We've Moved.....The Fairy House That Is!

The Fairy House or Gnome Home here at Sweetwater has good bones!






READ HERE about how to turn an old stump into a pretty fabulous Fairy Garden structure










That was a couple of years ago....


Just like any home, the Gnome home needs regular maintenance.

Well, this year instead of the usual spruce up of the property....I decided that it was time for the Gnomes to make a MOVE!

You know the saying....in real estate it is all about    LOCATION!

 LOCATION!

 LOCATION!

Instead of the busy intersection of driveway and front walk....the Gnomes deserve the woodlands and a pond view.

Luckily....the perfect "lot" was available!

Packing up to move is never any fun....but in this case it involved not just the furniture....but all of the landscaping materials....

AND

The WHOLE house too!

 It is a good thing the move didn't involve too much distance....

The Sweetwater Grandboy was there to help with sprucing up the place with a newly painted roof.


The landlord wasn't so sure about the bright blue for the roof....but hey it suits a Gnome....


The process would have gone quicker....
BUT....





















The city utility workers showed up to flush out the water mains....and that diversion was way too interesting to miss!

So....after a short break...

The renovation continued!









As moves go, this one was pretty painless...I guess that is the magic of Fairies and Gnomes!

 I hope the Gnomes like the upgraded pond view!

Remember.....There's No Place Like Gnome!!!

Have a Great Day!

Fancy Schmancy Refrigerator Art Display!

Back to School time means that your favorite kids will be bringing backpacks filled with their artistic endeavors!
Slapping that artwork up on the refrigerator is the typical way to display these treasures.
Why not elevate your typical refrigerator display so that it has  "Gallery" style?
Adding a mat to a any photo or art piece makes it seem special!




Now...if you follow my blog...you know that I do a lot of custom matting with my trusty Logan Mat Cutter!

The $200 spent on this tool was one great investment....but that is a story for another day!

So....for this project....I used it to cut an 11 x 14 mat with an opening of a little bigger than 8 x 10.
The ability to cut a custom opening for any piece of artwork is what makes having your own cutter so nice!


You can still do this without a mat cutter!
(or you could come over to Sweetwater and I will let you use mine!)

How to Preserve Autumn Leaves!

The weather here this fall has been amazing.  Bright sunny warm days.  For some reason, the leaves on the trees around Sweetwater have not been as colorful as usual.  I suppose there is a scientific reason for that but I don't know what it is.

Fall leaves that are brightly colored just call to be brought in to the house to use for decorations.

I have memories of classroom art projects that involved trying to save fall leaves.

• We ironed them between wax paper.  
• We made leaf prints with paint.  
• We used color crayons to make leaf etchings. 
• We pressed leaves in heavy books.

What I really wanted was leaves that look like they are still outside on the tree.
AND......AHA!
This is the technique I tried this year and it comes pretty darn close to actually preserving the leaves.

The leaves in the silver vase have been in water for 2 days.....and you can see how dry and curled they are.

The leaves with the white pumpkins came into the house at the same time.  They got the "magic solution" and you can see they are still nice and soft.

How did this "magic" happen?

The "magic" ingredient is Glycerine.

You can buy glycerine at the drugstore or in craft stores.
I buy mine by the quart from Amazon.

What You Do:

1. Mix the glycerin and water so that it is one part glycerin and two parts water. ...
2. Pour the solution into a flat pan, place the leaves in the solution, and then put the weight on the leaves to keep them submerged. ...
3. Keep the leaves submerged in the solution for a couple of days.
4. Dry the leaves gently with a paper towel.

These giant red oak leaves were perfect to show you the process.

  I just put the leaves in the solution and didn't bother to weight them down.  Every so often I would go and push the solution around with my fingers to make sure the leaves all got covered.

Look how lovely and shiny and soft the leaves are after just 2 days.

They really hold the colors too.

I am not sure what I am going to do with these.  But I am sure to think of something.

 Almost as good as the ones in nature!

Are you wondering how long these will stay looking nice?
I don't actually know.....but the ones I did two weeks ago still look great.  I don't know if it matters.....they really only have to last until Fall decor turns to Winter....!


Now.....Are you ready for your chemistry lesson?

Glycerin is a neutral, sweet-tasting, colorless, thick liquid which freezes to a gummy paste and has a high boiling point.
Glycerin can be dissolved into water or alcohol, but not oils.
Many things are able to dissolve into glycerin easier than they do into water or alcohol. This makes it is a good solvent.
Glycerin is a humectant.  That means that it draws moisture from the air.
Glycerin has the ability to make "water wetter" meaning that it breaks the surface tension of water.

Glycerin has lots of uses besides preserving leaves.
If it can make those leaves so nice and soft.....imagine how products containing glycerin will help soften skin and hair.

 This is a nice article with lots of information about glycerine.
Creative Uses For Glycerine 
It is worth checking it out....in fact....I discovered that glycerin mixed with water and heated over a candle flame makes a cool Halloween Fog Machine.  I can't wait for the UPS guy to deliver my new glycerin supply so I can try this!
Glycerin is also a great additive for Home Made Bubble Solution.
Recipe for Magic Bubbles
1 oz. glycerin
2 oz dish soap (I like Dawn)
8 oz water

Hope you are having a wonderful day!

The Best Halloween Read-A-Louds!

Source

Spiders and Witches and Bats OH MY!

It's time to get yourself to the library or bookstore to find some great books for Halloween.




If you are volunteering at your kid's Halloween parties....what better way to set a calming tone than a great read-a-loud.
OR
Just have them at home to curl up on a cool evening for a family read-a-loud.

Check out this link for a nice annotated list of favorites from back in 2011.
Here are just a few of the titles on that list:

• The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid Of Anything by Linda Williams
• Night of the Pumpkinheads by Michael Rosen 
•  The Hallo-Wiener by Dav Pilkey 
• Bats at the Library by Brian Lies 
• The Hobyahs by Robert San Souci 

I realized that this list needed updating.SO....here are some newer titles that are truly "beWitching"!

Quick Gift Bag Ideas and a Tutorial!

As May winds to an end.....Graduations and End of Year Thank-yous are upon us! 

I have to admit that I often give gift cards for these events!  

Graduates AND Teachers love gift cards!

The trick to making a gift card personal is the presentation!

These are the simplest little gift bags that you can make using a single piece of  decorative scrapbook paper!


I like the fact that there are two little pockets on bag.

One side for the gift card....
The other side for a heartfelt note!

Remember that those notes to thank the teacher are actually MORE appreciated than the actual gift.... In fact...you wouldn't even need a gift..just have one side include a thank-you from your student and the other side from you!

Easter Basket Book List!

Everyone has a bit of Spring Fever about now. With Easter just a week away, it is time to think about what to tuck into those Easter Baskets. Of course there will be candy and eggs!

Here is an idea!  How about some great books  How about some great Spring themed books?

Drool Bibs For the Sweetwater Grandbaby!

"I can't think why mothers love them. All babies do is leak at both ends."   Douglas Feaver   

 Isn't that the truth?

I have been sewing up some pretty cute drool bibs for the Sweetwater Grandbaby!

There are tons of tutorials and patterns out there! 

The Bandana Bib seems to be popular.....but personally....I think all that fabric up by the baby face is cumbersome!  If you like that look...here is a link to a pattern and tutorial!

Since there are many tutorials out there...I won't bother to write one....so check out the links I have found!

V is for Pumpkins!

"Q is for Duck An Alphabet Guessing Game" is a great book to get kids thinking "outside the box"!

It is pretty obvious why Q is for Duck.....because a duck Quacks of course!


After you read this book to your child....don't be surprised if you are inundated with all the other possible alphabet guessing ideas your kid thinks up!

 So..... Are you wondering WHY the title of this post is "V is for Pumpkins"?

Well.....because Velvet makes the prettiest pumpkins!

This year I made a couple of really large brown velvet pumpkins.....

The smaller ones in the photo are made from silk...and they are pretty too!

Source

Source

Source

I did a Pinterest Search for Velvet Pumpkins and found some amazing examples that other folks have made....  CLICK HERE TO SEE LOTS MORE  VELVET PUMPKINS 

How to make Velvet Pumpkins!

I am sending you to this post that Trina Holden did with a super tutorial for making these. 

Her instructions  are way better than any I could write!

Her technique is pretty close to what I did to make mine!

I think the collection of fabric pumpkins on the hearth looks really nice!

 I took a close-up shot of the mantle....because for once it feels like I got the proportions right!  It is simple but interesting.....and considering that everything is DYI or from Goodwill it was also CHEAP....I mean THRIFTY!!!

I guess I will spend the rest of the day outside clearing out the planters on the front steps and front entry!  We have been hit with some pretty hard freezes this week..so no more flowers to pick!

Have A Great Day!  And don't forget to save your pumpkin stems for next year!

Link Parties
Serenity Saturday Get Schooled Saturday   
A Vision to Remember  

How Blogging Has Changed My Teaching!

There hasn't been much time to do projects here at Sweetwater these last couple of weeks.



That is because ALL my energy has been devoted to  "Back to School" projects!




Since there isn't much new to from home.....

I thought maybe you would enjoy a peek into my school world!

This post is really aimed at showing you how learning the ins and outs of blogging the last few years has changed how I teach!

I actually have FOUR other blogs besides Sweetwater Style!

You are welcome to link up and see them....but really the goal here is to think about how using a blog for "work" communication could work for you too!

 PSI Media Medley!  

This is the blog that I use to keep all of my staff up to date with the going's on in the Media Center.  The blog posts are a way for me to make sure that everyone has all the information about procedures, new books, new websites etc.!  It is fun to inject a little humor into some boring information.  The really nice part about a blog is that teachers are able to go back and read information that might get lost (deleted) if I just used email!  I can't tell you how many times I can refer questions back to the blog instead of a long detailed conversation.  It is a real time saver!  I ask all staff to subscribe....so I know that the information is getting to everyone!

ATPPS Alphabet Soup

Our school participates in the state of Minnesota's Alternative Pay Program for teachers. (ATPPS)  I am the lead teacher for this at our school.  It is a great program....but like ALL state run programs, there are LOTS AND LOTS of rules, deadlines and paperwork.  This can be confusing unless it is explained clearly and simply!  ALPHABET SOUP is a way for me to spread that information without holding a lot of boring meetings.  We will start needing to do this work in the next few weeks.  I will be able to post the information that my teachers need....when they need it....and because they are subscribed to the blog....they are able to read about it and get back to me with questions.  When I start hearing the same questions over and over....I know it is time to write a clarifying post!  I also love the ability to go back to the archives....and know that the excuse "I never got that email" won't fly!

The next two blogs are my favorites....because they are the ones I use with KIDS!

Media Matters

When I started teaching all those many years ago, I dreaded every Friday because you couldn't leave for the weekend until you turned in your written lesson plans for the upcoming week!  I HATED writing lesson plans!  Wouldn't my first principal, Mr. Sandberg, be surprised to see my BLOG version of lesson plans!  I really LOVE writing these plans.  I also think that it is good for kids to see adults writing and publishing for a purpose!  The other hidden benefit of this blog is that it also becomes my SUBSTITUTE plan.  I can actually "speak" to the kids about what the sub will be doing with them!

Productive Tuesday Tidbits

Every Tuesday afternoon is BAND day for 5th grade! In order to minimize the disruption of small groups coming and going....we all get together in the Media Center and have a rotation of activities.  Kids use the Productive Tuesday Tidbit to navigate through a set of "assignments" during the time they are using the computer lab!  The links they need, the directions to follow are all right there!  It would take ALL of their time if I were to rely on oral directions!  They love being independent and I often here from them that they go back to earlier posts to do the activities at home!

I think one of the best testaments to the success of these blogs at our school is the fact that some of our teachers have started their own blogs to replace the WEEKLY NEWSLETTERS.  In fact I am partnering with another teacher next week to hold a workshop for several teachers who want to start blogs of their own!

They say that technology should transform your teaching....I guess I could say that BLOGGING has transformed mine!

Finally and maybe the most important point I want to make about Blogging at school...

I DON'T use the blogs to replace my face to face teaching!

I DO use the blogs to streamline communication so that I have MORE time for face to face interactions with kids!

I would love to here from some of you BLOGGERs who are also teachers about ways that you use your Bloggy Skills in the classroom!  And of course if you have any questions or comments as teachers OR parents...I would love to hear from you!

I promised a peek into my school world....

One of the roles I have at school is "unofficial photographer"... and taking pictures to use on our school website is one of the most enjoyable jobs!

If you have a couple of minutes....take a look at this animated slide show of the first day of School celebration at my school.

 

Those beautiful smiling faces really tell the story of what "Back to School" is all about!

Have A Great Day!

Link Parties
Get Schooled Saturday  Create With Joy  
Sugar Bee Crafts  Blackberry Vine  

Martin Luther King Jr. Book List For Kids

Like many of you, this is a three day weekend for me because Monday is Martin Luther King Day!
Hurrah,,,,
Who doesn't like an extra vacation day?
In honor of the life and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I am reposting this list of great read aloud books that celebrate the ideas inherent in the celebration of the life of this amazing American Hero.


I have the distinct pleasure of reading and discussing books like these with kids everyday.
I am always amazed by the wonderful insights that children have about the "dream" that MLK had.

I ask the kids to look around the group of kids that are sitting together listening to the stories.....

Then I ask them if they think that Martin Luther's Dream has come true....

They are in fact living in a world where "little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers"....as they sit side by side with children of all colors.  

I believe that well written children's books are a wonderful way to start "Courageous Conversations" about the struggle in our nation surrounding Civil Rights!

Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport

This gorgeous book is a great starting point.  The book shows Martin as a child and then as he grows up to   and preach about love and acceptance. Following this are small looks at the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott, civil rights marches, and his 1964 Nobel Peace Prize. Finally, while marching with striking garbage collectors (a fact not often mentioned in children's biographies of King), he was shot and killed. Says the book at the end, "His big words are alive for us today". 

Simple and powerful!

The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles





This is a nicely done history of the familiar story of the brave little girl who was the first black student in a New Orleans school in 1960.
Our kids will find it amazing that there was such anger about desegregation at that time...but never the less...this is an important story.

Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges


Read Ruby Bridges' own words to truly feel what it might have been like to be this brave little girl!


The best history is always told in the words of the people who lived it.


....and look at those eyes!!!

Remember by Toni Morrison

The photos in this book are truly amazing!  Morrison has captured with photos and fictionalized words of what it was like to be a child during the upheaval of school desegregation.












Climbing Lincoln's Steps by Suzanne Slade




This book is a nice timeline of the story of Civil Rights in America. It begins with Lincoln’s signing of the Emancipation and ends  with the visit to the Lincoln Memorial by President Obama and his family....truly an amazing journey!  There are nice short biographies of important black leaders included.







The books above are great non-fiction.
But it is the stories that truly make for "courageous conversation"!

The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson


This is a simple story of two little girls who ignore the "rules" crossing the fence that segregates their African-American side of town from the white side. They get around the grown-ups' rules by sitting on top of the fence together and becoming friends.







Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles

It is 1964....Mississippi....2 boys...one black...one white!
The boys swim together at the creek, rather than at the whites-only town pool,  so when new laws mandate that the pool, and everything else, must desegregate, the boys rejoice.  But then the town fills the pool with tar in protest and the boys try to understand.   The illustrations in the book are extremely well done!









Ruth and the Green Book by Calvin Alexander Ramsey

I never knew about "The Green Book" until I read this little picture book.  This story is about a family driving from Chicago to Grandma’s house in Alabama and the bitter realities of segregation. They have to sleep in the car because they are turned away from hotels. Then they are welcomed at an Esso station, where they get a copy of the pamphlet called The Negro Motorist Green Book, which lists places where black people are welcome. There is a nice historical end piece about the Green Book as well.

Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco

I probably can't ever do a book list without a Patricia Polacco book.

Say Curtis describes his meeting with Pinkus Aylee, a black soldier, during the Civil War, and their capture by Southern troops. This is a compelling tale filled with the realities of war.  It would be best for kids older than 9.  I never get through this without a few tears! What makes it even more interesting...it is based on a true story about the author's great-great-grandfather.

I hope you enjoy your long weekend....and that you take some time for some "Courageous Conversations" to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dream!

 

Link Parties

Be Different Act Normal   

The Gingerbread Blog  Get Schooled Saturday   A Vision To Remember     

Easy Tutu....Really NO SEW!

 They are putting on a SHOW at PSI!

Our school drama production was this week!
My friend does the most amazing job on this.
Remember! We are a Spanish Immersion School!
That means that the whole play needs to be written and performed in Spanish!
Kim does this every year and it is absolutely wonderful!

This year's production is 4 versions of "Los Tres Cerditos" (or if you don't speak Spanish....The 3 Little Pigs)

WARNING!.....you will have to read some of my "educational philosophy" before you get to the TUTU....but this post is really about TUTUS!