And she danced

Mikayla went to the community ed’s Hip Hop dance lessons for 9 weeks. Last night her group and others performed – for most it was their first performance ever. We are so proud of her for trying, doing very well and getting up in front of all those parents, grandparents and strangers.

Her teacher was excellent, and we thank her for this opportunity to step out of the box and try this without the pressures (or prices) of a typical dance studio. Thanks for family who came to watch & cheer her on!

Mikayla’s performance 1 of 2

 

Thanks mom for the rose – she loves it! She just wishes her cold would go away so she could smell it.

Afterwards we went to McDonalds to enjoy a special treat and wear off all the kids energy. We do this whenever the household gets a little crazy. I can’t help but smile and laugh every time they come to a window and yell “Mommy, look Mommy!” Even little Jonathan. Melt my heart.

The Good Shepherd

The kids and I have been talking about the Good Shepherd with our Preschool Lessons. They understand that a shepherd takes care of his flock as his own children, tending to their needs, protecting them from harm, and they trust and follow him always. But if one sheep were to go astray, he would leave the 99 to seek the lost one. He would risk his life for them. John 10
The Letter G craft is Good Shepherd, and as I’ve mentioned – the kids are really excited about sheep lately. So we made these adorable sheep on paper plates, with cotton balls, black paper and googly eyes. They turned out quite cute! If you’re not keen on cutting this face shape, go to this website for a printout of a sheep face.

I then decided we need a shepherd, so with construction paper, scissors and a glue stick, and googly eyes of course… Here’s Jesus – The Good Shepherd!


White construction paper, 1 sheet cut diagonally for arms. Glue all white together. 1 red sheet cut in two for his sash, optional fringe at bottom. Hands and face cut from light tan. 1 brown sheet is enough for His hair and beard (overlays the face), and thin strips for the staff. Wrap outstretched hand around staff. Any leftover brown can be used for sandals. Place stick-on googly eyes and draw in face with pencil. Added a foam letter G for my preschooler.
Of course, Shaun the Sheep and Timmy Time are the perfect series of shows for preschoolers featuring sheep.
Activities and info - http://www.shaunthesheep.com/goodies/
Pompom Sheep instructions here.

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Springtime Crafts and a Giveaway!

Springtime is such a refreshing time of year. Our souls give way to the forgiveness Jesus brings during Lent. The snow melts away and plants pop up in glorious colors. We celebrate this season in many ways. Here are a few of mine, but please share yours with all of us! An Easter Giveaway below.
Gardening is fun for all ages, and a great science lesson. May I recommend the book Onions in my Boots for beginners. You can plant a Marian Garden or and indoor garden. Recently we planted grass in plastic cups with soil. poked holes in the cup bottom, then put it in another cup with water and googly eyes! It sprouted to 6” in one week! Time for a haircut.

The little sheep on my ledge I found on Oriental Trading. My kids love watching  Shaun the Sheep and Timmy Time, admittedly so do I! So it only seemed right that The Letter S be for Sheep, Shepherd and Spring!

Little Timmy here is going to be covered in cotton balls along with his other friends. We got this idea from Catholic Icing. Find more sheep fun on my Good Shepherd post.

Video Games | | Shaun the Sheep - Spring Lamb

Xbox 360 | PlayStation 3 | Nintendo Wii | PC Games

Freshening up your kitchen? How about some Saintly Dishtowels!

And speaking of the kitchen, we like to dye eggs. Here is an idea for making your Ressurection Eggs symbols ON the eggs! Use white crayon to draw symbols on the eggs before adding them to the dye. Ooh pretty!

May Day Traditions can be so much fun! Click HERE for TLC’s ideas for kids. One of our new traditions is to decorate flowerpots to deliver real flowers to friends and family. With our local homeschool group I will lead a class in May Day activities, including preschool threading Floral Leis, elementary kids making Flower Pots to give away, and Teens playing Nine Men Morris or Merrelles (History and 3D Game Software).
 
 
Click to view my most popular blog posting: Mary’s Little Crowns
Crowning Mary in May – group activities and crafts

If you’re a baker, you might try these designs on your cake for a spring celebration or First Communion.

As a thank you to my readers…
AN EASTER GIVEAWAY
A few years ago I created these delightful flashcards about church and The Mass. They are perfect for keeping your young children content in the pews or for Mass lessons at home.

Join my Blog’s Fan Club [Google Follow on blog side column] and comment below about your “Quiet in the Pew” ideas for a chance to win a set of these Catholic Mass Seek and Find Cards for Kids! These will be available for purchase in the near future. Below is a sample…

 

Cards include the parts of the Mass, objects within the church, and for kids who can read – finding phrases during Mass.

THANKS FOR READING!
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Preparing Ourselves with Virtue

Visit my personal blog “Growing in Grace” to read more about this topic (posted today), with some tips at the end for teaching your children The Virtues.

Recipes with Character

Just found this wonderful website through Tip Junkie - it has recipe cards that are drawn with delightful characters. Here are some samples from
http://www.thedrawandcook.com/







You can always see our family’s favorite recipes at:
http://michalekkitchen.blogspot.com/

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

My mischievous little leprechauns, up to their old tricks.

We started today with green banana bread and watched an instant Netflix movie “The Secret of Kells.” It was the only Irish movie on instant I could find, and was surprisingly good and interesting.


and this:


For Lunch we had Beef Brisket, Boiled Potatoes and Boiled Cabbage. The kids didn’t like it very much, but Tom and I loved it! Looked something like this:


Our craft of the day is “T” is for Trinity. I didn’t have the supplies for Catholic ABC’s lacing a shamrock craft, so we made these. I cut out pieces and foam stickers, tracing their positions on paper.

The kids pieced them together very well.

To earn their afternoon snack, they were asked to do a Cleaning Treasure Hunt. They clean up their messes to reveal gold coins.

They can use the gold coins to buy the pot at the end of the rainbow!

1.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix with cocoa powder, and I added purple and green food coloring to get it really dark.
2.
Make thumbprint indentations for the rainbow of mini M&Ms.
Bake and enjoy!

Tonight for supper we will be having Reubens! Corned Beef, Swiss cheese on Rye bread. GREEN broccoli for veggies. And GREEN mint ice cream or McD’s shamrock shakes for dessert.


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