Fun, Homeschool Style

I recently participated in a homeschool swap (coordinated by The Homeschool Post).  The idea behind the swap is for homeschoolers to connect with other homeschoolers in such a way as to help support them (through prayer and ideas) as well as to send them a small care package that will help them with their homeschooling journey.

My swap partner was Michelle.  She is a homeschool mom of 3 in Arizona.  She happens to have a blog that I am now a religious follower of; she used to be a kindergarten teacher, but then decided to stay at home with her kids.  I have been able to get so many great ideas from her blog (as well as some emails we've exchanged).

When signing up for the swap you are asked a few questions about your homeschooling style, personal style, etc.  In my answers I put that some of our families favorite supplies are construction paper and tape.  Guess what, Michelle sent me construction paper and tape including a nice dispenser that makes it hard for the kids to lose (something they do quite often with disposable tape dispensers).  She also gave me some food goodies (yum!).  See the pic below of what I pulled out of the box. 

One thing you will not see is a gift code she emailed to me so that I could purchase a software package.  It is a digital scrapbooking program. She had mentioned it on her blog and it sounded great to me. I love crafty things and a part of me loves the idea of putting pictures in a scrapbook.  That said, our household doesn't tend to go to print on photos.  Hubby's family had a house fire when he was little and they have a gap in their family photos because of it, so we go digital and store a copy of them off-site.

I figured this software would allow me to arrange the pictures like a scrapbook, while still keeping it digital.  I've decided my first project will be to create a scrapbook of my son's creations.   Here's the beginning (there are lots of pics to sort through so I haven't gotten any further than this).

 

Thanks Michelle!  You did a great job picking things for me and my family.  I think you've created a monster when it comes to the digital scrapbooking too.  :-)

Being Useful

Well, I think I may have found my calling.  OK, maybe not my calling, but a way to funnel my creativity into something useful.  I love to make things: cookies, cakes, cross stitch, and now knitting.

A couple days ago I finished knitting a hat for my soon-to-be-born nephew.  I wasn't too happy with how it turned out so I decided to try a different pattern and I finished it in one day.  Can I just say, it is SOOOO cute and pretty easy too (sorry, can't post pics 'cause I don't want my BIL and SIL to see it yet).

Anyway, while I was working on it, I was thinking about my son's birth.  It just so happens that the color I was using for the hat was the same color as the hat my son came home from the hospital in.  You see, my son was bigger than most newborns.  In fact, he never wore a newborn diaper.

That size also translated to a rather large head, so the hats that they have in the nursery didn't fit him.  One of the nurses went home the night he was born and knit him a hat that would fit.  I still have that hat (scrolled away in storage right now), but seeing a knit hat in the same color, made me think about whether this is a common occurrence.  Perhaps not, but I think I might just start making hats and give them to hospitals.  Most will be for preemies but some for babies born a little larger than average (in honor of my son).  It's a way to still be crafty, but at the same time fill a need.