Friday, April 8, 2016

Paper on end

We checked out a book today titled Cut-Out Paper Play. Both girls are really into cutting up paper for collage and making little paper dolls and props for their play. I thought this might give us some new ideas. Olivia and I picked out a project that involved cutting out strips of paper, and then rolling them into circles and other basic shapes. The project directions suggested making flowers, which we did.

Alessia then took the concept and ran with it, creating a sun and rain drops for the flowers and a square for a house.

Olivia decided to make letters out of some of the skinny strips. I helped her make an M for mamma and she made an O for Olivia.

Overall it was a fun project. I especially enjoyed working with paper in a more 3-D way and without a drawing element, and I'm hoping it inspires the kids to make other projects.

 

Saturday, April 2, 2016

Raising Opposites

Story 1

Alessia has always been a vegetarian, but when she figured out death last fall it went from a matter of taste to a matter of conviction. Olivia made the connection between animals and meat just recently.

Me: Does the chicken have to die for us to eat chicken?

Olivia (smiling incredulously): noooo.

Me and Alessia: Yes, Olivia it does.

Me: Olivia, the chicken has to die for us to then eat chicken. Some people, like Alessia, aren't comfortable with that and so they choose not eat chicken or any other meat.

Olivia (with a casual shrug): I'm comfortable with that.

 

Story 2

Last fall I finally remembered to start putting in earings now and then. I used to wear them everyday, and then the thought of a baby yanking out an earing freaked me out enough that I stopped wearing them. Olivia loves anything sparkly and was immediately entranced.

Me: When I was 12 Aunt Laura took me to the mall and a lady put holes in my ears for the earings to go through.

Alessia (clutching both ears and crying hysterically): NO! I don't want earings!

Olivia: Can I get holes in my ears?

 

Friday, April 1, 2016

A Couple of Old Teapots

If you are lucky enough to have somewhere in your house an old teapot, a few silver spoons, or a couple of old dishes, please take them out and use them. Don't save them up for company or a holiday or for your children to inherit someday. Take them out, because, as Pooh would say, it's Thursday. It's 68 degrees here today, but the weather forecasters say it will be 20 on Tuesday. That thought dug its way straight into my brain this morning until I almost cried.

So I baked a peach cobbler with last summer's peaches. I asked the kids if they wanted to have afternoon tea for snack. We sat in the dining room with the Easter lily my friend gave me and the mini daffodils that we bought on sale at the grocery store today. We drank tea from dainty little cups and silver teapots and ate peach cobbler with little spoons from dishes painted in Japan in the 1930s. We read A. A. Milne poems about daffodils and spring, and my head cleared. Tuesday is still going to be 20 degrees here, but today, well today was just lovely.