Just One!

We finished remembering what the number 1 looks like and we can all count to one. (OK, these guys are way ahead, but I like to be thorough.)  We placed a small sugar pumpkin on the table for inspiration as we painted our pumpkin.

Look who showed up looking for "just one more" peanut.  I love Chippy!  I swear, he has facial expressions.

I love to use the chunky paintbrushes.  They are great for kids who are still working on holding a pencil correctly.

Use, reuse, and recycle!  These little plastic cups held applesauce at one time.  They make excellent paint cups.

We worked on painting in the lines as we created one pumpkin.

Meanwhile, someone was getting pretty desperate!   I just want to scoop him up and snuggle him to pieces! Chippy does this almost daily.  Sometimes he eats his peanuts right away, other times he carries them off to store.  I love to find the odd places that he buried corn.  They usually sprout into a stalk.

Our cats know that Chippy is our pet.  They never bug each other, but often play chase. 

One pumpkin!

One adorable squirrel who wants just one more.  Happy Wednesday!♥♥♥

Just Let Them

I'm a clean freak.  Rubber Boots help with that.  We were on our way to a pumpkin launch last fall and the boys happened upon this beautiful puddle.  They had their boots, no problem.  7 or 8 years ago, I would've said, "No."   I have since learned that these little things are all a part of having fun.  The clothes can be washed.  Kids are resilient as far as dirt and being wet and muddy.  Go ahead, boys!  It's good, clean fun.  Happy Tuesday!♥♥♥

Leaves Are Changing

September is my favorite month for art.  It's time to start talking about and noticing the changing leaves.  Red, orange, yellow brown paints get used quite a bit at Henle House this month.  We started with a couple of leaf stencils cut out of black construction paper.  Older kids can master this, but for my younger preschoolers, I prepared this in advance. 

"You want us to paint ALL of the white, right?"  They are such great listeners.  I just love these guys.

I stressed that it was important for this project NOT to mix the colors.  We really wanted them to 'pop'.

It was almost a shame to cover up the paint with the stencil, they were very Claude Monet-ish.  The girls did a beautiful job! (All of my boys are in school now, so the whole preschool group is girl dominated.)

When the papers were finished....

We added our leaf stencil papers.  Beautiful!  This is a great way to highlight the brilliant colors of fall!  Happy Monday!♥♥♥

Visit A Farm

September is a great time to start adding trips to local farm stands into our schedule.  My preschool group is very small, and I am now VERY excited about this because we are no longer stranded!  We went to visit Stocker Farm yesterday to look for three items: apples for the dehydrator, zucchini to freeze for zucchini bread, and small pumpkins to decorate with.  We have been learning about how a pumpkin grows, and that it is nearly time to harvest apples.

We saw a beautiful new barn being built across the highway!  I couldn't be completely sure, but this looks like it might be at the entrance to the corn maze.

There was a sea of sunflowers trying to bloom!  Sunflowers at our house were late bloomers, too.

We pretended to bloom for them. ♥

There was a small plane flying overhead.  Stocker farm is located right next to Harvey Air Field.  (No relation, Harvey is my maiden name.)

I think the older and rustier something is, the more beautiful.

 Fast friends!

We climbed aboard the giant wagons to explore.

It was nice to have the place to ourselves!

Time to look for our loot.  We found some beautiful mini pumpkins and gourds.  There are currently 11 mini pumpkins and two gourds growing in our gardens at home, but not quite ready. 

 My little shoppers were price checking. 

We saw some squash and talked about the differences.  They did not, however, want to buy one to eat for lunch.

Inside the little shop I found those crates you see to the right of the baskets.  Each crate had 9 milk bottles, and they were priced at $9.99 per box.  I had to force myself to leave them in the shop.  What would I do with milk bottles?  I could use them as vases for gifts I suppose...   See the giant zucchini on the table? $1.00 each.

They were happy with their pumpkins. ;)

Look what I found?  Mmmm, raspberry honey- and in a wonderful jar!

Finally, captured this barn.   (Well, in a quick I'm in a hurry kind of way...) Click on the photo to see it a bit better.  I will eventually take the time to get some better shots of it before it crumbles to the ground.  It could go at any time.  Beautiful place, this town!!   I will not be posting again until Monday- tomorrow morning I am heading to Port Angeles for a weekend getaway.  I am hoping to take some beautiful Olympic National Rainforest photos to share later.  Happy Thursday!♥♥♥

Music Feeds The Mind

I like to have music playing during our preschool learning time at the table.  Having something soft playing not only soothes and calms MY mood, but the kids as well.  It is almost as if I can see the wheels turning in their creative minds as they work on their project for the day.   There are far too many of my favorite musicians to mention, but Enya is always a great choice!  Atmospheric and melodic, each Enya song kind of whispers into our ears and motivates us to work harder.   ALWAYS play music! ♫♪♫  The video features Enya- The first Of Autumn. ♥♥♥

Look Who Turned Five!

Happy Birthday to my niece Alexis!  Alexis has been a part of my every day almost since the day she was born.  She is FIVE today- and very excited about it!!  We have birthday party day for every child here, and today it's her turn.  I think every child gets the most excited about being five years old.  It means kindergarten is now within their grasp!  Love you to pieces, Alexis!!

Look who tied his shoes for the first time this morning!  Aiden (with a shirt) has been practicing and trying to do this since he started school last week.

Start with an x, put it through the hole and pull it tight...

Concentrating very hard on the bunny ear and wrapping it around....

Learning not to pull it too far....

"Mom, why are you always taking pictures???"   He DID IT!! 

It felt pretty good.  I remember the exact moment that I first tied my shoe.  One morning in the bathroom before kindergarten.  Can you remember when YOU did it?  Happy Tuesday! ♥♥♥

Preschool & Fall

Preschool has begun at Henle House!  During our first week, we focused on the color red, the number one, and the letter Aa.  Painting one red apple was a great way to reinforce what we had been learning.  My preschool group is very small this year since so many of the kiddos went off to kindergarten.  I am pretty happy about this because the smaller group opens up opportunities for us to go places.  I am planning a trip to the farm!!  (At LEAST twice.) 

I hung up my fall lights this morning with some direction from one of my little helpers.  She was sure to let me know exactly where they should go and that we should turn out the lights immediately to look at them in the dark.  I like to add seasonal lights to this spot because on dark cloudy days it is dark in this corner.  (No overhead lighting for sign in and out area.) 

We dressed up our playroom tree in fall colors, too!

The kids are learning about Autumn.  We have been looking at the trees every day as we go to and from the bus stop.  This is my favorite time of year.  Words cannot express how much I love a foggy morning.

 Finally, we hung some paper leaves from the ceiling to create the falling leaves effect.  We are now officially dressed for fall!  The first official day of Autumn is September 23rd.  Happy Monday!♥♥♥