This morning the kids and I went to our favourite pool to swim. Colt as no fear in the water.

Later in the day Jade worked on our final Ten Apples Up On Top project. I will post pictures tomorrow. We typed a title for it but ran out of ink before we could print it.

This evening the kids took advantage of the warm weather and played outside. To start our theme for October, Autumn Leaves, we read Fall Leaves Fall! by Zoe Hall.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

I haven't had much to post as Jade has been sick the past few days with earaches. Which means we haven't been getting a whole lot of sleep around here. Today she seems to be doing better.

It rained all day. I wanted to take the kids swimming but due to the earache problem decided against it for today. Also ruled out going to the Early Years Centre as the kids both had runny noses. Hoping we can go tomorrow.

Instead we went to the dollar store. Figured I could get away with not spending too much money there. haha. Jade picked out some butterflies to paint. After Family Worship night she painted them. Her painting skills have improved in the past month. She used to use hardly any paint. Now she tries hard to paint the entire project.

Company is coming for Dinner - Saturday, September 25

Tonight we had some friends join us for dinner. Jade loved playing in the backyard with all the girls. I think Colt wishes he had six more sisters. It was fun watching so many kids run around and play.

Field Trip Canceled - Wednesday, September 23, 2010

I was hopeful our field trip to the apple orchard would still be a go even though it rained all night. We stopped at Walmart on our way to the early years centre to buy some rubber boots for me. Jade already had a raincoat and rain boots. It stopped raining just as we got to the centre but they had already called to cancel the bus. Jade was disappointed but quickly got over it and enjoyed the morning play dress up and tea party. Thankfully I'd kept the tags on the rubber boots I'd bought and returned them to Walmart in the afternoon.

Jade's second Oceans class was today. For craft time she coloured a starfish and pasted sand on it. They almost canceled the gym class afterwards because not enough kids signed up for it but today a couple new kids showed up so gym class will continue.

Colt and I spent the morning at the early years centre. He did a good job sharing toys but was not happy at snack time when they didn't serve cereal or crackers. I think he was the only kid there who hates juice. He was excited to use a big boy cup till he realized it had grape juice in it.

This afternoon Jade worked on a couple worksheets and held her pencil correctly although she still does not find it natural to do so. Tonight we will read Ten Apples Up On Top by Dr. Seuss again.

Loving this weather

I took Jade and Colt to an Early Years Centre this morning. Since the one we were going to closed in August we've been trying to find another one to go to. I'm really enjoying this location and so are the kids. Colt did wonderful again at snack time. They served cereal with milk. Colt drank his milk out of a big kid cup and didn't spill any! For craft time Jade put stickers on a water bottle.

This afternoon we played in the backyard enjoying this amazing weather. If only it could last! After supper we walked to the park to play outside some more.

Before bedtime we started reading 10 Apples Up On Top by Dr. Seuss as this will be our theme for next week. I had planned on reading it to her, but Jade knew almost all the words and read most of it herself.

Ocean Wonders

Today was the first day of Jade's Ocean Wonders course at a local community centre. She came home with several crafts: a painting, a map of a lake, and a Jelly Fish. The teacher said she took extra time with her Jelly Fish making sure it had a lot of purple dots. After her Oceans class she had 30 minutes of gym class.

While Jade was busy learning about the oceans, Colt and I went to an early years centre to play. At snack time he sat at the table with all the kids and he was not the first one back up to play. That is a huge improvement.

This afternoon Jade and I drawed a parking lot on a piece of paper. I wrote the numbers 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 in the parking spaces. Next time I will have her write the numbers in. Not sure why I didn't think of that this time! lol Then I would tell her where her car wants to park and she would put it in the correct spot. To make it more fun I let her tell me where to park the car as well. Good for practicing number recognition and you can change the numbers depending on what numbers your child is working on recognizing.

Apple Orchard Field Trip

This morning we worked in service with Auntie Brenda and Dee Dee. Jade only wanted to work with Auntie Brenda. Colt did well in the stroller. Hope this weather keeps up for October.

I checked the weather radar map when we got home and noticed a big rain storm coming. We quickly got changed and headed out to the apple orchard.







This morning we worked in service with Auntie Brenda and Dee Dee. Jade only wanted to work with Auntie Brenda. Colt did well in the stroller. Hope this weather keeps up for October.

I checked the weather radar map when we got home and noticed a big rain storm coming. We quickly got changed and headed out to the apple orchird.

How To Hold Your Pencil - September 10, 2010

I've struggled with teaching Jade how to hold her pencil correctly. I do not hold mine correctly although I try to when I know she's watching me. We have a couple grips, one that I really like, but I would prefer she learn to do it without the grip. Today she surprised me by holding it correctly all on her own. No reminders! She still finds it "easier" to hold it wrong but it's big progress that she knows how to hold it without help and that she was so proud of herself. Tonight we read The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall and practiced her reading words.

Apple Spice Cookies - September 9, 2010

After breakfast Jade worked on two worksheets. A maze and a worksheet about classification. Then it was time to make Apple Spice Cookies. They ended up a little burnt on the bottom because I got distracted with Colton but they still tasted yummy and the house smelled so good! I wanted to take a picture of them but they did not last long enough! We read "My Apple Book" and practiced her reading words. At our Bible Meeting tonight Jade gave a comment. She said "He used the Bible". This was the fourth meeting in a row she's commented and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. I hope this means she's over her fear of the microphone.

My Apple Book Completed - September 8, 2010

Today Jade completed colouring the pictures for "My Apple Book". She did a really good job of drawing the emotions the apples were feeling. For each page I asked her what made her happy, sad, sleepy and angry. She told me I make her angry. But she also told me I make her happy so I guess it evens out! Her favourite part was cutting up one of the apple pictures. She glued the pictures in with a little help (she didn't want her hands to get sticky) and afterward she read the book to me with no help.

Before bed she practiced her reading words and we read How to Make An Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman. Jade used her globe to find the countries mentioned in the book. As much as I am not a fan of Bratz, I really do like this globe. I'm impressed with all the information it gives. And since we found it for a few dollars at the thrift store - even better! She was excited to find Madagascar on her own (her favourite Leapster Explorer game is The Penguins of Madagascar) and when she found Turkey she thought the name was hilarious!

My Apple Book - September 7, 2010

Today we started working on a book to fit our theme for September - Apples! I'm hoping we can do a book each month that fits our monthly theme. We started by reading the words in the book. Jade could already read most of them. She coloured four apples for the book and we discussed the names of the different parts of the apples as well as what colour she thought they should be. She practiced her reading words today and worked on a really cute addition and subtraction Math Puzzle. She read the equation of each little puzzle after it was completed. I was impressed that she had the attention span to do all 20 puzzles. lol

Apple Tasting - September 6. 2010

Today we taste-tested the 5 different types of apples that we examined on Friday. We cut the red delicious apples in half and counted the seeds and examine the star pattern. We recorded how the apples tasted on a chart using the apples pictures Jade coloured last week. Jade thought three of the apples tasted sweet and two tasted sour. She liked all of them. I tried to include Colt but he was only interested in eating three of the apples. Then he was off to play trucks. After supper we walked to the park to play. Love this weather for being outside. Before bed we practiced Jade's reading words.

School Starts - September 3, 2010

We decided to start school a little early this year. Regular school starts on the 7th but since we are homeschooling for J/K we can start when we want. Our theme for this month is Apples. So we will try to mix in some apple activities.

We started today by examining 5 types of apples: Granny Smith, Ida Red, Crispen, Red Delicious, and Yellow Delicious. We discussed the differences and similarities in their shapes and colours. Jade coloured pictures of apples to match the 5 we examined. Also practiced her reading words. Before bed we read the book "Apples by Gail Gibbons"