Water Cycle Science With A (healthy!) Snack!

As we were driving yesterday, Annabelle pointed out the clouds, and predicted that it was going to rain. I took advantage of this teachable moment, and asked her a series of questions:
Why do you think it's going to rain?
What do those clouds look like?
What's in those clouds?
What happens when it rains?
We talked about the different types of clouds, and how they formed.
Then I got to thinking. A few searches around the internet directed me to two fun science experiments to help better explain the water cycle.
The first experiment involved a jar, water, food coloring, medicine dropper, and some Barbasol shaving cream.
We filled the jar about 2/3 with water, and topped it with shaving cream.
It looked just like a puffy cumulus cloud!
Next, I filled a bowl with a little water and blue food coloring.
The girls had a great time squeezing and dripping the colored water onto the shaving cream cloud.

We did learn that I used too much shaving cream, as it took the colored water a long time to make its way down to the bottom of the cloud to "rain" into the jar.
Once I scraped a heap of shaving cream off the top of the jar, things started moving more quickly.
The girls were astonished when the shaving cream clouds filled with blue water, and began to "rain" down.

Next, we made a real cloud in a jar.
I explained that the sun warms the water on the ground, and it evaporates into the sky, where it's colder.
We filled this jar about 1/3 of the way with hot water. I also took advantage of this opportunity to make myself a cup of tea! Food coloring is optional here, but it makes it easier to see what's happening, and adds an element of fun for the kids.
A slightly larger bowl of ice was added to the top, and we waited and watched.

Talking about what we learned about the water cycle, I asked Annabelle what she thought would happen. What do you think will happen to the bottom of the bowl? She predicted that it would be wet, and she was right!
After some time, the water collected at the bottom of the bowl (condensation), and it rained down onto the table.
That moment. The moment when I could tell that Annabelle had truly learned something, about how clouds are formed. She made a cloud! And she made it rain!
After all that excitement, it was time for a snack.

Greek yogurt served as our cumulus clouds, and blueberries served as the rain drops.
We always love finding snacks that are fun AND healthy.
Both girls had a good time making (and eating) rain clouds.

First Day Of School

Annabelle eagerly began her school career this morning at home, with A Beka's K4 program. She is ready to learn. I'm so excited to begin this journey with her, as her teacher. The curriculum covers the basics: reading and writing; basic math skills; and Bible. In addition to that, we will have a rotating curriculum, beginning with science. When we are finished with the science unit, I hope to go over units on telling time, famous artists, dinosaurs, and whatever she wants to learn about.
Today was a fairly easy day, as the information I presented to her was review (and it will be for the first few weeks).
We began the day with the calendar, weather, and a preview of what we would be learning. Then we headed to the dining room for table work. I found a fun activity for her to do on the first day of school, to be repeated again at the end of the school year. I'm excited to see how her progress changes over the next several months.
We then took a short break for a snack, and a quick walk around the neighborhood before digging into our Bible curriculum. Annabelle learned about the first three days of Creation in Genesis 1:1-13.
She also learned about how the Bible was written, and how it is laid out.
Before long, the school day was over, and it was time for lunch!

Obligatory 1st day of school picture, complete with signs

1st Day of K-4

I'm just here for the stickers!

Our daily board. More on that in a later post

Hard at work

Reference board. More on that in a later post

Practicing scissor skills

Our Homeschooling Corner

All of our school supplies are neatly organized!

This year, Annabelle and I will go through A Beka's K4 program. At first, I was skeptical. I thought I was expecting too much from her, and that I should just keep doing what I'm doing, and take advantage of the teachable moments. But she has been asking about spelling, reading, and adding. She wants to know how to "make" numbers. She is beginning to sound out simple words with help. And once she learns a word in print, she commits it to memory. She recently opened a menu, found the word "pizza" in an unfamiliar font, and decided that's what she was going to eat for lunch that day. Annabelle has a thirst for knowledge, and craves teaching. To just take advantage of the teachable moments, in her case, would be to hold her back.

With just 9 days remaining until we officially begin our homeschooling journey, I finally got to work organizing a corner of the dining room for all of our homeschooling and art materials for the year. Even though I purchased the material in May, I never made the time to organize it until this weekend. Now that the curriculum guides are in labeled binders, books are stacked neatly, pencils are sharpened and nestled in bins, I feel ready.
But I may be buying a few baskets to replace the shoe boxes. I don't think I'll ever actually be done organizing. I'm just going to keep changing it up little by little until the end of the school year.
Enjoy these pictures, and I'd love to see everyone else's school/homework/craft areas!
Later this week (or maybe next week), I hope to share with you Annabelle's learning boards.
Be sure to check back, as I plan on posting updates on our homeschooling experience!
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Extra crayons and some lite reading for myself
I bought the crayons back when Walmart was selling them for $.50!

Coloring supplies for free coloring:
New crayons and markers;
Melty crayons;
Colored pencils

Pencil box, workbooks, NIrV  Bible, game dice, music CD

Readers
(They are not used in the curriculum
for several more weeks)

Flash Cards and Small Visuals

Binders with all of our curriculum guides and larger visuals.
To the right, I have a notebook and daily planner for mysel

Bulletin board pieces
A Beka uses a lot of visuals,
which comes with a LOT of
tiny pieces!

Coloring books and construction paper

Art supplies. By labeling the drawers,
I know I am more likely to keep everything organized!

Goodbye Winter

As Winter waves farewell with one last (hopefully) snow storm, we are stuck inside once again. Usually, we would do winter-themed crafts and embrace the falling snow. But not any more. We have had enough snow and Winter-y crafts this year. And it's March!
So we said our goodbyes to Winter by greeting Spring with some fun crafts.

First, we made some fun fork-printed tulip flowers. For Annabelle's tulip garden, I drew the flower stems, so she knew where to print the flowers. For Hazel's, I let her stamp freely, and added the stems later.

Annabelle had to take a quick break from doing her project to talk on the phone though. Grandmom called.

Our next project was popcorn cherry blossoms. I traced each of their hands onto a piece of brown paper and cut it out to use as the tree. Annabelle did a great job gluing the popcorn onto her tree. Hazel, on the other hand, was upset that I wouldn't let her eat the popcorn that had glue on it. I couldn't resist that little pout, so I just let her have a little snack.

And just like that, all was well in Hazel's world.

For our third project, Annabelle did a number matching activity, gluing leaves to carrots.  The carrots were numbered 1-5 and glued randomly to a piece of paper. Annabelle was then instructed to identify the numbers, and glue the correct number of leaves to each one.

While she did that, Hazel played with a container of magnetic  letters and a cookie sheet. I love using these Pamper's wipe containers, as they also allowed her to practice fine-motor skills, sliding each letter into the small hole at the top.

We hope you all enjoyed one last snow day this year. Spring will be here soon, and so will more fun activities. We cannot wait to get outside and enjoy the park, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and more.

Library Book Review

Every week, we try to make it a priority to visit our public library. We always come home with a bag full of anywhere between 7 and 10 books to enjoy together. From board books, to easy readers, and everything in between. Since going to the library and reading stories has become such a big part of our routine, I thought it would be fun to start a new series here on the blog, reviewing our findings.
This week's books:

"Pomelo Explores Colors" by Ramona Badescu; Illustrated by Bengamin Chaud
"A Cars Christmas" (Step Into Reading) by Melissa Laongero; Illustrated by The Disney Storybook Artists
"Lots Of Spots" (Classic Board Book) by Lous Ehlert
"Legos Mixels" by Shari Last
"Animals In Underwear ABC" by Todd Parr
"Blankies" by Carol Thompson
"You Are (Not) Small" by Anna Kang; Illustrated by Christopher Weyant
"Vacation's Over! Return Of The Dinosaurs" by Joe Kulka

Rather than getting into reviewing all of these books, I will just go over our top three of the eight books Our top three favorites were: "Vacation's Over! Return Of The Dinosaurs"; "Blankies"; and "Animals In Underwear ABC".

When we pulled into the parking lot of the library, Annabelle informed me that she wanted to get a book about dinosaurs. And before I even had a moment to look for a Jane Yolen dinosaur book, she had already found "Vacation's Over! Return Of The Dinosaurs." This book, written in a cute couplet-style poem, toys with the idea that dinosaurs never went extinct, but rather went on vacation... to outer space! It was a very playful story with wonderful illustrations, as well as mini-biographies on several different species of dinosaurs on the inside of the covers.
If you know our family, you will know that blankies are a big deal in our house. We always have a mountain of blankets in the living room for everyone to pick off of after dinner, while we all snuggle up on the couch to wind down for bed. Annabelle has no less than 3 blankets on her bed (even in the Summer), and Hazel is following in her footsteps. So this book was very relatable for the girls. Cute, descriptive language makes up this little story about loving and sharing blankies. It was a wonderful read for Hazel.
This next book somehow flew under my "potty humor" radar, despite the title "Animals In Underwear ABC." I'm a big fan of Todd Parr's simple, colorful illustrations, and allowed Hazel to put it in the library bag without one look at the title. But maybe that was a good thing. Annabelle loves reading the book to Hazel, turning the pages, lifting the flaps, and singing the alphabet song. And yes, the underwear part is very silly.
As Hazel is big enough to reach the board books at our library, and is starting to really enjoy reading, I am excited to see what books she chooses next week. Annabelle loves picking books, and reading them together every week, and I look forward to what she wants to read about next week as well.

Groundhog's Day

This week, we learned all about Punxatawney Phil, and his special day, Groundhog's Day. Annabelle learned through gross motor games, work sheets, and projects. It was a very successful week. Here are the activities we did.

Wake Up Groundhog Game

What you need:

• Large Blanket
• Light Switch

How To Play:

Wrap child up in a blanket, and instruct her to hibernate. "Good night, groundhog Annabelle. Enjoy your hibernation!"

• Leave the light on, or turn it off.
• Shout: "Wake up, wake up groundhog [insert child's name]. Today's your special day!"
• Child pops up from blanket, and looks for her shadow.
• If the light is on, she sees her shadow, and hides away for six more weeks.
• If the light is off, she does not see her shadow, and she jumps up, proclaiming that Spring is here.

This game can be adapted for a group of preschoolers, by allowing all the children to hide under their blankets, and choosing one groundhog. The other children wait to hear the groundhog's proclamation. Children can take turns being the groundhog, or even the Mayor who wakes the groundhog from her sleep.

Lego Shadows

What you will need:

• Legos
• Flashlight
• Large paper
• Pencil
• Markers or crayons
• Grey or black paint

Hazel enjoyed playing with Annabelle's tower

What do to:

• Instruct child to by build a tower with her Legos
• Turn the lights out and demonstrate how you can move the flashlight around the tower to change the size of the shadow.
• Allow child to do the same, and choose where she wants the shadow to lay on the paper.
• While the child holds the flashlight in place, trace the shadow on paper.
• Then, lay the tower down and trace.
• Allow child to color in the tower, and paint the shadow.

Silhouettes

What you need:

• Large paper and easel
• Adjustable light source
• Pencil, crayons

What to do:

• Instruct child to sit still by the easel and trace her shadow silhouette
• Allow her to color it in

Groundhog tunnels

What you need:

• Tunnels, boxes, blankets, or whatever you come up with to create your tunnel

What to do:

• Play! 

The girls had so much fun chasing each other through the tunnels, playing peek-a-boo, and just being silly. Hazel even discovered that she can sit up in the tunnel.

For Annabelle's worksheets, I found these templates, and printed out about a dozen of them. I'm sure I will be making more copies, and using them as her handwriting improves, and she begins to tell more stories. For this activity, she practiced writing the letters "W" and "S", as well as writing the words "Winter" and "Spring". After practicing handwriting, she drew what she likes to do in the Winter, and what she likes to do in the Spring. She drew a picture of herself making snow angels and grass angels. She also drew herself having a picnic and eating an apple in the Spring. And yes, she did use a yellow marker for the snow.

8 Reasons To Garden

When I go grocery shopping, I rarely buy produce. I might buy a bunch or two of bananas each week, but I pass by the shining bell peppers, and glowing carrots. I skip right to the cereals, pastas, and canned goodness.  But my family eats plenty of fresh produce everyday. In fact, I recently made a carrot-top pesto along with fresh green beans in a homemade tomato sauce for dinner. It was divine.
No, I don't like paying for fruits and vegetables that have been doused in poisonous chemicals, irradiated, and covered in a shiny wax, just so it looks good and doesn't go bad in the week-long trek to the store. No thank you.
This Summer, our family joined two other families on a new and exciting adventure of gardening. It's a lot of work, and is a major time commitment. But it is worth it. Here are a few reasons we choose to garden, and will continue to do so in future years.
1. It's better than going to the grocery store.
I dread going to the grocery store with the kids in tow each week. We walk in, and immediately I forget what I came for. My coupons are a mess, and already Annabelle is asking for a snack, a drink, and a potty break all while Hazel is attempting to Houdini her way out of the Mei Tai wrap. I reach for my list, just to realize I left it in the car. Do I hike all the way back through the parking lot, wasting precious minutes of patience from the girls, or do I just wing it? I'm not going back out. I wrote the list. I studied the list. I know what's on the list. Wait. Were Cheerios on sale here, or at the other store?
After navigating the aisles for what feels like an eternity, I realize I forgot to get the chicken breasts for tonight's dinner. Backtrack. Past the ice cream. Past the donuts. Past the candy aisle. Again.
Finally, we are done shopping. And then there are the lines. Twenty checkout stations, and only two are open. Seriously? Annabelle squirms in the cart, eye level with the chocolate bars and $1 impulse items, as the shopper in front of us empties her purse in search for that 15 cent coupon that expired last month anyway.
2. Save money
Our grocery bill this Summer has been well below budget most weeks. Unfortunately toilet bowl cleaner and fruit snacks don't grow in a garden. We have still purchased some produce from the store: bananas, avocados, bagged salad. But that has been minimal. With that being said, we have been frequenting the grocery store less. It's easier to stock up on non-perishables on a semi-weekly basis.
3. Kids are interested in eating something they helped grow
Allowing children to help in the kitchen has been a tactic against picky eating for years. When a child helps with dinner, she is likely to be proud of her work, and eat whatever she made. This rings true for the garden as well. We have had a few dinners this Summer that were almost entirely from the garden. One in particular, was Italian seasoned zucchini cakes with homemade tomato sauce. One little reminder to Annabelle that our dinner came from the garden, and she dug right in.
4. You control the use of pesticides
I have a problem with eating "USDA certified organic". Yes, organic does have its advantages of lacking harmful pesticides. But, that label comes at a hefty cost. Companies pay big bucks to have their facilities inspected by government workers to ensure pesticides were not used.
It's much easier (and cheaper) to maintain pest control yourself. I would be amiss to say that we have not used any pesticides at all in the garden. We had to use a very mild pesticide on one type of plant to avoid losing the entire crop to bugs. The way I see it, is that pesticides do not need to be an all-or-nothing deal. We chose not to spray the entire garden and surrounding area with toxins, but we also chose to save our crop when necessary.
Are we USDA certified organic? No.
But we are doing our best.
5. Educate children
One evening, as we were harvesting tomatoes as a family, I had to chuckle to myself. Annabelle was picking tomatoes in red, orange, and purple.Yes. Purple. We also have purple basil. What's going to happen when Annabelle is in school, and is given a coloring page of a tomato, and reaches for a purple crayon? Children are taught that tomatoes are red, and leaves are green. While that is not false, it's also not entirely true. Annabelle and Hazel will hopefully have a better understanding about how plants grow, and that tomatoes, peppers, and onions come in all shapes, sizes, colors and flavors.
6. A true appreciation and thanksgiving at the table
One Saturday afternoon, after a long morning of gardening, we loaded up the van with our harvest. We worked hard for that food. The lettuce, and tomatoes were still warm from the morning sun. And as we gathered to pray before eating, our words carried so much more weight: "Thank You, Lord for this bounty. Thank You for allowing this to grow from seed. Thank you for protecting our crop from excessive heat, drought, or animals"
Whao.
That was a big moment for me. We planted the seed. But He allowed it to grow. And protected it. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 3:7 "So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow."
7. Family bonding
Gardening is not a one man job. It takes a lot of teamwork and man-hours (woman-hours? child-hours?). Evenings when we get to go to the garden are magical. Annabelle prances through the field, begging Tad to cut her some pretty flowers; Hazel crawls on a blanket laid across the grass; Tad finds the perfect eggplants, cucumbers, and lettuces for the week's meals; all while I take it all in. We talk, laugh, and enjoy the uninterrupted company of one another. There is no television beckoning at us, no computers vying for our attention. Just us and the garden.
8. Pay it forward
God has been so good to us. This has been one of the mildest Summers I remember in my life. Evenings have been cool, no higher than 70F, accompanied by weekly rainshowers. This has allowed our garden to thrive, and multiply fruitfully. We can't keep up with it all. Eating all of it has been nearly impossible for the three families.
We are commanded throughout the Bible to give our first-fruits to the Lord. We have been encouraged by these passages to bless a local ministry with boxes upon boxes of produce. I do not say this to pat ourselves on the back, but to give glory back to God. Because He made our garden plentiful, that He may provide for us, as well as others.

Messy Monday: Pumpkin Playdoh

Autumn has arrived. And I couldn't be happier.
Last Tuesday was the first full day of my favorite season. The air was perfectly crisp, as I dressed the girls in long sleeves, and put a hat on Hazel to venture out for our daily walk around the neighborhood. They looked precious, all bundled up and warm. Trees were beginning to become dotted with bursts of yellow and orange.
But one of the best parts of Autumn is pumpkin spice everything.
So when I found this recipe for pumpkin spice playdough, I just had to share my love with Annabelle.
After our walk, Hazel was ready for a nap. Perfect time for some Mommy and Annabelle bonding and learning.
While this recipe was simple, it still took a great deal of parental supervision and assistance, as you need to use a stove.

I measured out the ingredients, and placed them in individual containers, so she could enjoy dumping each item into the pot before mixing it together. (I added a little vanilla extract to the water, to give it a little yummier smell.)
I was surprised that she mixed it for as long as she did before needing my help.

I'll admit, by the time the mixture came together, my arm was feeling a little sore.
Start to finish, I'd say it took about 10 or 15 minutes.

We waited a few more minutes before the dough was cool enough to touch, and I added a few drops of orange food coloring, and kneaded it to distribute the color.
I love that the cinnamon and nutmeg left flecks of brown in the dough to give it a more natural look to it.
Annabelle liked that the dough was still warm when I gave it to her. She had a great time making a family of little pumpkins.

It was so perfectly soft, and so much nicer than store-bought play-doh, It even cleaned up more easily.
When we were done playing (about an hour later), I placed the ball into a Ziploc bag, squeezed all the air out, and zipped it shut. We pulled it out again a few days later, and it was still very soft and pliable.

This recipe is a great base recipe, and I plan on making peppermint playdoh in December with red dye.
Try different scents and colors.
You can also add glitter for an extra shimmer.

Dollar Store Fun: Sponge Ball

Ever since I first entered the world of Pinterest -- you know, back when you had to be "invited" to join because it was some crazy elitist internet sensation -- I have been seeing this on my feed:
Sponge balls.
They looked way too good to be true. It really can't be that easy to create something so cute and fun. And for only one dollar? No way!
I pushed it off, and pushed it off.
Finally, at my most recent dollar store trip, I bought a few sponges. They came in packs of two brightly colored sponges for -- you guessed it -- one dollar.
I picked up three packs, each with one green and one orange sponge. Not everything has to be pink, okay?
I cut each sponge into 4 long strips, trying to make them uniform in size. Then, I stacked them together to create a checkerboard pattern: 4 across, and 2 high.
I secured each stack in the middle with a hair tie, and voila! I was done.
Annabelle headed out to her water table, ready to play with her new toys.
She had a blast.
She loved squeezing the water onto the sidewalk.
And just throwing the sponges into the water.
After about an hour of play, one of the sponges tore. It was only $1, so no big loss there.
I'm sure more expensive, sturdier sponges would hold up to more abuse, and would be more appropriate in a larger group setting.
But it served its purpose for us.

If (when) I do this again, I may do a few things differently:
1. Involve Annabelle in the stacking and patterning of the sponge strips. Allow her to build sponge structures, and learn about patterns in math.
2. Use an actual rubber band, rather than hair tie for better elasticity and tighter hold around the sponges.
3. Stack together 3 sponges for a fuller look.
4. Maybe add scraps of pretty ribbon or fabric for additional flair.


Hazel also enjoyed the activity, since I let her ride in the Moby wrap while we played.

Messy Monday: Slime With A Twist

Having a child with eczema makes sensory play a bit of a challenge. But when that child loves sensory play, you make it happen.
Having made slime (corn starch and water) a few times already, I wanted to give it a little twist this time. After a quick search for "eczema friendly sensory play", I found Interaction Imagination. Her method used lotion and corn starch, but suggested trying coconut oil.
Coconut oil? We love coconut oil!
Here is what you will need:

I melted small Dixie cups of coconut oil, and added a few drops of green food coloring. I wish I had thought ahead, and had Annabelle help with this step. Being water-based, the food coloring did not mix with the oil. Instead, it bubbled, as it sank to the bottom of the cup. A quick stir with a chopstick broke up the bubbles into several tiny specks of green, floating in the oil. What fun that would have been with multiple colors in a clear cup and a flashlight.

I then placed the cups in the refrigerator to quickly solidify the oil. I was hoping this would enhance the sensory experience. While we waited, an impromptu game of balloon baseball with a hair brush broke out in the living room.

Annabelle especially loved trying to catch the balloon, while I kept whacking it with the hairbrush, out of her reach. She did correct me at one point, however. Apparently, you are only supposed to hit the balloon with the bristles.

Hazel enjoyed the show, too. She got excited whenever the balloon floated close to her.

Before long, the coconut oil was solidified, and ready.

Just like the baking soda experiment, I started by giving Annabelle one component of the activity at a time. She played with the corn starch like it was snow, scooping, scraping, and sculpting to the best of her ability.

After about 10 minutes, I added the oil. If I were to do this activity again, I would have left the oil at room temperature, so that it would be a solid state, but not so hard. She struggled to get the oil out of the cup and melt it with her hands. This caused her to lose some interest in the block of oil, until I helped her by squeezing it between my fingers.

Once that was done, though, her mess was under way. The highlight of the activity, was when she discovered she could make farting noises by squeezing the mixture between her palms. She giggled as the goop oozed between her fingers, and the fart noises abounded.

She played for about an hour, covering her arms and face in corn starch and coconut oil. Clean-up took about 10 minutes (not including getting herself cleaned up, which wound up being a quick bath).