Back to school Monday!  Since I didn’t get around to planning over the break, I decided to take it slow this morning and plan as we went along…..

M was up way before 7 this morning, so we watched the sunrise while I emptied the dishwasher.  For breakfast, I grabbed some pancakes from the freezer (yea for making a big batch last week!), scrambled some eggs, and gave the kids bananas and orange slices.

S awoke closer to 8 and then joined us for breakfast in her high chair after her morning snack.  When she was ready for her nap, M and A colored nicely together while I put S down.  They worked on a winter coloring activity from 1+1+1=1 that I printed out over the weekend.  They really enjoyed it and I was glad that they weren’t starting out the day glued to the t.v. while I was upstairs!

While M played, A worked on his spelling and grammar.  She wanted to write too and surprised me with her ability to draw a circle and “balloons”.  When S awoke, she joined A and me to work on reading, while M ventured out into the backyard.  She stubbornly refused to use the bathroom before she went out which resulted in a wardrobe change an hour later .  After cleanup, I popped S in the stroller and the kids and I took a 20 minute walk before our lunch of grilled cheese and apples.

A received a Leap Pad 2 and we have been allowing him to use it as he pleases over Christmas break.  I was a little concerned today how he would respond to screen limits, but he obeyed the 15 minute time limits when they were implemented.

After naps for the girls (an unusually long one for S!) and a little quiet time for A, M and A enjoyed more outdoor play while I cleaned up, worked on laundry, and made preparations for dinner.  We studied A’s religion together (the Feast of the Epiphany) and M really enjoyed being included.  While A did a couple religion activities, M asked to look through the text at the pictures.