Kleas

May birthdays at the preschool - plus end of school year

In May we celebrated the last three birthdays of the year at the preschool.

For Fritz - a deer tucked in a crocheted pouch

For Banneker - a cat

For Audrey - a cat

I love the anticipation and joy on each childs face as they unwrap their birthday gift.  Even though each child has received (basically) the same gift (a wooden animal in a knit or crocheted pouch) and they know what they may find in the birthday box, there is still so much excitement and surprise at seeing what is inside.  To see all of the gifts we made check here to see them on Flickr.

Yesterday was our May celebration.  Usually held on May first, we changed the festival to the last day of school.  We did not want a repeat of last year where it snowed as we tried to picnic, do circle and make egg carton cup flower garlands.  It was very sad and May first this year was just as cold.  Yesterday, however, we reached a balmy 88 degrees and the children fully enjoyed themselves playing with friends, running through the grass and making pinwheels.  Sadly, I have no photos of the event, but if you are a friend on facebook, you can see some photos that the parents took.

June tomorrow!  I can hardly believe it.  I start teaching my summer camps at the preschool on Monday already.  If you live locally and would like your child (age 3-6) to take a class, click here for more information.  I teach all the June camps and my teaching partner the ones in July.  We always have a great time.  I'll be sure and post our projects as they happen.  

To see what we did in past camps click here.

Happy end of May!!

celebrating the arts

 (I just had to include this photo of Claudia's mom and daughter...how sweet are they?)

What a special treat to see the wonderful mosaics and mural artwork at Roosevelt High School today.  I am so proud of my sister (art teacher) who has worked so hard with artists Greta McLain and Claudia Valentino, students and staff to transform the main entrance of the high school into a wonderful diverse explosion of color and light and inspiration for all who walk through the doorway. 

I can only imagine what a challenge it was to work around all the pipes, fire alarm, doors and windows, corners and vents...but they did so quite beautifully.  I couldn't be happier for them, it is quite an accomplishment and they worked on it right up until today's opening...the grout barely had enough time to dry.  If you live locally (Minneapolis), it is so worth a visit.  Visitors are more than welcome.

For more photos on the process, check out Greta's Tumblr.

busy times

 

End of year always seems to fly in fast motion.  Birthdays, a festival, field trips, preschool graduation, last day of school for me on Friday, then I start teaching summer camps on Monday.  So many gardens to tend to, so many things going on.  Posting just takes a back seat.  

Scroll over each photo if you'd like to learn a little more about the photos.

I'm working on a lot of projects.  Hopefully I'll get to share them here soon.

At least the weather has been lovely.

more yarn therapy - thrift store version

It's no secret I love my weekly trips to the thrift store.  My first stop is always the craft bins.  Teaching preschool, I have learned the best and fastest way to stock up on handwork supplies is to pick them up at Value Village.  And it's the yarn I usually grab for first.  All kinds of yarn can be found there but I only want the wools and I love these recent finds of vintage-y skeins of yarn.  

The wool has a more rustic feel, it's very scratchy but if you're into felting it afterward, this wool felts beautifully!

And even the old labels are pretty.

mosaic monday - yarn therapy

1. Day 3:365 | 2 | I am not a swatch person in the literary sense of the word, but sometimes I'm forced to knit out samples before starting a project., 2. Yarn to Monkey's, 3. My current piece of knitting :), 4. Malabrigo Delight, 5. Tea, Toast, & Cake Single, 6. pure indulgence, 7. (45) This is what madness looks like, 8. 2014-04-27 13.11.39-2, 9. Four through seven. #weaving, 10. Hazel Loom and Weave-it squares, 11. Sparkly yarn, 12. COLORBOMB 'Nicked Shaving' handspun closeup, 13. Yarn in snow, 14. Yarn Heaven, 15. Wet yarn, blocking., 16. colar sortido

Yarn therapy...I'm sure you know what I mean.

Happy Monday friends!  xx

Mother's Day

I still think of this day as only belonging to MY mother, and although I've been a mom now almost eleven (11!!) years, I forget that my own children honor me on this day.  Bless their hearts and bless their teachers for making me feel so special today.  My nine-year-old built and painted the lovely birdhouse for me in class last week and my six-year-old made the felt stitched card in his art class and brought home a pansy his kindergarten teacher made sure to provide to each child to bring home.  Dad made sure the boys brought me breakfast in bed.  So sweet.  All of it! 

Still one of my favorite treasures.  This locket that holds two pictures of my mom when she was a child belonged to my great grandmother.  

Warm Blessings to all of you who are involved in mothering, I hope you had a relaxing and peaceful day.  xx

lego love

Yesterday was the monthly First Tuesday Build a Lego model for free at the MOA.  I love this event almost as much as my boys do.  Children age 5-14 are invited into the Lego store to build a fun project to take home for absolutely no cost.  The project is one that never will be available for purchase, so I guess they are somewhat rare.  Last month they made helicopters, yesterday...these adorable fire-breathing dragons.  Next month they will be building a Jet Ski.  Click here for more information and look under News + Events.  Rawr!!  So cute.

mosaic monday - peg dolls

1. Peg Doll - Beamish Museum Collections, 2. peg dolls, 3. Clothespin doll Champi Éloise, 4. Clothespin Dolls, Peg Dolls, 5. Folk art peg dolls 2, 6. Sol, 7. peg doll family, 8. oak fairy, 9. Ella, 10. Lavender Princess, https://www.etsy.com/listing/130554865/peg-doll-princess-small-wooden-peg-doll?ref=shop_home_active, 11. Christmas Carolers. Clothespin Dolls. Peg Dolls. Christmas Decorations., 12. Peg Doll Kits

Margaret from We Bloom Here is hosting a peg doll swap (sort of).  Read details here.  I have fallen behind on my blog reading so am just learning about this now.  Thing is...sign ups end in three hours so if you're interested in joining, act fast.

I found some lovely peg dolls on flickr to use for inspiration.  Click on above links to learn more about the photographs.

Happy Monday!!  The sun is shining again so everyones spirits are elevated.  It's nice to be outside without a coat on.

In celebration of spring

Today was a perfect day for a parade and The Heart of the Beast Puppet Theater along with thousands of volunteers made this years 40th Annual May Day Parade a huge hit.  It was glorious to be outside with the sun kissing our cheeks.  Minnesotans came out in droves and it was wonderful to see so many happy happy people.

The story of spring that is told through puppetry did not disappoint.  From the giant sized caterpillar with who knows how many bodies helping it creep across the grass, to the magic of the crysalis it spins on an equally large flower, then the birth of a butterfly...it all made the crowd go wild.  We are so in need of spring here.  Yes.  May is going to be a terrific month.