CrazySox

This morning we went on a bear hunt. We started out by reading the book by Helen Oxenberry.

The we did crafts, songs & snack (hurray!).

**CRAFTS**
Make a bear paw print. I cut out the pieces for the bear paw and had the kids glue them together, kind of like a puzzle.

I gave each kid a cut out of a bear to glue on a piece of construction paper and color however the wanted.

Each kid made a hat for themselves too. I gave them all different sized circles to glue together to make the bear face. Then each kid hand stuffed their very own bear to take home.

**SNACK**
What do bears eat? Honey! We had graham crackers with honey. Every kid at least tried the honey. During the snack we talked about where bears live and the different colors bears could be.

**SONG**
Bear Hunt Song
Goin’ on a bear hunt (repeat)
I’m not afraid (repeat)
Got a real good friend (children hug each other during this part…repeat)
By my side (repeat)
Uh, Oh (repeat)
What do I see? (repeat)
Oh look! It’s some tall grass! (repeat)
Can’t go over it (repeat)
Can’t go under it (repeat)
Can’t go around it (repeat)
Got to go through it (repeat… clearing a way thru grass)

• Snow- swirling flakes
• Ice- ice skating
• Tall tree- climb tree
• Wide river- swim

• Dark cave- sneak inside
Uh,oh! It’s dark in here. (repeat)
I feel something (repeat)
It has lots of hair! (repeat)
It has sharp teeth! (repeat)
It’s a bear!! (children love to scream)
(Go back home. Sneak out of cave, swim rive, climb tree, ice skate, swirling flakes, back through the tall grass, till you get safely home and lock the door.)
I’m not afraid! (Repeat)

We’ve been thinking about allowance- do you get allowance “just because” or do you have to do chores to earn it? Do you do chores because you are a part of the famiy and everyone does their part? Do you get $ for good behavior or grades? ACK!!

We decided that yes, she needs to earn her $$, but not necessarily by doing chores, but by being helpful and listening well (making good choices).

Avery does like to get change to put in her piggy bank. When the piggy bank gets full we take it to a Coin Star and get CASH! Then we let her spend it after she “gives some to God.” We’ve done this twice so far.

Dan and I brainstormed and came up with a “system.” I made up a chart with (velcro) stars. She starts each day with 5 stars. During the day she can lose them by whining, not listening and “making wrong choices.” She can also earn more stars by being extra helpful and being a good listener… At the end of the day we tally up how many stars are left.

I was fortunate enough to make it to Target when they put their toys on clearance, 75% off. I bought a few little things for SUPER CHEAP! Each toy can be bought from me for a certain number of points. Avery has earned her first toy for 10 points, it took her 4 days to earn it.

We think that later on each star will be worth 5 cents. Then she can add the money to her piggy bank.

If, at the end of the day, if she has NO stars left, she doesn’t get any books before bed- the worst thing ever!! Thankfully, she has not had that happen yet!!

I like this system because;
* She can lose and earn more stars
* She can use her points to “buy” a toy from us.
* It is a daily thing, not a weekly thing to work up to

It helps that Dan and I are both “in this” together. She doesn’t want to lose a star from either of us!!

We don’t get much rain here, so when it rains, life pretty much stops. But we found stuff to do… kind of!

Monday was rainy all day. It was a holiday too. So our friend Tara had a play date at her house. There were 18 kids there. She is brave!

Tuesday we headed to the library for story time and finding a few books. We had to wait before leaving for the rain to die down. It didn’t, so we made a run for it.

In the afternoon we made Valentine Chocolate Chip cookies. They were Valentine because we used pink, red & white M&Ms. Avery doesn’t know it, but we used half white flour and half wheat. We also used only 2/3 of the chocolate chips (& M&Ms) the recipe called for.

Wednesday it poured again, but we had good thunder and lightening too. Sawyer and I were able to run a few errands before picking Avery up from school. We darted through the raindrops… it was “fun.” In the afternoon (no rain) we went to find some good puddles to jump in. We did. They got soaked and cold, so it was bath time.


After baths we made pizza for dinner. Dan helped Avery make a heart shaped pizza.

Thursday was probably the most rain. Sawyer had a doctors appointment. While in the waiting room he fell (big surprise) into a wooden chair leg and got his firth bloody nose. It wasn’t too bad, but still blood!! Then he got 3 shots in his legs. Needless to say, he napped well that afternoon.
Thursday evening Avery had Awanas. I tell you, I really didn’t want to go out, but I did! Not very many kids were there. It was “weasels” night (measles night) and Avery got to hold the American flag. She was excited.

While I was getting Dan’s dinner, in the Taco Bell drive thru, the weather service issued a warning of marble sized hail, lots of rain, wind, thunder and lightening! I hurried home, Dan went to pick up Avery up!

Friday- guess what? It poured again. After making a much needed Target run, we went to Blooms, a kids consignment shop, we call “the toy store.” I had some credit there, so I got to “shop” while the kids played.

Got the idea to make this NEW SHIRT from HERE.

Since I am still a novice at sewing (I can barely sew a straight line) I wasn’t sure if this would turn out. Well, Avery likes it, and that’s what matters.

I don’t think I’ll be making another one, but it was fun to try once!! I think I’ll stick to the straight lines for a while!

Today Avery made a comment that made me realize she is maturing. She chose a snack to eat in the car on the way to our destination. I asked her to unwrap it now (before we drove off) so she could throw away the trash now and not leave it in the car. She told me, “No, I want to wait to open it till we pass the park, so that it will last longer.”
She is not a kid who understands delayed gratification at all!! She would rather have 2 M & Ms now than to wait to have an entire pack later. We’ve tried to explain to her that if she waits, she gets more… no go.
Ah, she’s starting to “get it.”

This photo was taken by Avery’s little friend…

Ok, so we don’t get any snow around here, but it is winter, so we “need” to wintery crafts.

I got this idea from a blog I follow. I had to do the prep work ahead of time, using masking tape to make the outline for the snowflake. I made one for each kid- I wasn’t sure how Sawyer would do with finger paints but he did ok. He didn’t want to get too messy, but he let me help him get messy!

Avery only wanted to use red, purple & blue, but we didn’t have purple. But that was ok, she made purple!

The finished product came out pretty well. I may try this again but with water colors to see how they turn out. Some of the tape was hard to get off, not sure why…

* Don’t spend any $$ at least one day a week. This includes gift cards, gas & eating out…

I went a little crazy in December with the treats. I have a sugar problem. So now I have to fix the problem.
I am doing a little Biggest Loser challenge with a few friends. It’s 16 weeks, so I have time to get to where I want/need to be.
We are going on a little vay-cay in 6 short weeks. I have 6 weeks to be “presentable.” I can do it!

Keep moving…

It snowed all night and into the morning. It was a beautiful day- sun shining, not too cold & no wind. Dan, Tori & I walked Avery & Sawyer over to a small playground that has a little hill- great for sledding. We didn’t want to drive to the “good” hill, so this worked out well.

This was the first time for Avery to go sledding and Sawyer too. It was a great experience. No one got too cold!!

The playground was just as fun as the sledding. The snow makes everything more fun… kind of.