Thursday, December 18, 2008

Walt Disney Epcot Scavenger Hunt

This is a BONUS post for everyone who bought our Epcot book! These are a few fun and interesting things in the park that have been brought to our attention since the book came out. Some of these items may be found in the next edition, but here they are for your amusement, right now, free of charge.

In Norway, as you are boarding the Viking ship for the Maelstrom, look for the Viking who is wearing Mickey Mouse ears instead of the traditional Viking helmet.

Guest Relations is now provided a list of hidden Mickeys and a list of pressed penny locations. You just have to ask for them

Go on your birthday and get in for FREE! New this year, Disney is giving away admission to anyone who shows up on their birthday. You will have to provide some sort of proof that it is your birthday, and the rest of the party will still have to purchased admission.

In Spaceship Earth, when you approach the scene with the monks working on copying the Bible, notice one that has fallen asleep. He has a Mickey Mouse shaped ink blot on the paper next to him.

If you have interesting tidbits to share that you noticed on your trip to WDW (any park), please send them to us. We may publish them here or on our website, or they might even make it into one of our book titles.

Corinne Johnson is a Christian homeschooling mom, and the author or Vacation Education Books; travel guides for families who love to learn!
www.vacationeducationbooks.net

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Christmas Family Activity, Wreath making kids can do

Here is just a fun activity to do with your kids this month. It's also a great way to welcome guests into your home this holiday.

You will need Green Foam, about 8-10 pieces per wreath(if you want it to last for years to come). A less expensive option is construction paper, but this will not last as long, and the foam is stiffer and makes a better overall project. My suggestion is to make one out of foam as a family, and let younger children make their own out of construction paper.
Red Foam, One sheet per wreath.
Scissors and Glue

Here's what you do:
Trace your child's hands onto the foam. You should be able to do two hands per sheet.
Cut out the hand shapes
Lay the green hands overlapping slightly in a circle with the fingers pointing outward, creating a wreath shape.
Glue all of the pieces into place. Craft glue works here, but for speed and durability, I love to work with a glue gun - this would require adult supervision during the entire process.
The red hands are added to the bottom of the wreath, end to end with the fingers pointing out, making sort of a ribbon.
Cut tiny circles out of the remaining red foam and glue on for berries.

This creates a very basic wreath. Once this is finished, you can either hang it on the front door to greet your guests, or get creative with odds and ends you have around your house, and embellish to your hearts content.

Fitting this activity into homeschooling: How to make it educational? Here is a bit of history from the Catholic Education Resource Center.
The wreath is made of various evergreens, signifying continuous life. Even these evergreens have a traditional meaning which can be adapted to our faith: The laurel signifies victory over persecution and suffering; pine, holly, and yew, immortality; and cedar, strength and healing. Holly also has a special Christian symbolism: The prickly leaves remind us of the crown of thorns, and one English legend tells of how the cross was made of holly. The circle of the wreath, which has no beginning or end, symbolizes the eternity of God, the immortality of the soul, and the everlasting life found in Christ. Any pine cones, nuts, or seedpods used to decorate the wreath also symbolize life and resurrection. All together, the wreath of evergreens depicts the immortality of our soul and the new, everlasting life promised to us through Christ, the eternal Word of the Father, who entered our world becoming true man and who was victorious over sin and death through His own passion, death, and resurrection.

I hope you enjoyed this activity and accompanying lesson. Please check back for more ideas on fun and educational activities to do with your family. If you would like a whole book full of fun & educational lessons, visit our website at www.vacationeducationbooks.net

Changing course, New Blog

I feel like I have two passions pulling at me, and they both seem to end up on this one blog. So, in an effort to keep things simpler, and more interesting for my readers; I've decided to begin a new blog. It is called "Making Money from home" You'll find it at www.weareunemployed.blogspot.com. It attempts to share our experiences since Don left work in October, 2007. I'll be sharing all my frugal tips and money saving ideas there.

This blog site, Vacation Education, will instead be completely devoted to sharing the activities and unit studies that you love to do with your family. Some of them will come from books already on the market, some will come from books we are working on currently, and some will be ideas that we just thought were great, but didn't necessarily make it into a specific book title in our series.

If you would like to know more about our book series, please visit our website; www.vacationeducationbooks.net

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Making FREE cloth diaper covers

I DID IT! Me, who has never used a sewing machine in my life, actually put together and sewed my own diaper covers. Now, these were not actually free, but that is my eventual goal, and these are significantly less expensive than purchasing them, even through used sources.

Don found me a poly blend material that is waterproof; he actually bought me a shower curtain. This is not the plastic liner or a cloth outer, but a blend that feels soft to the touch, is flexible to work with, easy to sew and is waterproof. It was not FREE or even cheap by shower curtain standards ($15), but I've made four diaper wraps from it, and have only used about 1/4 of it.

I started with a Fuzzy Buns size Medium and measured that out as my pattern, onto an opened paper bag. I cut it out and have been using that to cut out the waterproof liner.

I also used a shower curtain liner; this is a thicker, plastic material, less flexible and harder to sew, but I felt it would be extremely waterproof.

I cut the center out of an extra large sweatshirt and turned it so the inside softer part would be what touches baby's bottom.

I sewed the three layers together, waterproof fabric, plastic lining, soft cotton. I added elastic, (my daughter took a sewing class where she learned to make a skirt and then she taught me how to add elastic) and velcro. Tada, it was done. I made the first two this way, the second one turning out much better than the first. I was learning.

The next one, I made the same way, except for the inside layer I used a piece of teddy bear fleece. These are great baby blankets and I love them, but after five kids, I have about 50 in the closet. There is no way I will need this many, even for a January baby, so I figured I could spare one.

This diaper, I took my husband's suggestion and got adventurous, I sewed the three layers together, except I left a gap at the back center between the plastic lining and the fleece, which makes it a pocket diaper. HAH! I'm getting even better.

The fourth diaper, I made with the waterproof outer and the fleece (as another pocket diaper), but I left out the plastic liner to see if it would still work. That would save the cost of that layer and would save the time of sewing in the extra layer. We used it once and it didn't leak, so far so good. They are all going through the wash right now, and will get to go for another round soon.

As far as the additional costs: I scavenged the elastic from a pair of plastic pants that had worn out and were basically shredded except for the elastic; I had some velcro left over from when we used it for attaching our banner to the front of our display table (for conventions). I bought some snap tape when the local Ben Franklin went out of business; sold one box on Ebay for close to what I paid for two boxes, and so basically got to keep one for free. I am going to try adding snaps to the next one, and see how that works.

It wasn't all perfect. I broke the thread so many times on the first diaper, that it took an entire spool of thread to finish the project. I've also broken two needles so far, the first one I don't know how, and the second one I was trying to sew on the snap tape and hit a snap with the needle. My first diaper looks like a mess of thread, but it works. My second looks only slightly better, but again, it works. I'm not creating diapers that I could put on the market and offer to others for sale, (at least not yet). And, I so far have only figured out how to make one size.

However, when all is said and done, I am learning a new skill, I am making something that my family can actually use, and I am NOT spending $15 a week on paper diapers.
If I stop now, I will have four functional diaper covers for a total cost of under $20. If I continue making wraps from the materials I have, the price per cover will continue to decrease with each completed one. Maybe I'll even get good enough at it to make some that look nice enough that others would want to use, and then I would have learned a skill that could actually bring in an income.

Corinne Johnson is the author of Vacation Education Books, a Christian unit study series based on favorite vacation destinations.

How the Pretzel Saved Christmas

This year, our church will be putting on a live outdoor nativity, and adding an indoor element of storytelling from around the world. I am in charge of putting these stories together. If you have a copy of Vacation Education destination Epcot, then this story will coincide with the activities in Germany, specifically the Pretzel Recipe on page 54. If you do not already have a copy of this book filled with cultural unit studies, Please visit Vacationeducationbooks.net to learn more.

Here is one of the stories that we will be using, and how I have set it up.
We will decorate around the kitchen window as though it is outside the monastery. Brother Bachman (a monk) is hard at work kneading bread. He will speak to the guests as they approach the window.

“I remember the first day that I imagined these little treats. It was the winter of 610 AD, and I was standing at this very window, watching the children play outside in the snow. I was sad because the children came to the church yard to play, but they hardly ever came inside to worship… and their parents hardly ever came at all.”
“I was baking loaves of bread that day, and working with the leftover dough, I began to roll it out as I prayed for these little children and their families. Soon, I was thinking of their tiny hands folded in prayer, and I folded the dough like this.”

Host will roll out dough into a snake shape, then fold over once to represent hands.

“Then, I thought of their mothers and fathers praying along side them and folded the dough like this.”

The ends of the dough get folded over again.

“Then, I thought of their parents teaching about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and soon the dough was shaped like this.”

The tips of the dough are place at the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock points on the center part of the dough creating three spaces that represent the HOLY TRINITY.

“I made several of these that day, enough for all the children. When they were warm and fresh from the oven, I called out the window and invited the children to come and try them.”

“Here would you like some?” Host will offer pretzels to guests.

“The children enjoyed them so much, that I had an idea. I called my creation ‘pretiola’ which means ‘little reward’ and I told the children to go home and learn a Bible verse. If they could come back with their parents and tell me the Bible verse they had memorized, that I would make more pretiolas for them.”

“They were so popular that soon everyone in town was coming to get them, and by Christmas, the church was filled with families once again.”

And, that is the story of how the pretzel (comes from the Latin root pretiola) saved Christmas. Hope you enjoyed it. You can share it with your family, and be sure to try the pretzel recipe on page 54 of Vacation Education destination Epcot.

Corinne Johnson is the author of Vacation Education Books, Christian unit studies based on favorite family vacation destinations.