Sick Day Project

Danielle threw up early this morning and had an upset tummy for a couple hours. I didn't know if she had a stomach bug or if it would get worse, so I kept her home from school. Whatever the problem was, it was very short lived. She woke up sick well before her normal wake-up time, so I don't think she was faking it at all, but it's amazing how they always feel better once the school bus goes by.


Although she felt better, I thought she should take it easy. When I got my March Family Fun magazine yesterday, I noticed a craft I thought the kids would enjoy - hoop weaving. We had all the supplies on hand, so Danielle and I worked on weaving a hula hoop rug today. As you can see in the background, we enjoyed a little Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory while working.



Our supplies - some old tshirts, scissors, and a hula hoop.














Cut the shirts into 1" (give or take) loops. You need approximately 60 loops. I cut more than we needed. Danielle decided not to use a couple of the colors, but I saved them in case Tyler wanted to make one.
















Start with 11 loops as the base, then use the remaining loops for weaving, knotting the loops together as you go. Weaving the first couple rows was a little tricky, but after that it was much easier. This project took all afternoon and Danielle's interest faded some, especially when Violet turned into a blueberry. I helped out a lot more than usual. I think a younger child could certainly do this, but probably not all in one afternoon. For that matter, I'm not sure Tyler could do it all in one afternoon, which is ok. This is something you could easily put down for a couple days and pick up again later when you're bored.








After we were done weaving, we cut the base loops and knotted them. Danielle liked the fringey look so she left the excess on after making her knots. I think it turned out pretty good, and she was really pleased with it.

She put it in her room in front of the nightstand that Ron made for her a few weeks ago.