Teaching My Preschooler | Weeks 2-4 | Ian's Homeschool Adventure

School has continued as usual, although my blogging time has been cut short a bit. Ian has an intentional learning time 2-3 times a week based on how much learning he actually wants to do. After all, he will turn 3 this Sunday, and school is not a requirement at his age.

Here is what Ian and I have done over the last three weeks.

Week 2:

Monday: 

We worked on p.7 of Numbers and Skills with Button Bear which focused on the  number 2. We read our stories from last week (which are listed below), and we also worked on P.7 in Letters and Sounds for 3's which focused on the letter "B."

Wednesday: 

We read stories and colored the letter B.

Thursday: 

We did p. 9 in both our Letters and Numbers books and then made "B" characters based on what we found at this website.

(Note: I did have a writing practice page for him for each day in our composition book for the letter B, but he was totally not interested. He has "mastered" the letter "A" and only wanted to write A's. So he did.)

Week 3:

Wednesday: 

Letters and Numbers books  p.11 (letter "C and review of numbers 1 and 2) and we read stories. Letter writing practice in his composition book.

Thursday:

Letters and Numbers books p. 13 and more stories. Letter writing practice in his composition book.

(Note: Because of the holiday weekend, and Ian being so used to not having our normal structure because Daddy had a 5 day weekend- which we totally loved!- we eased ourselves back into our "schedule" with Bud. He enjoyed writing his "C" way better than he enjoyed being shown how to draw a "B.")

Week 4:

Monday: 

Letters and Numbers books p. 15 (letter C and number 2) and lots of stories

Wednesday: 

Just stories- lots of them!

Friday:

Letters and numbers books p. 17. We traced his hands in his composition book and he colored them. We lightly touched on the fact that he has a right hand and a left hand.

(Note: Small children can learn just as much if not more by being read to.... and they learn to sit attentively for a reasonable amount of time. And you can't beat the snuggles that you get from that!)

Simplicity | Step Four

The original post can be found here.

This post contains affiliate links.

Today I am going to talk about one aspect of making things simple that has two parts (my complicated side is coming out here).

Have a schedule/plan.

I actually use both of these on a daily basis. Addie and Ian have been on schedules since they were a few weeks old. For safety/common sense reasons I won't go into detail about what our daily schedule is, but our schedule includes wake time, meal times, nap time, school time, bath time, and bed time. The rest of life fits around that schedule.

Now in all reality, life happens and sometimes schedules have to be adjusted, but having a general schedule to work from helps a lot.

The schedule also helps me to gauge what the best times for us to leave the house are and when it would be best for us to get home. I am able to plan grocery trips, visits, and the occasional picture taking session (it is so nice to know what time of the day your child is the happiest since the pictures will be around forever!) around our schedule.

A plan is also very important. You wouldn't go on a trip without knowing what your final destination would be, so why go into your day without knowing what you want the final outcome of the day to be.

When Addie was much smaller, I would literally plan my day to the minute with our activities. Now that she is older and we have Ian, the main schedule stays in place, and I keep a piece of paper on a clipboard with a list for myself of what I want to accomplish during my day for myself and for them. As things come up they are added to the list. The goal is to have everything crossed off by the time Brian gets home (or before).

My plan works like this:

I make a list of things that I need to accomplish in my day. The list ranges in size from day to day. Some things are always there, and some things change. Some days have very little planning because we will be out most of the day (like two weeks ago- co-op, lunch at the park, ice cream with Grandma, phone call with Kristi, dinner, Grandma and Pops house) and some days.....

I prefer to break up my day into three parts- morning, afternoon, and evening. I plan my day based on what I can realistically do within those time frames. But my plan has to fit into the "times" that I have designated for our structured schedule. (You can see a better quality photo of what that week looked like here. The colors do not stand for anything... they just look pretty!)


One mistake I was making early on in my new role as stay-at-home wife/mother was filling my to-do list with too many unrealistic goals. I was so used to having only two weeks at Christmas and 2 months in the summer to accomplish all of my self-imposed projects in my home that I went into staying-at-home with that same mentality.

I tried to do everything in my home in the first two weeks after having had a C-section! (Me and my self-imposed goals and ideas!) I finally realized that I had the rest of my life to clean and organize, and that I was not limited to a short time span. This helped to relieve a lot of stress for me.

Different people have different ways of making their lists and schedules. Some use Day Planners others use printouts of daily plans. This year I am using the Erin Condren Life Planner (pictured throughout this post)- which I LOVE!

Find what feels comfortable for you and works best for your family. Then make a plan. I pray you have a scratch-it-all-off-your-list kind of week!

Archives | Simplicity: Step One

The original post can be found here.

"God made man simple; man's complex problems are of his own devising." Ecclesiastes 7:30 JB

I have been thinking about the idea of simplicity lately...and how I tend to over-complicate things.

So for my own peace of mind, and for the sake of the rest of my family, there are some routines (or daily habits) that we have that make life simpler around here.

Have a morning routine.

Knowing what I am doing every morning takes the guess work out of the first part of the day. Morning routine items include my devotions, putting on the coffee, getting Brian's lunch together, putting a load in the wash, changing Ian's diaper and clothes, emptying the dishwasher, waving "good-bye!" to Brian/Daddy as he sets off to work, making the beds, getting myself dressed, breakfast for the kids and me, drying my load of laundry, and school. It seems like a lot, but actually, several of these things take little to no time at all.

I only do one load of laundry a day.

It goes into the washer as part of the morning routine, and once it is dried and folded, I don't think of laundry until the next morning. Both kids put their own laundry in the hampers, so I do not have to chase down dirty clothes. Addie puts her own laundry away in her dresser drawers. I remember working on this with Addie when she was much younger, but now that she is older, the time I put in back then has payed dividends.

The dishwasher is loaded throughout the day and the dishes are washed at night.

This method has kept the sink empty throughout the day. However, this also calls for the dishwasher to be ready for dirty dishes. As I mentioned, emptying the dishwasher has become one of my morning routine items. Addie and Ian help with putting away the dishes and items that go in the lower cabinets. Addie keeps an eye on Ian and only lets him help with nonbreakable items. As she gets bigger, she will take over my part of the "putting away" and Ian will take over her current job.

We pick up as we go along.

Throughout the day, as things get pulled out for use, I have been making a conscious effort to make sure they go back as soon as we are finished using them. So many times, it is easier to say, "I'll get it later." But the rule is "if you take it out, you put it away." Even if it takes forever! It really is worth the time and effort now to teach them how to put things away the was we want them so later, we are not having to undo something that was done incorrectly.

I do a "Clean Sweep" several times a day.

Throughout the day, things are bound to get left out accidentally. We do a "Clean Sweep", which is basically beginning at one end of the house, walking through each room making sure that it looks the way it is supposed to, and moving on tho the next room. I usually time myself for 15 minutes for the whole house (because the house is already in order, this should only take 15 minutes). The kitchen is always the last room that I hit.

These steps are ways that I have been able to streamline/simplify my morning and day, and I am able to accomplish more during my afternoons.

Needs: Theirs, Mine, and (H)ours

Imagine that you are running a 5K.

 

You've set a steady pace for yourself and you're doing well. You haven't spent too much energy, and if things keep going along the way they are you will finish this race with enough energy to pump your arms in the air as you collapse across the finish line. 

 

Suddenly, a hurdle is thrown in your path. You can either keep your pace and expect to run right through it (with horrible results) or you can pick up momentum, leap, and then resume your steady pace. Another hurdle may or may not be thrown in your path, but you never know.

 

As a woman, you know that this 5K race is one you run every single day. Some days there are obstacles/hurdles that suddenly appear at any given point and on others days the path couldn't be clearer while you are trying to reach the finish line in this race of life.

 

If you are a work-outside-the-home-mom, that hurdle might be the call from school telling you that you have a sick child that needs to be picked up. For the stay-at-home-mom, that hurdle could be the dreaded crayon incident that occurs while you are homeschooling your older child and sends you scrambling for some type of cleaner while saying "no, no, no" and trying to keep your cool at the same time (if it sounds like I know something about crayons on surfaces other than paper..... I do).

 

There are always going to be little things that come up during your day. Your children and your spouse need you and quite often need something of you. You have needs, too! And there are only so many hours in the day. 

 

So how do you keep from getting derailed but instead ending your day with a semblence of peace?                                        

 

1. Put God first.

It goes without saying. When you put The Lord first in your day, even if it is just having a prayer time with Him first thing in the morning, you are, in escence, handing your day to Him. It could not be in better hands than that. 

2. Evaluate your responsibilities for the day.

Make a list of what you and your family need to do, and then check it twice! Do you really need to get everything on that list done? What can be eliminated? Is your list overreaching what is even humanly possible to do on any given day?

3. Evaluate what your family's needs/desires/wants are.

If you have small children, mommy/child playtime is high on their list of needs/wants. Keep that in mind. What does your husband want? A nice dinner, a particular favorite meal, couple time? Keep his needs in mind. What do you need/want? A hot cup of tea or coffee during naptime, a chance to put your feet up for half and hour? 

4. Break up your day into thirds.

On a sheet of paper (or open a page on a digital notebook), write down morning, afternoon, and evening. 

Then take your list of responsibilities and your family's needs/wants and fit them within the three parts of your day.

For example, my list yesterday looked like this:

Morning- devotions and prayer, exercice, dress, quick clean, 2 loads laundry, homeschool, make pottery with Addie

Afternoon- balance accounts, pay bills, fold laundry, blog, prep dinner, play Barbies, cuddle time with the munchkins

Evening- quick clean, layout clothes for tomorrow (me and kids), pack Ian's lunch, pack Brian's lunch, pack Addie's back pack, clean kitchen, read two books with kids

I saved our fun activity as the last item for each part of the day. The idea behind this is to teach my children that we can have fun after we get our jobs done. They are also getting to have fun throughout the day instead of having to wait to have fun at the very end of the day.

In the morning, our fun activity was to make a clay pot (which turned out to be more of a plate) with a pottery making kit Great Grandma K gave us, and Ian got to color (a priviledge that had been taken away due to an incident earlier this week) because we completed everything on the list an hour before lunch. 

Because Addie gave me the quiet time I needed during naptime and even helped me make dinner and fold her laundry, we were able to play Barbies together once our afternoon tasks were complete. 

For me as a goal oriented person, I like knowing that one of my "things-to-do" is to stop, sit, and play or interact with my kids in a fun way without thinking about what I have to do next. 

I do get "me time", also. During nap time, I can sit with a cup of hot tea, iPad and keyboard, put on the Pioneer Woman's cooking show, and relax while I take care of my online things. For me, that is relaxing. 

By getting everything done by the time the kids go to bed in the evening, I am now available for my husband. 

Not having too many things to do on my list means that when hurdles suddenly get thrown in my path during my daily race, I have time to adjust my speed, pray, leap, and keep running.

It's a new day, Ladies! Lace up those running shoes and let's hit the pavement at a steady pace today.

Good Morning

A good morning generally makes for a good day on the home front.

Today's post is a photo montage of what a typical day in our home looks like. By typical I mean that nothing is happening to change the normal sequence of events (visitors, leaving the house, Awana, errands, grocery shopping).

These photos were taken over the course of a week with at least one being pulled from the archives. Contrary to popular belief, my camera is not always at the ready. Under each photo is a recap of what you are seeing. I have the photos timed to finish when the music ends, but if you feel it is going too fast to read my caption, you can hit the pause button and move through the photos manually.

The music playing is by Mandisa. It is the Capital Kings Remix of her song "Good Morning" featuring Toby Mac.

Have a Good Morning!

This slideshow customized with Smilebox

The iPad and the Bucket List

We recently came into the 21st century and purchased an iPad. We had looked into the Windows Surface but chose the iPad because it was something that could be used by the entire family.

We found so many educational apps for the kids (mostly free) and also some for "mindless" fun. Not everything they do has to center around education.

It is such a nifty little contraption, but, if we're not careful, it is so easy to spend quite a bit of time on it. We have put our own time limits on it for ourselves, but we have also found ways to put limits on it for the kids that do not make them feel that something wonderful is being with held from them.

Enter the Bucket List.

Currently our "bucket" is a wonton soup container.

In the mornings while I am doing my morning tasks, if Addie wants to have a bonus time playing the iPad, she has to complete five of the tickets in the bucket to earn 20 minutes of Pad Playtime. (My oven timer moves quickly in increments of 10, so it is 20 minutes instead of 15 so I don't have to sit there and push each minute)

Our tickets are:

• Read to Ian 15 min.
• Play a game 15 min. (with me)
• Vacuum (hand held) Ian's high chair and under your area of the dining room table
• Quick dust the living room (Swiffer duster or a damp rag) 
• Vacuum (hand held) next to the front door
• Help put away dishes
• Read a book for 10 min.
• Vacuum (hand held) the bathrooms
• Color 15 min.
• Put everything in your room away
• Play in your room for 15 min. (she takes Ian into her room to play)
• Play with brother for 15 min. (she was excited when she picked both of these in one day!)
• Read the flashcards set up around the house
• Put shoes away
• Play with Play-doh for 20 min.
• Do some puzzles for 15 min.

Only 7 are "help around the house" type of tasks. The other 9 are to ensure that she plays, reads, or interacts with others before getting lost in her "dress shop" or Ice Age Village or Webkins World.

The five "tickets" that she pulls out are not returned to the bucket until all of the tickets have been done once. Then they are shaken up and put back for another cycle.

Addie also gets 30 minutes after completing her school time well, and if behavior has been good throughout the day, there is a chance for a little more time after dinner.

Her "tasks" are based on the list of things children should be able to do at certain ages listed here. The first time she did some of these things, I had to walk her through to show her how it is done. Now she just zips through because she knows what is waiting for her.

Now, if you'll excuse me, both kids are napping, which means it's my turn to play with the iPad!

When You Do Too Much.......

There are weeks that I find that I have spread myself too thin. Because of reasons beyond my control, I have three to four back-to-back days of constant activity which we thoroughly enjoy, but by then end, we are worn out.

For me, by the end of those busy days, I find that

• my laundry has backed up
• my cleaning schedule is off
• I am too tired to wake up as early as I am supposed to
• I fall asleep on the couch before I have a chance to finish up my Evening Routine
• I skip days on the blog because there isn't enough time 

So, what do I do?

My first calm day, I start all over again.

• I do one, maybe two, loads of laundry
• I vacuum the house and clean one room/set of rooms
• I get on the floor and play or read with the kids

It usually takes a day or two for life to get back to normal for us, and I guess that is the nice part of having a "normal." It is easy to get back to, and you know when you have arrived.

Sometimes "normal" can seem boring and mundane when you have many consecutive of it. But when "normal" is what you want to get back to, it can really seem like a safe haven from the  whirlwind of busy days. 

A Morning Tradition

A rare, cold morning in sunny Florida

Do you have morning traditions?

Morning traditions (or traditions that you have at any part of the day) are wonderful for children. Children naturally like having things in their day that are constant. They like knowing what to expect. When this constant involves others in the family, it makes the tradition that much more fun.

We have a tradition that I began with Addie when she was an infant. When Brian leaves for work in the morning, we either stand at the door (our usual spot) or at the office window (due to the occasional cold morning) and wave goodbye to him.

Addie usually calls out a bunch of things as he is driving off- "I love you, Daddy!", "You're the best daddy in the world!", "Don't worry! I'll see you later tonight!", "Drive carefully!" and whatever else pops into her head. We never know what she'll say next. She's so much fun!

Ian stands on his own, waves, and calls, "Buh-bye!" over and over again.

I usually call out, "I love you!" and "Thank you for working so I can stay home with the kids!" or "You're a great provider for our family!" and "Drive carefully!"

Brian has told me how much it means to him to have us waving to him. He feels loved, and it makes him feel that we will truly  miss him while he is working during the day.

Once Brian drives out of sight, we close the door or pull the blinds, and move on to the next part of our day. This time in our day only takes about five minutes, but I think it helps the day start off well for all of us.

It's our tradition.

And I love it.

One of My Favorite Routines

Nap time is so important, not just for the children who get the naps but for Mommy as well. Mommy needs that time to unwind, get some things done without interruptions, or have a phone date with friends (remember my need for adult interaction :)

However, I don't think my children need to feel that Mommy is rushing them to their naps so she can have "her" time. And that is where one of my favorite routines comes in.

Just before the official start of nap time, Addie, Ian, and I get into Addie's bed with a few books. Sometimes we lay on the pillows. Sometimes we sit with our backs against pillows propped up against the wall.

We always begin with a Bible story from a book of Bedtime Bible stories (thanks, Kathy M and family!). Then we read two or three books from the library. For the first four or five days, we only read "new" books- no repeats. After all of the books have been read through once, on the last couple of days before we take them back, Addie can pick whichever ones she wants me to read. She usually has a favorite and I end up reading that book over and over and over and....... well, you get the picture.

Sometimes, after the story has been read, we just lay there and talk. This time has given us such great opportunities to share with each other. We have had conversations about the pets I had when I was a little girl, Grandma Ana and stories about her as my mommy, favorite colors, favorite animals, and stories of life when I was a little girl.

It takes me back to when I was a little girl and would ask my mother about life when she was a little girl.... because, of course, Mom was a little girl such a looooong time before I came around. (Ummm... God, can you tell Mom I'm sorry for unintentionally making her feel old. Thank you.)

Sometimes, as we end our time together, tickles find their way into our "good nap time" kisses.

And then come the rituals....

• put the Bible story book away
• turn on the Sunday school songs CD
• turn on the "beeper".... Addie likes to think that she only has to stay in bed for so long. What she doesn't know (yet, but she will when she reads this one day) is that I usually set the timer for three hours so she can fall asleep while waiting for the "beeper".
• put Ian in his crib

......and then Mommy goes off to blog and do the other things on her list for the day.

To Schedule or Not to Schedule.....

Schedules had always been a huge part of my life.

If you have followed me here, you know that my day has always been dictated by a schedule- a rather rigid schedule.

And when you only have one child, it is easy to maintain that schedule.

Until Baby #2 arrives.

And that is when you have to weigh the importance of a rigid schedule vs. a flexible routine.

Soon after Ian was born, my goal was to get him on a schedule so that I could fit the rest of my life into a well laid format.

Eat breakfast at this time.
School time at that time.
Playtime fits here.
Laundry fits there.

Funny thing is, potty breaks can't be scheduled.
Explosive diapers always take more time to change than just wet ones.
And proactive parenting- well, we just don't want to put time limits on that.

And as I was running around trying to take care of all of the extras that popped up that were not on the schedule, I would get frustrated because we lost 5 minutes from this activity or 7 minutes from this one- but we needed that seven minutes so we'll have to take seven minutes from the next part of our schedule to accomodate because, unlike the government which can just create more money to make up for the funds they are lacking, we cannot create more time.

Then in Sunday school (Life Group) two weeks ago, I had a light bulb moment. Actually, it was such a convicting moment that I felt as if God had smacked me upside the head.

"When we are patient, we acknowledge that relationships are more important than schedules. The surprise is that when we put relationships first and exercise patience at home and in the workplace, our productivity and quality of work actually increases."

I immediately decided to forgo the printed out schedule for our day that was hanging on the fridge (in fact, I crumpled it up and threw it out) and to change my outlook on how our day was run.

Yes, there is still  a schedule in place. It is called "Ian's Feeding Schedule and Addie's Nap and Bedtime Schedule."  It begins at 7:30 a.m. and continues at designated times through out the day. As for the rest of it, it is becoming a flexible routine.

Addie has her morning jobs- make her bed, brush her teeth, and get dressed.

I have mine- get everything Brian needs for work together, feed the kids, get a load of laundry going, clean up from breakfast (Addie puts her own dishes in the sink), and have school time with Addie.

I have begun making a list at the beginning of the week of all of the things I would like to accomplish for the week and choosing 2 or 3 items to work on each day..... if I have time. 

Last week, Ian was sick- his first cold. Holding him and keeping him comfortable was more imortant to me than crossing the items off of my list.

Brian stayed home on Tuesday due to lack of sleep because it was hard to sleep when all you could hear was the congested breathing of a 4 month old. Spending time with him, making him a great lunch, and making sure he had time to rest was at the top of my list of things to do that day, so there was no blog post on Wednesday.

There are seasons in our lives. Some things we do at one point work beautifully until that season passes. We need to be willing to change with those seasons. Right now, my season of rigid schedules has passed, and I am in the season of flexible routines. In the course of time, this season of routine will pass, and we, as a family, will need to change with that season in order for our home to run smoothly and to ensure that my children have me and my time.

I'll leave you with this quote that a friend pinned on Pintrest:

I hope my children look back on today

And see a mother who had time to play.

There will be years for cleaning and cooking.....

For children grow up when we're not looking.