First Day Traditions

We had our first day of the new school year about 2 weeks ago. I hope to get the pictures of our annual Back-to-School Treasure Hunt up soon. In the meantime here are photos of our traditional Walk-to-School we do every year on the first day. Daddy always leads them and it's something they look forward to. This was Princess' first year walking with a backpack on. Isn't she precious? I can't believe how quickly all our children are growing up.

Off they go!

Crossing the Street

It was a short walk this year as the heat index was 106.

Here they come!

Up the driveway & on their way to greet their teacher!

Soon after we had our special First-Day-of-School meal. This year it was a picnic lunch. Oh, so yummy! Hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, beans, corn on the cob & Kool-aid. A fun way to start off our 11th year! =0)

Planning for Princess

Here are a few more items I picked up for Princess' school time & Busy Box. Many of them I found at the Dollar Tree. I ADORE that place!
Wooden lacing beads, wooden magnetic numbers & wooden magnetic letters.

These are for her to play with in her Busy Box & water table.

These are to use with crafts & with her 1+1+1=1 activities.

For her Busy Box. I may even let her have them for bath time too. =)

These will be fun to use with paint.

PERFECT for her Busy Box! I had priced these & was thrilled to find one at Target for only $2! Dave laughed at my childish glee.

I bought this to use as her Busy Box. I bought Rubbermaid because I wanted something that would hold up to playtime & that had a tight, snap-on lid.

I have a few more items I found at the curriculum sale last Friday. I'll share those soon!

New for School!

Today our family was getting ready to head out to Goodwill. Right before we left I decided to take a quick glance at Craigslist & scroll through the yard sale list. One immediately caught my eye. She had a long list of learning items! It turns out she is a school teacher & had cleaned out her classroom of things she didn't need anymore. I was happy to help her out. Lol!

Front of kit ~ BRAND NEW, never opened
Back of kit
This will be perfect for Bugsy this year!


We can use these for so many projects, adventures & experiments!

How cool to have one for each child & Mama too!
(Of course some for back up are always welcome!)

Perfect for Boo Bear's studies this year.

Princess already loves these.

Bugsy!

I'm looking forward to seeing what silly sentences he comes up with.

The flash blocked it out but it says, "Rhymes with pan". You flip up the flap & not only does it say "fan" but has a list of several additional rhyming words too.

Blank world maps.

A calendar for Bugsy & eventually Princess. It also has two additional posters of the calendar set up. I may use these for assignment or activity calendars. Hmmmm.........

Bingo chips. I can use them for Bingo, math, reading or even other games.

I've been looking for some quick, easy crafts & these are perfect!

Here they are out of the bag.

Elvis found 3 bags of play marbles. I bought one for him.

As we walked back to the car I realized I had better get one for Bugsy too! He wasn't with us and was happy & surprised with his gift!

I'll post my Goodwill finds soon!

Day of Washing, Churning & Learning

It's taking me a bit of time to get some of my photos posted. I have no idea why. It's not like I have anything to do during the week. Okay, I can't say that with a straight face. ROTFL! Anyway, these are pics from our field trip in late September. We went with several friends from our co-op group & church homeschool group. A local museum had a "Day of Washing, Churning & Learning". It was fantastic as it was set up for the kids to have all hands on learning. It was set in the 1800's & taught the kids what life was like. I learned a lot too. The price was right too at $5 per participating child. I only had to pay for the middle 3! They were able to make things to take home too. What an amazing field trip! I am already looking forward to going back next year.

The children were each given a cup of seeds to plant at home.

They learned how it was to write with ink & a quill pen.

Weaving was a favorite activity

They made potpourri sachets.

They learned about quilting & other needlework.

I thought it was very clever how this quilting frame was suspended from the ceiling. If they needed the room for a dance or such it was simply raised to the ceiling & out of the way.

Coffin squares.

Carding & spinning the wool.

The Weasel

Ever wonder where the song "Pop, Goes the Weasel" came from? Well, this is it!

Dipping candles

Doing laundry in the washtub.

Almost all the guides & helpers were in period costumes.

The laundry must be hung up to dry.

This was a favorite of Elvis'. He enjoyed beating the rug!

Mrs. Jen entertains Princess.

Sawing wood with a partner.

It is not as easy as it looks!

Beans cooking over the fire.

A peek in the soldier's tent.

Hardtack

He showed it to the kids & they were allowed to touch it to see how tough it really is.

Boo gets a turn with her best friend.

Conferderate Money

Corncob pipe

Homemade lantern

Wooden blocks

My clown!

There were clothes to dress up in. Fun!

The kids were able to play games of the 18oo's.

Sack race!

Other toys ~ LOVE the hands on opportunities!

Tops

This was the boys' absolute favorite. They were able to be soldiers. The commander explained to them their training & responsibilities. He told them waht their daily lives would be like.

They were allowed to hold these guns & taught how to march with them.

The commander was a perfect blend of acting his part (gruff & rough) and being kind to the children.

See what I mean? Here he is helping Bugs hold his gun correctly.

Ready! MARCH!

They marched around the square in formation.

They learned both how to pick up the gun from the ground & how to lay it down properly.

I was proud of my little soldiers!

I really enjoyed talking with this lady.

Stilts

Because of the age of the toys these were for looking only.

What a fun day!