Teachers Pet

One of the things I love the most about homeschooling is the one-on-one time I get with Bella. Granted, most days Abby is at the table with us or playing nearby, but it still provides a great opportunity for praise (and correction!) as we work together. The downside of this is that sometimes transitioning from "Mom" to "Teacher" is hard for both of us. I sometimes wonder if a "real" teacher (one at a public /private school who is paid to teach!) would get the same attitude I occasionally encounter....like today, for instance. Today was not the best homeschooling day we've ever had!

But it's for that very reason that I am immortalizing this day, that you will see pictured below. This day, she was happy to learn. This day, we laughed. This day, I had it all together. I was almost *gasp* an Alpha mom!


Here Bella is making "Pattern Trains" with linking cubes
for her Saxon Math K lesson. We had a lot of fun with this,
because after she "built" the trains she had to determine
which ones had an "ABAB" pattern. So I made an "ABAB"
tunnel out of a folder, used my arm as the crossing guard,
and we only let the "ABAB" trains go through....she loved it,
and wanted to play with her trains after the lesson was finished.

Here Bella is using her pattern blocks to cover an
animal shape.
She really enjoyed this math supplement.
Many thanks to my homeschooling friend and mentor,
Susan, for the idea!



Working on her Explode the Code phonics workbooks.
As of today is nearing the end of Book C, the last primer,
and I have ordered Book 1! She enjoys these workbooks.



I decided to do some Thanksgiving project during
November. I got a really good (and really cheap)
book about the first Thanksgiving at Mr Ks bookstore.
We have been reading it, and I found the idea for this
art project on Pinterest (Thanks again, Susan!)
Bella had a lot of fun turning her handprint into a
Mayflower!



And here's the finished product! Boy, is she proud!

Cake Pops? Count me in!

So, I have heard a lot of good things about cake pops, but had never tasted or made one. So when I saw a simple recipe in a magazine, I decided we would give it a try! It was messy, and fun, and -most importantly- delicious!

Bella and Ashlyn help me crumble up a cake!
Abby crumbles with panache!

Rachel and the girls give our cake pops an orange coat!

The finished product! The pumpkin stems are green tic-tacs!

Which Craft?

Ever since Abbigail was born, my big sis and I have enjoyed getting together with our girls for crafty, cooking, sewing days! For October, I found some fun (and delicious!) activities. Here are some pics of the girls making Jack-o-lanterns. This is a craft I found in a Woman's Day magazine, and it turned out really well. All you need are glass jars, (I bought the globe ones with the scalloped glass at the top, but you can recycle an old salsa jar!), orange tissue paper (which is NOT easy to find in October!), black construction paper, and decoupage glue. I used ModPodge glue.

You cut the tissue paper into one inch wide strips. Coat a section of the glass with modpodge glue, using a foam brush, then apply the strips, letting them slightly overlap.

Then cut out a face and put it on, and apply another layer of glue.

Let dry, light, and enjoy! (From left to right: Bella, Abby, and Ashlyn!)

The girls had a lot of fun with this! I happened to have a cheap plastic tablecloth in the cabinet, so once we were done I just threw it -glue drips and all!- in the trash. Happy Halloween!