In October we focused on all things outdoors. The kids made nature journals and tried their hand at leaf rubbings. I taught about clouds, sun, and moon. They learned the basics about how a compass works, that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, and how to follow directions based on…
Experiences
Weekend Adventures
This weekend we thought we would have a quieter weekend but then things just kept popping up. I took family pictures for a friend first thing in the morning in the beautiful weather. As soon as I got home we hopped in the car to head to the first annual mini maker fair. There was…
Happy 4th Birthday Emily!
We celebrated Emily’s birthday all weekend! In July she told us she wanted to go hiking at Turkey Run State Park, get frozen yogurt, and have a pink cake with purple frosting. Last week when we were finalizing plans she added in having her friends over for cupcakes. Andrew bought the supplies for the Pickler…
September Preschool: Water
Last year we followed the official joy school curriculum with three of our neighbors, meeting twice a week. It was a wonderful experience and the kids loved it. This year we decided to create a simplified preschool option that was realistic for three moms with eight kids (soon to be nine) between them. We meet…
Nature Fridays
With fall underway (sort of – it has been in the upper 90s here for over a week!) we’ve been developing our new family rhythms. We’ve made a point not to schedule too many things each week, but aren’t heading outside from 8-12am like we did for the months of morning sickness. I think it…
Connor Prairie
Since we were going to be home for a few extra days in between trips, we decided to finally(!!!!) go to Connor Prairie. It is a living history farms type place outside of Indianapolis that has towns and villages set up around different areas. We spent all of our time in 1836, so we have…
Church History Road Trip: Part 2
Monday we headed to Kirtland, OH. We arrived at noon and jumped right in with a tour of Historic Kirtland, starting with a movie about the Ohio period. We then saw the sawmill, ashery, Newell K Whitney Store, the Whitney home, and hotel now turned into a room with exhibits. It was amazing to learn…
Let’s Go Fly a Kite
One of my favorite memories as a kid is flying kites with my dad in Rochester, NY when we visited my Grandma Moose. We walked to the local school that my dad went to for our flying expeditions. At the end we would walk back chanting, “Orange juice and ice cubes, orange juice and ice…
Mushrooms
In March I took the kids on a couple mile bike ride and then we paused at the celery bog on the kids request. This was at the beginning of the morning sickness when throwing up didn’t deter exercise, before I realized just how much it aggravated my situation. Once we arrived I quickly discovered…
Easter Week 2017
Easter week is quickly becoming one of my favorite holidays. This year we kept things simple but also took time each day to remember the last week of Christ’s life. Emily kept reminding us that Easter was on Sunday and was sooooo excited. When Sunday finally arrived she ran down the stairs and said, “It’s…