Cinderella Tot Book - simple tot book with colors, shapes & numbers, I am assembling this one for my younger L - she is 19 months now and is in love with "Rella"
Birds Pre-School Pack & here (part 2)- created by 1+1+1=1.com & HomeSchoolCreations.com, I am printing this as I type. I am planning on laminating the pages to make them re-usable, then assembling all of the pieces into a file folder with a few envelope pockets. This will be tops on the list for next week!
Spring Tot Packs & Books - so much to choose from, we are taking a break from our letter of the week routine to focus more on Easter this week, I am gathering up some of the Easter printable pack from 1+1+1=1 from Lena and Lucy!
4.18.2011
Thanking Fellow Mama Bloggers...On the Journey!
At home with the girls, I often roll like a yo-yo up and down - having a great day & then a bad day, all within a matter of minutes. Life with my two girls (and the husband:) is amazing but far too often I get caught up in the daily to do's of cooking, cleaning, pottying, teaching, even the fun things like reading books, doing puzzles and playing on the swing set can get lost in the shuffle of life. I am so thankful to have found support in not only my real live friends, but also those women that I don't know who are blogging about their honest experiences as mothers.
From the moms who admit that they are terrible housekeepers to those who admit to letting their children watch TV (gasp!) to those who share all of their creative and productive ways of playing & teaching their children, it is so refreshing and reassuring to find other moms, working and stay at home alike, loving and struggling through the same things. I am especially grateful to be reminded that raising children is a journey, it is not a rushed result.
Just last week, as we were leaving the house to run some errands, Lena ran off to one of our flower beds, through the new sprouts of grass and over the freshly spread mulch - in her brand new sandals - hopped over a plant or two along the way and squealed with joy as she bent to smell the wide open pink tulips bathing in the sun.
My initial instinct was a cringe, my mouth opened and then...I paused and thought (something I don't always do in the heat of the moment - but I am so glad I did) - She's got it right! I am appreciative that in that busy moment, I took a step back and made time to see the magic of God's world through her eyes...
So, instead of pleading for her to STOP...I enjoyed the moment and have played it over many times in my mind...just as a reminder to be thankful for all of the blessings in my life...to stop leaping forward to look for the next opportunity, but instead savoring the one at hand.
From the moms who admit that they are terrible housekeepers to those who admit to letting their children watch TV (gasp!) to those who share all of their creative and productive ways of playing & teaching their children, it is so refreshing and reassuring to find other moms, working and stay at home alike, loving and struggling through the same things. I am especially grateful to be reminded that raising children is a journey, it is not a rushed result.
Just last week, as we were leaving the house to run some errands, Lena ran off to one of our flower beds, through the new sprouts of grass and over the freshly spread mulch - in her brand new sandals - hopped over a plant or two along the way and squealed with joy as she bent to smell the wide open pink tulips bathing in the sun.
My initial instinct was a cringe, my mouth opened and then...I paused and thought (something I don't always do in the heat of the moment - but I am so glad I did) - She's got it right! I am appreciative that in that busy moment, I took a step back and made time to see the magic of God's world through her eyes...
There simply is no good reason not to stop to smell the flowers.
So, instead of pleading for her to STOP...I enjoyed the moment and have played it over many times in my mind...just as a reminder to be thankful for all of the blessings in my life...to stop leaping forward to look for the next opportunity, but instead savoring the one at hand.
4.17.2011
The Spring Directory
Spring Tot Packs & Books - so much to choose from, we are taking a break from our letter of the week routine to focus more on Easter this week, I am gathering up some of the Easter printable pack from 1+1+1=1 from Lena and Lucy!
Birds Pre-School Pack & here (part 2)- created by 1+1+1=1.com & HomeSchoolCreations.com, I am printing this as I type. I am planning on laminating the pages to make them re-usable, then assembling all of the pieces into a file folder with a few envelope pockets. This will be tops on the list for next week!
Birds Pre-School Pack & here (part 2)- created by 1+1+1=1.com & HomeSchoolCreations.com, I am printing this as I type. I am planning on laminating the pages to make them re-usable, then assembling all of the pieces into a file folder with a few envelope pockets. This will be tops on the list for next week!
4.16.2011
the Listening Directory
A Directory for Listening Activities for Toddlers and Pre-Schoolers
Foam Stickers Listening Activity - listening skill game with orientation skills too!
In-Between Listening Activity - no prep activity with many variations, use bowling pins, colored blocks, etc.
Math Bag Listening Game - water bag addition, what fun!
4.14.2011
Sticker Graphing
This is a quick math activity that is versatile and good for travel too. Skills include counting, graphing, discriminating among similar pictures, compare & contrast, more & less, similar and different, fine motor skills too! Bonus...Lena loved it and once I showed her how to do it, she was self-sufficient for about 10 minutes. I did check in with her to do some counting and discuss more and less, etc.
THE PROCESS
THE RESULT
I first saw this on: Fun & Engaging Toddler Activities
Here is a link to the simple printable chart: Sticker Graph
4.13.2011
Bringing up a Booklover
When I was a little girl, I remember night after night of laying at the edge of my bed nearest the hallway light to read for as long as I could keep my my peepers peeled. Other nights, I would sneak into our family's formal living room and sit behind a table in the corner to read while my parents searched to get me back into bed and asleep...
Fast forward thirty years, to April 13, 8:30 in the evening...Lena is upstairs in bed... READING!
Now, of course, by reading I mean retelling stories that we have read time and time and time again; those she doesn't know by heart, she makes up by the pictures on the pages. She loves books, loves to tell and listen to stories. My husband and I, both avid readers from a young age, read to Lena and Lucy day in and day out from the first week we brought them home. In the beginning, it was a way for me to pass the time with my newborn but I believe it not only fostered a love of books but also formed a pocket of time to bond, cuddle and share the words on the page that take us to another place where our imaginations stretch to new folds.
There are certainly times that I go through the motions - when we are on our 27th book of the day and I am reading it for the 201st time, I know the words and can recite them without thought and let my mind wander to my to-do list and then back to the moment at hand surprised to be closing the back cover with such mindless ease. Albeit the books I breeze through, there are many reading moments that I make a concerted effort to be fully engaged in the story, the illustrations, a dialouge about the book. It is in these moments, that I become a silent observer of the magic that transcends over my daughters as they are engulfed by the tales of a small bird, or a coming of age tale of a girl who gives back to the world, or a fairy tale, or a catchy nursery rhyme, or a jungle story, or a _____________...the possibilities are endless - I love watching the magnetic magic in the eyes of my daughters - the kind of unique sparkle characteristic only in a child's eye.
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| Lena received a lot of Step Into Reading books for her 3rd birthday, she loves to "read" these aloud. Her inflection and intonation are nothing short of endearing comedy. |
Letter Ss Crafts
Letter Ss - Activities and Crafts
Click on the titles for the link to the directions & source!!
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