Lego Space Shuttle

putting it all together

For Christmas we gave W a Lego city space shuttle set. It was a big surprise and he and I put it together last week and as of today (Hallelujah!) it is actually still intact. This was a great set for his age since he was able to do most of it by himself. It has a lot of tiny pieces but part of the fun for W was searching for the right ones.

We assembled the first parts a couple of weeks ago but soon realized that a base piece (key to the operation) was missing from the box. We were pretty upset about this. Then I went on Lego.com and was thankful to learn that they offer a complimentary part replacement service. I am quite happy with their extremely helpful customer service! It took a couple of weeks to arrive, but when it did W and I were able to complete the shuttle in an afternoon.

The boys have been very careful playing with it so far, and I hope that they enjoy it for years to come.

(This is just a post from lego fans, we were not paid to endorse this product.)

Teddy Bear Picnic & Little House stuff

We missed co-op this week unfortunately, but W and C decided they wanted to have a Teddy Bear Picnic anyway (the theme they did this week) with an apple feast. :) Jacob often sings this song to them, so we sang and watched it on youtube and gathered pretend and real food for our picnic. The boys enjoy a lot of imaginary play together. Most of the time this features cars, trains, or legos, but W has a renewed interest in his stuffed friends lately.

 Pooh enjoyed it, but it looks like Paddington passed out. 

Today we had our Little House book club, one of the moms in our group was very kind to bring a demonstration of a spinning wheel, carding wool, and knitting needles so the boys had a great time trying this first hand. We ate some homemade applesauce for snack. It was a low turnout but we had fun anyway, and I hope some more families will be able to make it next time. I will need to think of a good November activity. W and I finished By the Shores of Silver Lake this week, and will begin The Long Winter soon. 

Geography Puzzles

Last week during a rainy day W and I did puzzles that tied in with our Giraffe that Walked to Paris theme, as well as studying about Africa. We used the GeoPuzzles for the continents of Africa and Europe. I helped him form the outline and then asked him if he could find the interior pieces and he turned them around until they fit.

We used a yoga mat to keep the puzzles stabilized. They are made of sturdy cardboard and most of the pieces are shaped like the countries. I showed W how they overlapped yet it looked like Europe was zoomed in since it has some smaller countries. These puzzles are fun for all ages and a great way of learning about countries all around the world. We often use Google Maps and Google Earth as well when focusing on particular countries for FIAR or seeing "directions" in our stories, like how the Giraffe Walked to Paris, or where the ingredients came from in How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World.

Hot Air Balloon Festival

Since W was 5 months old, we had been taking him to a local Hot Air Balloon festival put on by the Hudson,  MA Elks Club. We missed last year due to renovating our new home, but last weekend we headed back down for the festival and went with my parents and sister who also enjoyed seeing the balloons. The price has gone up, now at $6 per adult, but I believe all the proceeds still go to a scholarship fund for local kids. The first year we went I think it was the 1st annual balloon fest, so it has grown quite a bit since we started going.

Here is a flashback to W his first balloon fest:

Ahh.. bucket seat days. "Why did you take me here, Mom?" He could care less. 

He is a little more impressed these days.

You can really feel the heat!

Can you spot seven balloons?

Balloon man! Very cool.

Game Time

For a long time we weren't really a game-playing family. Jacob and I would do the occasional puzzle until the choking hazard sized pieces became an issue with the kids when they were babies. This year W has embraced a variety of games which we can all play together and game time has become a fun family ritual, and a great activity to do during the day for us too. Here are a few of our current favorites.

Blokus



This was actually a birthday gift to Jacob from one of his brothers, but we all love this game! W even beat us both for the first time ever earlier this week. His game has definitely been improving. It involves some strategy and a lot of luck. Hint: use all your big pieces first, especially when playing with 3 or 4 people. The one down side is C always wishes he could play, so it has gotten harder to distract him while the big kid and grownups play.









Uno



We have the Thomas & Friends version of Uno, but I think we'll need to get another deck soon since these cards have been played so much this spring & summer that they are looking pretty sad. The Easter Bunny brought these for C, but W quickly figured out that it was a very fun game and not just color-matching cards for his brother. I can't count the number of times we've played this. We even took it with us on vacation so it made some hotel rooms feel more like home. W likes playing best of five rounds with Jacob and/or myself. I must admit, I love playing too!







Sum Swamp



This game is fun for W, and helps with his adding and subtraction. Yes, we are sneaky parents and are secretly working on his math skills while he plays. ;) I heard about this through other home schooling families and am so glad they told me about it. It has four animal game pieces so usually C can be entertained with one and feel like he is playing too. It is not the most exciting game for grownups, but it keeps kids entertained so hey isn't that the point?










Rainbow Timber blocks by Haba



This is like Jenga for little kids. The blocks are so versatile and cute. The boys use these on a daily basis, mostly just for building and pretend play. The blocks can be a bridge, a house, or a garage for their toy cars. This is a great toy for the younger set when they have little friends over to visit, but W still loves them. There are actual rules too if that's how you roll. Haba has a lot of great block building model sets that W may be interested in soon. Santa, do you hear me?

Christmas in July

We recently visited Santa's Village amusement park in Jefferson, NH. We had been there when W was a toddler, but this was C's first time and also since W didn't remember going it seemed new to him as well. They have picnic areas so we brought our lunch. They have a lot to see and we spent the full day there. It is a very fun place and W loved the rides, they have a rollercoaster, flume yule log, a train ride, sky ride, and many more. W is very adventurous when it comes to rides and he went on all the big ones and even some fast ones by himself (like the new chimney ride and the boat). They also have enough rides and activities to keep toddlers entertained. 

a ride they both enjoyed!

The highlight for me was seeing the reindeer and getting to feed them. They are amazing to see up close!

The boys enjoyed a scavenger hunt to find all the Elves named after letters of the alphabet. C is still working on his abc's and although he can say the letters he's working on recognition. He loved pulling the lever to punch a hole for each letter.


We had a memorable day and are even considering going back sometime for a pre-Christmas day trip.

Day Out With Thomas 2011

We went to the Day Out With Thomas event at the North Conway Scenic Railroad in NH last week. This was our second year going, so now we feel like old pros.

The biggest tip we learned was to buy tickets ahead of time. Last year Saturday sold out so we had to go Sunday when the only tickets left were available. So this year we ordered online a couple months in advance.  We also opted to go on a Friday since it is probably less busy than the weekend. There were big crowds as the trains unloaded but there is stroller parking on the side of the rails.

C was so happy

We wound up on an open car which was much more enjoyable, the middle car in the photo above. The latter was luck of the draw as they just try to fill up the trains as there is no assigned seating, but we loved seeing the mountain views and enjoyed the breeze as well. The train goes backwards and then forward back to the station and the ride was about 25 minutes.

one of the gorgeous mountain views from the train.

kids of all ages enjoyed seeing the tortoise

DOWT tickets include admission and the train ride, and they offer a scavenger hunt with a small prize if you get all the stamps. They also had rides on small rail cars, bouncy houses for different age groups, photo ops with Thomas & Sir Topham Hatt, a tortoise and wildlife expert walking around, and a large tent with crafts and activities, and much more. Another tip if you are on a budget try to steer your kids past the gift shop as the toys are pretty expensive, but last years t-shirts were half off. ;)

If your child is obsessed with trains or Thomas, I highly recommend this event. This was better than Christmas for C! And W was still very interested and he liked getting to see the inside of a train again and push buttons. The guys working with the trains are very knowledgeable and willing to answer any questions. We had also begun re-reading the original Thomas stories by Rev. W. Awdrey in preparation of the trip.

North Conway has a great playground and picnic area nearby and the downtown is fun to walk around and has some fun general stores and Dondero's Rock Shop which has all kinds of cool rocks and fossils.

Homeschool Day at the Fisher Cats

 

On Friday we took part in the Homeschool Day parade at the Manchester Fisher Cats baseball game in Manchester, NH. We got group rate tickets through our homeschool group and it was a fun experience! This was the boys' first time going to a baseball game so we weren't sure if they would last for the duration, especially C, but being a minor league team there was always entertainment and it was a relaxed environment.  There were a few thousand people but it was not nearly as busy as a Red Sox game. We stayed for the fireworks show afterwards and were very glad we did. It was terrific! All in all a very memorable experience for the kids. They hope to make this an annual event for NH & MA homeschoolers.