Here's my best go at our weekly review:
Cookie cutter Thanksgiving painting-turkey and a pumpkin.
Multi-colored pasta is a hit again!
A bit of wrestle time with dad to end a busy Monday.
Painting with pumpkins.
We took the kids voting with us Tuesday night. Happy to set an example and explain voting to the minis.
Elizabeth's latest obsession, besides shoes, is "go bye bye" with her "backpack" which just happens to be a McDonalds play bag. She just wants to school to school like her brothers do. So almost every morning, Matt takes her out too, usually to grab a can of green beans from Hy-Vee. She's so proud of herself when she gets to get out of the house....I think she thinks she's going to school too!
One of those "go bye bye" mornings with daddy. Whenever she wears a mask she growls "roar!!"
One of the kid's turkey crafts.
The newest sensory bin: "snow." 2 boxes (16 oz each) of corn starch and 1 1/2 cans of shaving cream. Mix together. For some added festiveness, I put in a few drops of peppermint extract and glitter. Messy, but the kids had fun with it. Not for the younger than 3 set, or any child who likes to try to eat these things because it is not edible.
Painted wooden shapes from Michael's.
The biggest hit of the week: the Wheelies and racetracks.
Painted turkeys.
The kids had a blast playing The Turkey Hop.
The kids got to help me make berry pancakes. The kids enjoyed helping me put berries in and watching them cook, just beware that berries do stain. I was very careful with clothes, but failed to think of the messes on their hands (one child claimed her fingers were bleeding, but we managed to avoid a freak out). Clean up took a while!
Harrison had pajama day at school on Friday. He thought he was pretty cool to be going to school in his emergency jammies!
My biggest excitement for the week came Thursday during clean up time. I always have the kids clean up right before lunch and I stand in the middle of the room directing, encouraging, and keeping them on task. Thursday was quesadilla day and I had to cook each one on the stove. So I decided to give the kids the task of cleaning up on their own, figuring they wouldn't get very far and lunch would have to be pushed back to do clean up the usual way. I set a timer, told all of the kids (ages 1-3) to clean up everything like we usually do, and went into the kitchen to cook. Much to my great surprise, they easily cleaned up everything on their own without me standing and directing! I was so proud of them for staying on task, encouraging each other, helping one another, and putting everything away where it belongs. They got rewarded with a few M & M's before lunch for doing such a fantastic job.
I love "testing" the kids like this every so often. Not only does it remind me and let me see exactly how much they're capable of, but also it gives me some insight as to what other activities I can do with them. Next week we will be doing more Thanksgiving crafts, playing with puppets, and breaking out a few of our books about snow in honor of the first snowfall (which I'm hoping will only be a few flurries).
I love "testing" the kids like this every so often. Not only does it remind me and let me see exactly how much they're capable of, but also it gives me some insight as to what other activities I can do with them. Next week we will be doing more Thanksgiving crafts, playing with puppets, and breaking out a few of our books about snow in honor of the first snowfall (which I'm hoping will only be a few flurries).