The Letter P

We have been trying to remember the letter Pp.  These kids are young, so I don't expect them to always pass the alphabet test.  I  just believe that introducing these things to them early will help them to remember it later when it matters.  We created pasta and purple bead necklaces.

Not only is this activity helping them remember the color purple because they had to fish out the purple beads, but it requires eye hand coordination and fine motor skills.  Creating necklaces are just a good thing, hands down.

It takes a little bit of time, too. 

Meanwhile, look who thinks he owns the computer chair?  As I was typing this morning, he joined me...

Don't mind me, Smudge.. I'll be out of your hair soon.. Wow. Happy Friday!  Praise the Lord the sun is shining!  Do you ever just tell God thank you throughout your day?  I sure do, always count your blessings.  They are plentiful!  We are thankful for Smudgie kitty. ♥♥♥

Song for today is Don't Worry,  Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin. ☼♫

15 Bumblebees

♫Happy Spring!  We sang the bumblebee song.  ♫

I'm bringing home my baby bumblebee,

Won't my mama be so proud of me, 

I'm bringing home my baby bumblebee..

OUCH!  He stung me!

(Smack hands together)

I'm squishing up my baby bumblebee,

Won't my mama be so proud of me,

I'm squishing up my baby bumblebee,

(Look at hands..) Eeew, all dirty!

(Washing hand motions)

I'm washing off my baby bumblebee,

Won't my mama be so proud of me,

I'm washing off my baby bumblebee...

♪All clean!♫

It is officially spring because the fawn has arrived.  We usually see a new one each year, sometimes two.  This fuzzy little guy arrived right on time. Click on the photo to see it a little better.♥

 To create our 15 bumblebees, I painted some yellow paint onto a paper plate.  This is what the kids will used to create 15 thumbprints.  Painting it out all over the plate makes it less likely that the fingerprints will be blobs.  We wanted them to dry quickly.

We made sure to count them together individually.

As they dried, I added a couple of lines to create the bumblebees. :)  The kids were delighted by this simple transformation.  One was old enough to be able to do it herself, but she wanted me to do it for her.  Well, ok.  Sometimes I'm a sucker. 

Watch out for bees! Happy Thursday!♥♥

Song for today is now playing at Henle House, I Can See Clearly by Johnny Nash.  We had Luau night at AWANA and I'm not over the happy sunshiny music.  It feels like summer in here. ♫

Smudge Crashes Group Time

9:00 AM is group time as long as no one is bleeding.  I was just about to show the kids the camera up close.  It's fun to take a house hold object and teach the kids about it.  Sometimes we just take normal things for granted.  Other objects we have learned about in group time are the fork, kleenex, flashlight.. the list just goes on and on. 

Smudge decided that group time needed to be about him instead.  It's so funny that no matter what Smudge is doing, the kids laugh.  "Look, Smudge is sleeping."  (Kids giggle and ooh and aahh..) ♥

He chose our story.

He inspected the group time basket.. probably for treats.

He patiently listened while we read the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

That wasn't good enough for Smudgie.  He needs to be the CENTER of attention, and I was getting the attention at this point.  So onto my lap he went.

Ella thought we should just get him down his own cushion.

He paused, but we were done by that time.  We love our Smudge, what an awesome cat!  He has no fear.♥

Song for today is now playing at Henle House.  Honkey Cat by Elton John.  Can't help but smile. ☼

Miscellaneous Day

Yesterday was busy with a variety of activities.  It was time to return our library books and pick out some new ones.  I have an extensive children's book collection, but it's nice to read some that aren't familiar to me.  I use a reusable grocery sack as my trusty library book bag.  It holds almost 20 books, depending on the book thickness, of course.  So off we went- the kids were so good.  It was fun to escape.

We also assembled some large floor puzzles.  I sure love them.  It's funny how when something is bigger, suddenly it's more fun.

We took some time out to marvel at how Smudge loves to lay on his scratching box.

I thought I'd mention what happened over the weekend.  We have been looking at this muddy mess on the side of the house for a couple of months now.  We scheduled some gravel to be delivered.

See?  I am so glad to see that mud covered up.

But, OOPS, the truck driver who delivered it to us backed over a water meter and popped in half, causing flooding.  That is Joe, a friend of ours who works for the city of Snohomish who came out to assess the damage..   He was prepping it for repair. At least the sun was shining. ☼

I have big plans for that space over the fence.  First of all, we are getting rid of that boat.  It's too heavy.  We are also getting rid of the pools.  Directly underneath all of that stuff will be the new location of a pumpkin garden.  ♥  Adam said, "Will you not be happy until every square inch of our yard is covered in gardens?"  In my mind I was thinking,  "You'd LET ME cover every square inch?  Sweet!"  I just smiled.  He's great- always helping me dig out gardens wherever I choose.  He really doesn't mind. :)  Happy Tuesday!

Song for today is Mercy by Lillian Axe. ♥♫

St. Patty's Day Hats

I trust you all had a nice St. Patrick's Day, the sun was shining in Washington!  Friday we created some shamrock hats to wear on Saturday.

The kids colored green paper strips with green crayons.  Green on green works.  It helped add a little bit of time to our simple project.

Glue stick blob, stick.. slap the paper down to make sure it is secure.. repeat. :)

"Seee?"  ♥

Can't believe how big she is getting.  I must also share that I was contacted over the weekend because this little one was worried about me because she knows I do not like the snow right now.  We woke up Sunday to a winter wonderland- I was surprised.  Good thing we pulled through.  Although there is a snow dusting this morning, the sky is blue and I am counting my lucky stars.  Or maybe just counting my FAVORITE star, the sun.  It felt good at the bus stop!  Happy Monday!♥♥♥

Song for today is Lean On Me by Club Noveau.  Jamming right now at Henle House. ♫

Rainbows

"Let's pretend that the rain has stopped and we see a huge rainbow!"  We finger painted rainbows yesterday.

Dip, paint, dip, paint.. We tried very hard to use just one finger.

Bright colors sure can brighten the mood!

I really love Crayola paint.  It washes off so easily.  Sometimes we just use a baby wipe.

A pot of gold at the end of the rainbow completed our project.  We had just read about leprechauns and how they are always looking for gold.

Meanwhile, torrential rains forced me to rescue...

...the rain boots.  They are usually safe on the porch.  I read in the paper this morning that the country is experiencing an unusually warm week everywhere EXCEPT the Northwest.  I am trying to continue my love affair with Washington, but it is very hard right now.  Happy Friday everyone!♥♥♥

Song for today is by Hanson, Strong Enough To Break.  That's right, I said Hanson.  ♥♥♥

What The..

Had to share, we saw that Aiden was drawing furiously on the marker board.  It took us a second to realize he was only drawing an angry bird based on his hood blanket.  Phew! LOL, needed a laugh this morning.  Meanwhile, praying for some serious sunshine.  The rain is taking it's toll on all of us here in Washington.  Please, Lord.  Send us some sun!

Yep, I had to post this one AGAIN, it's just so beautiful.  All Souls Night by Loreena Mackennitt. ☼