Animation!

A Frame from a later animation - a Band playing...

Delta (and Echo and Foxtrot) has (have) been introduced to the concept of stop-motion animation! By using my old digital camera, and Windows Live Movie Maker, using a lot of patience, he has been busy making animated movies. He has even drawn some story-board drawings for some of them ahead of time.

It is great that this method of animation takes a lot less work than animation used to. I helped getting the music to fit. I think it is wonderful work for a 7 year old!

Here is the second movie he made totally on his own.

It has been nice that he has had time during our term break to do things like this.

Echo and Foxtrot would like their movies up here too. Delta did the photography for this movie of Echo's, although she has done her own photography for a couple more. "Dad" did the photography for Foxtrot's movie, and it is a little more "abstract", as it was done by a 2yo.

This one is Echo's

And here is Foxtrot's

Kids Need Stamps

A Year or two ago, I found a fantastic resource for a hobby I had had as a child and wanted to share with my kids.

Stamp Collecting is a fantastic hobby, and is very educational as well. I feel it makes a fantastic hobby for the homeschooling family. It is fairly inexpensive, can be worked on individually or as a family, and can be done by the very young right up to senior citizenship age.

I have sat around the table with Delta and Echo when they were 4 and 2, with them carefully sorting through stamps. They love looking for ones they don't yet have. At this point, they just store them in a stock-book - but at some point they will start making stamp pages, and probably even decide on specialties.

But do you want to know the great thing? The resource I found gives away free starter kits, including free stamps! I know I found a couple of other great resources too - but I think they are all available on the blog that I am going to give you. The blog also has information on how to actually do the stamp collecting. (I think they also have free starter kits for stamp clubs too, or for groups like scouting or guiding to work on collectors badges.)

Another great source of stamps can be families with missionaries servingin in other countries, or people with family in other countries that still mail letters.

Kids Need Stamps is this fantastic resource. I think it is great that people provide this type of service. Here is their article about the free starter kits.