This was our field trip last week. It’s been years since we had gone to a pumpkin patch…The traditional part of me felt bad that over half of my children never had this experience. The other part of me was thankful for a seven year break.
-Sofija
Author: sofijaburton
My Favorite Time of the Year
I still remember my first October in New Mexico. My sister was visiting me from Germany and the two of us planned a day trip to Santa Fe. Albuquerque was half way between the small town where we lived and Santa Fe. Imagine our surprise when we were driving through Albuquerque and we saw this:
Balloons everywhere, right above the road. Really close. We had no idea that we were driving through the biggest balloon event in the world…
I found out later all about it and made sure we were there the following year. Here are some of my favorite pictures from past years.
We are not planning on going this year, but here is my recap from last year.
This morning I took the girls for a drive to get some close up views of the balloons. I never get tired of it.
Have a lovely day!
-Sofija
no added sugar fall/winter 2013, Halloween Addition
The British clothing company no added sugar did a fun fall/Halloween shoot in an old house in London. Take a look.
What a fun idea. I wonder who came up with the idea of the geese in the bath tub? I like how the designers combine military coats, with fun striped tights and ruffled dresses. And the costume feathers, beaks, and birds are such fun props.
All pictures taken by fashion photographer Sandra Freij for no added sugar.
Have a spooky day,
Sofija
Happy Birthday!
This one is turning three today.
She has played the part of being a cute, cuddly 2 year old perfectly. I was considering pretending this day never happened…but Esther had already promised her a big lemon cake.
Thank you Tasha, for all the cuteness you add to our lives.
-Sofija
Halloween Costumes
Friends,
Halloween is rapidly approaching and we are having lots of conversations about costumes at our house. Who is making their own costume, what do we already have on hand, what do we need to buy? While I can’t get into the creepy, scary, witchy part of Halloween, I love the costume part. Pinterest is a great source to find cute costumes. Take a look.
You can click on the pictures to get to the sources.
This country is so creative with their costumes…love it.
Hänsel and Gretel are probably my favorite ones. I have been entertaining the idea of doing a Grimm Brothers fairy tale theme some day…
-Sofija
Happy October!
-Sofija
Looking Back
Summer is over in New Mexico. I thought it would be fun to look back.
Wow, I forgot how much we had done until I looked up all the pictures.
If you are new to this blog, here are the links to various trips we took.
- Trip to Taos: Day Trip, Taos Pueblo, and the Rio Grande Gorge.
- Trip to Durango
- Church in Golden
- My friend’s Garden
Happy last day of September!
-Sofija
Teaching German to Elementary Kids: German for Children
Recently I started teaching German to a 7 year and 9 year old. They are my friend’s children and they have no prior knowledge of German. It was tricky finding the right curriculum. I was surprised that there are actually choices for children younger than High-School. We first tried a middle school curriculum but soon decided it was too dry and and hard. Then I found this Mc Graw Hill program for ages 3-10.
It comes with a lesson book that track with two CD’s. There is also an activity book to practice their learning. The way it works is that children listen to the lesson on CD and use their course book to answer questions. Each lesson has simple songs, though cheesy at times, that help with the memorization. There are no home-work assignments just a list of vocabulary words to memorize.
There are 10 lessons covering introducing yourself, going to school, counting, going to the supermarket, etc.
Here is an example of the activity book.
I find this to be a great introduction for younger kids. The games and song keep the kids interested. The lessons are about 20 minutes long, just right for their attention span. Before every lesson I spend about 10 minutes of review and conversation. The program does not do reviews, which to me are essential for retention.
The program is designed for children to learn on their own, but I would say it would be much more helpful if they had someone to practice and review with.
For those of you who like me are German native speakers trying to teach your children: I have been including my 9, 7, and 5 year old during classes. Here is an assessment on them. This program is too easy for my 9 year old. He is not learning anything new. Still I have him there to review and realize how cool it is that he knows so much and he can help his friends. Part of cementing what you learn is teaching others. The program is perfect for my 7 and 5 year old. My 7 year old knows some but is learning right alongside. My 5 year old is learning a lot. I can see how lax I have been teaching her….
They like it, its fun, not dry at all.
I bought the program on Amazon.
Viel Spass beim Lernen!
-Sofija
Benetton Fall Winter 2013
This year’s fall collection by Benetton caught my eye because of the pig they used for their photo shoot. My 7 year old Ella LOVES pigs. You might say she is pig obsessed. Take a look.
I’m liking the combination of stripes, stars, neon, and the military boots (taking me way back to my Doc Marten days). Add a little bit of fluff and frills, perfect!
You can find last year’s fall collection here.
Have a great day,
Sofija
I’m Busy
“Don’t talk to me, I’m busy!”
We have been hearing that a lot lately. She has been very busy…
-Sofija
Teach Where You Live 