We've been busy putting ourselves back together after a trip to Chattanooga last weekend. Our Friday thru Monday trip was filled with visiting old friends and overall it was a really relaxed time away. We went to bed on Monday with our bags mostly unpacked and some laundry started, wondering why it didn't seem exhausting this time around. Maybe our kids getting a little older really does help!
In other adventures we are focusing on a different letter of the alphabet each week. The kids fill a tray with items starting with that letter all week, and we do little activities (some of them are a stretch to call them "school" but all of life is learning, right?) centered around the letter. It's surprised me to see how the visual reminder helps them remember the sounds so well and sticks with them even weeks later. Speaking of school, I spent some time this past weekend talking with older (i.e., more experienced) moms about all things education. I used to laugh at the parents of preschoolers who would get so worked up about schooling choices, when I thought they just needed to RELAX. Well, I am all about relaxing in the early years, but I just want to know that the relaxing is part of the big picture and the plan, and not a default. WH and I plan to spend the next few months trying to figure out our philosophy and priorities for the education of our kids with the hope that it will provide some direction for the next season of our child rearing. It's exciting to have children who are old enough to know more about something (anything!) than I do. I didn't think it would happen with my four year-old, but just last week he held up a toy truck and said, This is for harvesting wheat. Really? I had no idea.
Have you ever purchased printable pdf files from Etsy? They are FABULOUS- I spent $4 on this and it is our family calendar (on a clipboard). I printed it out again so I could jot down our preschool activities and book lists and keep it all in a notebook. It makes me happy every time I walk by the little birds.
And last but not least, my father-in-law found this in his basement and revived it for my children: (visualize... there are no birds interested this afternoon and it's not much to look at without the birds present) A bird feeder with a two-way mirror so the birds can't see the kids. How perfect is that? They are learning all about birds and we're off to the library to get some bird books so I can answer their hundred questions a day about what kind of bird is eating now. I only know a few kinds of birds, and the kids are familiar with birds that typically don't frequent bird feeders (peacocks, penguins, flamingos...although WH did offer to put some fish in the feeder to see if we could attract some penguins).
Hope you have a great weekend!
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2 comments:
Funny, we're doing birds the next couple of weeks too. Fun times. I have heard a lot about you from Jess so every once and again its fun to see what's happening with you as our babies are the same ages.
this is adorable! inspiring for a mom of older kids - a reminder to go back to the basics with my "littles!" also, thanks for the etsy link. gonna check that out!
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