Farm Unit

Our Farm Unit went from Sunday September 18th through Thursday September 29th. We had so much fun praticing tracing lines, counting, tracing numbers and letters; our favorite part though was all the tractor talk!!! Here is a sneak peek on some of the many activities that we did.


In this project Sawyer had to match the corresponding animal with its shadow. After he did all that I then would hand him a slip of paper with the animals name on it and then he would have to match it with the animal. The only two that he was confused on was the chick and the duck; they did kind of look alike so I still think he did a great job!


Tractor Tracks!!! I wish I had my camera ready for his initial facial expression when he realized what we were going to do. I put the paint on the plate, put down the paper and then handed him the tractor. He was a little hesitant if he really could put his tractor in the paint so I put the tractor in the paint first and then he just went crazy!!! We ended up making two sheets; one for daddy's birthday card and the other for Mie Mie and Papa.


Here there were 5 chicken coops each with a number on it. He then had to put that many chickens in the coop that the number represented. He is not too familiar with identifing numbers yet so I would tell him which number it was and then he was able to count out the chickens.



The activity he kept asking to do over and over and over again. There were 10 barns (numbered 1 through 10), a pile of mini marshmallows in the grain silo, a tractor and a wagon. He had to load up his wagon from the grain silo and then put the corresponding number of marshmallows in the barn. I think his favorite part was eating the marshmallows at the end which is why he kept asking to do this project again.


We had one activity where he was to cut along a line that was drawn out on the piece of paper. He was having a hard time opening the scissors with one hand therefor making him open it with two but then he could not hold onto the piece of paper. I tried helping but he did get discouraged and frustrated. I then found a pair of scissors that automatically opens after he closes it! I had to convince him to try cutting one more time. He did much better so now to rebuild his confidence I am just having him cut little pieces of paper. Remember these pieces because you will see them again in our Leaf Unit!



Our Farm Unit Project Board! As much as this may look there was so much material we did not even get to use. I think we just may need to do another Farm Unit in the future!


Focus Books:
"Funny Farm" by Tom Arma
"Moo, Moo, Peekaboo!" by Jane Dyer
"A Very Funny Farm" by Smart Kidz Media
"One Weighs A Ton" by Salina Yoon
"A Year at a Farm" by Nicholas Harris
"Barnyard Banter" by Denise Fleming
"Wake Up, Big Barn!" by Suzanne Tanner Chitwood
"Funny Farm" by Mark Teague
"Mrs. Wishy-Washy's Farm" by Joy Cowley

Links:
http://thoughtsofesmeblogspot.com
2 Teaching Mommies

Happy 33rd Birthday Daddy!

Daddy turned 33 years old this year! We started the celebrations by taking him to his favorite restaurant, Buffalo Wild Wings, two days before his birthday. The boys had a lot of fun playing the free trial games on the screen! Aunt Toni, Uncle Terry, Aunt Sandra and Emma were at the Badger Football game that day and also joined us to eat! We sure did have a lot of fun all sitting around one table.



When Daddy woke up on his birthday Sawyer gave him is birthday card that he personally made! (He ran his tractor tires in paint and then all over the paper.) Mason was just really concerned if we were going to eat breakfast soon!



This picture was actually taken on September 8th, but I just love how it shows the connection between the boys! Sawyer and Mason follow their Daddy around everywhere and love to help him on all the home projects that are being done. Here they are fixing Sawyer's bike.

Triangles

We ended up not doing too much for our Triangles Unit for a couple of different reasons. The first being that I noticed Sawyer pointing out the triangle shape in different objects throughout the day without me even asking; so I knew he knew what the shape was. The second being that it ended up being a pretty busy week.

We did however read two different books about Triangles; "The Greedy Triangle" by Marilyn Burns and "Triangles - Seeing Triangles All Around Us" by Sarah Schuette. Sawyer also did a couple of worksheet with tracing the triangle shape.

Sawyer's Break

The first night of camping Sawyer and Daddy took their bikes to empty our garbage. While they were on their way Tom practiced with Sawyer using his brakes; there were some hills on the way. Sawyer did really well on the first hill braking and stopping when Tom told him to. Then there was the second hill. Tom told Sawyer kept telling Sawyer to brake but he didn't. At the bottom of the hill there was a curve; Tom reached out to grab him but just missed and Sawyer went right into the culvert.

In the meantime I was in the camper beginning to zip up our windows because it started to get a little chilly. While I was in the camper I heard a child screaming and even stop to listen due to the scream sounding just like Sawyer. When I heard it again I knew it was him and just figured that Sawyer was throwing one of his tantrums or who knows what. I then looked out the window and saw Tom carrying Sawyer; there were no bikes, Sawyer missing a shoe, Sawyer still screaming and Tom walking very fast.

I ran out of the camper as Tom came into our campsite and laid Sawyer on the picnic table. At first glance he looked fine to me but Tom was so shaken up that I knew something bad must have happened. Tom asked me to clean him up while he went and got the bikes. While he was gone Sawyer would not let me clean his wounds, look at them or put a band aid on them. He was just very concerned with where his bike and shoe was. I then decided that the wounds could wait so I picked him up, sat down in the chair and laid his head on my chest while I held an iced water bottle to the goose-egg on his head.

Tom was really nervous about him due to when they got out of the culvert Sawyer's foot was pointed inward and he wouldn't stand. After all said and done though he just ended up with a scratch by his eye, under his arm, one on his rib, both knees scraped up and the biggest wound on his hip. (In the picture you will see a scratch on his arm is actually a wound from before.)

After going back to where it all happened Tom named the curve "Sawyer's Break". There was a positive through all of this though; Sawyer nows wears his helmet!

Blue Mound Camping

We decided to take our last camping trip (3 days) of the season to the Blue Mound State Park!


The trip started by stopping at the Cave of the Mounds. The boys (Daddy and Sawyer) both thought it was pretty cool to be walking underneath the ground.


It was a smaller campground but they had several little play areas spread out. We had fun walking to each one and playing for a little bit. The was definitely Sawyer's highlight once he got his Daddy off of it!


Mie Mie and Papa also joined for one of the days and hung out at the campsite with us. We had fun exploring the trails and climbing the big tower with them. At first Sawyer did not want to come up with us so I joined Mie Mie and Daddy on the climb up. Once we got the top Papa yells up that Sawyer was coming up all by himself!!! He did the entire climb of the tower up all on his own! Once he got to the top he never let go of the railing, grabbed Mie Mie's hand and walked right back down.



Mason and Papa did all the tower climbing supervising from below; they did a great job!



Enjoying the view from the top of the tower.




Hanging out around the campfire; life just doesn't get any better!

Camping Unit

Sawyer just completed his Camping Unit and he absolutely LOVED it!!! Ever since we went camping at Peninsula State Park he has been wanting to go back camping again. I took this opportunity as a learning experience. During our school time it was a little hard to capture all the moments because Sawyer insisted I put the camera down, but I still managed to capture some it.


Our first project was to trace the line to get the camper to the tent. The first sheet he did really well on. The second sheet was harder due to thin lines being more complex; he gave it an honest try and still did good. He did tell Daddy though that it was hard.



We then had little pieces of paper with a picture on it (backpack, compass, flashlight, lantern, bug spray, s'more, eggs, hot dog, sandwich and a fish). We had to sort the pictures out and glue them to the appropriate paper that said either "Things You Don't Eat" and "Things You Eat".



We then look at other camping items and had to determine which shape it was (ie. compass = circle, flashlight = rectangle, etc.) Instead of telling me the shape he decided to run to the hallway and point to the right shape.



Who can go camping without binoculars for seeing nature up close?! We just had to make some; he painted one side brown and the other side pink.



The finished product!



We went outside and collected some sticks to make a fire. When we brought them in we got right to work making a beautiful fire to roast our marshmallows!

We did other projects as well that included counting lanterns, tracing the letter "C" for campers and the letter "S" for s'mores. We read the books "Camping" by Nancy Hundal and "Just Camping Out" by Mercer Mayer.

And what better way to end the Camping Unit by going camping!!! You will see our adventures camping in the next post.

Sawyer's World

Sawyer grabbed his belt out of his room and he wanted to do his hair like mommy's. (08.24.11)


I was going to the bathroom and Sawyer insisted that he go after me (he thinks it cool when we both pee in the potty). He wanted to be super close to me while I went but I said no and to wait until I finished. He threw a fit and dropped his head onto the floor which was tile and that made matters worse. After I was down I told him he could go but he continued on with his little fit so I turned off the bathroom light and walked away. The fit now turned into a meltdown because he supposedly could not reach to turn the light back on.
Sawyer: Turn the light on!
Me: You can do it; you turn it on.
Sawyer: NO you do it!
Me: Sawyer I am not turning the light on for you because you can reach it yourself.
Sawyer: NO I CAN'T!
Me: Yes you can you are tall and a big boy.
Sawyer: No I'm not big I didn't eat my vegetables!

At least we now know he really does listen to what we are telling him.



Sawyer and Daddy going golfing. Sawyer insisted on wearing Daddy's hat instead of his own. (08.26.11)

Tom's clubs were in my trunk but I had to take them out to put the stroller in there today. I put them in the garage along with his shoes. When we came home tonight Sawyer noticed them.
Sawyer: What's that? (This is a VERY common question even when he knows the answer.)
Me: Those are daddy's golf clubs.
Sawyer: No it's not. That is to get the balls out of the water. (Now realizing that he was pointing to the ball retriever.)
Me: You're right Sawyer! You know a lot about golf.
Sawyer: Yeah I'm a good golfer. Daddy is a crazy golfer.




Sawyer wearing my sunglasses. (09.02.11)

Today (09.05.11) Sawyer wanted to play with Play-Doh so I decided that Mason was old enough to play with it as well. Mason was doing really well just kind of holding it in his hand smiling while watching his brother play with it. He then put it up to his mouth and I said "No Mason don't eat it." He put it down but then proceeded to do the same thing again. I said to Mason "Mason don't eat the play-doh it doesn't taste good." Sawyer then decided to chime in with "Don't eat it Mason it doesn't taste good; it don't have hot dogs in it."



Sawyer giving Mommy a big kiss! (09.03.11)



This was our conversation during bath time.
Sawyer: "Mom I love you."
Me: "Awww I love you too."
Sawyer: "I love your butt."
Me: "You love my butt?"
Sawyer: "Yeah and I love the baby in your tummy."
Me: "Oh you love Baby Carter?"
Sawyer: "Yeah"

D5 #6

Today turned out to be our unplanned D5 day! We started off by going to our neighbor's farm. Todd was awesome and knew exactly how to make any little boys day! He showed us the cows, sheep and chickens. He also let Sawyer drive the tractor; Sawyer thought this was awesome!





We then headed to out to Sky High in hopes to get some apples. We were a little early for apple season but they did have a few kinds of apples available. We purchased one bag and made an apple crisp when we got home.

We then followed all these bright orange signs that had a picture of a teepee on then and found another adventure. There were all these people dressed and camping in the lifestyle of the 1850's. We watched a Blacksmith make a shepherd's hook and a woman spin wool into yarn. There was also contest for fire making with stones and tomahawk throws. It was pretty cool to walk around and see everything.

Carter Paul Deich

Today I turned 20 weeks and we had our first ultrasound! We went in and told the Ultrasound Tech that we did not want to find out the sex of the baby. As the appointment continued I was pretty sure I saw the sex twice and at one point I looked at Tom to see if I could tell if he saw anything; we both just kind of gave each other a look. Towards the end of the appointment I finally said "Alright I can't take it anymore I am pretty sure I know what it is - do you know what it is." Tom with a smirk, "I think I saw it." To which our conversation then went on figuring out if we wanted to know to confirm what we both saw as a boy. After about a minute going back and forth the tech said "Alright look here" and there it was!

The Ultrasound Tech felt really bad but she explained how photogenic this baby was and she really has never seen a baby like this one before. She said the way I figure it was that this boy wanted you to know because every time I thought the coast was clear for you two to look at the screen again, there it was again. She said that she tried to hid it the best she could. We knew it wasn't her fault because this seriously was the best ultrasound we have ever had for being able to see the baby. It was pretty cool!

Carter Paul is measuring at 20 weeks and 4 days and weighs 12 ounces.