Thrifty Scissors

Monday, May 1, 2017

The Coming of Spring

THE COMING OF SPRING.

THE birds are coming home soon;
I look for them every day;
I listen to catch the first wild strain,
"For they must be singing by May.

The bluebird, he'll come first, you know,
Like a violet that has taken wings;
And the red-breast trills while his nest he builds,
I can hum the song that he sings.

And the crocus and wind-flower are coming, too;
They're already upon the way;
When the sun warms the brown earth through and
through,
I shall look for them any day.

Then be patient, and wait a little, my dear;
"They're coming," the winds repeat;
"We're coming! we're coming!" I'm sure I hear,
From the grass blades that grow at my feet.

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Thanksgiving Holiday Index

Sample artifacts from the Thanksgiving Index below.

Thanksgiving Day in the United States is an annual festival of thanksgiving for the blessings of the closing year. It is fixed by proclamation of the President and the governors of states, and ranks as a legal holiday.

The earliest harvest thanksgiving in America was kept by the Pilgrim Fathers at Plymouth in 1621, after the gathering of the first harvest, when Governor Bradley made provision for a day of thanksgiving and prayer. This custom was repeated often during that and the ensuing century. Congress recommended days of thanksgiving annually during the Revolution, and in 1784 for the return of peace. President Madison issued a proclamation of the same import in 1815. Washington appointed a similar day in 1789, after the adoption of the Constitution, and in 1795 he appointed another day as Thanksgiving Day for the general benefits and welfare of the nation. Since 1863 every appointing the last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day.

Artifacts & Art for Enhancing Lesson Plans:

Monday, April 24, 2017

Break! Break! Break!

Break! Break! Break!

Break, Break, Break,

On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!

And I would that my tongue could utter

The thoughts that arise in me.

O, well for the fisherman's boy,

That he shouts with his sister at play!

O, well for the sailor lad,

That he sings in his boat on the bay!

And the stately ships go on,

To their haven under the hill;

But O for the touch of a vanished hand,

And the sound of a voice that it still!

Break, Break, Break,

At the foot of thy crags, O Sea!

But the tender grace of a day that is dead

Will never come back to me.

By Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)

Song for All Seas, All Ships

Song for All Seas, All Ships

TO-DAY a rude brief recitative,
Of ships sailing the Seas, each with its special flag or ship-signal;
Of unnamed heroes in the ships, Of waves spreading and spreading, far as the eye can reach;
Of dashing spray, and the winds piping and blowing;
And out of these a chant, for the sailors of all nations,
Fitful, like a surge.

Of Sea-Captains young or old, and the Mates - and of all intrepid Sailors;
Of the few, very choice, taciturn, whom fate can never surprise, nor death dismay,
Pick'd sparingly, without noise, by thee, old Ocean - chosen by thee,
Thou Sea, that pickest and cullest the race, in Time, and unitest Nations!
Suckled by thee, old husky Nurse - embodying thee!
Indomitable, untamed as thee.

(Ever the heroes, on water or on land, by ones or twos appearing,
Ever the stock preserv'd, and never lost, though rare - enough for seed preserv'd.)

Flaunt out O Sea, your separate flags of nations!
Flaunt out, visible as ever, the various ship-signals!
But do you reserve especially for yourself, and for the soul of man, one flag above all the rest,
A spiritual woven Signal, for all nations, emblem of man elate above death,
Token of all brave captains, and all intrepid sailors and mates,
And all that went down doing their duty;
Reminiscent of them - twined from all intrepid captains, young or old;
A pennant universal, subtly waving, all time, o'er all brave sailors,
All seas, all ships.

by Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

Alphabet Index

Sneek-a-peek at artifacts and art exercises under this ABC resource.

Alphabet, al fa bet, (from Alpha and Beta, the first two letters of the Greek alphabet), the series of characters used in writing a language, and intended to represent the sounds of which it consists. The English alphabet, like all those of modern Europe except the Russian, is derived directly from the Latin, the Latin from the ancient Greek and that from the Phoenician, which again is believed to have had its origin in the Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Search the alphabet coloring pages at Crayon Palace
Search the printable alphabet reading resources at Crayon Palace
Color Bible Scriptures from the Color The Bible and at Easter Egg Crafts

Alphabet Artifacts & Art for Enhancing Lesson Plans:

More Links to The Alphabet:

Index page last updated April 26 , 2017

Mrs Bee Explains

Mrs Bee Explains.

Said Mrs. Wasp to Mrs Bee,

"Will you a favor do me?

There's something I can't understand--

Please ma'am, explain it to me;

Why do men build for you a house

And coax you to go in it,

While me--your cousin--they'll not let

Stay near them for a minute?

I have a sting, I do confess,

And should not like to lose it,

But so have you, and when you're vexed

I'm sure you use it!"

"Well," said the bee, "to you, no doubt,

It does seem rather funny;

But people soon forget the stings

Of those who give them honey!"

Time lapse bees hatch.

Monday, January 9, 2017

Arranging flowers paper cut

A Japanese lady arranges flowers inside of a vase in this paper cut.

I've restored paper doll of silent film star Sidney Drew

If the whole is mounted on light cardboard before the figures are cut out,
the different parts will last longer and the tabs will not tear so easily
Color if desired, then cut dotted lines in hats and slip over the head.
Fold base on dotted line to make figure stand.

Mr. & Mrs. Sidney Drew were an American comedy team on stage and screen. The team initially consisted of Sidney Drew (August 28, 1863 – April 9, 1919) and his first wife Gladys Rankin (October 8, 1870 – January 9, 1914). After Gladys died in 1914, Sidney Drew married Lucile McVey (1890–1925), and the two performed as Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew. Read more...