Em turns 4!

I still cannot believe our middle child is 4!

Em is one of the sweetest, funniest and adventurous kids you'd ever want to meet!

She was such an "easy" baby to deliver {3 pushes and she was OUT}, but she really keeps me on my toes {and on my knees in prayer} at times! She is just FULL of personality and has the best attitude. If something doesn't go her way, she says, "that's OK, maybe tomorrow I can do/have/eat that." She really is a blessing to my soul and I learn how to have FUN with her!

I also love and appreciate how Em is her own individual. She really enjoys playing and creating things on her own and she definitely has her own sense of style. I believe she has a very strong self-esteem and I love that about her. I will tell her, "Em, your outfit sure is colorful/creative today" and she will say, "I know, thanks!" Ha, ha!!!!!!!

One thing that is absolutely true about this girl is {just like her Mommy} she LOVES to EAT!! 

It's a good thing I feed her healthy foods and no fast food, or else she would weigh 300 pounds!

She eats non-stop! 

For her birthday, Em requested Daddy's special stuffed french toast for breakfast, smoothies and popcorn for lunch and broccoli with cheese sauce and asian chicken for dinner. 

I made carrot-zucchini muffins with cream cheese frosting as her bday cupcakes-everyone LOVED them and they were much healthier than store-bought cupcakes!

We surprised the girls with a trip to the zoo for Em's birthday. My brother gifted Morgan a trip to the zoo--thank you Uncle Teddy!  

I got up at the crack of dawn and packed up the minivan with everything we needed, included all of our food, water and snacks for the day. The girls had NO idea what was going on. We told them we needed to go to the store and when we ended up at the Zoo, they were overjoyed!!!!!!

We all had an amazing time at the Zoo!

What time of birthday traditions do you all have??

I would love to hear about them!

Blessings,

Aria:)

Em {37 months} Animal Matching File Folder Game {Phonics}

Our middle daughter, Em, LOVES animals!

So, I designed this game so that she can combine her love of animals with her phonics work.

She just simply says the name of the animal and places it on the corresponding letter in the file folder that she thinks it starts with. 

She normally does this activity alongside our oldest daughter, Elle who is 5yrs old. 

However, I wanted to assess where Em was with phonics and so I let her do this activity alone. 

I took some pictures of her progress. She did really well!

She was doing SO well on her own, I decided to document it on video!

Em's animal phonics work. {37 months}

Enjoy!
Blessings,
Aria:)

Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday Bash! {Em turns 3}

Here are the photos from Em's 3rd birthday bash! It was so much fun planning this party! Em picked the theme because, she just LOVES to eat (just like her Mommy:) and she also loves the Very Hungry Caterpillar book by Eric Carle!

The birthday girl was VERY happy with her party!! It was laid-back and fun and she really enjoyed just playing with family and friends:) Perfect Party!

Blessings,

Aria:)

FREE Pizza Hut "Book-It" Reading Incentives Program!!

 {Our oldest 2}

Our family LOVES to read! I remember as a child having to volunteer at my local library to "work off" my fines from keeping my favorite books much too long:) I have always loved to read (in fact, I would much rather read than watch TV-I know, I am "weird.":) and love that our girls love to read as well! We frequent our local library weekly, and sign-up for their summer reading program, but this is another great program for homeschoolers (and anyone really) to enroll your children in!

Here is the info from the Pizza Hut website regarding their reading incentives program! 

It is FREE for all student and they even have a Homeschool sign-up form!

About BOOK IT! BOOK IT! motivates children to read by rewarding their reading accomplishments with praise, recognition and pizza.  BOOK IT! is simple for the teacher to use, flexible because goals match reading ability, and fun because achieving a goal is a great reason to celebrate. BOOK IT! was created in 1985 and currently reaches over 10 million students annually. Simple BOOK IT! runs every school year from October through March.  The teacher sets a reading goal for each child in the class.  A tracking chart and reproducibles are included to make it that much easier.  As soon as a child meets the monthly reading goal, the teacher gives him or her a Reading Award Certificate.  Flexible BOOK IT! goals are based on reading ability.  Number of books, number of pages, or number of minutes – they all work.  BOOK IT! can also be used with the reading curriculum or as support for comprehension or intervention programs.  For children not reading independently, the goal can be set where a parent or others read to the child. Fun Pizza Hut is proud of all BOOK IT! readers!  The restaurant manager and team congratulate every child for meeting the monthly reading goal and reward them with a free, one-topping Personal Pan Pizza, BOOK IT! card and backpack clip. Best of all, BOOK IT! materials are free to schools!  Go here for the homeschool sign up for K-6 grades! Happy Reading!

  Blessings,

Aria:)

Em's Tot School {28 months} Letter Bb.

I had to go out of state to a funeral over the weekend, so my blog posts are going to be a bit shorter and less detailed. If you would like more info about a particular activity, please 

don't hesitate to ask!

B was our letter of the week!

 Broccoli, bananas and blueberries for lunch!

 Scooping little golden bells.

 Pouring bells.

 Tonging little butterflies.

 Sorting bears.

 Playing "beauty shop."

 Dancing with 2 tissues she imagined were scarves!

Just like in our "Music Movement and Me" Class!

 Decorating her green playdough CHRISTmas tree.

Our Science Spotlight featured "B is for Bubbles". 

We made our own bubble solution!

 We studied the moon and crescent was our shape of the week.

Here is some sponge painting.

 Em practicing writing her O's.

Practicing her M's.

We baked some super-dee-lish Brown Bread!

 We LOVE the BOND that the girls are developing!

Definitely one of the greatest benefits of homeschooling in our opinions.

 We made these adorable Five Finger Snowman Ornaments 

with the girls' handprints.

Em still enjoys working with her cylinders!
Thank you ALL so much for reading!
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