Cat Day

We had an alumni drop in to visit this week.  Peter came to hang out with us for the day!

He thought it was way cool to point and sing the Days of the Week song while Levi worked on his calendar notebook.

Then we did our TLC art project for C week...cat!  We work on body parts while waiting for everyone to catch up.  “Put your paper on your elbow!”

I love these projects because even though everyone follows the same directions, each one is so unique.  

Each cat is sitting on a rug, but everybody added their own touch (cat, mouse, rockstar glasses, and....banana?  Silly Sissy.)

I know I will soon regret this, but we were having a cat face contest at the dinner table.  Papito had to get the camera to capture the moment...He thought my eyebrow was hilarious.

First Week of School

Well, it is official...We finally had our first day of school!  A couple of weeks after anticipated, but due to birthdays and sickness, not to mention boxes filling the house, unpacking, and preparing for this Saturday's yard sale...we did it!

There is nothing like the fun of new pencil boxes, crayons, and school supplies!

I surprised them mid-week with our new "Kindergarten" set of manipultatives...Zoobs!  It was a team effort to open all the bags and get them in the tub.

 After that, it didn't take long for the creative brains to flow, and the baby to chew.

Here is the princess, complete with suspenders.  HA!

We also had our first Fun Friday of the year, and decided to make some cookies together.  

Week 23 - Ruth is Modest

Printables for this week:

Modest Bible page

Modest Chart from Hubbard’s Cupboard

Philippians 4:6 from Hubbard’s Cupboard

Zoo ABC - letter x

Zoo Math X - #24

This week we learned about being modest using the story of Ruth.  Modesty (or immodesty rather) is a bigger issue for preteen/teens, but I figured it would be good to introduce the concept.  At the preschool level, we focused on how our beauty comes from the inside, not what we look like on the outside.  There was still plenty to talk about, especially to little girls thinking that putting on certain clothes and fixing their hair a certain way make them “more boo-afull.”

Our zoo friend this week was Xavier Fox, so of course we had to play a couple of rounds of “What time is it, Mr. Fox?”  We also made Fox cookies for our cooking project (since I had some orange frosting left over from the sport’s ball cupcakes).  The children frosted a Maria cookie, then added chocolate chip eyes, and drew on the rest of the face using chocolate frosting.  X-cellent!

Fun Friday was X-ray day!  We made x-ray name art by using white out pens to write our names on a piece of black construction paper folded in half.  (Hint: Since the white-out dries so quickly, we learned it worked best to fold the paper and rub after every letter, rather than wait until the entire name was finished.) 

The name section is the ribs, then we talked about what bones are connected to them and how they move...joints!  (For example, the leg bends in the middle, so we decided there must be a bone on top and one below connected at the knee joint.) 

Next we glued on Q-tips to represent the arm and leg bones.  We finished it off with a dot paint head, and googly eyes.  Ta-daaaa!

We even had an x-ray snack, by frosting a graham cracker then drawing on some white frosting bones.  Say "X-ray!"

Week 32 - Jonathan is Faithful

Printables for this week:

Faithful Bible page

Faithful Chart from Hubbard’s Cupboard

Proverbs 17:17 from Hubbard’s Cupboard

Zoo ABC - letter w

Zoo Math W - #23

This week we learned about being faithful using the story of Jonathan and David.  Since the chart defined faithful as being a good friend, we focused this week on “how” to be a good friend.  Keeping your promises, using kind words, not saying or doing hurtful things to our friends were all put into action this week.  (And what a week to practice with a major case of spring fever going through this place!  hehe)  In fact, in an attempt to calm some of the spring craziness, I decided to start Monday morning with some new playdough infused with lavender essential oil. The girls have been asking for pink or purple, so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity.

It was also fun for them to watch the colors mix from this 

to this!

Our zoo friend this week was Willie Weasel, and I must admit my weasel resources are rather slim, except for this one book I remembered called Earthquack!.  It is a version of the classic "the sky is falling" tale and has a weasel for the villian.  Quite the tongue-twister to read, but the children enjoyed it.  

We went looking for videos, but didn’t find any good enough to share with you.  One thing we learned was that weasels build their nests in rock piles, or take over other animals nests rather than building their own.  Levi got a kick out of this sneakiness, and has been testing it out all weekend. “I was tricky like Willie Weasel and snuck some chocolate chips, then hid over here to eat them.”  Not looking forward to one more week of this, as tricky Xavier Fox is coming up next week.  :-S 

Wednesday was our last day of swimming lessons, and a very exciting day for one of our Jungle Families.  Miss Peggy had her baby, making Gaia an official big sister!  There was lots of praying involved, and lots of faith built, as our prayers were answered and Peggy was able to have a natural birth.  We still haven’t been able to meet baby Sitka, but are looking forward to meeting her soon!!

This Thursday’s cooking day might have just been the most popular one yet.  We made Waffles, and they were indeed wonderful.  Miss Niki whisked everything together,

and Papito came home just in time to help us cook them up!

Toppings included berry syrup, whipped cream, nut butter, and honey.  Berries and cream took the landslide vote in everyone’s book (except Josh’s), and all went for seconds, thirds, or even fourths!

We visited Miss Jennifer, Nat, and Abi for Fun Friday, and the children had a Wonderful time in the fort.

It took up half the living room, and their imaginations took up even more.  hehe

Rachel and Gio joined us too, for a fun-filled morning.

Week 22 - Anna is Prayerful

Printables for this week:

Prayerful Bible page

Prayerful Chart from Hubbard’s Cupboard

Philippians 4:6 from Hubbard’s Cupboard

Zoo ABC - letter v

Zoo Math V - #22

Our character trait this week was prayerful.  I had so many ideas and wanted to start some prayer journals, but the time just seemed to fly right on by!  Maybe that’s because we were learning about flying along with our zoo friend Vincent Vampire Bat.  I must admit, bats are not my favorite creatures.  In fact, I am really, extremely, VERY afraid of them!  In college I took a 3 week summer biology course, and as part of it we had to go very quietly into this cave where the bats were roosting.  I couldn’t do it.  Got the cold sweats, shakes, and everything, and was ready to risk my grade if necessary, but could not bring myself to go in there even on my hands and knees.  hehe  So maybe it was a good thing for me to explore bats a little more this week.  We actually didn’t talk about real “Vampire Bats” much, but focused more on the fruit eaters.  Levi was so curious as to what are the largest bats in the world, and I found this cool video from National Geographic for Kids.  The answer...Flying Foxes with a 6 foot wing span that live in Australia.  Check them out...

Our cooking project this week was short and sweet, Vanilla Pudding in the Vita-mix!  A few children just went for the whipped cream on top, but us Mamas were more than able to take care of the leftovers.  Right Miss Peggy?  ;-)

It ended up being more like “Fun-ny” Friday this week, as many JungleMamas had various things going on.  Amy and Bella were our only guests of the day!

On the agenda for the Mamas was a Vita-mix demonstration day!  I had ingredients ready for nut butter, frappes, ice cream, or smoothies...whichever sounded the best.  For the children, we were supposed to make a volcano erupt, but whenever I asked the children if they were ready they wanted to just “play a little longer.”  So, Amy and I decided to make our own experiment...lava cake!  We followed this recipe from Savory Sweet Life.  Check out the photo...isn’t it just amazing?  It was fairly easy, smelled great and tasted yummy.  However, the middle was not like molten chocolate lava like we were expecting.  :-(   (I think I overcooked it by just a minute or two, because one of the children got a tiny bit of goosh in the middle.)  We also made some vanilla ice cream in the Vita-mix to go along with our very tasty dessert.  These were the only photos I got, as the lava went down the hatch mighty quick.  hehe

I became so consumed with striving for that molten lava center, that we tried again on Saturday afternoon.  This time using this recipe from Recipe for a Gluten Free Life by Mrs. G.F.  It smelled great and tasted great too, however...no lava.  I was paranoid to overcook it this time, and instead undercooked the first one I tested.  A bunch.  hehe  So, I ended up with three overcooked and one batter bowl of lava cake.  What’s a creative Mamita to do?  Well, dig out the center of the overcooked and replace with a little batter of course.  Cover it with a little scoop of Vita-mix ice cream, and nobody questioned.  hehe  I still want mine to look like that first picture though.  Any lava cake success stories out there?

Week 31 - Jacob is Diligent

Printables for this week:

Diligent Bible page

Diligent Chart from Hubbard’s Cupboard

Colossians 3:23 from Hubbard’s Cupboard

Zoo ABC - letter u

Zoo Math U - #21

This week we talked about being diligent, and practiced not giving up in little ways throughout the week.  Our bible character was Jacob, and how he worked diligently for seven years (twice) to earn his bride’s hand.  We incorporated some number writing into our bible page this week, too.

Our cooking project was a no-brainer...“Upside Down Cake!”  Pineapple Upside-Down Cake to be exact.  I used a recipe online, but the cake texture wasn’t my favorite, so I’m not recommending it.  It was a very fun one to make with children though.  What we did was drizzle some arequipe in the bottom of a pan, then “plop” in the pineapple rings.  We put a cherry inside each ring, then split up for the cake making.  Miss Peggy and the girls measured out the dry ingredients, while the boys and I measured the wet.  Then we put it together and poured it in the pan.  I think my plain wacky cake recipe would go great instead, but we’ll have to experiment with that later.

The best part is when you take it out of the oven and get to flip the pan Upside Down!    I was surprised that so many of them wanted seconds.  It is amazing how much more adventurous children are with food, when they are involved in the preparation.  As you can see, we already made a good dent in it before I remembered the photo.  hehe

For our Fun Friday activity, we had a great day at Miss Amy’s house.  It was supposed to be a bubble day, but I couldn’t find the batteries for our bubble machine.  (Thankfully, the children didn’t know the difference.)  They all piled in the hammock for awhile, then the heat and humidity chased everyone upstairs.  While the children played, Miss Amy prepared an Unbelievably delicious lunch!!  We got to actually sit at the table together and enjoy our gourmet chicken, date, and olive dish.  Thanks Amy!!  Sorry for the point and shoot but had to capture the fun...

Week 30 - Elizabeth is Patient

Printables for this week:

Patient Bible page

Patient Chart from Hubbard’s Cupboard

Ephesians 4:2b from Hubbard’s Cupboard

Zoo ABC - letter t

Zoo Math T - #20

This week we learned about being patient...hhhmmm.  I think this was for Mamas (or at least me) as much as for the children.  Funny how that works.  Click here for a little reminder of patience I just happened to come across this week from Ann Voskamp’s blog.  (Her writing is so beautiful...it always calms my wearied soul.)

Our bible character was Elizabeth, and what a good reminder she is.  Waiting for years with no child, in a culture where that meant everything.  Through the shame, disappointment, and loneliness, she remained a righteous woman.  Another translation says she “enjoyed a clear conscience before God.”  Ouch!  How many people can keep their heart and attitude clear when life is not going the way we want it to. We took the initiative to recognize and practice waiting patiently this week for snacks, stories, speaking, and especially “our turn.”  For our bible page, they were to draw a clock (to symbolize time passing and Elizabeth waiting patiently) and a baby named John.  Here is Levi's work with the clock "hands spinning so it looks like a long, long time!"  I have been delighting in his creativity lately.

Our zoo friend was Timothy Tiger, and we discovered lots of great tiger facts.  Did you know that a tiger's roar can be heard up to 2 miles away?  Tiger Time for Stanley by Griff integrates lots of facts in a very cute story about a boy comparing his cat to a tiger (especially for a certain 3-year-old girlie who dreams of having a pet “meow-me” too).  We also read A Tiger Cub Grows Up by Joan Hewett, and learned that Tara (the tiger in the book) lives in San Fransisco, CA where our airplane will be landing this summer!  We were checking out Six Flags Discovery Park and found this cool video of a white Bengal tiger diving underwater to get it’s dinner.

We had great fun with our cooking project this week...tiger toast!  We first talked about color mixing, then added some food coloring to cream cheese to make orange and black.  Each child got a piece of toast and a little watercolor paint brush to create their tiger designs.  A little tip for success:  Use orange first, then black.  Just like in watercolors, the black will quickly overpower any other colors.

For our Fun Friday activity, we had treats at Miss Jennifer’s house!  The children were so entertained, there was not even an interest in the tea party we had planned.  So us JungleMama’s continued to talk and eat treats.  Hope we didn’t tear up your house too much Jen!

Week 28 - Esther is Compassionate

Printables for this week:

Compassionate Bible page

Compassionate Chart from Hubbard’s Cupboard

Ephesians 4:32 from Hubbard’s Cupboard

Zoo ABC - letter s

Zoo Math S - #19

It was a royal week around here as we learned about compassion using the story of Esther.  During calendar time we learned how to bow and curtsey, (and got a great thigh workout curtseying the date might I add.)  This week, I explained the bible page, and they worked very independently to finish.  Check out Levi’s Esther page (those motor skills have come so far this year)...

Sammy Snake was of course a favorite, with our two favorite books being The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash and Snake Dictionary, along with the song “I’m being swallowed by a Boa Constrictor!”  We also made spiral snakes out of paper plates thanks to this post from Made by Bedtime Tales.  They turned out great, and served as a weekends worth of entertainment, too.

What a better cooking project for S week than, S’Mores!  When you have a gas stove, S’Mores can be made year round.  hehe  This makes a great, fast dessert when company comes.  We especially like our Panamanian version:  Spread some chocolate frosting on a Maria cookie, use a fondue fork to roast a marshmallow over the burner, then use a plain Maria cookie to scrape off the marshmallow and make a S’Mores sandwich.  Is your mouth watering yet? 

For our Fun Friday activity, we attended a Royal Ball at the Richardson’s.  The ladies wore their finest, and the men dressed in their knightly attire.

There was much playing, sword fighting, and more dressing up.

Miss Clare read A Parable about the King by Beth Moore,

and served a special snack on her royal silver.

Miss Jennifer gave a lesson in chivalry (before the rain interrupted),

with the boys kneeling before the girls to present them with flowers.

I think that was the highlight of Ary’s day, and rumor has it that someone wants to marry Levi now.  hehe  The JungleMamas ordered out for lunch while the children finished the day by watching VeggieTales, Esther the Girl who Became Queen.

Although my children were exhausted after all the fun, Ary had to finish out the day like a princess by wearing her fancy (long sleeved, hot, oh-not-so-cozy) red dress to sleep in.  It matched her tired red eyes.