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By Mom Unplugged, October 31, 2007 12:31 pm

My daughter’s Montessori class (1st through 3rd grade) does a wonderful thing for Halloween that I thought might interest some homeschool families or teachers out there.

Instead of wearing Halloween costumes to school, or even simply using the day to celebrate fall, the children prepare an oral report about a famous historical person. They must read a book about (or by) that person, then gather facts about their chosen person, most importantly they are not allowed to tell anyone else (except the teacher of course) who they are.

Throughout the week before Halloween, the teacher briefly presents to the class each of the chosen historical figures so everyone is familiar with them.

On Halloween the children go to school dressed as their person. They each give a short presentation to the class about their person, ending their talk with the question: “Who am I?” At the end of each presentation, the class tries to guess who the student is.

I am so impressed with this idea. What a wonderful way to encourage excitement about reading, history and learning…all while dealing with the sometimes sticky issue of how to celebrate (or not celebrate) Halloween at school.

My daughter read Little House in the Big Woods and chose Laura Ingalls Wilder. We had a great bonnet in the dress-up box, but no dress. As a teenager, I used to make clothes, and I actually do own a sewing machine that I have used exactly once since I bought it about 8 years ago, so I decided to go for a Super Mom Award and make a dress!

We went to Walmart (our only local fabric source) to choose a pattern and an appropriate fabric. The pattern was simple. I chose a classic little girl dress and bought an extra yard of fabric to make it reach the ankle instead of the pattern-specified knee length. The fabric choice was a little tougher.

I was thinking “little girl in dainty flowered calico,” my 7 year-old was apparently thinking “trashy bar-maid in seedy saloon.” She kept holding up more and more impossible fabrics beginning with: “Oh look Mom!” (florescent rainbow motif) and ending with: “Would she have worn this one?” (hot pink sequins on purple sparkle background). We finally settled on something resembling more of a calico.

After many hours of work wrestling zippers and gathered sleeves, I was quite pleased with the final result. There are a few flaws that probably only I will ever see, and it might not be 100% historically accurate, but I am pretty proud of it I must say.

The presentations were amazing and the costumes were very cute, and quite clever. For example there was Neil Armstrong (tin foil boots), Abraham Lincoln (fake beard and hat of course) and Mother Teresa (very clever rendition of Mother Teresa’s classic “chura” headscarf made out of a white towel with blue ribbon sewn on!) … as well as a very realistic-looking 6 year-old Sandra Day O’Connor complete with gavel!

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By Mom Unplugged, October 30, 2007 4:37 pm

A good friend of mine just brought my children a whole bag full of these “Witch Hands” treats that she found at a Halloween bake sale. I thought this idea was SO clever and easy (not to mention funny!) that I had to share it!

The “hands” are just plastic food service gloves filled with popcorn “bones” and candy corn “fingernails.” Drop a candy corn into each finger tip, fill glove with popcorn, and tie the wrist closed with black yarn. Too cool!

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By Mom Unplugged, October 28, 2007 9:27 pm

The results: Left to right - ages 21 months, 7 years, and 5 years.

I don’t know about you, but we got messy again! Thank goodness for washable paints.

The kids had fun, especially the baby who seemed way more “into” this project than the last one. She was jumping up and down and squealing, all while adding more and more paint to her pumpkin until it was completely covered in a green, muddy mess (far left).

I hope it all went well for your household too. I look forward to seeing your finished work. Don’t forget to leave your name and link in Mr. Linky! Here are some more photos of our pumpkin painting session:

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I have had a request for a project next week that is “less arty.” That’s fine with me. In fact I called it simply “The Unplugged Project” (rather than the “Unplugged Art Project”) for exactly that reason. How about we try a writing/art project? For those who are more verbally inclined (but there is an art option too) here is next week’s project:

Haiku

1) Write a haiku and illustrate it, either via original artwork or photo

-or-

2) Read (and share) a haiku and illustrate it, either via original artwork or photo

-or-

3) For smaller children, parents can find (or write) the haiku and help their children “illustrate” it

-or-

4) Any other haiku/poetry possibilities that you can imagine! Anything is fine…just go with what you want to do!

(unless you have a newly budding photographer at home, the photo option is probably more one for any older children or adults who want to take part and would rather not illustrate)

Haiku:
- subject: everyday things - often nature, feelings, or experiences
- length: three short NON-RHYMING lines
- form:
1st line: 5 syllables
2nd line: 7 syllables
3rd line: 5 syllables

Click here for some examples.

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By Mom Unplugged, October 1, 2007 8:10 pm

Fall is here which means that Halloween is coming. My heart sinks when I think of all the candy my kids will receive, and of course want to eat.

Until now, I have always taken the wimpy way out. My Method One is to allow them to eat one or two pieces a day. Eventually they lose interest in it, at which point I whisk it away and hide it at the back of a high kitchen cupboard. If no one mentions the candy for a few weeks, then into the trash it goes.

My Method Two is to throw away one or two pieces of candy a day so as to make it disappear more rapidly. The most effective approach used to be a combination of Methods One and Two.

But as the kids get older, they seem to remember the existence of the candy for a longer period of time each year, which makes Method One increasingly more difficult to carry out successfully. They also now have a complete mental inventory of every piece of candy in their bag, so Method Two no longer works at all. This year it is clearly time for me to reconsider the Great Candy Dilemma.

MC Milker, the Not Quite Crunchy Parent, wrote a great post the other day about The Candy Fairy. The solution she proposes and has actually used successfully is, in my mind, PURE GENIUS. If there can be a Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus, why couldn’t there be a Candy Fairy? Children leave their Halloween candy on the doorstep at night and in the morning the candy is gone, but a small gift is there in its place. Brilliant! Why didn’t I think of that when my children were younger?

The Candy Fairy can come at Easter too. And why not after birthday parties where candy has been a bit too generously doled out?

According to MC Milker, it is advisable to start talking up The Candy Fairy well in advance of the holiday. For example, starting now for a Halloween Candy Fairy visit insures that the brain washing is fully in place by October 31st. Plus, there are complicated logistics and negotiations that must be handled. When does The Candy Fairy come exactly? How much candy does she expect to receive? I am obviously a novice when it comes to all this. For more expert advice, you should really read MC’s post.

The only problem I can foresee in my own situation is how to explain the sudden arrival on the scene of The Candy Fairy to my 5 and 7 year-old who are regular customers of Santa and The Tooth Fairy, but who have never ever heard of The Candy Fairy. I just don’t think they would buy into the fantasy.

After mulling it all over, I have come up with my own “Mom” variation of The Candy Fairy:

This Halloween I will offer a choice. They can keep their candy, or they can cash it in for a surprise from me. I expect that they will opt for the latter. To make it fun we’ll leave the candy outside the front door which is where they will find their surprise the next morning. I think that this idea has great potential. I’ll report back after Halloween.

Now that I think of it, if this works, perhaps we could start a kind of “candy savings account” where all birthday party candy, Valentine’s candy etc. can be accumulated until there is enough for The Candy Fairy to take in exchange for a gift.

Wouldn’t this encourage saving and spending in addition to making the dentist happy?

Thank you for sharing this exciting idea MC! You may well have changed my life…perhaps I am being a tad dramatic…but I think you have resolved my Great Candy Dilemma for another few years at least!

Thanks to morguefile.com and photographer dieraecherin for the candy photo.

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By Mom Unplugged, March 9, 2007 9:07 am

OK, here’s one for you: What do daylight saving time and Halloween have in common? … Stumped?… The answer: CANDY! Still puzzled? Then read on.

If you listened to “All Things Considered” on NPR last night, you might have heard a piece about our new daylight saving time that begins this year. This year, daylight saving will begin this Sunday, March 11th (3 weeks earlier) and continue until November 4th (1 week later). The theory is that a longer daylight saving period will save energy, in fact this measure was passed as part of the 2005 Energy Bill.

The interviewee (Michael Downing, author of Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time) was skeptical of the energy saving argument and instead attributes the increased length to various industry lobbyists. I am too uninformed to enter into a debate about the potential energy-saving aspects of daylight saving versus lobbying influences, however I was shocked to learn that one industry that has long lobbied strongly for this change was the candy industry.

According to Mr. Downing, the candy industry has been trying to extend daylight saving past Halloween for the last 25 years. In 1985 their representatives even went so far as to place a candy pumpkin on the seat of every senator as a reminder. Apparently with one more hour of daylight for trick-or-treating, kids will get more candy. If they get more candy, the manufacturers make more money…a lot more money.

Perhaps I should feel happy that the candy manufacturers will prosper, the economy will be helped, jobs will be created, etc. However my initial reaction to this was shock and disbelief which has now, after some thought, transformed into discomfort and distaste. This does not feel like a positive decision for our children. Do kids need more candy? Doesn’t this encourage obesity, rotten teeth and greed? Will the American Dental Association be the next group to rise up in support of this change? Isn’t this using our children for economic gain?

Maybe I should just “lighten up” and quit seeing evil intentions where none were intended (I hope). Besides, Arizona is one of the few states that doesn’t observe daylight saving time…yet I can’t quite shake this uncomfortable feeling.

Trick-or-treat…you decide.

If you are interested, click here to listen to the story on NPR’s website.