. Long time no see!<br />
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This Summer we've decided to play our way through ALL our board games and review them for you. As you can see, this might take us a while. We hope you enjoy the reviews!<br />
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~Helen and Matias<br />
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GAMES REVIEWED SO FAR: 2 out 68<br />
<a href="http://thehandleyhome.blogspot.com/2017/06/game-review-pompeii.html">The Downfall of Pompeii</a><br />
<a href="http://thehandleyhome.blogspot.com/2017/06/game-review-hive.html">Hive</a><br />
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<br />Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-26103212781177317002013-04-06T05:11:00.002-07:002013-04-06T05:11:35.128-07:00We've Moved!Hello! This blog has moved to a new location...in order to protect our anonymity as we begin the journey of foster care. If you would like the link to my new page, please comment below or contact me at helenhandley @ gmail.com and I would be oh-so-happy to redirect you to the right place! Thanks! HelenHelen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-70407426100312795522013-03-22T20:12:00.003-07:002013-03-22T20:12:54.198-07:00Planting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It may only be Spring in the calendar sense at the moment, but oh, we can feel it coming....</div>
<br />Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-30199164235365795822013-03-19T05:20:00.003-07:002013-03-19T18:57:29.470-07:00Angles<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Matias and Violet have been learning about angles recently. We encountered the concept while building our <a href="http://thehandleyhome.blogspot.com/2013/02/rube-goldberg-machines.html">Rube Goldberg Machines</a>. At first I thought that this was going to be a difficult concept for them, but it turns out that angles are everywhere, and they are visible and tangible, and really not that hard at all! A few things we did with angles:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So, how about those backwards < and > signs? We knew what we meant :)</td></tr>
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We discussed the difference between obtuse and acute angles (awww, isn't it so a-cute?!) Matias does taekwondo, and he has already learned to jump 90 degrees, then 180 degrees, then 270 and 360 degreee circles, so he immediately grasped that idea. I had no idea he already knew that much. Cool! We got a good workout practicing jumping those different angles- a few 360s in a row, and I was quite out of breath! I don't think there is any learning quite as solid as building a physical memory of a concept (and I will not soon forget just how far around 360 degrees is!!)</div>
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Next we pulled out the protractor and measured some angles around our house: the fireplace screen, the art drawer, the door frame, etc. The kids have been noticing angles all over the place ever since!</div>
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Then, while the little ones napped, Matias used the miter box to saw some angles into some old boards (leftover from taekwondo testing, actually). That was a BIT hit! </div>
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It just goes to show that most complex concepts can be introduced at an early age, especially if the child is eager to learn about them. Obviously, we don't care if they master the concepts, learn to measure angles perfectly, or teach formulas...we just introduce the ideas and tools and play around with them. Hopefully, in the future, they will encounter angles in a more formal way and they will say, "hey, I learned about this when I was little...this is easy!"</div>
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<br />Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-70928541784112309682013-03-15T10:02:00.000-07:002013-03-15T10:02:10.994-07:00{this moment}<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;"><a href="http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/2010/04/this-moment-5.html" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: initial;">{this moment}</a></i><em style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;"><i> </i>- A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.</em></div>
<br />Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-16009694656023458092013-03-12T05:37:00.000-07:002013-03-12T05:37:49.726-07:00Spring Thoughts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Spring is not so far off. There may be snow on the ground outside, but what better time to force some bulbs and plant a bit of grass? We thought that our little man might enjoy watching some plants grow...who knows if he's had that opportunity before...and on day two they are already popping up. Hooray for quick growing plants! We planted a few in water beads as well, just as an experiment, and they also appear to be quite happy. I am ready for Spring flowers, how about you?!Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-47261250978267668382013-03-11T06:09:00.000-07:002013-03-11T06:09:17.196-07:00Rooms!Back in January, we decided that we should swap the kids' rooms around to give the two girls who share a room the biggest room, and to make room to host children from Safe Families. Well, little did we know that we would begin hosting our first child in the middle of the process, or that things would be delayed (which we should always just assume, I suppose), but the rooms are finally done. Or done enough. So here are the before and after shots (note how Beatrice seems to sneak into pictures!):<br />
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BEFORE:</div>
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AFTER:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lego curtains, lots of room for Lego building!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2E93LJaOtN4/UT3T--pn8hI/AAAAAAAAKCg/LhPm5GjqIdQ/s1600/IMG_0416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2E93LJaOtN4/UT3T--pn8hI/AAAAAAAAKCg/LhPm5GjqIdQ/s320/IMG_0416.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very studious looking desk (which is already covered in...you guessed it...Legos)</td></tr>
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BEFORE:</div>
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AFTER:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New-to-us bunk beds (thank you!!) with lots of storage.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost completed play fort in the closet, with baby doll house underneath</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dress-up corner hidden away behind the bed.</td></tr>
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We have a few more things to finish up and hang on the wall (and the office floor to find), but we are thrilled with the new rooms and happy to get back to "normal" after all the chaos. Phew! Now are ready to host our first child (oh wait, we've had him for two weeks...glad we didn't let the madness stop us!)</div>
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Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-30779293454299007522013-03-08T10:16:00.000-08:002013-03-08T10:16:29.468-08:00Board Breaking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A little board breaking action from our last taekwondo testing. Three of us are now doing taekwondo (with Violet hoping to join us very soon). It is such an awesome family activity...we can do it together, we each work towards our own goals at our own pace, it is a great workout, a huge stress reliever, it develops focus and discipline, and it is such a positive environment. Oh yeah, and we totally get to look like ninjas. Boo yah.</div>
<br />Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-24057606190938914252013-03-05T19:24:00.000-08:002013-03-05T19:38:11.791-08:00Our Week- Learning Colors<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This week our homeschool "theme" is colors. My kiddos are 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 and 5 years old...so quite a range of knowledge and skills. I tried to plan activities that everyone could participate in on their own level, and that would provide lots of speech and motor skill practice and sensory experiences. Here are a few of the things we have done:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lgfox1_nQGU/UTazaxDRd_I/AAAAAAAAKAk/2Pz0wC5dbmo/s1600/IMG_0391.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lgfox1_nQGU/UTazaxDRd_I/AAAAAAAAKAk/2Pz0wC5dbmo/s320/IMG_0391.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We sorted Fruit Loops by color</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We strung the Fruit Loops on pipe cleaners. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B2_fU7CXQsg/UTaza-EdbzI/AAAAAAAAKAg/gjhxHM3u_-s/s1600/IMG_0396.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B2_fU7CXQsg/UTaza-EdbzI/AAAAAAAAKAg/gjhxHM3u_-s/s320/IMG_0396.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The older kids were able to make patterns.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z4zmsjkQsww/UTazbd547oI/AAAAAAAAKAs/nP-og44U878/s1600/IMG_0399.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z4zmsjkQsww/UTazbd547oI/AAAAAAAAKAs/nP-og44U878/s320/IMG_0399.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The little ones struggled to string the loops, so I strung them for them, and then they had to remove them one by one to eat. As they took them off, I said the name of the color.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Other things planned for this week:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-playing with balloons and different colors of craft foam in the bathtub</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-learning the poem "Mary had a Red Dress"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-eating rainbow colored fruits- raspberries, oranges, lemons, grapes and blueberries</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-making and eating rainbow colored jell-o</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-painting snow</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-shaking different colored plastic eggs filled with different items- trying to match up the eggs that contain the same items, and getting lots of practice saying color names</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-sorting laundry</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-using window markers to decorate the windows</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-playing with a bin of only red toys (then orange, yellow, etc)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-painting with colored shaving cream in the bathtub </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-planting bulbs and flower seeds</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Just for the older kids:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-discussing shades of colors...light, dark, pastel, etc</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-discussing synonyms</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-learning about parts of a seed and bulb</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-reading our ABC geography book and making an archipelago and atoll out of salt dough and painting it (this was so much fun!!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-board games</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-root word rummy</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">We are also doing a bit of work on the house- painting, carpeting, building a special play fort in the closet and organizing, organizing, organizing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">That's what we're up to this week! </span></div>
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<br />Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-31752309480387073352013-03-01T18:59:00.002-08:002013-03-02T06:30:03.007-08:00Our First SFFC Child is Here!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hMsKoTnCYgE/UTFg086df6I/AAAAAAAAKAU/VLqa3HF6bFY/s1600/IMG_0374.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hMsKoTnCYgE/UTFg086df6I/AAAAAAAAKAU/VLqa3HF6bFY/s400/IMG_0374.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And then there were four!</td></tr>
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As you may have guessed by my absence here, this week we started hosting our first child through the Safe Families for Children program. If you missed my first post on Safe Families, it is <a href="http://thehandleyhome.blogspot.com/2013/01/our-new-adventure-safe-families-for.html">here</a>. So far it has been quite a ride, but mostly in a good way. <br />
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Our house is in the middle of a painting-carpeting event, that includes highlights like exposed tack strips, bed frames in the living room and carpet on back-order. Fun times. If you know me, you can imagine how crazy this makes me. In fact, in the spirit of honesty, let me give you a peek at my house this week:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RJCNl2XEOO8/UTFg06E-yGI/AAAAAAAAKAE/i85L-IKCdYA/s1600/IMG_0385.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RJCNl2XEOO8/UTFg06E-yGI/AAAAAAAAKAE/i85L-IKCdYA/s320/IMG_0385.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One bedroom completely out of commission until the carpet comes in (but do you like the new curtains?!)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oYNwXxrAkd0/UTFg06UNvaI/AAAAAAAAJ_4/VfF6Da6cjPw/s1600/IMG_0384.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oYNwXxrAkd0/UTFg06UNvaI/AAAAAAAAJ_4/VfF6Da6cjPw/s320/IMG_0384.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The living room is not fit for much living in</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DG_KBvOTSpg/UTFg1Z2hV-I/AAAAAAAAKAA/5KQHeI65Kkw/s1600/IMG_0386.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DG_KBvOTSpg/UTFg1Z2hV-I/AAAAAAAAKAA/5KQHeI65Kkw/s320/IMG_0386.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But the piece-de-resistance is really the office. Yikes.</td></tr>
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So when Safe Families called on Wednesday, hours after I was telling my friend Anna that we were in NO way ready to take a child, of course we said YES! Because really, what else do you say when there is a homeless child who needs a place to stay in February. Inconvenient does not equal impossible.<br />
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I won't share any specific information about our little guy, other than he is two and a half, and cuter than a dickens. It is a shame I can't share pictures, because I promise you his dimples would melt your heart. He is settling in, finding his place in the pecking order (precariously placed between a one and a half year old, and a three and a half year old), and endearing himself to all five of us.<br />
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Obviously this is early days yet, and we have SO much to learn, but here are a few thoughts for the moment:<br />
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1) Sleepytime is hard. As you'd expect, when naptime and bedtime roll around, our little guy starts missing his mama and expressing his grief over everything that is happening. We have spent hours rocking, snuggling, laying on the floor next to and just holding him while he cries himself to sleep. Bedtime is a two-person job- one to attend to our kids, and one to attend to him. I tried solo naptime yesterday, and it was not exactly a success. But hey- there are worse things that giving out cuddles. And we are making progress. Each night we have cut the bedtime upset down by about half...tonight it was only 45 minutes. <br />
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2) Adding an extra child adds one extra meal, one extra set of dishes, one extra pair of boots, one extra carseat to buckle...but five extra relationships. Each of us is reacting in a different way. Our other children are in need of extra love and reassurance from us right now. Their grandparents have been super awesome...showering them with extra attention while we are busy. Beatrice is in a mine-mine-mine screaming stage, and is used to her brother and sister giving in to her. Our new little guy is less inclined to do that...which makes for a lot of refereeing on my part. Note to self...clip the fingernails of both kiddos.<br />
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3) Advocating. In two days I've already had several nice conversations with his mother, our local pharmacist, his pediatrician, insurance company, social worker, and our SFFC coach. This is not hard, and I am more than happy to track down what our guy needs, but it takes time- both face time and phone time- which can be hard to come by with four kids running around. <br />
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4) We have been really proud of our kids...they have showed a lot of patience and compassion to the new child. Matias came with me to pick him up, and he was awesome...he brought some toy cars to share, introduced himself to the child and his mother, and broke the ice for everyone. He rubbed his back when he was crying on the way home, and picked up his cup for him about twelve times. They have been very patient with the crying (and they are ALL sleeping in a room together at the moment, so they have heard all of it), they have snuggled him, shared toys and overlooked some hitting/pushing/toy stealing. He is a very sweet, well-behaved child, but he is still a two year old after all.<br />
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5) People are awesome. A million thanks to all our family and friends who are supporting us- we totally feel the love. Offers of diapers, clothes, car seats, playdates, babysitting, hair-care advice...all so kind (and we are totally taking you up on it!) They say that God doesn't call the equipped, he equips the called...and you have all been equipping us with what we need. Thanks!!<br />
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So...that's the story so far. I'm sure we will look back on this post some day and laugh.<br />
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<br />Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-43276755854305091002013-02-22T12:56:00.002-08:002013-02-22T12:56:55.902-08:00The Family Closet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We have been doing a bit of house reorganization lately. Recently I wrote about living in a <a href="http://thehandleyhome.blogspot.com/2012/11/small-house.html">smallish house</a> and how every space has to work for us. We had identified a few things that were not working as well as we would like in our current house:</div>
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1) We wanted more space in the bedrooms for the kids to play, and to house our foster children from the <a href="http://thehandleyhome.blogspot.com/2013/01/our-new-adventure-safe-families-for.html">Safe Families Program</a>.</div>
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2) Laundry was a challenge- getting it collected from all over the house, washed, dried, folded and then the trickiest part...put away. It seemed like someone was always asleep in one of the rooms I needed to get into, so baskets of clothes got left out, attacked by the baby and generally forgotten.</div>
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3) I either had to carry cloth diapers around the house to rinse them and keep them until it was time to wash them, or they ended up sitting for a few days and becoming harder to clean. And the bedrooms didn't always smell so fresh...</div>
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So we came up with a new solution. It is admittedly a little odd, but so far it is working really well for us. We made a "family closet." I first got this idea from the Duggar family (and NO, I have no intention of having 19 children), and it seemed like it would simplify things for us.</div>
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We moved all the kids' dressers into our laundry/mud room, as well as the changing table. We laid down a piece of carpet that we had, hung a tension rod to hang dresses, and put out a basket for kid shoes. </div>
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Here is a picture of the other half of the room. You see the washer and drier, utility sink and the clothes hamper. You can also see the rather "comprehensive" fuse, internet, cable, and other unidentifiable wire box that the previous owners installed. Matt took one look at it and knew this was the house for us!<br />
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I cannot tell you how much the family closet has streamlined things for us. Dirty clothes go right into the hamper in the laundry room. Socks and shoes are kept in the same room...right by the door we use to come in and out. I can rinse the diapers in the utility sink right away, which makes the diaper laundry so much easier. I can also treat stains right away. I fold the laundry on the changing table and put it immediately into the correct drawers. When I go to pack clothes, all three of my children's dressers are right there. Outgrown clothes can go immediately out the door to the correct bin in the garage.<br />
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Matt and I still keep our clothes in our nice walk-in closet, but for the kids, this is working great. Eventually I assume they will stop wanting to change clothes in the laundry room and will choose to lay out their clothes the night before, or collect them and change in their rooms. But for now, they seem pretty happy with it...and I certainly am as well!<br />
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What <strike>crazy</strike> creative organizing have you done at your house?<br />
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<br />Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-43951310402872692112013-02-19T18:27:00.001-08:002013-02-19T18:39:11.413-08:00The Wonderful Pigs of Jillian Jiggs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jillian-Jiggs-Phoebe-Gilman/dp/0590413406">Jillian Jiggs</a>, by Phoebe Gilman, was one of my favorite picture book characters growing up. She is spunky, creative, and just a touch messy. In <u>The Wonderful Pigs of Jillian Jiggs</u>, she sews a bunch of stuffed pigs to sell, but then falls in love with them and doesn't want to sell them. Instead, she teaches her friends how to make their own pigs. Then, she teaches you as well. I have fond memories of sitting on the floor of my basement, surrounded by stuffing and buttons, making my own pig. This week, I decided to introduce my kids to Jillian, and they made a few pigs of their own.</div>
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If you are not familiar with the Jillian Jiggs books, I highly recommend that you check your library!<br />
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Linking:<br />
<a _blank="" href="http://educatinglaytons.com/category/tactile-tuesday/"><img src="http://educatinglaytons.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/TacTues5.jpg" title="TacTuesday" /></a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #384477; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://inlieuofpreschool.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="In Lieu of Preschool" height="125" src=" https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-tyUArMM4FkM/UGHvhOhK4bI/AAAAAAAAPgg/1kU2nR9YHAk/h120/Tuesday+Tots+button+125x125.jpg " width="125" /></a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #384477; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-67308790020157583512013-02-18T19:30:00.000-08:002013-02-20T15:49:49.779-08:00Weekly Baby Pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Babies grow and change so quickly- especially the first months. As delighted I was that my child was growing, I was always a touch sad with each passing week and month anniversary that passed. I found that taking a weekly photo helped me to remember the early weeks- from the chicken leg stage to the thunder thighs and chubby cheeks. While we can't freeze time, it can be awfully fun to look back at our little ones and see how they have grown. </div>
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With each of my kids, we took a weekly picture, with the child next to (or holding, or gnawing on) a notecard with the date. Here are a few of my favorites (and yes, I just hated the task of going back through baby photos...awww!)</div>
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Isn't it amazing how fast they change?</div>
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We printed out each picture and hung them around the room in chronological order. In our first house, we hung them on a little clothesline we attached to the wall. Our current house already had nails in the wall, so we used those...perhaps the former owners did something similar?!</div>
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We usually took pictures until roughly 20 odd weeks...when I stopped remembering and the baby started eating the paper, it was time to stop. When it was time to free up the nails for the next set of baby pictures, I turned the photos into a collage to hang above their beds. They like seeing themselves as babies...and so do I! I put a current picture on there as well, just for fun, to see how much they have grown. </div>
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I consider this art, memory-making and a touch of post-partum therapy all in one. It makes a nice facebook album for those friends and family who don't get to see you little one every week. I have used them as decorations for first birthday parties as well. You can never have too many pictures, right?!<br />
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linking up:<br />
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<a href="http://1epicmom.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Weekend Blog Hop" src="http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g385/EpicMom/Bloghoptillyoudrop-1.jpg" /></a>Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-3728288984115028492013-02-17T17:27:00.001-08:002013-02-17T18:11:12.730-08:00Rube Goldberg Machines<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Lately, we have been quite inspired by Rube Goldberg Machines. YouTube has a host of wonderful RG Machine videos. You can find two of our favorites at the bottom of this post.<br />
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Since watching them, we have tried out a few ideas of our own. We had a RG Machine playdate one day with a friend who brought over some fun parts. Then, this weekend, our friends Noah and Allison came to visit, and we decided to build one. Allison is completing her PhD in Physics, so we knew we were in good hands. We used all sorts of fun things- levers, pulleys, hammers, duplo blocks, marbles, dominos...and lots of tape and string!<br />
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Here are a few videos that show what we came up with. As with all RG Machines, we had a few failed attempts before the whole things worked...but that is a great lesson in itself...and it was so exciting when it finally did!<br />
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Part 1- explaining the machine<br />
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Part 2- the first try</div>
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Part 3- the second try</div>
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Part 4- IT WORKED!</div>
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A few of our favorite Rube Goldberg Machine Videos on YouTube:</div>
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Audri's Monster Trap</div>
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Ok Go's "This Too Shall Pass" Machine</div>
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<br />Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-73587511643385479792013-02-12T05:00:00.000-08:002013-02-14T14:54:03.315-08:00What He Learned Making Dinner<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carry one egg at a time</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hold onto the bowl while you stir</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cleaning up is part of cooking</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The satisfaction of a job well done</td></tr>
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What I learned...how to le go of my type A tendencies for a few minutes. He was having a tough day, and I suggested that he might want to cook something. That turned into him wanting to make dinner for us- risotto, sauteed Swiss chard and brownies. He did a really great job and hung in there with it until he had completed everything. He especially liked calling Daddy to find out what time he would be home, so he could time dinner right. And really, at the end of the day, it only increased the cleanup by just a bit. Now he is into being the chef and regularly asks to make dinner (his future spouse can thank me!)<br />
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**Side note to everyone who claims that a picky eater who is involve in the cooking process will most certainly eat the food he has made. HA! Not this kid. He made the whole thing and still quite politely declined to eat the rice and greens...even though it meant he had to wait to have a brownie until the next day. Its a good theory, but always makes me laugh...my kid will see your theory and raise you a "still not going to touch that".**<br />
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Linking up:<br />
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Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-30290841081550584772013-02-10T11:00:00.003-08:002013-02-13T05:17:38.674-08:00Sylvester and the Magic Pebble<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our story this week was <u>Sylvester and the Magic Pebble</u>, by William Steig. It is a great, classic story about a little donkey who find a magic pebble, and ends up accidently turning himself into a rock. The story is a sad while his parents are looking for him, and he is giving up hope of ever becoming a donkey again. It all ends well, however, and my kids really liked the story.</div>
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We decided that it would be fun to do an experiment with some "magic" pebbles of our own, so we brought out the water beads again (and yes, I still have my love-hate relationship with these monsters). We filled a pan with them, and then left them out on the counter for four days. We watched them shrink down to tiny pebbles as the water evaporated.</div>
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After they had completely shrunk and dried, we decided to see what would happen if we rehydrated them. Instead of using plain water, we soaked them in Tonic Water, which glows under black lights. We have some special black light experiments planned soon, so we are going to see if our water beads glow. <br />
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The beads rehydrated well, and the rehydration is much more spectacular to watch than the dehydration because it happens much faster. Overall, it was a very successful experiment, and the kids got really into checking the beads to look for change. And the beads did NOT end up all over the house this time (woot!)</div>
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As with most of our stories and experiments, I encourage the children to write about them in their journals. I blogged <a href="http://thehandleyhome.blogspot.com/2012/07/journaling-with-kids.html">here</a> about how we use journals. The journal not only offers great practice at writing and expressing themselves on paper, but it also allows us to easily look back over what we have learned and review and reminisce about our year.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #384477; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://inlieuofpreschool.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="In Lieu of Preschool" height="125" src=" https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-tyUArMM4FkM/UGHvhOhK4bI/AAAAAAAAPgg/1kU2nR9YHAk/h120/Tuesday+Tots+button+125x125.jpg " width="125" /></a></span><span style="color: #0000ee; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://www.redtedart.com/?page_id=1222"><img alt="" src="http://i805.photobucket.com/albums/yy339/redtedart/KidsGetCrafty.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://childmade.com/index.php?name=Shared%20links" target="_blank"><img alt="Childmade" border="0" height="120px" src="http://childmade.com/images/childmade_link_party.jpg" width="120px" /></a></span></span><br />
<br />Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-34000152719896489832013-02-08T05:32:00.000-08:002013-02-08T05:32:12.620-08:00{this moment}<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3HaU6sLFLu8/URMVh_eK_xI/AAAAAAAAJwI/AdKxAhNziwM/s1600/IMG_0235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3HaU6sLFLu8/URMVh_eK_xI/AAAAAAAAJwI/AdKxAhNziwM/s400/IMG_0235.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/2010/04/this-moment-5.html" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: initial;">{this moment}</a></i><em style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i> </i>- A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.</em>Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-74871753730881231902013-02-06T19:24:00.001-08:002013-02-10T17:02:28.035-08:00Our Very Own Tinkering Lab<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
After visiting the <a href="http://thehandleyhome.blogspot.com/2013/02/tinkering-lab-grand-opening.html">Tinkering Lab</a> yesterday, we were inspired to do a bit of tinkering at home today. In a rare moment of alone time (thank you Grandmas), I hit a few thrift shops and picked up some "tinkering" supplies. I tried to get "highly motivating" toys- toys I would not normally buy for my children, that they would be very eager to have working- princess wands, a remote control car, a bingo machine. I also bought the cheapest set of Christmas lights I could find and a little fan.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a thrifted start to our Tinkering Lab...all for less than $10</td></tr>
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Next, Matt and I did a bit of prep work. We cut apart the Christmas lights and stripped the ends of the wires to make some battery testers. We gathered batteries from the around the house (mixing together the good and the bad). We also may or may not have *helped* a few of the toys need some fixing.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">stripping wire</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DIY battery tester</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">priming the pump</td></tr>
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We intended to save the tinkering for tomorrow and have the kids actually go to bed on time, but that totally didn't happen. Let's face it- when Daddy has pulled a motor and fan out of the case, who wants to go to bed?! The kids quickly spotted the new toys, so we let them open up the battery cases, test the batteries and try to get them working again. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When the wires touch the battery, the fan spins!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Testing out the batteries in the car and in the remote control</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turns out the car batteries were fine, but the remote was dead.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He was shocked when it started working...jumped about a mile. Then giggled like crazy.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g-YTiHna5RE/URMXngoE8CI/AAAAAAAAJxQ/897PvOX3zUM/s1600/IMG_0268.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g-YTiHna5RE/URMXngoE8CI/AAAAAAAAJxQ/897PvOX3zUM/s320/IMG_0268.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">working together</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RQQ6NttZJLk/URMXm2ZuFHI/AAAAAAAAJww/QjO3M2NCLwY/s1600/IMG_0261.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RQQ6NttZJLk/URMXm2ZuFHI/AAAAAAAAJww/QjO3M2NCLwY/s320/IMG_0261.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Broken toys are sad.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TYOk2nYEmgs/URMXn6S3phI/AAAAAAAAJxg/DT0TkFQhWcY/s1600/IMG_0271.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TYOk2nYEmgs/URMXn6S3phI/AAAAAAAAJxg/DT0TkFQhWcY/s320/IMG_0271.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There is a lot to learn about batteries...how to get them in and out, positive and negative ends, how to test to see if they are dead, how to put the cover back on...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E1rcU4LSjQA/URMXoBanXsI/AAAAAAAAJxk/C9jLhKmA_8k/s1600/IMG_0272.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E1rcU4LSjQA/URMXoBanXsI/AAAAAAAAJxk/C9jLhKmA_8k/s320/IMG_0272.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Toys that you have fixed yourself are AWESOME!</td></tr>
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Oh, there will be more tinkering tomorrow...and the next day as well, I am sure. Matias thinks Beatrice's sleep sheep might be in need of some new batteries. And Violet has already told me she NEEDS to open up her stable to see why it doesn't whinny when you open the stall door any more. A girl who plays with princess toys= pretty neat. A girl who fixes her own princess toys= even neater!<br />
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*This is almost too obvious to write, but we were really careful with what we let the kids touch, and we are teaching them the right way to handle the tools and supervising. For example, we cut the wall plug off the tree lights lest they get any bright ideas (pun intended!)*<br />
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Linking up:<br />
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Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-40786723576261859372013-02-05T20:04:00.002-08:002013-02-06T19:26:10.432-08:00Tinkering Lab- Grand Opening<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W3NwCwxc75E/URHNKRxI9TI/AAAAAAAAJtw/eGg8D9jQ0x4/s1600/541409_366143440150694_1890935833_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W3NwCwxc75E/URHNKRxI9TI/AAAAAAAAJtw/eGg8D9jQ0x4/s400/541409_366143440150694_1890935833_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Today we had the great pleasure to attend the grand opening of the Tinkering Lab at the <a href="http://www.chicagochildrensmuseum.org/index.php/experience/tinkering-lab">Chicago Children's Museum</a>. Matt happened to meet the CEO of the museum at a think-tank-like conference he recently attended, and she passed along an invitation. So we packed up the van the night before and left home slightly before the crack of dawn to attend the opening. Our kids got to be the first in the exhibit (not counting the media soft opening yesterday), and got to play with some of the enthusiastic and awesome people who worked to create this exhibit. The donors and creators seemed to enjoy watching our kids explore the new space. And explore they did, because </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">it. is. awesome.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qqa_Bav0XqM/URHMAZsScDI/AAAAAAAAJso/QIDdC8gw6CE/s1600/IMG_20130205_084048_755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qqa_Bav0XqM/URHMAZsScDI/AAAAAAAAJso/QIDdC8gw6CE/s320/IMG_20130205_084048_755.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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For those of you familiar with the museum, the new lab has taken the place of the large vertical conveyor belt exhibit, next door to the dinosaurs. Upon entering, you pass through a room with pegboards on the wall, and all sorts of balls, tubes, pegs and funnels to play with. There is a baby area with more balls, scoops and tires. Beatrice loved the bike tires on the wall that had keyrings attached to the spokes. They make a great sound when you spin them. When you enter the main room, you see tables and lots of shelves full of stuff. Bits of wood, hammers, saws, screw drivers, screws, nails, corks, beads, batteries, tape, old electronics...just stuff. Stuff that is begging to be made into cooler stuff.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XXBCHK9jBUo/URHL_FCXeZI/AAAAAAAAJsU/E5XGLxvF004/s1600/IMG_20130205_083919_369.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XXBCHK9jBUo/URHL_FCXeZI/AAAAAAAAJsU/E5XGLxvF004/s320/IMG_20130205_083919_369.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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By far the best thing about this exhibit is that everything is real- not a toy hammer in sight. As the director said, "Pretend tools are great for pretend play." But this place is all about the real thing. Violet was particularly excited that she got to drill REAL holes in a piece of wood using a real battery-operated drill. Then she got to pick out screws and nails and hammer and screw them into the holes she made. She also got to see the inside of a princess wand (from the gift shop), and using an old Christmas tree light battery tester, she found a live battery and connected the wires from the wand to make it spin and light up. She had obviously never considered HOW this kind of toy worked, and she was fascinated. And when the battery ran out of power and it spun but would no longer light up, she was equally fascinated. </div>
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Matias enjoyed using the REAL miter box and saw to cut REAL wood. He also had fun with the hammer, tongue sticking out in concentration all the while. He only thwacked his finger once, and then decided that perhaps having me hold the nail for him was the way to go. Um, no thanks! He figured it out after a few tries. He also had a great time working on a spinny-toy-duct-tape-motor-wood-string-bead electronic contraption with one of the men who was there. It was, at any given time, a rocket, a weed-eater, a super spinner and an airplane. He could have worked on it for a <i>very</i> long time (and really, in kid-time, he DID...he spent at least half an hour on this thing).</div>
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We will definitely be heading back to the Tinkering Lab soon...and perhaps investing in a few real tools of our own, and a couple of electronics from the thrift shop to take apart. It is always fun to discover that your children are capable of more than you thought...and ours certainly proved today that they can make REAL things with REAL tools.</div>
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There is a great article about the Tinkering Lab over at <a href="http://www.themakermom.com/2013/02/the-new-tinkering-lab-at-chicago.html">The Maker Mom</a> today...she attended the media opening yesterday, and also had a lot of nice things to say about the lab. She has a ton of great pictures...I was a little preoccupied helping my little ones use REAL tools to snap too many pictures. <br />
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I hope that any of you who make it into Chicago soon can visit the Tinkering Lab. It is a great new addition to an already great museum!<br />
<br />Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-64822278897040792952013-02-04T17:34:00.005-08:002013-02-04T17:34:59.856-08:00Author Study for Children<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of our most favorite recent activities has been an author study that the kids and I have been doing. I purchased the author study folders <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Author-Study-Folders-Mega-Pack">here</a>, from Teachers Pay Teachers (which is an awesome website!), but you could also make your own.<br />
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Here is how to do your own author study:<br />
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1) Buy some folders (3 for a buck at the Dollar Tree) and three baskets.<br />
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2) Print off the <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Author-Study-Folders-Mega-Pack">author study pages</a> (or make your own) and glue them onto folders.<br />
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3) Choose three authors to study first. Take a trip to the local library and check out a bunch of books by each of your three authors. Place the books by each author in a basket, and set the author folder in the front of the basket. <br />
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4) Over the next week or two, read through all your stories. If you'd like, answer the questions about what the different books have on the author folder. We also like to write down inside the folder which story is each of our favorites. You can also look up info about the author, or read the book jackets.<br />
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5) When you are ready, return the first three batches of books, and choose three more authors to study.<br />
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Things I love about this:<br />
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1) My kids confidently walk into the library and declare "we are looking for books by Jack Prelutsky!" or Ezra Jack Keats, or Mo Willems, or Jan Brett. The authors are becoming familiar friends, and they can recognize them by their pictures as well as by their books. Everyone who visits our home is immediately introduced to our current authors.<br />
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2) They are beginning to recognize different styles of writing and illustrating. They even pointed out that one of Jan Brett's books, <u>Hedgie Blasts Off,</u> is very different from her other books-but it still has her favorite character, the hedgehog.<br />
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3) We are learning to find books in the library. It leads to great discussions on how libraries are organized, how to alphabetize, and why some books are in the picture book section, and others are in nonfiction, or the poetry section.<br />
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4) The kids have started suggesting other authors that we SIMPLY MUST STUDY. The creator of the folders includes blank pages so that when we run out of authors, we can make studies for other authors we like.<br />
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5) I have found books I have never read before (and I am a Kg teacher by trade- I have read a lot of kids books!). There are books by some of my favorite authors that I never knew about!<br />
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6) My kids know a bunch of books and authors now, so when they are in the library, they have books to look for other than princess books and other television characters. They still like those books too, but they make up much less of our checkout pile now that we know a bunch of authors.<br />
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7) The author study has led us down different paths- we did art projects in the style of Eric Carle. We gardened along with Lois Ehlert. Mo Willems had us acting out his Knuffle Bunny stories as a play. It is a great starting point for lots of fun.<br />
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This was really easy to put together, and we have gotten hours and hours of learning and enjoyment out of it...and we're not done yet. I hope you'll join us and try out an author study sometime!Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-25609030538627651542013-02-04T05:11:00.002-08:002013-02-04T05:11:29.307-08:00A "Winter" Walk<br />
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We've had a 60 degree weather span this week. One day it got up to nearly 60, so we decided to head out for a bit of puddle jumping. Miss Beatrice just learned to walk, so this was her first chance to try out her shoes outside. I dare say she enjoyed the chance...and quickly learned the art of puddle stomping from big brother and sister. It may be a while before we have a chance to wear our rain boots again, but it was a nice little reminder that Winter won't last forever. And kudos to whoever made baby shoes machine washable!</div>
<br />Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4767913819695587188.post-31391170874435525382013-01-31T18:33:00.000-08:002013-01-31T18:33:15.195-08:00{this moment}<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/2010/04/this-moment-5.html" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: initial;">{this moment}</a></i><em style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i> </i>- A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.</em>Helen Handleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08353177458688150037noreply@blogger.com4