Fall Craft: Making an Acorn Gem

My next post is up on ParentSavvy: How to Make an Acorn Gem.

When it's fall I feel like digging a hole, and crawling in it. It's colder, and the most annoying thing is that it's dark when I get up, dark when I go home, so daylight is so limited with taking photos for blogging. 

My whole family got out and about to look for acorn caps for this next craft project. Thankfully we did this before it got too cold.  

At first we had trouble finding acorns. I'm like, "We need them for this next project!" We went to a few parks before we found our stash.

Isaak picked up pinecones as well. He's always been my nature collector. You really only need acorn caps for this craft - nature wise. We found a lot of acorn caps on the ground. The ones that were still attached had to be It really isn't that hard to pry off acorn caps. Many twisted off, and the rest Travis just grabbed a flat head screwdriver to pry them off.

Dig Out the Markers!

We have lots of markers. Some are better than others. I just asked Isaak to get them all out. 

Color the inside of the acorn caps with different markers. 

Some colors show up better than others. If they ware lighter this craft will still work.

Fill the Acorn Caps With Glue

This is where I needed to get creative. I had Isaak get a Lego base plate, add Legos in different spots to help hold the acorns caps. Then I filled the caps with glue. You can use modge-podge if you don't have any glue.

I think an ice cube tray, or egg carton would work to hold up the acorn caps as well.

At first the acorn caps will be milky white, but they'll dry clear enough to see the color.

Isaak loves glitter, so we added some glitter glue to the tops of some.

Isaak and I both enjoyed this craft! The last part you just wait for them to dry.

Dried Most of the Way:

Remember the Glitter Glue? Here's what those ended up looking like:

You can display them in a Mason jar, vase, pot, terrarium glass container, fishbowl or bowl:

Acorn Gems:

I heart the glitter ones:

Neutrals:

Greens, Blues and Purples:

Reds and Pinks:

Perks on This Craft:

• It's for anyone 
• You don't have to pay a lot
• We got out in nature 
• It's colorful
• It gave me time with Isaak
• You can talk about what to collect and discuss colors with your child

What color do you like the most?

Talking To My Kids About More Than Just Sex

Did I get your attention with that title?

Mica got his first love letter at school. Someone handed him a folded up piece of paper. 

Notice the full heartbeat on, "With You" and the flat line on, "Without You"?

She love - likes him. The little person on the bottom with the heart is cute.

So we talked about it. 

My Advice:

Mica don't ignore her, be nice to her, don't spread rumors, and just tell her that you want to focus on school right now. If he felt like it he could say, "My parents don't want me dating yet."

At School:

He did his best to avoid this girl. In fact he ran from her at recess. She stopped him at different times during the day to ask what she could do to make things better? He said, "Drop it. Drop the whole thing." 

The Dare:

Apparently there is a game played at school where 2 people have to play some kind of game. Whoever looses gets a dare. A girl dared another girl to ask Mica out.

When the girl asked Mica out he responded with, "I think that dare game should be banned at school." Ha! 

She proceeded to tell Mica that other girls liked him. 

I just hope this stuff doesn't go to my 12 year old's head. I don't need a cocky child! 

What kind of advice would you give a 12 year old on the opposite sex?

Girls, Girls, Girls

The title of this post made me think of the Mötley Crüe song, Girls, Girls, Girls.

 
Last week I asked Mica, "So who have you been playing with at school during recess time?" It's my way of asking how his day was without asking, How was your day? over and over like a broken record.

He said, "Well...actually I've been walking around with Sally." *Her name is not really Sally, but I'm calling her that for this post.

I said, "Mica you do know you're too young for a girlfriend."

He said, "I know, but I'm not too young for a crush."

This girl made the Student Council with him. -Sigh

We went to Target. I was looking for the toothpaste I wanted. Mica said, "Mom Sally and I have the same deodorant. Here it is."

I'm thinking, How does this kid know what kind of deodorant Sally wears? Oh ya they keep them in their lockers to put on before gym class.

Source

I said, "Mica maybe you should start hanging out with your boy friends more, and walk around the playground with Sally less. She may think you're creepy because you walk around with her a lot. Plus you don't want to loose the friends you have because all your attention is going towards Sally." 

Mica said, "Sally likes me to."

I said, "Your guy friends won't understand that."

In the car Mica said, "The girls at the school think I'm the cutest boy in the class."

I said, "Really! Don't let that get to your head Mica. There's plenty of good looking kids in your class."

Mica said, "I'm number 1 on Sally's list."

I said, "Things like that change. Character is not always about how you look. It's about how you act to."

He said, "I act fine Mom."

Oh my goodness we're in trouble. This boy is only in 4th grade! He could be in 5th grade age wise, but he's in 4th grade! How in the heck do I take this down a notch, or 5 notches? This kid doesn't need more confidence. He has plenty. I don't want him to be that guy like in Beauty and the Beast - Gaston. BTW I can't believe I'm referencing Disney. That's the first character that came to mind.

Disney's Beauty and the Beast

Except Mica would love if a girl read, and came up with ideas.
 
My goodness he's too young for girls! I guess I had a crush in 4th grade, but I never told anyone about it. Mica's told me, his friends, Grandma and Grandpa, and even the girl he likes. 

I remember my mom saying, "Some things I just don't want to know." I think I know what she meant now. 

I'm Not a Girly Girl

I'm not a tom boy either. 

I get annoyed shopping with only girls. Looking at purses for 15 minutes drives me nuts. I'd rather be in a store like Lowes than kept prisoner at a girly clothing store for an hour. When we go in a clothing store I anticipate that someone going in there actually needs something, or I consider {in my mind} it to be a waist of time. I start to grab clothes to try on to refrain from getting bored out of my mind.

On the other side of the coin shopping with men drives me a little batty. Daddy doesn't want to LOOK at anything for more than 5 minutes. Even if it's something that is needed. Mica and Isaak tell me things fit just to shut me up; when actually that something doesn't fit at all. If there is a cart Mica wants to push it, but he pushes it like a drunk person drives. Then I take over, and he pouts the rest of the time.

I find myself in the middle of the boy shopper, girl shopper world. I don't mind shopping, but I like to keep moving. I browse at stuff online way more than shop at stores.

I make lists of what I need. Then I forget about them. I'll leave them in the car, or on the kitchen counter. Thankfully I'm pretty good about remembering what was on the list. I do veer from the list slightly; to buy things I like, or want, and not need.

What kind of shopper are you?

Are you the type that likes to browse, and take it all in?
Are you a list maker?
Do you impulse buy?
Do you buy only what you need? More of a survival shopper.

If I'm not a girly girl, and I'm not a tom boy either. What am I?

There should be a name for that girl {me} that's stuck in the middle.

I don't get my hair cut often. I don't dye my hair. I'm perfectly ok with grey taking it over. It's even, so we'll call that grey natural highlights. ;)

I wear make-up, but it's not caked on. It takes me 2 minutes to throw on some base, blush, lipstick and eyeshadow. The only time I wear eye liner, or mascara is for something really important. I find that mascara makes me sleepy. Mascara Seriously it weight my lids down. My eyes itch a lot because of allergies, so I don't want eye make-up on that's going to run. One person thought I never wore make-up at all. I didn't know if I should take that as a compliment, or be offended? 

It's been 8 years since I painted my nails. I painted them yesterday because the school I work out had a 20 year bash last night. I also wanted them painted for my Halloween costume for Mica and Isaak's school Fall Festival tonight.

Daddy thought I got a manicure. Nope! He should know better. I roll my eyes at the thought of paying to get something like that done. No offense to those that do. I have a few friends that pay for stuff like that. Once he looked closer he knew I painted them myself. Isaak took one look at them, and his eyes sparkled. He said, "Mom I want my nails to look like that!"

Girls are so Hard to Understand!

This is a follow up post from the previous one.

Today I asked Isaak, "How was school today?"

Isaak said, "It was good Mom. But I don't understand...Maddie the girl that played kitties with me at recess last week wouldn't play with me today. The teacher moved her desk away from mine to. I don't know why she wouldn't play with me."

I said, "First of all in Kindergarten they move desks around a lot. It's so you can get to know other kids, and it helps the teacher to know who you work well with. Second, did you ask her why she wouldn't play with you?"

He said, "Maddie said, 'I found some new friends.' But then she said I'm still her friend."

Oh the heart breaks, and trying to understand girls at the age of five.

Bubble Space

I had a dentist appointment yesterday. The lady that cleaned my teeth started talking to me about her five year old that's in preschool. Her son happens to have a friend that is a girl. In the past they have always kissed each other goodbye. She's trying to let him know that, it's no longer appropriate to kiss girls his age.

Then a girl that I teach with got a call from her daughter's principle saying, "We're having problems with ____ kissing boy's in class." She did her best not to giggle. Then had a talk with her daughter (who is in kindergarten). 

I told both ladies above about Mica's class in kindergarten having trouble with infringing on people's space. Mica's teacher says that this is very common with kindergarten, first and even second graders to want to give each other hugs and kisses. It's not just Mica that they are having problems with.

We as parents teach our kids to be affectionate. In their first years it's acceptable to kiss and hug the people they see. Most of them are relatives or close friends. We send them off into independent land; once they get comfortable with their fellow classmates some of them want to kiss, hug and boys often want to wrestle.

When I was in kindergarten I in no way thought about kissing a boy. I thought they had cooties.

What used to be acceptable in their minds is no longer acceptable. What once was cute, is no longer appropriate.

What are we doing about this:

• We've talked to Mica's teacher a few times. She's really glad we're on her side. I guess a lot of parents don't care now a days, which is really sad! She thinks they get a lot of this from TV. Mica has barely watched TV. I can blame it on Disney's Princess' and Prince's. They really glorify a kiss!
• We've talked to Mica many times about giving people space! At school they call this, "Bubble Space."
• We've talked about germs.
• We've talked about how it's ok to kiss and hug people like Mommy, Daddy, Grandma's and Grandpa's. It's however not ok to kiss or hug classmates.
• He's had to write apology letters. 
• We've sent him to bed early. With Mica, naughty behavior clears up with sleep much of the time.
• Daddy emailed and asked Boys Town what to do? That may seem obsessive, but hey if they have the right answers then we need to hear them.
• I've talked about role playing with Mica. He seems to like to act. Why not try to act like I'm a fellow student of his?
• Daddy thought about making a contract with Mica. If he breaks it and infringes on someone's personal space at school, he looses something really important to him. We of course would explain all this to him.

I do have to say that I'm glad that Mica isn't the only one infringing on people's bubble space. He's not the only one that sticks out like a sore thumb. Then again, other classmates might be where he's getting this from.

What we don't want is Mica afraid to tell us when something goes wrong!

Competition

Mica's told us that he wants to out run Malachi at school. Apparently Malachi wins tag a lot. Mica said that as soon as breakfast was over, he was going to go practice running up and down the hill in our backyard. We have a big, hilly backyard for living in the city.

He may or may not get faster then Malachi. For sure, he'll burn off some energy and get some exercise. ;)

There is some kind of competition going on with these boys. I do know they like the same girl at school. We've been down playing that whole situation!

Then when Daddy went to go pick up Mica from school yesterday, Cammy (the girl the boys both like) says, "Bye Mica!" Daddy said, "She is uh-Door-uh-BULL!"