Early Birthday Presents

 We just got back from our vacation. Austyn had his birthday on vacation so before we left he got presents from grandparents and then from us. He opened up some gifts from Zoe. 

 One gift from her was home-made. This is a pig nose.

We are really tired of purchasing toys for birthdays, so this year we did something different. We got him a dirt bike. We felt that he was ready and that it would be something that he could learn about and take responsibility for.

 Daddy had to take a spin first, just to make sure it works properly. I think he is having a little too much fun, though. LOL!

 Austyn got a few lessons from Daddy about how to run it and maintain it. They also changed the oil before running it. 

It wasn't long before he was driving it all over the yard and in the field. He loves it!

This is just another benefit of living in wide open spaces instead of in a city or town.

100 Books a Month Challenge - October 2011

I'm sure that there are books that I missed here, but this is our list. It is a bit shorter than usual. We had a vacation in this time and we have been doing more social activities than normal to get to know some homeschoolers in our new area. If you look at the chapters and count each of them as well as what was read at the library programs we reached 104, so we still met our goal!

Austyn and Zoe:

1.       Aaron’s Hair by Robert Munsch – Audio Book

2.       Abel and the Wolf by Sergio Lairla

3.       A Job For Wittilda by Caralyn and Mark Buehner

4.       A Log’s Life by Wendy Pfeffer

5.       Always by Alison McGhee and Pascal Lemaitre

6.       Ant Grasshopper by Luli Gray

7.       Ballroom Bonanza by Nina Rycroft

8.       Bear on the Train by Julie Lawson

9.       Bobby Bramble Loses His Brain by David Keane

10.   Boo! By Robert Munsch – Audio Book

11.   Born to Be a Butterfly by Karen Wallace

12.   Button UP! By Alice Schertle

13.   Can You Growl Like a Bear? By John Butler

14.   Celebrations in My World Thanksgiving

15.   Chicken, Pig, Cow and the Purple Problem by Ruth Ohi

16.   Chicken, Pig, Cow On the Move by Ruth Ohi

17.   Clifford’s First Valentine’s Day by Norman Bridwell

18.   Come On, Rain! By Karen Hesse – Audio Book

19.   Corduroy Gets a Pet by Don Treeman

20.   Crazy Hair by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean

21.   Daffodil by Emily Jenkins

22.   Dora the Explorer Dora Saves Mermaid Kingdom! By Michael Teitelbaum

23.   Dracula’s Daughter by Mary Heffman - 4 chapters

24.   Even Monsters Need Haircuts by Matthew McElligott

25.   Fairly Fairy Tales by Esme Raji Codell

26.   Fat Cat byt Margaret Read MacDonald

27.   Follow The Line through the house by Laura Ljungkvist

28.   Fortune Cookies by Albert Bitterman

29.   Fraisement merci par Meigan E. Bryant

30.   Go Away, Big Green Monster! By Ed Emberley

31.   Happy and Max The Sunken Ship Adventure by Kris Jamsa, Ph.D.

32.   Hattie Hippo by Christine Loomis

33.   Hush Little Dragon by Boni Ashburn

34.   I Love You Like Crazy Cakes by Rose Lewis

35.   Jimmy Neutron Return of the Pumpkin Head by Jenny Miglis

36.   La drole de nuit du Pere Noel by Gwenaelle Boulet

37.   Mabel’s Magical Garden by Paula Metcalf

38.   Makeup Mess by Robert Munsch

39.   Marttha Doesn’t Say Sorry! By Samantha Berger

40.   Meraid Dreams by Mark Sperring

41.   My Pig Amarillo by Satomi Ichikawa

42.   Napping House by Audrey Wood – Audio Book

43.   Once Upon a Potty by Alona Frankel

44.   Open Wide by Laurie Keller – Audio Book

45.   Pancakes for Supper! By Anne Isaacs

46.   Pirate Pete by Kim Kennedy

47.   Rattlebone Rock by Sylvia Andrews

48.   Rose by Night by Mireille Levert

49.   Shake dem Halloween Bones by W. Nikola-Lisa

50.   She’ll Be Coming Round The Mountain by Chris Demarest

51.   Skeleton Meets the Mummy by Steve Metzger

52.   Skelly the Skeleton Girl by Jimmy Pickering

53.   Song for a Princess by Rachael Mortimer

54.   Spot’s Halloween Party by Eric Hill

55.   Tell Me A Scary Story... But Not TOO Scary! By Carl Reiner

56.   That’s Hockey by David Bouchard and Dean Griffiths

57.   The Best Birthday Ever! By Charise Mericle Harper

58.   The Block Mess Monster by Betsy Howie

59.   The Cats in Krasinski Square by Karen Hesse

60.   The Flea’s Sneeze by Lynn Downey

61.   The Great Divide A Mathematical Marathon b y Dayle Ann Dodds

62.   The Great Graph Contest by Loreen Leedy

63.   The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson

64.   The Little Bit Scary People by Emily Jenkins

65.   The Long Weekend by Troon Harrison

66.   The Mermaid Secret by Vicki Blum – 13 chapters

67.   The Mushroom Hunt by Simon Frazer

68.   The Paperboy by Dav Pilkey

69.   The Rabbit Problem by Emily Gravett

70.   There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell! By Lucille Colandro

71.   The Squeaky Door by Margaret Read MacDonald

72.   The Teeny Tiny Ghost by Kay Winters

73.   Timothy Cox Will Not Change His Socks by Robert Kinerk and Stephen Gammell

74.   Up in the Tree by Margaret Atwood – Audio Book

75.   What Do You Do With A Kangaroo? By Mercer Mayer

76.   Wild Witches Ball by Jack Prelutsky

77.   Wolves by Emily Gravett

78.   World of Moths by Martha E. H. Rustad

79.   Would You Rather be a Pollywog? By Bonnie Worth

80.   Yuck! By Mick Manning

Story Time October 4 – 3 Books
French Story Time October 5 – 1 Books
Story Time October 11 – 4 Books
French Story Time October 12 – 1 Book
French Story Time October 19 – 1 Book

Austyn:

1.       A Natural History Dragons and Unicorns by Paul and Karin Johnsguard  - 15 chapters

Zoe:

1.       Horse Happy by Sibley Miller - 3 Chapters

2.       How Emily Blair got her Fabulous Hair by Susan Garrison

3.       Princess Poppy Mermaid Perincess by Janey Louise Jones

Me:

 Golf for Enlightenment (don't ask... LOL!)

Zenschooling by Tammy Takahashi (I finished this book)

Book Sharing Monday - I Love the Rain

I Love the Rain by Margaret park Bridges is a story that I love because it shows how just by changing your perspective, something that you may not have liked becomes likable. The other lesson learned in this book is that if you have a positive outlook about something sometimes it's contagious and your friends will also gain a positive outlook.

Molly hates the rain, but by the end of this book she is singing "Sun, sun go away!"

Pumpkin Carving with Grandma

 Grandma brought over a couple of pumpkins for us to carve. The kittens wanted to help.

 Both kids took turns getting messy.

 We saved the seeds and toasted them with butter and salt in the oven afterward.

 Zoe took a little break to take a drive with the kittens.

 She decided to add some details after her pumpkin was carved.

The pumpkins turned out great. Austyn's is on the left and Zoe's is on the right. 

Happy Halloween!!