Here is a recap of what we did at for Josefina - week #1.
First off we all introduced or re-introduced ourselves. This year we are blessed to be able to have American Girl Club at our church. In the past I have limited the number of girls to 12. That seems to be the maximum number that is comfortable to have space wise when we are meeting in homes. Now that we are at the church I raised the number to 20. (+ their mom's which means we have 35 people in total.) It's a lot better at the church because there are no toys to distract us or places to sneak off and play. ;^) Plus the mom's don't have to host so many people in their homes. I did it once last year and it was a little hair raising! I really, really liked having it at the church last night!
After introductions we had our chapter questions. I always write down 3 or 4 questions about each chapter as my daughter and I read. When I can I use this time to bring things to show them that apply to what they read. So for example this week one of the questions was "What is a rebozo?" and then I showed them the rebozo I was wearing and we talked about all it's uses. I also took a sheepskin we just happen to have left over from when my littles were babies. One of the questions was "What does Josefina sleep on?" The answer was sheepskins. So we were able to pass it around and they could all consider whether they would like that to be their bed! We also talked about warp and weft during this time and I showed them how that applied to the craft we would be doing.
Next we looked at a picture of a weaving loom, looked at pictures of New Mexico and looked at an overview of the house Josefina lived in. All the pictures are in the book "In Josefina's World" I LOVE these books and we go over a few pages each week.
Then we learned some dance steps! I found these in a book called The American Girl Club Handbook. One of the mom's bought it for me last year at a used bookstore. It's AWESOME! It doesn't cover all the girls, but it has the first 6 girls they introduced. (It is out of print, but you can buy used copies online.)
Here is my daughter and a friend practicing the dance they learned.
Then it was time for our craft! Making Rebozo's was a super simple craft, although it was a tad bit pricey. Each of the girls needed a loosely woven piece of fabric 2 1/2 yards by 2 feet wide. Finding this much of this specific type of fabric wasn't easy! (It has to have the actual pattern woven into the fabric. So you need fabric that is the same on both sides.) I ended up getting it all at JoAnn's, but I had to go to 3 JoAnn's to get enough! (And I had to do a lot of math in my head to get enough 2 1/2 yard by 2 feet sections for 20 girls!) I spent almost half of the budget for the entire 6 weeks on this one project! But, it's fine because I knew I would do it when I chose all the crafts for the 6 weeks. All the girls had to do was use a straight pin to remove the weft thread on the bottom edges of their fabric. This created fringe that they can braid and knot into any design they like. The girls really loved making and wearing their rebozos.I know they will play with them for a long time to come.
Here are some pictures of the girls working on thier rebozo's:
My daughter
Here is a good shot of the overall room. In the back you can see one of the mom's wearing my rebozo. :^) You might notice all the little trash cans on the tables in this picture. I about these at IKEA last year for AG Club and the Preschool Class I taught last year. They are awesome! Not only do they help with the mess, but they help teach the kids to keep things neat and tidy while they work.
For snack we made corn tortillas! I must confess I had never made a tortilla until Tuesday! That is the good thing about me teaching this! I have to learn new things too so I can teach the girls. I bought a bag of Instant Ground Masa in the grocery section of Target. All we had to do was add water and salt. Then I made it into little balls. (Directions are on the package.) Two of the mom's brought electric griddles for us to use. While the girls were working on their rebozos we pulled them over 2 at a time to make their tortilla. They got to put the ball in a piece of folded wax paper and roll it out. Then I cooked each one on the grills. They seemed to really like it!
Here is my daughter pressing out her tortilla.
Here is a (not very round!) tortilla cooking on the grill. :^)
And here is one of the finished tortillas!
That was pretty much it for our first night of club this year. Tune in next week and I will let you know what we are up to next!
Please the recipe for the tortillas!!! and I saw that they have a craft book and a cookbook for Josephina you might be interested Thanks so much for sharing You truly are an inspiration for us all
We have homeschooled our children from the start and we love every minute of it! This is my place to share my thoughts on homeschooling, my kids and living for the Lord. All the while being a little outside the box!!
Copyright 2007 jaminacema. All Rights Reserved.
All posts on this blogs are copyrighted
For information on reprinting materials from this blog please contact me at jaminacema@earthlink.net
For more information on copyrighting visit devx..com
"For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 6:23
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16
"I have come that they may have life,
and have it to the full." John 10:10
Click below to hear GREAT Sermons, from an awesome Pastor I love!
Want to further investigate the claims of Jesus CLICK HERE
For Video Podcasts from Lee Strobel
An extremely dense, vertically developed cumulus with a relatively hazy outline and a glaciated top extending to great heights, usually producing heavy rains, thunderstorms, or hailstorms.
You might notice all the little trash cans on the tables in this picture. I about these at IKEA last year for AG Club and the Preschool Class I taught last year. They are awesome! Not only do they help with the mess, but they help teach the kids to keep things neat and tidy while they work. 
Posted by myriam
