Saturday, December 14, 2013

Lesson Eleven: Catching Up!

Narrator: He puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. Maybe Christmas, he thought… doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps… means a little bit more!
-How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
 
Let's catch up on our missed weeks, shall we? What better way to go about it than to show you through pictures! Enjoy!
 
We hiked up a giant hill, last month, in Montecchio, Italy so see the original Romeo and Juliet castles. My little adventurer and I had a wonderful time. We picked leaves, saw some amazing views, counted stairs. Outside learning days are definitely a favorite!

 
We are working on responsibility and doing things ourselves .What a better way to work on this than making chocolate milk?

 
This was a fun project! It was a Pinterest find that we really enjoyed!
 {Here is the link for this project}


 
I don't remember where I saw the idea for this little owl. If you know, please let me know and I'll give them full credit. I know I saw it somewhere...
Anyway. It's a simple concept that he loved once he saw the finished product.
 
We worked on our sequencing too! Thanks to Team Umizoomi, we LOVE patterns! This is just example of our pattern making.


 
Another project that I know came from somewhere else! I had them all saved in my phone and then a certain little sidekick deleted all my pages. {SIGH} So, now I have zero memory on where these fun things came from. Again, if you know, please tell me!
This was a multi-step project. First, we painted the bubble wrap..
 
Then we turned it over onto our construction paper and he got to "bam" it! Always fun!

Once it dried, I cut them into "corn" shapes and had him glue it all together. Ta-da!
 
Of course, we had a noodle turkey for Thanksgiving!
 
Here's a peek at the beginnings of our Christmas. I'll post a full Christmas blog after we return from our vacation.
This is our new little felt tree. It came in a book that I read while he decorated.
 
Nothing says "Christmas in Italy" than lots of hot chocolates for the sidekick and cappuccinos for the momma! It's the little things that make our adventure here so memorable.  
 
Hope to see you back here after the new year! I have lots of new plans and ideas to show you! Merry Christmas from Italy!

Week Eleven: Weeks Go By...

"DOH!"
Homer Simpson
 
 
It's been weeks, my friends! Oh my! I was doing so good writing every week and getting our lessons done and then...BAM! We got busier doing other things, my laptop broke, and then the habit was broken. It was all downhill from there. But, here I am now! We haven't been doing as much schooling these past couple of weeks. He hasn't really wanted to and I didn't want to push him. Plus, I wanted to give us both a break and a re-energized plan for the new year. We've painted here and there, we still read, we sing songs, dance. So, we're still happily learning.
 
I had all these great thoughts about what I wanted to end with for my last blog of the year (we'll be vacationing for Christmas this year and probably won't recover until after the new year). Of course, now I can't think of anything insightful. I have spent my days loving my time with my sidekick. I know my days are numbered. Not only is he starting a part-time daycare program but all too soon, he won't even want to spend his every waking moment with me. So, I've been holding on to these days hoping to imprint them into my memories. It's a 50/50 whether that will work since I can barely remember what I ate yesterday. Surely, these memories are a little more important though. :)
 
I have struggled with time management this last month. I blame Winter. It seems to take twice as long to convince myself to get out of our warm bed only to be cold the rest of the day. Especially with my little heater curled up next to me. So, more often than not, I'm cutting out some errands only to spend an extra day out to get my to-do list done. Hopefully, I can get my act together soon. I'm getting my sidekick a responsibility chart (this one) but maybe I need to make myself one as well! He loves to help and I want him to show him that we notice and appreciate it.
 
I suppose I shouldn't sit here and ramble on, wasting all of our time. :) I hope your holiday season is wonderful and I look forward to showing you lots of new things come January! See you soon!
 
Merry Christmas from Italy!