Teaching Toddlers: Calling for help

We decided a couple years ago to ditch our home phone...thus leaving our cell phones as our only option. I wanted to make sure Amelia new how to call 911. On a smartphone however it takes a little more than just pushing the three numbers.

So today we did some roll playing! I first walked her through all the steps of calling for help but then realized she has ZERO phone skills. After she pretended to call 911 then I pretended to ask her questions (name, address, what the problem was etc). We practiced for about a half hour and when I said it was time to do something else she threw a fit because "I didn't get to talk to any REAL people on the phone!" So she called grammy and talked to her.

It's not something I will do with her everyday, but its good for her to know how to do and its good practice for knowing her address.

Another thing we've been working on this year is memorizing the books of the bible! Amelia is doing so much better than I thought she would, she can get to Ezra before she needs help. Even Sophia is getting the hang of it. We don't spend lots if time on it, we just practice them before lunch and then the girls say them to Tim after dinner!

I am always amazed at how capable kids are at memorizing things! Other memory work we are doing this year includes:
Birthdate
Full name
Telephone number
Address
Memory verse (this changes weekly)
Days if the week
Months of the year

This week we started our 3rd workbook in our Rod and Staff series. Its a writing letters book, Amelia is thrilled. She DID NOT like book number two (writing numbers) and was glad to move on to something more "fun!" She knows she has to learn all her letters to read so she actually puts forth a ton of effort in that area!

Amelia seems to only have one thing on her mind lately and we have the conversation almost daily: "mommy, next year will I get to ride the bus and GO to kindergarten?"

Until next time...

Teaching Toddlers: Stranger Danger

<p>About a year ago an incident occured in our neighborhood; a man offered a ride to a boy at the bus stop. Thankfully the little boy ran to the nearest house, police were called and it hasn't happened since.&#160; </p>
<p>Since then I've been trying to teach my kiddos about the very real danger of strangers.</p>
<p>This past week I introduced Amelia to a friend of mine who she had not met before. When I asked her to say "hello" she said that that person was a stranger. I don't know why, but I hadn't really thought about it like that. I knew the woman but Amelia didn't, so to her it was a stranger.

So here's my question(s):
How do you teach your kids about strangers without adding unneeded fear?
How do you explain the difference between "good" strangers (when you are lost in the grocery store and need help) and "bad" strangers?

I appreciate your suggestions!

Preschool Part II

Well, we're off and running! Amelia woke up excited to get back to her school work (Sophia too). We took a long break, almost 3 months, with Celia being born. Now that we are settled into a good daily routine though, we are jumping back in.

I spent time over the weekend re-evaluating our goals for the year. We are ahead in some areas (letter sounds and writing letters), "behind" in others (memory work, counting). It was good to look and see where we are, it's allowed me to revamp plans for this second half of the year!

We'll be continuing with our Rod and Staff workbooks, along with other hands on activities.  And I'll be posting probably weekly about our work!

Goals for Amelia:
Memory work-address, phone # etc
Count to 50-those teens really throw her
Manners and safety-eye contact, answering for herself, dealing with strangers, how to use the phone to call for help etc

Goals for Sophia:
Recognize basic shapes
Count to 20

Even Abram is ready for school, he LOVES to read (and would sit and listen all day if mommy had time to read all day)!

Here's to a great second half!
(pictures coming Friday)

Reflecting on 2012 - Preparing for 2013

Yikes, the year is almost over... excited to see what the new year will bring for our family!  This post will catch you up, from Thanksgiving until Christmas, we've been busy!

 

Our super smiley girl!

Amelia is "being like daddy" with her Starbucks cup full of whipped cream - she assured us that it was real coffee though!

So proud of Amelia, I told her the order of letters, but she wrote them all by herself!

Let me introduce you to the new system in our house!  This has seriously eliminated all arguments about clothes.  I was so sick of the girls wearing the same Tinkerbell shirt and jeans so I was picking out there outfits, we would all end up in tears because they didn't like what I picked.  So now, every Saturday I fill up the shelves with 6 outfits (their church dresses hang) and every morning they get their clothes out, and get dressed without complaint!  Why didn't I do this sooner!?

A new favorite "treat" for the kids is having grapefruit for breakfast... 

Abram and Soph both got their first hair cuts thanks to auntie Cara!

Celia actually learning to enjoy her car seat!

 Amelia enjoying her first year of ballet class

Learning to play together when mommy is busy with Celia.. today they were having a picnic!

A new family favorite (we try to do it once a month) - make your own pizza night!

 

Abram's newest favorite passtime - coloring - he didn't color the bird though, I think big sister did that!

CHRISTMAS 2012!

The girls and their gingerbread house!

The girls decorating the tree!

All decorated!

We played some minute to win it games this year during our family party... everybody had lots of fun!

         Tim, trying to get a cookie from him forehead to his mouth!

All the kiddos gettin' grammy!

Grammy organized a live nativity reenactment for our viewing pleasure!  Amelia was the sheep and Soph was a wise man!

all the cousins (minus Abram and Celia) doing their play!

We all went in together and got mom a replacement Advent wreath since her original one broke... a special tradition in our family!

This year Sophia was old enough to help papa light one of the coveted 5 candles!

Daddy helping Abram open his Christmas jammies!

Sophia opening her new cabbage patch doll Kiya!

Amelia opening her new cabbage patch baby Birdie!

Christmas morning, opening stockings!

Abram got a set of Weebles for Christmas, they are the favorite toy this year!

All 3 of the kiddos playing with the Weeble tree, hopefully learning to share!  

Amelia playing with her Christmas present - magnetic dolls!

Sophia got a giant box of princess dresses for dress up for Christmas!

Our little bug turned 3 months already, I'm packing up the newborn/0-3 month clothes and getting out the 6 month stuff.  She is such a happy baby, sleeping great, taking good naps during the day, LOVING her new jumper and to watch her brother and sisters chase each other around the house!  So thankful for our 4th littlest blessing!

 Tim and I also celebrated 6 years of marriage this month!  What a blessed 6 years it's been, a new house, 4 beautiful babies and many other countless blessings for our family!

 

This is how I plan to spend a good part of my afternoon tomorrow ... hot cup of coffee and my planning journal...gotta see how far "behind" we are! We'll be starting school up again in one week after daddy goes back to work!  Time to get crackin'!

 

Coming January 1, 2013 I'll be posting our new school schedule and will be getting back to three posts a week so stay tuned!

Mondays: Mommy's Musings

Tuesdays/Wednesdays: Teaching Toddlers

Fridays: Our Week of Family Photos!

 

Hope you all had a blessed Christmas and have a wonderful New Year!

Workbox Activities for Preschoolers (and Tiny Tots)

A couple weeks ago I had a few requests for suggestions for activities to do with preschoolers.  This in no way is a complete list and I am constantly coming up with fun new ideas but here is a general list to help you get started.  What I love about coming up with activities for these kiddos is that the sky is the limit, their minds are so ready to learn that you can turn really any every day item in to a teaching tool!

Sorting craft pom-poms by color - either into small bowls, or ice cube trays
Matching nuts and bolts - raid daddy's tool box and let them see if they can match the size (small parts so be careful around really little kiddos)
Sorting change - give them a handful of coins and see if they can recognize the differences
Building with legos - construct something small, see if they can copy it
Lacing cards/beads
Making patterns - use anything from colored socks to fruit loops
Cutting practice - ever wonder what to do with all that scrap paper?
Clipping clothes pins - give them a paper plate to clip them on
Paper clips - let them link them together
Board games - monopoly, rummikub, othello, playing cards, scrabble, chess, checkers. memory, etc
(my kids love to "play" these games - use your imagination)
Sensory tubs - rice, pasta, pinto beans, etc
Puzzles
Play-doh

Like I said, this is not a comprehensive list but it'll get you started with some fun ideas to try with your preschoolers!  If you have any other fun ideas leave a comment, I'm always on the hunt for new things to do with my kiddos!

Missing In Action...

Yikes, has it really been two weeks since I posted last? Where did that time go?

We have been busy over here, cleaning, sorting, schooling, playing and lots of long walks. Honestly the weather has been so nice lately that we've been spending oodles of time outdoors...sometimes taking three walks a day!

On top of preparing for baby number 4 who will be joining us shortly, I have been chasing around a very active boy. It seems everytime I sit down to the computer Abram has found something new to climb on or in to. This weeks newest discovery for him was that he can climb from the chair to the table to our half wall and balance precariously on top-talk about giving me a heart attack. The other discovery for him recently is that he no longer wants tp go down the stairs backwards but walking, so he stands on the top and dangles a foot over the edge...mommy has had to run to catch him many times in the last few days. Needless to say, I have no pictures of him doing either of these as I was more concerned with safety!

his past week Amelia started her ballet class. She had a ball and is excited to go back this week!

Another exciting thing for us is that fall Bible study started up at our church (as well as Tuesday Tots-the children's program). This semester I am doing a study on the book of Philippians all about choosing joy in the midst of hard times. There are about 20 ladies doing this study. I am really looking forward to seeing what God teaches all of us in the coming weeks!

Sorry, no pictures for this post, lots coming on Saturday! And next Monday I'll be posting my master list for our workbox activities as some of you have askef for some new ideas!

Enjoy your weekend!

A "Typical" Day!

Another link up today!  We are sharing our "typical" school day schedule on the "Not Back to School" blog hop.  Pop on over here to see lots more ideas for scheduling your day!

We are a scheduled family, I know it's not for everyone but for us, it works.  My kids have been on a schedule (flexible but scheduled) since they were infants and I've found that for me, and for them, it's easier to know what's coming next.  So we carried that "flexible schedule" over into our school life too!  None of our days are exactly alike, that's what you get when you have 3 kiddos but here's a look at what a "typical" school day looks like for us!

We've tried a couple of different things, when we started the school year 3 weeks ago we schooled in two sessions, a "morning session" (during Abram's nap) and an "afternoon session" (when both Abram and Sophia were napping).  However, Abram then decided that he didn't need his morning nap anymore so we have rearranged a bit and now we just do it all in one sitting while the two little ones are napping in the afternoon!  I try to keep it to about an hour.

 We start our school day with calendar time.  This includes going over the weather, days of the week, months of the year, memory verse, and color of the day (which usually corresponds to whatever color shirt Amelia is wearing)! We are also putting together a 100 piece puzzle - one piece gets glued on for each day we do school!

 We are doing the workbox system this year and so far it's going really well!  Amelia loves that she knows what to do next and for the most part doesn't need a whole lot of guidance.  I change the activities daily but box #1 is always either a letter or number tracing page.  This week we are learning letter C and number 3!

 Box #2 today was putting together nuts and bolts.  Great for finger dexterity, and hand eye coordination.  Plus way inexpensive! :)

 Box #3 is our "heaviest" work and I always keep this in box #3 so if we don't get much else done at least we've gotten to this.  Amelia usually needs help with these workbooks more than the other boxes.  There are our Rod and Staff workbooks and so far I am LOVING them.  Amelia is learning left from right, sight words, coloring in the lines etc.  A great investment for sure!

 Box #4 is cutting practice

 Box #5 is ALWAYS story and a snack!  

 Box #6 is usually another "heavy" box.  This is another Rod and Staff workbook that Amelia needs help with.  We do this book twice a week, the other days we're working on an "All About Me" lap book so I always include the "Work With Mom" card (on the other side is a picture of her and me) in this box!

 Box #7 today was sorting Pom-poms by color, which is way too easy for her but she loves doing it!

 Box #8 is her pre-writing mazes!  Her very favorite thing and I must say, a great investment.  I'll be ordering the next level up for her in the coming months as she has wizzed through these faster than I thought she would (they are dry erase so she can do them over and over).

 Box #9 this time was lacing cards

Box #10 is pattern work with over-sized beads.  Sometimes she puts them on a string, sometimes she just lays them on the table.  

We school 4 days a week (M, W, Th, F), about an hour each day (sometimes less, sometimes more depending on Amelia's mood).  I am really liking our system thus far, it's not the same two days in a row so Amelia isn't getting bored.  And the work boxes vary from fun activities to activities that are actually challenging for her. 

Stay tuned later in the week for a guest post from Tim!

"Where" we homeschool!

We're linking up again with the "Not Back to School" blog hop.  This week is all about homeschool spaces!

 

 Our school "nook"!  This room doubles as our toy room so I can keep the "non-schooling" littles in sight while we do our work!

  

 This door is to the left of our school table and is referred to as the "school closet"

(it's secretly my favorite part of our house - because I get to keep it so organized!)

Inside the School Closet:

 We are currently using the workbox system, my oldest likes to be independent so this is one way that she can do that but still do the things that she needs to get done.  It's working for us thus far, as long as I remember to refill the boxes before she starts school the next morning! :)

 

Directly above Amelia's workboxes are more shelves.  The bottom shelf is current curriculum, plus file folders of current worksheets/lap-book materials etc.  The second shelf is mostly literature that we'll get to over the next several years, along with reference books, dictionaries etc.

 

To the left of those shelves are all our supplies!  I'm kind of an organizational freak (my label maker has been working overtime lately), so we have boxes for pretty much everything, stickers, felt, paint, manipulatives, beads, random craft supplies etc!  

 Directly across from Amelia's work boxes are more workboxes! :)  The girls know they are NOT to get into these drawers without permission.  The top left drawer is MY box!  It has things that the girls can't use, stapler, hole punch, grown-up scissors, etc.  The other large drawers are filled with Amelia's workbooks for school, construction paper, computer paper, scrap paper etc.  The drawers on the right side house things for the kids.  The top drawer has crayons/markers, then glue and scissors, dry erase supplies, etc.  The purple box in the middle is Sophia's drawer - she's not old enough to be doing school but wants to be involved so every day I put a special game or coloring book of some sort in there for her to do while we are working.  The bottom half of the drawers are full of file folders, notebook paper, etc.

On top of the large workboxes is our giant roll of paper, and above it (pictured in the picture above) are three hanging baskets, those hold our writing utensils, dry erase markers, pens, and pencils.

In need of more ideas for how to organize your school spaces?  Click on the button below!