Playing with My Software

So, I thought I would play around with my photo editing software and see what other things I can do. Click on th top picture to see what it looks like bigger, I changed the picture to be more of a watercolor. I love whe she lkes to hold my hand. Some day she might not want to do that anymore or it's too uncool to. :(

We spent 2 1/2 hours here today, by far the longest time we have spent at the nature center. We packed a lunch (half of which she ate before we got there.) We saw some pretty amazing things. We saw three different kinds of snakes. The first was a garter snake just like we have in our garden. The second was a 3.5-4 foot fox snake. I had never seen a snake like that out in the wild before. Yes, you see longer snakes in pet stores or at zoos, but never in the forest like that. What caught our attention was that it sounded like a rattlesnake (not that I have ever heard one firsthand). Anyways, we took a picture & video and when we were done we talked to people inside the interpretation center about what it was. There is no rattle on the end, it just flicks it's tale against the leaves to sound like a rattler. The third snake was a very thin, long, yellowish/golden snake. It was fast underneath the leaves so I didn't take a picture and didn't ask what kind it was, and after trying to find it online I can't. Who knows, I may have seen something rare to MN.

We didn't hike too much around the nature center because there was too much to look at: leaves rocks, flowers, sticks, & orienteering markers. For the first time she noticed the orienteering tags on trees and was facinated by them. I am not sure how many paths they have, but there were a lot of names (a different name for each path with coordinates listed). She had me read every one we found to her. We'll have to see if she pays attention to these on other trips there, if so we may have to go borrow a compass and get started on teaching her how to use it and find those markers thoughout the nature center.

It was a nice day. Accuweather says it s 86 degrees in our town. I suppose it doesn't feel that warm because of the wind, but it does feel nice. As you can see from the pictures we started out wearing light coats and by time we left we shed the coats because it had warmed from 64 to 74.

Happy Earth Day!!!

We had some friends over for an Earth Day playdate. And like last year we did planting of seeds & plants. It's a fun, hands-on activity for kids and it helps them learn to connect with nature and might just encourage our friends to grow some of their own food this year.

Last year we did the huge playgroup thing for Earth Day, but we did a huge playgroup on Friday. So, this was just a small group. We had over Caitlin, Amelia, & Gavin and Cheri, Cole & Jackie.

We planted sugar baby watermelon, cherry tomatoes, peppers, & marigold seeds and then each kid also go am Impatiens plant to plant, so they had something tangible that they could already see. Since we planted some of those seeds the other day, Isabel planted some other flower seeds and we planted a pot with some basil seeds in it.

We had a wonderful lunch of sandwiches, watermelon, carrots, chip, organic juice & leftover birthday cupcakes.

I really like when we have these morning playdates that go into lunch & we have lunch together. Otherwise, we leave right before lunch & we are hungry and still have to get home & make something. Putting lunch off makes both mommy & Isabel cranky. Plus, then the kids can play more together after we have lunch and the kids get their second wind.

Gymnastics Class

Today was the last day of this session and they handed out ribbons to the kids. When Isabel got hers she whispered to me "It's exactly what I wished for." I found that hilarious that she said that. I am not sure that we're going to keep doing classes at this center anymore. I am less & less impressed with this instructor and the other instructor for this age group doesn't have any room in her classes. So, I am still debating what I want to do. We can start going to the center in the town to the south of us. It costs more than the other place and they don't have the big in-ground trampolines that Isabel loves. We already go there for open gym. The HUGE positive that the "new" place would offer is that they offer classes on a variety of days/times rather than lumping them on the same 2 days. So, we have more flexibility in our choices and they will work both now & next fall when she starts preschool (the current place might not work at all in the fall if we can't get into the full classes). So, I need to think about this.

The current place is better competitively (for when she gets older, so we could always switch back if it works with our schedule), but she probably going to be too tall to really have it be a competitive sport for her, but I could be wrong. We just like it for now because she has gained a lot of self confidence from the class and it has really helped her develop her gross motor skills.

But now that she is three, there will be other classes we can consider for her that she might like too, like Dance & Tae Kwon Do. I don't plan on putting her in too many sports, so we'll just have to see.

On the way home from class today she says, "Balloon, ba, ba, ba, Balloon, B" I asked her "Balloon, B?" And she says, "Yes, Balloon starts with B." So, that started us playing the "What Does It Start With Game?" She amazes me sometimes.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

We went to the liqour store attached to our grocery store and bought daddy a bunch of beers for his birthday present. I think he was pleased with the idea.

A Busy Sunday Morning

Well, after some breakfast we got to work on making a cake & cupcakes for daddy's birthday. It's technically tomorrow, but we're celebrating it for 2 days.

Then we made some Kool-Aid lemonade. She asked me 3 days ago is we could make some lemonade. I finally got around to looking in the pantry to see if we had any or if we needed to add it to our grocery shopping list. We had one packet left.

Then we planted some seeds. I tried to have her follow some sort of pattern in planting (cherry tomatoes, peppers, sugar baby watermelon, cucumber, spaghetti squash & marigolds) but they are pretty random. I am going to really be testing my plant knowledge as I determine what is what later one. The tomatoes, peppers & marigolds will be easy, it's the viney plants that tend to look the same.

And we ended our morning by going to River Bend Nature Center for their annual Maple Syrup Pancake Brunch. We went for lunchtime and filled up on pancakes & sausage. The maple syrup is stuff that they harvest & make there. It was yummy.

Next week we have our typical busy things. The one special thing we have planned is our Earth Day playgroup. We invited 3 friends to come over and we will be reusing plastic containers to start seedlings in and transplant flowers to. Plus I made up little bags of other seeds & print off instructions for their mommies to take home and help them start a garden this year.

It seems like more people are interested in learning about gardening this year them ever before (in my lifetime). I think the rise in fuel & food costs last year kinda got some people spooked and made them think about things, as well as all the layoffs this year. You know, some food prices never did come back down when fuel costs came down.

Anyways, not sure what else we will plant. Isabel asked if we could plant carrots like Curious George did. I have never really done carrots and I am not sure she has the patience for them. I think beans & peas & lettuce will be good crops for her to help out with. They grow relatively quickly and are above the surface and she can harvest sooner and see the actual vegetable.

She doesn't like raw tomatoes, although she keeps on trying them when she sees them. I am sure this summer will be no different. She'll want to try them jus because she wants to help pick them and then realizes she doesn't care for them.

Our Juicy Juice Playgroup Party

We were accepted by Houseparty.com to do a Juicy Juice Playgroup. They sent us (all free) bottles of their new lines of juice, cups, napkis, tablecloths, and then supplies to put together wonderful goodie bag for the kids. The goodie bag consisted of a reuseable shopping bag, BPA-free sports bottle, mini-playing cards, growth chart, coupon, & activity book. It was such a great party.

I think we had about 9 moms and 15 kids here. It really was a lot of fun. We got the bounce house out (our 2nd time using it) and that was a HUGE hit. And dragged out all the outside toys. There was plenty for everyone to do. Plus I had out Auntie Annie's Cheddar Bunnies, animal crackers, jelly beans, and some other beverages.

Isabel knew all week that she was having a party with her friends and kept asking if that day was the party. Although, as much as mom likes the big parties like this, I think Isabel gets a little overwhelmed by so many people.

Being Creative

Yesterday we picked up an unfinished birdhouse & some paints, so today she wanted to paint her birdhouse. And then kept painting. She made a picture & painted her bunny mask too.

This morning she saw the camera sitting out and asked me to take pictures of her. Sometimes she can be such a ham and then there are other times where she tells me to put the camera back in my pocket.

I Want a Picture with Bunny!

This morning when we were taking a picture of Isabel with mommy, she told me "I Want a Picture with Bunny!" So, I obliged. The tripod was already set up with the camera on it, so all I had to do was hit the button a couple times. It made her happy.

Finally! It's Spring!

We got outside some to play today with some yard toys. The first picture is of a homemade kite she made. She's been into makig kites lately. Hopefully it stays nice all week because on Friday we have a big playgroup here and I am hoping to keep everyone outside & get the bounce house going.

Happy Easter!

Here is Isabel, Blake, & Jayden donning bunny ears. Aren't they cute?!?!?! Next year we'll have to have space for one more picture.

Busy Easter Weekend

We went to WI by mommy's family. The whole family was there, which was nice. Isabel got a chance to see her younger cousins. She was very good with Jayden, which was comforting to see. While we were there we kept quit busy. The top picture is of coloring Easter eggs. Isabel & mommy did most of them, but daddy helped some as well as Auntie Phanie (I love hearing Isabel call her Phanie!!) and Jayden (more of a photo op thing.)

This morning she & Blake had an Easter Egg Hunt in the front yard at grandma & grandpa's. Well, Isabel & Auntie Razz had an egg hunt, Blakers just ran around. Isabel was so excited for the egg hunt that she was ready about 15 minutes before Blake was ready to go out. Uncle Al had to entertain her on the deck for a while and as soon as she heard it was time to go, she was off like a shot. I hd to run to get out there to take some pictures.

Here is Isabel with the Easter Baskets she got. Grandma & Granpa filled an RK Easter Basket (see below) for each of the grandkids. And when Isabel got home she found that the Easter Bunny had filled her basket that she had left out. She seemed most exicted about the "sugar bunnies" in her basket & the toothbrush. Funny girl. Anyways, she also got an Easter Basket from her other grandparents last weekend when we had brunch with them. She loves the Color Wonder set but still doesn't get that it takes about 5 seconds for the color to show up, not instantly like regular markers. She then gets frustrated and gives me the marker and tell me to use that color while she tries another and the same things happens again & again. We might just have to stick to regular markers (rather than the CW kind) for a while.

Here Isabel was helping grandma make Rice Krispie Easter baskets. Isabel loves to help in the kitchen or with crafts, I suppose that is because I do so much of both of them with her.

Here Isabel is helping grandma make this bunny craft. I forget what they are called (boo boo bunnies, perhaps). Anyways it's a washcloth made to look like a bunny with space to put an ice cube in the body of it to use when a kid needs to apply ice.

Her Very First Haircut

Allergic to Body Excretions?

My poor little girl. I think she is allergic to her body excretions in general. As a baby, I had to change her within 5 minutes of a poopy diaper or she would start to get welts on her rear. She would turn pink-faced right away with drool and easily developed drool rash (it just seemed to appear out of nowhere after a little drool.) Now, check out her face. She has had an awful runny nose for over a week now. She is having a hard time shaking this head cold. She has been taking 3 hour naps, and today was no exception. It was actually closer to 3.5 hours today.

She has this scabby sore nose, but this morning she woke up with a rash on her face (right under some dried snot). I am sure she wiped her nose a couple times and spread it all over her face and it sat on her face and caused a reaction. There are no bumps anywhere else on her body. I put some hydrocortisone on it this afternoon, so we'll see if that helps.

Caribou Wild Berry Smoothie

Yesterday while daddy was taking a longer nap, we snuck out of the house and went to Caribou Coffee and got a Wild Berry Smoothie to share. I got one of these a couple weeks ago and let her have some and she loved it. After she was done drinking, she kept twirling (dancing) around the store to the music they were playing. She's been in love with twirling in a circle lately.

Easter Egg Hunt & Meeting the Easter Bunny

We had a couple of options of Easter Egg Hunts to go to. We decided to go to the one an area ECFE was having that was INDOORS. Indoors was the clincher. They had games to play, coloring sheets, a craft (which we never got around to), meeting the Easter Bunny, and hunting for eggs.

They had 3 huge piles of shredded paper that eggs were hidden in. Isabel loved playing in there. First se found her eggs & then turned temin for her goodie bag, but later we went back just so she could throw the paper and make huge piles to jump in.

She also met the Easter Bunny. She is timid around the Easter Bunny, but not completly scared like she is of Santa. She had to quick color a picture (before we left home) that she wanted to give to the Easter Bunny, which she did. She gave the bunny her picture, shook her hand, and stood by her for some pictures (but couldn't get a smile out of her.)

Poor girl has a big scab on her sore nose as a result of her headcold the last week.

She actually just fell asleep while I was typing this up & I had to take a short break to carry her up to her room. My little girl is so tired that she actually stayed asleep. Normally she doesn't transfer well and normally she won't fall asleep unless she is in her bed. She's still recovering from that head cold.

After the Easter Egg Hunt we went out for brunch, which was nice. Tomorrow, we are supposed to go by grandma & grandpa for brunch at their house, but we are supposed to get 6+ (up to a foot depending upon how north the storm tracks) inches of snow through tonight into tomorrow morning. They said on the weather last night that tomorrow morning is supposed to be the worst, guess we'll see.

We'll be spending Easter in WI with mommy's family.

Playing Catch Up

So, here are some pictures from today and yesterday. I haven't been taking as mnay pictures this week, partly because I haven't charged my camera batteries and my cell phone doesn't take as good of quality. All these pictures are from my cell.

The top pictures are from today. The UPS guy just dropped off the package from Little Tikes that I ordered. We bought a bounce house. It will work well for us both inside & outside since we have such a big house. We set it up inside right away today. She had so much fun, even if she is kinda sick & cranky. The only thing about having it inside is I am going to have to pt it away everytime because I don't want the cats to try & go scratch it and make tears in it.

We spent a little extra to buy this one with the attached shaded area. Last summer we used one at a friend's house several times and it was out in full sun and it would get quite hot for the kids bouncing around. And we do intend to have this outside, but it is also nice that we can use it indoors because then it becomes an all-weather activity. Hopefully this will help get rid of some energy on those rainy (or snowy) days that we are stuck inside. Plus it will be a fun treat for playdates.


These are pictures from yesterday morning (well, late morning, we did our baking in our jammies.) Isabel loves to help with cooking & baking and helps out every step of the way. Actualy, she usually disappears when I am actually putting stuff in the oven, so she mainly likes to help prepare something & then eat it.

I had a couple of bananas that were getting ripe and I just didn't want to make banana bread this week (I did that last weekend with the bananas leftover at the end of the week). So, I did a little searching online and found a recipe for Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies that sounded good. They are yummy and made 4 dozen cookies. I also melted & molded chocolates for Easter in WI, but I did that on my own. Isabel just kept stealing my chocolate & eating it.

Bowling

We met our friends Beth & Aleyah at the bowling alley today. Each of the girls had their own lane and Isabel was a bowling machine! She bowled 2 games within a half hour. Crazy. She would grab a ball, put it on the ramp, push it down & turn around and repeat. Usually while she was pushing the 2nd ball the pins were just resetting. Afterwards, we all went out for custard at Culver's. We might go bowling again this week with church for the March Family Fun Event.

A Nice Weekend

This to picture is from this morning at church. They had cake there for the March birthday. It was very chocolately & very messy and Isabel loved it very much. When we picked Isabel up from her classroom for "church school" she handed up these 2 colored on sheets of paper that were crumpled up. To anyone else they might just think it was trash, but tous, we know she has been making "snowballs" from crumpled paper or "paper airplanes" from folded paper, which sometimes resembles crumpled paper. After church,the three of us went to Timberlodge Steakhouse for lunch (my birthday certificate from them expired today). That was yummy too.

This afternoon, Isabel & daddy went outside to fly her kite. We bought it this winter (& I've kept it well hidden so she would forget about it) and today was the first day that it was appropriate to take it outside to fly. I think the neighbors wanted to join in on the child-like fun that was happening in their backyard (they have a big back yard witht he trees far enough away & no powerlines, making it perfect for kite flying.)

This is from yesterday (you may have seen these ones on FB already) when Isabel & mommy met Carrie, Kyle & Gavin at River Bend Nature Center. Isabel had such a fun time there. We try to foster a love & creativity of nature and I think it is working. She got so dirty, which I don't mind one bit. It it stains the clothes, it's ok, she has enough that Iwould have something stain-free to wear if she needs to look presentable. And nothing was homemade by anyone, so Let Her Play!

Here is Isabel & her buddy Gavin on top of a pile of logs. He calls her Bel. He just over a year younger than her and just a couple months older than her cousin Blake.

Next week is a usual busy week of yoga class, gymnastics class & ECFE class. The big event this week is registering Isabel for preschool on Thursday evening. We plan to go bowling this week too, maybe a storytime, and maybe a playgroup at our house.

MN Children's Museum

We went with our ECFE on a group visit to the MN Children's Museum today. It's such a big place with so much to do. We had only been there one time before when Isabel was about 9 months old and at that time we stayed solely in just one of the areas. This time we got to a few areas, but probably could have stayed there all day from open to close to be able to really get to go to all the areas and enjoy everything.

Isabel enjoyed getting to see Clifford the Big Red Dog and Emily Elizabeth. She watches Clifford everyday. She really wanted to climb on Clifford like they do in the cartoon.

Yesterday

She was funny yesterday. She wanted me to take her picture, so she handed me the camera and said "Take my picture" and did some posing. Ususally she is telling me, "Put that camera in your pocket."

Yesterday we checked out a (new to us) library & their storytime in the morning, and then after naptime we went to a playdate. About a half hour into the playdate she noticed a candy dish filled with lollipops and wanted one. When I told her no she got upset & alligator tears started falling and asked to go home because she was sad. The mom put on a video, which distracted her, and the candy could be forgotten about and the playdate could continue.k

First Day Above 60 Degrees in 2009

The weather report has it being low-mid 50's today, but I think it is already there and it's only 9:30, so maybe it will be another great day.

We were outsife yesterday from 3:30-7:30. It was great. We played with chalk, rode on toys, (pretend, she does a lot of pretend play these days) roasting of blueberries, played a lot in the sandbox, picked up sticks, filled bird feeders, payed with bubbles & grilled/ate supper.



I have one stubborn little girl. Last week we had to leave gymnastics early because she decided she didn't want to listen and wouldn't change her mind. Well, yesterday evening it was time to clean-up toys since she made a huge mess in the house. She didn't want to and decided to say "I'm sad." and go upstairs. So, I decided to threaten throwing the toys away & see if she would come. After a while she did and helped pick up some toys but didn't want to touch the toys I had in the garbage bag. I gave her several chances to take them out & put away, but she refused. So, I had to follow through and bring the bag outside. After a while I told her the garbage guy comes the next day and I would let her put her toys away since she had been so good since coming down. She refused. Then I told her that she could no longer get new toys if we throw away all the old toys. I asked her if she ever wanted new toys again and she said she did and then I told her that we have to take care of our old toys first and asked if she wanted to take care of her old toys and put them away. Finally! She said yes and put the toys away. I was afraid she was gong to continue to call my bluff and I would be ruined. Idon't think I could ever bring them back with out her remembering the trash guy was supposed to have taken them. That girl has such a memory on her.

Yeah! It's warming up!

Isabel picked out that she REALLY wanted to wear the red dress today, so I had to warm it up a bit. I thought it made her looks like Minnie Mouse a bit.

It was so nice to be able to spend some time outside. And tomorrow is supposed to be nicer yet. I am so ready for winter tobe over, but isn't everyone. We got air put in the tires on the bikes, the jogger stroller, and the burley. I bought the burley at a rummage sale a couple year ago and haven't used it. We got it all hooked up to the bike, so I think we will get a lot of use out of it now. Isabel is starting to get a little tall for the toddler bike seat and Andy wants his bike back; it won't work on my bike (but the burley does) and he doesn't trust himself riding with her on the back. Mom is safer.

Our friends Carrie, Kyle & Gavin came over for dinner tonight. We did a cheese fondue with lots of dippers (ham, green apples, baby red potato quarters, asparagus, green beans & crusty bread). It was pretty yummy. And then we had french silk pie for dessert. We went outside to play in between the meal & dessert, so it was nice to get out there again & play & move around.

Updated Slideshow

Checkout the updated slideshow at the top. I decided since her 3 year birthday is coming up in a couple of months, I would do a slideshow of every month from birth to three. Obviously, I still have a couple months to fill in yet. The first 2 years I made a concentrated effort to take her picture on 20th of every month because I had this photo album I was using. The last year, I didn't do that but I take enough pictures that some days I did take one on the 20th and other months it was the day before or after, so close enough. I decided to go with all the pictures I took rather than anything professional.

Craft Day

Today was a craft marathon. Actually, as I work on making these collages and updating the blog she is coloring with daddy. She just can't get enough of arts & crafts today. There is a different collage on FB that has these pictures & more.

The first picture is of an Octopus TP Craft. I believe I posted a link to it when I discussed the theme of the month. It's great for couting how may legs there are.

This one is an egg carton caterpillar. That idea came from Babycenter.com. Thanks to Auntie Phanie for sending us this idea.

This one was my idea. I found a shamrock template online and printed it off, cut it out and she brushed on glue and then placed dry split peas all over it.

That was it for my ideas for today, then she decided he wanted to do some drawing & stamping. She also got out the play-doh and we played with that for a while.

Glimpse of Spring

It was just shy of 50 degrees for a high here today and the sun was shining all morning & into the afternoon, until we decided to go to the park. It would peak out every once in a while.

Anyways, I woke her up from her nap & asked her if she wanted to go to the park and she was so excited and asked if we could ride bike. Luckily there was still air in the tires, so we could. It was nice to go for a little bike ride. We met our friends Caitlin, Amelia, & Gavin there. When they re-built our park they were smart about it and built up the play area, so it was not muddy. Then we came home and played in the driveway & yard. We were outside for a total of 3 hours. And then later (after we cae back from going to a fish fry) we played tag by the porch light and garage lights for about 20 minutes.

Isabel loves playing tag these days. She also learned how to play Red Light, Green Light and started teaching her a very basic version of Simon Says (just the simon says part, no leaving it out & trying to trick a person.)

Lately she has been helping me figuring out what she is saying by empasizing a letter. An example: she told me "let's sing the clown song" and I said, "the clown song?" And she says, "No! ClouD....duh, duh, duh, D, cloud" She has done that several times and it just amazes me when she sounds out the letter I am mistaking and tells me what letter it is. Seriously, if she isn't reading words already she probably will be. I try to see if she can red words or just memorizes every book we read to her, but I can't tell. She tells me she doesn't know what a word I point to is, but I'm not so sure. She's the type that studies things until she can perfect it and then all of a sudden does it and you are just amazed.

Disney on Ice

We went to see Disney on Ice today at the Target Center. Our seats were really close, which was so nice. Isabel says she wants to go back another time. We went up with our friends Kara & Calista. Things can get really pricey at something like this. We bought the girls these Cinderalla Cups with a sno-cone in them and that cost $10. Our friends bought a plastic bucket of popcorn that cost $8. The popcorn was actually in a bag (in the bucket) and was more than could fit in the bucket if you took it out, so they gave Isabel the leftover from the bag which was about 1/4 of the bag. She didn't even finish all of that. It cost $6 for some cotton candy with a mask (we didn't buy any, they were just walking around the stands selling them.) Plus there were lots of other treats & snacks and lots of themed toys & t-shirts. You could easily go broke. Ticket prices are $11, 16, 23, 42, or 65 each. Ours were at the $23 level.

Anyways, we did have fun. She loves Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck, probably because they are a big mouse & big duck. I don't know if she has ever seen a cartoon. She was definitly more drawn to the animals characters than the people characters. She has seen very little of Disney movies so far, so this wasn't about seeing her favorite characters. If that was the case we would need to see Word World, Clifford, Curious George, Super Why, Bob the Builder or Dragon Tales (yes, we pretty much just watch PBS.) So, when we go to the Children's Museum in a couple weeks she will be super excited because they have a Clifford exhibit there.

Bowling

We went bowling again. This was her third time bowling. We were able to bowl 2 games without her getting tired at all. She is getting stronger and carrying that 6 pound ball (even with a Cheetoh in hand) is getting much easier. It's the carrying a 6 pound ball from the ball return to the ramp is what tires her out. We had a lot of fun. It was just the two of us. She actually bowled a 90 on her first game with a strike (which you can see that video on Facebook). Her second game was a 77. She did have the bumpers and a ramp to use, athough I don't think I would bowl much better with both ether.

The girl has too much energy tonight. We played a good 20-minute game of tag running around the house. She finally gets how tag works. She loves to play tag and hide-n-seek. And she was just jumping on her trampoline and now her & daddy are throwing & kicking a beachball.

She has such a good imagination. We went shopping at Kohl's this evening and the whole time we were there she was carrying around an Easter basket they had for sale and was pretending to pick apples throughout the store. When it came time to leave I told her we were not buying it because she had an Easter basket at home and I asked her to give it to me. She asked if she could out it down herself and I told her she could. Then she puts down the basket and says "I'll just leave all my apples here." And we walked a few steps and she ran back and pretended to grab something out of the basket and said, "Just one more apple." Then pretends to take a bite and says, "It's so crunchy. It's so tasty." Then after we get in the car she pretends one more time to take a bite and says, "That was a good apple."

March Theme: Numbers

I have to say, that our theme of the month is really good for her. We did colors as a theme in December and it really helped her get past confusing purple & blue. The January theme of winter really helped her experience & learn about winter sports & the importance of feeding the birds & basic properties of ice. February was all about fruits & vegetables and she is loving watching her pea plant grow and every time she eats a fruit or vegetable she identifies the seeds in each.

So, this month we are learning about numbers. I am hoping the repetition of numbers this month will help her learn the order of the numbers in the teens. She counts 1-13 just fine and then skips to 16, as if 14 & 15 don't even exist. And sometimes she skips 17 too. Usually 18-20 are ok. We haven't counted much past 20 just because there hasn't been a lot of opportunity to count things that high, plus I think she needs to learn the teens first and then we'll work on the twenties. After that I think it will all come together and she just has to learn her tens and can figure it out.....but that's the big picture.

Some fun print offs to use this month:

Clifford 1-20 connect the dots
Count & Color (15) Dogs
Caterpillar Felt Board (I previously printed this out & attached felt to the back, so I will get this out to use, which we never really used when I made it)
5 Fish in a Bowl Coloring &Activity
Clown with 6 Balloon Coloring Page
Octopus Craft
This website has a bunch of number crafts. I think I made do the one to ten chart and maybe a couple of the number jigsaws.

Here are some number songs:

I will get out her number flashcards to help this month and I know I have some preschool math workbooks that we will get out & work on, as well as a Garfield math computer game that was in her stocking at Christmas. Also, we have a few of number puzzles (0-9 for one of them and 1-20 for the another, and a long catepillar one that counts 1-10, oh and a Big Bird one that is counting 1-6), so we will make a point of playing those often this month.

As for book, we already have the first one from the library & it is a GREAT book for teaching counting:
Grapes of Math
The Very Hungry Catepillar (we have this one)
Ten Apples Up on Top
One Gorilla
One Frog Sang
20 Hungry Piggies

I will also look through our bookcase to see what other ones we have to use.

And I am sure I will come up with some other things too.