The Wonderful Days of Fall, and All It's Warm Aromas

 It's officially Fall Y'all

That's right. It's here!

Were you ready for it? I am always going back and forth with this one. I feel like Summers get shorter and shorter.

I've always said Spring is my favorite season, for many reasons. My birthday is in Spring. Easter, which is my favorite holiday. I love when all things are blooming, sprouting, and peeping back out. It's a time to start fresh and get out there. 

There was also a designated vacation(Spring Break)!

I still consider Spring my favorite, but Fall is definitely growing on me as I get older.

Who doesn't want a natural clock telling them it's time to slow down, let things settle, and take a break! Amen!

Let me tell you, we need it!

We need that time to relax, rest, and reflect.

There are so many wonderful things going on that really bring the season to life, for me.

One of my favorite things about Fall is all the amazing scents that come with it!

1. First, for me, is sweet harvested hay! Oh, the nostalgia!

If you grew up on a farm, have driven down a country road, or ridden on a hayride, you'll understand.

If you know, you know. 

2. The smell of a bit ole pot of chili.

As I've gotten older, chili has definitely become one of my Fall favorites.

We are always busy, and winding down the day with a meal that you didn't have to stand and cook for over an hour is a win. Crock pot, slow cooker, whatever you call it, it's my best friend.

This is the Crock-Pot I've had for years. Simple 8 quart from Walmart. Not fancy, but it is well-used.

Plus, you really can't mess it up. Add whatever you want, beans, veggies, meat, spices.

3. While I'm talking about cooking, well go to baking.

I am admittedly the worst baker. I burn the pre-cut, break and bakes. No lie.

Daughter #2 and the hubs are the bakers. I love all the Fall pies. Apple or pumpkin, Yum! I'll take both.

4. I'm in Ohio, so if you have a fireplace, you use it! I cannot remember a Fall where you didn't smell firewood. It's just one of those staple smells. Even if it isn't a fireplace inside, someone is having a "bon fire" somewhere near. It's that distinct, sweet, burning smell.

5. Leaves are another distinct smell. Specifically wet leaves, if you're in Ohio. We seem to get more rain at the end of Summer, and into Fall, than we do in the Spring(most years).

PSA: my husband wants to personally thank the person who invented the leaf-blower!

I can only describe the scent as crisp, sweet, and humid.

6. Candles! I actually say Yum!, even though you don't eat them. If I could, I probably would!

Seriously, just the names of these sound sooo good! Apple cider, berries, pumpkin spice, cinnamon roll, hazelnut mocha, chai, fireside, toasted marshmallow, pumpkin banana scone. The list could go on and on!

Just go! Go check out these Yum Candles!

Yankee Candles

7. Lastly, and maybe my second favorite, is hot drinks!

Whether it be a pot of coffee(year-round for me), hot apple cider, a good ole chai latte, pumpkin spice frappé, or homemade hot cocoa, I'll take any of them!

What is your favorite "Fall" beverage?

Do you have a recipe? 

I am going to embrace this Fall. It has been one crazy busy year, and I'm ready for shorter days, and more indoor activities.

I plan to spend as much time as I can curled up in my fuzzy pants with my Chai latte and a good book!

What are some of your favorite Fall activities?

If you love Fall decor and are looking for some new things, check out Shein (10% off your first order), or Society6 

Both of these sites have some of the best Fall and even Halloween decor items. Everything from pillow covers, wall art, throws, coffee mugs, to door mats and outdoor flags.

Such cute stuff!

Be sure to let me know how you feel about Fall/Autumn.

I love to hear from you!

Happy Fall Y'all!

Be blessed.

Homeschool/Preschool Week #3 ( Numbers, Counting, Patterns, and Pumpkins)

Preschool Activities and Adventures...

I can't believe we are already finishing up week three!

And, it is the first day of Fall! I'm not even ready to touch that subject.

I'm not one of those, Ooooh, pumpkin spice everything, ready for campfires, and loving all things crisp and cool.

I am definitely a more sun out, flip flops, iced tea, tank tops and 80+ degrees kind of girl!

Luckily, Little E has been more cooperative with having some "desk time".She too is a, wake up, get dressed, go outside, kind of girl. (Some days she doesn't even get to the get dressed part before she is begging at the door, like the doggie that needs to tinkle!)

Week Three Round Up

This week we slacked off on all the letters and alphabet. She seemed to be getting frustrated and wanting to play around or whine every time I mentioned her "Letter work".

To me, that is a red flag that she was either A. Not quite ready for those, or B. She was getting burnt out and we needed to change things up a bit. 

I don't want to feel like I'm forcing her too much. I understand she needs to learn these, but if it is causing her to become uninterested or down right put off by "school" then we can move on and come back later on.

I have tried to sneak in asking her to identify "big letters" while we are reading and she is doing great with that.

This week we found a fun way to get started on identifying numbers and also counting.

It really is pretty basic. I just did a plain Office doc and spaced out the numbers into a sort of grid or block. I believe I used font size 88. You can always play around and figure out which is best. 

We only did 1-4 today but soon I will add more numbers or even mix the order up.

We then gathered about 473  10-12 blocks and placed the correct number amount on that space. 

(1 block on #1 space)

 I made her count each block she placed on the grid and then count them all together(total).

At first she only wanted to use the pink blocks. Green and white blocks were "wrong". LOL

After finding ALL the pink blocks, she was back on track. 

We did this about 5 times and I had her tell me each number(identify) on the paper.

I would ask her:

Can you find #3?

After she pointed to it, then I would have her add 3 PINK blocks to that grid.

Here's what ours looked like. It isn't pretty, but it serves it's purpose.

Patterns...

I tried to use our time...and her attention wisely.

While we had all those blocks out, we also worked a little bit on doing patterns.

Again, she wanted only pink blocks, so it was a challenge at first.

Her "pattern" was all 6 pink blocks, nicely aligned into a row! I had to laugh.

I did get her to follow my pattern after a few tries.

We also did some artwork this week. She is on a painting kick. I printed off a few "Fall" pics and instead of coloring them, we busted out the Dollar Tree paint set!

Although as you can tell, by the end of this week, we only have brown and black paint left.

Hey, it was only $1.00 and we weren't expecting a Picaso.

Here is her Pumpkin from today.

As always, there has been TONS of reading and story time!

This week she has been stuck on Tom's First Day of School.

I bet we have read this book 20 times! She loves it.

It really is a cute story. It starts out with Tom learning he has to start school. He isn't excited at first.

After his sister teases him with "scary stories" about school, he is even more scared.

Mom and Dad take him the next day and he learns about all the wonderful things there are to do.

He makes friends, enjoys class, lunch, and recess.

It shows lessons in teasing, making friends, learning that everyone is different, sharing, and not being afraid.

We are finishing up this week with a few more books we haven't gotten to yet and probably a...letter sheet! We shall see.

We also have a busy weekend ahead, so I have plenty ready for Monday, and the start of week #4.

I hope everyone had a productive week.

If you've missed our adventures, you can go back and see what else we've been doing:

Week #1

Week #2

I hope you enjoy our journey and adventures.

Please share any ideas or tips you have found!

We love new ways to learn!

Enjoy the Weekend!