Baymax Printable

My boys have a slight obsession with superheroes. I know. Shocking. Because they're preschool age and under, I don't actually let them see the big movies that are PG and over. My husband and I both grew up with a rule of "no PG-13 movies until you're thirteen," and we're going to continue that with our kids. So, my four-year-old is stuck with Lego superheroes and the animated series'. And Big Hero 6. Oh, Big Hero 6. How do we love thee? Enough that when we first got it, we watched it everyday. As many times as I would let them.

Luckily, I love Big Hero 6. I think it's funny and touching. I cry every time they watch it. Every time. The main kid deals with some serious crap. And he gets through it with Baymax. I love Baymax. Baymax may very well be my favorite Disney character. And he's a robot. He's just so innocent and caring. And funny. We can't forget that. That's the reason kids love him. And oh, do my kids love him. So when I wanted to draw some pictures for my sons' room, I decided to do one of Baymax.

Now, FYI, the background color is grey because my printer is black and white. If you are interested in a version with more color, leave me a comment, and I will make a more colorful version. I thought of doing some of Baymax's other quotes, too, but I settled on this one. The pdf file for it is at the bottom of the post. 

Baymax Printable

Letter O and Number 8 Coloring Pages

So I have joined a co-op preschool in my neighborhood, in which we rotate between houses. This week was my turn to teach. I was a little worried about having six children under the age of five in my care. Plus, I was supposed to teach them something. Each of us is supposed to teach a letter, and they didn't have to necessarily be in order. I decided to start with "O." I think most of them already knew it, but I wanted to do a theme. Ready for it? I did the letter "O," which is at the beginning of the word "octopus" and "octagon." So, naturally, the number I picked was the number 8. I don't think the kids appreciated my cleverness, but they had fun coloring. You can find the pdfs for the pages in the links at the bottom of the page.

It was funny to see the different personalities. One kid kept asking to play with toys, one wouldn't sit still, another kept asking to go outside, and my own kept asking when we could have graham crackers. We also found some exciting bugs outside. There was an itty bitty spider on one of our outside toys, and one of the little girls wouldn't let anyone touch, get too close, or (heaven forbid!) squish it. I didn't get a picture of that, but I did get one of the gigantic grasshopper we found on a stump. I live in a desert area where there aren't a lot of big bugs. A spider that's an inch long qualifies as huge. But this grasshopper was a good 2 1/2 inches long. It didn't look real. I felt like I was at Disneyland watching an animatronic insect. Plus, it didn't move much, even with six little kids coming close to it. It did blink, though. 

Look at that thing. It's like a dinosaur bug. It was cool to have something like that to show my preschool kids, even if they weren't as impressed as I was.

The octopus in the coloring page is actually the same one from my octopus card from a few months ago. I loved it so much I just had to reuse it. That octopus was really my first drawing that didn't look like a child drew it, so I'm pretty proud of it.

The beautiful coloring was done by my two-year-old, who wanted to participate in "school," too.

Of the coloring pages, I think the octagon one was actually the student favorite. The kids really got into coloring all those octagons, which I thought was funny.

Not this kid. Two-year-olds are too busy to color for long, I suppose.

All in all, I think my first day of preschool was successful. :) Now I have five weeks before I teach again.

Eight Octagons Coloring Page
O is for Octopus Coloring Page

E-Reader Case Crochet Pattern

As my last post said, I love to read. Love it. Always have, most likely always will. I am not, however, one of those book purists who are anti-technology. I love to read; I do not love holding open a book. I feel like I'm breaking the book every time it gets the crease in the binding. Sometimes I like to read on my back, and then I have to hold the book with both hands. Physical books are exhausting, guys. And they take up space. I mean, more power to you if you want a million of them lying around. I get the appeal. However, we have enough of a problem with clutter in our house that the only books I want laying around are kids books. I fully accept the joys of the e-reader.

This is not a post reviewing a specific e-reader, although I've used both Nook and Kindle. This really is a crochet pattern post. But there are so many people vehemently opposed to e-readers out there that I feel like I have to justify my position. I also count it a success any time I get someone to invest in an e-reader. Because that's what they are, people: an investment. If you read a lot, they're so worth it.

Anyway. Justification over. Consider an e-reader.

When I first got my Kindle, I got a nice hard case that it snaps into and has a magnetic on/off feature. It was pretty awesome until after six months the edge of the flap that connects the front to the back started to break. Now the flap won't stay connected, and it doesn't do the magic on/off thing when I open and shut it. I tried buying a new one, but it had a problem where it would turn the screen off when the flap was flipped to the back. So, I'd be reading, and my screen would shut off. Super awesome. Yeah. Apparently (I learned from reading more reviews after I had the problem with the new case), this is a huge problem with this kind of case. So I did what I should have done in the first place: I made my own case.

And it's pretty.

I love the yellow. It's so bright and cheerful, and it is stands out visually. This was pretty important to me because Kindles/e-readers are usually dark grey or black. And I have a grey couch and a grey bedspread, and they disappear into there quite easily. And I'm not a super graceful person, and I don't always see things and said things sometimes break. I did not want to break my Kindle. I had already broken my Nook. Another story for another day. Anywho. This case does not blend into my dark furnishings. Or anything. It stands out. Very stylishly.

Kindle Case Crochet Pattern

I Hook
Normal acrylic yarn (I used my beloved I Love This Yarn! Go figure.)

1. Ch 21. Sc in second ch from hook and across. In last ch, make 3 sc, then continue around the back of the ch. When you get all the way back around, put 2 sc in last st, and connect to first sc. 
2. Ch 1. Sc in each st around. Now you'll start working in the round. Sc into the first sc.
3. Mark the sc you just made with your handy dandy stitch marker, or bobby pin, or whatever it is you use. Continue sc-ing around for 5 rounds. Once again, don't connect.
4. Ch 1. [Sk one sc. 2 dc in next.] Repeat around. Once you reach the end, connect to the first dc with a sl st. 
5. Ch 1. Sc once. Put your st marker in that sc. Now sc around in rounds again for 3 rounds.
6. Repeat 4.
7. Repeat 5.
8. Repeat 4.
9. Repeat 5.
10. Repeat 4.
11. Repeat 5.
12. Repeat 4.
13. Ch 1. Sc once. St mark that last sc. Sc around for 5 rounds. Connect to the first sc with a sl st. Weave in your ends, and you are done. Bask in the sense of accomplishment you feel in making such a useful and pretty object.

Note: This can easily be changed to work for any size e-reader or tablet. All you need to do is change the number of chains you start with.