I saw my last alphabet critter post was June 2nd. I am not surprised by this at all. Emily's last day of school was June 4 and things have had to evolve around our household since she is with us all day now. It used to be that David and I shared an uninterrupted hour (Lia usually cooperated) every morning after breakfast. We had fallen into a beautiful routine where we practiced reading, handwriting, math, etc... and we were able to do more artsy projects like these adorable alphabet critters.
Since Emily has been out of school we have been on "vacation" but we seem to be unable to go on vacation completely so I'll just call summer a much lighter version of the "school" we'll start in the fall. We are back to making alphabet critters, but now I have to plan ahead and be a little more organized. I make little kits the night before so all 3 children can make an art project if they want to... and they usually do! I still use construction paper for the block letter shape and allow David to cut it out so he can get scissor practice, but I am also using sticky back paper and having the "accessories" all ready to go so the kids can peel them like stickers and stick them on. This way, Lia can participate better and David doesn't get as frustrated at the things he can't do. David has the tendency to do one or all of the following when he gets frustrated: yell, pound fist, or shred art project... Hmmm... I wonder who he gets this from?
Our lighter work schedule of the summer has Emily practicing cursive in her laminated book, doing math drills each day with her 'Math-It' kit, piano lessons on our keyboard, table discussion and short stories (from The Book of Virtues and The Moral Compass) about the virtues using PACE, and lots and lots of literature she can read on her own. Thank goodenss for the library. And so much for "not doing school" in the summer!
David "does math" with his dominoes by counting the dots and placing them in a "parking lot space" with the correct total. I try to get him to do some printing a few times a week but we have not been consistent and he has lost a lot of ground....we'll work on that. We always practice his reading each night before bed and he is doing awesome with his easy readers like Frog and Toad. His read-aloud speed has picked up tremendously but I suppose his "stamina" needs work. He will start off strong with his read aloud and then slow down to a crawl at which point we take turns reading... I read a sentence then he reads one till we finish. But what is really cool, is that he is reading on his own a little, figuring out new words and their meanings, and then using them in discussion with us. I know this is what is going on because he uses them in a sentence correctly, but mispronounces the word. The other day he said, "You know when you eat something "rooten" because it tastes bad." I am so proud of him!
Here is part of our group: Friend Shauna, Cousin Stephanie, Cousin Emma, Uncle Rob and Daddy Chris.
In the "kiddie" area, Lia found the water play area. She stayed there for about half and hour and left soaking wet. Note to self... bring change of clothes next time. ;-)
These two are having a ball in the "kiddie zone" testing out fluid dynamics or something. There was a current of water and you could change up the gates to try and get a ball to flow through. My husband and Cousin Daniel were fascinated.... and kept telling the other one that they were doing it wrong.
I haven't been to a 3D movie in a while and was really impressed at how far the technology has come along. We got to see two shows!
David was reaching his hand out during the movie to get the sharks swimming by.
Cousin Ainsley and family arrived a little later and Emily was so happy to see her favorite cousin! They had not seen each other in a year but picked us as best buds immediately.
David spent quite a bit of time at this stack of balls. You simply pick them up, drop them and watch one go really high in the air. I think it was his favorite display at the museum.
Back at the home front, the kids broke out the plastic military guys for some good old fashioned fun. Memories.... and lots of sound effects. David is playing with cousins Olivia, Jed and Christopher.
And there isn't a much better end to a day than Nonna's famous pasta and meatballs. This is Emily's very most favorite meal. The rest of us like it a lot too.
Day 2 - Carrowinds to come!
After the pool, we went to Star Pizza for a delicious dinner. Pizza is always a hit. It was a long wait for our deep dish Margherita Pizza but well worth it.
Here is a beautiful Daddy/daughter shot of John and Madison. Chris and I were very pleased to see our niece wearing burnt orange! And the salad in the picture reminded me how yummy the greek salad was... or maybe everything just tastes better after time spent in the pool and out in the sun. 
All this picture taking prompted Lia to say, "Take one of me!" Lia is wearing the best $3 pink Walmart flag shirt ever! She has been wearing it 3 times a week since we got it. Money very well spent.
