Gobble, Gobble!

My two turkeys and I tried our hands this week at our first Thanksgiving craft together.  

I found this idea to make turkeys out of prints from our hands and feet from AllKidsNetwork.com.  

They turned out adorable and more importantly, my little ones LOVED making them! 

   

If you'd like to do this Thanksgiving craft with your kiddos, you can find the instructions here.

Even though my two children are growing up so rapidly, I do enjoy getting to do more hands-on activities with them... and that definitely brings me JOY!

Painting Fun

We all know that one of the many natural talents of young children is making a big fat mess.  Yep, I admit I get annoyed more than I should about their uncleanliness-- because let's face it, they're KIDS!  So for that very reason, I allow them time every now and then to make a "supervised" mess.

Here are my two munchkins having a blast with their most recent go-ahead-and-dirty-yourselves-up opportunity:

Our Adventure Has Begun!

Well, folks, we have one week of homeschooling already behind us and tomorrow begins week two. For several months now, my 3-year-old daughter has been begging to "do school with Mommy." So, once September came along, I finally got the ball rolling and she got her wish. And like I was certain she would, she already loves it and can't get enough. She even cried one or two days when we were finished with my planned activities. Wow! My fingers are tightly crossed that this energy and enthusiasm will stick around throughout the whole year. Guess we'll see...

Here are a few shots of the little "bookworm" in action:

One challenge that we've had to tackle is interference from this little munchkin:

But instead of excluding him, we've just decided to let him tag along and soak in whatever he can.

Any and all advice/suggestions about involving a toddler in homeschool activities would be very much appreciated! : )

Here's to a wonderful second week!

Job Security

The two Klapper kiddos and I have stayed pretty busy this week.  Since our main man has been out of town for nine days, keeping the daily schedule relatively full has certainly helped to pass the long hours each day.

Last evening, we went over to spend time with a friend whose husband was also working out of town for the weekend.  (Misery loves company, right?!)  As the sun was beginning to set and bedtime for my children was approaching, I gave my little ones the proverbial two minute warning that it was almost time for us to leave.  In jest, I made the comment, "We gotta hurry!  Mommy turns into a pumpkin when the sun goes down!"  And without a second of hesitation, my 3-year-old says, "No, Mommy!  Don't turn into a pumpkin!  We still want you around!"

Whew, what a relief!  Even after a long week of putting up with only mommy and no daddy, I'm still somewhat appreciated, loved, and "wanted around."  My job is safe for a bit longer. : P  Oh, I loooooove that little girl to pieces...

In other Klapper news, I've made the decision to begin homeschooling my daughter this fall via a pre-k curriculum.  Yeah, I know she's still a bit young, but she is so R E A D Y.  I've already been scouring lots of websites, forums, message boards, etc, to find a solid but cheap affordable curriculum.  (oh, and also scouring our garage and attic for things to sell to pay for the stuff!)

I'm quickly finding that there is a ton of quality stuff out there from which to choose.  Instead of constantly bugging asking other homeschool moms about what they recommend or have used, I'm now finding that the better question may just be what to stay away from.  All in all, I'm anxious to find something and get it ordered.  I'm not sure what our plans will be in the long term, as far as homeschooling goes.  But I've decided to just commit to one year at a time, and we'll go from there.  I'm sure lots and LOTS of posts from me concerning this are inevitable.  (Consider yourselves warned!)

My hubby will be home in a few short hours and our family of four will be reunited once more.  Definitely looking forward to the next day or two which will certainly include some rest and relaxation for yours truly!