A chilly day with rain, sleet & SNOW makes for a very busy(&loud) Nest:) After Bella arrived we started working on our Twig art. First the children colored their cardstock then with some glue & a paintbrush they added their twigs. They did a great job! No Music today...

Ms. Amy's son Eli was ill:( Hopefully he feels better soon! We spent a good part of the morning in the playroom. Bella loves to play store, I have to say that she runs a very high end grocery store....everything I pick up is "a hundred bucks"! Ian is in a carpentry phase, he likes to walk around with his tool belt on "fixing" things. Today he repaired a highchair for Bella's baby and our wooden castle. In the garage we let him pratice with real nails & a hammer ( under close supervision ) He does pretty well....only caught his finger once. Everett who we call Rip Van Winkle slept his morning away....must be growing! And little Mr. Harrison played on the floor doing 360's on his belly:)During Circle today the children sang songs about hammers, saws & screwdrivers. Bella was more content listening to circle from her spot on the sofa. Ian loved the hammer song...of course:) I told the children the story of the Honest Woodsman and we talked about trees and what they provide for us (oxygen, lumber for houses, paper & wooden toys). The weather held off so we were able to go on our morning nature walk. "the woods is different mommy" says Ian as we start down the path. We notice that the lush green ferns are now golden yellow & brown, we have to watch our steps because the oaks have dropped their acorns and in some places on the path it's like trying to walk on marbles! The trees were doing a slow dance and the children's noses and cheeks became rosy very quickly. Eeva-Liisa & Matthew arrived and were greeted with hugs & hello's from their younger siblings. I had the children make their own mini pizzas today. They all enjoyed themselves and each one declared they were the best pizza makers!Harrison loves the walker I snagged from my mom's house, I think he likes being able to run with the big kids. Everett also loves to relive his time in it as well, he is able to climb into it all by himself. During StoryTime today we read a wonderful book called Roxaboxen by Alice Mclarren. Roxaboxen is a small town build from stones, cactus and imagination. For the children who played there Roxaboxen was as real as any other town. The story tells of their days building houses & streets. They had a town hall, bakery and 2 ice cream parlors. They pretended to drive cars by just holding onto something round for the steering wheel and when they wanted to go as fast as the wind they pretended a stick & some rope was a horse. For Alice Mc Larren's mother Roxaboxen was a real place where she spent many days during her childhood in Yuma, Arizona.

" Alice was able to recreate that magical world as if she had played there herself. She presents us with a celeration of the active imagination, of the ability of children to create, even with the most unpromising materials, a world of fantasy so real and multidimensional that it earns a lasting place in memory" 

 My wish for all children is that they have the oppurtunity to create their own Roxaboxen. If you have the chance pick up the book & be inspired to help your children create their own magical worlds using some ordinary things and their imaginations.
During Nap time it began to snow!!! I was tempted to wake the children so that they could experience the first snow of the season but after a moment of contemplating this I chose to leave them sleeping:) It would be crazy to wake 6 young children after I finally had them all sleeping! And of course after they all woke it was still snowing and they were able to see it. I love living in New England and I do enjoy all the seasons but snow before halloween?????? Well at least the children enjoyed  seeing it. I brought out the playdough and everyone rolled, cut & created. The plastic man who grows playdough hair was the toy to have and each child took a turn giving him a haircut:) We spent the rest of the afternoon in the playroom. It was a busy day but I enjoy the challenge of keeping 7 children happy!
Take Care!