Field trip try out

I was looking for a field trip to take our co-op preschool to, ending up our unit about "the arts". I saw that the Garfield Park had an art center and they were displaying an art exhibit called "Black Pearls". It is Black History month so I thought it might be worth checking out. It also had an "art for all" activity room that I thought the kids might enjoy. But in the end, I am glad I checked it out with my kids because it would have been a total field trip bust! But my kids made the best of it, and might have even enjoyed themselves doing the art activity. The art activity was focusing on making a "freedom quilt". Each pattern in their quilts had a code or meaning behind it. The girls were asked to match up the quilt squares with their meanings. They did pretty good.                                                                         

The girls were then asked to draw their own quilt square and have some type of meaning behind it.

Little C is hard at work drawing a picture. She really didn't get that it had to have a meaning behind it. One of the reasons this activity wouldn't have worked for 5 preschoolers.

The nice lady at the GPAC (Garfield park art center) made me do one too. Here is my rough draft. Can you guess what the meaning behind it is?

The girls were then asked to make their quilt square on a fabric or paper square and use pieces of fabric or pieces of paper to complete it. My girls were all over getting to cut up the fabric and use it in their projects. Mom isn't so fancy free to let the girls cut up all the fabric at home!

They got to glue their pieces together. They had a sign on the table that read :Think before you glue. Hmm, do they know children or what.

Little C had little interest in making a quilt square, but she did enjoy coloring in pictures of the squares that they had there.

Here is my finished quilt square. The meaning behind it- "Strengthen Families" 

Here is "A's" rough draft. She had to cut out one of the squiggly lines to make a pattern, so she could cut it out of the fabric. Don't pay attention to the backwards music notes. It's expressive art right? She can make them any way she wants!

Here is her finished quilt square. Meaning- Music is joyful.

Here is "B's" quilt square. Meaning-I love spring!  Who wouldn't be thinking about Spring on the day we went. Absolutely gorgeous weather outside. A welcome change to the snow and ice.

The lady in the art center asked Miss A if she played the piano after looking at her quilt square. She did say she did. So the lady told her that she should go play something on the grand piano that they had out by the art display. -Oh, I forgot to mention the art display- it was "Short and sweet". Two walls with about maybe 10 pieces of art to show. I was hoping for more. Anyway- Miss A was having a ball showing off her piano skills. They said it was there for anyone to use. Just come and play it any time.

The art center had these steps out front. The girls thought taking a picture on them would be neat.

Since it was a such a nice day, we had to go take advantage of it and play at the park there as well. Notice the girl in the left corner of this picture? She has a really pouty face. There is a story behind it.  Miss A was taking pictures at the time so I asked her what was up with the girl in the picture. She said that she was telling "B" to smile for the picture and the girl asked if she was talking to her. Miss A politely said "No, I am talking to my sister". The girl's name was also "B" and she was sorely disappointed that she wasn't getting her picture taken. But Miss A got her in the picture anyway! It still makes me laugh just looking at it.

Little C was enjoying the swings as her sisters were climbing and running all around. So, the field trip wouldn't have worked for the preschoolers, but my girls and I sure enjoyed our afternoon anyway.

"You Quack me up Valentine!"

Miss "A's" class was having a competition for their Valentine's boxes at class. There were several different categories- the most original, the funniest, the most Valentine like, etc. Miss "A" came up with this duck box to enter into the most funniest category. She had a line to go with it "You quack me up Valentine."

It worked. She won the contest in that category.  I love that she put feathers on the tail of it. We only had a few left from some other project. If we had more-the whole thing might have been covered in them.

I was in the other room and could hear the girls just burst out in laughter. I had to see what was so funny. The girls were playing with the big eyes they had found in left over project stuff.  

They were in stitches of laughter. I am so glad my girls are quick to laugh at even the simple things. 

Miss "B" had the help of her glasses to hold in her big bulging eyes!

Since #1 got to do a project, then the others wanted to also. They came up with their own versions of birds. Here is "B's" robin.

And here is little C's blue bird. And the blue bird had to have a chick sitting on the mommy birds back. They had a good time with these Saturday.

Spring Can't Come Fast Enough!

I remember watching the news as a teenager in Colorado showing the ice storms in the Midwest and thinking "I am so glad we don't get anything like that here. That looks miserable." Now fast forward about 15 years and I am living in the Midwest and going through an ice storm- and I would have to say- IT IS MISERABLE! I have never been more fearful of walking down my drive way then I have been the last few days. Here are some pictures to show you our nature made ice rink.

The gutters filled up with ice and so the freezing rain had to find other avenues to flow. Like over the raingutters.

And down the siding of our house.

The first day we took this picture of our frozen grass. That night it decided to snow "ice pellets" and more freezing rain to add to the already accumulating ice.

After this we (my husband and I) decided to get a shovel and see if we could chunk up the ice and get rid of it. This is our pathetic attempt at clearing out the ice. We made a small divet. The ice was so thick we decided it wasn't worth the attempt.

The only redeeming quality of the ice storm is that it makes everything sparkle in the sunlight.

The girls had 3 days off of school because of the ice mess. Little C spent her time playing with sisters, mom & dad, and building castle like sctructures for all her little petshops and animals.

The other girls spent their time playing wii games and Phase 10 with mom or dad, and entertaining themselves in other ways. We even carefully walked on the ice around the nieghborhood to walk to friends houses. With 3 days of not having to run kids to different activities I got to make our Master bedroom go from this: ( Yes it took me several tries at getting the "right" blue-gotta love samples)

To this! I have had the paint for 3 months now, so I am so glad that slowly, but surely, I got it painted. Now the real chore is to re-organize the bedroom. Like the bookshelf where I had to take all the books out to move it to the middle of the room and then threw books back in there to get them off the floor? Well at least I can hang up pictures and things now.

And then after thinking that the ice mess couldn't get any worse, mother nature decides to throw a bunch of snow on top today. Sweet! Maybe I can take a child's mindset and say " The ice is out of sight, so out of mind right?"

So yes, Spring can't come soon enough!!