Kid's Craft: Leaf Project

I want to make a confession...I have not been very consistent with art projects in our daily homeschooling life. I'm going to have to start working more artsy things in. Tru and I really liked this project. It was super easy, inexpensive, and lots of fun! We were blessed to receive this book a couple of months ago.

The first few pages in the book have colorful examples of what you can make with a variety of leaves, mostly animals, and the supplies you'll need and the how to's. I liked that it talked about what to look for in the different seasons and it even had a little science lesson and field guide in the back. It did take a little preparation and patience. After we picked our leaves we had to prepare them and wait a week or so for them to dry.

We cleaned our leaves by soaking them in warm water for a few minutes. Then we gently dried them with a paper towel and placed them on newspaper.

Then we put another piece of newspaper on top and placed them in a thick book. We used a dictionary. After about a week they were ready to be used. When we pulled them out they were dry and perfectly flat. Tru thought it was pretty cool.

Once the leaves were dry Tru picked the animal he wanted to make and put it together. All by himself. He was so excited! It turned out pretty good...I know I'm probably partial...but it did. We just used a little construction paper, some glue(not glue sticks), and some cotton swabs to smudge and clean any excess glue. Walla! A fox made out of leaves from our front yard.

You could even use more leaves to make the landscape around the animal. We might do that with the extra leaves we have left. I know for sure that come this Fall we will be doing another leaf project. It would be a great family thing to do collecting leaves together once the leaves have turned different colors. Just thinking about it makes me want to fast forward through summer and skip right into fall!

Baby Gate Down!

Six months ago we had sweet little 12 month old twin boys. They were fairly mobile in that they crawled to get where they wanted to go. They were content to clamor up and down the hall way and once Liam got the hang of it he even speed crawled. I could put them in their play room with the baby gate up and they would play happily with out any sign of protesting. Now lets fast forward 6 months...we still have the sweetest little twin boys, but they are 18 months old now and not only are they mobile, they are very seldom still.

Levi and Liam are doing all the normal things 18 month old toddlers do. I think the only difference is they utilize each other. If one learns something new the other usually picks up on it. And ooh this has been the week for learning new skills. I was picking up toys in the family room when Levi reached up, gripped the door knob, and walla open door! And of course this was an invitation for Liam to try too. I walked up on him later fiddling with the same door. Earlier that day, I was putting the little boys down for a nap when we had our first crib escape. I put Liam down first and went after Levi, because as soon as he saw Liam go into his crib he bolted down the hallway to hide. I found him behind the couch, scooped him up, and started back down the hallway when I heard a thump and a cry. I ran back into their room and there was Liam on his bottom in the floor red faced with tears streaming down his cheeks. He had crawled out of his crib! Yes, OUT OF HIS CRIB! Picking him up I checked him for any signs that he might be hurt. Thankfully, he was fine just a little startled from the fall. I kept him up a little while longer just to be sure. We do have two cribs so I have since switched Liam into the other crib thinking it's taller and doesn't have a built in changing table to hoist himself up with. Levi hasn't shown any interest in climbing out and wasn't there to witness Liam actually escaping. So maybe we're in the clear for a while.

Not only do the little boys have each other to practice and learn from they also have Tru. Especially Levi, he will follow Tru around the house like a second shadow. It's so funny to me that they will just sit and watch him do something and I can see them thinking and their wheels turning. Almost like they're filing it away for when they get older. They have watched Tru hop over the baby gate in the past and just recently have been getting passed the gate. With a little teamwork a loose baby gate comes down easily. I've watched them squeeze out and I've seen them just plow it down all together.

It's amazing to think about how much has changed in six months and how different they'll be in another six. I can say one thing that we will be doing some baby proofing around the house and getting some stronger baby gates. It seems like only yesterday we brought them home. They were so tiny and slept very little those first 3 months. I guess we've traded sleepless nights for busy busy boys and I wouldn't have it any other way. ~I would love to hear any of your stories about your multiples or singletons and the changes that keep you amazed and/or on your toes.~

A Beautiful Vue--A day in the lives of Liam & Levi

After I laid the little boys down for bed tonight I walked down our hallway and into the living room only to be met by a mess of toys, a couple mismatched baby shoes, random kitchen items(they love to play with our kitchen stuff), and a few more odd and ends from the day. There was a trail of these things from the family room to the kitchen. I started to pick up thinking to myself I know I picked these things up earlier. Now our little boys didn't do all the mess, but they did do most of it and just like any little boys their age they are curious and full of energy. I told Jo while I was tossing toys in the toy box that other than their nap after lunch Liam and Levi hadn't stopped all day. So what do two 17 month old toddlers do all day. Well let me show you just a little bit...

they "help" put away groceries...

they drive buggy carts...

they try their very best to open anything they might be able to reach after rummaging through the kitchen cupboards(see the open cupboard on the right)

and most of the time they are in too much of a hurry to stop and take a picture(see very blurry photo). Now that's just a tiny bit of their busy day. I don't think five little pictures could really sum it all up. When I look at that last picture of Liam it reminds me that our time with our boys, while they're young, passes in a flash and how I should cherish every minute of it. Even on our craziest days when my energy is spent and I just push the toys and clutter aside, I can still find joy just in the simple fact that I got to spend my day with our kids. Our boys make life so much more interesting and fun. What an awesome privilege we have to get a front row seat in watching it all.

A Moment in Our Week...

I love that Liam is so focused on his task.

Schooling at Home--Making it Work

This is our second year homeschooling. Since our move 5 months ago we wanted to be sure Tru connected with other kids who home school too. So we hooked up with a great homeschooling group in our area and what I found was that it wasn't just for Tru. Through different activities and functions I've had the opportunity to get know the other parents. It has been so helpful and encouraging for me. I've got to talk with people who've been home schooling for much longer than us and hearing what has worked for them through the years. I've picked up some new ideas and some fresh perspective on making homeschooling work for our family.

One thing I've struggled with in the past is trying make home schooling like the school I experienced growing up. I was a public school kid. Thankfully, while visiting with another parent at a Valentines Day party, I was reminded of this. Homeschooling is NOT school at home...it's in the car, at the park, in the library, at the grocery store, on the soccer field, at church, and at home. Even at home I've found that our best learning time happens in the living room reading a book or going over a lesson in the play room while the twins are playing. We do spend our focused math time at the table. I'll be honest with you I like the idea of just sitting at the table and plowing through subject after subject, but that hasn't worked for us. Tru is a six year old boy who is very active and he's not meant to sit at our table for hours at time.

Our family is unique. Every family has a differ dynamic to it. I am learning that I can not compare our homeschooling journey to other families journeys. I especially have to be careful not to compare everything with the "typical " school stuff. From what curriculum we use to how and when we school we differ from others, especially "typical" school, and that's okay. When it comes to the way we home school we are definitely more on the eclectic side of schooling. We use one curriculum for math and a couple different ones for phonics. And as for everything else I pull from our local library, the internet, and hand me down stuff that I've received along the way. The beauty of homeschooling is that I'm not forcing Tru to fit school. I can make school fit to Tru. If something isn't working we can find something that does. We can slow down or speed up according to how he's learning. We move at his pace.

Lastly, it's not always easy. We have hard days for sure. Just last week Tru and I were butting heads. We usually have reading lessons to start our school time off, but lately it's been like pulling teeth to get him to sit down for a lesson. So we switched the subjects around and started with his math first, something he enjoys, and it seemed to get him in the whole "work" ready mode. We had a few frustrating days until we switched some things around, but homeschooling gives us the opportunity to find what works for Tru and make it happen.

But what makes the not so easy days more bearable are the good days in between. It encourages me and stirs my passion for teaching our children at home when I see Tru catch onto something that he's been working on. Those are our small rewards and much appreciated blessings!

~"Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6 Amplified Bible)

Bringing my Boards to Life

Every time I look around Pinterest I find something I want to cook, buy, decorate, or make. Now I know I have more things pinned than what I have actually made or cooked. But recently I have done a couple things that I pinned on my boards...

Found this idea of using an over the door shoe organizer and I hung it on the inside of my pantry door. It has been a great in organizing art supplies and handy pantry items.

My second come to life pin was a Coffee filter wreath. I used foam tubing for the wreath part. The foam only cost .97 cents! So much better & cheaper than the white foam. Found the idea from a Pin that originated from The Penny Parlor blog's coffee filter wreath and then I found another great coffee filter wreath pin from The Little Brown House blog

Who knew a little foam tubing, hot glue, and some brown coffee filters could make this...

And I finished during a couple of the twins nap time!

Enjoying my Boys!

So I'm up late tonight and fully enjoying the quiet house. Silence doesn't always get the credit it deserves...it's nice. Also, I enjoy my rowdy boys more after some quiet time. I was perusing on Pinterst this evening and came across this great article on why boys need their mothers. Here's the link, http://kelleyward.hubpages.com/hub/Parenting-Boys-What-Boys-Need-From-Moms so you can check it out. The title of the article is Parenting Boys: What Boys Need From Moms, by Kelly Ward.

So in her article she talks about 17 specific things that boys need from their moms. All of the points were good and very true, but the one that summed it all up for me was the last one about just enjoying your son's boyness. It made me stop and think I don't know if I always take time to enjoy their boyness.

When I think about boyness I think of the moment their feet hit the floor they are moving ninety to nothing. Liam will literally run up and down the hall as fast as his little legs will carry him. And of course the constant "If I can put my hands on it, I should climb it!" is a popular philosophy in our home. We are starting to see Liam and Levi, who are 16 months old now, develop their own individual style of play and personalities and it's ALL boy. One of my favorite parts of the day is just to sit in the playroom floor and watch all three of them play. I mean really in their own world. Sometimes alone or interacting with each other it's always good. They are balls of energy most days.

But enjoying their boyness is more than just rough housing and bustling energy. They have their "quiet" discovery time, too. As a mom I get the front row seat to watch when something has sparked their interest and they have to figure it out. Whether that requires them to stoop down low to follow a trail of ants or pull something apart just to see how it works. These moments of intrigue usually bring up lots of questions and generally come up while we are running errands. I find myself being asked questions like how fast a tornado goes and what do lady bugs eat and how come I can't hear what Tru is thinking(my new favorite). A lot of our school discussions are brought on by Tru's questions. One of the many pros of homeschooling, but that's another post.

Oh and the snuggling! I don't think this would be considered enjoying their boyness, but it is mentioned in the article. It is something I enjoy most and Tru is always willing to do if it will keep him from going to bed. I hug my boys. They need it just as much as girls. I love to get down on their level and just wrap my arms around them! Sometimes it's solicited and sometimes I have to catch them, but whether they want it or not, I have to cuddle them. I know someday they will be full grown men, with a life and families of their own and I want them to look back at their boyness with fond memories that will warm their big manly hearts.

There are days that as a mom, I need to refocus and chill. But just taking the time to think about all the wonderful blessings these sweet boys have brought into our lives renews my momma mind. I want to see them fulfilling their God given purpose as mighty men of God. I know that is our goal, for J & I, as their parents. And how awesome is it that God blessed us with 3 great little boys! Wow and to think all this started with a quiet house!

Our boys on the move. Levi...

Liam...

& Tru with Levi who has learned how to climb onto the kitchen chairs...this new talent has brought on some new challenges! Good times!