Rain, Rain... Don't go away!

Little Ethan loves to play!!


"I would stand outside with my mouth open wide.... Ah ah-ah Ah ah-ah Ah ah-ah"


Ethan loves wearing his rain gear and playing in the rain.

Notice the pile of rocks on the sidewalk. He has been building 'bug houses' outside for the last few weeks, and today he decided to paint some of the rocks since it was raining. I love his imagination!

Decorah Eagles - HATCH WATCH 2011 First Hatchling (~7 am cdt 4/2/2011)

Hooked on Phonics Worked for Ethan!

Today we finished Workbook Level 1 (or as Ethan calls it, the "yellow" book) of the Hooked on Phonics reading program. Last summer I picked up the whole set for $10 at a garage sale and it is turning out to be a great investment.

We started the workbook after Ethan already knew the phonics for all the letters of the alphabet and knew how to put together CVC words (we didn't use a program for teaching him those) so I don't know if it is a good program for teaching phonics, but it is a GREAT program for growing his interest in reading and building confidence in his skills!

This morning, after completing the last page in the book, Ethan said he had a great idea... he thought we should have a party. So, tonight, to celebrate, we invited family over for a reading celebration, complete with homemade chicken pot pie, ice cream and mini graham cracker books!



The menu was all Ethan's idea... he originally wanted ice cream for dinner, but when I told him that wasn't going to happen, he decided that homemade chicken pot pie was just fine. He wanted to make sure we had ice cream for desert though, and he got really specific when he wanted graham crackers and sprinkles with it as well.

I wrote down a few things I needed, and we headed out to the grocery store to prepare for our reading bash! While we were getting ready, he had another "great idea", as he calls them. "Mommy... I know what we can do... we can make a cake and put a book on top of it and write Good Job Ethan on the book!" I quickly put an end to that idea (I was not baking a cake today!), and he decided that ice cream was just fine... as long as we got sprinkles and graham crackers!

It was a great party and I think he had a good time. He read a few books out loud, played a few board games, and enjoyed his ice cream and grahams with sprinkles!!

Monday we start the 'orange book' (Reading Workbook Level 2) and he can't wait. In this level the books are longer and he even starts reading chapter books. One of the first books he will read is 64 pages long with 4 chapters. He can't wait!

It is wonderful to see him so excited about reading!

Way to go Ethan!!

While everyone else was playing board games, Everett was showing Grandma Huffey how he can walk. It won't be long and he will be toddling all over the house.



Way to go Everett!!

Bird Brains

Birds have been our focus lately and we can't seem to get enough. After seeing an Eagle at Grey's Lake a few weeks ago, Ethan has been hooked. About every other large bird we see in the sky, he asks if it is an Eagle or a Hawk.

Our wonderful neighbors, when we told them of his interest, gave us a link to watch a Bald Eagle nest in Decorah, Iowa. It has been amazing and we can't wait to see the babies hatch soon.



Derrick may think we are silly while we sit infront of the computer, sketching the Eagle in her nest and watching in awe as she stands to rotate her eggs... but I think it is pretty cool to hear and see an Eagle up close, and as long as Ethan enjoys it... we will tune in to watch her.

Someone else in the house has caught the bird bug... and I am so excited to see this. During storytime the other day, I snapped these pictures of Everett, quitely exploring a bird book while Ethan and I read. Adorable!

Step by Step

March 19th, while Derrick and I were enjoying an evening out, Mr. Everett decided he was going to show off to Grandma Huffey, by taking his first two steps. Ethan was also there to see it happen.

The next day, Derrick and I tried to get him to take some steps, and he successfully took three full steps to us!

The other day we got a few pictures of him trying walk. I love the look on his face when he goes on his own!



Day by day, he is getting more brave, and takes more steps on his own. This morning, he stood up in the middle of the floor while playing with Ethan, and walked 3-4 steps to his little train. Ethan shouted in excitement "HE IS WALKING!!" and Everett fell to his bottom... clapping his hands with a HUGE smile on his face.

Teach Me Tuesday: Animal Homes

Today was a great day for learning about animals. We hosted our preschool co-op here at our house and the focus was animals and their homes. Ethan has been really interested in learning about birds lately, so we tried to talk about nests and birds too.

Our lesson started out with a short discussion about our community around us. I told the kids that we live in a house in our community. When we are hungry we go to the store to get food, and when we are thirsty we turn on the faucet to get a drink. I asked them if bird nests had faucets and they all thought I was really silly! We talked about what animals do to get food and water and also compared how we keep warm in our house to how animals keep warm in their nests or homes. We compared animal habitats to our community to see how things were similar and different and even realized that we have an animal habitat in our own backyards! It was a very good discussion and the kids were very good at answering questions and thinking about different animals and their homes.

Some new words for today were shelter, habitat, prey, and community.


This is a picture from the book we read by Bert Kitchen

After our short discussion, we read the book And So They Build by Bert Kitchen. The illustrations on this book are amazing and it really got the kids interested in finding out what different animal homes looked like. The book covers animals from birds to beavers, it is a great informational book about different, interesting, animal homes.

After the book, the kids did a worksheet and then a group activity to match the correct animal to their habitat, and then we had snack. I tried a new blueberry muffin recipe and it was actually really good. They gobbled up their snack, and then went on to draw animals of their own on paper and talk about what type of homes they lived in.

Then, we read one more book Over in the Meadow by Ezra Jack Keats (this is one of my favorite books, but my copy is starting to fall apart), and the kids played until everyone had to go home for lunch.

It was a great morning, except for the fact that Everett was having a bad time with his teeth, and VERY whiny… so he was tired, clingy and cranky most of the morning.

After everyone left, I really needed a break from a whiny baby, so I decided Everett needed a car ride to get a good nap. So we packed our lunch, hopped in the van, and drove to the Neil Smith National Wildlife Refuge to look at some buffalo, elk and see if we could spot any interesting birds.



As soon as we pulled into the area where they let the animals roam, we spotted 12 elk, grazing right near the road. This was the first time I have ever seen elk there. They didn’t have any antlers, so at first I hesitated to tell Ethan they were elk. We sat there for quite a long time, windows down, enjoying watching them and eating our lunch. The buffalo were further away, so we didn't get a good view, but it was fun to sit and watch the elk.


Bufflao in the distance

Meadowlark

After the elk started to move away, we drove through the rest of the preserve and spotted a few birds we knew from our bird field guide. We sat in the van, windows down, a few times just to listen to the sounds outside. Then, while listening to a pretty song from a bird we couldn't spot, we finally saw it sitting on a branch and grabbed a picture. It turned out to be a Meadowlark. This was my first time seeing one.

We drove home and while we pulled into the driveway, Everett woke up from his nap. I was so thankful he had a nice, long rest.

Beavers, Birds and Best Friends

This past week the weather warmed up and we have taken full advantage of it! It feels amazing to be outside in the fresh air with the sunshine on my face! Good-bye Winter!

Monday, we decided to get the praying mantis egg case ready (I ordered a hatching cage online at a discount) and we are going to keep a close eye on it with a journal and weather temperature tracking chart (it is supposed to hatch in 3-4 weeks when the weather is over 65). I am going to leave it outside on the front porch in the mesh cage, in hopes that it will hatch in its own natural temperature, but we will see what happens. If it doesn't hatch by the end of April, I can order one that is guaranteed to hatch. Cross your fingers... Ethan is so excited!!

Tuesday, Polk County Conservation was having a mammals program at Jester Park. Ethan, Everett, Grandma Huffey and I attended and learned a lot about Iowa mammals. The woman that lead the program was EXCELLENT with the kids and was VERY knowledgeable. We got to see 5-6 stuffed mammals and touch over 2 dozen animal pelts. She also let us know where we could visit a real beaver dam and lodge after the program. Of course, this was top on our list!

Ever since we first started reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, Ethan has been interested in beavers and how they live. (We started this book a few months ago as a bedtime story to help get Ethan interested in listening to stories and using his mind to create a picture of what he was hearing. It is also time that he and I get to spend together, snuggled in the chair. I know we probably could have started with any other book, but this is one of my favorites and it involves children and animals, so I figured it would be an interesting book for a 4 year old too. He looks forward to our reading time together.)

Our outdoor adventure was a little muddy, but well worth the trip. We even picked up a few burrs and other seeds on our clothing, and from that experience, talked about how plant seeds are disbursed. It was a great day outside!


Ethan standing next to a beaver lodge.


Beaver dam

Wednesday was a beautiful day too, and we meet a local nature group down at Grey's Lake to do some bird watching. The man leading the group didn't give us much info, but he did show us an eagle in his telescope, and that was fun to see.


Bald Eagle

The kids liked playing in the sand and playground a lot more than looking for birds, but we did hear and spot a woodpecker and we discussed the differences between male and female Mallard ducks when we saw them swimming near by. (This was great since we had read Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey a few days prior to our outing.)


Downy Woodpecker

The wind started to pick up while we were at the park, so we decided to eat our lunch at Smokey Row Coffee Co., a cafe up the street from the park. The kids enjoyed eating with friends and even had an ice cream treat after their meals.

Thursday was St. Patrick's Day, and we attended the St. Patrick's Day parade downtown. It was a bit of a windy day, and we arrived early to eat a picnic lunch with friends in the skywalk, so we decided to sit over Locust Street and watch the parade from a "birds eye view". It was a great decision and everyone had a great time!

Friday we stayed home. I had a haircut, so Grandma Huffey came over to watch the boys in the afternoon for a few hours. They had fun playing games and keeping Grandma busy. When I got home, Ethan rode his bike for a bit and then we went looking for materials for building bird nests. With Everett strapped to my back, Ethan and I picked the best nest making material in the neighborhood, consulted a few of our neighbors for advice (dryer lint and shredded paper were a few new ideas), and created a "Menards for the Birds" in our front yard tree. Ethan was very excited, and as we hung it outside, we had a few interested 'shoppers' watching. Hopefully they will find it useful.


Stuffing the nesting materials into the twig ball.


Our finished "Menards for the Birds"

It is so much fun spending time with friends and family! This has been a great week and I look forward to the weekend. I hope you have a great weekend too!