Sewing with the boy

We have been playing a lot of bean bag games to learn numbers, and with the older kids to learn multiplication tables.  We needed more, so Atticus and I decided to make some.  He loves helping with the sewing machine, he presses the pedal while I guide the fabric through.  We filled the bags with lavender and rice.  

cute little foot

lavender 

filling the bag

my helper, proud of his work

three down

Atticus loves to play with these more than I ever imagined he would.  We toss them all the time.  Sometimes, we say the alphabet while we toss, sometimes numbers, sometimes we just giggle and toss.  With Elias and Dash, we stand in a circle and throw to each other, and with each throw, we say a multiplication problem and answer.  This movement with memorization can really help the kinetic learners, or just provide a different way to learn math than worksheets.  For me, movement helps my brain work, and for my boys, movement helps make it fun.  

Friday Foto

Learning Phonics

Atticus loves sounds and learning the phonetic sound of letters.  He loves to play a game, that helps him learn the name and the sound of each letter.  First, I write the letter on a sticky note

Then Atticus finds things around the house that start with that sound.

up

umbrella

  English is very difficult to learn because letters sometimes have different sounds.  I simplify for kids this age, and once they can sound out simple phonetic words, then they can learn the thousands of words that break the rules of phonetics.  Even so, knowing phonetics will usually help in sounding out a word they don't know.

leaf

 I used to do this with the kids in my classroom, and they all love it.  They got to move around the classroom, and it got them thinking about the application of sounds, how sounds form words that describe objects all around us.  Language is very abstract, and this helps make it real, less abstract.

 I give Atticus a turn to write some letters 

And we store the letters to use again next time we want to play the game!  When ever he says "There is nothing to do" I pull out this jar and he gets busy!

Nature Walk

Took a walk with two of my boys in Shenandoah National Park.  We hiked part of the Appalachian trail (bucket list) and saw lots and lots of beautiful things.  We had some trouble spots, after we hiked the wrong way and had to double-back, and the littlest legs got very tired.  In true middle child fashion, Dash tried to make everyone happy and ended up boosting Atticus's energy so we could make it to the lookout.  He actually promised Atticus ice cream if he completed the hike.  That sounded good to me, so I kept quiet.  We found every color of the rainbow, except blue, which we knew was in the sky, but we couldn't see because there were so many clouds.  The clouds came over the trial, and the boys loved to try and run through them.

Red

orange

yellow

green

purple

Atticus called this a fairy table

I find my self most at peace when I am hiking.  I was so excited to come today, I was like a child going to a candy store.  The smell of the woods was rich with fall smells, and we breathed in clean air as we walked.  There was not much human noise, no planes, and we only heard cars when we were near the trail head.  We did pass some hikers, but not many, and they were quiet.  I did have to ask Dash to keep it down when he wanted to sing "Yes we got no bananas!" at the top of his lungs, over and over.  I understood he was excited, and could not contain his happiness of being in the woods.  We all have different ways of expressing our cups running over.  

squeezing through some big rocks

Dash passing some energy along, helping Attie feel better...

Dash always wants everyone to be happy, and works to sooth conflict and unhappiness.  But he rarely is moody, like his brothers.  Dash is pretty even steven.  I remember that even as a baby, he went with the flow.  Today, he met our goal, and he did it with grace, compassion, compromise, and cooperation.   

WE MADE IT! elevation, 4011 feet

There were some climbers! (dont untie those ropes boys!)

couldn't resist the pool of freezing water

colors just starting to turn

This was so high up, and we were so close to the edge, I got a mini panic attack.  I could only stay up here for a few minutes, as I am afraid of heights, especially when my children are there.  I seem to think they might just run off the edge, or slip, and I would have to go after them... Seeing those climbers cables sent me over the edge, pun intended.  I thought how those little thin ropes around that rock is all that is keeping them from falling...Panic! What if someone didn't know what those were, and messed with them!! and then I realized I needed to go.    I told the boys (in a very non-calm voice)  it was time to back away from the cliff and head back down the trail!

Luckily as soon as we were deep in the woods again, I forgot all about this moment-until I looked at the pictures! Even looking at the pictures makes my bones hurt a little and my heart feel weak.

When we came home, it was dinner time, and of course we headed for the ice cream store.  Then, after the ice cream, we had dinner in front of a Winnie the Pooh (perfect for my VERY sensitive boys!).  The boys almost never get to eat and watch a movie, so it was all very special! I kinda felt we earned it...

The Holding Tree

Friday Photo

sushi

making sauerkraut with purple cabbage

papas favorite mint chip ice cream cake

There has been a lot of interesting food making around here.  Atticus wants to be a chef when he grows up, so he loves food and to be in the kitchen...

Atticus helps chop veggie for the sushi

My children are as picky as the next kid.  But, they love sushi, so sometimes I pack it with veggies and they gobble it up, with a little soy sauce of course...

three veggie rolls

and then there was bread

atticus took a break from pie making to have carmel sauce with apples

apples, sugar, cinnamon.  the smell of fall

the first rustic pie of the season...

apples

We went to a beautiful orchard, and picked lots of apples.  Today I am doing stuff with those apples...the pictures don't need much description...

monkey in an apple tree

he has apples in his mouth

I love that all 3 are in this photo...can you see them?

apple orchard

I said, "Atticus, we have enough apples, time to go", and he said
"no mommy, I want to make LOTS of applesauce!"

My favorite things

Just like Oprah, I am often asked what my favorite things currently are.  So, people, in answer to the hundreds of curious humans and animals, here we go (drum roll)

My Favorite Things!

 I recently gave up coffee and all things delicious.  Or so I thought!  I decided to try this herbal coffee, assuming it was disgusting.  Well folks, it's not.  In fact, it is yummy yummy yummy!  It is like coffee with a hint of chocolate, and I add soy milk creamer(only soy milk creamer, almond and coconut milk did not add the same bit of over the top creamy deliciousness) and whew-hew, the coffee habit was kicked! When I crave a cuppa, I brew some of this herbal coffee, and get none of the jittery sweaty shaky acidic reaction I used to get when I drank coffee.  What do I breaw it in, you all ask?  well...

My french press individual coffee cup thingy cup.  Just put a scoop of herbal coffee (or real coffee for you jitter bugs) and pour hot water in,  wait, wait wait, now press and drink.  I actually pour it into a beautiful mug, but when I was on the go go go, I just took it and ran.  love this.

These little gems are mini muffins made with bananas, oat and almond flour, and sweetened with decident coconut syrup.  I make them small, because I want to eat a lot. That reason might not make sense to you, but it does to me.

and last, this.  Need I say more?