United Nations Art for Peace Contest

Do your kids like art? Do they like to enter contests? Then the United Nations Art for Peace contest is for you. The theme this year is peace without war and nuclear weapons. The deadline is April 30, 2012. DJ has already thought of his piece, and will begin working on it this week. Caitlin has not decided yet if she wants to enter. This is a free contest, and also international so not just US residents can enter. Get your thoughts in gear and get drawing. Click the link provided for all the rules and details.

Painting Class Today

Today was painting class with my mom. Picture number one is my painting. I opted for an Easter theme, painting on a cross with flowers, two bunnies, and some Easter eggs. This was the last placemat, and all four are now completed.

Picture number two is DJ's painting. He continues to work on his landscape picture. When it is completed it will be a painting of our backyard. He is also entering an art contest, for which I will share the details in a couple of days.

Caitlin painted a fish. It is a paint by number, with the smallest numbers I have ever seen in my life. It came with its own special painting pens. She actually started working on it a couple of days ago, and finished in painting class today.

This afternoon we went to the park, for Caitlin's playdate with her friend. While DJ was there, he let the girls be. It is thundering and icky out now, so anytime now is a good time to go to bed, lol!

The History of Time and Clocks

Yesterday was our co-op day. Since it was not my turn to choose the lesson, I had no idea what the lesson was going to be about. Much to my happiness it was another History lesson. This one covering the history of time and clocks. Since the lesson plan used by the other mom is no longer available for any of you to print and use, I thought I would share some of the questions we were asked to answer. Many them could be answered by watching the video below. Your child might have to do some research to find a few. Still a fun, easy and free lesson you can make and use yourself. I printed off two clock face coloring pages, for the two younger children to color and design. Listed below are the questions to the lesson. They are in no particular order, as each child placed them in a lapbook wherever they chose to. Have fun with it, and please share if you do this. It was a lot of fun.

1. How were earliest sundials made?
2. How can a shadow be used to tell time?
3. What time did the Romans call noon?
4. Name some ancient civilizations that used sundials"?
5. Who was the first clockmaker in America?
6. How did King Alfred divide his day?
7. How many days are in a week?
8. How many months are in a year?
9. What are the different types of methods to tell time?
10.What kind of transportation made Standard Time necessary?
11. What did King Alfred use to tell time?
12. Who developed the first pendulum clock?
13. Who studied clocks to learn more about pendulums?
14. How were early grandfather clocks wound?
15. Who made the first clock?
16. What is the difference between a watch and a clock?
17. Did ancient people have matches?
18. Where were the first water clocks built?
19. What is another name for a water clock"?
20. What three things does a clock need?
21. How did night watchers learn to tell time?
22. What is the material in an hourglass?
23. How did clock making change during the American Civil War?

Happy Anniversary!

Today is the actual date of my 6th wedding anniversary. Yes, those of you that are good at math, that means I had children before I was married, gasp! Since I work overnights tonight, and Craig had a class today, we couldn't do anything special today. We have never gone out without our kids, I always feel guilty. But yesterday, my mom came and stayed with them. They watched Dolphin Tale, which now I can not wait to see, had popcorn, and painted. We went to dinner at Carrabas, which I must admit it was fantastic. I even had some leftover to bring my mom. We were going to see a movie, but since we didn't plan our time effectively, none of them were starting until 7. So instead we went bowling. We had a ball, but I can not bowl and I mean I can not bowl. Bowling was not as affordable as I remember, did I mention it has been 20 years, 36 bucks for two people, for an hour. However, it would have probably cost that much to see the movie, so there you go.

Now for the pictures. I mentioned it is my anniversary. It is also my MIL birthday. Unfortunately she passed away before I met Craig. Since we are here, and she is still in NY, every year we buy some kind of plant in her honor. This year we bought three. Although I didn't realize it these are all annuals. But, I think because we are in FL they will come back since it stays warm. I just won't put them in the ground, instead in containers, so I can take them in when it is cold. Walmart had the cutest teacup planters, I want them so bad. You see Caitlin with the flowers. The pink one she is holding is actually going into the Chiapet they got me for Christmas. Then I am going to use the grass seeds that came with the Chiapet for an extra special Science lesson. I can't share it yet.

The second picture is actually the ring I made for myself to go with my wedding band. Since I bought the new camera I have had a very difficult time getting jewelry pictures that are clear. I finally figured out the right setting, and just thought I would see what it would look like taken with the plant. I took several shots, and I think they are very creative. If you would like to see the others I took, you can visit my jewelry blog, Melissa's Jewelry and Gems. I hope to get all my pieces taken this way, then they all have to be uploaded, very time consuming.