Our New *Morning Board*

Our New Morning Board

This past week I finally completed a project that I've been wanting to do for a while: a *morning board* for our learning room. I had put it off with the reason that we didn't have any wall space~and we don't. However, I decided to utilize the door of the room. We really never close it (and if we needed to it wouldn't be a problem), so with the help of sticky tack it has become a bulletin board of sorts. I really like the way it turned out!

At the top of the door our *composer-of-the-month* and our *artist-of-the-month* are showcased in matte finish page protectors (no glare!). I will be changing these out each month as we continue our composer and artist studies. These charts are free downloads from Nadene at Practical Pages. If you haven't visited her, hop on over! She has a great blog with lots of helpful downloads.

Next on the door is our *days in school* chart and our *seasons* chart. I have all of the numbers and words for the *days in school* chart tucked away in envelopes for easy use. I used sticky velcro dots (found at Hobby Lobby) to attach the cut-outs to the chart. The *season* chart simply required a brad for the dial. I also used some colored card stock that I already had to make different backgrounds for the charts so they would be more colorful.

Next we have our *what time is it?* chart and the *temperature* chart. I have placed these inside (shiny) page protectors that work with a dry erase marker for easy daily use. I was very happy to find that page protectors could work this way since I already have plenty (thank you, Paula!!) and didn't want to pay to have them laminated. Great savings there!

Finally, at the bottom of the door there is the *today, tomorrow, yesterday* chart, *what's the weather?* chart and *make the date* chart. I have also used velcro dots for these charts.

Except for the composer and artist pages, I downloaded these charts from Confessions of a Homeschooler, Homeschool Creations and 1+1+1=1....all great homeschooling blogs!

So if you are wishing you could hang more things, but don't have the wall space, be creative and use unusual, typically unused spots instead! I'm so glad I did!

The Making of an Egyptian Death Mask

We are learning all about the ancient world this year with Story of the World I and loving it! We've been learning a lot about Egypt, of course, which is completely fascinating. Most recently we have studied the New Kingdom of Egypt, which includes the story of King Tut. So we decided making an Egyptian death mask in the style of King Tut's would be a fun project. First since it was too cold at the time to paper mache in the garage (it probably would have frozen instead of dried-ha) and it was too messy to do it in the house, we decided to pick up a couple of cheap craft masks at Hobby Lobby. Next we cut out cardboard shapes to complete the shape of the death mask, attaching them with hot glue. Vince even put a little detail on the *beard* with the hot glue per The Princess' request. Then the kiddos started to paint them with this metallic gold tempera paint. It worked okay for the cardboard, but would not coat the plastic of the mask. We thought maybe a second coat ...

Door Hanger Chore Charts

My kids have had a chore chart for a while. It's one of those magnetic boards and they share it. However, it's not by their rooms and often they (and I) forget to update it. Plus it's a little bulky. When I saw the concept of a door hanger chore chart on Pinterest, I loved it! It was compact, right there were the kiddos could see it coming out and going into their rooms, and it costs almost nothing to make. I headed over to one of my favorite stores: Hobby Lobby, of course. They have these little wooden door hangers for .79. I also grabbed a couple of packets of decorative buttons for $1.99 each. I already had the clothes pins and the paint so those cost me nothing. I began by painting the door hangers (I used tempera paints because that's what I had). Then I grabbed a fine point Sharpie and the clothes pins and started writing chores on them, making sure to write them correctly so they will ...

Fun With 4th of July Crafts: Part 3

I love my new patriotic front door wreath!! I had fun putting this together, although I must admit this is more of an adult craft than one for kiddos. I was inspired by this article in Family Fun magazine. I didn't have quite everything I needed for this one, but all I had to purchase was a few sheets of scrapbook paper and some double-sided tape. Then all I had to gather up were some scissors, regular Scotch tape, a ruler and some cardboard. First I cut four (5"x 6") pieces of each paper. Then by placing a piece of double-sided tape on one of the short ends of the papers, I rolled them into cones, pressing the seams together well. Then I cut a 10" circle out of cardboard and began to stick the cones on it. I used another piece of double-sided tape to stick the cones on, arranging them in a circular pattern. Next I used regular Scotch tape to attach them on the back to the back of the cardboard. After getting all the cones on, I was ready for my centerpiece. He...

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