Bubble Monday

 On Monday we broke out the bubbles for some fun on the front porch.

 Baby LeAnn wasn't feeling well and although she was tired, she decided that a nap was not on her agenda for the morning.  So, she hung out with us on the porch instead and watched the bubbles blow by her.

 Tristan enjoyed blowing his bubbles all by himself!

 

 

Later, Tristan and Nathanael did an Easter egg craft for their school time.  They colored an Easter egg shape in rainbow colors, then cut strips of construction paper into little 

rectangles and glued them onto their Easter egg.  

 They finished the egg by practicing their folding and folded it in half. 

 After craft time we did our alphabet flash cards.  Both Tristan and Nathanael are doing really well with reciting their letters!  In the next couple of months they'll be learning the letter sounds. We also found hidden pictures starting with the letter "A" in this hidden pictures book.   

After all of that excitement and a good lunch, Tristan and Nathanael went down for their nap.  Tristan likes to sleep with a teddy bear on his head sometimes!  Silly boy!

And sometimes Tristan and Nathanael like to hold hands while they fall asleep.  Awww.....

LeAnn's Favorite Toys

I took these pics of sweet baby LeAnn a week or two ago and already shared them with her mommy, but they are just too, too CUTE not to post here on the blog.

 A few years ago I made the decision to steer our toys in the direction of simple, non-toxic, kid-powered items that stimulate creativity, imagination, and learning.  I've also learned over the years that less is more. I try to limit it to two or less toys that I allow out for children to play with at any given time and keep them in a closet and out of sight when they are not in use.

 

We have very few toys that are battery powered.  

Although, one of the battery-powered toys we do have is in these pictures.  :)

LeAnn LOVES our Leapfrog Learn-Along Leap plush toy that sings the "ABC's" when you squeeze (or kick or swat in LeAnn's case) his belly.  She'll know her ABC's in no time with this little guy around!  :)

   Her other favorite is this Plan Toy Stacking Cone.  

This keeps her occupied for a good 30 minutes or more! 

 She gums it, knocks it down, rolls the cylinders, and listens to the pieces 

make delightful knocking sounds as she bangs them together.  

This is also a great toy for me to teach her colors and shapes!  

 What a happy baby playing with her toys!!  

 

YOU, baby LeAnn, are a delight and 

we love to watch you have fun playing with your  toys!

Columbus Boat Field Trip

This past Friday we had an opportunity to visit replicas of Christopher Columbuss Nina and Pinta boats.  WOW!  What an eye-opener it was to see how difficult it was for those who braved voyages on those boats to search for a new world!

Here are some pictures of Tristan and the boys as we toured both boats.

Posing by a sign explaining the construction process of the Nina

The Nina

The Pinta

Tristan was nervous to stand on the deck.

Nathanael and Tristan liked poking their heads through the 

side rails to get a closer look out of the boat.  

The boys standing in front of two models of the boats

 

Standing in front of the Nina

We were ready to go after the tour was over.  While it was really neat to see all the cool parts of the boats, it was a lot of sitting and listening to do.  :)

Next, we were off to let off some steam at a very cool playground a few blocks away!  YAY!

JUMP!

Why, yes!  We do have a mattress on the floor in the boys' bedroom!

And, no!  We don't plan on getting rid of it anytime soon.  

And, yes!  It does get a LOT of energy burned for three jumpy little boys!

And, yes...all I have for a camera is a cell phone,

so please forgive the poor movement quality of the pictures. 

All three of the boys have a blast jumping on the mattress together.  

My boys are always very careful not to be too rough with little Tristan. 

Unfortunately that rule seems to be ignored when it comes to each other, though.

Doesn't this make you wanna get up and JUMP right along with them??

Walker walks

Baby LeAnn LOVES her walker. 

Her mommy always leaves it for us to use and she loves to take walks outside in it.  

This is a very good thing, because my five-year-old son, Hunter,

 

 loves to TAKE baby LeAnn for walks in her walker!

 He likes to get down right in front of her and say, "You're such a cute baby!"

 And, she IS such a cute baby!

Now....nobody could argue with that!

Crash, Tristan!

Tristan is a sweet, curious, and active little boy. Yesterday he decided that it would be so much FUN to ram into the fence over and over with the tricycle he was riding. This, as anyone who is around little boys knows, is not at all unusual behavior. Therefore, I saw no harm in allowing him to go to town with this ALL BOY activity. My two boys saw what fun he was having. Soon after, all three decided it would be kicked up many notches on the danger scale if they decided to add a hill in order to increase their speed and get an even bigger impact crashing into the fence below. They patiently took turns going down the hill on the trike. Some ended with a successful and satisfying crash against the fence. And others...well...not so much. But all in all, no one left with bumps or bruises and I think we just might be trying this again some time. Thanks for the idea, Tristan!!

Ladybug Princess Plays the Maracas!

Every day we have music and movement time to unleash all that energy we kept in while sitting still during circle time. We play our musical instruments along with the Nursery Rhymes CD.

Last week LeAnn joined us for music and movement time. She had so much FUN playing the maracas and as you can see...the ladybug maracas matched her adorable red-and-white-checked outfit PERFECTLY!
LeAnn thought the maracas tasted pretty delicious too...
Silly baby!

Circle Time

Every day we have circle time starting around 9 am.

Here is what we do:

1. Pledge
2. Prayer
3. Memory Verse from the A-Z Bible Verses book
4. Sing the ABC Song
5. Sing the Days of the Week Song
6. Sing the Months of the Year Song to the tune of the Macarena
7. Put the number up on the calendar
8. Say what Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow was/is.
   
9. Discuss the weather
10. Say our address, phone number, & birthday
11. Read the nursery rhyme of the day from the Favorite Nursery Rhymes of Mother Goose book
    
12. Watch a demonstration to learn how to play with the Toy of the Day
    

All of the children LOVE circle time! Even little LeAnn has had the opportunity to join us a couple of times and she really enjoys all the songs and recitations. Routine and repetition are keys to shaping little minds and filling them with knowledge. :) And I LOVE that parents give me the opportunity and privilege to include memory verses during our circle time. The children in my care are learning to hide the most valuable knowledge they will ever obtain, God's Word, in their hearts!

Pirates

Sometimes we like to dress up like pirates. Argh, matey!!!