What a Hoppy Bunny

Our bunny has a new home, thanks to her chicken friends! When they moved into their new home they left behind a lovely house and a large penned in area. Fluffy was so happy to be "free" today (under the kids supervision of course). She ran around her yard and had a field day. When she got tired she was happy to hop into her home on her own.

D helped me clean the whole area. We also placed chicken wire under Fluffies enclosure to protect her from any predators. D was happy to help since one of her chores is to feed and water Fluffy every day.

"Play"ing with dough

Family Fun Magazine had an article on making all natural play clay. My kiddos LOVE Play Dough but go through it very quickly. So, I figured this would be a good opportunity for us to learn how to make our own...plus help us save some of our hard earned "DOUGH". We made the brown clay, because I honestly didn't have any beet juice (makes pink), paprika (makes orange) or turmeric (makes yellow). I did have cocoa, so brown it was!!!

All you need is:

* 1 cup flour

* 3/8 cup salt

* 1 tbsp vegetable oil

* natural dye

Brown -3/8 c hot water & 4 tbsp. cocoa

Pink - 3/8 c hot beet juice juice from 15 oz can

Orange - 3/8 c hot water & 1 tbsp. paprika

Yellow - 3/8 c hot water & 1 tsp. turmeric

Have fun playing!!!!

All cooped up...

I've gotta say, our chickens seem quite happy with their new coop!! We've had the girls since they were one week old. They are definitely pets for B, D, C & A. These chickens are used to being carried around and played with...they are so friendly. Anyway, their old digs were getting too small for them, so it was time for a new coop. I found this homemade bunny hutch on Craigslist and thought it might work. Did it ever!!! What a find, plus it cost much less than any other coop we looked at. Needless to say Ivy, Robin, Spiderman and Rose are some happy chickens for sure.

Speaking of Labor

In The Boxcar Children, the siblings have no parents. They have to take care of themselves and take on many parental roles. This got us discussing chores and the roles that we all have in a famiy. B & D have chores, but we decided to make them a little more organized/disciplined. Each child made a helping hands chore chart. They have craft sticks with individual chores listed on them. As they complete a chore they deposit the corresponding stick into the chart!!!

Happy Labor Day and enjoy your kids.

Saturday Game Play...

Good Morning!! It's Saturday and for us that means video game day,lol! The kids are not allowed to play video games during the week, so it seems like they are always a little too eager for Saturday to get here :) We actually had to work out a system to keep the gaming fair. B, D, & C get their names pulled out of a hat to determine the order in which they get to play the game of their choice. A timer is set for one hour (EXACTLY) so nobody gets more play time then the others. CRAZY!!! But luckily, they are the same way when it comes to home schooling. I've got to say, I have been blessed by a great group of kids!!

Let Them Eat Cake

Well, D and I have signed up for Course 2 of the Wilton Cake Decorating classes. I'm proud to say D has quite the flair for baking, decorating, basically the whole nine yards. Seeing as she was only 7 when we took the first course, I couldn't be any prouder of her skills. Check out some of her wonderful designs!!

D's first cake was the Italian flag, she made it for the Festival Italiano in Newton. She

made the double clown cake (yes those are made out of frosting) to lift her Nana's spirits when she was in the hospital. And was proud to present her Nana with the Welcome home cake upon her return from the hospital. You'll
also see her Course 1 Rocks cake, that she made at the completion of her first class.

Enjoy!!

Give me shelter

The kids are learning about various forms of shelter. In The Boxcar Children, the children turn an abandoned boxcar into their home. We've discovered that there are numerous forms of shelter all around us. Farms can act as a shelter. Historically, castles are shelters. And culturally, there are different shelters...such as teepees. B and D had so much fun making their models.