Chinese Foil Snakes

I Am a Snake

I have no legs. I have no arms.

(arms down close to body)

I can take off my skin.

(pretend to pull off skin)

I wiggle my tongue.

(like this wiggle tongue)

I’m very, very thin.

(hands on ribs, slide them down)

I can open my mouth so wide.

(open mouth)

And eat my dinner whole.

(rub tummy)

I can curl up nice and tight,

(squat down low)

Or stretch out like a pole.

(stretch up tall)

 Happy Chinese New Year!

This year is the year of the snake so the girls and I spent time today creating these very easy and pretty foil snakes.  We had foil origami squares left over from another project but simple aluminum foil can be used also (the large snake above is made of it).

We experimented with different designs and cuttings:  Folding our pieces like an accordion, cutting with scissors first and then folding and our very favorite technique was wrapping the strips around a pencil resulting in coil-type snakes that we added faces and tongues to.

  

The Chinese New Year is also thought of as the Spring Festival.  I find this so fitting right now as I am currently working on our latest festival book focusing on Springtime.  Similar to our custom of spring cleaning, the Chinese New Year is traditionally a time to cleanse the house and make room for new luck.  It is also a time for honoring ancestors.

The Chinese New Year is actually celebrated for 15 day so you have plenty of time to share this special time with the children!  Regardless of the timing, never feel like you missed a special festival or holiday because life gets in the way, just bring the celebration into your home or school as time permits and enjoy it fully.

We are praying for health, love and happiness this new year and wish the same to you!

xoxo

Is 'Good' Stuff Still Clutter?

"Too many activities, and people, and things. To many worthy activities, valuable things, and interesting people. For it is not merely the trivial which clutters our lives but the important as well. " ~Anne Moorow Lindbergh

As we celebrate the Chinese New Year today (the year of the Dragon to be exact), one of the many things that we can do in our homes and schools is to follow the old Chinese tradition of giving our environment a "thorough cleaning". From Wikipedia: "It is believed the cleaning sweeps away the bad luck of the preceding year and makes their homes ready for good luck. Brooms and dust pans are put away on the first day so that the newly arrived good luck cannot be swept away."

Cleaning in itself, while time consuming, is easy enough. Scrub, sweep, mop, dust, organize...

Organize. Hmmm - this is the area where I tend to get stuck. It does not come very naturally to me at all. I'm very lucky to have married a much more organized person than myself. Its not that I do not want to be organized... my mind just does not seem to work that way - putting things in compartments, categories and finding a home for each item is extremely difficult for me. Extremely.

I hope I'm not alone.

One of the ways that I try to get around this is by having less stuff to organize in the first place. Seems simple enough, doesn't it? Declutter down to the basics... down to the good stuff. THEN it will be easier to manage.

The problem?

I have too much GOOD stuff!

Is 'good' stuff still clutter? I'm talking about clothing that is not worn, craft supplies that are still in the packages, sewing patterns I love, toys that are beautiful, wooden and open-ended - even a beautiful Bernina serger that I've never figure out how to use!

How on earth do you let go of the good things?

In addition to good things... I also have many good activities in my life. Lots of volunteer jobs - awesome projects in the works. Oh boy.

So this year... I'm hoping to tame the dragon in my closets, my cabinets and in the toy box... even if its good stuff. I'm going to find the things I haven't worn, touched or my children haven't played with in the last six months and find wonderful new homes for them..maybe even sell them for a little extra pocket money.

Except my yarn. Nobody touches my yarn.

Let's not get too crazy.

How do you keep your good clutter under control?