We love Fall!

     Fall is such an amazing time to be a little kid. Baby E especially is mesmerized by all the leaves, and must stop to look at each. and. every. leaf when we go on walks. There are so many fun things to do with leaves, and a lot of great learning often happens along the way. Here are a few of my favorite things to do with leaves:

Talk About Them

We love to talk about all the colors of the leaves, why they are falling off, and what happens in Fall and Winter. Big brother A is almost 4, and he loves looking at the different types of leaves and trees.



Crunch, Jump, and Throw

     Jumping and crunching in the leaves is pretty much a dream come true for most kids. It is a great sensory experience, and it is one of the only times Baby E is allowed to throw things to his hearts content. He can stand for a long time jumping in the leaves and throwing them in the air.

Arts and crafts
     
     Whenever we are outside, my kids collect leaves to bring inside. Most of the time, I throw these out when no one is looking, but I have saved a few for crafts. My kids like gluing the leaves, and decorating them with random art supplies. I am also hoping to experiment with laminating some leaves so we can use them for other things. These leaf place mats look like an awesome activity!

What are your favorite Fall activities?

Summer of Fun: A Day in the Life of Camp Mommy!

Fun at the Zoo!

I was a little nervous about having both kids home full time this summer. I had gotten used to A going to pre-school three days a week, and I knew it would be an adjustment for the summer. Now that we are more than half-way through the summer, I can say that I am very happy with how things are turning out. The truth is that I am exhausted. Period. But it is a good kind of tired. We have been having so much fun! With no school drop off or pick-up to worry about, and extremely poor napping habits from Baby E, (not for lack of trying) we have larger blocks of  time to fill, which allows us to explore activities we haven't gotten to do as much in the past.

Supermarket adventures...

In the mornings we usually have a short outing to the grocery store, library, or other indoor location.The kids are very early risers, and not interested in lazing around in the morning (as much as I try to convince them). They are usually dressed and itching to get out by 830 or 9am.  We are usually home by 11am for some lunch, playtime, and "nap" time. Baby E (already 20 months!) usually sleeps for a short time, while A just has quiet play time. By 1:30, we are usually ready to head out for the afternoon.

Playing with sand at home

Rock painting!

We have spent our afternoons exploring new parks, visiting the zoo, and having a blast at the local children's museum thanks to an awesome LivingSocial deal. Thankfully, the summer weather has been pretty mild. No one in this family does well in the heat, so I have really been thankful for any cooler days that we have. By 4pm, the kids are melting down, and we head home for...Ices! I'm not sure how I will break this habit at the end of summer, but for now I am enjoying the few minutes of peace and quiet I get while the kids are both happy with their cool treats!

Yumm! Or as Baby E says "mummy!"

What do your summer days look like?