Leaders Who Last :: If I took a guess, I'd say that 87% of leaders want to quit what they're doing 92% of the time. So I'm gonna read this book to give me a 36% improvement over the discouragement and depression that plagues me 45% of the time. You follow that? Oh, me neither.
YouTube in Music Education :: I've said it once and I'll say it again--I could not, would not, homeschool if it wasn't for the internet. Not only does it fill in the volcanic craters gaps from my own education, but it supplements my kids' classes as well.
Wicked: The Grimmerie :: Our entire family is entranced with the musical "Wicked." And this is the behind-the-scenes look at the broadway production. And it's just full of win.
In the interest of full disclosure, no one asked me to promote these resources. But if you do click those links and buy something on the amazon site, I get a minuscule percentage of the purchase. The earnings I receive by being an affiliate help feed my family addiction of throwing pennies in a fountain twice a year.
A few years back, I realized that Easter needed a bit more hoopla to keep up with its rival holiday--Christmas.
I also said to myself: "If plastic eggs were good enough for Jesus, they're good enough for me."
So, I set out to buy a set of the historically traditional Resurrection Eggs. If you're not familiar with the concept--these 12 plastic eggs are filled with small, symbolic items that tell the true Easter story. But I soon discovered that the sticker shock of the pre-made Resurrection Eggs was enough to make Jesus die and rise from the dead again.
Lisa, you are awful. Just awful.
So, I took my cheapskate, resourceful self and made my own set of Resurrection Eggs. And now I'm sharing my do-it-yourself page with you:
The 12 eggs are easy to assemble--just collect 11 items (#12 egg is left empty, clever clever!) you probably already have at home, print and cut out the page of verses, and stick the items and slips of paper in the eggs.
I recommend numbering each egg with a sharpie--to keep the eggs in order and to therefore, lessen the Mama Madness.
Over the years, our family has talked through an egg a day for the 12 days leading up to Easter. Or, on those years where I had too many kids and too few brain cells, we've played hide-and-seek with the eggs, and then read through them all in one day. That one day was usually Easter, except for the years I was really out of it (*cough* *most of them*) but eventually got around to reading through the eggs a week or seven past the holiday.
But regardless. The eggs have always been a great tool for teaching my kids (and me!) the main points of the Easter story.
PPS: For best printing results, do not print the verses straight from the web. Save the picture (jpg) to your computer, and print from there. If you're fussy and want a super-clean copy--which is what *I'd* want--just e-mail me and I'll ship a pdf right backatchya.
I'm going crazy raising my third munchkin these days. She's the third of three kids I've not sent off to an "official" preschool.
Now, before ya getcher pretty smocks all in a wad and start flinging paint, I want to preface this post by saying: I'm a big fan of preschool. It can be a win-win for parent and child alike. But it doesn't work for everyone--usually because of philosophical, financial or logistical reasons.
This post is for those in that boat. In my case, it's a boat that likes to go nowhere and has zero to no need for human interaction.
How can that not be awesome?
Let me back up a bit.
By the time my beloved first child was old enough for preschool, I didn't have the energy to cart him around town right when my second babe needed to be fed, needed a nap, or needed to scream for ten minutes about the war in Iraq. (At least that's what I assumed the fuss was about.) I figured I could stay at home, save money, and do a pretty-okay job of teaching my boy what he needed to know. After all, I knew my colors. Most of them.
So, for a know-it-all, reclusive cheapskate like me--preschool at home is what worked. It can work for you, too--and I'm here to help make that happen.
Here are three things to consider when keeping your preschooler at home:
Engage the brain.
With books: Read, read, read. It's fun, first of all. Good for bonding, secondly. And all that exposure to language does amazing things in the child's mind. I like to work from a reading list to help weed out the twaddle and get to the good stuff. Many lists are online--my favorites are Sonlight age 3/4, Sonlight age 4/5, and The Read-Aloud Handbook. However, I also think it's fine to just pop by the library and pick up a big ol' stack of books.
By teaching the basics: If you're reading to your child, this will take care of itself. Colors, numbers, concepts, and vocabulary. As for writing skills, I don't recommend focusing on that til age four. Before then, it's like teaching a pig to sing--it wastes your time and annoys the pig. But when the pig child is ready, the best resource I've found is the Developing the Early Learner series (books one, two, three, and four). Please trust me when I say the workbooks sold at the big box stores are a waste of time and money. The Developing the Early Learner series is a delight to work through and is effective at teaching pre-reading and pre-writing skills.
Encourage the heart.
By fostering a respect for adults: Oh, listen. This concept right here is ten-ty billion times more important than making sure your kids are "smart." Let me just say from personal experience that a preschooler who is not taught to listen and follow instructions soon becomes a grade schooler who doesn't want to listen or follow instructions. And you know what a child has to do in order to learn? LISTEN and FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS.
By teaching them to respect other kids: This is where siblings and playdates come in pretty handy. Maybe I'm a micro-manager, (MAYBE?!) but I like to be present when my darling little preschooler plays fights with her pals. That way I can use the immediate moment to walk my child through a better way to handle the situation. Did I mention my children are perfect? Well, no, but they have plenty of opportunities to learn how to respect other kids.
Enjoy the moment. You know, I do spend a part of each day going banonkers. But I also spend a part of each day soaking up the things that make preschoolers so sweet: squashy little hands, made-up silly words, and an excitement for the most mundane things of life. It took me until my third child (slow! learner!) to relax about the academic thing and simply enjoy my girl for who she is.
What I like about those three points is that they all overlap, and fit naturally and easily into a life at home. With each of my three kids, doing preschool at home has been well worth the time, money, and effort I've put into it (and it's not that much). You can do it too!
In the interest of full disclosure, no one asked me to promote these resources. But if you do click the amazon links and buy something on the site, I get a minuscule percentage of the purchase. The earnings I receive by being an affiliate help feed my family addiction of throwing pennies in a fountain twice a year.
Back in the throes of new parenthood, hubs and I were clueless idiots would take ten-hour road trips to the Smokys. We loved the mountains, we could afford the gas, and we were young enough that our bladders, legs, and buns could sit for hours at a time. What we didn't know, but soon found out, was that a six-month-old babe could not sit in a car for hours at a time. Instead, he was like an eighty-five-year-old man who needed naps, diaper changes, and reruns of M*A*S*H.
I'm convinced that when God knit my firstborn kid in the womb, he stitched in a couple extra rows of belligerence for good measure. Because just when we needed that boy to settle in for the ride, he'd get a case of The Screams. And he'd scream and scream at that pitch that'd make me want to take a ball bat to my ears. And to the car, and to my ovaries, and to hubs sitting calmly behind the wheel.
It was in one of those moments of hell desperation that hubs started quoting a board book. And then I joined in, reciting Sandra Boynton like she was the lullaby god herself. We knew at that point we had crossed the bridge to Freakytown, but who cared! The red-faced beet in the seat had shut up! And we continued to "read books" to him until the foul mood of all three of us had passed.
I learned early on that even amongst board books, there was good literature and bad. After one read through, the book would either get tossed out the door or put nicely on the shelf tossed on the floor to be read again, again, and again.
Here are ten board books I can recite in my sleep. No doubt when I'm eighty-five, I'll be doing just that in the old folks' home.
In the interest of full disclosure, no one asked me to promote these resources. But if you do click those links and buy something on the amazon site, I get a minuscule percentage of the purchase. The earnings I receive by being an affiliate help feed my family addiction of throwing pennies in a fountain twice a year.
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books
is a great place to start.
