Tube Play #1

This first tube play we did is GREAT for toddlers and preschool aged kids!

What you need:

Empty toilet paper rolls and/or paper towel rolls

Tape (blue painters tape or masking tape)

Scissors

A basket or bucket

Pom-poms, marbles, KIX cereal or other round objects that can roll easily

Start by taping one tube, on a wall or door, straight up (at THEIR eye level) for your kid to drop the marble in. Now tape other tubes diagonal (you may need to trim the rolls with scissors), zig-zag, however you want the marble to roll (I cut one tube in half so they could see the object rolling). Once you've made the tube maze place the basket at the end (where the marble will drop out). Then show your little one what to do by dropping the marble into the tube. Have them use their eyes to watch and their ears to listen.

My 18 month old played with this for over an hour! My 2 preschoolers loved it as well. I hope you (and your little one) enjoy this fun learning time! 

Homeschooling Preschool

As I was searching for the right preschool for my 4 and 3 year old this summer I thought I finally got lucky. When I was filling out the paper work I saw a BIG number that would be due every month. Being a one income family with mortgage, utilities, bills, and a car payment we couldn’t see how we could afford preschool.

"MOM! I can see the ocean!"

About 8 months ago I started thinking about homeschooling my kids. When I would mentioned the word homeschool to others I would instantly get a lot of weird looks and questions like “don’t you need a break?” and “Why?!” I even got a very negative “You’re brave…” from someone. Of course none of this altered my thinking. If I wanted to homeschool, I was going to homeschool darn it! With major support from my husband, I felt I was on the road to success and no one could stop me.

So when I did the math and weighed the pros and cons of sending my kids to preschool vs. homeschooling, the answer was clear as crystal.

Let me lay it out for you…

Preschool:

Money~

Tuition $75 per kid

Monthly fee $125 per kid

Gas, driving to and from

Other fees; field trips, school t-shirt, etc.

Pros~

A schooled teacher, who knows what she’s doing and how to teach kids

I would get a small break from 2 out of my 3 kids

Cons~

Cost

It’s over 20 minutes away

It’s only 2 and a half hours (a lot of money, little time)

 ~

Homeschooling:

Money~

Supplies (paper, crayons, markers, pencils, paint, printer ink, etc.)

Field trip fees

Curriculum (work books, etc.)

Pros~

We don’t have to spend $250 a month of preschool

I don’t have to go shopping for school clothes, shoes or backpacks

One-on-one learning

My kids won’t learn bad habits from other kids

I know 100% what is being taught

I can teach values, manners, etc.

I can teach them how to cook and do chores

Cons~

I don’t get a break

I only have a high school education

It’s a lot of work!

Personally these are my reasons. Others may have different reasons. As I said before the answer is clear as crystal. Homeschooling came out on top.

I made our decorations

So I began to prepare. I bought supplies, read a lot of positive (yet realistic) blogs, sot out and asked questions from homeschooling mothers and did a lot of googling. I’m very lucky to have a mother-in-law who owned her own preschool for years. I also had to mentally prepare myself. I knew the first week or so of school would be fun but the excitement would wear off eventually. I had to find different motivations that worked for me.

I spent a lot of time (and probably too much money) at my local craft store (I would buy the whole store if I could). I did my best to shop around to get the best deals on things. I ended up doing a lot of returning and exchanging. I also found my local teacher supply store. And I found out I could not only spend all day in that store but I could spend a lot of money there as well (I really had to watch myself).

Google became my new best friend. I found a ton of FREE pintables! Flashcards, learning coloring sheets, etc. I also became a HUGE fan of Pinterest. I found most of my crafts, tools and ideas on there.

Here are a few of the many helpful sites I found with FREE printables:

www.quality-kids-crafts.com

www.mrprintable.com

My printer has been working overtime. I've printed pages I've found online, worksheets I created using Word, numerous ABC and 123 pages, plus I copy pages from workbooks (so I didn't have to buy 2). If you are even thinking of homeschooling then invest in a good printer. Having ours has saved us more money then I think we realize...  

So far my kids love school. It did take some getting use to, but now they look forward to learning time!

Counting with beans

Michael’s favorite things are~

the calendar and weather wheel

writing and numbers.

Emily’s favorite things are~

Coloring

coloring and crafts

snacks, story time.

We do school Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and try to do it during Sam’s nap time on those days. Here is a summary of our week:

Monday:

Calendar and weather wheel

Letter of the week coloring page

Letter of the week worksheet

Seek and find the letter of the week (find things that start with the letter of the week)

Snack and story

Number worksheet

Seek and find letter of the week game

Game/craft

Wednesday:

Calendar and weather wheel

Activity worksheet

Sciences

Snack and story

Number game

Craft

Friday:

Calendar and weather wheel

Letter of the week worksheet

Math

Writing

Snack and story

Letter of the week craft

Game

OR field trip (once a month)

 

Our first field trip

This is really just a guide. Plans change and you go with it. Some days it flows smoothly while other days do not. The kids (or myself) are in a bad mood and listening is a challenge so we take a 10 minute break. But then we get back to work. I’ve been doing this for over a month now and only a few days we ended still in bad moods. Mostly it’s a happy and fun filled learning experience for both myself and the kids.

I love being able to spend one-on-one time with my kids. I love watching them get excited about learning. I love how happy they are to tell others about their day and show them their crafts and worksheets. Sometimes they surprise me with their skills and knowledge. Soon they will be passing me up and I’ll be learning with them. Until that day we are enjoying the fun of learning.

Watching two colors come together to make a new color

Thanks to my husband, my parents and my in-laws, I have the never ending support to keep me headed on this amazing new chapter in my family’s life! Chad, without you my life would not only be lonely but I wouldn’t even have the willingness to get out of bed each morning. You have made me the strong, independent women I am today. If it wasn’t for your unfailing support and love this would not have become a reality in my life. Thank you!

Make time!

Time. It’s so hard to find time these days. Or is it?

 

I think we come up with the “too busy” excuse more and more often. Sometimes we even push our kids and other things aside, as if they are not important enough at that time. We dive like we are in a hurry and rush around, not taking time for anything off our list or schedule. We hear the term “make time” and just laugh. There aren’t enough hours in the day to begin with, how can I make time?

 

Between work, kids, sleeping, shopping, eating, me time, exercise, checking facebook and church what else do we have time for, right? We surround ourselves with things that we have to do. Let me ask you something… Are the things you have to do really that important? To some, yes. And to others, they don’t stop to think how important, or unimportant, it is.

 

A few weeks back my family and I went for a walk to the park. My husband pushed our 1 year old in the umbrella stroller while I took care of our 3 and 4 year old making sure they stayed out of the street. Michael did a good job of listening but Emily turned a deaf ear to my voice. More than once I had to grab her shirt or arm before she ran into on-coming traffic. I'm sure you can imagine my frustration with her. On the way home she would stop every few minutes to pick flowers, watch an ant on the sidewalk or look at a leaf floating by. After her 12^th time stopping I could hear the tension in my husband’s voice, “Emily, come one!” We were on the same block for 5 minutes… I turned to aide my husband and help Emily move a little faster as I was getting tired of waiting as well. This is when I saw her doing something that made me stop. She gently laid a flower down she had picked a few feet down the block, talking to it as she adjusted it, then waved goodbye. I could help but smile. We went on and again had to stop for her. I told my husband to keep going and we’ll catch up. I watched again as Emily placed another flower just right and waved goodbye. As much as I wanted to get home, I couldn’t stop her from leaving flowers behind. This sweet and simple gesture touched me. I couldn’t help but think, what if someone walked by and saw this flower and it brought a smile to their face? My little girl was blessing others! I just stood there a watched my 3 year old daughter leaving little blessings down the sidewalk. The walk home should have taken no longer than 15 minutes, but in that 30 minutes of stop and go, my little Emily left 6 blessings on the sidewalk. I took that moment to thank God for my daughter, who willingly left her beautiful flowers behind that they might bring a smile to someone's face and even spread Gods light in this dim world.

 

one of the flowers she left

Activity Jar

My kids and I did a fun craft I found on Pinterest. They called it a “bored jar” but I prefer “activity jar”.

Things you’ll need:

~A mason jar (I used smaller ones)
~Elmer’s glue
~Glitter
~Acrylic paint
~Paint brushes
~Popsicle sticks
~Fine point sharpie
~Newspaper or other paper (to protect your table)

For jar~

Cover table with paper. In clean mason jar squeeze about a tablespoon of glue, let child brush the glue all around the inside of jar. Dump child’s choice of color glitter in and have you kid shake the jar to spread glitter all over. Let dry. Once glue is dry, squeeze child’s choice of paint color into jar. Depending on age they can use a paint brush or turn the jar until the inside is covered. Pour out extra paint. Let dry.

For “activity” sticks~

Have child paint the Popsicle sticks in their choice of color(s). Let dry. With sharpie write on each stick a task, chore, activity, etc. I wrote something fun on one side and a chore on the other (they have to do the chore first).

Activity suggestions~
I know how hard it can be to think of things to write so here are a few ideas: (My kids are 3 and 4, make sure the activity/chore is age appropriate for your kids)

Chores:
~Help pick up living room
~Wipe table
~Help unload the dishwasher
~Clean room
~Make bed
~Help vacuum
~Pick up toys and clothes
~Help put clothes in washer and dryer

Fun:

~Make fort
~Play outside
~Paint or color
~Read 2 books
~Play with toys (that they don’t play with very often)
~Play pretend (dinosaurs, house, etc.)
~Play with the dog
~Sing and dance
~Make cookies

Every day I have the kids blindly pick a stick and do the chore and activity. I keep the finished stick in a “done jar” until they do them all. Then we start over again.

~

I also made myself one. With things like:

~Do yoga
~Paint nails
~Organize computer desk
~Clean toilet
~Do craft on Pinterest
~Dust
~Lift weights
~Wash windows (inside)
~Organize junk drawer

I hope you get to enjoy doing this with your kiddos (and/or for yourself)! Have fun and God bless!

A Life With Joy!

Joy - noun
1. Intense and especially ecstatic or exultant happiness.
2. The expression or manifestation of such feeling.
3. A source or an object of pleasure or satisfaction: their only child, their pride and joy.
4. To take great pleasure; rejoice.
5. To fill with ecstatic happiness, pleasure, or satisfaction.
6. To enjoy
(info from www.thefreedictionary.com)

A few short weeks after my first birthday we welcomed a new addition to the family. Her name was Joy. Born like other babies, she cried, she slept and messed her diaper. Little did my parents know that her brain was not like other babies. At age 2, Joy was still not walking or talking. After a lot of testing, doctors said she may never walk or talk, she would be a burden.

At age 5 Joy walked just fine and did what she could to communicate. We all learned basic sign language, which helped but only a little bit. She did a lot of grunting, pointing and crying. We all got frustrated trying to communicate. But I think it was hardest on Joy.

Doctors told my parents that Joy will not have the mental capability beyond a toddler. This, of course, was hard for my parents to absorb. And my mom fell into a depression. She slept a lot and “hid” in books.

Joy has Mental Retardation, Tourette Syndrome (TS) and is slightly autistic. She can read simple children books, write her name and other small words, and talks like a 3 year old. It took her longer to do simple things us parents take for granted. Like walking (2 ½ years old), potty training (9 years old), talking full sentences (7 years old)… How hard would that be as a parent?

Disneyland 2004

Things that we long for and cherish, she will never get to enjoy. Joy watched me learn to drive and get my license, she watched me fall in love and get married, and she intensely watched my belly grow all 3 times I was pregnant. When I was learning how to drive I remember her always asking “My turn?” and “Can I drive next?” When I was planning my wedding she asked “I get married too?” And when we told her I was pregnant her eyes went from my belly to hers and back to mine again.

 

 Growing up with a mentally disabled sister was hard. Most of the attention went to her. My parents spent a lot of time helping and teaching her things that I grasped very easily. My parents did not neglect me, although it felt like that at times. My parents went to all my school plays, dance concerts and ceremony’s I was involved in. There were times I didn’t understand why I was in trouble and wondered why I was always “second” at home when I was first born. Looking back, I believe my parents did their best to give me the attention I craved.

Joy and I at Grandmas

Joy and I were very close growing up. We were born 12 months and 2 weeks apart, how could we not be close. I had friends that would have sleep overs and it was hard on Joy watching me go places she could not. But when I had sleep overs Joy was welcome to get her sleeping bag and join… until middle school came along. I think we can all agree that middle school was not the best years of our lives. Sadly, Joy was no longer welcome. We wanted to talk about “grown up” things, like boys, make up, clothes and hair, and I knew Joy would not only be bored but she would rather watch her favorite Disney movie anyway. It never had anything to do with her being “different”, it had to do with different interests.

As time went on, high school came and went. I got engaged at age 22 and was married 6 months later. 2 months after that I found out I was pregnant. When Michael arrived I was surprisingly not nervous about Joy holding him. She did better than I expected! When she held him for the first time I remember her saying “Hi Michael. It’s me, your auntie Joy. I love you.” It brought tears to my eyes.



Holding Michael

Holding Emily

Holding Sam



A little over a year now Joy has been having problems with her medication. A switch in the medication landed her in the hospital. It was a VERY hard time for my family. It has taken about 6 months, but we are slowly getting our Joy back.

  

She loves to feed the ducks

Joy has lived up to her name most of her life. She spreads joy everywhere and brings a smile to faces who’ve never met her before. When she first grabs you and kisses your hand it scares most people, at first, but most of the time they start a conversation with her “Hello, what’s your name?” My family has had moments of frustration, embarrassment, fear, even bitterness, but we have had many more moments of happiness, laughter, love, joy and selflessness. Joy has taught us many things; patience, the true meaning of joy, love, to put our faith in God, and the true meaning of family. Joy is an inspiration. I believe, if I didn’t have her in my life I would not be who I am today.

Thanks Joy! 

My favorite picture

 

Smarty Pants!

There, their, they’re. To some, the spellings of these three words are confusing. By 5^th grade, if you don’t know the difference you are considered slow, dumb, stupid, and even special needs. You are automatically a target. You inherit the not-so-nice nicknames: stupid, dumb a**, retard… To most people reading and spelling is a breeze, its second nature to them. So naturally, they don’t understand why some can’t grasp the concept. They don’t understand that maybe some have a learning disability.

I am dyslexic. I see letters, numbers and some words mixed up or backwards. To me, b’s look like d’s as well as p’s. Where I saw the word angel I would say the word angle. Where most see the number 503, at first glance I see 530. In high school it took me twice as long to read a sentence and even longer to read a phone number or math problem. I love words like “together”, to-get-her, this is the only way I can remember how to spell it. I hate words like “read”, one word with two meanings? What the heck english language??? Once I hit 3^th grade I hated math, reading and spelling. I was put in special classes. I was tested once a year. And yes, I was bullied… While some kids skip grades. I was held back and had to do 3^rd grade twice. In 11^th grade I had the approximant reading level as a 4^th grader. Once I got to college I was placed in the lowest reading level class. I didn’t pass that class. I quit college after one semester.

Even at age 28 I have a hard time with the difference of there, their and they’re. Reading is a challenge and other then simple adding and subtracting, math is near imposable without a calculator. The first time I read a book all the way through I was 18 and that was for school and I had to ask for extra time. I have only read about 4 books my whole life. Only 2 of them were because I wanted to, and one was The Hobbit and it took me over a month to finish it.

It is "rocket science" when you have a learning disability

As an adult I still see others (whether they know it or not) giving people with learning disabilities a hard time. Some might call this bullying. I know most of them don’t mean anything by what they say (or type) but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t bother some people. Not everyone gets a 3.5 GPA or higher in school. Not everyone graduates with honors. Not everyone who goes to college successfully passes every class. I know all the people I know never mean to hurt feelings and I would never hold it against them. I didn’t write this to make anyone feel bad. I wrote this so people might take a second look at why, instead of quickly judging. I may not be a smarty pants but I have family and friends who love me, and to me, that’s worth more than spelling correctly.

Little Girls & Fashion

As I was scrolling through Pinterest I typed “little girls fashion” in the search box. I was shocked at what I saw. Little 6 to 8 year old girls dressed like models. All I could think of was “Do these girls know the meaning of life?” I have no issue with child models, it’s the message us parents receive from these pictures that bothers me. Most of the comments below the pictures were a lot of “my little girl will dress like this” and “this is how I picture my little girl to look”. I’m sorry but what happened to letting kids make their own decisions? I encourage independence with my kids. Call me crazy but I let my kids dress themselves.

I have seen comments on facebook pages about not going into public unless their kids are spotless, hair up and cute and dressed in their cutest clothes and perfect. Now, I understand not going out if your kids are filthy, but really? You know you’re only making your kids dress up so YOU look good. And in my opinion, that is wrong. I understand the feeling of wanting to show off your cute kids but I believe some parents take it too far. What are you teaching your kids? That it is only okay to go in public if you’re cute? We need to be teaching our kids to be independent. We need to teach our kids to love themselves and love others for who they really are. We need to teach our kids that looks fade but character doesn’t. If we teach our kids to respect us (their parents) and themselves they will respect others.

There is so much wrong in the media (TV, facebook, twitter, Pinterest, magazine covers, etc.) that it’s clouding our minds. We think if our kids don’t dress or act a certain way they will be an outcast or bullied. As parents we all want our kids to fit in. If we teach our kids to be confident we won’t have to worry “will she fit in?” But we need to be careful, being confident and being prideful are 2 very different things. Pride is thinking you are better than everyone else, confidence is not caring what others think about you. Teach them to be confident!

The meaning of life is not cute clothes, hair styles, shoes, makeup or accessories. Life is who we are, not what we wear. Life to a kid is playing outside without worrying about getting their hands dirty. Life is enjoying the fun times, working hard for something you want, loving your family and friends and trying to make the world a better place.