BFIAR - Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?

Nate and I were very excited to "row" another book... Jesse Bear, What Will you Wear? by Nancy Carlstrom.

Again, since it takes me a while to prepare his materials and find time to sit and work with him, we end up "rowing" for a couple of weeks instead of just one;) So this was definitely not planned and put together in one weekend or done in one week:)

We read through Jesse Bear at least 3 times each week;) Talking about all sorts of things as we read, like activities at different parts of the day, or Jesse Bear's daddy coming home from work, "ants in the pants", eating at the table, etc! It really is a sweet and fun book:)

We thought it was funny one day when Nate dressed a little like Jesse Bear:) And I don't know where it was the cooler weather or the influence of the book, but Nate did dress a couple of mornings... yippe, he's becoming more civilized!

There were some other books we read:
*Don't Get Wet, Jesse Bear
*Bears
*Good night, Bear (about hibernation)
*Numbears
*What Colors will Bear Wear? (cute board book with wooden pieces are used to "dress" the bear)

Finally the activities;)


Nate LOVES the little cards that I printed and laminated from Homeschool Creations:) He did soo much with that one set of matching cards;)

We matched and played Memory with them....

we found them in the story... and Nate couldn't resist putting "the rose between his toes".

He also liked the plate and food printable from Homeschool Share.

I printed off the pieces, laminated and then waxed the back so the pieces would stay in place. The plate was glued to a piece of construction paper to make it look pretty and to give it more stability.

Nate liked to make Jesse Bear's lunch plate as I read that part of the book. We talked about the veggies and fruits as well.

One week we bought celery for him to try. He's not a fan:/ Thankfully he has a big brother and a mother who like celery and our choice of nutbutters.

I realized I didn't take a picture of a tracing sheet from Homeschool CReations that Nate worked on a few times. It's teaching kids one-to-one correspondence as well as learning pencil control and pre-letter formation by tracing lines.

At fist he was very frustrated he couldn't get right.on.the.line... we have a perfectionist on our hands:/  It seemed though that he would choose that activity to work "alone" and he did a little better at least with his frustration:)

I also tried to introduce the letter B to our study. B for Bear:)

coloring a B

I love the printable ABC Find It from 1+1+1=1. Again we laminated and waxed so they lasted through the drool (yes, he is still drooling) and would stay in place:) He liked it... I look forward to finding more ways to use this colorful resource!

don't you the love the real bagel that made it into the picture;)

I printed off and laminated this B! He helped make the B out of Play-Doh...

and then it became a fun Play-Doh mat with some shape pieces...

or a place to line up counting bears!!

he got a little side-tracked with the bears and Duplos:)

From Homeschool Share, I found a cute ABC laundry printable. I copied onto colored computer paper and then laminated the set! I gathered up some clothes pins and taped some yarn to a corner of our wall.

Nate was a little young (or not ready) for the actual matching of the letters. So for him I wanted to help him pick out the B's. He also practiced some fine motor and problem solving skills by trying to pin the letters up onto the line;)

clipping all the blue ones to the line;)

the older kids clipped his name up for him

He also got to fit in some real-world play like Jesse Bear:)
In bubbles...

and sand;) Yep, it was definitely on his arms and hands.... not to mention between his toes, in his hair, ears and even underwear:/

Just like Snowy Day and the Truck book, Nate has started finishing the lines of this Jesse Bear book;) He really is loving the attention and the games. We keep it simple and try to use all that we have available over and over;) And its precious to see the older ones reading to him from the book box or playing a game of Memory with him;)

And again... so indebted to the other home schoolers who share their talents!!

Linking up to Tot School at 1+1+1=1.Linking up to the Ultimate Homeschool Link-Up, Homeschool Creations and Weekly Wrap Up @ WUH

A Twist on Learning to Tie Shoes

My mom taught Anna to tie her own shoes when she was five!! I was amazed that after a few minutes of instruction and then some practice, Anna had it down within the hour. Maybe she was just ready or maybe my mom is a genius!

I have been working with Chris and Lydia some. We all kind of get frustrated, I end up tying their shoes and then we go on our way until the next time I think it's a good idea that they learn to tie their shoes....

like when I'm trying to get out the door and have kiddos begging for me to tie their shoes for them, again :)

This week I got out the pipe cleaners for Nate to do this during some instruction time...

it had his full attention for 20 + minutes!

But I got some inspiration;) What if....

I used pipe cleaners in some shoes to help Chris and Lydia practice without having the laces flopping everywhere?

So I twisted two pipe cleaners together, stuck them through the top lace hole and we started to practice...

and NOT while we were all waiting at the door! Although there was still some not so excited students:)

The best thing is that they can practice the steps... learn what to do without the issue with the floppy laces!

And one student, after practicing with the pipe cleaners, went straight into practicing on her own shoes;)

She still needed a little help, but had the steps down! Just a little more practice and there will be one less pair of laces for me to tie as we head out the door!

BTW... there are cool little lace keeper things that help the kids get on their "tie" shoes. And usually I try to purchase Velcro, but somehow right now we have mostly tie shoes... looking forward to sandal weather! LOL!!

Maybe we'll have this tying thing down by then:) If not, I'm calling in Grammie;)

Homeschooling Mornings Just Got Busier

Nate started escaping from his crib and resisting morning naps this week;)

Looks like there is another kid to school (or at least keep busy).....

Nate spooning beans while Anna works on the couch behind him

Homeschooling with Toddlers

LOL... can you say wild and crazy???

One of the toughest things about homeschooling a mix of ages is keeping everyone busy and giving needed time to the studies that the school-aged kids need. This is a struggle at out house, too!!

Today, I captured one of our "homeschooling survival techniques" bring everyone outside... let the younger ones run and finish working with Anna!!! I am thankful we usually can get all our work done early and enjoy playing outside before lunch with no one working, but today Anna was distracted. Hoping to motivate her to be more focused, I gave her time to be finished and when the younger kids and I would be heading outside. She had PLENTY of time to finish the few, simple tasks I had for her to complete!

But she didn't! And when she finally finished her copywork, I let her go outside and sit next to me to work. Lydia and Chris ran off some energy with their biking, jumping and climbing:)



Anna worked very well outside... especially with my almost full attention on her:) She finished her work well and more importantly with a "happy heart"!

A Realistic Day

This morning we woke into the reality of living and caring for preschoolers and toddlers:) Christopher crawled into bed with us at 6:30ish. Anna hollered out at 6:50, "I pee-peed in my bed!" waking her sister,too!!

So by 8:30, I had both girs' beds stripped and washing. The dishes washing and I was cleaning pee-pee off the kitchen floor. The floor??... you are wondering... yes, Lydia just could NOT get herself to the potty today??? I had to clean the kitchen floor once and then clean the bathroom floor 3 times!! yes!! THREE!!!

The plan today was to finish up some schoolwork from the week, bake cookies and then hopefully give some out.....

hmmm, instead I cleaned the floor, washed laundry, controlled the mess while attempting to teach the kids to "play with ONE toy, put it away, then get another"...

So the day didn't go as planned!!! LOL

But we had a good lunch with Daddy, I got my Focus Friday tasks done, Grandma (on the phone) and I got the summer clothes organized for the kids and we took a walk!!

So it wasn't a BAD day... just a more realistic day than my plans.... it was what life with three preschoolers is REALLY LIKE!!

"We are not meant to be God's perfect,
bright-shining examples,
but to be seen as the everyday essence of ordinary life
exhibiting the miracle of His grace.
Drudgery is the test of genuine character."
- My Utmost for His
Highest, Oswald Chambers

So I am thankful for grace today! And thankful for our sweet time of reading and conversation together before naptime!! And maybe, maybe, maybe we can bake some cookies this evening.

Here was an encouraging blog (on realistic parenting)I read today: Loving the Beautiful Mess!!

***The pic was from this summer when I traveled to see my parents and brother with the three kids! Always interesting!

How we get OUT the door

Whenever I'm out with the kids, I ALWAYS get comments. They say," boy, you've got a lot of "helpers" *wink, wink*" or "are they yours?"

One funny comment the other day was from a grandmother keeping her two granddaughters. She said, "How in the world are you out of your house this early with all those kids?" .... hahhaa

First let me explain that I ONLY have 3 kiddies!!! They are young, but only 3... imagine a momma with like 5 or 6!!! Second, it was 11am!!!! Good grief, I wanted to be out of the house by 9:30 or 10am!! So 11am for me was LATE:)

In the rush to get to church or into the car, Brian had enough of the Japanese lets-all-push onto-the-subway routine happening at our house with our three little ones!! So he trained the kids to stand 3 or 4 feet from the door and wait for their names to be called.....

The other day I was watching this tradition/routine and was just touched by the orderliness and how much the kids LOVE doing this...... it's just soo cute. And I think Brian has also enjoyed this routine.... no more pushing and bunching at the door and he likes to compliment each one during their turn, which is always nice for a parent.... we want to encourage more than we have to correct:)

So I tried to video it, I wish I would have had two cameras to get the kids faces as they eagerly awaited their names to be called:)

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I wish everything at our house could be as orderly as leaving the house with Daddy:)

Sick Night turned into Game Night

All three kids have had cough/cold symptoms today. Lydia finally had to sleep with us last night because we weren't getting ANY sleep standing over her bed:) So when we talked about attending church this evening, we decided to keep the kids home... I'd hate to get any of the older people in our church sick!!

So we stayed home and tore into the new games Chris got from Aunt Jac and Uncle Carson!! First we tried was CandyLand... they did well, although I had to remind Chris many times to keep his little gingerbread man ON the gameboard and to only take the TOP card off of the pile!! But we "survived" one game:) Here are some of our CandyLand pics....

We also played HiHo Cheerio (another game from Aunt Jac)!! The kids really liked that one. It was a little easier for Chris to handle and the game went more quickly, better for a little guy with a SHORT attention span!!

I had fun with the kids!! Since I already had the kitchen tidy, I was able to just sit and PLAY with them:) It was a nice change of pace than me trying to get stuff done around them or rushing them around to complete chores.... maybe this is a good time to instill a GAME NIGHT!!??? Well see.... sounds like FUN to me:)

And if you are interested??? This is how Lydia entertained herself while we played. First she "chewed" on the extra playing piece. Then she rode/dragged the wooden horse around the house (no pic). Finally she decided to dress herself at 8pm!!

She fussed when I tried to remove her shoes at bedtime... I picked my battled and decided that THIS wasn't a big deal and I'd sneak in later to removed them:) But Daddy found the shoes first... LOL... I wonder what went through his mind as he took off his little girls shoes (put on the wrong feet) as she was sleeping???

Preschoolers, a Pastor and Rec Time

Brian has taken on doing the Recreation Rotation this year at VBS!!! He enjoys being outside, participating in sports and interacting with the kids, so this sounded like a great fit for him:) And before I go on.....it has been a GREAT fit for him, ALL the kids LOVE recreation and are having fun:)

Daily Brian has struggled with what to do with the preschool class:) He has Lydia (17 months) and 7 other kids at various ages up to 5 yrs old. Most haven't played any really rule-based or structured games. They are very excitable and wiggly. And they just don't understand staying between cones, especially not the 2 yr olds:) But he has come up with some games the preschoolers have LOVED:)

Here are their two favorites (so far):
1. picture to the left - The leaders hid the swim rings and then the kids walked around the church yard "looking" for them. The kids really liked the "hunting"! And they had to find all 10, so the older ones got to practice counting to ten:)

2. picture to the right - Brian and Wesley (his sidekick for the week) piled all the rings into a stack and then the kids took turns pushing them over, running into them and kicking them over. As you can see, when Christopher kicked them the rings initially went up and then landed all over him and around them:)

Funny, how simple the games for the little ones can be and how much fun they can have doing simple things like stacking and pushing things over:)

For the Family Night, Brian is working on a water balloon launcher. He's thinking it might be fun to have the kids launch the balloon and have the parents stand yards away and try to catch them:) We'll see if we can actually get it to work. The kids know we're planning something "big" but we haven't revealed it yet... not until we know we can make it work:)

Our pastor makes a pretty good Recreation Leader doesn't he.....

Preschool Learning in Progress

"reading".......

Scooping, pouring and other play with "beans" (actually these are black-eyed peas...we cooked up the pinto beans to make refried beans).....

And laughter....... (sorry so blurry, it was just too cute)

Just a Few Pictures of Our Home Pre-School :)

I'm not sure how many people actually knew HOW MUCH I struggled with whether or not to send Anna to preschool last August. It was a very tough decision! I firmly believe that we need to make our own decisions for our families....so I totally understand both sides, which is why I struggled soo much!!

But we decided that the best thing for us (for many reasons) was to keep them home and hopefully home for a while as we enter into homeschooling in the upcoming years. So here are some of our activities in our day today:

Bible time and writing in our PJs:

Training little ones to help with chores:

Playing with "beans" learning hand-eye coordination for Christopher and addition for Anna- pouring smaller cups into the larger one (2 + 6 = 8) :

I've been so very thankful for this year of home pre-school. I know we made the right decision for our troops. I couldn't imagine Christopher during the morning without his most favorite pal, Anna!! I've also enjoyed seeing the kids excited about learning their letters.....using flash cards the kids will compete to see who recognizes the letter first!!! (Christopher usually says the phonetic sound and Anna will say the name of the letter.)

Preschooler Snack/Craft - YUmmmY

For Christmas the kids got a subscription to a magazine called High Five. I grew up reading Highlights and this High Five is the preschooler version of Highlights. They have a couple stories, "games", a craft and a snack/craft (something the kids can help make a eat). So far I've been able to edit the snack a little bit so that the kids could do it:) This morning we worked on March's issues snack...Chocolate Dipped Pretzels with Sprinkles!!! The kids can have some brands of semi-sweet chocolates!!




After we made them, Anna decided that she wasn't going to eat them..... although she LOVEs chocoaltes and pretzels :) So I figured besides my sweet toothes - Lydia and Christopher- I would be stuck eating most of them. Brian isn't crazy about most baked choclate treats because he finds some chocolate treats to be bitter. BUT he tried one when they had cool and hardened. He's been trying to keep his hand out of the pretzel bag all day :) Yay!!! He even made a funny comment about how fun to discover new milk-free, peanut-free foods.......

Lydia likes them :)

Keeping the kids busy:)

Well a friend posted in her blog the other day an appeal to other moms about some new ideas to keep her little kiddies busy during the cold winter days:) Somedays the day goes sooo S L O W when I don't have a set plan or I find myself just cleaning up after "the three tornados" all day.

So as I found myself doing "strange" things to keep the kids "busy" during the day I started to mentally list them....he hehe. Scary, euh?

I think I blogged this the other day. But yes...I got so desparate I pulled out the messy Play-Doh. But what I didn't mention in the last blog was that it was A lOT cleaner this time because Christopher wasn't licking the Play-Doh :)

And here is Christopher in the bath tub "painting" with Daddy's shaving cream. OK...here's the deal don't do it with little ones who will put their fingers in their eyes. And make sure you rinse them off with clean water :) Don't want their soft sweet skin reacting with the shaving cream! Oh and make sure Daddy has plenty of shaving cream left:)

Ok, so this one wasn't my idea :) We have a friend staying with us some this weekend and during Lydia's little birhday party I caught the boys blowing bubbles in the house:)Ok, not normally done in the living room but I have done it in the bathroom :)