Moveable Alphabet

Santa brought the girls a "moveable alphabet".  It is a language manipulative they use at school.  The possibilities are endless with it, and I find myself dipping into my teacher archives to create little lessons for the girls.  The cool thing is they love it!  Here is Natalie spelling words for random oblects she collected around the house.

Lil' Astronaut

GG and NG have been studying space at school recently. "Star Lab", a giant inflatable planetarium, was in the school's barn for a week.  I loved hearing about each day that they got to visit "Star Lab" and what they saw or learned.  The other day NG brought this home. I thought it was so cute and creative I had to share.  

ipad education????

Barefoot Dad found a bunch of Montessori ipad apps. Here is BP doing the Hundred Board, which is one of her favorite "works" to do at school. Scary thing is this is what our world will become. It will be like..."Welcome to Kindergarten Johnny, here is your ipad. Now get to work".

A Preschooler + A Kindergartner

Treehouses + Tractors

The tree house is from BP's open house at school. It was their class project this year, and they got the idea from Mary Pope Osborne's "Tree House" book series, which I am told all the kids love. (We just started reading our set here at home) In each book the magic tree house takes Jack and Annie, who are bother and sister, on an adventure to a faraway land. The books are fun and educational. They decorated the tree house with life size Jack and life size Annie. They also chose a couple books and depicted the adventures. For example the kids worked together to make a 20 ft. giraffe that was in one of the stories.

BP was ecstatic to show us the tree house that we had heard so much about. We raced across the field to the edge of the woods at mach speed to see it as soon as we arrived. The pride she carried that day I will never forget. It is why she wakes up every morning and asks if it is a school day. It is why she is so excited, yet patient on the 35-40 minute trip there M-W-F. It is why she smiles + skips down the hill each afternoon. It is why I enjoy her stories of what she did each day on the way home. (Today she told me she milked a goat). Her teacher told me last month as they left her building for a hike BP was at the end of the line shouting, "Awesome, this is Awesome" and making everyone laugh. It is why on some mornings after dropping BP off, BB and Baby C and I linger to say hi to the chickens and walk through Mrs. C's garden. This place is like a big hug. It is the best non material gift we could give to BP and next year BB. It is where we hope they will learn to love learning. This parenting thing is all an experiment, everyday is, but this part seems to be working thus far :)

As for the tractor part of my post...we attended a tractor parade in a nearby town. 333 tractors chugging down a little Main Street for over an hour. This event brings all kinds of people...Locals, farmers, weekenders, transplants, grandparents, + babies. If you get bored with the tractors, the people watching is always interesting. We took all 3 girls and Papa and then met friends there. The girls love it, so does their Daddy!

First Day of School '09

Today was BP's first day of school. She was very excited. Can you tell from the pictures? It was pretty much an instant replay of last year. She kissed us all good-bye and never looked back. Except this year she recongnized all the faces greeting her. I cried on the way home. Again. I am so proud of the little lady she has become and the quiet confidence she exudes. She is back in her little "Homestead world" and could not be happier. Wait until they get BB next year!

First and Last

A picture from the first day of school and one from the last day of school. What a difference a school year makes. In so many ways BP has grown and changed. In Septmeber she was still 2 and a baby in so many ways. Now it is June and she has grown into a little lady.

Shh..

Don't tell BB that she has another year before she can go with her big sister to school. I think it would break her heart.

Handwriting Without Tears

After helping BP with about 25 Valentine's cards, I could not help but look for the handwriting program I used to use when I taught Kindergarten. It is called Handwriting Without Tears and it also has a Pre-K program. Yippeee! I think BP will enjoy learning handwriting this way, meeting the magic C bunny, and building letters with the wooden pieces. I have some extra materials in my teaching boxes in the basement. I have to order her a writing book and we will be all set. Handwriting Without Tears is fun and painless for children, parents, and teachers. I would reccommend it to anyone.

Lentil Letters

Here is BP is practicing her lower case letters. I was remembering all my secret teacher weapons for learning.

She had fun forming her letters in a tray of lentils. We were out of rice and I am afraid to use shaving cream inside. We will try shaving cream outside when it warms up a little bit.

Rock Wall

Here is the beautiful rock wall that follows the driveway to BP's school. I snapped a picture on my way to pick her up the other day. Then I thought to myself, I wish I could hide behind it and spy for a day. How fun and interesting that would be. It is all about letting go, I had to remind myself.

Day 2

And she is off again... Day 2 of Preschool for The Barefoot Princess. She just left and once again was very excited. Daddy is doing the drop off solo mission today. When I tried to pick her up and give her one last squeeze she said, "I have to go to school, Mommy." I shed a few tears as they left. I should not have looked at her baby blanket from the hospital when I grabbed her shoes out of her closet. I have to admit it wasn't as hard this morning though. Right after they left, I caught BB looking out the window for her Daddy and big sister. How sweet...more tears. If I think about BP trying to carry that huge backpack it makes me smile though.

BP's School Style

On Thursday when The Barefoot Princess trots off to school (wishful thinking) for the first time she will be sporting this backpack and lunchbag from Land's End. She chose them herself at the Land's End Suite in our local Sears store. (If you place your catalog order at the store you will not be charged for shipping.) So BP hopped up on a big stool next to the Land's End lady and her computer and picked out her backpack with flowers and when the lady asked if we wanted any monogramming, BP said, "a G please!" before I could open my mouth. How did she know about the monograms you may ask? She had been studying the Land's End catalog for a couple weeks trying to decide which backpack and lunchbag to choose. Then she chose a pink lunchbag with a "G" of course to complete the duo. I cannot believe we are at this point with our little BP. It is a sad and happy time, an exciting and scary time, and a very, very emotional time too! I keep thinking of all the things I told parents when I was teaching Pre-K and Kindergarten and praying that I can follow my own advice on Thursday morning at 8:15.