Our Week: End of November

This week we all had a cold.  I really didn't think we had done much, mostly just rested and played when we felt up to it.  Apparently from the photos we did actually do a tone!!


Oh the weekend our wood arrived!!  We are using our fireplace to heat the house most of the winter.  The boys were a huge help with moving the wood to a spot near the front door.

MJ discovered a new game although he goes by his own rules.  We did play a lot of different board games throughout the week.

MJ gave his brother an interesting log from the wood pile.  TJ decided to use it as a Christmas tree.  He woke up one morning (dressed as a butterfly) and decided to make a star for his tree.


Just for fun one day I brought out a needle felting kit TJ was given.  Looking back I'd have done this one on one or when MJ boys was a bit older.  Two young boys with pokey needles can be stressful.  The little mice they made are adorable and have been used a lot.  MJ's is a motorcycle mouse with wheels...


The wind really picked up this week and it was warmer for a few days.  The boys and I went to play with a friend.  We all had our kits out and tried several kinds included plastic bag kits.  We always have so much fun with our friends.


The howling wind made rather ghostly sounds coming through the kitchen door.  The boys told ghost stories and decided to decorate for halloween.  They made several ghosts, a sign and TJ made an awesome scary costume.  We had a funny time surprising/scaring daddy when he come inside!!


MJ on his own went to get out the pattern blocks (I can hear them coming out again behind me as I type).  He made President Business and Lord Business from the Lego movie.  Later in the day he made me Metal Beard (the smaller one).

Our boys had their friend come over to play.  We did marbles, dress-up, lots of play time and a craft.  Busy little boys having so much fun!


Okay crazy me thought I'd have a craft ready on hand incase we needed to switch things up a little.  I didn't have everything I needed to make a 'less messy' craft.  So we mixed white glue and shaving cream.  It makes a wonderful puffy paint perfect for snowmen and such.  It is also irresistible to very tactile boys.  We may try this again outside in the summer.  Never-the-less the artwork looks great and the clean up wasn't so bad.


Seeing as we were mostly resting and playing this week in the back of my mind I was worrying about the boys and academics.  Of course children are naturally curious and love learning all on their own.  They reminded me of this right when I needed it most.  TJ found a scrabble type game and began making words, then he added up his score from the numbers on the tiles.  We noticed that some of the words were multiplication questions like 4 fours, or 3 twos...

After a while TJ moved on to some crafty things.  He lead me over to his creation and said he had a game for me.  "Which land is bigger, feather/button land or glitter land?"  This lead to some interesting discussions on area.  He was also asked up which area we liked better and why?

Some time this week while MJ was playing with the pattern blocks he called me over all excitedly.  He noticed that three blue (rhombus) made a hexagon.  Then he tried the same thing with the other shapes to see how many trapezoids and triangles it would take to make a hexagon.  It was interesting to see how he reacted to the squares, which don't make a hexagon at all.


One day I set out some playdough with loose parts and cookie cutters.  TJ brought out other playdough toys and made an octopus.  Then he and I made Christmas cookies.  MJ took some loose parts and made paint brushes from feathers.  He tested them, washed them and gave one to each of us.  

The boys made popcorn strings from left over popcorn to put outside.  MJ put his popcorn in a basket to hang from the tree.  Later in the day we saw a squirrel enjoying the treat.  So we made more popcorn and more baskets!


As always the small words and farm play are still going.  I love finding the funny things they add in.  The snowmen became rescue heros and we sent them on some adventures.  MJ added lots of sea-life to his pond.  TJ broke a hairbrush but turned it into a Roto-tiller for MJ's tractor.

MJ is always wanting to make potions.  He was rather insistent on making his latest creation by the fire place.


Near the end of the week my boys were starting to feel better.  The generously shared their germs with me.  I wasn't so great but we went for a walk near the house.  MJ has a bag of farm toys along with his 'snow blower' and TJ backed his favourite friends into his backpack.  We looked at the turtle area of the marsh and talked about what the animals were doing.  We climbed the cliff edge and enjoyed the view.


I can't get over how sweet and kind hearted my little boys can be.  After watching daddy fixing a clock for work, MJ had a handful of clock parts.  We put them into a bag so that we could go on a few errands.  This little guy became so excited to give a gift to every cashier we met that day.  I was so grateful for the kind responses everyone gave to my little guy as he handed them random clock parts from his bag.

TJ lost a front tooth this week!!!  I also made my first sweater ever (I have no idea why it took me so many years to just do it).  I noticed that the sleeves are a little short.  TJ said, "Mommy it's okay.  It is your first sweater ever and you did a great job.  I don't mind."  Oh how encouraging.  I do think I'll add some length to the sleeves for him when I get a chance.

So there is our week.  My cold has gotten worse but the boys are slowly getting better.  We'll see what next week brings us.  A new month and new adventures!!

Comments