Year Three: Week Seven: It's TIME!

A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.

Salt from My Attic (1928) ~ John A. Shedd

We have had some beautiful weather! It has been so nice to get outside with my sidekick and our pups and enjoy the sunshine. After my week away for my own school, we had to catch up and get back into routine. I just want to praise my mom for a minute; without her, we never would have survived our week apart. :)

We got to have some fun exploring (and eating) before our Mimi headed home. 

 Like I said, we got some gorgeous weather! We walked to many parks in the past couple of weeks. 

 When I asked my sidekick what he wanted to learn about, he asked to learn to tell time. So here we are! There is only so much you can do with time, so I did the best I could! We also have a flashcard pack (Like $1-$3 from Target!) that has both analog and digital clocks on the cards for extra practice. Sidekick got it down in days and now tells me the time everywhere we go. 

Yeah, so I spent some time texting with my kid while I was at school.... 

 20 books read, y'all! That's what this face means!

 I was going to wait for the dentist until after our move but, then I didn't. Sidekick did great and we are looking forward to finding our new dentists in our new town. 

 This would be our album cover...if we could sing... 

But no, we are just enjoying more sunshine! 

 He just makes me so happy. I was here at the computer and I heard him banging stuff around behind me. I kept an eye on him without him seeing me and this was the result. I love that our busy boxes still work and get put to good use!

 He set up a breakfast date for us. Be still my heart!

He's had a bit of an independent streak. Every now and then, I'll get him a Lunchables and do his own thing for lunch. This was him, giving me all the directions as he made his pizzas. He's getting so big!

Alrighty! That's all for now. We've got more in the works! See you soon!

Year Three: Week Four: Journey to the Past

"Absence, with all its pains, is, by this charming moment, wiped away."

~James Thomson

It has been a crazy couple of months! The craziness started in November and it only now settling back into some form of normalcy. So, here we are taking a look back at our schooling, from last year (sheesh!), and I am going to really try and catch us up before next Christmas. *crosses fingers*

Meet Mr. Dry Bones. A lovely friend we made from paper plates. Another great Pinterest find that I cut out while Sidekick was taking a bath one evening. Yes, it's that easy. Here! 

 After we put our friend together and went over the bones (total simplified version), I had him draw his own version of a skeleton. I think he did wonderfully! But I am his mom so yes, I am biased. 

Sight words! Sidekick is on his way to reading! So, this is some reinforcement practice of common words. 

 It was once October. Which means, it was Halloween and pumpkin decorating was a must. Abstract art is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. Again, I am happily biased. 

 Pumpkin structures! We had a lot of fun with this and imagining the rooms and all the friends that lived in our house. 

Sidekick wanted nothing else but to be Yoshi for Halloween. So I stretched my crafty wings and made his little dream come true. I bought the crochet hat on Etsy, turned his spiked dragon tail into a more appropriate Yoshi tail, and fashioned a shell and white belly out of felt and cloth. They slipped onto his shoulders so I didn't have to ruin a good set of thermals for one night of fun. Yes, it looked quite homemade but he was happy and that's all I care about. 

Birthday fun! Daddy was leaving shortly after our Sidekick's actual birthday so we took advantage of Halloween weekend and had a costumed birthday party! Our Mario obsession continued into the party planning and our little Yoshi was ecstatic! Another bit of craftiness went into the cake and one of the party games. The entire cake is homemade: the bottom is rainbow cake (per his request) and the mushroom is made of Rice Krispie treats. All covered in homemade icing. My mom made my birthday cakes for many years and it is something I enjoy doing for my sweet boy every year. 

The last drop of my craftiness was this Pin-the-Mustache Mario. I googled a picture, found a piece of cardboard (that I knew I would find a use for eventually!), drew him in pencil and then painted the day away. The mustaches are simply felt. The kids loved it so, all the work was worth it. 

So there we are. After this, my days got crazy full of school and fun visitors. Then the traveling came; which I'm still recovering from. But all that is for another day. One, maybe two, more posts and then I am caught up! More adventures to come, see you soon!

Year Three: Week Two: Bobby the Body and Other Fun Shapes

Oh the things you can find
If you don’t stay behind!

~ Dr. Seuss

Catching up is hard to do! Almost a month behind with more busy days ahead but, I'm here now! Feast your eyes on the fun that I have been waiting to show you!

 One rule I gave myself for this school year was, to step back. To let go. To see how he does when I'm not hovering and not holding his hand. It's a big task. I want to guide him and see him succeed but he also needs to succeed on his own terms so, the rule is a solid one.

We haven't practiced cutting in a long while. Honestly, it was a source of frustration for me. I don't know why such a small activity irked me but, it did. So, I set these shapes out, handed my sidekick some kid scissors and simple instructions. Then I left the room. Seriously, I left the room. He quietly did as I asked and came to retrieve me once he was done. He did fantastic! Do you see that circle? Such skill! Haha, but really, I was very proud. Of both of us! 

 More journaling. We are learning to love our journal and all that it can do for us! On the left, we have a picture of Mr. Sidekick and a show of his name writing skills. He's working on his lowercase letters so they get mixed in his writings now. So cute. :)

 So, a week after I ran 13.1 miles, Sidekick and I ran a 5k. His first and yes, he loved it. We held hands for 47 minutes as we ran through 3.1 miles of colors, sparkles, and fun. He was such a good sport and immediately asked when we could do it again upon receiving his medal. He astounds me and I am so lucky to be his mom.

 Let me introduce you to Bobby the Body. I found a similar constructed man on Esty and took it upon myself to create my own instead. He was a hit! We read through our Dr. Seuss book and put the pieces back on Bobby the Body as we went. Then we practiced (by playing) with the different parts and now my little sidekick has a new trick to amuse all our family and friends by naming most of the organs in the body. :)

 While looking at Bobby the Body, I had Sidekick draw in his own interpretation of our body parts. After convincing him they couldn't all be green (his favorite color) his rendition is pretty spot on and adorable. (I love the little line connecting the lungs.)

 One of the best things about homeschooling is the comfort level. Pajamas are completely acceptable and cuddling on the couch for lessons is totally normal. 

Sidekick wanted play dough. So here he is, making his own! This is another rule for myself. Let him in the kitchen and actually participate with some of the scary stuff. Under a lot of supervision on this one, of course! 

There you have it! Another week (a month in the past) of fun and learning. I will continue to try and catch up on these posts as we continue through our school year. 

Thanks for stopping by! See you soon!

Year Two: Week Twelve: Dino Stomp, Stomp, Stomp!

Dr. Ian Malcolm: Now eventually you might have dinosaurs on your, on your dinosaur tour, right? Hello? yes?

~Jurassic Park

We had another cold and wintry week here! It was Dinosaur week! 

Check out this fun! 

 We busted out the musical instruments and made some {noise}! This is one of his favorite things to do when we are stuck inside.

 Oh yes. We made s'mores! Oh yes. They were delicious!

Toothbrush painting was a fun and different way to start this project...

...Which resulted in DINOSAUR FEET!  

So, of course, we had to add a dinosaur hat and tail!

(Shout out to {Misty Taylor} for that great gift!) 

Then my little dino took me on a musical adventure throughout the house.

Stomp, stomp, stomp!

If I had only known how much from my sidekick would have from this little volcano! 

Click here for Volcano fun!

After we built it and let it dry, Sidekick got to mix colors (another favorite of his) and made our little white mound into Sherbet Mountain.

It was glorious and beautiful!  

He had such fun making bubble eruptions!  

 More snow at our home! We even made a snowman this time!

I surprised my sidekick with some hidden caveman messages/hieroglyphics. 

Can you figure them out? 

My sidekick sure did! He even wrote the answers all himself! I'm such a proud mom! 

We've got more fun on the way! Come back and see us soon!

Year Two: Week Eleven: Stuck on a Feeling!

I love your face. It always brings me peace.

~Moonlight and Valentino

This week we talked about our feelings! My sidekick wears his emotions on his sleeve, he always has. It was a good week to focus on what makes us change our feelings and why we feel the way we do. I am quite lucky because, normally, my little sidekick is quite the happy fellow. 

 Paper plate emotions. Easy after-school activity for us! I wrote the name on each plate and had him draw what each one looked like. Easy peasy. The idea was found here. 

Ice painting! While this doesn't have much of anything to do with emotions, it was FUN!  

Here. For you, if you want to try too!

We had a Valentine Date at his school (a couple weeks ago now). We had tea and he decorated a cookie for us to share. It was a happy day.  

Bubble valentines from my little Valentine. :) We found some dollar bubbles and I used Pinterest to find some cute saying. I had him write one word and sign each card. (Writing the whole thing would have been a bit much for the little guy.) 

Straw Blow Monsters! {Beware of spittle!}

After the paint dried, we drew monster faces and practiced some fine motor movement by making crinkle arms and legs. His monster has 10 eyes! He was quite specific, so I thought I should let you know. :) 

I may have had a little too much fun with this one.... 

 Winter finally arrived! We are actually in the middle of our second snow storm, right now. All my babies love the snow though! 

Enjoy the weather wherever you are! See you soon!