Earth Day Psalms

I have been away from the blog for some time and have come back changed. Not drastically, but in hidden, internal ways. I will write of it. Later.


I am pleased to come back and share how the sun rose in our little part of the world on Earth Day.  I do like the idea of Earth Day; I am a tree hugger at heart.  Thoughts of nature weave in and out of my mind constantly during my waking moments - be it at work as a National Park Ranger - where we are charged with preserving and protecting historical and natural resources, and specifically in my division, to inspire and educate the public to do the same - or at home with my children on leisurely walks gathering an abundance of sticks, rocks and acorns for our nature table, or traveling down the road where there is beauty at every turn.  


I think God intends us to observe nature.  Nature is referred to throughout the Bible whether as a metaphor or an active part of God's expression to people. The Pslams have many beautiful reference to God and nature:

The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.
(Psalm 97:5)

Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains.
(Psalm 36:6)

...where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy.
(Psalm 65:8b)

You care for the land... you enrich it abundantly.
(Psalm 65: 9)

...let your glory be over all the earth.
(Psalm 57:5b)

Earth Day is our opportunity to recognize that the strength and fragility of our world speak of a Creator and a reminder to tread lightly.

Transforming Works of Art

"Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint you can at it" - Danny Kaye

Have your chldren been painting a lot this past winter? It is such a fun and creative way to add color to cold dreary days. I look forward to using Painting witht Children, to enhance our experience of painting throughout the spring.

I delight in watching the boys as they paint with wotercolors, wondering what they are thinking/feeling as the colors blend together, as well as the paintings themselves. We hang them on the walls and they brighten our days, but we only need so many paintings throughout the house, so as they accumulate, I transform them into gifts and decorations.

In a couple of weeks, my sons will receive a watercolor card set in their Easter baskets. The 6 year old will receive number cards and they 3 year old will receive letter cards. They are bright and cheery and fun to make from solod color paintings.


Start with several sheets of watercolor painted pages, using 140 lb watercolor paper, painted front and back.



Cut the paper in 3"x4" cards. Then using colored pencil write capital letters on one side and lower case on the other. These are great for younger children learning to spell. (You can make 12 cards per page.)

I also used the cards to make math cards, drawing plants or animals to correspond to the number.

The numbers include:
1 sun
2 mushrooms
3 trees
4 fish
5 trees
6 dragonflies
7 shamrocks
8 birds
9 stars

Another fun way to use watercolor paintings is to make a birthday countdown chain. It works especially well with paintings using several colors.

To make it, cut ten 1"x9" strips and a 4"x3" card.

Loop the strips through eachother to make a chain, looping the top chain through the card.




Beginning 10 days before the birthday, cut a strip each day until the big day comes :)


Other ideas for transforming works of art include:

Tree of Thanksgiving
name place cards for dinner parties
love notes scattered around the house for family to find
bookmarks
birthday / thankyou cards

The Simple Pleasure of a Swing

A swing, indoors or out, is a delightful thing and sets the imagination aflight.

The Swing

How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
River and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside--

Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown--
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!

-Robert Louis Stevenson-

Love

Love is the master key which opens the gate to happiness.

-Oliver Wendell Holmes-

More Valentine Crafts

While my boys were not too interested in decorating for Valentine's Day this past weekend, I was. (Of course, if Star Wars legos had been thrown in the mix, I am sure they would have been more involved, but I have my lego limits.) However, I managed to get them to help with a few crafts for our home and to send to loved ones.

First up is a fun way to use up all of those broken crayons that collect throughout the months. These translucent hearts add a cheery dash of color during these blanched February days.

Begin by making 1/8 cup of wax crayon  shavings using a handheld pencil sharpener.

Second, fold a 12x12 inch sheet of wax paper in half, pour on the shavings, making sure they are evenly distributed, and crimp the 3 open sides closed so the wax does not melt out the edges.

Put craft paper under the wax paper and craft paper on top of the wax paper, iron lightly using the medium heat setting. After the paper cools, draw, or trace using cookie cutters, hearts on to the paper.

Cut out the hearts and string them up on a window where the sun shines in and Enjoy.

Our next craft was to make heart decorations using beeswax and candle molds.

Simply melt the beeswax, lay in the string to hang the ornament and pour in the melted beeswax half way up to the top. If you make it too thick, the sun light will not shine through the beeswax.

Your home will smell lovely as the wax melts and the sweet smell will linger on the ornament for weeks to come.

Using the soap molds once again, I made scented soap hearts with a hidden treasure inside. Most of them hold shells from our summer trip to the shore, but two special ones for the boys hold a lego man. (It will be many baths before those lego men can come out of the soap, so I am guarenteed to have very cleen children for several weeks. tee hee)

I thought of the last craft when I was pondering how to use my youngest son's watercolor paintings (During these colder days, when long hours of outside play is not always possible, painting keeps little hands busy.)

First, have your little one paint both sides of heavy paper. We use watercolors on 140 lb watercolor paper. When both sides are dry, cut it into 1 inch wide strips.

Fold the two ends in and staple the first strip to itself, forming a heart.

Linking the next strip inside the one before, fold it inward, forming a heart, and staple it. Repeat again and agian to make a heart chain that can decorate a mantle, cupboards or hang from a door.

Have fun crafting!

Valentine Crafts

Looking to do some crafting this weekend? Here is the link to Last Year's Valentine Crafts.

Needle Felted Tomten and the Fox

On a recent trip to the library, we found two books that are wonderful for the winter season: The Tomten and The Tomten and the Fox by Astrid Lindgren of Sweden, and also the author of the popular Pipi Longstocking. The Tomten books are delightfully illustrated and tell of the Tomten, a spirit-being in the folklore of Sweden, adding a new wonder and delight to our seasonal reading.

Unlike the Gnomes of England who live in the forest, Tomten live on farms in barns or cellars. In these books, the farmer's children leave food for the Tomten each night. As the moon rises, he walks silently, never seen by people, in the snow to make his rounds checking on the farm animals and even giving a mischievous hungry fox some of his tasty porridge. When they wake, the children see the Tomten's footprints in the snow. (The tile below has set in our home for years. Little did we know we had a Tomten in our midst.)

Last night, I made a peg Tomten and needle felted a fox who now stand on our ever-played with nature table.

Our home is surrounded by Amish and Mennonite farms, so barns, cows, chickens and crops are a common sight. Surely Tomten are there. Perhaps after the next snowfall we will go on a search for little Tomten footprints.