Homeschoolers' Street Faire Preparations



Later this week the kids and I will head out to our day of homeschooling activities. Part of the day will include a Street Faire. A Street Faire is a new idea for our homeschooling group. A hall has been rented and tables have been booked. Some people are crafting, some people are selling services and some are hoping to sell their used books and supplies. Buskers have been scheduled - any homeschooler can have a 20minute block of time to entertain any way they please.

I'm encouraging my kids to take part and the process has been not unlike molasses so far. I suggested we make Christmas ornaments to sell. It's something we do every year for family (except we don't charge family members for the Christmas ornaments they receive from us, of course) so it wasn't a big leap to start a bit early this year and have a load of ornaments ready for the Street Faire. We thought of a few ideas and talked around costs for materials. We planned the set up for our table and agreed that presentation and a 'nice looking table' was important. We got our materials and I suggested a schedule so our supplies would be ready in time.

I encouraged the kids to think of something they liked or enjoyed to share at the Street Faire. The Boy will be selling cups of warm apple cider. Cider was a hit at the homeschoolers' Thanksgiving Pot-Luck so he is hoping that is a sign that it will be popular at the Street Faire. The Girl thought about baking her gingersnap Christmas cookies but then decided against it. I've been knitting up wee gnomes in spare moments to go with our 'ornaments' theme. Not sure if they'll sell or not, but some of the homeschooling mamas that have seen them in progress seem pretty excited about them.

Knitted Gnomes



The ornaments we decided to make are a crafty Gingerbread man and snowflakes. In the photo are the puzzle piece ornaments I made for family in 2007. The ones we're making this year are a tiny bit different and I haven't come across them on Pinterest yet. I think I'll keep them hidden for another couple of days. I don't have a good photo of them yet as their 'icing' is freshly finished and still drying.

Ornaments in Progress

I'm very pleased with the snowflakes we've made. They're made of hot glue then sparkle-ified to be festive. I got a little worried that the 'suggested schedule' was not inspiring enough motivation for the kids, so I spent the weekend exhausting my hot glue sticks. The kids popped in and out, helping with Modge Podge and sparkles and string.

Finished Sparkly Snowflakes

We now have a full inventory of Sparkly Snowflakes (71.5 snowflakes and two numb fingertips can be had for three small packages of Dollar Store glue sticks) and Puzzle Piece Gingerbread Men (42 of these little guys as that's how many of the little head pieces I could afford to buy at Home Depot).

The kids and I are still disagreeing about the selling price of the ornaments. I say $0.50 and they say a full $1. The Knitted Gnomes are to be priced for more, perhaps $3 each or 2 for $5. I'm discovering that I'm not very good at asking for money for our crafts. I'm feeling a bit of stress. Even though the event planned is expected to be a place where money will be exchanged. I suppose we'll get it all sorted out one way or the other. Mr. A will be very upset with me, though, if I give these things away for free!

Check back at the end of the week and hopefully I'll have happy stories to tell about our very first Homeschoolers' Street Faire!

♥ Mrs. A.

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Byte Size Blog #3

Guess where the puppy was laying?

Today, I bring you Byte Size Blog #3 aka 10 Minutes Until I Should Be Waking Up The Teenagers , sponsored, again, by Point Form.

• The Puppies (dogs, really) are good. Above photo was snapped earlier this month when the Blue-Eyed Bandit was lying in the leaves on the patio stones in the backyard. The Brown-Eyed Beast continues to be jealous, needing constant confirmation that she is 'first'. The Blue-Eyed Bandit gets her treats stolen a lot. And she seems to have grown an extra large pad on her right back foot. (Cristina, there might be something to your theory, after all!!)
• Homeschooling today will consist of helping my very good (blogless) friend move house. As the new house has been available for a month, things have been moved as time permits; decorating, cleaning and updating has also been coming along. However, Friday is the last moving day and there is still much to be done. I believe my kidlets and I will be using our car to help move their school room, friend and I will be unpacking and organizing the new kitchen and the kidlets (mine and hers) will be moving a mountain of packed things into the appropriate rooms. Fun times.
• My proactive approach to planning my Christmas this year has resulted in 4 Christmas parties to attend in 7 days. All will require creative and festive food contributions except one, the dress-up party, which requires an extensive overhaul of my self so I look dressed-up and socially acceptable. I may need to re-examine my enthusiasm.

This concludes the third edition of Clip Blog, brought to you by My Coffee's Done and The Kids Aren't Up Yet And We Have To Get Moving (literally!) Today.

♥Mrs. A.

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Byte Size Blog #2

Almond Tree Sprout
 

To prove that I have not fallen off the face of the blogosphere, I bring you Byte Size Blog #2 aka Some Current Thoughts Since Catching Up Will Take Far Too Long, sponsored by Point Form.

• The above almond sprouted after being wrapped in a damp papertowel and left in a zippy bag in the French cube of the school shelf, forgotten for a month. Leaning to the foreground you can see the first shoot (top killed off due to my black thumb) which was quickly replaced by the second shoot. Almond Sprout seems determined to like it hear as evidenced by the lovely leaves it is showing off. Rumour says (ok, the front page of a Google search) that almonds coming to Canada are pasteurized, so exactly what sort of genetically mutant specimen I have growing in my living area I'm not sure.
• Christmas has begun to be planned without undue amounts of teeth-gnashing and marital strife. (Mr. A. has the patience of a saint.) It has been decreed that this will be a cash-Christmas. My family has agreed to forgo the usual pile of presents under the tree in favour of a family gym membership. This is an experimental project relying on everyone's willingness and Mr. A's ability to stick to a commitment. I have displayed some measure of grown-up-ness by proactively planning our Christmas season calender instead of employing my usual reactionary approach of cramming in things at the last minute after repeated calls and emails from concerned family members who believe my children would not have a proper Canadian holiday without their efforts. Yay me.
• The Boy Child has a Man Cold. I have to believe there is an actual concern about the genetic mutation of certain germs since the common cold that The Girl Child had last week has somehow morphed during its trek from bedroom to bedroom across the upstairs hallway. I know it's a Man Cold by its symptoms: moaning before and after coughing, inability to speak 2 sentences without mentioning one's 'illness' and a marked lack of energy for everything except one's screen time and Hallowe'en candy.

This concludes the second edition of Clip Blog, brought to you by Blogger's Guilt and Early Riser's Opportunity.

Hoping to make it back here again this week,

♥Mrs. A

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