Easy Space Themed Birthday Party

When did birthday parties become $500 fetes with bouncy houses, 50 guests, and overall excessive mayhem? Here at Brighton Park, we love (LOVE!) to do birthday parties, but we  like keeping the mayhem and the cost at a reasonable level. I am by no means a party planning blog nor do I have the skill that those amazing party planning blogging ladies possess, but maybe these ideas and pictures can encourage and inspire you to throw a themed birthday party and know that you can do it with a small budget, without a masters degree in crafts or cake making, and that the kids are going to think you are AWESOME. Now we're talking!...

EASY SPACE THEMED BIRTHDAY PARTY

When my twin boys (who both have special needs due to birth trauma) turned 12, they wanted a space themed party.  It was a small party and relatively inexpensive. Here's some ideas for your own easy-breezy (and easy on the pocket book) space themed party...

Cake

Our cake was two bundt cakes, one turned on top of each other to create a sphere shape (to be the moon). Silver candles and an astronaut cut out from one of the themed plates actually turned out looking really good in person. At any rate, the boys loved it and I was able to do it myself...

Decorations

Decorations for this party were kept to a minimum. Easy breezy space themed plates (at the boys request) along with a plastic table cloth, made clean up a cinch. On another other table I used a black table cloth I already had.

A roll of star themed fabric for a great backdrop and was easily put up using simple thumbtacks.

The decoration on the food table was a Solar System Kit my kids made themselves a couple of days before the party. I love it when homeschool science can also double as: cooperative learning, small group working together for a common goal, party decor! We painted on a Thursday, let it dry and assembled it on Friday and it was ready to go on the Saturday of the party. (It now hangs in the boys bedroom)...

and star shaped suckers looked lovely in a glass jar vase tied with a black ribbon...

Activities

Pinata: Okay, Pinatas rarely come in a theme/colors we are wanting. They are usually bright, loud and kind of obnoxious looking. My friend Nikki at Tikkido did this post on how to turn a store bought pinata into a FAB pinata that matches your decor HERE. I used her inspiration, but instead of using crepe paper and a hot glue gun, (since I was short on time), I gave our pinata a makeover using tape and some plastic star themed paper...So...

That's better!

Oh, and you know that scene in Parenthood where after the birthday party is over you still see Steve Martin whacking that pinata to death to no avail? Yeah, that happens in real life too...

PLAYDOUGH (DOUBLED AS PARTY FAVOR)

We also had sparkly space playdough to keep little hands busy and doubled as a party favor (you know how I feel about party favors...they must be functional and not, you know, plastic c-r-a-p that will end up in a trash can on its way to a landfill three hours later).

This sparkly space dough was made by the lovely Nikki at Tikkido as well (it is seriously awesome to have friends who are crafty and always have great party ideas); stay tuned for she is graciously guest posting a "how to" tutorial  here on Brighton Park so you can make this homemade all natural playdough yourself!

BIRTHDAY WEEK FIELD TRIP

I love it when we can add activities as a family to the "birthday week" and so in honor of the boys picking a space themed party, we were able to take a family field trip earlier in that week to our local Science center where as a treat, we watched the "Tour of the Planets" movie there in their planetarium, in addition to exploring some hands on science fun...The boys have special needs but that doesn't mean they don't have a love of learning! (and it is my experience that most kids love this kind of field trip for a birthday just as much as Chuck E. Cheese or those without any educational merit)...

I hope this gave you a few ideas for your own space themed party. Here are a few others you might employ...

*make the leap from a space party to a STAR WARS PARTY. Use these ideas as a guide.
*Have the party at night and use black light or battery operated wands for an ethereal glow.
*For older kids, make the leap from space theme to Astronomy theme. Have fun learning about and finding constellations.

It wasn't fancy.

 It wasn't necessarily pretty.

But a few months later and my boys are still talking about it. Still talking about their "moon cake", still showing every visitor the solar system they made that hangs in their bedroom, still talking about the "space movie", and of course, we are all STILL LAUGHING about that pinata that just didn't want to break.

Birthday parties are about memories not big budgets or perfect cakes...and Memories are in the making and your kids will remember the making, not how perfect something was or wasn't...

May the force be with you ;-)

You might also like these other birthday parties I have thrown!


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Starting your homeschoolers on a foreign language

                                    
                                           My middle daughter, enjoying her first trip to France...

Have you thought about starting your kids (or yourself) on a foreign language but the task seemed daunting?Today I am excited to share with you a guest post that I know you are going to love that shares some great tips on doing just that. Our guest blogger today is Craig Froman. Craig  grew up in Northern California. A curriculum writer and editor at New Leaf Publishing Group, he has obtained a bachelor of arts in business administration, and a master’s degree in education, and currently resides in Berryville, Arkansas. Feel free to connect with him on Facebook, Twitter  or his blog "What in the Word" at http://www.whatintheword.com. 

Discovering the wonders of new languages and cultures!

Language is truly amazing; taking sounds or symbols to communicate ideas, feelings, and even the fragrance of pumpkin pie with a hint of cinnamon in winter. Now that sounds good!

There is certainly more to languages and cultures than meets the eye. The more you know the more understanding you have for other people, both in your neighborhood and around the world. And the more we learn about one another, the smaller the world feels.

We all share joys and sorrows, and the ability to communicate these through language, whether that is in Azerbaijani or Zulu. So if language fascinates you and you and your family want to study the Abaza alphabet, or learn useful phrases in Icelandic, or maybe just discover tips on languages, country names, or cultures, here are a few places you can start your lifelong journey!

I love the library, so I often begin there with searches. Most will have language-learning tools, including language dictionaries, audio books, and computer courses such as the renowned Rosetta Stone language tools. One reason I start at the library is that you can test the materials to see what works best for you and your family before investing your own hard-earned dollars. Many libraries have Spanish, French, and other language books or magazines that can help you as you develop your reading skills. For beginners in a new language, children’s books in that language can be the best place to start.

Also, the internet is filled with free resources, which include audio and video resources to aid in pronunciation. One central site I love to visit because it’s just so comprehensive is Omniglot. It’s an encyclopedia of writing systems and languages, with details of more than 180 writing systems and information on over 600 languages.

http://omniglot.com/

In discovering the wonders of different languages and cultures for my son and daughter when homeschooling several books were good enough to buy for our home library. These include Children Just Like Me: A Unique Celebration of Children Around the World , Children Just Like Me: Celebrations! (festivals, carnivals, and feast days from around the world), and the Find Out About Series that includes France , Italy, Spain, and China. The Find Out About Series is best for elementary age children, and helps the reader learn words in the native language, as well as the lifestyle, history, and culture of the people. These are reasonable and very practical introductions!

Take just a little time each day to learn to say “hello” or “thank you” in a different language, or have a foreign exchange student over, or share a meal with your family that has a far-off flavor. Enjoy the diversity of the world around you. Until next time… Au revoir, auf wiedersehen, sayonara,gule gule… or simply goodbye for now.

Thanks to Craig for sharing this great post with us and for more help with foreign language study in your home or homeschool, check out my travel/language blog, Katie's Language Cafe!

Craig Froman is assistant editor at New Leaf Publishing Group. He is author of the award-winning book Passport to the World: Your A to Z Guided Language Tour and the upcoming Children’s Atlas of God’s World (both from Master Books).

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The Homeschool Mother's Journal: Gratitude

In my life this week…
I started phase one of our tax-season house projects...started picking out paint colors and new light fixtures. This year our tax season house projects include giving a makeover to both the girls and the boys bathrooms, and turning are rarely used formal dining room into a music/meditation room. I will be blogging the before and afters!

In our homeschool this week…
A little crazy. Tax season starting means I am taking over all of the shuttling of kids to their activities since Mr. Darcy is not available to help with this again until April. I utilize as much of the wait time in the car as possible to help us stay on schedule. We added Italian with a tutor to our homeschool curriculum this semester.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
Don't get overwhelmed. And when you do, remember the reasons you chose to homeschool in the first place and then be grateful that you live in a country where you have the opportunity. Essentially, don't spend any time in the bitter barn..come play in the hay!

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
Gymnastics, Ballet, Irish Dance, Church Class, Violin and Italian. It makes me tired just reading that.

My favorite thing(s) this week was/were…
Teaching a kids yoga class this week and having the whole day today (Sunday) with nothing but white space on the calendar. Is there anything better than looking at a day on the calendar and nothing (sans Mass) is written down? I don't think so.

My kiddos favorite thing this week was…
My eldest daughter competed in an Irish dance competition (feis). She placed in 4 dances (2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th) and won the "Design your own Feis Dress" competition with this:

Things I’m working on…
I'm almost done with my 200 hour yoga teacher training certification. Yes, I do yoga. Yes, I am Catholic. Jesus is all about love and acceptance. Yoga is about those same things. And, if we only witness to people in churches, then we are missing the point. Isn't the point to go "out there", you know, into the world, and be a witness for what God has done for us. I do my best praying on my yoga mat. When I'm done with my 200 hr cert, I will start my cert to teach Yahweh (Christian) Yoga. Such wonderful things ahead in 2013...when you have an open mind and an open heart!

I’m grateful for…
Everything. Because when you make it an Intention to be grateful, it changes your whole life.

I rewarded my kids this week by…
It wasn't a reward, but I told my two eldest daughters they are going on a Mommy/daughter trip with me to Maui in April. They are pretty excited. At bedtime tonight, my 6 year old reminded me (again) that when we go to Hawaii, I need to pack her floaties. Could she be cuter? I think not :-)

Something I am ogling or have my eye on…
A meditation bench...for meditation, praying the Rosary, reading....the possibilities are endless.
New Music and
This Book

A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…

We will be giving away this bag  made by The Parsonage Queen Etsy Shop this week on the blog, so follow us so you don't miss it! Have a blessed week in your home, homeschool and homestead! Don't forget to enter our cookbook collection giveaway, going on now! 

You might also like:
Girls Shared Bedroom: Before and After
What to Include in your Homeschool Documentation Binder
The movie that makes me want to be a better Mom...

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2013 Cookbook Collection Giveaway!

I joined up with 7 of my favorite bloggers and we put together this amazing collection of our favorite cookbooks that are going to one lucky winner!  And when I say amazing, I mean A-MAZ-ING! Nine cookbooks, over $200 in value! One of my favorite cookbooks, and the one I have added to this lovely collection is La Tartine Gourmande: Recipes for an Inspired Life.

As Mothers and Wives and Women in general, we must put our intention into living an inspired life and not just "going through the motions". This cookbook is one of my favorites because (one) it has CRAZY-GOOD recipes in it and (two) the photography is sincerely breathtaking. To me a good cookbook is just THAT, a good BOOK. And this one is one I can pour over and read and glean good stuff from, every time. You will love having this one on your shelf!

In addition to this one, The lucky winner will also win...from

Fresh Eggs Daily Blog is sharing Macaroons: 30 Recipes for Perfect Bite-size Treats  

Katie's Language Cafe  is sharing Mastering the Art of French Cooking, 50th Anniversary Edition  

Mad Mad Me  is sharing Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition - 2006  

Tikkido Blog is sharing 50 Easy Party Cakes  

1840 Farm is sharing Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets   

The Slow Roasted Italian is sharing The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs  

Blessed Beyond a Doubt is sharing Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook: 700 Great Slow Cooker Recipes (Fix-It and Forget-It Series)  

and

Mindfully Frugal Mom is sharing Weelicious: 140 Fast, Fresh, and Easy Recipes  

That's NINE amazing favorite cookbooks in all. there are 18 ways to enter, with several "easy entries". Good luck, and maybe someone from our Brighton Park community would be the winner! The giveaway ends Jan 31 at 11:59pm.

Lots of love and inspiration to you! ~~Katie

p.s. If the RAFFLECOPTER entry box widget does not show up, just refresh your screen. (Depending on what browser you use, If you are getting a "read more" prompt at the end of the post, then click that for it to load.) Sign in with your name/address or via facebook prompt and get your 18 entries!


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Waldorf Wednesday: Nature Journal Giveaway

One of the wonderful things about a Waldorf inspired curriculum is it blends nicely with my desire to have the kids be outside in nature, having a screen free childhood, as much as possible. This lovely nature journal from our sponsor, The Dorothy Jane Etsy Shop, is perfect for a homeschool nature journal, a gardening journal, or a lovely spot to write down dreams and wishes.

Per Dody at Dorothy Jane,

"This Moleskin Journal has been altered with a vintage look. The front cover proclaims it is a 'JOURNAL" The subtle colors suggest a bygone age, with 19th century butterfly specimens and a dragonfly to adorn the front and the back covers. The inside pocket features a large library pocket to stash bits of ephemera. A sweet rose and forest green ribbon bedeck the journal.

The journal measures 9" x 6" and would fit nicely in a bag or commodious pocket book, which is my original idea for re-purposed Moleskins!. Take it with you everywhere to jot your thoughts! The lined pages inside are ready for your thoughts - perfect for you to launch your own creative juices."

If you love birds, or keep chickens, it would be perfect for that too!

To enter, just follow the entries on the Rafflecopter below. (Please give Rafflecopter a minute to load, and if you don't see it, click "read more" if you see that prompt OR just refresh your screen and it will show up! Easy entries if you already follow Brighton Park Blog or The Dorothy Jane Etsy Shop on Facebook. What wonderful thoughts of spring it is sure to bring you while you are still in winter's slumber! 


Giveaway ends Sunday night, January 20, and is open to residents of the USA ONLY. This giveaway is not affiliated with facebook in anyway. 

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