One Room School House

Look what I found while just driving around town.  

"Little Red" as it is affectionately called, may be the only one room school house operating in the state (maybe)...but definitely in the county (Rensselaer).  The dueling signage seems a little non committal.

Anyway, it's currently being used for Grades K-2 in the North Greenbush School District.



If you are so inclined, you can read more of a history here (look under 2008).

It's as if it was ripped out of a page of Little House on the Prairie, minus Nellie Oleson, who had a prominent and reoccurring role in my nightmares.

Muffin tin crayons

Today we made muffin tin crayons.  It's something most of us have done at some point as kids, and something I've been wanting to do with my kids for a while.  It's a lot of fun, easy, and keeps them engaged from start to finish.

1. Pick out all the misfit crayons and peel off the paper. (The kids quietly worked on this for at least 20 minutes).

2. Lightly spray muffin tin with cooking spray and fill each circle with a variety of colors. We filled them about 1/3 full.

3. Place in a preheated oven (at 275F) for 7-8 min.

4. Allow them to cool before you take them out of the tin.

 Voila! They look good enough to eat. No really, my baby ate some.

Pass It On SCORE!

I can't begin to imagine what a difficult decision it was to give this away, but I want to assure the  person who was risking something by selling this at a children's consignment sale to know that Elvis has found a very happy home...second only to Graceland.


Thank you. Thank you very much.
 
The Pass It On Sale continues until this Saturday, with half price sales starting tomorrow.

Product Diversification

Today I was on the search for a toy and switch blade. (Ok, neither of those, but bear with me). Where could I go? I know, I know, Wal-Mart...easy peasy,,, but I was already at the mall and didn't want to deal with another big parking lot.  So, imagine my delight upon wandering in here:

Not only do they have a wide selection of pretty cool toys, but also two shiny glass cases (at a kid's eye level, no less) filled with the most colorful, attractive hunting knives this side of...um...um.. wherever hunters go to buy that kind of stuff. (Sue me, I'm a vegetarian).

 

I guess the name of the store hints at the fact that this  could be Albany's foremost pirate outfitters. I mean, where else can you buy your kid a pirate costume AND a real knife? (Ok, Wal-Mart again, I know, but that just seems greedy).

"No, son, you can't have a Melissa and Doug floor puzzle AND a machete. Pick one or the other."

Treasure Ayeland can be found on the 2nd floor of Colonie Center for all of your fingerpainting and deer-gutting needs.