a week in review... Letter O

Wow... This week started awesome, hit a super low point and is coming back around now that I have decided that a break is needed in this house. I feel like it lifted a weight off my shoulders. I think that I am going to take a week off, not three like I was thinking yesterday. One week off, then a light, easy review week so we can have our 100 day party on the last day before our big family vacation. I can't think of a better way of ending this session... with a huge party for the both of us.

O is for Octopus

Or should I say the THREE of us? PorkChop has decided that lesson time can be fun. I already knew that he enjoyed cooking but I guess that I overlooked the fact that he can do more than I give him credit for. So from now on, I think that I will make sure that he can participate more. Not just with our sensory boxes but with our art and cooking too. And reading time, of course. I need to get some more Pork friendly books in this house.

Look who is starting to join in more!

 This week, we worked on the letter O. We talked about octopuses, owls and otters. We tried different kinds of oranges, deciding that little mandarins were good and blood oranges are too scary to eat. We snacked on cheerios (hey, they ARE little O's after all) and practiced writing "circle Os" everywhere. The littles helped me make some delicious orange cupcakes with a buttercream frosting that tasted just like vanilla ice cream. I think that this might have been one of my most favorite tasting weeks.

mmmm... orange creamsicle cupcakes

 In math this week, we have been working on addition. Everything in me screams that learning subtraction first would have been easier but everything that I looked into said to start with adding. SweetPea surprised me and seemed to catch on pretty quickly to the basics. Sure, at this point, its more just counting the pictures than really "adding" but she gets the concept. And I need to focus on that more... that she understands the concept behind what she is learning more than trying to get her to be perfect in a week at a skill that might be over her head.

taking a break from the table

 Together, we learned "Little Boy Blue" this week. I wish that I had thought to add a fun song in, but I think that I approached this week with a negative attitude and let it shadow my whole way of thinking. I didn't do as many fun things as I could have and I regret it now. I didn't even set aside a special activity, even though I really wanted to work on making jewelry out of Fruit Loops or Cheerios or something. I will store the idea away for the next time we run through the alphabet. I will DO the idea. I will learn from my mistakes as well as I want my children to learn and grow.

o is for owl

Because of our week together, I am not going to overplay St Patrick's day. I ordered each little a book and SweetPea's didn't arrive today as planned. They were temporary out of stock so hers will be here on Tuesday. I think that its a sign to give the kiddos a break and not to take all the "fun" out of a holiday just being a day to spend time together with our family. No green milk that will turn our poo funny colors, no crafts that I will feel the need to micro-manage. We will read our story on who St Patrick was, we will wear our green and we will make our traditional dinner of corned beef and cabbage. Maybe we will make a special treat or maybe we will just buy something for dessert. Either way, we are officially on break!