Day 3 of the school week included some of the following.
MATH!! And the kids all cheer. 😉 Elias is working on double digits addition, clocks, measuring…
Espen is plugging along on writing the number after/before, skip counting, money…
After math, we headed to Fox Den Books for our weekly storytime. Heather is amazing with the kids and her book choices. It is a darling little shop that sells used books and new unique toys. Let’s just say I’ve come home with many a treasured book finds and plenty of gifts for the little ones.
This afternoon we worked on reading, writing, and spelling. One mini M&M seems to do the trick for spelling motivation. {I don’t love the food based rewards, but at the moment that is what we are using. I need to come up with some better ideas.}
Dick and Jane is one of my go-to resources for new readers. VERY short “chapters” and repetitive words makes beginners feel a great sense of accomplishment and success. We found our hardcover books at the used book store mentioned above. I would bet your library also has them.
We are back to chilly temps up here in the northwoods, so we have been burning all day. It has really cut down on our gas bills which is nice. Plus, the warmth and ambience of the fire is a beautiful thing.
The afternoons during quiet time are my time to do things.
This afternoon I made Elderberry Elixir. I started using Elderberry syrup this fall to fight cold/flu season. I think it has made a HUGE difference for us. For this recipe, I had some honey in the bottom of the jar…probably about 1/2 cup, I added about 1/2 cup dried elderberries, plus 1 cinnamon stick. I stirred this all together until it was all covered in honey. Then I added about 1 cup of brandy. {You can tell I was really precise on this…} After shaking I put the jar in the cupboard and will wait 4-6 weeks before using. About a teaspoon a day for cold prevention.
I also worked on some of my dried herbs from the garden. Jarring up thyme and horehound. Thyme is one of my favorite herbs to use in cooking and it is SOOO easy to grow and store for the year. Simply cut the herb before it flowers, place on a cookie sheet or whatever you have, and let it dry. It dries fast since the leaves are so tiny. Then strip the little stalks of the leaves and store. Any chicken or soup recipe goes wonderfully with thyme.
Here the herbs are jarred up. Plus some wild rose hips that I dried which I use in Elderberry syrup.
And finally a few of the books we are reading.
The current read aloud is Ronia, The Robber’s Daughter. This is the same author of Pippi Longstocking. I’m a little hesitant to recommend this book since we haven’t finished it yet. The boys always beg me to keep reading, so I think they enjoy it. I have to do some editing, but I am pretty conservative when it comes to books/movies. I have heard it described as a Romeo and Juliet story, which makes me wonder about how the story will go. But fingers crossed!
A book that I can highly recommend is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! We LOVED this book and were sad when it ended. {There is a second book…it comes with limited praise.}
And a book that I just finished, and am tempted to buy my own copy of so I can read it again, is Present over Perfect. It had some words that I NEEDED to hear in this season of motherhood. GOOD read.
