*HALLOWEEN!!!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! We strayed from a structured lesson day and just had fun. We started the day by decorating cookies!

Everyone had fun with that, and Babe was very careful in her decorating. Very cute.

After I cleaned up, I had a little matching game with pumpkin faces that was more for Bubs, but Babe got a kick out of it too. I thought for sure Bubs would be able to do this activity, but she had a little trouble with it. It wasn't until I walked her through each facial feature that she got what she had to do.

I cut shapes out of foam and made a face on my own foam pumpkin. Then I gave Babe and Bubs their own pumpkin and had them match up the shapes to make their pumpkin face identical to mine. I knew Babe would be able to do this but she still had fun, and she even wanted to make one for me to match. Bubs was either not interested or just really didn't know how to do it, but like I said, once I walked her through each feature, she kind of started to get it.

After we did a ton of those faces, Bubs and Z were off to play and I gave Babe a book to read. One she read very well. I asked her to try to read it with a rhythm, and that completely changed her reading tone.

"It all rhymes! It's kind of like a song!"

She totally got it and I was excited to listen to her really read it so smoothly. When she was all done, I handed her her reading log and she gasped so loud.

"I'M ON TWENTY!"

She is. Babe read 20 books all by herself this month. It was cool seeing her so proud of herself.

The rest of the day was spent baking goodies and relaxing for trick-or-treating tonight. I had so much fun and I know the kids did too. Woohoo for holidays! A little break from structure every now and then just feels so good!

2nd Month, 19th Day

We are getting closer to Halloween! Can you feel it?! I can. And so can all three kids, especially after today!

I had Babe do her Math first thing this morning so we could do more Halloweeny stuff, and she was able to breeze through it just fine, with enough time before our trip to the library to do a fun craft.

I gathered the kids at the table and asked Babe to read "Skeleton Hiccups" by Margery Cuyler. Have you read this book? It's hysterical and adorable at the same time. We all love this book and Z belly laughs so hard when Babe does the hiccup sound effects herself. She read this so well that she added it to her reading log.

After she read it, I surprised the kids with real skeleton bones and piled them on the table. And by real, I mean dog treats I painted white. But they are real enough! Babe even asked if they were real bones! Z was the first to notice they were cookies, then Bubs said they smelled like my dog, Rocket. Then Babe made an off-the-wall poop joke. Normalcy at its finest.

Anyway, I saw this craft on, can you guess? Pinterest. Love this site for craft ideas.

So I handed them their glue bottles, black paper, and bones to make their skeletons. Then they each got a white crayon to add to their art. Babe impressed me so much with her craft! She even added the "hic"'s from the story! So cute.

Z's! He loved scribbling with the white crayon.

Bubs's! She even surprised me and wrote her name on it all by herself! Gah! Proud moment.

And here's Babe's. I laughed so hard when I saw she added the hic's. And those fingers and toes! Adorable. I can't get over it.

After this craft, we had to get into costumes for the Halloween party at the local library. Then around 10:30, I chauffeured a train conductor, a duck, and an Indian princess to the party. We all had a blast and everyone loved everyone else's costumes. The library here does a great job with the kids.

After library, lunch, and naps, I introduced Babe to the new "food pyramid" plate introduced by Michelle Obama. I asked her to look at the plate and see which kinds of foods we are supposed to eat the most of. She noticed that the vegetable and grain parts of the plate were the biggest.

"But I like fruit because they are good for me and they are sweet."

Interesting thought. I do find it weird, though, that less fruits and proteins were recommended. Anyway. I taped a paper cup to a paper plate and handed her some magazines to browse for food. Then she cut out the food and glued them on the plate and cup to mimic the "food plate." She really liked this, and even said it was the "best craft ever", but got a little distracted when Z and Bubs were done in no time.

We were done with lessons with a bit of time before the end of the day, so I asked Babe if she wanted to try adding one more book to her reading log. It didn't take long for her to answer YES! So I handed her "A Beasty Story" by Bill Martin Jr. and Steven Kellogg. This was somewhat of a smooth read for her, but she got held up on "cupboard" and "cellar" a couple of times. But during her second read, all was fixed and she read it like a pro.

Here's to FRIDAY! Lots of Halloween things planned, with a little Kindergarten on the side.