Helicopters

We took ten minutes yesterday and played with some puzzle pieces numbered 1-5.  When the pieces are lined up in order, they create an alligator scene.  It was fast, and to speed things along, I had them all prepared ahead of time.  I just took the numbered sticker pieces and stuck them to craft sticks. 

See?  Easy.

I don't know what's going on, but this October weather has been very summer like.  It has really been beautiful every day!  At the morning bus stop, we noticed some "helicopters" laying on the ground.  These are seeds from a Maple tree.  I reminded the kids that our giant tree down the street is also a Maple tree, and that we should walk down there and see if it has also shared some "helicopters" with us.  

I can't believe how slow the leaves are changing this year.  Is it the weather?  Maybe. 

We paused to notice what colors the leaves are beginning to turn.  Yellow!

"Hooray!  The giant tree!" 

They forgot to look for helicopters because they were very excited to climb up into the tree.  I love these little visits.

Up and down, over and over.

He found one!

Usually by now there are lots of leaves to play in.  Not yet!  We will keep visiting in anticipation.

I put some helicopters into a baggie for them to play with back at Henle House after nap time.

We hopped over to the church park.  It was really warming up!  Pretty soon these girls would learn that someone needs to be on the other side of the teeter totter.

The kids really loved the tunnel slide this time.  

The leaves were looking beautiful over there.

She was looking for them!

A parent made this beautiful wreath for me! I had to share because I had been looking on Pinterest at burlap wreaths and hadn't made one before.  I'm just not crafty in that sense.  Luckily, this one arrived.  It was really a wonderful surprise. :)

Today will be the best day EVER, we are going to the pumpkin patch. 

♥♥♥Happy Tuesday!♥♥♥

Shape Jack-O-Lantern/Easy Apple Tart

For two days in a row I wasn't happy with my curriculum art choice and changed it on a whim.  I must say, Pinterest is kind of my right hand guy when it comes to instant ideas.  We created a shape jack-o-lantern. 

The shapes are what would make up the face.

The kids took two shades of orange paper and tore them into pieces.  Onto the paper they went!

I traced a simple pumpkin shape onto the paper for them to use as a template.

I love the way the two shades create a bit of depth.  

Onto the pumpkin went the shapes!  I love the way these turned out, and the kids worked very hard.  It takes quite a bit of time to glue on all of the pieces the way that they did. 

Friday evening I was blessed with some rare alone time.  Being alone is so important to me!  Sometimes just half an hour of being alone can renew my spirit.  My family went off to the Snohomish High School Homecoming football game and I baked up an apple tart to vedge in front of the tv with.  It was GLORIOUS.  It was just enough to curb my apple pie craving.  See the recipe below. 

Easy Apple Tart

1 sheet puff pastry cut in half (Frozen section at the grocery store)

4 cored apples (skin on)

1 cup brown sugar

1 heaping tsp. cinnamon

A sprinkling of pumpkin pie spice (optional)

1/4 tsp. salt

lemon juice or Fruit Fresh

powdered sugar

*Let Puff pastry sit for 25 minutes out of freezer to thaw.  

*Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

*Thinly slice your apples.

*Mix the apples in a bowl with brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and spice, and a dash of lemon juice or Fruit Fresh  together.  Let it sit for a few minutes until the juices are flowing.

*Cut Pastry Puff in half.  The original recipe I had said to place it on parchment paper.  I was out of that and used wax paper.  BIG MISTAKE.  Next time I will lay the pastry Puff over baking racks on top of a tinfoil lined cookie sheet to catch the juices and prevent the tart from baking in them.  The juices burn and harden to a crisp and the tart had to be separated from that.  NOT FUN. 

Parchment paper would be perfect to lay over the baking racks, too. 

Lay the apples onto the center of the pastry.  Curse that wax paper.

Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy!  These taste so good.  After I managed to chisel them off of the apple juice blackened pans, they were fabulous.  Even better the next morning right out of the fridge. 

Enjoy!

♥♥♥Happy Monday!♥♥♥

Counting Game

The kids have been playing with these lacing cards at the small table.   I am still enjoying that space.  It's out of the way, and a good place for the kids to sit down and play with the manipulative is placed out for them to get into.

We each received another book in group time yesterday!  I love Scholastic Reading Club for making books affordable.  Every child should have a book.

Smudge joined us, too.

I had an art project planned but felt like we should review some counting instead, so out came the skeleton game.  This game is good for so many reasons!  We learn about waiting for our turn, counting the dice, and how to celebrate and share someone's happiness if they win the game.  That last part can be difficult!  This is a house where not everyone wins the game, and that is an important lesson.  

Don't have a skeleton? Find it HERE and print it out.  I printed out ten copies so that no matter how many kids want to play, we will have enough pieces.  Don't like skeletons?  You can use this idea to create a shape pizza.  Give everyone a large circle and based on the number they roll they can collect pepperoni, rectangle cheese, triangle mushrooms etc.  Whoever gets the winning number of toppings wins!  (You can use apples on trees, too.)

The kids who played this with us last year were excited to play again!  We played two rounds in half an hour.

With each child, I would help them count the number on the dice.

They enjoy building the skeleton.  It gets tricky when they already have the pieces that they roll the dice for again.  Not everyone wins.  We were all ok with that.

I've been trying to teach the kids empathy lately as we have been working through some kindness issues.  This game was a good example of how we can cheer our friends on.

Hooray for the guy who completed his skeleton and won the game!!

 ♥♥♥Happy Friday!♥♥♥

Tunnel Vision/Decorating Fun

We had this great concept worksheet to complete yesterday that didn't get completed.  

We all had a bit of tunnel vision as a few decorations were being put up.  I love the way the kids notice things and get excited about simple changes.  I found a set of two giant plastic decorations on Amazon for around $11.00.  If you have Amazon Prime, this purchase qualifies for free two day shipping.  The set included a bat and a spider.  

The bat is holding up well outside.  You can purchase a set HERE.

They enjoyed just running around in circles underneath the spider.  

Out came the "Dollar Store Ghost".  These sure hold up year after year, and at only $1 I feel like I'm winning.  

I found a couple of small signs at a yard sale over the summer.  

These adorable guys are now for sale at Fred Meyer.  ($5.99?)  It contains a set of three very sturdy hanging decorations.  Bat, jack-o-lantern and spider.  

One of my favorite ways to decorate is indoor lighting.  I like to string or place orange lights around.  It makes the house feel warm and cozy. 

Remember last week when we hunted for leaf peepers?  The kids are still playing with them.  Sometimes less is more, right?  There is a room full of toys and they have been choosing the two small fabric leaves with eyes glued onto them.  Awesome!

♥♥♥Happy Thursday!♥♥♥

I'm In My Element

This art project is by far, my favorite.  This is the project that trumps all other art projects.  (And we have created a LOT of projects!) The kids painted the white paper with orange, yellow and red.

They can mix the paints, or not. The goal is to make all of the white paper disappear.

I love it.

Paint, paint, paint.

When the page is fully painted, then it's time for the magic.

Ahead of time, I cut out the leaves and the number 3.  For multiple pages, just staple the pages together and do the cutting once.  Remove the staples and you have multiple leaf page templates ready for use.

The emphasis was on three.  We placed the template over the top of the painting.

There is no other project that I love more than this one.

This is a celebration of God's Autumn beauty.  The way the leaves POP off of the paper is lovely.

No other project does justice to the leaf the way that this one does!

I love the mess of these colors.  It's the sign of a great morning!

Sometimes I wonder what I am doing with my life.  Then I take a look around and realize that I am in my element.  I am a mom, but I am also a part of all of these other children's childhoods.  That is so important!  I try to remember that when I am having what I refer to as "a day".   My short comings are just of minimal importance when I step back and look at the big picture.  

Happy October!  The month I wait for all year long!  The most spooky, gloriously colorful, cozy comfy month of the entire year for me!  I've got some decorations to rifle through today as I try to decide what fun to surprise the kids with this month in the play room.  We shall see, and I'm sure I will share with you.

♥♥♥Happy Wednesday!♥♥♥