learning together

Lio has had a few piano lessons, and I think he's getting the hang of it!
I think that I'm getting the hang of it, too.  It's been fun for me learning along side him while he's practicing.  And he has THE BEST piano teacher.  (We love you Jamie!)

let's pretend we are on a baking show

Let's see...in the past few days I have "pretended" to be an art teacher, Miss Frizzle from 'The Magic School Bus', the mom driving the van, a visitor to the zoo, a soccer goalie, a customer at a cafe, a neighbor, and many more that I can't even remember.  Not only do I pretend, there is usually a script involved that I have to follow very closely.  Otherwise, I'm told to "pause the game", reminded of my lines, and then we continue on.  Lucky for you, today was "let's pretend we are on a baking show".  We made one of my favorite recipes - zucchini chocolate cupcakes - crispy on the outside and so moist on the inside, not to mention so chocolatey!

chocolate chip zucchini cupcakes

whisk these ingredients together, then set aside:

1 1/2 c. flour

2 tbs. unsweetened dutch cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

beat these ingredients together:

3/4 c. + 2 tbs. sugar

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1 large egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

slowly add flour mixture to the beaten mixture.

stir in:

1 c. grated zuchinni

6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

pour into 12 muffin lined tins.

bake in pre-heated 350 degree oven, rack in the middle, for 30-35 minutes.  cool in pan for 5 minutes.  enjoy!

pretend play

Today Paloma and I were playing school, and I was "pretending" to be an art teacher (ha!).  We created a crayon resist - first by grating crayons into little shavings, then sprinkling the shavings onto a piece of watercolor paper.  After covering the paper and shavings with a piece of wax paper, I ironed the paper to  melt the crayons, then Paloma used watercolors to paint.  The wax from the crayons resisted the watercolors, and created some beautiful effects!  Pre-school art is so much fun - it's all about the process.

sun catcher

Paloma and I used the frozen colored water

to create a sun catcher to brighten the dreary days!

We *love* it.

we are frozen

Paloma and I have been working on a little project to pass the time.

We started yesterday with filling cups of water (which she loved!), and then she added different colors to the water. We left them to freeze outside over night, and today we worked on step 2, which we have to freeze again. Stay tuned tomorrow for the finished product! Can you guess what it will be?

winter walk

We have soooo much snow! I think that the kids have inherited my homebody/hibernation gene, so it's hard to get out and enjoy it. Paloma is probably the best of the bunch - she's got her cozy snow pants to keep her warm. Lio got some this year, too, but just doesn't like getting bundled up to go out in the cold (notice the lack of hat and gloves on him - he complained about putting them on, so when we didn't make him, he complained about being cold!).

I Spy... (from Lio and Paloma)

The Valentines are ready to deliver! Lio and Paloma each gathered objects and created a composition. Lio just chose random objects that he liked, while Paloma focused on things that were red, pink and purple. After we photographed the compositions, both helped come up with the riddles and rhymes. I love how they turned out, and I think they are great fun to give as Valentine cards to friends. Homemade. What can be better? Hope your Valentine's is homemade and special.

I spy with my little eye

a Valentine game for you to try!

I spy something that a monkey likes to eat, 2 dinos not on their feet;

3 hearts that are colored red,2 pacifiers from a baby's bed;

a hair brush, transportation you take if you're in a rush...

to get to an island that's warm and sunny,

make sure to take $10 in money.

by LIO

I spy a comb and a brush, a pink pacifier to help a baby go hush;

grapes shriveled by the sun, a robot that is lots of fun;

something you wear on your feet, a yummy Valentine's Day treat;

scissors used to make cuts and snips, smelly chapstick for your lips;

a parrot that doesn't make a sound, 3 wheels that are round.

by PALOMA