I was really tired last night, proven by the fact that I was in bed (asleep) by 9:45pm. Often, when I go to sleep earlier than usual, I end up having a more restless sleep with lots of dreams. Last night was no exception. I often remember my dreams. Too bad that they're really not that interesting. In fact, they are so realistic that they are tedious.
Dream One: I woke up in the morning and realized that it was already Saturday and I had forgotten to call the pediatrician and get a refill for Todd's breathing medicine. [I was relieved when I really woke up and found out that it is Friday, and I can still call the pediatrician as planned.]
Dream Two: I was so tired (in my dream and in real life). It was evening and all I wanted to do was go to bed. Unfortunately, because it was Saturday night I had to stay up and prepare for the lesson that I am giving in Church Sunday morning. [I was relieved when I woke up and found out that it is Friday morning, and I still have a day and a half to prepare my lesson. However, I did commit to start planning today so I don't have to live out this dream in reality.]
Dream Three: It was about 5:00pm one evening. Brett suggested we go canoeing. I thought he was crazy, but went along with it since I want to take advantage of the times Brett suggests fun family activities (like camping in the freezing cold!). By the time we got to the canoe rental it was starting to get darker. The guy at the shop was a grump and we were having a hard time getting organized. I really needed to go to the bathroom, so I left Brett to deal with things. I ran into a mom from church and a fellow playgroup mom in the bathroom. (I still can't figure out how they knew each other.) The playgroup mom was washing out her son's stuffed animal in the sink. Evidently it fell overboard and got all muddy. Their group was obviously just returning from a canoe trip. After talking with them for a few minutes, I went back outside. It was now pitch black outside, and I basically told Brett that this was a terrible idea. I suggested we give it up and head back home. [When I heard Brett stirring beside me, about to get up, I made sure to tell him that deciding to go canoeing at 5:00 at night was a terrible idea. I love making out-of-the-blue comments like that after one of dreams involving Brett. He is a good sport. Today he responded with something like, "Well, I had to go pick up the canoe and it took some time to get everything together."]
This last dream was one of my "bizarre" dreams. Brett's "bizarre" dreams usually involve aliens or super-heroes or other unrealistic scenarios. I'm always curious about Brett's dreams. More so, because he almost never remembers them. They're gone about five seconds after he wakes up.
The problem with realistic dreams is that I often feel like I was awake all night taking care of errands (and organizing canoe trips?!). I wake up feeling almost as tired as when I went to sleep.
Here's a question for you: are your dreams of the tedious, realistic variety or the interesting, bizarre variety?
Post Script: After I wrote this post, I took a shower. As I was exfoliating my heels with my pumice stone (TMI?) I remembered another dream I had last night. My mother-in-law gave some salon gift certificates to the girls in the family. Donna had already opened hers and had received a gift certificate to have her hair done, I think. I was looking forward to what my gift certificate would be. I wasn't too happy when I opened it and saw that my certificate was for a pedicure. Because my feet are in such bad shape, the thought of someone else seeing (and touching) them up close kind of freaks me out. I got over my fear and started looking forward to having pretty feet, to the point that I was already thinking about polish colors. [When I remembered my dream in the shower, I was disappointed to realize that I would not be getting a pedicure anytime soon.]
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Light Reading
Last month I checked out a (non-fiction) book from the library called, Confessions of a Slacker Wife. I noticed another book in the same section called "Mommy Wars," which I went ahead and checked out at the same time.
The "Slacker Wife" book is about the expections women put on themselves, or the expectations they feel the need to meet. The author talks about how she gives her self some slack. I found myself respecting her more for some of those decisions. For example, she "admits" to not going overboard in planning her one-year-old's birthday party complete with the perfectly clean house, fancy foods, clowns, jugglers, bounce houses, expensive party favors, etc. [I returned the book a week ago, so I'm going off memory now.] It was a good reminder to me to look at what I am doing and make sure I am doing things for the right reasons.
For example, do the kindergartners in Todd's class really care whether I bring homemade heart-shaped cinnamon sugar cookies to the Valentine's Day party tomorrow? Or would they be just as happy with the chocolate chip cookies my husband suggested? Honestly, I'm sure they'd be fine with the chocolate chip cookies, but I've already made the dough for the sugar cookies. It's Valentine's Day--they need hearts! . . . Obviously, I could use to be more of a slacker wife in some ways.
Mommy Wars was a collection of essays written by almost thirty women who tell their story about how they ended up becoming a full-time working mom, part-time working mom, work-from-home mom, or stay-at-home mom. The woman who collected these essays explained that she was concerned about the conflict between mothers who work and those who do not. She wanted to hear from women in all working situations and learn more about why they made the choices they did. As someone who has always wanted to be able to stay home with my children, I was interested in gaining more understanding for those women who chose otherwise. Most of the women who wrote were from large cities and had high-profile careers before having children. The more I read, the more frustrated I became. I kept expecting to read an essay with a similar story to my own. It wasn't there. Perhaps I am not part of the intended audience. I am not a feminist. In addition, I feel that prayer should play a huge role in the decisions I make. But am I less intelligent, capable, and important because I generally believe in traditional gender roles?
I do not regret reading this book. It made me think, and I did come to respect the way some of the women thoughtfully made decisions about balancing and timing work and family. However, I still feel the need to write my own essay from a stay-at-home mom who aspired to be a stay-at-home mom (and who isn't going crazy and doesn't wear sweatpants everyday now that she has become one).
I was able to talk with a stay-at-home mom who was visiting from Manhattan shortly after I finished reading this book. We had quite an interesting conversation. I asked how she felt being a stay-at-home mom in New York where these "Mommy Wars" can apparently get pretty nasty. I liked her answer. She said that people will disrespect you more when you are insecure about your own decision--regardless of what your decision is. She is confident that she is doing what is right for her own family, and because people see that she is confident in her decision they respect her for it.
I was kind of worn out after reading so much feminist mommy material in a fairly short time. I needed to switch gears. I started out by watching a four-part English movie called North and South, based on a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell. I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially since I was unfamiliar with the story. Later that week I stayed up one night and read Austenland (again). I needed something light and fun--no thinking required. This fit the bill. I was having a great reading this light romantic fiction, so earlier this week I read The Wednesday Letters.
I could have kept going and going with the easy romantic fiction that I love. I almost wish that I had picked out one more romantic novel for this weekend, being that it is Valentine's Day and I am likely to find more mushy romance in a book or movie than in real life. However, I decided that I needed to challenge myself with a little variety. I could read my sweet romances all the time, but whenever I read a different genre I am glad that I did. Even though it may be more difficult for me to get through, it feels good to be thinking about something I normally wouldn't.
The book that I just started, To See Every Bird, was a gift from my mom. It is a biography of a man who was a "big lister" in the world of birdwatching, written by his son. The son describes the obsession that his father had. As an amateur backyard birder, I am enjoying reading some of the history of birdwatching. I can tell you now, I will never be a "big lister". The commitment that it takes to see thousands of birds is mind-boggling--but interesting to read about.
What have you been reading lately? Can you recommend a good romance? I'll probably be ready for another one after reading my non-fiction birding book. [Please keep in mind that when I refer to the romantic movies and books which I love, I hope you know I mean the sweet and tender Jane Austen type of romances--not the Harlequin type.]
The "Slacker Wife" book is about the expections women put on themselves, or the expectations they feel the need to meet. The author talks about how she gives her self some slack. I found myself respecting her more for some of those decisions. For example, she "admits" to not going overboard in planning her one-year-old's birthday party complete with the perfectly clean house, fancy foods, clowns, jugglers, bounce houses, expensive party favors, etc. [I returned the book a week ago, so I'm going off memory now.] It was a good reminder to me to look at what I am doing and make sure I am doing things for the right reasons.
For example, do the kindergartners in Todd's class really care whether I bring homemade heart-shaped cinnamon sugar cookies to the Valentine's Day party tomorrow? Or would they be just as happy with the chocolate chip cookies my husband suggested? Honestly, I'm sure they'd be fine with the chocolate chip cookies, but I've already made the dough for the sugar cookies. It's Valentine's Day--they need hearts! . . . Obviously, I could use to be more of a slacker wife in some ways.
Mommy Wars was a collection of essays written by almost thirty women who tell their story about how they ended up becoming a full-time working mom, part-time working mom, work-from-home mom, or stay-at-home mom. The woman who collected these essays explained that she was concerned about the conflict between mothers who work and those who do not. She wanted to hear from women in all working situations and learn more about why they made the choices they did. As someone who has always wanted to be able to stay home with my children, I was interested in gaining more understanding for those women who chose otherwise. Most of the women who wrote were from large cities and had high-profile careers before having children. The more I read, the more frustrated I became. I kept expecting to read an essay with a similar story to my own. It wasn't there. Perhaps I am not part of the intended audience. I am not a feminist. In addition, I feel that prayer should play a huge role in the decisions I make. But am I less intelligent, capable, and important because I generally believe in traditional gender roles?
I do not regret reading this book. It made me think, and I did come to respect the way some of the women thoughtfully made decisions about balancing and timing work and family. However, I still feel the need to write my own essay from a stay-at-home mom who aspired to be a stay-at-home mom (and who isn't going crazy and doesn't wear sweatpants everyday now that she has become one).
I was able to talk with a stay-at-home mom who was visiting from Manhattan shortly after I finished reading this book. We had quite an interesting conversation. I asked how she felt being a stay-at-home mom in New York where these "Mommy Wars" can apparently get pretty nasty. I liked her answer. She said that people will disrespect you more when you are insecure about your own decision--regardless of what your decision is. She is confident that she is doing what is right for her own family, and because people see that she is confident in her decision they respect her for it.
I was kind of worn out after reading so much feminist mommy material in a fairly short time. I needed to switch gears. I started out by watching a four-part English movie called North and South, based on a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell. I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially since I was unfamiliar with the story. Later that week I stayed up one night and read Austenland (again). I needed something light and fun--no thinking required. This fit the bill. I was having a great reading this light romantic fiction, so earlier this week I read The Wednesday Letters.
I could have kept going and going with the easy romantic fiction that I love. I almost wish that I had picked out one more romantic novel for this weekend, being that it is Valentine's Day and I am likely to find more mushy romance in a book or movie than in real life. However, I decided that I needed to challenge myself with a little variety. I could read my sweet romances all the time, but whenever I read a different genre I am glad that I did. Even though it may be more difficult for me to get through, it feels good to be thinking about something I normally wouldn't.
The book that I just started, To See Every Bird, was a gift from my mom. It is a biography of a man who was a "big lister" in the world of birdwatching, written by his son. The son describes the obsession that his father had. As an amateur backyard birder, I am enjoying reading some of the history of birdwatching. I can tell you now, I will never be a "big lister". The commitment that it takes to see thousands of birds is mind-boggling--but interesting to read about.
What have you been reading lately? Can you recommend a good romance? I'll probably be ready for another one after reading my non-fiction birding book. [Please keep in mind that when I refer to the romantic movies and books which I love, I hope you know I mean the sweet and tender Jane Austen type of romances--not the Harlequin type.]
Happy Valentine's Day
Ryan's preschool class exchanged Valentine's Day cards on Monday. I had not gotten around to thinking about it until Sunday evening. Thank you, Family Fun! I checked out their web site and found this easy and very cute heart-fish valentine. If I had been more on-the-ball, I could have cut the hearts and had Ryan help me assemble them. Instead, I put them all together, wrote the messages, and had Ryan address and sign them the next morning. Todd and Ryan both really liked them, especially when I explained the significance of the message. Fish swim in schools, and children go to schools--get it? Ha ha ha! So, Ryan's classmates are little fishies! Ha ha ha. These were definitely the most colorful (and in my opinion, the cutest) valentine from Ryan's class.
While I was on Family Fun looking for Ryan's card, I found an idea I thought Todd would like to do for his class: a candy airplane. Since I was feeling so proud of myself for how Ryan's cards turned out, I wanted to get started right away on Todd's. Todd loved the idea so I purchased the necessary candy while the boys were at school. I printed gum wrappers that said "Happy Valentine's Day", and printed little banners that said, "To ____ From (Todd). Hope this day is miles above the rest!" When Todd came home from school we started putting them all together. I had done one example before Todd came home, and it was much easier having Todd's help. I threaded the rubber band through the Life Savers; Todd placed the Smarties between them; then (this was the biggest help) he helped stick the gum through one side of the rubber band; and I wrapped the rubber band around the other side. We finished it off by tying the (addressed and signed) banner to the back of the airplane. I sent them to school with Todd on Tuesday for him to distribute. (Todd's class is collecting the valentine's all week and opening them on Friday at his class party.) I was so proud of myself for being ahead of the ball game. That doesn't happen very often.
I didn't realize how popular this candy airplane idea was. When I was buying the candy, the cashier asked if I was making airplanes. She said there was another lady in the store that morning who was doing the same thing and had told the cashier about how she was making them. When Todd came home from the bus on Tuesday, he said that a boy on the bus had an airplane that he had made in his class. So, the idea isn't that original here, but I think the kindergartners will all love them anyway. (Let's just hope no one else in Todd's class is making them.)
The boys have seen Valentine's Day decorations around, and of course, Ryan has been interested in the funny man shooting arrows. A few days ago Ryan asked me about it, and I explained that Cupid was shooting "love arrows". These love arrows don't really hurt ("love hurts" is not a phrase I am ready to explain). They just make you love people. We (Todd, Ryan, and I) played a fun game where we pretended to shoot love arrows with our fingers. The person who was shot had to name someone that they loved.
Just a few minutes ago, Ryan and I had this conversation.
Ryan: Mom, why don't you wish that love arrows were real?
Mom: I don't know. Do you wish they were?
Ryan: Yeah. 'Cause I want to buy them.
Mom: Why? So that you can make people love you.
Ryan: Yeah.
I love you, Ryan! (And I think you just want love arrows because you like to shoot things--anything.)
While I was on Family Fun looking for Ryan's card, I found an idea I thought Todd would like to do for his class: a candy airplane. Since I was feeling so proud of myself for how Ryan's cards turned out, I wanted to get started right away on Todd's. Todd loved the idea so I purchased the necessary candy while the boys were at school. I printed gum wrappers that said "Happy Valentine's Day", and printed little banners that said, "To ____ From (Todd). Hope this day is miles above the rest!" When Todd came home from school we started putting them all together. I had done one example before Todd came home, and it was much easier having Todd's help. I threaded the rubber band through the Life Savers; Todd placed the Smarties between them; then (this was the biggest help) he helped stick the gum through one side of the rubber band; and I wrapped the rubber band around the other side. We finished it off by tying the (addressed and signed) banner to the back of the airplane. I sent them to school with Todd on Tuesday for him to distribute. (Todd's class is collecting the valentine's all week and opening them on Friday at his class party.) I was so proud of myself for being ahead of the ball game. That doesn't happen very often.
I didn't realize how popular this candy airplane idea was. When I was buying the candy, the cashier asked if I was making airplanes. She said there was another lady in the store that morning who was doing the same thing and had told the cashier about how she was making them. When Todd came home from the bus on Tuesday, he said that a boy on the bus had an airplane that he had made in his class. So, the idea isn't that original here, but I think the kindergartners will all love them anyway. (Let's just hope no one else in Todd's class is making them.)
The boys have seen Valentine's Day decorations around, and of course, Ryan has been interested in the funny man shooting arrows. A few days ago Ryan asked me about it, and I explained that Cupid was shooting "love arrows". These love arrows don't really hurt ("love hurts" is not a phrase I am ready to explain). They just make you love people. We (Todd, Ryan, and I) played a fun game where we pretended to shoot love arrows with our fingers. The person who was shot had to name someone that they loved.
Just a few minutes ago, Ryan and I had this conversation.
Ryan: Mom, why don't you wish that love arrows were real?
Mom: I don't know. Do you wish they were?
Ryan: Yeah. 'Cause I want to buy them.
Mom: Why? So that you can make people love you.
Ryan: Yeah.
I love you, Ryan! (And I think you just want love arrows because you like to shoot things--anything.)
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
N is for Nest
[As mentioned below, I wish I had photos to share...but I don't.]
Last month I taught preschool on colors (sorting, patterns) and the letter N.
Circle Time: Welcome, Pledge, Weather Chart, Calendar
I made a new calendar since our original was worn and bent. I was pleased with how the new one turned out.
Brett got an American flag for Christmas which we put up on our front porch. Our little preschool flag went missing, so I took the kids outside. They looked so cute standing under the flag and saying the pledge. Even if our little preschool flag shows up, I think I'll continue to take the kids outside in front of the big flag.
We have little carpet squares for the kids to sit on during circle time. I think that I have decided to forgo the carpet squares in the future. My own child seems to be the most distracted by them. Since he likes to grab the corners of his square and roll back and forth, he usually ends up getting it taken away. Some of the kids argue a little over colors. Since I have a sectional couch, there is plenty of space. I think it will be less distracting for them all.
Intro to Lesson (Letter and Word of the Day)
I introduced our letter of the day with our alphabet train puzzle again. The kids really seem to like that. I made it a little easier on myself this time and had the pieces set up in order in the box. I handed them out to the kids one at a time and let them add their letter to the train.
I also collected items from around the house that started with the letter "n" and put them in a basket. I let the kids take turns picking something out of the basket and saying what it was. I will definitely do this again. Our basket was filled with the following: a toy net, a big nail, a box of noodles, a number nine magnet, a letter "n" magnet, a necktie, a clown nose, a napkin, a bottle of nail polish, a necklace, a notebook, a newspaper, a crochet needle, and a nutcracker. I will definitely do our letter basket again.
Then, we read My "n" book.
I first started talking about colors with the following poem/activity:
"Color Poem"
If you're wearing red, pat your head.
If you're wearing blue, count to two.
If you're wearing green, let your smile be seen.
If you're wearing brown, hop up and down.
If you're wearing yellow, jump like a funny fellow.
If you're wearing black, pat your back.
Then, we were ready for the fun. I borrowed a big bag full of colored balls from Anne's baby ball pit. I took one ball out of the bag at a time and had the kids identify what color it was. I sang "Do you know what color this is?" with each ball. After the kids had identified all the colors, I had them sit on the couch while I set up six Rubbermaid buckets against the wall. I dumped the bag of balls out in front of the them, said "Go!" and had them sort the balls by color. I had practiced this a few times with Todd and Ryan a few days before, and they had a great time. Todd and Ryan played the ball game a few times, trying to see how quickly they could sort them all. I thought it might be more crazy with twice as many kids, but because they were younger, the preschool kids were not as competitive and weren't racing around trying to get all the balls. They were sorting and having a good time, but they weren't running around knocking each other down. That's a good thing. [Wish I had photos of this!]
Art Project
We made pasta necklaces for our craft. I was glad that I had tried this out beforehand and had found a few tricks. I got out a paper plate for each child and wrote their name on it. (That way I could keep track of whose necklace was whose after they finished the craft.) I scrounged up 6 big, blunt needles for them to use. (Don't worry, they were also highly supervised during this activity). I cut a length of green yarn, threaded the needle, poked the needle through the paper plate, taped the yarn to the back of the plate and kept the needled threaded for the kids. I had purchased a mixed bag of colored noodles. I separated out the green penne, purple wagon wheels, and plain little wagon wheels. When we were ready, I let the kids pick out some noodles and put them on the their plate. They needle really helped them thread more easily, and I didn't have to worry about the noodle falling off the yarn. When they decided they were finished with their necklace, or when it became too full for more, I tied the knot. Presto! Ryan was quite proud of his creation, and I was pleased that it was not too complicated for the kids.
Snack
I made individual Jell-o molds for the kids. I used three different flavors of Jell-O (raspberry, lemon and grape?) and made them in layers (chilling the first layer and letting it set before making and adding the second and third layers). We also made little "nests" with Tostitos Scoops filled with dried fruit "eggs". I cut N-shaped toast topped with Nutella. I served milk to drink and let the kids pick a color of food coloring to put in their milk and stir.
(Perhaps I put a little too much thought into the snack? Oh well, that's all part of the fun.)
Writing
In addition to printing off a letter worksheet for each child, I also printed off some color worksheets.
Story time
Our city library was so helpful when I asked for some book suggestions for preschool. Here are some of the books we looked at:
Kid Tea, by Elizabeth Ficocelli - this was a hit.
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Eric Carle
Lunch, by Denise Fleming
Cat's Colors, by Jane Cabrera - this quick read was also a hit
Mouse Paint, by Ellen Stoll Walsh - Our generous youth services librarians let me borrow their lap-sized book because the regular size was checked out. I felt so honored that they trusted me with it. The kids thought it was great having story time with a great big book. They did point out that if the white mice wanted to hide on the white paper from the cat that they would have to do something about their flesh-colored feet and tail.
I learned my lesson from circle time and had all the kids sit on the couch for story time instead of their carpet squares. I sat on a chair in front of them so they could all see the pictures. That seemed to work out really well.
Music
We played the "6 Little Jelly Beans" game again. The kids like "eating" the jelly beans as I say this little poem.
Free Play
I felt pretty good about my planned activities, and I was very happy that I was prepared for the most part. However, I was surprised that things didn't go as smoothly and perfectly as I had expected. Then, one of the moms reminded me that the kids had been on Christmas vacation for a few weeks and I was just "lucky" enough to have them for their first real day back. No wonder things were a little more off than usual. I have started to look ahead to my next lesson ("S is for Science") and am grateful that the kids will be back in their routine by then. So many cute ideas, so little time.
Last month I taught preschool on colors (sorting, patterns) and the letter N.
Circle Time: Welcome, Pledge, Weather Chart, Calendar
I made a new calendar since our original was worn and bent. I was pleased with how the new one turned out.
Brett got an American flag for Christmas which we put up on our front porch. Our little preschool flag went missing, so I took the kids outside. They looked so cute standing under the flag and saying the pledge. Even if our little preschool flag shows up, I think I'll continue to take the kids outside in front of the big flag.
We have little carpet squares for the kids to sit on during circle time. I think that I have decided to forgo the carpet squares in the future. My own child seems to be the most distracted by them. Since he likes to grab the corners of his square and roll back and forth, he usually ends up getting it taken away. Some of the kids argue a little over colors. Since I have a sectional couch, there is plenty of space. I think it will be less distracting for them all.
Intro to Lesson (Letter and Word of the Day)
I introduced our letter of the day with our alphabet train puzzle again. The kids really seem to like that. I made it a little easier on myself this time and had the pieces set up in order in the box. I handed them out to the kids one at a time and let them add their letter to the train.
I also collected items from around the house that started with the letter "n" and put them in a basket. I let the kids take turns picking something out of the basket and saying what it was. I will definitely do this again. Our basket was filled with the following: a toy net, a big nail, a box of noodles, a number nine magnet, a letter "n" magnet, a necktie, a clown nose, a napkin, a bottle of nail polish, a necklace, a notebook, a newspaper, a crochet needle, and a nutcracker. I will definitely do our letter basket again.
Then, we read My "n" book.
I first started talking about colors with the following poem/activity:
"Color Poem"
If you're wearing red, pat your head.
If you're wearing blue, count to two.
If you're wearing green, let your smile be seen.
If you're wearing brown, hop up and down.
If you're wearing yellow, jump like a funny fellow.
If you're wearing black, pat your back.
Then, we were ready for the fun. I borrowed a big bag full of colored balls from Anne's baby ball pit. I took one ball out of the bag at a time and had the kids identify what color it was. I sang "Do you know what color this is?" with each ball. After the kids had identified all the colors, I had them sit on the couch while I set up six Rubbermaid buckets against the wall. I dumped the bag of balls out in front of the them, said "Go!" and had them sort the balls by color. I had practiced this a few times with Todd and Ryan a few days before, and they had a great time. Todd and Ryan played the ball game a few times, trying to see how quickly they could sort them all. I thought it might be more crazy with twice as many kids, but because they were younger, the preschool kids were not as competitive and weren't racing around trying to get all the balls. They were sorting and having a good time, but they weren't running around knocking each other down. That's a good thing. [Wish I had photos of this!]
Art Project
We made pasta necklaces for our craft. I was glad that I had tried this out beforehand and had found a few tricks. I got out a paper plate for each child and wrote their name on it. (That way I could keep track of whose necklace was whose after they finished the craft.) I scrounged up 6 big, blunt needles for them to use. (Don't worry, they were also highly supervised during this activity). I cut a length of green yarn, threaded the needle, poked the needle through the paper plate, taped the yarn to the back of the plate and kept the needled threaded for the kids. I had purchased a mixed bag of colored noodles. I separated out the green penne, purple wagon wheels, and plain little wagon wheels. When we were ready, I let the kids pick out some noodles and put them on the their plate. They needle really helped them thread more easily, and I didn't have to worry about the noodle falling off the yarn. When they decided they were finished with their necklace, or when it became too full for more, I tied the knot. Presto! Ryan was quite proud of his creation, and I was pleased that it was not too complicated for the kids.
Snack
I made individual Jell-o molds for the kids. I used three different flavors of Jell-O (raspberry, lemon and grape?) and made them in layers (chilling the first layer and letting it set before making and adding the second and third layers). We also made little "nests" with Tostitos Scoops filled with dried fruit "eggs". I cut N-shaped toast topped with Nutella. I served milk to drink and let the kids pick a color of food coloring to put in their milk and stir.
(Perhaps I put a little too much thought into the snack? Oh well, that's all part of the fun.)
Writing
In addition to printing off a letter worksheet for each child, I also printed off some color worksheets.
Story time
Our city library was so helpful when I asked for some book suggestions for preschool. Here are some of the books we looked at:
Kid Tea, by Elizabeth Ficocelli - this was a hit.
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Eric Carle
Lunch, by Denise Fleming
Cat's Colors, by Jane Cabrera - this quick read was also a hit
Mouse Paint, by Ellen Stoll Walsh - Our generous youth services librarians let me borrow their lap-sized book because the regular size was checked out. I felt so honored that they trusted me with it. The kids thought it was great having story time with a great big book. They did point out that if the white mice wanted to hide on the white paper from the cat that they would have to do something about their flesh-colored feet and tail.
I learned my lesson from circle time and had all the kids sit on the couch for story time instead of their carpet squares. I sat on a chair in front of them so they could all see the pictures. That seemed to work out really well.
Music
We played the "6 Little Jelly Beans" game again. The kids like "eating" the jelly beans as I say this little poem.
Free Play
I felt pretty good about my planned activities, and I was very happy that I was prepared for the most part. However, I was surprised that things didn't go as smoothly and perfectly as I had expected. Then, one of the moms reminded me that the kids had been on Christmas vacation for a few weeks and I was just "lucky" enough to have them for their first real day back. No wonder things were a little more off than usual. I have started to look ahead to my next lesson ("S is for Science") and am grateful that the kids will be back in their routine by then. So many cute ideas, so little time.
Crash!
For those who have been wondering where I have been (again...), I am still recovering from when our computer crashed a couple of weeks ago. Brett was able to do quite a bit of backing up while our computer was dying. He saved most of my photos. I thought that I had lost December 2008 and January 2009. I was devastated about losing Christmas! I was ecstatic when I found most of my December photos still on an extra SD camera card lying around. Christmas was saved!
Unfortunately, I did lose photos from our first family camping trip in January. Brett and I took the boys to a primitive site just a few miles up the road. It was freezing cold; we were the only crazies out there; but we had a great time. We hung out by the fire most of the time. Todd looked so cute sitting in his little red camp chair just chatting away (non-stop). I think Todd would have sat by the fire 'til midnight if we had let him. As it was, we called it a night closer to 9:00pm. Around 7:00pm, Ryan started acting tired and asked if he could go in the tent and sleep. I said okay, even though I was sure that he wouldn't settle down that easily when I left him to return to the warm fire. Imagine my surprise when I found him buried under the blankets, asleep, not ten minutes later. The next morning Todd and I explored a nearby trail while Brett and Ryan put out the morning fire. Todd was in his element there out on the trail. He loves examining the trail map, then going on in front to lead those following him in the right way. The boys can't wait to go camping again. I hope that we can find a good time us to go as a family again soon. I've also scheduled a camping outing with my friend Beth in March. We'll be camping by the beach then, and I'm really looking forward to it. Then, in April, our church is having a campout at a local state park. We went last year and the boys loved it. I know I can't pass it up this year.
[I just wish I had our family camping photos!]
I also lost the photos from teaching preschool last month. I think I'll still post about our activities in separate post, but oh! how I wish I had the photos!
Of course, if I had been more quick to back up all my photos and to upload them and put them in my blog I might not be crying now. Maybe I will learn my lesson. Maybe...
As it stands, Brett was able to get our computer to a functioning level, but we are still not very pleased with its performance. I am glad that I am able to get online and check my e-mail, etc. However, Brett has pretty much decided to buy a new computer when he sees a price that he likes. In the meantime, I am kind of in limbo as far as my photos are concerned. Brett told me not to put anything important on our hard drive. I haven't uploaded my photo editing software. And generally find that my photo-processing rhythm has been interrupted. It's kind of frustrating.
So, I'm a little frustrated now and a little sad about the photos I lost. But I have to keep telling myself how much worse it could have been. I lost a few weeks of photos, but I could have lost a year of photos (or more). Thank you, Brett, for saving Christmas 2008 (and 2007 and 2006...). Can I buy an external hard drive now?
Unfortunately, I did lose photos from our first family camping trip in January. Brett and I took the boys to a primitive site just a few miles up the road. It was freezing cold; we were the only crazies out there; but we had a great time. We hung out by the fire most of the time. Todd looked so cute sitting in his little red camp chair just chatting away (non-stop). I think Todd would have sat by the fire 'til midnight if we had let him. As it was, we called it a night closer to 9:00pm. Around 7:00pm, Ryan started acting tired and asked if he could go in the tent and sleep. I said okay, even though I was sure that he wouldn't settle down that easily when I left him to return to the warm fire. Imagine my surprise when I found him buried under the blankets, asleep, not ten minutes later. The next morning Todd and I explored a nearby trail while Brett and Ryan put out the morning fire. Todd was in his element there out on the trail. He loves examining the trail map, then going on in front to lead those following him in the right way. The boys can't wait to go camping again. I hope that we can find a good time us to go as a family again soon. I've also scheduled a camping outing with my friend Beth in March. We'll be camping by the beach then, and I'm really looking forward to it. Then, in April, our church is having a campout at a local state park. We went last year and the boys loved it. I know I can't pass it up this year.
[I just wish I had our family camping photos!]
I also lost the photos from teaching preschool last month. I think I'll still post about our activities in separate post, but oh! how I wish I had the photos!
Of course, if I had been more quick to back up all my photos and to upload them and put them in my blog I might not be crying now. Maybe I will learn my lesson. Maybe...
As it stands, Brett was able to get our computer to a functioning level, but we are still not very pleased with its performance. I am glad that I am able to get online and check my e-mail, etc. However, Brett has pretty much decided to buy a new computer when he sees a price that he likes. In the meantime, I am kind of in limbo as far as my photos are concerned. Brett told me not to put anything important on our hard drive. I haven't uploaded my photo editing software. And generally find that my photo-processing rhythm has been interrupted. It's kind of frustrating.
So, I'm a little frustrated now and a little sad about the photos I lost. But I have to keep telling myself how much worse it could have been. I lost a few weeks of photos, but I could have lost a year of photos (or more). Thank you, Brett, for saving Christmas 2008 (and 2007 and 2006...). Can I buy an external hard drive now?
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