Enjoying Warmer Weather

I knew today was supposed to be warmer out so the plan was to stay outside as much as possible! 

Since I had the ingredients on hand, I decided to make a cornstarch and water mixture for some sensory play. 

Turner really doesn't like his hands to be dirty but he was receptive to this project. 

He really enjoyed squeezing the mixture to make it hard...

and then opening his hands to let the mixture flow. 

We talked briefly about things that were liquids and things that were solids. He was pretty interested!

Eli, on the other hand, was more interested in painting himself...

SQUIIIISH

Make a ball, but stop touching it and...

Turns back in to a liquid.

Chasing bad guys.

Painting trees.

Swabbing the deck. I think they had the most fun doing this!

New Sensory Boxes

The boys really enjoy their rice boxes that I've been making a la Counting Coconuts and Pink and Green Mama. 

Last week I saw a cute spring themed box somewhere and I'm kicking myself for not bookmarking the link. The rice boxes have done us well, but I can see the kids are getting a bit bored. 

(I've been taking pictures with my phone for TWO days. Remind me to charge my cameras!)

The result: 

Split green peas (grass) , lima beans (bugs) , tiny bow tie pasta  (butterflies), and fake cherry blossoms
left over from a recent household project), and a tiny pot.

Eli added bugs and a tractor. 

Turner chose to do some flower arranging. 

Deacon just sat around, looking cute. 

 I think the new box was a hit! Turner is always much neater and more precise with his pouring and playing. 

Eli is always a mess! But he has fun, so that counts for something. 

This Week's Plan

This week we're covering our bases with letters. Turner knows all of the letters by sight but not by sound so I made sand paper letters and we're working on what the letter "says." The idea is Montessori based and the boys love them. I backed all the vowels on blue felt and the consonants on pink.

I'm not sure if it's the sand paper letters or the new technique I learned for introducing things that Turner takes to so well to. The information seems to "stick" more. 

This week we're also working on "close to home." Turner has learned our address and could recited it back to me after just hearing it once. We've studied a map of our area and, later we'll "zoom out" a bit to learn, eventually, about Chesapeake, Virginia, the US, etc. 

The 5 senses are also on our list. We didn't get to it before nap time but we'll focus on touch first. 

For math readiness we'll be focusing on putting items in order from smallest to largest and learning some new vocabulary words. Like most kids, he understands counting and can do simple math but I want him to really understand the value of the numbers. I will be working on the 'po man's version of the Montessori Pink Tower when my cardboard nesting blocks arrive.

In other areas, we're using just plain old fashioned crafts to talk abut winter. We're refining our week, too. So far we've been doing:

Monday: baking day
Tuesday: art/craft
Wednesday: library story time
Thursday:
Friday: