Advent

I started working on an Advent calendar last year and was finally able to finish it this year (with MUCH help from Ryan).  The whole description of how we made it is on ParkerPrep.  

It was really fun reading through the Bible passages as a family.  We also sang Christmas carols together each night and talked more about each character in the story.  I loved hearing Parker's take on things, and hearing him re-tell it himself.  Also, whenever Ryan was done reading, Parker would want us to give him a verse to "read."  He would take the Bible, turn the pages and make up a story.  

In addition to Advent, we also did a lot of fun Christmas activities throughout the month of December.  

Three is a great age. 

Deck The Condo

I love getting out the Christmas bin and dispersing everything throughout the house.  It's funny how many things I forget that I have.  Last year I went a little Pinterest Christmas Craft Crazy, so it was fun to see all those again.  We put the usual garland on the staircase and then Ryan decided to line our entire living room with lights!  The more lights the better in our opinion.  We had to buy more lights to put on our tree, haha.  Parker really enjoyed helping out with the tree this year.  

He helped Daddy trim the branches.

We had to put the tree skirt around him just for the sake of tradition.  We'll have to pass it on to Adley next year.  It's hard to believe that just two years ago it went all the way to the floor.  Now it's at his knees!

 

He put up most of the red, silver and green ball ornaments and put a lot of thought in to where each one should go.

Adley enjoyed watching.

I made up some gingersnap cookie dough in the meantime.  When he was done decorating, he helped me cover them in sugar and smash them in the pan.  I wanted to do something a little different because I love gingersnaps, but I'm not crazy about gingerbread men.  So, I bought this fun little pan and they turned out great!

Our Gingerbread Family

Well... you can't have gingersnaps without hot chocolate, right?  

Parker was doing a little happy dance.

That's a serious hot-chocolate stache.

We all plopped down on the couch to watch a Christmas movie.

It was a really great day =)

O Christmas Tree (Card)

We put a few decorations up the week after Thanksgiving, and we were actually considering not getting a tree, but I couldn't resist.  We chose a -2 degree day to go pick one out (at Home Depot).  I'm usually very picky and I make Ryan hold up about 2 dozen trees before I choose one, but this time he held up two before I said "That's it!" 

 We went in the store to thaw out and then came out, bundled up the tree and headed home.  You see, I had this grand idea for our Christmas card picture, but both kids fell asleep on the way.  

We had 3 options.  

                  1 - We could take them inside, un-bundle them, let them nap and then bundle them back up   

                       again to come out to the frigid weather for the picture. - no go 

                  2 - We could wake them up and hope for a great picture. - yeah right

                  3 - We could wait it out in the car and take the picture when they woke up.

We went with option 3.  They probably won't sleep long.  Half an hour later, I suggested that Ryan get the tree on top of Parker's truck and test out the lighting.  After he was done with that, I ran in to get us some snacks.  After another half hour, Adley finally woke up, and we woke up Parker.

Adley started screaming as soon as I put her down, but she cheered up real quick.  Parker on the other hand, was still a little tired behind the wheel.

  

We tried a few different poses from a couple different directions.

We ended up with some great pictures after Ryan started laughing like a crazy person to get Parker to smile =)

  I LOVE the way the card turned out.  My husband's got skills!

1st Semester Recap

I started doing some preschool at home with Parker the last week in September.  I have been keeping track of everything we have done on my ParkerPrep blog, but I wanted to do a recap of some my favorite things.  I have taken a very hybrid approach to teaching him.  A lot of things are what I like to call "Montessori Inspired."  They foster independence and critical thinking.  I've also incorporated Biblical topics, lots of singing,  letter and number flashcards, and whatever else I can think of to go with the letter.  There were a few days that were challenging, but Parker was excited and ready to learn probably 90% of the time.  We took an extra long Advent break, which I can explain later, but we'll be starting back up with letter J in January!

These were a few of my favorite things....

Our first letter activity - He did awesome!  That's when I knew this was going to be a great adventure.

Apple core stamping

Love how this turned out.

He LOVED telling the Three Bears story.

He enjoyed listening to this music and acting it out, 

and actually asked to listen to it for several weeks after.

Putting clothespins on the numbers

Dr. Seuss kabobs

 Sorting mammals vs. oviparous animals

Matching the sounds

Hammering into a pumpkin

 Having friends over

Watching a flower change color from the green water

Collecting leaves and making a puzzle out of them

Experimenting with the color green

Walking around the house counting how many of each picture we have

Hearing what Parker is thankful for

Ice cream sundae sensory bin

So fun!  I also love when we learn about something and then he hears about it somewhere else and recognizes it right away, when he teaches Deuce or Adley preschool, and when he asks when we are going to do preschool again.  Looking forward to the next 17 letters!