Today Sophia (5), Olivia (3), and I worked on completing our unit study booklets:

- Cats - although we have five cats, we did a brief unit study on them. The booklet includes different pictures of cats the girls colored; and practicing the letter "c" and writing the word "cat." 

Sophia's booklet also includes three short stories about cats with illustrations.  For some of the illustrations, Sophia drew pictures with markers and added stickers where they were appropriate.  For other pages, she glued on pictures of herself wearing different cat masks.  The "cats" she became with the masks became the main characters of her short stories.

Olivia's booklet includes the photographs of her in the cat masks, and next to each picture a description about the cat she sees.  Most of the descriptions are one word, but I'm happy with the variety of words she used. 

We also did paw prints of two of our cats (Eenie and Meenie) and compared them to the girls' handprints.  They really liked this activity. 

Although I didn't have my camera with me, we went to the veterinarian with one of our cats to be checked out; and went to a pet store to see the cats who were there to be adopted.  The girls pet the cats, and I read the information about them.  If we didn't have cats, I believe we would have left with several of them. 

Also at the pet store, the girls explored the different cat scratches, houses, and perches.  Olivia is so small that she could fit onto several of the perches.  She even crawled into one of the houses.  She definitely got into the whole "be a cat" experience.

Daily, the girls interact with the cats so they understand the different personalities of the cats; their body parts; how they hunt; what they eat (what we serve them and what they find);  how they enjoy watching the birds at our bird feeders; how they clean themselves; why we won't have baby kittens here (a talk about spaying/neutering cats...in simple terms); and what toys the cats enjoy. 

They learn what the cats should and shouldn't eat.  They learn to "protect" their food from "stalking" cats.  "Lucy is stalking my food!"  They learn games that cats like to play...like Maggie who loves to chase miniature marshmallows. 

It was definitely a very hands-on 24/7 unit. 

- Pumpkins - although this unit study was done in October, there were still photographs that weren't yet included in the booklet. 

Some of the things we did included:  planting pumpkins (June) and then harvesting them in October; inviting friends over to pick pumpkins; digging in the pumpkin patch under some of the pumpkins to see what was under them (worms and bugs); making pumpkin spice bread; and making pumpkin pies (for Sophia this was her third type of pie she made; for Olivia this was the second type of pie she made); carving pumpkins; washing, drying, and counting seeds; weighing pumpkins vs. cats/people; and measuring the height of pumpkins compared to people. 

The girls did torn-paper collages of the pumpkins in the pumpkin field; painted pictures of pumpkins; pattern activities with pumpkins; coloring pages; and writing the letter "p." 

They also made their own books with a poem that had hand actions.  For each action, I took a picture of each daughter.  The folded 9x12 pieces of construction paper in half, and glued the pictures and text (I typed the text on the computer) into the book.  The books were stapled.  They turned out really cute and the girls were so proud of their personalized books.

Olivia's Third Birthday

Olivia's third birthday was today.  She clearly had a fun day...despite having to go to the opthomologist. 

She slept until almost 9:00 this morning which was nice.  It gave Sophia and I a chance to make cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  Sophia eagerly rolled out the dough, spread on the melted butter, and sprinkled brown sugar on the dough.  After I rolled the dough and cut it, she placed the rolls in the pan. 

Sophia also made a beaded necklace and a beaded chain for Olivia.  She wrapped those gifts as well as a couple others for her sister.

After getting up, we sang "Happy  Birthday" to Olivia, and let her play with one of her gifts that she picked out last month (a horse that stands about a couple feet high at its shoulders).  The funny thing is, Olivia can sit on the horse and it supports her.  She and Sophia ended up "feeding" Trivet (the name she gave her horse); taking her on a walk; brushing her mane and tail; and awarding a ribbon and trophy to Olivia and Trivet. 

We ate breakfast then did our notebooks.  While I worked with Sophia, Olivia either put paw print stickers on a page (good for her fine motor skills), colored, or played with Trivet. 

Before we knew it, it was lunch time.  After eating, Olivia opened a couple of cards and gifts.  She received $10 from her aunt and uncle.  $5 of that goes directly into savings, and the other $5 she can spend since it was a gift.  (Normally, "allowance" - or $2 a week - is divided as such:  50% savings; 25% giving; 25% spending.)

Olivia and I left to go to the opthomologist.  Dr. Schloff found that her eyes were significantly different in vision loss, with the left eye significantly worse than the right eye.  Her major concern is that the brain will favor the better eye, and the vision in the left eye will steadily decrease. 

The first step in vision therapy:  get a pair of glasses that fit properly and are the right prescription.  Although Olivia has a pair of glasses from a local optical store, the frames are very large for her face.  So, the doctor's office picked out several pairs, and WOW what a difference frame size makes.  They are appropriately-sized for her face, and they hook around her ears so they stay put.  She'll receive them in about one week. 

Olivia needs to go back in mid-April to see how her eyes are, and see how the first phase of vision therapy is progressing. 

After that, we went to the Dollar Store.  I told her she could purchase five items since she had $5 from her aunt and uncle.  She took a look at the books, but nothing interested her.  (She has plenty of books already.) 

Then, we went to the toy aisle.  She picked out a little ceramic tea set; a set of 12 different miniature food items to use with her kitchen set; cookie cutters and a rolling pin (I think she might be thinking of using it with her play dough); a light orange pail; and a beaded lavender pail.  The latter two items kind of surprised me, but it made sense since she likes to carry things around. 

As she saw other things that she wanted to buy, I reminded her she could only purchase five items.  I would lay out the items and have her choose which one would go back.  She was very thoughtful as she made her choices.  That beaded pail won out over a bathroom toy set (crayons and floating shapes). 

We enjoyed a treat of ho-ho's on the way home. 

For dinner, we all enjoyed a Chinese meal...a choice Olivia made earlier in the day.  She loved the cream cheese wontons.  Because Olivia is adopted from China, her birthdays are kind of bittersweet.  I am so thankful for her birthmother for carrying Olivia, and making the difficult choice to have Olivia be adopted. 

I often wonder if her birthmother is thinking of Olivia on her birthday...and wish there was some way to let her know that Olivia is doing so well and is very loved.

Olivia's birthday ended with a few more gifts...books; a red sweater; a stuffed fawn and an accompanying book with beautiful photographs of deer and other wildlife; and a porcelain Snow White doll.  She was so happy with each thing she received.