"Best homeschool activity ever!"

With nights going down into the 20s this week, I am more grateful than every for central heat.  That is the idea of it.  We've been without it since Monday.  However, it really hasn't been too bad.  We dress in several layers.  We have a wood stove which heats the room that it is in quite well.  And we have a space heater which has been following us around.  Baseboard heat in the bathroom is a huge blessing at shower time.  And we have piles of wonderful old quilts for hiding under at night.  Still though, I will be glad when my nose and fingers unfreeze!

We hope to get a new heating unit ordered today and put in asap.  Of course all this has been so exciting for Hunter.  He has been eating, breathing, sleeping furnaces/gas packs/heat pumps.  The best day for him this week was when an envelope came that contained pamphlets on different heating options - each containing a complete labeled diagram of the system it featured.  He used this to add to his knowledge of parts.  Plus he's watched some YouTube videos on how these units work and how to repair different problems on them.  Yesterday he got a big piece of paper and drew a very happy furnace (can you find the eyes and smiling mouth?):

Two weeks ago, I introduced "caterpillar money counting" for Hunter to practice adding money and writing down his answers:

This week, Hunter asked if we could do "furnace coin counting" instead.  I said he'd have to draw the picture for it:

I've only given Solomon two new Montessori activities in the past few weeks.  I really need to put together a bunch of new ones because he has completely mastered everything he currently has.  Right before Thanksgiving I gave him a foam turkey I made (with velcro dots) to match feather colors:

I had gotten the idea from this nice, felt button turkey on Etsy.  But that was out of my budget and so I just cut up colored foam sheets.  (I used glue for the feathers but it wasn't strong enough so I added staples.)  Maybe I can make a felt one for next year - I like that it uses the skill of buttoning to put the feathers on.

Solomon enjoys transfer activities, so I gave him a little sugar tong and some pom-poms and he got to work moving the pom-poms all from one side of the tray, then back to the other:

Tabby has been busy crocheting ruffle scarves.  She has had a couple people order them from her for Christmas.  One lady ordered 12!  (Link to scarf listing in Tabby's Etsy shop is here.) 

Tabby has also been taking a colored pencil portrait class on Craftsy:

Yesterday she wanted to try a landscape with colored pencil, so she drew Erebor (Tolkien fans will know this place):

Finally, last week we did an activity that Tabby later proclaimed "the best homeschool activity ever!"  We had been studying the phases of the moon, and I saw a fun idea on Pinterest to use Oreo cookies to show the different phases.  YUM!  I gave Tabby a moon phase chart and a stack of Jo-Jos (Trader Jo's equivalent to Oreos).  She got to work nibbling and soon had her completed moons:

With Hunter, I used phases of the moon Montessori 3-part cards which I downloaded from the Montessori Print Shop.  (Yes I could have made my own, but they were only $2.29 and worth every penny.)  He matched moon phases and the words:

When he was done with the cards, he nibbled to make his "cookie moons":

 

Solomon didn't want to be left out and kept asking "Me ... cookie?"  So he got a few special treats too:

Well that wraps up things that have been going on here.  Christmas is flying up on us and I have been resisting.  It's time for me to face reality.  And Monday marks 3 years since Lilly's death.  I've really been trying to avoid thinking about that but it is impossible.  Today I am going to give her little Christmas tree that we take to her grave a fresh coat of paint and add some new little ornaments.  Can't wait until I see her little smiling face again one day!

"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” - Revelation 21:4