My Blessings Handprint Tree

One of the themes we studied Along the Alphabet Path for the letter "B" was Blessings. And what a perfect fall time theme, with Thanksgiving right around the corner!   At first I was going to have him get started making this year's Thankful Tree, but since I didn't have quite enough time for that I came up with this quick and simple craft.   He had made something similar for his Valentine's Day Cards earlier this year, he just made fall colored "leaves" and added a few of his "Blessings" to the "Branches!"

My Blessings Handprint Tree

Supplies:

• Construction Paper 
• Finger Paint (Brown and various colors for the leaves)
• White Paint Pen

Directions:

1. Cover hand and arm (up to the elbow) with brown finger paint.   With fingers spread apart, press against paper to form the tree and branches. 

2. Using various colors of finger paint and your thumb, make leaves for the tree.

3.  Let the paint dry.

4. Write five of your blessings on the branches of the tree with a white paint pen.  (Have mom help with the writing, if needed.) 

I'll be back with more of our "B" themed activities soon! 

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. ~

{pretty}

We began Snuggles' Bible Study this past Sunday.  Every week or two we will read a Bible Story, he will narrate it back to me while I type it up, and then he will illustrate it for his Bible Story Book. (Yes, he is making three books this school year: Writing the ABC's on Little Hearts, My Picture Book of Saints, and this book of Bible Stories.)  I don't know what I was expecting, but it sure wasn't this!   Didn't he do such a great job recreating the picture?!

All I did to the blank page was draw too little dots to get him started on the faces of Mary and Baby Jesus... He took it from there!  I sat there watching him (completely amazed) compare crayons to the original to make sure the colors matched.   He took a few breaks, but by the end of the day he had it completed.   

{happy}

Hot Cocoa and looking for Constellations on Columbus Day

(After the photo the lights went out so they could see the stars better.  I also have been thinking that I might need to make the Big Boys their own Blankets!  They LOVE Snuggles new Beavers Blanket.)

{funny}

I hope I don't get in trouble for posting this picture, but I just had to show you all this mug of ours...  My sister-in-law has the same mug and one day when her friend was helping her sort through her kitchen cupboards she said that she needed to "get rid of the mug with the Ugly Cowboys on it!"  My husband's sister responded, "Those are my brothers!"   Hahahaha!  

Can you tell which one is Hubby?  :) 

{real}

Trying to paint while holding a baby who wants to grab EVERYTHING is tough! 

Visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more pictures of contentment

B is for Blanket :: A No Sew Fleece Tie Blanket Tutorial

B is for "Beaver Believer" Blanket

Initially I wasn't going to have Snuggles (help) make a blanket like the girls did during B week, but when we were checking out our brand new (!!!) Jo-Ann Craft Store and noticed the Beaver themed fabric we couldn't resist!  The girls still love their blankets and with winter coming our little Snuggles could really use his own warm snuggly blanket anyways.   As we were headed to the check-out, fabric in hand, Rose kept saying "My blanket-uh?!" while pointing to the fabric aisles... Since it's going to be a few years before she does the Alphabet Path I think I might need to surprise her with her own blanket for either her birthday or Christmas...  I need to go back and look for some pretty rose covered fleece!

No Sew Fleece Tie Blanket Tutorial

Supplies:

Two pieces of Fleece Fabric - One Print and One Solid:  (We made the "Child Size.")

• Toddler/Crib Size: 1 1/2 yards of each piece of fleece 
• Child Size 1 3/4 yards of each piece
• Teen/Adult Size 2 yards of each piece

Ruler or tape measure (We used a Fiskars 3-Inch-by-18-Inch Clear Acrylic Quilting Ruler.)

Sharp Scissors (We used a Fiskars Rotary Cutter.  SO much faster!)

Optional: Cutting Mat if you are using the rotary cutter. (I used a 12x18 Inch Self Healing Mat, though any size that is large enough to do a 7-Inch strip will work.)


Directions:

STEP 1: Lay both pieces of fabric on the floor with the WRONG sides touching. (The right sides will be facing out so you can see them.) Cutting both pieces of fabric at the same time, carefully trim away any of the seam edges while making sure the edges of both fabrics match up.

STEP 2: Once your edges are straight, cut a 7"x7" Square from each of the 4 corners, once again cutting both pieces of fabric at the same time.  

STEP 3: Using either scissors or a rotary cutter, cut 1 " wide and 7" deep strips around all four sides of the blanket, again cutting both pieces of fabric at the same time.

STEP 4: Once all of your fringe is cut, start tying hand knots. I tied this blanket using a square knot. Make sure not to skip any strips! (Alternate method: If you’d like your fringe to alternate colors along the edge, you can tie every other one, flip the blanket, then go back through and tie the remaining fringe.)

And that is all there is to it!   

This Blanket craft was fun and all, but I am so excited to share our Block craft from this week!  

The Blocks are all turning out B-eautifully!  I'm starting to wonder who is enjoying the Alphabet Path more, Snuggles or his Momma! ;) 

B is for Buttercream :: Happy Feast of St. Thérèse!

{Heavenly Rose Garden Cupcakes}

St. Thérèse, the little flower,

please pick me a rose from the heavenly garden

and send it to me with a message of love; 

ask God to grant me the favor I thee implore 

and tell Him I will love Him each day more and more.

St. Thérèse, the Little Flower, Pray for us!

*Additional ideas for celebrating the feast of St. Thérèse can be found in the archives! 

"A" is for Apples, Altar, St. Aloysius, and Archangels!

Why did I even question whether I would do the Alphabet Path with Snuggles or not?  We have been having SO. MUCH. FUN!  The Alphabet Path is definitely one of the highlights of our days, and all the big kids are really enjoying watching and helping their little brother - who is always such a character!  (And Rose is joining in, wherever she can!  Even Bud is intrigued!!)  Here is some of what we Accomplished for the letter Aa...

*Warning!  This is a really long post!  Practically the equivalent of 10 posts in one... Maybe I need to break up these "Alphabet Path" posts?  Hmmmm.... Hope you all don't mind!

.: Letter Introduction & Formation :. 

"AAaaaahhhhh!!!  It's the A-A-Angry A!  'Cause someone pulled her ponytail!"

(Yep!  Those little stories from Primary Arts of Language:Writing are sticking! It's so fun to hear Snuggles talk about the letters as he is practicing writing them!)

A green Alligator with super Awesome googly eyes
 Snuggles colored this picture from My Book of Letters last school year (along with B-E)...

I pulled out the rest of the activity pages for the letter A...

... including An Apple Tree with Painted Apples for lowercase a...

... Adding the pictures that begin with "a"...

... circling All the A's and then looking through a magazine (we used a Leaflet Catalog) for pictures that begin with a - like Advent Wreath, Angels, Archangels, Apples to Apples, Aaron, St. Augustine, St. Anne, and St. Anthony!

Snuggles apparently isn't too crazy about Modeling Wax (maybe later in the year we will try again) but the Wikki Sticks were a huge hit!

.: A, B... Seas & Storybook Science :.

A is for Aqua 

Snuggles will be making an A, B... Seas Ocean Box this year!  The first thing we did was find a box and cover it with construction paper.   Since we had just finished learning about the different zones - the  sunlit zone, the twillight zone, and the midnight zone - he insisted on using light blue, dark blue, and black paper!

A is for Anenome

Sea Life Alphabet Coloring Book
(and of course we had to rent Finding Nemo for our family movie night!)

A is for Apples :: Apples with Appeal

The suggested expierement in Apples, Bubbles and Crystals: Your Science ABCs was all about apples!

We also read a bunch of books about Apples, including the following:   

Ten Red Apples
Rain Makes Applesauce
Apples to Oregon
Brother Bartholomew and the Apple Grove
Amazing Apples
All for Pie, Pie for All
How Do Apples Grow?

Pressing Apples

During our field trip to a "farm" earlier this week the kids picked apples and made Apple Cider!  Snuggles especially loved turning the wheel on the Apple Press!  (And how Appropriate for A week!)

.: Arts, Crafts & Additional Activities :. 

A is for Angel of God

I posted the instructions and additional pictures from this craft here: Angel Art for A Week.


Assemble Aircraft

I also had been saving a little aircraft lego set for Snuggles to Assemble...
(Bud always has a smile for his Momma!  Oooh, I love him!!) 

... with a very Attentive Audience!

.: My Catholic Faith :.

A is for Angel

In addition to St. Anne, St. Anthony, and our little Guardian Angel, a couple of our Archangels have been making Appearances around the house!  We've also been reading a few of our favorite picture books about angels including:  

Pascual and the Kitchen Angels
My Guardian Dear
Angels, Angels Everywhere
Angel in the Waters
Angels: God's Messengers and Our Helpers

A is for Angel our Guardian so bright:
Say to him, 
"Angel dear, help me do right."
~ God's Alphabet

A is for Altar

A is for Altar, B is for Bible

Captain helped me teach Snuggles a little about the Altar and a few additional Items Used at Mass using the First Presentation from the lesson book that came with his (Captain's) Miniature Mass Kit.  

The Mass Kit is expensive, but such a lovely set!  We purchased ours years ago for the big boys and were given a second set (which is Rascal's) from friends.    

I'd love to eventually get Snuggles his own set as well.   In the meantime his big brothers are more than happy to share and are hoping they can start teaching him to serve Mass with them soon!

A is for Always Ask

I am so excited to be using Writing ABC's on Little Hearts by Pondered In My Heart with Snuggles!   He has already enjoyed coloring the cover page and Always Ask for the letter A.

Snuggles:  "See, Rose, we should Always Ask Mom when we want something..."

Rose:  Well... Mom needs to have some Compassion and get me dressed Already this AM! ;) 

I had ordered a few 8.5"x11" blank books from Rainbow Resource (Amazon has them too, just more expensive at the moment) and am using a few of them for the Alphabet Path.   They contain 14 pages - 28 back and front - which is just perfect for the 26 letters of the Alphabet!

After gluing the cover page on, we laminated the cover with like we did for our "Wisdom of the Saints" Journals.  We skipped the first page, front and back (saving it for a title page and index), adding Always Ask to page 3.

A is for St. Aloysius

He is also going to make "My Picture Book of Saints" using a saint (of choice) coloring page for each letter!

Since Snuggles was born on the feast of St. Aloysius, and since my Grandfather was named (middle name) after St. Aloysius, we decided to include it in his name as well!  Our little Snuggles, with two middle names, has quite the long name - and he is very proud of it!

He asked for a St. Aloysius coloring page.  I wasn't able to find one, so I made my own by converting the image from Picture Book of Saints into a Pencil Sketch and adding text.

Here is the link to our document if anyone would like a copy:  

St. Aloysius Coloring Page

Note:  I've actually been completely amazed at Snuggles interest in coloring!  I really didn't think he'd want to color much, but has really been enjoying it!  Yay!!

In addition to reading about St. Anne (An Alphabet of Catholic Saints) and St. Anthony (An Alphabet of Saints and S is for Saints)  we also read about Saint Aloysius from A Picture Book of Saints.

.: A to Z Recipes :.

Oatmeal Sparkling Cider Pancakes 

with Homemade Apple Cider Syrup

We started Aa with an Applicious breakfast!  I love homeschooling and being able to enjoy yummy meals on Monday mornings!  

Oatmeal Sparkling Cider Pancakes
2 cups pancake and waffle mix
1 cup cold water
1/2 cup instant oatmeal
1/2 cup sparkling cider

In a medium bowl, blend together all ingredients using a wire whisk. For thicker pancakes, allow batter to sit for 5 minutes. Cook on a hot griddle. Serve with Apple Cider Syrup.

Apple Cider Syrup
3/4 cup apple cider
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup (I used honey)
2 T butter
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and stir occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until thickened. Serve warm.

Ants in My Applesauce

We made Ants in my Applesauce from My A to Z Recipe Box: An Alphabet of Recipes for Kids.

A is for Apple Pie

After reading How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World we used the recipe in the back to make our Apple Pie, substituting refrigerated pie dough for the crust.  Super easy and so much fun for Snuggles!  (And the girls kept saying... "Oh!!! Remember when....")

Yep, Snuggles thinks this Alphabet Adventure is AAA-wesome!  

We will Begin Bb on Monday... In the meantime, everyone is Bouncing off the walls as we wait for Daddy to get home tonight, after 16 days away!   

I hope you all have a Beautiful and Blessed weekend!