Mommy And Silas Time - Part 1, August-January

Since the girls started back to school last August, Silas and I have had lots more time together.  We have had fun going to the Zoo and Botanica on many occasions.  We attend a Garden Sprouts class once a month together and we attend zoo talks for toddlers.  At Garden Sprouts Silas gets to listen to stories, play games, sing songs, learn, complete a project, and eat a snack.  He is doing a good job learning to sit and listen to the teacher, raise his hand, and work hard.  He likes to talk and share stories and tell things about himself with his teacher and peers, sometimes forgetting to raise his hand, or getting so excited he just can't wait to speak.  He also is learning to sit with his peers instead of on my lap.  Some of his favorite things to look at while we are walking around the gardens at Botanica are the model trains and the fish in the little garden ponds.

At the Zoo, Silas likes to sit or climb on the statues.  He likes to look at turtles, ducks, and fish, penguins, elephants, and sometimes the tigers.

In September's Garden Sprouts class, Silas got to paint with strange things...like a pine cone, a wheat shock, and a cotton ball.

In October Silas got to make a "Goofy Gourd".  He thought it was especially funny that his Gourd had hair.  October's snack was Spaghetti Squash with honey on part of it and Butternut Squash sauce on the other part.  Silas did not like the honey side, but did like the Butternut Squash sauce side.

In November, his snack at Garden Sprouts was to first make a nest using peanut butter, pretzels, and dried cranberries.  Then he got to eat it.

Below, behind Silas in the picture are some of the giant Tortoises that Silas likes to look at when we visit the Zoo.  He likes to watch them eating their "salads" (lettuce, sweet potatoes, and other Tortoise food).

In December Silas and I found "Santa's Sleigh" sitting at the entrance of Botanica.  He was very excited to climb in and sit in Santa's Sleigh, and asked me many times and the ladies that he saw working at Botanica, "Where is Santa?"

For the December Garden Sprouts project each child made an "I Spy" ornament for their Christmas tree at home.  Silas did a good job placing each tiny thing inside his ornament and then searching for them inside when he was done.

He was happy to hang it our our tree when we got home that day, and couldn't wait to show Daddy, his sisters, and Popee and Nanee his new ornament that he made.

January's Garden Sprouts class was about the moon.  Silas got to paint a moon and use glow-in-the-dark paint.  When we got home he had me hang it on his bedroom door so he could watch it glowing at night-time.

January's snack was a "Moon Snack"...bread cut in a circle, like the moon, a slice of circle cut Swiss Cheese, hummus, and guacamole.  He got to use his plastic knife to spread the hummus and guacamole to make a "Moon Sandwich".