Just Hanging Around

I love the holiday season. Sure, it's hectic with shopping and Christmas cards and wrapping and obligations. We have a few friends with December birthdays, so there will be a couple birthday parties, some Christmas parties and extra holiday festivities. Add to this year that Daddy is in Germany for a week and we have a wedding three days before Christmas. It is crazy busy.

But the day to day is so much more relaxing. The warm light of the tree, only fun things to do for school, baking and decorating... so we've just been doing a little less and enjoying.

Everyone Loves A Good Tree

Especially a cat and a baby.

Cutting Down the Tree

We have been going to Bob's Trees for the past few years to cut our own Christmas Tree. This year the weather was perfect- mild and dry! We found a great tree, went on a wagon ride, saw Santa and had a snack with singing and all!

And it's up and decorated!!

Happy start-of-the-Christmas season!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We were lucky that both sets of grandparents could join us for Thanksgiving this year. I was feeling a bit under the weather and didn't take as many photos as I would have liked. But it was fantastic to eat real food now that we have found a formula that BabySlimJim tolerates!

The girls had a blast making decorations, watching the parade and playing with everyone. And of course, eating turkey! Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving School and Playground

It's that time of year when I am especially glad to be homeschooling as we switch from our usual schoolwork to school that focuses on the season. This week we are doing "Thanksgiving school"- learning about the holiday and the history but having the most fun with Thanksgiving food science: cranberry structures, popcorn popping experiments and making butter from cream.

And we are taking advantage of the warm-ish weather to spend as much time outside as we can!

Fun Photos

A Week of Weather

This week we finished up our "pre-holiday" school with a mini-unit on the Earth and weather. 

MiniM.E. learned all the continents and oceans and we made models of the inside of the Earth.

We made water cycles in bags:

We made cloud paint:

By far the best activity was clouds in cups:

Now on to a week of Thanksgiving studies, a week of break, and MiniM.E.'s favorite time of year: Christmas School!

Hello November!

Good start to the month. Wednesday between LittleL.G.'s dance class and MiniM.E.'s class there was Dia de los Muertos cookie decorating in the library. MiniM.E. was excited to have some background knowledge about the holiday.

Thursday we decided to swing by the renovated West Side Rec and couldn't have been more impressed. We were worried about missing our favorite "merry go round" but they really improved the place! It even has a zip line!

Friday we went to Wilton Wildlife for a cool and rainy storytime on the road. It definitely required post-event ice cream.

learning the skeleton dance

Yesterday we had ice skating and went back to Wilton Wildlife for a nature walk and craft, then today we went up to the World Awareness Children's Museum for their Day of the Dead celebration.

rowing