Our Indiana State Swap Package

This US State Culture Swap has led us away from the geography study that had previously fascinated us (out of Africa, in other words), but it's always a good time for a United States unit study!

We put a lot of work into the four care packages that we sent to our swap partners in Tennessee, Utah, New York, and Virginia. To prepare them, we went creek stomping, up north to the Indiana State Museum, and across town to the Wonderlab on its special local local limestone evening. We read, we wrote, we recited, we organized everything into groups of four.

And here's what we came up with!

crinoid fossils collected from Jackson Creek

geodes, also from the creek

depending on the composition of minerals, geodes can look quite different inside

chunk of limestone from a local quarry

map traced by the children--each kid did two

coloring pages of various other Indiana sites and facts

Willow-written report

Happily, both girls leaped right into Indiana research, they've adored opening all their swap packages so far, and Will (my rote-memory girl) has been taking a lot of pleasure in memorizing and quizzing us on state nicknames. We're a bit flush on "special subjects" just at the moment--the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, complete with pioneer crafts; Martin Luther King, Jr., including having Willow memorize his "I Have a Dream" speech; and ballet--but as soon as we finish Little House and the Big Woods and Willow decides for sure whether or not she wants to join her sister in the IU Pre-College Ballet Program in the fall (I suspect not, which is why we've been doing a lot of ballet stuff this summer, so that she can make an informed decision), we're buckling down with our friend Martin, the US states, and human anatomy.

Oh, and some Walt Disney world geekery, because it's--gasp!--less than a month now until we go meet Mickey!

Sometimes They Die

It's not something that happens often, but since I do write so much about our experiences fostering kittens, I should tell you that sometimes a foster kitten will die.

White Mittens came to us already ill, with chronic diarrhea. We medicated her, and kept her clean, and encouraged her to eat, and just as importantly we cuddled her, and talked baby talk to her, and carried her around in Sydney's doll sling:

Alas, poor babe, she lived with us for a week and then she died in the night. I can't say that she had a happy life, since she spent it all being ill, but she did have comfort, and a family, and two kids who loved her quite a lot.

Giving them a better end is just as important as giving them a great beginning.

Bunting: Before and After

before (well, sort of--the pennants certainly didn't measure and cut themselves!)

and after:

I sewed this bunting to donate to the Bloomington Area Birth Services, to use in a photo shoot and then to hang in their offices after. The request was for "pastels", of which you can imagine that I have few, and I can't say that I'm sad to have far fewer after this project. The bunting itself is, however, as buntings always are, absolutely gorgeous.

It's also been a week for billions of Waldorf ring candles, some smash book layouts, an upcoming project with Snapfish, and a newly sewn shower curtain, complete with the button holes that I now know how to make...yay!

Pirate Party!

food that is also pirate ships

watermelon pirate ship and orange slice pirate ships

cake that is also a treasure map

It's a triple-batch of brownies--yum!

 appropriately-themed party music

face paint for all the kids

and just one of the adults!

Matt also made balloon pirate swords that, don't worry, only look that phallic as they're being created

There were water balloons and a plank to walk and sword fights and cake and ice cream and presents--

--but the highlight of the party was a treasure hunt. Matt created a bunch of clues and puzzles and such, and while the rest of the party was eating cake and ice cream, he and another dad snuck off to the park to hide them all around, as well as my giant X and associated treasure chest filled with treat bags.

After the kids were done eating, Matt led them all on a wild and crazy chase all around the park--

--searching to find and solve clues--

--and uncovering treasure! Then, since we were already at the park, the kids ran around and played while the rest of us hung out at a picnic table and ate leftover birthday cake. Some of the kids used the fake gold and silver coins and the melted plastic bead skulls from their treat bags to organize a highly elaborate "gambling" game that they played for FOREVER--

--which was totally fine, since we adults had gossip and birthday cake to entertain us.

Pirate Party: X Marks the Spot!

For Will's pirate-themed eighth birthday party, Matt organized a huge treasure hunt, and I really, really wanted a giant, cartoon-y X to mark the location of the treasure chest. So I laid out an old USPS mailing box, free-handed a giant X--

With my drawing skills, how could the X NOT turn out cartoony?

 --and had Sydney paint it red:

I varnished the front, just so that the cheap tempera paint wouldn't flake off, but since we only needed it for the weekend, I probably could have skipped that bit of overkill.

We really only needed the X for the treasure hunt, but since Matt and another dad were going to sneak off during the cake and ice cream to set it up at the nearby park, before the party I punched holes in the X, tied on some twine, and taped it up to the front door as decoration:

X marks the party spot!

In other news, I just need to tell you that it is, at this point, a six-year-long source of disappointment to me that nobody--NOBODY!--has ever come to my house and noticed that I painted my front door green, just like Bilbo Baggins did.

It's heartbreaking.

Pirate Party Favor Bags

I have a huge stash of brown paper lunch bags, which have made fine favor bags for every birthday party that I've thrown since the beginning of time. They just need to be stenciled with a skull and cross-bones--

--filled with fake gold and silver coins, skull recycled crayons, skull melted bead suncatchers (more on that later), and a little package of shark-shaped fruit snacks (as a nod to my refusal to stock candy); and hidden in a treasure chest:

I'd thought about adding a black bow, or stenciling the names of the children on the bags, but ultimately I simply stapled them shut, and I'm glad that I did, considering that after the excitement of that treasure hunt,  the nine excited party guests couldn't have cared less what their favor bags looked like, as long as they were filled with loot!

Weekend WIPs

an eighth birthday pirate party

writing about Waldorf doll clothing for CAGW (stay tuned!)

some doll portrait photography

mom gossip

a VERY naughty six-year-old (growth spurt? We can only hope...)

buying thread, and sewing needles, and 18 feet of ribbon

then buying Sharpies, and index cards, and erasers (I LOVE back-to-school sales!)

the last kid cashing in her summer reading form and collecting her prize (a book, of course!)

WAY too much brownie cake consumed

fixed the only outlet in the house that won't short-circuit the treadmill!

swimsuits washed and dried, ready for a new set of lessons

and, of course--

--a brand-new bunting WIP

because what would life be without an in-progress bunting on the sewing table?