Tip #83 From Mrs. Sunny

"Keep your kids learning through the summer!"

Here are a few Montessori-inspired things I have been doing with the kids this summer:

Above is Kristofer's shelf of "work" he can get out daily when he wants. He's only 3 1/2, so if he feels moved to learn, he can grab it off the self himself (everything is on a tray) and work at the table. He loves it and really takes ownership for what is his "work" on the sehlf. The first picture is his alphabet sound boxes and below are the shelves with various works.

Nature is going to be a very big part of my homeschooling style. Above is a bucket of tadpoles from Granpa's pond that we are currently feeding and watching them grow! Kristofer has already discovered some have their legs and others don't!

Kathryne loves to "wash" EVERYTHING - dishes, her hands, the counters, floor, etc. So I decided to show her how to wash her baby. She washes her face, body and hair nicely and then dries her baby off when she's done! It was a big hit!

Last...just today we found THREE TREASURES! First, a bird's nest that I know was unoccupied, a big turkey feather and not pictured is a catepillar that we put in a jar to observe! It was an exciting day for the kids!

Keep those kids busy in a fun way this summer - there are soo many ways to learn!

Tip #82 From Mrs. Sunny

"Go With The Flow"

The last time I wrote a post we had just moved to my parents house and now it has been almost 3 months! The kids have amazingly adjusted well and we celebrated the arrival of Kjersten Miriam on Kathryne's 2nd birthday - May 19th!

She is such a joy and I can't believe she's almost 1 month old! I have to say that she started out to be my quietest baby and best sleeper. She's still a good sleeper but I have not bounced a baby so much throughout the day. She needs constant motion and stealing a 2 minute shower is about all I can get sometimes.

These are beautiful times, though. I love cuddling with my baby and the evenings are our best times together without the 2 toddlers running around.

I can't believe how much Kristofer & Kathryne have grown, either! Kathryne is the big two now and she is just talking up a storm - I love having conversations with her!

Kristofer is a such great big brother to two sisters! Kjersten was only 1 week old and I had to make a trip with our van to get hail damage estimated, and he really stepped up to the plate by holding doors open for me without being told! Such a gentelman!

We certainly have had to "go with the flow" the last 3 months. We have come to the realization that our house will not be selling any time soon with the market slowing down like it is. We will get it rented for the time being and take this time to save some money and spend some precious time with grandma and grandpa in the country!

Our days are filled with what's most important in life: walks to the pond (to see the tadpoles, frogs, and ducks), picking strawberries and watching grandma's garden grow, looking for animals tracks and ant hills, baseball, trips to the library, baking cookies, fishing with grandpa, looking for night crawlers, baking bread with grandma, and the never-ending picking up of toys and cleaning as usual ;).

We count our blessings every day and continue to "go with the flow"!