Outside Play

The weather is finally getting warmer, or at least, we're having warmer days here and there. It's time to get ready for outside play!

Eli has 2 tables- 1 water/sand and the other just sand. I've used the sand table for all kinds of things, I don't think I've ever had just sand in it, lol!! I've used cob litter (found in the rodent section of pet stores for bedding, makes a great sensory bin filler), Insta-Snow, Cloud Dough, and now dirt. We really don't have a place for him to just dig in the dirt. I have an extra bag of dirt, so I may just dump it out in the yard somewhere for him. But for now, he has a dirt table.

I also just noticed in the picture of the dirt table are the water shooters (at the top of the picture). I bought those at the Dollar Tree. Just add a 5 gallon bucket of water and let them go! Tons of fun with water play!

The other table is his water/sand table. This year, I found colored sand. He was so excited that it came in purple, his favorite color! In the water, I put Nixall to help keep it clean and for it to not get funky/slimy. 

My Homeschooling A-Ha Moment

I really struggle with curriculum. What should we be doing? What should Eli be learning? Am I leaving something out? STRESS, STRESS, STRESS!!! My a-ha moment came when I realized several things:

1) I just LOVE the Montessori Materials
2) I resonate with the Waldorf Rhythm of Learning

I really struggled with what much of the Montessori style expected from such young children. I don't think a 4 or 5 year old needs to know the Latin for the Kingdoms of Life, for example. The Waldorf relaxed style fits for us much better and I use certain Montessori materials as units are introduced. 

I do like having an outline to help keep us focused. Here's the general outline for next year.

XX means we're off, or using this time to follow Eli's interests.

1 Aug 5XX

2- 12- OCEAN

13- 9

4- 26

5- Sept 2- FARM/ SPACE

6- 9

7- 16- APPLES

8- 23- XX

9- 30 FOREST/ ANIMALS AT NIGHT

10- Oct 7

11- 14-HUMAN BODY

12- 21-

13- 28 - PUMPKINS

14- Nov 4- ANIMALS IN WINTER-

15- 11

16- 18

17- 25XX

18- Dec 2- RAINFOREST

19- 9

20- 16- WINTER SOLSTICE

21- 23XX

22- 30XX

___________________________________________________________________________________________

23- Jan 6XX

24- 13- SNOW/ ARTIC

25- 20- ANIMAL TRACKS

26- 27

27- Feb 3 HUMAN BODY

28- 10

29- 17- DINOSAURS

30- 24

31- Mar 3 BIRDS

32- 10

33-17- WEATHER

34- 24

35- 31 XX

_________________________________________________________________________________________

36- Ap7- PLANTS/ GRASSLANDS

37- 14

38- 21- EARTH DAY

39- 28

40- May 5- INSECTS

41-12

42- 19

43- 26- POND

44- June 2

45- 9- SPACE

46- 16-

47- 23- XX

48- 30XX

49- July 7XX

50- 14XX

51- 21XX

52- 28XX

Eli is really loving learning how to read, so we will continue with BOB Books, Explore the Code, Pink Language Series. We will also be adding RightStart Math. 

I have lots of hands-on activities and Sensory Bins to go with most of these units, in addition to utilizing community resources. There's also plenty of space to explore any topic further if he wishes. I've recently been inspired by Unschooling and could very easily see us going that direction, especially if Eli starts to go that direction. But for now, we're doing what works for us.

Homeschool Year Overview

Sooooo, after much tweaking, I think I finally came up with an overview I'm happy with, at least for now! HERE is the word document. I left it in word so you can make notes/change/etc. to fit for your homeschooling. It's on Google Drive, so I hope I uploaded it to where you can have access. Also, I think if I make changes/additions on the document throughout the year, it will save there as well. At the beginning, you can see where I have added notes for the first few weeks. I will continue this throughout the year, I hope, lol!

We do year-round school, with a longer break in July and then in December, with shorter breaks throughout the year. I have 34 weeks for homeschooling. We also have some camps scheduled. Eli is 4 1/2, and is above basic preschool, but not quite up to Kindergarten level. I'm using this basic overview as a spiral, from last year (started using WFA last Spring) through the next year or two- each year going more in depth for Science and Social Studies. LA and Math will be more linear type learning.

Subjects and what we're using:

Language Arts: BOB Books, Before the Code, Montessori Pink Language Series
Math: Montessori at Home book until we can purchase RightStart Math
Science: Montessori at Home, Montessori Print Shop, Wee Folk Art, Missouri Conservation Department (our state conservation department has amazing resources, including K-12 curriculum!)
Social Studies: Little Passports and Montessori Print Shop for Continents Study
Practical Life Skills: Montessori at Home

Here are all of the links I've used for this year long overview, plus awesome resources I will use to supplement:

Wee Folk Art Homeschooling Guides- LOVES these guides! Abbreviated WFA and is the 1st- sometimes 2nd column. I think of this as our "circle time".

Montessori at Home Book- A must have for us. I've used these activities last year and will continue through this year- and probably next. A great guide for Practical Life Skills, Math, Science- there are additional subjects as well, but I've used it mostly for those. EXCELLENT!

Montessori Print Shop- reasonably priced, beautiful printable materials. Another must have!

Additional resources: 
KidsSoup.com- I have found it to be well worth the monthly membership. You can create folders to slide activities into for later use. Easy to use, easy to organize.

KidAdvance- one place where I have purchased homeschool supplies- love their puzzle cabinets- I have the Botany, Animal and Insect cabinets. I also purchased the sandpaper letters and numbers and colored beads for math.

Montessori-N-Such- another place where I purchased some materials- I really like their pouring/scooping/sorting sets. I also purchased the leaves puzzle which is just beautiful!

TeachPreschool.com- I love her ideas, and how she pulls lessons together. Great for ideas and lessons!

1+1+1=1 and Homeschoolcreations.com- They have excellent literature based printables. They have other things as well, including religious supplement for those wishing to incorporate that aspect into homeschooling. We don't, but I do love the rest of the materials they have! There are even Kindergarten add-ons for many of the packs.

Counting Coconuts- another great blog on pulling together lessons/themes/units. LOTS of inspiration here!

Living Montessori- another great site for inspiration and lesson plan ideas.

Montessori for Everyone- printables, much like Montessori Print Shop. For me, these seem to be geared more for the elementary ages, even though I have found some to use and I loved them! They also have great Scope and Sequence Comprehensive Lists.

The Helpful Garden- has great free printables covering all subjects- including a Scope and Sequence List.

I'm pretty laid back about homeschooling- we do about 30 min, sometimes 45 min., 3-4 times a week. I also add in play based learning throughout the day. I will admit that the TV is on way too much, even though it is PBS Kids, and Eli loves playing Angry Birds on the Kindle!

So, that's what our homeschooling looks like!

YES YOU CAN!

This post is inspired by the Play At Home Mom YES YOU CAN photo album on facebook.

YES, you can help Daddy spread dirt and then have some to play with in a bin. YES you can dig for worms. YES you can use your hands, or a scoop, or even dump some in your hair. YES, YES, YES, please explore your world, enjoy and have fun learning!

What's on our Summer Shelves

So finally a post, with pictures, of what's on our summer shelves. Just because it's summer doesn't mean the learning stops! We are doing the Summer Library Reading Program and the summer homeschooling literature/activities guide from Wee Folk Art. Before being introduced to these amazing guides, I had already decided to have a summer unit about ponds, so the Wee Folk Art Puddles and Ponds summer guide really was the perfect fit. It focuses on weather and ponds through children's literature and activities. I'm also supplementing with activities from KidsSoup.com.  With Montessori, we have Practical Life Skills and Sensory items.

First a few items from May, which will probably stay out through the summer.

I bought these puzzles at the Dollar Store- there's also a snail puzzle I don't have in the picture. Eli really loves working these and he's getting better at finding matching pieces.

I have a couple of splurge items- items which I spent more than I should have, but they were just too cute to pass up! I do allow a small amount of splurge items each semester, and these little bees were one of them! They fit perfectly for our Bees Unit and Practical Life Skills.

I would like to insert here information about the Barnes and Noble Educators Discount program. They include Homeschoolers!! I would have the link, but can't find it. It was very easy, they were very polite and very helpful in assisting me in receiving my discount card, which by the way, is 20% off of ALL educational supplies- books and toys. All I had to do was tell them I was a homeschooling mom. Once I received my discount card, I used it to buy these all too cute little bees. **PLEASE NOTE** The little bees didn't come with the pom-pom balls, I added those myself, which I purchased from Wal-Mart in the party supply area.

Speaking of Educators Discounts, JoAnn's has a similar program for 15% off. You do have to show some kind of evidence that you are homeschooling- workbook that your child has worked on, lesson plans, etc. I just happen to have my Wee Folk Art book lists with me in case I find myself in a bookstore. I also had my year overview, which I had just printed out that morning, with me. They accepted it as evidence. The manager was really cool about it. She was homeschooled too and loves it when homeschoolers ask for their discount card.

Next, on our shelves...

These are items I bought from montessori-n-such.com, except for the small brown pitchers in the first picture. Those came from goodwill, on sale for 50 cents.

The crumb brush is the perfect size for smaller hands.

There were several pouring kits to choose from. I decided on this one to help teach pouring and equally dividing between several containers.

This little kit was too cute! I was afraid it would be too easy for Eli, as we've been working with tweezers/tongs for awhile now, but it was a little difficult for him. Not only does it teach fine motor skills with the tweezers, there is the sorting colors aspect as well.

Here's another couple of splurge items- spiral tongs and a little shell scoop. One of the activities I have planned for later in the summer is to have small shells which Eli will scoop, pour and then practice using the crumb brush with. The spiral tongs work very well with the pom-pom balls and placing in the little dish from goodwill which has probably been one of the most used items I have- I think it's a little egg dish?

Dish from goodwill- this was from our December shelves

Here's another Montessori activity- flower arranging. Everything came from the Dollar Store. I had to cut the flowers apart into individual stems.

Still out- folding washcloths

Texture Dominoes.

We also have the Melissa and Doug Shapes clock. We also are doing outside sensory bins. So far, we've done insta-snow and Moon Sand (8 cups flour, 1 cup oil- either baby oil or vegetable oil- we tripled the recipe for the outdoor bin, which is the Step2 raised sandbox). Eli also has a water/sand table, which I just have water in. He has a separate sandbox.

Home Schooling Retrospect and Next Year

First WHAT'S ON OUR SHELVES for the Summer~

Various Practical Life Skills activities, the Wee Folk Art home school guides (see below) and participating in the Library Reading Program. Another fun summer activity has been to designate Friday's as Adventure Day. Yesterday was our first one. We went to the Fountains and it was a HUGE hit! Post coming soon about our Summer Activities including photos. 

This past year, we home schooled Eli. I used the Montessori style, which is a lot of hands on activities, including nomenclature cards. As I'm looking forward to next year, I've been assessing what worked and what didn't. In all honestly, Eli tolerated the nomenclature cards- 3 part cards designed to teach about various topics. They have pictures with words. For example, there were about a dozen springtime cards. The tulip card included 1) a picture of a tulip with the word tulip, 2) just a picture of a tulip, and then 3) the word tulip. What I found was that Eli responded MUCH better by walking across the street, with me, to look at the neighbors springtime flowers, which included tulips. Instead of only seeing a picture of a bud, we watched a little tree in our backyard, almost daily, to see the changes in the growing bud into a leaf. Now, I know nomenclature cards are only a supplement to learning and even Montessori says GET OUTSIDE and do hands-on learning. However, when learning about Africa, it isn't like we can just go outside to do so. I'm now tweaking the home school plan for next year to include a lot more hands on activities and utilizing Google Earth. I have been collecting books to cover our various topics. I'm pulling together a list of activities from KidsSoup.com- which I kept vacillating over the cost, $27 per year. I finally just did it and it is well worth the price! I have Toobs of animals for the different land biomes. I bought Practical Life Skills activities to help teach sorting and pouring. I even splurged on some really cute spiral tongs. I have my list of math manipulatives we need to purchase.

BUT, the most important part being added to home schooling is the beautiful find of the Wee Folk Art Home School Guides- thank you Jessica for sharing! OMG! These guides are amazing and can be easily incorporated whether one is home schooling or not. It is Waldorf based and focuses on literature and creative activities. THIS WAS THE PIECE MISSING FROM OUR HOME SCHOOL! The guides are based on the seasons, which I had already lined out next year's learning accordingly, so they fit perfectly. There's a list of books for each season. It's been a wonderful treasure hunt to find these books used- just buying them off amazon.com would eliminate half the fun, even though I'm sure I will have to purchase a few that way. Also, our local library has many of the books.

I'm so excited about these guides, we're starting them now. All of the curriculum is spiral learning- meaning I can reuse the same materials each year, just going deeper with each topic, or picking a different aspect to focus on. For example, geography this year, we will focus on biomes and animals for each continent. I'm fairly certain there will be some Putamayo CD's in there as well. And cooking some kind of traditional food, or at least eating at an ethnic restaurant.

So that's what we've been up to, at least on the home schooling front!

Why we are Homeschooling

Public Schools teach to the average child and they teach to the test. Eli isn't average. If he were to go to public school, he would be bored. He doesn't do nothing well. It wouldn't be good for anyone involved! I am in no way bashing teachers. I think they do an amazing job with what they're given. I really wish they were allowed to just teach.

I find it sad that children in Kindergarten have to stand in a straight line and are expected to sit, quietly at their desks, which are all in rows. They also learn they must color inside the lines, both literally and metaphorically... conform. He has his whole life to learn this and actually I want him to always feel comfortable thinking outside of the box. It is a skill which will serve him well.

I want Eli to feel free to express himself, to be creative, to explore and learn about his world, to be who and what he needs to be with the support of the adults around him, gently guiding him. Once again, creativity is a great skill to cultivate.

We also don't use the reward/punishment system of discipline, which the school seems to only be able to exist on. He is learning to do what is right, because it is the right thing to do and not because someone is watching over him.

I don't want to protect him from the world (as some homeschoolers do), but rather to give him the confidence- and skills- he will need to navigate the world. I want to nurture the skills we value in adults but so many times discipline out of children. It is my job to raise a contributing citizen of society.

I want to teach him HOW to think, not WHAT to think. This goes back to being creative and being able to apply what he learns. Right now, Eli is really into Math. He loves patterns and shapes. Not only has he learned his shapes, but now, he sees shapes in everything! He is applying what he has learned.

We are teaching using the Montessori philosophy with some Reggio sprinkled in. Both of the philosophy's are not just for teaching, but are LIFE philosophies. One of my favorite Maria Montessori quote is from a student speaking with her who said "teach me so I can do it for myself." That sums it up! We are teaching him to be independent and confident, giving him the skills and tools he needs to navigate his world. The Reggio sprinkling is based on the awesome, awesome blog of Play At Home Moms. LOTS of hands on activities and supplies which the children has access to at all times. In Montessori, they recommend a specific place and specific time for learning. Eli has access to all of his activities at all times, including art supplies. Because he has been shown the proper way to use everything, other than a short coloring on everything in the house phase, he is very respectful of his things. Which leads me to the final point~ Montessori also includes the phrase "quiet and respectful". I don't expect Eli to be a quiet little mouse- that would be impractical for an active 3 yr old boy! But, he isn't a crazy disrespectful preschooler either. He doesn't destroy things. He is very respectful, not only knowing the proper use of things, but he also does it. 

We have an awesome Montessori school in town which is always a consideration. But for now, I am very happy homeschooling him. He is learning and is a happy, outgoing preschooler. It's working for us!


Filling the bird feeder

watching for birds

What's on Our March Shelves

The big introduction for Eli's Homeschooling is THE CALENDAR. I love this thing. I spent a lot of time on it. I'm really glad he likes it too. My inspiration is from Counting Coconuts, but I tailored it for our needs.

The moon phase cards and the weather tracking cards came from Montessori Print Shop- the weather tracking cards are FREE. I bought the calendar from an educational supply store and made everything else using Print Shop.

Eli enjoying his calendar. Yes, his shirt is wrong side out and backwards. BUT he put it on all by himself. He was so proud and I was proud of him as well.

The other thing I did was to move his larger sensory table outside. The weather is getting warmer, so it will be good out on the back porch for warm weather experiments and such. The table is a Step2 sandbox table, but we use it for all kinds of things. In his room, I put a bookshelf in the corner where the sensory table was. 

For his learning shelves, I bought blue trays at Target. I wish they would have had 6, but they had five so that's what I got. I have one for each of his learning subjects- Math, Language/Reading, Science (it's the one overflowing!), Geography, Practical Life, and then Sensory didn't get a bin. 

Math
We are using the colored Counting Bears to create patterns- he's really into making patterns, so I'm going with it

Number Counting Cards- Index cards with the number 1-10 and then counting chips- actually they're food chips (plastic green circles with an image of a carrot in them) from a casino that were given to us- they work ;)

Language
Opposites- he has a book of opposites and then sorting cards from Montessori Print Shop

Rhyming words- using his Spelling Spinner

Beginning Letter Sounds- simple 3 letter words, sounding out beginning letter and finding the letter that goes

A couple of books that have a lot of rhyming words

Science
We're learning about the weather and seasons. With St. Patrick's Day coming up, we will be making Rainbow Rice, creating a Rainbow Jar (with the rainbow rice) and learning about rainbows. He also has sorting cards for hot/cold weather clothing

Colors- We did this a couple of times last month and he really liked it- White ice cube tray with water in each of the holes. Add primary food color to 3 of the holes. Then he has color cards for the secondary colors- For example, I put a blue dot + red dot = purple dot, so he will take an eyedropper of blue, then red and make purple in another hole. I also found a Blues Clues book about colors.

Baby Animals- names and matching with adults animals

Geography- right now we still have the green playdoh (earth) with the blue bin (water) to make land form shapes. Eli really doesn't like it and gets bored very quickly- I only try every once in awhile, I don't force it. We do have a poster with land forms that he loves. I really need to learn how to use Google Earth. The Montessori At Home ebook suggests using it to look at actual land forms. I think Eli would really get into that.  Can I get it to work on the Kindle I wonder?

Practical Skills
He loves spooning the glass rocks and tonging poms. He's way past learning it, but he likes it so much, I've kept it out. He's also really good with threading- buttons and then the smaller pony beads onto a pipe cleaner. We need to work more on folding washcloths. He's probably getting close for sewing shapes- various shapes with holes, then you string a shoestring through the holes. Other practical skills not in his room are dressing and undressing- he's getting pretty good at it. I'm also moving towards having his snack shelf in the fridge and in a lower cabinet so he can begin making his own snacks.

Sensory
We have a matching game- cards with pictures of objects and animals and matching them with the silhouette. I have some water beads we need to get out.  I also have a running list of cool things from Play At Home Mom

February

I've carried quite a bit over from January. I realized that Eli wasn't quite ready for a lot of the printed materials and really needed more hands-on type learning. I think I have a better balance now. We started the pink language series, but he only does one activity during learning time (which is about 3 times a week). He has open access to all materials at all times, so he's in his activity room when we wants, playing/learning with want he wants. I do try to have a sit down time, as I said about 3 times per week. I do this mainly to show him what activities he has. Most of his time is self-directed.

Now to the pictures!

His shelves really needed organizing! I found these cute little bins on clearance at Wal-Mart. I LOVE the striped ones, but after going to 4 different Wal-Marts, I think I bought the last 3 in the area!

I found these great little trays at Target and they are perfect! The activities are 1)Shapes with control card and colored popsicle sticks- it's one of his favorite activties! 2) Pink language series- he has to match the word with the picture. 3) Blue triangles- make different pictures with the triangles- control card shows the different pictures he can make.

New organization bin- I bought this from Lowe's. It stores the Pink Language Series, and other activities.

Here's one row- 1st box is Magnetic/Non-magnetic- 2nd box is Missouri Birds and the 3rd box is Van Gogh

Learning color gradient- I picked up paint chip cards- 2 sets for each color. I cut one apart and left the other as the control card. Eventually, he will be able to put them in order without the control card.

                                           Control Cards













We hung bird feeders right outside his activity room so he can see the Missouri birds he's learning about. We do get a lot of birds, but they apparently didn't want their picture taken, lol!

Eli filling the log bird feeder- Milo made this feeder a couple of years ago. The mix is peanut butter with a high energy bird seed mix- it has dried fruits and nuts in it.

Eli watching for birds to come to the newly filled feeders

 Hammering nails and sorting nuts/washers, plus learning how to turn for putting them on/taking them off

This is another favorite activity. Flower foam, golf tees, marbles and ping pong balls. Eli has to  place the golf tee in the foam straight so the marble or ping pong ball will balance on it. For extra learning, I put numbers on the balls.

His dry erase board- He has a spray bottle to clean off his board. He LOVES his spray bottle. It's empty right now which is why his board isn't clean. He's a little obsessed with cleaning.

Geometry shapes- Melissa and Doug- Eli LOVES this activity!!

Dye Playsilks with Kool-Aid

Kids love playing with scarves. I know playsilks are a huge favorite at our home. They're also very versatile. I use Eli's green silks in place of plastic grass in his Easter Basket. I've given playsilks as gifts, using it to wrap presents in. Playsilks spark the imagination and can become everything from a superhero cape to flapping birds wings.


Dyeing them with Kool-Aid is simple. First, buy Kool-Aid in the colors you want. The above one is Berry Blue. You will need about 3-5 packets per scarf, depending on how dark you want the color and how big the scarf. If you have a super big scarf, you would need more dye. In a dish (I use a glass casserole dish), combine 2 Cups Vinegar with 2 Cups Hot water and the packets of Kool-Aid. I should mention that at this point you really should wear plastic gloves of some kind. The Kool-Aid will stain your hands. I'm typing this with blue fingers, lol!! Place the playsilk in the dish, swishing around to soak up the color. When you are happy with the color, wring out and then rinse in the sink with cold water- until the water runs clear. With the blue, I rinsed for a long time, it never ran clear, but it was definitely less that when I started, so I was happy. Hang to dry. It doesn't take very long for them to dry- probably less than an hour. Easy peasy :D
I order my playsilks through a cloth diaper co-op. We order the white/natural colored ones and I think they're from Sarah's Silks.

Our December Learning

I’ve been getting Eli’s December activities ready all this weekend. We are following Montessori style learning. Here’s what’s on our shelves for December to pick from each day.

Christmas Sensory Bin: Red/white colored rice, 2 boxes, sparkly poms, a pine cone, jingle bells, mini presents, holiday ornaments, bows, trees, some garland cut into smaller pieces, metal scoop, and yellow cup.

Language: Beginning Word Sounds- I’m waiting until January to officially start him in the Montessori Pink series, but will use these for December since he knows his alphabet and the sounds each letter makes. I don’t know how he knows this, other than from watching PBS because I didn’t drill him on it! Definitely want to keep that momentum going!!

Sorting: This activity came from Counting Coconuts. She also has a free download for the Nuts Nomenclature cards.

Science: Continuing with the Frog activities- matching and sequencing, as well as adding the Amphibian 3 pt. cards. These were from Montessori Print Shop. I also found some free materials from the MO Conservation Dept. about Frogs and Toads.

Tree Peg Board: I bought this at the Dollar Tree store. It will be used for fine motor skills, counting, addition/subtraction, and sequencing.

Christmas Activities: 3 pt Cards, 12 Days of Christmas counting cards, and Sorting Presents. I made these and as soon as I can figure out how to post them here, I will. If you really want them, I don’t mind emailing them, unless I get over-run with emails, lol!! Just email me sherri@liveyourintentions.net.

Silver and Gold: these are new colors for Eli, so I have Silver and Gold Jingle Bells and Presents. I made sequencing/matching cards for him. Also, insert Burl Ives singing Silver and Gold, you know, from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer 

Arts and Crafts: Holiday Stamps from Hobby Lobby

Practical Life: Folding washcloths. I bought these from Wal-Mart, then with a straight edge and Sharpie, marked where Eli needs to fold the washcloth. There are several for him to do.

More Practical Life: I bought this little dish from Goodwill and it’s the perfect size to use for spoon/tong activities. Here, I have green/yellow flat glass beads for him to spoon. I also have holiday cutting stripes.

More Practical Life: I bought the holiday erasers from the Dollar Tree. For lacing, Eli will lace beads onto the sparkly pipe cleaner. I’m searching for red, white, green Tri-Beads for him to make candy cane and wreath ornaments.

Discovery Tray: I got this idea from Counting Coconuts.  Eli LOVES his magnifying glass! In the basket- cedar branch, pine cone, mixed nuts, cinnamon sticks, piece of Pompas Grass.

Geometry: Once again, from Counting Coconuts. I had the colored straws, so I cut them into smaller pieces. The control of error is that they are color coded with the correct number for each of the shapes.

Geography: Land Forms booklet from Montessori Print Shop. We will be “making” these land forms using green rice and for the water, blue construction paper I’ve laminated (with clear kitchen contact paper), all within a plastic bin. We did this today, and I used Eli's green play dough for the land. It worked well.

Button Tree: For some reason, I can get this to rotate. Felt Button Tree that I made this afternoon.

Christmas Felt Board: I had everything to make a felt board for Eli, and then when I saw this activity from Counting Coconuts, I knew the time had come for me to make the board! I have ideas for several more felt boards for the upcoming months!

Not shown: Green Homemade playdough with beads for Christmas tree making

Salt Dough Ornaments

Cooking- Eli loves to help me with baking! We will be making these Animal Crackers from Weelicious. We will also be making Christmas Sugar Cookies for Santa.