After finally getting three toddlers and a one year old down for nap time on Wednesday afternoon, I wanted to take some time to just spend with Ju-Ju. She puts up with a lot and is so patient. We read a chapter of Max Lucado's book, Tell Me the Secreats: Treasures for Eternity, together. It was a beautiful chapter about growth. Lucado wrote a great anecdote about three school children and their interactions with a blob of clay, a formless wood block and a bridle. You can probably imagine where the story went from there. The chapter concluded by saying:
Here is the secret. When you pray for patience, God will usually allow
circumstances to help you develop it. The same with courage, peace, trust,
and most other godly attributes. You can make that process short or long,
depending on whether you choose to submit or to fight it every step of the way.
It was one of those stories where I found myself tearing up bit- ok...downright crying- as I was reading. It was just the reminder I needed, and, a very special moment shared with Ju-Ju. Sometimes if we just stop and pause, God has something beautiful waiting for us. I am so grateful.
"Consider it pure joy, my friends, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete,
and lacking anything."
James 1: 2-4
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BOOKS OF THE WEEK:
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LETTER OF THE WEEK: I
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MUSIC CONNECTION
Eyes and Ears Eyes that see, (sol- la- sol) Ears that hear, (sol- la- sol) God has made them both! (sol- fa- mi- re- do) Praise the Lord! (shouted) | Brown Bear, Brown Bear Brown Bear, Brown Bear, (sol- mi, sol - mi) what do you see? (sol- sol- la- sol) I see a _______ (sol- mi- mi- sol- mi) looking at me. (sol- sol- mi- re- do) I used to sing this song with my kindergarten classes when I taught in the public schools. Each child chooses a ZooPals paper plate. When her animal is called, she responds melodically by calling out to another child's animal. The girls did great with this! They got it down quickly and had no problem singing back their responses independently (and with pitch accuracy too!) |
ART CONNECTION: Colored Paper Collage
MONTESSORI MINUTES
Real/Pretend Sorting and Patterns In this activity the girls had to try to sort the picture cards into two categories, real or pretend. This work box also had a pattern card with animals from our book this week. The girls had to try to complete the pattern. This was May Fly's favorite work box. She would say the patterns out loud and then fill in the blanks with the correct picture tiles. Heads and Tails Matching Cards This was a favorite work box of June Bug and May Fly. They really enjoyed completing the picture with the appropriate head and tail! Clothespin Color Wheel I colored clothespins with markers for this fun activity. This was by far Leila's favorite work box. June Bug really enjoyed it as well. Roo liked to suck on the clothespin, which I eventually realized when her lips were blue from the ink. Whoops...mama fail! :-/ Insect Lacing Cards I got excited about this activity because it started with our Letter of the Week. Unfortunately, this work box was much too hard for the girls. I thought with their success with the lacing beads they may be ready for these. They liked the pictures, but frustration quickly surfaced as they tried to lace them. This work box was left untouched after its first attempts. We will try again down the road! |
FOOD FUN
Homemade "Ice Cream"
Bear Claws
Danish pastry dough: 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour (extra for dusting) 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, very cold 2 packages active dry yeast 1/2 cup warm water 105F -115F 1/2 cup heavy cream or whole milk 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 eggs room temperature 1/4 cup sugar
| Apple filling: 6 apples, peeled, cored and diced 1 Tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp vanilla 1 cup brown sugar 1 Tbsp corn syrup
Assembly: 1 egg, beaten (for brushing pastries) Large crystal sugar
Glaze: 1 cup confectioners' sugar 1 tbsp. honey 1-2 tbsp. whole milk
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