Avi - 05/03/2021

Avilene said "no thanks" to kix cereal and fruit cocktail for breakfast. :) For lunch she ate two servings of ground turkey, ate toasted whole wheat sandwich thins, ate tomato, avocado, and peaches.

Avi had a great morning and stayed SO engaged and busy ALL morning!! She almost always has good days here; I guess the difference today was that she didn't demand attention from me at all, but stayed engaged on her own. Sometimes I have to peel her off me and get her directed to some activity!! Ha! Not today; she was a busy girl.

First Picture: Puzzles, puzzles, and more puzzles. Avi worked hard on lots of puzzles today. (And she's now back to doing more puzzles as I work on these Blogs.) The Aladdin Puzzle is the one she's just starting in the picture below.  

Next picture: Avi got the box containing the "Wooden Train Set" and wanted to make a picture similar to the "Suny Toys" logo. (That's how they spell sunny.) So she set it at the table beside her and went to work.

Last picture: They didn't hide "Easter eggs" today, but they were hiding some other toys. Avi did a great job of hiding Nora's rabbit. Then Atley hid some toys and Nora wasn't happy because Atley "made it too easy!" So Atley put them in a difficult spot and Nora demanded some "hints!!" Life in NOT always easy when you're 5 years old!! Ha!

Avi - 04/30/2021

Avilene ate oatmeal and bites of baked cinnamon apples for breakfast. For lunch she ate most of hamburger stew with meat, carrots, tomatoes, green beans, and potatoes. She ate whole wheat dinner roll, and a bite of fruit cocktail. 

We do "Science with Lauralea;" so I'm thinking of "History with Gary." :) Using music/songs. We've listened to this song many times; "Battle of New Orleans" and I was curious if they could answer some questions! 1. Does anybody know what happened in 1814? Atley said, "We took a little trip!" (Line of the song.) 2. Where did we go? Avi said, "New Orleans." 3. Who was our leader? Colonel.....? Avi said, "Jackson!" 4. Who were we fighting? Avi said, "British." So there you have it! History using music. :)

Yesterday when Linnea came to visit Avi had a blast playing with Anders, Linnea's brother who is also signed up to enter Kindergarten this fall. He enjoys playing rough too and they were pounding and chasing each other with the noodles. :)

Speaking of yesterday here are a couple of random pictures I have leftover. First picture: Simply too cool for words. :) You're rocking it Avi!! Second picture: "Hey Gary! Look at this! You wanna picture!?! Oh of course!! That's pretty creative Avi. She appears to be heading for the Kentucky Derby!!

Next picture: Initially Avi was in the chair with Miles and Callahan was providing the power! Then Avi coaxed Cal into the chair and she was running around and around as fast as her legs could go. If you zoom in on both of the boys it's pretty cute. Following picture: Avi was coloring her own picture to match the puzzle she just finished. Last picture: Avi likes to pick up Svea this way, but she found out Atley was not nearly as easy to maneuver!! Haha. 

Avi - 04/29/2021

No breakfast today! "I'm not eating!!" Stinking French toast and dried plums. :) She made up for it at lunch!! WOW!! Three servings of pulled pork, two servings or whole wheat toast, two servings of peas, and three servings of strawberries.  

First picture: I like the basketball player. Good work Avi!! (From yesterday.)

Today's "Science with Lauralea" theme is "Popcorn." We recently talked about "explosions" and about "absorption" and we witnessed both of those in action today. Popcorn kernels have moisture or drop of water so when it's heated to a certain temperature it blows up through the starchy shell. Think about the first person who experimented with a kernel. They probably tossed it into a fire and something popped and the rest is history. Haha. When you're making and eating Popcorn you use all 5 of your senses; see it, hear it, touch it, taste it, and smell it. Out first experiment involved putting a cup of salt in a jar, then a quarter cup of popcorn and stirring it up. Then when you shake it all the kernels rise to the top. Activity 2 - "We're gonna pop some popcorn!!" Lots of cheering and excitement!! Ha! And they didn't get bored watching because it all happened pretty quickly! We used four different ways to make popcorn: Two microwave options; in a bowl and in a paper sack. Stovetop. Gary's Stir Crazy Popper!! Then it was time for some taste-testing!! (In 4th picture below.) 

Next picture: We had this glass FULL of water and 3 of the same glasses full of popcorn. Can you fit all three glasses of popcorn into this glass of water!?! The picture shows the answer is YES. The popcorn has air in it and works similar to a sponge. (Not as well if it's absorbed a bunch of oil when cooking.) Last picture: We dissolved baking soda in the water and then put in the popcorn kernels. Then we added vinegar and watched the kernels go up AND down. Actually quite fascinating! 

Avi - 04/28/2021

Avilene ate whole wheat toast and two servings of mangoes for breakfast. For lunch she ate 2 large servings of ground beef with marinara sauce on 2 large servings of whole wheat spaghetti noodles, ate a small serving of cauliflower, and two servings of fruit salad.

First picture; As soon as they were done waving to Daddy Andy at the window Avi put her cap on Miles' head and it was pretty cute. This is Avi's new cap - and she's pretty fond of her hats anyhow - and she wanted it right back. To Avi's surprise (did not surprise Cal and Gary - haha) Miles did not want to take it off and he started screaming. Oh man, that hit my funny bone!! Avi learned another lesson about Miles' tendencies!! 

Next picture: Cal was reading books on the couch and Avi crawled up next to him - she was actually waiting for me to start Story Time - but he quickly engaged her in what he was reading. "Humpty Dumpty." Avi said, "No Cal, that is not Humpty Dumpty." (She was right.) He obviously pretty much ignored her because then he started singing it. Haha. (It was "The Cow Jumped Over the Moon.")

Last picture: All 4 girls are in this picture and they were playing with the battery powered cars on the hardwood floors. As you can see in the picture Avi decided to add another dimension to their game; a human bridge. She's always thinking of something different to do! Always! Doing things the "normal way" - whatever that means - is boring. Haha.

Avi - 04/27/2021

Avilene had two servings of blueberry bagel and ate grapes for breakfast. For lunch she ate two servings of shrimp, no brown rice, ate broccoli, and three servings of raspberries. She's not a fan of broccoli, but she was willing to eat it to get more shrimp and raspberries. I put lots of butter and salt on the broccoli and I think that helped her consume it!! :)  

I'm gonna post this message here and then you'll probably see it 2 or 3 more times in the next two weeks. (Or until you tell me you read it! Ha!) There will NOT be any Blogs the week of May 10th. Lauralea is blessing me by keeping Little Treasures open that week so I can go to Louisiana. I'm flying out on May 8th and home on May 15th. Thank you SO much Lauralea!

This first picture is left over from outside yesterday afternoon. Avi, Svea, and Cal were the only kids left and Avi was still "hiding" eggs for the little people. You can see Cal sprinting past the hidden eggs. Ha. Maybe he was helping hide them from Svea. :)

Next picture: Thank you Momma Molly for the wooden train set. Atley and Nora played with this for a LONG this morning; before and after breakfast. I had to get a picture of Avi in here too because she wasn't interested in it at home. Atley and Nora had it pretty much arranged the way they wanted it before Avi arrived. 

Next picture: Here are the three oldest girls playing the "Ladybug Game." They are starting to understand the different rules and they're doing GREAT taking turns. Avi works hard at keeping the game flowing! :) After they were done I read a long story for them that goes with the game. I'd never even looked at that paper before; I just thought it was part of the rules. They all loved the story of the Ladybugs getting lost in the storm and finding their way home. Svea said, "I'm afraid of praying mantis!" Last picture: That is Miles wrapped up inside Avi's blanket. He shows no inclination of claustrophobia!! Ha.

Avi - 04/26/2021

Avilene ate most of bran cereal and ate 1 raisin for breakfast. For lunch she ate chicken, toasted whole wheat pita bread, ate cucumbers, avocado, and three servings of pears.

I want to mention that I (and Lauralea when she's around) have been working hard to help the three big girls use acceptable and appropriate ways to solve problems and disputes. This is obviously an ongoing challenge, but I think they're making some progress. Avi usually just tries to boss everyone around, but she has been listening and learning to back off at times too. 

All of Avi's pictures are in the Preschool Room doing games and activities. We did a toy, puzzle, and book exchange, but you can see in the first picture they were playing the same "feelings matching game." Did you notice Avi has no matches? Well she said she didn't want to play this round, just be an observer. Ha! You know how that went! Guess who was immediately in charge and trying to control the table. Following picture: Another matching game, but this one was pretty hard. They're all bears and they have subtle differences in the skin color and it's hard to find matches! Even for those not color blind!! Ha. 

Next picture: Nice job of working hard and getting these shapes all balanced on your boat Avi. Last picture: A nice challenging 48 piece puzzle and Avi nailed it by herself. Good work again, Avi. 

Avi - 04/23/2021

Avi ate a large bowl of cream of wheat cereal and ate 2 nibbles of dried plums for breakfast. For lunch she ate chicken, two servings of brown rice, ate bite of broccoli, and ate pineapple. At lunch the big girls were giving each other simple tips for a better life. Haha. For example Nora had this to offer; "when I sniff a lot it makes my ears unplugged!" And she followed it up with a demonstration. :)

This picture is left over from yesterday afternoon and Avi was working on the shapes puzzles again. She enjoys this activity and does it frequently. And of course she asks for me to take a picture. I'm especially happy to do a picture when it's something like this that's she's working hard at and is very engaged!!

Next picture: Everyone, including the boys, did some "dot painting" today. It's been awhile since the kids asked for dot paints at art time. 

Last picture: Not too much to say about this picture except that it was cute how Avi went to the Daycare Room and was playing with these younger toys and Miles was eager to join her. And of course that's the primary reason she kept playing with them. She loves that kid.