Russia

Jackson has noticed how much fun he were having learning about the countries and begged to be involved in the next one we studied…Russia! I was surprised he knew it's location on the globe! Russia has 11 different time zones- crazy! They each made a book with the country, flag, and unique things about Russia- like the furry hats and snow and stuff....

We talked about Faberge eggs and nesting dolls and made a paper card version:

We talked about Russian ballet (world famous and best ballet is from Russia) and the Russian kick dance. The kids found out how hard it is to do! We watched a video of some Russian's performing this for like 5 minutes and I was amazed their leg muscles could handle it for that long! It's a serious thigh and calf toner!

We talked about Russian Cathedrals and learned that the ornate and unique dome tops represent a candle flame burning. We made beef stroganoff for dinner- a huge hit! We tried to avoid the beet borscht stew that Russia is so famous for…Brian isn't a fan :) I was going to make cream puffs, but ran out of time and energy to do it…

 Next and last country/continent is Australia!

Walk Like an Egyptian...

On Thursday, we took a "stroll" through the next country Zoey chose to learn about--Egypt! Zoey and Eli learned that Egypt is part of the Sahara desert, what the flag looks like, and modern day Egyptian culture…but their favorite part was talking about the pyramids, the Nile, Pharaohs, hieroglyphics, hippos and camels.

Zoey took a stab at writing her name in hieroglyphics.

We made golden neck ornaments that Pharaohs would have worn. Theirs were probably not as cool as ours made out of macaroni and paper plates and gold spray paint though!

We made hummus and pita bread and had Egyptian style kabobs for dinner. Brian and Zoey helped with the meal (she loves to wear her apron)! It was delicious!

The same foods of rice and potatoes, chicken and tomatoes, carrots and onions keep popping up in all the different cuisines we have studied, but they are just prepared in different ways. It's so interesting how the same foods can taste so dramatically different depending on its preparation and spices used.

It has been a great experience to see the kids learn about how different the world is from the "world" that they know- our little town of Lindon Utah. Zoey is wondering why not everyone is white and speaks English. It's a fun and interesting way to teach about our differences!

Long Live England

England was the next country she chose to study. Of course….it's an island! We learned that even though it's an island, because it's closer to the north pole, it is colder than the tropical islands she has  learned about. Cold and rainy! 

We talked about the royal family, Windsor castle and Buckingham Palace and made a "Queen's Crown". She really liked that…it sounds so fairy tale! YouTube is really handy to show videos of England so we can have a virtual trip!

We talked about the royal guard, Big Ben, and Union Jack (Jackson has since claimed it as his favorite flag because it has part of his name in it!)...

 And we made pot pie for dinner. The kids' favorite meal so far! I wish I had a picture of Zoey helping me make it. She helped cut carrots and celery, and saute the onions in butter. It was exciting for her! She was a great help in the kitchen! No tea though…maybe I should have had ourselves a pretend tea party. That would have been really British!

Colombia Day!

From Cuba, we took our learning travels to Colombia! 

 

We learned that it is one of the most bio-diverse countries in the world! Accounting for the most diverse species of animals, plants and insects found anywhere else. We enjoyed learning about the amazon and made art projects of tropical rainforest birds.. they were proud of their creations. 

We talked about the people and culture and made shakers and drums to perform in our own marimba band! 

 We made Colombian style empenadas (meat and potatoes wrapped in corn flour dough and fried in oil), rice and beans with olives on the side. I am surprised the kids are adaptable to these ethnic foods we've been trying. The empenadas were yummy! I wonder what I'm going to do when we go to Russia?!?

Next stop- England!

Viva la Cuba!

The fun thing about mom school is that we can study whatever we want! Another subject (other than apples) that Zoey has picked to study is the world.

After learning about Earth, the continents and oceans, she got to choose from the map one country for each continent. We made a pretend passport for all the places we plan to visit and will get a "stamp" at each destination. We also made a travel book that has where the country is located, it's flag and interesting facts about each country we visit.

 The first on her list was Cuba. I think she picked it because it was an island, but it was fun to research and learn along with her new things about a place I have never visited and knew little about. We learned about the culture of the island, studied the cuisine (tropical fruits, black beans and rice), the people, the language, the climate, etc.

 We had a tropical fruit plate for a snack with fruits that would grow locally in Cuba.

 We learned to tie a head scarf like the native women and girls wear

We made a tropical fish art project

We ate black beans a rice for dinner…which the kids actually really liked!

The kids loved the lesson, crafts and food. Hooray for Cuba day! Next on our travel list is Columbia and the Amazon! 

Happy one month!

Isaac had his tongue clipped (our 3rd tongue tied baby!), PKU, and circumcision all on the same day. It was an awful visit to the Doctor and following 2 weeks of recovery from head to toe! I felt bad for the little guy! Now at a month old, he seems a little more content with the world outside. His umbilical cord has fallen off, he's healed from his Doctor visit, and he's even grown out of some newborn clothes!

His eyes are beginning to adjust and focus on things. Sometimes he'll just catch something to stare at and gaze intently. I love it when he watches me, and I wonder what he's thinking in that little head of his. I have had some very special moments when I have had the chance to be uninterrupted from the other children (usually at night when I rock him) when I feel an overwhelming sense of love for him. I am so thankful God sent him to me. He will always be my baby. The very last….

 

He does have a little reflux issue, but not nearly as bad as Calvin did. And Isaac doesn't seem to mind when he spits up or is burpy. I can handle the spit-up, it's the fussiness that's hard to handle, so thank goodness Isaac is such a good and content baby (except for his "witching hour" around 8 pm, when he gets a little fussy until bedtime)!

 He's starting to hold his head up! He is pretty content with the other kids attempts to hold him.

He's now pushing over 8 pounds, eating well and sleeping great! He has a great schedule during the day, naps well, and he also sleeps consistently for a 5 hour stretch each night. I usually only have to get up with him once to nurse, but even on "bad nights" when I have to get up 2 times, he's still a pretty good sleeper! 

A is for Apple

With all the sickness our family has been exposed to, we decided to pull Zoey from Preschool this winter to try and keep our family healthy. I had been doing "mom-school" with her throughout the year on days when she was not attending regular class. She always complained about going to preschool, claiming "mom-school" was more fun. I don't know why because we go over the same things as her school class, but to each her own! We've learned days of the week, months of the year, weather, writing letters, counting to 20 and backwards, calendaring, sounds and sight words...

In preparing to get back into teaching her and Eli, we talked about what she wanted to learn about. Apples! We have covered how apples grow, parts of an apple, cycle of the seed, and patterns. The rest of the week includes apple investigation (exploring, drawing, and describing their own apple), apple taste-test (find out our favorite kind!) and Johnny Appleseed day.

It's been fun. We've incorporated art, math and reading in the mix. Here are some fun pictures of bobbing for apples (she learned it's harder than it looks!):

  Other topics she wanted to learn about are the seasons, growth of the body, the world and countries, and how to read. I'm looking forward to exploring those topics with her and Eli!

5 photos

 I've noticed I had a similar picture taken of me with each one of my kids. It wasn't planned, but just happened to be a great shot that happened 5 times (and by different photographers... Brian, Trina, and Taraleigh). Zoey was sick with RSV as a newborn, so she's a little older in her picture, but nonetheless, they remind me of special moments. 

I can't believe Jackson is 6 years old already! The other night, Brian was rocking Isaac and mentioned that these days will soon be a distant memory. It almost makes me kind of sad to really think about that. I have enjoyed my moments of being a mom of little babies (as hard as it can be sometimes) but I look forward to our family growing together. I look forward to being a mom of bigger kids too.

For me, 2014 will be a lot of Isaac's firsts and all of my lasts. I look forward to it with mixed emotions: sadness in saying goodbye to an era of our lives of nighttime feedings, teething, sleep training, learning to walk and talk, etc... and with excitement as we move forward and get to see our children grow. 

I love being a mom. I couldn't imagine our family any different. 

Jackson

Zoey

 Eli

Calvin

 Isaac