My Little Gardeners

We are studying plants in science right now, so we decided to plant a few seeds. We planted them in tubes so we will be able to see the roots. We also went outside and pulled up a few weeds so we could see their roots. (I taught the kids the word "perennial" when they wanted to pull up the hastas and other plants that I would like to see come back in the spring.)

Luke just loves it when we "do" things. He gets so excited and I am so glad that he is learning so much this year.

Homeschooling Luke and Caroline this year is a blessing to me.

Little Luke is Writing

Luke has been discovering how much fun it is to write. He writes his name over and over. The other day, he handed me a piece of paper and it said "MOM" on it. Little things like that make me so happy.

Weekend with Caleb

Last weekend, we had the opportunity of having Caleb (my sister's baby, I mean little boy) sleep over at our house. I'll tell you what . . . he was THE CENTER of attention here. :) Our kids just adore Caleb.

We took him outside and put him to work! ;)

There were just enough leaves to make the perfect jumping pile.

"Look!" "Airplane!!"

(Good catch, Jake!!)
When we weren't playing in the leaves, we were playing with CARS or TRUCKS.

We had a great time with Caleb!!! He is a blessing and we love him so much!!!!

Homemade Play Dough

The other day, Caroline and I made some homemade play dough. I got the recipe online from a school in Maryland. It is the BEST Play Dough recipe ever!! I like it because it is super smooth (not grainy). I also like it because the kids play with it SO much longer than store bought Play Dough. It is perfect for making "cookies". Caroline kept playing candy store and making cherry Tootsie Rolls and other "yummy" things. Caroline made a banana split!
Here is the recipe:

4 cups flour

1 cup salt

4 cups water

4 Tablespoons oil

1 package of UNSWEETENED Kool Aid (for smell . . . we used cherry)

food coloring

1/2 cup cream of tartar (the secret ingredient to make it super smooth!! expensive, but worth it!!)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan. Cook and stir over low/medium heat until play dough is completely formed and no longer sticky. (be patient . . .keep stirring and don't stop until it is a huge ball) Allow to cool slightly before storing in an airtight container or Zip-Loc bag.

ENJOY!! :)

Nature Lover

Caroline is our little nature lover. The other day, she put a pile of birdseed right outside the back door. Then she got a couple of chapter books, made herself comfortable, and waited until a "customer" came by. As soon as they started to come, she got her little nature sketchbook out and started drawing the animals that came. (lots of pretty little birds, including a blue jay and cardinals, a chipmunk, pigeons, and a grey squirrel)

Here is one of the lucky customers.

Psalm 104:24 "How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom, you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures."

Favorites on Fridays . . . Like Oprah's "O" List, But Not Really

Favorites on Fridays is back!!

Favorite "Pick me up" Snack: Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds

My Uncle Dan introduced these to me this summer at the beach. They are just cocoa roasted so they are not actually coated with chocolate. They only have one gram of sugar and 6 grams of protein per serving. You can get them at most large grocery stores. My whole family LOVES them!!

Pumpkin Patch

A few weeks ago we took a trip to Kuiper's pumpkin patch.

We took a hayride to the patch to pick out the pumpkins.
The kids thought it was so cool that the pumpkins were actually attached to vines coming from the ground! Who knew?!? :) We picked out small ones because we saw big pumpkins at Aldi for $1.99 and couldn't stand to fork over $10 for one at the patch. The kids were OK with this. Their pumpkins were easier to carry that way anyway.

I loved the hay barn. It reminded me of growing up on a farm. We used to spend hours just playing in the hay. The smell really brought back fond memories.

We went through a corn maze, which was really fun!! The kids had questions they had to answer to get clues on which way to go next.

Which way should we go??!!

It was a blessing to spend a day together at the pumpkin patch!!!