1st Weekly Wrap-Up for 2011 {Letter P is for...}

Happy New Year!!

Our family had a lot of fun ringing in the new year!!

As a part of focusing on our godly goals for 2011, we made these cute little flowers 

with some mini-goals our girls could accomplish. We asked our 2 yr old (Em) what she loves to do and would like to do/give more of this year. Our 4 yr old (Elle) set her own goals and made her flower by herself! We based our flowers on the craft found here.

Our girls love setting the table all fancy and eating in the formal dining room--

so whenever they ask to do it, we try to oblige them:)

It has been really nice taking a break for the holidays, but getting back into our 

homeschooling rhythm has been really great as well!!
I can tell how much our 

girls thrive on routine (not strict scheduling) and enjoy learning in a fun way!

Here is our learning chart from the week:

The girls were so happy to have an updated chart--

they could not wait to put it up last Sunday!!

We listen to worship music every morning, so this week's Bible Memory Verse 

was very fun---we got to sing all kinds of new songs to our Lord!

 Our books and video for this week!

We recently added poetry into our curriculum and the girls LOVE it!!

Our letter of the week was P and our animal was penguin!

 Here is our P for penguin from Totally Tots.

 We had SOOOOO much fun studying penguins this week!

Penguins are just the cutest little animals. We have them at our local zoo here and now

the girls want to go pay them a visit:)

 Elle colored the little penguins and I laminated them to make the popsicle stick guys

for our song "Five Little Penguins."

We put our penguin cookie cutter to good use this week, to:)

The girls always enjoy exploring our Alphabet box.

Our Letter was P this week----pencil, piglet, pooh, pigs,

penguin, pelicans, purple, potty, pizza, palm tree, police,

pearl, pumpkin and puff were some of our items in our drawer.

 Em had a lot of fun playing with pasta this week!

The girls also worked on paper dolls (stickers).

Working on a train counting puzzle they received from their Auntie for CHRISTmas.

 Elle enjoyed working with popsicle sticks.

 Both girls REALLY enjoy working with workbooks!

And, it is such a blessing that they like working together!!!

 Our {Science Spotlight}for the week was P is for Plastic.

It was a cute little magic trick using a pencil and plastic sandwich bag.

 And, since we always try to incorporate some fun food ideas into our homeschool, 

we made some fun pancakes with our new animal pan.

 We also made our own pickles for the first time!

Wait until my younger brother hears about this--I am sure he will

be on a plane here to visit us just for these, lol:)

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup apple cider vinegar 1/8 cup salt 1 cup white sugar 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon mustard seed 2 pounds cucumbers 2 sweet onions

Directions:

1.	In a small saucepan at medium-high heat, combine cider vinegar, salt, sugar, tumeric and mustard seed. Bring to a boil and let cook for 5 more minutes.
2.	Meanwhile, slice cucumbers and onion. Loosely pack the vegetables in a 1-quart canning jar or other similarly sized container. Pour hot liquid over the vegetables in the container. Refrigerate for 24 hours and enjoy! Keep refrigerated.

 Lastly, we made our own soft pretzels and they turned out GREAT!!

 The girls had so much fun making these yummy pretzels and enjoying a "Pajama Day!"

And, I am sneaking in a couple of pics of our littlest princess, Ce Ce who is now 7 months old.

As always, THANK YOU so much for reading!

We truly appreciate each and every one of you!

Please take a moment to leave a kind comment so we 

know you were here:)

Blessings,

Our Kwanzaa Celebration!!

 Hey, there;-) It's been a while! I have been enjoying taking a break from blogging. It is a blessing to be able to capture and chronicle our homeschool journey, but it is also very necessary for us to spend some quality time making memories and enjoying life instead of working all of the time, lol:) So, I am glad to be back and enjoying the New Year full of opportunities for growth, change and learning!

First, we wrapped up our Family's Kwanzaa Celebration. It is a really fun, NON-Religious celebration that focuses on qualities such as unity, self-determination, faith, creativity and responsibility. It was the first year we thought the girls were old enough to enjoy the festival and we had a nice time introducing the celebration to them!

 Em went "shopping" for the foods to set our Kwanzaa table.

 Our Kinara---we will likely get real candles in the future:)

Here is a nice little video clip from Sesame Street about Kwanzaa.

We really had a nice time celebrating Kwanzaa this year and hope to expand next year with a large group gathering for the Karamu Feast!! 

(any excuse to eat great food with great friends, huh?)

Thank you so much for following us!! 

We also enjoy hearing from you:)

Blessings,

Our Snow Dough Snowmen & New Years 2011! {Winter Crafts}

We saw these super-cute snowmen made out of home made play dough and had a fun time making them with the girls!  Really simple and really fun!

Here's the recipe:

Materials:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 tablespoons white tempera paint
• 1 tablespoon white or iridescent glitter
• A few drops of peppermint extract (optional)

 

Instructions:

1.   To make a batch, combine all of the ingredients except the peppermint extract (if using) in a medium-size pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture holds together, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and roll onto wax paper, knead and let cool. 
   Store in plastic zipper bag in the refrigerator. 
   
   
    We also have been having a wonderful time celebrating the New Year!!!
   It is our family tradition to spend a quiet evening at home eating our 
   favorite home made appetizers (turkey meatballs, mini hamburger/sliders, 
   warm crab dip, spinach artichoke dip, bbq chicken wings, buffalo wings, etc)
   and have a fun family Game Night! This year, bingo was the game of choice;)
   
   
   We had a lot of fun making noisemakers and confetti to ring in the new year!
   
   
   First, we used some small paper plates, folded them in half and filled them with 
   dry macaroni and decorated them!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    The girls loved dancing around with their
   new "shakers" and saying "Happy New Year!"
   
   
   
    Then, we took some empty water bottles, filled them 
   with dry macaroni and decorated them!
   Another fun and easy noisemaker!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   We kept the left over tissue paper to use as confetti!!
   From our little family to yours-----------HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011!!!!
   Blessings,