First BIG SNOW of the Season

Well, I think it is safe to say winter is here! We sat inside and watched the big, fat snowflakes falling for an hour, as thick and fluffy as though someone was emptying a down pillow from the sky. We met some new friends, the Becerras, and they let us in on a good place to go sledding at Perrine Elementary School.  We had purchased a new blue sled for Lisa, the old red one having worn a hole through it from using it to walk Lisa to preschool last year, and we drove over to meet the Becerras for some fun. Lisa's first ride ended short when she plowed into a little boy standing in the middle of the hill. I missed it because I was busy getting Lyra bundled into her wrap inside my coat, but Ryan said they both walked away mostly unharmed. Lyra kept very quiet, possibly her way of preserving warmth, but she seemed fascinated by the white world around her. She was fairly indifferent the few times I took her down the hill on the sled with me. Lisa was a good sport about walking up the hill on her own and was reluctant to go until she heard the Becerras invite us over for hot chocolate. We had a nice visit and hope we can do it again soon. 

The view from our apartment--the camera just does not do justice to the way the light reflects so golden on the freshly fallen snow. 

Something to smile about

Every day these girls bring out the smiles in me. Whether we're tired, grumpy, overexcited, loud, or annoyed with each other...there is always something to smile about. :)

Rough day, Lyra? 

She has started doing this as she is finishing her meal. I sit next to her while I feed her and she puts her head in my lap between bites. Such a snuggly bug. 

Yes, Lyra is sitting on a potty. And entertaining herself with a toothbrush. Sometimes she actually goes in that little potty. And then I have to make sure she doesn't drop the toothbrush in. Good thing I obsessively wipe that thing clean throughout the day. :)

The only time that despicable stuff called styrofoam is permissible in my opinion--when it is plastered to cute children and providing entertainment. 

Nothing to make you feel huge like seeing your five year old wearing your pajama pants

Catching Lisa mid-sentence...not a hard thing to do. Talking is a favorite pastime. She was getting so annoyed at me with the camera. Put that away, mom!

Halloween 2010

This Halloween may be the first that Lisa really remembers. She loves any excuse for a party and was thrilled that we would have more than one party to attend. Costume selection was super easy because she wanted to wear the Belle dress Marmee had sent for her birthday. I used one of her birthday bags to decorate a treat bucket. Lyra is still so small she fit into the bee costume that Gramommy bought for her last year. I was surprised she didn't mind wearing the hood the whole time. On Wednesday we went with our neighbors Sarah and John to a very big Halloween Carnival at their church, on Saturday we went to the little Halloween Party our apartment managers put on, and on Halloween we spent the evening with Lisa's friend, Anna, from preschool. Her family invited us to dinner and then we went Trick-or-Treating. It was fun to see Lisa and Anna get so excited about walking around the neighborhood. I'm so glad for the very nice friends we have met here in Twin Falls.

I think this is about as far as Lisa went with her pumpkin carving after she drew the face she wanted. Ryan and John ended up pretty much doing the whole thing while the girls and I played with Sarah and Addie. 

Oh the smile that a piece of candy can bring.

Home Preschool: Discovering Leaves and Rocks

Last year we decided to start doing "Home preschool" with Lisa in addition to her regular preschool at Miss Kari's. When mom and dad were on the ball, Tuesday and Thursday morning would be our time to spend doing learning activities with her. This was especially fun for Ryan during the summer when he had a more open schedule. They did a lot of creative science activities. Now that Lisa is going to Head Start Preschool on Thursday and Friday only, it seemed like a good idea to keep doing some Home Preschool with her on the other days during the week. At Head Start the curriculum focuses on learning through play, so they have a lot of fun and creative play time opportunities. Playing in the kitchen area and building with the blocks are two of Lisa's favorites. This kind of learning is definitely very valuable for kids Lisa's age, but I think she also benefits from practicing writing skills, direct letter and number recognition and lessons involving critical thinking. Some of these things can be accomplished through play, but it seems to be more successful with one-on-one attention which isn't always possible when there are several children to interact with. So at Home Preschool I try to incorporate lessons that include writing and math skills to go along with fun activities and art projects.
This week we did some activities with leaves and then Lisa asked if we could also learn about how rocks are made. I found a couple of great lesson plans and project ideas online for both of these topics and we had fun exploring together. Of course, sitting still is not always the most fun thing for a five year old, so I try to be patient. I want this to be a fun time for her and I generally avoid using a drill-sergeant approach during our times together. Generally.  :)

For the leaf lessons we collected leaves outside, read a book about different leaves and made two leaf projects. For the rock lesson we looked at some pictures and diagrams online, and even learned a silly song about the different types of rocks.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehcshoYIIM4&feature=related
Ryan brought home some rock collections from his classroom and Lisa showed great interest in looking at each one under her magnifying glass. It ended up being quite a good lesson for me, too.
To top it all off, we made EDIBLE ROCKS! Definitely can't go wrong with any activity involving food. This is a definite repeat lesson. I'm sure Lisa will enjoy doing this again in a year, on a rainy afternoon perhaps. There may be some rough days, but I'm so glad I get to be at home with my girls and do fun things together.

Name those rocks! 

**The edible rocks were, from left to right: Sedimentary (made from stacking layers of ritz crackers and peanut butter), metamorphic (made by squishing pieces of salt water taffy together), and igneous (made by melting chocolate and pouring it into crinkled foil candy molds) 

My Canning Debut

Twenty-five pounds of juicy concord grapes, twelve shiny new quart jars, lots and LOTS of water, and ten attractively stained purple fingers. I could really get into this whole canning business! It probably should not have taken quite as long, but that's how it seems to go for me with new projects the first time around. A super nice lady, Anne, let everyone know on Sunday that she had lots of grapes ready to pick if anyone was interested. Of course, I not only wanted to enjoy some of the grapes, but also to get my hands dirty picking them off the vine. There is something about harvesting fresh produce that is so energizing. I can't wait to grow a garden of my own someday. So I asked if I could come help pick the grapes myself. She invited me over that afternoon and we picked a huge box together. At that point I wasn't actually sure what I was going to do with that many grapes, but Anne started telling me about how she makes juice every year and offered her equipment for me to borrow. That sounded great to me. She walked me through the steps for the easier version of grape juice that she often makes and gathered all of her canning accessories for me. She even gave me jars to borrow, but I ended up deciding to buy my own because eventually I will want to do more canning. 

For the first seven jars, I tried the faster method of grape juice making. The jars are filled with grapes, covered with boiling water, then sealed and processed for twenty minutes. I quickly realized I would have to buy many more jars to use this method for the whole box of grapes, so I decided to try out the more time-consuming method. The grapes are washed, chopped in a food processor, boiled for ten minutes, then strained to remove the skin and seeds from the juice. These grapes are so sweet, no sugar was added. To strain the juice, Anne had mentioned that she used to hang an old pillowcase between two chairs and let the juice drip into a bucket overnight. I almost went for this option, until my mom pointed out that I was going to lose a lot of juice to the pillowcase. So I went with another ingenious idea I found online...pantyhose. I happened to have an unopened pair in my sock drawer and it felt good to actually get some use out of them. I strained the juice, then boiled it and put it into the hot canning jars. It was rather satisfying listening to the popping lids as the jars sat cooling on the counter. Now hopefully if tastes good, too.

Lisa was a great little helper. She pulled grapes from their stems, washed them and loaded the food processor. I wasn't sure how interested she'd be in such a long process, but she kept on for a bit.

 I had visions of us canning together about ten years from now. 

Please, please let her still enjoy my company then.  

Her eyes look really tired in this picture...

Lisa+bike-training wheels=yay!

About two weeks ago I showed Lisa a video on my blog. In the video, her friend, Olivia, was riding her bike without training wheels. As soon as the video was over Lisa looked at me and said,"Let's go take my training wheels off!" Ok...Ryan wasn't home at the moment and that would mean me putting Lyra in the wrap on my back while I held on to Lisa's seat and ran along with her so she wouldn't crash. Why not? SO I'm sure it was very amusing for any onlookers to see this mother with a baby strapped to her back running alongside a little girl on a teetering bike. The first evening Lisa was able to ride maybe ten feet before tipping over. The second evening, she was taking off! Starting, stopping, turning around and  going over speed bumps all on her own! I think it helped that her bike is getting a little small for her and she'd had a week of practice balancing on her Razor scooter she got for her birthday. She was out riding when daddy came home from work and he was very impressed. He was a little sad he'd missed her first attempts. I will have to remember that with Lyra so he can be a part of it all. Way to go, Lisa!   

Mr. Terry

This week completes Ryan's first month of teaching at Valley High School.  Not only is he the head of the Science department, he IS the science department! Being hired on at a very small school has presented some unexpected challenges, especially for a first-year teacher. The curriculum is minimal so he has been creating many of his own worksheets and labs. Sometimes he finds a lab that would teach a principle effectively, only to find out he does not have the basic materials necessary to execute it. Not to mention, when you are the only science teacher, you don't really have the opportunity for a quality mentor program that many first year teachers benefit from. Consequently, there are days when you can find him at the computer researching other career options he may want to pursue in the future. It is a bit of a comfort knowing that this certainly is not a unique circumstance, that many teachers say the first year is the hardest.  So rather than waste time complaining, he just gets to work and spends many, MANY hours to get the job done as best as he can. He is adapting and discovering some ways to make his work load lighter. And he has had some really fun moments with his students already. The Chemistry class was super excited when one day they walked in to find out their teacher was going to be setting something on fire. In the lab, you actually make a hydrogen-filled balloon explode. This is one of the few things I remember from my chemistry class in High school! Anyway, Ryan's students thought that was pretty cool. He is also finishing up a unit on insects with his Advanced Biology class that he seems to have enjoyed. He's kinda got a thing for insects. Even though it has been stressful and tiring, I think that Ryan is well-suited for teaching. He is passionate about the subject, can relate in meaningful ways to the students and has a lot to contribute. 

We have been out to the school a few times to help a little with organizing and cleaning his classroom.

 It is fun to see him in his element. 

View from the front of the school

GO VIKINGS! 

Helping Dad put together his new chair

Lyra's idea of "helping"

 

Had to bring the birthday gifts she received the night before

Lisa thought this was a good place for Lyra to play

Should have done a before and after picture of the supply room--

We'll see how long it stays clean :)