Fun ways for preschoolers to pass the time

(Images from www.amazon.com)

I recently finished a series of books that a friend recommended to me. The books are called "Mommy Teach Me" and "Mommy Teach Me To Read" both written by Barbara Curtis. I have decided to not send my oldest daughter to preschool to help keep cost down and to spend as much time with her as I can. Since I only work the weekends I decided to research some activities for us to do while staying at home. Of all of the books that I have read Barbara's are my favorite. She is an experienced teacher in the Montessori method and mother of 12. In her book "Mommy Teach Me" each activity has a step by step approach for the parent to follow and all of the information needed to complete the activity not to mention the benefits behind the activity and the appropriate age for when you should start.

My goal is to jump start my children's learning potential before they start school. Her activities use most items that you have around the house and if not you can be creative and make some of the materials for yourself. We made sewing cards yesterday out of poster board and then used finger paints to decorate them. My girls loved the activity even though we were short on yarn it was a great start to something new. This activity was especially beneficial for my girls in that is helps them to concentrate on a task, work on their pincer grasp which will help them hold pencil better. They loved it and I made several note cards with all the activities listed and the materials needed so I can review those cards and start the activities without any delay. So if you are looking for something to pass the time with your little one's at home take the time to check out Barbara's books. You will be surprised what you can do with your children that can not only pass the time but help release your child's full learning potential.

Nice day for a white wedding....

This is my one and only sister, Cassie. She was married to the man of her dreams on 09/05/09. The weather was perfect and everything went as planned. You couldn't have asked for a better day. My uncle Jim took the wedding photos and this is one of them. He did a great job.

I took this photo of my sister with my two girls. Who were two of the three flower girls in the wedding. I was very proud of them and they all did a fantastic job fulfilling their "royal duty" as we called it.

This was a photo my husband took with our camera during one of the many photo shoots. I can remember being 4 years old praying for a baby sister and God blessed me with her. I have always has this innate desire to protect her even as an adult but now I pass that protection on to her husband. I will cherish this photo forever and I wish she and Scott many wonderful years together.

Life Lesson: Making Scrambled Eggs

This morning as I was making breakfast and I had a realization. Nothing earth shattering or too exciting for the average person. I had a moment where I realized that I am really happy and that the reason I am happy is because I am living my life like I cook my scrambled eggs. I'm sure you are thinking, "what is she talking about, this woman is crazy!" Hear me out and I think it will make more sense... Since my laptop died well over a year ago and we purchased a desktop computer my time online has been slashed drastically. I often check email, Facebook then I'm off to get to my plans for the day. At the beginning this was really difficult for me but as time passed I started investing more time, effort and energy in my children and family. I began reading more and looking at my life from a learning perspective. I started to work on tasks and started to find ways to make them better.

Now back to the eggs realization that I mentioned earlier...I am now living my life at what I call the perfect temperature for me. Not living on "low heat" where I do nothing and allow the t.v. and computer to do all of the entertaining and educating for me. I am also not living on "high heat" where all we do is run and overbook ourselves with activities and stuff . I find that with the correct ingredients in my life which is peace and purpose I am cooking up pretty good and the results are pretty delicious to my family. I know this may seem pretty silly in the way I have posted but this was simply my thoughts this morning as I was cooking with my 2 1/2 year old. I want to live at a pace that cooks evenly, seasons me just right and leaves a wonderful taste to the life I live and to the lives of my family and friends that surround me.

Hope you have a wonderful day.

Glad to be back blogging at-least for today...

Swimming Lesson

The girls started swimming lessons this week. So far they have both enjoyed them and I can see an improvement in each of them from day to day. We decided to do private lessons in order to get the most out of the experience for each child. Here are some photos from today's lesson.

Celebrity Sighting 2009...Don't get too excited.

Our local library had a street fair/block party to celebrate the end of the summer reading program. We were very excited to see that Mr. and Mrs. Bearinstein were going to make an appearance. My youngest was very nervous so her dad decided to get in the picture with them. It was a really fun time and they both acted star struck after the photo was taken. We also enjoyed some hand painting and a few carnival style games. Just to let you know that Mr. and Mrs. Bearinstein were just as nice in person as they are in the books and on t.v. (Just in case you were wondering.)

A Photo Story of VBS 2009

We just wrapped up another great year of Vacation Bible School at our church this year. We did things differently since our church is expanding (new building) and less room to work on location. We hosted backyard VBS with the children meeting in backyards all over our community. It was a beautiful week weather wise and the children seemed to have a great time. I always have such a wonderful time at VBS and I am already looking forward to next years program. Here are some photos from the week.

The closing program at church.

My oldest working on her song/dance moves.

Craft time outside, perfect weather.

More crafts...

Worship time in the backyard.

Me and the girls one morning before VBS. Our program each day was from 9:30-11:30 a.m. perfect for preschoolers!

This is me speaking at my church about my experience working with VBS.

Family photo after church on Sunday.

Boomerang Express VBS 2009

This morning was the first day of (VBS) Vacation Bible School for our church. Our church is currently under construction and there is little to no extra room at the church to host VBS for this year. Our children's director along with other leaders of the church decided that we needed to offer this program but in volunteer's back yards. My friend Lisa opened up her home and yard to us this week and we had a blast this morning. I have hosted a VBS program outdoors before and I always enjoyed working with the children outside. The fresh air, room to move around and little issues with noise control are just some of the benefits. The theme for this year's program is the Australian Outback with the motto of "Follow! Worship! Live through him!" My responsibility for the week is to lead the bible lesson and we sat in the front yard on blankets. I am hoping to take some pictures this week and post them up. This is one of my favorite times of year and I enjoy every facet of VBS. Boomerang Express is a creation of LifeWay resources and here is a link to the page of information if you are curious about the program.


"God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him." 1 John 4:9 Holman CSB®