Family

Tot School Oct. 7-13 (29 1/2 mths.)

October 14, 2012 By Thaleia 3 Comments

This week was just as busy as the last! Lil’ Red had lots of seasonal experiences and just plain old fun for tot school. We did not have a lot of “traditional” tot school or tot trays, but we were barely home this week. We started the week with nature and ended the week with nature!

Nature program- petted a Grass Spider and Collected Hickory Nuts

Homeschool Gym Day- got to learn some gun safety and take a hike. Big brother and big sister got to play kickball.

Pumpkin Patch– he got to ride in a hay wagon and pick HIS VERY OWN PUMPKIN! His first time at a pumpkin patch:)

Grandparents stopped by, so he got to see both sets in one day!

Tot School table time-He got a little wild with his markers! He took his dry erase marker to the wall next to his table area. I cleaned it up and he did it again. I took the markers away for that day. Next he wanted to work on his notebook, but ended up drawing on the wall and shelf again!

Cut Broccoli for soup– we put him in his seat to help make some yummy cheesy broccoli and carrot soup!

New Hair-do-He got a haircut by grandma and looks like a little boy- no longer a baby!

Scarecrows at local festival-Lil’ Red helped put up scarecrows made from recycled materials for a local festival. He waited patiently while mom and dad were busy securing the scarecrows (for a little while anyways)!

Outdoor time Tricycle Riding-He learned to peddle his tricycle! This was a big accomplishment. I thought he wouldn’t be tall enough until Spring. I guess we will need to clean the house up even more so he can ride around the kitchen and livingroom this Winter!

Nature Time-We went on a Nocturnal Wetland program looking to catch frogs and insects. We did not catch any, but got to see some!

Each day he amazes me at what things he knows and has picked up. His vocabulary is increasing especially if he can repeat a “bad” word or phrase that he hears others use. He thinks it is hysterical if he repeats something that drives the rest of the family nuts! That’s just a typical 2 1/2 yr. old.

LINKING Up With:

Recycled Materials Scarecrow Tutorial

October 12, 2012 By Thaleia 4 Comments

How to Build a Scarecrow from

Recycled Materials!

Toddler Scarecrow 101- scarecrow tutorial

Supplies:

OLD/OUTGROWN CLOTHES: Tennis Shoes, Jeans, Long Sleeved shirt or Sweatshirt

Socks- that fit youth shoe sizes 1-4~

Bamboo poles- the skinnier the better 4′ tall

Masking tape, Clear Packaging Tape or Duct Tape

Recyclables- Hugs Juice, soup cans, milk jugs, butter tubs,etc (make sure they are washed and dried)

Hammer, Awl, Screwdrivers

PLENTY OF Imagination!

Gather ALL supplies that you THINK you may need. (you’ll probably scramble around the house as new ideas emerge.)
Start off with bamboo poles and clothes. Lay the clothes out and see how it looks.
Poke holes through soles of shoes. Use hammer and awl. Then use various sizes of screwdrivers to make hole big enough to slide onto bamboo pole.

With soft plastic like the Hugs juice, you can use an awl to poke a hole and then a couple of screwdrivers that increase in size to make the hole large enough to slide onto the bamboo pole.

Poke holes through your containers and then poke holes through socks and shoes. Thread stuffed toed socks onto bamboo poles. Be sure to tuck toes into shoes and then thread shoes onto poles. Put soup can or bottles onto poles and pull socks up. Drop pants onto poles and proceed to thread containers increasing in size onto the poles.

Find a fat container (bucket, ice cream tub, Easter basket, etc) for the waist to hold pants up. If pants cannot be tightened to hold container then hot glue waist onto container. Add a couple large containers for torso. Drop on shirt.

Create arms by using skinny hugs or water bottles for arms. Use applesauce or greek yogurt or easy mac containers for shoulders. If threading on bamboo angle the holes on the shoulder containers as shown in pictures.

What Fun We Can Get Into…Library Style

October 9, 2012 By Thaleia 1 Comment

What Fun We Can Get Into…Library Style

We are fortunate to be surrounded by towns and cities that ALL have libraries. We can be at one of four different libraries in under 20 minutes! We have library cards for 3 out of 4 but plan to get the 4th libraries card since they offer cake pan’s to check out. Talk about super cool!

This week we went to the BOAT library for their first ever Lego Club. Eldest and Princess were very excited to see what this library had to offer over another library. Lil’ Red liked being about to play with duplos, dinosaurs, jump into bean bag chairs, AND use a touch screen pc!

This library offers online reserves and ILL throughout their county library branches which makes it super convenient for this homeschooling momma. I go online the day or 2 before and reserve my MUST HAVE books. Other neat online features is BookFlix through Scholastic which I can access from home through this libraries website. BookFlix is an online interactive resource for tots and elementary students with digitized books and books set to movies.

If Life Hands You a Dead Car..

October 8, 2012 By Thaleia 1 Comment

10 Things To Do If Your Alternator Dies

The Back Story:

We were on our way to a mommy blog meet-up of all things when our van suddenly coasted to a stop. We were in a very small town at the crossroads of two state routes. Luckily we had lunch and extra snacks packed and we had cell phone reception! We call dad the official go-to-car-guy. We pack Lil’ Red in a stroller and walk down the street a block or so to the “center of town” or 2 small businesses that were closed! One was selling 2 squash for $1 with a sign that said, “please slide money under the door.” Now this is small town America we are talking about:)

1. Call your dad the mechanic. Make sure you have the phone number of AAA, your local mechanic, someone from your church or community who can help you repair or tow your vehicle. Much cheaper then just looking a number up in the phone book.

2. Make sure you know where you are. We were right near an intersection of two state routes clearly marked.

3. Pray that the kids do not get too antsy and that your father can find you, lol. No really you can pray for safety and that everyone has a fun adventure!

4. Knock on a total strangers door in order to use bathroom. I saw an older couple checking their mailbox and bringing out their dogs. I knew they were home and they seemed like a good choice:)

5. Get a great cutting of succulents from said stranger!

6. Allow kids to dig out camp chairs, binoculars, and any other fun thing to pass the time.

7. Notice Buckeyes on the ground and Collect them. We are collecting nuts/seeds for our local metroparks GO NUTS! Program.

8. Let kids run wildly through the back lot of an abandoned business!

9. Have kids ride with grandpa back to car repair barn.

10. See which child wants to help Papa Jim at car barn and who wants to just run around and play. Princess decided to help change out 3 alternators before one worked!

Top Ten Tuesday at Many Little Blessings

Tot School Oct. 1-6 (29 mths)

October 6, 2012 By Thaleia 6 Comments

Fall Themed Tot School

Super Busy Week! We have been very busy with lots of things, but I tried very hard to take lots of pictures along the way! I really want to be part of tot school link up since we do tot school each week:)

We had a movie night and had leftover popcorn. I was getting ready to throw it in the trash when I thought, “Why not make this into a tray activity first?” and that is what I did! Lil’ Red saw it and got right to work. He played for awhile trying to get the popcorn into various sized containers.

We gathered leaves and did some leaf art work. I was helping Princess and Eldest for a few minutes so Lil’ Red started chalking himself! He was a mess, but had lots of fun! To read more about this art project check out: Wacky Wednesday Autumn Leaves.

Lil’ Red gets come to the Classical Conversations group I provide childcare for each week. The class is perfect for him. He gets to play with other kids his age (1yrs.-31/2yrs.). I get to bring out busy bags and other “tray-like” activities. This encourages sharing, taking turns, and makes something old new and fun again!

I caught him reading a book all on his own:)

He carries this book around saying, “Aunt Amy bought me this book. See this book!” and things like, “I read this book from Aunt Amy.” He really enjoys reading this book over and over. He knows some of the repeated phrases and love the silly bear putting on his clothes all wrong at first. This book is perfect for a toddler!

We were heading for a quick trip out of town and broke down on the way. Here are some pictures of us waiting for Papa Jim to rescue us and from the car repair barn from Papa Jim’s church ministry:

One of Lil’ Red’s favorite activities is “Take a Cheese?” He likes to take pictures with my phone or camera whatever is handy. Here’s one he took of mom and dad. So cute and so good! Only cropped to fit in this post.

Friday it was very cold (20 degrees colder than Thursday and super rainy), but Lil’ Red wanted to go outside to play. He loves to ride his worm. So that is what he did with hoodie and rain poncho on: