#i need more alphabet beads in different colors

[omppupiiras]

it's been a while since i last made bracelets but today i made two :D i forgot how fun AND frustrating it can be heh. (and expensive bc every time i make them i feel like there's some specific kind of beads that im missing that i just HAVE to buy for the next time..)

[lulu2992]

Update:

And the game is out! 😃

[howlsofbloodhounds]

I know Color has given Killer thousands of rubix cubes, puzzles, and picky pads.

It’s to keep him stimulated and fulfilling ST2’s needs for “something new.” ST2 wasn’t made to be idle, he needs to keep his mind and hands working—absorbing information like a sponge, even if his apathy and dissociation probably means a much harder time paying attention and retaining that information—and Color understands that so he tries to help him find safe ways to do that in a way that doesn’t involve the poor man coming home to his friend covered in blood and possibly missing limbs.

The two of them probably engage in parallel play a lot; while Killer’s picking the small toy duckies and various colorful alphabet beads out of various ridiculously shaped resin molds, Color’s sorting and organizing them into jars by shape and color.

And later the two of them will go out to buy more resin and molds to make more picky pads and redo the activity in various forms. The different beads and mold shapes is new enough each time for Killer, and the repeated routine activity and organizing works wonders for Color’s autistic ass. Sometimes they’ll switch the roles around when Killer gets bored and definitely after he tries to eat a few of the beads.

I think Killer would enjoy the act of creation. It fulfills the need for something new of course, but it appeases his more moral personality in the form of ST1 to know his hands are able to do more than destroy and murder.

Those hands know a thousand ways to coerce confessions—both false and true—out of many monsters, but now they’re also learning to wield wood into the shape of a red panda and how to create string necklaces.

While Color’s watching his favorite comfort shows for the thousandths time, Killer’s intensely focused on a solving a word puzzle while listening to Color infodump about his favorite character in the show.

Sometimes they try to sit in silence but that quickly gets boring to Killer and he runs the risk of literally trying to disassemble his body parts, and Color gets overstimulated by too much noise, so they compromise by letting Color set the pace of the yapping.

Killer is the professional yapper in this household, but he finds listening to Color’s voice soothing and he enjoys learning more about his person. He has never found another to be as fascinating.

[tidaltow]

arranged on the table before Percy was a vibrant assortment of beach-themed treasures; mismatched shells strung together to make a chunky necklace, dried sea stars in various sizes, & a few lucky sand dollars made up the bundle. however, the ‘beach’ element wasn’t the only consistent thing across all the items, for Ari ( with the help of a few other kind demigods aboard the Argo II ) had carefully painted each one a different shade of blue. Ari looked up at Percy with twinkling, excited eyes, hoping he would love his special birthday gift.

“ha … happy merry birthday, Pissy!” Ari said brightly, holding onto the edge of the table to keep herself stable as she jovially bounced on her toes. “fff … for you!”

@earthssprout || “belated” bday shenanigans (bc winnie sent this in on time but i'm slow so it's on me asdjgjk)

So, look, kids Percy's age had typically “grown out” of themed gifts.

Y'know, for example, how a pretty decent percentage of little girls apparently had a “horse girl phase” that all their parties had to be centered around, but they eventually moved on (Would Ari ever have one of those?); or how your favorite color was practically a personality trait (along with your favorite food, whether you liked cats or dogs [never both; unacceptable], what team you rooted for in literally any sport [ . . . but that extended to the adults, too]). Thing is, at some point, a kid's interests became a bit more complex than just “dog goes woof, so I obsess over dog” . . .

Or, okay, “Mom started making everything blue just to spite my dumb step-dad, so now I obsess over the color blue.” Or, “Yeah, my dad's the sea god, so my entire personality needs to be surfer boy chic.”

See, good thing “Percy” and “typical” weren't on the same page. (And the alphabet wasn't changing anytime soon to alter that.)

When he saw the assortment of gifts laid out across the table, he might as well have been living his best “horse girl” dreams, thriving in the “Yes, my favorite color is blue and I'm owning it” vibes, basking in the “I'm the son of Poseidon” spotlight. But maybe what really sold the whole thing, what really made it all the more special, was seeing the excited little girl who went to all the trouble to do this for him.

Yeah. That had to be it. That had to be why Percy found himself grinning like he was in the middle of a sugar high after too much cake. (He hoped that'd be the literal case soon.)

“Whoa, seriously? Did you do all of this?” Percy was pretty sure she couldn't have. (But he was also pretty sure he was prone to underestimating her.) He'd happily give her all the credit, either way. “That's so cool. Everything turned out amazing.” And he spent a few moments rolling the painted seashells over in his fingers, eventually donning that necklace as proudly as if it bore his beads from camp.

While he continued to fiddle with one of the cowrie shells—ignoring that the weight of everything on the necklace wasn't exactly distributed evenly—Percy wandered over to Ari's side. His free hand extended around her little shoulders, tugged her against his hip in half of a hug. “Thanks, Ari. I mean it,” he said. “These shells are officially the best I've ever seen.”

[atths--twice]

Wednesday Night at the Fluff and Fold

Had an idea for a little “on the run” story the other day. Thus this little story was born. Hope you enjoy! ❤️

Late on a hot summer night, while on the run, Scully and Mulder spend some time in a small town laundromat.

September 2003

Juliette, Georgia

10:00 p.m.

There was an odd feeling of calm to pairing socks, seeing them piling up beside the other clothes, everything organized into neat stacks.

Scully smiled as she remembered helping her mother fold clothes when she was younger, loving the feel of them when they were warm from the dryer, or even helping to take them from a clothesline. Sheets were always her favorite, lifting her side up as high as she could, her mother smiling as she held tight to the other end. The sound of the snap of the fabric, the perfect fold, meeting in the middle to hand it off to her mother… she loved it all.

Socks were saved for her to do on her own, large piles of them from the whole family, left to her to sort like a puzzle. She liked being able to differentiate between them, giving the right socks to the right people, proud that she never got it wrong.

As an adult, she found that same pride in the tidiness of her own home; the dishes always washed and put away in their place, the pictures hung to her taste, her clothes always organized, going through them often and getting rid of any taking up unwanted space.

Space, she thought with a snort. That’s definitely something we are lacking these days.

Folding one of Mulder’s t-shirts, she placed it on top of his pile. One of her shirts was next and she placed it on her own pile with a sigh. Turning around, she looked at the dryer in front of her and saw it still had twenty minutes left before the cycle would be complete. Looking around at the empty laundromat, she sighed again.

Fanning herself, she lifted her long hair off of her sweaty neck. The weight of it made her think again of cutting it short like she’d had it in the past. Instead, she took the rubber band from her wrist and tied it up into a messy bun, a few pieces falling down and brushing her face. As it did, she sighed at the dark brown, nearly black color of it.

She’d had it dyed for months now, but she was still taken aback by it when her thoughts were elsewhere and it suddenly fell into her view. She did not mind it, but it was a drastic difference from her normal red.

The door to the laundromat opened and Mulder walked in with a plastic bag in each hand.. Even in khaki shorts, a black tank top, and flip flops, she could see he was just as warm as she was, beads of perspiration dotting his forehead.

“God, it’s like walking through numerous layers of warm wet paper towels. I’m sweating like crazy.”

“It’s not much cooler in here,” she said with a gesture toward the dryers. “Thankfully it’s the last load.”

“Should I get the bags from the car?” he asked, setting the plastic bags down on the counter beside the piles of folded clothes.

“Nah. Might as well wait until those are done and folded.” He nodded and jumped up to sit next to the bags, smiling at her as he did. She let out a deep breath as she glanced at the dryer timer again.

Eighteen minutes until they would pack up and head away from this small town, all of their clothes clean, for a while at least.

It had been nearly a year and a half since they had been on the run, staying in countless motels, trailers, tents, the car itself, and even once a teepee, which they had both found highly offensive, especially after seeing the decor. But it had been cold and the place warm, so they had stayed for a night before leaving the next morning

In that time, a system had been created. They had bought large plastic totes and kept everything they needed inside of them: sleeping bags, pillows, extra blankets, two tents, tarps, camping cooking supplies, some food- but not much as they did not want to attract any unwanted animals.

They also had two duffel bags which held all of the clothes they owned, rotating them by need and season.

As it was the tailend of a very warm summer, the warmer clothes had been stored in one of the totes, not needed for a few more months. The two duffel bags were now full of shorts, tank tops, shirts, and even a few sundresses, the breeze welcome as it cooled her everywhere.

The bags also held their simple toiletries inside plastic zippered bags. It was organized and fit just so in the car, allowing them to grab whatever was needed quickly. Every item was replaceable and held no sentimental value, easily able to be left behind if the situation called for it.

Clothes were worn until only one outfit remained, the dirty clothes placed in trash bags. All laundry was done at one time, visiting laundromats late at night, or any motel with on-site laundry service. The clean clothes were then put back into the duffel bags, the trash bags slipped into the totes, ready to be refilled.

It was a system that worked well, keeping them away from crowds of people, Mulder remaining safe and relatively unseen.

Sighing again, she shook her head and glanced at the bags he had brought in with him.

“So, what have you got there?” she asked with a smile, one of the bags smelling of something delicious and causing her stomach to growl.

“Well,” he said, opening the bag and removing take out containers, handing one to her. “The Whistle Stop Café is open late tonight for a summer barbecue-”

“Is it?” she said, looking at her food cautiously and he laughed.

“Pork, not human,” he assured her with another chuckle. “Someone in front of me made that joke and the woman serving food gave him such a look, I knew better than to make the same mistake.”

“Can’t really blame people when it’s heavily implied in the Fried Green Tomatoes movie and in the book… well…” She raised her eyebrows and opened the container, sniffing the delicious aroma of barbecued pork, her mouth watering.

“I also got mashed potatoes and biscuits. Homemade biscuits that I ate one of on the way over here because they had only just cooled enough to be served when I ordered them. Try one of those first.” He handed her one and he nodded encouragingly.

Taking it from him, she took a bite and then moaned as the sweet taste of butter hit her tongue. He nodded again with a smile as she took another bite and he took out utensils and napkins. She pushed herself up to sit beside him, her legs swinging as they ate, the dryer continuing to tumble the last of their clothes, both of them hot, sweaty, and sticky.

As they finished eating, the dryer stopped and while he cleaned up their food and trash, she took out the clothes, walking them to the counter to be folded. He came back in with the duffel bags, setting them on the empty counter, and began helping her fold the clothes.

In no time, they were filling the duffel bags, everything once more arranged and in order. She threw out the dryer sheets she had used and picked up the now empty trash bags, ready to put them back into the totes in the car.

“What’s in this bag?” she asked and he nodded at her to open it. When she did, she smiled, finding it full of paperbacks.

“I found a used bookstore and came back to the car, taking out the ones you’d wanted to swap if we found one. I could only find up to “O,” but maybe we’ll get lucky at the next place and find “P” and “Q.””

“There’s a “Q”? I didn’t know,” she murmured and he nodded as she looked down at the books.

They had stayed at a cabin in March and the sparse amount of books available had led to her reading ones she would normally have passed over. Particularly, a series of detective novels, the titles of each one beginning with a different letter of the alphabet.

Finding that she enjoyed them, when they had been in another town, she had popped into a used bookstore, finding the next in the “alphabet series” by Sue Grafton. She had loved them all, a distraction from their own lives for a little while. It had been some time since she had finished, and even reread the last few, holding onto them to trade in for new ones, and she was happy he had found them.

“Thank you,” she said softly, looking at “L” is for Lawless and “M” is for Malice. “I know it’s not my usual reading material…”

“Scully, there isn’t much that is usual right now.” He smiled at her and shrugged. “You enjoy them. I do too. Especially when you read them aloud and we try to figure out the ending.” She nodded with a smile and ran her fingers across the titles.

“Thank you,” she said again, lifting her head to look at him. He smiled with a nod and picked up one of the duffel bags, kissing her as he did.

“You’re welcome,” he whispered against her lips, reaching for the next duffel bag.

She put the books back inside the plastic bag and picked up their black canvas backpack. Everything else could be left behind and abandoned at a moment's notice, but not the backpack. It held everything of importance inside of it and was never far from sight.

One last look around, making sure they had everything, they walked out into the muggy and sticky Georgia night. Bags were placed back into the car and then bottles of water were taken from the totes and carried to the front seat.

Mulder turned on the car, blasting the air conditioning as they both sat, the warm air gradually becoming cooler. She closed her eyes as she twisted her head and leaned forward, letting the cool air hit the back of her neck.

“What were we thinking, huh? Coming to the south in the summer? Should have stayed up north,” Mulder said with a deep sigh and she smiled.

“It’s summer, Mulder. It’s hot everywhere.”

“Hmm. Not moist hot though. I feel… well… it’s not the best situation in my southern region either.” She laughed and opened her eyes, looking at him as he raised his eyebrows with a shake of his head.

“How does a cold shower sound?”

“Make it lukewarm, and not a solo one, and you’ve got yourself a deal,” he said with a smile and she tilted her head.

“You’re asking me to join you even after you’ve so eloquently divulged a bad case of swamp ass?” She raised her eyebrows at him, a half smile on her face, and he nodded enthusiastically.

“Absolutely. I’m sure you could do with a…”

“Yes?” she asked, her eyebrows raising higher, waiting to see how big of a hole he would dig himself into.

“Well…” He shrugged and smiled, the one that made her heart race. Innocent and sweet, with an air of mischief hiding behind it. “A nice refreshing shower after standing in that warm laundromat for so long.”

“Mmhmm,” she hummed, licking her lips and his eyes followed its path across them.

“And if it leads to some sex… well…” He shrugged again and put the car in gear, looking around before he backed up and out of the parking spot, continuing out of the parking lot. “At least we’ll get clean as we’re being dirty.” She laughed and nodded, already anticipating the feel of the water cooling and cleansing her sweaty body, his hands on her wet and slippery skin making her ache with need.

He grinned at her as they pulled up to a stop sign by the Whistle Stop Café. People were still there enjoying the barbecue, music playing and laughter ringing out into the night. They drove past the now closed used bookstore and she smiled, remembering the books waiting to be read. Looking at him, she smiled and he winked as he caught her eye.

“A refreshing shower sounds wonderful.”

“And the sex?” he asked, stopping at a light and staring at her, waggling his eyebrows.

“Sounds orgasmic,” she said in a low voice and he growled, stepping on the gas as soon as the light was green, hurrying out of town as she laughed happily.

[amarantine-amirite]

Out of Words, Out of Songs, Out of Ideas

I got a real surprise today when I got the recording studio at my school.

No lie, when I first saw it, I actually said, "What the fuck?!" I was just lucky that there weren't any teachers around, otherwise I would've heard, "Language, Camille" and have to drop 25 cents in the swear jar.

I shouldn't have worried about a teacher overhearing me. I should've been worried about Zoe overhearing me.

I never got along with Zoe. Zoe is one of those people who refuses to take responsibility, gives pathetic excuses, and either ignores consequences or downplays them. Worse, she talks down to you like you're stupid. "Noticed the piano, huh?" she said.

I nodded quickly. "Why the hell are all the keys the same color?"

Zoe did the thing where she talked down to me like I was stupid. "The school district was worried that people would think the regular piano keys are racist, so they painted them to match the wood casing."

I couldn't believe what she said. In the name of racial harmony, they painted all the keys of the piano the same color. If it didn't actually happen, I would have thought it was a joke.

I should never put it past the school to do something like this. I remember we had twins in my fourth-grade class named Benjamin and Daniel. They went by Ben and Dan. We also had a Chinese kid in our class (James) that had a learning disability. Alphabetically, he came right before Ben and Dan.

I didn't play with Ben, Dan, or James that often. I only really remember their names because of this one thing that happened.

One day, when the teacher was taking attendance, he called James's name, but James didn't hear him. Frustratedly, he moved on to the next two people, Ben and Dan. He said, "Ben, Dan"

"Ben, Dan" sounds like the Chinese phrase for "idiot". When James heard the teacher say this, he ran out of the classroom in tears.

They had to put Ben and Dan in separate classes over this. I don't know what happened to them after that. All I do know is that people are far more willing to bend over backward to avoid stepping on toes than you think. "Do they not have a little voice in their head that says this might be a bad idea?" I squealed.

Zoe shook her head. "I understand that you're upset. I get that. Things are a little messy right now. But sometimes, things have to look a little worse before they look amazing," she said in her trademark condescending tone.

I need my visual signposts. Making all the keys on the piano the same color just takes them away. And I'm far from the only person that thinks that. The reason pianos have different colored keys so the person playing them can tell the difference between the natural and semitone pitches. "Zoe, this isn't a little messy;" I said way louder than I should have, "this piano is now unusable."

Dorothy walked in. "What's all the hubbub?" she asked.

I pointed to the piano. "The school thinks it can combat racism by painting the keys on the piano the same color." All they've managed to combat is the musician's ability to consistently play the right notes.

Dororthy looked at the piano. She looked at me. She looked at the piano again, and then she looked back at me. "You know, Camille" she said, "You can't come down from a high you were never on."

I nodded, even though I had no idea what that was supposed to mean. Sometimes, people say something insightful. Other times, it sounds insightful, but it falls apart the minute you try and parse it. "You can't come down from a high you were never on" falls into the latter.

I guess it could mean that you could never come back to reality if you never left reality in the first place, but I'm not fully sure. The more I think about it, the more I realize that it's one of those phrases that sounds deep and meaningful, but when you really look at it, it's just painfully confusing. "I get that, Dorothy, but can you explain to me what that's supposed to mean?"

I think she tried to say, "for everything, there is a season. There is a time for everything, and now is not the time for that." Basically, she tried to respond to a thought terminating cliché with another thought terminating cliché. But try as she might, she just could not get the words out. She wound up saying, "For everything, there is a season, a season is time of growth"

That sentence made so little sense that I burst out laughing. "Excuse me, what? Care to explain what this is supposed to mean, because I think I just had an aneurysm trying to decipher this."

Dorothy repeated what she said. "Everything has seasoning, but if you special the time, it is a growth."

"You're not making any sense"

By now, she started to get frustrated. "I said, for every season, a season is time of growth."

"That made even less sense than before," I said. I wanted to say "I've listened to drunk people who were far more coherent than that," but kept it shut. And for good reason. When she tried to speak again, nothing came out. No sound. Radio silence.

All of a sudden, it hit me. She wasn't dodging the question or being evasive or anything like that. She was actually having a stroke!

It spooked me. One minute, somebody's brain works fine. The next, it just comes to a grinding halt.

It could have been much worse. Even though she couldn't talk, at least her face wasn't drooping. Now was still a good time to call an ambulance, as time wasted is brain wasted.

I called 911, and they put me on hold. The hold music was "Staying Alive" by the Bee Gees. In the time I was on hold, Dorothy downed an entire bottle of water and began frantically signing to anyone who was watching. This might sound weird, but I felt a huge wave of relief watching her sign. She signed with both arms, the ASL equivalent to speaking with both sides of your mouth. Zoe looked at her and said, "I'm sorry, I don't speak Helen Keller." Dorothy got all pissed off, gave Zoe the finger, and stormed off to that corner of the room with the bead curtains.

Once I finally got off hold, 911 put me through to this guy whose last job was probably working as a bellhop in a second-rate Torquay hotel. "Hello? Hello, 911. How are you today?"

"Uh," I responded, "my friend Dorothy is having a stroke, how do you think I am?"

He blinked in confusion hard enough that I could feel it on the other end of the phone. "¿Que?" he said.

Growing ever more frustrated, I repeated, "Dorothy is having a stroke!"

I thought he'd understand the second time. But no, he did not. "¿Que?" he said again after a long pause.

I grew frustrated. It was almost like he couldn't remember what his job was, let alone the nature of my emergency. "Dorothy. Stroke." I reiterated in an annoyed fashion.

"OK, I see," he replied. He seemed to finally understand what I had said. "You friend Dorothy having a stroke."

"Yes!" I said. Finally, we were getting somewhere.

Or so I thought. I couldn't believe the next words out of the guy's mouth. "We no have time for you wild goose chase"

"What?!" I said, completely taken aback.

"We no have time. We no believe you. Very, very sorry. Goodbye!"

I went behind the bead curtains and sat down across from Dorothy. "Well, that was a bust." I said.

"Why didn't you bring your guitar?" Dorothy signed.

"My amp still isn't working" I answered.

The amp broke in the first place because some moron plugged it into a car battery. If you plug a guitar amp into a car battery, it will explode. I took it to the repair shop to get it fixed. They said it was ready for pickup, but it was exactly the same as it was when I went to pick it up as it was when I brought it in.

"I thought you had it fixed."

"So did I." I showed Dorothy a picture of the amp before I took it in and after. She looked at it and laughed.

"So Dorothy," I asked, "what did you mean when you said you can't come down from a high you were never on?"

Dorothy nodded. Those were the last words she said before she had a stroke, and it seemed she couldn't hear them without crying. She steeled herself and signed, "It means that if you don't know what you're expecting, it doesn't make sense to get upset when your expectations aren't met."

Good, I thought, we're getting somewhere. That said, she still can't talk. "I might call 911 again" I said.

Dorothy nodded. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea."

The good news was, I didn't wind up on hold. The bad news was, I wound up dealing with Manuel The 911 Operator again. "Hello, 911, how are you, is nice day"

"OK, no" I said, "Not nice day. Dorothy can't talk."

"¿Que?"

"Dorothy have stroke. Now, Dorothy no talk."

Not only did he recognize me from before, he still didn't believe me. "Oh, it's you," he said in a very annoyed tone, "We no believe you. How many times? Where are you ears, you great, big, halfwit?? We no have time, listen?"

For a brief moment, the line went dead. The operator picked up again. "Now you understand! So bye bye, please, bye bye." Nice. Then they hung up on me again.

I came here to record a song. Not only did that not get done, I had to fend off political correctness gone mad, deal with a 911 operator who knows nothing, and witness a close acquaintance lose her voice because part of her brain stopped working.

I can't believe I snuck out of geography class for this.

@leopard-prompts

[parasympathic]

ൠ - random headcanon

If the kitchen is the heart of a household, Monty wonders sometimes what the one in Endine’s Headquarters says about any of them. There’s a memory that rests against the bottom cupboards, his back pressed against the wood and Athena resting against his shoulders, a bottle half finished between them and talking about dreams that feel just a little too far out of reach. He aches to think about it now, because he thinks he’s getting everything he wanted and she’s gotten none of it. And he doesn’t know what to thank or what to blame for that, if it’s the product of all of those quietly held ambitions or an absence of hers, or maybe he just got lucky, but it leaves him faintly guilty for it.

He finds too many shelves bare when he returns from Italy, so the second day back sees him in the kitchen with bags of groceries on the counter, restocking boxes of cereal that they always seem to burn through fastest when there are so many children under their roof. Enough of their pictures pinned to the refrigerator with alphabet magnets, crayon drawing of the building he stands in, stick drawings of friends or family, of mythical creatures that several of them can craft just out of will and illusion. It’s the same kind of magic that he’s sure makes Osun and Frankie such a popular subject, but he’s sure their personalities have just as much to do with it, because the picture he can find of himself, he’s a tall, stiff figure next to Athena.

It’s there that two of the younger kids find him, still putting away milk and eggs on the middle shelf. Selina isn’t quite a teenager yet, still a few months away, and the little brother who trails at her heels is behind her by a few years and more than a foot of height. It’s still for his sake that she asks Monty to hold out a wrist. The bracelet is gray and blue and black, colors twined together and framing the tacky white beads that spell out his name. It still makes Monty smile warmly, trying to catch the wide and hopeful gaze of the boy hiding just behind her. A familiar shyness that he’s been slow to step past the bounds of. He’s a telekinetic and she’s a telepath, both of their parents dead, and Endine HQ is the most stable home they’ve had since.

“He wanted to give it to you before you left, but...” She shrugs, and he can fill the rest in for himself; he came over later and left earlier than he has in years past.

“Thank you, Kyle,” he says. “I love it.” A smile to match the wealth of gratitude in his voice, and he holds his hand out to shake in a mockery of formality, something more playful to skim past how much he can relate to the discomfort of having someone touch him without permission. But it surprises him when he pushes forward to hug one of his legs instead.

It leaves Monty hesitating for a brief moment before his hand settles on the top of his head, smiling at the words even if it’s his fault they’re a week delayed. “Merry Christmas Dr. Monty.”

Often enough the kitchen smells like coffee, even if he thinks it’s rarely the kind that Emil would approve of. The steady drip of it filling a pot that might help keep him going through all the work he still has to get through, up too late and here too early, half the morning already spent in his office trying to sort out where Sentinels would be best placed when he isn’t sure exactly what the Institute’s next move is. Only that a single threat seems enough of a reason to ask Dietrich for a favor when he comes down for breakfast. Stealing a familiar seat next to him before asking if he wouldn’t mind spending a little more time at the Voodoo on its busier nights. It isn’t anything official because it can’t be, not without overstepping in two directions.

But at some point he gave Monty his loyalty and sometime he wonders if he’s walking a familiar line between utilizing and using him for that. It still gives him pause when there’s only a single detail he clarifies, still looking down at his cereal and his face a familiar, unreadable mask that some days he still struggles to see past. “That’s where Emil Pavone works, right?”

If it cuts right to the heart of it, he doesn’t feel the intrusive press of someone else’s thoughts so he doesn’t really know what to make of it. “Yes?”

He nods his head, but whatever mystery that solves for him, he doesn’t share, and Monty feels a sinking in his stomach. “So mostly weekends?”

“Yes,” Monty tells him. “Thank you.” And there’s little that follows, but it’s only after he takes his coffee and walks away that he feels the warm flush spreading through his frame, the kind he imagines would absolutely thrill Emil. Feeling his skin turning red from his ears down, and for a moment all he can feel is mortified, remembering a library in Valerian’s Headquarters and he drinks his coffee a little more quickly like it’s ever served him at all in erasing embarrassment.

Another week finds him in a similar position if not a different hour of the day, a game promised to Dev that’s slipped through the cracks, and she’s been quick to remind him of. Aware how quickly she can turn petty when she feels like she’s being ignored, but he doesn’t think that’s what follows the words she drops while she waits at the kitchen counter with him. “You don’t sleep here anymore,” she says, and Monty imagines it’s just as much to fill the silence when patience has never been one of her virtues. He leans his lower back against the counter, lifting a brow at her and waiting for anything else to follow, but it never does.

They’re words he honestly expected long before now, a shift in habits that he was sure didn’t go unnoticed. And he knows there’s a question in there somewhere, but he doesn’t volunteer the answer, and that shouldn’t be surprising to any of them by now. “No, I don’t.”

Her lips press together into a thin line, some measure of frustration looking back at him that he would find funnier if he weren’t always wary about anyone getting too close to something personal. And there is little that’s more personal than where he’s been sleeping and who he’s been sleeping with, but if that’s the question she’s trying to circle around to, it’s not the one she finally gives. “With the timing, I thought it might be because of... you know...”

It doesn’t surprise him that she doesn’t find it easy to say. It surprises him more than he does. “The Institute?”

“Yes, that.” There is a noticeable tension the second the word is out in the open, and he can’t blame her for it, but he does regret the discomfort it causes her. It’s a strange sort of guilt, all of Emil’s reminders that there are people around him who would understand suddenly left front and center in his thoughts. And if he still feels certain it wouldn’t help him any to keep talking through it, he wonders if it wouldn’t have helped her or her brother. “You know Dom thinks it’s about him? That we’re too much for you to deal with on top of everything else. I think you’re just off playing the stoic hero.” She pauses briefly, looking down at the counter. “I had... dreams. After. Is that what’s happening to you?”

For a moment he feels colder, he feels worse, because she’s worried, and if she’s not entirely wrong, she’s far from right. He had those dreams, he had those moments where he woke up and couldn’t remember where he was, but he doesn’t think he’s had any since he told Emil he forgave him. Either way he doesn’t want to admit any of it, but he wants to leave her alone in this even less. “I had a few,” he admits after a long moment before clarifying what he thinks is more important. “But that’s not why. And it’s not any of  you either. What did you dream about?”

She rolls her eyes, breath escaping in a small huff. “I was asking about you, Monty.”

“And I was asking about you.” He offers a tight smile before the coffee goes off, and if there is more he could offer, that’s the only thing that he does. A warm cup that he presses into her hands before following her out of the room with an easy dismissal of her concerns. “Thank you. But you don’t need to.” And if he stops short of saying I’m fine, he thinks right now, he is.

A few nights later leaves him and Dom at the island counter, the younger man looking a familiar mixture of stubborn and penitent, pained and frustrated, wincing against the cold compress Monty presses against his face and taking refuge in the open carton of ice cream in front of him. “You said you would stop,” he chastises. His voice not quite as gentle as he’d like it to be when his own frustration is too close to the surface, pulling him away from a quiet and comfortable evening at home and back out to the Pit to pick up the child who swore he’d stop going.

“I know, I just-” He frowns down at his ice cream like it might have answers for him, and Monty isn’t sure if he’s grateful or annoyed that he eventually skips over familiar excuses. “Are you going to tell Athena?”

“I don’t know,” Monty tells him honestly. And maybe he should, maybe it was what he should have done the first time, but he softens slightly at the hope that looks up at him, a violence he knows better than anyone is born from something lost, something helpless. “Not tonight.” A sigh escapes him afterwards, gaze skimming over Dom and all of his fresh bruises before it skates past him to the fridge where children’s pictures hang, his coffee maker sitting on the counter. The half empty bottle that’s been stashed away higher out of reach and thinking briefly that they’re running low on cereal again before his attention returns to the man in front of him. And if he still can’t tell what their kitchen says about the heart of Endine, he hopes it’s some version of family.

[thedeaditeslayer]

Tom Sullivan - Evil Dead (Retrospective Interview)

Below is a short interview with Tom Sullivan that covers working on The Evil Dead making props, stop motion effects and special make-up effects.

Much has been said about The Evil Dead over the years. An abundance of articles and books have covered the arduous low-budget shoot, and the creativity that came out of long cold nights in the wilderness of Tennessee. The dedicated cast and crew went to extreme lengths whilst making the classic film; including memorable instances like Ellen Sandweiss running through the woods until her feet were in pieces, Campbell having his soon to be famous chin scarred when a deadite hand grabbed him through the floor, and long nights in the cabin with no running water leaving crew to wash blood off their hands in scolding hot coffee. But just as impressive as the aggressive perseverance needed to finish the 16mm low budget opus were the imaginative and gory effects that have been etched into fans retinas for nearly forty years! The blood spewing, head-severing effects were created by Tom Sullivan, who had provided makeup for Raimi’s fund-raising short film Within The Woods. Sullivan signed up for The Evil Dead and created the numerous prosthetics and blood gags essential to dismembering a cabin of teenagers, helping bring to the screen a bloodbath of carnage that Stephen King famously called “The most ferociously original horror film of 1982.”  

 With only three weeks to break down Raimi’s script and create the necessary effects needed - and a further three months to create and film the stop motion blood and pus filled “Deadite Meltdown” at the end of the movie - Sullivan built a legion of makeup appliances, severed limbs, and some of the most iconic props in horror movie history. Sullivan, who tours with his Evil Dead Museum showcasing of many of the props, makeups and ghastly creations used in the Evil Dead movies, spoke with Project Louder about what went into creating such iconic pieces for 1982’s The Evil Dead.  

Project Louder: Let’s start with the most famous of all Evil Dead props, The Book of the Dead. In the script it was described as being made from an animal skin. How did you design the book and what was your process of putting it together?

Tom Sullivan: My book is different than the one Sam Raimi described in his script, “Book of the Dead”. His book had some kind of animal skin with a couple of letters from an ancient alphabet on the cover. As an illustrator that didn’t read like an evil book to me.  So, I proposed a book covered in human skin and a human face would make it more obvious it was human skin as opposed to just leather. I had made face molds of all the actors but Bruce Campbell. So, I coated Hal Delrich’s mold about 8 or 9 layers of mold rubber, let it dry, yanked it of the mold and glued it to a piece of corrugated cardboard. The pages were a stiff card stock that I bound together with grocery bag paper. The Illustrations were not to be seen in the original script but as an artist I had to draw on everything, so I based the drawings on DaVinci’s notebooks on anatomy.  The text is all made up on the spot. I call it Bullscript.

Project Louder: What was the process for makeup design, prep and application in regard to Theresa, Betsy and Ellen?  

Tom Sullivan: Sam gave me the script three weeks before shooting began. As the make up and special effects artist all I could think was, “shoot me now”.  I had time to breakdown the script, figure out what effects and make up designs I needed, how I might do them and what supplies I would need. The original demon concepts were based on the Sumerian background. Not that I knew anything about Sumerians, but I had seen The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston, so I just figured maybe the Sumerians were proto ancient Egyptians. I was hoping movie audiences were as ignorant as I was, and I was correct. So, I sculpted some designs for the deadites based on a hawk, a snake, and a dog. Sam thought it was starting to look like Planet of the Apes and I agreed. So instead of stealing from John Chambers let’s steal from Dick Smith. Ellen’s, Cheryl Deadite make up was inspired by Smith’s Exorcist make up of the demon. Betsy’s make up was the first make up I did for the film. It was black veins radiating out of her darkened eyes. That design became Shelly’s make up. Don’t waste good ideas. All of the ladies’ make ups were done in 4 to 6 hours sessions. They were built up from scratch. Only Scotty’s dog make up was a latex appliance. That was left over from the Sumerian Dog design. Don’t waste anything.    

Sam’s concept became the idea that the demons were mocking and revealing their victims. After discovering about the “latex point” during the making of Within the Woods, I was hesitant to use spirit gum on the actors. It tends to harm skin when actors have to wear glued on masks for long days upon days. So, I used latex rubber like contact cement. I’d put a thin layer on the contact surface of the mask and a thin layer on the contact surface of the actor. When the layers were drying but still tacky I would press them together. It’s important to clean the actor’s skin with alcohol to remove oils on their skin for longer adhesion.

Project Louder: The Kandarian dagger is another iconic design. What was the concept and build process?  

Tom Sullivan: The dagger was just a dagger in the script. I wanted to make it more memorable and read as a bizarre and disturbing weapon. I loved Ridley Scott’s Alien so I took a 1 ½”  piece of aluminum stock, ground it down with a sharp point, took a couple of handfuls of a ground paper mache called Celluclay added water, mashed it into a clay like substance and shaped it over the hilt of the dagger in the rough shape of the “chestburster” from Alien. I took the parts of a 12” skeleton model kit and stuck those into the Celluclay. When I ran out of kit parts, I bought a chicken, cooked it, ate it, boiled and dried the bones and stuck those into the hilt and instant horror movie prop. I got the idea for the dagger’s skull puking blood the night before we shot the Shelly Deadite death scene. I figured I could drill a hole from the skull’s mouth to the back of the dagger, stick a small, tube into the hole and have a production assistant blow blood through it for the take. I suggested the close up shot for the film when I showed up at the set. And Sam used it. He has excellent taste.

Project Louder: The Evil Dead never skimped on the blood. Would you care to share the Tom Sullivan blood recipe?  

Tom Sullivan: It’s Sam Raimi’s blood recipe. He taught it to me during Within the Woods. It is one bottle of Corn Syrup, 2 to 3oz of Red Food Coloring. 1 Cup Instant Coffee mixed with water into a paste. Mix well. It stains everything but is safe and non-toxic for your actors. However, I drank so much of this coffee syrup I haven’t had a cup in coffee ever since filming Evil Dead. So be warned!!  

Project Louder: The climactic stop motion sequence is masterful in is gore and execution. How did you approach such a complicated and time-consuming sequence?  

Tom Sullivan:  I love stop motion animation, so I was looking for an opportunity to use it in Sam’s film. Sam’s idea for the finale was for me to make some balloon versions of the Scotty and Cheryl Deadites and have them deflate while smoking. As I had been creating lots of gory effects for the film that seemed a bit lame for finale. I thought it needed an explosion of gore and as the special effects artist I wanted to throw guts into the audience’s lap. I did some storyboards of my concept for the meltdown and using George Pal’s great film, The Time Machine stop motion sequence of the Morlock decomposing via clay animation in that films finale, I sold Sam on the idea. He knew Bart Pierce, a filmmaker and stop motion animator and we met and designed the full sequence and started filming in his basement. I made the almost full-size clay models of the deadites over wooden ball and socket armatures made with large wooden beads. I made heads out of blood red dyed modeling clay sculpted into the muscles and then pressed into a mold of the deadite’s sculpture that had a more flesh colored clay. That was then removed from the mold, painted, wigged and ready to animate. To match the cabin set we used wood from the location and found out Bart’s garage’s ceiling matched the ceiling of the cabin. So, we used it. I am very proud of my work with Bart and I consider it my best artistic collaboration.

[kriss-the-writing-nerd]

11/11/11 tag game

Answer 11 questions, make 11 new questions, tag 11 persons!

I was tagged by @waterfallwritings for this! Thank you, your questions were really interesting and fun to answer! o(^▽^)o

(Sorry if I got a bit lengthy, it was just so nice to do something not university related after exams!)

1. How do you come up with ideas for your WIPs?

The heavy artillery from the get go, eh? *cracks knuckles* Okay, to be honest, I'm not sure. I've never really thought of it, they're just there, clamoring for attention (plot bunnies are my best ally and worst enemy). I definitely have bouts of very intense inspiration and days when I just,, can't. Even if I know where the scene is going, how it's going, and why, the words aren't there. Or they're all wrong. (This is when I default to writing ugly-crying emotional breakdowns or sex. Likely both.)

Working out a story is a game of association laced with concepts and core elements for me. Like this: dragons (core element) + mountains (association) + tribe/clan (concept) + shapeshifting (association/concept) + relocation/settlers (core element). And that's basically my dragon wip.

Eld's story is based on a Doctor Who quote "demons run when a good man goes to war". Ren and Kuro grew up with me; at some point they just started acting on their own - I just throw shit at them and sees what shakes loose at this point. (They have five kids! How???? did that?? happen???)

(I'm a sucker for prompts. My brain can see a single word and just, run of with it hollering in glee.)

2. How do you get past gaps in the plot?

Urrrrgh, I have to get past them??

I struggle, is what I do. Typically I let it sit, soundly on the back-burner in my mind, until I've mulled through my story to the point where the hole is gone. (This takes months, and with my sci-fi wip I ended up rewriting the dang thing completely at the third draft after eight years of working on it. Scrapping it was painful.)

Or I try a different angle. Sometimes it works.

3. What motivates you to keep writing?

I love writing. There's really no more significant reason than that. Writing allows me to express myself, create and explore worlds and characters who wouldn't exist otherwise. And it lets me just exist without any layers. When I've been hurting, writing has helped me get the pain out with no more than tears.

And I love words and languages; the way we have about 10 different words to say "snow" (partly because Swedish mesh several words into one but still) and maybe 2 (3?) for heat. That there are groups of languages with the same ancestors that are so close; how absolutely amazingly different they can be (I just learned "y" is not considered a vowel in English and I'm???? Completely blown. What. What do you mean it's not a vowel. Are you sure???). And languages with different alphabets and ones that use pictures to represent ideas instead of sounds! And sign languages!!

And idioms! It's so cool how idioms can carry words of wisdom, caution and reassurance, and rarely can be translated (classical examples from Swedish "There's no danger on the roof" and "The rain is standing like sticks in the ground") because they lose their connections to the cultures they are used in.

The universes in my head are as full of life as the real world and not nearly as anxiety-inducing. I have stories to tell. And you know that feeling when you’re in the zone and everything is flowing and you’re writing 10′000 words in a go? That.

4. Do you do any other kind of creative writing?

I dabble in poetry? Like, very sporadically and with mixed results. I have a friend into slam poetry who opened my eyes to it, too.

(Would fanfiction go here too?)

5. Do you have any other creative hobbies besides writing?

Urngh, yeah, too many. If I’m not reading, my hands need to be moving or I’m an unhappy bean. Though, writing is the only thing I never put down. Ever.

Okay, so, I draw (badly), both on paper and digitally. Mostly landscapes. I also try to make house sketches/plans. And I paint (a bit better than I draw), prefer oils or acrylics over water colors. My partner and I also paint miniature models when there is time.

I also crochet and knit, and I love origami. I roleplay (Dungeons & Dragons, whenever the DMs have time), and I play the violin (and piano) and write simple music for myself.

I garden if there's time in the spring and during summer, and I absolutely love these little fairy-gardens that have been popping up everywhere. On that note, I have more houseplants than I have space for.

I'm also thinking to start up a little thing making bracelets and bead strings for fidgeting. I needed some kind of stim toy to be able to focus and I wanted something silent with many different sensations to keep me entertained. I hunted around a bit but eventually made my own and they turned out pretty nice!

(I also like to bake, especially pies and breads.)

6. What do you do when you’re stuck on a scene and don’t know how to get it out / write it?

I slam the key words in. And then I ignore it until it stops fighting back so much.

Or I backtrack. Sometimes I've written myself into a corner unknowingly.

Sometimes I drop a wip that's giving me grief and work on another, or I use word/idea prompts to get me started.

7. How do you decide how to end your WIP?

God, please tell me because I don't hecking know. Should I do an epilogue? Should I leave it open/ambiguous? Should I just cut it off and leave the next step to the reader? Should there be a "true" ending, with goodbyes (actual or metaphorical)?

Urrrrrrrrgh. Good Lord, endings.

8. When in the process of writing do you decide how its going to end? Or do you kind of just wait til you get there?

Either I know from the start, before I write the first words, or I wait. Which tends to mean frustrating the hell out of myself. I have started to go through my wips (whether original or fanfiction) and give them all bare-bones outlines, because not having endings is a big problem for me.

9. Why did you decide to join writeblr?

Basically when I decided I had had enough of the "join to see more" button or the "sensitive material" warning. And when I realized there was a really nice writing community here I could maybe become a part of. (A major reason was actually @concerningwolves advice posts.)

10. What’s your favourite food?

(CW: Maybe skip if you’re vegetarian/vegan/you’d rather not read about meat.)

Chinese deep-fried chicken with sweet-and-sour sauce (not the spicy chili kind, the actual pineapple and tomato juice based kind) with rice. No question about it.

Mom's "blodbröd med fläsk" is a close runner up though, but we only eat it once a year, at the midwinter solstice. It's homemade Swedish tunnbröd (hard thin-bread) with blood instead of water in it that you dip in boiling water to make it soft, with white sauce, and fried, thoroughly salted pork.

(Believe me, some country-side Swedes in the northern parts are still pretty pagan about the sun coming back, me included. It's a big deal when you go between no night/darkness and then very little/no sun.)

11. If you had to kill off a character in your WIP, who would it be and why?

People are dying right and left in most of them already, since three include large-scale wars, so there's no shortage there.

But if I had to choose a main-character or a directly supporting character? (MY BABIES! NO.)

I think Ren, from the sci-fi wip, because he would be free from both responsibility and physical and mental pain. (My boi is a wreck.) It wouldn't be unlikely either. But at this point it would destroy my story! 😂 Less story-destroying would be their foster-guardian Sandra. It would still force me to write a completely new arc, but it would be do-able.

Although, regarding the fantasy wip Firestorm, Kebarock dying in their war would crush Sunling. That could be done without losing the plot entirely. Hmmm.

Puh, that was a lot of thinking! Okay, I'll be tagging.. @concerningwolves @weaver-of-fantasies-and-fables @adorhauer @focusdumbass @sleepy-and-anxious @els-writes @meteorwrites @sebastian-writer @telvivere @thescribesloft and @aceymichaelis No obligation to do this of course! <3 (And if I tagged you and you’d rather not be tagged in games, I apologize, please let me know)

And here are your questions if you want to:

1. What about your wip makes you smile?

2. What's the hardest decision you've had to make in regards to a wip?

3. What text font do you prefer writing in? Or do you write by hand?

4. Are there pets in your wip? If not, what pet might your character(s) keep?

5. What AU would you love to see/write for your wip?

6. Is there any type of music/a song in particular that you associate with your wip?

7. Are you a night owl or an early bird/When do you write?

8. Favorite beverage?

9. Where do you prefer to write? At home? In a library? On the bus/train?

10. What are your first 3 to 5 associations with the word 'writing'? Why those?

11. What do you do when you're bored?

Hope you enjoy! o(^◇^)o

[littlewalken]

Aug 19

Holding on one stitch at a time, or so it feels like.

If you’re a knitter, crocheter, or string stimmer, or you know someone who is there are little accessories you might not think of getting at first that will come in handy.

The big safety pin in the picture is a stitch holder. They come in packages of different lengths and colors so you can find one(s) that you are comfortable with. Believe me I know how the wrong color can set neurons on fire. Those pins also work for stitch markers, cable needles, and you can attach weights to them. The tube thing is a row counter, I also have one that clicks like a stop watch but some people don’t like clicks. 

The alphabet is my DIY stitch markers. Those are hook earrings with clasps, you can get a sizable amount for a reasonable price, and you’ll need jump rings to attach things to them. I happened to have the alphabet letters in my bead stash and have seen similar shaped ones in letter bead bracelet kits. You could also get some beading wire and smaller letters to make word markers like some people use in sock making. 

If you already do jewelry making stuff you could do some stitch markers for your string friend(s) for a gift. If not words pretty beads can work. Maybe a rainbow or favorite colors or numbers?

I hit on the alphabet when I was trying to make a Moebius strip infinity cowl thing and went the wrong way in a round. I needed something where in just a handful of markers I would know I was going the right way. 

Some tiny letter beads spelling out “stitch this way” might work. 

Had Hot Topic existed back then fu#k yeah Goff Barbie would have had a sponsorship. 

Carrots for the plot bunny farm might be found in that two long time members of The Cure who met in the touring band for the Thompson Twins found their way there via the Psychedelic Furs and one degree from Duran Duran and that Torn song which was used in the Karaoke for the Deaf skit. 

I think I’ll give it it’s own post because it requires a score card. 

More stitching today. I’ve cut out the offending who TF thought that color would work, Caron? color from their Fairy Cake yarn. Filling out the length with some Red Heart Super Saver white. Pics when it’s done or I think to take them. 

I am coming up with and mulling over plot points and stuff which counts as writing, just having general feelings of disinterest. Those come and go, it’s called being human. 

And I did order some yarn online. Stuck with a couple of the newer lion cakes as user pics I have seen and their own website shows the colors should be stunning. Also got some that should work to break up the Half Moon, the only reason it wouldn’t is if the weights aren’t compatible but it will work on it;s own. There is a back-up partner.

[otisscott64]

Guitar Picking Styles - 10 Guitar Finger Picking Combinations

Even handmade signs can churn out well designed. They don't need resemble a kindergarten art project. Needed sign can be purchased from stores or online, but discovered that be handmade too, which can save money.

Look by your herbs and spices identically. These items tend to get overlooked all of us forget contain expiration dates, too. If you don't see one, if at all possible old! I recieve most of mine attending the farmer's market where they package special. They are a fraction of might of small jars typically the grocery accumulate. I also take my Sharpie and write exactly what the herb or spice is inside big Channel Letters Saskatchewan on the medial side of the container. It makes it more visible and much easier to gain access. I put them in alphabetical order so I know which stack to select from. Because the cost is so inexpensive, I replace them time and time again.

Now after you think about and choose there are few things wrong without the pain . two or three knives you are of considering, you start to select one based which one looks and feels the top to for you. Here is from where the emotional connection comes regarding.

Gather all the necessary fabric. Children will enjoy working with colorful drops. Materials to complete this project include beads, clasp, scissors, and fishing line. Other strings could possibly be used in the absence of a fishing product line. Choose the sort of beads preferred since beads also are usually in different styles such as ceramic, plastic, glass, metal, and considerably.

Metal braces take the shortest time frame to straighten the your smile. Of course, the metal type shows more versus other kinds of braces. Ceramic braces considerably less apparent than metal braces, having said that will take several months longer to find desired comes. IBraces use small metal brackets.

However, much more to it than just getting some sign and placing them here and there. This may be known as the first step of the full campaign strategy, and it's important that or not it's done great.

Banner Material - Banners are created with lightweight flexible background materials such as Vinyl, Nylon, & Cloth and can last for many years indoors. Trade extravaganza backdrops, table covers, and pop-up displays are all some for the indoor creates. Outdoors, banners are often employed for short term events, for example grand openings and sales, or hung from light poles to wear city streets or the sidewalks around a college or business campus. Typically, banners become the lowest cost option per square toe.

Regardless from the office you're running for, yard signs can make the difference between winning and losing. Buy your name known by that part belonging to the town and city using lawn signs and symptoms.

[sumithahemavathy]

5 Fun Learning Activities for Your Child with Autism | Centre for Autism in Bangalore

It’s a general truth that art and craft activities are important to faster learning and development in children. Especially for children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), craft activities are a means to improve the child’s attention, self-expression, and reducing the stress and anxiety. Detecting the right crafts to engage your kid can be a great task. It’s not easy striking a balance between crafts that your child will enjoy and those that will contribute to their learning; the good thing is that it isn’t impossible.

Centre for Autism in Bangalore | CAPAAR | Dr. P. Sumitha Hemavathy (PT) is one the Best Autism Specialist in Bangalore. She suggests that incorporate games and activities to an autistic child will improve the child’s attention. Here are 5 Fun Learning Activities for Your Child with Autism helps to Develop:

1. I Spy Bottle – Here is a simple activity that can aid your toddler’s cognitive development and help them to focus better. The charming colours and the wonderful shapes inside the bottle are sure going to grab your child’s attention. Assure that the contents of the bottle are as colourful as possible. Involve them in selecting the bottle contents.

You Need:

Ø  An empty plastic container

Ø  Little trinkets like hair clips, beads, buttons etc.

Ø  A pack of glitter dust

Ø  Acrylic paints

Ø  Water

Ø  Corn syrup

Ø  Alphabet tiles

Ø  A sheet of paper

Directions:

Initially ask your child to write the alphabets from A-Z on a sheet of paper and then start putting all the forerunning contents into the bottle. Fill half of the bottle with coloured water and then the other half with corn syrup. Close the lid with hot glue and shake the contents well. Here is the I Spy bottle is ready for your child. Ask your little ones to look for all alphabets in the bottle and strike them off on the sheet when they find them.

This is just a small option among many other ways you can chose, to secure your child’s future who has Autism.

2. Ice Painting –Experiment with fun like these are going to spike up the curiosity in your child! It is designed improve and enhance greatly your child’s ability to identify and distinguish among colours. Also it will develop observational skills and knowledge on few of these concepts of science at play.

You Need:

Ø  An ice tray

Ø  Acrylic paints

Ø  Craft sticks

Ø  Sheets of paper

Ø  Water

Ø  Foil

Directions:

Mix the paint colors with a little water which the kids want to use and pour them into individual compartments of the ice tray. Now place the crafts sticks in each of the compartments and use a foil to cover the tray and to support the craft sticks. After covering the foil place the tray in the freezer and leave it for 2-3 hours. After the time is done now remove the ice paints and let your child enjoy with swirling and by making different patterns with the colored cubes over a sheet of paper.

3. Eatable Jewellery – Isn’t it wonderful when your child has a gorgeous necklace that he/she can not only love wearing but also east it as well ? This experiment or activity focus on motor skill improvement with activities that engage better  hand and eye coordination

You Need:

Ø  Licorice candy sticks

Ø  Candy in various colours or even cereal with centre holes

Directions:

Hand a licorice stick to your child and ask her to string the candy or cereal pieces into it, one at a time. Once the licorice stick is covered with the candy or cereal, knot the ends of the stick.

4. The Game of Colour Match – This is a really nice fun filled activity designed to enhance the learning and physical motor abilities of the children. This is customizable based on what kind of learning the child is getting at school.

You Require:

Ø  A pack of colourful clothespins

Ø  Few stickers that match with various Numbers, alphabets, fruits or vegetable and placards

Directions:

The game is about asking your kid to clip few of the clothespins to the matching play card correctly. This is done by 1st arranging about 10-15 placards with different images of fruits, vegetables etc. And by Labelling every clothespins corresponding to the images on the placard.

5. Sensory Collages – This activity is very useful introducing autistic children to various textures and sensations in a creative, fun and non threatening way especially when they are faced by multiple sensory challenges in the form of tactile collages.

You Need:

Ø  Aluminium foil

Ø  Sandpaper

Ø  Thin strips of paper

Ø  Rice grains

Ø  Printouts of various image outlines

Ø  Glue

Directions:

Take printouts of various image outlines available online. Spread glue within the outline of the image. Now, ask your child to press the aforementioned textured scraps onto the glued sheet until the entire image is covered. Let him touch and feel the various textures on the collage.

It might happen that your child may avoid few types of craft activities due to the fear of those getting messed up. Here is where as a parent your responsibility starts in being extra cautious in assessing your child’s needs and aspirations well before moving towards a new activity.

The best way out of this situation is Following trial and error method and arriving at the best activity for your child’s skills to develop in a fun way that they enjoy the most.

 To Know More,

Click Here,

www.capaar4autism.com

[homeschoolbase]

Conflict of interest with inlaws, teaching to read inappropriately young? Not sure what to do.

Conflict of interest with inlaws, teaching to read inappropriately young? Not sure what to do.

So here's the situation. My husband is from a very academic family. His mom taught his sister to read at 2.5YO and brings it up constantly. They all have several degrees and it's their family culture. Our oldest is almost 4 and my husband and his parents (mostly his mom) have been very concerned about her learning to read. MIL has been buying electronic educational toys since she was born, lots of preschool gadgets and curriculums from the 80s. She does reading lessons with 4YO every time they visit (about every month) and my husband drills her on the alphabet and phonics every night at bedtime.

But we have a conflict here because I feel they are inappropriately obsessed with learning to read and not valuing any other aspect of her education. I'm a piano teacher and I have spent many hours thinking about my educational philosophy. I have more of an unschooling approach with my piano students and find that they make much better progress if they're working on something they feel passionate about. I'm all about striking the iron when it's hot, even if it's not exactly linear learning. I also know from experience that it doesn't matter how early a student starts, most of them will be playing about the same by 12 anyway.

I know our daughter will learn how to read when she's excited about it and ready. She will definitely learn her shapes and colors and she'll probably be a passionate reader and musician because that's our family culture. She's not going to graduate from high school not being able to read fluently. In my opinion, we don't need to be especially concerned about the reading issue right now and we should be fostering a love of learning by following the topics she expresses interests in and being excited about new knowledge together. 4YO and I work on beading, playdough, coloring, cutting with scissors, painting, music games and dancing, lots of reading books together, playing lots of imaginative games, making maps, doing household tasks, crafts, cooking, looking up science facts when we're curious and watching science videos. A couple of times a week we'll bust out a letter or number tracing book.

MIL and I were having a "discussion" about our differing philosophies and she got the impression that I don't think we should be educating her and that I have no intention of ever teaching her anything. I was planning on continuing on in our "homeschooling" such as it is but they decided to pay to put 4YO in a private preschool. MIL was sobbing dramatically about how understimulated 4YO is. Really.

So 4YO started preschool this week and she loves it. So much fun! They do one tracing worksheet a day, story time, snack, recess outside, music, show and tell, gym and lots of playing. Notice the lack of reading in this schedule! DH tells MIL about what's going on at school and they're deeply concerned and I can tell things are starting to churn. They're about to get up to some shenanigans. At this point I feel like I should just buy Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and get it over with. But I can see it potentially turning her off reading, which is the last thing I want.

What should I do? How do I convince these people that there's more to education than just learning to read? Or do I just buckle down on the reading and get it done? She has expressed an interest in reading but I wouldn't say she's attempting to sound out anything or seeking out the knowledge.

[jesseneufeld]

Learning Through Play: 101 Ways To Keep Young Minds Occupied At Home

Parents, right off the bat, let me say that there is no right way to be feeling about the current situation. Relief, anxiety, excitement, dread are all normal. We’re all figuring this out as we go along and doing the best we can. Virtual high-five!

This is not a homeschooling post per se. This is about the importance of play as learning, and letting our kids play to restore some balance we don’t always manage in our typical over-scheduled lives.

Here’s the good news if you’re stressed about making sure your kids are still learning why they are at home: they are. I recently attended a workshop with a local homeschool coordinator. The biggest thing I took away was a reminder that all play is learning.

Why Kids Need to Play

Play is how kids learn about the world. Theoretical and Applied Playworker Bob Hughes (awesome title!) lists 16 different types of play that are central to physical, mental, emotional, and social development. By manipulating objects and trying things out (“I wonder what will happen if I give the dog a haircut?”), using their imaginations to role play different scenarios, and moving and challenging their bodies, kids play to learn:

How their bodies work

Laws of physics

Laws of nature

How to interact with other people, and the consequences of breaking social norms

How to follow rules, and the consequences of breaking those, too

Play builds neural connections and motor skills. Through play, kids get to act out adulting (as in playing house), tap into their creativity, and discover their passions.

Importance of Play

Play is not optional. There is a reason that it’s Primal Blueprint Law #7 and Mark has written about it frequently here. (I’ll put some links at the bottom.) Yet, we all know that kids don’t play today like they used to for a variety of reasons. If this time at home offers one thing, it’s time for playing. This means getting free play, movement time, social time, music and arts time, and family time—checking a bunch of Primal boxes.

I’m not just talking about the kids, by the way. I’m talking about the adults in your house too. How much do YOU play in your normal life? I’m guessing not enough. A lot of the ideas here are fun for the whole family.

Play to Learn: Indoor and Outdoor Activities for Kids

For obvious reasons, I’m not listing things that involve going to parks or other public places. If you can still go for bike rides or kick the soccer ball around outside, great! You can do these inside or in your yard if you have one. I also didn’t list too many options that might necessitate shopping for materials. Pick the ideas that work for you given the ages of your kids, what stuff you already have at home, and how much space you have.

Before You Begin…

If you’re like us, you have a stash of art supplies, board games, boxes of legos and blocks, and sports equipment stuck on shelves and in closets. Dig it out and take inventory. What do you already have in your home that your kids can play with? Even bigger kids enjoy revisiting things like blocks and playdough, especially when they’re stuck at home.

Creativity Stations

I have a friend who, when her kids were little, would put out a craft or art project every night. When her boys woke up in the morning, it was waiting for them to explore at their leisure. It made for a lot of fun and peaceful mornings in their house. (Yes, she’s a supermom.)

I’m adapting this idea by designating a “creativity station.” Realistically, you might as well call this the “mess station.” Maybe it’s a card table in a corner of the living room, on the deck, or in the garage. I’m just giving up my kitchen table for now. Lay out a bunch of supplies and let them have at it. These stay out for several days at my house, then we clean it up and get out something else. Here are some ideas:

Art labs

Coloring/painting

Supplies: paper, coloring books, crayons, markers, paint, stamps, stickers—whatever you have!

Ideas: Encourage kids to explore textures by using different types of objects as stamps: sponges, cookie cutters, leafs and sticks from the yard, legos, etc. Make footprints with action figures. Keep a bowl on hand that they can put dirty stuff in to wash. Also keep a pile of rags nearby for wiping dirty hands before they touch the wall.

Collage

Supplies: Paper; old magazines, newspapers, circulars, coupon mailers; glue; safety scissors

Ideas: Give kids a theme (e.g., food, their favorite person) or just let them make whatever they want.

Mosaic

Supplies: Construction and tissue paper in different colors; glue; scissors (optional); bowls to keep colored confetti separated (optional)

Ideas: Have kids cut or tear colored paper into small pieces like confetti, then use the pieces to create mosaic art. You can use coloring book pages as a “pattern,” or they can draw their own or make it free-form.

Science lab

Supplies: Plate or baking sheet; plastic table cloth or drop cloth (optional); containers of different sizes for mixing and pouring; water; food coloring; baking soda; pipettes, medicine droppers, etc. (raid the medicine cabinet); measuring spoons; baking soda; vinegar in a spray bottle; dish soap

Ideas: Let kids make “potions” and practice pouring from one container to another. Sprinkle baking soda on a plate, “decorate” with drops of food coloring, then spray with vinegar.

There are a ton of ideas for easy and fun science experiments online, too. Check out this lemon volcano and these 10 experiments you can do with water.

3-D creations

Supplies: Clay, playdough, tape, toothpicks, chopsticks, straws, rubber bands, paper clips, corks, pipe cleaners, anything else you can find around

Ideas: This is fun for free play, or you can challenge your kids to build something specific, like a bridge that will actually hold a small weight.

Make your own playdough recipes here and here. (Yes, these are not Primal recipes!)

Archeological dig

Supplies: Plastic tub with moon sand, kinetic sand, or dirt; small toys (e.g., plastic animals, blocks, marbles, plastic eggs filled with “treasure”); spoons, paint brushes

Ideas: Bury objects for your kids to “excavate.” Have them build ancient ruins.

Make your own moon sand recipes here and here.

Family Time

Family dance party

Let older kids create a custom playlist

Freeze dance: Let someone control the pause button; when the music stops, freeze and hold the position

Minute to win it games (check Pinterest for ideas)

Family book club

Sing-alongs

Card games

Board games

Dice games

Have a “campout” in your backyard. Make a campfire in a fire pit, place a bunch of candles in a circle, or have your kid make a pretend fire out of sticks and paper.

Make a family tree (including genealogy research if you want)

Go on a family vacation without leaving the house! There are so many ways to “travel” online. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Visit the Tembe Elephant Park in South Africa

Watch the Northern Lights live (best viewing hours are 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. EDT.)

Tour the Carlsbad Caverns

Visit a museum

See the Great Wall of China

Tour the Vatican

See the animals at the San Diego Zoo and the Monterey Bay Aquarium

Go to the opera

Take in a Broadway play

Go scuba diving

Go to outer space

71 More Activities for Kids

Color the driveway with chalk

Use chalk (outside) or masking tape (inside) to make hopscotch or foursquare

Make noodle or bead necklaces

Draw a comic

Illustrate a favorite book or story

Listen to a song and “draw” what you hear

Origami

Make a flexagon

Gather up broken crayons make something new with them

Move like an animal; take turns guessing which animal the other person is being

Primal essential movements

Resistance exercise with (light) hand weights and resistance bands

Make an obstacle course

Jump rope

Hopping on one foot contest

Do a handstand

Play hacky sack (make your own filled with rice or flour)

Put on as many clothes as you can, then try to do jumping jacks or burpees

Learn to breakdance

Yoga

Meditate

Make a drum kit with bowls and buckets

Make “instruments” like castanets and boomwhackers with household objects

Build a pillow fort

Build a cardboard box fort, paint and decorate it

Build a catapult

Build a Rube Goldberg machine

Make a birdhouse

Identify birds or bugs in your backyard

Learn about animal tracks and make your own

Weed the garden

Dig a hole

Plant an indoor herb garden

Cook together

Learn about food preservation; make sauerkraut or yogurt

Smell boxes: place objects with a distinctive smell—a candle, an orange cut in half—inside an empty tissue box and take turns guessing what’s in there

Touch boxes: same as above, but you have to reach in and feel the object without looking

Learn to tie knots

Make a solar oven

Learn how to build a fire (supervised, obviously)

Make a sundial

Learn how to use a compass

Get a bucket of water and test what sinks or floats

Learn to sew

Follow a finger knitting tutorial

Crochet a small project

Make a t-shirt scarf out of an old shirt

Make tissue paper flowers

Play charades

Make puppets and put on a show

Play hide and seek

Play sardines (the opposite of hide and seek – rules here)

Make the letters of the alphabet with your body

Play 20 questions

Play I spy

Make a word chain

Dig out the old point-and-shoot camera and learn to take pictures

Cloud watching

Build towers and knock them down

Yard scavenger hunt

Find something in the house for every letter of the alphabet

Make a yarn spider web

Juggle

Speak pig latin

Learn a new language

Use a magnifying glass to explore objects up close

Freeze little plastic toys, marbles, etc. in bowls of water, then test ways to free the toys most quickly. Try different techniques like rubbing, spraying with warm water, or sprinkling with salt.

Blow bubbles; make your own bubble solution and bubble makers

Bring some flashlights in a dark room or closet and make shadow puppets

Balloon “hockey” with balloons and brooms

In the snow: fill spray bottles with water and food coloring and “paint” the snow

Give the Kids — AND YOURSELF — A Break

The idea isn’t to keep your kids occupied every minute of the day. It’s ok if they complain about being bored every once in a while. If they are like most modern kids, they aren’t used to having a ton of time on their hands. Present them with options, but let them figure it out on their own if they are old enough.

Your house might be messy and chaotic right now. Your kids might be too. They are certainly not immune to the stress and anxiety in the world, especially your older kids. It’s ok if you don’t have a schedule with neat blocks of school time, movement time, snack time, and chore time, and if your kids haven’t gotten out of their pajamas in a week. Your kids are going to be fine no matter what.

This is not nearly an all-inclusive list. What else has your family been doing to have fun while #stayinghome?

Resources

More play activities and lots of homeschooling resources from Unschool.school

100 Ways to Play from the Boston Children’s Museum

More play activities and homeschool ideas from Beyond the Chalkboard

Related posts from Mark’s Daily Apple

The Definitive Guide to Play

The Lost Art of Play: Reclaiming a Primal Tradition

15 Concrete Ways to Play

Why You Absolutely Must Play, Every Day! (plus 10 Pointers for Successful Playtime)

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[lauramalchowblog]

Learning Through Play: 101 Ways To Keep Young Minds Occupied At Home

Parents, right off the bat, let me say that there is no right way to be feeling about the current situation. Relief, anxiety, excitement, dread are all normal. We’re all figuring this out as we go along and doing the best we can. Virtual high-five!

This is not a homeschooling post per se. This is about the importance of play as learning, and letting our kids play to restore some balance we don’t always manage in our typical over-scheduled lives.

Here’s the good news if you’re stressed about making sure your kids are still learning why they are at home: they are. I recently attended a workshop with a local homeschool coordinator. The biggest thing I took away was a reminder that all play is learning.

Why Kids Need to Play

Play is how kids learn about the world. Theoretical and Applied Playworker Bob Hughes (awesome title!) lists 16 different types of play that are central to physical, mental, emotional, and social development. By manipulating objects and trying things out (“I wonder what will happen if I give the dog a haircut?”), using their imaginations to role play different scenarios, and moving and challenging their bodies, kids play to learn:

How their bodies work

Laws of physics

Laws of nature

How to interact with other people, and the consequences of breaking social norms

How to follow rules, and the consequences of breaking those, too

Play builds neural connections and motor skills. Through play, kids get to act out adulting (as in playing house), tap into their creativity, and discover their passions.

Importance of Play

Play is not optional. There is a reason that it’s Primal Blueprint Law #7 and Mark has written about it frequently here. (I’ll put some links at the bottom.) Yet, we all know that kids don’t play today like they used to for a variety of reasons. If this time at home offers one thing, it’s time for playing. This means getting free play, movement time, social time, music and arts time, and family time—checking a bunch of Primal boxes.

I’m not just talking about the kids, by the way. I’m talking about the adults in your house too. How much do YOU play in your normal life? I’m guessing not enough. A lot of the ideas here are fun for the whole family.

Play to Learn: Indoor and Outdoor Activities for Kids

For obvious reasons, I’m not listing things that involve going to parks or other public places. If you can still go for bike rides or kick the soccer ball around outside, great! You can do these inside or in your yard if you have one. I also didn’t list too many options that might necessitate shopping for materials. Pick the ideas that work for you given the ages of your kids, what stuff you already have at home, and how much space you have.

Before You Begin…

If you’re like us, you have a stash of art supplies, board games, boxes of legos and blocks, and sports equipment stuck on shelves and in closets. Dig it out and take inventory. What do you already have in your home that your kids can play with? Even bigger kids enjoy revisiting things like blocks and playdough, especially when they’re stuck at home.

Creativity Stations

I have a friend who, when her kids were little, would put out a craft or art project every night. When her boys woke up in the morning, it was waiting for them to explore at their leisure. It made for a lot of fun and peaceful mornings in their house. (Yes, she’s a supermom.)

I’m adapting this idea by designating a “creativity station.” Realistically, you might as well call this the “mess station.” Maybe it’s a card table in a corner of the living room, on the deck, or in the garage. I’m just giving up my kitchen table for now. Lay out a bunch of supplies and let them have at it. These stay out for several days at my house, then we clean it up and get out something else. Here are some ideas:

Art labs

Coloring/painting

Supplies: paper, coloring books, crayons, markers, paint, stamps, stickers—whatever you have!

Ideas: Encourage kids to explore textures by using different types of objects as stamps: sponges, cookie cutters, leafs and sticks from the yard, legos, etc. Make footprints with action figures. Keep a bowl on hand that they can put dirty stuff in to wash. Also keep a pile of rags nearby for wiping dirty hands before they touch the wall.

Collage

Supplies: Paper; old magazines, newspapers, circulars, coupon mailers; glue; safety scissors

Ideas: Give kids a theme (e.g., food, their favorite person) or just let them make whatever they want.

Mosaic

Supplies: Construction and tissue paper in different colors; glue; scissors (optional); bowls to keep colored confetti separated (optional)

Ideas: Have kids cut or tear colored paper into small pieces like confetti, then use the pieces to create mosaic art. You can use coloring book pages as a “pattern,” or they can draw their own or make it free-form.

Science lab

Supplies: Plate or baking sheet; plastic table cloth or drop cloth (optional); containers of different sizes for mixing and pouring; water; food coloring; baking soda; pipettes, medicine droppers, etc. (raid the medicine cabinet); measuring spoons; baking soda; vinegar in a spray bottle; dish soap

Ideas: Let kids make “potions” and practice pouring from one container to another. Sprinkle baking soda on a plate, “decorate” with drops of food coloring, then spray with vinegar.

There are a ton of ideas for easy and fun science experiments online, too. Check out this lemon volcano and these 10 experiments you can do with water.

3-D creations

Supplies: Clay, playdough, tape, toothpicks, chopsticks, straws, rubber bands, paper clips, corks, pipe cleaners, anything else you can find around

Ideas: This is fun for free play, or you can challenge your kids to build something specific, like a bridge that will actually hold a small weight.

Make your own playdough recipes here and here. (Yes, these are not Primal recipes!)

Archeological dig

Supplies: Plastic tub with moon sand, kinetic sand, or dirt; small toys (e.g., plastic animals, blocks, marbles, plastic eggs filled with “treasure”); spoons, paint brushes

Ideas: Bury objects for your kids to “excavate.” Have them build ancient ruins.

Make your own moon sand recipes here and here.

Family Time

Family dance party

Let older kids create a custom playlist

Freeze dance: Let someone control the pause button; when the music stops, freeze and hold the position

Minute to win it games (check Pinterest for ideas)

Family book club

Sing-alongs

Card games

Board games

Dice games

Have a “campout” in your backyard. Make a campfire in a fire pit, place a bunch of candles in a circle, or have your kid make a pretend fire out of sticks and paper.

Make a family tree (including genealogy research if you want)

Go on a family vacation without leaving the house! There are so many ways to “travel” online. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Visit the Tembe Elephant Park in South Africa

Watch the Northern Lights live (best viewing hours are 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. EDT.)

Tour the Carlsbad Caverns

Visit a museum

See the Great Wall of China

Tour the Vatican

See the animals at the San Diego Zoo and the Monterey Bay Aquarium

Go to the opera

Take in a Broadway play

Go scuba diving

Go to outer space

71 More Activities for Kids

Color the driveway with chalk

Use chalk (outside) or masking tape (inside) to make hopscotch or foursquare

Make noodle or bead necklaces

Draw a comic

Illustrate a favorite book or story

Listen to a song and “draw” what you hear

Origami

Make a flexagon

Gather up broken crayons make something new with them

Move like an animal; take turns guessing which animal the other person is being

Primal essential movements

Resistance exercise with (light) hand weights and resistance bands

Make an obstacle course

Jump rope

Hopping on one foot contest

Do a handstand

Play hacky sack (make your own filled with rice or flour)

Put on as many clothes as you can, then try to do jumping jacks or burpees

Learn to breakdance

Yoga

Meditate

Make a drum kit with bowls and buckets

Make “instruments” like castanets and boomwhackers with household objects

Build a pillow fort

Build a cardboard box fort, paint and decorate it

Build a catapult

Build a Rube Goldberg machine

Make a birdhouse

Identify birds or bugs in your backyard

Learn about animal tracks and make your own

Weed the garden

Dig a hole

Plant an indoor herb garden

Cook together

Learn about food preservation; make sauerkraut or yogurt

Smell boxes: place objects with a distinctive smell—a candle, an orange cut in half—inside an empty tissue box and take turns guessing what’s in there

Touch boxes: same as above, but you have to reach in and feel the object without looking

Learn to tie knots

Make a solar oven

Learn how to build a fire (supervised, obviously)

Make a sundial

Learn how to use a compass

Get a bucket of water and test what sinks or floats

Learn to sew

Follow a finger knitting tutorial

Crochet a small project

Make a t-shirt scarf out of an old shirt

Make tissue paper flowers

Play charades

Make puppets and put on a show

Play hide and seek

Play sardines (the opposite of hide and seek – rules here)

Make the letters of the alphabet with your body

Play 20 questions

Play I spy

Make a word chain

Dig out the old point-and-shoot camera and learn to take pictures

Cloud watching

Build towers and knock them down

Yard scavenger hunt

Find something in the house for every letter of the alphabet

Make a yarn spider web

Juggle

Speak pig latin

Learn a new language

Use a magnifying glass to explore objects up close

Freeze little plastic toys, marbles, etc. in bowls of water, then test ways to free the toys most quickly. Try different techniques like rubbing, spraying with warm water, or sprinkling with salt.

Blow bubbles; make your own bubble solution and bubble makers

Bring some flashlights in a dark room or closet and make shadow puppets

Balloon “hockey” with balloons and brooms

In the snow: fill spray bottles with water and food coloring and “paint” the snow

Give the Kids — AND YOURSELF — A Break

The idea isn’t to keep your kids occupied every minute of the day. It’s ok if they complain about being bored every once in a while. If they are like most modern kids, they aren’t used to having a ton of time on their hands. Present them with options, but let them figure it out on their own if they are old enough.

Your house might be messy and chaotic right now. Your kids might be too. They are certainly not immune to the stress and anxiety in the world, especially your older kids. It’s ok if you don’t have a schedule with neat blocks of school time, movement time, snack time, and chore time, and if your kids haven’t gotten out of their pajamas in a week. Your kids are going to be fine no matter what.

This is not nearly an all-inclusive list. What else has your family been doing to have fun while #stayinghome?

Resources

More play activities and lots of homeschooling resources from Unschool.school

100 Ways to Play from the Boston Children’s Museum

More play activities and homeschool ideas from Beyond the Chalkboard

Related posts from Mark’s Daily Apple

The Definitive Guide to Play

The Lost Art of Play: Reclaiming a Primal Tradition

15 Concrete Ways to Play

Why You Absolutely Must Play, Every Day! (plus 10 Pointers for Successful Playtime)

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[notatreeblog]

*post contains affiliate links which means NAT receives a small commission for each sale made

The Find Your Wings Subscription Box by Fashion Angels is a monthly collection of items for girls age 6-12. Boxes include items like bath, beauty, accessories, stationery and positive self image items. Boxes have 10-12 items with a value of $70. Boxes are $30. NAT received this package at no cost for review purposes.

Subscription Box Unboxing

Subscription Box Review

Our first glimpse inside the Find Your Wings Box for January.

Everything that came in the Find Your Wings Box for January. This was Belle’s favorite box yet!

  So what is all this stuff? 

Our box insert lists each of the items in our box.

  Alphabet Bead Craft Kit

$4.99

The first item in our box is a alphabet bead bracelet crafting kit. This includes over 50 beads and the elastic bands to close them.

This package includes both rounded beads as well as cubed beads.

  Emoji Adhesive Patch

Next up is this heart shaped emoji patch. This one is adhesive but could easily be made permanent by sewing. This would be cute on a backpack or jean jacket…. and it’s super cute!

The back of the package includes full instructions on how to apply.

  DIY Valentines Tear & Share Book

$4.99

Then is this DIY Valentine’s Day Book. This includes 30 different Valentine’s that can be colored in and decorated.

The first page is full of stickers to use to decorate your cards.

#gallery-0-4 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-4 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-4 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-4 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

I think these are super adorable and are perfect for little girls to give out on Valentine’s Day! The graphics are really sweet.

  Extra Small Spaghetti Mini Clay Kit

$5.99

So far each of the packages from Fashion Angels has included one of their mini clay kits. These are almost all food related and this month we received everything that we need to create an extra small spaghetti dinner. My daughter’s really enjoy creating these!

  Temporary Hair Color

$7.99

The item Isabelle was most excited for is this temporary hair color kit. It includes both a blue and a pink color. This is something that girls are really crazy about at the moment so it was a great inclusion in this box.

  Ice Cream Cone Loofah

$7.99

The loofah that was included is super cool – it’s shaped like an ice cream cone. The top of which is the loofah and the bottom is a little bit more like a sponge.

These are also these small sponge pieces interspersed as well.

  Donut Lip Balm

This donut flavored lip balm is really cute and is packaged quite nicely. Belle loves to try different flavored lip balms so this was a fun item to have in this box.

  Peach Hand Lotion

Um.. not sure what I did wrong here but next there was a bottle of peach scented hand lotion. While I’m not a huge fan of lotion Belle sure is, so this was a great inclusion!

  So Over It Face Mask

$4.99

Great for pre-teens this Tea Tree Oil face mask is great at clearing up blemishes and refreshing skin. It’s also a great item that makes girls feel more like… well girls!

  Unicorn Bath Bomb

$5.99

Ahhh! Who can resist a bath bomb and a cute one that looks like a unicorn to boot! Belle was really excited that she got this and used it almost right away!

  Glitter Hair & Body Gel

$3.99

Second to last is a hair and body gel in a fun pink and green motif. This is pretty chunky glitter so you’d have to be careful putting it on your face but this is perfect to put in your hair for special occasions like say New Years!

  Trendy Faux Fur Bag

$44.99

The final item is pretty much the star of the show. The January Find Your Wings package includes this colorful faux fur bag. This is a fun bag in a bucket shape and you can choose to carry it by the handles or by the chain strap.

And to keep things orderly this bag also has a nice liner as well.

  So in summary

Presentation: Everything is packaged so cutely and everything arrived to me perfectly in my box

Quality: These are the perfect types of items for young girls to enjoy!

Curation: What a cute assortment! Each of the items had a great variety and was a great addition to this month’s box.

Box Economy: For the price of this box ($30) we received well over $93 in items.

  Subscribe to Find Your Wings

                                  Find your Wings by Fashion Angels Subscription Box Review + Unboxing | January 2020 *post contains affiliate links which means NAT receives a small commission for each sale made The…