Today was the day I decided we would begin our homeschool journey. Here is how our day went:
6:30 - 8 Meredith was the first one up, then B, and then sleepy Andrew at 8am. I let them watch about 30 minutes of t.v. (Sprout channel is a blessing!) while everyone was still waking up (including me)
8-9 Breakfast and chores for everyone
9-9:45 I started B with the day of the week activity. I printed out the day of the week that allowed him to trace the letters. We talked about the days of the week, and little did I know, he knows most of his days! He said, "Wednesday go to grr's (grandma) and pop-pop's house to cook" Yesterday when my parents were over for dinner, my mom told B that he could come over on Wed. when she was off of work and they could cook (his favorite activity!) Smart cookie. Next, I wanted to see which of his ABC's he knew, I know that he knew about 3 or 4 so I wanted to figure out which ones we need to work on. I showed him letters and asked him to tell me what they were. Turns out he knows eight. I did the same with the numbers, to see where we need to start. About 45 minutes was all that he wanted to sit still for so it was time for a break.
9:45-11 Break. Play. Clean, laundry, check/send emails, etc.
11-12 We went downstairs to work on a weather craft (thank you Pinterest). You take a paper plate, divide into 4 sections and write: sun, rain, snow, cloudy. Then we cut out rain drops, a sun, and a snowflake and glued them in the appropriate sections. For the clouds we used cotton balls. Then you take a clothespin and pin it to which ever section it is for the day. It took a few examples before B knew what to do, but then he got it and was so proud of his work! Meredith even made one too. I hole punched it and strung a piece of twine (realized we didn't have any yarn!) through it so he could hang it up. He ran upstairs and hung it on everything he could! It's currently residing on his door knob of his room.
12-1 Prepared lunch, ate, and cleaned up
1-1:30 We read books
And that is the end of the day for preschool for us. After we read, it's nap time and then in the afternoons they play and help me get dinner started.
I am not planning on doing this everyday. If we would send him to preschool, as a 3 year old they go 2x a week from 9-11:30. So I'm aiming for 2-3 days of 'preschool' work, probably on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Tuesdays and Thursdays he has speech therapy in the morning, so after that I think we will start going to the library or other adventure. Each day I would like to do the day of the week and the weather; I'm thinking we can do that during breakfast.
So that's how our day went. Meredith went right along with it, though her attention span was not that long. So she would hop in and out of activities. Andrew sat in his highchair and ate breakfast while B and I did the day of the week and the alphabet. And then he was very happy to play with his toys while we did the weather plate craft thingy. All in all, it was a good 'first' day.
I discovered that B knows a lot, more than what I thought he did and that's without any formal teaching. Which makes me realize that, especially at this age, learning is all about experiencing life. Every moment is a teachable moment and this has made me more aware of these every day moments.
Day 1 is in the books. A million more days to come. Bring it!
Monday, January 7, 2013
Planning it all out
*written earlier this week, just now publishing*
As I sit here trying to plan out Benjamin's 3 year old curriculum, I find myself wondering what do I teach him, where do I start? Obviously his ABC's would be a good place, and he knows some of the letters, but do I start with A? Mix them up? Is there a method? Turns out there is. Start with the consonants Who would have thought? My guess was A.
Planning this out is a bit scary, but when I first thought about homeschooling, I thought how cool it will be to watch them learn. To go places, to be able to provide them with hands on learning. And then I realized that (at least for the first few years) it may not be all that difficult. Go to the zoo, count the zebras, what color are they? What do they like to eat? You can get your math, science, reading, and so much more all in a trip at the zoo!
And then I thought about when they get older. How cool will it be to be able to study the Grand Canyon and actually go see it??? Again incorporating math, science, reading, geography, social studies, etc all in a family field trip!
But it is easy to become overwhelmed with all this, there is a lot of information out there. I have decided that I will take it a year at a time. And if at any point we decide that this is not the right path for us, and the kids agree, off to traditional school they will go.
But for now, I am excited to watch them learn about the world they live in. Learning should be fun, it should be exciting! And I can't wait!
As I sit here trying to plan out Benjamin's 3 year old curriculum, I find myself wondering what do I teach him, where do I start? Obviously his ABC's would be a good place, and he knows some of the letters, but do I start with A? Mix them up? Is there a method? Turns out there is. Start with the consonants Who would have thought? My guess was A.
Planning this out is a bit scary, but when I first thought about homeschooling, I thought how cool it will be to watch them learn. To go places, to be able to provide them with hands on learning. And then I realized that (at least for the first few years) it may not be all that difficult. Go to the zoo, count the zebras, what color are they? What do they like to eat? You can get your math, science, reading, and so much more all in a trip at the zoo!
And then I thought about when they get older. How cool will it be to be able to study the Grand Canyon and actually go see it??? Again incorporating math, science, reading, geography, social studies, etc all in a family field trip!
But it is easy to become overwhelmed with all this, there is a lot of information out there. I have decided that I will take it a year at a time. And if at any point we decide that this is not the right path for us, and the kids agree, off to traditional school they will go.
But for now, I am excited to watch them learn about the world they live in. Learning should be fun, it should be exciting! And I can't wait!
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Cheers to 2013!
I'm not sure how it's already a new year, but it's going to be a great one! Here is a snapshot of 2012:
- We welcomed Andrew into our hearts and home on March 5 with 5 inches of snow!
- In our home we had 3 cribs...and all occupied! Holy cow!
- Bed Bugs. Freakin' horrible! Only found 4 and has (still is, required a monthly maintenance for a year) cost us an arm and a leg!
- Benjamin learned to climb out of his crib in the summer, so we transitioned his crib to a toddler bed. Then a twin bed when he turned 3
- Benjamin was potty trained at 27 months old
- Meredith learned to walk and talk and developed her
littlebig personality even more - We went to Sarasota (a 12 hour drive) with a 2 1/2 year old, a 1 1/2 year old, and a 3 month old. We should of had our heads examined! 3 pack n plays!
- We had a large garden and had more vegetables than ever before
- I learned to can and make jelly
- We finally finished the basement!!!
- We said goodbye to an amazing Papaw who will be forever missed
- Found out Benjamin is severely allergic to nuts.
2012 was filled with controlled chaos as we survived the first year of having 3 babies 27 months and younger. I'm still not really sure how we did it! But here we are in 2013 and looks to be promising:
- My freelance writing is picking up, so much that I am struggling to find time to get it all done!
- I will be a health educator (contract basis) for a new organization that helps people with nutrition, weight loss, and training for athletic events.
- We are starting Benjamin on the 3 year old preschool homeschool curriculum this month! So excited about this new adventure!
- I'm getting back into running! KY Derby Festival Mini Marathon - here I come!
So far that's all I know what's going on in 2013! I'm sure with 3 kids, it will be nothing short of amazing!
Thursday, December 27, 2012
A Simple Christmas
So how did Christmas go down in the Casa de Vaesa? Pretty well. I was a bit worried with crazy schedules for three days and kiddos that would get grumpy and overly tired because of missed naps, but honestly I can say that they did very, very well. However, they are still recovering; just today Benjamin skipped lunch and took a nap! Andrew has been taking 2 naps instead of his usual one. And even Meredith is sleeping in until 6am instead of 4am.
They will bounce back.
With having a one income household, there isn't much leftover at the end of the month. So gifts for many people were pictures of the kids, jelly that we made, and homemade scones. The presents that we did have to buy we used coupons and no gift cost us more than $20.
Alan and I both agreed that we don't want the kids associating that the more presents, the better. We don't have that kind of money, even if we did, we wouldn't shower them with tons of presents. Because that's not the meaning of Christmas. Baby Jesus received three presents and so will our little ones. They each received 3 presents; one from mama and daddy, one from the siblings, a present from Santa. Santa also brought a present that they can all play with. Their stockings had items like crayons, sippy cups, and socks.
I went to a second hand store for the kids gifts. I found a Buzz Lightyear and Woody for $7.50 (Target had them for $40 each!) I did buy Meredith the Jesse doll for $18 at Toys R Us since I couldn't find it anywhere else. Still not bad. The big present that Santa brought for all of them to share was the tent. Alan found the wood to make the frame. We only had to buy one piece at the Habitat ReStore for 50 cents. The fabric was the most expensive, thankfully we got it half off and only cost us $20 (most expensive present). Alan and I didn't get each other anything big, we got each other small presents. I went to Goodwill and found him an oil lamp for $8 and a small cooler to take to work for $3. I also got him some socks and candy that he likes. He went to Marshall's and TJ Maxx and found slippers and underwear for me (both less than $8) He went to a consignment store and found a marble rolling pin for $8 (they retail for $90).
More is not better, at least we don't think so. The amount of presents is not an indication of how much you love your kids. I remember seeing a quote that went something like, "It's not the amount of money you spend on your kids, but the amount of time you spend with them." I couldn't agree more. Years down the road, kids will remember the memories, not each and every toy you got them. I clearly remember being just as excited over our little family's Christmas dinner. We got to help plan the menu, and it included food that we didn't have on a normal basis. Some years, we each got a cornish hen, some years it was sea food, other years beef tenderloin with hollandaise sauce.
Plus, the real reason for the season as we all know, is not presents or even Santa. It's something bigger. Something greater than all of us. Something that, even though we can't see, many of us believe. Because He made this all possible by arriving in a simple little manager.
They will bounce back.
With having a one income household, there isn't much leftover at the end of the month. So gifts for many people were pictures of the kids, jelly that we made, and homemade scones. The presents that we did have to buy we used coupons and no gift cost us more than $20.
Alan and I both agreed that we don't want the kids associating that the more presents, the better. We don't have that kind of money, even if we did, we wouldn't shower them with tons of presents. Because that's not the meaning of Christmas. Baby Jesus received three presents and so will our little ones. They each received 3 presents; one from mama and daddy, one from the siblings, a present from Santa. Santa also brought a present that they can all play with. Their stockings had items like crayons, sippy cups, and socks.
I went to a second hand store for the kids gifts. I found a Buzz Lightyear and Woody for $7.50 (Target had them for $40 each!) I did buy Meredith the Jesse doll for $18 at Toys R Us since I couldn't find it anywhere else. Still not bad. The big present that Santa brought for all of them to share was the tent. Alan found the wood to make the frame. We only had to buy one piece at the Habitat ReStore for 50 cents. The fabric was the most expensive, thankfully we got it half off and only cost us $20 (most expensive present). Alan and I didn't get each other anything big, we got each other small presents. I went to Goodwill and found him an oil lamp for $8 and a small cooler to take to work for $3. I also got him some socks and candy that he likes. He went to Marshall's and TJ Maxx and found slippers and underwear for me (both less than $8) He went to a consignment store and found a marble rolling pin for $8 (they retail for $90).
More is not better, at least we don't think so. The amount of presents is not an indication of how much you love your kids. I remember seeing a quote that went something like, "It's not the amount of money you spend on your kids, but the amount of time you spend with them." I couldn't agree more. Years down the road, kids will remember the memories, not each and every toy you got them. I clearly remember being just as excited over our little family's Christmas dinner. We got to help plan the menu, and it included food that we didn't have on a normal basis. Some years, we each got a cornish hen, some years it was sea food, other years beef tenderloin with hollandaise sauce.
Plus, the real reason for the season as we all know, is not presents or even Santa. It's something bigger. Something greater than all of us. Something that, even though we can't see, many of us believe. Because He made this all possible by arriving in a simple little manager.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Happy Birthday B!
Dearest Benjamin,
Today you are three. How? When? Where did the time go? It seems just last year I went into labor Thanksgiving night. A labor that last 37 hours, ended in a c-section - all of which was not apart of my plans! However, the outcome was a healthy 7lb 8oz 20 inch baby of pure love. And since that day you have rocked my world! You made me a mama and taught me so much about what life is about.
In three short years you have come so far! This year you learned to talk, really talk. With the help of First Steps and Miss Sarah, she worked with you every week for an hour. We played games, working on word sounds, and putting sounds together to form words. In just 6 short months of therapy you went from saying 10 words to having over 100! You are very smart and have an incredible memory according to Miss Sarah. You know how to get to grandma's house and you've known this for over a year!
Here are some memorable events or funny things you say and do:
So little man, on your third birthday, my wish for you is to grow and learn and keep this wonderful personality of yours. Never lose your sense of adventure, your wild imagination, your good hugs you give, and always know that your Mama will love you forever, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be.
Love Forever and Always, to the Moon and Back, to Infinity and Beyond,
Mama.
Today you are three. How? When? Where did the time go? It seems just last year I went into labor Thanksgiving night. A labor that last 37 hours, ended in a c-section - all of which was not apart of my plans! However, the outcome was a healthy 7lb 8oz 20 inch baby of pure love. And since that day you have rocked my world! You made me a mama and taught me so much about what life is about.
In three short years you have come so far! This year you learned to talk, really talk. With the help of First Steps and Miss Sarah, she worked with you every week for an hour. We played games, working on word sounds, and putting sounds together to form words. In just 6 short months of therapy you went from saying 10 words to having over 100! You are very smart and have an incredible memory according to Miss Sarah. You know how to get to grandma's house and you've known this for over a year!
Here are some memorable events or funny things you say and do:
- You have an imaginary lion, well, make that 2 lions. Mama rarrr and Dada rarrr. It all started when your over-active imagination thought there was a lion in your room. Instead of making it something scary, you turned it into a pet. When asked what the lion's name was, you said Mama rarr. Soon after Mamma rarr meet Dada rarr. I have sometimes heard of a baby rarr, so I guess we will see where that goes! You also have two pretend girlfriends; Tinina and Carnina. I think they are Mexican twins.
- Speaking of imaginations, you love to pretend that you are in a boat and the waves are rough. You also catch fish!
- You LOVE trains, riding your balance bike, digging for worms, cooking, going to pump gas. I know, only you would love going to the gas station.
- Monkey and you have become inseparable. Monkey goes everywhere with you, to grandma's to the store, you don't let him out of your sight.
- You wake up Sis in the mornings with a "cock-a-doodle-doo" I'm sure she loves it.
- You have been potty trained since you were 27 months old! We still need to work on night time potty training, but during the day and even during naps you are dry!
- You call grandma "grrr" and grandpa "papaw or pop-pop" You can now say Jenny and Emmy. Meredith is still Sis and probably will always be Sis. Andrew is baby. I'm still Mama and Daddy is Dada.
- You play the harmonica, and actually, you are pretty good.
- You will chose fruit over anything. Grapefruit is currently a favorite.Vegetables are a close second. Sometimes you will eat chicken. You love cheese, especially goat cheese. You love Greek yogurt.You maybe allergic to peanuts and walnuts, we are going to get you tested.
- You are skinny, dark brown hair and the darkest brown eyes I have ever seen. I call them oreo eyes because they are so dark! You are still in size 2T, the pants are getting short, but the 3T pants fall off of you. You are hanging out at the 35 percentile, weighing in at 31 pounds and 38 inches tall.
- You still love to snuggle and before Sis and Andrew get up, you sit in my lap and we watch Curious George.
- You went from a crib, to a toddler bed, to a twin bed this year. You are loving your big boy bed! Sometimes I lay down with you and you lay on your side facing me, with one arm draped around my neck. Pure sweetness.
So little man, on your third birthday, my wish for you is to grow and learn and keep this wonderful personality of yours. Never lose your sense of adventure, your wild imagination, your good hugs you give, and always know that your Mama will love you forever, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be.
Love Forever and Always, to the Moon and Back, to Infinity and Beyond,
Mama.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Too much
We live in a disposable society where not only do we throw out an incredible amount of 'stuff'; we also collect an incredible amount of stuff.
And this stuff is getting overwhelming. I'm not sure if it's the impending winter, with long days and nights spent inside our cozy 3 bedroom home, or the fact that with three kids comes a lot of stuff. And stuff that we could do without.
I started realizing how much 'stuff' we have when I discovered the bed bug in the boys' room. With that we had to pack up everything into black plastic bags. We were only allowed to keep out what we really needed: clothes for the next few days, a blanket for each child, a few toys, etc. When we were allowed to unpack, we did so slowly, after a week of living with just what we needed, I quickly found that some of that 'stuff' that was packed in those black bags, wasn't really missed. Of course, there were times when there was that one thing that I went looking for in the sea of black bags, but for the most part, we didn't miss the stuff. As we unpacked, we went through our clothes and items to figure out what we really needed. I surfed through the wealth of organizing information online and found an extremely helpful tip with clothes: 'pretend you are going on a month long vacation and pack enough clothes for that month.' Most of us probably have a few outfits that we wear all the time, these are the ones that we feel the most comfortable in. So I went through my clothes and donated ones that I didn't want/need. I was amazed at how much room my little closet actually had!
Of course life gets crazy and that's about as far as I got with cleaning out the 'stuff.' However, it's time to get real again! On the list to clean out:
And this stuff is getting overwhelming. I'm not sure if it's the impending winter, with long days and nights spent inside our cozy 3 bedroom home, or the fact that with three kids comes a lot of stuff. And stuff that we could do without.
I started realizing how much 'stuff' we have when I discovered the bed bug in the boys' room. With that we had to pack up everything into black plastic bags. We were only allowed to keep out what we really needed: clothes for the next few days, a blanket for each child, a few toys, etc. When we were allowed to unpack, we did so slowly, after a week of living with just what we needed, I quickly found that some of that 'stuff' that was packed in those black bags, wasn't really missed. Of course, there were times when there was that one thing that I went looking for in the sea of black bags, but for the most part, we didn't miss the stuff. As we unpacked, we went through our clothes and items to figure out what we really needed. I surfed through the wealth of organizing information online and found an extremely helpful tip with clothes: 'pretend you are going on a month long vacation and pack enough clothes for that month.' Most of us probably have a few outfits that we wear all the time, these are the ones that we feel the most comfortable in. So I went through my clothes and donated ones that I didn't want/need. I was amazed at how much room my little closet actually had!
Of course life gets crazy and that's about as far as I got with cleaning out the 'stuff.' However, it's time to get real again! On the list to clean out:
- kid's toys; seriously they have too much! And half they don't even play with!
- school stuff from Alan and I
- kitchen; I do a pretty good job of keeping the kitchen clutter down, but there are some extra sets of dishes, and 'stuff' that is just taking up space.
- those rubbermaid totes in the workshop area, they are all labeled, but I really need to go through them.
- Alan has some climbing gear and 'stuff' he want to sell.
Since money is tight, selling this 'stuff' is a good idea, so a yard sale and listing stuff on Craig's list is in the plans.
I feel better, knowing that we don't have so much stuff. And it makes keeping the house straight a bit easier too. For me, simple is better.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Watching our garden grow
This is the best picture I could get if our garden. I didn't really think our garden was big, until I tried taking a picture and couldn't get it all in!
Our garden contains: multiple types of peppers, variety of tomatoes (about 15 plants), cucumbers, strawberries, raspberries, herbs, squash, and zucchini. It had eggplants until Mr. Rabbit came to dine!
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