2-15-11 Marvelous Mardi Gras Mask

Friends:

Here is a fun and easy Mardi Gras mask you can make to celebrate Carnival Season! This year, Mardi Gras falls on March 8, 2011.

Supplies:
1 large paper plate
1 sturdy drinking straw
Markers/Crayons
Sequins
Feathers or chenille sticks (pipe cleaners)
Ribbon
Glue
Scissors

Directions:
Cut paper plate in half. Cut out triangles around the outer edge of the round part of the paper plate, making it look like a sun. Cut out eye holes. Decorate the paper plate with markers, crayons, sequins, and feathers. If you don’t have feathers, curl chenille sticks around a pencil and attach them to the top of the mask to simulate feathers. Finally, secure a drinking straw as the mask’s stick or handle. Curly ribbon can be attached to cascade down.

Enjoy and parade around!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

11-15-09 Giving Thanks Tree

TOGETHER TIME ACTIVITY: THE “GIVING THANKS” TREE
This year, I am creating a “Giving Thanks” tree. As thanksgiving guests walk in, they will be asked to write down, on a maple leaf, one thing they are thankful for. These leaves will be affixed to a large tree. When the tree is completed, everyone will be able to read all the blessings on the tree. It is a beautiful way to give thanks for our bounty.

Materials:
Science Display Board
Large paper bag or brown butcher block paper
Paper in autumn colors: red, orange, yellow, green, brown
Maple leaf pattern http://familyfun.go.com/printables/turkey-maple-leaf-pattern-for-thanksgiving-703422/
Cardstock or poster board
Glue stick or school glue
Double stick tape

Instructions:
Freehand draw a large tree on a large paper bag or on butcher block paper. Glue it to the middle of the display board. Create a maple leaf traceable pattern on cardstock or poster board. Fold a sheet of “autumn” paper into four, trace the maple leaf. Cut it out. This will yield four maple leaves. You can also trace a small child’s hand and use that as a “leaf” pattern. Create leaves in various Autumn colors. Write the words “Giving Thanks” on each side of the display board or print them out and glue them to the board.

As guests come in, have them write one blessing on a leaf. Use double stick tape to affix the leaf to the tree. Soon, the tree will be full of blessings, things they are thankful for. May those leaves “fall,” fly away, and become someone else’s blessing.

To make the Giving Thanks Tree even more special, consider donating money in the amount of the leaves on the tree to a soup kitchen, a homeless shelter, a battered women’s shelter, the Red Cross, or your favorite charitable organization.

Music Time at Eastside Elementary School, Lancaster, CA

TOGETHER TIME – MUSIC MADNESS
In New Orleans, music is such an integral thread in our cultural fabric. From blues to jazz to zydeco, music permeates the air like the scent of night-blooming jasmine. When you walk through the French Quarter, you will likely encounter street musicians singing, strumming, or drumming their own interpretation of the city’s heartbeat.

Music is an everyday language in our household. Eliana, my nine-year-old, likes to compose her own songs. You will find iPod earbuds glued to the ears of Soleil, my nineteen-year-old. You will find me bobbing to my favorite tunes down the highway. I love enhancing my storytelling with sing-along refrains and silly songs. When Eliana first began talking, I often used music to teach her various concepts, including spelling her name.

Children thrive in a music-rich environment. Perhaps it is because music follows the natural rhythms of nature and the inherent beat of the heart. From morning until night, nature serenades us with twittering birds, babbling brooks, whispering winds, and choruses of crickets. Even the sounds of the city have their own unique cadence: chattering schoolchildren, honking horns, singing sirens, and thundering trains. Here are some ways to explore the world of music in your home or classroom.

Kitchen Band
Pull out the spoons, pots, and pans and create a cool kitchen band. For inspiration, listen to the intro on my Jambalaya CD, Johnette Downing‘s song “Kitchen Band” on her From the Gumbo Pot CD, or Pam Donkin‘s “Kitchen Jam” on her A Hop, Skip, and a Jump CD.

Name That Tune
Gather a group and play “Name That Tune.” Divide the group into two teams. Hum or “la-la-la” a popular tune and have team members guess it. If your team is unable to figure out the song, the other team earns the opportunity to provide an answer. Keep score on a dry-erase board, drawing music notes as points. The team with the most notes wins!

Adapt a Song
Teach daily activities and other lessons by adapting popular songs. For instance, the lyrics to the “The Mulberry Bush” can be changed to

“This is the way we brush our teeth
Brush our teeth
Brush our teeth
This is the way we brush our teeth
So early in the morning.”

Hot Potato
A children’s classic, “Hot Potato” is always a cool game. Select upbeat music and seat the children in a circle. Use a beanbag, a foam ball, or a sock filled with beans (tied, of course!) as the hot potato. Children pass the hot potato clockwise while the music is playing. When the music stops, the child with the hot potato is out. Continue the elimination until one child remains. The winner gets to be the music player for the next game.

Playing with Scarves
Using scarves is a great way to integrate movement and music. Children can express their creativity by waving their scarves to bubbly melodies. Adults can guide young children with coaching: “Scarves up, scarves down.” An excellent scarf activity CD is Johnette Downing‘s The Second Line. The CD is filled with songs that children can move and groove to.

Loony Tunes
Share some favorite loony tunes with your kids. Some of our favorite silly songs include “Aba Daba Honeymoon,” “Purple People Eater” by Sheb Wooley, “Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini,” “Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba” sung by Perry Como, and, of course, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” from the Mary Poppins soundtrack.

Jumping Jack Jive
Combining exercise and music is not a new concept. Look at the Jazzercise phenomenon. Create an exercise routine with your kids to their favorite song. Make up exercises such as the “Jumping Jack Jive” or the “Hippity Hop.”

Chez Cuisine
Set your dinner to a soundtrack. Explore cultures around the world through their food and music. Think “fancy French restaurant” with music playing in the background as you enjoy your escargot (or “French” fries). On Mexican night, play mariachi music while feasting on fajitas. For music from around the world, check out Putumayo CDs or CDs from Pier 1 Imports and Cost Plus World Market.

Junk Jam
Pull out the junk and jam to your favorite tunes.

Clink an old spoon on an oil pan
Rat-a-tat-tat on a garbage can
Grab a hubcap and make a big BAM!
Now that’s what you call a jumpin’ junk jam.

World Rhythms
Grab some rhythm instruments from around the world and shake, rattle and roll to your favorite stories. Check out Margaret Read MacDonald‘s Shake-It-Up Tales! Stories to Sing, Dance, Drum and Act Out.

Soothing Me Sofly
While your children are studying, play soothing music such as soft jazz, sweet classical, or sounds of nature CDs.

Children need exposure to all types of music. Stock your music shelves with various genres of music: pop, country, folk, blues, classical, jazz, and world. Expose children early to the beauty and joy of a good song and they will grow up being “mad” about music.

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne