Going Again

I know I keep talking about so many posts that I will be creating.....our school plans, some Christmas crafts/gifts, more toddler/preschool activities, teatimes etc. And I will.......eventually. As soon as we get back.

Yes, we are leaving town.......again. This time for our vacation, our actual vacation. Never mind the fact that it's supposed to rain the whole time. We are going. And we'll make the best of it.

So enjoy your weekend and these last few weeks of warm weather. And if you are expecting the same "lovely" weather we are, then I hope you can make the best of it, too.

TTFN
~Tina

What We're Up To

I haven't been on here much, lately. There is a good reason for that. A couple of reasons, actually. We're sick, and we're busy.

In my last post, I mentioned that we all have bad colds. We still have those bad colds, but the symptoms are lessening. But it has kept us all at home this week. Even John took off two days of work and when he tried to go in yesterday, they sent him home to VPN in. The staying at home part I haven't minded. I can be a bit of a "homebody". The children are still getting some fresh air (when they feel up to it). John took Alexa and Evan outside to play in the yard yesterday. They ended up going for a walk, too. And Skylar checks and waters her pumpkins daily. Taylor is getting her needed rest and working on some projects. I am still planning.....and planning....and planning. Oh, and organizing. I will post some details about that in the near future.

I am finally seeing some progress in the organizing of our Learning Room. I'm working on arranging charts, a map, a timeline and a Liturgical Year poster on the wall of this room, now. The laundry is almost caught up and the Toddler Bags will be finished this morning. My lesson plans are coming together nicely, but slower than I had hoped, partly due to all the illnesses we've had this summer. I signed the girls up for their activities that will begin in September. And we are looking forward to beginning a new school year with our co-op. I planned September's field trip for our home school group, too. We still have much to do before we start our new school year......like a trip to the dentist for me (ugh) and haircuts for all! Oh and that vacation we are supposed to take. It's still up in the air, depending on how we all feel by then.

So that's what's been going on around here, lately. How's your summer been? Are you ready for a new school year? Maybe you've already started? Whatever you are up to, I hope you enjoy your weekend!

TTFN
~Tina

Back from PA (Warning~long post with lots of pictures)

We are back from our trip up north. And we met my adorable new nephew! The girls had a blast with his big sister, too! It was great being with family!

I took lots of pictures. Here are some I'd like to share with you........

These were taken at my mother and father-in-laws house. They have a lot of room for the kids to roam outside.

And here's John with his mom.

We went to see my new nephew. Everyone wanted to kiss and hold him....

He's so sweet!

And these two cousins were like two peas in a pod.

This trip also included.....

Daddy chasing Alexa, Sky, Evan and Kyra as they shouted, "Chase us!" and "Come get us!".
(Yes, that's John up in the playfort.)

Taylor and Skylar watch as Uncle Mike and Aunt Nicki fix Dakota's wounded paw. The poor thing injured her nail while playing around in the yard.

A game of Uno Attack. Skylar versus G-ma Jo (my mom).G-ma treated us to lunch at Eat-N-Park. (John and I went there a lot when we were dating~still love that place!)

A visit with Aunt Elaine and Arleigh. John was helping his sister with her computer.Alexa and Evan playing with Aunt Terri (my sister) on the floor. We got to see her husband and two boys, too.

Some wild turkeys in Grandma and Pap Paps yard!Trecking off on the path at Uncle Mike and Aunt Nicki's house.We miss everyone already.

Unfortunately, we came back with some really bad colds. All of us are sick. It's nothing stomach related (thank goodness) but we have had the usual cold symptoms along with headaches and fever and chills. As far as colds go, this is a rough one. But I'll take this over a stomach bug any day.

The girls are in the other room right now having a "sister sleepover". They are sprawled out on the futon with pillows, blankets and tissues and they are watching a movie together. I'm hearing sneezing, coughing and sniffles, but also some laughter and giggles, too. If you gotta be sick, this isn't a bad way to do it.

And Mike and Nicki, we hope Kyra and Brayden are getting better. Especially Brayden with how tiny he is. We will keep them in our prayers!

TTFN

~Tina

A Blogging Break

My children and I will be headed up north to meet this adorable little guy and visit his big sister, too! We are really looking forward to this trip. Alexa, especially, is counting down the days! And Evan keeps saying, "Yay, play with Kyra!".

So I will be back here again next week sometime. Our plans are still up in the air as far as a return date goes. Although my focus has been on planning for Evan recently, in the back of my mind, I'm creating all sorts of plans for the girls. When we come back, I am going to list some of the many plans for our upcoming homeschool year. It will include Health, Safety and Manners for Sky and Alexa using real stories and other fun resources! I am also planning a People of the World Social Studies Unit. We will be studying other cultures, continents and countries. Of course we will mostly use real literature for this, also. There will be maps, crafts, traditions, foods and saints from the different countries we will be focusing on. I am doing this as a precursor to starting Ancient History with them. We will also be doing quiet reflections based on what they are doing over at Serendipity . And our grammar will continue where we left off last year. Those lesson plans, too, can be found at Serendipity's Lively Language Lessons. And my copy of Catholic Mosaic should be arriving soon! I'm currently reading A Picture Perfect Childhood (link in my sidebar) and LOVING it!

I will also share what we use for Math, Spelling, Phonics etc. But I am most excited about the subjects that allow us to really dive into other worlds through picture books.

Hope you have a wonderful week and I'll be back again soon!
TTFN
~Tina

Scenes from a Summer's Day

Scenes from a Summer's Day

August 11, 2008

Lots of action in our yard today......

Growing Pumpkins,
a Monarch Butterfly,

and Mr. Turtle is back!

We always enjoy his visits.

Hope you are enjoying these last few weeks of summer. Stop by Renee's to see many more beautiful summer scenes!

TTFN

~Tina

Some Simple Toddler/Preschool Activity Bags

These next few toddler/preschool activities are really simple. But for me it's a matter of taking the few minutes it takes to pull some stuff together or cut a few things out. And during the school year, there are times I just don't have the time. So doing all of this ahead of time and prebagging it up (with directions) should be both a time saver and motivator. So here they are:

STOP and GO Game:
You start with black construction paper, roll it up and tape it. Then write the word "GO" on a green circle and the word "STOP" on a red octagon. Put the green circle and red octagon (both around 4 inches across) back to back and glue or staple them to the top of the black construction paper tube.

This one is not complete, because it will be in a bag for my son. It will be used to play sort of a simplified Red Light Green Light game. It will be more like "Stop" and "Go". This, I'm hoping will help him with listening skills and should be fun to play. There's not much actual "crafting" he can do, but it's still a fun activity.



This next one is a very simple Springtime/Easter craft or it could be used when learning the letter B.

It is a butterfly cuttout (I made extra just in case some big sisters decide to join), black construction paper and colored dots.

Very simple, but he's only just turned two, so I think it's enough for him. And older children could place the stickers in a pattern. Or you could teach them about butterflies and how the wings are a mirror image of each other.

This next one is for Valentine's Day.

It just takes a heart shaped cutout (any color), tissue squares, and glue. I know you can buy precut tissue squares, but for these I just purchased a rainbow pack of tissue from Walmart and cut the stack in squares. Evan should enjoy crumpling up the bits of tissue. I'll probably just spread the glue out for him, unless he's using a glue stick by then. I included extras of these, too, just in case siblings want to join.

This last one is just a fun craft and counting activity. I printed out the monkey outline off the computer from DTLK.

I then put it on cardstock to give it more support. Evan will glue the beans to the monkey and fill in the lines. I'll use a thick glue for this. We can practice his counting with the beans, too. Then we'll count and glue the bananas around the monkey. It's cute just for fun. You could tie it in to the letter M or B for bananas and beans. I plan to incorporate stories and songs into some of these activities. For the monkey we can read about Curious George or sing about the "5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed". With the butterfly we can sing "If I Were a Butterfly", or "Butterfly, Butterfly Happy All Day". We might turn our butterflies into puppets by attaching a straw to the underside so we can make them flutter around the room!

I really like having these bagged up and ready to go. And I think I'll jot down some of these books and song ideas to put in the bag with the crafts. With my memory, it's good to have as much as possible written down.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

TTFN

~Tina

Toddler/Preschool Activities 3

You might be getting sick of all the recent posts on toddler and preK activities. So sorry if you are. I promise, though, my focus shall shift in the near future. It's just where my head's at right now. Between making the Toddler/Preschool Activity bags with a group of friends for this coming school year, and making plans with one friend for how we shall "teach"/occupy around 10 toddlers and preschoolers for our homeschool co-op, let's just say it's on my mind.

So here's my next installment of Toddler/Preschool Activities....

This first one is just a repeat of the last one, but taken one step further. I purchased more mini erasers ($1 for around 25) for the "I Spy" bottles. But I made sure there were 2 of each.

One set went into the jar.

The second set was glued to cardboard. Then I cut the cardboard sheet into little cards. The point of this is to have the child match what he sees in the bottle to the cards. I know I could have let the mini erasers loose and had him just match those to what he sees in the bottle, but Evan still puts everything into his mouth. So I needed a way to make that impossible (or at least less likely). I bagged them up and labeled them.

Now the next activity is one that is "in the making". They are boxes to help Evan celebrate and experience the liturgical year. I'm calling them Liturgical Year Toddler Boxes (unless I come up with a better name). I'm going to make these little boxes for different seasons/celebrations in the church year. I'll have one for Lent, Easter, Advent, Christmas, the Saints, and the months we celebrate the Blessed Mother. I don't think I'll get these all done this summer. I plan to create them as we go along this first year. I will paint them according to their liturgical color. Then we'll have them already established for next year, although some things (consumables) will have to be replenished.

I saw the idea for these boxes some time this summer, but I can't remember where? If I do think of it or find it, I'll post a link to it. In the meantime, just remember that this is not my idea. But I like it just the same. I bought these boxes to start:

They are small. That's what I wanted. I didn't want anything consuming a large amount of shelf space. They are 5"x5"x 2 1/2 ".

The first activity that I made is for the Marian box. It is a set of matching cards with images of Mary on them. There are two of each image. We will look at them, and discuss the titles for the Blessed Mother. Initially we'll match them while they are face up. But eventually we'll do a memory matching game.

I made these with some stickers I had on hand. I put them on light blue cardstock/craft paper and cut them out the same size. I plan on laminating them. Then I placed them in a plastic ziploc snack bag and put a decorative sticker and label on the outside.

Eventually the Marian box will also hold a rosary, a statue and a mini storybook about Mary. And I hope to print out a small coloring book of the Blessed Mother, also. If I can't find one, I'll just shrink some larger coloring pages and staple them together. We'll pray the Hail Mary "together", too, while we explore this box. I'm not sure what else. I haven't thought about it any more than that.

I'm also making these Matching the Saints card games for the Toddler Preschool Activity Bag Exchange that I'm doing with a group of friends. Basically the same as the Marian ones, but with different saints.

I didn't have any stickers, so I had to photocopy my own holy cards. Then I cut them out and glued them onto cardstock. I hope to laminate these, also. These, of course, will go into my Saints box along with some similar things to the Marian box, only with the saints as the focus. I know I already have a mini book about the saints on hand. And it should be easy enough to find a few small saint statues.

If you have any thoughts on what to put in these Liturgical Year Toddler Boxes, please let me know. I'd love to hear your ideas!

Have a restful night!

TTFN

~Tina