St. Patrick's Greatness

Saint Patrick stained glass window from
Cathedral of Christ the Light, Oakland, CA.

      An Englishman who had toured the United States said to an American friend:

      "I cannot understand it. On the 22nd of February I supposed there would be a grand national demonstration in honor of George Washington. But nothing occured. On the 17th of March the city I was in was decorated in green flags and Irish emblems fluttered everywhere, the hotel menu card was in green ink and the evening paper came out in green.

      "Bands played in the streets, men paraded, the city police force and military turned out, there were balls, banquets and public speaking. What I want to know is whether St. Patrick or George Washington is the nation's patron saint."

      Some idea of how powerful a figure St. Patrick was may be gained by comparing the memory of St. Patrick, born 1,535 years ago, with that of George Washington, who has been dead a little more than a century.

      St. Patrick went to Ireland when it was plunged in the darkness of paganism. He confronted a hostile people with a dozen assistants. He carried the new civilization with him. He met a fighting race and subdued it single-handed.

      His first work in reaching a community was to preach the gospel in the native tongue of the people. This he did with Pauline fervor and a fire of conviction which fired the heart and imagination of the people. You can look at the work of any Irish priest to-day and see the duplication of St. Patrick's method. First a talk to the people, then the building of a church, then the erection of a school, and then the exhortation to practice the Christian virtues, the succor of the widow and the orphans, the weak, the fallen and the aged.

• The Most Ancient Lives of Saint Patrick by Various
• Letter to the soldiers of Coroticus from Saint Patrick

      Patrick established universities which, by the labor of the inmates, were self-sustaining, and to which the youth of England flocked by thousands. Europe, during his lifetime, was in conflagration. Hordes of the north, Goths and Vandals, ravaged the south, and the lamp of learning, extinguished on the continent, burned brightly in the cloisters of the monasteries and universities of Ireland. Patrick translated nothing into Irish. He taught the Irish Latin and implanted, full born, the civilization of Christian Rome.

      He introduced the arts and crafts, developed agriculture, taught industry, application and love of work. Institutions of learning, churches and homes of religious workers, training schools and seminaries, were supported, not by contributions, but by labor of the inmates.

      From idleness to industry, from fighting to the arts of peace, from Druidical worship to Christian practice and ideals, St. Patrick turned the whole island by personal effort and example, by incessant exhausting toil. He died as he lived, without the possession of a groat.

      The arts and letters, science and biblical knowledge which fled from the continent took refuge in the famous schools which made Durrow and Arragh the universities of the west. To the eternal honor of Irish hospitality be it said that these thousands of strangers from every country in Europe were not only welcomed, but supplied gratuitousily with books, clothes and food.

• About Durrow Abby
• Irish midlands ancestry
• http://www.offalyhistory.com/content/reading_resources/books_articles/durrow_monastery.htm
• http://www.artsforpeace.ie/contacts.html
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "School of Durrow". Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.

       The scholarship thus engendered refurbished Europe when, a century's anarchy over, the Irish missionaries emerged from schools and flashed over the charred remains of European civilization the sacred light of learning.

      So, when the bearer of the name Patrick, laborer and toiler though he be, remembers that his title is descended from one of the proudest in Rome, patrician, and thinks in his poverty and humility of the ancient glory of his people, where is there an American who will not honor in him the survival through the centuries of the pride and learning and achievement of his ancestors, and join him on St. Patrick's day in singing "All Hail to St. Patrick!" The Marion Daily Mirror, March 17th, 1909.

      As part of a more than fifty-year-old Chicago tradition, the Chicago River is dyed green in observance of St. Patrick's Day. The actual event does not necessarily occur on St. Patrick's Day and is scheduled for the Saturday of the closest weekend. The dye takes days to dissipate. The tradition of dyeing the river green arose by accident when some plumbers used fluorescein dye to trace sources of illegal pollution discharges. The dyeing of the river is still sponsored by the local plumbers union. 

 The Chicago River during the 2009 Saint Patrick's Day celebration.

Craft Three Age Appropriate Clover Mosaics for St. Patrick's Day

A Shamrock Mosaic Simple Enough for Children 3, 4 and 5 Years Old to Craft

A dried green pea mosaic craft easy enough for very young children to craft!

Supply List: dried green peas, uncooked rice brown or white, white paper plates, white school glue;   stencil

Directions:

1. Teachers need to prepare the paper plates in advance. Draw and cut a shamrock stencil for this assignment. Cut it twice, once from scratch paper. Trace it onto the paper plate and cut out the second stencil. This second stencil will be easier to trace around quickly because it will include the contours of the paper plate. Now trace around it for however many paper plates you need in the classroom; one per student. Make sure you use a either a permanent ink marker or a pencil to do this so that the white glue will not cause the shamrock tracing to smear during the glueing process.
2. Pour out an ample supply of dried green peas into a shallow tray for the little ones to pick from during the project. 
3. Emphasize to them the importance in filling up their shamrock entirely with the green peas and white school glue. Have a sample their to show them how their completed shamrock should look. 
4. On the second day, students may repeat the same process of gluing with white or brown rice, filling in the outside space surrounding the shamrock.
5. This is a good opportunity for teachers to discuss positive and negative space concepts with their young students.
6. Students may then paste a boarder of green peas around the ridge of the paper plate on the third day. By this time they should be less intimidated by the pasting process.

Simple Clover Mosaic Craft for First, Second, and Third Graders

This clover mosaic is a bit more complex; it is assembled using torn and shredded shapes of paper.
Above photos show parts of the St. Patrick's Day craft up close.

A photo of my intermediate level paper mosaic for 1rst -3rd grade.

Supply List:

• brown, black, white, and several varieties of green construction paper
• white glue
• shamrock stencil (optional)
• white lead pencils

Directions:

1. Teachers should draw a simple clover on a chalk board or a white board demonstrating to his or her students what the parts of clover are.
2. Give each students a large black sheet of construction paper and a white pencil or a white crayon to draw a similar clover leaf pattern onto their paper.
3. Students may then tear the green papers and glue these pieces inside their clover leaf drawings. This part of the project may be further complicated if the teacher chooses to do so by using hand painted green papers to craft the purple clover leafs as I have done in the sample shown. Often times teachers choose to do this so that the assignment may be used to stretch over several days and including more processes in order to teach a combination of skills under the same assignment. If you want the assignment to be less complex, simply exclude this part of it and use plain green construction paper. However, do include a variety of greens so that the students may alternate the shades and craft an interesting abstract pattern.
4. After completing the clover, students may then select background colors consisting of at the very least, two colors of construction paper. I used black and brown for my teacher's example. But students may wish to choose more vibrant colors than these.
5. Next paste shredded lavender papers on top of each other to create delicate looking purple clover. I used a dark purple, and lighter purple and a white colored paper for this part of the assignment. Purple clover is very common to the State of Missouri where I live and so it is a natural selection of color for me to make for this mosaic. However, I could have chosen to use shades of grey for white clover blossoms if I had preferred them.
6. After the pictures dry, teachers may then choose to have students cover their mosaics with Modge Podge in order to better preserve their work.

A Fun Recyclable Clover Mosaic for Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Graders

Upper Left, The shredded purple papers for the purple clover flower buds. Lower Left,
The hand cut shredded painted papers for the clover's foliage. Right, The layered shredded
newsprint and shredded color paper mix for the first layer of the paper mosaic.

The finished purple clover, paper mosaic for St. Patrick's Day. This paper mosaic is complex enough
to hold the interests of fourth through sixth graders. It may also be challenging to students in middle school.

 

Close up camera shots of the purple clover mosaic.

Supply List:

• newsprint
• magazines
• printed green papers
• scissors
• white glue

Directions:

1. This project provides the perfect opportunity to introduce your students to the concept of recycling discarded papers on order to create works of art. 
2. The first layer of this St. Patrick's Day craft are made with shredded old newspapers and tossed construction paper scraps that have been cut into smaller pieces. 
3. I have included detailed photos here of how paper may be shredded by hand to craft very detailed complex art work. Encourage your students to spend time doing this scissor work over several days. Give them zip lock plastic bags to keep their shredded paper in. 
4. Students will need to cut green hearts in advance for clover leaves and shred tiny pieces of lavender paper to paste in lumps for the purple clover.
5. As you may have guessed, they will need an ample supply of white glue or wheat paste if you prefer to mix this prior to their pasting together the layers. 
6. The project is designed to take place over a few days of drying time between layers. However it is possible to do an entire mosaic over two hours with very little trouble. How much trouble will dependent  upon the student's age and dexterity, and also upon the size of the initial paper given for the "field" of clover. If you are concerned about time constraints, use 8 1/2 inch by 11 inch paper for the background. I choose to use large sheets of newsprint for my paper mosaic project.
7. I also cut my clover leaves and green stems from painted papers in order to complicate the assignment for older students. They will need an extra day for painting papers with brayers and combs.
8. Teachers may also use a paper shredder in order to speed up the art assignment for impatient participants. However, I applaud those students who are willing to develop the tenacity involved in manipulating their paper mosaics over several class periods. Certainly this should be encouraged with those students who are home schooled and have the opportunity to develop artwork over several days without time constraints.
9. After the artwork has been completed, teachers may choose to have their students brush on a top layer of Modge Podge in order to preserve their creations from damage. This will definitely need to be done if these pictures are to be displayed in the school's hallways.

Plant Long Held "Sacred"

Clover, of Which the Shamrock is a Species, Was Much Thought Of by the Ancient Greeks

      It is difficult to say what was the original shamrock, trefoil or Hero Trinity. The leaf now recognized as the national emblem is that of the white clover, but the name shamrock is the generic and is applied also to the purple clover, the speedwell, the pimpernel and to the wood sorrel.

      The clover of two or four leaves was held sacred in the festivals of the Greeks. The one of four leaves, when carried about, is supposed to insure success at play and confer the power of detecting evil spirits. The lover may put it under his pillow and he will dream of his beloved, or the maiden may slip it into her sweetheart's show without his knowledge and it will insure his safe return from any journey. It may be employed to prevent the wearer's being drawn into military service, is said to be a cure for lunacy, and is still, among the Irish, regarded as magical, even sacred. Snakes dislike it exceedingly and will not remain where it is growing.

      Some say that four-leaf shamrock is the shamrock of luck, and others that it is the five-leaved one that holds the magic touch. This latter is rare and prized and is said to grown from a decaying body, as the nettle is said to spring from buried human remains. The shamrock of luck must be found "without searching, without seeking." When thus discovered it should be cherished and preserved as an invincible talisman. The Semi-Weekly Tribune, North Platte, Nebraska, 1918

More Shamrock Crafts Just For Fun:

• Shamrock Favor Boxes
• A Lovely 3D Shamrock Card
• A Shamrock Sizziex Pop-up Die Project
• Kids Sewing Projects: Felt Shamrock Bracelet
• St. Patrick's Day Craft: How to make paper shamrocks
• A Lucky Burlap Banner for St. Patrick's Day
• My St. Patrick's Pinboard Here

Teach Your Young People Table Manners!

Some table manners are obvious and these are the most important for little ones to learn:

1. Eat primarily with a fork, not your fingers or even a spoon. The exception to this rule is if a soup or similar consistency of food is served that must be eaten with a spoon, such as ice cream. D'œuvres may be eaten with the fingers.
2. Pass the dishes at the table counterclockwise; wait to be served thus. Do not reach across the table to serve yourself. Ask for the plate of food politely if others are not promptly passing the dishes.
3. Chew with the food in your mouth closed. If you can not chew this way because you are sick with a cold or congestion, ask for the food to be sent to your room and eat it privately. If you are ill and eat at the dinner table, you will likely spread those germs to healthier members of your family.
4. Do not over stuff you mouth with food. Take small bites and chew these thoroughly before swallowing. This is best for the digestion.
5. Do not eat too quickly. Eating fast will make you eat too much!
6. Do not speak with others while there is food in your mouth.
7. Do not talk about what you do not like about the food being served to you. If you do not care for it, discreetly decline it or take very little of the food on to your plate.
8. Say please and thank you always at the table.
9. Do not pick your teeth in front of others at the table.
10. Place the napkin given to you for wiping your mouth on top of your lap, unfolded neatly. Lift it and wipe your mouth when it is needed; then place in back on your lap during the meal. When you leave the table, place the napkin to the right side of the plate. 
11. Do not place your elbows distractedly on the table. Elbows are not acceptable until after the meal has been removed from the table. If you are playing cards or simply talking at the table while snacks are passed around, the elbows no longer matter. It is only when a dinner is being served that people still expect you not to put your elbows on the table.

Some table manners are not so obvious to young people, here are a few that take a bit more observation and practice:

1. Listen while members of the family are speaking; do not talk over them or rudely interrupt them.
2. Remember that older members of the family have seniority at the dinner table. Adult conversation must be tolerated at the table. However, if the older family members are speaking directly to a young person, that young person should politely respond to the questions or remarks.
3. Elders may select whoever says the table prayers. This person may politely decline but it is considered an honor to be asked to pray for the family at the dinner table and this should be taken into consideration. It is considered very rude in some families to be a young adult who declines to pray at the dinner table when asked publicly. Simple prayers are quite acceptable. If you do not know what to say a simple "Thank You, Lord, for this food and hospitality. Amen." is a very kind and polite prayer to give, once everyone has bowed their heads. To make a dinner prayer too long so that the food served becomes cold is actually considered rude. So to choose a polite simple prayer is preferred.
4. The exceptions to the rule when asked to pray when you are a guest are: you have no religion or of a different religion than your host. What is a different religion is not a matter of denomination if your family is Christian. So if you are a visiting Baptist, do not decline the invitation if your host is a Methodist. By the same token do not decline to say a simple table prayer if you are Catholic visiting a Protestant's home or vise versa. Also priests and pastors of all Christian denominations should be expected to be asked to say table prayers in ordinary circumstances, do not be surprised by this nor insulted if not asked.
5. If you have no religion or a different religion and you find yourself at the table of those who are praying, simply keep you gaze level and distracted upon the wall opposite to you and wait patiently for others to finish. If they take your hand during prayers accept it politely as a gesture of friendship. Do not interpret table prayers as an affront to your personal beliefs. If you are invited to take a meal with others, this is a compliment to you and it is not the correct forum for debates on religious belief.
6. If you are coughing or choking at the table, stand and quietly exist without eye contact. Gain control in a bathroom and then return to the table. Say, "Excuse me," when returning; this is sufficient.
7. When visiting the home of a friend for dinner, it is customary to give a small floral token to the hostess. Adults frequently give wine to each other but this is not expected of young adults under twenty. If you have neither token, write a simple note afterwards expressing thanks and leave it at a table by the front door or mail it as soon as you get home.

Eating Etiquette:

• Teach Your Kids Table Manners
• Rules to Teach Children Good Table Manners
• 8 tips for teaching your child table manners
• Top Table Manners...

"Oh Danny Boy"

      "Danny Boy" is a ballad written by English songwriter Frederic Weatherly and usually set to the Irish tune of the "Londonderry Air". It is most closely associated with Irish communities.

      Although initially written to a tune other than "Londonderry Air", the words to "Danny Boy" were penned by English lawyer and lyricist Frederic Weatherly in Bath, Somerset in 1910. After his Irish-born sister-in-law Margaret (known as Jess) in the United States sent him a copy of "Londonderry Air" in 1913 (an alternative version has her singing the air to him in 1912 with different lyrics), Weatherly modified the lyrics of "Danny Boy" to fit the rhyme and meter of "Londonderry Air".

      Weatherly gave the song to the vocalist Elsie Griffin, who made it one of the most popular songs in the new century; and, in 1915, Ernestine Schumann-Heink produced the first recording of "Danny Boy".

      Jane Ross of Limavady is credited with collecting the melody of "Londonderry Air" in the mid-19th century from a musician she encountered. 

• The Legend and History of the Song Danny Boy
• Danny Boy 1913 sheet music from Duke University Libraries
• Doll sized sheet music and music stands for your child to craft

"Danny Boy" performed by Peter Hollens

      The most beloved song of Gordon B. Hinckley, "Danny Boy" was originally intended as a love song sung by a girl to her sweetheart, but it is now more often associated with brotherly affection between friends. When McKay Crockett collaborated with Keith Evans for this arrangement, Evans viewed the lyrics in a different way: about a father struggling to share his feelings with his departing son. In the newly written final verse, the father contemplates that perhaps he will outlive his precious Danny Boy.

LYRICS

O Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling

From glen to glen and down the mountainside.

The summer's gone and all the roses falling.

'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide.

But come ye back when summer's in the meadow,

Or all the valley's hushed and white with snow.

'Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow.

O Danny Boy, O Danny Boy, I love you so.

When winter's come and all the flow'rs are dying,

And I am dead, as dead I well may be,

You'll come and find the place where I am lying

And kneel and say an "Ave" there for me.

But I shall hear, though soft you tread above me,

And all my grave shall warmer, sweeter be.

And you will bend and tell me that you love me;

And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me.

O Danny Boy, the stream flows cool and slowly;

And pipes still call and echo 'cross the glen.

Your broken mother sighs and feels so lowly,

For you have not returned to smile again.

So if you've died and crossed the stream before us,

We pray that angels met you on the shore;

And you'll look down, and gently you'll implore us

To live so we may see your smiling face once more,

Once more.

"You Take The Cake!" Valentine

      I have included below four little cupcake templates that teachers and students may work with in order to craft some sweet enticing valentines. Two of the patterns are designed to fold and tuck beneath the top half of the iced cupcake. Therefore, you must paste one icing cap on top of another but leave approximately 1/2 inch of the cupcake top free of glue. 

      The bottom two patterns simple fold in half and open as a typical card. The third card pattern illustrated shows that the lower half of the cupcake card folds in half and on the fourth option, the entire card top and bottom fold in half. 

      When assigning cupcake cards to older students, 3rd - 5th grade, include all of the steps involved with the card craft. This would include the cutting and tracing of the stencils as well. For students younger than second grade, teachers may wish to cut and paste the cards together in advance so that the children will only need to decorate the cards and write their own sentiments.

The Valentine cupcake on the left is trimmed with a red lace doily and the one on the right is cut from fancy paper. Teachers may wish to use this little assignment to emphasize shading while encouraging students to color their icing caps.

Left, the cupcake cards are open to show how these will look when the bottom half of the card is unfolded. Right a close up of the doily used to trim the cupcake Valentine.

Cupcake pattern with a very exaggerated, fluffy icing for young students to decorate.

   In this version of my cupcake Valentine cards, I have decided to decorate the extra fluffy icing with a variety of rhinestones, glitter, textured papers, shading and an oreo cookie.

      This cupcake pattern also requires that an additional fluffy icing top be pasted down to the front side of the card, leaving approximately 1/2 inch of the icing cap unglued at the bottom edge. 

      Below you can see that what the card looks like when it is open. 

      Students love to use all kinds of scrap papers for this project: comics, wallpaper, wrapping paper, fuzzy or furry fabrics, stickers, lace etc... Let their imaginations run wild!

      My third pattern includes a strawberry ready to topple over the side of the large icing cap. I've included both a strawberry and a heart shaped cherry on the pattern sheets for young students to incorporate in their own interpretations of this Valentine project. On the left, I have used a figured scrap paper for the cupcake liner instead of drawing and shading the liner shown on the right. This card craft may be modified according to the abilities of those students you are working with.

General Supply List:

• markers and colored pencils
• construction papers: browns, white, pink, red and green
• decorative Valentine papers
• white school glue
• scissors
• glitter
• a variety of textured papers

On the left, decorative paper was selected for the liner of the cupcake Valentine. I selected construction papers both in a dark, chocolately brown shade and in tan, to mimic caramel, to trace and cut the cupcake tops from. Don't forget to add the seeds to your strawberries with a fine line black permanent marker.

This little Valentine cupcake card is the simplest of them all. It opens from side to side.  It also include a heart shaped cherry on top!

Above, First sheet of two, four cupcake Valentine templates by Kathy Grimm.
 Below, Second sheet of two, four cupcake Valentine templates by Kathy Grimm.

Bakery Crafts & Art Projects for Your Valentine:

• Ceramic Lesson Plans: Cupcakes
• Ceramic Lesson Plans: "All American Berry Pie"

Vintage Cake Valentines: 

"Hello Sugar, You're Sweet Be My Valentine" card

Doll Quotes

“Little girls love dolls. They just don’t love doll clothes. We’ve got four thousand dolls and ain’t one of them got a stitch of clothes on.” Jeff Foxworthy

“Always watch where you are going. Otherwise, you may step on a piece of the Forest that was left out by mistake.” – Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A.A. Milne

“Some parents say it is toy guns that make boys warlike. But give a boy a rubber duck and he will seize its neck like the butt of a pistol and shout “Bang!” George Will

“We say that a girl with her doll anticipates the mother. It is more true, perhaps, that most mothers are still but children with playthings.” F. H. Bradley

“You can buy about four hundred tiny fashion separates that mix and match to create three tasteful outfits. In that way, the doll is incredibly lifelike. Chilling, even.” Chuck Palahniuk

“For two weeks I gambled in green pastures. The dice were my cousins and the dolls were agreeable with nice teeth and no last names” Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls

“Only when human sorrows are turned into a toy with glaring colors will baby people become interested – for a while at least. The peoople are a very fickle baby that must have new toys every day.” Emma Goldman

“Stouter dolls than I might have quailed at being pressed into service by a Hindoo snake-charmer. I cannot say it is a stage of my career that I enjoy remembering, but at least I comfort myself with the thought that I did not behave in any way which would bring disgrace upon my kind.” Hitty, the doll from Dorothy P. Lathrop’s tales

“Blessed be Providence which has given to each his toy: the doll to the child, the child to the woman, the woman to the man, the man to the devil!” Victor Hugo

“It is an anxious, sometimes a dangerous thing to be a doll. Dolls cannot choose; they can only be chosen; they cannot ‘do’; they can only be done by.” ― Rumer Godden, The Dolls’ House 

“Somebody’s poisoned the waterhole!” pullstring quotes from Woody in Toy Story

“I have been thinking; our mistress gave us the nice dinner out under the trees to teach us a lesson. She wished us to know that we could have had all the goodies we wished, whenever we wished, if we had behaved ourselves. And our lesson was that we must never take without asking what we could always have for the asking! So let us all remember and try never again to do anything which might cause those who love us any unhappiness!” Raggedy Anne

“Figuring weight for age, all dolls are the same.”  Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls

FALSTAFF: You make fat rascals, Mistress Doll.
DOLL TEARSHEET: I make them! gluttony and diseases make them; I
make them not.
2 Henry IV 2.4.37 (Shakespeare)


“If the person you are talking to doesn’t appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.”– Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne
“Nothing that grieves us can be called little: by the eternal laws of proportion a child’s loss of a doll and a king’s loss of a crown are events of the same size” Mark Twain

“I just want you to know that even though you tried to terminate me, revenge is not an idea we promote on my planet.” Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story

“A girl is Innocence playing in the mud, Beauty standing on its head, and Motherhood dragging a doll by the foot” Allen Beck

“You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are “Real,” most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are “Real” you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.” The Skin Horse speaks with the Velveteen Rabbit

“You know you’ve made it when you’ve been moulded in miniature plastic. But you know what children do with Barbie dolls – it’s a bit scary, actually.” Cate Blanchett

“Some people care too much, I think it’s called love.”– Winnie the Pooh

Mermaid Paper Doll Parts

Mix and match my paper doll parts for creating your next mermaids, merbabies and mermen: Read the Terms of Use before downloading folks!

Aqua mermaid tail, shells, and sand dollar by Kathy Grimm.

Blue mermaid tail, shell and sand dollar by Kathy Grimm

Sepia mermaid tail, shells, and sand dollar by Kathy Grimm

More Mermaid Paper Dolls:

• Mermaid by Renmeleon
• Mermaid from edupics
• Mermaid by Loretta Willis
• Sunken Treasures (example)
• Jada Mermaid Paper Doll
• Marisole Monday: Beneath the Waves
• Mermaid paper doll by Serendipity Sisters

Illustrated Objects for Designing 1880 Something Doll Houses

      A picture book published in the 1880′s by F. Warne & Co. – United Kingdom and The United States depicts objects in the house, city and country. I have included here the few of it’s pages illustrating the following interior rooms: kitchen, master bedroom, hall, drawing room, parlor, nursery, library and dining room, for those of you who are recreating period doll houses.

Items from the entire house

Items from the kitchen

Items from the bedroom

 

A Summer Snowstorm!

A SUMMER SNOW STORM

 

It's snowing hard as it can snow

The ground is almost white

And all our pretty orchard grass 

Is hidden out of sight.

The wind is blowing from the south,

And coming good and strong,

You'd never think a southern wind

Would bring the snow along!

The sun is shining warm and bright

The flowers bloom in throngs

The birds are flying to and fro,

And singing happy songs.

And if upon their feathers soft

The snowy flakes should fall,

They shake them off and sing some more,

And never mind at all!

The flowers, too, don't care a bit,

It only makes them grow

Because, you see, this summer storm

Is apple-blossom snow!

By E. S. T.

The Lovable Child

The Lovable Child

Frisky as a lambkin,

Busy as a bee--

That's the kind of little girl

People like to see.

Modest as a violet,

As a rosebud sweet-

That's the kind of little girl

People like to meet.

Bright as is a diamond

Pure as any pearl--

Every one rejoices in 

Such a little girl.

Happy as a robin,

Gentle as a dove--

That's the kind of little girl

Every one will love.

Fly away and seek her, little song of mine,

For I choose that very girl as my Valentine.

Politeness

A Boy went out to walk one day,

And met a lady on his way;

His cap was quickly off his head:

"Good morning," pleasantly he said.

A little girl went walking too,

And met a lady whom she

knew:

With quick politeness then the

child

"Good morning" said, and bowed and 

smiled.

And thus should lads and lasses greet

Whatever friends they chance to

meet,

If they would show politeness true.

Now, who'll remember this? Will

you?

Murals Painted by Students, Young and Old

This mural is one of dozens located in
a elementary school where I once worked.

      A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture. Read more . . . 
      A mural can be temporary as well as permanent. Sometimes teachers are a bit hesitant about letting their students paint directly on the walls. Some schools have policy that prohibits this type of artwork from being used in the school building. However, teachers do not need to go to such extreme measures to instruct their students in mural painting projects. Students can first paint on canvas or butcher paper and then mount these creations onto the wall with a staple gun. By these means, teachers can alter their school surroundings dramatically without offending property managers or breaking school policy.
      I will link to fun and interesting mural projects below for teachers to gain inspiration:

Murals By Elementary Students:

• Fruitville Elementary dedicates student created butterfly mural
• Student-created mural unveiled at South Elementary
• Allen Elementary students, parents leave colorful legacy with tile mural
• Dietz Elementary School Mural Project
• TreeTown Murals works with Mitchell Elementary to paint mural on gym wall
• 2006-2007 Mosaic Mural Project at Richboro Elementary School
• slinger middle school mosaic mural, june, 2009
• Speaking of Dimond Public Art...
• Chase Stone Barn Mural
• Students create murals at H. Guy Child Elementary School
  

Murals By Older Students:

• Student Work, Tile Mural Project, 2010 at Ashley Anderson Drissell
• Studio Spotlight: AFH's Brockton Mural Painting Team!
• Inspiring Hunts Point, One Mural At a Time
• Oakland Fund for the Arts: Art for the People Program: Mural Painting & World Beats (Ethic Dance and Drums
• NEKACC WIA Youth Program Inspires Community Through Work on Veterans' Mural
• Free Expression Tunnel, students painting
• Students compete painting murals depicting the revolution in Manila
• LSU Art Students Paint Mural for International School of Louisiana

Andee Rudloff - Mural Artist / Facilitator www.chicnhair.com
300+ Kindergarten through 5th Graders - Painting and Mural Elements
Special thanks to Ms. Denton and the Faculty and Staff of Millersville Elementary http://mes.sumnerschools.org
Josh Woodward - Music: "Coffee" and "Violet Wants It Her Way" www.joshwoodward.com
Stacey Irvin - Time Lapse Video and Still Photography www.staceyirvin.com

A Conversational Heart Bulletin Board

 

      This bulletin board hung in the front hall corridor of the school I worked in during 2012 - 13. I love finding ways to incorporate ordinary things into life long lessons. Conversation heart shaped candies have been produced by Necco since 1866 and sold in drug stores and grocery stores all over America during the month of February for Valentine's Day. This teacher took an ordinary cultural artifact and used it in her classroom to teach character. Get it, character lessons based upon conversational hearts? Oh, well, maybe her students will remember the ideas taught with this little object lesson whenever they pick up a box of conversational hearts.

More Lessons Taught with Conversational Heart Shaped Candy:

• Designing graphs with conversational heart shaped candies
• Conversation Hearts Lesson from teachers.net
• 12 Fun Ways to Use Conversational Candy Hearts
• God's Conversation Hearts Bulletin Board
• Upper and Lowercase Letters: Heart Matching
• DIY: Scripture Conversation Hearts 

Teaching Kids About Character:

• Kids of Integrity
• goodcharacter.com
• Ways to Build Character in Children
• Character at KIPP

I love this Valentine door decoration! It was hung on the door of our teacher's lounge at the school where I work.
The teachers posted their pictures inside of the cupcake liners in order to fill the giant box of chocolates.

 Many More Links to Additional Valentine Bulletin Board Ideas:

• A sweetheart train by Mrs. Mead and Loads of Love
• Take a peek to see who's sweet
• How sweet it is to be loved by you!
• Sweethearts - true love Valentine bulletin board
• A school filled with love - fish Valentine bulletin board
• A candy kiss Valentine bulletin board
• We Toad-A-Ly Love Preschool
• I Love You This Much - for a Christian Elementary School
• Love themed bulletin board using scripture
• "Bee" My Valentine Bulletin Board
• Everything Grows With Love Bulletin Board
• Post Your Valentines Bulletin Board
• "All You Need Is Love" for a music classroom
• "Love to give a helping hand" Valentine Bulletin Board
• "Love Your Library" very cool Valentine Bulletin Board
• 100 Reasons to Love Bulletin Board

These big and beautifully painted Valentines were created by first graders in our school.
Their teacher decorated a large bulletin board hanging just outside her classroom with them.

"You're Sodalicious Valentine!"

The phrase used on the ice cream Valentine above, ""You're the cream
of the crop," My little cherry on top!"

      Fourth and fifth grade students will be sure to delight in these ice cream treats! I've included a few of my free patterns below for teachers to download, print, trace and craft these valentine cards.

      Teachers may adapt the processes in producing these cards according to the abilities of their students and the availability of supplies. For example: the waffle pattern on the cones may be colored by hand, as I have done, or students could find a similar surface pattern and do crayon rubbings on top of construction paper in order to mimic the cone's surface. Students could also use combs or brayers to apply dark brown paint to a lighter shade of tan paper in order to create an interesting 'waffle' design as well.

      I chose to hand color some of my the ice cream but it would look just as nice with layered and torn papers. Perhaps even glitter would lend a nice effect for the final finish to these fun ice cream cone Valentines? Use your imagination and have fun!

These ice cream, waffle cones are hand colored to look
like actual waffle patterns.

Additional Sodas and Ice Cream Valentine Cards:

• Cas Sweet Ice Cream Valentine
• Ice Cream Monster Valentine's Pop-Up Card
• Pop-Up Happy Birthday Ice Cream Card with Bakers Twine - Switch out greeting with "Valentine" word
• "You make my heart melt!" 
• "I'm lovin' you like candy!"
• Valentine fudge pops card
• Scratch and Sniff Valentines
• Valentines for Kids Peaceable Kingdom {Review}
• Valentine ice cream cones with heart shaped sprinkles
• My love . . . Ice Cream
• Ice Cream Shop Card - Valentine Card 
• Valentine's Soda Pop Treat Hanger {template}
• Valentines Pop Box Treats
• Day 11: "I've got a crush on you."
• Valentine candy bouquet in a soda pop glass

More Ice Cream Heart Cards for Kids To Make:

• Kids Ice Cream Card from Artsy Craftsy Mom
• Kids Valentine card: Ice cream cone heart

This ice cream valentine reads, "You Melt My Heart, Valentine." Both Valentines open up to reveal large, bright red hearts.

Two variations of patterns for ice cream cone Valentines. Cut multiple scoops of ice cream according to tastes
and two hearts per student: one in brown paper, the second in red or pink. The dashed line indicates a "fold"
 on the heart shaped waffles. Look to the photos above for assembly.

The above ice cream looks as though it has come from a pump, unlike the ice cream above that has been
scooped. Some folks prefer 'soft served' ice cream and some prefer their ice cream hard. No matter which
you desire, these little ice cream patterns are sure to please!

Sodas and Ice Cream Valentine Treats:

• The Big List of Old Fashioned Soda Fountain Drink Recipes
• In Soda Revival, Fizzy Taste Bubbles Up From The Past

Vintage Soda Fountain Themed Valentines: 

"Mmm - You're 'Sweet' Be My Valentine Please!" ice cream cone
 Valentine card

"Need a Valentine? Soda" card

"Gee Whiz Valentine You 'Melt' Me, Please Be Mine" ice cream cone card

"To My Valentine, Oh You 'Smoothie' Let's Be 'Sundae Dates!" ice cream in a dish Valentine.

"Valentine It Will Be The Last Straw - If You Don't Say Yes!" card

"You're the Sweetest Thing I Know! Be Mine" Valentine Card.

"Meaning No 'Monkey-Shines," Valentine! I offer you choice of peach or vanilla and
 that oughta prove I ain't no "Gorilla"!" Valentine.