This is the way we knit a hat, knit a hat, knit a hat....

The Big Apple decided that she would like to try knitting. The only kind of knitting that I know how to do is on these loom things...so I own them in almost every size there is. She decided that she would like to try making a hat first, and then next, perhaps a scarf or two.

We bought some clearance yarn from Walmart for $1 out of her own money because she LOVED the color. It's a rough texture, but we can work with some nicer cotton yarn next time.

She figured out the steps to knitting VERY quickly, and I barely had to help her at all. She even asked if she could sit up and knit instead of having her regular movie at bedtime. I was only happy to oblige.

This is the finished product. She's very pleased with it. She wants to sell hats to earn money to buy herself her first American Girl Doll. This hat was for sale for $50, she said. But she was willing to sell it to me for the bargain price of $30, since I was her mom and all.
I think I got a great bargain.

Soccer!

The time has come for me to blog about the Apple's latest obsession....Soccer.

When we lived back in NC, The Big Apple repeatedly asked if she could be on a soccer team...and not really knowing how to go about doing that in the booming town (note the sarcasm) of Holly Hole ...er, I mean Holly Ridge, soccer just wasn't meant to be. So, now that we are here, The Apples have their chance at soccer. And I am now one of those moms.....a soccer mom.

I had originally requested that both girls be signed on the same team, and was devastated to learn that I was going to be doing double duty of toting 2 kids to different practices and games. But after being in the routine, having them on 2 different teams was really the best choice for the both of them.

Let's start with The Middle Apple.

Soccer for 6 year olds is definitely interesting....I think it's more of a comedy act for the parents. The kids run around in little packs and attempt to put the ball in the goal. Check out my lil' apple trying to find her way in that pack....

I have to tell you about The Middle Apple's coach. The woman is a saint. She has more patience with The Middle than I have seen from someone in a long time. Usually by the time that practice rolls around at 5:45 during the day, my patience has been stretched and spent and I am just about done. Elizabeth never ceases to amaze me with her kindness towards my girl who has problems listening. But then again, all of the girls have problems listening, and soccer practice looks a whole lot like trying to herd kittens. In this picture, Elizabeth stopped to give The Middle Apple special instruction on which goal to try to get the ball into. Because heaven knows, she usually doesn't know which way the ball should be going.
I suppose Elizabeth also should have instructed her on where NOT to put your feet while hanging out around the goal. Because this is what happened to her.
Yes, she got tangled in the net and unable to free herself. And while other soccer mommies ran to her rescue, I went trotting across the field yelling "Wait! Wait! I need a picture!" *click* "I am soooooo going to post that on my blog! Ha!" To which The Middle Apple responded, "Am I going to be trapped here forever?"


This next picture is The Middle Apple's favorite part of the game. It's never too early to teach good sportsmanship, and I love it!
Now let's move onto The Big Apple. I have to mention here, that The Big Apple is just not by any means an athlete. She'd rather play with her dolls. And have her dolls come watch her play at her games. I'm okay with that.

She also believes that soccer is all about looking cute in your uniform....oh wait, that's what I believe. So, um.....I did the soccer mom thing and got some help making bows for everyone on both teams. Cute eh? We take them out for the games, but I have seen our soccer bows all over town on non-soccer game days, so I know the girls love them.
Here is Coach Seth. The Big Apple thinks he hung the moon. He is really great with the girls and makes all of the practices fun. With the U8 team that Izzy is playing with, the kids actually play different positions. The Big Apple's favorite position is Defender.
She's a pretty darn good defender too, if I do say so myself. The coach just tells her not to let the ball in her box, and she's all over it. She takes her soccer really seriously.
So far, we are having a great soccer season. Wet and muddy...but none the less, a great season.

Psalm 151

One of our homeschooling assignments this week was to create a Psalm, just as David did in the Bible. After reading several Psalms from the Bible, this is what the Big Apple came up with.

Psalm 151, by The Big Apple, inspired by God.

Praise the Lord.
I will praise the with all my heart.
I will praise the Lord forever.
I will praise Him for He washed all my sin.
I will praise Him to the end.
I will praise Him for He created Heavens and Earth.
I will praise Him always.

Selah.

Saturday out....

The next event that I would like to catch all my Bloggy friends up on, is the Saturday out that we had recently. We went to a event in Houma called the La Fete d' Ecologie ( I suppose, without any background in cajun or french, that this translates into "The Festival of Ecology" This festival was every homeschool teacher's dream! There was so much to look at, learn about, and do...that I'm positive that we can log it as a FULL day of school.

This is a blacksmith, we enjoyed watching him fashion a hook with his hammer. The Big Apple had recently learned about blacksmithing in her Colonial studies, so she had tons of questions for him.

We saw some people who made different types of arrowheads out of pieces of rock. They had fishing spears and blowdarts to look at and touch too. The man on the left is actually sharpening the arrowhead with a piece of deer antler.
They dug for worms, and learned how dirt is made. If you found a worm, you got your face painted.
There was crab racing. The kids got to choose a crab from a bin and hold it in place until it was time for the race to start. For some reason, it was always the tiny ones that skittered across the finish line first!
I love this picture of The Middle Apple. There was a turtle in the bayou that kept surfacing and hiding again. She stood and watched for the turtle for resurface over and over again for at least a good 20 minutes.
The Apples could have stayed and done this activity all day long. It showed what would happen to our environment if we don't protect our wetlands.
Local furs to look at and touch. Very cool.
The Apples got to help paint a wetlands mural. True to form, The Middle Apple decided that surely mermaids live in the wetlands, so she painted one.
The Big Apple showed off her itty bitty tiny Mosquito Fish.
Then there was THIS GUY. I think he is supposed to be King of the Swamp or something. He had a band of people banging pots, pans, garbage can lids, and the like...and they parade around the festival grounds. Odd. Only in Louisiana can a king wear beer as a necklace and Spanish moss for a beard.
This was my favorite part of the day. At one of the tables, the girls met a lady that had a very interesting display of the many different types of critters that live in the bayou. She demonstrated what happens to the wildlife when the wetlands aren't protected and maintained. The girls spent nearly an hour asking her many many questions. The lady was rather impressed by their questions and level of understanding, that she took them down to the water edge with a net, helped them scoop up some creatures. Then, they took their findings back up to the table and helped her classify them using some of her books.
You may notice that The Little Apple isn't in any of these pictures. That is because she was a crab, didn't have a nap, and stayed in her stroller for most of the time, only to be shut up with cookies. If not for the crabbiness of her, our day would have been perfect. As we were climbing exhausted back into our van, The Big Apple asked if this could be counted as a school day. OF COURSE!!!!! I learned alot too!