Book Review - Bible Origami by Todd Huisken

Let me start by saying that this book makes me happy. I will explain.

Since my youth, I have struggled with spatial things. Things such as folding paper airplanes and answering those test questions that involve imagining how an unfolded patterned cube would look when folded back up. These things tend to frustrate me and make me feel helpless.

Fast forward to my adulthood. Todd Huisken (creator of Bible Origami) reached out to me to review his new origami book.  Todd was my dear friend during our freshman year of college but after we graduated we lost touch. We reconnected when he found my blog and asked me if I would give an honest review his book.

Author, Todd Huisken

Todd sent me a copy of his book, "Bible Origami," along with some paper so that I could try creating some of his designs. (I'd kept my spatial inadequacies hidden so he had no idea how challenging this would be for me.)

So I bravely sat down to try my hand at "Bible Origami."  I started with making Joseph's Coat of Many Colors. I followed the directions and illustrations exactly. Imagine my surprise and delight when I was able to do it! I literally screamed out, "LOOK WHAT I MADE!" (Sure, my family mocked me a bit for my over-enthusiasm but they were happy for me.)

Cub Scouts - Scout Oath and Law Helps and Printables

Here are some signs I made to use in Cub Scouts.  Feel free to use them if you'd like. 

PDF of Cub Scout Info Sign

Since I am a teacher by nature, I always try to think of little tricks to remember things.  When I participated in Board of Review nights with Boy Scouts, I noticed that the boys looked panicked when I asked them to recite the Scout Oath or Scout Law.  It wasn't because they didn't have them memorized; it was because they forgot what they are called.  So I came up with this little trick to help them.

PDF of Boy Scout Law

PDF of Boy Scout Oath

Campfire Songs

Here are a collection of campfire songs that I collected from my mom, aunts, sister-in-laws, and from Girls Camp.  Hope you enjoy them!

(PS There are a ton of them so be sure to click on the "read more" link to view the entire post)

The Animal Fair

I went to the animal fair

The birds and the beasts were there

The big baboon by the light of the moon

Was combing his auburn hair.

The monkey bumped the skunk

And sat on the elephant’s trunk

The elephant sneezed and fell on his knees

And that was the end of the monk, the monk

And that was the end of the monk!

The Ants Go Marching

The ants go marching one by one hurrah, hurrah,  

The ants go marching one by one hurrah, hurrah,  

The ants go marching one by one,

The little one stopped to suck his thumb,

And they all go marching  

Down to the ground, to the earth.  

Boom, boom, boom, boom.

Two by two - to tie his shoe
Three by three - to scratch his knee
Four by four - to shut the door
Five by five - to dance and jive
Six by six - to pick up sticks
Seven by seven - to look to heaven
Eight by eight - to shut the gate
Nine by nine - to tell the time
Ten by ten – to say the end! 

Duct Tape Pens

I found some darling polka dot duct tape on clearance at Target so I couldn't resist purchasing it.   I am in charge of Teacher Appreciation Week at school so I decided to come up with a gift for our nearly 75 teachers that involved duct tape.  So one evening it just came to me to try decorating pens with it.  I loved the results!  So I bought a multi-pack of inexpensive PaperMate pens from Costco to go along with my duct tape project dreams.

I shopped at around at Target, Walmart, etc. and found some other fun duct tape designs and colors to use.

I took a piece of duct tape and measured it to be the length of the pen (down to the part where the pen starts to narrow).  Then I just wrapped the duct tape around the pen, making sure there weren't creases or bubbles.

After wrapping the pens, I used my hot glue gun to add a pom pom to the end of the pen.  I tied a few pieces of ribbon to add color to the pen as well, tied with a double knot.

I am a ribbon hoarder so I had lots of ribbons to choose from (this is just a small amount of my choices).  I buy my ribbon for a great price at Fabric Barn in Long Beach.  It is a dumpy looking store in a bad part of town but OH BOY do they have great ribbon.  They also have Yarn Barn and Party Barn stores right there.

Since these pens are for Teacher Appreciation week next month, I printed out a fun little card to attach to each pen.  Super cheesy, I know but teachers appreciate bad puns and creativity.  I used some of the graphics from Stampin' Up's "My Digital Studio" to design my tag and then printed them on cardstock at school.

So here's a sampling of pens.  I have to make 130 of them (75 for teachers and then more for the aids and other school staff) and we have around 30 done so far.  I think I'll have to put on a good Lifetime movie (my secret indulgence) and start cranking out some more pens...

Cub Scouts - Blue & Gold Dinner Cake Bake Awards

We have a Cub Scout "Cake Bake" as part of our Blue & Gold Dinner event.  Each Cub Scouts bakes and decorates a cake (or cupcakes) with a parent.  We give awards to each Cub Scout and then eat the cakes for dessert.

Here are some generic certificates you can use for your Cake Bake if you'd like.

Cub Scouts - Cupcake Picks for Blue & Gold Dinner

Our theme for Blue and Gold this year is "Building Compassion."  Our pack is decorating the tables with building blocks that have pictures of the Cub Scouts on them.

For the cake contest, my son and I decided to make cupcakes.  We will put picks on the cupcakes that have letters that spell BUILDING COMPASSION.  Here are the letters that my son and I designed.  Feel free to use them too if you'd like an easy (but cute) decorating idea.

You can save my jpg file into your program of choice (I used PowerPoint) and print it out on cardstock.  Then just cut squares out, attach to toothpicks or small popsicle sticks, and place on top of your frosted cupcakes.  Put the letters in order so people can read "building compassion."  Easy breezy!

(I used Stampin' Up's My Digital Studio program to make the letter squares.)

Cub Scouts - Movie Links for Achievement 4 - Tall Tales

These video links below can be used for Bear Achievement 4 - Tall Tales.  I happen to own an original video which is called "Disney's American Legends" that I used with my Cub Scouts, but I listed the YouTube links below for those who may not have access to the DVD.  I can remember watching many of these when I was little.  Classic!  I wish Disney would make more quality short educational videos like these.

The movies can also be used for other educational purposes.  They do a good job explaining what tall tales are at the beginning of the video.

Paul Bunyan Part 1 of 2
Paul Bunyan Part 2 of 2
John Henry Part 1 of 2
John Henry Part 2 of 2
Johnny Appleseed Part 1 of 2
Johnny Appleseed Part 2 of 2
Casey Jones
Legend of Sleepy Hollow Part 1 of 4
Legend of Sleepy Hollow Part 2 of 4
Legend of Sleepy Hollow Part 3 of 4
Legend of Sleepy Hollow Part 4 of 4

Cub Scouts - Pack Meeting Cheers

Applause stunts are a great way to recognize a person or den/patrol in a troop/pack meeting for some accomplishment they have performed. Be sure before you start that everyone knows and understands the applause stunt and how to do it.

Applause stunts serve more then one purpose they not only provide recognition but also help liven up a meeting. Applause stunts need to be fun. Strive for quality of performance in your stunts.

The Cheers, Yells and Applauses

Abe Lincoln Cheer: That was great! HONEST!

Alka Seltzer Cheer: Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz, Oh what a relief it is.

Almost: With hands far apart, bring them rapidly together but miss just before meeting each other.

America: A-M-E-R-I-C-A, Cub Scouts(or Boy Scouts), Cub Scouts, USA!

Apollo: Shout- "Countdown, 10 - 1 !! BLASTOFF!" then with your hand gain orbit and even out. Then say, "BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP."

Archery: Mimic shooting an arrow, then call out, "Bull's Eye!"

Craft Idea - Printed Paper Sacks

I was so thrilled to stumble across this great idea!  Click HERE to see how to make these darling printed bags.

I have all sorts of fun ideas that involve these printed bags - for Teacher Appreciation, birthday gifts, Visiting Teaching, Cub Scouts, Christmas, other holidays, etc.  White bags would be fun because you could print in color or stamp on them.  SO CUTE!

Cub Scouts - Academics & Sports Program

Click HERE to visit a great website that has the Cub Scout Academics & Sports Program (beltloops and pins).

Cub Scouts - "Around the World" Day Camp Ideas

My friend Carmen in Texas just attended Cub Scout Day Camp this past week (5 days) with her son. The theme was "Around the World."  For those people out there who may be planning their own day camp, I thought I'd share some of the ideas.  These crafts, activities, games and science fun could also be used for pack or den meetings (or even at home with families).

Crafts –
To go along with the "Around the World" theme, they tied the crafts to different countries. There was a big flag displayed by each station to represent that country.

Africa – Made homemade drums

Africa - Mancala Game (made with a wooden board on bottom, then added small wooden strips to make holes for the board game, used beads for game pieces instead of small rocks)

Bubble Blower – They cut a water bottle in half. They used the top half of the bottle, attached a thin cloth with a rubber band to cover the open bottom part of the bottle. Then they dipped the cloth end in dish soap and sprayed with water. They made bubbles by opening the top of the water bottle and blowing through it. (not sure what country that represents, but it sounds fun!  Maybe from the Land of Oz or someplace LOL)

Japan – Origami (Eagle Scout project coordinated by one Scout) – learned how to make a paper cup, poppers, windmill

Scotland – Whirligigs

Rainstick – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn4GQwed3d4&feature=related (they said that no one is quite sure of the country of origin of the rainstick, but lots of countries and civilizations have used them)

Cub Scouts - Camp Journals

This scout craft activity meets requirements for:
Tigers 1d
Wolves
Bears 8f (partial), 18g
Weblelos

Supplies Needed:
Journals (assembled in advance)

Instructions:
Boys will use extra time in scout craft and other areas to fill in information about their experience at Day Camp.

Cub Scouts - Popsicle Stick Picture Frame

This scout craft activity meets requirements for:
Tigers elective #4
Wolves 5e
Bears
Webelos Craftsman (1 of 4)
Camp Stickers


Supplies Needed:
Popsicle Sticks
Elmers Glue
Tape

Instructions:
http://diyfamily.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/photo-frame.pdf

Cub Scouts - Hat Hanger

Supplies Needed:
Yard Stick
Elmers Glue
Clothes Pins (4 ea)
Paint

Scout will write his name on the yard stick and then glue 4 Clothespins, spaced evenly, across the yardstick… all facing the same direction. When the glue dries, he will paint his hat hanger. He can hang his hat hanger on the wall and keep his scout caps on it as he advances through cub scouts.

Thanks to Michelle Walton for this great idea from their day camp.

Cub Scouts - Herb or Flower Garden

This scoutcraft activity meets requirements for:
Tigers elective #30
Wolves 6b & elective #15
Bears
Webelos Craftsman (1 of 4)

Supplies Needed:
1 Egg Carton
Seeds (6-12 varieties)
Potting Soil
Water Bottle (to moisten soil)
Popsicle Sticks (cut in half)
Pen or thin Sharpie

Instructions:
Have the boys move from station where they will write the name of the plant on the half Popsicle stick and plant the seed for that particular plant. At the next station, the boys will repeat the process for the next seed.

Thank you to Michelle Walton for sharing this activity from their day camp.

Cub Scouts - Tribe Flags

Supplies Needed:
Flag Poles
Trafic Cones to stand flags in
Flag Fabric
Tassles/Ribbon/Fringe/Notions
Puff Paint/Fabric Paint/Markers
Scissors
Zip Ties

Instructions:
After choosing a Tribe Name and a working on a Tribe Yell, boys will design a Tribe Flag that represents their name and yell. They will use materials provided to decorate their flag and then construct the pvc frame.

Thanks to Michelle Walton for this great idea from their day camp.

Cub Scouts - Totem Craft

This activity meets requirements for: Webelos Craftsman 4 (1 of 4)

Supplies Needed:
Leather Piece: Neckerchief Slide & Medallion
Wax String
Spiral Coils
Leather Stamping Set
2 Alphabet Box
Scout 3D Stamps
Design Stamps
Stamp Handles?
Sponges
Wood Mallets
Pounding Boards

Instructions:
Boys will wet leather piece using a sponge and then stamp their name in the leather, adding decorative stamps of their choice. Then they will thread the wax string through the holes in the leather creating a neck strap. And they will connect spiral coils to the bottom to hold their bead rewards.

Thank you to Michelle Walton for this great idea!

Cub Scouts - Blue & Gold Cakes

My son and I made these little campfire cupcakes. He wrote "Cub Scouts are on fire!" on the outside of the box. We used fake chocolate rock candies from Walmart for the fire ring (about $5.00 a box). Pretzels for the wood. A licorice nib for the hot coals. Then my son stuck a marshmallow on a pretzel and added that in because you can't have a campfire without roasting marshmallows, right? The cake was a chocolate cake mix and the frosting was from a container (caramel flavor which was yummy and a good color).

Cute racecar cakes!

Robot cakes since we decorated for the Blue & Gold Dinner with robots made from recycled items (theme was resourcefulness).

This was the "knottyist" cake, get it (knot wasn't edible).

These cupcakes were made by a mom who is a professional cake decorator. Last year she did a fake Cub Scout shirt cake, but she decided to simplify this year. They were SO yummy.

Cub Scouts - Robots

The boys made these cute robots to use to decorate for our Blue & Gold dinner. They had a blast!

Cub Scouts - Resourcefulness Pack Meeting Idea

The Cub Scout theme for February 2011 is "Resourcefulness." At den meeting, we are having the boys make different artistic things out of recycled items. Cub Scouts love this sort of thing! I believe we are using them to decorate at the Blue & Gold dinner. (I am not in Cub Scouting as a leader now, but I still have a son in the pack). I've also heard of packs making fun things like this at den meetings or as an activity at Pack Meeting.

The picture above shows items my son made at home out of recycled items. He used items like old tin cans, shoelaces, film canisters, broken pieces from toys, pipe cleaners, popcicle sticks, broken erasers, old push pins, binder clips, and his favorite item - the red wax that the Babybel cheeses come wrapped in (which he warms up and molds into little animals and creatures).