ARRRRR - Buried Treasure!

I know - I've posted enough about our rainbows and R themed activities... but this is a record for me... a way to reflect and see the growth in the lives of my children, husband and self. I'm just letting you in there if you want to - to hang around in my deeply pensive mind. Give me an alphabet letter and man, I'll go deep.

So my son is not very big on "crafty" type activities. Things other kids dig like paint and glue, he'd gladly pass up to play David and Goliath for the ninety-fifth time. He'd enthusiastically shove away the paper and stickers to get onto crushing egg shells in the mortal and pestle or filling his socks with rubber balls so he can have his very own slingshot. I'm rearing a man and I pray I am always sensitive to the fact that he may have to kill an animal someday to survive or bash through a window to rescue someone.

With that being said... I saw a super cute rainbow activity - one in which a cardboard letter R is horizontally glued with stripes of red, orange, yellow, and so on. And every one I saw was so rainbowy! Each color in it's place... all the lines were straight. And all this got me thinking... I suppose one of the greatest parts of homeschooling is tailoring your plans to the strengths and weaknesses of your child. To mold the character according to God's Word and not just my expectations. So Gavin doesn't have to sit in a class of other 3 and 4 year olds and be told how and where his strips of paper need to go. I can target his weaknesses - issues of control and patience and allow for him to produce something that he is fully invested in yet still within the guidelines of my rule.

So this was the result... A rainbow covered R ... Complete with torn edges and pieces he had to cut apart to fit his plan.




But my favorite part is the hidden pieces. He wanted to build his rainbow vertically "to let the colors reach toward you", he said. So under one layer of color, are many others. Cool - right!
I wouldn't probably see this example hung up in the traditional classroom... perhaps in government preschool art rules are already being established. But in our home - this one was hung up high.





And by the way... I have a new late night addiction. It is not what you may think.... no sugar involved. I can't stop making hair bows. They are small and quick. They are cheap and resourceful... and oh so stinking cute when pulling back Ivy's bangs. I may just have to give everyone some hair bows along with the rice for the upcoming birthdays! Here are a just a few of my latest clippies.




I love what I am so blessed to do!

The Rainbow Connection

My sister, mom, and nephews came visiting this week. Between the snowstorms they all made their way from New Jersey and are headed back home tomorrow. I am so blessed to have a twin... I actually feel a bit sorry for all you singletons out there. Imagine sharing life with someone - like your spouse - but since the womb. It's about one of the greatest blessings God can give - I think.

Anyway, my twin and I share so many things. And planning for our homeschooling with our children is one of the most wonderful connections. We discuss where the Lord is leading us as we teach our children about God and His Holy Word. We share moments of divine intervention when we fail - how the Lord so graciously teaches us as we get back up and try again. We share joys as our children grow and change, understand deep spiritual principles practiced in real living... and we share ideas. Especially the ones that worked - the ones that hit down deep in the souls of the little ones we are entrusted with.... the ideas that are gifts of creativity and give glory to out Creator.

We are finishing up with the letter R this week. (We both spend 2 weeks per letter) And the rainbow connections we have made have been exciting and loud. What a way to spend some time with your cousins! Check out some of our fun!

Rainbow Water Play ***

No, those aren't floating carrots...

Yes, Ivy ate a lot of food coloring that morning! We evened it our with some healthy veggies!

Other than causing the water to turn an ugly brown, the children all loved splashing in their own rainbows! Start with some dollar store ice cube trays (the ones with the seasonal shapes) and food coloring, add in some scoops and sieves and such, and you have an environment for pouring, transferring and floating fun! Just be sure to have a few thirsty towels on hand!

Rainbow Story Time ***

We read about Noah and God's promise to never flood the entire earth again. We had out our box of puppets and the children all fed and cleaned up after our "animals". I felt led to talk to them about the great responsibility of caring for those beasts day after day... night after night. Surly Noah's wife grew tired of the smells and sounds of those creatures - no matter how much of an animal lover she may have been! The big boys drew a part of the story to record what they remembered.

You guessed it... Gavin loved the torrential downpour. Destruction! How 4-year old boy of him!

JELL-O Rainbows ***
Is there anything more delightful than eating a rainbow??? Soooo fun! The kids loved eating from such fancy goblets too! Well worth a bit of time to make.

Rainbow Band***

Reaching for a Rainbow!

With Boom Whackers, Hand bells, and Rainbow Ribbon Twirlers... we made music to brighten up this snow-covered neighborhood. I'm sure they could all hear us if they listened well enough! The children loved just exploring with the music - playing chase and catch with the ribbons... and being surrounded with scarves and laughter. It was a wonderful time for the body and soul (just maybe not the ears)!

Our Lady in Red!

Rainbow Sorting and a Rainbow Snack***

We gave the older boys a pinch or so of Rainbow Jimmies to sort and then lick up. Once I called them "little guys", Gavin decided they probably had feelings and didn't want to eat his. But other than a few emotional overreactions, they loved pushing such tiny wonders around. And the yummy pretzels were shared by us all!

Sooo tasty! We could have thrown back quite a few of these lovely little treats!

Rainbow Science***

So dish soap cuts grease, or in our case cuts milk fat. Add some food coloring to the milk and chase it away with some liquid Ajax - and you have a rainbow science experiment. We followed auditory directions, counted out drops, talked about staining, made predictions, and observed colors twirl and swirl until new colors were made. The kids all loved watching this one!

Rainbows!! What a wonderful way to spend time together with family and have lots of preschool learning!