I should go to bed, but I'm rather enthralled by "The Birth of a Nation" on Netflix, which I've been meaning to watch for years.
It's upsetting on a few different levels (obviously the "hurray for the KKK!" bullshit would be at the WAY top of the "upsetting stuff" list). But it's also fascinating from the perspective that I've never really watched a (full-length) silent film before and there's so much to take in: from the story to the acting to the "technology" to the sets and the music to the actors themselves (blackface? really?! Holy crap. Also: the female actors are refreshing. They're NORMAL-looking and fully clothed and some are old and some are fat. . . you know, like PEOPLE. I love that. Also: civil war mustaches are incredibly stupid-looking). And it's a pretty epic story that's being told in such a limited (to us modern folks, anyway) medium.
But let's not skip over the MAIN point of the stupid movie: Thank God for the KKK. No, really. That's the gist of it. It's strange and hard to watch. And it should be talked about. Still, almost 100 years after it was made.
Anyone else seen this? Hmmm. . . I should start a classic film discussion group. Some movies just need to be hashed out before they can be properly digested. Kind of wish this movie was tackled in that film course I took in college. It beats the shit out of "Tender Mercies" (barf).
Friday, May 11, 2012
Friday, February 25, 2011
Sight Words
My oldest daughter is in kindergarten this year and, so, she's learning to read. Instead of going with flashcards for her sight-word practice, I picked up a bag of little wood tiles cut to various sizes (I think it was $2 at Hobby Lobby, for around 200 little tiles) and I write the words onto these little tiles with my trusty sharpie.
Way better than flashcards 'cause A) they're pretty; B) they're more durable; C) she loves moving the words around to make sentences. We keep 'em in an empty peanut butter jar (clear plastic) on the bookshelf.
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Way better than flashcards 'cause A) they're pretty; B) they're more durable; C) she loves moving the words around to make sentences. We keep 'em in an empty peanut butter jar (clear plastic) on the bookshelf.
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Alphabet Wall
I have a large wall in my dining room that needed a little help. I had three large, framed pieces of art (ok--they were framed finger-paints that my kids did a couple years ago, we're THAT fancy, lol). But the space just didn't seem filled.
So I took an idea from one of my favorite blogs and came up with a very BIG, very simple and cheap solution that's PERFECT for any home, but especially perfect for a home with little ones running around. The inspiration in the above blog is MUCH better, but we don't have a saw. . . or anywhere to paint. . . and this is a rental-house, so I don't want to put too many holes in the wall. So this is my cheap-skate version.
Meet my Alphabet Wall. Printed onto pretty scrapbook paper, traced circles using a dinner plate, cut and scotch-taped to the wall.
Such an easy and pleasing way to fill the wall and my older daughter uses it for reference, now that she's started writing.
And our old finger-painted masterpieces have a new, more appropriate home in the girls' bedroom:
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So I took an idea from one of my favorite blogs and came up with a very BIG, very simple and cheap solution that's PERFECT for any home, but especially perfect for a home with little ones running around. The inspiration in the above blog is MUCH better, but we don't have a saw. . . or anywhere to paint. . . and this is a rental-house, so I don't want to put too many holes in the wall. So this is my cheap-skate version.
Meet my Alphabet Wall. Printed onto pretty scrapbook paper, traced circles using a dinner plate, cut and scotch-taped to the wall.
Such an easy and pleasing way to fill the wall and my older daughter uses it for reference, now that she's started writing.
And our old finger-painted masterpieces have a new, more appropriate home in the girls' bedroom:
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Please Leave us Alone
My neighborhood is flooded with solicitors. At least three days a week someone would knock on our door to ask us about Jesus or talk about lawn-mowing, fence-mending, pest control or selling *whatever* out of the back of a pick-up truck (literally).
Also, my landlord would always send workmen over for various repairs WITHOUT BOTHERING TO NOTIFY ME that an appointment had been made to do so. So I get big dudes on my porch, unannounced, claiming that they need to come in to fix this-or-that. I don't think so.
ALSO, this house is designed very poorly and my front door is not visible from the street, it's tucked away in a corner of my porch.
And, finally, my husband works nights and I'm often alone with my two little girls.
So I don't open the door when people knock. Period.
But my kids are loud and sometimes (although I tell 'em not too) they peek out the windows at the strangers on our porch, which makes it hard to pretend no one's home.
So I put up a sign, even though I was doubtful that it would help, to tell everyone, in essence, "yes, we ARE home, but we are totally ignoring you." I never thought it would work.
But it DID work to an extent I never could have imagined.
I researched "no solicitors" signs and discovered that it's a poorly-kept secret that the houses with "no solicitors" signs are the BEST houses to sell stuff at. People often put those signs up because they HAVE TROUBLE SAYING NO. Savvy salespeople hit those houses harder than others on any street, often coming back two or three times. Not a good choice, people. Throw out your cute "No Solicitors" sign immediately. Also religion does not fall under "soliciting" in the law, so Jesus-peddlers are told to never heed such signs (which aren't legally enforcable when posted at a private residence, anyway. They can only be enforced when posted at a business).
I still get solicitors approaching my house all the time but--miracle of miracles--they see the sign and WALK AWAY. Couldn't believe it when it started happening. Often they leave a business card or flyer on the porch, but most of 'em don't even knock anymore.
When unexpected workmen show up, they read the sign, go back to their trucks and call my land-lady, who then calls me to tell me that she made an appointment on my behalf (she's gotten MUCH better about it, since the workers kept bothering her while standing on my porch waiting to be announced, lol).
Anyway here's the sign I made (printed on paper, glued to a wood plaque, sanded down and sealed against the weather). I super-glued magnets to the back and slammed that baby front-and-center on my front door. LOVE it.
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Also, my landlord would always send workmen over for various repairs WITHOUT BOTHERING TO NOTIFY ME that an appointment had been made to do so. So I get big dudes on my porch, unannounced, claiming that they need to come in to fix this-or-that. I don't think so.
ALSO, this house is designed very poorly and my front door is not visible from the street, it's tucked away in a corner of my porch.
And, finally, my husband works nights and I'm often alone with my two little girls.
So I don't open the door when people knock. Period.
But my kids are loud and sometimes (although I tell 'em not too) they peek out the windows at the strangers on our porch, which makes it hard to pretend no one's home.
So I put up a sign, even though I was doubtful that it would help, to tell everyone, in essence, "yes, we ARE home, but we are totally ignoring you." I never thought it would work.
But it DID work to an extent I never could have imagined.
I researched "no solicitors" signs and discovered that it's a poorly-kept secret that the houses with "no solicitors" signs are the BEST houses to sell stuff at. People often put those signs up because they HAVE TROUBLE SAYING NO. Savvy salespeople hit those houses harder than others on any street, often coming back two or three times. Not a good choice, people. Throw out your cute "No Solicitors" sign immediately. Also religion does not fall under "soliciting" in the law, so Jesus-peddlers are told to never heed such signs (which aren't legally enforcable when posted at a private residence, anyway. They can only be enforced when posted at a business).
I still get solicitors approaching my house all the time but--miracle of miracles--they see the sign and WALK AWAY. Couldn't believe it when it started happening. Often they leave a business card or flyer on the porch, but most of 'em don't even knock anymore.
When unexpected workmen show up, they read the sign, go back to their trucks and call my land-lady, who then calls me to tell me that she made an appointment on my behalf (she's gotten MUCH better about it, since the workers kept bothering her while standing on my porch waiting to be announced, lol).
Anyway here's the sign I made (printed on paper, glued to a wood plaque, sanded down and sealed against the weather). I super-glued magnets to the back and slammed that baby front-and-center on my front door. LOVE it.
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Kid's Activity Calendar
About a year ago, I designed this wall calendar for my living room's play area. My kids were 4 and 2 at the time and really needed to know what the plan was when they woke up everyday. They can't read yet, so pictures--not words--were definitely the way to go.
This is a rental-house, so I didn't want to put a bunch of holes in the wall (or else I would have mounted all this more prettily on wood backing and used hooks to dangle the activities off of each day). Scotch-tape was the cheap-o, more temporary route I took.
Anyway, every Saturday, after the kids headed off to bed, I'd update their calendar for the coming week, with photos representing various activities, holidays, appointments (storytime, playdate, dentist, birthday party, school, soccer, etc.) and each day I'd just move the blue arrow so they'd know what our itinerary was. Worked AWESOME. They'd climb out of bed and wander into the living room and immediately turn to the calendar to see what the plan was.
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This is a rental-house, so I didn't want to put a bunch of holes in the wall (or else I would have mounted all this more prettily on wood backing and used hooks to dangle the activities off of each day). Scotch-tape was the cheap-o, more temporary route I took.
Anyway, every Saturday, after the kids headed off to bed, I'd update their calendar for the coming week, with photos representing various activities, holidays, appointments (storytime, playdate, dentist, birthday party, school, soccer, etc.) and each day I'd just move the blue arrow so they'd know what our itinerary was. Worked AWESOME. They'd climb out of bed and wander into the living room and immediately turn to the calendar to see what the plan was.
And another photo, with a bit more perspective:
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Teacher Block
Sorry for the lack of photos, I'm posting some old projects and didn't think to document 'em any better than this!
Christmas gift for my daughter's kindergarten teacher. Mrs. teacher-lady (I'm not going to publish her name) has five rules that the kids recite frequently. So I got a small block of wood (I THINK it was, like, 1.5" square) and printed, cut, glued, sanded one rule on each side of the block with "Mrs. [teacher-lady]'s Rules" on the sixth side. She loved it. And, since I already had all that stuff on-hand, it cost me absolutely nothing. Score.
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Christmas gift for my daughter's kindergarten teacher. Mrs. teacher-lady (I'm not going to publish her name) has five rules that the kids recite frequently. So I got a small block of wood (I THINK it was, like, 1.5" square) and printed, cut, glued, sanded one rule on each side of the block with "Mrs. [teacher-lady]'s Rules" on the sixth side. She loved it. And, since I already had all that stuff on-hand, it cost me absolutely nothing. Score.
Inspiration for this was from my favorite "I'm feeling crafty, but have no idea what I want to do" blog. They taught me how to make little blocks of wood be awesome and I ran with it! Check 'em out:
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Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Magic in our House
Right now, I'm working my way through my first Nancy Drew Mystery (curiosity got the better of me at the library last week)! It's cute and all, but I can't help thinking that if a cute and innocent (read: naive) girl was driving all over the place today, barging into stranger's houses she'd probably be raped or get caught up in a sex-trafficking operation before she knew it. She wouldn't be invited in for cake and impromptu birthday parties by total strangers. The times have DEFINITELY changed.
At any rate, I'm on a mission to scout out the FIRST book in various famous kids' series to try 'em out, so when I found the first Magic Tree House book a couple weeks ago at my local used book store, I was pretty excited to give it a whirl. It was about dinosaurs (which have always been favorites at my house) so it reeled 'em right in. The second book is about knights & castles (I picked it up at the library last week, also).
Currently looking for a CHEAP lot of these books on ebay or wherever. I think they are books that we'll be able to re-read and they're really--REALLY--enjoying them. Of course they're both BEGGING me to read the second Harry Potter book, but I told 'em they'll have to wait a few years. Harry gets pretty scary pretty fast and my oldest daughter is pretty sensitive to that kind of stuff.
In the mean time, I think we'll have plenty of adventures with Jack and Annie to distract us.
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At any rate, I'm on a mission to scout out the FIRST book in various famous kids' series to try 'em out, so when I found the first Magic Tree House book a couple weeks ago at my local used book store, I was pretty excited to give it a whirl. It was about dinosaurs (which have always been favorites at my house) so it reeled 'em right in. The second book is about knights & castles (I picked it up at the library last week, also).
Currently looking for a CHEAP lot of these books on ebay or wherever. I think they are books that we'll be able to re-read and they're really--REALLY--enjoying them. Of course they're both BEGGING me to read the second Harry Potter book, but I told 'em they'll have to wait a few years. Harry gets pretty scary pretty fast and my oldest daughter is pretty sensitive to that kind of stuff.
In the mean time, I think we'll have plenty of adventures with Jack and Annie to distract us.
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