Winter in the Woods - Owl & Pine Trees

On Day 5 the topic was Owls and we got one of my favorite tools of the month, the I Can Write sheet.  Lachlan has been super sick with a nasty cold/cough and was out of commission in bed most of this day.  However, Lucy and Peter and I worked on our sheets at the table. 

I have to show off Lucy's here for a minute.  She did so amazing.  Not even 3 until March!

She followed every line and colored all the pictures.  I love how she colored the worm in the top picture.  She followed down the middle of his body perfectly.

One of my other favorite learning tools also came with this day.  It is a new Memory Game.  The pictures are of some of the winter animals we have learned about and some winter wear.  The kids were all playing nicely in the front bedroom with their Legos.  I cut apart the pieces to this game, sat down on the floor and started to play.  Peter was the first one to join in, he loves this game.  Soon, Lachlan and then Lucy.  As they turned the card over, Mother Goose Time had instructed us to ask if they would find that item outside or inside?  It was a bit tricky because the winter hat you technically wear outside but I am guessing they meant for it to be an inside thing.  I explained that you put the hat and mittens on when you are inside so you don't get cold when you go outside.

Day 6 brought us the topic of Pine Trees.  Again with Lachlan not feeling well it was just Peter, Lucy and I working on the craft.  MGT provided us with supplies to make the super cute Pine Trees or Christmas Trees as I call them.  They were still in their jammies, first thing in the morning working away.

It such a simple but cool craft.  First they started with a triangle piece of green paper.  Then they cut it straight across into the four pieces you see.  They had dashed lines for them to follow. Then tape to this brown ribbon with a bit sticking out the bottom to look like the tree trunk.  They sent along these different colored circles for them to put on it like ornaments.  But I bet it would look just as cute with any sort of stickers.

Next we talked about what a tree does in the wind. 

 Such cute pjs.  It's really starting to get windy.  The tree is blowing in the wind.

Now the Peter storm is moving in and causing quite a stir.

A couple days later, when Lachlan was feeling better, he and I sat down together to work on his tree.  Every year I hang the Christmas Cards we receive around the door frame to our laundry room.  I hung their two trees on the door itself.  They look so nice all together.

In the few days after learning about Pine Trees, we finally were able to make our way to the Christmas Tree farm to pick out our tree.  Lachlan still wasn't feeling well so we took him to the doctor Saturday morning.  On our way home we stopped quickly for our tree.  Lachlan wasn't up for much of a hike and I could see he was fading fast.   We were trying to decide on a tree which normally takes quite a while because of course Jeff wants a big one and I would rather have small one.  My living room is tight as it is.  Since we were in a hurry I just said, sure, that one is fine. 

We brought it home, and quickly got inside where we all crashed for naps.  Later, Jeff went out and got it in it's stand, washed it up a bit since it get's pretty muddy hauling it to the truck at the tree farm and the we carried it in.  All the while the tree is looking bigger and bigger.  But then we stand it up in our living room and my jaw drops as the tree nearly reaches the top of our vaulted ceilings.  I look at Jeff to see a big grin upon his face. 

I told him, before we do anything else, I need you to secure that thing to the wall.  As he was gathering his supplies and getting ready, the tree falls over.  Peter just barely nudged it and down it came, somehow he got out of the way.  Lachlan was sitting on the second step of the 6ft ladder we had sitting inside in order to put the Christmas lights on.  The tree just brushed past his chest and left a trail of mud on his shirt.  I, of course did not see it fall, because I had stepped out of the room for a split second to put something away. 

Lachlan and Peter were both a bit freaked out.  Needless to say, so was I.  I banished the boys to the dining room area, out of reach of the tree if it fell again, until Jeff had it wired to the wall.  Oh my, I was stressed and a bit worried about my families survival this Christmas.  The positive side of this big tree is that there is plenty of space for presents and our manger underneath. 

We now have a very real and very LARGE example of a pine tree, sitting in our living room.  Turned out to also be a good lesson on gravity.