*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!
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!
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:
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
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.
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:
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.
) 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!
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!
while listening to 
on CD.
, Wooden Pieces and on paper. I can't seem to find the pictures from that, but here are some of the Zoo Animals they made out of Playdoh, which was a gift from a friend, and a very rare treat in our home! ;) 
.
and 
. 
They were SO excited!