What's been going on...

I realize it has been over a month since I last posted on here. Things have been CRAZY! Christmas was fantastic. Mac's dad and family came to Nashville for Christmas and it was the first time since he and his brothers and sister were small kids that everyone was together. Maverick loved opening presents. He didn't even care what was inside as long as he could rip that paper! Solomon could have cared less. Here are some pics.

See what I mean? 

Maverick's Birthday is toward the end of January and every year it "sneaks" up on me. I can't imagine what it would be like to have a birthday even closer to Christmas! I have been busy planning his SMALL "birpay party" which I feel a lot of pressure for. He has really high expectations for a 3 year old! He wanted a Disney's Little Einsteins party so I'm getting all "teachery" and making different stations for the kids to explore at. Hopefully he loves it. He does ask me every day for cake so we started a birthday countdown on the fridge. He loves it and knows exactly how many days are left.

We've also changed the way we eat as a family. Mav has always eaten very healthy but Mac and I have followed more of a Weight Watcher mentality just tracking and eating light. But you better believe I found a way to eat sugar galore, even while on a diet. So, we cut out sugar and anything refined, or enriched...which means pretty much anything already prepared. So I am cooking A LOT! Like 3 meals a day 6 days a week. It's a lot of work but I am already seeing results!

And then there's this guy...

Solomon has started eating solids and we have been working on things like breaking the swaddle, taking naps longer than 45 minutes and getting my body to catch up with his hunger! Above, he is pictured eating avocado. So far he has had sweet potatoes and avocado and loves them both! I make my own baby food (which really is not hard at all) so that also has kept me busy.

Yesterday and today have been beautiful, unseasonably warm days here in Nashville so Mav and I have gotten to play outside. This is so great considering I have not done a single day of school since before Christmas, and he is missing it, going stir crazy in this house!

Sidewalk paint...best ever!

Old Man Winter in his rocker.

I'm currently planning the next few weeks of school, so hopefully I will have a school post soon!

All About Snowmen!

We went to the library last week and got lots of books on Christmas and Winter. A lot of the Christmas ones were taken, so I adapted my plans more about snowmen. In fact, one of the days we went to the library it was actually snowing, (though it didn't stick) so that was fun!

Here is the coloring page, courtesy of making learning fun...which by the way is a great source of free printables and thematic ideas. I used it all the time when I was teaching kindergarten.

I usually just let him color however he wants, but this time, I wanted him to take his time and talk about what the real colors are for each of the items. For each one, he would either tell me the color or ask what the items was and what color it "should" be. I even saw him looking at the Christmas tree in the living room so he could color it the same color.

Here's the finished product, proudly displayed!

Speaking of displays...I referred to Mav's wall of work in a previous post and finally snapped a photo with my phone. It's not as good quality as the other photos, but gives you an idea. I used yarn and tacks, but I've seen better ones made with rope or twine and nails. It's heavier and can handle more paper.

(Notice the frame above with the factory pictures still in it...haven't gotten to that project yet)

I think it's very beneficial to keep his work displayed to serve as a constant review of what we've been learning. Also, he is so proud of all his work and loves seeing it hanging in his room. 

Back to this week... We learned the letter Ss and glued snowballs (cotton balls) on the S.

We are multi-tasking here...eating snack and doing school!

Getting better about SMALL glue dots.

I happened to find a snowman gel cling kit in the dollar bins at Target. I got it out the other day and let Mav rearrange the pieces and build his snowman. He loved it and came back to it several times.

Download these activities and more in Week 4 lesson plans here.

In case I don't get on here in the next week, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and remember the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ!