Preschool: Numbers

With the new school year for Paige, we also started back up doing preschool for Baylor. This week our theme was numbers and it was a fun way to get back into the swing of it.

Tuesday we started the day off with playing with some playdough. It was fun to create different foods and then see her smile as we "ate" each other's creations.

Then for art she created a numbers book. I had her trace each number from 1-10 and then she would also draw her own.

For music time I had a song that taught about how to write the numbers to the tune of "Around the Mulberry Bush." I would say the verse and trace the number in the air and then we would sing it together and she would say each number. She caught on pretty quickly and enjoyed it.

Then for learning time we did a matching activity for numbers 1-20. I had them all laying out and when she found a match she would have to tell me what number it was. She still doesn't recognize 10-20 but it was good to review them and even just point out that there is for example a 1 and a 7 in 17.

For our outdoor time we went on a walk and counted things in our neighborhood. We counted garbage cans, mailboxes, trees, rocks, and flowers and if I saw a number on a house or a mailbox I would ask her what numbers they were.

Then for story time we read these three books and did even more counting. She is getting pretty good for 1-10 and recognizing them all. She still doesn't quite get 10 and just says a 1 and an o and oftentimes mixes up 6 and 9 though she gets lots of reminders that for a 6 the circle is at the bottom and for a 9 the circle is at the top.

On Wednesday we started our day off with a counting graph chart. I had created a graph for doors, bed, sinks and such and each one she would count and then mark that many. At first she was trying to write the numbers but got tired of it so I had color in the boxes. (I tried to get her to color in boxes at the beginning but she was getting a little confused of how it worked so I let her do it however she wanted.) One cute thing that happened was when she was counting the sinks, we have two bathrooms that have sinks and then the kitchen sink but then she remembered her toy sink and had to include that in her chart.

For art she drew the lines on the paper plate and I wrote the numbers in each section and then she put that many stickers in each section to match the number.

For music time we sang "Five Little Monkeys Swinging in a Tree" and "Five Little Ducks". She loves both of those songs and sang right along. Then for learning time I wrote the number on the bottom of an egg carton and she had to put the right amount of beads in the right slot. Then after that she wanted to put some of the beads on a pipe cleaner and make a necklace.

For outdoor time I soaked up some sun rays as I watcher her speed back and forth across our back patio on her bike.

Thursday we started off with a calendar puzzle. I printed off two calendars and then cut up one so that she had to put the numbers on. This puzzle also had some cute foxes so I cut those out for pieces also. When she found a piece we talked about what number it was.

For art she wrote 1-10 on notecards and then colored them.

Then for music time we did the same thing that we did on Tuesday but with numbers 7-10.

Then learning time she really enjoyed. We taped 1-10 on some brown paper bags. Then I hid the note cards that she made for art and she had to find them and match them to the right bag. We took turns where she hid and I found and then she wanted to be the finder again.

We then put the cards in the brown bags and set them up down our hallway. For our active time she went bowling. She had fun doing it and would even set the bags back up. She tried rolling the ball, throwing it, and kicking it.

And last thing for the week was story time and I told her the story of the three little pigs with these cute cutouts.

Our Very Own Garden

When we moved into our little rental in May, everything was in order and perfect for us. The yard was very well taken care of and very well established which has been absolutely wonderful. The only thing that wasn't taken care of was the little garden on the side of the house. It had black plastic over it to somewhat prevent weeds from growing but you could tell that no one had used it in years.

It is now one of my favorite parts of the yard. It took some work and effort but it was well worth it!

Before- the nice thing was that the strawberry bed was already there and established. We had to take take up all the black plastic up and remove a lot of weeds.

The little pathways between the rows were dirt and also had some plastic down. So we kept the plastic and filled it in with small rocks. We also fixed the bricks that were lining the paths and straightened them. We added a brick border along the back and filled in between the border and the fence with more rocks to prevent weeds from growing there and to give it a nice edge. Baylor loved playing in the dirt while we worked in the garden. She loved finding bugs and building homes for roly poly bugs.

We brought in more dirt to help with the dirt that was already there and to fill them in so that they were all about the same height. We bought some plant starts and began the planting process. 

Paige made these super cute markers for our plants. I love them so much!

After- We added a fence along the front with a gate so that little animals don't come and eat our garden. Everything is growing in nice and we have enjoyed taking care of it and eating from our very own garden.

I planted yellow marigolds along the top of each arch which is at the end of each rock pathway. The first section when you walk in the garden is mostly flowers. The original plan was for peas and broccoli. I had peas growing but when we were gone to Idaho the grape vine grew a ton and overtook and shadowed the peas so they ended up dying. I was never able to find broccoli starts so it became a flower bed and I love it.

The grape vine was already there and grows along the fence. I had to cut back quite a bit on the garden side so that my flowers and plants still got sun.

The first section does have carrots growing and then the next section is the strawberry section. We enjoyed lots of strawberries and I even made some strawberry freezer jam from it. Once it was done I cut back a lot of the dead stuff and it looks much better now. At the end of the garden, in the last bed, I planted some raspberry starts that we got from the neighbor and from Dale and Margaret. Some of them are still doing good but some have died. I don't know if they get enough sun being along the fence but we will see next year how they do.

Then there is a pepper bed- green bell peppers and jalapeno peppers.

And last we have our tomato bed that is filled with roma tomato plants. We just picked our first bowl full and there are plenty more that will ripen. I even made some salsa today from our own tomatoes, bell pepper, and jalapeno pepper. I love being able to use things you grow yourself!

The strawberries I picked that turned into jam and I also got a box of peaches that I canned, froze, and of course enjoyed some fresh.

August

We have had a busy and fun-filled August. Summer break always goes by WAY too fast and I just want to savor this extra time that we have together as a family and do as many outdoor adventures together. The girls are growing up way too fast and I just wish time would slow down.

We have had weekly playdates with Addison and Kinsley. I love watching their relationship grow and what fun they have together. On this occasion, they played at the house and then we took some time to swim at Lake Meridian.

The library opened back up while we were in Idaho so as soon as we had the opportunity we went inside the library and Paige was in absolute heaven. She loved looking through the books and finding the perfect ones. Baylor just kept piling the books into her bag and I had to put a limit on what she brought home. I love that both of my girls love books.

Every summer I love to do the Asahel Curtis hike and so one nice weekend we drove up to the mountains and enjoyed being out in nature. It was much drier than in years past but still very pretty.

Then we found a new spot to check out to have our lunch at. It was in Olallie State Park. There is a short hike that you can follow along the river but there is also a road that you can drive down and we picked that since we already went on a hike and went and saw Weeks Falls. It was gorgeous and before we left we wondered along the river for a little bit. It was such a nice outing and I love living here!

Another evening we decided to go to Salt Water State Park after dinner and watch the sunset on the water. It was such a peaceful evening. The tide was higher up but we found a couple of sea creatures and the girls had fun playing in the sand.

For two weeks in August, every morning at 8 AM Paige did swimming lessons for the first time. She LOVED it! She grew and learned so much in those two weeks and she can't wait to learn more. She loves being in the water and I have loved watching her confidence grow. Baylor was my little reading buddy. I would read the Liahona magazine while she would "read" her books while we waited for Paige to be done.

Another fun play date with Addison and Kinsley.

Another weekend in August, Paige and I went with Anna and Margaret down to Oregon to go to the Street of Dream. It was fun to visit on our drive down and I loved having Paige with me. She has always been my sidekick! We made some fun stops on the way down- Bella's dad's house in the Twilight movies and we stopped to see a squirrel bridge that goes over the road.

We enjoyed the evening at Mike and Christy's house. Paige enjoyed playing with Myla and we walked over to a Scout day camp that is near their house. We stayed up too late visiting and Mike, Anna, and I made a midnight run to a gas station to see who could get the best deal for $1.

Then the next day was filled with lots of walking and dreaming of what our future houses could look like. The first stop was 3 "normal" homes. We always like to see how they decorate and take pictures of the little things that we could do in our own homes. Then there were some container homes to see and then 3 million dollar houses to walk through. We saved the biggest and best for last. I love taking Paige with me and she gets into it just as much as I do. I love oohing and aahing over things and seeing her reaction to different rooms.

One afternoon we went to another new spot for us- Lake Tapps. We went with Nona and met up with Anna and her kids for a picnic. I brought the girl's swimsuits even though the water was pretty cold so they didn't last long.

After Anna left we decided to drive to the other side to see what it looked like and the girls kept on inching farther and farther into the water. It was so fun to watch their faces as they got deeper and deeper and would give me cheesy grins since they knew they were getting their clothes wet. 

Our weekly visit to the library and Baylor has made a new friend that she loves to see every time we go.

The girls helped me make egg rolls one afternoon. They always love to help me in the kitchen. Sometimes I let them and sometimes I don't have the patience for it but I'm grateful that they are willing to help and that they are learning at a young age how to cook.

Nate has worked a couple of Friday nights at the park when they do concerts. He gets paid to help set up and take down and enjoy the concert. Pretty good deal to me! One of the concerts was a Beetle tribute band and so I took the girls and we met Nona there. The girls had fun playing on the playground while I enjoyed the music.

We checked out a new park one afternoon- West Fenwick Park. It is a brand new park and was awesome. They have it set up like a giant game board of Chutes and Ladders. There are spinners and if you land on a triangle then you have to do that obstacle or go down a slide to the circle. The girls loved it and Hadlie happened to be there with her family for a little bit which was a bonus for Paige.

Last Saturday there was a Stake Primary Activity at the Seattle Temple. It was very well put together and the girls had a great time. We walked around the grounds, helped plant a tree and do some clean up of leaves, had our picture taken in front of the temple, and even got to go inside. Paige especially loved going inside part of the temple and I know it makes her even more excited to do baptisms for the dead when she is old enough.

This past week I have just wanted time to slow down and wanted summer to last as long as possible. School seems to start earlier than normal this year and it makes me miss Paige already. It will be a long day for her since she hasn't gone to a full day of school since March of 2020 when she was in second grade and now she is in 4th! Why do kids have to grow up so fast?!?!?

We went to the park one afternoon and had the whole park to ourselves. The girls had fun doing obstacle courses and playing hide and seek.

Then Wednesday we had one last playdate with Addison and Kinsley before school starts. We have loved seeing them weekly and know that it won't be as often with school starting and busier schedules. I took the girls to the gnome trail.

Then we ended our day with swimming at the aquatic center. Paige was super brave and jumped off the diving board for the first time and ended up jumping off a couple of times. She also went down the slide for the first time. She must have been feeling extra brave and I loved watching her conquer her fears.

Now onto a new school year for Paige! I know she will learn and grow this year and I'm excited to be her #1 cheerleader. I'm extra grateful for Baylor and that I will have her to keep me company.