Community Project…Come to Life!

I have to brag a little about Squid. Both of my girls have big hearts, but Squid is now to the age to show hers on a bigger scale.

It all started with her school’s “One School, One Book” program. Squid’s elementary school has K-6 in it, and every student gets a copy of the same book. They read it in class and do various activities that are linked to the book. The program started in January, and this year’s book was K. A. Applegate’s “The Wishtree.” Squid loved this book, and from a few pages into it, she had decided she wanted to create her own wish tree.

As her mom, I am used to ideas she has. She is sometimes like me, in that she comes up with many ideas, but not all of them ever make it past the idea phase. I wasn’t sure how serious she was until she mentioned it more frequently.

Then, coronavirus entered the picture. With how different things were, and how much the girls missed their friends and school, Squid decided this Wish tree was exactly what needed to happen.

Around the same time, a friend of mine posted on facebook that she had seen a wish tree on a walk in a nearby town. Squid, Wormy, and I took a field trip during an online learning day to check it out. It was so exciting to see someone else sharing the same idea Squid had. We took note of how they did things, and Squid made modifications based off of making things a little more environmentally friendly for the area around the tree. The tree we visited had wishes attached to it that were made of paper. And, although some people tried to place them in bags to protect them a bit more from the weather, the wishes still weren’t holding up as well as Squid was hoping. We liked how the organizers had left out supplies so people could create their wishes onsite, but we got there after a rain, so the crate of supplies were wet.

It was so exciting to see a real wish tree! Now I understood Squid’s mission!

After seeing the wish tree in action, I understood a bit more about Squid’s idea. We talked through what we saw and how she wanted hers to be. She did not want the wishes to fall off of the tree, so she suggested doing what the characters in the book had done – using ribbons and scraps of fabric to make the wishes hold up against the elements. My husband thought we should have a collection of supplies out for people to make their own items, but with the virus around, Squid didn’t think that was a good idea. We got to pick up Squid’s book from school, and I read it. Now Squid’s idea made even more sense to me. I suggested we tie a rope around the tree to make it easier to take the wishes down when we get to winter, and to hopefully not hurt the tree from growing or cover up any of its leaves for photosynthesis.

I encouraged Squid to go about this the right way. I had her draft an email to the town supervisor asking permission for her idea. I told her that otherwise we did not truly have permission to take over a tree on public land (she picked a nearby park for her tree, as it is used for a lot of summer events). And, I didn’t want anyone to think her work was vandalism. The town supervisor liked the idea and passed it on to the director of Parks and Rec. He met with Squid and talked over what he could offer as far as taking care of the area (mowing, trimming, etc) and getting the local newspaper involved. Squid then said we could share the news on the school’s facebook page as well. She also said we can put it up and take it down each year, as the Parks and Rec Director suggested this could be a reoccurring event.

After my husband and I helped her put the rope up, we put our family wishes on. Squid visited the tree every single day watching for people to put wishes on. She was getting pretty bummed out, because people weren’t visiting it. However, we started it on a very rainy week, and it was on a weekday that I advertised it on the facebook page. Since then, luckily, it has really taken off. We counted about 2 weeks ago (before she was the front page story in the local newspaper, and a feature section in the area newspapers), and there were 38 wishes on the tree. We can’t wait to get over to the park again and count now that she’s been in the news!

Squid’s tree, in all its glory!

I am so ridiculously proud of this girl. She did such a cool thing from start to finish and she didn’t cut any corners along the way. I hope her tree really takes off for years to come!

Lisa WernerLeave a comment

Extra! Extra! Read All About It

I know it has been a LONG time since the Car Full of Harmony was up and running. My apologies! I got a bit involved in some school projects and trying to make some meaningful lessons for my students, and by the time I was done with that each day, I was all technology-ed out.

However, it’s SUMMER! After taking a week or two off of online learning and just enjoying life getting up when we wanted and playing when we wanted, we are now getting into a schedule again. We tend to operate best on schedules. Since this will be a long summer without our usual swimming lessons, summer classes, camps, vacations, and other fun adventures, I’ve decided to create “Mommy Camp.” However, instead of spending 8 hours or more a day doing the same types of activities, I’m creating more of an hour of activities for each day on each idea.

Our first ‘camp’ has been Newspaper camp. The girls are going to be creating a (small) newspaper each week with the news from our house. They are responsible for brainstorming story ideas each week, writing their article, and adding photos to support their story. They have been super excited about this. We discussed how each story has to have a “Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How” to it. We have practiced interviewing to put in direct quotes whenever possible to enhance our story telling. We’re just getting started, but as their editor, I am rather proud of their enthusiasm and work on it. I have not heard a groan yet, which is rare for a multi-day project!

Obviously with a 4th grader (oops, I mean going-into-fifth-grader) and a Kindergartner (oops, soon-to-be-first-grader), their writing styles will differ greatly. It has not been too hard to let them work at their level. It has been a great way for Wormy (my youngest) to get practice writing and forming ideas in a structured manner, and it has given Squid the opportunity to embellish her dramatic flair. I used Adobe Spark Post to create the paper itself, as I’m trying to learn a new skill as well.

The next camp we will be adding to our fun will be “Movie Camp.” I’m going to have the girls create different kinds of movies – YouTube demonstrations/reviews, TikTok, stopped animation, puppet shows, acting out their own story, and those crazy animation things you do on a pad of Post-it notes when you’re bored! I’ll let you know how it goes.

Since I don’t like to include the girls’ real names and works in my blog, here’s a picture of our cat eating the Cat Grass that was featured in Squid’s article!

Mmm, tasty! And the first thing I’ve ever grown with incredible success!!!

Lisa WernerLeave a comment

Rough Day for All

We’ve been having some rough days. I had thought things might get better as we got used to this lifestyle, but I was wrong. Here’s my suggestion for you if you find yourself in the same boat.

Wormy has been hitting a certain time of the day and just crying her eyes out. It doesn’t help that my husband and I both have work to do from home now, so she can’t be our center of attention during that time. Combine that with how Squid has her own work, so she can’t play with Wormy when Wormy is done as well.

Wormy and I sat down and made a list of things that she can do when she’s mad at any of us (she tends to get more frustrated with us all lately), or when she’s waiting for us all to get done with our work. I drew her pictures to go with the words so she could figure them out on her own. She seems pretty excited about this idea, but only the next few days will tell.

Try not to laugh at my drawings…Wormy and I worked together on ideas for her to do.

My husband has been having similar problems, so he’s going to make his own list. Currently, we both have been hanging out on facebook marketplace a little *too* much (luckily, we balance each other out and don’t end up buying EVERYTHING we see!).

Wormy’s Favorite Frustration toy – he stretches in all directions. She got him from her grandma & grandpa during a porch drop, and pretty sure this guy has been used for stress relief by my husband and I a few times as well!

That’s my recommendation. Make a list of the things you do that can bring you happiness, or things you’ve wanted to get done and haven’t yet. Maybe there’s a new project your nervous to start, or a hobby you’ve always wanted to try. My new motto has become “If you aren’t going to do it during quarantine, when exactly WILL you do it?”

How about all of you? What have you been doing to fight off the monotony of our current situation?

Lisa WernerLeave a comment

Killing the Monotony of Day-to-Day Staying Home

I know I haven’t blogged in a little while. We’ve just been struggling with the realization that every day is the same. It’s not that we’re bored – we have plenty to do between cleaning, crafting, walking, appreciating live streaming of free releases of content every day. It’s just the difficulty that every day feels like the one that came before it….and the one before that….and the one before that. At least when you have to leave the house to go to work or school, there are differences between your Monday and your Thursday. I miss those differences.

Luckily, when the weather’s nice, we’ve been outside and that helps. However, on school days we have done such a good job keeping a routine that I have grown to dislike it. Yes, there’s still a routine in our ‘normal’ lives, too, but it’s still got it’s differences. For example, I teach on Mondays and Wednesdays. I can tell the difference between these two days easily, however, because I teach different things on those days. I see different students and have a different schedule, despite being at the same location. The girls have differences in schedules day-to-day at school, too. One day they have art class, the next music, Fridays are spelling tests, etc. I know these seem like small differences, but it’s these things we are lacking in our online life. I no longer just teach on Mondays and Wednesdays. If a student or a parent has a question on a Thursday, I’m not going to make them wait all of the way to Monday to get an answer. That’s silly!

So, today, I’ve vowed to make differences in our days. Even when we are on summer vacation, there are certain differences in our days (Wednesdays and Fridays are for community band!). I don’t know if we’ll do something crazy to set each day apart, but we are making modifications.

Today was field trip day. We went to the Fox River Park in Waukesha. A friend and colleague of mine posted on Facebook that she found a wishtree this last weekend. Squid has been working on setting one up in our town, and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to do a little research. We walked around the park (3 miles!) and giggled while picking up caterpillars. We read the signs people made on the wishtree. We enjoyed ourselves before the rain hit. It was nice to go for a walk somewhere other than our neighborhood. Afterwards, Squid got to work emailing the Town Supervisors to ask permission to go ahead with her Wishtree project. I am excited to see what happens (and hopefully someone responds to her).

We also are working to make weekends screen-free. With all of the chromebook/computer time the girls need for school, and the same for my husband & I, we need a break. It’s hard, as I feel like I am addicted to checking my email every ten minutes during the week. The break felt weird this weekend, but my days actually felt longer (in a good way), and my stress was significantly better.

I’m still working my way through how our days will be different. Maybe we’ll go back to Family Game Nights on Fridays (as opposed to sporadically throughout the whole week), or Crafting Wednesdays. Who knows. It will take us awhile to figure it out, but hopefully this tip fills in the void that you may have been experiencing as well.

I just finished this tonight and thought this post needed some color!

Lisa WernerLeave a comment

My Sister’s Great Idea

My sister is a genius. When this whole “Safer at Home” thing started, she wrote my daughters a letter and mailed it. She thought it would be fun for them to get some mail every now and then. My girls LOVED it.

We have since started writing letters – obviously continuing to write to my sis, but also starting to write to the other members of our family. My husband’s side has a lot of older people in it. I keep telling the girls that writing letters used to be the way to communicate – even when I was a kid, calling long distance was a big deal. I remember writing letters to the friends I made at summer camp, and anxiously waiting for their response.

I am so excited to relive the anticipation of the mail arrival with my girls. Added bonus is that we get some fun stories and ideas for more fun through the letters.

We aren’t exactly going crazy on this project – just one letter a week or so. I can’t wait to see who will write back next!

Lisa WernerLeave a comment

Bumming About Missed Trips

Today I was supposed to go to New Orleans with some pretty awesome high school jazz students. I have a confession – my longest band trip in a bus was heading to St. Louis. I’ve never done an overnight bus trip with students. I was actually looking forward to being properly initiated into that club. I was looking forward to complaining about a lack of sleep, and a stiff body from the trip.

However, more than anything, I was looking forward to the adventure – we were going to a jazz festival in NEW ORLEANS! The warm air, the FOOD, the music…..I was SO excited to go back to a city I haven’t been to for a long time.

Well, what exactly do you do to get over the sad feeling that comes every time you think about it? Try to bring a little bit of NOLA to me, of course. I made my mom’s jambalaya recipe with what I had in the pantry/freezer. I streamed some New Orleans brass bands on my favorite devices. I participated in a birthday parade for a kindergartner (not quite like a New Orleans parade, but my husband talked a lieutenant in the local police department into joining us). I had a Zoom meeting/sectional with the trombone section of MYSO. I got some music, fun, and food into my day. I just wish I could have also had the nice weather from last week today! There’s always next time! Haha

The one thing that really helped over all others? Knowing that NO ONE is traveling. So many people are in the same club I am – the canceled trip club. It’s not a very fun club to be in, but it definitely makes me feel better knowing the trip was canceled to keep people safe and healthy, and that no one else is posting gorgeous vacation photos for me to be envious of! Anyone else miss out on travels?

Lisa WernerLeave a comment

That One Family Recipe…

Do you know that one family recipe? The one that your older family members complain about making and talk about it as though making it should come with a badge, or at least your own parade and fireworks show after completion?

For my family, I can think of several recipes that were legendary growing up. One of them is my family’s Thanksgiving dressing recipe. That recipe takes DAYS to make. Then there’s the Norwegian Wedding Cake. That bad boy has become a traditional dessert in my family to celebrate weddings and anniversaries. Having had to make this a few times myself, I can assure you that if anyone ever makes it for you, they love you…A LOT! I can also assure you that many not very nice words are used in the assembling of that beast.

You can’t tell by looking at it, but this dressing recipe takes DAYS to make. No joke.
Norwegian Wedding Cake, actually called Kransekake, is delicious but absolutely terrifying to make!

We have never attempted the two major recipes my husband’s family talks about….until today. I have been lucky enough to eat both recipes – they usually appear at the family reunions he has every 4 years. The two recipes are shortbread and German Biscuits, also called Empire Biscuits, depending on who you’re talking to. We took them both on today.

The shortbread wasn’t so bad to make – you just have to knead the dough FOREVER. And, I’m not talking about tens of minutes. No, no, no. This recipe requires HOURS of kneading. In fact, the exact directions are to knead until your arms fall off and then pass to the next person. However, the joy of this recipe is that once you have accomplished this task, that’s about it. Everything else is pretty easy.

The Empire Biscuits on the other hand, are very similar to the shortbread in prep, but then you have a filling to put on the cookies, frosting, and candied cherries. Guess my luck? Candied cherries aren’t a thing in the stores around Easter time. Either that or people are hoarding these like they’re hoarding toilet paper. Because of this, my hubby and I made our own. Yes, apparently the whole tough recipe was not enough for us…we had to make our own candied cherries and truly overachieve this event. Ha! I would recommend not doing that EVER again. It’s messy. Very messy.

Empire Biscuits….as tasty as they are pretty! Yum, yum

Anyway, long story short – my husband and I have always wanted to make these recipes, as the people that we can ask for help are still around and able to answer our questions. It was fun to hear their stories about it and their tips before we dove in. This is the perfect time to jump in and do it – if you don’t have time to make those crazy recipes now, when will you?!? And, it makes for a fun conversation before or after with your family members who have done it as well. It’s not as fun as doing it together in person, but you’ll be ridiculously proud of yourself, and so will your family members. 🙂

Lisa WernerLeave a comment

Easy and Fun Idea for the Kiddos

Here’s a great idea for your kids that takes minimal to no prep at all – host a sleepover in one of your kiddos’ rooms. Or, if they normally share a room, let them sleep in the living room.

As we speak, my girls are in Squid’s room giggling away. We set up Wormy’s sleeping bag on the floor next to Squid’s bed, and laid down the following ground rules (aka summer band camp rules apply):

1. We shouldn’t be able to hear your voices from outside your room.

2. You must get some sleep. If you are crabby tomorrow morning, there won’t be any other sleepovers. If you are in a good mood tomorrow, maybe we can do more of these.

That’s it. Simple enough. We didn’t want to kill ALL of their fun. At Christmas time, we have a tradition in our house that we sleep in the living room with the Christmas tree lights lit all night. If your kiddos sleep in the same room, maybe you could do something fun like have them bring their sleeping bags to the living room and pop on a fun movie. My kids never fall asleep if there’s a movie on, but maybe you’ll have better luck.

Either way, I’m sure my girls are going to be talking about this for awhile!

Lisa WernerLeave a comment

It Takes a Village…

Two days ago, my little cheerleader Wormy had a rough day. And when she’s having a rough day, you know times are stressful. There are many mornings I think to myself “why do I need to get out of bed this morning?” Then, Wormy comes bounding in, tells me it’s cuddle time, and then tells me she’s hungry and we need to get our day started. Who can resist those big smiles and hugs?

So, when Wormy was upset Sunday morning, I knew it was going to be a long day. She was crying about every moment going wrong for her. Finally, we just sat in the recliner and cuddled. I told her it was ok to be sad and upset. And then we just sat there. No reason to go rushing off, plenty of time to just sit and be sad, which is not normal in our lifestyle. It was weird to think that it was nice to take time to honor those sad feelings, and let them have their time.

After posting Wormy’s sad face on facebook, so many of my friends and family jumped in with encouraging words, funny videos, virtual hugs, and acknowledgements of their own bad day. I shared each and every message and text with her, and it cheered her up so much. “All of these people sent messages for ME?” She said there was no way she could be sad again until the next night’s bedtime, thanks to everyone’s well wishes. She got to talk to her grandparents online, she got a parade from some close friends who she adores, and she got to play outside on a nice sunny day. By the end of the day, she was feeling much better. We had the added bonus of a video chat set up with a friend from her class for the following day as something to look forward to.

The moral to this story is be sure to take time to feel sad, upset, lost, and/or stressed. Once you acknowledge these feelings, know that there are many people out there who are willing to help you through them. We are all here with you – even if it’s not in person! Say the word and help will arrive.

Lisa WernerLeave a comment

Saturday Night at the Ballet

We’ve been living it up on the free performances! Last night, we watched Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” stream (a new one each Friday night!), and tonight was the Opera National de Paris production of “Swan Lake” (they have many more productions to watch on their site). It is like PBS’s Great Performances on steroids over here. I’m not sure which is better, though – watching the productions and thinking about how there’s no way we could have had this great of a view in the seats our family can afford, or watching my 5-year old daughter completely captivated by both performances. My 10-year old loved them both, too, but I kind of expected her to be into it all.

We had a turkey in the freezer from back when they were cheap (Thanksgiving time). We decided to make that and have “Thanksgiving in April.” As we sat down to eat our feast of turkey and stuffing, we went around and thought about all the things we are thankful for in this crazy time. It was nice to focus on gratitude, instead of stress and uncertainty. I highly recommend it to anyone else who may have bought a spare turkey last November!

Mmm, mmm!

Here’s the links to the Paris National Opera and Andrew Lloyd Weber streams:

Paris National Opera (they have the Barber of Seville and Carmen coming up!): https://infos.operadeparis.fr/optiext/optiextension.dll?ID=LhgLgkNYkqX4QHBDMRrImMymEk0xmadHzdGlgJQFYkBNAlCvTKVkJTsuLXcA2JT8ItkVIC0KnBjQ3q5T3nmHMM7SHL59L

Andrew Lloyd Weber (next week is Jesus Christ Superstar): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdmPjhKMaXNNeCr1FjuMvag

Lisa WernerLeave a comment