Tillery Tot School- Letter N

This week we learned about the letter "N." 

We started off practicing how to make the upper and lower case letter.

 We practiced counting our numbers and used our magnatab a lot this week.

 We made a capital N and then added a nest to it. 

We also included a bird and talked about how birds make nests.

 This week I pulled out a magnetic puzzle since magnets were so fun for Seth last week.

 We went on a letter hunt in some noodles. Since we can't eat noodles anymore I thought this was a great use for the ones still sitting in our cabinet.

 

We used our net to catch some letters. 

I would call out a letter and Seth would use his net to catch it.

 

 We also talked about Noah's ark a lot this week. We played with our Little People Noah's Ark after we read a couple of stories about Noah and the Ark.

 We colored a Noah and the Ark picture.

 Then we made an ark out of a paper plate. We colored 

a rainbow and added some printable animals and a Noah.

This week we are focusing on the letter "O."

An Afternoon at Kentucky Down Under

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at Kentucky Down Under. We took advantage of the $5.00 per person admission price because it was Warren, Metcalfe and Edmonson County Day. While we were there we saw some familiar birds

 

and some that were not so familiar. This is a Papuan Frogmouth.

 

 Bryan and Seth got to feed rainbow lorikeets. If you had a small white cup in your hand these birds pretty much attacked you when you walked through the door. Seth dropped his immediately, but with some reassurance from daddy, he seemed to warm up to them quickly as long as they weren't actually on him.

 

Silas and I just hung out outside of the fence and watched.

 

 We stopped by for part of the reptile show and Seth got to feel a blue tongued skink.

 Then we went to the Woolshed. 

We learned sheep are very important in the land down under.

We got to watch a sheepdog lead a group of sheep, 

learn about sheering sheep, and watch a sheep get milked.

 

Randomly throughout the day. We saw peacocks. 

You never knew where they were going to show up. 

We spotted this one on top of a building and other times they were just walking beside us.

 

 Lastly, we went on an Outback Walkabout. 

I just love this picture of Seth that Bryan captured while waiting in line.

 During the walkabout, we got to pet an emu, 

see several kangaroos, and we even got to pet one of them.

We had a great day!

Eating Paleo

Our family already does a lot of things differently. So adding one more thing won’t really make much of a difference, will it? Well, we are about to embark on a big lifestyle change. When I went to the MS doctor on Tuesday I asked if there were certain foods that I should avoid due to having MS because I read lots of varying opinions on the subject. He said there is not a whole lot of research yet about specific foods, but those people with autoimmune diseases that follow a hunter-gatherer diet or a Paleolithic diet have had wonderful results. Sometimes their symptoms go away completely. He mentioned the results of Terry Wahls and said I could watch her Ted Talk. He said that I didn’t have to do it, but if I wanted to it was worth a try. He recommended that I buy grass-fed, organic meats, eggs, and dairy even if I choose not to do the Paleo diet.
After we got home from the wonderful mosaic park, we anxiously started researching. We watched the Ted Talk by Terry Wahls. We read a lot of information about the Paleo diet. We learned that the Paleo diet consists mainly of fish (wild, not farm-raised), grass-fed pasture raised meats, vegetables, fruit, roots, and nuts. You are not supposed to eat grains, legumes, dairy products, salt, refined sugar, and processed oils.
For my meat-loving and vegetable-hating husband, this is extreme. But as soon as we watched Terry Wahls speak, he said it made sense and that he was willing to try. I never imagined he would be willing to make such an extreme lifestyle change. After reading more about it yesterday, Bryan and the boys might include moderate dairy in their diets and we will all be keeping green beans, peas, and limited potatoes (roasted only) for now. Not wanting to be wasteful and because we still have a little bit of pasta and a few non-Paleo items in the house, we are going to use those up before going full on Paleo but within a couple of weeks we should be eating like the cavemen. Today we went to the store and we bought lots of veggies, some almond butter because peanuts are a legume, lots of nuts excluding peanuts, and a few other Paleo items. Tomorrow and Saturday we are picking up more veggies and some grass-fed, organic meats from a local farm and the Farmer's Market. As time goes on I’m sure we’ll have a lot to talk about when it comes to incorporating this new diet into our everyday lives, so stay tuned. We’re just getting started.

The Park with the Mosaic Dragon

Today we went to the coolest park! 

We made a stop at the Fannie Mae Dees Park in Nashville after my MS check-up. It's the park that has a huge mosaic dragon! We had so much fun looking at all the neat mosaic art.

The park also had a wonderful playground. Seth just played and played!

 

We will definitely be visiting again!

 

(For those wondering, not much has changed when it comes to the MS. I did ask about how foods could possibly affect MS and will be looking into some dietary changes. I will have an MRI and start treatment as soon as Silas starts on whole milk in August. )

Happy Earth Day!

Tillery Tot School- Letter M

This week we learned about the letter "M."

 Here's a look at our Tot School board:

We started off our week using a magnifying glass to locate "m" stickers to add to our upper and lower case m's.

 Seth still hasn't mastered the concept of keeping the magnifying glass not so close to his face, but it is pretty cute.

We made a mouse out of a capital "M."

When we went to the Smith's Grove library story time this week, they had a mailbox and Seth got to play with it.

 We made a monkey out of shapes. The head and ears are circles, the face is a heart, and the nose and mouth are on an oval. I was so proud of Seth because he drew the eyes, ears, eyebrows, nose, and mouth all by himself.

 I saw some mittens the other day at Mighty Dollar designed to use on a bulletin board. I thought they would go perfectly with The Mitten by Jan Brett.

 We read the story and then we sorted mittens by color.

 Then our favorite activity of the week and probably the biggest hit of Tot School since we have started was our Magnetic/Not Magnetic discovery tray. I placed several items on a tray. Then Seth used a magnet to decide if he needed to place the objects on the Magnetic side or the Not Magnetic side. We didn't get into specifics about magnetism. We just sorted objects based on whether they stuck to the magnet wand or not.

 When an object stuck to the magnet, Seth just grinned from ear to ear. It was so fun to watch him discover what was magnetic and what wasn't.

 Next week we move on to the letter "N"!

Love Thy Neighor

Who knew a cat could help with our second greatest commandment, which is to love our neighbor? We have been living in our house for five years. We have had neighbors come and go. We have exchanged many waves, given one "Welcome to the Neighborhood" bag of cookies to some very unfriendly neighbors, but not much more than that. 

To be very honest we have done a very poor job of loving our neighbors 

(in a proximity related definition).

Then along came Patches.  

She has helped us develop a relationship with the neighbor to the right of us.

 

She's what Mr. Jim, our neighbor, and I like to call our shared cat. Patches eats and sleeps at his house, but hangs out with us a whole lot of the time. If you remember, she even joined us while we read the Pumpkin Patch Parable last year. She has killed 8 snakes so far this season and Seth absolutely loves her, so we definitely think she is a keeper.

If it weren't for this cat, we probably wouldn't know a thing about any of our neighbors. But because of her, we have had the opportunity to have lots of conversations with Mr. Jim. His conversations have led us to find out more about the lady that lives across the street from him. This lady that lives diagonally from us is in very poor health. When we first moved in, I remember seeing her walk, but now she is always in a wheelchair. She has four or five dogs and her brother comes to her house six or seven times a day to help take care of her and the dogs. Mr. Jim occasionally mows her grass for her. I feel so ashamed to admit this, but I have never even walked over to meet this lady. I never knew what to say. I have always been scared. I could name a million excuses. I just watch from my kitchen window as buses come by to get her to take her somewhere and then return her later each day, as the meat truck delivers her meals, and as her brother comes by every few hours. Five years and I haven't even said hello. That is until yesterday.
Occasionally you can see a dog running around the neighborhood. When one of this lady's dogs gets loose, she frantically yells the dog's name, which you can't understand, and then just hopes and prays that the dog will return. Yesterday as I was loading the boys up in the car, I saw all this happen again. Never acting on it before as an opportunity to help, I decided that once I got the boys strapped in, I would try to go catch her dog. The dog ran off behind a house a few doors down, so I decided to go up to her door and ask her the dog's name. It amazes me the strength Jesus can give you when you are willing to take that first step. After learning the dog's name was Gabby, I called for it for a few more minutes. I sadly had to return to her door empty handed. I told her that I had to go but if I saw Gabby I would try to catch her. It's sad and pathetic that I had to go because I was going to be late for church of all things instead of helping her.
In the state that she was in when I talked to her yesterday, I am not sure she would even remember me if I walked up to her again. But it's a start.. and thankfully after so many years... in the right direction.

Tillery Tot School- Letter K

This week we learned about the letter "K"! 

We focused mostly on kangaroos, koalas, keys, and kites. 

Here's a look at our Tot School board:

 

Seth is getting very good at following the lines of the letter each week. 

 We made a paper kite by using construction paper and some streamers.

 

I also picked up two different types of kites at the Dollar Tree. 

This type of kite worked the best. Bryan was a great kite flyer!

  

We also sorted shapes throughout the week. This activity was way to easy for Seth. 

I'm going to have to make it more challenging next time we sort shapes.

 I picked up a $1.00 chalkboard the other day and we practiced erasing the letter "K" on our board. Seth loved the little sponges and getting to use a small cup of water.

 I gave Seth four deadbolt locks and four keys. He had to find the matching key to each lock. He kept these keys and locks near him all week. Tonight I even found them in his bed when I was tucking him in.

 We practiced stamping k's around a kangaroo.

 We made a koala and also watched a couple zoo videos of koalas.

 I made Seth a koala snack one day.

 I think he liked it!

 Then our week wouldn't be complete without doing a little bit of kicking. 

We kicked balls all around the yard.

 It's been a pretty fun week! 

Next week we move on to the letter "M" since 

we have already learned about the letter "L."