Inbreeding

"No, Reese. You can't marry Corbin when you grow up. Aaron. It's time to leave Arkansas."

Puckerooms

I saw these at the counter at the movie theater.

My guess is that the original name "peckerooms" didn't make it past the idea table, because Wonka Inc felt it might make the candy appear "offensive".
Um...

The "calm" before the storm?

My friend's husband took this picture on Wednesday.
This is the bread aisle at Walmart the day before an ice storm is expected to hit.

Aaron said that when he went on Wednesday night, they were COMPLETELY OUT of milk, bread, tortillas, eggs, bottled water, and bananas.

Just a reminder of how quickly supplies can be depleted in the state of emergency.
Thank goodness for food storage.

We are thinking about purchasing a generator.

If we decide against it, then the next item on my food storage/emergency preparedness list is a hand powered grain mill, because the 400+lbs of wheat and corn that I have stored up won't really do us any good if I don't have power to grind it into flour.

Busy Bees

For the Birds

Book: The After Christmas Tree By Linda Wagoner Tyler
Book: I Love My Nest by P.D. Eastman
Book: Flap Your Wings by P.D. Eastman

Color: Brown

Share: Bring something that begins with Letter L

Dramatic Play: Bird Watcher prop box (bird cage, identification chart, binoculars, bird calls, safari hat)

Fine motor: Lucky Ducks
I love this game! Each of the 12 ducks has a shape on his bottom. The button is pushed and the duckies quack and "float" around the pond in a circle, making it a moving memory match game. The object is to collect 3 ducks with the same shape.
Simple, fun, and a great way to learn shapes, colors, counting 3 objects, and turn taking skills.

Sensory: feathers, feathers, everywhere!
This was a total mess, but the kids loved it. Since this is for preschool, the feathers were, of course, the store bought, manufactured, bright colored variety, and not the gathered, parasitic kind. Messy, nonetheless. I'm still finding them under the table and clinging to the side of the sofa!

Cooking: Bird Suets
Mix: 1c shortening, 1c crunchy peanut butter, 1c cornmeal, 2c oats, 1c bird seed, and 1c sugar
Pack into cookie sheet or molds and freeze until ready to use
This was a great fine motor activity and the children did a wonderful job scooping and transferring the mixture into the tins and packing it down. If you have a 3 year old, you should totally do this at home. The kids worked really well together and were just "cuckoo" (hahaha, I'm hilarious) over the whole idea of cooking food for birds instead of people.

Art: glue pine needles and string to paper to make “birds nests”

Math: Sorting Egg Match game
I didn't take a photo of this one, but the kids loved it and I'm sure we'll play with it again in the Spring, and I'll post a photo of it then. The children matched colored tops and bottoms to plastic Easter eggs, then placed them in a coordinating colored well in a cardboard carton.

Science: what are binoculars, and what can we use them for? (Show a real pair) make “binoculars” from empty TP rolls and tape.

Language: What do birds eat? Where do they live? What makes them fly? (read Flap Your Wings by P.D. Eastman)

Practical Life: I can take turns (lucky ducks)

Music and Movement: Bird Songs with had motions
5 Little Ducks I have hand puppets to go with this
Bird Song:
Way Up in the sky, the little birds fly.
Way down in the nest, the little birds rest.
With a wing on their left, and a wing on their right,
The little birds sleep all through the night.
Shhhhh…..they’re sleeeeeeeping!
The bright sun comes up, the dew falls away.
“Good Morning! Good Morning!” the little birds say

This is our job chart. The children can choose from line leader, light checker, sweeper, table setter, calendar helper, and song leader.

The child with the "calendar helper" job gets to choose two of the above gross motor tasks. Then, as a class we do the tasks the number of times that matches the day of the month. For example, on Jan 27th, we clapped 27 times, and spun around 27 times.

Next Week: Clouds!

Got Milk?

Well, at least Corbin loves le leche.

I just tried to drink milk for the first time in probably 10 years.
I threw up after one sip.
That crap is disgusting.

Cuz I'm Keeping It Real

An ice storm is coming.

Aaron called me from Walmart, asking if there is anything (in case we end up without power for a few days) that we can't live without.

I frantically had him stock up on chocolate chips.

Quincy wore pants for a total of 1 hour and 30 minutes today.

I was supposed to deliver several freezer meals to a woman from church who just had a baby, but she didn't answer her phone at all today (or return my message) and I don't know where she lives.

I am eating the dinner I made for her.

The girls are going to bed early,

and then I'm baking chocolate chip cookies, and Aaron and I are having a 30 Rock marathon.

Sometimes I think Aaron would make a good character for a television show.

Tonight while watching the State of the Union, out of the blue I get:

Aaron: Aside from Jesus Christ's Atonement and Joseph Smith's Restoration, WalMart Inc. is the best thing that ever happened to this world.

Meg: Seriously? Are you awake right now? I'm not amused.

Aaron: Name ONE thing that has had a better effect on civilization.

Meg: This is stupid. I am not playing this game.

Aaron: ONE thing, Meg. I guarantee you won't be able to come up with any---

Meg: ---the wheel.

Aaron: Hmmm... Ok. Ok, Other than Jesus Christ, The Atonement, Joseph Smith, The Restoration, and the invention of the wheel, Walmart Inc. is the best thing that ever----

Meg: ---fire.

Aaron: Denied. Walmart beats fire.