TOTSCHOOL with Alba - 25 months

ALBA - 25 MONTHS

This picture celebrates Alba's FIRST time having her face painted. She's a pink kitty.

 I took the kids to INTERPLAY, our local street performance fair. There were many free things for the kids, the face painting not being one of them. I didn't mind paying for all three kids. I looked at it as a fun experience and great memory for all of us. 

Alba was mesmerized by the children's performers, she did great the whole afternoon. The sun was shining making it a nice hot day for the event.

This is Eagle up on stage. Zazu also went up in the same act. It was awesome!

There was a craft tent hosted by our local non-profit family resource centre called The Hub. 

Alba had such a great time painting. 

Zazu also joined in.

This is not me holding Alba, it was a random volunteer that decided to help Alba go down. She was very nice, I appreciated be able to stay on the ground for a cute shot of her coming down.

The boys had VBS last week, so Alba and I had Mommy/Daughter time together, which was great. We met a friend for coffee one one morning and went shopping for groceries and odds and ends for school.

I posted something new in our little nook beside her Tot shelf. I bought a few clearance items from Staples some months back, this 0-30 frog card set being one of them. Alba was calling the frogs beetles for days, it was cute. I've added a small bin filled with a hand full of books. I'd love to put a small picture Ikea shelf or that rain gutter shelf up to display books but this will just do fine.  

My Favourite ALBA photo from our Picture Day

Ever thought about joining up with TOTSCHOOL? 

Go see Carisa's little place on the web, where every Sunday she posts new photos along with activities with her Ladybug. She's currently diving into more of a Montessori style approach and it's intriguing. Check it out, along with tons of other Mommies with their cuties. 

Lots of ideas to include in your day with your little ones. 

Here's the link for this weeks fun.

2 weeks of Tot School with Alba

ALBA- 25 MONTHS

We school year round, as of last fall and we've had a 3 week break to have a bit of FAMILY FUN and REST. Our first outing was a week long camping trip a few hours away, thanks to my parents for the use of their camper. It was a great time for the kids. Around our camp site there were many berry bushes. Alba and I picked wild raspberries and strawberries together. The berries were just the right size for my little girl to pick and eat. We went for walks and she extensively explored our little treed area around our site. She got a bit dirty, and I was totally fine with it. That statement is a big deal for me, if you know me.




Daddy was playing catch with Eagle and Alba grabbed Zazu's glove to play also. It was so cute to see her eager to play with the guys. The mitt was on the wrong hand and also backwards, just look below. It was funny!

We had a couple damp chilly days. 

I was thankful for books, card games and PLAY-DOH!

1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10! 

Alba repeats most words well.
Ask her to count on her own she says, "1..2..3..4....6"!

Eating dinner was sometimes a challenge, Alba was getting down often from her seat. Normally she sits in a booster chair. She had a good time eating at the picnic table. Mommy eventually chilled out. 


As I write these Tot School posts, I often recall the times I've fussed over mess. Seeing ideas from other moms and the thought crosses my mind, "that would be fun, but it looks messy".
I'm learning along with my kids to let go and have fun. 

CORN ON THE COB!

Bible reading at bed time

It was so special for me to watch Daddy read to the children while camping. There's just something about nature that makes scripture come alive even more

One of many of God's creatures we found

Zazu and Alba followed the black and white butterfly to these bushes. What a great moment. There were no distractions to steal their attention away from the butterfly. 

SAND...

CLIMBING...

SLIDING...!!!

Group Shot

Last week we spent a few days on our studies, mostly just trying to get back into a schedule. So we had one official day of Tot Time, Alba and I. These are the only action shots I got that day. 

The rice bin hasn't been taken out for a very long time. 


This is why - "that would be fun, but it looks messy". 

I took it out for Alba and it was amazing.

I think Zazu was a little upset to not have a turn when he wanted.

I had to explain to him that it was Mommy and Alba time. He understood for about 10 minutes, then joined in on the fun.

Here I showed her to fill the teapot with rice and pour it into the tea cup.

I normally use a smaller bin for the rice play. I decided to give her an unused under bed storage bin to play in this time. I didn't add more rice, but just let her have more room to play. It was a good decision on my part I think. It also eliminated the rice all over the floor factor. Worked for me!

Funny shot from last week

"BYE!"

She was adamant on going outside, with Zazu's bike helmet and rain boots. 
It didn't matter if she only had a diaper on.

...almost forgot 
check out 1+1+1=1 for other ideas for time with your TOT

WE ARE STILL HERE!

Wow! Where has the time gone? It only felt like a couple short weeks since last I blogged. Where do I begin? Since it's been so long, this post might be quite lengthly.

Here's a few photos of something we love to do. 

Most of all it calms us all down even though we haven't driven very far from our door. Down by a creek in our city is the spot of choice this day. Looks like the big tall kid (Daddy) is collecting rocks.  

I introduced Big Brother to sketching in nature, I was surprised that he actually drew something. Hooray!

I went camping with some girlfriends (all by myself, yipee!), then the boys and I stayed at my parents for about 10 days. This photo below is of the boys swimming in the lake my parents live on. 

My oldest is on his way home soon from a week of camp at Circle Square Ranch (which he says he could stay for a whole month if he could). 

While the kids and I have been on so many adventures, my husband (bless him) has been working hard and when at home ripping out carpet, priming all the walls in the house, putting trim around the exterior and other stuff. Lets just say he's been a Busy Daddy Bee. 

I just started ordering some school stuff, Math U See should be on its way soon. 

I'm also on my way with planning the year and trying to organize my son's room (the make-shift school storage place), because we have a small place and no basement. I've tried getting some organization/storage ideas from a few blogs and well I'm a bit nervous about the space issue, I'm really going to have to be inventive with space and have a smile on my face for my husband through it all. 

I think my main concern is to keep what we are actually using and give away books that don't have much to offer, I mean things with no substance if you know what I mean. Everyone has a weakness, mine happens to be books - love em. 

Travel News!

We just booked flights to go visit my husbands family in Sept/Oct. I'm excited because its been over 4 years since we've been there. Any Canadians out there know that flying within our country is a bit expensive - to put it mildly. So for Sept/Oct to go along with our trip we will be studying the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Practicing our french should be fun. 

Yippee!

SPIDER MAN and ARMY MAN