Week 7 - Belated Valentine Wishes

I had originally planned on posting a video of Grace singing a cute Valentine song, but after numerous failed attempts at downloading it, I gave up. So hopefully this will suffice as our weekly post.

With Valentine's day being sandwiched between two other celebrations (Chinese New Year and Grace's birthday), it often gets neglected. This year was no exception. We did manage to find some time to make a yummy batch of jammy heart cookies, read several love-themed stories and make heart shaped crayons for Grace's classmates - but that's about it. Rather lacking wouldn't you say?

Anyway, since we had half the dough left in the fridge from the Valentine cookies (recipe here), I made a batch of star themed cookies before Grace got home from school this afternoon. She was quite the rockstar at the dentist today, so the stars seemed quite fitting. And there's nothing like a fresh batch of cookies to cheer up a crabby girl.


And in gardening news, Grace picked the first strawberry season from our little patch. This means we'll soon be heading out to the farm for strawberry picking. We're almost out of our homemade jam (that's what we used to fill our jammy cookies), so the timing is perfect. Red stained fingers here we come.


Hopefully you encountered a bit of red this week - belated Valentine wishes to you!

Week 6 - Monday Sewing

Every Monday morning I can be found assisting Grace and her classmates with a sewing project during their time in computer lab. Her teacher places much emphasis on developing fine motor control and uses hand-sewing, among many other activities, to aide in its development.

Our first project was making pillows for the children's class pets (each child was assigned a stuffed animal at the beginning of the school year which they responsible for until years end) and now we're onto making quilts. From threading the needle to determining the length and evenness of the stitches, it's all up to the child.

Here are some pictures of Grace sewing with me this week.....




And just in case you were wondering, I had nothing to do with the fabric section - it was all kindly donated. The girls (especially Grace) can often be heard complaining that the fabric looks like it's for boys. Oh well, perhaps the next project can be made with girlie fabric - then the boys can do a bit of complaining too!

Week 5 - Year of the Hare

For the past week or so we've been preparing for Chinese New Year. Here are a few of the projects that we made together to celebrate this special day....


.....A dragon made from an egg carton - oh how Grace LOVES dragons


.....A thousand year bowl made from paper and paste (we plan to juice those yummy oranges as soon as the festivities are over)


.....The first phase of making a dragon puppet - a craft I did with Grace's class during the 100th day of school celebration (I have no photos of the finished product, but they turned out "perfectly dragonish")


.....Last but not least, the dragon outfit that she wore to school today. Apparently Grace's teacher brought in Chinese music for the children to listen to, which then turned into a dancing fest for our little performer. After completing an Asian dance for her classmates, she took her show on the road, performing in front of each of the five kindergarten classes, then in the office for the principal. Needless to say, Grace was quite excited to tell us all the details (something she rarely shares) of her fun-filled day!

Best wishes for a year filled with good health, fortune and luck!

Week 4 - Books, Books, Books

We've declared this to be the year of the book around here. Although Dean has long been an avid reader and he and myself read to Grace nightly (along with other pockets of time throughout the day), I'm a bit lacking in the area. So I've decided to read more this year, with an initial goal of finishing twelve books (considering that I've already read three, I'm off to a decent start).

When Dean heard my goal he decided to join the challenge and suggested we step out of our reading comfort zones - for him, fantasy books and for me, romance - and choose books from different genres. We both agreed to give it an honest effort. Who knows, we may discover a new favorite.

To keep us motivated I've made a reading journal (it's just a simple handmade book created from a pizza box with a book-themed patchwork sewn on the cover). For each book we finish, we'll write it down under the corresponding month. We're also recording the chapter books we read aloud to Grace (I wish we could keep track of all the pictures books, but I'm afraid that would be too overwhelming) by having her write those titles in her handwriting. Then as space permits, she's drawing images that relate to the books she's listened to.




And in other book related news, Grace just reached twenty points in her school's "Reading Counts" program, making her the sixth kindergartner to do so. That earned her an eagle (the school's mascot) on the RC tree in the library. This made for some exciting times for our little reader.



I'll finish this post with a quote that I found while searching for something totally unrelated. I found it quite fitting as Dean and I find pure joy in reading to Grace.....

You may have tangible wealth untold,
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be -
I had a mother who read to me.
~S. Gillilan

Good night and happy reading!

Week 3 - Projects for the Birds

We've reached the time of year when our backyard is brimming with birds. In fact, we have so many feathered visitors that we're having a difficult time keeping up with their hunger appetites. No sooner does Grace get the feeders full, then birds come and empty each and every one by nightfall.

So after thumbing through (this) book, Grace decided to make two projects for our backyard friends - a peanut "acorn" (mainly made for the squirrels, which are in abundance too) and a winter squash bird feeder. Both were made after she arrived home from school, allowing her some fresh air and time away from the endless homework that she seems to be having these days.

Thankfully, the birds (and squirrels) appear to be quite happy with their new dining options. Here are some pictures of the projects in process......






When the new feeders were complete, we sat back and enjoyed the view along with the wonderful array of "singing" - it doesn't get much better than this!

Week 2 - Celebrating Pop's Birthday

This past weekend Grace, Sophie and myself headed to Meme and Pop's house for an overnight visit to celebrate my Dad's birthday. Due to an unfortunate set of circumstances the events didn't go quite as planned. But as the saying goes, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade - so that's just what we did.

Grace decided that the theme for her Pop's birthday was going to be football, since he "loves it so much". For his gift, Dean and Grace selected six bottles of beer that they thought he would enjoy, then we made a batch of spicy snack mix for him to nibble on while watching the playoffs. Add in some decorations that Meme purchased and homemade birthday cake (which I made to a certain someone's detailed specifications) - all making it a football party indeed.






On Saturday we had the chance to visit other members of the family, including my Grandpa, whom we met for breakfast. Without a doubt, it was a fun-filled weekend!

Week 1 - Unplugging..... a bit

As the new year approached, Dean and I had several conversations on what our goals, hopes and dreams were for 2011. During our discussions we both agreed that the computer, particularly the Internet, has occupied too much of our precious time. With that, we seriously considered "unplugging" ourselves from our provider. Then the reality settled in, we have a child in school who has already needed to "google" a topic on more than one occasion. Oh what a conundrum.

So with some thought, I have decided to post here only once per week, therefore reducing my computer time. This will allow me more time in the evening, in turn giving me the opportunity to accomplish my goals for the coming year.

Here's to a productive 2011!