Monday January 23 2012

Wow today flew by! It was so mild out when we went to the bus stop this morning, that we stayed out and played and had our outdoor time then.

The kids- Brendan actually :-) - asked to do yoga so we did that as well.
Not many photos today, the time just seemed to evaporate then it was lunchtime! :-)

Addison and Brendan reading, Phaedra and Lelia and the Boog

The kids made a house from the extra rest mats, they were laughing at the challenge of keeping it standing with Charli crawling around it :-)

Organization!

I have gotten so sidetracked on getting things organized! And so I am especially pleased at the progress I made yesterday and today!

Besides not being able to find things grrrrr, my biggest stumbling block is keeping things accessible to the children, yet safe for the littlest ones.  And also keeping things manageable for all of us i.e. preventing materials from getting dumped, scattered and lost.

I also went through all our puzzles- there were ones that I forgot we had! :-)
We also have a model of the solar system hanging in the playroom- it's been in the closet for almost 2 years I think!

I am far from done, I have a closet upstairs, materials in the basement, the kitchen cabinets and furniture in the kitchen area, but I made a huge dent today!

I am so pleased with my accomplishments today that I must post the pictures :-)
And you get to see some more of what I have for the kids!

Montessori materials. This was a 500 dollar investment and that was on sale! Not everything is in this cabinet, (there is also the world puzzle, pink tower, brown stair, red rods, and counting rods). Pictured are: counting spindles, sandpaper letters, 3 color boxes, 4 knobbed cylinders, geometric solids, 4 knobless cylinder boxes, moveable alphabet and punching needle and felt.

Alphabet stamps, upper and lower case, seashells and flannel boards

This is "just for now" assorted papers, shells, starfish platter, eggbeater, magnifying glasses

The cabinet to the right of the fireplace

This was a nightmare previously:-) There are more books upstairs and in the playroom there is a large bin of board books, we also have a big basket for library books :-)

I love upcycling and these clementine boxes worked perfectly for the paperback books. Now I can just flip through them to find the ones I want- and so can the kids :-)

The lower area has the magnet set and assorted toys and games

The mobilio toy is in the white bin (formerly held modeling clay)

The fireplace mantle- less busy without the Montessori cylinders

The infamous playroom closet- I usually compare it to the PBS Zooboomafu show where they open the closet and everything falls out :-)

The diaper boxes are converted into pet carriers- they still need decorative coverings

Now I can find things!

The window seat fits the rest mats perfectly-- and they are toasty warm from the baseboard heat behind it!! :-)  Oh, and I ordered some foam so I can have the right size cushion for on top :-) And these cushions can go back to being the "jumping cushions"

Our atlases and maps tucked next to the Montessori cabinet

We did yoga again today and this time I took some pictures :-)
We also got out for a short time before lunch- the time outside was slightly longer than the time it took us to get ready! LOL

Thank you for having the winter gear we needed- if you haven't brought snowpants, I guess next week will be a good time to do so. Extra mittens (yes mittens are preferred) would be awesome too! Thanks!!

Yoga- even Charli got a mat- and she stayed there lol

Hands holding shoulders and twisting

Bouncing knees up and down and Phaedra added her arms as well

Sat Nam (we say suit, nam, suit nam; quickly- it is fun)

Stretching our legs

Downward Dog

This was Brendan's first time I think- he did awesome!

Child's pose-- and Charli is still there!

Phaedra does some yoga in gym, so she showed us the Mermaid

Charli and Lelia

Phaedra demonstrates the Shark Her hand is making a fin behind her head

And now the Donkey Kick

Outside!

Charli was awake, I just caught her with her eyes closed We hung out in the road where there was less snow

When you are a kid you *have* to eat the snow

Brendan loved the snow shovel

Thursday January 19, 2012

Today we tried fingerpainting the kids enjoyed it. Addison's mom gave us the paint- thanks Lori!   We used a cookie sheet because, although Walmart had fingerpaint, they did not have any paper when I went last night.  The pans worked really well though and we just printed them by laying regular paper on top. They are very cheerful hanging on the board! :-)


Since, it has been so very cold, and I had a foil pan to upcycle, we are making our annual ice sculpture which we will hang from the tree.  We just added sparkly confetti to water and a string and we are checking it when we go out to the bus...so far it is still water ~ but not for too long!

 The confetti is so pretty but leaves a mess when it all melts, so next time we will try it with bird seed~ and at least the birds might get a treat :-)

Addison sharing her coloring book with her friends

Ready to fingerpaint

Sorry Charli, no paint but here's a baby for you :-)

We added shaving cream

The big clean up!

Brendan