Polar Express Day

Our second planned fun day was a Polar Express theme. Again thanks to pinterest, I had many fun ideas. My sister created a few of her own. We started with everyone decorating boxes to create a train to sit in while watching the movie.

PF did a great job decorating the front of the train.

Then each of the kids decorating a stirring stick for the hot chocolate they would have later on.

When we got to the part of the movie, where the kids were served hot chocolate, we paused the movie and all the kids came upstairs to have their own hot chocolate.

Following the movie, we had sugar cookies for the kids to cut out, bake, and decorate.

Dragonfly ate quite a bit of the dough as she went along.

Ladybug lasted until the very end with the cookie decorating. She was covered in flour!

Grinch Day

 I was having so much fun on pinterest finding fun things to during December. I came across several fun themed activities for the movie "The Grinch who Stole Christmas". I thought this would be a perfect thing to do while visiting family in GA. My sister was on board as well. We made Grinch cookies, Grinch fruit kabobs, rice crispy treat trees, and Grinch punch!

 The kids each got to decorate their own tree with M&Ms and sprinkles.

 Evan skipped the decorating and went straight to eating.

 After all the snacks were ready and decorated, we headed down to the basement for the movie. I have always loved the cartoon so that was the one we watched.

I did have worksheets for the kids to do following the movie but they were having so much fun with their cousins that I didn't want to bother with having any extra work. I figured it was more important to have play time and soak up the sun outdoors.

A Reading From Dragonfly

Dance

In American Heritage Girls, the girls just started earning the dance badge. Today they were exposed to Irish dancing and ballet. They all absolutely loved Irish dancing. I will be looking into classes they can take this winter. I have always wanted my girls to be interested in Irish dancing so I am very excited!

Story Starter

Grammy pulled the last tray of cookies out of the oven when suddenly........


PF: ......a cat ran on top of them followed by a barking monster who grabbed a dozen cookies. Poor Grammy had to start all over again because the left over cookies were covered in dirt from the monster and cat. She was about to throw them away when she had an idea. She stuck them in the blender with lots of bird seed and blended it. When it was done Grammy threw it outside for the birds and then she hid in a bush. Birds came along and started eating when all of a sudden their feathers fell off and they floated up like balloons.

Butterfly:....there was a knock. Grammy opened the door. A little boy was on the porch. He started to say good afternoon my name is Russell but before he could say the rest Grammy asked Russell if he would like a cookie. Russell said "yes please". Grammy stuffed the cookies in Russell's mouth. She said good-bye. Russell didn't say good-bye because his mouth was too full.

Ladybug:.....there was a monster at the door. The monster took all the cookies. Grammy tried to get them but the monster ate them before she could.

Dragonfly:......a monster came and put all the cookies in his mouth.

Tree Project

 For our day 3 activity, we did our best to make paper strip trees. They didn't exactly come out looking like the best trees but it was a great activity to learn measurement, longer and shorter.

Everyone agreed that PF's  looked like a Christmas bell instead of a tree.

November Wall

We enjoyed many Thanksgiving related projects this month. We focused a lot on being grateful for things in our lives and complaining less. The girls have really started to enjoy word searches. I have been focusing alot more with Dragonfly on her coloring skill....really filling a picture in and not scribbling. Also using different colors instead of just her favorite.

Field Trip

 Tracy and I took the kids on a field trip to Burritt on the Mountain. It is a beautiful place with a mansion. We took a tour of the mansion after making sure we got a picture of the kids. Forgot to do our traditional picture in front of the van. The tour guide in the home was full of info about the doctor that once lived there and about the area. People used to flock to the area for the natural springs and stayed at one particular inn. The mansion burnt down shortly after it was built and there were pictures of it on fire. They rebuilt the home within a few years of the fire.

 I love this picture of the kids....so many personalities!

 Looking out over the city of Huntsville. It was fun to point out the big Rocket for the space center.

 We walked around the property which they have now made into a small town from the early 1900s. There wasn't alot going on during the day but the kids had no problems entertaining themselves. When we got to the Chapel....they took turns up on stage singing made up songs or Christmas carols.

We are really looking forward to returning again. They host many classes and do home school days. This should add alot to our study of American History.

Panda Art

Butterfly is enjoying the art projects in one of her school books.

Rice Crispy Turkeys

 I love creative themed snacks. These were too cute. PF helped me make these until she burnt her hand on some hot melted marshmallow.

 Needless to say the girls enjoyed them!

The Love of Reading

I just love this picture. I love that all my girls love books and love to read. We try to make it to the library once a week. This past week, we showed up to the library for a Thanksgiving program a bit early so we enjoyed over an hour of looking/picking out books. They love having a pile of fresh books to enjoy each week.

The Skittle Turkey

Even though Thanksgiving is over, there was still one activity I wanted the girls to complete before I pack up Fall/Thanksgiving themed activities. I love fine motor skill activities and I knew the girls would love anything that involved candy. They all had fun filling in the turkey with skittles and getting to enjoy a few skittles after they finished.

Thanksgiving Fun

Thanks to pinterest, I found so many fun worksheets for the girls to work on this week. They have really been enjoying all the coloring and the lack of their regular work.

Crafts and Fun

The holiday season is such a fun time. I love being able to make fun crafts with the girls or make a special treat. This year, I have been enjoying having the Stewarts living near by again so we can have fun with them as well. Tracy and I found a fun advent craft at hobby lobby and we took advantage of this relaxed week to get it done. While we were busy, we had activities for the kids to do. It was also such a beautiful day that the kids spent alot of time outside.

 PF and Cami made an awesome turkey treat for everyone to enjoy for snack.

This is my finished project. Not sure yet what I will be putting in it but looking forward to the last month of the year.

Outdoor Skills

 PF had the opportunity to get together with the American Heritage Girls to work on outdoor skills. She got to learn many different knots, use a hatchet, dig a cat hole, and build a shelter. I came to help with food. Dinner was delicious steak, potatoes, and salad. We also had cupcakes to celebrate one of the girl's birthday. PF spent the night and enjoyed playing games with the other girls. I proceeded home to sleep in my own bed. I am not sure I can handle the floor right now.