B is for Barn

Week 2: Letter B as in barn

Letter Based Craft: We made a barn and it involved all of Riley’s favorite things – glue and paint.  I cut out a “barnish” shape from cardstock and the kids painted it red.  After it had dried we glued it to a piece of black paper and the kids added popsicle sticks.  

Sorry it is sideways - I need to work on my computer skills. :/

Reading/Phonics: We did several different letter B worksheets and worked on tracing the letter B.  Landon liked this one and I caught him saying it out loud- “line, bubble, bubble” – as he was writing.  They have both also started to recognize a “Big B” versus a “little b.”  We are still reading through all of the farming books we got from the library as well. 

Math: We completed a worksheet where the kids were able to count animals and then practice writing out the number. 

Outing: We attended story time at the library, which so happened to have a bit of a farm/animal theme.  They love sitting and listening to the story as well as singing along with the songs.  I had planned to take them to Discovery Place Kids this week, but that adventure was not in the cards – maybe next week. 

Science: We planted some “magic beans” this week and watching them grow has been the highlight of the last several days.  I kept this one simple and we filled a glass jar with cotton balls and I stuck several small beans in around the outer edge of the jar.  We used a spray bottle to water them daily for several days and the beans grew… and grew… and grew. 

Music:  We watched Barney goes to the Farm (Neflix) and they sang and danced along with the songs.  Luckily they don’t watch much Barney as I don’t think I could handle it, but they did like this episode.  We also sang Baa Baa Black sheep and did a sheep craft.  I traced the outline of a sheep on contact paper and taped it to the window.  The kids enjoyed being able to add cotton balls to the sheep to make it fluffy.  

Week 3: Letter C as in corn, cow, chicken

Letter Based Craft: We painted a picture of corn.  Landon chose to paint his corn blue and who am I to stop his creativity.  After the paint dried, we used another favorite item – glue.  We glued Cheerios to the corn.    

Reading/Phonics: We did several different letter C worksheets and worked on tracing the letter C.  We talked about words that began with the letter C and pointed things out around the house.  They love to watch the Leapfrog movies on Netflix and we watched Phonics Farm and Shapeville Park a few times this week. 

Math: We added apples (colored pom poms) to a tree.  I had found the shape of the tree online and added the numbered circles.  The kids added the glue and pom poms and we practiced our counting to 10.  As an additional math activity this week, I took an empty milk carton and numbered each space (1-12).  The kids added white pom poms to the carton counting to 12 and reading me the number in the bottom of the carton.  They used clothes pins to pick up the pom poms adding some tactile skill to the activity.    

Outing: We honestly didn’t make it out this week.  We played a lot of games in the house and went on a bike ride outside.  The kids played with the Little People farm set a lot this week, making the animal noises. 

Science: I found an experiment on Pinterest I wanted to try called Magic Milk.  We didn’t get a chance to do this one together as I tried it on my own first.  Theoretically, you have a shallow dish with milk and add drops of food coloring.  You then dip a q-tip in dish soap and dip it into the water.  The colors are supposed to spread away from the q-tip due to a reaction with the fat.  What I think went wrong is that I could only find food color gel and it is thicker than the traditional food coloring liquid, so the drop sank to the bottom.  I am going to keep searching for food coloring and we will have to try this one again later.   

Music:  We sang Old McDonald and made the different animal noises and movements. One of their favorite books is The Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton.  They like to read the book and do the movements of the animals so we read that at bedtime this week. 

We did an additional color sorting activity this week that they enjoyed so much we did it twice.  I set up a container with three cardboard toilet paper tubes.  I added a yellow, red, and green “tree” to each of the tubes and filled the container with red, green, and yellow pom poms.  They used clothespins to pick up the pompoms and put them in the appropriate tubes.  They would ask me “Mommy, which one is yellow?” and then they would put it into the appropriate tube without my response.  They just liked to keep me involved in the game and were testing my skills. 

Imaginations gone wild!

“I got nothing” is a phrase heard frequently around our house – usually said between the Hubby and I following several minutes of a child either screaming, crying, or repeating the same words to us over and over again to no avail.  They love to talk and I love to listen, but understanding them is not always as easy.  They have a WEALTH of words and they are learning new and important phrases daily, such as today when Riley informed me that I was making her “bery mad” when I did not give her the juice she desired.  One must be very careful when speaking in front of toddlers as they will remember.  

We are using sticker charts to track their “potty progress” and more than likely they have just as many stickers as they did when I wrote last month. Well, maybe a few more, but this is a battle I am losing.  They do well somedays and want to sit on the potty and are successful and the next day they act like I am trying to kill them when I suggest we go to the bathroom.  “I got nothing.”  It will happen.  I will just keep plugging away, hopefully without losing my mind, and one day it will click. 

Usually when I write these blogs, I look back on some notes that I have kept throughout the month on things we have done or interesting things they have said.  “I got nothing.”  My brain has been in overdrive for the last month or so.  I, with the support of the Hubby, have made the decision to enter back into the world of education.  I will be completing the Nurse Aide program in December and am looking into furthering my education beyond that to an RN.  I have been filling out applications and meeting with schools – all while keeping up with everything else – so I feel like I have been on overdrive lately! The Hubby has been and will be a major support during this process as we are already needing to rearrange schedules to get me to class on time in November.  While overwhelmed, I am excited already! 

Now, on to the kids… Riley is still a ball of energy.  She has started taking a nap again which has helped.  She still doesn’t nap a few days a week though, and those are some rough evenings as she is typically more defiant and crazy by the time bedtime rolls around! We did have a good time today playing with her puppies and giving them check-ups.  She does love animals and I would not be surprised if she ended up with a career as a veterinarian.  She has an amazingly vivid imagination when it comes to her animals as well.  She is often walking her dogs (running away from us with her arm outstretched saying “woah” as they tug her away) or carrying a baby bunny (walking around with palm in air protectively).  She likes to dress up as either a superhero or a princess.  She likes to put together puzzles and play games, but she has a difficult time slowing down to learn the rules of the game or to put the puzzle piece in the direction.  We officially started our homeschool program this month and if the project involves paint or glue she is totally ready for it… the messier the better.  She is that way when it comes to food as well.  We have to beg her to let us pull her hair up before she eats or she will end up with all sorts of food in her hair.  She can often be found at the refrigerator getting out an apple or a snack pack or a cheese stick.  Tonight it was the carton of cream cheese, which she began to suck out of the package before I could stop her.  

 

Landon loves to make people laugh and loves to laugh in return.  He just has that contagious smile – which can make life difficult when you are trying to be upset with him for his behavior.  He too likes to dress up and typically will dress as a fireman or a policeman and make himself a car out of a chair.  He goes as far as to open a pretend door every time he gets in or out of his car, so you know he takes his play seriously.  He is content to play by himself as well and will go do the play room on his own and set up his village and make up some stories.  Whenever we visit a friend of ours that has identical twin boys, Riley can be found playing outside with the boys and Landon will be alone in the playroom with all the new-to-him toys.  He never leaves the house without a toy or two – usually a Rescue bot.  He plays along with Riley’s pretend animals and has a bunny of his own when it is convenient for him, but he does not initiate that pretend play.  He wants us to play pirates and draw maps and dig for treasure or rescue animals from trees or dive down in a submarine to see the fish.  He likes to do worksheets when we have our school time and practices writing his letters with me.  He has recently developed an affinity for the Leapfrog movies on Netflix and as a result is much better with his counting and numbers than in the past – no more 1, 2, 3, 9, 10.  His main source of nutrition continues to be the PBJ sandwich, veggie chips, and milk.  He has been known to venture a bit out of that comfort zone, but not much.  He had oatmeal for dinner tonight as I just find it important for him to eat.  

 

We had a few adventures this month.  We went to the apple orchard and together we picked about 10 pounds of apples.  Riley has loved having her own stash and purposefully picked some small ones, so she would have less waste as she never finishes a whole apple.  They loved the adventure and seeing the animals on the farm.  We took them to a concert at Holy Angels.  They did fairly well while we were there – it was just a tough time of day as the concert started at 7pm.  I want to make sure to expose them to all types of people and for them to be comfortable around persons in wheelchairs. We took them to Festival in the Park and they were able to try out their first fair type rides.  Riley wanted to go a little more adventurous than we felt appropriate – like that giant swing ride – but she was willing to compromise on the child helicopter ride.  We plan on taking them to the Cleveland County Fair this week, so that should be another interesting adventure.  

This kid loves his nap... refuses to wake up

Just your average dinner dress

Watching Daddy play kickball