Avi - 06/30/2021

Avilene missed out on French toast for breakfast. Poor girl. :) For lunch she ate a large serving of Hearty Paleo Stew with meat, cauliflower, broccoli, sweet potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, and carrots. She ate two servings of saltines and ate tropical fruit. 

Lots of phrases we use as adults do not translate for "concrete thinking" children. They may be able to understand a few of the phrases if you take time to explain what it means, but generally speaking that too is a waste of time. Haha. One of the most obvious would be "it's raining cats and dogs." So Avi was yapping at me about something and I told her she sounded like "a broken record." "What does that mean?!?" That made me laugh. Uh, never mind. (I remember lots of old records getting stuck!!)

First picture: Avi has been untying my shoelaces relentlessly so I told her she needed to learn to tie shoes and then she could tie her Dad's shoes together. :) Haha. You're welcome. So I finally took my shoes off so she could practice and she got a pretty good knot in a short amount of time. I didn't show her either. Following picture: Avi doing some creative drawing. A couple of those are "mermaids" One is a "man" and she informed me those are called "mer-man." :)

Next picture: These guys were cleaning the asphalt with an air hose - prepping for repairs probably. It was a bit noisy and you won't find Miles in the picture. He watched, but from a considerable distance. Then we saw some more workers! This time it was the garbage men - recycle day - picking up our recycled materials.

Last picture: After we came inside I got Miles out of his wet clothes and into some pajamas before lunch. I was in the kitchen for a couple of minutes and he was snuggling with Avilene when I turned around. He kept jamming his face down into the couch. :) He loves his Avi and she adores him too.

Avi - 06/29/2021

Avilene had no waffle and ate half of grapes for breakfast. For lunch she ate chicken, whole wheat tortillas, ate corn, and two servings of baked cinnamon apples. 

This first picture is from yesterday afternoon and I loved the amount of supplies and hard work the girls were putting into their work. Good job everyone.

Next two pictures: Avi and Nora were playing a couple of my newer games. The first one is a matching game that's pretty simple, but has several different cards of objects so they don't get bored quickly with the same card. In the second picture they are playing a "Connect Four" game. If you look closely you can see Avi is holding the Connect Four board and she's slowly moving it to her left trying hard to manipulate the spot where Nora is trying to insert her color. Tricky little Turkey. So I informed her that probably wasn't allowed in the rules. Haha. Creative; yes. Legal and Fair: no. 

Next picture: There is nothing that attracts a crowd at Childcare like a bug trying to find it's way across the patio. Haha. I actually ended up tossing this roly-poly into the grass because 5 kids were all claiming ownership and no compromise was in sight. Last picture: They wanted to do the "painting with water" activity again this morning. So it became a "clean the toys" activity too. Child labor laws?!? :)

Avi - 06/28/2021

Avilene ate kix cereal and no fruit cocktail for breakfast. For lunch she ate two servings of ground turkey, no toasted whole wheat sandwich thins, ate avocado, tomato, and 2 bites of black-raspberries. She said, "Too sour!" Nora said, "These are SO Sweet" and she had 3 large servings!! So that's how the different taste buds work!!

First picture: Atley and Avi were playing a couple new games I got and I like how Miles was keeping an eye on their activity. Cal is with his Grandma today so Miles was doing his own thing most of the morning as the girls played in the Preschool Room. 

Next picture: Love Nora's face in this picture: "OH MY GOSH AVI!! YOU ARE SOOOO GOOD AT THIS GAME!! :) It's a pirate ship and Avi balanced lots of goods on the ship. Needless to say Nora was impressed and so was I. So for the Grand Finale Avi had to show us she could pick it up without spilling any. Nice work Avilene. I wanted a picture of her doing that and I missed Nora's reaction, but it was probably similar to the first reaction. haha.

Here are a couple pictures from outside this morning. Avi asked if we could do bubbles and so we chased bubbles - in the shade. And then Avi had fun with the car ramps and playing with the little cars. She had it all to herself as everyone else was tired of that activity from the last 2 weeks. :)

Avi - 06/11/2021

Avilene ate oatmeal and dried cranberries (after saying she'd eat 1 cranberry, then she ate all) for breakfast. For lunch she ate tilapia, most of whole wheat elbow noodles, ate green beans, and applesauce.  

Avi and Atley doing some Art while waiting for Science with Lauralea to begin. :)

Science with Lauralea: today's theme is "Birds." Obviously this is a wide ranging subject, but we talked about some basic things most birds have in common. How are they different from us? The kids (with some prompting) came up with good answers; "wings, feathers, and skinny legs." Ha. We also talked a little about why some birds do not fly; including the subject of hollow bones and more dense bones.  In the first picture the kids are looking at a variety of feathers and examining some differences in feathers; some help them fly, some help keep them warm. Every feather has a purpose. Following picture: We talked a little bit about different beaks and feet and the usefulness of each one. 

Next two pictures; Making our own bird feeders using pine cones, peanut butter, and bird seed. We spread the peanut butter on the cones and the kids rolled the cones (trying to avoid getting poked) in the seed. Second picture; Here's what the bird feeder cone looks like completed.

Here's the primary reason I LOVE this last picture so much!! For me it basically epitomizes the personality of all 3 girls. This is how I've seen so many activities proceed with these three. There was leftover bird seed from the activity described above and we decided to scatter it on the grass in front of the big window. Lauralea had the girls line up so I could get a picture and then her instructions were pretty basic; "Ok, toss your bird seed." Starting from the left; Atley is literally tossing everything including her bird seed!! Haha. Middle; Avi is trying to carefully scatter the seed. On Right; Nora is holding her bird seed and watching the others first before she does anything!! This picture captures it all so perfectly.

Avi - 06/10/2021

Avilene ate two servings of blueberry bagel and ate peaches for breakfast. For lunch she ate a large serving of our homemade hamburger & sausage pizza with meat, pineapple, peppers, olives, and tomato sauce. She ate the whole wheat pizza crust we serve on the side, and half of her pineapple on the side.

First two pictures - I recently posted a picture of Avi and Atley playing Tic Tac Toe on the sidewalk/patio outside. Now they've moved it inside. I love this as they're continuing to take turns and learning strategy too. I heard Avi tell Atley; "It's all about blocking people!!" Haha. 

Next picture: This scene made me laugh! Silly kids. I'm not sure what Avi was doing, but Cal and Miles were looking for Svea. Cal was saying, "Svea, are you in there?!" He was referring to the clothes rack. "Svea, are you in there?" Miles is peering in from the other side. Meanwhile Svea was yelling from the bathroom to let me know she was done. Haha. Avi knew where Svea was and I think she too was just getting a kick out of these boys looking for Svea. 

Next picture - Avi and Atley continuing to do more creations. They'll do different Preschool activities and go back to the Art several times every morning. Following picture: Now this is typical Avi; gotta experiment with everything!! (And that's a positive thing!) She's got a fistful of pens and doing some more art work. 

Last picture; Avi was playing with the boys on the mattress; lots of jumping, rolling, "tossing" them, and then she moved to the couch and they immediately followed. She is really good with these little ones. Well done Avi. 

Avi - 06/09/2021

Avilene had breakfast at home. For lunch she ate half of her pork roast, ate whole wheat tortillas, bite of potatoes, and ate fruit salad. 

Important Notice (Smiley Face) : Science with Lauralea will be Friday instead of tomorrow. Lauralea will be out of town on Thursday. I've already been telling the kids because they're always asking how many more sleeps until Science. 

Picture from yesterday afternoon at the Snack table. Quit dinking around at the table!! Delete that idea for a moment!! Let me get a picture first and then quit dinking around!! Haha. As you can well imagine she LOVED looking at this picture of herself. She asked to see it again this morning. Now you have this as keepsake in your Blog forever Avi. :) You can proudly show it to your Mate someday!!

Avi is a busy girl so it's pretty easy to find things to write about in her Blog. HOWEVER, it's getting more challenging as she gets older and here's why: She stays engaged in the same activity (or switches to something very similar) much much longer than she once did so it seems like I'm waiting to get a different picture. This is a pretty common picture: Avi engaged in an activity and Atley intently watching! 

Last picture; These three girls starting a matching game. Avi actually left in the middle of this one; said she was "tired of it" and Svea went on to get lots of matches too along with Atley. (Svea and Atley were not sad to see Avi leave. Haha.)  Avi went to the Daycare Room and played with Miles and Callahan on the mattress. 

Avi - 06/08/2021

Avilene ate two servings of cinnamon/raisin English muffin and 2 bites of dried plums for breakfast. For lunch she ate bites of chicken, most of brown rice, no broccoli, and ate strawberries.  

Well I'll start with a couple pictures using the same tool I posted a picture of yesterday!! I love showing Avi's creativity!! Yesterday she called these "humans" so today I guess we have "more humans." Starting at the top in her words; "lightbulb, decorations in the house, Mom, Dad, dog, child, and cat." :) Then in the 2nd picture I'm sure everyone can guess this: "monster!" Haha.

Next picture: I like this one left over from yesterday outside. Avilene was taking a short break and I like the spot she chose to chill out. The second stroller was working good for a foot rest. :) Following picture and also from yesterday, Avi piled up these noodle accessories and was using them in a precarious manner. Ha. If you look close you'll see she's balanced and not using her hands for steadiness. :)

Last picture: I found this tracing tool in the back store room and the kids were enjoying working on the alphabet. It's amazing what you find when you just keep digging back there!! :) Actually that's not really very true. Lauralea has it amazingly organized!! (As usual!!) Thank you Lauralea.

Avi - 06/07/2021

Avilene ate cheerios and banana for breakfast. For lunch she ate bites of ground beef, ate whole wheat pita bread, no avocado, ate olives, and mandarin oranges. Sometimes Lauralea or I will pretend to "spank" each other's butt and the kids think it's the funniest thing ever. This morning (while I was in the bathroom) at the breakfast table Atley said, "Hey Lauralea spank Gary's butt!! He won't even notice!" Haha. 

We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend and the kids had fun with the different stuff. In the first picture Avi used this "thing" to do some drawing and when she was done she said, "It's a human." Nora was impressed and said - with admiration - "Oh my Gosh Avi!!" As I wrote in Svea's Blog Nora offers encouragement and praise to her friends and it's a good example to the other kids. Speaking of Nora's encouraging words she was even impressed with the Nelson Mini-van!! Haha. When the kids were done waving at the window this morning to Momma Molly, Nora said, "Hey Avi, you guys have a really cool car." Haha. So sweet.

Pictures from Avi's busy morning: Lots of new and different Art supplies and the kids were all over these. I won't repeat this picture in Svea's Blog, but she too was all about the new Art stuff. Following picture; Molly said you've been seeing this at home, but they were doing it again on the mattress. "Get on my shoulders Svea." Or "get on my back Svea."

Next picture; Avi enjoyed doing this big floor puzzle and it's a pretty cool puzzle. I was pretty impressed with what she was doing with the magnets in the last picture. She was getting enough magnetism between her fingers to keep the balls on the bottom from dropping. She told me it was "magic." Haha. That's pretty impressive Avi and it's the first time I've had a kid use them that way. I love how you experiment with the various activities and equipment!! 

Avi - 06/04/2021

Avilene ate brown rice and 5 raisins for breakfast. :) Who's counting? Me. (That was how many I gave her because I know they are not her favorites, but she still eats them without complaining. Good job Avi.) For lunch she ate salmon, bite of whole wheat dinner roll, 2 bites of cauliflower, and ate mangoes.  

This first picture is leftover from yesterday afternoon. Miles initially brought a book over and gave it to Avi. He didn't say anything, but it was pretty obvious what he wanted and of course Avi started to read to him. (Why should he learn to talk when everyone meets his needs and wants!! Haha!) It was funny because he handed her the book upside-down and she intentionally started reading it that way. That was pretty cute Avilene. 

Next picture: I like how the girls usually get ALL their supplies lined up before they begin doing some Art. Starting from the left it's stamps, colored pencils, markers, decorative tape, and scissors. Ok, now we're ready to start! Their creativity is fun to watch as it takes shape on their papers. 

Next picture: We were obviously playing with bubbles this morning and Avi had a pretty big one pop on her face. I was still able to get some of it in the picture. She and I got a big laugh from that. Last picture; Avi and Atley played several games of "Tic-Tac-Toe" on the sidewalk and patio this morning. They're doing pretty well with it and starting to understand strategy! 

Avi - 06/03/2021

Avilene had no English muffin and she ate two servings of mandarin oranges for breakfast. For lunch she ate ground beef, whole wheat elbow noodles, bites of peas, and no applesauce.  

Science with Lauralea today and the theme was "Air Pressure." We should have had Daddy Brad (pilot) lead this session!! 

One Experiment: So we did a little 6 second video you can view here: https://youtu.be/B7JygTPGZAM  It was real easy to set up and would be fun to do at home if you're interested. That balloon was losing air before we got started, but you'll get the idea. The balloon was moving quite slow along the string which we all found to be hilarious. (especially me. ha.) So have the sound on!!

Here are some pictures associated with today's experiments. First we used a straw and tried to puncture the little potato. Not happening, but if you put your thumb over the top end to block the air you have a pretty strong tool to puncture the potato. Second picture: This experiment actually didn't work because we couldn't create a tight fit around the straw fitting into the bottle using play dough. (We needed clay.) I HAD to post the picture because Nora seemed pretty certain it was gonna be loud. Haha. AND I love how her cheeks are puffed up as she seems to be helping Lauralea blow. :)

Next picture: We blew up the balloon and fit it over the top of the bottle. You can see we have a straw fitting tight into the side of the bottle and the bottle was about half full of water. As the air pressure from the balloon pushed the water out of the bottle into the straw it flowed quickly into the cup. Zoom in and you can see the flow from the straw. Following picture; This experiment is showing water is lighter than air. Upward force of air from below; water exerts less force on the card allowing the card to stay in place and keep the water in the upside-down glass. :) 

Last picture: The kids got a big kick out of this one!! The question; "Do you think we can lift you off the table just blowing into the bag!?" They had no idea, but wanted to try! We sealed a gallon plastic bag with a straw sticking out. Then we put a couple magazines for the kids to sit on and Lauralea easily blew air into the bag to raise each child off the table. 

Avi - 06/02/2021

Avilene had a tiny nibble of French toast (with no complaints) and ate strawberries for breakfast. For lunch she ate half of ground turkey, no toasted whole wheat sandwich thin, no avocado, no tomatoes, and ate cherries. Lunch conversation: They were talking about Nora's Birthday Party and Avi asked Nora; "Why didn't you let my Mom take your picture?" Nora was totally honest and very expressive in her response. She said, "because I was too scared...AND I do not like pictures." (And this is very true.) Atley said, "I love them." Nora said, "Well I do not." (I thought they did a great job with this conversation.) Then Avi added this totally unrelated tidbit: "Hey Nora, at my Mom's school there was a girl named Bear Sugar; or maybe Sugar Bear." :)

 

First picture: Avi was telling Miles; "Get on my back, get on my back." We obviously haven't done that around here very much because he wasn't sure what to do and never did crawl on her back. Cal knew what to do and so did Svea!! :) Second picture: I took this right after breakfast in case anyone was wondering how Avi is feeling today!! I think she's doing fine. Ha. It's a bit blurry; she was moving fast. 

So we went outside this morning to beat the heat of the afternoon. The kids had so much fun. Their first observation about the lawn was hilarious as they ran through the grass making comments about how tall the grass is. Nora expressed what everyone was thinking; "Gary!! You grass really REALLY needs to be cut!!" Haha. Yes I know and Tate is coming tomorrow because he couldn't make it today. :) Next picture: Four kids jammed into one wagon and Avi made it down the sidewalk and back before she said she was done. I like how Avi's hair is sticking out as the picture caught her in the middle of a turn. :) Middle picture: The garbage men waved at the kids as they went by - they'd already picked up our recycle bin. I was a bit slow with the camera! Last picture: And of course there is nothing like Spring bugs to keep the kids happy and interested.