Random Pictures from the Last Two Weeks

Collin made this pyramid box by following directions from the book Math Art Projects and Activities.

Tennis lessons started last week.  Collin and Reagan will be playing tennis through the town recreation department two days a week, and they will have a thirty minute private lesson one day a week.

One of the things Collin's teacher recommended working on over the summer in preparation for fourth grade, is states and capitals.  We have had the Sequence States and Capitals game for a while, but we played it for the first time last week.

I get so upset when cool sounding projects flop, and this was a MAJOR flop.  I saw the idea for Crystal Paint in The Ultimate Book of Kid Concoctions.  Supposedly, mixing 1/8 cup of liquid starch with 1/8 cup of water and a few drops of food coloring will make a paint that crystallizes as it dries.  There was ZERO crystallization.  I even tried adding a little extra starch to the mixture, but it didn't work.  The only thing I can think of is that my starch is probably two or three years old; I have no idea if this matters, but if it does they should add that detail to the directions.

Kate has been painting with washable nontoxic paints lately.  She makes a mess, but she has fun and it keeps her busy for a little while.

This is Reagan's television set.  So far, she has presented the news and a few short programs.

Kate wants to be a television celebrity too.

Sickness, Play Dough, and Game Day

Kate's croupy cough ended up getting worse, warranting a trip  to the pediatrician last Tuesday.  She was diagnosed with an ear infection and upper respiratory inflammation; she is still taking Amoxicillin and Prednisone.  She is almost eighteen months old, and this is the first time she has needed an antibiotic or any prescription.  Until yesterday, giving her the medicine was a battle royale!  I would hold Kate, and Tom would give her the medicine, but she screamed and fought the whole time.  For some reason (maybe because she is feeling better?), Kate stopped battling us at medicine time yesterday.  She took her medicine like a big girl, and we cheered for her!

I introduced Kate to play dough last week, and she had fun squishing it, sticking things in it, and just playing with the dough.

 That white spot on her forehead is Amoxicillin; I wiped it away over and over again, but it didn't go away until she had a bath later in the day!

Speaking of baths, all of a sudden Kate HATES bath time!  I'm hoping this will pass after her sickness is completely gone and she is back to herself.  She has always loved bath time, but now she refuses to sit and just cries and screams to get out.  Maybe the water hurts her ear???  I'm not sure, but I hope her love of bath time returns!

Last week was school vacation, but I didn't do anything with the kids because Kate was sick.  Collin and Reagan slept over Grandma's house two nights in a row and also went to Toys R Us to use gift cards.

Reagan also spent one day at her friend Courtney's house; they went ice skating in her yard.

On Friday night, Jess babysat while Tom and I went to Not Your Average Joe's for dinner.  When we came home, we found this cool fort.

 Reagan slept under there for part of the night!

Collin slept on the couch.  For some reason, they love to sleep in the living room, and they were looking forward to this "camp out" all week.

On Saturday night, Grandma played Monopoly with Collin and Reagan; this ignited a game spark and all day yesterday was spent playing games.

I played Monopoly with Tom, Collin, and Reagan during Kate's nap.  The game went on and on and on, a real battle between Tom and Collin, but Tom won.

After that game, Tom, Tyler, Collin and Reagan played Monopoly, and it was another LONG game with a final battle between Tom and Tyler.  I think Tom won, or maybe they called the game.

Tom, Collin, Reagan, and I played Uno after Kate went to bed.  Tom won again.  Right before bed, Reagan (the Memory champion) challenged Tom to a game of Memory, and he won again!!!  He is just a little competitive.

I can't believe it's the end of February already!  We have some fun things to look forward to in March, Reagan's party and seventh birthday, St. Patrick's Day, and Easter to name a few!

Sick House

One virus leaves and another one comes barging in the door.  Collin came home from school with a fever on Tuesday.  Poor kid, unlike his sister, he will sit and suffer all day rather than going out of his comfort zone and asking to see the nurse.  Reagan went back to school on Monday, but she still has a nasty cough and is staying home again today for more rest (there is a ninety minute delay due to snow today, so I figured it was a good day to just stay home and get better).  Kate is still full of mucous and it seems to be a little worse today.  Tyler is also congested with a runny nose.  I'm hoping this all passes quickly and we can resume life in a normal fashion!  I am also hoping to take the kids to the new Sky Zone that opened in Providence, but everyone has to be healthy first!

Collin and Reagan have both enjoyed playing Rush Hour Junior during these bouts of illness.

Reagan tried the game first and quickly got bored with it upon the first try, but Collin LOVED it immediately (I knew he would, it's perfect for him the puzzle/maze lover) and once Reagan saw how much Collin enjoyed it she gave it another chance and ended up enjoying it too!

That's all for now, I have to get back to disinfecting every surface in the house!

Roll a Turkey

I found a fun Roll a Turkey dice game at Little Giraffes.  To play, you take turns rolling a die (each number on the die corresponds with a turkey body part) and then draw the body part on your paper.  The first one to finish drawing a turkey is the winner.

Click here to download the mat.  Wouldn't this be fun to play on Thanksgiving?

Game Night

Last night, we had a game night.  We originally scheduled the game night because we thought Hurricane Earl was coming to town, but he was downgraded to a tropical storm and we enjoyed game night without any weather issues.  Grandma Susan, Dad, Mom, T, C, and R all played Monopoly (the original version).  C teamed up with Dad and R teamed up with Grandma.  C and Dad won, but Grandma and R came in second with a very impressive showing.  Poor T had bad luck rolling the whole night.  I don't have anything to say for myself except that I should probably take some lessons on game strategy.

Anyway, we all had a great time.  I was impressed that C and R made it through the entire three hour game.  It was a great opportunity for them to work on some math skills, and it was a great way for all of us to spend some time together.  We were also able to check off another item on our summer bucket list! 

I almost forgot to mention that even Kelly enjoyed game night.  She stayed under the table (providing great feet warming services) the entire time!  I should have taken a picture.

Caps for Sale - Day 3

We are currently enjoying Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina.  Day 1 with this book involved reading and retelling the story in various ways, Day 2 was all about learning activities related to the book, and Day 3 included monkey games and monkey snacks.  I should note that even though I am calling this "day 3," the following events happened over the course of several days.

First, we played Monkey See, Monkey Do which is basically follow the leader but it was mostly silly faces for us.

Then, we played Monkey in the Middle.  Two people throw a ball back and forth with one person between them (the monkey in the middle) trying to catch the ball.

If the monkey in the middle catches the ball, the person who threw the ball becomes the monkey in the middle. (Why do my boys love to go outside with only socks on their feet? )

Our monkey snacks consisted of:

Bananas on a stick rolled in chocolate and sprinkles (those sprinkles were all over the floor!) and then frozen.  These came out okay, but not great.  The bananas were a bit mushy and the chocolate fell off.  If you know where I went wrong, or if that is just the way they are, feel free to leave me a comment.

I also made caps.  I don't know if they really look like caps, but it was the only thing I could come up with and the kids were nice enough to tell me they looked like caps. 

I layered two mini vanilla wafers with a dot of frosting in between, and used another drop of frosting to stick a candy "button" on top. 

I have the ingredients for monkey bread, but we haven't had a chance to make it yet.  I'm hoping to get to it soon! 

I have really enjoyed our Caps for Sale unit study.  I love extending the fun beyond the pages of a book!

Game Time

We are having a lot of fun playing The Cat in the Hat - I Can Do That Game.  It comes with fun props, gets you moving, makes you do silly things, and keeps you laughing.  Thank you Papa and Grandma M - you hit a home run with this game.