So, I didn't think that having a fourth child would slow me down, but it has. I used to take Lizzie to lots of "enrichment" activities: museums, playdates, bounce houses, nature walks, parks, and so on. Now, most of our "enrichment" happens at home (well, aside from our weekly music makers, ballet class, and ward playgroup).
Originally I planned to do one, maybe two crafts, worksheets, or learning games each week, but Lainey requests them so much that we frequently do two or three a day. Thank goodness for pinterest, homeschool blogs, and free downloads. Lately a lot of our activities have had a fall or Halloween theme such as making mummies (covering simple human figures with masking tape).
A lot people mistake Lainey and Ellie for twins because they are so close in size. Sometimes I even find myself treating them as if they are the same age. Doing crafts definitely highlights the difference in their ages (perhaps some of it is personality differences as well). Lainey is far more meticulous, has a longer attention span, is better able to follow instructions, and is just more interested in learning her numbers and letters (whereas Ellie surpasses her sister in remembering the names of colors).
Alaina carefully wrapped the tape around her mummy.
Ellie covered one side of her mummy (she insisted it was actually a skeleton) with overhanging tape, then flipped it over and did the same thing on the other side when she realized that Lainey was covering both sides. At the end, her creation was unrecognizable.
We also wove webs. Lainey did her own. I wove Ellie's, but made her point to which hole the string should go through (not quite the independent activity I had envisioned). Incidentally we were using yarn I purchased eight years ago. I can't quite seem to use up that crap.
I'm trying to make more things from scratch as well. This past couple weeks the kids have helped me make homemade noodles, tortillas, chicken stock, and chicken noodle soup--all of which was super easy (why haven't I done any of these things before?!). Next on our homemade list: hand soap, caramel, and yogurt.
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