Thursday, October 14, 2010

Busy Week = Monster Post


So it’s been a busy week. Although I could probably start every post with that statement, this week it was especially true, school wise at least. I love home schooling but I’m learning that it becomes a whole different ball game as the kids get older. One of the great things about schooling at home is the freedom to adapt with your children and arrange school to meet their individual needs. 

My oldest is now doing a completely different curriculum than the younger two. She just happened to be the more analytical and self-motivated of the bunch and wanted a more structured learning environment. Things have been really great with her new curriculum which is completely computer based. She’s also skipped a grade so the work is challenging and engaging. 

But let me tell you, I was not prepared for the amount of reports a third grader has to write. We just finished a science report on minerals yesterday. She was totally into it, I kept reminding myself that I was now old enough to have a child that knew the difference between lime and magnesium. I'm pretty sure that it's a milestone when your kids start learning things you have to *try* and remember.

But enough of that, we did some other fun stuff too.

We all headed out to pick up some more pumpkins at a little farm stand we had never visited before. There's actually a farm really close to us that we usually go to but the Mr. and I decided it would be fun to switch things up this year. And we were quite pleased with the result.


We all found exceptionally large and colorful pumpkins. There was also a barn sale that I couldn't help but check out. So the kids happily played around while the Mr. tried to get them to pose for some photos. And as you can see Jael was into it, but the boys, not so much.


After weighing and paying for our pumpkins we headed over to the local creamery to pick up some crusty bread and yummy cheese.




Grandma and Aunt R. stopped by to pick up the oh so anticipated invitation to our Halloween party. I may have to do an additional post dedicated to my love of this years invite. It's the best one I've made so far, if I do say so myself.


They really seemed to like it as well.


Yes the invitation is a vampire hunting kit hidden in a hallowed out copy of Dracula. I was totally inspired by this crazy cool halloween invite.


But after we had fawned over that enough Aunt R. took the kids out to play while I cooked one of Jael's favorite dishes.

*Photo courtesy of Aunt R.*


Not bad considering the cook (me) is a vegetarian. And we all sat down to enjoy an impromptu family dinner. Which I don't have any good pictures of because we were all too busy eating. Which is as it should be I suppose.


But now I really must run because today is National Dessert Day! Come back later though for a post on how we celebrated and maybe a tasty gluten free recipe.

Until nest time.......
~Kayte

Friday, October 8, 2010

To Grandmothers house we went

This week was a short school week for us because of the visit to my parent’s house. Not that anyone cared one bit. Going to Grandmas house is a special occasion for my kids. My parents live a little over three hours away from us on about ten acres of Pennsylvania wood. We spent four days enjoying the fresh air and outdoor activities.

Grandma helped us with archery.




We went pumpkin spotting in the front yard.



Chatted with Bella the mare.



Made paper crowns with Aunt R. 



And painted our faces.



We made some delicious rock stew.


But when we really got hungry we roasted some marshmallows.



Then the topper to our time there was that it was spent with family we don’t get to see very often from out of state. So it’s no wonder we’ve been dragging a little at home the last few days. I’ve got to come up with some fun activities for this weekend. Any suggestions?

Until next time…….
Kayte

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  A la SouleMama, Head on over and join in the comments, there are so many great moments.

 

 Until next time....... 

Kayte

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

stART

 A new activity I’ve incorporated into our school week is the story art project from A Mommy’s Adventures. Which, by the way, you should definitely check out because not only is the stART project really fun but she has lots of other activities that are really inspiring.

The book my kids chose this week was Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. My kids already enjoy this book but it had been a while since we’d last read it. They loved reading the story about the little mouse with the extra large name again. This story deals quite directly with the issue of teasing and even though homeschooling insulates them somewhat from those experiences, it is a fact of life for everyone.

So we all had a nice talk about names and identity. Big ideas for little ones but these concepts really do mean a lot to them. So in honor of our special-ness we created our own flowers inspired by our names. 

First I printed out a couple pictures of them.


They traced circles with a plastic cup around their faces.


Which they then cut out and used for the center of their flowers.


Magazine clippings and tissue paper became petals. I also asked them to assign unique characteristics to their individual flowers.



“The Jael Flower”
Has pretty pink petals and smells like pumpkin pie. The stem is made out of water and it blooms all year long.



“The Ezra Flower”
Has green and tan petals that smell like lemon. It is made out of diamonds and light and only blooms in summer time.



“The Mateos Flower”
 Has purple petals that grow everywhere and smell of fruit snacks.
 (Please ignore the grumpy face. It was close to nap time and this was the only picture he would let me get of him.)

 
We all had so much fun with this activity. I can’t wait to see what we come up with for next week.

Until next time.......

Saturday, October 2, 2010

A lovely pair

Tonight I was all set to post on the first day of a long weekend at my parents house in the country. But I couldn't resist writing about something that has me very excited.

Shoes,

a new pair of boots to be exact. Just look at these beauties.



The best part is that I picked them up from target this morning for about 35 bucks. I've walked around all day feeling like a Victorian farm girl. And for me that's a good thing.

Until next time.......
Kayte

Friday, October 1, 2010

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  

A la SouleMama, Head on over and join in the comments, there are so many great moments.

 


Until Next Time.......

Kayte

Thursday, September 30, 2010

One of those good ones

I'll be the first to admit that some days can get hectic with three young kids. There are times when schooling and activities can drag and enjoyment is hard won. But then there are some days that are just sweetest defined.

Coming downstairs this morning and taking in the new fall decor the kids and I put together made me so happy!.


Jael also decided to come down to school this morning as her French alter ego Alice. “Alice” is always a treat to have around. Her manners are impeccable and what subject wouldn't be more exciting in a ball gown.


Mateos drew a strawberry which made his artistically inclined mama very proud.


 And nothing beats a rousing game of Uno as an end to a perfectly lovely day.


Until next time.......
Kayte