I spent way too much time going down the Pinterest rabbit hole this evening trying to find suitable activities for my munchkins on Monday. They desperately need to practice cutting and coloring skills. The kids asked for more Pigeon books and I’m happy to oblige. This week we’ll do crafts based the The Duckling Gets a Cookie book by Mo Willems. I think the only things I’ll need to buy are foam brushes for applying Modge Podge and glitter. My challenge to myself has been to NOT spend money on craft supplies unless absolutely necessary. I left a lot of stuff behind when I left my school library. One of the very few things I wish I had kept is the expensive bottle of extra fine white holographic glitter.

Making sample projects ahead of time gives me the opportunity to modify tutorial directions to better fit my students or the materials I already have on hand. I typically time myself while I make the project and then double that amount of time to set aside as work time for the kids. I’m wired for make & take, but most of the other enrichment teachers don’t send things home each week. If for some reason we don’t finish the cookies this week, I’ll merely take the projects home and the kids can complete them the following week.

What does our schedule look like for a 90 minute block?

Story-time: 20 minutes
Crafting/activity time: 35-40 minutes
Free time: 15-20 minutes (play with Legos & other toys in classroom, read to self, free draw)
Our hard stop is 11:45 a.m. to take pictures, clean-up, pack-up and get to car riders by noon.

I’ve loosely planned out projects through the end of the semester. We have Sadie/dogs, Pete the Cat, two weeks of fall activities, pirates, monsters, Sadie/candy/Halloween, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving and 3 weeks of Christmas/winter holiday crafts with a Sadie visit in there somewhere. This allows me to be able to select 2-3 picture books to read each week and reserve them in advance. Remember, I’ve challenged myself to not to spend money on craft supplies or books unless absolutely necessary? For the occasional book it makes sense to buy, I can buy used from local thrift stores or online shops. Paperback copies are actually preferred nowadays since I have to tote everything with me to class.

For spring semester, I will be adding a session for Grades 3-5. Based on what I’ve seen so far, I will merely plan similar topics & activities for both groups rather than two completely different sessions. That’ll make things WAY easier for me.

Today, I met with the SQTM’s director and education chair to hash out details for the upcoming kid’s sewing classes. I’d indicated I wanted to be more involved, but living an hour (or more with traffic) away impedes ability to be a regular volunteer. The ladies specifically asked for my help with the planning process and if I could be available to teach some of the monthly classes now that sessions would be held on Thursday afternoons instead of Fridays. Yes, this is something I’m happy and able to do!

The particulars: Classes will meet the first Thursday of every month (second Thursday in January and April to accommodate school breaks) from 4:00-5:30 p.m. Students who participated in last year’s beginning sewing cohort and/or summer quilt camp will be given an opportunity to sign-up before registration is released to the general public. Classes may be purchased as a package or individually. A separate materials fee may be required for some classes, depending on the instructor and project. Note: if a student has never sewn with the SQTM before, a separate “meet the sewing machine” class is mandatory before attending any other classes. This class is scheduled as needed. Ask museum staff for further details.

Projects will begin in October with a cross-body purse taught by Miss Anna. Other projects include a READ pillow, upcycled cookie bag zipper pouch, drawstring bag/gift card holders, teddy bear (or other stuffed critter) and wrap up with pajama pants the final two sessions. These projects were selected based on feedback from the kids.

I will be teaching two of the classes and assisting with others as needed. I’m in the sub pool to cover any class where the assigned instructor is unable to teach. Worst case scenario has me teaching the stuffed critter and pajama pants classes in addition to my original two classes. I’m good with that.

Bottom line: holding out for the right volunteer opportunities as a retiree pays off. Working with the SQTM takes advantage of my skill set and provides me with a meaningful opportunity to serve without having to be in charge of anything. I may want to assume a leadership role in the future, but for now, I want maximum flexibility with my schedule so I can travel and do all the things!

Hard to believe my COBRA continuation coverage period for dental and vision insurance ends in January, 2024. I wasn’t planning to continue coverage for vision & dental until I realized I could keep my coverage at the same reasonable employee rates. Now that I’m searching for affordable replacement coverage in an individual policy, I see plans offered at double, triple or even quadruple the rates we’re currently paying. Ugh.

Any dentist we’ve ever had advised us to sign-up for dental insurance as an employee benefit. However, the same dentist also advised that dental insurance simply isn’t worth the cost as an individual policy. I concur. I will go one step further and state that dental insurance really functions like a prepaid dental plan. For us, dental insurance is a wash. Premiums and copays under our “low” dental plan are about the exact same money as just paying the dentist directly out of our own pocket. In fact, I think my calculations showed that we would have saved $50.00 by NOT having dental insurance the past 12 months.

On the other hand, vision insurance does make “cents” for us to continue as an individual policy. In the end, it functions as a BOGO for us as we each need an eye exam and new glasses every 12 months. Even when the rate doubles when we convert to an individual policy, it will still remain a good value.

The decision to carry certain types of insurance is totally dependent on your unique set of circumstances. Investigate all your options, run the numbers and choose the one(s) that work best for you and your family. And sometimes, it may not make “cents” to buy a policy, but it is worth it if having that coverage helps you sleep well at night.