MeAgain Creations: Upcycled Denim Jacket

MeAgain Creations is my page on Facebook to sell unique upcycled creations and other fabulous custom orders.  While it is not as active as it once was, I am still around and take on custom orders.  I have also not given up on my own crafts.

This most recent project started with a large pile of jeans and a dream.  I originally was going to make a fabulous floor length denim jacket/dress.  With the addition or some darker denim long skirts and jacket patterns, my dream coat changed a little and became a reality.

So here it is... once some denim skirts, jeans and a fabulous fabric from France is now my awesome fall jacket!!

BUT WAIT!!  It actually isn't 100% finished yet.  I was just too excited to wait until the gorgeous belt was done to show off the rest of the jacket.  So here is the coat alone and I'll post it again once I've finished the beautifully embroidered belt.


I've also included some pictures below to a few of my other recent projects.

Next up are pyjama pants for my boys, sweatpants too, and an incredible hand embroidered wool skirt.  My mom also gave me some fabulous wool so I will be knitting up a few sweaters over the winter as well.

Come visit me some time on Facebook MeAgain Creations 

First day of school Grade 1 & JK

September is here and so our school year has started! I was up early before the boys and all ready to start our day.  After breakfast we had morning meeting.  This is for prayer, memory verses, seasonal poems and a review of the day.

Next up was story time.  The boys just loved hearing about Cloud Boy.  This is a lovely story from CederRingMama  made up for her son. It is a wonderful intro to form drawing. I used our great stacker from Simple Gift Toys along with Playmobil.  When we were done MJ took a turn telling me a story using a toy motor cycle and Playmobil.  It was adorable.

While MJ played with his toys TJ and I moved to the classroom to practice some form drawing.  The Cloud Boys story speaks of a young boy who drew pictures in the clouds. We focused today on straight lines.  TJ even made up his own picture for me to follow (bottom left).

During free play times throughout the day the boys played doctor (I make a great patient), Playmobil, Lego, and some new parachute men they received as a gift.  We went to the playground to find a higher spot to launch the parachute men.  TJ was thrilled.  He trying every  surface and height he could find.  We chatted for a while about the forces acting on his parachute man.  It was good for TJ to directly interact with the forces of gravity and drag.

 While at the playground we went on a hunt to look for straight and curved lines.  The boys quickly pointed out all the straight poles of man-made items around.  I asked them to look harder and find the straight things that God had made.  MJ found a mix of natural and man-made items with my camera.  He was rather insightful to tell me how people are straight, arms, and eyelashes are also straight.

 TJ and I looked around the community garden plot.  There were many wonderful examples for vegetables growing straight and tall.  We took a little more time to find horizontal or angled lines.

 Of course there was an abundance of curves too that TJ wanted me to save for later when we work on curved drawings.  Shockingly all this incredible learning happened before lunch time!!

After lunch I read some of a Magic Tree House story, then the boys had quiet time.  Okay it's never really all that quiet...

In the afternoon I introduced project time.  I spent time with each boys separately going over their own project of interest was.  TJ has been into flight recently.  We have read books and watched movies on airplanes and flight throughout the summer.  Today TJ dictated to me what he learned about parachute from playing at the playground.  He also drew a picture in his notebook.  Next we reviewed his past questions and answered them.  TJ told me what to write. I also took a video of his explanation of jet engines.  Sorry it is too big to post here.  After we wrote down his new questions, I asked him what he wanted to do with all this new information.  How could he show what he learned or what did he want to make.  TJ decided to make jet plane from recycling.  It'll be done in a few days perhaps.  I really can't wait to show you all how much he as learned from this topic.  He is actually grasping it all!

MJ's recent passion has been the human body.  He is constantly asking me how different functions of the body work and loves the human body books we have read.  On occasion he will perfectly tell me how the voice works or digestion. I have noticed that looking at the pictures in the books helps him a lot. Of course he just loves to hear about what happens when we drink water (peeeee).  I tried to have MJ tell me what he knew today for a video but he wasn't too into that (rather he was in a silly mood).  He really doesn't grasp what I mean about doing a project or anything with what he is learning.  I have some ideas of great projects for him, that we may do.  For today he made a popsicle stick sculpture which he said was a body of some sort.  I traced MJ on large paper and he then drew a picture of his sculpture on it.  Not sure I understood but it's his project not mine...

Later in the afternoon we played outside in the rain!  The boys played together for a bit.  Then MJ and I made tomato sauce as he's been really into the hand held apple sauce grinder thing.  When I noticed there was lots of time left before dinner we had music lessons.  We have been using Alfred's Music for Little Motzarts.  TJ progressed well through a few lessons and was thrilled to play a song.  MJ had a shorter lesson but stuck with me as I promised he could play with the funny sounds on the keyboard when he was done.  Here is TJ concentrating on listening to the different sounds during his free play music time.

After that I had the boys do some chores, we read more of our book, ate dinner and then played again.  I sent the boys off to play in another room  so I could have some down time before evening routine. And so ends our first day of school.  It was a great day to just be together without the daycare or having to specifically be somewhere else.  I know not every day will run so smoothly, but on a whole I'm really happy with the rhythm of the day.  It's going to be an awesome year!!

Our Homeschooling Overview (ages 4&6)

August has arrived and the stores are already pushing back-to-school and Halloween!  Our school year will begin at the beginning of September so planing ahead is necessary.  I had our year all planed out toward the beginning of the summer but now is the time to review our plans and fine tune them. 

Our Style

It is always difficult to describe our exact homeschool style.  We are mostly Waldorf along with child directed projects.  I know that in the wonderful world of Waldorf education TJ would still have another year of kindy before starting grade one at age seven.  We'd like to ensure the boys are following along with their local peers just incase our situation changes and school enters the picture.  So this year we will be doing kindegarten and our version of grade 1.  You can read a but more about our style here.

Curriculums we'll be using

Our main lessons will be a combination of stories and ideas from Waldorf Essentials and Earth Schooling.  We also have Learning the Alphabet with Fairy Mail and The Gnomes Gemstones math stories to supplement.  I've looked over the Ontario Curriculum Expectations to see what else the public school kids are doing this year.  We'll be adding in anything we may have missed towards the end of the year.

For some time now I have been interested in child directed learning, but wasn't sure how to bring that in.  I was recently introduced to Project-Based Homeschooling.  It is exactly what I was looking for.  For our family I'll be doing Waldorf main lessons in the morning and the boys will have plenty of time for their own projects the rest of the day.

MJ is not to be forgotten.  He'll often be tagging along doing the same activities and TJ at his own pace.  I am also using Seasons of Joy for much of our circle time.  The themes and ideas from School for all Seasons along with Earth Schooling.  We have already done the first year of Waldorf Essentials kindegarten twice now so we are giving that a rest for this year and will pick it up again next year when MJ is five.

Oh we do also have a few workbooks as a back up.  I've got  some Brain Quest  workbooks and the Complete Canadian Curriculum Grade 1, along with a few others to pull from if we want.

Rhythm
I'm not going to post our whole week here but we are using unit blocks for main lessons.  This means we'll be focusing on the alphabet for a few weeks, then math, nature etc... Each day will have morning meeting, walk, main lesson, play time, meals, stories, quiet time, and project time.  Throughout the week or year we will also have time for baking, painting, handiworks, modelling, games and music.  Sounds like a lot all in one place but I've spread it nicely throughout the week/year.  I really want to keep a slow pace so we aren't stressed or cramming too much in.

Learning Spaces

Learning happens all the time, everywhere.  That being said we do have some special places in our home. At our house we very often play musical rooms.  Visitors always need a tour each time they come to re-orient themselves.  At the moment we have a playroom for toys and a room for school/projects.  The boys are very excited about their new learning space.  There a book case and cart for craft supplies.  The shared desk has drawers for paper and stationary items.  On the table are colouring things and a space for their work.  They each have a bulletin board and magnetic strips for hanging art next to the display shelves.  

Outside of the home

As we are no longer running a home daycare we do have more flexibility with our time, but there will be fewer children in the home to interact with.  We want to make sure the boys have opportunity to gather with other children on a regular basis so they have opportunity to make friends.  We don't live in a subdivision so we have some outside activities planned.  The boys will be going to swimming and gym time at the YMCA.  They will also be going to church and AWANAS (mid week church program).  There are lots of homeschool field trips and events in our area that we will explore.  We will also be getting together regularly with my sister and her children.

I am so excited about this up coming year.  I know I'll be learning a lot along with my boys.  We look forward to sharing our adventures with you!

TJ's Pontoon Boat Blog Post

My project started when I wanted to build a boat.  I was just floating McDonald's boxes in a garbage can full of water and then I wanted to make a boat.  First I tried doing a plastic container and then I thought it was too tippy. 

Then I thought of a wider base.   I looked up boat bases (you can find out more about hull designs here).  I wanted to make first a flat hull and then mommy told me those kind of bases are meant mostly for sitting around or going slow.  So then I found out about another one that you can put a motor on.  It has two v-shaped things on the side so water can run through the middle.  I heard that a pontoon boat is really steady so I picked that.

 These pictures show what happened with my boat.  First I tested it and I found out it leaned on the sides.  I moved around my passengers it made it level out.  I was going to add a bag of weights, but found just moving the passengers worked too.

Here is my final design and a picture of a real pontoon boat.  I was really interested in who invented pontoon boats.  Mommy read my his story which you can find here.

I kinda had fun with this project.  I look forward to doing other projects.

What Happened to the Alphabet posts???

What happened to the Alphabet Adventure posts???  

SUMMER happened

We have been to a few local beaches.  The boys have discovered boating at the cottage.  We get together regularly with my sister and the cousins are having so much fun.  Our gardens and veggies are a source of food, work and joy!

Playgrounds are frequented often.  TJ has really become a little monkey.  More fun with cousins as we discovered bubble snakes.  The boys have the time to explore their own interests.  Here they are making potions and concoctions with all sorts of kitchen items.  Imaginations have run wild as the boys pretend to fish among other adventures they've invented.

 We walk often in the forest, to the park and in the nature reserves.  Often times some stuffed friends will be join us.  We visit grandparents and love building connections.  The boys just loved their visit to Story Book Park in Owen Sound.  MJ has be exploring "floating and sinking" along with just playing with the hose.  TJ has built a forrest stick cottage and invites us over for parties that he hosts.

My sister and I put on a mini carnival for the kids complete with face painting, play dough, puppet show and make your own pinata!!  W also have one daycare child with us all summer.  We've had this little girl for two years now and the boys just love having her over each day.  We go to the library each week, read lots, play hard and are having a great time.  Oh yea, we also got the new truck labeled!!

What about school??  Well at first I was stressed that we weren't doing our regular school work as I had planed it.  But then I realized that we are doing each of the letters again in the fall.  Summer is a time for being outdoors, using the imagination and connecting with others.  We are going to use the rest of our summer for messy crafts (I can't stand to do them inside in the winter), along with some wood working.  We are going to spend as much time as we can with our friends and cousins before school starts.  We are also learning all the time!  So for us, school never ends....

Stay tuned for TJ's first blog post ever!  He took on his own little project to build a toy boat, it led him to learn more about pontoon boats and he wants to share his discoveries with you.

Outdoor Play Spaces and our Gardens

It is about time I updated you all on our outdoor spaces.  Now I hope this doesn't come off as boasting.  I just wanted to give a tour of the yard.  It looks like it's going to be a big post with lots of pictures.  I'll be showing you our most recent round of musical rooms shortly (once I tidy enough for photos).

Being outside is very important to us, and for the boys.  They spend time (as much as we can) outside every day year round.  In the front yard we have a rope swing that often has either the button swing or the handle bars.  I still remember the baby swing being up, my how time flies.  Attached to this tree is a rope that serves as a net for badminton and to hold up any tents, along with being a clothes line for wet swim shorts.  At the base of this tree is the fairy house.  This year it is called the outdoor super fun house, or something like that as the boys aren't as much into fairies any more.  Instead we brought out all the Playmobil and set it up around the base of the tree.

The front yard also has a large sandbox with pulleys in the rafters.  It has been used so much over the years.  One year we asked all our family to contribute towards my hubby building this as a joint birthday gift for the boys.  Thank you all!!

The new shed is just wonderful for storing all the toys and garden equipment.  We used to have toys piled all over or hidden behind bushes.  We have balls, rackets, bubbles, skipping ropes, bikes, scooters...

Next to the shed is the swing set.  The slide was removed when we moved it from the backyard as it was cracked.  It could be better secured into the ground, but has seen much use.  I'm so thrilled my sister and brother-in-law gave it to us.  It was in their backyard when they bought their house.

Across the laneway is a wonderful area.  We have a balance beam, tree stumps, a tree sump table, outdoor play kitchen, rope bridge and climber.  Last year we tried to put in a garden but it was too shady.  The rhubarb is still happy here so we have left it and care for it and some potatoes.  The forest is part of a provincial trail.  We love walking along all the trails right out our front door.  The boys also have made stick houses and climb on fallen trees.  One tree is their pet "tiger/lion" that they feed.

Now on to the back yard.  Back here each boy has his own garden.  TJ and I built his together and he picked out all the plants.  There are a few potatoes in he it again this year.  He is so proud of his garden.  MJ wanted a garden too so he has taken over one of the side flower beds.  He's added his own plants, potatoes and decorations.  I help them both with weeding and watering if it's been a while.

We have a trampoline and lots of water toys in the back.  The water table, sprinkler, kiddie pool and slip-n-slide are mostly used here near the hose connection and sun.

We haven't been in the rocky part near the cliff much this year.  Mostly because there are so many fallen tree branches from the winter storms in the way.  We also know that our friendly groundhogs live there and we don't want to disturb them.  In the past they were too shy because of our neighbour's dog.  But he passed away and they are out all the time enjoying our clover.  I know we have lots of raspberries down there so we'll venture down there next week for some picking.

Vegetable gardens are so much fun for us.  We are caring for our veggies more than half the year from early spring to late fall.  In the past we only had a plot at the community garden up the street.  Last year not much happened at the house because the garden was too shady near the forest.  This year we tried an unused sunny slope.  This is our viney patch!!  We have pumpkins, squash, zucchini, cucumber, potato, tomato, sunflowers, mint, and beans.  So far there are a few zucchinis almost ready to harvest, two baby pumpkins and so cherry tomatoes starting to grow.

We just love to visit our community garden plot.  We are so blessed that the church up the street opened this opportunity to everyone.  We have had our plot for three years now.  Everyone knows my hard working boys.  They help to fill the plots with dirt each spring and close down the beds in the late fall.  They plant with me, water the veggies, snack on the produce and play in the dirt piles.  We have met so many lovely people too. This year I'm trying out squarefoot gardening and doing a bit of succession planting in there too.  I will likely rearrange where I plant things next year, but it is going well.  Anything we tried to transplant early on didn't take, but all is well now.  We started planting at the end of april so our peas are huge and some carrots should be ready soon.  I have lettuce to share (Please take some!!!) and the radishes have already be eaten and enjoyed.  Often we will come and garden then go across the street to the playground.  It was a wonderful experience for our daycare children too when we did that.

So there you have it, the outside tour of our home.  In writing this all down I've fallen more in love with our location.  The view is breathtaking!  In the backyard you can see from Toronto around and over to Hamilton.  We appear to be in the country, yet we are actually on the boarder of two cities.  Yes we have more work to do: grass, deck, fixing water drainage issues, front porch, much needed sheds and garage space... but we are getting there one project at a time.

Alphabet Adventures E-H

This summer we are working through the alphabet.  These past two weeks we have been doing the letters E - H.  You can read more about the letters A-D here.

I'll admit we've gotten a little off track recently.  The weather has been great and there are so many fun places to go.  We are still bringing in each letter into our day, but now as deeply as I had originally planed.  Luckily we are actually focusing on them throughout the year with our fairy tale stories and activities.

E - When discussing the letter E we made letters out of all sorts of objects.  Then the boys spelled their names.  It was interesting to notice that TJ on his own wrote his name backwards, MJ and I worked together so his name was mostly the right way round.

F - for the letter F we made lots of sounds, played games to think of words that started with F.  TJ and I also came up with a words that started with each letter of the alphabet.

TJ has been keeping up with his workbook, but his alphabet book is getting a bit behind, along with the stories and movements (basically we've been sort of doing circle time in the car).

We did find an amazing library book, several great letter ones.  Alphabet Everywhere by Kaufman shows photos of each letter from the alphabet found in nature or the city.  For example A is the side shot of a ladder, D is the shape of a mall door handle, J is an umbrella handle, F is part of a fence.... I'm feeling inspired to do something similar.

G - this letter has been a tricky one for TJ when writing on his own.  He tends to write is upside down so it looks more like an "e".

H - for the letter H the boys drew on the chalk board.  The were a bit better about writing in their workbooks. MJ is so excited to have a big kid book like his brother (I got one of those all-in-one school work books from the book store).  TJ tried sounding out more words while we were reading.

Oh we also started piano with the boys.  We are using some books my sister found on Amazon.  She is a music teacher and is also introducing the piano to her daughter.  It's cute that all the cousins are doing the same thing.  Our music book has Mozart Mouse and Beethoven Bear who introduce the different musical concepts to the kids.  The boys loved it.