MFW K: water

This chapter, of course, was fun :) We had a warm week & we played with water, what could be funner? 

We floated things, sank things,

 dissolved things, realized oil & water don't mix :),

 and even enjoyed some lemonade :)

 After tying the oil/water not mixing to ducks, we decided a visit to the ducks was in order, with lunch with Papa, of course :)

Then we studied how currents carry things

We also filled balloons with water and froze them. We were hoping to make a snowman but it wouldn't stay up :(, such is the life in Cali :) Anyway, we estimated how long it would take for them to melt, 

and then we watched the liquid turn to steam, measuring the remains.

I love the boys' drawings this week :) Z6 (top) drew his with color & then watercolored over it. J5 doesn't quite like to do what others are doing so he opted to just crayon and not paint, too. As frustrating as it is sometimes, I was just glad to get a drawing out of him :)

Water. It really is amazing. In fact, we can't live without it. Same with our spirit. We just can't live life to the fullest without God filling & quenching our souls. Eventually, we'd just dry up like a leaf disconnected from it's tree :/ It's a good lesson to learn :)

MFW: Butterfly unit/Apostle Paul

We are 61 days into our curriculum: My Father's World Kindergarten, & loving it! Sooo fun! I did find myself getting lazy for a piece of it & the boys were getting crazy annoying (sorry, it's true!) as a result. I recently read a great kick-in-the-pants post & it reminded me I'm slacking. So. No more of that. 

Anyway, the curriculum calls for doing a subject for 6 days. My brain can't handle it (end 1 & start another in the middle of the week?? What??) so we do Mon- Fri & call it good :) We also don't follow the book in order (surprised??); this week the monarchs are in town so we scheduled a field trip & skipped to the butterfly chapter :)

S2 absolutely loves to paint. So this week we tried a new thing: painting with balloons :) Butterflies begin as caterpillars so we ballooned them- the boys looked at me funny when I showed them what to do but soon discovered it was super fun...

 So fun, in fact, that we had to get a new paper & freely create :) Then I shooed them outside and they played with their balloons till they popped- it really was a win win ;)

So at the field trip, the boys might not have fully learned anything, but! they did get to look through telescopes for the first time & see the butterflies up close- so they were pretty excited about that :)

But they were REALLY excited to venture onto the sand dunes & climb tree limbs & run on the sand- I tell ya, they smile the biggest when exploring God's creation (specifically climbing trees!) :)

 On the way back to the van, the sun was getting warmer & the butterflies were becoming more active & I was finally able to catch a few on camera

 Here's a bigger picture so you can see them covering the trees. So beautiful.

We also glitter glued coffee filters into colorful butterflies, read Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar & did a few projects off of which I {somehow} forgot to take pics...

 And every week we youtube how to draw something and make a poster of that week's subject/theme/spanish word. Yes, that is my lovely shadow showing. I already put it on the wall & there was really no other way of showing you my guys' artwork. They are always so uniquely different :)

We also tied in Apostle Paul- he started out mean & vengeful (caterpillar), but was struck blind (crysallis), & then became an amazing soul & worker for Jesus (butterfly). Unfortunately, we didn't do any activities per se, just read about him & chatted. One of these weeks I'll have my ducks in a row :)

A very belated Christmas post :)

Hey! I completely, 100%, blame the old laptop for my not blogging for 6 mos :) I will never buy another Toshiba as long as I can help it. Enough said. Anyway, I'm finally finding my technology legs again... if that's possible... and here is our rundown of Christmas :)

The boys wake up starving so we started the day with cupcakes (grain-free carrot cake, pinterest fail :( ), & singing Happy Birthday to Jesus, which, of course, is the reason for the season :)

Then we tore into the gifts :) 

A many thanks to Grandma Laura & Grandpa Neill for the packages :)

And to Uncle Eddie & Auntie Amber for the explorer outfits :)

And to Uncle Brandon & Aunt Ashley for the umbrellas- now we just need rain!!

And to Grandpa & Grandma Walker for going in on Z's Dragonfly Helicopter,

(I love this pic of C&Z flying it!)

S's Little People Jungle,

& J's new bike! (yellow) Which, of course, we had to take for a ride :) It's a little blurry- kinda hard to take pics while biking :)

After the bike ride, we had a delicious supper of ham & fixings & then enjoyed a new game: Tumblin' Monkeys :)

Hope you all enjoyed yours... love ya!

and then we got busy...

Ugh. It has been too long since I posted last. I have a goal of posting every weekend but then we got busy...

You would think that with me turning off the computer during the day the house would be organized, the boys would be clean, and I would be nearly bored. Nope to all accounts :) 

So this is the last 3 weeks summarized into a few photos:

The boys and I went on a field trip to an old west horse ranch outside of Paso Robles but soon after arriving we realized the van went completely dead. We have never had a problem with our van (& haven't since) but it was without a doubt not going to start. C was just a few miles away working so he came up to our rescue. We could've called AAA but he had been contemplating coming with us that morning but decided to work and found this a ready excuse to come after all :) We were glad to have him :)

Soon after S turned 1, he realized not only are those red things in the garden strawberries, he was now tall enough & heavy enough to reach them (the fence is to keep the rabbits out :)). Every day he ventures over & peeks in :)

Speaking of S turning 1, he now has shoes! Many thanks to his Aunts & Uncles: he grabbed his birthday money and bought his first pair :) He's so proud of them!

We had hot weather! For 3 days it was in the low 100s :) I switched their lessons for the week to reflect that: one of the days they enjoyed a frozen treasure hunt (I don't think S was too thrilled with the first touch :) He did enjoy it later on)

Z is on a game spree :) We hadn't even finished eating supper when the cards came out:

and then the next day I came out from putting S to nap and found they started playing all by themselves. They are getting so grown up {tear}.

 I'm not sure how J got them (I can guess, though!), but he came in the house the other day with bug wings so we whipped some magnifiers out to see the textures & colors better. We are such a boy house! :)

I was desperate for a clean van so the boys did their books while I cleaned :)

1st rain day of the season! Yes!

On Thursday we went on another field trip to a 118 year old fruit farm. The rain let up just long enough for us to run out & glean 80 pounds! of apples off the ground and then it started pouring again. We were soaked! It seemed a shame to leave all those beautiful apples behind but now that I still have about 50 pounds left and I'm getting kind of worn out from peeling, cutting, cooking/drying, and figuring out what to do with them, it's probably a good thing we were stopped! :)  We will for sure enjoy eating all the "fruits of our labor" in the months to come!

C is in the backyard right now working on the new coop... should be done soon... hopefully I can blog about the finished project next weekend :) Love ya!

storekeeper

During math this week, a money problem came up & the boys just weren't understanding the values. So I rolled out our box of play food & set up store. The boys each got a set amount- this being our first time we only did pennies, nickels, & dimes- & away we went purchasing & selling food. The boys had a lot of fun & by the time we were done, they were getting the hang of money, too :)  (It probably helped that we were all very hungry- kind of like grocery shopping while hungry, ya know?) :)

A week in the life: day 1

I happened upon a blog the other day & found it crazy interesting how a family lives in NYC and it got me thinking: 10 years from now I may want to remember what my days looked at this point :)  (there's a chance that I'm wrong & I just want to forget this time- in that case, I won't read this! :)) So I'll be attempting to blog how my week a few days go this week.

So today is Monday & it just happens to be J's 4th birthday! Yay! Now that we're up to speed, let's go! :)

3am- woke up to J being up: he peed the bed but C was already helping him (yay!) so back to sleep I go! (another yay!)
6am- C is up so I guess it's time for me too. S got up soon after for a snack so we chat for a few minutes while I feed S & put him back to bed & C finishes getting ready & then he's off to work. I was hoping to work out this morning but since J is on the couch, I guess I'll just get ready for the day. My room rarely gets cleaned because I'm rarely in it so maybe I need to get stuck in there more often? as it's now clean :)
7:30- I didn't get the chance to put away lights laundry last week ("somehow" they always get forgotten in the dryer) & I know everyone's drawers are currently empty so I guess I'll seize the opportunity & bring the pile into my room to fold & put away what I can.
8am- Our floors squeak & groan & pop horrifically so I've been trying not to move too much but I figured it's 8 o'clock now- if they wake up now, they've gotten sufficient sleep :) I like to start each day on Mint.com checking my funds & balancing the budget. I also like to check for any new emails so I did that until S woke up at 8:30.

8:30- The street cleaner starts making the rounds so S & I move the van across the street & as I'm getting my side of the street ready for the cleaner, Z comes bounding out & still in his lion painted face. We had festivities yesterday at church & he chose to have his face painted like a lion- so cute :) J pops off the couch soon after & all declare starvation. I usually keep it easy for breakfast- chopped eggs & yogurt creations- but today is J's birthday: he needs a pancake with a candle :) There was a little tension & panic & regret for a few minutes as all 3 are crying & whining for breakfast but soon we are enjoying.
10- The boys are a sticky mess so off they go to the bath. I try to clean the bathroom down every time they bathe- if I miss a time, I tend to regret it soon after. With 4 (2 with questionable aim) people and only one toilet, our bathroom gets a lot of traffic!

10:30- S is done bathing so we get some one-on-one chasing time. Monday's load of darks are put into the wash.
11- J & Z are now fighting in the tub- must be time to get them out. (yep! an hour in the tub :)) We chase & wrestle & play for a few minutes but overall, it's time to brush teeth & get ready for the day. J decides it's time to comb my hair which is a new enjoyment for them. Z likes to straighten until not a hair moves & sticks to me the rest of the day, J mainly likes to spray until I'm drenched to my toes & barely touches my hair with a comb.

I've tried twice to put S down for nap but he's fighting it so we all decide it's time for school. Since today is a loud lesson (on Mondays we are learning the recorder), it's probably best S wasn't asleep... We studied David & read some of the songs he wrote and then we "wrote" our own with the recorders. I often wonder what the neighbors think when 3 recorders & a tambourine? are making a racket...
















12- After watching S lay on the floor, I finally just put him in bed. He moaned & groaned for a few minutes but decided to give in. I tried shooing Z & J outside but they declared hunger again so we made left over pancakes into pb & Js and chatted some. I started putting the clothes on the line but Z & J aren't cooperating much. A few disciplinary moments take place & both boys declare they want some more books read to them so we snuggle for a few more minutes. They both sound kind of congested and they aren't the most active today; hope we aren't getting sick.

A few months ago C put up a wire in the kitchen to hang the boys' creations for display but last week a sudden idea came to mind to use it for a calendar of their week instead. I meant to get it all put together during the weekend but weekends never go as planned so I enlisted the boys for help since they were asking for an art project anyway. I've been looking randomly for the days of the week headers but I don't want to spend alot on it so I printed them, the boys colored them, & then I glued them to some old party invites I had in the cabinet. I love it when it all falls together! :)
1pm- S is stirring but I want some quiet time & a small nap so I plop the boys on separate couches with their workbooks & head to my bed. It turned out to be a false alarm but I enjoyed my time reading Power of a Praying Wife anyway :)
1:30- Boys show me the pages they worked on & just keep going with it. I finally finish putting the laundry out!







2:30- S is waking; I am still doing books with Z & J. So studious today! A few more emails and then... hide & seek! S loves hiding with me- we make good partners :)
3- We drive to Culligan Water to fill our bottle and then come home for a walk/run around the blocks. It's beautiful outside & apparently the boys were storing up their energy for this :) J on his Strider & Z on his bike with trainers. He hasn't ridden that in months- it was a little weird to see but I could tell he was trying to balance like he does on the Strider. Pretty cool.

4- It's about time to get serious. Wrap up the day. The boys unload the dishwasher- spoon (sword) fights and all. In fact it got a little carried away & turned into wrestling & eventually J got hurt & mad & it was a crazy hour trying to pick up everything, reload the dishwasher, put away the laundry & keep them from fighting/wrestling/throwing things. It's amazing nothing has been broken yet.




















5- I give J the option of not doing Little Chef today. Maybe you want to watch a show instead? Nope- I want to cook with you, he says. So sweet. *Sigh* Z takes over the computer & J and I put together tomorrow's oatmeal while S tries to remove everything from the kitchen cabinets; successfully spilling the baking soda onto the floor... Once finished, we call Grandpa & Grandma back so J can talk with them and then C comes home bringing a cake & a balloon. We dig into the cake & then go outside to roast hotdogs. It was supposed to be brats but we were too hungry to wait that long :)
8:30- S finally calls it a night.
9- read a new book (100 hungry ants) to the boys and tuck them in. *sigh* I love those boys. I also love tucking them in, closing the door, & having quiet :)

9:40- So now. C is sleeping on the couch. Not snoring yet, though :) The boys are off to dream land. I just finished a plate of rewarmed spaghetti because the hotdog did nothing to combat the cake. The dishwasher (loudest one we've ever heard) is doing it's rhythmic thing and the oven is set to start at 5:30am. Care to join us? :)