Doh Vinci Review

BzzAgent sent me a free Doh Vinci  kit to try out.  It's made by Hasbro, the same people who make Play Doh.  You know how you make something with Play Doh and accidentally leave it out over night?  Normally, it hardens but then crumbles because it's not really supposed to be left out.  Well this stuff is designed to be left out over night so you can apply it to things for decoration.

I received the "Memory Maker Kit" and an extra "Deluxe Styler" with four design tips and three extra colors. According to the Hasbro website, there are a lot of other ones.

The Memory Maker Kit included a styler (which my kids kept calling the "gun"), one design tip (kind of a straight line tip), four tubes of "deco pop" (the play doh type stuff), and a frame.  The frame actually had lots of pieces to pop out, which helped while we were getting the hang of how to use the styler.

The Deluxe Styler had a "fancy" styler (again, kid named because it had extra decorations on the outside), four different design tips (butterfly, star, flower, heart) and three tubes of deco pop.

Disclaimer: The kit says ages 6 and up.  My five year old was not going to sit idly by while we played with anything remotely close to Play Doh.  So she joined in the fun.

I actually let all four kids try to see how they liked it.  The teenager is really into crafting and "making things pretty" so she enjoyed it.  Her only complaint seemed to be the amount of deco pop in the tubes.  She said there wasn't enough.

The boy is a tween so I wasn't sure if he would participate but he seemed to enjoy it too.  He was less interested in the design tips than the girls though.

The seven and five year old had a little trouble squeezing things out in the way they wanted.  The "gun" wasn't hard to squeeze, but they had to use quite a bit of the deco pop to "practice" how to make it go in the direction they wanted it to.  One thing we discovered was that because it's not super sticky, we were able to move it around a little after it was on the cardboard.

Pros: Easy to use even with young (5/6 years old) kids; clean up seems to be really easy, not sticky or gooey; (I got some on my hand and expected it to be hard to get off, but rubbing my fingers together as I walked to the sink got most of it off.

Cons: There's not a lot in the tubes so if you are sharing with multiple kids, that can be an issue

I'll have to update later on how well it actually hardened and stuck to the cardboard. Because I thought it would be sticky I was pleasantly surprised but then wondered how it would stick.

Update:  It all seemed to stick the way it was supposed to stick. The kids called it "squishy" but it didn't change shape so mission accomplished!

Homeschooling multiple kids

People often ask me how I homeschool with multiple kids.  I have a teenager, a ten year old, a seven year old and five year old.  So the ages and responsibilities vary, which also means so do the expectations. To be clear, "homeschooling" a toddler is not the same as a teaching a high school kid about the periodic table. So the first thing I think people have to understand is that my teaching changes from year to year. As the kids get older, the needs change more. Next year for example, all of the kids will have spelling lists, for the first time.

The other thing I have to explain that is I don't do "school at home".  By that I mean that I don't set up a certain designated time for school each day. I tend to do it in the morning but sometimes that doesn't work out. My older child volunteers so sometimes I use her volunteer time to take the younger kids to the library or a mini field trip. I like to schedule doctor's appointments during the school day because there are more open appointments (I try to get all my kids seen at one time to avoid multiple trips). If my husband is going to help with a project or an assignment this may mean waiting until he gets home from work.  I have to be flexible in what we get done every day.

However, we do use textbooks and a lot of my childrens' work is turned into a third party. So I do plot out a general schedule. For example, my teenager can complete a book report on her own from start to finish.  This is an assignment that is graded by our "umbrella" school so other than  few pointers from me on things like margins, she does it solo.  I will however, make sure to give her a guideline of how long she should take to work on it.

My ten year old, on the other hand, needs more help with book reports because he is still learning how to do them. So while he reads the book on his own, I will stop and go over chapters with him from time to time. I also spend more time with him on how to do outlines, good sentence structure, and grammar.

Meanwhile, my two little ones aren't doing book reports so their reading assignments involve more reading to me (or each other) and verbal questions. That's another point to keep in mind: kids can help each other. My younger ones read to each other or to their older siblings all the time. I strongly believe that being able to teach something truly shows your understanding and ability to do it well yourself.

Sounds like a lot right?  Well, we don't do every subject, every day. Nor do we do a set amount of time every day. If it takes a lot longer to get through something on Monday, I may decide Tuesday to review a topic instead of moving on to what I had for Tuesday. One day, after a week of rain, the weather was so beautiful, we decided to drop everything and go to the zoo.  It's all about flexibility.

Here's a sample of a day for me:

- PERSONAL TIME: Wake up and have personal time (sometimes that's watching TV and drinking tea, other times it's exercise).  This is essential when you spend ALL day with your kids.

- GET THE OLDER KIDS GOING FIRST:  Once the kids are up and have had breakfast (and other morning routine stuff), I make sure the teenager is focused on what she needs to do during the day.

Then I get started with the ten year old.  I generally give him a few things he can do on his own like reading an assignment and answering the questions at the end of the chapter. While he is doing that, I may start working with the younger kids. As their grades are close together I do a lot of their work at the same time.  Sometimes though I get one started on a solo activity (like copying spelling words) while the other one works with me on something.

- RETURN TO THE OLDER KIDS: Because the younger kids don't spend as much time doing work, eventually they are "dismissed" to do something else, and I return to the older child. This is when the more hands on work comes up.

- At a certain point everyone stops for the day (I will let the older child stop on her own because I am trying to teach time management and being responsible for her actions). We then do chores or free time.

Of course, everyday is not like this. We are going to put together a solar system and each child will help. But of course, I will give age appropriate explanations of things. I don't expect the five year old to know about gravity and different gases on each planet.

Now add into this LIFE and you'll see why flexibility is the key. One kid woke up sick. Really sick, like changing the sheets sick. Another kid "forgot" to tell me she needed a baked item for an event that evening. Another kid decides to "help" with cleaning, which requires a second cleaning. The neighbor needs help, the husband forgot something at home and needs you to bring it to him, someone put hair bows on the dog, a glass was knocked over while trying to kill a fly .....the list goes on and on.

We are also a military family, so there's that.  I think the need to be flexible in our address forced me to learn early on that be too structured just means constant let downs and frustrations. Again, this is what works for me.  I do see the TV shows and online stories of very structured school at home type environments.  That just doesn't work for me. But even with those, they allow for flexibility of illness, weather, etc.

So multiple kids, multiple lessons, multiple ages...it's totally possible. Sometimes you just have to throw out the plans and go with the flow!

Homemade Kettle Corn

I only recently discovered Kettle Corn in the past few years. I had heard of it and seen it at fairs and carnivals but for some reason never tasted it. Then I tried some and WOW!   But like many good foods trying to find some that taste authentic can be tricky. There are microwave versions in stores but I don't like them. One brand that I usually trust for microwave popcorn failed miserably with their kettle corn because it used sucralose. Some people don't mind artificial sweeteners but I can taste them. So I was determined to find my own recipe. Here's what I found:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup unpopped kernels
Popcorn salt

Directions: 

Using a big pot, heat the cooking oil on medium heat. I found a good way to figure out when the popcorn is hot enough: put three popcorn kernels in the oil and when all three have popped, the oil is ready.

Mix the sugar and kernels into the oil and put a top on the pot. (This keeps oil and popcorn from jumping out on you.)

Here's where it gets a little tedious. You can't let the pot stay on the heat for too long. If you do the popcorn will burn and no one likes the smell of burned popcorn.  So you have to alternate leaving it on the heat and taking it off. I do it in intervals of five to seven seconds.  So five seconds on the heat and then I take it off and shake it for five seconds. Repeat this until it seems like most or all the kernels are cooked. The popcorn has to be shaken consistently because if it stays in one place for too long it burns. Shaking the pot also makes sure that all the kernels get sugar and oil on them as they pop.

Then carefully pour the popcorn into a bowl. It will be extremely hot so I suggest a metal bowl or something that can withstand heat. Then sprinkle the popcorn salt on top and shake it around. (How much popcorn salt is truly a personal preference.  I just do a little at a time until it tastes good.)

So that's my method. It may take some tweaking because stove heat can differ and how long the pot stays on the burner can change a lot.

Tips and tricks from doing this recipe:

While the pot is on the heat, I lift the top a little. Don't lift it so much that the popcorn pops out but just enough to let some smoke out. I've found that otherwise the grease gets too hot and sometimes this can burn the popcorn.

Put the salt on AS SOON AS you pour the cook popcorn into a bowl. Because of the sugar it will stick together. It's easily pulled apart, but putting the salt on as soon as you pour it in keeps you from having to do this later while pulling it apart.

Let it cool a bit before tasting it.  Trust me on this one.

Don't double this recipe. I tried that once or twice and it was a big smoky mess. If you want two batches just do one and then another.

Scrapbook Herringbone on Canvas

I got this idea from this site for "Herringbone Wall Art".  I was actually looking for ideas to use all the extra scrapbook paper I had around the house.  I have tons of it because I had visions of making pretty things and decorating scrapbooks, etc.  But then I realized quickly that having the paper doesn't mean you have the ability to put things together.  I also refused to buy various paper cutters, stamps, and embellishments that seem to actually be needed.  So I hit up Pinterest and found all kinds of stuff to do with scrapbook paper.  Otherwise it was going to be used by the seven and five year old or donated to Goodwill.  I am tired of toting this stuff all over the country.  

Here is my result:

My daughter is into Anime and Asian themed items so I found a stash of scrapbook paper with that theme.  I have absolutely NO clue why I have this paper.  I have never been to Asia and yet I have an entire pack of Asian themed scrapbook paper.  You may not be able to see it well, but it has Asian characters/letters, fans, dragons, etc.  It's actually really pretty.  She loved it so I guess it's a win.  My son asked for something for his room, but I think I am going to try silhouettes of shapes with him.  Maybe sports or animals.  Not sure yet. 

I won't steal the thunder of the Burlap and Blue page by giving play by play directions with pictures.  But for a quick start guide: 

I cut the 1.5 x 4 strips and laid them on the canvas to see where I wanted them.  I didn't do too much for a pattern, just making sure that two alike pieces weren't next to one another.  

Then I picked them up one by one and painted Mod Podge on the canvas and stuck the paper to it.  Then I did a layer across the top of the entire canvas.  That's it.  

What I wish I had done differently:  

1. I didn't cut the edge pieces as neatly as I should have so I had to try to cut them AFTER it was glued down.  Don't do that.  Mod Podge makes the paper even harder and it was a mess.  

2. I switched from an X-Acto knife to scissors halfway through and I think some of my pieces ended up being slightly different sizes.  That left me switching out pieces as I did the layout because some of them were huge and didn't fit. 

3. I think Mod Podge is better applied with something OTHER than the paintbrush that I used.  That or I am really bad at Mod Podge...not sure which but painting has always been difficult for me.  I have learned through trial and error that some things need sponge type brushes, etc.  

Fourth of July flag cake!

This was really more of a kid recipe. Like so many recipes, "I saw it on Pinterest and Facebook". 

One recipe called for yellow cake mix as the foundation. But I saw another recipe that used pre-made pound cake. Works for me.

I used: 

1 pre-made pound cake 

1 pound strawberries cut in half or quarters (I didn't use all of them)

about 1/2 pound blueberries (again, I didn't use all of them)

1 container of Cool Whip

So I sliced the pound cake and laid it in the pan. Then layered it with whip cream. The kids actually did a lot of that using the back of a spoon. I came back later and filled in the holes and smoothed out the hills.

Then I made an outline of blueberries for the square and let them fill it in the rest of the way. 

With the strawberries I simply gave them a starting point for each row. 

Easy squeezy, lemon peazy.