LadyBear & her buddy Ferdinand...

Apparently, I've been reading Ferdinand more often than I thought with LadyBear...she's got almost the whole thing memorized!!

Five In A Row: The Story of Ferdinand

This week we moved on to Five In A Row Volume 2!!  We probably won't do all of Volume 2, so I decided to do the books out of order and start with one of my personal favorites :)

The Story of Ferdinand is about a little bull who (unlike his friends) likes to sit quietly under an old cork tree and smell the flowers around him instead of running around trying to be a fierce bull that gets picked for the bullfights in Madrid.  This story is especially dear to my heart because I have long seen LittleBear as my little Ferdinand (he's more the type to sit quietly and smell the flowers than be rough and tumble).  I was reminded this week of this tweet from last year...*melt*  Anyway, I love my little Ferdinand and this book and had fun going over it with the kids this week.  LadyBear wasn't in the mood for sitting down much at the beginning of this week, so it ended up being mostly LittleBear, Orbit and I, but then something happened in the middle and she fell in love with the book so much that now I read it A LOT to her.

For Bible/Character Building, we talked about Contentment and what that means (and how we are ALL-Mommy included- still learning how to be content).  We also talked about ways that we can be content and I challenged myself and LittleBear to try to be content when we find ourselves wanting more.  We also took some time to think of things we are thankful for, which helped us realize how much we already have.  In addition, we read stories each day out of A Child's Book of Character Building Book 1, which both kids really enjoy.  We also talked about how God made everyone unique and we are made that way for a purpose.

LittleBear and LadyBear coloring their Spanish flags...

For Math, we finished the last lesson out of Math-U-See Primer and will be moving on to Alpha as soon as the student packet gets here (c'mon UPS!).  In the meantime, I've been filling in with pages from Life of Fred Apples.  For Language Arts, we started Explode the Code Book 3 (lesson 1) and for Handwriting, we started the Memoria Press Copy Book 1.

 LadyBear playing with the corks while LittleBear did math...

For Social Studies, we talked about Spain and where it is.  We talked about things Spain is known for and tried to learn a few words in Spanish.  We greeted Daddy every day with a hearty "Hola Padre!" and also had a blast trying to learn to dance Flamenco :)  LadyBear definitely wanted to join in on this part and even came out with her twirly skirt on!

 Dancing Bear Cubs!!!!

For Science, we talked about cows and their roles on this earth.  We also learned about cork trees and how corks are made.  We also enjoyed another riveting episode of "Sink or Float!" with a bag of corks I found at Hobby Lobby (love their 40% off coupons!).  We also talked about our sense of smell and the importance of flowers, which was great since we are about to start our spring garden!



For Art, I introduced Pablo Picasso and we talked about this progression of drawings of a bull that I found that he did.  We also watched a short video of him painting the outline of a bull on glass.

 LadyBear working on a paper doll page while LittleBear did his handwriting...

For fun, we plan on trying to make Churros tomorrow...we'll see how that goes :)

It was a great week!!!  If you haven't read this book, it's a favorite!!!

Resources and printable sheets I used for The Story of Ferdinand can be found at:

Five In A Row Teacher's Manual

My Five In A Row Pinterest Board
The Fascinating Process of Making Corks on Youtube
Spanish Dancer with Castinets on Youtube
Pablo Picasso At Work on Youtube
Ferdinand The Bull (Disney 1936) on Youtube

Go Along books we used for The Story of Ferdinand (* indicate the ones we especially liked):
*Look What Came From Spain by Kevin Davis
*Spain (A True Book) by Martin Hintz
*Cows by Jen Green
*Roberto and the Bull by Syd Hoff
*First Spanish Picture Dictionary by DK Publishing
*Exploring Flowers by Kristin Sterling
*The Reason For A Flower by Ruth Heller
*World of Plants Flowers by John Farndon
*Butterflies in the Garden by Carol Lerner
First Thousand Words in Spanish by Heather Amery & Stephen Cartwright
Exploring the Sicent of Nature Flowers by Jane Burton & Kim Taylor

LadyBear adding our story disk for us...

LadyBear's Second Birthday Bash: Our Butterfly Garden Party!

 LadyBear posing for the cameras...

We celebrated LadyBear turning two this weekend with a butterfly garden party here at the house.  LadyBear loves butterflies and gardens, so this seemed like a fitting and fun theme for a party.  Thank you, Pinterest, for all the ideas of what to do for the party!

 Party food and cake, along with my cat grass centerpieces...Orbit was thrilled!

Another thing my kids both love is to dress-up and so I decided to make them butterfly wings to wear for the party.  After those went together pretty quick, I thought it might make a fun favor for the kids who came to the party.  Thankfully all the kids seemed to like them! 

 LadyBear was excited about the wings for her and her friends...

Our family and friends showed up in force to celebrate LadyBear and (I think) we all had a good time!  We pretended we were eggs, caterpillars, chrysalides and then butterflies...

Some of our butterflies...

Then we guessed who was which kind of butterfly (Monarchs were the only kind we had two of).  Then we played throw the butterfly into the flower (aka glass pie plate)...

 The smaller kiddos got to stand closer to the flower...

 She was so proud of herself the first time she made one in!

The bigger kiddos had to stand further back...

We also wrapped the kids in toilet paper and called it a chrysalis!

 

 Daddy wrapping LadyBear...

 Afterwards, some of us just got silly with the TP...

Then we sang happy birthday and ate applesauce spice cake, pretzels, apple slices, carrots/ranch while chatting amongst ourselves...

singing "Happy birthday to you..."

blowing out her candle with Daddy...

 Pick your proboscis (adults too!)

I also had flower prints scattered around from an old book to help show the "garden" part of the party...

Happy birthday, LadyBear!!!  We love you!!!

LittleBear's "Favorite Place" and LadyBear's Newest Favorite Activity

Today we were invited to a friends birthday party at FLIPS gym in Waco.  It was so fun!!

LittleBear cheering LadyBear on at the end of the balance beam...

It was LadyBear's first time and LittleBear's first time in a while going there, but he was so excited all week and kept saying this is his "favorite place."  He couldn't wait to show LadyBear all the fun things to do.

LittleBear getting a pep talk from one of the coaches...

There he goes!

Sadly, Momma is not the best at photographing high speed activities, but rest assured that even though the pictures are blurry, there was nothing but smiles from both kids. 


That little blur in the middle jumping into the foam block pit is LadyBear...

LadyBear's strength and determination helped her do everything the big kids were doing except for the long trampoline, which she wasn't quite old enough for. 

swinging over the foam block pit...

Here are two videos for your amusement...LadyBear did not want to come out of the foam block pit!

LadyBear:


LittleBear being brave:




We are so very thankful for wonderful friends who give us opportunities like this.  Happy birthday, K!!  Thank you!

Five In A Row: Lentil

This week we read a book that none of us had read before, but really enjoyed and that was Lentil.  Lentil is the story of a little boy who lives in Ohio and wants to make music but can't sing.  He decides instead to take up the harmonica.

Our calendar board/bookshelf...

As I said last week, the Five In A Row teacher's manual outlines lots of things you can do for each subject during the week and then there are printable packs and worksheets for free online that you can print off, which include maps, word searches, mazes, flags, graphs, copywork, etc.   We did less worksheets this week than we did last week, but we did more hands-on type things.  I think the book we are reading next week will go back to being more worksheet type activities (stay tuned!).  But, lest I get ahead of myself, we'll go one week at a time. 

LittleBear and LadyBear hard at work...

We read this Bible story and discussed the different gifts and talents that each person is given and talked about what we think ours are.  LittleBear then tried to learn how to play the harmonica, which he was super excited about. We also talked about the state of Ohio and America, in general.  We also learned a lot about our five senses this week and had lots of hands-on fun! 

He loved playing the harmonica!

Monday we talked about our sense of touch and looked at this fabric texture book I made for LadyBear (a baby gift for her that really came in handy!) and also played with a sensory bin of lentils!  Both kids loved the sensory bin and thankfully our vacuum took care of the stray lentils just fine :)  In fact, the sensory bin made several more appearances as the week went on.

Lentil sensory bin!

We took a day and talked about each of the other senses as well along with a "what is it?" activity that helped drive home the point about how all of our senses work.

What does LittleBear feel?

We also spent some time talking about our country, our military and what patriotism is.  I confess I have not taught him as well in this area as I should have, but hopefully this week helped him better understand who our armed forces are, what they do for us and why we love our country so much.

Working on a military art project...

Our field trip this week was to Baylor's campus, which is super familiar to the kids, but I wanted to show them something they might not have noticed before.  All around campus are these beautiful lampposts with plaques on them representing a Baylor student or alumnus who died while serving their country.

 One of the most recent plaques of a high-ranking officer killed in Iraq in 2003...

 
Recently a book called Soldiers of the Wooden Cross was published and it tells about each of these men and women.  We chose three out of the book (Evelyn Maureen Middleton, Merlin Shepherd Neff and Kim S. Orlando), read their story and found their lamppost on campus.

Reading about Merlin Shepherd Neff next to his lamppost...

If you have any connection to Baylor and have wondered about these lampposts in the past, please do yourself a favor and check this book out.  It has wonderful biographical information about each person and also lots of pictures of correspondence, medals, patches, vehicles, etc.  I definitely want to check it out again and go visit more lampposts!

We did take time to stop and smell the roses...

Both kids really enjoyed this book and I will certainly keep my eyes peeled for it at the used book store. 

LittleBear's finished project...

Resources and printables I used for Lentil can be found at:

Five In A Row Teacher's Manual

My Five In A Row Pinterest Board
Star Spangled Banner video sung by Whitney Houston
She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain When She Comes video
The Kim Wilson Blues All-Stars video



Go Along Books we used for Lentil:
Squeaky by Ashley Elizabeth Blair Tetzlaff (LadyBear LOVES this book and most others by this author)
You Are Special by Max Lucado
The Five Senses by Sally Hewitt
The Magic School Bus Explores the Senses by Joanna Cole (super detailed, but LittleBear liked it)
I Wonder Why Lemons Taste So Sour: And other questions about the senses by Deborah Chancellor
Look, Listen, Taste, Touch and Smell: Learning about your five senses by Pamela Hill Nettleton
We're Different, We're the Same by Bobbi Jane Kates
Ohio Facts and Symbols by Emily McAuliffe
Our 50 States by Lynne Cheney
H is for Honor by Devin Scillian
A Paper Hug by Stephanie Skolmoski
Memorial Day by Jacqueline S. Cotton
Veterans Day by Jacqueline S. Cotton
Veterans Day by Rebecca Rissman
Don't Forget, God Bless Our Troops by Jill Biden
America: A Patriotic Primer by Lynne Cheney
The Wall by Eve Bunting
Soldiers of the Wooden Cross by Frank Jasek

Our story disk at home on our map...

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!! Astros Game.

Earlier in August, we celebrated Daddy's birthday a little early (his birthday is tomorrow!!!!) by visiting Grandma and going to a Houston Astros Game.  It was quite the scandal with LittleBear that I wasn't throwing an actual party for Daddy, but once he realized we were going to an Astros game to celebrate, he felt better about it.

LittleBear holding a mini-wooden bat that Uncle V. got him

Aunt S. and Uncle V. met us at the game and we all had a great time!

LadyBear checking out the field with Uncle V.

LittleBear was into the whole game and spent time sitting with everyone.  

 
The game happened to fall during LadyBear's rest time, but we pumped her full of snacks, so she was fairly content and seemed to enjoy it as well.  It also majorly helped that Uncle V. bought her a little teddy bear, which she played with most of the game, has named "Astros Bear" and now sleeps with every nap and nighttime.  They are good buddies.

LadyBear enjoying the game wearing Uncle Vic's hat...

Amazingly (given the Astros' record), they actually won, 6-1!  Then after the game, a bonus, as LittleBear got to run the bases!   

He's in the navy shirt between the yellow flag and the white flag...

He was super speedy about it; I barely had time to snap a picture and this video.  He loved it though and I'm really thankful he had the opportunity.

10-Year Anniversary Road Trip: Kids Are Off to Grandmas!

While we were having fun exploring Chicago, LittleBear and LadyBear were having their own adventures at Grandma's house with her, as well as Aunt Sue and Uncle Vic.  They made some wonderful memories and solidified their relationships so much so that I don't think they even really missed us.  I knew LittleBear would be fine, it was LadyBear I wasn't so sure about.  She has a tendency to stick to me in new situations and up until this trip had been rather clingy.  I hoped and prayed that she would be fine, but wasn't sure how it would go until we took the plunge and sent them off.  It was honestly a best case scenario for everyone involved, I think.

We enjoyed our time together, but did miss our little ones.  They are amazing kids and were definitely in our minds while we were gone (from "Ben would LOVE this train!" to "Livvy would for sure try to climb on that statue," etc., they were with us each and every day).

Aunt Sue and Uncle Vic drove up the day before we left to come get them for us so we wouldn't have to add three extra hours to our drive (and believe me, after leaving at 5am and pulling into our hotel parking lot at 10:30pm, we were SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  extra thankful for that!).  We got to send them off with new-to-them backpacks filled with books and toys that they hadn't seen that would hopefully appease them during a three hour road trip without us and with new drivers.  The drive went well and both were happy to be at Grandma's house.

The next day they went to Aunt Sue and Uncle Vic's house where there is a big pool with a splash pad (for the development).  The pool was a huge hit!!!!  I hear my two bear cubs also showed off their amazing eating skills and cleaned out the Cici's pizza buffet for lunch.   They also played at Grandma's house, which they always enjoy.

The day after that, they went to story time at the library, which I think took most of the morning.  After lunch and rest time, they had fun in Grandma's back yard inflatable pool and "painted" her garage for her (how thoughtful of them!).

 Then came "Cow Appreciation Day" at Chick-Fil-A!!  I always try to take advantage of this fun event with them and was excited to see they got to do it this year too :)

 
I hear that a certain wonderful uncle of ours also treated the kids to cookies from the Cookie Company at the mall and a ride on a small motorcycle ride, which elicited a "WOW!" from LadyBear (her usual response to something really good in her eyes).  After some fun time at the mall, they went back to Grandma's for rest time.  Then it was time for playdough and more fun games at Grandma's.

The next day was full of time with Grandma and her toys along with a donut breakfast, which both kids still remember fondly to this day. ("Mommy, can we have donuts today like we did at Grandma's?  They were so yummy!")

On Sunday, they went with Grandma to her church, which went great and then headed for a special lunch to Wendy's.  After that it was rest time.  But...after rest time it was time for a dance party!!!!!  I think this was LadyBear's second favorite thing the whole week because she still requests that we do the Hokey Pokey (aka "Hokey"), Ring Around the Rosie (aka "Rosey") and Chicken Dance here at home.  There was lots of music and lots of dancing from what I understand.  Good times, indeed.

The last day was the grand finale of their trip.  They went to this place called "Monkey Bizness," which LadyBear still talks about daily.

It's basically a warehouse type building full of inflatable bounce-house type structures, which they had an absolute blast with.  And lest you think LadyBear didn't get to do too much because she is little, she took on each and every obstacle the "bigger kids did" with LadyBear-esque determination and spirit and loved every minute of it.

I honestly think this girl would rock the world in gymnastics...she is very strong and well-balanced!

 So much fun was had by my two bear cubs!!!  They love their Grandma and "A. Sue" and Unc. Vic"  and we are so thankful they had this time together!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!