Fall Fun

Monday - Playgroup day, but we were supposed to be away this week and didn't have it.   But we did handprints to turn into leaves at a previous playgroup, which we finished and hung in our windows

 

Tuesday - Baking Day.  The apple roses have been popping up on facebook for a few weeks now, so we tried it out today.  We used Gluten Free on a Shoestring's sopapilla recipe for the crust/dough.  It didn't roll up as well as I had hoped.  Next time, I will try a different dough. 

 

 They tasted yummy though! (and isn't my Rising Sun Earthworks mug awesome?!?)

Wednesday - Painting day.  We worked on prototypes of our Martinmas lanterns this week. 

Thursday - Sensory/tactile.  We took out the rice box early in the day at our usual activity time.  It was Meema's first rice box experience.  She loves to run her fingers through it!

But the big attraction this week was setting up the corn box.  150 pounds of corn from Tractor Supply (which we will later grind for bird and chicken feed for the winter) + one of our sandboxes = 3 very happy children (the 15yo checked it out, ran her fingers through it, said, "Cool", and went back upstairs).   I suspect we will be spending a lot of time in here before the weather gets too cold.

Friday:  Craft day.  Button trees.  Mama got to try out the block crayons for tree drawing.  On my list of things to do this fall is to watch the block crayon tutorials and learn some drawing techniques.  Drawing is definitely NOT my strong point!

And the book box came! This is definitely one of the highlights of every month!

Ana's developed an obsession with (1) putting everything in baggies, and (2) lining everything up.  I almost always have to step over lines of toys like this now.

Hemlock Hill Playschool - Week 2 - The Bun/Gingerbread Man

Continuing with out harvest/grain theme from last week, week 2 was the Russian folktale of "The Bun", and the classic children's story of the Gingerbread Man. 

  

Tuesday's baking - gluten free coconut flour bun cookies

 

 We didn't paint this week, but we did take out the rice box

Thursday's sensory play - making playdough 

We've also been having a color of the day snack.  Here is a sampling of our color snacks so far.

  

Red:  strawberries & red peppers

 

 Orange:  Carrots and sweet potatoes from our garden

 

 Yellow:  Banana, yellow peppers, corn bread, tortilla chips

 

Green:  Kiwi, cucumbers, zucchini cookie

Blue:  Blueberries, blue corn tortilla chips

 

 Purple:  Purple carrots and raisins

Hemlock Hill Homeschool - Week 1 - Little Red Hen

We started our first "official" year of playschool on September 1st, with "The Little Red Hen" as our theme.  I had been struggling with creating a rhythm that worked for both the littles (2 yo and 7 mo), and both bigs (15 yo and 11 1/2 yo), but once we got going, everything fell nicely into place. 

We have a daily rhythm:  Wake up, nurse, get dressed
                                          Drive K to high school, grab the stroller and mei tai and walk H to the
                                             intermediate school across the street 
                                          Come home and have breakfast
                                          Nap for Meems, circle time & activity for Ana
                                          When nap is over, outside time, feeding the chickens
                                          Snack
                                          Nap for both Meems and Ana, mama's time to work
                                          Lunch with more outside time (lunch is usually a picnic on the deck)
                                          Pick up Holden and Kenna from school
                                          Errands and/or playtime
                                          5:30 - 6:30 is time for the big kids to play with the little kids; I cook dinner
                                               and clean the house
                                          Dinner
                                          Play time/lots of reading time
                                          Bed

and a weekly rhythm:       Monday = playgroup
                                         Tuesday = cooking/baking
                                         Wednesday = painting
                                         Thursday = sensory play/doughs
                                         Friday = craft

 Our circle time wall, right next to a window to check the weather

Circle time  - We have some verses and songs that we will sing throughout the month of September.  We do a quick calendar and weather chart.  Then some songs and verses related to the Little Red Hen and grains, a little red hen matching game, and a telling of the little red hen with finger puppets. 

 

 Little Red Hen matching/memory

  

I also found this big book leftover from my teaching days.  Ana is loving matching the story telling pieces to the pictures in the book 

 

 

Ana's set up of the Little Red Hen story.  After I told the story the first 2 days, she wanted to tell it herself

 

 Tuesday's baking - corn bread

 

Wednesday's painting - red 

 

 

Thursday's sensory - making grain playdough 

 Have to have lots of music and dancing.  This week's favorite CD - Music Together, Flutes collection

 

I couldn't find a good finger puppet for the little red hen, so I improvised - I colored a little yellow chick finger puppet red with beeswax crayons.  Ana was smitten.  

And outside, we have our own little red hens to play with! 

 

Next week's theme - The Bun/Gingerbread Man 

 

Nursing

Ana decided that Emi needed to nurse her butterfly baby

She's pretty awesome ♥

  

My 14yo during her performance tonight for aerials.  This is her second semester.

TBT - Before the studio

When I used to cut and snap at the dining room table (and it must have been snack time - you can just see the corner of Holden drinking a bottle of water, and his pretzels on the table), and sew in my bedroom.  Circa 2007

Size Small

I get a lot of questions about sizing - and sometimes it can be hard to say what size is best.  The weigh range is a guideline; the waist, rise, and leg measurements are always a better way to check.  

These nappies/diapers are both the same size (small), even though the babies are far from it! AnaSofia (aka Poppyseed) is almost 23 months old, and about 26 pounds; EmiRose is almost 8 weeks old, and about 10 pounds. 

I actually can't believe Ana cam still fit into the smalls.  Holden outgrew the smalls by 3 months old, at about 15 pounds.  He had chubbier legs by far. 

 

Emi is just starting to fit into the M/L size that Ana wears