Winter Fun Ideas

It appears that winter is here already.  It's freezing and windy here today.  So I thought I'd blog about some fun things to do in the winter.  Sometimes in the winter, boredom sets in and can make kids whiny.  "What can I do?"  I hear it a lot in the colder months.  And when you homeschool, you are likely to hear it more because you are with your kids more.   Anyway,  I have been digging around the internet to find some ideas.  Here are some links I came up with.
http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/winter/#

Paper Snowflakes

http://www.papersnowflakes.com/patterns.htm

This one has some fun stuff to do in the winter.  I like the idea of a popcorn, hot chocolate and game night.

http://www.blisstree.com/thriftymommy/free-fun-winter-activities/

Making pine cone bird feeders is a fun thing to do in the winter. Apparently using peanut butter on the pine cones is not a good idea. I've seen some people saying it chokes the birds and can kill them.  Here's a better, healthier for the birds, way to do it.

http://www.enviro-explorers.com/pinecone_web_page/pineconefeederindex.html

This Frosty the Cheeseball recipe looks fun and tasty.
http://www.parentsconnect.com/dishes/frosty_the_cheese_ball.jhtml?sem=SEO_SSP_Y

Winter Crafts
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/winter/index.html

What are your favorite things to do with the kids in the winter?

Riley Festival Fun

We spent two days last weekend at a local craft festival. The Riley festival, named for James Whitcomb Riley, is one of our family's favorite things to do in the fall. Riley was the Hoosier Poet who grew up in the town of Greenfield. My kids always save up their money to spend there, although they never spend much. We just enjoy looking around and sampling the food. We usually find a few things we can't live without. The kids also love playing games. We did find a member of TheInCrowdTeam (the Etsy Indiana Street Team) with a booth there. TwoSeaSideBabes has great hats that seemed to be selling well. My granddaughter got her face painted both days we went.





I think my 12 year old has outgrown it, she didn't get hers painted this time. She did like the chili cheese fries though. They were so messy to eat, but great.


We had a worry session on the first day. The wee one kept hearing that this or that car would be towed if not moved and was worried sick that our car would be towed away.

Her mom, my daughter, had to call the friend whose parking lot we were in to reassure her the car was parked legally and was safe.


The second day granddaughter got to get her shape balloon she was so looking forward to.


And wee ones little brother had his own kind of fun. He spent the day in his stroller taking his socks off. He probably didn't even notice all the ladies that kept walking by and mentioning how cold his feet must be. It was chilly and windy but his feet were as warm as toast.

I will leave you with some quotes by James Whitcomb Riley and a bit of trivia.

Continuous, unflagging effort, persistence and determination will win. Let not the man be discouraged who has these.
James Whitcomb Riley

When I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.
James Whitcomb Riley

When you awaken some morning and hear that somebody or other has been discovered, you can put it down as a fact that he discovered himself years ago - since that time he has been toiling, working, and striving to make himself worthy of general discovery.
James Whitcomb Riley

Ever wonder where Little Orphan Annie or Raggedy Ann came from? Take a look.