Week Three: Letter L Highlights

This week was about all of the following things:

Legos:  We had so much fun building with Legos and Mega blocks this week.  Sullivan had so much fun crushing everything that we built.  So a good time for everyone really. :)

Lollies:  We tried a different kind everyday.  This also included ice lollies (British version of popsicles).  I mean you have to stick to your theme right?  It had nothing to do with the fact that we are a house full of sweet tooths.

Letters:  We talked a lot about letters that you mail and even wrote some, but our favorite "letter" arrived at the post office this week.  The much anticipated Easter care package that was sent by Nana, Grandpa Chuck and the Walkers back in March.  We got a chance to celebrate Easter in August and look for Easter eggs all over again. 

Loads of L crafts: Ladybugs, lollies, and lions!  Oh My!  If you know Desi, he is so not into crafting, but he actually liked all of these. He even got into using a glue stick and scissors.  Although, he was pretty much over coloring his actual lollipop.  Sierra's lollipop was blue raspberry in the center with a mint chocolate chip  middle layer and a bubble gum flavored outside.  Chew on that. 

Letter, Number, and Sight Word Lilypad Leap:  Ok can you tell I made up the name?  Found this game on pinterest and the kids loved it.  I would call out a letter sound and Desi would leap over to the lilypad with the correct letter.  We did this with numbers and sight words.  A delivery man caught us in the middle of the game and didn't know what to think.  Then said, "I better let you get back to your game.  Looks like everyone is having fun."  Definitely a parent win with this game.

Week 2 Letter F Field Trip

Ikea in Birmingham has events for kids all summer holiday long.  They are free of charge.  The kids thought it was the best day ever.  I had a ton of shopping to do so a win, win for everyone. We managed to still tie into the letter F theme because we were able to work in face painting, flying, and funny hats.

Kids loved these for some reason and insisted on wearing them through lunch and throughout the store.  They got lots of compliments. 

You could do this trampoline for free. We tried to talk Sierra into it, but she was not having it.  Desi said he would do it.  I can't describe to you how tiny he was compared to the other kids who were doing the ride.  The guy couldn't even cinch in all the way, but he still manage to let Desi had a turn.  He was all smiles.  He said, "Look Momma, I am Spiderman and these are my webs ( the ropes coming off the side)!"  Later on he was Buzz Lightyear.  Love this age group and this little man.

We waited in line for an hour for these face paintings.  The kiddos insisted.  Sullivan was an absolute mess in the store, but Sierra and Desmond stood in the queue quietly and patiently for an hour.  Sierra got a Mermaid Princess Crown.  Desmond was esctatic that the lady could do Ninja Turtles.  He opted for Leonardo. 

Mommy's Summer Camp: Week 2 Letter F Activities

There is a great trail right behind our house.  The kids have been dying to put on their all weather suits and play in the creek bed.  Today after our third day of rain, I opted to embraced the wetness and venture into the woods.  It was well worth it.  Forest, field, flowers, frogs, and so much fun.

Mommy's Summer Camp: Week 2 letter F

 Here are a few of our activities from summer camp this week.  

As you can tell, it involved lots of fire trucks, foxes, and fun. 

Forts and Flashlight Reading Time!!

F is for flowers collage making and felt fireman scene

We fought a lot of fires this week.

Severn Railway: Kiddieminister Station

We spent about an hour in the Kiddieminister Station. It was designed to feel like you stepped back into the 1800s.  A lovely couple let us sit in their vintage Rolls Royce.  Sierra and I happily obliged.  The lady even pulled out a red feather boa for a little glitz in our photos.  We had afternoon tea before boarding our train back to Bridgnorth.

Severn Railway: Brignorth

Our family took a day out.  We drove 20 minutes to the town of Brignorth to catch a steam engine train to Kiddieminster.  The railway system was developed in the 1850s and has been beautifully preserved. We were a little early for our train so we got to explore the hillside city and garden of Bridgnorth.  You may notice that Sierra and I are in dresses and hats.  It was ladies day on the railway and ladies were encouraged to wear dresses and hats.

Our first trip we were lucky enough to get our own cabin.  The kids couldn't stop looking out the window.  Desmond kept saying we were riding Thomas train.

Letter M: Minion Movie Day!

The kids were so excited for Friday and Minion Movie Day!!  I surprised them with Minion outfits and minion treats for our adventure.  This was Sullivan's first full length movie theater movie.  We parked him in the stroller near the front in a vacant handicap spot.  He was an absolute angel! Shocking I know!! He ate a ton of popcorn and then fell asleep.  He woke up just in time for the end.  Perfect first movie experience.  I took the kids to McDonalds (conveniently starting with the letter M) and got Minion happy meals with Minion toys.  A great wrap up to the first week of Mommy's Summer Camp. 

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Letter of the Week: M crafts

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Letter of the Week: M activities part 2

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Letter of the Week: M Activities Part 1

There are very few summer camps here.  So I am starting my very own Mommy's Summer Camp.  We spend the morning doing our normal morning routine. We just spend about 40 minutes every morning doing something related to something they will learn in school next year. The rest of the day is all the normal summer stuff (lots of outdoor time, ice lollies, parks, and bike riding).   We started this week with the theme of Minions and the Letter M.  Desmond learns the letters in phonetic order at his school. One of the first sounds is M.  It turned out to be perfect because we were all dying to see the Minions movie this week.  Great for the letter M.  Here are a few highlights from our week. 

Every morning we do our learning board.  The kids and discuss the days of the week, date, our schedule and chores.  They had so much fun.  They got to bring an animal or toy that started with M with them.  

Each kid got their own learning board of things that we are going to do. Sierra got a little more obsessed than I anticipated with reading 100 books and read like 30 books in a week.  She and Zach are very much completist personalities.  

Letter M art

Practicing hold pencil so we will be ready for school in the fall. Thank goodness for Pinterest and lots of fun Minion printables.

Sierra is using her sight words for the week to write sentences about her minions. 

National Trust Site: Attingham Park

We live about 15 minutes from a National Trust Site.  This organization protects not only homes, but castles, land, etc.

The site we visited was an Italian-style mansion built in the early 1700s.  The estate is absolutely massive. We started by the big house and picniced by the stable house.  We moved onto the walled garden, the play area for the kids, and then took a hike through the grounds.  We ended up back by the mansion and had afternoon tea in the courtyard. We truly enjoyed our day and hope to return again soon.

Want all the details? Visit their website: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/attingham-park/

Chester Zoo Flashback

About mid-July we drove about an hour to the city of Chester which has an amazing and huge zoo.  What kid doesn't like the zoo?  Our kids certainly weren't complaining.  We spent 6 hours at the zoo. I can't even begin to capture it in pictures.  Our favorite experience was the Fruit bat cave in which you walk in to a darkly lit cave setting and the bats are free-flying around you.  Spooky and exhilarating at the same time.  Desmond said, "Mom, we're in Batman's bat cave."  There were amazing parks, home-made ice-cream, and a tram that ran through the zoo.

Here are some pics just to give a small idea of the what the zoo was like.

Zoo's Main Entrance

Part of the giraffe exhibit; Lots of young giraffes

Gorgeous sunken garden with mildly creepy statue

Loved all the picnic areas.  Tons throughout the zoo.  Kids and I took advantage.

We choose are particular picnic area because of the ducks.  Sully is obsessed.  He spent most of lunch chasing ducks.  He just knew he was going to get himself a pet duck before the end of our lunch.  He nearly did. 

Butterfly enclosure was amazing.  I couldn't begin to snap fast enough to get some of the gorgeous butterflies in there.  I did get a lot of the camo looking ones.  Desmond thought called them eyeball butterflies. 

We all loved the elephant enclosure.  It was huge, and there were two baby elephants. Adorable!  Kids could have watched for 30 minutes.