A is for...

Today my 3-year-old and I played with our ABC cards. She identified each letter and then we practiced saying the sounds each letter makes. I was really surprised by how many she already knew! [Big brother has been teaching her lots of letter sounds lately.]

I asked her to think of words that begin with each letter as we went through them.  My son wanted to play too, so I asked him to write down the words she thought of.

Here is the list she came up with.

A is for Am and Andy

B is for Band

C is for Can't

D is for Dad

E is for Ear

F is for Frog

G is for Grape

H is for Heather

I is for Inch

J is for Jam

K is for Kitten

L is for Lamb

M is for Man

N is for Net

O is for On and Octopus

P is for Peeing [she's been wearing "big girl undies" and using the potty...it's exciting around here]

Q is for Queen [brother helped her out with this one]

R is for Rachel

S is for Sand

T is for Teeth and Tooth [again, brother was giving hints]

U is for Ummm [you know...as in, "ummmm, Mom, can I have a snack....ummmm, Mom, brother is being mean...ummmm, Mom, I peed in my pants a little" It is a legit word for a 3-year-old, right?]

V is for Van

W is for Whine [that goes along with "Ummm"]

X is for eXercise and X-ray [brother helped with X-ray]

Y is for Yam

Z is for Zipper

Learning with Dad

My husband and I determined early on that I am not qualified to teach our kids science unsupervised. I think we realized this one day when we had a discussion about thunder and lightning. Let's just say the look on my husband's face was priceless; it was one of those, "I would like to think you are kidding...but I know you're not" sort of looks. He was baffled by my scientific intelligence - or lack thereof.

There is a responsibility, I think, in choosing to home school, to asses our own academic strengths and weaknesses and to recognize when we are unable to adequately teach a subject on our own and could use a little [or a lot of] help. At that point there are a variety of options; rely on a curriculum, find a tutor, join with other home school parents and help each other out.

Thankfully, my husband was always very interested in science and applied himself to studying it in school. So, when it comes to all things biological, chemical or otherwise over my head...he picks up the slack and does an excellent job of it! This is important, especially since our son, like his father, has lots of scientific questions, and enjoys learning about the whys and what's of the world around him. Some questions I can answer...others, well, to be honest, I've never even considered before. I realize that I just take many things for granted. For instance: why does water boil? My answer: "Uh, cuz it gets hot?" Der.

I'd never really thought about it. It just does.

I'm really glad that other people think about things differently than I do and have noticed and taken the time to study these kinds of questions...and find some answers.

My husband is back in school and often shares with me information he is learning in his classes. As an adult, I have a whole new appreciation for science. As a believer in God, I have an even greater appreciation for the amazing and intricate details of life, and the mysteries we still have yet to uncover.

However, my appreciation for it and ability to teach it are not equal.

So...

My husband has done a few projects with our kids over the last few weeks.

They made a volcano...
[I lost the pictures of their eruptions though...sad!]

They planted a garden:

[I watched. I also kill plants...not intentionally...but inevitably, they always end up dying in my care.]

 These are cacti they planted last year...

And here are their little plants beginning to grow!

May Calendars are Up!

There are 6 different syles to choose from.

Visit our Free Calendars page to download yours.

Like Father, Like Son

My son drew me a few pictures today, and naturally, I had to share. :)

I loved how he colored them in.

He is quite a little artist...my favorite is the barnyard. 

And I really adore the green monster-guy saying "Mmmmmm" as he eyes the delicious fruits!

He takes after his dad. My husband drew this in high school.

He doesn't draw much anymore...but I hope he picks it up again someday. In the meantime, I am enjoying these sweet pictures from my five-year-old.

A New Adventure...

I mentioned that this project I did with my daughter gave me an idea.

Here it is:

I started out creating a few worksheets for my kids...and ended up opening an Etsy shop!

I call my little project: Snappy Printables.

I have only listed a few PDF sets, but I'm working on others and hope to add them soon.

You can read a bit about the concept and vision I have for this little endeavor on the "About Us" section of the Snappy Printables blog.

I am offering 3 sets of printable files in a giveaway, if any readers are interested. You can enter here.
Update: this giveaway has closed.

I'd also like to offer Home Education Journal readers 20% off everything in my shop during the month of April. Just enter the code: FRIENDSAPR11 when you make a purchase.

My kids love these. I hope yours will too!

Aside from working on this exciting adventure, we have been planting a garden [not like the one in January...a REAL garden], watching volcanoes explode and celebrating a very special birthday. I will share more soon!