A Busy Monday

Late Jan/Preparing for Feb Nature Scene

I had such a busy, craft day today! I made the little sprites, the groundhogs and the watercolor backdrop today! I have not had a lot of time or energy for being crafty lately, so it would seem I made up for it all in one day. I had a blast!

I started with a paper template, which (if you look carefully) I traced in pencil onto the piece of wood. Then I cut out the pieces with my moto saw.  Once cut out, I sanded with metal files.  I used our hand-held electric drill to drill small holes into the "hands" of the sprites to hold flowers, baskets, lanterns, or whatever strikes my fancy as the year rolls along.

Then I painted with non-toxic watercolor paints. The pink one definitely needed more coats of paint than the blue one did!

Here are the completed sprites. I could have done a few more coats of the paint, but my husband said he liked the rustic look of them just as they are...so I stopped right where it is!

I applied the same process for the groundhogs. I used a paper template, then cut out the shapes, sanded, filed, and painted.

Here they are drying in between coats of watercolor paint.

Here are the completed groundhogs, with a knitted snowman in the background looking on.

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The Four Processes: King Plus, Queen Minus, Sultan Multiply, Sultana Divide

I also managed to get some homeschooling in today, albeit it was not as much as usual. After I put together the above Four Processes chalkboard, I sat down with my son and we had a lesson on the Four Processes.  We'll be using this theme for the next couple of weeks. We did a block of the Four Processes at the beginning of the school year, we're doing it now here in the middle of the year, and so it makes sense to toss in another block near the end of the school year. It would seem to be a main mathematical goal of grade 1 to have a good grasp on the Four Processes. 

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Today it got up to 30F outside, a fine day especially considering the cold snap we've had this month. We spent a good hour outside in the snow today, followed by a cup of hot cocoa for all. It is so good for the soul to be home together. I thank myself each and every day for having made the decision to homeschool.. Really, truly.