Our week(s) in photos

I posted last week about some of the general school stuff we've started.

Now I'm going to start a cute apocalypse by sharing some of the pics.

Reading with Daddy... one of their favorite things to do. He usually does afternoon school--- reading and whatever activity we have for the day. The first two weeks it was pirates (although they're reading Fancy Nancy, here)

 

 

I try to do some art time every day. Which never happens. So maybe 3-4 times a week? Little Bug is not content to toddle around while sis is busy with fun stuff like paint and markers, so I tried this "no mess fingerpaint" idea I saw on pintrest. 



 

If she looks less than amused... it's because she was. It just wasn't a big hit with her.

 

 

Most likely because Bean was next to her getting good and messy. She kept signing "all done" and then pointing to Bean and saying "That. THAT!"

 

Bean, meanwhile, wanted to do bag fingerpainting. So next time maybe I'll switch them and see how that goes over...

I've been trying not to lock them up all day, but it's really hard with 100+ degree weather. A few weeks ago we had our BFFs over for some outside playtime, so I decided it was a good day for making sidewalk paint. I can't remember where I found the recipe, but it's all over the Internet. I used 2 tbs cornstarch, 4 tbs water, and food coloring.

It was really watery, so I nuked it for about 10 sec at a time until it was a pretty thick, paint-like consistency. If it gets too thick, just add a few drops of water to thin it down.

 

 

This stuff was SUCH a hit!



The best part was that they could paint each other, their clothes, the ground, my car, my garage--- it just washes off. I didn't have any problem with staining (except for my fingers while I mixed the paint--- but that's my own clumsiness!). Also, my little bug that likes to taste-test everything could eat it to her heart's content. She didn't WANT to (of course, the only time), but she could without me worrying about it!

We did do actual "school" stuff, I swear. I just didn't take too many pictures. Mostly because my camera died and I was too lazy to charge it.

Our "unit" study these past two weeks was pirates--- which Bean LOVED. She's a pirate freak. We read some pirate books:

How I Became a Pirate and Pirates Don't Change Diapers by Melinda Long
Shiver Me Letters by June Sobel
Sheep on a Ship by Nancy E Shaw

Bean REALLY loved the Melinda Long books. We probably read those 15x in 2 weeks!

We did some Pirate activities: Made pirate hats and eye patches, talked like pirates, watched "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything," and played with our MegaBlocks Pirate Ship.

We also did a Treasure Memory match with the letters she knows and was learning-- S and P (our new letters), A, R, W, O, and J.

Bean really liked this game... we still play it, although we've started eating the booty. I got the gold coins in the bulk section of WinCo and wrote letters on one side with Sharpie.

 

 

I also made a Pirate Treasure Map/Letter Hunt. But, alas (matey), no pictures. I drew pictures of areas in our house (front door, basketball hoop, fireplace, under the table, slide, and "X" and put letters next to each picture, and then taped 1/2 sheets of paper with those letters in those corresponding areas. Under the "X" was some "gold"--- peach sourpatch candy. It was a big hit!!

 

 

 

 

These are two of our "general" activities--- this one is one-to-one counting. This day she was using poker chips and chip clips. Sometimes she uses candy, or little knick-knacks (erases, dinosaurs, etc).



The cards are 1/2 sheets of construction paper that are laminated. The other side has the colors written out so Bug can use them for color sorting. But she's not there yet...

Probably Jo's FAVORITE thing to do--- shaving cream letter hunt. I don't know how I thought of this one... sheer brilliance... I hide some small magnetic letters in the shaving cream; she finds them, washes them off in the bowl of water, and then matches them to the foam letters on the table.

 

 

She will do this for HOURS if I let her... I usually just let her go until the shaving cream runs out or she starts using it to decorate herself or her sister.

"Hey, I found an H for HOLLY!" she says...

 

Meanwhile, in Bug land... I learned my lesson from the ziplock painting and didn't even ATTEMPT to entertain her with something less-than-messy. I gave in and let her fingerpaint. I've done it a few times with paper, but this time I just let her paint the highchair tray. I added some water so it was a little more squishy and entertaining...

 

She actually didn't PURPOSELY paint her face... she just got sleepy. And then signed "Sleep." And had hands covered in blue paint.

The paint is non-toxic, although once this batch of store-bought Crayola runs out I'm going to make some (off pintrest, again). Although, then she will WANT to eat it...


I'll let you know how that goes.

XOXO (because I think I'm Gossip Girl, have I told you?)
--Beka

PS: I forgot! Bible Time--- Both girls doing their Hallelujahs :)