Chalk Board

LOVE CHALKBOARDS!!! I love the freedom of chalk! Caden had a lesson at church about being thankful for Water and all of the things that water does for us. We he got home he was telling me all about it and was very interested in how the water got up in the clouds so I whipped out my chalk and drew this little diagram for him.
He loved it! He was so engaged and I even saw him trying to redraw it and explain it to Daddy:) The reason a chalk board is so great is I could give Caden a little lesson right then and there while he was interested in the subject! I found that children will learn and retain something so much better if they are interested:)

Fun Side Walk Games

I love creating side walk games for the boys! It's such a great way to get them moving while teaching them too! We've practiced Numbers and Letters before and this day I decided to play with colors and following directions:) I drew a bunch of circles in different colors, while making paths. Some paths are harder then others! See how easy Green is? The idea is to choose a color and then jump in only that color as you make it to the other side:) We also did some racing! We each chose a color and then raced across! Somehow I always lost;)

As an added challenge you never knew when one of your circles would be blocked by a cute little baby!!!

We also did some line walking:)

We just went to the doctor for our 18 week ultrasound and found out...
We also found out that she is healthy and doing great:)

Letter Mats!

I found these awesome playdough mats on Homeschool Creations! Here's a picture of me and Drake working together:) He didn't get it but he had fun squishing the playdough on to the mats:) (the rings make it so that two children can work on it at the same time:)
Caden loved it but he loved using his magnet letters even more! I used the spelling mat set up that I had already made for him before and just added the extra pages! It was great because all of the pages are stored together and then I can just rotate them around!

Some Fun Birthday Traditions!

First of all! Thank You to All of Jacks Grandparents for going in on this fabulous sand box! (We need to add more sand!) Jack loves it and played in it for an hour all by himself!!! It was fun to watch him play!

We decorated butcher paper to use as Jack's rapping paper:)

He loved it:)
We also had Caden and Drake decorate Jacks first birthday cake! They loved helping and were so excited to give it to Jack! I put white frosting in to little sandwich baggies with some food coloring and the boys squished them around to mix the colors. Then, we cut a tiny hole so that they could squeeze it out on to the cake. Just add sprinkles:)

I think it turned out super cute!

Happy First Birthday Jack!!!

I can't believe that my baby is 1! I know people say that all the time but really I cried today when I put him down for bed! I Love watching my boys grow and learn but I'm not ready for my little Jack-Jack to grow up! He's too Innocent and sweet! Since this blog is for my on records as well as to share with all of you I am going to write s note my sweet boy on hi special day:)
Jack,
From the moment you were born I knew there was something amazing about you! When I held you I could feel your sweet spirit and I couldn't get enough! This whole year you have been such a fun person to have in our family. You have me and your daddy rapped around your little finger. You and I just stopped nursing and it was not easy for me! I knew it was the right time because you were ready but I knew how much I would miss that time with you! You would cover your eyes with your arm and make funny little grunting noises that I would mimic and you would laugh! I will treasure those moments with you! As you start this new year heading into being a toddler I am so grateful that you have brothers who adore you and family who light up when they see you! You are so important to us and I am so excited to watch you grow this year! I'm crying as I write this to you because my heart is so full of love for you! Happy Birthday Baby Jack! I love you so much!
Love,
Your Mommy!

Butterflies!

My sister, Summer, got the boys a butterfly house and ordered some caterpillars!!!! The boys are so excited and they check on their caterpillars every morning comment on how much bigger they are! We have already talked about what will happen and the boys can't wait to see the change. I went to the Library and checked out several fact books about butterflies and a few story ones. One of the fact books was a very simple book called "Butterfly Colors" by Helen Frost. It talks about the wings of the butterfly and about how they match each other.

The boys have been itching to use glitter glue so I decided to make symmetrical butterflies! We started with a whole piece of construction paper folded in half. The boys used their little fingers to squeeze different colors all over the paper. When they were finished I helped them fold if in half and they rubbed the outside with their hands. When we opened the paper we talked about how the two sides are symmetrical just like butterfly wings! When they dried I cut a butterfly shape while it was folded and then we put them up on their Wall! The boys were so excited and I really think it was a great way to learn about symmetry and butterflies(and have fun squeezing glitter glue). We will be doing more butterfly activities because the boys have been loving all things "bug" lately:)

Caden's Butterfly

Drake's Butterfly

Pretty Flowers!

These flowers are in my sister Misty's front yard:)

She had to solve the problem of the children tripping over this stump without removing it! I think it is so cute and fun! She drilled holes about an inch and a half down (deeper would probably be better). She bought a bunch of dollar store flowers and stuck them in:) So pretty and no more tripping kids:)

Here's Drake having fun rearranging the flowers with his cousin:) I have a stump in my backyard that I would love to do this with:)

Pizza Shapes

Nate told me he had to work late so I decided to do a fun dinner with the boys:)

You will need; Pizza sauce, cheese, pizza crust and large cookie cutters:)

I started by letting the boys choose their cookie cutters and we tried to fit as many on the crust as we could. We then removed the outside dough and putter our pizza shapes on the pan:) The boys used a spoon to spread the sauce and then sprinkled cheese on each pizza.

They turned out soooo cute and the boys were so excited to make them and watch them bake:) Great way to pass the time till daddy got home:)

Fun Food!

OK all you Muffin Tin Mommies and fancy food makers I give:) I haven't given very much but I did buy some little heart picks at the dollar store:) I know, bold right?? LOL! I just cut up strawberries and cheese and then the boys poked them and ate them!

Caden started to make shish kabobs:)
We did it with apples too and the boys love it!

I think I will do more things like this! It was fun for me and the boys and it was great fine motor practice! They also sat for longer at snack and took more sensible bites! I might even try a muffin tin Meal:) TeeHee:)

Book Picnic!

New Library Books+Blanket+Sunshine= fun time with my boys!

We were sitting in the shade but it was a beautiful day! I loved reading with the boys outdoors! There was something very calming and peaceful about it:)

Pet Store Field Trip

The pet store is such a fun place to take the boys and to learn more about animals! We are blessed to have pet store down the street that has baby chicks, ducks, lambs, peacocks, bunnies, turtles, birds, reptiles, rodents and more!!! The boys love it and I love talking to them about the different animals:)

The baby goats were sucking/nibbling on our fingers and Caden thought it was so funny!!!

Worms!

We were working in the backyard and found WORMS!! I love bugs(minus roaches and spiders) so I was excited to show the boys! I love homeschooling because there are so many teaching opportunities that pop up in everyday life! We talked about the worms; about their segments and how they turn dirt into better soil and how the help our earth:) It was great and the boys (especially Caden) loved it and thought they were fascinating. We observed them in this tub and then added them to our compost pile:)

Outdoor Water Table!

So I started using our Radio Flyer Wagon as a tub holder for water play! Only you mommies will appreciate how COOL it is that I found a new tub that fits perfectly into the wagon!! I was soooooo stoked! All three boys will spend a half hour to and hour playing in the tub and I love it. Some activities we have done in the tub; water with soap and dishes, ping pong balls with dollar store sieves(they LOVED this), Shaving Cream, paper mache, sea creatures, river stones with buckets, water, and scoops, and a few more I can't think of!

If you don't have a "super awesome tub that fits perfectly into a radio flyer wagon" then you could always put the tub on the ground or on a little picnic bench:) The boys love it and I even play quite a bit:)

Baby Flash Back:)

When Caden was 9 months old we had these couches from Ikea and we would build forts and tunnels and climbing obstacles! Caden loved it and it was a great way to build his large motor skills, get out some energy and to have fun as a family!

How Cute Was HE!!!!!!

Sensory Tub

I put this tub together for the boys. It's rice, seashells and sea stones with some measuring cups. The stones and shell were collected by me on the beach in Seattle when Caden was little, knowing we would use them one day. I tried to collect ones that were the same but different sizes and other that were exactly the same, stones that had varying colors and textures. The measuring cups are from the target dollar spot and I really like them! I think we are going to really enjoy this one:)

I Love this Book!

More importantly the boys love it!

It's all about a little dog you goes around town and get covered in different colored spots:) It's great for practicing colors and simple addition and counting. The boys love to retell how the dog got all of the spots at the end of the book! I love that they are working on their reading comprehension and loving it:)

We also did a little extra activity. I used the cover of the book to trace a the dog onto a piece of

white paper with a black marker. I gave the boys Glitter Glue and Crayon rocks and as I read the story they would add the spots of the right color in the right spot! Caden loved it and followed along very well while Drake smeared his dog with pink glitter;)

I also want to make a felt board set so that they can re-tell the story. That's not going to happen because I can't find my felt:( It's in a box somewhere! It would be fun to make a little button board with felt circles:)