I am lucky to know my roommate for the Relevant Conference very well. Kristy and I have been friends for over a decade (I can’t believe it has been that long). But, we’ve never shared a room. Although, I believe I slept on her family room floor once before I was married, and Evan and I spent the night in their current house one New Year’s Eve. Anyway, I thought I would participate in this fun link-up that a lot of the Relevant attendees are doing. So, here is my list for Kristy:
1. I may snore once in awhile, if I don’t have at least two pillows or my allergies are acting up. However, my husband snores worse and more frequently, so don’t feel bad if you snore too.
2. I do not feel comfortable in large groups of people. Sometimes I can feel claustrophobic and may want to go regroup in our room.
3. I can’t stay up too late at night. I think 11:30 is the latest, but I have to push myself. If I don’t get enough sleep I can get pretty loopy. If you think that would be fun to see, keep me up.
4. I am a morning person. I never hit snooze on the alarm clock. Once it rings, I jump out of bed. If you don’t feel the same way, then I get the bathroom first.
5. I have a really good memory for details. So, if you would like me to memorize the entire itinerary for the conference so we always know what is going on, I will.
6. I have an excellent memory when it comes to details regarding names, numbers, dates and times, but don’t ask me what someone was wearing, or the color of the paint of the walls. I have no clue!
7. I am horrible at making small talk with strangers or even acquaintances, so bail me out if you see me struggling.
8. However, once I do know you, I can talk. I can talk incessantly. This is hard for strangers, acquaintances, and even some family members to believe. But for those that do know . . . well, they wish I would share some of my words with strangers, acquaintances, and even some family members. I know you very well and we have a long car ride – both ways. Watch out!
9. I have a weird affection for continental breakfasts at hotels. I don’t care if it’s just cereal and stale bagels sitting out on a counter, it still excites me.
10. If my clothes look a lot more stylish than normal, it’s only thanks to my sister. She’s my personal stylist. While I’m a little insecure about my blog and attending this conference, she did help me get a boost of confidence with a few new outfits. Since you won the contest, you will have a new outfit too. The only difference is that I can stay in my seat while you have to parade in front of 200 women. Hopefully, your new outfit will give you confidence too.
Kristy and I are leaving three weeks from today. My business cards are ordered. I got some new clothes (#10), and according to Kristy’s blog, I need to make up a list of music for our drive. I’m so excited and so nervous. I did make one slight improvement to my blog. After reading on someone else’s blog about how to make a header, I gave it a shot. It took me an hour, but I think I pulled it off. Now that I have somewhat of an idea how to do it, I’ll be able to change the pictures in the near future.
Anyway, I’m off to do school with Nicholas. Did I mention he’s going on a trip next month too? He’s going on an all-inclusive, all-expenses-paid trip to Nana and Poppy’s house! He’s really excited. This will be the first time for me to be away from him for so long (post-Russia). I know he’ll do great. Evan will have him Saturday and Sunday though, so it won’t be too long of a trip.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Homeschool Highlights – Weather Week
When you homeschool it is important to be flexible. If something isn’t working, you change it. If it works, keep going. I’m always looking for new ideas to incorporate. I got several books about weather this week from the children’s section. Because I was in a hurry at the library I didn’t get to read them first. Four out of the five books were way over Nicholas’ head. Unlike the non-fiction ant book last week, I struggled to bring it down to his level. So, I tossed them out of our book reading. I decided to keep one book instead. The purpose of weather week was not for Nicholas to become a meteorologist, but to just talk about basic weather terminology – sunny, rainy, cloudy, and windy (snow we’ll save for January).
We made a weather chart for the week. We checked the weather three times a day. Nicholas enjoyed doing it all by himself. He made that clear each time he glued the weather sticker on the chart.
The book that we read was Oh Say Can You Say What's the Weather Today?
It is a Dr. Seuss book. While it talked about a couple of advanced topics, the rhyming helped him enjoy the book and get something out of it.
We learned what sounds C and D make and practiced writing them. We also worked on following directions and tracing lines.
We also added some new sight words: can, come and down. We continued to find them in some of Nicholas’ books.
We also started our second verse on love this week. It is 1 John 4:11. “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
For a fun snack we made clouds out of Cool Wh*p. We actually did it two different days. The Cool Wh*p is supposed to be thawed, but I took it right out of the freezer. Nicholas didn’t seem to mind. He enjoyed making the clouds and eating them both times. Evan was able to join in on the second time.
Finally, we went on our field trip to our county park’s free program. It was on wooly bears. The brochure said that they were going to talk about how wooly bears help predict the weather. I thought that would work out perfectly for weather week. When we got there the lady said that wooly bears can’t predict the weather. It’s just a myth. Oh well. Nicholas was still able to get out of the house and learn a little bit about the wooly bear. He also got to see his friend, Chancho again. Don’t worry though. There was no fighting this time.
He made a craft of the wooly bear’s life cycle. The wooly bear turns into a tiger moth. Wooly bears actually spin themselves into a cocoon while caterpillars that become butterflies spin a chrysalis. See, I learned something there.
They also got to take a walk outside and see if they could find any bugs or wooly bears. As we were wrapping up the walk, they had found a white caterpillar. The kids were told to look, but not touch. Sometimes people can have a reaction to this type of caterpillar. Guess whose child tried to touch anyway, but thankfully stopped himself last minute?
I can’t believe that September is almost over. This week we finish up learning about love. A lot of what we are doing is review. I think we’ve finally got ourselves in a good routine and he knows what to expect each day.
We made a weather chart for the week. We checked the weather three times a day. Nicholas enjoyed doing it all by himself. He made that clear each time he glued the weather sticker on the chart.
The book that we read was Oh Say Can You Say What's the Weather Today?
It is a Dr. Seuss book. While it talked about a couple of advanced topics, the rhyming helped him enjoy the book and get something out of it.We learned what sounds C and D make and practiced writing them. We also worked on following directions and tracing lines.
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We also added some new sight words: can, come and down. We continued to find them in some of Nicholas’ books.
We also started our second verse on love this week. It is 1 John 4:11. “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
For a fun snack we made clouds out of Cool Wh*p. We actually did it two different days. The Cool Wh*p is supposed to be thawed, but I took it right out of the freezer. Nicholas didn’t seem to mind. He enjoyed making the clouds and eating them both times. Evan was able to join in on the second time.
Finally, we went on our field trip to our county park’s free program. It was on wooly bears. The brochure said that they were going to talk about how wooly bears help predict the weather. I thought that would work out perfectly for weather week. When we got there the lady said that wooly bears can’t predict the weather. It’s just a myth. Oh well. Nicholas was still able to get out of the house and learn a little bit about the wooly bear. He also got to see his friend, Chancho again. Don’t worry though. There was no fighting this time.
He made a craft of the wooly bear’s life cycle. The wooly bear turns into a tiger moth. Wooly bears actually spin themselves into a cocoon while caterpillars that become butterflies spin a chrysalis. See, I learned something there.
They also got to take a walk outside and see if they could find any bugs or wooly bears. As we were wrapping up the walk, they had found a white caterpillar. The kids were told to look, but not touch. Sometimes people can have a reaction to this type of caterpillar. Guess whose child tried to touch anyway, but thankfully stopped himself last minute?
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| Touching a wooly bear |
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| Chancho and Nicholas on their walk |
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| Looking at, but not touching the white caterpillar |
I can’t believe that September is almost over. This week we finish up learning about love. A lot of what we are doing is review. I think we’ve finally got ourselves in a good routine and he knows what to expect each day.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Play Date?
Two 3 ½ year old boys on a play date can make for an interesting time. Kristy and Chancho came over to visit us on Thursday. Nicholas was excited about having Chancho come over, but not too happy about sharing his toys. So, we took the boys on a walk to a park in our neighborhood. Nicholas had his first meltdown when Chancho wouldn’t hold his hand. “Mommy, he won’t hold my hand,” Nicholas cried. He didn’t give up and just found himself more upset as Chancho continued to resist his hand.
The walk to the park seemed extra long as the boys stopped to pick flowers, leaves, or just refuse to walk. We finally reached the park and they seemed to be doing better until Nicholas wouldn’t let Chancho climb down the ladder. Then they both tried to read the alphabet and the numbers on some of the equipment, both getting mad if the other one read what they were looking at.
Then Chancho found a small log and showed us how strong he was. Of course, Nicholas wanted a turn. Then they both wanted the log. Then they fought and argued.
Before we left the park we thought it would be nice to have a picture of them sitting next to each other on the log. Instead, pushing, hitting and girl-slapping occurred. I couldn’t get a nice picture if I wanted to, so I just took pictures of them fighting.
The meltdowns continued as both boys didn’t want to walk all the way back home. Even though they seemed to despise each other’s company, I think they actually like each other. Chancho did ask if Nicholas could come over to his house. And, I know Nicholas was excited to see him again today on our field trip (more on that in the next blog).
All in all, it was nice to see that all moms of 3-year-olds have to deal with the same things. Thankfully, come October 21st, Kristy and I are packing up and leaving the kids at home!
The walk to the park seemed extra long as the boys stopped to pick flowers, leaves, or just refuse to walk. We finally reached the park and they seemed to be doing better until Nicholas wouldn’t let Chancho climb down the ladder. Then they both tried to read the alphabet and the numbers on some of the equipment, both getting mad if the other one read what they were looking at.
Then Chancho found a small log and showed us how strong he was. Of course, Nicholas wanted a turn. Then they both wanted the log. Then they fought and argued.
Before we left the park we thought it would be nice to have a picture of them sitting next to each other on the log. Instead, pushing, hitting and girl-slapping occurred. I couldn’t get a nice picture if I wanted to, so I just took pictures of them fighting.
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| "He's taking the log, Mom!" |
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| "Now I've got it!" |
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| Trying to take a nice picture |
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| "Don't put your arm around me!" |
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| Nicholas trying again. |
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| Let the slapping begin! |
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| Back to fighting over the log |
The meltdowns continued as both boys didn’t want to walk all the way back home. Even though they seemed to despise each other’s company, I think they actually like each other. Chancho did ask if Nicholas could come over to his house. And, I know Nicholas was excited to see him again today on our field trip (more on that in the next blog).
All in all, it was nice to see that all moms of 3-year-olds have to deal with the same things. Thankfully, come October 21st, Kristy and I are packing up and leaving the kids at home!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
You Looking At Me?
Parenthood has definitely changed me. You almost have to change. Kids show you the good and the bad about yourself. They also teach you patience. They show you how to love. And, they can embarrass you like no one else.
I’ve mentioned before that I don’t like the spotlight unless it is on my terms. My mom couldn’t even say my name in public for years. I just didn’t want people to know my name. Weird, I know. These days I don’t want other people to look at me and think I’m doing a bad job or that I can’t get my child under control. I think moms carry a lot of unnecessary guilt.
I’m an observer and if you really watch you’ll see that all kids have their moments – good and bad. Nicholas normally does well in restaurants and stores. He did great at his doctor’s appointment. But, Tuesday and Wednesday that little boy left and a more ornery, tired, and stubborn one returned in his place.
Tuesday got so bad that I had to leave the room to laugh. See, he became unreasonable. He was crying over everything. He even asked to go to bed at 5:50 PM. I would have obliged if it had been about an hour later, but it was just a bit too early. My favorite part of the evening was when he noticed some extra Sunday school supplies that I had thrown away. He looked down at the trash and started crying. “You threw Jesus away!”
I thought that after a good night’s sleep that Wednesday would be better. Nope. After Bible study we usually go to the mall for lunch. Nicholas was fine while we were eating and while we were in a couple of stores. But, then he passed the train. He always says that he wants to ride it, but when we give him the opportunity, he really doesn’t. Yesterday we told him that he could ride it next week. My mom had unused tokens, but had left them at home.
Apparently that was not the answer he wanted to hear. He fell to the ground and began to cry. I picked that 40 lb boy up and I carried him from the second floor all the way to the car – screaming and crying. And, you know what? I didn’t care who was looking. I remained calm and acted like it was no big deal. Even as my arms were burning from carrying him, I would not give in to his tears. He was being unreasonable. He was crying about the train; he wanted to go to Target; he didn’t want to go home; he wanted someone else to carry him. You name it.
I thought to myself, Kristin, you have come a long way. His tantrum would have embarrassed me and devastated me just a few months ago. But, I realized it was more important to stand my ground and be consistent at that moment. My kid wasn’t acting “perfect”, but he was being trained that his behavior was unacceptable. We talked about it later when he was in his right mind and he knows that his behavior was wrong. Even if he “forgets” next time, he will learn that his mom has decided that she’ll choose being in the spotlight over letting her son manipulate her with his tantrums.
The good news is that it looks like that the kid from the mall left town and my sweeter boy is here today.
I’ve mentioned before that I don’t like the spotlight unless it is on my terms. My mom couldn’t even say my name in public for years. I just didn’t want people to know my name. Weird, I know. These days I don’t want other people to look at me and think I’m doing a bad job or that I can’t get my child under control. I think moms carry a lot of unnecessary guilt.
I’m an observer and if you really watch you’ll see that all kids have their moments – good and bad. Nicholas normally does well in restaurants and stores. He did great at his doctor’s appointment. But, Tuesday and Wednesday that little boy left and a more ornery, tired, and stubborn one returned in his place.
Tuesday got so bad that I had to leave the room to laugh. See, he became unreasonable. He was crying over everything. He even asked to go to bed at 5:50 PM. I would have obliged if it had been about an hour later, but it was just a bit too early. My favorite part of the evening was when he noticed some extra Sunday school supplies that I had thrown away. He looked down at the trash and started crying. “You threw Jesus away!”
I thought that after a good night’s sleep that Wednesday would be better. Nope. After Bible study we usually go to the mall for lunch. Nicholas was fine while we were eating and while we were in a couple of stores. But, then he passed the train. He always says that he wants to ride it, but when we give him the opportunity, he really doesn’t. Yesterday we told him that he could ride it next week. My mom had unused tokens, but had left them at home.
Apparently that was not the answer he wanted to hear. He fell to the ground and began to cry. I picked that 40 lb boy up and I carried him from the second floor all the way to the car – screaming and crying. And, you know what? I didn’t care who was looking. I remained calm and acted like it was no big deal. Even as my arms were burning from carrying him, I would not give in to his tears. He was being unreasonable. He was crying about the train; he wanted to go to Target; he didn’t want to go home; he wanted someone else to carry him. You name it.
I thought to myself, Kristin, you have come a long way. His tantrum would have embarrassed me and devastated me just a few months ago. But, I realized it was more important to stand my ground and be consistent at that moment. My kid wasn’t acting “perfect”, but he was being trained that his behavior was unacceptable. We talked about it later when he was in his right mind and he knows that his behavior was wrong. Even if he “forgets” next time, he will learn that his mom has decided that she’ll choose being in the spotlight over letting her son manipulate her with his tantrums.
The good news is that it looks like that the kid from the mall left town and my sweeter boy is here today.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Heart Check
Yesterday was Nicholas’ annual cardiologist appointment. As I have said before, he had heart surgery while he was still in Russia. He had a hole in his heart, but also had to have a valve fixed. Every year we have to get an EKG and an ultrasound to make sure everything is okay. He passed his appointment with flying colors though. He’s good for another year!
My mom came with us to this appointment and we were both fascinated by their newest ultrasound machine. Nicholas’ heart was so clear on the screen. They also used red and blue colors to show the blood flowing back and forth. It was very interesting. Nicholas' favorite part was when the ultrasound tech let him listen to his heart beat.
Last year we had no idea what to expect at his appointment. We didn’t even know for sure what was done in the initial surgery. This year we were able to prep Nicholas and he did super! He listened and was very patient and well-behaved. After his EKG and ultrasound we had to wait 45 minutes in a room for the cardiologist. Thankfully, we brought his backpack with some books. That helped pass the time a little bit.
After a long afternoon out (we left our house at 1:00), we headed to dinner. Again, Nicholas didn’t eat very much. His eating habits are definitely changing. He did weigh in at 40 lbs today at the doctor’s office, but he is thinning out. He also is now in the 50th percentile for height. That’s not bad for a boy that was in the 10th percentile when he came home.
Having a child that had a congenital heart defect can be kind of scary. He could live a life free from complications, or he could need an artificial valve some day. Thankfully, he is monitored every year. How many people get to see that their heart is okay year after year? We’re also thankful that technology is getting so much better and that if he needed a new valve some day, it would probably be done with just a catheter. Overall, he is a very healthy boy.
After a long day yesterday, we’re hanging out at home all day (Like we have a choice. Ha ha). I’m pretty sure they’ll be two people taking a nice, long nap today.
My mom came with us to this appointment and we were both fascinated by their newest ultrasound machine. Nicholas’ heart was so clear on the screen. They also used red and blue colors to show the blood flowing back and forth. It was very interesting. Nicholas' favorite part was when the ultrasound tech let him listen to his heart beat.
Last year we had no idea what to expect at his appointment. We didn’t even know for sure what was done in the initial surgery. This year we were able to prep Nicholas and he did super! He listened and was very patient and well-behaved. After his EKG and ultrasound we had to wait 45 minutes in a room for the cardiologist. Thankfully, we brought his backpack with some books. That helped pass the time a little bit.
After a long afternoon out (we left our house at 1:00), we headed to dinner. Again, Nicholas didn’t eat very much. His eating habits are definitely changing. He did weigh in at 40 lbs today at the doctor’s office, but he is thinning out. He also is now in the 50th percentile for height. That’s not bad for a boy that was in the 10th percentile when he came home.
Having a child that had a congenital heart defect can be kind of scary. He could live a life free from complications, or he could need an artificial valve some day. Thankfully, he is monitored every year. How many people get to see that their heart is okay year after year? We’re also thankful that technology is getting so much better and that if he needed a new valve some day, it would probably be done with just a catheter. Overall, he is a very healthy boy.
After a long day yesterday, we’re hanging out at home all day (Like we have a choice. Ha ha). I’m pretty sure they’ll be two people taking a nice, long nap today.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
On the Go
A few weeks ago, I had one thing written on my calendar for today. Slowly another thing was added and then another. It was a busy Saturday, but everything we did today was enjoyable. Evan and I started out with a meeting for our Sprouts department teachers at church. My mom also had a meeting at church for something else. That left Nicholas to have a special morning with Poppy. He was so excited. He even asked me if Poppy was there when I woke him up this morning.
Poppy took Nicholas out for breakfast and to the playland. Apparently, Nicholas had a huge appetite this morning. Then they went on a nice long walk afterwards. We came home to find Poppy in one piece. They both had a great time. Our meeting went well too. We had a lot of laughs and stayed on schedule. The only bad thing was that I woke up this morning at 4:30 and couldn’t fall back to sleep. I started to lose my wind about the time our meeting started. However, a little chocolate pepped me up a bit.
After we returned home, we told Nicholas that we had a surprise for him. The surprise was actually the first thing I had written on the calendar weeks ago. We told him that we were taking him to a local library. He was probably wondering what was so surprising about that, but as soon as we got near the parking lot, he saw why. They had rescue vehicles, tractors, trucks, and buses for kids to climb on and get their pictures taken. “I love my surprise!” Nicholas told us.
If Nicholas had his way, he would have started up half the vehicles and driven away. He turned the steering wheels, found many of the horns and whistles, and pushed as many buttons as he could. I was so proud of how polite he was too. He thanked many of the volunteers after he climbed out of each vehicle.
We were happy that he reacted so positively to his surprise. There is always the fear that he wouldn’t want to get in any of the vehicles. His biggest aversion was to the ambulance. He wanted no part in climbing in it.
The volunteers also gave out hats, goodie bags, and stickers. It was such a great experience and so great for a Nicholas. He just loves cars, trucks, and heavy equipment.
After his nap we headed to my cousin’s son’s 1st birthday party. Most of my cousins on this side of the family are all very close in age. In the last 3 ½ years, we’ve given my grandparents nine great-grandchildren. So, there are plenty of kids for Nicholas to play with. He did his best to charm everyone at the party.
In the last week, I’ve noticed that he isn’t eating as much, other than at breakfast. He’d rather be playing. This happened today. In fact, he ate only his ice cream and just a few bites of cake before saying he was full. I’m not used to hearing that from him.
Nicholas made sure to say goodbye to everyone when we left the party, and I mean everyone! Some got hugs, but he waited until everyone acknowledged that he was leaving. The best part was that he left without a fuss. We’ve come a long way in that area.
The nice thing about having such a busy and exciting day is that he’ll fall asleep pretty quickly tonight. Tomorrow we have more to celebrate. It is our church’s one year anniversary. Time for more cake!
Poppy took Nicholas out for breakfast and to the playland. Apparently, Nicholas had a huge appetite this morning. Then they went on a nice long walk afterwards. We came home to find Poppy in one piece. They both had a great time. Our meeting went well too. We had a lot of laughs and stayed on schedule. The only bad thing was that I woke up this morning at 4:30 and couldn’t fall back to sleep. I started to lose my wind about the time our meeting started. However, a little chocolate pepped me up a bit.
After we returned home, we told Nicholas that we had a surprise for him. The surprise was actually the first thing I had written on the calendar weeks ago. We told him that we were taking him to a local library. He was probably wondering what was so surprising about that, but as soon as we got near the parking lot, he saw why. They had rescue vehicles, tractors, trucks, and buses for kids to climb on and get their pictures taken. “I love my surprise!” Nicholas told us.
If Nicholas had his way, he would have started up half the vehicles and driven away. He turned the steering wheels, found many of the horns and whistles, and pushed as many buttons as he could. I was so proud of how polite he was too. He thanked many of the volunteers after he climbed out of each vehicle.
We were happy that he reacted so positively to his surprise. There is always the fear that he wouldn’t want to get in any of the vehicles. His biggest aversion was to the ambulance. He wanted no part in climbing in it.
The volunteers also gave out hats, goodie bags, and stickers. It was such a great experience and so great for a Nicholas. He just loves cars, trucks, and heavy equipment.
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| In the fire truck |
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| Future Sheriff? |
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| Checking out a luxury motor home for Grandma and Grandpa |
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| Maybe the only chance he'll get to sit in a school bus |
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| "That's a big wheel!" |
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| Nicholas loves a cement truck. |
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| Nicholas liked watching the talking fire dog - from a distance! |
After his nap we headed to my cousin’s son’s 1st birthday party. Most of my cousins on this side of the family are all very close in age. In the last 3 ½ years, we’ve given my grandparents nine great-grandchildren. So, there are plenty of kids for Nicholas to play with. He did his best to charm everyone at the party.
In the last week, I’ve noticed that he isn’t eating as much, other than at breakfast. He’d rather be playing. This happened today. In fact, he ate only his ice cream and just a few bites of cake before saying he was full. I’m not used to hearing that from him.
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| Paige and Nicholas |
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| The birthday boy, Colin. Nicholas told me that babies eat with their hands, but big boys use a fork. |
Nicholas made sure to say goodbye to everyone when we left the party, and I mean everyone! Some got hugs, but he waited until everyone acknowledged that he was leaving. The best part was that he left without a fuss. We’ve come a long way in that area.
The nice thing about having such a busy and exciting day is that he’ll fall asleep pretty quickly tonight. Tomorrow we have more to celebrate. It is our church’s one year anniversary. Time for more cake!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Homeschool Highlights - Ant Week
I won’t say that this was my favorite topic, but Nicholas seemed to enjoy it. I now know more about ants than I ever wanted to know. My biggest disappoint for this week was that the library did not have most of the books we wanted to use. I ended up just picking out three. Two were fiction and actually both had a math theme. The third was a children’s non-fiction book. We would look at the pictures and I would tell him a couple of facts I thought he could understand. It was funny though because by Thursday we were talking about eggs, larva, and pupa. That really wasn’t something I thought I’d be discussing with my three-year-old.
The books were:
One Hundred Hungry Ants
(This was his favorite!)
How Many Ants?
Ants (Animal Lives)
We had two variations of the “ants on a log” snack this week. We used a banana, peanut butter, and raisins the first day.
The second time I used pretzel rods, peanut butter and chocolate covered raisins. Nicholas loved to tell me that he liked eating ants.
Then I made an “ant” snack for him while he was still on his nap. I had the “ants” form the letters A and B. He saw it from the top of the stairs as he was coming down and got really excited.
We worked on our phonics this week. He learned the sounds for A and B. This included having computer time twice this week after his nap. We also worked on our first five sight words. I first quizzed him a couple of times with note cards. Then we took a couple of books and I would pause when one of his words would come up. He was ecstatic when he saw “a”, “and”, “away”, “big”, and “blue”.
He’s also starting to learn how to write his letters. I had him use play-doh to form the letters first. Then we practiced with a dry erase marker. I wish I could say that our first time writing letters went well, but one of us wasn’t interested in following directions and the other one wasn’t doing a good job of exercising patience. But, we both learned a lesson and asked for each other’s forgiveness. Next time we’ll both be doing things differently. My goal for him is not perfect handwriting anyway, but to just get him ready to write.
We also took a walk this week to try and find some ants. I knew it would happen this way, but we only found one. Never fear though. Three of them made their way onto my kitchen floor one day this week when we had the windows open. Then I demonstrated to Nicholas how the ants let out a smell to warn their friends of danger when they are crushed.
We also sang, “The Ants Go Marching” song several days this week. As we sang, I had him practice holding up the correct number of fingers as the ants went “two by two”, “three by three”, etc.
Finally, we made an ant out of an egg carton and pipe cleaners.
I’m excited about our next week. It includes our first field trip. If this one goes well, he’ll be able to attend more in the future. I’ll leave you with a little conversation we had this morning about ants.
The books were:
One Hundred Hungry Ants
(This was his favorite!)How Many Ants?
Ants (Animal Lives)
We had two variations of the “ants on a log” snack this week. We used a banana, peanut butter, and raisins the first day.
The second time I used pretzel rods, peanut butter and chocolate covered raisins. Nicholas loved to tell me that he liked eating ants.
Then I made an “ant” snack for him while he was still on his nap. I had the “ants” form the letters A and B. He saw it from the top of the stairs as he was coming down and got really excited.
We worked on our phonics this week. He learned the sounds for A and B. This included having computer time twice this week after his nap. We also worked on our first five sight words. I first quizzed him a couple of times with note cards. Then we took a couple of books and I would pause when one of his words would come up. He was ecstatic when he saw “a”, “and”, “away”, “big”, and “blue”.
He’s also starting to learn how to write his letters. I had him use play-doh to form the letters first. Then we practiced with a dry erase marker. I wish I could say that our first time writing letters went well, but one of us wasn’t interested in following directions and the other one wasn’t doing a good job of exercising patience. But, we both learned a lesson and asked for each other’s forgiveness. Next time we’ll both be doing things differently. My goal for him is not perfect handwriting anyway, but to just get him ready to write.
We also took a walk this week to try and find some ants. I knew it would happen this way, but we only found one. Never fear though. Three of them made their way onto my kitchen floor one day this week when we had the windows open. Then I demonstrated to Nicholas how the ants let out a smell to warn their friends of danger when they are crushed.
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| He found our lone ant under this rock. |
We also sang, “The Ants Go Marching” song several days this week. As we sang, I had him practice holding up the correct number of fingers as the ants went “two by two”, “three by three”, etc.
Finally, we made an ant out of an egg carton and pipe cleaners.
I’m excited about our next week. It includes our first field trip. If this one goes well, he’ll be able to attend more in the future. I’ll leave you with a little conversation we had this morning about ants.
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