Goodbye to Summer and Hello to Fall

Here are some of the last projects we did this summer and a few of the first things we did for "school".

Planet soaps! Fynn had a lot of fun- they are milled soaps, so I stayed up late the night before grating them with a cheese grater so they would be ready to mold into planet shapes in the morning.  I used those colored glycerin soaps so we wouldn't have to worry about adding colors (and Fynn LOVES colors) but they were artificially scented, and by the time I finished grating the last bar I was almost sick! (Don't tell Fynn that) Next time we will use natural soaps for sure. (Don't worry, they're not so bad now that they're just sitting on the bathroom sink :))

 This is another one of the first "official" planned school projects we did this year- it's a "balloon slide" made from cardboard. Balloon slides (aka inflatable slides) are one of Fynn's favorite things. We colored this slide with markers together, complete with the "ladder-in-the-middle" and taped it to another box so it made a functional slide!

It was awesome to see Fynn and Rowan both climbing up and sliding down (sharing happily!) but the most magic of moments was when we were creating it.  Rowan was napping and it was just Fynn and me coloring together and I just had this sense that here was this special little boy with all these wonderful magical things that he loves flying all around him-  balloon slides, planets, stars, whales, numbers, all at his service, if you will, and I felt so blessed and humbled to be a part of it.  This phenomenon occurs to me every once in a while. I believe it has something to do with his strong sensitivities to what is around him, and that the things he loves are more than just hobbies to him, but they are important things that maybe symbolize who he is and who he will become in the future, and I think when I help to nurture his creativity, it opens the door for his little spirit to soar!

And here is another balloon slide we made together- a smaller model :)

And here's some pics of the kids at the New West Fest balloon slide- the highlight of summer for Fynn:

And now, Rowan will play us a proper farewell song to Summer...

Happy Fall everyone!
-b

September School Crafts & Projects! (part one)

On a whim, Fynn and I decided to paint planets on his backpack.  It was formerly a Lightening McQueen backpack complete with flashing lights-  the lights make great shining stars, see the shining star next to Jupiter?  I painted the black background and white shapes for the planets, and Fynn colored them in with paint. It turned out awesome! (It's really a good idea to start with white shapes when painting on a black background cause it helps the paint to show up better) At the top it says something about "speed" which is funny because Jupiter, who we featured as the center of our painting, spins the fastest of all the planets!

Not necessarily a school project but  I thought I'd share that I sliced open this delicious heirloom tomato from Revive Gardens and inside was... JUPITER!

Here's the little artist/scientist/silliest at work...

And now, a totally new obsession... Fynn's first VOLCANO!  Of course, we couldn't just do one, we had to do 2, no 3... the third is Mt. Tabor. It's just paper- it doesn't explode... The red one is Mount Olympus (on Mars) and the blue one is Mt. Hood...

Vinegar, red food coloring, baking soda, you know...

We've been watching volcano shows on youtube the past 2 days and Fynn is learning so much so fast!

"Mount Hood" - Fynn built this- I am amazed at the structure of it! If you look inside, there is an orange block (molten lava), though the real Mount Hood is currently sleeping...

Fynn climbing to the top of Mt. Hood

If you'll notice, Rowan is wearing his dinosaur and volcano shirt for the occasion:)

And speaking of Rowan, he's busy reading his book for school time:)

Well, that wasn't nearly all... more to come, so stay posted! -Beth