J had been asking for several weeks to do science experiments, so last Saturday B created an entire day of science experiments.
From floating lava:
To a mad scientist potion:
To swamp juice:
The boys had a blast creating different mixtures and “potions”. The best thing is that all of these can be created with normal household items (and some carefully handled dry ice…by adults only!). It was such a fun day of experiments, and also some tasty treats!
As soon as there is just a bit of chill in the air, the boys and I jump into baking cookies. One of our very favorite fall cookies is molasses cookies and this time the boys split up the tasks with A measuring and mixing all the dry ingredients and J adding in all the wet ingredients.
Then they took turns dividing out the cookies on the pan:
And then we patiently waited for them to bake:
And they were gone in a flash! This is one of our very favorite recipes and you can find it here!
Putting together puzzles has become one of our favorite wind down activities during the week. I purchase one every month or so, and we slowly put it together, doing just a few pieces (or more) at a time. I’ve found that it keeps me from sitting down and immediately checking social media. I’ve collected up some of our favorites to share!
This post contains affiliate links! Thanks for supporting my blog!
In a brand new decision this year, A decided that he wanted to make his own lunch. J quickly joined in and also declared that he wanted to make his own lunch. Inspired by Mix and Match Mama’s post on this awhile back, I decided to let the boys give it a try. I say give it a try, because I wanted to make sure they understood that if they made it, they were also going to put away everything they got out to make it, that they cleaned up any messes, and they didn’t turn it into a crazy role playing game that involved yelling (if you’re thinking…how can your kids turn making lunch into a game….oh they can. They Mary Poppins’ stuff to the extreme here. Here’s a little bit more about what I did!
First, I made sure things were easily accessible:
One spot for, yogurt, cheese sticks, apple sauce packs, lunchables, etc. I also cut the grapes into smaller bunches, made small bags of carrot sticks, and then got the celery bags that are individual sticks.
Then, I made a guide list for them:
It’s not fancy. There is no pretty design, or written on special paper, I just made a list. They have to get one thing from each group, and then I check it at the end. Then they zip it up and put it in the fridge. In the morning I slip in an ice pack, and write on their napkins (they’ve had a note from me everyday on their napkin since preschool. My Mom did that, too!). They were so proud that they made it all by themselves!
This is definitely a routine! We are headed back to school this week, I can hardly believe it. And no, the five Fritos were not for J’s lunch, ha! I also set out their back to school surprises:
New books for them to read in car line (Magic Tree House for J and The Van Gogh Deception for A), new socks, and Musee bath balm, because who doesn’t need a nice calming bath after a busy first day of school?! Happy back to school, friends!
As the boys are getting older they have become more interested in learning how to cook and bake different things. While, I love that they are interested and want to help, I’ve been working through the challenge of them “helping” and me keeping my sanity in the process. I have always used cooking as a bit of personal therapy/calm down at the end of the day. It’s where B and I discuss our days, prep stuff together, etc. When the boys were little they would happily help me prep a few items, hand me spices, mix things, but now they want to do it all. So, I’ve worked on a few things as they are older that have made a big difference, and thought I would share.
First, helping clean up as you go. I have found cooking/baking is so necessary for J. He is a go go go kiddo and this has really helped him to learn he has to slow down. You can’t whisk as hard as possible or turn the mixer on high without making a mess. However, who cares about making a mess if you don’t have to clean it up? I’m a clean as you go baker. When we get done with a bowl, a spoon, whatever it is, it gets rinsed and goes in the dishwasher. This has helped immensely in the boys not running in to help and then leaving when they get bored and leaving me with the mess.
Second, follow the steps. Reading a recipe is a method and can be a bit of a learning curve. We will go through the recipe together and I have them help me collect the ingredients we need, so they not only know what we are using but also where it is stored.
Third, walk away when necessary. Obviously you should be standing there when they are doing tasks that need supervision, but I try to let them be independent, so I’m not over instructing and correcting them. For example, when J was scooping cookie dough, I showed him how and then I worked on cleaning up the flour from the sink. I was there if he had a question, but not right there telling him it was too much or too little.
For this particular baking session we made Picky Palate’s Jack Jack Cookie Num Nums. We altered the recipe just a tad, using milk chocolate chips because we couldn’t find chunks, and using a regular muffin tin. We lowered the baking time to between 10-15 minutes to adjust for all this and they turned out excellent!
I also made only half the batter and then refrigerated the other half to make next week (I would say this method would make about 24 total cookies:
You are supposed to eat them warm, so for any leftover cookies, we just popped them one the microwave for about 15-20 seconds to warm it up.
These are my new favorite way to make (and eat!) chocolate chip cookies:
A bit of what we’ve been reading this summer….
We are all about the series this summer! And a Crisis Communication Textbook. Ha! Along with the boys’ reads and my work read, here are some of the other books I’ve read from May-July.
A story about star crossed lovers, who are forever changed by the divide of Jerusalem. It is sad in parts, but so wonderfully written and insightful. You’ll remember it long after you read it.
Perfect for summer, this story is historical fiction of sorts, featuring an up and coming photographer and the editor who changed the entire direction of the original Cosmopolitan magazine.
This by far one of my favorite reads of the year. I don’t want to give anything away, but essentially it is about a baby who is found and taken in by a family, and his journey with and apart from them. It’s a story about the strong ties of family and overcoming adversity.
My most current Agatha Christie read. It is a mystery (obviously) surrounding a school setting, with a murderous hunt for treasure.
Another historical fiction based on Andrew Wyeth’s inspiration for the painting Christina’s World, this was a very interesting read. So much so that I now have the Museum of Modern Art on my list to go see the painting in person.
This has been on my list for awhile. I’m a fan of Forever 35 podcast, and one of the hosts has talked about this series being her favorite, and they interviewed the author. It is kind of along the lines of Agatha Christie, but it has a much more personal connection to the investigator. It is also set in a very specific time period (right after World War I), and the author does a lovely job of intertwining the effects of the war with the mystery.
A has read every Percy Jackson book, and is re-reading the ones discussing Greek mythology:
Mythology was one of my favorite classes in high school and college, so we’ve had lots of fun discussions about the different myths!
J’s series of the summer has been Harry Potter. We are only letting him read books 1-3 for now, but this is the first time (and he loves to read) that he is reading everywhere we go. In the car, waiting at the pool, first thing when he gets up in the morning:
He’s been asking to watch The Chamber of Secrets all week, so this past weekend we watched it:
He was so excited! His favorite characters right now are Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall. And Harry Potter, of course. We are still debating if he can watch the third movie, but he’s already planning to go back and read the first three again.
This is my new Summer tea towel that I picked up online on sale from Anthropologie (it’s the cutest):
This is our redwood that we planted in the ground this fall and it is flourishing!
This is J playing catcher in his last game of the season:
He has grown so much in his playing ability this year! By the end of the season he was hitting at every at bat, and got multiple runs! Most importantly he loved playing and is excited about next season.
This is the boys with their fresh haircuts that they got at our local barbershop. They look handsome and are ready for summer vacation now!
After their haircuts we headed over to the food trucks that are set-up in our downtown during the weekends for May-August, A most enjoyed the milkshake for dessert:
Then on Saturday I ran to Costco with my sister and got one of my favorite stress free dinners:
Chicken alfredo pasta, French bread, and frozen corn. Sooooo simple, and the boys eat it up!
This is the adorable eagle J made at school:
And finally, this is J entering into the toothless club! He lost his first tooth this weekend:
Every summer since the boys started in school, I have a plan to avoid the “summer slump”. The boys are so used to this that they have even started setting their own goals for the summer! A’s major goal is to read, read, read. J wants to learn to tie his shoes (we’ve attempted this several times without success), write correctly with his pencil (more on that in a minute), and learn his math facts fast! Here are a few more of our summer learning plans.
First, back to J’s writing. I noticed about a year ago that J tended to hold his pencil oddly. We tried several things to help him, and figured as he continued to write it would begin to work itself out. However, it hasn’t, and so we really need to get him back on track so he doesn’t get behind in the classroom. My Mom gave me a pencil grip corrector and a writing tablet and we are slowly beginning the process of helping him re-learn how to hold his pencil to write. I’m very thankful that he is super pumped about this because it is not an easy process.
Second, is finally nailing down shoe tying for BOTH kids. I really feel like I knew how to do this in kindergarten, but good gracious it’s been difficult to teach them. J really wants to learn, and A could really care less, but they are both going to learn because their shoes for fall will be lace-ups. In part because they stay on their feet better (if they are tied). J desperately wants shoes like these:
So that’s one of our end goals for the summer.
Third, J has the goal of nailing down his math facts (addition and subtraction), and I want him to be able to do it without using his fingers to count. We already have addition and subtraction cards like these:
But I also have plans to get this fun little math matching game:
While I’m working on math facts with J, A will be working through some Khan Academy math programs.
Now that we’ve covered J (and some A) goals, here are a few of my learning goals for the summer! First up, I’m planning to sign up for a free two months of Skillshare and take this class with the boys:
The boys love drawing, and so I thought it would be fun to test our hand at some drawings and watercolors.
Second, A is all about math and storytelling write now so we have plans for this Pixar in a Box series on just that idea.
And third, a brand new Magic Treehouse Book on Benjamin Franklin comes out in July. So I’ve got a book club lesson plan for the boys:
And that’s it! The boys have two weeks of swim lessons, a week of FCA camp, and we’ve got a beach vacation as well, so in between all of that we are going to sleep in, go to the pool, catch up on all the reading, and eat all the popsicles! If you want to check out last year’s learning plan it’s here.
This is my Target order haul from the past week:
Since it’s been a pain-ish to get to Target right now, I’ve been adding things to my cart throughout the week and then I order it all at the beginning of the next week. I also may need to stop following so many blogs that I keep discovering new things to try.
J is reading Sarah, Plain, and Tall out loud with his reading group at school and at home to me:
This was one of my favorite books when I was his age, so I love that he’s reading it and that I get to hear it all over again!
My Mom had baby chicks hatch in her classroom this past week, and J really loved them so:
This kiddo has a heart for animals!
On Friday we braved the rain to pick up new baseball equipment for J, and for the boys to spend their Christmas and birthday money at Target:
These are the newest Elite Trainer Pokémon boxes. They were excited about them, I was excited there were two boxes!
This is the salmon sheet pan supper that is so, so easy:
Salmon, asparagus, lemon. Drizzle with a little olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook at 400 degrees until done (about 12-15 minutes).
And finally, this podcast got me intrigued by A Color Story App, which I promptly downloaded and have had fun trying out!
My first in-app purchase was At Home and I love it! It creates amazing filters that look natural, but just a tad brighter, truer, better. I definitely recommend it! Have a great Monday!
At A’s den meeting this week, he learned about first aid, safety, and how to grill a hamburger/hot dog, which are three important things!
He was very excited to eat the hamburger he made all by himself, and he even tried it with an onion on it!
While he and B were hiking and cooking, J and I worked on a leaf craft project at home. This is a super easy project that requires minimal items, all you need is a hammer, watercolor (or other heavy weight) paper, paper towels, and freshly fallen leaves.
You want leaves that have some pigment left in them because it will transfer color better to the paper. All you do is arrange your leaves on the paper…
And then cover them with paper towels, and hammer (carefully, with adult supervision) all over the leaves…
And the imprint of the leaves will transfer onto the paper!
Super simple, and a great weekend afternoon craft!