snipping with scissors.

 Some call this kind of thing early Montessori*.  I call it oops-the-baby-found-the-scissors.  And the jar of homemade bookmarks (a.k.a. 1/2" strips of colored paper with a hole punched in the top. a.a.k.a. #1's first moneymaking scheme).

 After working on it for quite awhile on his own I noticed he was becoming a bit frustrated and offered to help.  "No mom I do NOT want help." was his quick reply. So I went back to my work with #1.  About two minutes after that #3 finally relented and asked for help.

 A quick lesson in "thumbs up" for scissors later and he was off and running...er...cutting.  Either way it was a total success. 

#2 offered to help hold the strips and provide moral support.

and now my floor is covered in little pieces of multicolored construction paper. The things I sacrifice to let my littles learn for themselves how to function in this big world...

 Maybe tomorrow I'll set out a blank piece of paper, a brush (with half the handle cut off for ease of use) and a little cup with some watered down elmer's glue. Maybe.

*there are many other blogs I could reference, but this gal has a huge archive and was one of the first places I looked for activities when #1 was almost 2.

a vintage kitchen, one fire hazard at a time.

 Sit right down and I'll tell you a story.  No, not the story of that kid on the tv show in Bel Aire.  This story is much...smokier.  With no rap. You're welcome.

This is the pan of bean enchiladas that my oven baked perfectly. Side note: why does all the tastiest food look so gross?

Right after these came out of the oven, a loaf soaked sourdough whole wheat bread went in. It was nicely risen and smelled like it was going to be great.  WELL.  If you've been following some of my recent fb updates, you will not be surprised to know that at this exact moment my old stove went haywire. again. The temperature sensor quit working, the heating element shot up to 500+ degrees, and the whole thing refused to quit until the bread was burned, the house filled with smoke, and I finally realized we had a problem and I had to go downstairs and flip the breaker switch again. ugh.
Enter my new friend, Ms.  Shaw, and her lovely Bargain Bowl.  New oven: $20. 

I had to laugh when I realized that not only was the "new" oven older than me, it also matched my counters perfectly. 

 And, it turns out, my entire decorating aesthetic for the kitchen.

 About 2 hours after the old lady was properly installed I had a curried lentils and rice dish on top of the stove and a cobbler of some sort in the oven.  I am happy to report that nothing blew up!
the end.

still pinning

Sometimes hanging up the laundry to dry feels like one more chore to add to my busy day. I wonder why I can't bring myself to use the dryer sitting in my back entry like "normal" people. My fingers freeze as October takes hold. I know that inside chaos reigns, schoolwork forgotten the moment that storm door clicked shut. There's rain in the forecast, so I also know this particular load will probably receive a second rinse before I can make it out to the line again. If a certain little boy would finish potty training most of this load wouldn't have needed washing...and on and on I could go.

 Other days I feel deeply appreciative that my father sunk posts for my "new" laundry lines on one of his very first visits to this house. It is a birthday gift that I have used week in and week out in the past year. I have doubtless saved hundreds on my utility bills. It feels good to be outside, all alone with my thoughts for just a few minutes. Schoolchildren need regular breaks; it helps their little brains coalesce information. The leaves are at peak and I would never have noticed the neighbors tree were I not pinning socks just now.  We are blessed with enough clothing that I could go days between loads and still potty train a two year old. There is no smell in the world like clothes fresh off the line and no sound like the snap of a towel in the brisk fall breeze.  I daydream about countless mothers before me doing this very task.  I hang contentedly.

Make Way for Ducklings PreK pack

 Last year I made a bunch of Tot Packs and Preschool Packs for my boys to share. Many of them came from Carisa (links on the sidebar to tot and preschool packs etc) and Jolanthe (look at her PreK and K corner, and then under "printables"), but there are TONS out there on other blogs. It was fun figuring out how many folders to dedicate to each pack and how to arrange them for maximum use.  Every pack I made was a hit, and now as I bring them out again it is fun to see how each boy has progressed both in ability and interest.

This year I have only added one mini "pack" to the collection, and it is one I created myself! I took a few pics in case anyone else wanted them, and also because I am happy with how it turned out.  Let me know if you have ideas for how to expand it...my motivation kind of fizzled there at the end.

This book is pretty readily available at the library, but if you want to buy it, follow Jessica's link to amazon (please and thank you) :)

P(1st) can do these in order without the book as reference, but C(preK) needed the guide.

 how is my puzzle already missing a piece??

 On the left you see how I've glued an envelope to the folder for the puzzle.  On the right I added a bunch of hand drawn ducks to the page and laminated it so my boys can find and circle, and will (eventually) print off and cut out a bunch of duck cards to practice addition, subtraction, more than/less than, patterning, etc.

 the words say, "How did the Mallard family cross the road?" and the object is to trace the lines.

 I wrote one consonant on each page of this flip book and stapled them to the page.  Most of the words are goofy, but it does reinforce the beginning sounds concept, which is what I was going for.

 This is a copywork page.  Note: if you're going to be hole punching and putting pages in a folder, don't start writing at the left margin like I did!

 This is a double sided page (I didn't take a pic of the back though) of measuring questions.  I also included page numbers for where P can find each item to be measured so he can practice that.  I suppose this could have gone in a page protector for multiple use...but I got lazy.  We'll erase.

 This is a coin game.  Heads=go one space, tails=go two spaces. 

so...whaddya think?

Fall in adjectives

 crunchy

 rare*

tenacious

crusty

nourishing

tart

cozy

*October sabbatical

raising the roof

There was a "men's fellowship gathering" at my house yesterday.  The pastor was offering free lessons in how to install steel roofing.  Not many showed up--probably because the weather was awful!--but those that did were treated to donuts, hot cider, hands-on training, and chili and cornbread for lunch.  I was a bad blogger and didn't get pictures of my spotless kitchen and yummy food, but trust me, it was clean we our bellies were full.  Also, as a fun byproduct of said gathering, tin was successfully installed on the back half of our house!  All that remains is the schoolroom (former porch) roof, which should take less than a day, especially if the sun is shining! 

 hooray for no more leaking bedroom ceiling/window! Thanks Jim, Pastor Buck, Dad and Deputy Daddy!