Starting yesterday, Ingrid is officially into Barbies. She decided Barbie would get married today but she didn’t have a groom. Here’s what she came up with in a pinch.
Archive for June, 2010
Congratulations to the happy couple!
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010Painting with Grandpa
Thursday, June 17th, 2010When my dad told me he wanted to make a painting with Ingrid, I jumped at the chance. Not only would she get to know another side of Grandpa, she would also learn in detail about something she already loves. Since painting with him, she has learned to hold the paintbrush in different ways to achieve different looks. She has learned what different looking brushes are used for. She has learned how to mix colors. And techniques for making sky, mountains, fur, etc. She and Grandpa typically paint for 4-5 hours at a time. My dad was pretty impressed with how long Ingrid could focus on her project. I’m not surprised because her preschool teacher said the same thing.
Today they will finish Ingrid’s jaguar. Grandpa had asked her what she wanted to paint and she said maybe a lion. After looking through some of his books, she picked out two animals. He asked her: Which one do you want to paint Ingrid? And she answered: We’re going to paint them both. My dad thought that was funny. So it looks like there will be another painting coming soon.
New toy for Pluto
Thursday, June 17th, 2010This was Ingrid’s morning project today- to sew a mouse for Pluto. That’s what Kindergarten homeschool looks like for us most days. Ingrid wakes up with an idea and I see what I can do to make it happen. In the beginning, I would plan the project with her and then make it alongside her. Now after several months, she knows what can be achieved with different materials and tools, and she has the confidence to try it on her own.
What she did is draw some shapes and cut them out of felt, and then glue on a yarn tail. Next she sewed the edges, leaving an opening for stuffing. Lastly she stuffed it and glued on eyes. She decided to skip the ears since they would only fall off. She and Pluto played with it for about half an hour, then she shoved some pieces of dry cat food into it to make it more appealing. She did this on her own without telling me : ) Now Pluto is going crazy trying to figure out where that smell is coming from. He’s already looked under it and all around. He’s seriously confused. And who knows what will happen to Mousie when we’re not around and the dogs get to it!
Daily walk
Sunday, June 6th, 2010We’ve been walking the pets in the neighborhood surrounding this RV park in Redwood City. The park is a total dump but the little houses around are small and mostly well cared for. Lots of pretty gardens, mostly with rose bushes but a few really amazing ones too.
Ingrid has begun holding Ginger and it’s going surprisingly well. Ginger seems to understand that she can’t pull and she stays right next to Ingrid’s side, walking slowly. I take Otto who has to be corrected 100 times in ten minutes, and Pluto follows several paces behind. We have to walk slower and stop and wait for him, as he gets distracted sometimes. But the dogs enjoy it more because because that means more outside time.
People often shout to us out of their car window. Today an old man said, good looking dogs! Another wanted to know if they were pointers. A kid said, hey there’s a cat following you! (That’s the most common one.) A woman asked, are you walking your cat? Does he just follow you?! It’s kind of fun sometimes, having an excuse to talk to some locals. Other times it’s just annoying : )
Experimentation
Sunday, June 6th, 2010Ingrid wanted to make a waterfall that would not keep wasting water. Here’s what she came up, a shell held by rubberbands over a bowl. She pours the water into the shell. Watching her try different ideas to make her waterfall makes me think it’s time to buy her a kid’s science/ experiments book.
