A Special Not-Back-To-School Project

So, a few weeks ago, on a whim, I picked up this desk at an estate sale for five bucks and decided to try my hand at furniture refinishing.  It was in pretty rough shape, but it was solid and sturdy, and I had a picture in my head (inspired by Pinterest, of course) of what it could look like with a little love.

Before

After searching around a bit on Pinterest, I decided to try the Rustoleum Furniture Transformations Kit, which I purchased at Home Depot for $34.98.  It comes with everything pictured below:  instructions, stir sticks (one is not pictured; there were three), deglosser (cleaner) with scrubber pad, bond coat, glaze coat and glazing cloths, and clear finishing coat.

The bond coat can be tinted to any of the following colors.  I asked Monkey what color he'd like his desk to be and he immediately responded, "Green!" (his favorite color).  As you can see there is only one green choice so we went with that.

The first step was to scrub it with the deglossing cleaner.  (I didn't take any pictures of that step because it was not interesting enough to merit photos.)  Next, I let Monkey help with the first coat of paint, although the perfectionist in me insisted on doing the rest myself.  He really enjoyed this part, and I'm glad I relaxed and let him do it.

How it looked after the first coat was done.  I applied a second coat later.

The next step was the glaze coat.  I was nervous about it, but it was actually pretty easy and I thought it really added dimension to the color.  I didn't glaze the insides of the side panels or drawer faces because I was planning to paint them a different color.

After glazing.

Next I added some dark blue to the side panels and drawer faces for a nice contrast. I had planned to use a dark blue and then I remembered I had some left over from a project I did about 2 years ago and it was exactly what I had in mind.  So no need to buy more paint - yay!  Note:  I did not glaze the blue parts because that paint was high-gloss and I didn't think the glaze would adhere to it properly.

Finally, I painted on the protective clear topcoat, let it dry overnight, and first thing the next morning we reinstalled the drawers and handles.  I had thought about getting new handles, but came up with a cheaper solution:  I lucked out and found a spray paint that was super duper close to the green paint on the desk and sprayed the old handles with it.

Oh, and here's a crazy coincidence:  the very same day I brought home this impulse buy, a friend showed up with an old school desk chair, saying "Here, I found this & thought you might be able to use it."  I taped off the wooden parts and let Monkey go to town on it with the spray paint I used for the drawer handles.  He REALLY enjoyed that part - sorry I didn't get any pics of him in action doing that.  

So, there you go!  I am very happy with how the whole thing turned out and I would definitely recommend this kit to anyone.  It was easy for a beginner like me and I think the finish looks very professional.  Next I'm going to be keeping my eye out for a couple of captain's beds and maybe a dresser for the boys... I'm itching to do more!

Once again, a before and after comparison:

Before

After

Update + random product reviews

Well I haven't had much to say in the past week or two (or much time to write), but surely this picture is worth at least a thousand words:

Bug has been saying new words like crazy lately - like a dozen a day some days. He has also started showing interest in the potty and will occasionally demand "SIT POTTY!" although he hasn't actually done anything there yet, as far as I can tell. BTW, shown in this picture is my favorite product at Home Depot (although I couldn't find it on their site): it's a regular toilet seat with a potty seat built in, that is nested in the lid and held closed by a magnet. We tried several potty seats and potty chairs with Monkeyman but this was the best solution. It doesn't take up any extra space in the bathroom and it looks like a regular grown-up seat so the little ones feel secure but also feel like "big kids" too.

In the past two weeks, we've:

• gone hiking at three different parks
• started working on a bit of memorization: the Pledge of Allegiance, and our address & phone number. I have them taped on the dining room wall and we recite every morning. When he knows them by heart, I'll put something else up there for him to work on memorizing.
• started working on some basic addition and skip counting
• studied earthquakes and hurricanes (aka current events)

• done LOTS of reading

• tried out some new toys - Wedgits blocks. At first I was disappointed because I didn't realize I'd ordered the "mini" size but they are great fun to play with & can be stacked in all kinds of interesting ways. Monkeyman is diggin em!)

• built a fun robot costume out of boxes just for kicks

• investigated all kinds of things with this:

...and may I say that no homeschool home should be without one! It's a pocket microscope, very simple and low-tech. You can find a similar, but better, one at Timberdoodle.com, or other online retailers. (Note: the one pictured is actually mine from when I was a kid. I had ordered one from Amazon a long time ago because I couldn't find my old one, and then of course, I found it. The old one works MUCH better than the new one - the image is always blurred with the new one. Not sure if it was just a fluke or if they're all junk, but just in case, DON'T get this one from Amazon.com.) Anyways, it's not super powerful, but 30x is enough to give you a very different perspective on things. We have examined clothes, carpet, the countertop, newspapers, money, the computer screen, skin, hair, fingernails... and tonight we compared Monkeyman's temporary tattoo with Shane's and my real ones. It was especially interesting to compare Shane's and mine because his is over a decade old and mine are just a few months old. Mine definitely looked a bit sharper.

Ooh, and tonight at bedtime, Monkeyman surprised me by reciting the names of the planets, which he picked up from this amazing CD, which I reviewed recently. We have been listening to it nonstop every time we go somewhere in the car.

I just turned the calendar to September today and it is covered in writing. We have lots of interesting things going on this month: an overnight trip to Kalahari (water park), our annual trip to the county fair, two homeschool group field trips (a canal boat ride and a visit to a pumpkin patch), and two or three other informal homeschool gatherings, as well as a couple of family gatherings as well. Fun stuff ahead!

Review: "Here Comes Science" by They Might Be Giants

There are not enough positive adjectives to describe "Here Comes Science" by They Might Be Giants. Just go buy it. Right now. Seriously. It's a CD + DVD set full of science songs, with topics ranging from chemistry to biology to astronomy and more. The music is great - I bought it for Max but can't stop listening to it myself, even when I'm in the car alone! The DVD has music videos for all of the songs and the animation is wonderful. We watched it for the first time this morning, and at the beginning of *every* song, Max exclaimed, "I like this!" He made me replay "The Bloodmobile" three times in a row. My personal favorite is "I'm a Paleontologist" - it's been stuck in my head and I've been singing it loudly all day. Oh yeah, and the thing is only 10 bucks. Seriously, off to Amazon with you now... go get it!

PS.
Disclaimer#1: No one has given me free stuff or money or anything for reviewing anything. I'll let you know if that ever happens. I just like sharing good stuff when I find it.
Disclaimer #2: If you are anti-evolution, this product is not for you.

Product Reviews: Wasp Wand and Waspinator

I just wanted to quickly mention two products that have made my life a bit easier. They are:

the Wasp Wand

and

the Waspinator.

We have always had a terrible problem with wasps around the back of our house, which is also where the kids' play area is located. Unfortunately I inherited my Mom's paralyzing phobia of stinging/buzzing/EVIL insects, and I would always be a nervous wreck when the kids were playing outside because the darn things were everywhere. Well, no longer, thanks to this super-duo of products! The Wasp Wand is basically an extension pole that holds a can of wasp spray, so that you can safely and thoroughly reach high places where they live. ( Yes I know this is not a very "green" method but I don't care. When it comes to wasps, I am the opposite of green - I guess that makes me "red", according to the color wheel. I'm totally okay with that.) So my dear husband sprayed the heck out of the eaves all around the house and finally managed to eradicate them. BUT, they always end up coming back after a while. This is where the second product comes in. The Waspinator basically works like a scarecrow, except for wasps. It's just a fake wasp nest. Apparently, they are very territorial creatures, and if they see an established nest they will stay away. I have had it up for several weeks now, and I must say I'm kind of blown away with the results. I can now relax and enjoy my backyard and let the children play without following them around looking out for wasps and nests like a paranoid freak.

Here's my Waspinator hanging from the awning above the back door. (Hubby's garden is visible between the house & the swingset.) Thank you kind people in the wasp control industry!

Shopping spree!

Ok, I've been meaning to write about this for days. I was signed up to go to the annual homeschooling convention in Cincinnati at the beginning of April, but unfortunately my trip was cancelled due to my grandmother's passing. So instead, I went on a bit of an online shopping spree with the bit of money I had saved up to spend on, and during, the trip. My favorite homeschool supply site so far is called timberdoodle.com. They have such a great selection of interesting things, and to my surprise, their prices were better than Amazon's on every single thing I compared. Even for those who are not homeschooling - check out this site for some great, unusual, fun stuff! I have decided not to purchase any official pre-packaged curriculum (well, ok, just one - more on that below), rather, just an assortment of books, toys, and games that I think Max will enjoy and be interested in. I plan to use "real" books instead of textbooks as much as possible. So here's my loot. Many, but not all of these items came from Timberdoodle.


And, to highlight a few favorites so far:


This is a toy that encourages kids to practice writing movements. It has tiny magnetic balls inside it (don't worry, they can't come out) and when you run the magnetic stylus over the letters, the balls audibly snap into place. To "erase" all you do is run your finger back over the letters to pop the balls back down. As Max is a kinesthetic (aka hands-on) learner, the tactile sensations are perfect for him. He loves it already. Actually, so do I - we have had a few arguments over whose turn it is to play with it!



These are called Inchimals. They are wooden blocks ranging from 1 inch to 12 inches, with animals painted on two sides, and inch marks on the other two sides. They are great for teaching all kinds of mathematical concepts, like measuring, comparing, ordering, adding, subtracting, etc. They also come with a spiral-bound dry erase notebook with problems of gradually increasing difficulty. Again, a great hands-on tool for my hands-on learner.
*The one curriculum I do plan to buy is called Math-U-See, which has manipulatives similar to this concept, but goes to much more advanced levels. (More on that at a future date.)



This is a simple little thing, but I think it will be a really useful tool. I plan to do a lot of reading aloud to Max, and while I am doing that, he will likely need to have something to keep his hands busy. Purpllinker is similar to a carpenter's ruler, and can be bent and folded into many different shapes, such as letters, numbers, shapes, or possibly illustrating elements of what whatever story I happen to be reading. Another great tactile tool.





Finally, I had to mention this game. Equilibrio is one of those "simple to learn, difficult to master" kind of games. There is a spiral bound book with pictures of structures to be copied with the solid plastic blocks; the structures gradually increase in complexity. Max enthusiastically played with it from the minute we took it out of the box from the UPS man, for a good 45 minutes or so. Here he is proudly displaying a tower he built. Although it is really fun, it actually teaches construction, geometry, logical analysis, perspectives, design, and spatial logic.

I'll write more about some of the other items in the top picture later. Also, in my next post, I will be writing about the curriculum sale I went to a couple nights ago at a local homeschooling co-op - the first function of theirs I attended.

Learning to Read

Max learned the alphabet when he was 2, thanks to his obsession with stop signs and other traffic signs. He first learned "S-T-O-P" and then badgered us to identify any other letters he came across until he knew them all. He then gradually learned both his lower-case letters and all of the sounds each letter makes from "Dr. Seuss's ABC Book". It's a fun read with a nice cadence to it that he really likes. I highly recommend it.

One day while Max was in the tub, I started writing some three-letter words on the shower walls with bathtub crayons. I told him to make the sounds of each letter and put the sounds together, and voila, he was sounding out words. It was such an amazing thing to see the "light turning on" as he figured out each one: "Kkh...Ah...Tuh... CAT!!!" It was a fun game for him, and he loved it. This picture was taken about a year ago:


For the past few months, we would occasionally play a simple game at random times; at the breakfast table, in the car, etc. I would just give him a letter from the alphabet and ask him to tell me some words that started with that letter. He got good at it pretty quick. Sometimes, out of the blue, he would say a word and then tell me what letter it started with. For example, "Hey Mom - Bug starts with the letter B!"

Finally this week he showed some interest in figuring out whole sentences. When we were reading before bed the other night, he was making me read slowly and point out each word, and then he would point at each one and repeat. Then, a couple days ago, the big milestone happened: Max read his first book all by himself! It was "Mat", the first book of a "BOB Books" set. (Beginning Readers Set One) Each set is a series of twelve short, simple books that help kids get comfortable with reading - their confidence grows when they discover that they are able to read an entire book all by themselves. The books then get progressively more difficult as the child moves through the series. I have seen them on many "recommended" lists, and I must agree that I'm a fan now too. It was such a joy to hear my child reading and being so excited about it!


This process has definitely helped me grow more confident in my ability to teach my kids at home. I am successfully teaching my son to read! That is so huge. Max is like a sponge, constantly soaking up information, and it has truly not felt like "work" on my part at all. The key is that he learns like crazy when he is both ready and interested. My job is just to figure out what he's ready for and what he's interested in, and provide resources and guidance in that direction. I am so thankful to be able to do this - I feel like I would really be missing out if I had to hand him over to someone else instead of getting to share in this amazing process every day.