Let it snow, well kind of...

So as our neighbors to the south and north and east and west of us got covered with record snow, it was yet another proff to Nick's hypothosis, it shall never snow where he is. He really does swear by this. The last time we got snow, E was about 20 monthes and we got three inches TOPS! WE bagged his feet and he still talks about it. Well this was a treat for him, it was more like tasteless dippin dots but it was fun for a few hours.I wanted to to the black paper and microsope but it was to pellety:( Maybe next time, one day.

GREAT letter toy

SO while out and about today trying to get a ggod doula folder together we stopped at Office Depot for some supplies. While browsing around I found a school area. Well sitting on top os a random shelf was a misplaced book. It was a large spiral bound book about 4 pages front and back of dry erase board pages. On top was a little sipper ouch with two markers and fabric eraser. The pages have the old fashioned tri lined setup to learn to write on and each letter has a line. The first set is upper and lower case and next to that is a fades gray dotted letter, along with numbers and arrows to show you and remind young one the right order to move so that they are not willy nilly tracing but actually writing out the letter the right way. It also has this set up for numbers and shapes. It also has picture math problems and a free doodle page. I was hoping this would be a hit and it was. He LOVES this thing and can't get enough of it!

Planting the seeds...

I am soooo far behind but with J's ear infectiona and e's touch of pnemonia we have been keeping a low profile for a few weeks.
So we have a few plants that we want to keep inside so as we wait for the cool stuff to get here we started these. Cilantro, parsley, dill, basil is what we are starting off with. E was blown away at how tiney the seeds were, lets hope we don't kill them!

ABC's

I have mentioned a few times recently that E is gaining momenteum with letters. When you ask him point blank what they are he says random ones most of the time. E, J, A, O, N being the ones he likes the most it seems. Well i have noticed that he has been bringing me his letter books more and more and really trying to remember the right one and the sound with it. Today while on the phone I spelled out CAPE and he said " what about the cape?" hmmmm might have been a coincidence but whatever it was he is starting to get it!

Rainbow Garden

SO in doing some research I have found that tomatoes are not always red, carrots orange, cucumbers green and so on and so forth. This has prompted the Funky Psychadelic Garden! We are so going to rock bright purple and pink tomatoes, purple and yellow beans, orange cucumbers, and all kinds of funkiness! I can't wait and I think it might open e's palate back up. Not only will he get to see it grow, but he wil get to pick it and help make it!

Square foot garden

SO I heard about this last year and thought it might work for us. I think this year we are going to give it a go. I love the idea of sending the boys out back for a snack or herbs for dinner. I think this is a do-able idea and am excited about it. E saw on PBS how you can use pizza boxes to grow seeds and since we got some of those in the garage I thought what better time then now? I already have ideas for what I would like but I thought I would ask e is opinion on the matter. I told him that he can pick what he wants for his own area of the garden that he can plant, water, and cultivate. The thought of being a farmer to him thrilled his little mind! This is what he had to offer.

Carrots, because Junah likes them
Potatos, ONLY because that is where fries come from!
cucumbers, because they make pickles.
Corn because he loves corn. ( I don't see that one happening but we will see.)
He really wants an apple, pear, orange, and lemon tree. Looking into indoor varieties.
Blueberries, for him and the birds
strawberries.

So we will see what we can do. I really want to make this happen this year!

Fractions

Since we really do try and make everything from scratch from bread to pizza, e is my most often souz chef. In these culinary quests he is using fractions is a real and tangable way. Today I thought to make it more visual again by making snack time fraction time. First I cut up an apple and showed him how when you seperate all the parts you only get a fraction of the whole apple. Since there were eight pieces I would give him four and me four, half and half. Then I gave him 3/8's and so one and so forth. Same with the banana. When it was time for juice I got out the measuring cup so he could see the numbers and since he loves to pour back and forth we did that. He not only learned something but had a great time!

Maps and Birds

I guess that goes together right? Since we are really getting more and more birds he is really taking an interest in how they got here, where they were, where they go... I got out my old trusty guide that I got for Christmas 16 years ago from my grandparents, those who turned me on to birds. I showed him where we are on the map and how different colors on that map would mean when the birds would come here or if they would never make it to our neck of the woods. I would have him find a bird he liked and ask him to show we if it would come here or not. E LOVED this game. Not only did we talk about if they would be here, but if they would find Mimi and Big Dogs house. Colors, georgrapghy, bird species, I think it was a good lesson and a great day!

Reduce, Reuse, Re-Feed

We want to have a bird garden. A wonderful, thriving, inviting bird garden. Right now we have three feeders; two on the shepards hook and our newest that we made today. We are going to use all our milk jugs from now on to feed our little feathered friends. It might look crazy tacky but it is a win win. Reduces waste, feeds some more birds, gives us something to do, and gives the yard that homey kid touch. We are also going to paint a bird house a week, if not twice to hang on the fence. I think that I see some berry bushes inbetween the houses a distinct possiblity as well. Looking into finding some funky and cheap bird bath ideas that we can work on as the days get warmer and the freezing comes to an end. I can't wait for all this to come together.