So one of the many items on my deployment list is learning to shop frugal. We're extremely lucky that we have virtually no debt other than my car but deployments have become EXPENSIVE! Since some new changes have come about and cuts have been made through out the military they no longer provide the uniforms needed for deployment so we're looking at $400+ in just that. Add care packages, stamps for letters, supporting 2 households etc and we will be hurting financially.
Our first step has been to change to 80% cloth diapers. We still use disposables as we use the YMCAs child care when either of us work out and they require them and also my son seems to pee through EVERY cloth diaper I put on him at night but the savings has still been significant.
I also learned to make my own wet wipes! That to me was just great. They've been working just as well as the store bought ones and at a fraction of the price. (you can also make your own lysol wipes btw :-) I'll be doing this with our natural disinfectants tomorrow so I can let you know how that goes)
We went and hunted down reduced meat at Sams Club this week. Managed to find 2 frying chickens for $7.50 and 10lbs of pork chops for $17.42! Not a bad deal although we'll be eating pork for a while lol.
That's just a small bit of what we've been doing to save the pennies!
I'm also trying my hardest for us to be able to afford to go on a vacation both before and after he goes on deployment. Nothing extravagant, just something to get away and spend time with each other. This will be especially important when he gets back and we have to get reacquainted.
Is it strange that the scariest part of this for me is not the deployment itself? I mean I don't want my husband gone for half of the year or more but I CAN DO that. I'm more worried about what's going to happen when he gets back. How are we going to get to know each other again as a couple??? Uggg.
But the bright side is that whatever doesn't kill us is going to make us a stronger couple. Right?
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Keyed in and gearing up!
So I we've been in North Carolina for about 4 months now. Our house is (sort of) unpacked and decorated, we have a weekly schedule of activities and we're FINALLY generally feeling like we're at home!! I have a few friendships blooming and have gotten to see a few old friends that have moved to bases near ours. All in all a very successful move I think!
Now comes yet another joy of military life - deployment.
My husband and I have been married for almost 4 years and we have yet to face a deployment together. We are INCREDIBLY blessed to have been able to spend the first 4 years of our marriage together while also being a military family so it came as no surprise when we PCSed to this base that we were handed deployment orders. Obviously due to OPSEC I will not be disclosing most details but I will say in a few months my husband and I will be saying good bye until next year. Which means he won't be here for Thanksgiving or Christmas, or New Years but we'll get through that. He WILL be here for our sons first birthday and we just had our daughters third so at least he won't be missing birthdays :-)
As you can tell I'm not looking at this in a "OMG My life is over!" kind of way and nor should any other military spouse. This is a fact of life for us. Am I going to be sad sometimes, yes. Am I going to cry myself to sleep more often than I'd like to admit after he leaves, of course! But I'm also going to slap on a smile, take a deep breath and get through each and every day and make it FUN. I'm already starting deployment related actitivities with my 3 year old (we're making a small scrapbook for Daddy to take with pictures she's drawn and picking her favorite family pictures to add) and I'm making plans that involve traveling to places that are tricky when we're looking at his work schedule. So Grandmas for Thankgiving and Great Grandmas for Christmas ect. This is going to be one of the hardest things we have EVER faced as a couple but also one of the best. Yep that's right I said THE BEST. I remember when I was a kid and my Dad deployed I got to watch my Mom become Super Mom. She did it all with amazing grace and confidence and when my Dad got home there was this moment of pure joy between them that was just impossible to miss. They also grew as a couple with each and every deployment, learning what works for them and what doesn't, and finding out all the things they enjoy doing "together" (one of there favorite things was to choose a book before the deployement began and they'd read it "together" and send letters back and forth about there thoughts and feelings on the book. I thought that was just fantastic :-) ). Life handed us lemons and I'm going to make some damn lemonade hehehe!
So readers out there in the world, my blog is probably going to change even more over the next year. Right now I'll admit that I'm terrible about actually remembering to update and write new posts. I get these ideas about a great topic and then forget to post because I'm busy fixing hubbys Blues or some such thing. I'm hoping that I'll be able to update more often come deployment time because I'm going to have plenty of long lonely nights to write! Also the contents of my posts are going to change. In the past I haven't posted much about the military life although it's a huge part or my families identity and that's going to change. I'm hoping to be able to post something good everyday as well as sharing the hard parts of what's ahead of us. From the preperation (or where on earth are we going to find $500 for deployment gear before hubby leaves...better cut the budget AGAIN) to the leaving, to finding our deployemnt footing, to He's Home now how do we work as a couple after being apart for so long. During all of this I'm still going to do homeschooling posts because hey, we're still homeschoolers it's just going to be a different variety. We're going to do some focusing on where Daddy is (so lots of geography and history especially by 3 year old standards!) and about other families like us. I hope none of you mind and who knows, maybe we can find another family like ours out in there in the world to share our experiences with!
So all in all out life is good. It's complicated but it's good.
Now comes yet another joy of military life - deployment.
My husband and I have been married for almost 4 years and we have yet to face a deployment together. We are INCREDIBLY blessed to have been able to spend the first 4 years of our marriage together while also being a military family so it came as no surprise when we PCSed to this base that we were handed deployment orders. Obviously due to OPSEC I will not be disclosing most details but I will say in a few months my husband and I will be saying good bye until next year. Which means he won't be here for Thanksgiving or Christmas, or New Years but we'll get through that. He WILL be here for our sons first birthday and we just had our daughters third so at least he won't be missing birthdays :-)
As you can tell I'm not looking at this in a "OMG My life is over!" kind of way and nor should any other military spouse. This is a fact of life for us. Am I going to be sad sometimes, yes. Am I going to cry myself to sleep more often than I'd like to admit after he leaves, of course! But I'm also going to slap on a smile, take a deep breath and get through each and every day and make it FUN. I'm already starting deployment related actitivities with my 3 year old (we're making a small scrapbook for Daddy to take with pictures she's drawn and picking her favorite family pictures to add) and I'm making plans that involve traveling to places that are tricky when we're looking at his work schedule. So Grandmas for Thankgiving and Great Grandmas for Christmas ect. This is going to be one of the hardest things we have EVER faced as a couple but also one of the best. Yep that's right I said THE BEST. I remember when I was a kid and my Dad deployed I got to watch my Mom become Super Mom. She did it all with amazing grace and confidence and when my Dad got home there was this moment of pure joy between them that was just impossible to miss. They also grew as a couple with each and every deployment, learning what works for them and what doesn't, and finding out all the things they enjoy doing "together" (one of there favorite things was to choose a book before the deployement began and they'd read it "together" and send letters back and forth about there thoughts and feelings on the book. I thought that was just fantastic :-) ). Life handed us lemons and I'm going to make some damn lemonade hehehe!
So readers out there in the world, my blog is probably going to change even more over the next year. Right now I'll admit that I'm terrible about actually remembering to update and write new posts. I get these ideas about a great topic and then forget to post because I'm busy fixing hubbys Blues or some such thing. I'm hoping that I'll be able to update more often come deployment time because I'm going to have plenty of long lonely nights to write! Also the contents of my posts are going to change. In the past I haven't posted much about the military life although it's a huge part or my families identity and that's going to change. I'm hoping to be able to post something good everyday as well as sharing the hard parts of what's ahead of us. From the preperation (or where on earth are we going to find $500 for deployment gear before hubby leaves...better cut the budget AGAIN) to the leaving, to finding our deployemnt footing, to He's Home now how do we work as a couple after being apart for so long. During all of this I'm still going to do homeschooling posts because hey, we're still homeschoolers it's just going to be a different variety. We're going to do some focusing on where Daddy is (so lots of geography and history especially by 3 year old standards!) and about other families like us. I hope none of you mind and who knows, maybe we can find another family like ours out in there in the world to share our experiences with!
So all in all out life is good. It's complicated but it's good.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Making a commitment to me.
As most of you know weight loss is not a topic I typically write about. It's something that has been haunting me since the birth of my son and I'm finally making a commitment to it. Our church began I bible study called "Made to Crave" which has been a real eye opener for me. That being said I've made an appointment for today with the nutritionist on base and I'm going to start working one day at a time towards eating healthy and exercising and hopefully it will get me somewhere! To be honest I can't afford the slim fast style shakes that are out there, the weight watchers programs, or the pills to help me lose weight or even to pay someone to help me get a workout routine. This is going to be 100% all natural weight loss made from hard work and eating less than my body is burning.
The only thing I MAY try is the Melaleuca GC control shakes because we're due to be getting a free batch soon thanks to being preferred customers (I love you Melaleuca!) But that's it!
Start - 208lbs
LTGW - 130lbs
STGW - 198lbs
Now time to convince my husband that I should get a treat for every 10lbs I lose! ;-)
The only thing I MAY try is the Melaleuca GC control shakes because we're due to be getting a free batch soon thanks to being preferred customers (I love you Melaleuca!) But that's it!
Start - 208lbs
LTGW - 130lbs
STGW - 198lbs
Now time to convince my husband that I should get a treat for every 10lbs I lose! ;-)
Monday, March 11, 2013
Getting "Plugged In"
For those of you who have moved in the past you should know exactly what I'm talking about. You move to a new place and it becomes a mission (sometimes a lengthy one) to get to know all the new places and find things to get you out of the house. I'm finally at the stage in the move where I've got time to do this and at this point in my life I'm pretty darn good at it.
Step 1 - Figure out what YOU like to do.
I personally enjoy play groups, book clubs, volunteer work and crafting. Because of this normally our bases ESC (Enlisted Spouses Club for those of you not skilled with Military acronyms ;-) ) is a good fit for me. They normally do monthly meetings that have childcare and a guest speaker, this month on how to help the national cancer society followed by belly dancing lessons (that'll be a BLAST!). They also do a ton of volunteer work around the base and set up groups to deliver meals to new Moms ect. They are also a fantastic rescource when your spouse is deployed. So all in all great for us. I also find all the local play groups I can and attend each at least once before decided which one/s are a fit for me and my kids.
Step 2 - Put your big girl panties on and GET OUT THERE!
Yep that's right. I know darn well it's terrifying to go somewhere on your own where you know nobody. I've been there multiple times throughout my life but if you don't do it you will spend your entire time at any new location bored and lonely which will manifest not only in your attitude but in your marriage and your relationship with your children. Trust me, they will not bite. The worst thing that could happen is that you don't like the group and hey, you're no worse off right?
Step 3 - Keep trying!
You are bound to run into groups you don't like. One's who don't hold the same values as you. Others that may still act like they are in high school. But I PROMISE that you will eventually find a place that you feel happy in! You will meet people you enjoy being around and make some new friends along the way. You'll experience things you've never experienced before and you won't spend your entire tour somewhere locked up in your house with no one to talk to in person.
So my first steps start this week. We have story time at the library on Tuesday, a play group to attend on Wedensday and on Friday I've entered a "Best Dish" competition our squadron is hosting. Meeting new people and possibly winning my husband a couple of days off!
So to those of you out there in my shoes I wish you luck and am so proud of you for putting yourself out there. I'm a shy person at heart but I take the "Fake it til you make it approach" and it works for me :-D
Now I'm off to go put my big girl panties on :-)
Step 1 - Figure out what YOU like to do.
I personally enjoy play groups, book clubs, volunteer work and crafting. Because of this normally our bases ESC (Enlisted Spouses Club for those of you not skilled with Military acronyms ;-) ) is a good fit for me. They normally do monthly meetings that have childcare and a guest speaker, this month on how to help the national cancer society followed by belly dancing lessons (that'll be a BLAST!). They also do a ton of volunteer work around the base and set up groups to deliver meals to new Moms ect. They are also a fantastic rescource when your spouse is deployed. So all in all great for us. I also find all the local play groups I can and attend each at least once before decided which one/s are a fit for me and my kids.
Step 2 - Put your big girl panties on and GET OUT THERE!
Yep that's right. I know darn well it's terrifying to go somewhere on your own where you know nobody. I've been there multiple times throughout my life but if you don't do it you will spend your entire time at any new location bored and lonely which will manifest not only in your attitude but in your marriage and your relationship with your children. Trust me, they will not bite. The worst thing that could happen is that you don't like the group and hey, you're no worse off right?
Step 3 - Keep trying!
You are bound to run into groups you don't like. One's who don't hold the same values as you. Others that may still act like they are in high school. But I PROMISE that you will eventually find a place that you feel happy in! You will meet people you enjoy being around and make some new friends along the way. You'll experience things you've never experienced before and you won't spend your entire tour somewhere locked up in your house with no one to talk to in person.
So my first steps start this week. We have story time at the library on Tuesday, a play group to attend on Wedensday and on Friday I've entered a "Best Dish" competition our squadron is hosting. Meeting new people and possibly winning my husband a couple of days off!
So to those of you out there in my shoes I wish you luck and am so proud of you for putting yourself out there. I'm a shy person at heart but I take the "Fake it til you make it approach" and it works for me :-D
Now I'm off to go put my big girl panties on :-)
Sunday, March 10, 2013
It's been awhile!
Yep it's been quite a while since I last posted and boy have we been busy! We have officially moved in to our new home in North Carolina (our new BEAUTIFUL base house) and most of our things are unpacked. We're trying to learn to live on a LOT less money and we're preparing for the dreaded deployment. Yep my dear, dear husband has deployment orders already...as a matter of fact we got them within our first two weeks here! Awesome, right?
So here's the story - Our family made the long flight from Okinawa, Japan to North Carolina on the 5th of January. We then spent a few weeks with my Mum before heading to our base. From the moment we touched down we were all sick. Horribly, Horribly Sick! Dearest Bug had a double ear infection. Little Man (only 6 months at the time!), Hubby and I all had Bronchitis. This went on for almost a month. What a wonderful welcome to America gift!!
Come mid January we all drove down to the base to get our lodging room (which by the SJAFB has FANTASTIC family lodging! The most beautiful I've ever seen!) and we got to hang out there for about a week waiting on housing to give us offers or tell us to go find an offbase house. The first offer they gave us was an automatic no from us. It actually looked like a cute house but we weren't allowed to look at it before moving in and that's kind of important to me...yeah lol. So we talked to the housing office about that issue and they came up with another offer for us. Now take into account that we are only entitled to a 2 bedroom home by military regs. We instead were given a HUGE brand new 4 bedroom home because that was all that was available :-). Yep I am one happy camper! It is litterally twice the size of our last home.
The kids finally have there own rooms and they have SPACE!
Now I'm just unpacking those last little pieces and trying to figure out what works where...you know how it is if you've ever moved! My big pantry is also holding home school supplies right now...I'm pretty sure I need to change that soon lol!
Ohhh pictures!
So here's the story - Our family made the long flight from Okinawa, Japan to North Carolina on the 5th of January. We then spent a few weeks with my Mum before heading to our base. From the moment we touched down we were all sick. Horribly, Horribly Sick! Dearest Bug had a double ear infection. Little Man (only 6 months at the time!), Hubby and I all had Bronchitis. This went on for almost a month. What a wonderful welcome to America gift!!
Come mid January we all drove down to the base to get our lodging room (which by the SJAFB has FANTASTIC family lodging! The most beautiful I've ever seen!) and we got to hang out there for about a week waiting on housing to give us offers or tell us to go find an offbase house. The first offer they gave us was an automatic no from us. It actually looked like a cute house but we weren't allowed to look at it before moving in and that's kind of important to me...yeah lol. So we talked to the housing office about that issue and they came up with another offer for us. Now take into account that we are only entitled to a 2 bedroom home by military regs. We instead were given a HUGE brand new 4 bedroom home because that was all that was available :-). Yep I am one happy camper! It is litterally twice the size of our last home.
The kids finally have there own rooms and they have SPACE!
Now I'm just unpacking those last little pieces and trying to figure out what works where...you know how it is if you've ever moved! My big pantry is also holding home school supplies right now...I'm pretty sure I need to change that soon lol!
Ohhh pictures!
Pre furniture lol...it was kinda like camping!
Check out our view! BEAUTIFUL!
Little Man is getting so big...
Can you believe that this is a base house?
Our kitchen. I love being able to see the kids while I'm cooking. It means I can spend a lot more time in the kitchen :-)
The dining room side. Yep it's fully open plan
My goofy Bug who is in a huge princess phase right now
Big Man Standing!!
I still have so much to write about but Little Man is waking up from a nap now and I need to go wake up my dear husband so we can go out to breakfast :-) We may have missed church due to the time change but I NEED pancakes!
Saturday, November 17, 2012
As promised :-)
HAHA! I'm actually sticking to my promise (which is amazing as what I really SHOULD be doing right now is finding all my valuables ornaments and putting them in there original boxes so I can start on other PCSing jobs hehehe)
And I have some questions for all you homeschooling ladies out there in blogger land.
What curriculums are you using with your children?
What are the benifits of those curriculums?
Are there any that you would like to try but haven't yet?
You see, I've run into a problem! My beautiful Bug is progressing a tad bit to fast. We had been working on a combination prek/k4 curriculum that was FANTASTIC (thanks to Confessions of a Homeschooler) but now my little 2.5yr old has mastered all of the letters/site words/numbers/math problems/phonics ect in the curriculum. Please don't ask me how I did this, because I didn't. My daughter is loving homeschool and wants to do her work (most of the time) and has somehow managed to zip right through everything. After giving her a kindergarten readiness test I'm pretty certain that accademically she's ready for a kindergarten curriculum but physically she's not. Her fine motor skills are normal for her age, same for large muscle groups, emotions ect. It's only the accademics that I need but I've also noticed that a lot of the things done with kindergartens require them to have really good fine motor skills.
So how do I combine kindergarten academics with a 2.5yr olds fine motor skills?
Any help would be much appreciated! Also does anyone have any information or opinions on getting young children tested to see if they are gifted? Hubby and I have been bouncing the idea around with how fast she's progressing and just aren't sure whether it would be helpful or a hindrance later in life ya know?
Thankyou my blogger friends :-)
And I have some questions for all you homeschooling ladies out there in blogger land.
What curriculums are you using with your children?
What are the benifits of those curriculums?
Are there any that you would like to try but haven't yet?
You see, I've run into a problem! My beautiful Bug is progressing a tad bit to fast. We had been working on a combination prek/k4 curriculum that was FANTASTIC (thanks to Confessions of a Homeschooler) but now my little 2.5yr old has mastered all of the letters/site words/numbers/math problems/phonics ect in the curriculum. Please don't ask me how I did this, because I didn't. My daughter is loving homeschool and wants to do her work (most of the time) and has somehow managed to zip right through everything. After giving her a kindergarten readiness test I'm pretty certain that accademically she's ready for a kindergarten curriculum but physically she's not. Her fine motor skills are normal for her age, same for large muscle groups, emotions ect. It's only the accademics that I need but I've also noticed that a lot of the things done with kindergartens require them to have really good fine motor skills.
So how do I combine kindergarten academics with a 2.5yr olds fine motor skills?
Any help would be much appreciated! Also does anyone have any information or opinions on getting young children tested to see if they are gifted? Hubby and I have been bouncing the idea around with how fast she's progressing and just aren't sure whether it would be helpful or a hindrance later in life ya know?
Thankyou my blogger friends :-)
Oh PCSing how I love thee...
So it's been a while since I last posted but you'll have to forgive me! We've had a busy month and it's only going to get busier over the next few months.
As some of you know I'm a military spouse (and brat) My father retired as a MSgt in the USAF when I was 18, my step mum is active duty still and my Husband is a SSgt in the USAF! Not to mention a sister who goes to boot camp soon, a Navy uncle and a brother in law who is Army Reserves! So obviously we have very strong military ties in our family lol!
Anyway in January we will be moving on to a new base and leaving the beautiful island of Okinawa behind. It's been a fantastic 3 years with 2 new babies and a lot of adventures and I will be really sad to leave such a fantastic culture! But as with all things there is a HUGE silver lining. We'll be moving to North Carolina to be 3hrs from my Mum, 8 hrs from my Dad and 10hrs from the hubbys family!! For those of you who've always lived near your family this may not seem like such a big deal but we've never lived near enough to really see ours very often. My hubbys family has only seen Bug 2 times in her life and still hasn't met Mr Man. My Dad has only seen Bug twice but he did meet Mr Man when he was still teeny. My Mum got to spend lots of time with them while I was there to give birth (loooooong story, maybe I'll share another time) but it still feels like they miss out on seeing family when we're so, so far away from them. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change my life for the world and I really hope that in a few years we can be stationed overseas again (maybe Italy next time??) but there are some drawbacks!
Anyway I promise tomorrow I will post something thought provoking (or at least SOMETHING!)
Until then :-)
As some of you know I'm a military spouse (and brat) My father retired as a MSgt in the USAF when I was 18, my step mum is active duty still and my Husband is a SSgt in the USAF! Not to mention a sister who goes to boot camp soon, a Navy uncle and a brother in law who is Army Reserves! So obviously we have very strong military ties in our family lol!
Anyway in January we will be moving on to a new base and leaving the beautiful island of Okinawa behind. It's been a fantastic 3 years with 2 new babies and a lot of adventures and I will be really sad to leave such a fantastic culture! But as with all things there is a HUGE silver lining. We'll be moving to North Carolina to be 3hrs from my Mum, 8 hrs from my Dad and 10hrs from the hubbys family!! For those of you who've always lived near your family this may not seem like such a big deal but we've never lived near enough to really see ours very often. My hubbys family has only seen Bug 2 times in her life and still hasn't met Mr Man. My Dad has only seen Bug twice but he did meet Mr Man when he was still teeny. My Mum got to spend lots of time with them while I was there to give birth (loooooong story, maybe I'll share another time) but it still feels like they miss out on seeing family when we're so, so far away from them. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change my life for the world and I really hope that in a few years we can be stationed overseas again (maybe Italy next time??) but there are some drawbacks!
Anyway I promise tomorrow I will post something thought provoking (or at least SOMETHING!)
Until then :-)
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Two new words!
I'm so proud of my little bug! During our lesson yesterday she sounded out her first words. She figured out Up and Pup all by herself! The look of pride on her face was just amazing...and that's what's homeschooling is all about :-)
Monday, October 15, 2012
How exausting!
 |
| Mr Man NOT sleeping at 4am! |
Miss Bug is really starting to excel in her fine motor skills and her letters are becoming more and more recognizable which is really exciting for both of us! Even her Daddy could read her name when she copied it yesterday (we're still tracing at the moment but I think we'll be starting to try and write from memory in a few weeks when she feels a bit more successful) We're also starting the "Teach You Child to Read in Just Ten Minutes a Day" method by Sidney Ledson today. I've read through the book and it does seem like it could be an approach that works for us, especially since she gets to be in charge of Teddy or Dollys education as well which I think she'll get a HUGE kick out of! I'll keep you posted on how it works out for us and hopefully I'll be able to recommend it :-)
 |
| My little Princess :-) |
Sadly her potty training is at a stand still. We've got peeing in the potty down and no issues there. We've only had one accident in the past 3 weeks BUT she can't seem to figure out pooing in the potty! Does anyone out there have any tips on how to combat this?!? I feel like we're never going to get past this point but I also know that there is no way she'll go to college in diapers *sigh*
Todays craft - Stringing some fall leaves made out of construction paper on to string to make a beautiful fall ceiling decoration (got the idea from Enchanted Learning which is a fantastic resource!)
Have a Blessed Day and send me those potty training tips! Please?!
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Freebies! :-)
I just want wanted to share some freebie PDF books I found and hadn't seen before.
Helping Your Child Become a Reader
Helping Your Preschool Child
Helping Your Child Learn Math
Helping Your Child Learn Science
Helping Your Child Succeed in School
Helping Your Child With Homework
Toddlers Get Ready To Read: How Parents Can Help Their Toddlers Get Ready To Read
I haven't read any of these yet myself but I do plan to and I'll let you know how they seem!
Have a Blessed Day!
Helping Your Child Become a Reader
Helping Your Preschool Child
Helping Your Child Learn Math
Helping Your Child Learn Science
Helping Your Child Succeed in School
Helping Your Child With Homework
Toddlers Get Ready To Read: How Parents Can Help Their Toddlers Get Ready To Read
I haven't read any of these yet myself but I do plan to and I'll let you know how they seem!
Have a Blessed Day!
Friday, October 12, 2012
How do I teach my 2.5 year old?
That was a question posed to me yesterday by a friend of mine and it got me thinking I guess. I remember feeling the same way she currently does at the beginning when Bug and I were going Head to Head and not making any progress other than to frustrate one another. So here is a schedule for a typical day in our household now that homeschooling has FINALLY become something wonderful (hopefully it helps you dear friend who shall remain nameless)
5am - I get up and dressed and start prepping for our day (laundry goes on, dishwasher unloaded, school work out)
7am - Toddler gets up, dressed and eats breakfast
8am - Daily Notebook (we got ours from Confessions of a Homeschooler) It contains not just the PreK daily Notebook but also some handwritting practice, site word practice and counting practice. Suprisingly my daughter LOVES this part of the day. I give her a dry erase marker and she sits and works at those pages for a good 30min before her attention span finally starts to fail her!
8:30am - Large Muscle Groups! For this we pick an activity that involves movement and LOTS of it! Sometimes we put on some music and just dance like lunatics, other times we play hopscotch, we also play Red Light, Green Light, Simon Says or Head Shoulders, Knees and Toes. This is a great time to get them to expel a TON of energy while also working on following directions :-)
9am - Free Play. This is an important part of a toddlers day! They learn so much from just playing!
10am - Craft Time! I'm a big believer in an education full of the arts for all children. Their are so many studies showing what a benefit it is to them that I can't believe our public schools seem to be doing away with them. I normally make sure the craft is set up the night before and normally it correlates with whatever our theme is that week. We do a LOT of glueing, painting, colouring and play dough. I also try and make sure that at some point during the craft my daughter needs to count or write something to work on her math and fine motor skills.
11am - Cooking Time. We get in the kitchen together and we make a mess lol. Really she is getting very helpful and helps make lunch with me everyday. She especially likes to use a spoon to spread peanut butter on bread for her sandwiches and count out raisins for her plate.
11:30am - Family Meal Time. Even Daddy comes home for lunch and sits with us which is such a blessing! This really does help to get Bug to eat her veggies and attempt conversation.
12:00pm - TV time. Bug gets 1 show at this time. She gets the options of Signing Time, Veggitales, Sesame Street and Leap Frog. We don't allow non educational TV during the week unless we're having family movie time and heck she LOVES her Signing time (she has learned over 500 signs now and uses them regularly!)
12:30pm - Reading Time. Bug and I sit down and read for 30min. During this time we discuss the stories we're reading and the pictures etc. If she's feeling particularly hyper I have her act out parts of the book we're reading for example "Bug, can you walk like the Dinosaur!" I think this is actually one of her favorite parts of the day :-)
1pm - Tidy Bugs Room time! Definately not one of her favorite parts of the day but I make her tidy it anyway (with a little bit of Mommy help)
1:30pm - NAP TIME! (this is when I finally get things done!)
3:30pm - Game Time. We have a whole list of games we play with varying success with Bug. They are all very, very simple games designed to reinforce alphabet and number recognition while also teaching turn taking.
3pm - Free Play or crafting depending on Bugs mood that day
4:30pm we start up the music and she helps tidy the kitchen (putting the plastic containers away and the non sharps in the silverware drawer)
5pm - Free Play which normally ends up being her playing at the fridge with her leapfrog word builder toy while I start up dinner
6pm - Family Dinner where Daddy asks her questions about her day :-)
6:30pm - Play time with Daddy
7pm - Bath time followed by PJs, a book, a song and bed!
This schedule probably wouldn't work for every child but it does work for mine. Remember all kids are different and you've gotta be FLEXIBLE! One of my tricks is for each activity I offer choices. I can even offer them while she does her Daily Learning Notebook by letting her pick what order to do it in and what colour marker she wants to use that day. I learned very early on that if I'm inflexible she will be too and then we just end up with stubborn Mom and stubborn Toddler going head to head!! Not exactly helpful! Also on certain days we have outside activities. For instance Tuesdays we got to PWOC so Sadie gets to hang out with her friend in the PCOC rooms and I get to go off and do my Bible Studies. This cancels out half of our morning routine but we still get our Daily Learning Notebook done we just do it before or after PWOC. On Thusdays we do the grocery shop which also takes about 2 hrs from our regular schedule. This has turned into a great learning activity though as the night before I print a list for Bug with pictures and words of some of the things we need (for instance if we need 2 cartons of milk I'll put two simple pictures of milk cartons followed by the word Milk). All of a sudden she actually LIKES grocery shopping!!
I do hope you all experience the successes I have beginning homeschooling. The first few weeks were difficult and sometimes made me want to give up but once I figured out the things that worked for us it started to become wonderful :-)
I've also had to deal with a lot of negativity around starting my daughter on a cirriculum at such a young age but the fact is that we don't do anything that SHE is not ready for. Every kid is different and they'll all be ready for things in there own time. Just like some 12 month olds are ready for potty training while some 3 years olds are just getting there, it's the same thing with teaching your children.
What are your favorite homeschooling tricks? What does your schedule look like?
5am - I get up and dressed and start prepping for our day (laundry goes on, dishwasher unloaded, school work out)
7am - Toddler gets up, dressed and eats breakfast
8am - Daily Notebook (we got ours from Confessions of a Homeschooler) It contains not just the PreK daily Notebook but also some handwritting practice, site word practice and counting practice. Suprisingly my daughter LOVES this part of the day. I give her a dry erase marker and she sits and works at those pages for a good 30min before her attention span finally starts to fail her!
8:30am - Large Muscle Groups! For this we pick an activity that involves movement and LOTS of it! Sometimes we put on some music and just dance like lunatics, other times we play hopscotch, we also play Red Light, Green Light, Simon Says or Head Shoulders, Knees and Toes. This is a great time to get them to expel a TON of energy while also working on following directions :-)
9am - Free Play. This is an important part of a toddlers day! They learn so much from just playing!
10am - Craft Time! I'm a big believer in an education full of the arts for all children. Their are so many studies showing what a benefit it is to them that I can't believe our public schools seem to be doing away with them. I normally make sure the craft is set up the night before and normally it correlates with whatever our theme is that week. We do a LOT of glueing, painting, colouring and play dough. I also try and make sure that at some point during the craft my daughter needs to count or write something to work on her math and fine motor skills.
11am - Cooking Time. We get in the kitchen together and we make a mess lol. Really she is getting very helpful and helps make lunch with me everyday. She especially likes to use a spoon to spread peanut butter on bread for her sandwiches and count out raisins for her plate.
11:30am - Family Meal Time. Even Daddy comes home for lunch and sits with us which is such a blessing! This really does help to get Bug to eat her veggies and attempt conversation.
12:00pm - TV time. Bug gets 1 show at this time. She gets the options of Signing Time, Veggitales, Sesame Street and Leap Frog. We don't allow non educational TV during the week unless we're having family movie time and heck she LOVES her Signing time (she has learned over 500 signs now and uses them regularly!)
12:30pm - Reading Time. Bug and I sit down and read for 30min. During this time we discuss the stories we're reading and the pictures etc. If she's feeling particularly hyper I have her act out parts of the book we're reading for example "Bug, can you walk like the Dinosaur!" I think this is actually one of her favorite parts of the day :-)
1pm - Tidy Bugs Room time! Definately not one of her favorite parts of the day but I make her tidy it anyway (with a little bit of Mommy help)
1:30pm - NAP TIME! (this is when I finally get things done!)
3:30pm - Game Time. We have a whole list of games we play with varying success with Bug. They are all very, very simple games designed to reinforce alphabet and number recognition while also teaching turn taking.
3pm - Free Play or crafting depending on Bugs mood that day
4:30pm we start up the music and she helps tidy the kitchen (putting the plastic containers away and the non sharps in the silverware drawer)
5pm - Free Play which normally ends up being her playing at the fridge with her leapfrog word builder toy while I start up dinner
6pm - Family Dinner where Daddy asks her questions about her day :-)
6:30pm - Play time with Daddy
7pm - Bath time followed by PJs, a book, a song and bed!
This schedule probably wouldn't work for every child but it does work for mine. Remember all kids are different and you've gotta be FLEXIBLE! One of my tricks is for each activity I offer choices. I can even offer them while she does her Daily Learning Notebook by letting her pick what order to do it in and what colour marker she wants to use that day. I learned very early on that if I'm inflexible she will be too and then we just end up with stubborn Mom and stubborn Toddler going head to head!! Not exactly helpful! Also on certain days we have outside activities. For instance Tuesdays we got to PWOC so Sadie gets to hang out with her friend in the PCOC rooms and I get to go off and do my Bible Studies. This cancels out half of our morning routine but we still get our Daily Learning Notebook done we just do it before or after PWOC. On Thusdays we do the grocery shop which also takes about 2 hrs from our regular schedule. This has turned into a great learning activity though as the night before I print a list for Bug with pictures and words of some of the things we need (for instance if we need 2 cartons of milk I'll put two simple pictures of milk cartons followed by the word Milk). All of a sudden she actually LIKES grocery shopping!!
I do hope you all experience the successes I have beginning homeschooling. The first few weeks were difficult and sometimes made me want to give up but once I figured out the things that worked for us it started to become wonderful :-)
I've also had to deal with a lot of negativity around starting my daughter on a cirriculum at such a young age but the fact is that we don't do anything that SHE is not ready for. Every kid is different and they'll all be ready for things in there own time. Just like some 12 month olds are ready for potty training while some 3 years olds are just getting there, it's the same thing with teaching your children.
What are your favorite homeschooling tricks? What does your schedule look like?
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Oh Coffee, how I love thee...
3am wake ups just don't make for a good start to the morning. It wouldn't be so bad apart from the fact that Mr Man stays awake just long enough to make it pointless for me to go back to sleep. So here I am at 4:45am and I would like to share the silver lining.
Yes, I was up at 3am today BUT it is now 5am and I have...taken a shower, run the dishes, fed the baby (of course teehee), caught up on some blogs I'm following, set up Lady Bugs activities for the day and I still have 2 hours before the 2 year old will be up :-)
So now I'm going to sit and sip my first cup of coffee of the morning and enjoy the serenity while I can!
What do you do when faced with an early morning that you don't necessarily want?
Yes, I was up at 3am today BUT it is now 5am and I have...taken a shower, run the dishes, fed the baby (of course teehee), caught up on some blogs I'm following, set up Lady Bugs activities for the day and I still have 2 hours before the 2 year old will be up :-)
So now I'm going to sit and sip my first cup of coffee of the morning and enjoy the serenity while I can!
What do you do when faced with an early morning that you don't necessarily want?
The Grass is Always Greener...
Do you ever find yourself wishing for your child to hurry along to the next milestone, whether it be crawling, or walking, riding a bike, reading independently or any number of other big events in a childs life?
I found myself doing just that today. It was one of those days where my 3 month old was cranky for no apparent reason (although I think I suspect teething) and by this evening had worked himself into a state and WOULD NOT let us put him down. He wouldn't sleep, he wouldn't eat, he wouldn't even calm down in the bath. The only thing that would calm him was me popping him on my shoulder and walking from room to room while patting his back and singing to him. This was absolutely fine for the first two hours. On came hour three and my nerves really started to fray and I found myself thinking terrible thoughts about his Daddy who was upstairs playing a video game and wishing for that milestone in the future where baby finally has a set schedule and sleeps through the night. Then I went on to think of how much easier he will be when he can finally crawl around and entertain himself so I can have my hands back (which this I know for a fact is a lie LOL! I've already had one crawler and the moment she started I was trying to figure out why I ever wanted her to crawl in the first place! I claim temporary insanity due to crying baby!)
Finally my Mr Man decided he wanted to nurse and fell asleep peacefully in my arms. Looking down at his now angelic face I had a reality check. This phase of his life is so, so short. It passes in the blink of an eye and here I am wishing it away! Why on earth would I do that? The day I found I was pregnant with him I swore to myself that I was going to cherish every single minute because I felt cheated by my Bug growing up as fast as she seemed to. Now I find myself wishing for him to hurry and grow up?! Really?!?!
So I'm challenging myself to meditate on Psalm 118:24 "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." for the next few days. I am so very blessed to have such a wonderful family and to serve our family better I need to start thinking more positive thoughts even with a screaming baby in one arm and a crying 2 year old in the other.
Do you have a Bible Verse that your meditating on right now? Tell me about it!
I found myself doing just that today. It was one of those days where my 3 month old was cranky for no apparent reason (although I think I suspect teething) and by this evening had worked himself into a state and WOULD NOT let us put him down. He wouldn't sleep, he wouldn't eat, he wouldn't even calm down in the bath. The only thing that would calm him was me popping him on my shoulder and walking from room to room while patting his back and singing to him. This was absolutely fine for the first two hours. On came hour three and my nerves really started to fray and I found myself thinking terrible thoughts about his Daddy who was upstairs playing a video game and wishing for that milestone in the future where baby finally has a set schedule and sleeps through the night. Then I went on to think of how much easier he will be when he can finally crawl around and entertain himself so I can have my hands back (which this I know for a fact is a lie LOL! I've already had one crawler and the moment she started I was trying to figure out why I ever wanted her to crawl in the first place! I claim temporary insanity due to crying baby!)
Finally my Mr Man decided he wanted to nurse and fell asleep peacefully in my arms. Looking down at his now angelic face I had a reality check. This phase of his life is so, so short. It passes in the blink of an eye and here I am wishing it away! Why on earth would I do that? The day I found I was pregnant with him I swore to myself that I was going to cherish every single minute because I felt cheated by my Bug growing up as fast as she seemed to. Now I find myself wishing for him to hurry and grow up?! Really?!?!
So I'm challenging myself to meditate on Psalm 118:24 "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." for the next few days. I am so very blessed to have such a wonderful family and to serve our family better I need to start thinking more positive thoughts even with a screaming baby in one arm and a crying 2 year old in the other.
Do you have a Bible Verse that your meditating on right now? Tell me about it!
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Craft of the Day
This week we've been reading very hungry caterpillar and learning about our colors and numbers through reading. Today little Bug and I got out the homemade glue and construction paper and did some fantastic gluing, counting and matching!
One Apple...
Two Pears and 3 plums,
On to our writting/letter practice!
Check out those awesome Bs my 2.5 year old is creating! (worksheets from Confessions of a Homeschooler)
A lunch which I had to quickly snap a picture of. Delicious peanut butter sandwich on Rudis Organic Honey Sweet Whole Wheat bread cut into a butterfly, unsweetened organic applesauce and still frozen peas (what can I say? My daughter only likes her peas frozen lol)
The finished dry product! She did a fantastic job putting the labels on the right fruits!
I'm thinking that was a very successful day in home preschool :-)
I'm thinking that was a very successful day in home preschool :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)