Flex The Letter X

Yesterday during group time we heard the ducks making noise.  We were happy to see that Chippy was also outside the window.  All of these bossy animals wanted us to feed them.  Chippy is in front of the poppies on the stones to the left of the garden.  

She immediately made her way around to the door so she could get some nuts.

She's getting very bold-- almost grabbing out of my hand before I even put the nuts down!

We are just working on the letter X this week.  They did a great job tracing and writing it.

Look at the concentration! 

The whole time, all I could think about was a "literal video" of the song 'Separate Ways' where they sing "Watch me flex... letter X.."   We flexed the letter X with our arms in group time, but I didn't show them the video. 

I'm so sad that I can't find the Journey video to show you.  Here is another "literal video" that makes me laugh every time I see it.  'Total Eclipse Of The Heart'.  Hilarious!

♥♥♥Happy Thursday!♥♥♥

I Love My Job

Yesterday we moved our caterpillars, all tucked into their chrysalis', into the butterfly garden.  We had to get a close look at them first.

Isn't God an artist?  It's so amazing to me to think that he created creatures that transform.  

Here is what was left in the bottom of the caterpillar cup.  They shed their heads.

Here they are, tucked into the butterfly garden.  We pinned them to the side of it.  Now we must wait.  I think they should begin to emerge in 5 more days.  (7-10 days total.)

Remember when the kids used the paint dotters to count 19 dots?  I wanted to give them the opportunity to use those again.  We created gumball machines.

They glued the pieces onto the paper.

They chose the colors they wanted to use.

They created gumballs until they were content.

See?  I love my job so much, I can't even express it in words.  Listening to several people around me lately about how much they do NOT love theirs, I am feeling so blessed.  I love this job more than any job I have ever had.  It doesn't even bother me anymore when people just think I am running a "daycare".  (Cringe.)  They have no idea.  I know better!  

I love these!

Hey-- great news if you are a Partylite melt user, the melts are buy one get one free for the next couple of days.  ($3.00 per 9 pack!!)  You better believe that I hopped right on board for a deal like that.  I use those melts EVERY day.  It doesn't even bother me that I already have a box of my previous order being shipped to me.  Those things are gold, especially in a house full of children.  It makes my heart happy when someone tells me it smells good at our house.You can place your order here.   

♥♥♥Happy Wednesday!♥♥♥

This & That

The veggie garden is awake!  The kids have been pointing this out to me over and over.  See the baby sweet corn?

I can see some peas on the left, some carrots in the bottom of the photo, and the green beans. I have to put the baby sprouts under some plastic cups to protect the green bean sprouts from the slugs at night.  

This morning I had Zuko as my garden kitty.

Last Friday I was already in "three day weekend zone".  Good thing we had a movie planned!  The kids watched Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2.  I like that movie.  We took our kids to the theater to see it when it was playing. 

Of course, something happened with the caterpillars while the kids were gone.  On Saturday they all climbed up to the top of the cup and took the "hook" position.  They all just hung there, looking like fishing hooks. 

On Sunday morning, this is what they looked like!  The kids were all very excited to see this when they arrived this morning.  We will move them to the butterfly house today.

Something funny-  Petra "caught" a purse from the dress up cabinet and took it outside with her this morning!  It's funny because she's a girl.  Her favorite toy is a hair rubberband.  She's such a girl!

♥♥♥Happy Tuesday!♥♥♥

Name Hunt

Look how much the caterpillars have grown!  The left photo is from Monday.  The one on the right is from this morning.  They have more than doubled in size.

Yesterday we played a game of "Find Your Name".  I just wrote each child's name on a sticky note and hid them around the house.  The kids had a fun time finding them.  We played it for about half an hour.  Smudge followed me around all morning.

The kids would wait in the playroom.  They were released!  Kids love to find things.

They got pretty good at keeping it a secret if they found someone elses name, too. :)

We have all been enjoying pretty mild Spring weather lately.  It's raining again this morning, with rain in thr forecast for the next five or six days.

As I wandered past one of the many antique malls here in Snohomish last night with my handsome hubby- this pretty thing was on the sidewalk for $22.  I couldn't believe my luck-- it was practically screaming at me. 

It's the perfect piece for this spot near the front door.  Have a great weekend!

♥♥♥Happy Friday!♥♥♥

Spirals

Paper plates are such a wonderful art supply!  This time we began with a spiral on each plate.

We each colored the plate completely.  I loved the bright colors.

Oil pastels are my favorite.  The only thing that bugs me is that the pastels get all over the kids' fingers and we have to wash hands afterward.

Most of the kids colored both sides of the plate.  That is the best way to create our project: 

paper plate spirals.

Once the coloring is complete, we cut along the spiral that was drawn on the plate before we began.

Tape to the ceiling and you have a paper plate spiral!

If the kids are getting bored on a long afternoon, bring out something from the inside.  For some reason this just grabs their attention to see something they associate with indoor play time brought OUTSIDE.  They spent a good half hour reading books.  That's right-- one of my preschoolers can READ!  I can't take any credit for that, though.  

♥♥♥Happy Thursday!♥♥♥

Nineteen & Fishing

Once we get up into the teen numbers, it can be easy for the kids to lose interest.  They are always so energetic about counting from 1-10.  I find that it helps to lay items down and count them with the kids when we get into the larger numbers.  They have something to see, touch and counting becomes a little bit easier for them.  We counted out 19 blocks, and attempted to make a tower.  They kept falling after 14!  That was the best part, of course.

Off we went to the table to color our 19's.

 I love when they use lots of colors, but I don't suggest that they do it any certain way. 

We used the paint dotters to count out 19 dots. 

It is hard to stop-- "We only get to dot 19 dots?"  I suppose I should give them paper and let them dot until their hearts are content next time.  We'll go crazy.

The kids like to see their art being displayed.  I see them pause and take it all in, quite often!  They are proud of their creations. :)

Need something to do?  Ethan told me this morning that he and a friend spent some time trying to drop tp tubes in a certain way to get them to stand up on edge.  He said that you must hold it sideways for it to work.  It usually bounces, does a flip, and will sometimes land... on it's edge.  Who knew?

We did it!  This would keep preschoolers busy.  Hey- it would keep me busy too.

This amazing thing happened at the bus stop.  Our youngest son seems to be a bit of a contortionist.  Ouch!! 

Adam bought this little fishing boat.  We had a very similar one but it was so heavy.  This one is much lighter and fits in our van for easy transporting.  I'm telling you-- I LOVE my mini van.  It is so useful!  I was glad to be able to sit in a chair to fish again because my bad knee can't take a raft for very long.

Our catch last night.  Dinner tonight! I thank God for this. 

♥♥♥Happy Wednesday that I keep thinking is Thursday..♥♥♥