c is for chameleon - Preschool Day

c is for chameleon 

We started out with this silly song.
Do you Have Green Skin?
Do you shed the skin you're in?
Can you change the color,too?
Turn from green to red to blue?
Do you live among the trees?
Blending in with sticks & leaves?
Do you have green skin?


We read - 
Chameleon, Chameleon

This book has great photos, as well as great information.
The other chameleon books as cute.  
But, this one actually teaches facts, while being cool.
I highly recommend this book!
Did you know that chameleons do not change their color 
for camouflage protection?  
Rather the color changes express change in mood, 
temperature & hunger.

Chameleon's Colors

This book has really beautiful illustrations.  
My kids love it.
The chameleon is not happy about the way he is
always changing colors.
The other animals wish they could be new colors.
He paints all the animals, only to find, 
everyone now wishes they could go back to their 
old selves.

Our Bible Lesson was talking about how God made us each with a special plan & purpose.
He made us just the way He wanted us to be.

Psalm 139:14

"I praise You because I am fearfully & wonderfully made.

Your works are wonderful.  I know that full well."

The Mixed Up Chameleon

This is another silly book about a discontent chameleon.
He wishes he could be everyone else 
& gets a little mixed up.














We did a gluing project where we needed to use our imaginations.
You can get the clip art for the project for free through Along the Way.

We practiced counting & adding by one as we feed a hungry chameleon ten flies.  
Get free download for this from the same blog.


Since Chameleons are color changers, we are also studying color this week.  
We all worked on this color wheel puzzle.

(We got this from Pottery Barn years ago.  I don't see it on their web page any longer.)

We played a really fun game pretending to be chameleons eating flies.  
(This idea is from Along the Way, also!)
I cut out little pieces of black felt for the flies.
The kids all had party blowers for tongues.  
I had attached a piece of velcro to the end of their tongues.
They had to tried to get a fly caught on the end of their tongues.  
It was fun, until everyone blew our their blowers & they no longer worked!


We ate Chameleon Pops -

I colored yogurts green & golden & swirled it in dixie cups.

They froze in one day into tasty, healthy yogurt pops.

For our study of the letter "c", we have begun by talking about the hard sound.

Here are some words we came up with.

• Car
• Cat
• Computer
• Chameleon
• Calendar
• Cranberry
• Carrot
• Color

After coming up with words, the kids came to the white board & 

identified the letter "c" in the word context & circled it.

They also found the letter "c" in a Hidden Picture page (from Along the Way, again!)

We practiced penmanship as we carefully traced the letter c.

We read the book 

Color by Ruth Heller

I love Ruth Heller books.  They are so educational, while being
for approachable.  And, they are visually stunning.
This book shows how a printer is able to print vibrant, 
multi-colored pictures, using only 4 colors.
Some of the information is beyond preschool.  
But, they will still learn & be fascinated.








Lastly, we tried our hand at our own color mixing.  
We saw what colors we could get, using only 
Red, Yellow, Blue & White paints.

My friend Annie told me about this color mixing game to play online.

I think I'll let the kids give it a try.  

Although, up until now, the computer has been for adults only.  Hmmm....

Color Cards

This is C week.
I'll give you the full run down tomorrow.
But, one of the things we are studying is color.
Check out these fun & simple color tools you can make for your kids.
You use paint sample card strips!

*Please note that the gorgeous yellow rose pillow is from Target.  Yes.  Target!

Peyton really struggles with his colors.
Sometimes we have wondered if he is color blind.

We're not sure, at this point.  I think they are just really hard for him,
for some reason.

We're trying to make color practice fun!

These little color fans can also help teach shades.

The light blue & the dark blue are both blue.  

They are both in the same family.

The kids can see that right here in their hands!

**I got this brilliant idea from Jenae over at I Can Teach My Child.

Ending B with a Bang

This weekend, we ended up our B week pretty well.

A butterfly began to emerge from its chrysalis.  The kids were excited to watch.

We may have stressed him out, by all watching, though.  

We only made it part way out.  Poor little guy.

But, today, when we were busy lunching, another butterfly completely emerged.  

He seems safe & happy.  Hooray!

On the subject on pollinators, Scott worked on revving up 

our Hummingbird garden this weekend.  

He made some successful additions.

We now see hummingbirds frequently.

The kids observing the hummingbirds

Eating Out with Kids (and having a positive experience)

We eat out more than we probably should.
We are sort of food lovers here.
We like to eat things we some substance.
If I am having a dragging day & didn't get any decent food together,
we aren't the sort to say, "Let's just eat PB&J for dinner".

We take our kids out to eat.
At sit down restaurants.
And, it is usually a pleasant experience.
We rarely have people around us show irritation about our wee ones.

Tonight we took a stroll to our neighborhood sushi restaurant - Miyuki's.
Things went really well.
Even though little Mo had neglected to take her afternoon nap.

Another favorite for our family is The Whole Enchilada.
Here we are last month, post a sit down meal.

Everyone was still in pretty good spirits.

Okay.  

So, things to consider when choosing a place to sit down with 

a handful of little ones - 

• Try to choose a place where the folks on staff are kid friendly.  The Whole Enchilada is a favorite for the kids.  A big reason being that the owner comes by & says hi & gives them each a cheap pair of sunglasses. Oh.  And, they get a mermaid in the straw of their drink cup.

• Choose a place that has a lot of interest for little ones.  You know, the places that may seem a bit kitschy to you.  Stuff on shelves, on the wall, hanging for the ceiling...  the more the better.  It keeps the kids occupied, looking at all the amazing decor.
• Choose a place that serves some sort of food right away.  Chips & Salsa or bread or soup or whatever.  If you kids are like mine, once they are seated at a table, they expect food.  Pronto.
• Choose a place that serves food your kids like to eat.  (Obviously).
• Choose a place that has a noise level to "mirror" the noise level of your family.
• It's a nice plus if their is kid friendly entertainment.  (Our kids love these guitarist guys.  So cute!)

• Don't forget to tip extra if your child(ren) leaves more mess than normal.  They staff be happy to see you next time.

I'll tell you something else about eating out with kids.  

If you have kids who really are quiet & mild mannered, 

I don't think you should be afraid to take them to nicer joints.  

Take the tiny one out on date night.

We did that a lot when Gillian was a little one.  

We took her to nice, quiet places.  

Places that would never be described as family restaurants.

We went on vacation to Carmel Valley when Gillian was nearly one year old.  

We wanted to enjoy some good food.  

And, we even went to a winery.

And, she was well behaved.  

If she was fussy, one of us just stepped out with her.

But, one tip on dining at places that aren't deemed kid-friendly - 

Go early.  

Your baby will be happier.

The restaurant will be less crowded.

There probably won't be as many romantic date night dinners out yet.

Plus, you may get in on some happy hour type discounts.

What are your tips for eating out with kids?

The Half Way Point

So, I am about 21 weeks along in my pregnancy.  About half way.
Time seems to fly.
I had been feeling quite gross for my first trimester.
Not terrible.  But, you know, gross.
Sometimes I have felt rather gross the whole pregnancy through.
And dead tired.
I usually don't feel the 2nd trimester "energy surge".
I am not sure if I am quite that energetic.
But, I just recently realized that I am feeling pretty darn good.
I feel a normal tired.
Most of the time, I don't feel gross.
I am not dealing with heartburn yet.
I don't have severe aches & pains.
I feel good.
I am now getting to the point where I can no longer sleep
in my modified tummy sleeping position.
I love sleeping on my tummy.
And, up until recently, I was just bending one leg a bit
to give my little tummy a knee up.
The tummy is too big.  It is not a good idea anymore.

Maybe REALLY big is a better way to describe the belly.

picture by Peyton

The baby is a girl, everyone.  Yes!  It's true!
That's what the ultrasound tech was sure of, when we went in last week.
It will be fun to have another lady around.
We are naming her Kendal Ruth.
We are starting to feel strong kicks.
We are getting to know her a bit;
& can't wait to see her in February.

Today's Flowers

A good husband ordered these for his wife, for their anniversary.
I was the happy florist.

b is for butterfly - Preschool Week

Second week - the letter "b"

We went to a friend's house for our "b" class this week.
So, my lesson plan for what we are doing at home is not very extensive.

b is for butterfly

by my friend Annie

Books-
The Hungry Caterpillar - we are reading this (for the 100th time, perhaps).
Waiting for Wings - this is a really pretty book.  We loved it.
Five Stars for preschoolers.

Science - 
We ordered some caterpillars, so we can observe the life cycle of the Butterfly.
Right now they are pinned in the butterfly house, all in their own little Chrysalis.
We are waiting to watch the Painted Lady butterflies emerge!

More Science - 
Be the Butterfly.  We looked through the kaleidoscope lens of our magnifying glass,

to pretend like we were seeing our flower garden like a monarch.


And, more Science - 
Butterflies are pollinators.  So are birds, bees, & bats.  (More "b" things!)
So, we are talking about pollination this week.
We read "Flower, Why Do you Smell So Nice."
The book is okay.  It's the only kids book on pollination I could find at the library.
It has some evolution in it, that we just skipped.
And, the way it reads felt a little funny to us, the adults.
But, the kids think it is cute.
It is a conversation between a bee & a flower.
And, it was originally written in Italian, not English.
So, that may add to the awkwardness of it.

Craft - 
We made little fingerprint caterpillars &
used rubber stamps to add butterflies to our pictures.

Game - *
Butterfly Races!

You can make your own balance butterfly by going here.

Cooking - *
Pretzel Butterflies

Slowly melt Chocolate chips in a double broiler.
"Paste" your pretzel wings together with a little glob of peanut butter.
Dip your butterfly carefully into the hot chocolate.
Dip in sprinkles.
Set on wax paper & chill.

Bible - 
We are talking about butterflies representing our new life in Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:17
"Therefore if any man is in Christ, 
he is a new creature; 
the old things passed away;
behold, new things have come."

History - 
Speaking of wings & flying, we read a little book on the Wright Brothers.
Up in the Sky
We learned about when man was able to "take flight" in the first airplane.

Outdoor Excursion - 
We may go to Natural Bridges this weekend, to see the butterfly museum.
It is not quite monarch migration season for us here.
They should arrive next month.

We went to see them last year, and didn't see too much.  But, it was still exciting.

We saw one butterfly up close.

* These ideas are both from the great homeschool blog, Along the Way.

White Wedding on Pajaro Dunes

This weekend may have been our hottest weekend yet, this year.  

Not sweltering, I suppose.  But, it seemed hot to us coastal folk.  

Towards 90.

I had a small wedding job.  

All white!  

I get a little paranoid with white flowers in the heat.  

But, they turned out fine.  

Hopefully they made it through the whole wedding without showing wilt...

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