The Olympics!!!

The kids LOVED our Olympic games!!!  Enjoy the pics:)

Olympic symbol painting

Track Field - Hurdles

Gymnastics - Balance Beam (Thanks Granddad!)

 Cute pic of the baby:)

Our gold medalists:)

 Love!!!

Olympics

I'm WAY excited about the Olympics!!!  So tomorrow we have some cool things planned:).

On the list list of things to make are:

1.  Our torches for our opening ceremonies
2.  Our Gold medals
3.  Our Olympic stadium (my living room and yard)
4.  Painting the Olympic symbol

The plan is to hold opening ceremonies and have family Olympics this week!!!  There will be hurdles, gymnastics, table tennis (all kid versions of course), and a lot of late nights for me as I stay up watching way past my bedtime.  I am WAY excited about this plan!

How are you enjoying the Olympics?

Our day without TV

Now I m not a TV hound.  I let my kids watch it and I have no problem with it, but I think it's because I also do so many hands on things with them that I don't feel bad.  Today, though, I really wanted to make our entire day, from 8am-2pm, free of TV.  Partly because I want to train myself for next year with preschool and partly because I have SO MUCH STUFF for little hands to learn with that it doesn't make any sense for them to watch TV between 8am and 2pm.  Slowly, but surely I am including Lil' Diva in on some structured activities also.  Dancin' Diva can do several things independently now so it's easier to get Lil' Diva in on the action now:).

Enjoy!

 In and out in and...

 Moon Dough:

4 cups of flour

1/2 cup of baby oil

Mix and play!

 Blocks

 Sensory Play

 My find of the day that I fell in LOVE with...Foam sheets cut into shapes+water+brushes= Greatness!

Her blog is GREAT!  Check her out!

Finished product

Edible finger paint that satisfies while big sisters are "painting" on the window...YOGURT!!!

Transportation Unit

http://www.4shared.com/file/pyGJyHG-/Transportation_Beginning_Sound.html? - Link for transportation beginning sounds picture

Colored Rice

I love this stuff!  The colors make me happy and I know two little preschoolers who enjoy it too:).  I'm working on filling their general sensory bin so I'm making several batches over the summer.

Things you need:

Rubbing alcohol

Food coloring

Plastic bags

Instructions:

Divide rice into bags

Pour in some alcohol (I just do two pours)

Mix colors as you wish

Seal and shake each bag

SN:  The longer you let the rice sit in the bags the brighter the colors

 Pour onto paper plates or newspaper (something you don't care about) and let dry

When the rice is dry pour into a plastic container for some sensory fun!

Ideas for play:  

Pouring

Seek and find

Rice art (you know...like the sand art kits)

Enjoy!

Seeing the squares

How do you guys plan your lives?  I LOVE seeing the squares on a paper calendar.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm not sure what I would do if my smart phone did not "beep" at me reminding me of certain things.  However, when it comes down to it there's nothing like the awesomeness of putting the pencil to the calendar and planning something...anything!  I know I'm a nerd, but I don't care:).  The tricky thing about planning though, is you have to know when to let it go.  For instance, I have our entire preschool plan ready to go for next year but I am completely OK with the school day taking on it's own vision.  As long as we have a blueprint, I'm good.  I feel the same way about meal planning and unfortunately I believed this a little too much when it came to the cleaning schedule this year.  

So, the plan is to execute preschool (officially twice a week), a meal plan, and the cleaning schedule everyday.  The trick is to know that the desire is great just as long as the schedule doesn't become an obsession.  I like a "lived in" home, but that good 'ole fashioned straightened up house that my Grandma believed in and STILL delivers on every time you walk into her home IS my desire.  I.  Can.  Do.  This.  

It really makes a for a calm day and fun times!

How do you guys like to plan?  Is it in your head, on paper, on an excel spreadsheet?  Please share:).

One-on-One Time

Dancin' Diva and I have one-on-one time while the other girls are sleeping on school days.  When we have school together things are great, but there's nothing like on-on-one time with each girl.  It gives me time to really see where each girl is in her development and it allows each of us to really linger in the excitement when the "light bulb" comes on:).  The "light bulb" moment for DD on this particular day was word families.  We were doing our graphing activity when she starting forming words and wanting to continue.  So we quickly wrapped up graphing and I took a piece of paper and wrote "at."  We then proceeded to add consonants and she LOVED it!  She thought it was hilarious every time we made the consonant sound, added the family sound, then got faster and faster (insert giggle from me as I type...hehe).  I absolutely loved seeing her realize that she was making the words!  Now my next planning task is trying to figure out when I will get in some time with the Singin'Diva.

 She decided that putting "M" in the graph was a good idea and then "MY."  :)

I even got in on this action:).  It was pretty fun!

Homeschool: Fourth of July

So I have a problem.  I plan, and plan, and plan but have a hard time actually preparing the awesome crafts/activities I find and think of doing so that I can actually do them with my kids without the headache that comes with procrastination.  So tomorrow's holiday gave me a reason to complete one of my units I have had in the planning stage for a week or so.  Ahead of time, I got everything ready for the Fourth of July unit and was ready for today...yay me!!!

SN:  I know tomorrow is the holiday, but we will be playing all day with friends so I did our lesson today.

Grandmom let us invade her house so that we could still come visit and get things done.  It was so much fun and I know she enjoyed "seeing" school.  I've got SO much planned for next school year and this makes me giddy:).  

We hope you enjoy you 4th of July!!!

The books we read and the crafts supplies...ready to go!

 Mini red, white, and blue sensory bins

 Wind socks (favorite)

 Gluing our American flags

 Chalk drawing, sprinkle fireworks, popsicles, and bikes

 Straw fireworks (my favorite activity of the day next to the windsocks)

 Star lunch

Bonus...

We listened and colored to the music of a string quartet at the Benjamin Branch library on Monday.  THIS was so much fun!!!  The best part was when DD says to me,"Mommy, look at this sound!"  She totally understood the concept behind coloring to the mood/tempo of the music.  The library is truly a magical place...love it!