Funny Glasses and Cornstarch Packing Peanuts

Holger spent his morning laboring over a pair of very lovely eyeglasses.

And this afternoon was very light--Josephine left immediately after school for a ski trip with her father, leaving me with just Eden and Jacob. There was a package on the front porch, and fortunately it was filled with not only what I had ordered, but also . . . cornstarch packing peanuts!!! These are wonderful! With just a little bit of water, they stick together and can be used to make really fun constructions. Here is Eden with hers:

And here Jacob works away at his creation, combining the peanuts with colored popsicle sticks.

The Boys

There was great jubilation when we arrived home from school today at the same time that Iain's mother pulled up to drop him off. Iain was thrilled that he was joined by not one, but two boys--Ryan and Lucas!!! They ran around the yard for a few minutes out of sheer excitement and then asked me to get my camera so I could document the wonderful event.

Niels Joins Us!

Today we were joined for the first time by Niels. Niels loves Legos, so the entire morning was spent with Josephine, Niels, and Holger creating a little world of their own.

Feathers! . . . and a Crazy Backyard Train

This afternoon Ria explored the ultra-soft texture of colored feathers.
She was spellbound . . .

And out in the backyard, the kids created a "train" of a bike, two scooters, and a jogging stroller, all connected by hula hoops. With great effort, they actually were able to accomplish a few laps around the yard.

Morning Creations

This morning the kids got straight to work with construction paper, hole punches, and large rolls of brown paper. They were so busy and self-driven! Here are Georgia and Dylan at work on the floor.

And Holger drew a fantastic picture for his mother (too bad I didn't get a shot of it first) and then wrapped it up for her.

Another Emma and a Happy Iain

This morning we had a new addition . . . Emma R.! Here Emma and Josephine make collages out of clear contact paper and paper cut-outs.

Meanwhile, Iain worked on a Tinkertoy invention/creation that I'm sure had a very interesting name which I have completely forgotten by now.

First Attempt at Water Globes

Today the kids tried their hand at making water globes. They ended up with some really fun creations. I'll certainly have to find some more materials so we can do this again another time.

Here is Orianna's "fishtank" globe:

And Katie made a globe with a mysterious piece of white plastic and lots of silver glitter:

Still No School . . . Just a Rainy Day

Josephine, Eden, Gabriel, Holger, and Lucas all lean on the couch and watch the rain pouring down outside.

Over the winter break I spent a little time cleaning out my art cabinet and came across an old Polaroid camera. I still had a few packages of (very expired) film, so I handed the camera to the kids and let them take turns until the film was all gone. Each one loved the power of choosing who would be in each photo and then taking the picture. All the pictures turned out completely terrible, by the way, but I think all the fun was in taking and posing for them, anyway.

Eden and Katie look at a magazine together.

Happy New Year!

It's Children's Garden's first day of 2008!!! As school is not yet back in session, we again had time to go to Cuesta Park. Here Katie pushes Eden, Ryan, Holger, and Lucas on the swings.

Eden and Katie on the monkey bars

Ryan, Eden, Katie, and Lucas enjoying the view

The whole gang on the climbing structure

On the walk home . . .

Once home the kids made shrinky dinks outside. Pardon the bright nature of the picture. The sun doesn't always agree with me in taking pictures.

The manufacturer of these play cars recommend them for ages 18 months through 3 years. I'm sure they never had in mind all the fun that older kids could have with them. For example, pair them up with bungee cords and a lawn chair and, presto! . . . a double-decker car. And by the way, for you worried parents out there, the rule is that nobody is allowed to be on top of a car when they are on the cement--only in the grass.