Clarence the Nutcracker Turkey Disguise and Story by Miss K

Miss K's latest 2nd grade assignment was a Family Turkey Project. Attached to the instruction sheet was a paper turkey. We were to help this turkey make it safely past Thanksgiving by disguising him. We had to think of something unique or special to our family and disguise him accordingly.

These were the directions we had to follow:

• Cut out the turkey.
• Decide how to disguise him and have fun.
• Return to school no later than November 14th.

We had a LOT of fun with this project. We used cardstock, glitter and paint to help disquise the turkey. Special thanks to this site for help on the nutcracker cutout. I had to reduce it in the copier to 75 percent of size, and then I actually used my cricut to cut out the face, nose and eyes (I can't cut a perfect circle even if a pattern is given to me.)

Miss K did a great job of cutting, pasting, and WRITING. Here is the story she had to write in the perspective of the turkey.

Hi! My name is Clarence. I am a turkey. I heard my farmer tell his kids that I am going to be Thanksgiving dinner. Yikes. I think I should run away and join the ballet.

My friend K is going to be in the Nutcracker this year. She is going to be a mouse. K loves nutcrackers. I will dress up like one and go to her practice. I need glitter, paint, a hat, a buckle, and a coat.

When Clarence went to Nutcracker practice with K, Miss Pam gave me the part of the Nutcracker. That is how I escaped Thanksgiving Day dinner.

Have you ever helped disguise a Turkey? What was the disguise?

Filling the Bus

The annual school sit and cheese pics have been brought home. The bus collages that hang in my hallway have had another picture added to it, leaving one less space to fill as my babies move up in their school years. I have been very, very vocal about how much I detest these particular pictures. This year they aren't so bad. These particular ones serve their purpose. They fill the bus windows.

This year though it hit me. 

Did you count the blank spaces left in the above picture? Go ahead. Count. FOUR left! He hasn't changed that much. Just lost his baby cheeks, added glasses for two years, and has now found contacts. His style hasn't changed much either. Hair or clothes. His face is longer, shoulders broader. And his height, that can't even be recognized in such pictures as these. He now towers over me by almost 4 inches at 6'1". He is in his first year of school ball- basketball! Obviously I am the mother of a rapidly growing man child. 

Miss K became a mini me in the past year. I blinked. Her hair isn't so curly anymore, with the help of product we can still make it pretty wavy. She is sassy and crafty. The girl can scream and throw drama like nobody's business. No one will ever mess with her. She always has to be busy. Her imagination is infinite. She is still dancing and even has a part in the upcoming South Tulsa Children's Ballet's Nutcracker performance.  I still have ten spaces to fill in her bus. I have a feeling I will earn my head of gray while filling these seats.

Like I said above, this year filling the bus seats hit me, hit me hard. The school day memories that have been made and will be made are memories to treasure forever. The education they receive now will prepare them for adulthood and for their future careers.

Education, a lot of prayer, and a solid faith in Christ our Savior.

Pumpkin Book Character Project: Birthday Elf on the Shelf

It's October and pumpkins are EVERYWHERE!!

Miss K's school decided they needed to bring pumpkins into their classroom for some reading fun. At parent/teachers conference last Tuesday I was given a sheet with the following instructions:

• Select a book and read it together.
• Focus your discussion on the characters in the story.
• Pick one character and create them on a small pie size pumpkin. (the student had to be able to carry it to school)
• Decorate it, paint it, glue things on to it, and just get creative! (Please don't carve it though.)
• Complete the attached book report.

The pumpkin, book report, and book was all due by October 22. The students will read their stories and talk about their pumpkins October 29-31. 

We knew immediately we had to get to work, we were leaving town for Fall Break and wouldn't be back until the evening of the 19th. Our school/activity/homework schedule gets kind of crazy during the week so, with only two school days before the project was due, we knew she needed to bring it to school on the 20th. 

So what book did she choose? The Elf on the Shelf®: A Birthday Tradition. My girl is crazy about her Elf on the Shelf, and loves that she gets to pay birthday visits other than just at Christmas time. She has a special request in to Santa for Malia Peppermint Pattie to visit for ALL of our birthdays. 

Items used:
1 pie pumpkin
1 piece of red felt (arms)
2 pieces of white foam (hands and collar)
Acrylic Paints, foam brushes and cotton swabs
Pencil for drawing on details
1 piece of white card stock
1 piece of yellow scrapbook paper, cut into strips and accordion folded for hat.
Hat template
Hot Glue

As you can tell from the pictures, Miss K had very little help from me on the project. I was just the hot glue, paint corrector/mixer, and direction giver. 

Hmmm...I wonder if I will have a visitor on my 40th birthday? Only one more week!

A Week in Pictures from Our Nest

What a crazy busy week this past one was.  So many HUGE events going on that I would have to write a minimum of SIX posts to get it all in. So I will just post a week's worth of pics (mostly unedited from the iPhone) and give story captions. 

B has been invited to play AAU Basketball this Summer. Practice started last week. 

We haven't been at the same gym twice. 

P.S. We are accepting any and all donations and fundraising ideas toward this cause.

Look who made the National Junior Honor Society!!! He only thought my pride was in his athletics. I was crazy ecstatic when he brought the invite letter for this home. His installation is next week. More pics to come.

 

Miss K's 1st Grade Field Trip was at the Tulsa Air & Space Museum. Daddy Crow and I both got to attend as chaperones with her. He learned exactly what it was like to handle/chase four 1st graders. 

Beautiful Feet Dance Company held its 16th annual dance recital last Thursday night. This is our little ballerina's fourth year to perform. Oh so sweet. I caught this picture backstage in between my emcee lines. 

Me & Miss K after the recital.

On Saturday we drove a few short miles from my house and visited the Blue Whale on Route 66. My Moma was in town for the weekend. We enjoyed a lunch of KFC and explored for about three hours. 

Miss K's art masterpiece was selected for display at the Broken Arrow Schools District Wide Art Show. The piece is a circus/clown themed piece colored with block crayons. Below is a closer view of one of the clowns. She doesn't know this, but I used to collect clowns when I was a little girl. 

 

I captured this shot as we were leaving the art show. This is outside the Administration Building at the Broken Arrow NSU campus. I am so proud of my kiddos and their accomplishments. They are growing so big and their light shines so bright every day. 

Halo Heaven: My New Favorite Site for Dress Up, Accessories & Craftiness

The 4-Crow's blog uses affiliate links, please see the Disclosures Policy page for more details.

Last Friday the mail lady brought a box to our door. A box for me to play with and Miss K to wear. A box from my new favorite site- Halo Heaven. Halo Heaven is a place to get all of your party and dress-up accessories at wholesale prices without buying the wholesale bulk. 

They sent Miss K a pettiskirt, fairy wings, a tiara, a wand, a set of bows and a ribbon halo. Talk about a box of treats. We had so much fun playing dress up and taking pictures. She is preparing for her annual ballet recital this week so we had a great excuse to get into costume, hair and makeup. I love these moments. It was hard not to share all 40 or so pictures in this post, she just radiated cuteness and beauty. 

Halo Heaven is running a CRAZY sale right now. I mean CRAZY. Use code CRAZY50 to get 50% off your order. (Sale does exclude items in the custom embroidery dept, halos, wands, gift cards and log furniture.) Also, there is free shipping on orders over $30 in the continental U.S. 

I absolutely adore their blog. They have such creative ideas. Right up my alley. And ALL of the supplies are carried on their site. What about making a tutu Easter basket out of one of their tutus? Click on this link to see what I am talking about. 

Whether you have a boy, girl or just a hankering to get crafty, you can get all of the style and accessories from one place, my new favorite place: Halo Heaven. 

Teaching the Lost Art of a Thank You Note

Do you still write Thank You notes? There are a few occasions when I believe a handwritten Thank You is a must. Graduations, weddings, baby gifts, and funerals. Believe me, I am not the only one who thinks this way. If someone takes the time to to think of you and goes out to buy/make you a gift for one of those occasions, an appreciation is a must. Write it, stamp it, seal it and send it. It is etiquette people.

ETIQUETTE.

As I have gotten older, birthday gifts have kind of fallen to the side, so I personally don't send many thanks out for those myself, but....my children do still have parties. They do still need to be taught to not only say thank you but to send a thank you. And since they won't be graduating, marrying, or having babies anytime soon I must begin by teaching them by writing Thank You's for their birthday gifts. (my 13 year old son, may be a lost cause)

If you have read my blog for any length of time or know me personally, you know that my daughter just celebrated her 7th birthday. We had an American Girl Party. So much fun. One of the activities we did was a life size American Girl box. Each of the girls got in it and I took their picture. So cute. I then took these, developed them, and put notebook paper on the back of each to make them into a photo postcard. Miss K then wrote each one of them a note.

Not only did she get a lesson in etiquette, but also handwriting practice. And I cannot think of any little girl friend of hers that doesn't like to receive an old fashioned piece of snail mail, especially one with them as the doll. 

Class Birthday Treats- Kaybrie is O-Fish-ally 7, with a Blank Printable!

I never imagined when I took a picture of Miss K's class birthday treat and posted on FB and Instagram that I would receive so many comments and likes. It seems that there is a lack of non-sugary ideas for classroom birthday treats out there. Especially on Pinterest. I cannot take credit for this idea. I found it on Pinterest, but I had to make my own printable. So, I will share my printable here, and a blank one for you to save to your computer and edit. Then just copy and paste it into word and print off! Easy peasy!!

By the way. I love these Goldfish Grahams. So fun!

An American Girl Birthday Party for my Littlest Star & A Giveaway- Closed

My Littlest Star is Seven!!!

I blinked. It happened. And I think she grew another inch over night. 

She wanted an American Girl Birthday Party for her big day. 

Even more she wanted the new American Girl Doll of the Year, Isabelle. 

The dolls are so expensive, parties are even more expensive. I mentioned in an earlier post my strategies for making this happen on a budget.  I am happy to say, I pulled the party off with about $40, a lot of hard work, and finally the help of great friends and family! 

THANK YOU!!!

Life size doll box for the girls to pose in. So much fun!

Paper plate name banner. 

Party hats, drinks and  tea light cakes for the dolls!

Goody bags. There were lots of things to take home. 

Doll & Girl Craft Station. Red & White doll tutu's and...

felt top hats for the dolls and girls from Punch Place Plus. 

A doll hair station. Because every doll must have great hair.

The Bistro & Goodies table. 

Yum! Cake balls, PB&J, Bologna, wavy potato chips, gum balls, candy cane heart suckers, bottled water, and homemade cherry limeade!

I love these little sandwiches. But seriously, the waste. Needless to say, we saved the outer edges and fed them to my husband and son!

The water bottles. Love these. I made them in Word. They even had a bar code on them with her birthday. You can download my printable here. 

10 giggly girls. Actually we had 11, my niece is in the high chair. 

Miss K showing her friends how to make the tutu's. 

11 beautiful STARS with their dolls. Donned in their hats and tutus. Adorable.

It appears that all of Miss K's birthday wishes were blessed upon her. She had a wonderful birthday and I pray that I can continue to instill upon her that birthdays are about sharing your joy with others. I also pray for my daughter that her light and inner star shines for Jesus wherever she goes. 

Would you like more of my tips on saving money on parties? On February 4, 2014, I will be chatting it up on Twitter at 1pm with Offers.com during their #STSMchat (save time save money). We will be discussing party planning on a budget further. I cannot wait to hear more ideas to help me save time and money. Be sure to go read more about it on their blog!

Now, who is ready for a GIVEAWAY??? Did you see the cute top hats the girls made? My friends at Punch Place Plus sent them to me for the girls to create.

And one of my readers is getting a....

The mandatory entry is to visit their site and tell me in a disqus comment what craft supplies you would want with your $25!!! Entries will be collected on the easy Rafflecopter form below. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What I Love About Blogging..

Want to know what I love about blogging? My blog loves me. It doesn't matter if I have a single follower, or person who cares what I have to say, my blog is always there for me to write when I am ready. I have been gone for a week. Usually when I am gone, it doesn't mean I am not wanting to share my activities, it just means I am too active to sit down and write. How can that be you ask?

SICK BABY GIRL

PARTY PREPARATION

Miss K ran fever ALL last week, from Sunday until Friday. The doctor said it was just a nasty virus. Really? Tell me something I didn't already know and give me a magic cure all. I hate when my kids are sick. She must get better I told them, she is turning 7 on the 31st and we have a FOUR hour birthday party with her friends.

FOUR HOURS? What can anyone do in four hours with 12 giggly girls. Oh I promise you, it will be busy. The picture above is just a hint of what is to come. Stay tuned.

On February 4, 2014, I will be chatting it up on Twitter at 1pm CST with Offers.com during their #STSMchat (save time save money). We will be discussing party planning on a budget . I cannot wait to hear more ideas to help me save time and money. Be sure to go read more about it on their blog!

Also in the birthday post, there will be a special giveaway from Punch Place Plus. Be sure to go like them now on Facebook!