What a crazy couple of weeks.
They say life just flies by, and that is the theme for my life as of late. How are we already in October?
Robb and I had plans to get away at the end of September, so my sister came out to stay with the girls and run my life. They were able to do a lot of fun things, and I am so appreciative of her sacrifice. It takes a village!!
Sofi has been doing absolutely amazing. In the last month I have only seen one or two anxiety attacks. Neither one especially bad. This is a miracle. I really think leaving suddenly for Maryland helped her realize how she can do hard things and be ok.
So what has she been up to?
Well we are still cooking weekly. Sofi is still struggling with math, and especially with the concept of fractions. So besides being fun, it is great practice to have her read recipes and use measuring cups/spoons. Since it is fall, we have been focusing on pumpkin of course!
This child of mine thinks pumpkin is the grossest thing ever. Gag reflex kind of gross.
According to her, it looks like someone already ate it. Mom has to do all the mixing that involves pumpkin. I am not sure I will ever convert her to pumpkin spice anything.
So we made 2 different things these last couple weeks. First was Pumpkin pie crisps. Sort of a cross between a pie and cookie. That goodness for store bought pie dough, it makes these super fast to make.
Making the filling.
Cutting out pumpkin shapes
Carving our pumpkin faces
Assembling the crisps with the filling
The final product
Of course sharing them with friends is the best part of it! Don't let the photos fool you though. She didn't like them.
So we tried again, but with muffins. I thought adding chocolate chips would be a winner.
It was a no-go. But despite her opinion, they were delicious and beautiful!
Can I tell you how proud I am of her? She has had a big fear of getting things out of the oven when they are hot. But she proudly declared that she has overcome her fear and can do it by herself! Such a little thing to most people, but for someone with debilitating anxiety, these small moments can be life altering!
So what else is happening around here? Sofi has been working on a lot of projects. She loves projects, anything hands-on that makes a mess is pretty great. With my sister being here, projects seemed like a good plan.
History:
We worked on learning the 5 Themes of Geography using the Jamestown Colony. She loved looking for photos and making her poster. This was a several week project since we only do history once a week. She loved using the computer to use different fonts and photos to make her poster shine.
Then we studied the Plymouth Colony and talked about the First Thanksgiving. I had considered having her do some more cooking, but after exploring the food they ate back then I realized it would be a great waste. There was no way she would be interested in eating any of it.
So instead we focused on what she was interested in, which was the colonies relationship with the local Native Americans. We found a legend of the "no-face doll" and decided to make cornhusk dolls. My sister was able to work on her with this while I was gone. Thankfully the Mexican store in town had cornhusks for sale, because the other stores were out. Someone in FOCO must be making a lot of tamales.
She loves her doll and has been painting it all week to make it even more special.
Checkmark: Success!
Math:
Sofi is still working a ton on basic math principles, and lots of worksheets. I am super thankful for the Khan academy math program (FREE online) and for free worksheets so Sofi can take her time to master math concepts.
English:
We are still working on grammar (subject/predicate is evil as of late), spelling, and continuing to read The Secret Garden. She is really loving the story! I am so pleased that she is able to sit by herself occasionally and work.
Geography,
We are still learning the US States and she has mastered the west! By the way we LOVE the website
It lets you customize map quizzes. So I an make a map quiz of just the states we are working on. And of course it's FREE!
Science:
Sofi is super excite to show the world her Water Cycle Project. We spent time studying other projects online so she could get her own ideas of what she wanted hers to look like. She declared that hers was the best! Adding in the horses was a special touch.
BTW..
I am not allowed to dismantle the project even though we have moved on. Apparently it is going into the playroom with all the other things I am not allowed to toss.
Of course we are still working on her swimming. She is still taking music therapy/violin lessons and somehow I never think to get a photo. We are also trying to spend as much time as possible outside before the winter blues kick in. Do you like her daddy's shiner?
I am sure thankful I get to watch this girl blossom!
