Snowmen/Demo Shock

Yesterday we had all sorts of plans to work on at the table for preschool, but the loud banging that was going on in our bathroom had me feeling out of sorts and I didn't manage any of it.  There is something about hearing my sweet home being beaten on that hurts my soul!!  I love this place.

We learned a new song instead. 

Five Fat Snowmen

Five fat snowmen sitting in a row

The sun cam out... OH NO! (Hands on cheeks, yell Oh No)

Four fat snowmen sitting in a row

The temperature is rising... OH NO!

Three fat snowmen sitting in a row

The day gets warmer...OH NO!!!

Two fat snowmen sitting side by side

Icicles dripping... OH NO!!

One thin snowman sinking down low

Now he's a puddle.. OH NO!!!

The kids love the oh no part, they get very animated about it. :)

We had a little bit of snow last night for the first time this winter.  It's gone now, but frozen outside.  We will have to sing our song again today!

Here's what happened in the bathroom yesterday.. My father in law popped by to help Adam get the pink tub out. 

Goodbye pink tub!!  I cannot say that I will miss you.

It took my breath away when upon closer inspection we realized that the wood you see there is actually the siding on the back of our house.  My father in law's foot went through the rotten floor under the tub... thank goodness we are taking care of this now. The demo continues this morning.  

♥♥♥Happy Thursday!♥♥♥

Marshmallow Nine/ Bathroom Makeover

We used worksheets to learn how to write the number nine.  It is also fun to glue things onto a number nine.  We used marshmallows!

First we worked on lining them up on the lines.

Then we added glue and stuck the marshmallows into the glue.

I'm surprised that no one attempted to eat the marshmallows.   They were concentrating.

To finish, they glued nine marshmallows around their number nine. :)

To prevent marshmallow overdose, the little one glued nine rectangles instead of marshmallows. :) 

Happy Wednesday! 

I am so excited this morning because Adam is at this moment demolishing our bathroom. 

Here is what it looked like when we first moved in five years ago.

And the photo below is what it has looked like since then.

We got rid of the mint green and wallpaper strip just to get by.  You will not believe what it looks like behind that wallboard.  GROSS!!  I will blog after the bathroom is completed.  It could take us a while since we are learning as we go.  PLEASE PRAY!!  This is our only shower, so we will be sponge bathing until who knows when.

The Letter Ii

We are working on the letter Ii this week. I have to say, each morning in group time we go back over the letters of the alphabet OUT OF ORDER and the group of kids that are here right now name the letters correctly almost every time!!  I am very happy to hear them do it.  They feel good when they get it right.

Here was the project for the little ones.  They glued colorful squares onto the Ii.

Not too short, not too long, this project is just about right. ☺

The older kids worked on controlling the crayon and writing i's if they could.  

If you need something quick and entertaining to do, glob a couple of colors onto a white piece of paper and encourage your child to mix the colors together to see what happens.  Our group learned that red and white make pink!

♥♥♥Happy Tuesday!♥♥♥

Imagination Play Day

Kids need to play!  We got out the dress up and hauled the puppet show theater down from the attic to play with last week.  The kids enjoy toys much more when they have been put away for a while. 

We spent the morning playing with the puppets and being messy and noisy.

We have collected quite a selection of puppets over the last four years, so it's nice that we can each choose several to play with and not have to wait for a puppet.  

Happy kids = happy day!♥

We also got out the foam dough for sensory play at the table.  I LOVE this stuff.  No mess at all!  It's weightless, so the kids love the easy stacking aspect of it, too.

I love the bright colors. :) 

♥♥♥Happy Monday!♥♥♥

Counting Cheerios

We reviewed a lot of things yesterday.  Letters, shapes, colors, name recognition and numbers.  The kids enjoyed counting Cheerios and gluing the correct amount into each box.  They did a great job controlling the glue, too! Just a dab, but enough to hold the Cheerio.

This took a little bit of time, and the kids were very quiet while they worked.  (Bonus!)

We also learned the concept 'beside'.  The kids wore finger puppets in group time and were each given a block to place beside the finger puppet.  We then moved on to 'above', 'behind', and 'in front of'.  

This worksheet was perfect for this age group!  Color, cut and paste the chicken beside the barn.  All of them used the scissors!  They did pretty well, I had to remind one of them to open and shut the scissors to get them to work.  I was impressed.  It was a great day, and the sun was shining as well.

♥♥♥Happy Thursday!♥♥♥

Party Hats

On New Year's Eve, we made some party hats! 

First, I cut out a crown shape and wrote 2013 on it in block numbers.  The kids colored the crowns as they pleased.

I got out this messy confetti.  Adam doesn't allow glitter in our home, and I'm so glad because it is such a mess.  I can just see it stuck in the cracks of our wood flooring.  This confetti is a pretty bad offender, too.  It sticks to skin- no glue needed.  It was perfect for party hats!

They learned to sprinkle the confetti without pushing it into the glue.

Working diligently.

Happy New Year!  The kids in Snohomish are back in school this morning.

♥♥♥Happy Wednesday!♥♥♥

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!  Wether you know it or not, your last year was full of blessings.  Sometimes even the bad things are blessings in disguise.  God uses all sorts of experiences and circumstances in our lives for His purpose.  We should not forget to thank God for each and every circumstance.  Looking back on my life, I can see why I was put through the ringer.  I had a lot to learn, and I think the main thing that I was supposed to do was to lean on God.  I had been so far away.  

I just had to hit rock bottom in order to see that I need God.

Are you there yet? If you are, there is only one way out- ask God into your life, and MEAN it.   Then watch God change your outlook on all of the circumstances.  I certainly see things differently now. 

My friend on facebook suggested this jar idea.  Set up a jar in your home with paper readily available.  Throughout the entire year, everyone in the house is welcome to jot down something good that has happened.  A lesson learned, a blessing, an accomplishment- a beautiful sunny day, anything.  Then at the end of the year, sit down as a family and read them all. :)  We are IN.  A jar is now placed in the kitchen window and the paper and pencil are hanging next to it.  Ethan made that recipe holder in school at Mothers Day last year, and it's perfect for this.  If you need to try really hard to look for something good- try this: 

I'm alive, tomorrow is new, God is in control. 

♥♥♥Happy New Year!♥♥♥