10/30/13

witching hours

 
 
 
  
 
This year Logan decided she wanted to be a witch for Halloween. It's all she talked about since mid September. So naturally, after putting on the final touches to her costume, she decided she'd rather be a ballerina. "I changed my mind, mommy. . ." --what a stinker! With much persuasion and maybe even a little bit of bribery (a few m&m's and this girl is SOLD!) she changed her mind back, and is over-the-moon excited to be a witch. It will be a surprise to us all tomorrow if she goes as a good witch or a bad witch, as that changes daily. She sure has the faces down for both and she sure makes the cutest little witch either way. So good or bad is okay with me.

I love being able to make a costume for her. I feel like by doing so, she is able to feel truly special and look as unique as she is.


I also made her costume last Halloween, and the style of it provided as my inspiration for this year-- you can see it here.

preschool homeschool// week 7

Our letters for the week were A and H.
We took a trip to a local lake and hung out, as Lo's cousins fished. We collected leaves and sticks, and even colored some. I was so happy to have brought along some markers and a coloring page, as we stayed longer than I imagined we would. It was a gorgeous day so we didn't mind at all.
Logan attended a cousins first birthday and brought home this little fish. She loved watching it swim around in the bowl. We later dropped him into our family's fish pond. 
We will be sure to look out for a bigger him in the spring.
Our astronaut discussion lead into a discussion about flying saucers. Logan had recently watched a Caillou video on my phone where Caillou thought he was seeing a UFO, only to discover it was just a tin pie plate blowing in the wind. That was our inspiration for this craft. I love finding opportunities to take what she watches on a show or in a movie and turn it into real life. 
So, though this was a bit off topic, we went with it anyway. 
Logan also loved being able to get her hands on the hot glue gun (with help of course!)

We also did a lot of counting and sorting activities this week. 

For counting we rolled a dice, counted the dots and matched it with that many acorns that we just so happened to have lying around. 

For sorting, we sorted clothing by colors and whites. We also sorted like colored toys into piles. These are two activities we added to our list of sorting and counting activities, as they were a big hit.

We worked on setting the table, and pouring drinks.

We continue to spend a lot of time outdoors visiting parks, taking walks, and just hanging out throwing around our self-crafted flying saucer. 

Before we know it, it will be too cold for these things.

nature in the home / / a u t u m n

It's no secret that my little girl over here is most happy with art supplies in hand. It's also no secret that this girl is just as happy when carrying around her nature collections: sticks, leaves, rocks, you name it. So when I found these white mini-pumpkins, sold in threes, I knew they would be perfect. And they are.

Linking up with Lou (and many others) here.

10/27/13

43/52

"A portrait of my child once a week, every week, in 2013."

Logan: lover of life, especially the little life in this bowl. This little guy was released into our family's fish pond where we hope he'll live a better life amongst other finned friends. 

Linking up here.

Favorites from last week: here and here

10/23/13

b+w lately

 
 
    

proud mama// swing love at the park// farmers market fresh flowers// playdate in the ceiling climb// trying to drink, not 'cheese'// making faces all day err day// learning letters// trying out a new game// in the car waiting for grammy// indoor chalk outdoors

nature in the home

We finally found something to do with our recent autumn nature finds that have been sitting either still in the buckets we collected them in or on the shelf. Today was a cold and gray day, even colder as the day went on. Logan has a bit of a cold with a runny, stuffy nose, and a unmanageable mood, so this low key indoor (with a touch out outdoor) activity was perfect for today. We spent a great deal of time  making up different scenes, shapes, and sorted groups.
We spelled out our names too. Since we have been working on letters in our preschool homeschool, Logan was more than ready to attempt to create the letters of our names. 
We made acorn squares, circles, triangles, and swirls.
 
We made a beautiful flower out of the prettiest leaves we could find right outside. Lo loved switching the center of the flower out with acorns, shells, and rocks.
Here's is Lo at the source of our sweet colorful fall leaves.

 Linking up here.

10/19/13

42/52










 "A portrait of my child once a week, every week, in 2013."






Logan: Simple math-- Nature + Art = Happiness. You're a simple girl. I love you for that.







Linking up here.

Favorites: this beauty, this sweet little fish in purple, and these cute three.



10/16/13

preschool homeschool// week 6

This week we were able to get back into the grove, in terms of school work. Having things come up, and this program falling to second string, was a worry of mine when deciding to do a homeschool preschool for Lo's first year, but I've come to terms with the fact that 'life' will always come first. There will always be things that sometimes are more ideal for current situations and things that work out better for all when run (off) schedule. In my opinion, the most effective form of learning comes with life experiences and for that we are grateful. We are so lucky to be surrounded by many people who love us and want to spend time with us. We have tons of family and friends and Logan is so  lucky to have many her age. We have regular playdates and some of Lo's dearest and favorite friends are family. We also do a lot of outings in the community. Logan loves to be on-the-go. She asks tons of questions and makes her own little observations. It makes me know that we are doing the right thing. So, as important as this preschool homeschool work is, it is also important for me to have her out experiencing different culture and ways of life along with bonding with children her age.
P (inspiration here) and F were our letters from last week. We studied them this week since they were neglected last week. I have incorporated 'review' days into our schedule and plan to further explore the letters then.
Our letters this week were I and B (inspiration here.)
We've read a book of Nursery Rhymes. 'Baa Baa, Black Sheep' and 'Old King Cole' were her favorites from the collection. 
Lo painted a platypus which was also a new animal she learned about.
Printout found here.
We had lots of outside time, including two park trips. 
This girl could 'park' it up for days.
We worked on Police Safety. Logan loves to glue and read, so this activity was a double win as far as she was concerned. 
We also did some painting. I assisted with the shape design. We used a toilet paper roll and black paint on a canvas. Inspiration here.
Logan loves to paint, all day, everyday, so this piece was a favorite for her. I worked side-by-side with her, and we are so happy with the finished product.
Logan loves matching activities. This one was self-care related. We talked about hygiene and the importance of things like hand washing, dental care, and cleanliness in general.
I just had to capture her letter tracing and color pages from this week and last because I am loving her color choices these days. P, B, and F she did on her own. The letter I she had help from her Grammy. I at first found it so interesting that in a pencil case full of colors she tended to gravitate on her own to the same ones, then I realized that they were the scented ones. This girl and her sniffer! She cracks me up.