Tot School and Gabriela's Birthday

Here are some things Gabriela did last week:

This is called the Mosaic Sticking Game. I got it at a charity shop here in England. Of course, I did have to monitor her carefully as the pieces are really too small for a 2-year-old tot! She enjoyed playing with it, though.



Putting pompoms into a container. I saw this idea on several tot blogs, so I decided to try it. I didn't have enough patience to wait until I had an empty container with an easy-to-cut lid, so I struggled through cutting holes in a different container and then had to tape the edges really well to cover any sharp points. However, she LOVED it! Amazing... something so simple...


Gabriela just had her 2nd birthday early this week, so I wanted to show some of her presents we bought for her tot school!

The first one is called Hide 'n' Squeak Eggs (Tomy). It's for 12 months and up, but even my older 2 like to play with it. You open the eggs to reveal chicks, which squeak when you press their heads. You can match the eyes of the chicks with their shells, and you can sort the eggs by the shapes on the bottom of the egg box.





Next is the Button Board from ELC (Early Learning Center). These buttons are much larger than the ones shown way above on the mosaic sticking game. Children can make their own designs or match colors to pictures you place inside the tray. The buttons are like pegs, so you can put them into the holes.



Gabriela also got the Melissa and Doug Beginner Pattern Blocks. This is a very nice wood set! I should mention that each of the puzzles shown here also have a puzzle on the back, so there are several to do!



Gabriela's favorite gift was "Pop it in the Post" from ELC. You can match the letters with the envelopes and also with the stamps--by animal and by color. Then you can "pop them in the post!" There are 2 dice you can use to play a game. One has animals, and other has numbers ("price" of the stamps). She LOVES this toy!





We also bought Gabriela "My First Easel" from Crayola. This toy is a nice idea, but it's a horrible, worthless toy. Read reviews on it! I do NOT recommend this toy...DO NOT BUY IT! You will regret it. It ruins after just a few uses, and it's difficult to use, even though it's supposed to be for kids 18 months and up. I just hope we can get a refund, even though Greg already disposed of the box it came in (and it won't come back!). I am definitely going to start reading reviews on toys...this one isn't the first to disappoint!

Ballet Bar!

Just another reason why I LOVE charity shops!!! (And yard sales, when I'm in the USA)

I can't afford to get Moriah ballet lessons, so I bought a ballet video from Love to Learn. She had the video, a leotard, and slippers, but she didn't have a bar. I looked on the internet, but everything was too expensive. I looked for things I could make into a suitable bar, but nothing was working out. So I finally told her just to hold onto the fireplace guard, and I sort of put it on my list of things to ask the Lord for. Months go by, and I decide to visit some charity shops (since I had a bit of cash on me). I went into one called DebRA (my name!), and there it was! A plastic but sturdy ballet bar! It didn't have a price, so I asked the guy at the counter. He said, "How about 2 quid?" (Quid is British way of saying "bucks"). I was sooooooo thrilled! Moriah happened to be with me, and she was sooooooo thrilled! Now she's begging to do her ballet video everyday. She loves using it! By the way, DebRA is a charity that helps people in the UK who have a genetic skin blistering condition called Epidermolysis Bullosa.

Turkish Kebabs

This was the conclusion to Isaac's study on Turkey...Turkish takeaway (common in England)! He had a lamb kebab, served in pita bread. Although they're called kebabs, they're not served on the skewer when you get them. We bought one just for Isaac, but he let us sample it--yummy!

Field Trip Chronicles: Dunham Massey

This past week we went to another National Trust property,Dunham Massey. We toured the house and gardens. The kids did a few quizzes in the house. They had to find certain objects and also count how many dogs appeared in the house (in paintings, carvings, figurines, etc). I always appreciate how National Trust makes their sites so child-friendly! We've been National Trust members 4 years, and the kids learn so much history from these places. They explore sites from several different periods of history: Roman, Medieval, Tudor, Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian! They see each room (kitchen, bedroom, living quarters, bathrooms, laundry, bakery, dairy, etc) as if it were still in that period of history, and our kids really do enjoy touring old houses! Dunham Massey also has a large herd of beautiful deer, but we didn't get to see them this time.

Russian Nesting Dolls

We're not studying Russia yet, but one day I decided to get down our Russian nesting dolls and let the kids play with them. Greg brought them back from 2 mission trips he took to Ukraine. Each of the kids has a set, and so do I! I wish I could get more--I think they're so unique! All 3 of the kids thoroughly enjoyed playing with them. It was a nice break from regular school work.

Turkey! A 2-Week Geography Study

Isaac has just concluded his study of Turkey. All we have left to do is Turkish take-away Saturday night (doner kebabs with pita bread)! Here is the schedule of what we did:

Week 1
Day 1
Locate Turkey on wall map and in atlas.
Put Turkey flag sticker in passport and stamp date.
Discuss capital, borders, and continents (Turkey is on 2 continents)
Listen to Middle East Song from Geography Songs

Day 2
Listen to Middle East Song
Flag page (Enchanted Learning)
Map page (I made this up myself, but I don't know how to put it on here)

Day 3
Listen to Middle East Song
Geography from A to Z--discuss hills, mountains, peninsula, plateau, sea, and strait
Discuss Mt. Ararat and watched a YouTube videos on climbing Mt. Ararat



Discuss the climate of Turkey

Day 4
Middle East Song
Discuss cities in modern-day Turkey that are mentioned in the Bible
Label map of Turkey with the cities mentioned in Revelation (7 churches)

Day 5
Middle East Song
Read story "A Sleeve in the Soup" from Around the World in 80 Tales
Listen to Turkey's national anthem
Snack: Hummus on pita bread


Day 6
Discuss government, religion, native costume
Fill out notebook page (Homeschool Creations)

Day 7
Turkish language video on YouTube


Study Saint Nicholas

Day 8
Watch YouTube video on Turkish Dance


Day 9
Discuss Istanbul/Constantinople (2-continent city)
Discuss Hagia Sophia, visit websites

Day 10
View other websites on Turkey, and take online quiz

Eat Turkish donar (lamb) kebabs on pita bread

Tot School: LAURI puzzles rule!

Here are some things Gabriela did this past week:

1. Color tiles


2. She lasted maybe 2 minutes. I think I put too many on her tray. She started dropping them on the floor, one at a time.


3. Okay, she's had enough of this activity!


4. She enjoyed helping clean up, though!


5. We tried crayons instead, but she didn't want to color. Instead, she decided to lay them all in a row!


6. Ahhhh, THIS was the winner! I have several LAURI puzzles, and she loved this one! She spent quite awhile playing with it, and she kept getting it out the rest of the week. I help her position each butterfly, and she punches it in. She likes to take them all out again when she's finished and start over.



Gabriela turns 2 in just a few days!!! Because she already has LOADS of toys of her own and well as LOADS of her big brother's and sister's toys, we decided to get her things she can use in Tot School. I'll post pictures after her birthday.

Kindergarten Fun

We've just finished our 4th week of school, and Moriah is really enjoying kindergarten! She picked up the workbox system quickly, and she is settling into a routine and loving all the fun stuff scattered throughout the schedule. Here are some things she's done the past few weeks:

1. Fun with pattern blocks...she made the design herself!


2. Science experiment...how many fish counters can you fit into a foil boat before it sinks? We used all 200 counters before it began sinking!


3. Another science experiment where she had to test her sense of smell and try to guess what the scent was. Isaac and Daddy both tried it too!




4. History--We're learning about Joseph and Moses in Egypt, so Moriah made an "Egyptian collar" out of a paper plate.