BooBoo Go Away!

My poor little Princess was running to the car to go to my Sister's
for a lunch date while Farmer Dad and I ran a few errands, when
she slid about 3 feet on the concrete....she skinned her knee
(which already had a huge bruise on it) in two places!!
We picked her up as she was saying she still wanted to go to
her Aunt Shell's, and she looked down to see all the blood..
and said "OK,I'll need to get that cleaned up first"
She cried, I wanted to cry,Farmer Dad looked like he wanted to
get a jack hammer and tear out all the concrete, we got her cleaned
and carried her out to the car to go...
What an ordeal! Poor little Princess. She lay on my Sister's bed
with the puppy until she recovered enough to go to lunch at her favorite Chinese
restaurant.We ran our errands and brought her home a treat.
She is fine of course.

Painting

Saturday came cold and grey. Princess and Farmer Dad went for breakfast
together and then tried to lure the sun out with a soccer ball in the backyard.
It still hasn't come out. Princess decided to paint a rock she found outside as
well as some others we had saved and some clam shells she had painted the insides
of previously.She has plans to decorate her "butterfly garden" with them.
I will also post some pictures of her playing with her Lucky Ducks game last evening.
She loves games! She usually makes up her own version after we play the way it was intended.
We are planning to bake some bread today and some cookies since it is cold.
I hope wherever you are you are cozy and warm!

Friday with friends,

it was so nice to get up today and head out for our monthly pot luck lunch with
our play group. There were not many who made the trip this time, but I enjoyed the
time spent with those who did show. Princess started out chasing the boys away
from where the girls were playing and just when I was ready to take her home for
her bad behavior, we found her sitting on a chair with all the other children gathered
around her as she made up stories about "far away places filled with people you don't know"
(her words, not mine).I decided she could stay.
I'm just sorry I didn't take a picture, but I didn't want them to know we witnessed them behaving.

The Spring Wind

Princess and I have decided to have a short "Spring Break" so we had no school today.
Instead we played and dreamed and sang and danced and drew and read. The only thing that's left to do is jump into our bed!



Here's a little poem we enjoyed reading today:

The Spring Wind

The summer wind
is soft and sweet
the winter wind is strong
the autumn wind is mischievous
and sweeps the leaves along.

The wind I love best
comes gently after the rain
smelling of spring and growing things
brushing the world with feathery wings
while everything glistens,and everything sings
in the spring wind
after the rain.
Charlotte Zolotow

Enjoying the mild weather...

Princess had fun Wednesday visiting with her Grandpa.We have not
seen him since Poppa died and she really missed him.We even had an unexpected
treat when Cousin Debbie stopped in for a quick visit today.
After everyone left, we headed out to the backyard to enjoy the mild weather.
Here are some pictures.

Mug of Coffee

Today dawned sunny and bright with the smell of coffee
(made by Farmer Dad before he headed to work)lingering
in the air. I filled my favorite Zabar's mug and settled in to
read all my "blog friends". The mug was a spontaneous gift from
my Grandfather one day when he had gone into the city for an
art show and I had passed on the offer to go with him because
Princess was at an age where bringing her into the city for the day
was not appealing.It was unusual for me to pass this up, because
we always had a great time going into the city together. My Grandfather
grew up in New York, and knew it like the back of his hand. He could drive
or walk around it giving a running commentary on who lived where and when
and why something was built. We never missed lunch at the Second Avenue Deli
and often stopped in at Zabars for some goodies to bring home.The next day he dropped
in and left the mug on my dining room table."Just made me think of you" he said,"and it was on sale.."
I'm attaching pictures of the paintings he did of both places that hang in my home.
Reminding me every day of how much fun we shared.

Pictures of crafts from Kite Day

Here is Princess putting one of her crafts together.
It is a picture of a Dad and Daughter flying kites together
that I made up for her by cutting out shapes and having her glue
it to her background and then add the details herself.
The theme was her idea.
She also started her big kite to hang on the front door,
but she ran out of steam on that one, we will finish Tomorrow and
I'll post the finished project then.

Fly a Kite Day!

Today we are reading about, dreaming about (because it is unlikely the weather will cooperate here)
and drawing about flying a kite!
I have listed the books we are reading on the subject in my last post.
Princess loves kites. We have many from the very cheap dollar store variety to
the more expensive but just as likely not to work more than once type.
We will be making a couple of crafts as well.
The first is a picture of a Father and daughter flying a kite with shapes I cut out
(because Princess will not cut thin paper right now) for her to glue and decorate.
We cut out a kite shape from tissue paper to turn into a kite to hang on our front door
with some yarn for a tail.Right now Princess is coloring a picture we printed off
of dltk kids.com

with a poem on the bottom by Mark Sawyer:

A kite, a sky, and a good firm breeze,
And acres of ground away from trees,
And one hundred yards of clean,strong string-
O boy, O boy! I call that spring!

As always, I will post pictures as we get our crafts done.
So are you still reading this? Step away from your computer and GO FLY A KITE!!

4th Installment,Books on Monday

This week we will be learning about kites in honor of
Kite Flying Day. Here are some of the books we will
be reading:

Curious George Flies a Kite by Margaret Rey with pictures by H.A. Rey

Kite Flying by Grace Lin

Kites For Kids by Burton and Rita Marks illustrated by Lisa Campbell Ernst

The first two are fiction books for fun and the last a "how to" book
for making your own kite and flying it.
We may or may not use this depending on Princess's interest.

Princess has been very into "doing science" lately, so I also have
Bubbles,Rainbows & Worms Science Experiments for Preschool Children
by Sam Ed Brown
The thing I like best about this book is that it lists other children's books which would work with
each section as well as Teacher resource books.

Spring Sunday

The weather was nice enough to work in the yard spreading compost
and toss a frisbee around. Princess and Farmer Dad had a great day!
I even got to take a nap. Oh that was nice.
Farmer Dad picked up a pizza for dinner and we got to bed early.

Saturday and more sensory ideas...

Princess decided she needed to do science today, so....
I asked her to come up with an idea for some science.
She came up with this:
she brought me a National Geographic Little Kids free sample
that came in the mail recently,open to a recipe for a science
experiment titled BLUE GOO.
She asked for a bowl and some baking soda,water and blue coloring.
I told her no problem,but I would give her the cornstarch it called for
instead of the baking soda.We then decided we would use red to make pink instead of blue.

The recipe for GOO 1 - 16OUNCE BOX OF CORNSTARCH
1 1/2 CUPS OF WATER
ABOUT 15 DROPS OF BLUE FOOD COLORING
Mix it all together with your hands.
The goo hardens in your hands when you squish it and feels solid. When you open your hands,the goo feels like a liquid.

Princess had a great time with this until her cousin, along with
her puppy stopped by to bring her a couple of journals.
We cleaned up and played with the puppy for a little while and then we found some
quinoa that was opened and in the back of our kitchen pantry, so we tossed it into the
sensory box (a new litter box that was used to store dvds in a cabinet).
Princess came up with many ways to play with this.

Rainy Friday

Who cares! We've got plenty to do inside!
Princess made a huge fort under the dining room table
today with the blankets and sheet from her bed.
Pillows and stuffed animals went inside along with her
flashlight and many library books.
When she finally came up for air,she played
with her SEE and SPELL and then her animals.
After reading the books under the table together,
we pulled out her "gym mat" so she could tumble.
All in all it was a lovely Friday.

Sensory Tables

Princess has been having a lot of fun playing in our version
of a sensory table.Her recent favorite is to put baking soda
and add a little water and bit of vinegar (for the foam) and put
all her "sea creatures" in it. She pretends she is in the ocean.
The great thing is everything that gets splattered smells fresh
and clean once wiped down.
What have you used in a sensory table?We'd love to hear
your favorites or failures.

National Goof Off Day!

Thursday was National Goof Off Day, so we did.
We read, we colored, we danced around to our
"springy music" and we celebrated the Birthday of
one of Princess's stuffed animals."Sarah" turned 8.
Princess set all the animals up in the living room and
served goldfish crackers and tea.For entertainment
they played Barbies and colored some more.
In the evening we had friends over for dinner,
so Farmer Dad took Princess outside to play
while I finished preparing dinner.She did help
set the table, make mashed potatoes and biscuits.
It was a lovely day and so nice to spend time
with our friends.

Library Sale

Today we stopped in at our local mall to attend our library's
book sale. Two things kept my spending in check,
#1 Farmer Dad and Princess were with me and they do not have
the patience to sift through every book on the tables that I do.
(not to mention the boxes under the tables)
#2 Have I mentioned how many books we have at our house?
I should point out that #1 and #2 have never kept me in check before,
but as Princess actually begins to read, I am becoming much more choosy
about the books we have for her to read. I have always had children's books
around my house for my nieces, but once they were old enough to read, I
just wanted them to read..anything. I let them pick out stacks of books I
would not have chosen myself. "Barbie" and movie themed books and
the like. Some of which I have Freecycled recently to make room for the
books I want to make available for Princess.Tonight I picked up a few
like Caldecott Medal winner, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
and Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw which we take out of the library all the time.
Both well worth the 50 cents in my opinion.I did let Princess pick out a book for herself
and she decided on My Very First Little Mermaid Storybook adapted by Rochelle Larkin and Illustrated by Yvette Banek. It is not the book I would have chosen, but she likes Mermaids and I think the
smaller size appealed to her as well.
I did enjoy watching her circle slowly around the table looking
at different books and finally choosing the one she liked the best.
I'd like to think I'm raising a Bibliophile.

Happy Spring!

I am so glad Spring is here!
I just wish we had "spring" weather to go with
it's arrival. Today we will be going to Chuck E Cheese
to meet with a couple members of our play group.
We haven't seen them in about two months, and we
are both so excited! I never thought I'd look forward
to going to Chuck E Cheese, but I do.
Princess and I got up at 5:30 am today and have been having a
fun time reading, playing Barbies and even watched some Curious George.
I've got some muffins ready to go in the oven and the laundry is humming away.

Spring Crafts we did Yesterday!

Here are some pics from the spring crafts we did (see below)

Sheep,Chicks,Bugs and Flowers....Spring

Today we are learning about Spring.
Princess asked to learn about sheep, and
although our library has books on sheep
that are nonfiction, they were taken out already,
so we have been reading some funny fiction instead.
Nancy Shaw has a funny series about sheep and we chose
Sheep in a Jeep and Sheep Take a Hike.
We also read a riddle book called Sheepish Riddles by Katy Hall
and Lisa Eisenberg with pictures by R.W. Alley
We started out our morning reading about Spring in
a book by Grace Lin and Ranida T. McKneally
called,Our Seasons. This afternoon we are reading
Waddle,Waddle,Quack,Quack by Barbara Anne Skalak and Illustrated by Sylvia Long
We started painting our parts of our daffodil craft this morning and hope it will dry enough
to put it together this afternoon. We also have some coloring pages from children's author,
Jan Brett's web site (there is a link on my side bar for it) and a sheep craft Princess has wanted to re-do since last spring.It is simply a picture of a lamb that she will glue cotton balls onto.
I will post more pictures as we get them done today.
We also covered Wonderful Worms by Linda Glaser and Loretta Krupinski and Jack's Garden by Henry Cole
and Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert.
I have too many craft ideas to go with these books and the season in general, so I will try to post a blog on just that tomorrow or Friday.
Please feel free to tell us what you'll be doing to celebrate Spring in the comments section.

3rd Installment of Books on Monday

I would like to share a web site that we really enjoy
http://rosemarywells.com/
Princess and I enjoy the books by Rosemary Wells
and I really appreciate the sentiment of her site.
That said here are some more of our favorite books
from our own bookshelves:

the HICCUPotamus by Aaron Zenz

Tumble Bumble by Felicia Bond

These are both delightful reads filled with rhyme that both
parent and child can enjoy!

If I Were a Lion by Sarah Weeks and Illustrated by Heather M. Solomon

excerpt: I'm sitting in my time out chair
because my mother
put me there.

"You try my patience, child!

I do not like it when you're wild."

Having said these words to my Princess so many times, I laughed out loud when I read this book for the first time.The illustrations are gorgeous and the story will strike a chord in any child who has ever been sent to the "time out chair".

When Sophie gets Angry-Really, Really Angry...by Molly Bang

This book is about what Sophie does to deal with her feelings of anger.
It is a Caldecott Honor book and a Charlotte Zolotow Award book.

Here is a fun read from the library this week:

While Mama Had a Quick Little Chat by Amy Reichert Illustrated by Alexandra Boiger

Funny eye-opener for all of us who have been interrupted by our children while having a "quick little chat".

Please let us know what you think of these books or what you are enjoying now with your family.

Winter Wonderland

We are spending this Sunday enjoying being home together,
so I will leave you with a few pictures from around our yard.Be sure to check back in tomorrow for some
reading ideas!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

We were planning on doing our "Rainbow Hunt" when Princess
woke up today, but she wanted to play in the snow/ice outside.
Princess had a wonderful time reading her clues(with the help of Farmer Dad)
each with another color of the rainbow. #1 was Go to the RED chair
in the living room.#2 Find the fake ORANGE in your play kitchen,
etc.The final clue (reach into the INDIGO back pocket of Dad's pants)
led her to a violet scroll in her room with the poem:
Roses are red,VIOLETS are blue, I hope you had fun on this RAINBOW
Hunt, because I sure love you!Happy St Patrick's Day!
By the time they were done, I had the pancakes ready.
She had a long bubble bath and then we went to Great Grandma's
for Corned Beef and Cabbage and Baked ziti and chicken parm.
It was nice to see everyone and play with the puppy before coming home
to play some more before bed.I hope everyone had a lovely day filled with family and friends
and if you did something to mark the occasion, we'd love to hear about it!

Still snow and freezing rain here.....

I was looking through some pictures of last year this time...we were digging in the flower beds
and washing the outside toys in sweatshirts.Makes it feel even colder today.
Princess is playing with her "coral reef " animals and I'm trying to tidy up the kitchen,
OK, I'm on the computer putting off cleaning up the kitchen.
I found this adorable picture of Princess sleeping at the end of St Patrick's Day
last year that I thought I would share.