Kindergarten!

A week ago Ethan started Kindergarten!  He goes in the AM for 1/2 day.  He was so excited to go!  And he always says he enjoys his day--but the drop off has been a little tricky as he seems overwhelmed by the 50+ kids he doesn't know on the playground.  He prefers to be dropped off after Grant, right as the bell is ringing so that he can just line up with his class.  At least he does have a good buddy, Ethan B. from church in his class--so that helps to know someone.  And I'm sure within a few weeks he'll have made more friends and be more comfortable during drop off!

Can't believe he's in Kindergarten!

Preschool

Can't believe Grant started preschool today!!  He's going to the same Montessori school that Ethan went to.  He will go 5 days/wk for 3 hours.  I'm not particularly sad that he's going (didn't cry when dropping him off or anything)--maybe just in disbelief that he's suddenly old enough to be in pre-k!  Ethan doesn't start until next week though--so maybe when they're both gone I'll feel a bit lonely without either of my boys! 

Looking so grown up!!

summer-week 11

Dinosaur Week!!  Another favorite (of course I think most boys like dinosaurs)!  This week we:

-played with our plastic dinos and our stuffed ones

-pretended we were dinosaurs (roaring, chasing each other and poking each other with our horns)

-played a dinosaur math game (an old Discovery Toys one)

-hiked at Dinosaur Ridge in Morrison, CO!  A cool place--you can hike the 2 mi or ride on a shuttle bus and see dinosaur tracks!  And it's low cost--just hiking is free, the shuttle bus is like $4/person and you can visit their exhibit hall for $1. 

Ethan is up by the Iguanodon footprints (they use charcoal to paint them and make it easier to see)

Not directly under Grant's head but off to the right is an inverted Apatosaurus footprint (like making a cast of the foot)

-ate at the Dino Cafe in Kansas City (during our trip) and saw "dinosaurs" and dug for "bones"

Lots of great books this week!
-Dinosaurs Love Underpants by Claire Freedman & Ben Cort
-ABC T-Rex by Bernard Most
-Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff
-Dancing Dinos at the Beach by Sally Lucas
-Snore, Dinosaur, Snore by John Bendall-Brunello
-Find-a-Saurus by Mark Sperring
-Tyrannosaurus Dad by Liz Rosenberg
-Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs by Byron Barton
-The Tyrannosaurus Game by Steven Kroll
-Little Rex, Big Brother by Ruth Symes
-Dinosaurumpus by Tony Mitton
-How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague

This is our last official summer theme week!  My boys start school this week and next!  We enjoyed all of our fun activities, books, and outings.  It did take some time and effort to put it all together--and I'm not sure it totally kept my boys from fighting or vegging out, but it was fun to have something to do so many days this summer!   Now I'm looking forward to school starting and getting back in our routine (and the break I will get from the boys!). 

Summer--week 10?

I'm not sure what week I'm on anymore--I guess that's what a little vacation does to you!  Anyway, one of our recent summer theme weeks was: Ocean/Water/Under the Sea. 

If our vacation would have been to the beach it would have been even more fun (and fit the theme better)--but we did see the Mississippi River (multiple times) on our trip! 

 In Iowa

 In Nauvoo, IL

From the Arch in St. Louis

We drove little tugboats at a Mississippi River museum

And we saw fish, turtles and a crocodile at 2 different places

We also played fish, fish, shark! (like duck, duck, goose), tested out what floats in water and what sinks, put ocean creatures under a blanket and then took turns "diving under the ocean" (blanket) to find a creature. 

And the boys practiced being fish at swim lessons (Grant started his 1st lessons without a parent), the water park, and the hotel pool. 

Our books for this theme were:
-Dear Fish by Chris Gall
-What Sea Animals Eat by Joanne Mattern
-Clumsy Crab by Ruth Galloway
-The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson
-Hooray for Fish by Lucy Cousins
-A Shark Pup Grows Up by Pam Zollman
-Down at the Bottom of the Deep Dark Sea by Rebecca C Jones
-Wave by Suzy Lee
-Ocean Hide and Seek by Jennifer Evans Kramer
-Dogfish by Gillian Shields
-One Blue Fish by Charles Reasoner
-Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out by April Pulley Sayre
-A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle
-Wow! Ocean! by Robert Neubecker
-There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell by Lucille Colandro