Sheep Shearing

This past Saturday we enjoyed a field trip with our great friends, the Allen's at Shady Side Farm in West Olive. I heard about the shearing day via the West Michigan Etsy Team of which the owner of Shady Side Farm (Lona) belongs. This is just one of the great opportunities I have come across while becoming an active member of this team! The kids were encouraged to use all of their senses to learn about the process of shearing sheep, feeding sheep, observing new lambs and experiencing the barn as well as learning what people do with the fleece after it has been taken from the sheep and cleaned. They just loved squishing and smelling the freshly sheared fleece and watching the newly sheared sheep leap up and run down the length of the barn back to the herd. They had to pay attention so that they weren't knocked over by any of the sheep! The baby lambs were absolutely adorable! The girls begged to take one home as a pet which I said when they grow up they can live on a sheep farm and have as many baby lambs as they want - Rian has already named her future lamb "Flower".

After the girls had enough time in the barn we headed across the farm to another building where fiber artists were hard at work showing off their beautiful items crafted with wool. The kids saw socks being hand cranked on an antique sock knitting machine as well as wool being felted by Barb of Pit Bull Lady Designs. Barb was so patient as she was practically attacked by 5 super excited and curious little girls all wanting to watch/touch/see her in action as well as look at her finished products. (Thanks Barb!!). The balls of colored roving were amazing! We all enjoyed feeling the soft colorful texture of the roving and the yarn. The girls also had an opportunity to learn how the roving was turned into usable yarn by watching three women expertly spin the roving with a spinning wheel. They even got a chance to "help" spin a little yarn themselves.

Little Jenny the fairy

My fabric scrap pile has started to grow lately and even though I'd love to use the scraps to make a little quilt of some sort I opted for a quick new project resulting in little Jenny the fairy. She is a cute little gal who loves to play, snuggle or just hang around as a small companion. She is for sale in my Etsy shop http://www.sapucha.etsy.com/ and some of her friends will hopefully follow. I'm leaving the naming of these little ones up to my girls who love being included in this process.

Homemade Finger Paints

I realize I'm losing my mind since I already posted this fingerpainting activity....but hey maybe you didn't see the original posting or just wanted to see it again- SO consider this a re-run posting!! Sorry!

Looking for a quick and easy craft to do on a rainy or snowy or sick day? How about homemade finger paints! We painted with our finger paints on freezer paper since one side is coated in plastic and the other is paper plus you can tear off large sheets for them to use. Freezer paper is found by the tinfoil and saran wrap sections of your local grocery store. If you don't have freezer paper any paper will do. Here are some pictures of the kids and the recipe for finger paints that uses items you already have on hand in your own cupboards:



2 T. sugar
1/3 c. cornstarch
2 c. cold water
1/4c clear liquid dish soap (optional)
1 Mix together sugar and cornstarch in a small pan, then slowly add cold water.

2 Cook over low heat, stirring until the mixture becomes a smooth; almost clear gel about 5 minutes.

3 When it's cool, stir in clear dish washing liquid.

4 Scoop equal amounts of the mixture into containers and stir in food coloring or, for even more vibrant colors, use food-coloring paste. (if you want to add "scent" add a little bit of powdered cool aid)

Gymnastics

The girls just completed a 5 week beginners gymnastics class that they took together. It was a great way for them to experience gymnastics without a lengthy commitment and have a whole lot of fun trying out the equipment! Here are some pictures from their class.

Heidi

The kids and I just recently finished reading the book Heidi which was part of Kami's school program. I promised them that once we finished we could watch the movie so they could really see the landscape of the Swiss Alps and mountain meadows. During our study of this book we discussed what the food must have been like for the characters in the book versus what they are used to. The kids asked if we could have a "Heidi" lunch on the day we watched the movie. Here is a picture of our homemade bread (ok - just half since it smelled so good we couldn't resist!). Heidi's grandfather served her melted cheese on thick slabs of bread with fresh milk. (Not sure if she had apples but we needed to add a little fruit to this lunch). Yummy!