Spring is in the Air

Assalam Alykom:
Have you ever heard the saying or maybe it is lyrics from a song "You do not know what you have until it is gone" For me, that would be the change of seasons. Living in Florida for so long, I have not experienced the change of seasons for 20 years. I am just driving around starry eyed from the blooming flowers. The trees here in Oklahoma have these beautiful flowers on them and no leaves. I drive around on the weekend to garage sales looking for treasures to sell on Ebay. I am armed with my camera and I stop at these beautiful trees. I think the locals think I am a little goofy taking a picture of the tree in their yard. I am ooohing and ahhing as I snap the picture. They probably have been looking at that tree for the last 20 years and never noticed the beauty that I held in the tree from my eyes. I just marvel at the beauty that Allah creates. I implore you to enjoy my pictures as much as I enjoyed seeing them first hand.

Compass Rose

Assalam alykom:

While teaching my 5 year old a little geography, we found this little project. It is a nice little compass rose for telling direction. After we made it, we have been using it to learn our directions. She is learning her continents, oceans and direction. Here is how we made the compass rose:

• Materials needed:
• *Compass rose template
• *Flat glass marble
• *Mod Podge
• *Old Cd or DVD

Instructions: Color your template as you wish. Put a coating of Mod Podge on the disc. Place you template over the Mod Podge. Next ,do one coat of Mod Podge on the template and place the glass marble in the center. Last, apply several coats of Mod Podge, allowing each coat to dry. This will make it more glossy.

Polymer Clay Bugs

Assalm alykom:

When teaching my 5 year old daughter about insects, I wanted her to understand the three body parts and the names of the parts. So, I came up with this idea. Here is how we did it:

Materials needed:

*Polymer clay(Sculpy or Fimo)

*Jewelry wire

*Glass Beads

*Google eyes

Directions:

Make three small balls from the clay. Stick them together to form the bug. Stick colored glass beads all over the body. Next, measure out about 3" of wire and wrap a small glass bead at the top for the nose. Stick the other end through your insects body. Leave some of the wire sticking from the end for a stinger or tail. Cut wire for the antenna any link you want. Wind the top for the appearance to look real. Cut three pieces of wire about 3" each for the legs. Stick the legs through the body and bend them to make them stand. Cook them according to the directions you have for the clay. After they cool, just glue on some eyes. The bigger the eyes, the more bug-like they look.

Art Deco Clock

Assalm alykom:

I love this clock. I made it from a vintage ceiling light plate. I had stopped by an estate sale one Saturday morning and found it on a shelf in the garage. When I saw it, I thought it looked like a clock. I had purchased the mechanics of a clock on sale last summer. I put the mechanics through the clock and added the rhinestone stickers. I think it looks like it came right out of the 1950's. It was so easy to make! I decided to try and sell it on my Ebay listings. So far, there are no takers. Inshallah there will be before the end!

Taking an Unplanned Day Off

Assalam Alykom:

The great thing about homeschooling is that school is when you want it. For someone who has lived in Florida for the last twenty years, we really needed to play in the snow. When we woke up in the morning, we found a blanket of snow on the ground had fallen peacefully during the night. In Oklahoma, if you do not get out before noon the snow will be gone from your eyes. We took the children to the park in the morning.
















Here are some Canadian geese that were sitting by the pond. I think that they look so majestic, until they honk. Then they sound like a broken semi-truck horn.














I like to call this picture above Powdered Sugar Rocks. It looks just like someone sprinkled powdered sugar on the rocks.















By the afternoon, we decided to explore another park area outside Tulsa. It is a huge lake that has a dam on it. As you can see, the snow has all melted and disappeared from the land.














Homeschooling can be busy, stressful and an immense load of work. However, you can take a break from that work at anytime and enjoy the beautiful world that Allah created!

Friends

This was an interfaith event that took place in Tulsa, OK. Have a look it is a great talk!