Fun & Easy Tie-Dye Project

Oh Tie-Dye, how I've missed you! I remember wearing Tie-Dye shirts as a kid and I'm so excited they are coming back in style! This is such a fun activity but can be pricey too! My kids are having a big 4-in-1 birthday bash in a few weeks and they wanted to have matching Tie-Dye shirts. After seeing the prices at the local craft store for kits, I decided to do some experimenting at home and found a less expensive way to make Tie-Dye apparel.

 

Materials needed:

• Plain t-shirt (white shows up best but my oldest insisted on colored shirts)
• Permanent markers (we had Sharpies but off-brands will do)
• Rubber bands
• Febreze

Step 1: Choose a point on the shirt where you'd like your "burst" to start. Pinch the shirt in that spot, twist, and band with a rubber band.

 

Step 2: Continue twisting the shirt and placing the rubber bands about 1" apart until the entire shirt is banded.

Step 3: Color the space between the bands, alternating colors. Be sure to color all the creases. The darker and more complete you color each section, the better it turns out. The kids didn't color quite as dark as mine but they still turned out cute! This is where your kids can get as creative as they'd like. My son did a lot of black (he really likes black lately) and my daughter added polka dots and rainbow colors.

 

Step 4: Use the febreze to soak the shirt (while still banded). Once you've soaked it, use your fingers to rub in the colors and you'll see them start to smear just a little. Tip: For inexpensive Febreze, you can pour a cap full of fabric softener into a spray bottle, fill with water, and go. Smells great too!

 

Step 5: Toss the shirts into the dryer (make sure there are NO OTHER CLOTHES first). Once the shirts are completely dry, remove the bands to reveal your new Tie-Dye creation! 

 





 

We put their ages on the back for the party.
Savanna will be turning 6, Samuel 4, and
Gideon & Gracie 1 :)

 

Go Tie-Dye!

 

Bye for now,

Kristina

 

 

 

 

 

 



Growing in Faith & Love

What kid doesn't love to be measured? They ask you to measure them today, even if you measured them yesterday. It's so sweet to hear my children's desire to grow big and tall and strong, "just like Daddy!"

Since my oldest, Savanna, was big enough to stand on her own, we've measured her little frame with pencil against a finger-smudged walls. When we moved to our current house, my husband and I talked about how we want to stay here for a long time. We've moved around so much and we'd love to see the kids grow up here and graduate. So we had no qualms about starting a new growth chart on a similar finger-smudged wall. We happen to have a small wall in the kitchen that wasn't being used for anything and so that's where we started. We've been putting pencil marks on the wall since we moved in May and I just felt like I wanted to do something more permanent. Something nicer that would be a sweet memory of the kids stretching their necks and standing on tippy-toes to try to gain an extra inch.

But I wanted it to be more than that. Sure it's important to help them grow in stature, having healthy bones and a sound mind. We feed them veggies and proteins (or at least attempt to) and we make sure they get plenty of physical activity. But we should also want to feed their soul and help them grow in faith and love as well. And then I found this verse:

"We ought always to give thanks to God for you... your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of each of you is increasing." 2 Thessalonians 1:3

God isn't concerned as much about our physical growth as He is about our spiritual growth. After all, if they grow as tall as David Robinson and have not love, they have nothing (for those of you who miss that reference, he is a former basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs and is a solid Christian). So we made our new growth chart (more like a mural) and as we worked on it together, I talked to the kids about how God wants our faith and love to grow. I showed them how tall Daddy and I are on the wall and explained to them that we are not going to grow any taller but we can keep growing in our faith and love forever and ever. They thought that was pretty cool. 

So if you're looking for a simple project to both spruce up your classroom area and offer you a teaching opportunity EVERY time you measure your child, here's what we did :)

I measured the wall and put a dot for each inch from 24" to 72" (2ft to 6ft). Then I wrote the inches at each foot marker. We already had some pencil markings that I traced over with colorful sharpies. We made an accent for each foot marker as well and then wrote our Scripture verse (2 Thess 1:3) on the wall. You can do whatever design you like. This was a simple design we could all do and it only took about 30 minutes. So be creative and have fun!


I am excited to see how much my children will grow over the years. Will they hit 6ft? I don't know. But I'm even more excited to see them grow in faith and love.

Bye for now,
Kristina

Project: Stars & Stripes

Since today is America's birthday, I thought I'd share a recent project we did on the Pledge of Allegiance and the American flag. We started Project: Stars & Stripes on Memorial Day, continued through Flag Day, and completed it today on Independence Day. It's a wonderful summer project for those of you who stick to the traditional school year, or a great way to start the year for you year-arounders. Patriotism in the hearts of young children is a beautiful thing and I have enjoyed watching my children come to love America and what we once stood for. Here are the things we did:

1) BOOKS: The local library has a TON of books on the flag and that's the best (free) place to start! I checked out as many age-appropriate books as I could to help my kids gain interest in the flag.  Our favorite was I Pledge Allegiance by Bill Martin Jr. and Michael Sampson. This book teaches the meaning of each part of the Pledge in a simple way for children to grasp.

2) SCAVENGER HUNT: We did a photo scavenger hunt for 50 flags. The kids LOVED this! Everywhere we went (and even in our own house) if they found a flag we took their picture with it or in front of it. It didn't take long at all for us to find 50 flags. In fact, they still do this even though we have finished this part of the project. The other day in the car on the way home from the park they found 93 flags! Here's a few of my favorite pictures...

Samuel realized he had a flag
on his PJ's

The kids in the train museum after
a long day outside in the sun

This is the flag at the front of our
Sanctuary at chruch

Savanna drew her first flag

      The kids saw flag stamps on

a letter from their best friends

This is a car lot down the
street from us. Jackpot!

3) FLAG LAPBOOK: We love lapbooks! They're so much fun, informative, and easy to make. I couldn't find a template with the info I liked so I made my own. Here's the Flag Lapbook for you to download. You will also need: manilla folder, blue and red construction paper, scissors, glue, pencil, blue and red crayons or markers. My kids loved making these and the info provided would be good for PK - 5th grade. (NOTE: You can adjust the level of difficulty. For example, I cut out most of the booklets and filled in all the words for Samuel (3yrs) and just let him cut out a couple of the squares since he's learning to use scissors and doesn't know how to write. But for Savanna I allowed her to cut out more and to copy my writing. For an older child you may let them cut out all the materials and try to fill in the blanks on their own. However you do it, this is a fun part of the flag project.)

Ready to start our Lapbook

Savanna coloring the cover
for her lapbook

Samuel coloring the cover
for his lapbook

Samuel's finished lapbook
(Front Cover)

Samuel's finished lapbook
(Inside)

Savanna's finished lapbook
(Inside)

Savanna's finished lapbook
(Front Cover)

Savanna's Pledge of Allegiance

My completed lapbook

Fold down booklet about the stars & stripes

Fold open booklet about the flag colors

Fold over booklet about the Flag Code

Hope you enjoy this project and have a wonderful Independence Day!

Bye for now,

Kristina