An Awesome August

We have had another busy and enjoyable month!

 Jenni started Pre-Kindergarten on August 1 and is thoroughly enjoying all of our school activities.

 Jenni and I started the month off by having a girls trip to visit my sister and brother-in-law for a couple days. It turned out that Andrea went into labor early so we stayed a few extra days to meet precious Gavin Michael. He is such a sweet and loving baby boy! We cannot wait to spend more time with him!

 Jenni J started the fall semester of ballet this month. Jenni absolutely loves ballet, Joshie loves relaxing during ballet, and I love sewing during ballet. So it's a win for all of us :)

 Getting a closer look at the zebras :)

 The kiddos and the giraffes!

 Jenni was confused because she kept saying hello to the parrots and was thinking that they would say hello back! She said, "I thought you could teach parrots to say some words!" :)

 The kangaroos resting in the shade.

 Our train ride through the zoo.

 My matching boys :)

 We took a trip to the zoo at the end of August. The kids enjoyed seeing all the animals. Jenni liked walking up to the fence and saying to the animals, "Hello ____! Are you having a lovely day with your family?" It was sweet. Joshua enjoyed seeing the animals and kept trying to share his snacks with them. :) Jenni's favorite part of the zoo was our train ride. Joshie's favorite part of the zoo was the penguins. He was crazy about them!

 

 

 

 Soccer started this month. I cannot believe my sweet girl has started another sport! She has been looking forward to the start of soccer for many months and now it is here! We are looking forward to many evenings of soccer practice and weekend afternoon games watching our girl play!

Overheard

Part of Jenni's lunchtime prayer: "Thank you, Jesus for my Aunt Andrea. Please keep her healthy and keep Baby Gavin healthy. If Aunt Andrea has another baby and it's a girl, please have her name her baby Daisy. Amen." (Throughout Andrea's pregnancy and even after Gavin was born, Jenni has been quite determined to have a cousin named Daisy :)

Jenni: "Mommy, you think I can wear a dress while I play soccer?"

Me: "No. You'll have to wear shorts and a t-shirt."

Jenni: "Then can I at least wear pink?"

 

Needless to say, we went to the sports store and sure enough Jenni J chose a pink shirt, pink shinguards, pink soccer socks, a pink soccer ball, and black and pink cleats to go with her pink and purple shorts :)

 

After soccer practice...

Jenni: "Mommy, I don't think I can keep playing soccer."

Me: "Why not?"

Jenni: "I think my soccer ball is going to get dirty. I don't want my soccer ball dirty. When it's on the ground, ants or bugs or dirt may get on it."

Me: "Well we can take your soccer ball home and wash it off after practice."

Jenni: "How are we going to do that?"

Me: "With a washcloth."

Jenni: "Oh, okay then!"

 

Jenni is a little thinker. And a planner. And quite serious about both...

Jenni: "Mommy, you know I want to have a lot of children when I grow up, right?"

Me: "Yes, I know that."

Jenni: "Do you think thirteen kids are too many for me to handle?"

Me: "I think thirteen kids would be very challenging."

Jenni: "Me too. I think thirteen or fifteen kids might be too much. Do you think I could have five children then?"

 

These days, Joshua's favorite words are Dada, outside, and Buddy. He sure loves his daddy, he loves to play outside, and he really loves his buddy, Jenni :) Joshua is keeping busy these days by running around, playing monsters, hide-and-go-seek, and trains with Jenni and he enjoys sitting close to Jenni while she does her school work :)

Alphabet Fun - Letter Kk

(August 2011 - Jenni is 4 years, 1 month)

We know a lot about the letter Kk. Here is some of what we did...

Bible Verse:
Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us... (Psalm 100:3)

Books:
Katy Did It! (by Lorianne Siomades)
Kitchen Dance (by Maurie J. Manning)
Look out Kindergarten, Here I Come! (by Nancy Carlson)
Three Little Kittens (by Lorianne Siomades)
What do Kangaroos do?

Make a Kite

I cut small shapes for Jenni to paste onto her kite.

Hop like a Kangaroo & Kangaroo Facts
Jenni hopped around like a kangaroo, pretending she had a joey in her pouch.

J learned that kangaroos live in groups. They hop around to find leaves and grass to eat. They have babies called joeys. Joeys live in their mother's pouch. Kangaroos live in a hot country called Australia, so they like to hop around at night when it's cool.

Trip to the Zoo to See the Kangaroos!

The kangaroos looked miserable laying out in the 105 degree heat. I told Jenni that it was too bad that we couldn't see the kangaroos hopping around, and Jenni said, "I wouldn't be hopping if it was this hot outside either!" :)

Kitchen Utensil Sort
A simple activity but something that Jenni likes to help me do when we unload the dishwasher.

Kellogg's Rice Krispy Treats

Kellogg's Rice Krispies Treats Recipe
3 T. butter
10 oz. marshmallows
6 c. Kellogg's Rice Krispies cereal

Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Mix in cereal. Stir until well coated. Spread the mixture into a 13x9-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cut into 2-inch squares when cool. Store no more than two days in an airtight container

For more of what we did this week you can click here.

Week 4 of Pre-K

Bible Verse of the Week: "A friend loves at all times..." (Proverbs 17:17)

Singapore Math

 This week we continued our focus on number recognition, counting, writing numbers and graphing.

Get Ready for THE CODE and Writing

 This week J studied the letter Kk, the sound /k/, and worked on writing Kk. Jenni thought the letter Kk was "a bit tricky to write." :)

Reading

Reading is going great. J is reading a solid amount of 2-, 3- and 4-letter words.

Corduroy (Before Five in a Row)

  This week we rowed Corduroy. We read the story each day, did the supplemental activities in the B4FIAR manual, and worked on the lapbook.

Button Patterns & Rhyme Book

Jenni glued the next buttons in the pattern onto her button strips.

F is for Friends

The rest of our school time consisted of our Alphabet Fun unit increasing our knowledge of the letter Kk!

Alphabet Fun - Letter Mm

(August 2011 - Jenni is 4 years old)

We made many memories learning about the letter Mm. Here is some of what we did...

Bible Verse:
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music. (Psalm 98:4)

Books:
Madeline (by Ludwig Bemelmans)
Madeline and the Gypsies (by Ludwig Bemelmans)
Madeline at the White House (by John Bemelmans Marciano)
Madeline in America and Other Holiday Tales (by Ludwig Bemelmans and John Bemelmans Marciano)
Maisy Drives the Bus (by Lucy Cousins)
Market Day (by Carol Foskett Cordsen)
Max & Ruby's Bedtime Book (by Rosemary Wells)
Me and You (by Genevieve Cote)
My Brother (by Anthony Browne)
Today is Monday (by Eric Carle)

My Little Pony Memory Game

J and I had fun playing this game. She has a good memory!

Handy Manny Make a Match Game

J had fun making matches!

Magnetic Fishing

 I drew fish onto cardstock with pencil, outlined it in marker, cut around the outside of the fish and then attached a metal paper clip to the mouth. Eric made a fishing rod for J and attached a large magnet to the end of the fishing wire.

 J went fishing in our homemade pond :)

This activity was so much fun for her!

Magnetic Attraction

 I placed an assortment of metal, wooden and plastic objects in a pan.

 With Joshua's help, Jenni used her magnet to find which objects were attracted to it.

Jenni came to the conclusion that a magnet will attract anything metal.

Mucky Muck

Mucky Muck Recipe
3/4 c. cornstarch
2/3 c. water (more or less)
5 drops food coloring

Pour water into large bowl. Mix in food coloring. Slowly add cornstarch. Do not stir. Let stand 2-3 minutes. Mix together with hands!

Making Money (United States Department of the Treasury - Bureau of Engraving and Printing)

We visited the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to learn how the United States makes and prints money. We were taken on a wonderful tour of the facility (insane security!) and then went through a few exhibits learning more about our currency. The tour guide said that they print approximately $16 million/hour!

M is for Money

These are J's containers of money. Whenever she is given money, she puts a percentage in her 'give' container to take to church, a percentage in her 'save' container to save for the future, and the rest is put in her 'live' container.

Making Meatloaf and Macaroni!

J and I made homemade meatloaf and macaroni this week.

Meat Loaf Recipe
1 - 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 c. ketchup and 1/2 c. water
3/4 c. Quaker Oats
1 egg
1/4 c. chopped onion
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
A few drops Worcestershire Sauce
Some Barbeque Sauce

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients. Mix lightly. Press into greased 8x4 inch loaf pan. Bake 1 hour.

Mac and Cheese from Scratch (Southern Living Recipe)
2 c. milk
2 T. butter
2 T. all-purpose flour
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
1 (10 oz.) block extra sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
8 oz. elbow macaroni, cooked

*Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Microwave milk at HIGH for 1 1/2 minutes. Melt butter in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-low heat; whisk in flour until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute.
 *Gradually whisk in warm milk, and cook, whisking constantly, 5 minutes or until thickened.
 *Whisk in salt, black pepper, and 1 cup shredded cheese; stir in pasta. Spoon pasta mixture into a lightly greased 2-qt. baking dish; top with remaining cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

For more of what we did this week you can click here.