ALL ABOUT KIDS

Brain POP Education

2012-02-08T08:18:00.000-08:00

There is a website that my kids LOVE to go to for school. It is called Brain POP and has all kinds of fun educational movies and games for your child to play. If you are a homeschool family, it is a MUST. Seriously!!

And even if you are not a homeschool family, it is a great way to get in some extra education for your children.

The little educational videos cover subjects of: Science, Math, Reading, Health, History, Arts and Technology, Social Studies and more.

You do have to pay for a subscription, but if you do a family subscription and click on single user (that is all you need really) it is 85.00 for a year. If you do want other users, it would cost a bit more.

Click HERE to check out the website.

Happy learning!!

7 things to think about when setting goals

2011-12-30T08:59:00.000-08:00

It is that time of year when I like to review the goals I have set this year and set new goals for next year. I love looking at all of the things I have been able to accomplish in a year. It makes me feel a little giddy. (Yes, I am a nerd. I think we have established that)

I have already touched a little bit on goals HERE and HERE

But I just recently went to a wonderful event called Time Out for Women. It is a conference JUST for women and the speakers are AMAZING!! They travel around the USA each year, speaking to woman to remind them who they really are and what is really most important in life. I HIGHLY recommend attending one next year.
(Go HERE to see their 2012 schedule)
They are great for all women in all walks of life. I especially like the insights I get to help me in my role as mother.

One talk that I loved has a LOT to do with how we should be setting goals. So since this is the “goal setting time of year” I thought I would share my notes on that talk. Enjoy!!

The Speaker started out by saying she would focus on these 7 points. They made me laugh but shocked me at the same time. Wait till she tells you why she focuses on these 7 points. It is good stuff!!

1.)    Stop worrying about your weaknesses
2.)    Don’t try to get motivated to exercise
3.)    Stop trying to find friends
4.)    Don’t try to feel happy
5.)    Celebrate failure
6.)    Don’t get help with your problems
7.)    Don’t endure to the end

Pretty funny huh? Now I will share my notes on each of these points.

*Stop worrying about your weaknesses
People get more happiness by focusing on their strengths. God does not call us to serve (or be mothers) for our weaknesses, he calls us for our strengths.

Take the time to REALLY think about what your strengths or spiritual gifts are. Find new and creative ways to use those strengths.

*Don’t try to get motivated to exercise
Motivation follows action. If you WAIT to get motivated to exercise, you never will.
Do it even If you don’t want to. Pretty soon, the motivation will follow. (I totally agree with her on this one!!!)

*Stop trying to find friends

Instead, develop the characteristics of a true friend. Treat people like they matter. Help others feel that they are loved and be there for them. You don’t need to “Find” friends if you “Are” a friend to others.

*Don’t try to feel happy
Instead, try to feel grateful. With gratitude comes happiness. Ask yourself EVERY DAY what 3 good things happened to you today. Think about what made those things happen and be thankful for them. Pretty soon, you will not have to “TRY” to be happy, it will come naturally.

*Celebrate failure
Failure often means we are taking the necessary risks to grow, stretch and serve. Learn from your mistakes and move forward. Look at a failure in your life and ask yourself what you have learned from it. Move forward with that knowledge you have just gained. (Something I say to myself often is “don’t let past failures hold good future probabilities hostage”)

*Don’t get help with your problems
Instead, help someone else. By helping others, it will better our mood and make our problems very small, if not disappear all together.

We are born with sprits that want to progress and serve others. When we don’t do those things, there is NO medication that will make us feel better about it.

Find one thing to do and then go do it. Learn, grow, progress!!!
Ask yourself every day “who did I help today?”

*Don’t endure to the end
Life is to be enjoyed, not endured.
Start enjoying all of the goodness around you. Savor and delight in the tiny pleasures of life. Don’t “wait” to be saved from your problems, enjoy them by finding the diamond in the rough.

And those are all of the notes I have on that talk. Good stuff eh?!!!

I don’t think I really need to add anything more to this. Now go set those goals and have fun working to get them accomplished!!!

Here’s to 2012!!!

Snowman Fun

2011-12-14T21:58:00.000-08:00

A fun Holiday tradition in our family is making marshmallow popcorn ball snowmen. My kids LOVE this tradition and I don’t think it would feel quite like the Christmas season without making them. Here is the recipe and a few pictures.

Melt:
½ C. Butter
1 1/3 C. Sugar
½ C. Karo syrup
3 C. Miniature Marshmallows

Bring to a boil for 1 minute. Take off heat and add 1 tsp. Vanilla. Pour over 4 qts. Popped corn.

Collect some fun things to decorate your snowmen with. I like to use fruit rolls for the scarf and chocolate chips for the eyes. I normally like mini M&Ms for the buttons, but I didn’t have any, so I did chocolate chips for those as well. Just get creative.

I like to use candy corn for the snowman nose. Looks kind of like a carrot and it is super cute.
I also like to use stick pretzels for the arms. Again, just get creative and let the kids have fun with it.

Form the popcorn into a snowman for each kid.

Let the kids put the scarf on + start decorating their snow man with all of the candy.

I apologize that I didn’t get pictures of my kid’s finished product. We were having too much fun (as you can see) and I forgot.

I will share one tip. When you are forming the popcorn, put cold water on your hands, not butter like you normally do with popcorn balls. I think it works MUCH better…………………but maybe I am just weird like that. (Okay, FINE! I really hate getting butter all over my hands. It feels awful and takes forever to get off. THERE!! I said it!!)
Enjoy!!

Oh Christmas Tree

2011-12-11T17:09:00.000-08:00

This year for the Christmas season, the kids and I have decided to start a new tradition that we are calling “the giving Christmas tree.”

I went to our local Learning Shop and found these cute little card stock cutouts that look like Christmas tree decorations. (aren't they so cute?!!)

The kids told me some acts of service to write on each decoration, such as “make someone’s bed for them” or “do someone’s job for them” and “give someone a hug and tell them you love them.”
After we wrote the acts of service on the decorations, I had the kids color a picture of a Christmas tree for us to put our decorations onto.

I would like to say this tree is nothing fancy because my kids did it, but in all reality, I am NO artist so it would have looked just the same if I had done it. (Or maybe even looked worse……………)

Each day the kids get to take off a decoration from our “giving Christmas tree” and they do whatever act of service that is on the decoration they have chosen. Fun stuff! I love that it helps them remember the TRUE meaning of this holiday; giving to others……………..just as our Savior has done for us.

Have a wonderful Christmas!!

A Chore Chart That ACTUALLY Works

2011-10-31T08:36:00.000-07:00

For a while now, I have been trying my darndest to get my children to do a morning routine of: making their beds, getting dressed, saying their personal morning prayers, cleaning their rooms, and brushing their teeth. And my lofty goal was to have them do this without me hovering over them to get them to do it. I wanted them to do it on their own and I wanted them to want to do it FIRST thing in the morning. I like to call this “setting myself up for failure.” ;)

It was a great goal right? Right!

I tried everything. I made this fabulous chart that goes above their school charts. The chart is great for them to keep track of what they have done and have yet to do, but now my battle was getting them motivated to actually DO what they needed to do on this chart.

Then I remembered that there is someone who knows my children FAR better than I do. I took my problem to the Lord, and everything came to me so very clear.

As mothers, we often times get thrown into this job without ANY training, but I love that we ALL have access to the best trainer out there. (God) And the best part about this “trainer” is that he KNOWS each of our children and what will work best for them. Such a huge blessing in our lives if we will use it!!!

I found these fabulous little “chore bucks” and “behavior bucks” online. (Click on the picture, save to a word doc, make it as big as you want and then print them)

I printed them off, cut them out, had the kids color them green, (they loved that part) and then I laminated them. (Only because I am obsessed with laminating things)

I use the kid’s pockets that used to be their “behavior chart” and it is now the place where their “money” goes.

I sat down and explained the name of the game to my children. I told them that if they do the morning routine (make bed, clean room, brush teeth, say prayers, and get dressed) without being asked and BEFORE they come upstairs each morning, they will earn one “chore buck.”

They also have a job to do each morning, such as washing dishes, putting dishes away, vacuuming etc. Doing that job without being asked also earns them one “chore buck.”

If they behave well in school or have good manners at the table while we are eating, they earn one “behavior buck.” They may also earn a behavior buck by doing something extra nice for a sibling or for helping me when I need it, without being asked.

When they earn a “buck” I stick it in their behavior chart pocket and they get to see all of the “money” they are earning. I have various prizes they may buy with their “bucks.” Some things are small and only cost two bucks. Other things are larger and they have to work hard and save up to buy them. These are things that usually cost 5-10 bucks. (but everything costs at LEAST 2 bucks) It is great to see them work toward that BIG prize rather than taking a smaller one. (But the two younger kids like that instant gratification, so they usually go for the small gifts)

The system works FABULOUSLY!!! In fact, it works so well, that I have to tell my kids to stop getting their morning routine done so early. I have some kids coming into my room at 4:30am saying they are done making their bed, getting dressed, saying prayers, brushing teeth and cleaning their room. Oh my!!!

Another great thing about this system is that I am teaching them that everything has a price. When I am trying to get them to go to bed at night, I usually have a couple of kids that want to stay up till all hours of the night in their rooms to play. Now, I tell them that they are welcome to stay up in their rooms past bed time, but if they do, it will cost them one dollar for every half hour they stay up.

I NEVER say “you misbehaved so now I am taking your money away.” They have earned it fair and square. But I do let them know that some misbehavior will cost them one dollar. This way, it is THEIR choice. It is not just being taken from them. They are “paying” it out or keeping it.

They go RIGHT to bed now. I love it!!! And I love that it is THEIR choice. They don’t want to pay the price to stay up past bed time. They would rather use that money for something they want more. (Kind of like the choices we have to make. Do I want this brownie now, or would I rather not eat it and lose those pounds I have been working hard to lose?)

They are learning how to make good choices. They are learning to govern their actions without mommy hovering over them. And they are all cheering each other on. They often wake each other up and help each other. It melts my heart and makes me smile.

This has turned out to be a huge success. I shouldn’t be surprised though. Look at who my “trainer” is. :)

Candy Corn Cookies

2011-10-20T09:27:00.000-07:00

Another fun fall project. Go HERE to check it out.
I will be making these with my kids today. So excited!! They are such adorable cookies!!!

Fall Fun

2011-09-20T09:23:00.000-07:00

I love fall, but I usually don’t really get into the fall holidays as much as I prepare for “the big one” in December.
But this year, I find myself feeling really…………….fallish. (Not a word? Yeah, didn’t think so)
So I have decided to see JUST how many fun fall ideas I can come up with this year.

The good news: my first idea is REALLY fun to do with the kids.

The bad news: Someone else has already “come up” with my brilliant idea.

I love the internet, but seriously?!! ……………………I prefer the good ‘ol days when you thought all of your brilliant ideas were unique and amazing. Now, when you come up with something cool, you can get on the computer and find out that a million other people have already thought of it. Boo!!

So for those of you who have NOT thought of this idea and have not ever looked at the million other examples on the internet, here you go!!

My kids really wanted to make caramel apples. I loved the idea, except for the fact that I hated the idea. Caramel apples are super yummy………………….but SUPER messy. I was NOT going to go there and do that. (Did I mention I have OCD issues?...........)

So that is where my “brilliant” (but come to find out, not so brilliant) idea comes in. We decided to make caramel apple BITES.

All of my kids are very young, so ours did not turn out as fancy smancy as the ones shown HERE But it was still fun.

First I had the kids unwrap the caramels. (They loved seeing how fast they could do this)

And while they unwrapped caramels, I cut up apples and put them in lemon water so they would not turn brown.

After the apples were cut and caramels were unwrapped, I gave the kids some toothpicks to stick in each apple piece

Something we didn’t do that I will TOTALLY do next time……… DRAIN the apples and let them dry. Our apples were a bit too wet and it made the caramel runny. So learn from our mistake I guess. :)

While they were stabbing apples with toothpicks, I was melting the caramels.

After that, we were ready to dip the apples.

Let the caramel cool a bit. It will stay on the apple better that way. You could also just let them dip their apples in the caramel and eat it that way. Either way, it was a fun activity that ALL of the kids could do. Fun stuff!!

The Thankless Job

2011-08-26T14:41:00.000-07:00

The other day I was listening to the radio. There was a lady who was talking about how mothers have the most thankless job ever. As I was listening to this lady I found myself totally agreeing with her and going over all of the jobs I do on a day to day basis that I get absolutely NO thanks for. (Dishes, cooking, cleaning, changing diapers, grocery shopping…………and on and on)

I thought about it for a couple of days. Was my job really thankless? If so,…………………why?

I started asking myself if my job was thankless because my kid’s jobs are thankless. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was.

How many little things do my kids do for me that I have kind of come to EXPECT from them? (Kind of like the jobs I do that they “expect” from me)

I spent a couple of weeks making a focused effort to say THANK YOU to my kids for EVERYTHING they do. (Even those little things that “should be done anyways”)

The results were AMAZING!!! All the sudden my kids were thanking me for every little thing. (Even those little things that “should be done anyways”)

I am now told thank you for just about everything. In fact, I had to smile when my kids were eating a meal that they absolutely HATED and yet they all told me how thankful they were for the “wonderful meal” I had made for them. This does not happen all of the time, but the fact that it did happen…………..it made me smile.

I have also learned to see all of the “Thanks” I really do get in my job as a mother. When I change countless diapers for my baby, of course I don’t get a verbal “thank you” for a job well done. But she does give me the BEST smile a mother could ever ask for. She still crawls to me over anyone else. She wants ME to hold her or she makes a big fuss. I consider that her way of saying “thank you mom!!”

How many times do my kids randomly come up to me and give me the world’s best hug? I believe that is their little way of saying “thank you mom!”

So is motherhood REALLY a thankless job? ..........................It all depends on the mother. Truly, what you give is what you get.

Personalized Wrapping Paper

2011-06-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

A while ago, my daughter was invited to a birthday party. We got the gift, but forgot the wrapping paper. This gave me an idea.

We pulled out some butcher paper (you can get it at Wal-Mart) and my daughter was able to make her very own wrapping paper.

She LOVED making pictures for her friend and it made the present THAT much more personal.

It really turned into a fun project that we will continue to do every time there is a gift to wrap.

Scholastic Reading Program

2011-06-07T14:04:00.000-07:00

Scholastic has a fun summer reading program for children. You can set reading goals and log minutes. It is super cute and my two oldest children have already had fun with it.

Go HERE to sign up.

Happy reading!!

Out With The Old and In With The New

2011-05-06T07:24:00.000-07:00

We have been in the house all winter long. It has been a long winter. Things have gotten unorganized. I don’t do well with unorganized. (I think we have already established that I have some OCD issues…….let’s just pretend OCD is cool)

I have spent the past couple of weeks (and many long nights) giving the school room a MUCH needed makeover.
Now that I have been using the school room for the past 7 months, I have found what works and what doesn’t work. I have determined what I will keep and what goes. (a functional school room makes a WORLD of difference for the teacher)

When the closet looked like this it was nice, but it wasn't functional (to see the “old” school room set up go HERE)

The drawers for each kid were too deep so that once I crammed everything in I had to dig through it all to find what I needed. I don’t like digging. That, and there just wasn’t enough filing space.

So I hauled this big black monster in from our garage. It was not fun. Too bad I am not the swearing type. I think I would have said some choice words. But since I don’t swear, I tried doing what my dad always does when he gets frustrated..... I threw a hammer. Oddly enough, that made me feel MUCH better. :)

It takes care of ALL my filing needs. It rocks!! (Even if it is a monster)

There is a “workbox” method of organizing school curriculum. I like the concept, but don’t like how big the system is. So instead of boxes I switched it to drawers. (It is less clunky)

I got these wide slender drawers for the two older kids. Eventually all five of my children will have a set up like this.

Each drawer represents a subject. There is a picture on the left side that tells what subject is in each drawer. (I put everything they need to accomplish that day in the drawer) On the right is a strip of Velcro. (I will explain this in a bit)

On the closet door I have a “personal tasks” chart and a “school tasks” chart. Each task has a picture and title, and is attached to the chart with Velcro.

Here is an example of what the school chart has on it. (It is a good idea to laminate the chart and pictures)

Once a child completes a subject for that day, he/she will take the picture off of the chart

The child will find the corresponding picture on their school drawers

They place the picture on the right side (where the Velcro strip is)

This helps them visually see what they have accomplished and what they have yet to do. It is awesome!!

So as soon as their school drawers look like this……..

And their personal and school charts look like this………… they are done for the day!

Above each chart, I have this list of pictures and subjects to choose from when I am creating their schedule for school each day. (I found an AWESOME homes school blog where I was able to get these pictures and chart. Go HERE to check it out)

And since I am teaching four out of five kids, the charts all look like so

So now I have moved the “old” drawers for the kids onto the shelf in the closet. They help store all of the things that I fill the smaller drawers with. I still use two of them for the two younger kids. They are not quite ready for the full blown drawer system yet.

These other things still help me function really well as a teacher. They will stay as they are.

My next post will be about changes I have made in how I teach school. Things that have worked this year and things that have not worked.

I have also inherited some great children bible study books. I am really excited that the kids are old enough for these now.

A friend of mine was throwing out this write on poster so I took it. Since the kids are memorizing the Ten Commandments, it works really well for them to refer to each day.

My friend also let me use this. It has little pictures of marbles that Velcro on to each circle on this jar picture. When the kids and I set goals, we can put a “marble” on the jar. When the jar is “full” we get a prize for completing our goal. Very cool!!!

And of course there is Frankie. We will keep him “hanging” around for a long time. He has been so helpful for the kids to learn the bones of the body. (Plus they think a skeleton in their school room is just cool)

I have also loved the file folder games available in this holder. It works great in our room!! They will stay where they are.

And there you have it! The school room/school closet makeover. I think we are all set for Summer school.........I hope!

Now I need some sleep!

File Folder Friday

2011-04-22T12:29:00.001-07:00

Brown Sugar Sand Castles

2011-04-19T19:59:00.000-07:00

We did a fun little project today so I thought I would share. I feel a little redundant because I posted this on Facebook, but I realize that some of you don't know me and therefore don't see my facebook posts. (guess I should just link the two)

It was a snowy day and I think everyone in our house was a little more than bummed about it. So we decided to "pretend" it was sunny and do some sand castles.

The kids washed their hands REALLY well and we busted out the brown sugar. They had a blast!

Did it get sticky toward the end? YES! Was it worth it? YES!! (plus, we just moved the party to the tub and they had fun taking a bubble bath)

When they were all done playing in the "sand" we used it to make some cookies. (cookies that only we will be eating)

It really helped turn a hard snow day into a fun day. :)

File Folder Friday

2011-04-08T11:02:00.001-07:00

Price Matching

2011-04-06T21:48:00.000-07:00

I am all about saving money. I love getting a good deal on something I need and I love the extra cash I get to tuck away for something I want. :)

When I was first married I would search the local ads for the grocery sales going on that week. I would literally go from store to store so I could get the sale items and save money. (I have always felt my job as a wife is to save money wherever I possibly can so that I can stay home with my kids. That’s my job. J)

Well, now that I have five children, I don’t have the time to hop from store to store just to get a good deal. I shop at Wal-Mart. (I know, I know…….we all have our weaknesses and this one would be mine)

But recently I have been getting into price matching. I have already saved sooooo much money and I have even been able to beef up my food storage quite a bit. (And it has only been two months)

If I find a good sale in a local store ad, I take that ad to Wal-Mart and they will give me the same price for that item.

The cool thing is, when the local store ad has a limit on the items I can get for the sale price, I usually get as many of those items as I want at Wal-Mart and they will STILL give me the ad price for all of my items.

For example, last month a local store had a sale on milk. It was 98 cents for one gallon, but had a limit of 1 per customer. I took that ad to Wal-Mart and got 4 gallons………..all for the sweet price of 98 cents per gallon. AWESOME!!

So if you don’t have time to go from store to store, but you really want to save on your grocery bill, get some local store ads and do some price matching. You will be amazed at how much you can save.

Self Defense

2011-03-29T08:22:00.000-07:00

I recently went to a self defense class with a friend of mine and it was AWESOME!
We learned some amazing moves that can get a grown man on his knees in a matter of seconds. The cool part is that they don’t even take much strength to do.

I highly recommend EVERY mother taking a self defense class…….for two reasons.

1.) You are a women. Enough said.

2.) You might have daughters of your own and you need to teach THEM how to defend themselves.

In our self defense class we were given some pretty sad statistics. I had NO idea that one out of every THREE girls will be sexually harassed or assaulted in their lifetime. Those are some AWFUL numbers!!! It really hit home to me because I have three girls. So using those statistics, one out of my three girls could find herself sexually abused in her lifetime.
So from now on, I will be spending some time with my girls to teach them some of the moves I was able to learn. Repetition is the key. If I go over these moves with them on a regular basis, they will not have to even think twice when they get into a bad situation. The moves will come naturally and the moves will save their life.

Please, please, PLEASE help your daughter(s) be ready to defend herself in a bad situation. It could be the very thing that saves her life some day.

File Folder Friday

2011-03-18T08:39:00.000-07:00

Have a great weekend!!

Fun ideas

2011-03-17T08:49:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of fun activities you can do with your kids.

If available, provide books with pictures of rockets and astronauts dressed in spacesuits to spark your child's imagination as he creates a design for his own spacesuit. Have a collection of materials available for your child to make his spacesuit. You could include such items as tinfoil, earphones, goggles or a scuba mask, an oatmeal carton for an air tank, an old belt, feathers, and tin cans with smooth edges.

A simple vest can be made from a paper bag by cutting all the way down the front of the bag and then extending the cut at the bottom of the bag to form a hole for your child's neck. Cut out holes for the arms and have him decorate the bag with stars.
After your child has made a space suit, you could help him make this fun treat.

Here is something fun to make on a hot day. (if you live somewhere hot. It is not hot where I live.........yet)

Something fun to make with your kids on a cooler day.

Shake some whipping cream in jars or beat with an egg beater until butter forms. Press out excess milk with a spoon. Serve the sweet butter with the bread you just made.

Have a fun time cooking and playing!!

Whistle while you work

2011-03-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

I have tried really hard to teach my kids how to clean properly and help out with the housework. They have been really good at helping out when I ask them to (and even when I don’t ask them to) but I found that I was still trying to do it all……….because it is more convenient that way. (And gets done JUST the way I like)

Well, a couple of weeks ago I finally snapped. I realized I could not do it all any longer. (And for those of you who know me REALLY well will understand what a breakthrough this was for me)

I was toying with the idea of a job chart, but wondered if the kids were too young for that just yet. But I like things to be organized so I decided a job chart was the way we would go. (Plus, my kids function better when I have things organized for them)

I sat the kids down and explained the job chart “rules” to them. They were not only on board, they were totally excited. (Strange children!!)

They love getting up each day to see what their job will be.

I don’t have to remind them very often, once one child remembers to start his/her job the other kids want to join in on all of the “fun” without being asked. It’s great!!

And what makes me REALLY smile is that once one kid gets done with his/her job, they will go help someone else finish up their job too.

It melts my heart to see them gladly help each other like that.

They are doing such a great job! I am so glad I didn’t just write them off as too young for a job chart. Even Morgan is getting into it all.

We switch the jobs around each day right now while they are younger, but eventually they will have the job longer than one day at a time.

I do this for two reasons; it keeps them excited because they like to see what they have each day. And I also do this because if the job is not done QUITE as well as I would like, eventually I will get that job (since I too am on the job chart) and then I can do it how I like. :)

Our new little one might have to wait a few years before she can get in on all of the action. And for now, she is totally fine with that.

I am also glad I finally admitted I can’t do it all myself.

Sometimes we mothers can needlessly wear ourselves out just because we think we have to do it all.

I would encourage you to look around at all of the little blessings (and little helpers) you have in your life that are there to make your load a little lighter. :)

File Folder Friday

2011-03-10T21:54:00.000-08:00

I have a very large File Folder book that I am trying to scan into my computer so I can just print them off and always have them available. (And so I can get rid of the book)

So, for the next little while, I will be doing “File Folder Friday” and put one file folder learning activity up for you to use if you like.

Remember to just click on the picture and then print it off. If you have any problems doing this, or have any questions, let me know.

Each file folder does have a sheet of instructions, so that will hopefully help.

Have a great weekend!!

Highlights For Kids

2011-03-10T07:49:00.000-08:00

I was trying to order the Highlights for kids magazine and found that they have a fun little site. Here it is if you want to check it out. Highlightsforkids
It has little Science projects and hidden pictures. It's pretty cute!
The magazines are also really fun for the kids. They have a couple of magazines for different age levels. Sweet!
To order the Magazines go HERE

St. Patrick's Day Fun

2011-03-06T00:24:00.000-08:00

St. Patrick's Day is coming up and this year is going to be a fun one.
Each year my sister-in-law has a leprechaun come and visit their home. She goes all out and has treasure hunts to find the pot of gold………. all kinds of fun ideas.

Well, each year I say I am going to do something fun like that as well and each year I totally forget the day of the Irish.
So this year I WILL do something fun and I am actually really excited about it. I have even mentioned to the kids that we JUST might get a visit from a leprechaun this year and now they are just as excited about it all.
I found some fun ideas on a blog Here that I intend to use.

I also liked another post from that blog Here and my favorite one is found Here

I think I will use some of these ideas on my husband for the week of St. Patrick's Day. He could use some “Lucky Charms” in his life. ;)

Little holidays like this make the LONG winter months a little more exciting for the kids, so take advantage of it.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

SEW fun!

2011-03-05T08:08:00.000-08:00

If you like to sew (like I do) and if you have a little girl, here is something fun you can try.

My husband has been throwing out a lot of his old dress shirts, so I snatched them up and played around with the fabric they had to offer me.

Here is the first skirt I made. (My favorite of the two)

I just cut the shirts into 4 inch strips and surged the sides. After I surged the sides, I gathered the top of the fabric strip. Then I cute one shirt into a rectangle and attached the gathered strips of fabric to that.

Then I sewed the fabric strips on.

I had initially put a zipper on the side of the skirt so that it would be more fitted, but when I tried it on Audrey I realized why elastic was invented. Little girls don’t have the lovely hips that we women have. Without those awesome hips (ha! I am trying to be positive about them……really) the fitted skirt had a really hard time staying up. So I ripped out the zipper and put in an elastic waist band.

These skirts were so simple to make and a lot of fun to experiment with.

I am kind of on a flower kick, so that was my finishing touch. :)

Happy sewing!!

Learning the USA

2011-02-16T14:18:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I have posted. I know.
Eventually I will get this five kid thing down. I have been spending most of my time organizing and figuring out how to do the things that need done, (like house work) while doing all of the other things that need done. (like feeding baby, doing school with the kids, grocery shopping, church calling, potty training…………you get the picture……right?)

So I do apologize that my posts are verging on lame. If it makes you feel any better, I will soon share some of the things I have been learning while my Kid Blog has been lacking that “wow” factor. :)

Here is something fun you can do with your kiddies to help them learn the US States.
Click on the picture below and print it off.

I give each of my kids one of these USA pictures and then they get out their colored pencils.

I then have them color the states that I name.

For example, I will tell them to color Kentucky yellow. Or I might tell them to color New York red. I don’t help them unless they NEED the help. Otherwise, I let them help each other. (if your child doesn't know any of the state names, you would then help your child and he/she could have fun while learning them)

They love doing this and it is a great way for us to keep up on all of those states we worked hard to memorize.

"Our Best Bites"

2011-01-28T13:45:00.000-08:00

One of the sites I like to visit is doing a mini series called “Getting kids into the kitchen.”
It looks like it will be great fun and give some ideas on how to cook WITH your kids.
Go HERE to check it out.

Cinnamon Dough Ornaments

2010-12-15T11:24:00.000-08:00

CINNAMON DOUGH ORNAMENTS RECIPE

4 oz cinnamon
1 Tbsp ground cloves
1 Tbsp ground nutmeg
1/2 c applesauce
1 Tbsp white glue

In a heavy-duty plastic bag, mix the ingredients listed. Let your child knead the dough in the plastic bag until the mixture is smooth. Roll out mixture to a 1/2-inch thickness and cut into shapes with the cookie cutters. Use a drinking straw to punch a hole in each ornament. Dry on wax paper for several days, turning each piece over every day until both sides are dry.

Run a ribbon or yarn through the hole. The ornaments are ready to hang! (Remind your child that these ornaments are not edible!)

Sun-Catcher

2010-12-15T11:20:00.000-08:00

Materials:

crayons in different colors
pencil sharpener
wax paper
newspaper
aluminum foil
iron
scissors
hole puncher or pencil
string or yarn

1.)Put a piece of wax paper on several sheets of newspaper.
2.)Use a pencil sharpener to make a small pile of crayon shavings in several colors.
3.)Sprinkle the shavings on the wax paper.
4.)Now cover the shavings with another sheet of wax paper and use a warm iron to melt the colors together. To protect your iron, please place a piece of foil between the wax paper and iron surface. (The heat should also melt the two pieces of wax paper together.) Use a towel between the foil and the iron if the heat is too hot.
5.)Let the sun-catcher cool.
6.)Trim the edges to make a shape you like.
7.)Punch a hole at the top and hang it in a window.

The colors will catch the sunlight like a stained glass window!

12 Days of Christmas

2010-12-14T08:47:00.000-08:00

I got this from a friend of mine. So cute!
I will have to do it next year with my kids........when they can ring the door bell and run fast enough not to get Caught. :)

December 13th... On the first day of Christmas your true love gave to you, a partridge in a pear tree. Sorry, we can't find the partridge so we are giving you some pears from the tree the partridge flew away from. (can or bottle of pears)

December 14th... On the second day of Christmas your true love gave to you, two turtle doves. But we don't have any, will candy turtles on a bar of dove soap do?

December 15th... On the third day of Christmas your true love gave to you, three french hens. We couldn't find any French hens so we hope you'll enjoy this chicken soup made from American hens. (can of chicken noodle soup)

December 16th... On the fourth day of Christmas your true love gave to you, four calling birds. The calling birds flew way but left a Christmas message for you. (Deliver a Christmas story or music)

December 17th... On the fifth day of Christmas your true love gave to you, five golden rings. We are too poor for real gold so we brought some fresh pineapple rings instead. We hope that's okay. (can of pineapple rings)

December 18th... On the sixth day of Christmas your true love gave to you six geese a layin'. You really don't want messy geese around the house, do you? How about some eggs they left behind? (deliver 6 eggs)

December 19th... On the seventh day of Christmas your true love gave to you, seven swans a swimming. We can find no sign of the swans, but here's some of the bubble bath they used while swimming. (bottle of bubble bath)

December 20th... On the eighth day of Christmas your true love gave to you, eight maids a milking. Here's some milk we got from the eight maids. We think they must have been milking brown cows. (leave carton of chocolate milk)

December 21st... On the ninth day of Christmas your true love gave to you, nine ladies dancing. Here are some canes used by the nine ladies who were out dancing all night- they used the canes to help them limp back home. (leave candy canes)

December 22nd... On the tenth day of Christmas your true love gave to you, ten Lords a leaping. Here is some ibuprofen used by the ten Lords we saw out jumping around. (leave small bottle of ibuprofen)

December 23rd... On the eleventh day of Christmas your true love gave to you, eleven pipers piping. Here's a pipe of your own (leave bubble pipe with bubble solution or a recorder from dollar store)

December 24th... on the twelfth day of Christmas your true love gave to you, twelve drummers drumming. Here's some cookies we drummed up. Hope these keep this from being just another hum-drum day for you. (deliver cookies in person, revealing yourselves and sing them a Christmas carol)

Baby its cold outside.....

2010-12-08T13:31:00.000-08:00

I love this time of year with all of the decorations, presents, lights and snow, but we live in an area where winter seems to last a lifetime. (And it has only just begun)

Now that I have a newborn, getting out of the house is not as easy as it used to be. This is cold and flu season and the last thing I want is five sick children………….and especially a sick newborn.

So my goal this winter is to find fun things for the kids to do so they don’t get cabin fever.

One day I could tell the kids needed something new to do, so I told them to gather up all of the socks they could find in their sock drawer.
We rolled the socks into little balls and then divided them up. The kids each built little forts out of couch cushions and pillows. And then we had an indoor “snowball fight.”

It was awesome!!
The family room was a total mess, but it was awesome!

So if your kids need something fun to do when it is cold outside, and you can handle the mess, you might want to give an indoor snowball fight a try. :)

Reading Really is Fun!!

2010-11-19T10:12:00.000-08:00

I have a six year old son who absolutely loves math. He not only loves math, but does very well at it.
However, this same six year old son of mine did NOT like reading. When we sat down to do reading, he would guess words instead of sounding them out, and he would complain through the whole process. It was awful!
So I took this problem to the Lord. The answer I got was simple “use lots of repetition.” And also “make it fun.”

I could see how this answer was exactly what I needed. When I taught my (then) four year old and three year old all of the names and locations of the US States, it was through MUCH repetition. When we learned the 13 articles of our faith, it was also through going over them EVERY day that they were eventually memorized.

So rather than having my six year old son read a different book each time we did our reading together, I chose four simple books and we read those books each day for one week. He became so comfortable with those four books and I could see his confidence rise. All of the sudden he enjoyed reading time because he knew that he could do it. (and he LOVED showing off to me and his siblings)

After reading those same four books for a week, we moved on to four other books for a week.
Now, my son loves to read and he is doing so well. All of the repitition has also helped him learn new words.

And to make it fun for him and my other children, I had them decorate their own Library bag. (you can buy these plain tote bags in a 3 pack at wall-mart. I think it was 5 bucks for the 3 pack)

I also had them get their own library card (which I only give them when we go to the library……….otherwise it is kept in my wallet)

Now when we go to the Library, I give each child his/her library bag and card, they fill their bag with books, they take it to the checkout counter and hand the librarian their card and books.
My job at the library is now MUCH simpler. :)

It is nice to see my son FINALLY catch on to the joys of reading!!

Thanksgiving Tree

2010-11-15T10:46:00.000-08:00

For the past couple of years, I have tried to do a “12 day of Thanksgiving” list on our family blog. I will continue to do that this year, but I also wanted the kids to learn to have a grateful heart.
So I had the two older kids help me out and we created our “Thanksgiving Trees.”
First we made the trees out of long rolls of paper. (found at your local wal-mart)

Then we cut out leaves from construction paper.

We hung the trees up in the school room. Don't they look great?!

Each day the kids will write on a leaf one thing they are grateful for.
We will then glue the leaf to a branch on our “Thanksgiving Tree.”
The kids are really excited about this idea and we have already put a couple of little leaves on our trees.

Math Site

2010-11-09T09:43:00.000-08:00

I got this site from my oldest child's Teacher.
She told us about it because it has some fun math games on it. It also has some other fun learning games on it. (like the "Know the states" game. I actually enjoyed playing that one myself. ha ha!)
Go HERE to check it out.
I will also put it on my sidebar.

Happy Learning!!

Turkey fun......and learning

2010-11-04T07:16:00.000-07:00

DLTK is by far my favorite website. It has so MUCH for us mommies to use with our kids. (I will put the link to the main site on my sidebar)

Under the "Holiday" section, I found a fun craft for the Thanksgiving theme.
Click HERE to check it out.

The same Turkey craft is done HERE with numbers.

Pretzels

2010-10-31T18:16:00.000-07:00

For school I had the kids make some number pretzels. It was a lot of fun!!
You could also do letters and shapes with your children as well.

Here is the recipe JUST for you Jess. :)

And make sure you take advantage of this fun time of year when making your kids lunch. Even the simplest thing (like cutting triangles in their sandwich bread) will bring a smile to your child’s face.

Happy Halloween!!

Making Words

2010-10-25T10:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am going to get back on track.
I took a MUCH needed break to have baby #5. :)
Baby is doing great. I am doing great. Now let’s get back to posting on my All About Kids Blog. :)

First of all, I am REALLY sorry about the Kindergarten curriculum. I will continue to post the curriculum as I have time to…………because I want to have it on this blog so I can throw the book away.

BUT, since the Virtual School Kindergarten curriculum I am doing with my son is so simple, I am actually doing it with ALL of my children. So I will not have as much time to post the “Learn At Home” Curriculum as often as I was before. (but I will continue to post it)

I will also be scanning some of the pages that I love from the Virtual School curriculum.
Like these slider words. They are AWESOME and my children LOVE them.

They really help teach word groups and they are really fun for the child to slide.

Just click on the picture, then right click and click on print. (I would highly suggest printing on cardstock paper)

You cut little slits on the dotted lines and then insert the letter strip like so

As you slide the letter strip along the opening, it will create a new word. Fun stuff!!
Here is a bunch for you to choose from.

I will be posting every Friday now. So that way you know what day to plan on checking for more learning tips/aids or just fun things to do with your kids. :)

Have a great learning day!

Tip For Bike Rides

2010-10-04T15:37:00.000-07:00

I am sorry I have been such a slacker on posting the school. I am getting toward the end of my pregnancy and have been nesting like CRAZY. So posting the school has not been on my nesting list of things to do. (Unfortunately)

I have also been SUPER busy with the education of my oldest child. It takes a lot of my time to teach him and the other kids, but it also takes a lot of my free time to plan and prepare for the next day. I am hoping the more we get into a routine, the easier my planning and prep will go.

I do have a helpful hint I wanted to quickly post about since it was on my mind today.

The kids wanted to get out and ride their bikes today so I got them all geared up and ready to go.
Now, I can hardly walk very fast at this point, so you would think that trying keep up with four kids on bikes would be a scary task. Not with some rules that we have set in place that make my life a whole lot easier. (And those outings less stressful)

Rule #1. You MUST stop at all corners.

Rule #2. You must stop the first time I tell you to stop. (Or whatever I tell you to do the first time I ask)

Rule #3. If you do not do rule #1 and #2 you will have to get off of your bike and walk it for a while. (They HATE to have to do that, so this is a great punishment)

If we are on a longer block, I tell them they can only go down 4 mailboxes and have to wait for me there. It works great and it is the ONLY way that I am able to take four kids out on a bike ride while waddling behind. ;)

Hope this tip will help you as well!!!

Week 5—Monday

2010-09-20T03:33:00.000-07:00

READING—
Consonant Review
Give your child a page from a newspaper. Then, dictate the following directions: Draw a circle around every C you find. (Pause for a few minutes) Draw a square around each S. (Another pause) Underline every B and cross out each T.

Make cards cut out of construction paper. Write one of the following on each card: Foods, Places, Names, Stores.
To review each letter, pick a card and have your child name something that goes in that category that begins with the review letter. Set a timer and see how many he/she can think of in 3 minutes.

Cook alphabet soup and challenge your child to find at least one of the review letters in each spoonful of soup.

LAUNGUAGE—
Write the word PURPLE with permanent marker on your dried purple cloth. (see today’s Science lesson.)
Have your child do the same. Sound out the word PURPLE together several times.

Plan a menu with your child around a particular color.

Read “What is Purple?” from Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O’Neill.

MATH—
3-Three
Make several sets of three objects on a table. Ask your child if the sets have anything in common. Guide your child to see that each group has three objects in it. Discuss other common properties of the objects. Then, have your child count each set aloud.

Have your child complete “Number 3.” (Page 74)

SCIENCE—
Color
Make your own colors or dyes. Boil beets in water until the water turns a deep purple. Soak a piece of white clothe in the water. Ask your child what color it is now. Brainstorm other plants or foods that can be used as dyes.

Ask your child to find three different green-colored textures and do a crayon rubbing of each of them. Example: blade of grass, leaf, pine needle. Do the same for red and yellow.

SOCIAL STUDIES—
My Address and Phone Number
Get out a map of your state. Have your child trace his/her finger around the edge of the state. Show your child the location of your town. Emphasize its name. Point out other cities of relevance to him/her. Ask your child if he/she can find your town on the map.

GROSS/FINE MOTOR—
Supervise your child as he/she cutes out purple objects from the purple cloth made in today’s Science lesson. Ask your child to name each object, then label the objects for him/her.

Have your child cut sponges into different shapes, dip them into paint and make a sponge painting.

Week 5—Tuesday

2010-09-20T03:31:00.000-07:00

READING—
Thaw frozen bread dough. Have your child create one simple dough object beginning with each review letter: B, T, C and S. Bake for about 15 minutes in a 350 oven.

LANGUAGE—
Sing the nursery rhyme “Three Blind Mice” with your child:

Three blind mice, three blind mice,
See how they run, see how they run!
They all ran after the farmer’s wife,
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife.
Did you ever see such a sight in your life
As three blind mice?

MATH—
Have your child draw a large 3 on a sheet of paper. Then, have him/her trace the number with glue and add sets of three objects, such as cereal, dried beans or macaroni noodles until the glue is covered.

Have your child complete “Seashore Numbers.” (Page 75)

SCIENCE—
Buy one sheet each of red, yellow and blue cellophane. Let your child explore overlapping colors to create new ones. Read “Little Blue and Little Yellow” by Leo Lionni.

SOCIAL STUDIES—
Show your child a map of the United States. Ask if he/she can remember the name of your state. Can he/she find the state on the map, based on its shape? If not, then show your child. Point out other relevant states as well.

GROSS/FINE MOTOR—
Introduce your child to pastel colors. Explain that pastels are simply colors that have white added to them. Dip colored chalk in water and create a beautiful, pastel picture. Or let your child make his/her own pastel paint by adding white paint to a primary color.

Week 5—Wednesday

2010-09-20T03:24:00.000-07:00

READING—
Have your child fill in each blank with a word that starts with the same beginning sound as the other words in the sentence.
Have him/her state the beginning letter.

Billy believes______________
Tigers tickle______________
Carol cleans_______________
Sarah sees_________________

Then, make up your own sentences together.

LANGUAGE—
Using pistachio pudding, let your child finger paint several green objects on a sheet of paper. To get different shades of green tint the pistachio pudding with vanilla or chocolate pudding. In the center of the paper, have him/her write the word GREEN.

MATH—
Give your child a variety of directions using jelly beans. Example: Count out three red jelly beans, eat two yellow jelly beans, give me one orange jelly bean…….

Dictate a picture for your child to draw. Include specific numbers of objects.
Example: Draw three pumpkins on a fence. Draw two girls standing next to them. Write the number 1 on each girl’s shirt.

Have your child complete “Jolly Jelly Beans.” (Page 76)

SCIENCE—
Get a variety color pack of balloons. Blow up the following colors: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Purple and Blue. On the outside of each balloon, have your child use markers to carefully write the correct color word.

SOCIAL STUDIES—
Show your child a globe. Help him/her find the United States. Explain that the U.S. is located on the continent of North America.
Help your child find your state on the globe.

GROSS/FINE MOTOR—
Let your child finger paint with different colors while chanting this rhyme:
Red, Green, Yellow, Brown and Blue,
Orange, Purple, and Black, too!
One bright color in each dish,
With your fingers, dip and swish.

Week 5—Thursday

2010-09-20T03:19:00.000-07:00

READING—
Have a scavenger hunt in your home. Plant various objects around the house. Instruct your child to find a B word in the bed, a T word in the tub, a C word in the cupboard and an S word in the sink.

Have your child complete “Letter C, c and S, s.” (Page 72)

LANGUAGE—
Write out the word BLUE on a sheet of paper. Have your child do the same. Then, have your child glue magazine pictures of blue objects all around the word.

MATH—
Give your child a slip of paper with directions on it, such as “count the number of TVs we have and write the answer on your paper.”
Plan four or five assignments like this, incorporating the numbers 0-3.

Give your child a list of chores to do in picture, word or number form.

Have your child complete “Beary Good!” (Page 77)

SCIENCE—
Using a set of water color paints, allow your child to mix and match as he/she dabs a brush in different colors. As your child works, ask him/her to identify the primary colors.

SOCIAL STUDIES—
Have your child draw several pictures for family members. Help him/her address the envelopes and send a picture to each one of them.

Go outside with your child and look at your house. Have your child describe it to you.

GROSS/FINE MOTOR—
Use a box mix to make blueberry muffins. Let your child follow the directions, which are often in picture form.

Week 5—Friday

2010-09-20T03:10:00.000-07:00

READING—
Set objects beginning with the letters B, T, C and S on a table. Using yarn or tape, divide the tabletop into quarters. Have your child make four sets based on beginning letters. Then, ask him/her to write each beginning letter on a note card and place it in the correct section of the table.

LANGUAGE—
Review the color words by using the balloons from Wednesday’s Science lesson.

Have your child complete “Color Garden.” (Page 73)

MATH—
Draw a triangular tree shape with a trunk at the bottom. Point out how TREE and THREE are spelled similarly. Write both words on a sheet of paper and have your child tell you the differences between the words. Then, show your child that the basic shape of a pine tree has three sides. In the center of the tree, write TREE, and on each side of it, write out the number words ONE, TWO and THREE.

SCIENCE—
Experiment with colors by splatter-painting a large piece of poster board. Have your child write his/her name in the center with his/her handprints on each side.

SOCIAL STUDIES—
Have your child draw a picture of your house on a sheet of paper. At the bottom of the page, ask your child to write your street address and phone number.

Get in the car and drive a short, familiar distance away. See if your child can direct you home again. If he/she can’t, discuss again the importance of knowing your address.

GROSS/FINE MOTOR—
Take a walk around the block. Give your child directions, such as “Stop if you see red.” Or “Jog if you see yellow.”

Science

2010-09-17T10:02:00.000-07:00

I have been going over the bones of the body with my kids for Science.
I traced their bodies last week and had them fill in all of the main bone structures. That was lots of fun.

With all of the stores getting ready for Halloween, I decided to take advantage of the skeleton decorations.

The kids helped me label all of the main bones in the body and we had a great time doing it.

I got this little guy at the dollar store, so make sure you don’t spend more than you need to. This one was great for us!!

So if you want a fun way to teach your children about the bones of the body, here is an idea for you.

I know my kids had a blast with this project.

Happy Learning!!

School Room

2010-09-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned before, I was putting my oldest son into a Charter School this year for Kindergarten.
Well, long story short, the teacher was NOT your normal warm and cuddly Kindergarten teacher and it made the learning environment awful for the children in her classroom.

I could see my child, who used to LOVE learning, begin to hate school. That was something I was NOT about to let happen at such a young age. So we pulled him out of the Charter School and got him into a Virtual Academy school that he will do from home.

So I got busy and turned one of our empty bedrooms into a “School room” for my four children.
I LOVE the new set up and it really helps to have a room JUST for learning.

The room looks like so. (We got a new dining table so I was able to snag our old one for the school room. Sweet!!)

And while the kids sit at the table, I stand here and teach.

We have a little TV and VCR if I want to show them an educational movie

And another book case for some books, puzzles and games

We have started this discipline chart and it works AMAZINGLY well!!

They have a green card at the start of each day, but if they get a warning for bad behavior, they get their card changed to yellow. If they get another warning, the card moves to blue and they get a privilege taken away.

If they misbehave again, the card gets moved to red and that means they are in BIG trouble and get bigger privileges taken away.

If their card stays on green through the whole day of school, they get to pick a candy out of the candy bucket

So far they have been SUPER well behaved and remember to raise their hand when they want to speak. They even call me “teacher” while we are in the “school” room. It’s awesome!!

This is where I keep all of our file folder learning games

With four kids, taking turns can get crazy. So I got these little men so I can keep track of who’s turn it is to do what. LOVE IT!!!

I loved it so much, I put some up in my kitchen so we could keep track of who’s turn it was to say prayers each day at each meal. (something that always got out of control at our house because EVERYONE wanted to say the prayer at every meal. And though I don’t mind saying FOUR prayers at each meal………….it got to be a bit much.)

This is our daily schedule

These drawers are great for keeping me organized. The kids have one drawer for their work books and I get the rest for all of my books.

I have had these closet organizers FOREVER and never used them. Well, now they are the kid’s “cubbies” and they work GREAT!!
One is for their pencil boxes and the other for their daily folders.

And there is even room for some of my extra stuff

I keep each day organized in this little puppy. Each weekend I print off everything I will need for the week and put them in here so I can just pull them out and stick them in the kid’s folders each day. It works so nice!!!

I have a shelf for our bible studies, my filing tote, and our library book bag. Each week we go to the library AT LEAST once and get lots of books to read throughout the week.

This is my school closet!!!

Even though this experience with Tyler and his Charter School was hard and VERY emotional, it has all worked out in the long run.
Yes it puts a LOT onto my shoulders right now, but that doesn’t matter so much. What matters is that my children develop a love for learning and setting goals to improve.

Now Tyler is happy and moving forward at a fast pace……..as usual. We are back to the JOYS of learning!!!

Week 4—Monday

2010-09-12T13:12:00.000-07:00

READING—
S,s
Sing the alphabet song. Cook spaghetti and shape the strands into an upper- and lower-case letter S.
Have your child trace each letter with his/her finger. Give him/her several spaghetti strands to shape into S shapes, also.

In honor of letter S, teach your child how to sew with yarn. Cut out the shape of a shirt from a piece of poster board. Punch holes all around the edge. Tape a piece of yarn to the back. Wrap a piece of tape around the loose end of the yarn so it doesn’t fray. Then, let your child pull the yarn through the holes. When he/she is finished, have your child write a big S in the center of the shirt.

Have your child complete “Letter S,s.” (Page 62)

LANGUAGE—
Have your child look through the “Book of Colors and Things” by Tana Hoban. Have him/her create a story using the objects on each page.

Declare each day of this week a color day, such as Blue Tuesday or Red Friday, and encourage your child to dress in that particular color.

Talk about scarecrows and their purpose in gardens. Make a scarecrow using as many colors as possible.

Read “Green Eggs and Ham” by Dr. Seuss.

MATH—
2-Two
Have your child name his/her body parts that come in pairs. As he/she names them, point to the body parts and count “one, two.”

Have your child go on a scavenger hunt for pairs. Give him/her 10 minutes to bring back as many pairs of things as he/she can find.

Talk about a special friend your child has. Ask why your child sometimes has more fun when his/her friend is around. Talk about the benefits of doing things in pairs.

Introduce your child to the number line. Ask him/her to show you specific numbers, focusing on the number 2.

Have your child complete “Number 2.” (Page 65)

SCIENCE—
Color
Drop food coloring into glasses of water. Ask your child to name each color. After making red, yellow, and blue (the primary colors), have your child experiment to see how to make orange, purple, and green (the secondary colors)

Give your child 5 minutes to name as many red objects as he/she can, another 5 minutes to name yellow items and still another 5 minutes to name orange ones. Ask: Which color has the most different shades? Which colors were the most difficult to sort?

Make a “rainbow cake.”
Make a cake, then frost a rainbow on top. Let your child mix the colors for the frosting.

SOCIAL STUDIES—
Unplug your phone and have your child practice punching in our telephone number. Have your child tell you why it is a good idea to know his/her phone number.

GROSS/FINE MOTOR—
Play “Red Light Green Light.” Have your child stand at one end of the room, while you stand at the other end, with your back to your child. When you say “green light,” your child should start to move towards you. After a few moments, call out “red light” while turning around. If your child is moving, he/she must go back to the wall. IF he/she is not moving, you turn back around and call “green light.” The game is over when your child touches you.

Week 4—Tuesday

2010-09-12T13:07:00.000-07:00

READING—
Using a bar of soap, have your child write an upper- and lower-case S on a sheet of paper. Have him/her color over the S’s with the side of a crayon, revealing the letters.

Have your child complete “Soap Suds.” (Page 63)

LANGUAGE—
Use ketchup to spell the word RED for your child. Then, let him/her try to spell it with ketchup. Sound out the word with your child. Then, have your child go on a “red” scavenger hunt, searching for red objects throughout the house.

MATH—
Use glue to write the word TWO on a sheet of construction paper. Sprinkle glitter on the glue and gently shake off the excess. Have your child use glue to draw two objects and the number 2. Have him/her add glitter and shake off any excess.

SCIENCE—
Read “Color” by Ruth Heller. Ask your child what three colors make all the other colors. Explain that these colors—Red, Yellow and Blue—are called the primary colors.

SOCIAL STUDIES—
Help your child learn his/her phone number. Sing it in a catchy rhythm to help him/her remember it.

Help your child find a friend’s phone number, then call the friend. Let your child dial the number him/herself.

Have your child complete “My Telephone Number.” (Page 67)
\

GROSS/FINE MOTOR—
Play “tag” with “base” as any object or location of a particular color.

Week 4—Wednesday

2010-09-12T13:05:00.000-07:00

READING—
“Sammy’s going to San Diego, and in his suitcase, he’ll pack a sandwich.”
Ask your child to repeat this sentence, adding another S word after “sandwich.”
Example:
“Sammy’s going to San Diego, and in his suitcase, he’ll pack a sandwich and a suit.”
Continue taking turns, repeating the sentence and adding letter S words, until one of you makes a mistake.

LANGUAGE—
Use mustard to write out the word YELLOW.
Allow your child to try, also. Sound out the word YELLOW together. Then, have your child name yellow objects.

MATH—
Write directions, using only pictures and number words, for your child to get from one hidden note to the next. Have the last note lead to a treasure of candy.

Have your child complete “Blowing Bubbles.” (Page 66)

SCIENCE—
Colors can inspire different feelings and moods. Ask your child what he/she thinks or feels about certain colors.

SOCIAL STUDIES—
Discuss with your child what to do if he/she becomes lost. Help your child practice saying his/her full name and phone number.

GROSS/FINE MOTOR—
Using mustard as yellow finger paint, have your child paint a scene with a cheery sun.
Note: Your child’s fingers will be stained yellow for a short time after this activity.

Make color collages. For example, have your child glue green objects onto poster board and write the word GREEN in the center with a green marker.

Week 4—Thursday

2010-09-12T13:01:00.000-07:00

READING—
Set several objects on the kitchen table, including some that begin with the letter S. Your child must put all the S objects on one side of the table and the rest of the objects on the other.

LANGUAGE—
Write the following words on a sheet of paper and see if your child recognizes them:
Red, Yellow, Orange, Zero, One and Two.

Have your child complete “Red and Yellow.” (Page 64)

MATH—
Arrange a pattern of twos, using apples and lemons, Place two apples, then two lemons, side by side. Have your child complete this pattern by adding the next four pieces of fruit. Then, encourage your child to try other patterns.

SCIENCE—
Have your child mix ketchup and mustard together. What color do they make? SChoop this mixture into a pastry bag and write the word ORANGE. Save the leftover mixture for later. (See today’s Gross/Fine Motor lesson)

SOCIAL STUDIES—
Go outside and show your child your house number and street sign. Talk about why it is important to know your own address. Help your child say your street name and number.

Help your child make a list of what is special about his/her house. Then, read “The Little House,” a book about another special house, written by Virginia Lee Burton.
What is that house’s address?

GROSS/FINE MOTOR—
Using your homemade orange ketchup and mustard paint from today’s science lesson, have your child paint a big pumpkin on a sheet of butcher paper.

Week 4—Friday

2010-09-12T12:59:00.001-07:00

READING—
Read a short book with your child. Whenever he/she hears an S sound, your child must clap his/her hands.

LANGUAGE—
Read “Caps for Sale” by Ephyr Slobodkina. Have your child name the color of each cap the peddler wore, in order.

MATH—
Read and enjoy “The M&M’s counting book” by Barbara barbieri. Then, use M&M’s to do several of the activities together.

SCIENCE—
If today is sunny, make a rainbow by turning on your garden hose and spraying it for a few minutes. A rainbow will appear just above the water spray. Have your child name the colors he/she sees in the rainbow.

SOCIAL STUDIES—
Role-play with your child. Set up a scenario in which your child is lost. What would he/she do? Then, have him/her act it out. Make sure your child includes telling his/her phone number and street address as part of the scenario.

Have your child make a pictorial directory. Gather pictures of your child’s special friends and relatives. Have your child tape each picture to a small sheet of paper with the person’s phone number listed beneath. With just a few pages of phone numbers (one number per page), your child will have his/her own miniature phone directory.

GROSS/FINE MOTOR—
Use play dough to make two slithering snakes, shaped like an upper- and lower-case S. Bake at 250 for several hours until hardened. Let the letters cool, then have your child paint them in the colors of the rainbow.

Holiday Break

2010-09-04T20:27:00.000-07:00

I need to apologize. I will not be posting week 4 until next Sunday. With the holiday, we have had family here and I just don’t have the time to sit down and get it posted for you. Sorry!

My oldest child was accepted to a charter school for Kindergarten. That was a mess. I will post more about this later. But for now, I am scrambling to get his schooling organized so I can teach him at home as well as my other three children doing preschool.
Life is crazy right now, but it should calm down enough by next week.

Again, sorry week 4 will not be posted till next week.

Have a great Labor Day!!

Week 3—Monday

2010-08-29T05:23:00.000-07:00

READING—
Consonant Review
Challenge your child to sing “Old MacDonald Had a Farm,” naming only animals and objects that begin with the letters B or T. Have your child sing the beginning letter of that word in the “with a_____, ______” spot.
For example:
“And on his farm he had a Turtle, E-I-E-I-O. With a T, T here and a T, T there……..”

LANGUAGE—
Read “The Berenstain Bears Are a Family” by Stan and Jan Berenstain.

Discuss with your child his/her favorite storybook family. Ask: What do you like about that family? How are the Berenstain bears like your family? How are they different?

MATH—
1-One
Take a tour of the house, pointing out those objects you only have one of. As you point them out, say “one.”

Have your child complete “Number 1.” (Page 43)

SCIENCE—
Farm Animals
Read “The Big Red Barn” by Margaret Wise Brown. Provide your child with a toy farm set or farm animal stickers, and let him/her retell the story using the farm animals.

Drive around the countryside with your child. Have him/her make observations about the different barns and farms you see. What animals does he/she see? What do the barns look like? About how many animals are on each farm?

SOCIAL SCIENCE—
My Family
Ask your child what he/she thinks a family is. After your child shares his/her ideas, discuss that a family is a group of people who love each other and help each other. Have your child list the members of your family. Help your child name each family member’s relation to him/her—i.e., aunt, cousin, brother, mother, etc.

GROSS/FINE MOTOR—
Use play dough to create any farm animals mentioned in “The Big Red Barn” that your toy farm set doesn’t include.

Let your child dictate to you the things he/she can do. Create a poster-sized chart with the heading “I Can Do It!” As your child learns to do new things, add them to the chart.

Week 3—Tuesday

2010-08-29T05:22:00.000-07:00

READING—
Sing the alphabet song together. Then, read “The ABC Book” by Dr. Suess. When you get to the B and T pages, ask your child for other words that would fit in those blanks.

Have a scavenger hunt. Hide notes with B and T pictures on them. For example, give your child a picture of a table. When your child looks around the table, he/she will find another note with a picture of a ball. Continue in this manner. Have the hunt lead to a T and B snack. Each time your child finds a note, he/she must say the first letter of the picture.

Make a list of all the letter B and T names your child can think of. As he/she names them, write them down. Example: Tammy, Tom, Beth, Bill, etc.

LANGUAGE—
Make paper dolls together. Fold a sheet of paper accordion-style, then cut out the shape of a person, being careful to keep the folded side intact. Ask: Are the people in our family exactly the same, like these paper dolls? Is there any other family in the world just like ours? How are other families different from ours?

MATH—
Make cookies using pre-made refrigerated sugar cookie dough. Write the letter O, N or E in the center of each cookie with chocolate chips. Explain that ONE is the word for the number 1.
Bake the cookies at 250 until done. Have your child arrange the cookies to spell ONE as many times as possible. Eat any extra letters right away!

Make your child a shopping list using only pictures and numbers. Hand your child a grocery bag. He/she must pick the appropriate number of each object to put in the bag.

SCIENCE—
Read “The Usborne Book of Farm Animals” by Felicity Everett. Look at the pictures on the left of each page, have your child describe the similarities and differences between the different animals.

SOCIAL STUDIES—
Read “Families are different” by Nina Pellegrini. Discuss different families you know. Have your child compare your family to a friend’s family. Ask: How are the families alike? How are they different?
Lead your child to understand that families come in all colors, sizes and shapes and that everyone’s family is special.

Help your child write a small poem that describes why your family is so special.

GROSS/FINE MOTOR—
Trace and cut simple farm animals from tagboard for your child to finger paint. Give your child a variety of colored tempera paint. Add other ingredients to the paint to add texture and interest. For example, add soap flakes to white paint for the sheep or dirt to brown paint for the horses or cows.

Week 3—Wednesday

2010-08-29T05:17:00.000-07:00

READING—
Cut out giant construction paper upper and lower case letters B and T. Have your child cut pictures out of magazines that begin with those letters and glue them on.

LANGUAGE—
Read and discuss “The keeping quilt” by Patricia Polacco.
Talk about the quilt that was passed down through the family in the story. Share family heirlooms or traditions that have been passed down through your family.

Talk about your child’s favorite family activities. What does he/she like about those activities? Discuss how family members help one another and share household chores. Talk about some of the problems that you sometimes have as a family. Discuss ways to handle and resolve conflict, such as identifying a problem, discussing possible solutions and compromising.

MATH—
Have your child make two small play dough “nests.” Put one egg in one nest and leave the other empty. Have your child tell you how many eggs are in each one. Then, keep adding eggs to see how high your child can count. Let your child practice making the numeral 1 with the play dough.
Have your child complete “One Fun.” (Page 44)

SCIENCE—
Read “Seasons on the farm” by Jane miller and discuss the words “male” and “female.”
Then, discuss the different names for baby animals. Use farm animals patterns or pictures of farm animals to make a memory game. Cut out the animals and glue them on cards. Place them facedown. Let your child try to match them. When he/she gets a match, he/she must give the correct baby animal name to keep the cards.

SOCIAL STUDIES—
After you have read “The keeping quilt” by Patricia Polacco (see today’s Language lesson), help your child make a “My Family is Special” keeping quilt. Ask your child what he/she thinks makes your family special. Example: Our family helps each other.
On a fabric square, write his/her words. Then, he/she can illustrate it.
Complete several more squares in this way until you have enough to sew together to make a quilt.
(If this is too much for you, make squares out of construction paper and tape them together to look like a mini quilt to hang on the wall)

GROSS/FINE MOTOR—
Using sidewalk chalk, draw a hopscotch game. Have your child draw pictures of farm animals in each box, starting with the smallest animals at the top and ending with the largest. When there are two hopscotch squares side by side, draw a mother and a baby of the same animal. Play regular hopscotch, only have your child say the appropriate animal sounds as he/she jumps on the squares.

Week 3—Thursday

2010-08-29T05:16:00.000-07:00

READING—
Using a tube of frosting, have our child write upper- and lower-case letters B and T on round cookies. (Or use tube cheese on crackers)
Let your child match upper- and lower-case letter cookies or crackers and eat them.

Have your child complete “Letters B, b and T, t.” (Page 42)

LANGUAGE—
Model farm animal riddles for your child.
For example: I walk like this. When you eat eggs, think of me. I eat grain. I say “cluck, cluck, cluck.” Who am I?
Then, let your child practice giving clues about farm animals he/she is pretending to be.

MATH—
Play “Simon Says” with your child, using the number1. Give instructions, such as “Simon says hold up one hand or write the number 1 on a sheet of paper.” Make sure to use some Zero commands as well.

SCIENCE—
Talk about chickens—their appearance, sound, movement and usefulness to people.
Teach your child how an egg hatches into a baby chick.
Read “Egg to chick” by Millicent Selsam, and discuss with your child the changes that occur inside the egg over a period of 21 days.

SOCIAL STUDIES—
Talk about ways in which your family has grown and changed since your child was a baby. Ask your child: Is our family bigger or smaller? Have we moved from one place to another?
Then, have your child create a “family time line” on a long sheet of butcher paper. Have him/her draw pictures to show the family’s changes. Ask how he/she feels about these changes. Ask your child how he/she thinks your family will change in the future.

GROSS/FINE MOTOR—
Ask your child to act out this rhyme:
Strut like a chicken, cluck, cluck, cluck.
Wallow like a piggy in oozy muck.
Waddle like a duck, quack, quack, quack.
Gallop like a pony, giddy-up back.

Week 3—Friday

2010-08-29T05:14:00.000-07:00

READING—
Using play dough, have your child shape and upper- and lower-case letter B and T. Then, let your child place B and T pictures and objects under the matching play dough letter.

LANGUAGE—
Sing about each family member’s job. Create a new stanza for each person and sing to the tune of “The Mulberry Bush.”
Example:
This is the way I clean my room,
Clean my room,
Clean my room.
This is the way I clean my room
Every single morning!

Add motions to go along with the song.

MATH—
Using a bag of small cadies or raisins, ask your child to give you six pieces. Have him/her count them out into your hand. Then, ask for ONE MORE. See if your child understands the concept. If not, explain it and demonstrate. Let your child eat the six candies, and ask for ONE MORE for yourself. Once again, be sure he/she understands what you mean. You can also practice the concept of “one more” with blocks, books or other manipulative.

SCIENCE—
Watch the video adaptation of “Charlotte’s Web.” Discuss the ways the different animals worked together in the barnyard.

SOCIAL STUDIES—
Discuss ways in which your family works together. Ask your child to list family rues and how each family member helps the rest of the family. What is each person’s job? What happens if one person doesn’t do his/her part? Suggest that you and your child create a “Family Job Chart” and list each family member’s responsibilities.
Set a family goal and plan a special family outing if everyone does his/her job for 1 week.

GROSS/FINE MOTOR—
Let your child jump rope while chanting the following rhyme:
Father, Mother, Sister, Brother,
All live happily together
When each one tries
To be wise
And do their jobs
With happy eyes!

Pre-School Week 2—Monday

2010-08-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

READING—
Have your child dictate as many T words as he/she can for you to write.

Spin a top and challenge your child to say as many T words as he/she can before it stops.

Let your child type T words on the computer. Spell for your child the T words he/she suggests, and let him/her type them.

Help your child find as many T objects around the house as possible.

LANGUAGE—
Sing this song to the tune of “Frère Jacques”:
I am special!
I am special!
Can’t you see?
Can’t you see?
Everything about me
Everything about me
Is special as can be!

MATH—
0—Zero
Set out two bowls. Pour some cereal into just one of the bowls. Have your child count the number of cereal pieces in that bowl. Then, ask your child how much is in the other bowl. Explain that “nothing” or an “empty” bowl is the same as Zero.

Show your child a ruler or tape measure. Point out where the zero is located or where it would be if it is not marked. Explain that this is a starting point for counting and for measuring things.

Have your child complete “Hungry Kittens.” (Page 33)

SCIENCE—
Autumn
Read “Sky Tree” by Thomas Locker. Discuss the questions at the bottom of each page. Have your child complete “Dress for the Weather.” (Page 35)

SOCIAL STUDIES—
All about me
Continue your discussion about what makes your child unique. Help your child trace his/her hands onto “My Fingerprints.” (Page 36)

Using a stamp pad, help your child place each of his/her fingerprints at the end of each finger outline. Help him/her examine each fingerprint with a magnifying glass. Explain to your child that no one else has fingerprints exactly like his/hers!

GROSS/FINE MOTOR—
Using chocolate and pistachio pudding as finger paints, have your child make his/her own sky tree.

Week 2—Tuesday

2010-08-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

READING—
Let your child paint an upper and lower case T on construction paper. Explain the sound a letter T makes. Help your child make a list of words that begin with the letter T.

LANGUAGE—
Sing with your child the song “I’m a little teapot.”
Sing it several times and show your child the actions that go with the song.
Next, print out the words to the rhyme. Have your child circle every T that he/she sees.

Look at picture books about trains. Have your child name the shapes and colors he/she sees. Talk about what trains carry.

MATH—
Using hand paints or chocolate pudding, write the word “zero” on a sheet of paper.
Read it to your child, pointing to each letter as you sound out the word. Then, draw a big zero around the word. Have your child do the same. Let your child practice making zeros and writing the word “zero” with the hand paints or pudding.

SCIENCE—
Take a walk and observe the trees in your neighborhood. Point out the basic parts of a tree: Trunk, branches, bark, leaves and roots. Explain that roots carry water and nutrients to the rest of the tree. As you move on and observe other trees, have your child name the parts. Ask your child which trees he/she likes best. Ask: Do any of them remind you of the “sky tree?” Why?

SOCIAL STUDIES—
Share with your child any record you may have of his/her baby footprints. Ask your child how his/her baby footprints differ from his/her footprints now. Trace each of your child’s feet for a page in his/her “All about me” book.

Have your child make an audio or videotape about him/herself. Have him/her tell a joke, sing a song or just be him/herself.

GROSS/FINE MOTOR—
Encourage your child to make up actions to accompany this poem:
Leaves flutter, trickling down.
Squirrels scamper all around.
Children run and jump and yell:
Fall, fall, we love you well!

For extra fun, give your child strips of crepe paper in fall colors to use in acting out the poem. (You could also cut out leave shapes in fall colors and let your child make a little pile to throw in the air)

Week 2—Wednesday

2010-08-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

READING—
Set a timer for 5 minutes. Give your child clues for the following T words and see how many he/she can guess in 5 minutes:
Tiger, tickle, tiptoe, tent, tepee, turtle, top, treat, tiny and tray. Then, switch roles: have your child think of T words and give you hints.

Have your child complete “Letter T,t.” (Page 30)

LANGUAGE—
For the final page of your child’s “All about me” book, have him/her draw a picture of your family. Encourage him/her to write each family member’s name below his/her picture. Ask your child if he/she would like to add anything else to the “All about me” book. Then, staple the pages of the book along the left-hand side. Let your child complete “My family.” (Page 32)

MATH—
Go outside with your child. Ask him/her to bring you a specific number of objects, such as leaves, twigs or acorns. Be sure to use the number 0 frequently.
(Save the accumulated objects for tomorrow’s lesson.)

SCIENCE—
Read the first part of “Squirrels” by Emilie U. Lepthien. Discuss the illustrations and highlights from the first half of the book.

SOCIAL STUDIES—
Encourage your child to describe the special qualities of each member of your family. Have your child draw a picture of your family for the final page of his/her “All about me” Book.

GROSS/FINE MOTOR—
Collect a variety of leaves to make leaf rubbings. Have your child put a thin sheet of white paper over the leaves. Using the side of a crayon, have him/her gently rub over the leaves.

Week 2—Thursday

2010-08-22T19:20:00.000-07:00

READING—
Make large T-shirts out of construction paper. Using magazines and coloring books, have your child find T words and pictures to tape on each shirt. Have your child tell family members about each letter “T” T-shirt.
Have your child complete “Tiger’s T-Shirts.” (Page 31)

LANGUAGE—
Have your child arrange pictures from each year of his/her life in chronological order. Help him/her glue the pictures onto a long strip of cardboard or construction paper. Have your child write his/her age and a brief sentence under each picture. He/she can then write the caption “watch me grow!” along the bottom of the strip.

MATH—
Using the objects gathered from nature yesterday, show your child how to create simple patterns, such as leaf, acorn, leaf, acorn………Have him/her practice creating and continuing a variety of different patterns. Save these objects for tomorrow’s Science activity.
Have your child complete “Fall Patterns.” (Page 34)

SCIENCE—
Read and discuss the rest of “Squirrels.” Then, go outside on a squirrel search. Ask: What kinds of squirrels did you see? What were they doing? Did the squirrels’ activities remind you of anything you read about in the squirrel book?

SOCIAL SCIENCE—
Look through old photo albums with your child, and let him/her select a favorite picture from each year of his/her life. Share stories with your child about each year of his/her life.

GROSS/FINE MOTOR—
Let your child show off his/her talents for T week. Help him/her plan a special talent demonstration for the family.

Week 2—Friday

2010-08-22T19:16:00.000-07:00

READING—
Make a construction paper tepee. Have your child trace and cut a large circle from a sheet of construction paper. Cut a slit from the center to an edge and form a cone shape. Before taping the tepee together, let your child draw or glue T objects on it.

LANGUAGE—
Teach your child the poem “Three little oak leaves.”
Read the poem several times with your child. Then, have him/her draw pictures to go along with the poem.

Poem:
Three little oak leaves: red, yellow, gold,
Were happy when the weather turned cold.
One said, “I’ll make a coat for an elf
So that he’ll be able to warm himself.”
One said, “I’ll make a home for a bug
So that she’ll be as snug as a bug in a rug.”
One said, “I’ll cover a seed in the ground
‘Til spring, it will be very safe and very sound.”
Three little oak leaves: red, yellow, gold,
Were happy when the weather turned cold.

MATH—
Help your child make hot chocolate for a treat after a walk in the brisk autumn air. Help him/her measure 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons of sugar into a mug. Add milk until full. Microwave for a minute and a half and top with whipped cream. Write out the recipe, emphasizing the numbers and T’s.

SCIENCE—
Create an autumn collage with your child. Have your child cut the center out of a paper plate. Use the leaves, acorns and twigs gathered from Wednesday’s Math lesson. Ask your child to glue these objects onto the plate, covering it completely. Help your child use hot glue to attach a fall ribbon, tied in a bow, on the bottom. Hang up the finished wreath and celebrate fall!

SOCIAL STUDIES—
For the final lesson on the “All about me” unit, help your child make a paper bag puppet of him/herself. Have your child use “A me bag puppet.” (Page 37)

To help your child understand how special he/she is to you, read “Love you forever” by Robert N. Munsch.

GROSS/FINE MOTOR—
Let your child build a tower of T objects.

Help your child make thumbprint creatures. Have him/her dip his/her thumb in paint or on a stamp pad and press it down on paper. Using markers and crayons, let your child explore the different kinds of creatures or objects he/she can make.

PRE-SCHOOL LAYOUT FOR 1 YEAR

2010-08-16T12:55:00.000-07:00

This year I will be having my five year old attending a Charter School for Kindergarten. I am having a hard time with this because I LOVE to be a part of my children’s education, but I thought I should at least give it a try since he made it in. (If I don't like it, we will go back to home school)

So with him in Kindergarten and four other kids (four kids come November) at home (ages 4-0) I have cracked down and organized the Pre-School I will be doing with my other children at home for the whole year.
(Using the "Learn at Home" curriculum for Kindergarten......which I find a bit too easy for Kindergarten so I am using it for my Pre-School curriculum)

I will be posting it here for you as well, in case you also need some ideas or would like to have it all laid out for you.

Even though I will be following this layout, I will also add some of the work books that I have talked about that are available at “Dollar Tree” to add more of a challenge in math and spelling areas.

We always start our day with a prayer, pledge of allegiance and calendar. (Marking what day it is and counting how many days till the end of the month. Also going over the days of the week to find out what day of the week it is that day)
We look at the weather and talk about how we should dress that day.
We also go over all of the Articles of our Faith (which they have memorized this year) and the names of ALL of the USA state names. (Which they memorized last year)

After that, we start on our lessons. (Which I will post for you on a week by week basis)
There will be some picture on each post that you will need to click on. Once you click on them, right click with your mouse and go to “print picture.” Print off each picture so that you will have it for your child to work on, on the day necessary.

I have done “Week 1” for you, but will try to get “Week 2” done soon so that you can look over it and prepare for the next weeks lesson and get the needed supplies and such.

I will be starting “Week 1” with my own kids a week from today. (August 23) and post each week after “Week 2” each Sunday night so you will always have the following week to look at one week in advance. (If you start when I do.)

I hope this all makes sense……….

Here is week 1 for you.
Happy learning!!

WEEK 1---MONDAY

2010-08-16T12:47:00.000-07:00

READING--
Sing the alphabet song, Stress the letter B so your child will notice where it comes in the alphabet.
Spray shaving cream or whipped cream on a tray or tabletop and spread it out evenly. Using your finger, make upper-and lower-case letter B's. Have your child trace over your letters, then make his/her own.

Emphasize the letter of the week by including a special snack or treat that starts with B. Buy a pack of bubblegum or treat him/her to a bagel or brownie.

LANGUAGE--
Begin a discussion with your child about what makes him/her special. Explain that he/she will make an "All about me" book to tell all about the things that make him/her special. Let your child choose a sheet of colored construction paper for the cover, and help him/her write "All about me" at the top. At the bottom, he/she should write "by (your child's name)" and the year. Let your child decorate the cover in any way he/she chooses.

MATH--
Shapes of the week: Circles and Squares
Set out several circular objects, such as plates and lids, for your child to trace on a sheet of paper. Ask your child to name the shape as he/she traces. Have your child find as many circle shapes in your home as he/she can. Ask if there are any points or sides on them. Then, have your child find circle shapes outside your home. Keep a list of all the circle shapes your child finds on a chart labeled "Circles."

SCIENCE--
Read "Discover the seasons by Diane Iverson. (Or any other season book you may like)
As you read, discuss the pictures with your child. Ask him/her to describe different aspects of the pictures. What parts are his/her favorites? Ask what the scene would sound or smell like.

Start a simple leaf collection by ironing a leaf between two sheets of wax paper. use a tree identificaition book to help your child identify and label the leaf. Do the same with other leaves. Keep the leaves together in a portfolio.

Have your child complete "The Four Seasons." (page 23)

SOCIAL STUDIES--
Help your child learn more about him/herself by creating a life-sized "body portrait." Have your child lie on a large sheet of butcher paper. Trace around his/her body, then cut out the outline. Have your child look in a full-length mirrir and describe what he/she sees. Provide wrapping paper, fabric, yarn, crayons and markers for your child to decorate his/her paper image.
Review and label the parts of his/her body.
(You could also do and internal portrit and label the organs or bones of the body)

GROSS/FINE MOTOR--
Have your child do exercises that involve circles, such as making arm circles or jogging in a circle. How many exercises can you think of?

Have your child think of a special way to decorate his/her room during B week.

WEEK 1---TUESDAY

2010-08-16T12:44:00.001-07:00

READING—
Have your child glue dried beans to pieces of paper cut in the shape on an upper and lower case B. (Or glue them to upper and lower case letter B’s written on paper)
Read “The Shapes Game” by Paul Rogers.

Have your child complete “Letter B, b.” (page 16)

LANGUAGE—
Have your child create page 1 of his/her “All About Me” book. Ask your child to look in a mirror and describe what he/she sees—his/her eye color, hair color, freckles, glasses, etc. Then, have your child draw a self-portrait for page 1 of his/her “All About Me” book.

Read “Trees” by Peter Mellett.

Have your child complete “This Is Me.” (page 18)

MATH—
Have your child look through magazines for circle shapes. Let him/her cut them out and lay them on a table. Discuss the kinds of things your child found. Add any circle shapes he/she found that are not already on the “Circles” chart. Then, let your child use the magazine pictures to create a circles collage.

SCIENCE—
Discuss the signs of Autumn.

Go to the library and research the term Autumn. what does the word Autumn mean? Can your child guess why Autumn is also called fall?

SOCIAL STUDIES—
Read “Faces” by Barbara Brenner. Discuss how all people’s faces are the same in many ways, yet each person’s face is unique. Give your child a rice cake on which to create an edible self-portrait. Provide cream cheese, peanut butter, carrot curles, raisins, coconut and other healthful goodies for your child to use to create his/her “face.”

Discuss how you chose your child’s name. What does his/her name mean? If you don’t know, look it up together in a baby book or online. What would your child have been named had he/she been born the opposite sex?

Have your child complete “All About Me.” (page 24)

GROSS/FINE MOTOR—
Provide your child with glue, paper and toothpicks. Have your child glue toothpicks in square shapes on the paper to create a picture. When he/she has finished, ask your child to think of a title for the picture. Write the title across the top of the page.

WEEK 1---WEDNESDAY

2010-08-16T12:41:00.000-07:00

READING—
Have your child blow up a balloon. While he/she is blowing, tell him/her the sound that the letter B makes. Tie the balloon. Have your child say the B sound along with you several times as you hit the balloon back and forth to each other. Then, have your child look through magazines or coloring books to find letter B words. Have him/her cut these out and glue them to the letter B balloon.

LANGUAGE—
Use a tape measure to show your child how to measure his/her height. Then, weight your child. Help him/her record his/her height and weight on page 2 of the “All About Me” book.
Have your child complete “Watch Me Grow.” (page 19)

MATH—
Have your child find five square-shaped objects in the house. Have your child trace around them with his/her finger. Ask how many points or corners there are.

Use round and square cookie cutters to cut four slices of bread. Have your child match the shapes to make a circle sandwich and a square sandwich. Fill them with your child’s favorite sandwich spread and enjoy.

Pre-cut various sizes of circles and squares from construction paper. Have your child glue the shapes together to form a picture, such as a truck, clown or bicycle.

SCIENCE—
Take a walk with your child. Discuss the signs of autumn that you see on your walk. When you return home, make a list of the signs that you saw.

SOCIAL STUDIES—
Show your child pictures of him/her as a baby. To show your child how he/she has changed, cut two strings-one to your child birth length and one to his/her current length (height). Have him/her compare the two. Ask your child: How much have you grown? How many “baby lengths” of string does it take to equal your current height?

Have your child complete “When I Was Small.” (page 25)

GROSS/FINE MOTOR--
Have your child bounce up and down while saying:
Bouncing babies, bumblebees,
Balloons and bubbles,
B-B-B

Challenge your child to say this, as many times in a row as hi/she can, while bouncing.

WEEK 1---THURSDAY

2010-08-16T12:37:00.000-07:00

READING—
Play a bubble game with your child. As you blow bubbles, challenge your child to name a B word before they pop. Then, have your child look through magazines or coloring books to find letter B words. Have him/her cut these out and glue them to a B poster.

Read books with your child in which the main character’s name starts with B, such as the Babar books by Jean de Brunhoff. Show your child the B word and help him/her sound it out. Whenever he/she sees your finger get to that word, he/she can read it by him/herself.

Have your child complete “Book Bonanza” (page 17)

LANGUAGE—
Showing your child different foods, have him/her name each shape. Then, for page 3 of the “All About Me” book, have him/her draw his/her favorite foods.
Have your child complete “My Favorite Foods.” (page 20)

MATH—
Help your child create fiddles using shape clues. Example: I am a circle on the wall. I tell you what time it is. What am I?
(Answer: a clock)

Read “Bears on Wheels” by Stan and Jan Berenstain. Discuss the shape of a wheel. Ask your child to name the objects in the story that have wheels. Can he/she think of anything else that has wheels?

Have your child complete “Circle and Square.” (page 22)

SCIENCE—
Read “Fall” by Ron Hirschi. Afterwards, go back through the story and have your child retell it.

SOCIAL STUDIES—
Discuss your child’s favorite foods. Ask your child: what main dishes, snacks, drinks and desserts do you like best? Why do you like these foods?
Help your child make one of his/her favorite foods. Share memories of working together on recipes with your family while you were growing up.

GROSS/FINE MOTOR—
Play basketball, baseball or ride a bike for B week.

WEEK 1---FRIDAY

2010-08-16T09:27:00.001-07:00

READING--
Have a letter B scavenger hunt. Give your child ten minutes to find as many letter B objects around the house as possible.

Go to the bakery with your child to buy the best treats for a “Blazing B Day!”

LANGUAGE—
For page 4 of the “all about me” book, have your child draw a picture of his/her friends.
Have your child complete “my friends” (page 21)

MATH—
Place several round and square items in a bag. Have your child close his/her eyes (or blindfolded) and reach into the bag, pulling out an object. With his/her eyes still closed, (or still blindfolded) he/she must name the shape of the object. Repeat until no more objects remain in the bag. Then, help your child make a construction paper mobile of circle and square shaped objects he/she has discovered through the week.

SCIENCE—
Read “The Tiny Seed” by Eric Carle. Explain that new plants grow from seeds. Collect pine cones, maple wings, acorns, and thistles. Explain how these seeds travel. Some are winged (maple wings) to help them flutter down, others are sticky or prickly (burdocks) and attach to people or animals and still others plumed (dandelions) so the wind carries them. Open the protective cases of your seeds to see the actual seeds inside.

SOCIAL STUDIES—
Ask your child to tell you about his/her special friends. Ask: Who is your best friend? Why do you like this person? What do you and your friend(s) most like to do when you are together?

GROSS/FINE MOTOR—
Make fall ornaments using seeds. Spread a pine cone with honey and roll it in bird seed. Get some yarn or string and tie it to the stem of the pine cone. Let your child hang the pine cone in a nearby tree and watch the birds that come to eat off of it over the next couple of days.

Home Depot Craft

2010-08-09T11:49:00.000-07:00

I know I have mentioned this on my family blog, but there are some of you that do not have access to that so I will mention it again here.

The first Saturday of every month, The Home Depot has a craft for kids. You take your kids and get a free craft apron and craft.

You can do the craft right there with a bunch of other kids, or take it home and do it later. (I like to take it home so I can do it for a break in our school day)

My kids LOVE these crafts and it keeps them busy for a long time.
First I help them put the craft together

Then for something extra to keep them busy, I always let them paint the craft when it is all built.

It is such a great way for your kids to learn how to use a hammer and create something fun.

This is a nationwide thing and they usually do it from 8-11.
So put the 1st Saturday in September on your calendar and head to the Home Depot to get your free craft.

IF YOU REALLY WANT IT, SACRIFICE FOR IT

2010-07-15T13:04:00.000-07:00

This summer I have learned a VERY important lesson about my children and the importance of a schedule. During the school year, we start our day the same way each morning. We have a routine and the kids love the consistency.
AND THEN SUMMER HITS US.

Now we have to be at a soccer field by 9am on some days, Baseball by 10am other days and there are usually other sports events to rush off to after those two are finished.
I have to admit, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed, unorganized and rushed. My house work was building up and I didn’t know how to get it all done.

And to top it all off, my kids were feeling and acting just as crazy as I was because of the lack of direction in our day.
Kids do MUCH better when they have the consistency a routine provides for them each day. TRUST ME!!!

THE PROBLEM was me. Because I was not getting myself organized and laying out that routine, my kids were suffering………..and I was suffering right along with them.

I TOOK THIS PROBLEM TO THE LORD AND GOT MY ANSWER.
On Sundays, I teach a group of 14-17 year old girls lessons on various spiritual topics out of a lesson book provided by the church. Last week’s lesson taught me a VERY important lesson. It was all about sacrifice. If you want to achieve a goal, what are you willing to sacrifice for it? If you are not willing to sacrifice what it takes, then you are not worthy of accomplishing that goal. Plain and simple……..right?!

I HAD TO SIT DOWN AND ASK MYSELF SOME QUESTIONS.
I already get up pretty early to exercise, shower and read my scriptures, but I realized that I usually spend the rest of the morning cleaning my house until we have to rush out the door. That time I usually spend cleaning COULD be the time I spend doing school and the morning routine with the kids.

ONE PROBLEM………….I am a clean freak. I seriously cannot function or focus on anything else until my house is clean. (I know, I know, I have issues)

I decided that in order to make that routine happen for myself and my children each morning, I HAVE TO CLEAN MY HOUSE EACH NIGHT BEFORE I GO TO BED.

Each night I am usually too tired and cleaning is the LAST thing I want to do, but if I really want that routine in the morning with my children, I HAVE TO MAKE THE SACRIFICE.
I made a list of what had to be done in EACH room for it to be clean. I have to admit, the first night I did this, I had a LOT to do. But each night after that, it got easier and easier because my house was staying CLEANER by me cleaning it every night. Don’t ask me how!!

Because I did a load of dishes in the dishwasher each night and then unloaded them after they were all clean, I had an empty dishwasher in the morning and throughout the day. So every time we used a dish during the day, it got rinsed off right away and put in the dishwasher rather than building up in the sink.
And by the end of the day, the dishwasher was full and ready to go through a cycle. And after that cycle, I made sure to put them away THAT NIGHT so the dishwasher was ready to load the next day’s dishes again.

By having the kids pick up their rooms BEFORE THEY WENT TO BED, helped us have more time the next day as well.

I am also amazed that after that first deep cleaning of the bathroom, it is much easier to do a quick clean up and wipe down each night now.
And TRUST ME, NOTHING FEELS BETTER than waking up to a clean house.

BECAUSE OF THE SACRIFICE OF A LITTLE BIT OF TIME EACH NIGHT, I am now able to have that morning routine with my children every day.

We are ALL much happier and more organized now. :)

Motherhood and Identity

2010-07-10T07:43:00.000-07:00

I think every time I feel inadequate and imperfect, I will go HERE and be reminded that I do have gifts and talents that are needed for MY children at this time in their life.
It is always good to give yourself credit for the things you are able to do well. :)

Confessions of a Busy Mom

2010-07-08T06:39:00.000-07:00

Confession #1:
I have been SUPER busy this summer. (Kids, Youth camp preparations, Soccer, Baseball, Dance class, nesting like crazy)

Confession #2:
I have not had time to post much on this blog. (Obviously)

Confession #3:
THIS MOM is much more creative than I am, and I will steal her ideas of fun things to do with my kids (with ANY spare time I have) this summer. (Oh yes I will!!)

When life slows down a little bit more, I PROMIS to post on a more regular basis.
(And I DO keep my promises)

When you are bored, you are boring

2010-06-17T11:28:00.001-07:00

"Overwhelmed and under motivated" is something I think ALL moms feel at one time or another. With all of the things we need to take care of on a daily basis, it seems impossible NOT to get overwhelmed and under motivated.
I read this article called "when you are bored, you are boring" and it talks a lot about that whole motivation factor in TRUELY living life. Check it out HERE and have a less stressful and more motivating summer!! :)

Healthy Summer

2010-06-13T18:57:00.000-07:00

Something I am focusing a LOT more on doing with my kids this summer is getting fit and healthy.
I have mentioned before that this is a subject I LOVE to talk about, so I will TRY not to go on and on.

A friend of mine is doing a really fun “boot camp” with her kids this summer. You can read about it on her blog HERE

I also LOVE an article written HERE by a VERY inspiring woman who made a goal to get in TOTAL shape and did JUST THAT. If you look at older posts on her blog you will see just how amazingly in shape this woman really is. It is pretty impressive!!

And because I am ALMOST five months along, I will talk about staying fit while pregnant as well.
I found an article HERE that hit some key points as to why we should stay fit while pregnant.

Pregnancy is NOT easy. I will just get that out there and out of the way. We have extra hormones that bring on all kinds of mood swings and food cravings. Heaven knows I have always liked pickles, but not drinking pickle juice by the cupful.

First of all, LISTEN to your body. If you crave something like chips or fries, stop and think of some other options that may be healthier and that will satisfy that craving. You will be amazed at how many times you can find a healthy substitute that satisfies your craving just as well, if not better. (Because you will not feel blah afterward)

Exercise, exercise, exercise!!!
Having four kids all about a year apart has not been as hard on my body as I thought it would be………….because I worked my tail off during and after each pregnancy.
By staying fit and toned WHILE you are pregnant; you will be able to get back to normal MUCH faster…………TRUST ME!!!!

After I had my first child, I was able to quickly get back down to a weight I had not seen since before College and the “freshmen 15.” I give all of the credit to the fact that I exercised up till the day I went into delivery.
It has been similar with each of my deliveries.

Walk as much as you can. Roller blade, get on the elliptical, go biking and make sure to lift some weights to get that muscle tone to burn calories and fat for you. (5 lbs hand weights are plenty good for a pregnant mommy)
I also like to do some stomach crunches to keep that area nice and toned………….as much as it will while pregnant. ;) A strong abdomen makes for a strong back. (And heaven knows we need fewer backaches while we are pregnant)
And as always, Yoga is a GREAT way to stay lean and strong...........even while pregnant.

Let your body go to the weight it goes to. You don't have to gain LARGE amounts of weight to have a healthy baby. If you are exercising and eating healthy, even while pregnant, your body will go where it needs to go and your baby will be healthy.
Don’t “eat for two.” Just eat for health, exercise for health and you will find the results stunning.

Remember that your example is a HUGE factor in the habits your children set for themselves.
Make this summer a HEALTHY one for you AND your kids.

Summertime Snowman

2010-06-10T13:05:00.000-07:00

On our recent trip to the library, the kids picked out a couple of books about winter and snowmen. I am so happy it is FINALLY summer and we don’t have to deal with snow any more, and they are getting books about the white stuff?!!!

But reading these books with them gave me a really fun idea, so maybe the books they picked out are okay to read in the summer time……………..MAYBE!!!

I asked the kids if they would like to make a snowman RIGHT NOW in this summer weather. They were MORE than excited about that idea, so we got to work.

This picture pretty much explains itself. I don’t know if I need to actually write instructions on how we made it. I do wish I had remembered to get some candy corns for the nose. That would have looked so much cuter. But alas, I am a typical mom who runs to the store to get this and that and usually forgets at LEAST one item. (And that is WITH a list)

I will say one thing about making the snowman. It is MUCH easier to make a nice round scoop if you put the ice cream scoop in hot water first.

Anyways, it was a HUGE hit with my kids and a REALLY fun way to eat ice cream on a hot day. :)

How?

2010-06-06T19:51:00.000-07:00

Because I wanted the article read on that last post about “turning off the computer”, I didn’t expound much on how I intend to do that and the reasons I see to do it.
I will share some of those ideas for you now.

1.)DON’T TURN IT ON SO EARLY
For me, I know that the earlier I get on the computer, the more likely I am to go back to it throughout the day. (It just keeps calling my name)
So something I am going to start doing is just leaving the computer off until I have a break. (Basically back to the way it was when I was a little girl. I can get on AFTER my chores are done)

2.)SET A TIME LIMIT
Once I get my “break” to be on the computer, I will have a time limit. (I am thinking a half hour is plenty of time to check my email and blogs.) This may mean I am not as quick to reply to some of my emails and that is okay. Those emails will always be there, but the time I have to spend with my kids is NOW.

3.)SCHEDULE
I understand that most of us have blogs that we use to “scrapbook” our family events. (Or Journal them)
Trying to update a blog, check other peoples blogs, AND email in just a half hour may not be enough time each day.
Set up an agreement with your husband that you get maybe one hour, two nights a week where you can work on those things that may take a little more time.
(Like right now, my husband is getting in his reading time while I update THIS blog)
Just make sure that you are not spending too much time away from your husband in the evenings. (This is why only a couple of nights a week would be better) You need that time with him each night, so don’t let the computer get between that special time together.

As a friend of mine commented in the last post, the computer offers a lot of socializing for us mothers. It is a joy to be with our children all day, but we do have to communicate with another adult so we don’t go completely nutty.

Through the article in the last post AND the words of my bishop, I have come to understand that although socializing on the computer is nice, it is much better to actually go DO something with someone.
So often we strike up conversations with other moms on the computer, but hardly say a word to another mother at the park.
I am going to make more of an effort to GET OUT AND TALK to other moms. Summer time is a great time to meet other people and have those meaningful conversations while our kids play.
Getting out of the house and being with other people will fill our soul so much better than sitting on a chair in front of a computer while our kids beg for something fun to do.

I know there are some habits I will have to change a bit, but when I think about all of the things I will do and create with my kids with that time I used to waste on the computer, it will be worth it!!

Off the Internet and into the World

2010-06-04T19:22:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we had a wonderful lesson in our church given by our Bishop. His lesson was based off of a talk given HERE

It is pretty long but I HIGHLY recommend finding the time to read it.
It has helped me to understand that one of the biggest things I need to do more of this summer is to TURN OFF THE COMPUTER and spend even more time with my kids.

The computer is such a wonderful thing, but it can also be a dark hole that consumes much too much of our time………time that we need to be spending with our children or even doing things to improve ourselves as mothers.

Our children watch us more then we think. I want my kids to see me learning, exercising, reading and being productive in my spare time.
I also want my kids to know that spending time with them is FAR more important than anything I could be doing on the computer.

So this summer, make sure you spend that quality time with your kids. Give them the attention they desperately seek from you.

Turn off the computer and get out and have fun!!

Mommy and Me Book Club

2010-06-01T15:12:00.000-07:00

My cousin is doing something with her kids that I think is WAY cool. (And I have also started doing this with my kids)

She and her children pick out a book that has an accompanying movie and they read the book together each day. When they are done with the book, they have a “movie day” and watch the movie that is based off of the book they have just read.

What a cool thing to do with your kids this summer eh?!!

Here are some of the books I will be reading with my kids this summer to give you some ideas. (And feel free to share your own book ideas)

Happy reading!!

Summer!!

2010-05-27T23:35:00.000-07:00

I remember talking to a friend of mine a while ago and we both agreed that kids should be in school year round because then they will not have a WHOLE SUMMER to forget what they have been learning. It will also allow them to “get ahead” in their education rather than “wasting all that time.”

But over the years, I am beginning to realize just how wrong we both were.
All too often I hear mothers moan about how they don’t want to have to come up with ways to entertain their kids all summer long.
Some mothers say they are putting their kids in summer school so they don’t have to “deal” with them. Others say they are getting their kids involved in as many camps and other programs as they can so that they too don’t have to “deal” with their children.

And when fall comes along, I am sad to hear so many mothers say they “can’t wait” till their kid is back in school.

Last year I was THRILLED to hear ONE mom say she was “so sad” school was starting because she loved that time in the summer that she was able to spend with her kids every day.

And this is when I realized I was so wrong about thinking kids should be in school year round. Summer is OUR time with our kids.

We live in a world where we are all moving so fast that we sometimes forget to take the time to love our children and create fun memories for them that will last a lifetime.

I still agree that our children should not STOP learning throughout the summer. But our children don’t need to go to a brick and mortar building to do that. Summer time is OUR time to teach our children. It is our time to have an impact on them. To be part of their learning experience more than just helping them with their home work at the end of a school day.

Make this Summer a good one for your children. Make this summer an educational one for your children. If they need to catch up in their school work, be the one to help them catch up.
Create those memories with your child. Let them be children this summer and show them what really matters in life.

Don’t try to make your children grow up too fast.
When they get older, they will have to deal with the fast paced society that we all live in. Let them know that you are the one to turn to when they need to get away from that world and just enjoy the little things that really are the big things.

I am going to be posting some of the things I am doing with my kids this summer (Both educational and fun) to give you some ideas. Feel free to share some of your own ideas in the comment box and I will add them to some of the posts.

Let's have some fun with our kids this summer!!

Cloth Diaper Covers

2010-05-19T12:25:00.000-07:00

I met another mom at the park today and she showed me the most AWESOME cloth diaper covers that she uses on her baby.

She changed her baby’s diaper while we were talking so I got to see just how functional they are.

The part I liked best is that you don't even have to pin the diaper on before you put these diaper covers on. You simply lay the cloth diaper in the diaper cover like so

Then you just put the diaper cover on like a normal disposable diaper. Talk about AWESOME!!!

I must say that I am in love with them!!! They were every bit as functional as a disposable diaper, but end up being MUCH cheaper in the long run.

click on this web site to check them out:
Greenmountaindiaper.com

She said she has tried different kinds of cloth diaper covers, but prefers these because you can make them small when your baby is young and then unsnap them to become bigger as your baby grows.
She also recommended getting the Velcro kind rather than the kind that snap around the waist. (But hand wash them so the Velcro stays strong longer)

So if you want to do the cloth diaper thing, this is the way to go. Plastic pants work great, but seeing how functional and well fitting these cloth diaper covers are, I will be switching over to these cloth diaper covers for sure!!

Rice Packs

2010-05-17T14:41:00.000-07:00

I can’t tell you how much I love rice packs. They are great for ear aches, belly aches, and I have even used them to help with menstrual cramps.

Simply take an old sock that may have lost is match. Fill it with rice and then sew up the opening. (I have heard of people sticking in a few pieces of dried lavender to make is smell nice and soothing.)
This sock looks really sad because I have had it for a while.

You can also fill small socks if your children prefer a small rice pack.

When my kids get an ear ache, I pop the rice pack in the microwave for a minute or two (depending on how big the rice filled sock is) and then after putting ear drops in their ear, I place the warm rice pack on the effected ear. It is AWESOME for helping their ear feel better quickly.

Similarly, if they have a belly ache, I warm up the rice pack in the microwave and let them hold it on their belly. (And I use it for my cramps as well)

Let the kids help you fill the sock with rice and it becomes a fun little project for them.
These rice filled socks have made my life a whole lot easier during those times when my kids feel awful.

Hope this helps you too!!

At Home Movie Theater

2010-05-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

I don’t know how the weather has been where you are, but here it has been raining. A LOT!!

Since we can’t do a whole lot outside, today I told the kids we were going to have an “at home movie theater.” They were super excited and we really had a LOT of fun getting it ready.

Get some snacks like pretzels, crackers, popcorn, raisins, apples, etc. Put them in little bowls or baggies and then put little price tags on them or have the children make a sign telling how much each snack will cost. If the children are younger, maybe keep it to pennies. (Each snack could be 3 pennies)
Also find some kind of fun drink. (Juice boxes, Sippy cup with juice or milk in it, etc.)
Put a price on these or add them to your sign of how much everything costs.

Next, have the kids cut out and color some “tickets” and put on your sign how much it will cost to buy a ticket to get into the “movie theater.”
The kids can also make a sign, drawing a picture of the movie that will be playing. (Whatever you can think of to keep them busy before the "show" starts)

Set up your TV room so the kids have pillows to sit on and lots of blankets. (To keep carpet clean) And find a fun movie your children have not seen in a while.

Put all of the snacks on a nearby table or counter and give the children some money to pay for their “trip to the movies.” (If you have a play cash register, you could use that at the ticket counter as well)

It is a good way for kids to learn money values and counting. Plus it is just a lot of fun on a cold and rainy day. :)

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T18:35:00.000-07:00

The last two subjects of our “All about Mothers” week are:
#8-Learning to laugh more and #9-strengthening your relationship with Heavenly Father.

I LOVE making my kids laugh. Sometimes when I feel like crying, the best thing to get over that feeling is to find some way to MAKE myself laugh.
Doing weird things like THIS is very common in our house. (But we laugh often and that is all that matters)

And if you want a good laugh, click HERE

My own mother has always been an amazing example of laughing off hurt and pain in life.
When I was younger, she broke her ankle while we were all sledding. When she told us to come over because she thought she broke something, my siblings and I didn’t believe her at first because she was laughing so hard. (But once we saw the swollen ankle we took her more serious)

My parents have been through the pain of having a child die, a child with serious health issues when born, a child with Autism, financial troubles and many more challenges. They have learned that when life gets that hard, there is no way it could Possibly get any harder. So they have started a tradition of going out to dinner to celebrate the good things that are yet to come, rather than focusing on the pain and hurt that they could be feeling during those hard times.
They are AMAZING examples of being positive and laughing through life.

I was reading through my journal the other day and saw this entry I had made many years ago during a VERY hard time in my life.

“Heavenly Father is helping me learn so much about the power of thought.
If I dwell on something, it tends to get larger and larger. (Like a magnifying glass)
I choose each day if I want to be happy or sad, offended or content, by what I dwell upon.
When I focus on good things that will increase my faith and give me hope I become a better person and closer to my Heavenly Father.
On the other hand, if I am constantly dwelling upon my doubts and fears, I lose the faith and hope that are necessary to get me through any challenge in this life.
I am so thankful Heavenly Father is helping me understand this right now in my life. He always seems to give me the answers I need when I take the time to ask him for that help and strength.”

Reading this entry reminded me of why staying close to Heavenly Father is so important for us as mothers.

I hope these 9 steps I have shared with you this week have been of some help to you as mothers. I know that they are the things that have changed who I am and the way I look at life.

Keep up the good work and have a wonderful Mother’s Day!!

#7 Realize you don’t have to do this alone

2010-05-07T13:39:00.000-07:00

I know I skipped #6, but I feel like I covered it enough HERE when we first talked about this list.

Having a good support system is so important for a mom.
Who we choose to surround ourselves with can make a HUGE difference (good or bad) in our lives.

Friends:
Choose to be around people who are positive, there for you, fun to talk to and support your choice to be a mom. There is nothing harder than being around people who are constantly questioning you in your choice to be a mom to your children, and how you mother those children.
Most mothers feel inadequate as it is we don’t need to add to feelings of inadequacy by choosing friends who cause us to question our ability as a mother THAT much more.
I will forever be thankful for the WONDERFUL friends in my life. They keep me sane and they strengthen me as a mother.
If you have a day where you feel like you just may lose it with your children, call up a friend and ask for their help. They could come over and be there with you or maybe even take your children for a couple of hours while you regroup. Don’t tell yourself you are a bad mom for doing this. You are being wise to see you need help and actually ask for it. This is something to be commended for. (and if you have chosen good friends, you will be more able to depend on them in these times of need)
Choose good friends!!

Spouse:
Keep that courtship alive!! Go on dates with your hubby. If you can’t afford to go every week, try finding a couple you can swap kids with so you can take turns going out a couple of times a month.
It is SOOOOO important to do this because it allows you to get away from the cleaning, cooking, diaper changing, sweat pants, hair in a pony tail scene so you can dress up and be “the girl friend” again.
All week long I look forward to my Friday date night with my husband. It always reminds me who I am and that I am NOT doing this alone.

Children:
I can’t count how many times I have turned to my children for support and they gladly rise to the occasion. When I tell them “mommy is sad”, I get the best hugs. When I need someone to make me laugh, they are the #1 people to go to.
Children love so unconditionally. I want to be more like my children in that way.

Heavenly Father:
The scriptures tell us to “place your burden upon the Lord.” He is ALWAYS there waiting for us to turn to him.
I have received more answers to the struggles of being a mom, when I pray to my Heavenly Father and then take the time to LISTEN for his answer. He knows each of my children far better than I ever will.

There are so many people in our lives. Our job as “mom” will be so much easier if we will remember they are here to help us. We do NOT have to do this alone!

#5 Staying Healthy, Fit and Strong

2010-05-06T07:49:00.000-07:00

I could talk about this subject for HOURS. I have loved learning about the health, healing and toning of the body since I was really young.
The key word for this subject would have to be BALANCE!!!

HEALTH:
I am NOT a fan of fad diets, diet pills or programs that promise to make you lose LARGE amounts of weight in just a couple of days. Not healthy AT ALL!!! What we really want to focus on is making life long changes in our diets.
BUT, as mothers who have had children, we are OFTEN the target for these little “quick fixes.” Why? Because we have most likely gained a lot of weight while having those kids (I will talk more about staying fit while pregnant in another post) and want it to just magically go away without too much effort.
NOTHING WORTH WHILE IS ACCOMPLISHED WITHOUT GREAT EFFORT!!!

If you are an EMOTIONAL EATER, take the time to FIND OUT what emotional need you are STARVING to have met. You already KNOW it is not food.

Food will only help you if you are starving physically. You already know that when you are emotionally starving for something, food is the LAST thing you are starving for. (But hey, it’s convenient and doesn’t require you to face the REAL problem, so you keep turning to it)

I know from PERSONAL experience that the emotional need is more often than not LOVE. Instead of turning to food, try snuggling next to your children and read a fun book. Let yourself feel the love that your children are so willing to give you at any moment you need it.
Round up your kids and go serve someone. You will feel love like you have never felt it before when you are in the service of someone else. (You could even have the kids help you do a fun service for daddy while he is at work) It is truly amazing how love will fill that large emotional void in your heart……………no matter what may be causing that void.

LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!!!
How many times have you eaten something and then felt horrible afterward? Well, your body is trying to tell you something. That particular food should be eaten in GREAT moderation or maybe even avoided altogether. It is different for each person (since our bodies are all different) so I am not going to make a list.
I will give you an example though. My sister can NOT eat bread without feeling bloated, gaining weight and feeling tired. It really makes her feel horrible. But for me, I can eat bread all day and feel GREAT! (Without gaining weight)
For me though, I have issues with scrambled eggs. They give me heartburn and they seem to NEVER digest. So, I avoid them.

Eating LOTS of fruit and veggies is HUGE in slimming down THE RIGHT WAY.
Fill your plate with more of these REAL foods and go light on the fats and sugars. I am not a fan of “Fat Free” but I am a fan of simply having less fat. Don’t fill up on “fat free” items. It will honestly play tricks with your mind and you will actually eat more than if you had just had the REAL thing and had it in moderation.

I like to focus on slimming down rather than “losing weight.” Weighing yourself too often can sometimes do more damage than good. Weighing in once a week or even every two weeks is much healthier than every day. Your goal should really be to see that muscle get toned and see less flabby skin, not weighing a certain amount. When you are toned and healthy, your body will go to a weight that is normal FOR YOU on its own.

Eating MORE OFTEN is a GREAT way to slim down. I like to eat about 1 cup of food every two hours. This keeps your blood sugar levels even (which keeps you from those crazy cravings) and keeps you from feeling REALLY hungry. (which can lead to a binge)

Some fun things I like to eat are:

1.) Sliced tomatoes with cottage cheese and chives on top. They are so yummy!!
2.) A GREAT protein boost that I like, is taking half a can of tuna (well drained) and mixing in about 1-2 Tbs. of BBQ sauce. I use this as a dip for my celery or carrots and it is so good. (I know it sounds weird but you have to try it before you dismiss it altogether. It really is yummy!)
3.) Apples are GREAT for heartburn.
4.) Yogurt with some fresh fruit is always refreshing.
5.) Black beans on top of lettuce with a little bit of ranch or salsa is good too.

Because I don’t want this post to be HUGE, I will stop there on the “health” topic.
Just get creative and try new ways to make HEALTHY food fun for you.

BEING FIT:

If you think you can just eat your way skinny, think again. You can cut down ALL you want in the food department, but that will not help you build muscle and burn fat. Sorry!!
The key is to eat healthy and EXERCISE. (Back to that BALANCE word!!)

When I was younger I thought that the ONLY way you could get fit and toned was by doing those awful exercise tapes that made you jump around for what seemed like an eternity. I DREADED exercising every day when I did those tapes.

Just like listening to your body when you eat, listen to your body when you exercise. It doesn’t have to be something you hate. Have FUN with it!!! Change it up now and then. Don’t let it become a horrible routine you dread doing every day.

I have found that I REALLY enjoy walking. But I don’t just walk, I get the most out of my time. I strap on some wrist weight bands and I pump my arms in front of me as I walk. This works your arms and waist REALLY well.
I don’t walk slow AT ALL. I can usually walk 1 mile in under 10 minutes. (Depending on my energy level that day) So walking 3-4 miles a day in 30-40 minutes is doable.

I also enjoy rollerblading. I like my elliptical and riding a bike.

But even after I do these things, I take at LEAST 20-30 minutes to tone and do yoga.
I really like using the "Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class" book. All of his moves are AWESOME! They really strengthen and lengthen my muscles and he doesn’t get into some of the weird meditation techniques that are out there. By toning AND doing yoga, you will get the muscle you need to burn fat, but you will also have lean muscle, not the big buff looking kind that should only be on men. (My opinion)

You don’t have to hate exercising. Do what makes YOU feel good. If you like the tapes that make you learn a dance or jump around GREAT! If not, try something else you do enjoy. Just make sure you DO IT!! You will feel like a million dollar mom and you will be around a lot longer to enjoy your family to the fullest. :)

#4 Make time for YOU.

2010-05-05T12:29:00.001-07:00

Let’s face it, PMS happens. Stressful times come and go. Being tired is a reality. Feeling depressed now and then is life. Things don’t go the way you had planned and you can’t seem to deal with it like you would hope to.

Sound familiar?

Sometimes our body is trying to send us a message and well………sometimes we just don’t get it.

If my car is sounding a little funny, you had better believe I will take it in to get worked on, maybe change the oil or whatever it needs.
If the gas light in my van is on, I will go to the nearest gas station and fill the tank up.
If a light bulb burned out in a room, I will replace it.

As a mother, I have to work HARD on seeing my OWN signs of “burn out” or “empty tank” syndrome. But even after I can SEE that I need a “fill up” I also have to work hard on actually doing something about it.

If you feel this way during the day, find a way to “get away.” I actually enjoy hopping into the car with the kids and going for a drive. Chances are my kids will fall asleep and I can just drive with some of my favorite music on and relax for a little while.
Sometimes it helps to just get out of the house and get some fresh air. It’s amazing what that can do for those nerves.

It’s also nice to get out at night after my husband gets home. He insists I get out at LEAST two nights a week. I can either go to the library (it is the ONE place that is actually QUIET!!!) or roam my favorite store. I also enjoy going for a run, rollerblading or bike riding in the evening.

Having four kids and another one on the way does not always leave a lot of extra $$$ for me to just hop in the car and go on a salon getaway. (which would be my ultimate desire at the end of a hard week) So I am going to share some AT HOME things you can do to feel pampered……….without spending a lot of money.

1.) Putting Epsom salt into a hot bath feels divine!!! Put about ½ cup of Epsom salt into the water and mix it around until the salt has dissolved. It makes your skin feel nice and soft. (It is also nice to add some relaxing music.)
2.) Put 1 cup apple cider vinegar + 2 cups warm water into a large cup or jar. Mix Well. After shampooing hair, pour the vinegar + water mixture over hair and massage it in a bit.
Rinse hair and condition as needed.
This will strip your hair of any buildup from hair products. (Hair spray, gel, etc)
You may even hear your hair squeak a bit after you rinse it out. It gets THAT clean!!! I would suggest doing this once a month.

3.) Baby oil works GREAT when removing mascara. (And a bottle of baby oil is a LOT cheaper than the traditional eye makeup removers)
4.) Vitamin E is AWESOME for the skin. When I was single, I would buy the gel capsules, break it open and then rub the gel over my face at night. It made my skin so nice!!! (And I hardly EVER got zits because of its amazing effects on the skin)
The gel capsules are a weird texture though. It is almost like rubbing thick oil over your face, but I grantee that the next day, your skin will have absorbed it and it will feel fabulous!
I don’t do this EVERY night any more now that I am married because my husband will NOT kiss me with the gel all over my face. So for that reason, I only do it a couple of times a week now. (The things we do for our men! *smile*)

5.) Soak your feet in a bucket of hot water mixed with ¼ cup Epsom salt and 1 Tbs Glycerin. I like to do this while I watch one of my favorite movies. It makes your feet feel so nice!!! (And it is SUPER calming)

These are just a few things I like to do on a regular basis to feel pampered.
The key is to make sure you take care of YOU. Watch for those signs of “burn out” and do something about it. Don’t wear yourself out. Your kids need you at your best. Make sure you do what you can to stay at your best. ;)

#3 Being patient with yourself

2010-05-04T10:33:00.000-07:00

There was a time when my kids would spill something and I would go through the comments like “why can’t you be a little more careful?!” or “clean that mess up right now! Why did you do that?!!!”
How ironic that at that point in my life I was also being that unforgiving and rude to myself when I made mistakes. If I messed up on a goal, felt totally ugly that particular day, or just wasn’t feeling happy, I took those “failings” and pounded myself in the ground for them.

All too often we let past wrongs hold future probabilities and accomplishments captive.
It is okay to make mistakes as long as we learn from them and move forward. It is important to STUDY and PRAY so we can truly learn how to move forward from our mistakes.

This is something I read often and LOVE. It is called The Lesson of the Elephant:

“Elephant trainers in Africa have a tried and true method of successfully training young elephants. Taking the young, weaned elephant from its mother, they place a large metal band around the young elephant’s leg, attach a heavy chain, and insert a pike, which is driven deeply into the ground.
Try as it may, the young elephant cannot break free of this restraint. Some elephants continue trying for days and even wear the metal band into their ankle bone. But eventually all the young elephants realize they must stand quietly where their trainers have placed them. They give up trying to escape.
Years later when these massive animals weigh thousands of pounds and have enormous power, the trainer need only place a simple rope and wooden stake to secure the elephant. Past failures to escape continue to hold the elephant back and mask its true new potential.
How sad we say---how cruel to the elephants!! But there are few of us who haven’t been “trained” by past failures to believe that there are things we cannot do!
Not unlike the elephants, we are our own handicap. We must re-learn not to forfeit our obvious advantage now because of painful past failures!!”

Now I don’t want you to walk away from this post thinking I am calling all mothers Elephants, but according to the point this story is trying to illustrate, we truly are. We are stronger and have more influence on our children and the WORLD than we want to believe. Well, now is the time to start believing.

I am happy to say that NOW when my kids spill something or break something, I stop, take a deep breath and simply say “accidents happen. Let’s clean this up together shall we.”
I can now do this because I am more kind and patient with MYSELF when I make mistakes. (And I make many!!)

It makes me smile when I am the one who spills something and my kids hand me a towel and say “It is okay mommy. Accidents happen.”

Our example on forgiving ourselves is HUGE to how our children look at themselves and also forgive others.

#2 Setting reasonable goals

2010-05-03T09:20:00.000-07:00

Setting goals can either make you or break you…………depending on HOW those goals are set.

My dad is the KING of analogies and he helped me understand just how to set goals for myself through an analogy that I COMPLETELY understood.

My dad has built TWO of our houses and finished a couple of basements. I have been able to help him with a few of these projects, so I know FIRST hand what he means when he tells me “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

When building a house, you create the entire thing SPIRITUALLY before you even touch anything PHYSICALLY. You create a blueprint and make sure EVERYTHING measures out correctly in accordance with the amount of space you are building on. You also have to figure out just HOW much you will need in supplies and how much those supplies are going to cost. You have to make sure you have the right tools, the right equipment, and you need to make sure you set aside enough TIME in order to get it done.

In other words, a LOT of the work in building a house is done before you even pick up a hammer. (Or in my husband’s case, a nail gun)

In setting goals, you also have to decide what it is you REALLY want to accomplish. (Or build) What do you want the END product to look like?

You need to make sure everything measures out just right. You need to figure out what you will need in order to achieve the goal. And last, but not least, you will need to figure out how much it will cost. (Cost meaning time and effort) If you can’t afford the time and effort it will take to keep a particular goal, revise it till it is something you CAN afford. (Or do)

I like to set my goals for a year and then chop it down into monthly, weekly and daily bites. By doing this, I can CLEARLY see if my goal is too big to accomplish.

For instance, if I want to read a book that has 500 pages in it by the end of the year, but I only have enough time to read 1 page a day, I know that 500 pages by the end of the year is not a doable goal. At that point, I could decide to read only half of the book in one year. (Or sacrifice time I spend doing something else, so I have time to read more pages a day)
DO stretch yourself a little, but don’t do it to the point where you will get overwhelmed and “give up” all together.

It’s also good to set aside some time each day or each week to go over those goals so you can keep yourself focused.

Remember that there is NO better time to start than RIGHT NOW! If you keep putting it off until it is “easier” or “more convenient” you will be less likely to “stick with it” when times get a little harder.

Now go have fun setting those goals!! :)

#1 Daily List Of 10

2010-04-29T08:07:00.000-07:00

Okay, so referring to the list in the previous post, we will start with 1.)"Taking some time in the morning to write down at LEAST ten things I liked about myself."

I think out of all the things I worked on, this one was the hardest. It is VERY hard to come up with 10 different things you like about yourself EVERY morning when you often times feel like such a failure. But I can promise you that this step is HUGE in learning how to be more loving and patient with yourself and your children. It will get easier to do.

Why is it so important to write down these 10 things and not just think about them in your head? It is VERY important for you to actually SEE the words on paper. It helps your brain register that you REALLY do mean it. And as you write them down, accept them as true. Write down the entire sentence, not just a basic list like: hair, smile, personality.
Actually write it down like you were telling someone: “I like my hair because______”
Or “I like my smile because______”

What you think about and dwell upon will eventuate, so every thought MUST be a positive one if you want to head in that direction.

If you get to a point where you really can’t think of anything else to put on that daily list, start making a list of things you would LIKE to become. And as you make that list of things you would like to become, put it on the paper as if it is what you already are.
For instance: “I like that I am really diligent at exercising every day.” Or “I like how I keep my house in order.”
By doing this you are sparking that flame in your mind that will set those wheels in motion. Even though it may seem so simple, it WILL have an impact on how you start to behave and what you start to do. TRUST ME!!

The only thing standing in the way of what we TRULY want is belief we can actually do it, work and time. So as you write down those things that you would LIKE to become, let yourself REALLY believe it and accept it as true.
If you have a hard time WANTING to do something, then put on your paper "I like that I want to _________ more." Eventually you will believe that it is true and it will eventuate.

This step alone will change the way you look at yourself and your true potential as a mother. Being positive about who you are is a HUGE key to success in becoming more patient and kind with yourself. (And to those sweet children you are so blessed to be with every day)

All About Mothers

2010-04-27T11:27:00.000-07:00

Since Mother’s Day is coming up, I thought I would make the posts from now until then “all about mothers.”

To start, I am going to tell a little story from my own personal experience.

After I had my second child, life didn’t seem like it could get any harder…………until I had number three.
Having three children, 3 and under was a huge challenge for me. I was running a million miles an hour and I felt like I could NEVER catch up with everything that needed to be done in (and outside) my house. I was a wreck to say the least.

Not only was I not keeping my house under control, but I was not keeping my temper under control. I was becoming that mom that I vowed I would NEVER become.
I was yelling, getting upset over the SMALLEST things and found myself exhausted by the end of the day. I just couldn’t understand why I wasn’t able to get my kids to do what I wanted them to do.

As I desperately prayed to my Heavenly Father for help to become more patient and loving with my children I was given an answer that, at first, was hard for me to understand.
Heavenly Father helped me understand that it had NOTHING to do with me being more patient with my children, but rather being more patient and loving toward myself.

I was working on some goals at the time that I was having a HARD time living up to. (And I understood later that they were goals that were too much for me at that stage of my life) I was trying to take on everything that came my way. I was so hard on myself when I made ANY mistakes. I got into the BAD habit of picking myself apart.

And because I was doing these things to myself, I was taking my frustrations out on my children.
On the days when I was harder on myself, I was harder on my children. If my children made ANY little mistake, I treated them like I was treating myself when I made mistakes.
Because of the insight I received from a loving heavenly Father, I was able to point to the real problem and work HARD on correcting some bad habits I had gotten myself into.

It involved:

1.) Taking some time in the morning to write down at LEAST ten things I liked about myself.
2.) Setting REASONABLE goals. I learned to stop setting myself up for failure.
3.) Being patient with myself. Making mistakes will only be “bad” if I don’t learn from them or do all that I can to correct the mistake.
4.) Taking some time for ME. As a mother, I know that when my kids are on the grumpy side, they are most likely tired and need to take a nap. Well, sometimes mommy is “grumpy” and needs a nap. I had to learn that I am not neglecting my children if I pop in a video and take a little nap now and then.
5.) Learning the importance of staying healthy, fit and strong.
6.) Learning to STOP comparing myself to other mom’s. This one is hard NOT to do. I think we are prone to compare our weaknesses with other people’s strengths and that just isn’t fair. Once I learned to just do my own thing and do it the best that I could, it took a HUGE weight off of my shoulders. It allowed me to be…….ME. (And be okay with that)
7.) Realizing that I don’t have to do this alone.
8.) Learning to laugh a little more.
9.) Strengthening my relationship with my Heavenly Father on a DAILY basis has been the biggest strength to me as a mother. When we understand God’s love and patience toward us, we are not only better able to have it for ourselves, but for our children.

Throughout this week, I will be going over some of these steps and what I have learned from working on them.

Being a mom is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. (Besides being married to a man that treats me like a queen)

I can now say that these are no longer “survival years” for me. (Years I look back on and wonder how I made it alive)

By learning to be more patient and kind with ourselves, we will see a huge difference in our level of patience and kindness toward our children.

TALK to your Children!!

2010-04-21T14:34:00.000-07:00

Just as important as our children communicating with each other (as in the below post) is our ability to communicate well with our children.

Daily “battles” with our children do NOT need to take place. There is no reason this should ever happen so long as we are communicating properly.

Proper communication with our children involves:

1.) Telling our children when we are having a bad day. Don’t just expect them to “read” your mood and behave in a way that will make you happy that day. Tell them how you are feeling and what they could do to make you feel especially happy. This will give them an opportunity to learn to not only comfort others who are feeling sad, but it will show them how to express their own feelings to others (and you) rather than “acting out.” (which will still happen on those days when they are SUPER tired)
On days where I have done this, I begin to see my children as a HUGE blessing instead of a burden to my hard day.
My 4 your old (who is the tender heart in our house) will usually wrap her arms around me and tell me how much she loves me. (Let’s face it, a hug is what most of us usually need on those hard days)
My 5 your old will usually get busy doing the things that he knows I need to get done that day. (The dishes, cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming)
It is awesome to see my children love and comfort me when I give them that opportunity by communicating my feelings with them.

2.) If your child is the reason for your bad day, talk to them and let them know that the way they are behaving is making your day a lot harder than it needs to be.
But as you do this, quickly let them know all of the things they have done in the past that HAS made your day better and more enjoyable.
Just today I sat down with my son (who was causing me to go a little insane) and said “You don’t need to act like this. You are too nice and too good to be acting this way.” He totally agreed with me and COMPLETELY changed his attitude toward me and everyone in the house. It was amazing!
(You may even need to point to a particular situation in which they behaved VERY well. This will remind them how behaving well made them happier in the past)

3.) Teach your children to communicate with you.
Sometimes we forget that we are not the only ones who have “bad days.” Our children are learning and growing SO much and it can get overwhelming and very frustrating for them.
Because children don’t always come out and say “hay mom, I really feel like crap today,” we need to recognize mood changes and be sensitive to their needs. A lot of times we just get upset when they are grumpy with us, but then expect them to “understand” when we get grumpy with them.
The double standard doesn’t always fly with kids and it will only cause them to act out even more. They have emotional needs that MUST be recognized and it is our job to teach them how to deal with those emotions.
Some times that may be giving them a hug, rocking them, or (if they are older) taking some one on one time to ask them what you can do to help them feel better.

4.) Before this turns into a novel, I want to mention the last (and I think most important) point in communicating with our children.
EXAMPLE!!!!
Our children learn best how to communicate by watching us communicate with others………….and especially with them.
If you are sarcastic, disrespectful or raise your voice to your children, they notice. They notice and they are learning FROM YOU, how to communicate with not only others, but with you.

The better we are able to communicate with our children, the greater our relationship will be.

Communication

2010-04-19T09:43:00.001-07:00

For the past little while, I have had some problems with my kids getting into arguments with each other or getting upset by something a sibling did to them, and then running to me to tell me “all about it”……….hoping I would go take care of the problem.

Well, I have been thinking long and hard about this. Like always, I relate it to my life and what I have learned from similar experiences, or what I want them to ultimately learn from it to help them when they themselves are adults.

I have a HUGE testimony of the power of communication! As a nanny, I saw a couple I worked for pick each other apart and then go to friends to “vent” about the other spouse. (So they would feel validated I assume)

When they ultimately decided to get a divorce, I asked the wife (who I was super close with) what she thought was the biggest issue that drove them apart. She hit the nail on the head when she said “we did not communicate very well.”

Communication is HUGE in any relationship. I would even dare say it is the MOST important key in any relationship. (How can you love if you cannot communicate?)
Look at any relationship you have and you will see that this is 100% true.
Look at your relationship with your Heavenly Father. When you stop communicating with him, your relationship suffers GREATLY!!

So when I saw my kids struggling in this area, I decided to teach them a VERY important lesson that will help them in ALL of their relationships in the future.

1.) TALK to the person who offended you.
I think it is human nature to run and tell other people (gossip about) what someone has done that hurt us. By doing this, it not only makes the offender look bad to MANY other people (which is very hurtful……and virtually impossible to stop from spreading) but it does NOT take care of the problem……..it only makes it worse.

2.) EXPLAIN how that person’s actions really hurt our feelings or made us feel offended.
Sometimes we may have taken something TOTALLY wrong and the person who offended us had NO idea they even hurt our feelings.
But you will never know that unless you TALK to them. By addressing the problem right there where the problem started, it lets all of that hurt and pain die right there and not be spread around.

So now when my kids come to me and try and tell me how their sibling did this or that and it made them feel bad, I simply say “well, since I was not there and I didn’t do that to you, you need to go to (sibling) and NICELY let them know how that made you feel and then ask them to please not do that to you again.”

It is AMAZING to see them TALK it out!!! They are learning at a YOUNG age how to be mature and to take care of their own hurt feelings rather than spreading the negative feelings around or expecting someone else to always take care of their problems for them.
The hurt and anger are killed right where they started.
It is also fun to see the offender say how sorry they are, hug the person they offended and move on as FRIENDS.
(And my job is no longer referee)

Communication is HUGE!!!

Why We Are "Mommy"

2010-04-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

This is a song by Taylor Swift. (Get out your tissue)

This is it! This is why we do what we do every single day. This is why we change diapers and wipe runny noses. We are EVERYTHING to our children. (And let’s face it, they are everything to us)

Yummy and Fun

2010-04-12T11:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, since most of you know that I am now pregnant with baby number 5, I am taking full advantage of using my being sick as the excuse as to why I have not posted in a while. Life could not possibly feel worse right now.

BUT, on a happy note, I wanted to share a SUPER yummy cookie recipe with you. My kids LOVE making these cookies because they get to roll the dough into little balls and then cover them in cinnamon and sugar. They are lots of hands on for the kids and I have to tell you that they are the best cookies I have ever had. (And I usually HATE any cookie with Molasses in them)

MOLASSES COOKIES

1/2 C Shortening
1 1/2 C Butter
4 C Sugar
4 Eggs
1 C Molasses
1 tsp. Salt
8 C Flour
3 Tbs Cinnamon
2 tsps Cloves
2 tsps Soda

(Normally I half this recipe) If not, you will have a ton of cookies!

Cream butter, sugar, eggs and then add the rest.

Roll into balls then roll balls in a mixture of 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 C Sugar.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 for 8-10 min.

Glaze while still warm.
Glaze:
1/4 C Water
2 C powdered Sugar
1/2 tsp. Vanilla

Enjoy!

Motivation from Inside

2010-03-31T17:11:00.000-07:00

This is a post from Dr. Laura's blog. This is info that I think is helpful for any mother. Getting your child to WANT to do something is hard to do at times.
I hope this helps!

Here is the article:
I get many calls from people wanting to know how to motivate someone else to do something (usually something they don’t want to do, like giving up smoking or getting more physically active).

I recently came across an adorable and terrific study of about 51 kidlets between the ages of 3 and 4 who LOVE to draw (hang in there - there is a connection between the first paragraph and the results of this study):

Those conducting the study put the children in three groups.

. The first group was told they would get a certificate with a gold seal and ribbon if they took part in the project.
. The second group was just given crayons.
. The third group was the same as the second group, but they were given a surprise reward.

Then they watched them draw independently for many days afterward (so they could check out the long-range effects of giving a reward. What they found was fascinating:

1. The kids who were told in advance about the reward put less effort into their drawings and their interest in drawing waned.
2. The kids with no reward or a “surprise” reward kept their motivation steady and drew more than the first group.

Bottom line? People tend to do things they enjoy and when they do so, they are motivated from within. When a reward is thrown into the equation, the motivation from without diminishes the motivation from within, because the reward itself becomes the motivation, and getting it (even by cheating or lying) becomes the goal. That’s why a lot of people don’t want to make money off their hobbies - they somehow recognize that if they have to do it, it will lose something in terms of the enjoyment of it. Motivation decreases and the process becomes painful. Play becomes “work” when we get paid.

Normally, we separate work from play, and we do expect a salary for that work. But the things we simply enjoy need to stay in the realm of inner pleasure and motivation. We don’t work as hard at something when we have to get the reward. Our natural talent for self-regulation is upset and damaged when a reward system is put into place.

So, manipulations with reward may work very temporarily, but then they rob individuals of their own positive attitude about the activity.

Encouragement is always the better technique, i.e., finding something wonderful to say about the person’s activity (on a philosophical level): “Hey, it’s amazing how you can get into such a ‘Zen’ place and create out of thin air! That must feel wonderful!”

And as for the spouse situation with smoking, overeating, under-exercising, and not helping around the farm or house, try this: “Honey, you looked so happy when you _________(e.g., didn’t grab for a cigarette).” In other words, pick on one small half of an iota to feed back the pleasure concept. Keep it small or short, and then they might want to self-regulate in order to get that good feeling for themselves by themselves.

Setting Goals When You Have Kids

2010-03-22T12:58:00.000-07:00

Setting goals and KEEPING them can sometimes get difficult when you have little critters that need most of your time.
I set goals each year and TRUST me, it is not easy to keep up with them some times. It requires getting up earlier then my kids so I can have a little bit of ME time and plan my day. (And if your kids are like mine, 6am is sleeping in for them)

But as I set goals and keep them, I also want to make sure that my kids are very much a part of that process.
I would MUCH rather exercise without my kids coming and sitting on me every five minutes, but I love the fact that they are seeing me exercise and take care of my body. And it can also be fun to have them help me work out.
In the summer time, My oldest child likes to ride his bike while I walk beside him. When I am doing stomach crunches, it can be fun to have my littlest child sitting on my legs and receive a kiss every time I come up. She LOVES that!!

It makes me feel good to see my kids exercise with me. I know that they are getting into some great habits that will help them stay fit and healthy for life.

When I read my Scriptures early in the morning, and a little one comes and sits on my lap, I know that they are seeing just how important that Scripture time really is in my life. (And hopefully they will also make it important in their own lives)
Or if they walk into the room while I am praying and meditating, I ask them to join me. Not only do I end up feeling closer to my Heavenly Father, but I get closer to my child as well.

I have also set a goal to practice the piano EVERY day. I thought I would NEVER find the time to do this one on a regular basis. But I have found some fun ways to include my children in this goal, and now THEY are the ones that keep me practicing on a daily basis.

When I play, I have the kids run around or dance. When I randomly stop playing, they have to freeze. If they don’t freeze fast enough, I get to tickle them.

Or I will play a song on the piano while they hide. They know that when the song is over, I am coming to look for them.

They also like it when I change the tempo in a song to make it fast or slow. They will run around as fast or as slow as I play a song. They think that is pretty cool.

So now, my kids are asking ME if I can practice my piano every day. They love these games and like to play them often. So when they play them often, that means I practice the piano often. It’s pretty awesome!!

I guess my point is that JUST because we are busy moms and have kids to run after all day long, doesn’t mean we cannot include them in some of the things WE need to get done, or some of the goals we are working on.

For me, I would have to say that my kids actually help me keep my goals better than I ever could on my own. They are persistent and make sure I do my goals on a consistent basis. ………….as long as I include them in on all of the fun. ;)

Be Prepared

2010-03-19T10:33:00.000-07:00

For the past couple of months, I have been feeling the strongest impressions to get my family ready for a natural disaster.

As it is now, I have not been very good about putting together any sort of 72 hour or flight kit. I have a couple of items in ONE backpack……….but with 6 family members, one backpack with a few items is not going to go too far.

As parents, we are responsible for the care and safety of our children. I think I am doing a pretty good job on the day to day basis, but if there were a natural disaster in our area, my kids would suffer.

So because I want that peace and comfort that comes from being prepared, I am determined to get 72 hour kits for EACH member of my family.
I want to be self reliant and more confident if something should happen in our area.

But as I get my family prepared, I feel the need to tell everyone how VERY important it is to get your family ready for any kind of disaster. A little bit of money and time now, may save your life later.

I find it amazing that along with these promptings to get my family ready, the Lord has blessed us with the money to do so. We have randomly received extra money from work, family and of course tax returns.

This extra money could very well go toward something trivial that we have wanted to get, or we can get our family prepared. We have decided to forgo our wants and make sure our family is safe.

I have calculated everything I will need for my family, by going to the king of all websites Emergency Essentials (click on the name to go to the site)

When you think of putting together a 72 hour kit, it can get a bit overwhelming.
So to make things more simple, I found a 72 hour kit that I liked on this site, looked at the contents in the kit and wrote down all of the items I liked.

After that, I searched for each item and got 6 of them. (Some items you will only need 1 of each………such as a tri-fold shovel or radio)

I like this website because a lot of their items are created to pack into a small backpack. Also, most of the blankets are reflective and can keep you warmer than just packing a normal blanket you may have laying around your house.

I will also be including a deck of cards and a little beanie baby in each of my kid’s packs. That way, if we have to be away from home for a while, they will have something to play with and give them a little bit of comfort.

You may want to add some snacks that you know your kids like. You will have to rotate through them on a regular basis, but at least you will have something for them to snack on…………JUST in case they don’t care for the MRE packs.

I am also going to include some medicine in our packs. After we got hit with sickness this past couple of weeks, I realized how much I need to beef up my medicine supply for disaster purposes.

I hope this information will help you get started. Like I said, it can be overwhelming, but once you sit down to do it, you will be amazed at just how simple it really is.
And the peace of mind it will provide for you is priceless!!

Meal Time Rules

2010-03-18T08:45:00.000-07:00

With four small children, meal time can be pretty close to a trip to the zoo.
You have one child (the monkey) climbing on and off their chair.
Another child (the hyena) teases everyone and then laughs as the victims get upset.
The “Lion” devours his food and then looks to see what he can grab off of another person’s plate.
The “mouse” simply nibbles on the meal……….taking a LONG time to actually finish. (Okay, so maybe there are no mice at the zoo………but this is my analogy so I can do whatever I want with it.)

If you only have one child, you most likely have NO idea what I am talking about. But if you are a mother that has more than one child…………let’s get together and compare gray hairs.

Well, one day I decided I had had enough. So I did what I do best………I created yet another group of rules in our house.
I will share them with you JUST in case you too have this problem at your dinner table. (But who knows, I may be the only one……..)

Rule #1
NO toys at the table. None! Zilch! Nada! No Way!
I have found that this rule alone cuts down on a lot of the noise at my table. (And the kids eat faster when they are not busy with a toy)
If I find just ONE toy in my dining room or kitchen, that toy goes in “time out” for a while.
If I see a toy in the kitchen, I loudly say “Oh look, a toy to put in time out!” I usually see the toy scene evacuated pretty quick after that. :)

Rule #2
No touching, teasing, or taking something (including food) from someone else. (No bad table manners in general)
If any of my children do this, they get ONE warning. If they do it again, they have to go to their room until everyone else is done eating, then they come and eat alone.
I like to stress to the offender that if they want to eat with others, they have to respect them. If they cannot do that, they eat alone. (And I like to rub it in by saying how eating alone is no fun…………......even though there are days I would LOVE to eat alone.)

Rule #3
You eat what is on your plate and THEN you can have something else.
If I know my kids don’t like a particular meal, I will give them a smaller amount, but I still have them eat it. They know that if they eat that small amount of food, they will then get to have something they DO like. (But it can’t be something that takes a lot of effort to make. They can have yogurt or a bagel…….applesauce……cereal……something simple like that)
I am NOT going to spend my evening making a different meal for each child.

Rule #4
When the child is done eating, they must ask to be excused and are responsible for taking their own dishes to the sink.
I even like to encourage them to tell me how nice the meal was…………because even though I enjoy hearing it, I also want them to grow up learning to be thankful for what they get.

Now go TRY to enjoy your next meal. ;)

Two fun snack ideas

2010-03-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

First of all, I do NOT claim to be a photographer. (I don’t know why I took the time to mention that. I think it will be fairly obvious)

I let my kids look through one of the fun kid cookbooks I have and told them to pick out what they wanted to make for snack time.
They chose these two snacks and it was a lot of fun letting them help me make them.

#1-SNACK
Cut a banana in half and put it on a popsicle stick.

Coat with Peanut Butter

Roll in coconut, nuts, or shake sprinkles over the peanut butter

Super yummy and lots of fun for the kids to eat!

#2-SNACK
Cut crust off of two pieces of white bread

Overlap ends a bit, then roll flat with a rolling pin (the kids love this part)

Spread with Peanut Butter and Jelly

Roll up into a log shape

Cut into little pinwheels

Enjoy!!

Chronic Constipation

2010-03-08T06:34:00.000-08:00

I know this isn’t a pleasant subject, but let’s face it; sometimes kids have issues with getting a bit plugged up. Usually you can just give them some raisins or prunes and presto!!
But some children may actually suffer from chronic constipation.

When my third child was born, he had some serious constipation issues. I tried prunes, raisins, molasses water, suppositories (If you have ever had to use those on your child, I feel your pain) and even turned to the children’s laxatives.

The laxatives usually worked after a while, but I pretty much had to give my child a laxative every other day in order to keep him regular. Once I tried to get him off of it, he was constipated all over again.

I am a health freak, so having my child living off of laxatives was NOT okay with me.
Using them on a regular basis is unhealthy and even dangerous. Children that are kept on a laxative will have vitamin deficiencies and could become dehydrated more easily than a child who is not on a laxative.
It also causes the body to actually become dependent on the laxative in order to function. It is just dangerous all around.

I took my child to a doctor but he only prescribed a different laxative. I was NOT happy with that.

So becoming desperate, I took my child to my Grandfather who happened to be a chiropractor and naturopath.
As soon as I explained that my child has had issues with constipation since he was born, my Grandfather immediately knew what was wrong; His lower back was out.

He told me that some times when babies are born, their lower backs get put out of place. When this happens, it causes issues with bowel movements.
The only thing that needed to be done was to have his lower back popped back into place.

I admit, I had a hard time believing that simply getting my child’s back popped would cure an issue I had been dealing with for months.

But because I had already tried EVERYTHING else and it wasn't working, I decided to give this a try.
My Grandfather put his lower back into place and I took my child home.

Within a couple of days, my child would not STOP having bowel movements. I could not believe it!!!
And the crazy thing about it is that my son has never had a problem with constipation since.

I am now a believer!!!

Some Fun St. Patrick's Day Stuff

2010-03-05T07:18:00.000-08:00

Click Here

Have a fun one!!

Could you help me out?!!

2010-02-25T09:40:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking SO much lately about the power of example.

I often ask my children to help me do various things throughout the day and they are usually happy to help.

But I noticed something had changed. They started becoming less inclined to help me the first time I asked. I was starting to get frustrated and upset……..until I did something that is VERY hard to do. I took a step back and looked at the situation and what I MAY have had to do with this sudden change.

I realized that while the kids were always willing and happy to help me out when I needed an extra hand, I was not so willing to help them out in return. I was either too lazy or decided that “they are old enough to do it themselves and I should not have to help them at their age. They need to be a BIG kid now.”
Well, frankly, I am old enough to do most things myself as well, but I still ask for help now and then.

When they ask me to get something they are perfectly capable of getting on their own, I need to think about all of the times I ask them to get me something I am perfectly capable of getting on my own.

So I tried being more willing to jump up and help when I was asked. It was AMAZING to see the change in my children. Now they are more willing to help me the first time I ask as well.

Once in a while I will make one of their beds or clean their room and then tell them I did so because I am so grateful for all of the help they are to me.
It makes me smile when I go into my room and find the same act of service done for me as well.

Now when I am not feeling well (emotionally or physically) I see children taking care of me and doing whatever needs to get done. I think that is in part because they know that I will gladly do the same for them when they are having a hard day as well.

It’s amazing how much we can learn from our children on a daily basis.
Sometimes it just takes a little self evaluation. That is NOT always easy to do……..but oh so worth it!!!

ONE LAST THING

2010-02-18T08:18:00.000-08:00

I was talking with a friend of mine and realized that I forgot to mention ONE thing about potty training. (And after I tell you what that one thing is, I PROMISE to shut up about potty training)

My friend has a three year old daughter that has the same problem I am running into with my little #4; the bowel movements are still much too soft and baby like.
I don’t want to go into too much detail, but I think you gather what I mean here.
(I just think of what an amazing mom my friend is to still keep up potty training in underpants when her daughter has this issue. That is dedication!!)

With all of my other children, by 17 months old their bowel movements were a little more solid, so Potty training was a go!
If you have the same issue my friend and I have……..where they are not so solid……..you may want to do one of two things:

1.) Wait till they get a little older and have more solid bowel movements before you start potty training.
2.) Continue potty training, but use pull-ups until the child’s bowel movements become more solid.

With my #4 child, I have been trying to decide which of these two options to go with. I have thought about just waiting till she is 20 months and go from there.

But when I ask her if she needs to go to the bathroom, she usually nods her head up and down and then runs to the bathroom. (And she actually goes pee pee more often than not)

Yesterday she actually came up to me and said “pee pee” and then ran to the bathroom door and motioned for me to open it to let her in.
Even thought she just sat on the toilet and did nothing in it, I hate to stop this progress we have already made.

So for me, I think I will be doing option 2 until things get more solid and then I will do the normal cold turkey stuff we talked about before.

The main thing to learn from all of this is that each child is different and you just have to work with the situation and move forward as best you can. Don’t give up on it.