Homemade Moon Sand....FAIL!

Edit to add:  Our moon sand was great for a few days, and then it turned nasty...very, very nasty.  Don't make my mistake and use cornmeal instead of cornstarch...unless you only want it to last for a couple of days :)

The girls and I had fun making and playing with homemade Moon Sand last week. We made moon sand with O(5) when she was younger (probably 2), and it was really messy. This time we used a different recipe, and I liked it better. Here is the link to the blog where this idea originated. To make moon sand you need 4 cups of sand, 2 cups of corn meal (the recipe says corn flour, but we used corn meal...evidently I was supposed to use corn starch.  However, it worked out fine with the corn meal, and I like it better since we used cornstarch last time, and it was terribly messy.  I'm not sure how long it will last...I'll let you know), and 1 cup of water. We ended up tripling the recipe and adding a little bit of extra water.

The girls took turns pouring in the ingredients, and they loved mixing the dry sand and corn meal. I added in some mini construction vehicles, and we had a work site! I had fun playing with them, and O(5) asked "Mama, how do you know so much about construction?" so I must have done a good job of pretending! We were excited when Elliott played with us, too! They tired of the construction zone fairly quickly and started cooking with the sand...no big surprise there :)

Right Start Math or Singapore Math????

Now that all of our time is no longer taken up with researching brain tumors, neurosurgeons, and brain surgery, I am now back to searching for the very best (and most fun) 1st grade curriculum for O(5). We've tried Life of Fred, and O loves it, but it will just be an extra math book for fun. I'd like to use either Right Start Math or Singapore or maybe even both...I'd LOVE some input. This is a very difficult decision (although not as difficult as choosing a neurosurgeon!!!), and since O loves math so much, I want to make sure that I get the best program for her. Thanks in advance for your comments and emails!

Volcano Fun!

We love to make volcanoes on our beach, and I thought this would be a fun activity to do with Elliott while he is recovering from surgery. The girls were SUPER excited, and we had a lot of fun. First, the girls built up the sand around a bottle to form the volcano. Then they took turns pouring water into the bottle. They took turns squeezing red food coloring into the water. They took turns measuring out a total of 2 tablespoons of baking soda and pouring it into the bottle. Elliott poured in the white vinegar, and we watched the lava explode! Here are our volcano posts from previous years....2011 and 2010 and 2009

Animal Flip Book

I recently came across this animal flip book that I made for O(5) about 3 or 4 years ago, and E(2) really likes it. I downloaded it from www.childcareland.com. It's perfect for a 2 year old who loves animals and matching!

Homeschool Buyer's Coop

I just made my first purchase via Homeschool Buyer's Coop! I ordered a subscription to the Magic School Bus Science Club (at 50% off!)...I'm SO excited, and I know our girls will be, too!

Who Needs Toys...

when you have a basket full of straws??? The girls love to play creatively with straws (and I had fun, too!).

An Edible Moveable Alphabet

The girls and I were really excited to see these Scrabble Cheez-its at the grocery store a few weeks ago! E(2) said the name or sound of the letter, and O(5) made simple words with the letters. Fun and simple!

Cultural Exchange...Ireland!!!!!!!!!!

The girls and I studied Ireland during March as a part of our cultural exchange. We received 2 fantastic packages from Ireland, and then Ida and Isabel sent us a 3rd package after they read about Elliott's brain tumor! The girls and I were thrilled with everything. They sent several posters that we hung on the sliding door of our organization system.
We received several postcards and pamplets. A recipe, stickers, and another postcard Play money Stamps (what a great idea to send used stamps!) pamplets Christmas ornaments, hot chocolate stirrers, crayons They also sent a flute which was a favorite with the girls along with cookies and other treats. THank you SO much to Ida and Isabel for all 3 wonderful packages! The package they sent after Elliott's brain tumor diagnosis was especially wonderful as it included a guardian angel and a book to help the children process the idea of having a parent who has to have surgery. We didn't have as much time to spend studying Ireland as I would have liked, so we'll continue studying Ireland (and we'll add in Scotland) through April and maybe May. Oh, I almost forgot...they sent 3 cds that we LOVE...music and stories. They also sent a book of Irish stories for children that we have read several times. I love the way that we are all learning about different people, cultures, and countries through our cultural exchange!

World Map Fun with Landmarks and Animals

I bought this world map cloth panel about 6 months ago with the intention of using it in a quilt (I bought it from Walmart for less than 5 dollars). After a few months, I realized that was never going to happen, and I forgot about it for a while. After I bought the landmarks toob, I realized the landmark buildings would be the perfect size for this map. The problem was that I couldn't find the map! I finally found it (about a week before we left for Elliott's surgery), and I cut around the edges with pinking shears (SO much easier than hemming the edges) and introduced the work to the girls! Both girls LOVE this work! We spread the map out and then we talked about each landmark and it's location before finding the appropriate location on the map. E(2) especially liked it when I gave her animals to use with this map! The only problem is that the map wrinkles easily if they crawl over it or sit on it. The nicest thing about it is that the map folds up very nicely to fit on our Montessori shelf. The girls received penguin and arctic toobs for Easter (bought from Pottery Barn kids...on sale and with free shipping!), and I am looking forward to getting home so we can incorporate these animals into our map work!

Brain Surgery

I know it's a little cheesy but the words to We're Going on a Bear Hunt have been going through my head repeatedly since we learned that Elliott had a brain tumor..."We can't go over it. We can't go under it. We've got to go through it." We are almost through it, and I am so grateful. It is so hard to believe that just 2 months ago, we had no idea about the turn that our lives were about to take. This has been an extremely difficult time, but it has also been joyful. We appreciate each other and our time together in a way that we couldn't have before all of this. We've talked a lot about "finding the good" in all of this. So far, there has been a lot of good...while we have always appreciated the simple, special moments with our family, we now appreciate every moment even more. We know that tomorrow is not promised, and we want to enjoy the time that we have. Little things that used to irritate us, no longer do. We have been amazed by the kindness and support that our friends and family have offered and the kind words that strangers have shared with us via this blog. The girls and I are looking forward to having Elliott back to normal soon and having extra time with him since he will be at home with us for the next 5 weeks. I have a few posts saved that I'll post soon, and I'll eventually get back into the habit of regularly writing posts for this blog.

"Happy Birthday to me..."

"Elliott's brain tumor is 100% cancer free."

It's Over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We just got the word that Elliott's surgery went well and they are closing him up. The doctor said the surgery was very boring, and that's always what you want a neurosurgeon to say! He thinks the tumor was benign (we'll know for sure in 3 days). He got it all, but it may grow back. Thank you for all of your thought and prayers.

And so it begins...

Finally...Surgery began at 4:31 pm. They will update us every 2 hours.

12 Hours Down....

So many more to go. Thanks for the comments and emails. We've been at the hospital for 12 hours so far and are hoping to get at least a little bit of sleep tonight. We've had a good time talking, laughing, and just enjoying being with each other and our family. We realized at around 6 pm that we never even turned on the tv...I guess we are good company to each other :) Elliott's surgery is scheduled for 2:15, and they will come to get him at around 12:30. Tomorrow will be a long day...please continue to keep Elliott and our family in your thoughts and prayers.