Build-a-Letter LOWERCASE Templates. Finally.

Well, I have them finished.  Not exactly by the end of April, as I foolishly told someone earlier this year, but finished nonetheless. :)

I have not gotten around to actually cutting the shapes from foam yet and presenting this to M.  I think I’ll do a few letters with him at a time, along with the uppercase ones (which you can find here), since apparently he has regressed a bit with recognition of both “mama” and “baby” letters.  Or maybe he’s just pulling my leg.  With him I never know!

I plan to use foam for the shapes and print the letter pages on colored paper to make it a bit more appealing than old black and white.

Let me know if you use these!  You can download them by clicking on the image above or going here.

Have a beautiful day! :)

The Art Box – July 12, 2010

 

Finally, another Art Box post. :)  Things have been a little unsettled around here lately, and we are just getting back into our routine.  I love having a routine.  I love it very, very much. :)

 

We’ve been doing some outdoor painting lately.  There’s nothing like making a mess in the grass, then washing up in the pool.  It’s the ideal kind of art.  M just loves his makeshift outdoor easel and has been asking for one since summer began (I made one for him last summer too, you can read about how to make one here).  He painted up a storm, and using the clips to hold the paper on was a stroke of genius – he was able to remove and replace paper by himself!

 

Here are two of the three painting he made outside:

  The third painting, is at someone else’s house… the last we saw it was blowing away.  Oops. 

 

M has done much, much more art than this, but I haven’t been very good about taking pictures the past 3 weeks.  You can imagine lots of glue, glitter-glue, and googley eyes, and you’ll pretty much know what it’s looked like. ;)

If you have a kid's art post, link it up below! Be sure to link back here somewhere in your post.

Have a beautiful day! :)

Books of the Week

I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve written about the books we’ve been reading.  We’ve found a lot of really good ones lately, and I have to say I am really enjoying having these posts as a reminder of all the good story-reading snuggle times we’ve had.  :)
Pondlarker, by Fred Gwynne is a gem.  M just happened to see it and picked it up.  I wasn’t sure about it at first glance, but I’m so glad he chose it!  The story is about a frog who wants to be kissed and turned into a prince, but when he finally gets his chance… he decides it’s pretty nice being a frog!  We are going to look for more books by this author – I was very impressed with the way this story was told and the subtle message about being happy with who you are.
 The Quiet Way Home, by Bonny Becker is a book we read when M was smaller and he loved it then.  He doesn’t remember it from then, but he still loves it!  The story is about a girl and her father who are walking home the quiet way.  Instead of walking past the growling dog, the roar of a lawn mower, the garbage trucks, and other noisy things, they walk home by where the kittens play, where a garden grows, where lilies stand - “Hush.  Can you hear it? Hummm, thrumm, dart-and-flee.  Honeybee.”   It’s a very calming book, which I personally love. :)  M loves the various noises and distinguishing between the loud and soft. 
For more reviews of children’s books, check out Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns and Feed Me Books Friday. Have a beautiful day! :)

Preschool Corner / Weekly Wrap-Up – July 9, 2010

This is the last preschool post for a while…  M is not excited about much that’s been out for him lately and I need to take a break and rethink some things.  And, well, it is summer. :)  So this wrap-up is for a few things we’ve done that he’s actually enjoyed over the past several weeks.

Math Skills:
I made some quick number cards and we used them with these little number rods I found at a thrift store:We did them in a very Montessori-ish way, going slowly and making sure to count each section of each rod, then naming the number of both the rod and the card.  M seemed to respond well to having “rules” for doing this.


Then we made a triangle with them:Unfortunately I didn’t get a full set of the number rods.  I plan on making some Montessori bead bars so we can continue this kind of activity with 10’s and 100’s. 

M worked on his fine motor skills, lining up flat glass marbles on craft sticks numbered 1 to 6 (then he lost interest):

Literacy Skills:
At Michael’s they have small painted wooden pieces for 25 cents each.  I picked up a handful and we’ve been using them to make up stories (this fabulous idea came from Jill at The Shafer Family): We use them in a variety of ways – sometimes one person begins with a piece and then the next person adds a piece and a bit of the story and so on.  Sometimes M just wants me to make up a story with all the pieces (or Daddy, who is a master storyteller!).  Sometimes we close our eyes and pick one piece out of a container and have to make up a story as we go along.  We’ll also be using these for phonics sorting.

I put our pipe cleaner letters out with a pan of flour for M one morning.  He spent a good 20 minutes running his fingers over the pipe cleaners and then drawing the letters in the flour.  The flour is so soft and cool – I think he really enjoyed this!

Fine Motor Skills:
M sorted seashells in a tray with tongs (idea from No Time for Flashcards):

He practiced some folding skills with his new Kumon First Book of Folding:

Then we worked on more folding and taping skills to make these cute little puppets from a recent issue of High Five:
And M used a small spoon to put marbles into this tray:   He LOVED this, which was a bit of a surprise to me (not sure why).  The tray is from some old board game of my husband’s.  I love how the clear blue marbles shine when the light hits them just right.

Sensory:
This sensory bin was another morning activity (planned to give me a few minutes of peace in the mornings).  M had a blast with it.  I put some water in a tub, and added a few drops of dish soap.  I added in a whisk, a baster, a strainer, and some small scoops:
It didn’t take long for the whisk to whip up some bubbles:
Finally, I gave him a straw and he had a lot of fun blowing into the water to make very big bubbles:  

Science:
One day I found M in his room with my set of small screwdrivers, taking apart flashlights and anything else he could think of. :)  He is definitely a budding scientist or engineer.

Creative Play:
For your amusement, here’s some self-portraits taken by M with my camera (I didn’t know about these until I uploaded the pics):   
I’m linking this up to Preschool Corner and Weekly Wrap-Up; be sure to check them out for some great school posts!

Have a beautiful day! :)

CSN Stores

If you are looking for anything from LED lighting to home decor or children’s beds, CSN Stores is the place to shop!  They have kindly offered me a chance to review another product from one of over 200 online stores!  How exciting!  I know what I’m going to review, let’s see if you can guess. :)  It is something in the ride-on toys section here.  It’s less than $80.00, which is a great deal!  Let me know what you think and there may even be a little prize for one of you in the near future! ;)

Have a beautiful day! :)

Book Review – Homeschooling for the Rest of Us, by Sonya Haskins

I found this to be a very encouraging and inspirational book, for homeschoolers as well as non-homeschoolers.   The author’s wisdom in general about raising children was extremely helpful.

She talks about healthy social skills, developing routines and schedules, appropriate chores for various ages, living with a sometimes messy home (and not becoming discouraged), and a host of other issues that any mom would most likely appreciate. 

All in all, Ms. Haskins does a great job of giving very down-to-earth advice for homeschoolers.  The tone of the book made her seem like a really competent friend, able to help keep homeschooling from being overwhelming.  She makes a point of reminding homeschoolers to not compare their children, their routine, their style, or their home with anyone else’s. 

This book is full of wonderful information, from how to deal with unsupportive relatives, to specific guidelines for what needs to be covered when homeschooling.  She has a website for more advice at thehomeschooladvocate.com. 

I highly recommend this book!  Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for sending me a free copy of this book to review.

Thank You

Thank you for all the sympathy and warm thoughts on the passing of my grandmother.  They are truly appreciated. 

We had a bit of a crazy time with the on-the-spur trip down and back, then we were home (trying to catch our breath) for about 3 days, then off again for the weekend of the 4th.  I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!  While it was hard to be so busy and not really able to settle back into our routine, it was nice to be with family and relax a bit.

Did you know I missed the one year anniversary of this blog (June 27th)?  It does not seem like a year has passed, and I’m so thankful, and a bit amazed, at the number of bloggy friends I’ve made.  You are all wonderful!  Thank you for reading this very silly little blog of mine. :)

Unexpected Break

My grandmother, the last of my grandparents, and M’s Great-Grandma, passed away yesterday.  We were expecting it for a few days, so it was not a complete surprise, but the sense of loss is very great.

So, we are racing around today, packing, doing laundry, going shopping for car snacks and coloring books, and for a while forgetting to be sad. 

We’ll leave this evening and be back sometime early next week, but I’m not sure when I’ll be back to blogging.  There’s a lot that needs to be done and I don’t foresee blogging for at least the next couple of weeks.

Take care, everyone! 

Magz Giveaway Winner!

The winner is Sewing Chick – # 27!

Congratulations!!  I’ll be in touch with you to get your address. :)

Book Review – Wild at Heart by John Eldredge

The subtitle for this book is “Discovering the Secret of a Man’s Soul”.  Well, what woman with husband and son wouldn’t appreciate knowing the secret of a man’s soul?!  I was really looking forward to reading this book.

The main point of this book, as I see it, is that men and boys have the need to be the hero.  They want to be brave and strong and adventurous.  This is all well and good and it has helped me understand my husband’s “need” to go hunting each fall, as well as my son’s need to play just a little on the dangerous side sometimes.  They want to be challenged, and know that they are up to the challenge.

However, the author went a bit overboard in my opinion.  His tone throughout the book seemed a bit derogatory towards “nice guys” who go to church – suggesting that they are bored, and that you can tell this simply by going to church and looking around.  Honestly, what is a man in church supposed to be doing that would make him seem more manly?  In my opinion, simply being there and being a role model to his children, is manly.

He mentions Mother Teresa in a couple of passages.  Once, when talking about the fact that many portraits of Jesus show him as being gentle and kind - “Kind of like Mother Teresa.”    Then he writes, “Telling me to be like [Jesus as pictured], feels like telling me to go limp and passive.  Be nice. Be swell. Be like Mother Teresa.”  How limp and passive was Mother Teresa??  I found this very insulting, and also proof that the author knows nothing about Mother Teresa and her courage.  How “nice” and “swell” was she in her Nobel award speech?  She had to have great courage to go among the poorest of the poor, tending lepers and other outcasts.  He does go on to say that Christ is the incarnation of tender mercy, but also brave enough to take on the Pharisees when they needed correction.   This, I suppose, is what all Christians are called to be – tenderly merciful when needed and brave when needed.  There were several things in the book that I felt were thoughtlessly written, but I don’t have the room to put them all down here.

The book was peppered with movie quotations and scenes, used to help explain the author’s view of what lies in a man’s heart… movies like Braveheart, Legends of the Fall, and Gladiator.  I haven’t done a count, but I feel like he used movies much more often than scripture passages to make his points.   It seemed a little strange to me that he would use movies made by fallen humans to describe God’s intention in creating men. 

Unfortunately I can’t recommend this book, unless one is willing to skip over half of the nonsense in it in order to learn something worthwhile about the men in their lives. 

Thank you to Thomas Nelson Publishers for sending me a free copy of this book to review.

The Art Box – June 21, 2010

 

More great picks from M last week for his art box – he chose part of an egg carton, a box of collage thingies, feathers, electrical tape, a small paint roller, dot stickers… and a lot of other things I can’t recall.  He’s an art maniac.  I’m sure this phase will pass though, so I’m trying to enjoy it!

 

Here’s a taste of what he made…

 

Remember how I couldn’t get him to do many bug crafts a couple of weeks ago?  Well one was a caterpillar from an egg carton.  He was not. interested.  No way.  But of course when it’s his idea, he’s all over it.  He thoroughly enjoyed making this caterpillar.  If you can call it a caterpillar, because, you know it has feathers and two faces.  But ok, it’s a caterpillar.

Front face:

back face:

 

He also had a fun time making tape resist paintings with the electrical tape.  I did this one time with him as a structured art project, and he’s never forgotten it. 

   

 

Thanks you for all the encouraging comments last week.  I was honestly expecting to hear that no one is interested, and your comments really meant a lot to me.   I’m feeling very blessed by all my online friendships.  Thanks, everyone, I appreciate you so much!

If you have a post you’d like to link up, look below!

Have a beautiful day! :)

Construction Toys – Review and Giveaway!

The great people at CSN Stores sent me the following 3 construction toys to review.  Their shipping was super fast and I’ve had no problem with their customer service.  One other product is on back order and they’ve been keeping me up to date on a regular basis, which is so much nicer than having to call or email them!

First off, something I’ve wanted to get M  for a long time – a set of magnetic construction pieces.  There are several to choose from, but I opted for this one because the pieces stick together well and there’s enough in this small set to keep a him happy and interested for a long time.  There are very small pieces, so this is definitely not a toy for someone still in the “put everything in my mouth” stage.  There are a lot of other sets made by Magz that we’ll be adding to this one as we go through birthdays and Christmases… it’s great to have sets like this that can grow along with your child and hold their interest as they get older.  M is fascinated with magnets, and this is a fun way to let him explore the many things magnets can do!

 

We also received two other construction sets – a box of Duplo blocks, and a Kid K’nex Railroad Pals set.  We already have many small Duplo sets to go with this 33 piece one, and M LOVES playing with these.  They are the perfect size for his hands and while they work those fine motor muscles, they aren’t so tiny that he finds it frustrating.  And Kid K’nex – well, what can I say?  We all love them.  We bought a set of Kid K’nex Buddies for M for Easter and we all had a blast putting them together and making all kinds of interesting creations.  And the great thing about this new set (Railroad Pals)?  It is compatible with Duplo!  Some of the pieces for the trains are similar to Duplo blocks and sure enough, they fit together.  So now we have a fantastic collection of various building materials to use in just these two sets! 

Now, for the giveaway part. :)  I am going to send one winner a set of 56 Magz, just like ours pictured above.  These are for ages 5 and up, but I feel comfortable letting my soon-to-be 4 year old play with them under supervision.  The contest is open to U.S. addresses only. (I know.  Sorry!) 

To enter, leave a comment below letting me know your favorite construction toy.  For an extra entry follow me (or let me know you are a follower/subscriber), and leave a comment letting me know.  For another extra entry, blog about this giveaway, then leave me a comment with the post url.

I’ll be picking a random winner on June 23rd!  Make sure to leave me an email address so I can reach you!

Have a beautiful day! :)

Do Simplicity, Focus, and Recollection Characterize your life?

No?  Huh.  Mine either.  But it kind of sounds nice, doesn’t it?

This is a question that I’ve been thinking about lately, and it came from a list that is used as an aid in an Examination of Conscience. 

An Examination of Conscience is pretty much what it sounds like – taking a few minutes at the end of the day to think about the choices and decisions you’ve made throughout the day, as well as your thoughts and actions, and seeing how they line up with what you believe is God’s will for your life.  Some things are pretty easy – the next time M sprinkles glitter all over the kitchen floor I’ll try to remember gentleness and patience are a better path to take than yelling and turning into Crazy Mommy.  And some things take a bit more soul-searching – did I spend my time wisely today?  Did laziness keep me from completing all the *reasonable* duties of the day, or was I honestly trying to do too much? 

It’s nice to do this on a daily basis – improvement in our (my!) spiritual life will only happen if we are conscious of our weaknesses.  

The main thing to remember in order to not get discouraged when I have several bad days in a row is that there is always grace.  Grace to start over again, and get back on track. 

 

Moderation in all Things

This aid in an Examination of Conscience was written by Joseph Michalak, and based on the virtues (patience, love, temperance, hope, faith, etc.).  It asks a series of questions for each particular virtue, and assists one in thinking about the day.  This particular question comes from the section on temperance, or balance – something we are always talking about and striving for, right?  That elusive balance that will make everything go smoothly and everyone happy forever and ever.  The end. :)

There are several other good questions in this section too; questions like…

• Do I live a blanced and integrated life?  Do I recognize the signs of imbalance?
• What is a healthy pace of life for me?
• Am I gentle, especially in teaching and in giving correction?
• Do I find myself preoccupied with what others think of me?
• Do I aim at excellence in those things God has given me to do?
• Am I at home with silence?

 

Tranquility of Mind

But the one in the title of this post is the one I can’t stop thinking about.  Do simplicity, focus, and recollection characterize my life? I wasn’t even sure what was meant by “recollection”.  Here’s the definition:

Main Entry: rec·ol·lec·tion

Pronunciation: \ˌre-kə-ˈlek-shən\

Function: noun

Date: 1624

1 a : tranquillity of mind b : religious contemplation

Life never seems simple, but why shouldn’t it be?  Why shouldn’t we be tranquil and given to contemplation?  Why should it be so hard to just say no to some things? 

 

Having a Plan

I love to plan.  I actually have been known to spend so much time and energy in making plans that I’m worn out before we even begin doing anything.  I think having a plan for our days is a good thing, to the extent that it brings a sense of order to our life and our home, and leads to simplicity and peace. 

However, this is seldom the case with my planning, and I know I’m not alone here.  Why does having a plan have to mean enrolling my child in every available activity this summer, and then spending time rushing around everywhere?  Sometimes we moms even get anxious if we are facing time alone with our children and have no set plan. 

Well.  I’ve started taking some decisive actions to begin living this kind of life.  It won’t happen all at once, and I’m sure things will have to be tweaked here and there, but I’m aiming for peace in my heart and in my home.  A lot of this will be changing habits, creating a more orderly home, freeing up time, being quieter and more thoughtful throughout the day, focusing on what’s important and trusting that God will help me do what’s necessary each day in order to meet this goal.  Or at least get close to it. ;)

I guess that’s my teaser for the series I’ll be writing detailing these changes.  Stay tuned!

Have a beautiful and peaceful day! :)