Afternoon Tea

  

Izzie had a wonderful afternoon at the Tea Party hosted by our local library.

 



Happy Valentine's Day!

We were snowed in with 22 inches of snow on Valentine's Day!  The girls were a little disappointed that our coop was canceled and they weren't able to pass out Valentine's Day cards to their friends. 

 

 

However, we had a great afternoon building snowmen and drinking hot chocolate! 

 

 

 

Thankfully, the girls' Valentine's Day activities were earlier in the week.  They had a great time at a Valentine's Day party!  This was their first year passing out and receiving Valentine's Day cards. They were super excited!

 

 

They made Valentine's Day cards for residents at our local nursing home. 

 

 

We spent one morning visiting with the residents and passing out goodies and cards!

 

 

Happy Valentine's Day!



Snow much fun!

The girls had "snow" much fun spending the afternoon at our local library!

 

 

After reading several "snow" books, it was time to make crafts! 

 

The girls decided to start with the messiest craft...creating snowmen out of candy...

 

 Then, they created these adorable snowmen out of popsicle sticks! 

 

They had a great time making snow-covered trees from puffy paint (shaving cream and glue).

 

Then, they strung beads onto pipe-cleaners to make these beautiful snowflakes!  



Lastly, they created more snowflakes from marshmallows.  



We love going to our library! 

Our first official "SNOW DAY"!

We woke this morning, anticipating a lot of snow.  Nothing.  Absolutely nothing was outside.  The girls were very disappointed.  I was very disappointed.  Apparently, the "storm" was late.  However, all area schools were out, which meant a snow day with Daddy at home!  By mid-morning, the snow had arrived!  

The girls spent the morning playing and the afternoon watching Mary Poppins. 

 

Afterward, the girls were bursting to get outside!

 After dinner, we even squeezed in some sewing!  The girls have completed the big stuffed animal and are getting very close to finishing the smaller one. 

It was a fabulous lazy day at home.  Tomorrow, I'll probably regret that I didn't use my timely wisely as a "teacher" workday! 

Merry Christmas!

Spreading Christmas Cheer...

We have been thoroughly enjoying our visits to the local nursing home.  The girls loved passing out candy on Halloween and homemade cards for Thanksgiving.  For our Christmas visit, the girls made these adorable candy cane ornaments to pass out along with the Legend of the Candy Candy poem.  

 

We visited and sang Christmas Carols for many of the residents. 

This was our third visit to this particular nursing home.  Not only are our visits a valuable experience for the girls, but they brighten up the day for the elderly, who often feel isolated and excluded from the community.  Our goal this year is to maintain an ongoing visitation program with this community of elders.

Merry Christmas!

Giving Back...

The girls and I met friends at our local nursing home for Thanksgiving.  This was our second visit to this particular nursing home.  Not only are our visits a valuable experience for the girls, but they brighten up the day for the elderly, who often feel isolated and excluded from the community.  Our goal this year is to maintain an ongoing visitation program with this community of elders.  Izzie and Mac made homemade Thanksgiving cards to pass out to the residents and there were a lot of hugs being passed out too!  

 

 

Frontier Culture Museum

We had an amazing "homeschool-day" at the Frontier Culture Museum.   

 

The Frontier Culture Museum tells the story of the thousands of people who migrated to colonial America, and of the life they created here for  themselves and their descendants. These first pioneers came to America during the 1600s and 1700s from communities in the hinterlands of England,  Germany, Ireland, and West Africa. Many were farmers and rural craftsmen set in motion by changing conditions in their homelands, and drawn to  the American colonies by opportunities for a better life. Others came as unwilling captives to work on farms and plantations. Regardless of how they arrived, all became Americans, and all contributed to the success of the colonies, and of the United States. 

To tell the story of these early immigrants and their American descendants, the Museum has moved or reproduced examples of traditional rural  buildings from England, Germany, Ireland, West Africa, and America. The Museum engages the public at these exhibits with a combination of  interpretive signage and living history demonstrations.

We began our adventure in West Africa, 1700s...

Mac loved pretending that she actually lived in the mud huts and was making dinner for her family.  

She also enjoyed watching the animals.  

We then traveled to the 1600s in England...

The girls were great helpers!  They grated cheese and washed dishes. 

Exploring the different rooms throughout the house...

Mac found the sheep!

Along our way to Ireland, we stopped by the Forge.

Ireland, 1700s, in the distance...

Exploring Ireland...

We then traveled to Germany, 1700s. 

 Mac was thrilled to help milk the cow!  Izzie wanted no part in this demonstration!

Afterward, we journeyed to the Native American Encampment.  We had just finished reading Little House In The Big Woods, so my girls were fascinated by all the Native American items! 

Unfortunately, it began to rain, not just a drizzle, but a pouring down rain.  We tried to wait it out in the teepees, but decided to call it a day.  The girls were disappointed that they didn't get to investigate America...1740s Settlement, 1820s American, 1850s America, and 1850s Schoolhouse.  However, it was another 1/2 mile walk in the opposite direction from our car and we had a 1/2 mile walk back to our car.  We were drenched by the time we arrived to the car!  Looking forward to next year's homeschool day, where we'll being our adventure in America!