Star Wars 7th Birthday

Wow, I can't believe I'm this far behind! Thomas' birthday was April 22, but I didn't want to miss the opportunity to share about his birthday- even if it's a bit late! The days leading up to his birthday, Thomas had no idea what I had been going through to get the ONE thing he asked for: a Darth Vader costume. I had ordered it online in plenty of time, but they sent the large size instead of the medium. They corrected- or so I thought- and AGAIN sent a large! As I was dealing with this, he was SURE that I hadn't bought one for him and was obsessive about how he was going to buy one with his birthday money, etc. He would not let it drop! I just sort of laughed at him when he wasn't looking. In the mean time, yet another costume was sent, but it got here after his birthday. Not only did I get my money back, I have THREE Darth Vader costumes! Here is the birthday boy-

Cute, huh? The costume is huge on him, and I'm hoping that he remains a Darth Vader fan until he outgrows them all!

I'd also like to share a couple of things that might give you a good idea for your child's birthday, no matter what theme they choose. First, the cake. I didn't want to spend $25 on a custom cake, so I got a bright idea (if I DO say so myself!) Thomas has plenty of Star Wars Legos and enough "men" to decorate any size cake. So that's what we did! He also had a Lego set with a soccer ball, so I made it look like the Star Wars characters were not battling it out with light sabers, but playing a good ol' game of soccer!

We had the cups, plates, balloons, and of course Darth Vader masks, but my favorite is the cake, of course! It did take me a while to get the frosting out of the little holes at the bottom of their feet, but it was still worth it! A few days after Thomas' birthday, we went to Build-A-Bear when my sister came into town, so hopefully I will have some more birthday pictures to share when she sends me some. In all it was a great birthday, and I'm still in shock that I have a seven year-old!

"Stay At Home Mom" a Misnomer

Whoever called us "stay at home moms" was obviously not one herself. I don't know what the deal is, but I spend more time at music, soccer, MyGym, AWANA, and driving to these places than I do at home. And my kids are only 5 and 7! We were so run down from all of these events, that both of the kids got colds. Thomas got better, Anna got worse. It got so bad that she needed an antibiotic to clear it up and eye drops for pink eye. During this same time, she caught molluscum (a skin virus) which only happens when children's immune systems are shot.

I started wondering if we were doing too much. While I want to allow them to try different things and expose them to varied experiences, I need to recognize our limits. I want them to have time to relax and hang out, or play with the neighbors as well.

I've got so many things to blog about, but with all the running around (and the recovery...) I haven't had the time. So hopefully soon this "Stay at Home Mom" (who is leaving in a few hours for Dallas, TX) will have some time to rest, relax, and blog like a mad woman in a few days.

If you are a stay at home mom, STAY HOME TODAY!!

"Locks of Love" Causes Panic Attack in Mom

Okay, maybe that headline is a slight exaggeration. I was actually so overcome by the fact that my son was turning seven that I accidentally answered, "sure" when my daughter asked if she could get her hair cut short. She had been working on me for months. When I got my hair cut, she thought it would get easier, but I only told her that, "moms have short hair, little girls have long hair." She didn't buy it. She's no dummy!

She's had long hair ever since it could GET long. I beamed with pride when, as a toddler, she would bounce down the hall at church with long, blonde hair with a little flip at the bottom. Older women would "ooooohhh!" and "aaaaahhhhhh!" as she danced by them. She was three before we ever cut it, because I knew it would cut out that precious little curl!

Honestly, I was ready for a change. Change is hard, but man, no more tangles, no more unbrushed, ratty hair. No more ponytails! Why didn't we do this sooner?! Anyway, here is what she looks like now. If Dakota Fanning didn't have a little sister, Anna could play her double!

An Interesting Thing at the Zoo

We've never seen this before, and this is a great reminder why you should visit the zoo year 'round and not just once (get a pass!) We went in the "Amphibian and Reptile House" to see our favorite giant tortoises. Once, we got to watch them get clean and for some reason my daughter wanted to watch the helper scrub the floor and hose down their habitat. It was a lengthy process! Anyway, just inside the building there is a tank with TONS of turtles. They were shedding!

This is normal, and I googled it just to make sure! I found this: http://www.turtlepuddle.org/health/skin.html

You think YOUR kids grow quickly?

I've got a LOT to share, as I let TEN days go by without blogging. But I just had to share this. We had a beautiful spring day last Wednesday so the kids decided to go to the zoo while we were in Wichita for the day. When they stood by their favorite penguins, I HAD to take a picture, because I remembered that the last time we went to the zoo their heights were even with the penguins. Check them out now...
Before...

and Now...

How much time do you think there was between photos? ONLY SIX MONTHS!!!!!!

Water Experiment

After discussing how much trash we generate and where it ends up, we also discussed wasting other resources in our home such as electricity and water. This is a huge issue for me, because I have an internal reminder (that probably comes from my mom who grew up in East Germany) that dings every time the water is running for no reason or a light has been left on.

The first thing we did was make "Energy Police" badges. Then we put bright green light switch covers on our most-used switches that read "TURN OFF." Then I asked the kids, "What uses more water, a bath, or a shower?"

They both said, "shower." So Friday I had them both take showers, but we plugged the tub so that the water would collect in the tub. My son went first, and he took a REALLY long shower. The tub filled up, even more than if he had taken a bath. So when it was Anna's turn, I decided to time her shower. Even though we have a fairly low flow with our Showerwise shower filter [shameless plug] I was amazed to see that after only ten minutes, the tub was at the same level that she would normally take a bath.

This was a great way to show the kids how much water is used for showers. Our rule generally is that if you plan on taking a long shower, take a bath. If you just want to get in and get clean, take a shower. We also conserve water by not flushing the toilet every time. This is not on purpose; this is because the kids are afraid it will overflow on them, so they don't flush!

P.S. We did visit our recycling center but I haven't blogged about it because I forgot to bring a camera. When I have pictures to share, I'll write about our visit. This week: How our choices affect things outside our house (we have discussed the water cycle and will be focusing on the rainforests starting tomorrow.)

Easter Funny

A few days after Easter, my daughter came to me and asked if she could have some of her chocolate bunny. The bunny was solid, dark chocolate, and I didn't think anything of it as I sent her on her way with the bunny in hand. She came to me a few minutes later, bloody tooth in one hand, and her bunny in the other. "My tooth fell out!" she cried. At first I panicked, because she didn't have any loose teeth ready to come out. "Was the bunny that hard?" I wondered. Seeing visions of a toothless child with teeth falling out all over the place, I remembered that she had been complaining about her two bottom teeth hurting. So I checked the other one next to it, and sure enough, it was loose. Since it wasn't to the point of hanging on by a thread, her tooth coming out was a total shock.

I wanted to take a picture to commemorate the "big event" so I put her in front of the window and she showed me her missing tooth. Later when I downloaded pictures, I learned that she and Thomas had taken pictures of each other with their bunnies, as they didn't want to eat them unless they could "preserve" them. So essentially, I have a "before" picture, and an "after" picture. It cracked me up. The pictures are so similar, as if I planned them.

How much trash do we generate per day?

Yesterday for school, we calculated how much trash our family of three generates per day. We collected our trash for three days. Since some days have little trash, and other days have more, I wanted to get a better idea of where we stood. (We did discuss "high trash" weeks like birthdays and Christmas when we have boxes and wrapping paper, etc.) But on average, we generate about one pound each day.
My children are 5 (and 5 months) and 6 (and 11 months). I am exact with their ages, because if they were in school, there is NO WAY this problem would be put in front of them. First, I asked how to figure out how much trash we generated in one day if we know how much trash we generated in 3 days. They kind of threw around some close ideas, so I drew an illustration that worked out their thoughts more concretely. "What if I took each piece in the trash and cut it into three equal pieces. I would put each piece into a pile, and have three piles when I'm done. Would you say that I split the trash into three even stacks, representing the three days? And would one stack represent the trash we would generate in one day?" Their eyes began to light up. Since we had already talked about fractions, they quickly recognized that we had split the trash into thirds.
I then drew a circle on a paper and said, "this circle represents the three days worth of trash that we collected. How can I divide the "trash" to help me figure out the amount generated in one day?"
"Divide it into three equal parts."
I tried my best at making "thirds" and it was at least sufficient. I then showed how I can not only divide a circle into thirds, or the trash into thirds, but a number into thirds (division- a new concept). They now know that we generate one pound per day.
"How many do we generate in a week?" To which my FIVE year-old responded, "Seven." Sign her up for MIT, folks!
She new the answer was 7, but did not know how to explain why. So I let her brother think and verbalize. I then explained how you could add 1+1+1+1+1+1+1 to get 7, or you could say "1 TIMES 7." I knew they got it once we needed to know how many pounds we generate in a month, and used "30" as the number of days per month.
When we started working on the number of pounds per year, I first was going to use the result from our monthly figure, but my 6 year old helped me realize something when he said, "figure out how many days there are in a year and times that..." It occurred to me that he was dead on. Since there are not 30 days in every month, you cannot simply multiply that result by 12. You need to go back to the daily amount and multiply it by 365 for the most accurate result.
There was never any reason for them to know how many days there are in a year, but they know now!
This is a great example of the many concepts taught in one activity. And this was part of "science," not math! It also shows that children understand much more than we give them credit for. I've mentioned this often in my blog, but in case you are a new reader, my daughter isn't even supposed to be in kindergarten yet, according to her birthday. And here she is at home, dividing, multiplying, and problem solving!

Earth Day Activities for School- Trash

During this month, we will be doing Earth Day related studies for science and social studies. I will share what we are doing in hopes that it will motivate you to share some earth-friendly thoughts with your own children!

We started this "unit" last week, with reading The Berenstain Bears Don't Pollute (Anymore). Since we just finished learning about communities and neighborhoods, this was a great follow up story to lead into how we take care of our community. Because it is an easy concept to grasp, we are starting with "trash," and where it goes. This is much easier than starting with wasting electricity or water. Once they get the trash issue, it is easier to transfer their understanding of good stewardship to something that is not as concrete.

So how do you teach about trash? Good question! I remember when I first had a newborn and a toddler in diapers and how much trash it generated every week. One baby's diapers didn't phase me, but two...holy cow! I was moved to start using cloth diapers and life returned to normal. So it only makes sense for the kids to see how much trash we generate as a family. I have a book from The Mailbox called Environment. It is for grades 1-3. In this book, there is an activity called "Tons of Trash." For this activity, you are to collect a day's worth of trash all in one bag. I decided to go three days, and then take an average. Today is the 3rd day. Tomorrow we will complete the graph, showing how much trash we generate each day, how much it would be in a week, and how much for a month. Then we will go through the bag and look at each item, discussing how we could reduce the use or if the item can be recycled. (No food went into the trash).

This week we will also make a visit to our local recycling center. We will bring all our recyclables and talk about what we see there. We have lived here for two years and this is the first visit to the center! This is totally unlike me, but it took this long to find out we even have recycling here. In Georgia they picked it up curbside, so it wasn't much to think about. Next week, we will visit our local landfill. It is only two years old, and my children's dad had a part in helping construct some railings around the landfill offices. We had just moved here when he did the work, and we've never been to see it. Perhaps we will visit each year and see how much it changes!

Come back and see the other ideas I have planned this month!

*Various mom-owned businesses are running Earth Day specials. Check them out!

First Soccer Game of the Season

I can't believe that this is Thomas' third year playing soccer! He played his first year right when he turned 5, and he was TERRIFIED! His dad and I ended up helping coach so that he would be more comfortable out on the field. He is one of those kids who doesn't like people watching him, and he didn't really know what was going on yet, so he was very unsure of himself. I was really surprised last year when he said he wanted to play again. He did much better and was actually getting in there and kicking the ball some, even though he isn't very aggressive. This year, he "aged up" to the under-8 team and he is doing VERY well. His first game was Saturday and I was very impressed by his skills and endurance.

Of course, Anna started playing last year at 4 1/2 and had a lot of fun playing alongside her brother. She is still playing in under-6 this year, and her dad is coaching. They had their first practice today and I just know not only is she going to be one of the better players on the field, she will do it all with a big, toothless smile!

I also have a son...

I've been writing about my daughter so much that I thought I should write about my son a little! Anna is at that age where she is just blossoming and Thomas has already been through that stage. His progression is much slower, even though he still blows me away daily with his knowledge and abilities! For instance, recently he spent his allowance on a Star Wars Lego set. The next day, we took a little break from school and he worked on it a little bit. He started it the night before. He got frustrated for a minute, and then as soon as he asked for my help he saw where he went wrong and corrected it himself. It was then that I realized how much a child really gets out of building, so I decided as long as he stuck with it, that would be his "school." Little did I know that he would not quit! He worked on it for the rest of the day, and when I went to check his progress, I took a look at the box. He was about 75% finished with a set that is meant for 8-12 year-olds. When I showed it to him and explained what it meant, he understood why I had the look of astonishment on my face. Here he was, almost 7, doing a "big boy" project all on his own! Night time came up before he could get it complete, so he finally asked his dad if he wanted to help. They finished it together.

Because Thomas does not typically stick with something this challenging for that long, of course I made a big deal out of it. While his Lego abilities were nurtured over time, his perseverance is still something in the beginning stages of development. He is learning! Here he is with his new "Rogue Shadow."

Anna's Easter Fair

A couple of weeks before Easter, my daughter Anna announced that she was going to have an Easter party. She was going to charge $1.00 for each person to come (she has a little store- so cute- and wanted to set it up at the front door.) I told her it probably wasn't nice to charge people to come to a party, but maybe we could do an Easter "fair?" She liked that idea and quickly made invitations for each of her invitees. Now, I had three teeth pulled around this time and was not very involved in the process until I realized she was serious about making this happen. So after seeing how she had spelled the words on her invitations, I wrote out the words and she re-did them. The attempt was great for a five year-old, but I wasn't sure the recipients would be able to read them!

Anyway, she wrote out all the invitations for "Monday at 6 pm." It turned out that we could not do it the Monday before Easter, but we did have it yesterday, the day after. (Which is nice because Easter stuff is 50% off by then!) We set up 5 "games." One was a long jump. If you could jump to the first line, you got to pick one egg out of the basket. If you could jump to the second, you could pick two eggs. Oh, I forgot to say that Anna gave each guest 5 tickets that she cut up, and you had to pay a ticket to do each game. Another game was jumping on the mini-tramp, and reaching up to lines taped on the wall. (First line- one egg, second line- two eggs, etc.) Then we had two ball toss games, and finally, a trivia question. Once everyone used their tickets, we sat down for "tea" (oreos and grape juice) and allowed each guest to pick an egg that had an Easter trivia question. If they knew the answer, they got to pick an egg. The questions were simple biblical questions pertaining to Jesus' crucifixion. The eggs that they got for prizes had candy or a Snoopy Easter toy that I had collected over the years.

Anna was a wonderful host, and even in the planning stages really amazed me. She had an idea, and while I could have told her no, I realized how beneficial it would be for her to carry out her creative plan. She had to count tickets to make sure that she had enough for each child if they all came. I didn't realize this until later, but she only invited enough guests so that there would be enough tea party supplies. I had been wondering why she didn't invite all her little friends, and only invited three girls that live on our street, and later she mentioned her thoughts on the matter. She is so bright!

It was so much fun, I'm thinking about doing something like this every year. Here is a picture of Anna counting her money. When Anna said she was going to "get ready" for the fair, it was five minutes before it was supposed to start. That is why she is wearing this:

It's Spring?

With Easter coming early this year, I am SO messed up. I know it only happened 3 days ago, but how did I miss the first day of spring?! I've been waiting for its arrival all winter, and I totally missed the date! Of course, when we woke up for Easter this morning, it was 30 degrees outside, so it's easy to miss the change in season. We've noticed the days getting longer, and I know what that means.... I won't have to freeze anymore! HALLELUJAH! It also means for some that the end of the school year is coming soon, which for many that also means TESTING. Fun stuff. We school year 'round, which is good, because we haven't done school for two weeks due to me having to get three teeth pulled. The nice thing is that we can take time off whenever we want: if someone's sick, if we have things to do, or if we just want to play a little. The kids are ahead of where they should be, so that makes it even nicer. The funny thing is, I had my teeth pulled a week before "spring break." I planned on having school during the next week (spring break) and my son said- even though he had JUST had an entire week off- "Isn't this spring break?" Lucky for him, I wasn't able to get things together in order to have school, so they really did have a spring break- and then some. Well, I've got way too much to do, so go read someone else's blog...:o)

Choosing a Handwriting Curriculum

Since I have "been there, done that," I thought I might offer a bit of advice when it comes to choosing handwriting material for pre-schoolers or kindergartners. Whether your child will attend public school or stay home with you, choosing the best handwriting curriculum is important.

If your pre-schooler will be attending a local public or private school, go to that school and find out what style of handwriting they use in their curriculum. I did not think about this, and my daughter, who started writing very early (she's very artistic) used whatever pre-school books we had around the house. I had used the same things for my son, and then when I actually selected a handwriting curriculum for them to work out of everyday, the letters were formed differently. The curriculum I chose came from BJU Press, and I liked it because the letters provided a good transition to future cursive writing.

If you will be teaching your child at home, your job may be a bit more stressful, because you actually have to go through the task of selecting the handwriting curriculum that your child will be using. Many parents select their entire curriculum from one source, and they use whatever handwriting materials are included with that curriculum. Other parents pick and choose subjects from different companies and put together their own curriculum. I highly suggest finding a local homeschool conference where vendors will let you go through their books. You might find everything you want in one place, or you may pick one subject from one company, another subject from another company, and so on.

Regarding handwriting, it's also important to note that some curricula, like Abeka, teach only cursive writing, and do so from kindergarten and up. If you are going to choose a curriculum like this, make sure you plan on sticking with it. Many Christian schools also use Abeka, and if you don't plan on keeping your child enrolled in a school that uses it, it's going to be a pain for the child if he or she is transferred to another school where students are printing letters and have no clue what cursive is.

While you may have a child like one of mine, who doesn't write letters unless he has to, you may have a child like my other, who started writing letters for fun. No matter what your child's age, if she is writing letters, it's time to figure out how best to help her, and the best way is always to use the same method or style from beginning to end. So be prepared and see what's out there!

Candy-free Easter Baskets

You've JUST finished the Halloween candy, and it is already time to think about Easter. You pass by the candy in the store, you may have even purchased some to put out with your Easter decorations. Maybe you have even already eaten it all! It is so tempting, isn't it? I remember, "back in the day" when my children were younger, before they knew what sugar was. Life was so simple then! They are now 3 and almost 5...and the battle of sugar began long ago, when people began dangling M&M's, suckers, and taffy in front of them.
We know that sugar is not good for the body. We know that sugar is horrible on teeth. Yet, we continue to celebrate every holiday by showering our children with candy! What is wrong with us? Actually, we have done pretty well, personally, but family members LOVE giving the kids candy. What they don't realize is that if every family member gives them candy...that's a LOT of candy! We usually end up throwing it away before they eat it all, and they never even notice. But if they know where it is, they will sneak into it when they aren't supposed to and I've been known to dump the whole bowl in the trash when I catch them. Candy to children is like drugs to an addict...if they know it's there, they just can't stay away from it.
There will be no candy in our Easter baskets this year. We MIGHT include a small chocolate bunny, but really, we can be more creative than that! We usually think about spring toys, bathing suits, and other things necessary for spring and summer, and to help you get the juices flowing, we've compiled this list. Choose age appropriate items for your children and watch them enjoy!

blow-up beach ball
bouncy balls
bubbles
change purse
color wonder book w/ markers
coloring book
crayons
cross necklace
hairbows
hand puppets
handbag (Use the handbag as the basket!)
jump rope
magna doodle
matchbox cars
play doh or silly putty
sand toys
sandals
sidewalk chalk
small puzzle
sunglasses
swim goggles
swim suit
temporary tattoos
wooden beads/strings
yo-yo
One idea for the family that does an egg hunt AND Easter baskets; you can get one of those make your own puzzle kits at a craft store and put one puzzle piece in each egg. The puzzle can show a picture (for younger children) of where the Easter basket is located. For older children, a riddle or map can lead them to their goodies. Children LOVE this kind of stuff. If you have more than one child, they will not fight over who has the best candy. They will work together on the puzzle so they can find their Easter baskets. You can also make your own puzzle at home, by cutting the picture or paper into smaller pieces.
Have a wonderful Easter, and we hope with these ideas, it is the most fun and healthiest Easter for you yet! Don't forget to tell your little ones what Easter is REALLY all about!