Atley's Journal

Atley ate oatmeal and three servings of baked cinnamon apples for breakfast. For lunch she ate several bites of hamburger stew with meat, tomatoes, green beans, carrots, potatoes, and broth. She ate most of whole wheat dinner roll, and ate fruit cocktail.  Well it seemed kinda quiet around here this morning. The Nelson girls went with their Grandparents to the lake and it always changes the dynamics of the group when anyone is gone! Nora and Atley were using erasable markers and doing books with number sequencing, letter sequencing, and matching numbers with objects like you see below. Good work Atley.  Next picture: Nora and Atley did several different activities this morning and stayed busy. It was fun just watching them work and watching which activities they'd chose. If they are getting restless or bored I'll step up and make a suggestion or guide them into an activity. That wasn't necessary today and it was fun to watch. In the picture below Atley is doing some serious...

Atley ate two servings of French Toast and ate Dried Plums for breakfast. For lunch she ate two servings of pulled pork, ate whole wheat toast, peas, and strawberries. This first picture made me laugh. (Quietly so as not to offend anyone!!) Shortly after arrival Atley and Nora were at the mirror like you see and I heard Nora say; "I'm almost as tall as you." :) Atley never said a word. Good choice Atley!! :) Today was Science with Lauralea and we did one project (Lauralea has a busy day today) that I would probably label more Art than Science. Going forward we are going to do more of that during Science Time; more elaborate Art Projects some of the time. I'll call this the early years of STEAM (originally it was STEM) education. The "A" has been added for Arts. (You get a bonus point if you know what the acronym stands for.)         Today we were making "Crystal Art." They were instructed to make thin lines/designs with the glue all over their pape...

Atley ate whole wheat toast and three servings of mangoes for breakfast. For lunch she ate a large serving of ground beef with marinara sauce on top of whole wheat spaghetti noodles. She ate two more servings of whole wheat spaghetti noodles, ate cauliflower and ate fruit salad. All of the kids have enjoyed watching the new pictures we loaded on the digital frame and at meal time they frequently say, "new one!" "new one!"    You can see Svea is in this first picture, but the 3 Big Girls were doing something totally different. They're playing a game called "Spot It." (This one is actually "ABC Spot It") They are doing so good following the rules and taking turns now (along with other skills they are learning too) and I love how much they enjoy playing various kinds of games. This is a game they played with Lauralea while I was gone and then I found 2 more of the same games with different themes. It's amazing how much stuff we have here if ...

Atley ate blueberry bagel and two servings of grapes for breakfast. For lunch she ate shrimp, three servings of brown rice in berry juice, ate broccoli, and marion black berries. Atley made an announcement at the breakfast table: "When I grow up I'm gonna give all my toys to you guys." LOL. Geez that made me laugh. Everyone seemed to be quite pleased with the announcement. Avi said, "She's gonna give me her toys when she grows up." Ha. This is kind of random, but in case anyone was wondering; I stopped doing the Spanish color words for the kids because - after listening to Alexa and Siri - I wasn't getting them correct and I didn't want the kids to have to unlearn and then relearn at Paxon. :) (I know Atley is going to Target Range and not Paxon, but the other 2 are headed to Paxon.) This first picture is leftover from yesterday afternoon. What are you doing Atley? She said, "Looking in the mirror." Ok, that much I can see - haha - but I...

Atley ate bran cereal and raisins for breakfast. For lunch she ate chicken, toasted whole wheat pita bread, no avocado, bite of cucumbers, and ate pears.  Atley told Nora about her upcoming camping trip and I loved how Nora responded so positive and was genuinely excited for her friend. Atley said, "Three more weeks until I get to go camping!" Nora said, "Oh my gosh!! That's cool!" We did a toy, book, puzzle, Preschool Activities, and art (supplies) exchange this weekend so the kids were busy all morning. As usual I've always been interested in what each child goes for first and this is what Atley was working on; puzzles. She did puzzles by herself and then joined the others when they were all working on the new puzzles too. Next picture: Art was the next choice for the three big girls and they basically migrated together from one activity to the next. :) They were just getting a good start when I took this picture, but you can see the end result of Atley...

Atley ate three large servings of whole grain cream of wheat cereal and ate dried plums for breakfast. For lunch she ate chicken, brown rice, broccoli, and ate pineapple. Because of Avi frequently mentioning her love of "cream of wheat" now Atley and Nora are chanting the same thing and eating more than one serving. And so did Callahan. :) I made a total of 8 servings for breakfast and they ate it all.  This first picture is left over from yesterday afternoon and the kids are loving the new puzzles.  One thing I've been noticing is the length of time the older girls are spending on one activity or some of the same type of activities. For example you'll see in today's Blog 3 Board Games. They spent all morning on these 3 games and they were totally engaged. They are doing well meeting my expectations of taking turns and encouraging one anther. Also I let them struggle with some conflict and try to work it out for themselves unless it's obvious they need quick i...

Atley ate two servings of waffle and two servings of fruit salad for breakfast. For lunch she ate two servings of ground turkey, ate whole wheat tortillas, sweet potatoes, and two servings of cherries.  Today: Science with Lauralea and the theme is Clouds and Rain. Avi said, "We already did rain." Haha. And that's true, but guess what!?!? There is  lots  more to learn. :) We're also doing Clouds this time AND we have all  new  experiments. (Do NOT try to sneak in a "repeat" with Avi. Ha.) First picture; Make a cloud using hairspray. In the jar we put hot water, lid upside-down on jar, ice on the lid, let sit for 30 seconds, take off the lid, and squirt hairspray in bottle. And guess what?!? You got some clouds! :) Next picture; Nora was totally sure it was gonna be loud (it wasn't) and explode! (It didn't) Haha. However she was ready just in case!! Lighting a match for the experiment is what caused her nervousness! We put warm water in the jar, light...

Atley ate French toast and most of oranges for breakfast. For lunch she ate a large serving of Whole 30 Chili with meat, peppers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, tomato sauce, and lots of good spices. She ate whole wheat dinner roll, and three servings of tropical fruit.  First picture: This is officially "Puzzle Week" I guess. :) Everyone has been doing more puzzles and I think part of that is because of Svea's extra interest in puzzles right now. Whenever one of them gets super interested in some particular activity it always looks more inviting to the others as well. Second picture: Three Big Girls at the Doll House playing together. As you all know by now this is simply not Avi's thing, but she'll agree to play here as long as she can be the "Delivery Person." Ha. And they did that activity for probably 15 minutes or more. Next picture: Atley and Nora finishing up some focused efforts at the Art Table. Both of them are proud of their pieces. Atley said, ...

Atley ate two servings of cinnamon/raisin English muffin and ate grapes for breakfast. For lunch she ate pork roast, whole wheat toast, ate beets, and three servings of applesauce.   While Nora and Atley were at the window waiting to wave bye to Grandma Pam -who flew by the window looking straight ahead and Nora yelled; "GRANDMA!!!" Haha - Atley said, "Nora, I'm gonna have a sleepover at your house if my Mom says it's ok." Nora said, "ok." After a slight pause Atley asked, "Can I sleep on the bottom bunk?" Nora said, "yes."  First Picture: First thing this morning Atley got all the puppies on this shelf and she was trying hard to make Nora laugh and she succeeded. She told Nora; " This is Miles, my Care Dog ." Nora sure giggled about that. Atley has always known how to get Nora to giggle.  Next picture: The girls were playing the matching game. (Svea is doing something different.) They were also talking at the same tim...

Atley ate peaches and corn chex cereal for breakfast. For lunch she ate ground beef, toasted whole wheat sandwich thin, bite of tomatoes, avocado, and ate mandarin oranges. Well like always it's really a lot of fun to come back to a sweet loving welcome from the Daycare Kids. I give a huge Thank You to Lauralea for giving me the week to see precious family in Louisiana. Here's a picture from the Gulf on Friday and the water was nice and warm. Lauralea had some nice pictures from last week too, but didn't get them to post on the Blog so I picked out a couple of those that I liked. The first one I picked obviously came from a trip to the park and the second one is cute as Atley displays the results of her stacking shapes on the boat.  Here are some pictures from Atley's morning: Reading books with Nora and getting a "haircut" from Nora. Ha. We also ran around outside and chased bubbles. I liked it when Svea said, "You got me all dirty with bubbles." Ha...

Atley ate French toast and two servings of strawberries for breakfast. For lunch she ate two large servings of Hearty Paleo Stew with meat, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, green beans, carrots, and tomatoes. She ate saltines and tropical fruit. Nora and Atley were playing a matching game again this morning before Svea and Avi arrived. Just in case you're wondering, both of these girls are getting pretty good at the matching games we play! Avi had more experience, but Atley and Nora are catching up fast. Anyhow, this morning while they were playing Atley said, "You're running the table Nora!!" Hahaha. That cracked me up! I'm sure that phrase is used in various settings, but I enjoy Billiards and that's the only place I've heard it! :) First picture: Atley was drawing this picture and said, "It's the Northern Lights!!" Have you seen the Northern Lights? Atley said, "No." Avilene said, "I have!" Really, you have!?! Avi...

Atley ate two servings of cinnamon/raisin English muffin and two servings of mandarin oranges for breakfast. For lunch she ground beef, ate whole wheat elbow noodles, peas, and applesauce.    This first picture is left over from yesterday afternoon during Nap Time when the little people were still napping. These three had been reading books; you can a couple books still laying on the floor. So what are they doing now? Basically just what you see!! Atley and Nora are having a conversation about something very important in their world. And Avi, well I've no idea!! Just checking out Atley's toes is what it looks like to me! Haha. Next picture: This morning Atley was in the chair and she said to Cal; "Hey Cal! Do you want to spin me!?" And Cal went over and started spinning her. That was very sweet of you Cal! Then Atley said, "Hey Cal! Do you want to go faster or not!?!?" Haha.  Last picture; Svea was the one who asked to do puzzles this morning. She's been...

Atley ate waffle and ate grapes for breakfast. For lunch she ate chicken, whole wheat tortillas, two servings of corn, and two servings of baked cinnamon apples.  I'm gonna mention it today and again on Friday: There will be no Blogs next week while I'm in Louisiana. (I'd be more than happy to post pictures of Gideon from there - every day!! Ha.) Blogs will resume on Monday the 17th. First picture: Atley was working on an Art piece. She had put tape across the middle of the long pieces she'd cut out and she said, "This is a Y. It can even turn into an X." (She demonstrated how that worked!) Which I thought was pretty cool!! Good work Atley. Second picture: The three big girls playing the "Feelings Matching" game. The two oldest girls are closely watching Nora's cards in case they get a chance at another match. :) Next picture: Atley was sitting on the floor with her eyes closed while Nora was sticking Markers down her shirt. They were guessing wh...