Approximately one year ago, my dear friend who also happens to be my neighbor, brought up the suggestion of doing a Date Night Swap. No, not swapping boyfriends or husbands, but babysitting for our kids. One weekend she goes out and I would watch her little girl and the next weekend my hubby and I go out and she would watch our son. This was the perfect situation because our children have to same schedule so the plan was always come to the person's house once the chickadees were asleep. Then life happened and she was blessed with a baby boy and we took a break from that......
Well when I became a Stay At Home Mom...Sort Of, I got a real quick reality check when I found my house was not spotless like I assumed it would be if I was not working outside the home. Amidst my frustration, the wheels got to spinning and I came up with another swap. "Day Time Swap"! I brought it up to my friend and we have been doing it for the past few months. We each take each other's kids for 3 hours once a week, rotating each week. I have got everything done from deep cleaning the kitchen to running errands like I did before I became a mommy. My friend also usually cleans up, but one day treated herself to a shopping trip (Bjorn in tow of course) and was in heaven. The best part is it works on either end. If you are watching the kids, you child gets a play mate AND the hours we chose includes lunch so when you pick up your kid or the other goes home, it's nap time.
I recommend this to anyone who has friends or a friend that you trust with a child the same age. Even start as a trial. It is the greatest thing ever. I am so grateful for my friend for coming up with the first swap, leaving me comfortable enough to suggest the second.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Adventures In Crafting: Shapes Week
This was another week that brought out the good ideas....and the cold virus.
Monday
I copied a craft I found online where you use Q-tips to create shapes. This was the best as it required no purchases.
Here I printed out connect the dots shapes for coloring. Just as I learned from my other crafts, he was clearly not able to draw the shapes. But I drew them and he began to recite the color and the shape so he still learned something.
Tuesday
I made play dough using this unimaginably easy recipe and leftover food coloring. Side note: I had such a good time making the dough, I had to force myself to stop after the third batch. I didn't have the right shape cookie cutters so I used a knife. He wasn't really interested in the play dough, but really focused on the shapes I had made. You see the pattern here...mommy has fun, CJ learns.
Wednesday
I finally got myself together enough to make pancakes in the morning and cut them into the shapes we're focusing on this week. For our activity, I cut sponges into basic shapes and put paint mixed with water (had to save the paint) onto plates and let him soak and smush away on sheets of printer paper I taped together. I also found pages online where there are hidden shapes and put them in a binder and even tried to make a story out of it.
By Thursday, the cold had overtook the household and we just tried to rest and keep him distracted from the fact that he wasn't going outside. I really had to be creative here.
Things I Learned:
1. Kids have endurance when they are sick so don't count them out.
2. When the kids are sick, rest, because you could be joining them soon.
Monday
I copied a craft I found online where you use Q-tips to create shapes. This was the best as it required no purchases.
Here I printed out connect the dots shapes for coloring. Just as I learned from my other crafts, he was clearly not able to draw the shapes. But I drew them and he began to recite the color and the shape so he still learned something.
Tuesday
I made play dough using this unimaginably easy recipe and leftover food coloring. Side note: I had such a good time making the dough, I had to force myself to stop after the third batch. I didn't have the right shape cookie cutters so I used a knife. He wasn't really interested in the play dough, but really focused on the shapes I had made. You see the pattern here...mommy has fun, CJ learns.
Wednesday
I finally got myself together enough to make pancakes in the morning and cut them into the shapes we're focusing on this week. For our activity, I cut sponges into basic shapes and put paint mixed with water (had to save the paint) onto plates and let him soak and smush away on sheets of printer paper I taped together. I also found pages online where there are hidden shapes and put them in a binder and even tried to make a story out of it.
By Thursday, the cold had overtook the household and we just tried to rest and keep him distracted from the fact that he wasn't going outside. I really had to be creative here.
Things I Learned:
1. Kids have endurance when they are sick so don't count them out.
2. When the kids are sick, rest, because you could be joining them soon.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Adventures In Crafting: Week of Five Senses
This was my favorite theme thus far. I came up with so many ideas of how to make this into crafts and games for my son.
Monday
The day of Taste. This was the best of the five as it was so fun to observe. It was pretty simple, I searched around the house to see what types of foods we had and what type of flavor it produced and quickly made labels and cut. I put them in whatever container was cleaned and lined them up in a way that would be appealing to my son and he went to work. I think he only absorbed the concept of sweet, but it was so hilarious to watch his facial expressions after he tasted the different flavors. Despite the look from tasting the lemon and lime, he kept trying it. I was on the floor laughing hysterically because he just crawled back and forth on the table trying the lemon and then the lime.
The sense for this day was Sight. After a morning attending his first art class, we ended the day with a glue the eyes on the face craft. I printed clipart blank faces (making sure I at least had a male and female face) and printed different color eyes on card stock and cut them. I had to throw in the plastic eyes that move, because they are his favorite.
Here we went into my closet, the only room than can be made dark in the day time, where I used a flashlight to create different visual images. Believe it or not, each of these activities lasted only like 15 minutes. He was not fully sold.
Wednesday
Touch, was the theme of the day. It was also my turn to watch my friend and neighbor's daughter so we added an extra activity in, baking cookies. It was so fun and the cookies were delicious. Then I did a simple game with my son where I put different textured items in a brown paper bag and let him dig in. He totally ignored the descriptions, but that didn't stop me from narrating every time he went into a new bag.
Thursday and Friday became free days. Although I had hearing and smelling activities planned, mommy had some work to do. A visit from the grandparents kept him entertained while I got to work. Fortunately he has his My Gym class on Thursdays for his organized activity.
Things I learned:
1. Just because I am excited about a craft or activity does not necessarily mean it'll go over well with my two year old
2. Not age appropriate, doesn't mean he won't have fun with it.
3. If you have things to get done, do so. The children will survive.
Monday
The day of Taste. This was the best of the five as it was so fun to observe. It was pretty simple, I searched around the house to see what types of foods we had and what type of flavor it produced and quickly made labels and cut. I put them in whatever container was cleaned and lined them up in a way that would be appealing to my son and he went to work. I think he only absorbed the concept of sweet, but it was so hilarious to watch his facial expressions after he tasted the different flavors. Despite the look from tasting the lemon and lime, he kept trying it. I was on the floor laughing hysterically because he just crawled back and forth on the table trying the lemon and then the lime.
I also created a book showing him how other animals eat.
Tuesday
Here we went into my closet, the only room than can be made dark in the day time, where I used a flashlight to create different visual images. Believe it or not, each of these activities lasted only like 15 minutes. He was not fully sold.
Wednesday
Touch, was the theme of the day. It was also my turn to watch my friend and neighbor's daughter so we added an extra activity in, baking cookies. It was so fun and the cookies were delicious. Then I did a simple game with my son where I put different textured items in a brown paper bag and let him dig in. He totally ignored the descriptions, but that didn't stop me from narrating every time he went into a new bag.
Thursday and Friday became free days. Although I had hearing and smelling activities planned, mommy had some work to do. A visit from the grandparents kept him entertained while I got to work. Fortunately he has his My Gym class on Thursdays for his organized activity.
Things I learned:
1. Just because I am excited about a craft or activity does not necessarily mean it'll go over well with my two year old
2. Not age appropriate, doesn't mean he won't have fun with it.
3. If you have things to get done, do so. The children will survive.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Adventures In Crafting: Pumpkin Week
Between being sick and choosing a theme that left me appearing like a deer caught in the headlights, Pumpkin Week wasn't an out of the park hit. It started off promising with a wonderful trip to Underwood Family Farms, but fizzled out after pumpkin painting. I still hung in there to get through the week by perseverance and relying on oldies, but goodies.
Monday
Daddy took off and joined us for a wonderful trip to Underwood Family Farms. CJ loved it! There are pumpkins, rides for kids, farm animals, and a corn maze. I had planned for theme weeks to end in a trip, but this place costs $12 per person on the weekends and that includes the munckin. But during the week, it only cost us $9 and we used last years leftover tickets for the rides. This was well worth switching up the schedule.
Tuesday
We picked a mini pumpkin for our little one so it wouldn't be to overwhelming to handle and paint. This project made me second guess using paint as a craft with this little guy.
Wednesday
I attempted to copy Play At Home Moms with the pumpkin magnet and tried to take it in a cheap direction and this one did not work out too well. The magnets didn't stick well and he ended up just pulling them off the paper and the fridge. It did, however keep him occupied for a second. This day was when I reintroduced an activity from last week.
Using the picture board I made and the Woodsie cut-outs. He had to match the letter blocks with the corresponding pictures. Although I had to point out most pictures and tell him the letter, he got a few on his own. I couldn't believe he actually had the patience to finish the whole board!
Thursday
Stamp day or should I say Diaster day. It started off with me trying to have him make pumpkin stamps on white paper with different color ink and, well, you can see the pictures.
I also made a box tunnel, an idea I've adapted from several blogs and articles. It was actually a hit, but I struggled adding the features I wanted. It was supposed to have pumpkin lights inside. He loved it though. We ended up playing "mommy chase me into the box". The day was also filled up with a trip to the store.
Friday
This was I am totally over it day. I just took him to a local playroom and watched him enjoy himself. I joined in intermittently to encourage pretend play.
Things I Learned:
1. Take time to learn what is age appropriate.
2. When in doubt rely on the basics
3. Come up with rainy day ideas (this includes mommy sick days)
4. Some activities won't work the cheap way, so don't be to proud to skip it.
5. Kids, unlike us, get pleasure out of simple things so if something doesn't work perfectly give yourself a break.
Monday
Daddy took off and joined us for a wonderful trip to Underwood Family Farms. CJ loved it! There are pumpkins, rides for kids, farm animals, and a corn maze. I had planned for theme weeks to end in a trip, but this place costs $12 per person on the weekends and that includes the munckin. But during the week, it only cost us $9 and we used last years leftover tickets for the rides. This was well worth switching up the schedule.
Tuesday
Wednesday
I attempted to copy Play At Home Moms with the pumpkin magnet and tried to take it in a cheap direction and this one did not work out too well. The magnets didn't stick well and he ended up just pulling them off the paper and the fridge. It did, however keep him occupied for a second. This day was when I reintroduced an activity from last week.
Using the picture board I made and the Woodsie cut-outs. He had to match the letter blocks with the corresponding pictures. Although I had to point out most pictures and tell him the letter, he got a few on his own. I couldn't believe he actually had the patience to finish the whole board!
Thursday
Stamp day or should I say Diaster day. It started off with me trying to have him make pumpkin stamps on white paper with different color ink and, well, you can see the pictures.
I also made a box tunnel, an idea I've adapted from several blogs and articles. It was actually a hit, but I struggled adding the features I wanted. It was supposed to have pumpkin lights inside. He loved it though. We ended up playing "mommy chase me into the box". The day was also filled up with a trip to the store.
Friday
This was I am totally over it day. I just took him to a local playroom and watched him enjoy himself. I joined in intermittently to encourage pretend play.
Things I Learned:
1. Take time to learn what is age appropriate.
2. When in doubt rely on the basics
3. Come up with rainy day ideas (this includes mommy sick days)
4. Some activities won't work the cheap way, so don't be to proud to skip it.
5. Kids, unlike us, get pleasure out of simple things so if something doesn't work perfectly give yourself a break.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
To Chaperon Or Not To Chaperon
After a recent event, my plan to always chaperon my child's field trips was reinforced to a great extent. My husband and I took our son on a trip to Underwood Family Farms (for Pumpkin week) and it was amazing as usual. My husband sent my son down a makeshift slide from farm equipment. I looked up the slide trying to figure out what was taking him so long and it seemed like my husband was grabbing at something, a kid. Next thing I know he is coming down the stairs holding the hands of a child that was crying uncontrollably. She was so adorable with her little glasses, it broke my heart.
It turns out she was on a school trip and lost her group and was pinned at the top of the slide due to impatient children pushing past her. Fortunately for us, she was wearing the school shirt so it was only a matter of minutes before we found matching red shirts and reunited her with the group. When I approached them and they saw her they said "oh my goodness, we were looking for her" and they asked her "where were you". One of the teachers said she followed another group and that is how she got lost. The poor little girl was still in tears and hysterical. She was probably 7 years old or so and very tiny. We left her and the whole time I was holding back tears. Then I became almost instantly angry. I realized they did not appear to be looking for her. Her mother sent her on a trip thinking she was safe and that the school would take good care of her. She could have been snatched in moments by a predator. This led me to think about a few things. One, I will always make sure myself or my husband chaperon a trip. Two, what if a parent can't chaperon. What can they do? I thought about what I would do, ask their methods of keeping the children together. Ask how man children a going and how many adults. If it seems not enough adults for he amount of children, see if more can be recruited. Know where they are going and every detail about the place. I know I have to let my child grow and can't hover too much, but will try to protect him as much as possible.
It turns out she was on a school trip and lost her group and was pinned at the top of the slide due to impatient children pushing past her. Fortunately for us, she was wearing the school shirt so it was only a matter of minutes before we found matching red shirts and reunited her with the group. When I approached them and they saw her they said "oh my goodness, we were looking for her" and they asked her "where were you". One of the teachers said she followed another group and that is how she got lost. The poor little girl was still in tears and hysterical. She was probably 7 years old or so and very tiny. We left her and the whole time I was holding back tears. Then I became almost instantly angry. I realized they did not appear to be looking for her. Her mother sent her on a trip thinking she was safe and that the school would take good care of her. She could have been snatched in moments by a predator. This led me to think about a few things. One, I will always make sure myself or my husband chaperon a trip. Two, what if a parent can't chaperon. What can they do? I thought about what I would do, ask their methods of keeping the children together. Ask how man children a going and how many adults. If it seems not enough adults for he amount of children, see if more can be recruited. Know where they are going and every detail about the place. I know I have to let my child grow and can't hover too much, but will try to protect him as much as possible.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Adventures In Crafting: Alphabet Week-Day 5
Whew, I made it through our first week of crafting and it was awesome. It's hard to imagine I began the week stressed, overwhelmed, and scared that I couldn't be THAT mom. CJ finally played the picture letter matching board game! What a way to end the week, my perseverance paid off. We went slightly off schedule today with a lot more independent play time than planned, but I was o.k. with that.
My awesome husband cut the Woodsie panels, this idea I got from the Play At Home Moms blog. We did not use this this week.
Here, my son finally started playing the picture match game. I was freaking out with excitement and probably became overly enthusiastic as usual. I would tell him the item in the picture and tell him the letter it started with and he would find the letter on the board and place the picture. Some pictures he described himself, but the best part is he actually went through the board in its entirety.
Our craft for the day was noodles and the letter 'N'. He loved pouring these ones out.
Next week is pumpkin week and I have decided that I will just consolidate the Adventures In Crafting series into one weekly post. It is a lot to do a daily recap with a toddler and other projects. See I am learning time management and how to let things go.
Things I learned: When you find the right game, they can really focus.
If, somehow, one manages to keep a child focused for a long period of time,
a break should follow immediately to give them some free time to just be a
toddler.
Our craft for the day was noodles and the letter 'N'. He loved pouring these ones out.
Next week is pumpkin week and I have decided that I will just consolidate the Adventures In Crafting series into one weekly post. It is a lot to do a daily recap with a toddler and other projects. See I am learning time management and how to let things go.
Things I learned: When you find the right game, they can really focus.
If, somehow, one manages to keep a child focused for a long period of time,
a break should follow immediately to give them some free time to just be a
toddler.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Old School Learning
I was in the kitchen prepping a delicious vegetable dip when I remembered that I could use this as an activity or teaching moment. So instead of just measuring ingredients and throwing them in the blender I started putting things into the measuring cups and lining them up so it would look interesting to a two year old. I grabbed a chair and pulled it up to the counter and called my son in with excitement saying "Ooh look what mommy has for you. Do you want to help mommy?" He ran over with excitement, mainly for being able to "push the button". I had him pour each cup in one at a time and then he was given the task of turning on the blender. In no time flat I taught my son how to help with cooking, the act of pouring, recognizing numbers (on the blender dial), and how to do things one at a time. Not to mention, I got some cooking done. It's nice to be able to take it back to the simple things when it is so easy to get overwhelmed and go overboard on new ways to teach the little ones.
Adventures In Crafting: Alphabet Week - Day 4
Thursday was a day of hits and misses. The letter of the day was 'C' and I had planned three activities. Today was also My Gym day which I love. It got us out of the house and I am very pleased with their program for his age and I absolutely love the instructors. Lucky for me one of them is male so I think that is good for my son. I am realizing now that most programs for toddlers are scheduled around the average toddler schedule because everything we do starts between 10:00 am and 10:30 am. I feel like the stars lined up for me on that or I just happen to choose a standard schedule for my child. Anyway, 12:00 pm is lunch and around 1:00 pm nap. While Connor napped I set up one of the activities, "Letters Around The House". I cut out large capital letters on my Cricut (you'll probably see that name a lot with these crafting projects) and taped them to items corresponding with that letter around the house. Once CJ was up at around 2:45 pm, an almost two hour nap which is a treat for me, his gets a snack and free/independent play. I set up the next craft which was cotton balls that are to be glued on the letter 'C' and I made a paper bag puppet cow to add some entertainment to the day. I have become so obsessed with the puppet idea. When the issue came up to introduce social aspects to my son's education, I realized I can use puppets. Well before I could get started CJ recognized the letters and I began taking him around the house to find the letters. He went ballistic. He loved it. He was so excited and running to find the next one and of course I began running as well, because this seemed to be a hit and that brought me an uncontrollable joy.
As expected at craft time it was dump everything out and put back in time again. He did seem to show some interest in the cotton balls and their texture. He kept trying to get back into the paint container during the whole process. Caliapi the Cow (yep I gave it a name) just seemed to weird him out so I am figuring out at this point puppets may not be for him. This craft did not last long and he got antsy so I had him help me clean up. While cleaning up I had come up with pretending the 99 cent table cloth is a wave of water and I go hopping around the house making waves with it. He loves it. Anyway, the rest of the evening went like this:
5:15 pm - Dinner
5:30 pm - Sesame St.
6:30 pm - Milk and Cookies
7:00 pm - Medicine (he has asthma)
7:20 pm - Story in Bed
7:35 pm - Sleepy time
Things I learned: Some kids just don't like everything despite how standard some things seem to be.
As expected at craft time it was dump everything out and put back in time again. He did seem to show some interest in the cotton balls and their texture. He kept trying to get back into the paint container during the whole process. Caliapi the Cow (yep I gave it a name) just seemed to weird him out so I am figuring out at this point puppets may not be for him. This craft did not last long and he got antsy so I had him help me clean up. While cleaning up I had come up with pretending the 99 cent table cloth is a wave of water and I go hopping around the house making waves with it. He loves it. Anyway, the rest of the evening went like this:
5:15 pm - Dinner
5:30 pm - Sesame St.
6:30 pm - Milk and Cookies
7:00 pm - Medicine (he has asthma)
7:20 pm - Story in Bed
7:35 pm - Sleepy time
Things I learned: Some kids just don't like everything despite how standard some things seem to be.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Adventures In Crafting: Alphabet Week-Day 3
O.k., I am truly on a roll. This craft day I was most excited about and to top it all off, we had an outing since I dubbed CJ well enough to be around other children (I thought he had a cold). The day started off with the standard routine, but at 10:00 am instead of starting a craft or whatever activity I had planned, we were off to the library for story time. We arrived back home around 12:00 pm so it was already time for lunch. He had free play with my phone apps. This means, it's whichever game he likes most rather than theme of the week related. Fortunately for me, I only have apps for him that stimulate learning. The ones he happens to like are these puzzle apps which require dexterity, skill, and patience. It freaks me out how well he plays them. I do consider them along the lines of television so it is limited in the schedule. Then it was nap time. After nap there is independent play and then I set up for craft #2. This was by far my favorite. The letter of the day was 'B' so that meant buttons and his favorite, butterflies. I cut out tiny butterflies that were to be used to decorate the letter 'B' I had printed on paper and a giant butterfly onto which he would hopefully glue buttons.
The outcome, CJ just played a game he created called "Dump The Buttons Out Of The Container And Put Them Back". He shouted butterfly over and over again. I got him to participate slightly by handing me buttons to glue onto the big butterfly. I also tried a repeat of using the pipe cleaners to make the letter 'B' and decided to make glasses which I was requested to wear for a significant portion of the day. Once again the craft lasted a significant amount of time, he helped me put the buttons away and the day just flew by with dinner, an hour of Sesame Street, and an alphabet bath (with alpha sponges) which he loved completing the day. Yay, I really feel like I am getting less stressed and enjoying this time more than ever.
Things I Learned: Having an outing incorporated into the day really allows me to reduce the amount of
crafts and activities I have to prepare at home. It also provides for a more balanced
day
Adventures in Crafting: Alphabet Week-Day 2
In the wake of Monday's failed events, I went into Tuesday with lowered expectations. My schedule was already planned out, but as I have been noticing since I had began creating these MS Excel based schedules they serve merely as a guide and nothing more. It keeps me focused and less scattered brained than I would be without one. CJ woke up around 7:00 am and since the Valley is blazing hot, we try to get him outside as soon as possible. I then decided to skip pushing the picture match game and let him play out back for a little longer. By 11:30 am I busted out the craft box. This was insanely exciting to me as this is our first home craft and I actually have a craft box for my son.
This day was letter A so I used the craft from an online website, I will post the link later, where they suggested making alligators by painting clothes pins green. I thought this was an awesome idea and it was only partly because I already had clothespins in my personal craft box. Well, to my surprise this one went well. By well I mean I coaxed CJ into painting a little, but he was more excited about stacking the paint strips. I had pipe cleaners in one of the boxes and ended up shaping the letter "A" and he loved that. I took this as a win and it took up way more time than I expected and I even threw in teaching how to clean up. Aside from letting him play only alphabet apps on my phone and playing all alphabet songs for a few minutes, those were the only alphabet activities that took for the day.
Things I Learned: Go with the flow
Make up as you go along, it's more fun and organic
Any acknowledgement of the craft is considered
participation
This day was letter A so I used the craft from an online website, I will post the link later, where they suggested making alligators by painting clothes pins green. I thought this was an awesome idea and it was only partly because I already had clothespins in my personal craft box. Well, to my surprise this one went well. By well I mean I coaxed CJ into painting a little, but he was more excited about stacking the paint strips. I had pipe cleaners in one of the boxes and ended up shaping the letter "A" and he loved that. I took this as a win and it took up way more time than I expected and I even threw in teaching how to clean up. Aside from letting him play only alphabet apps on my phone and playing all alphabet songs for a few minutes, those were the only alphabet activities that took for the day.
Things I Learned: Go with the flow
Make up as you go along, it's more fun and organic
Any acknowledgement of the craft is considered
participation
Adventures In Crafting: Alphabet Week Day 1
So it's day one of my attempt to introduce a curriculum into my two year old's daily life. This week is alphabet week. The plan is to do alphabets and crafts relating to the alphabet all week. I began shopping for the crafts on Sunday after I spent all of Saturday evening coming up with ideas and man was it stressful. I also had to stick to a budget and couldn't just go buy anything my heart desired.
The plan was to start with an activity which I feel was an original creation but, as I have learned, I am sure it was an idea that I came across at some point in my research that penetrated my brain and hid. I made up a game where I was going to collect pictures from the internet that cover the whole alphabet and post them on a board. CJ would then use alphabet blocks to connect with each picture. Keep in mind. This was the plan so I stayed up pretty late using a book to make a grid on the poster board because apparently in my shopping haste and excitement I forgot I would need a ruler at some point. I then used a marker to make the lines pop and make the board more exciting and colorful my munchkin. Before I knew it, it was too late and I was exhausted so I never got the pictures glued onto the board and I hadn't bought the Woodsie blocks for to paste on the letters.
The next morning, when it was almost time (on the schedule) to play "Match the Picture with The Letter", I realized I didn't have a lot of time to glue the pictures on so I came up with writing the letters in the spots where the pictures go (I wanted to keep them in alpha order to reduce confusion) so I can be more efficient in my pasting. Well that led to a new game, "Help Mommy Paste The Pictures On Their Corresponding Letter". Well I wouldn't use the word corresponding with my two year old. Ha Ha.
As you can see from the picture, CJ found it more enjoyable to get on top of the board and point out the letters. After a few minutes of coming up with creative ways to coax my son into playing the game with no luck. I put the board away. Maybe we can try again later, I thought.
I was not prepared with my planned alligator craft so the day ended with me having to go to Wal-Mart to get more crafts, finding alphabet music and playing that for him, and his usual free play apps on my phone and sesame street. I did continue to make attempts to play my picture letter game to no avail. At the end of the day I felt defeated, but with the drive to do better next time and some valuable lessens learned
Things I Learned: Know that all crafts and games will not take, be patient.
You can actually come up with multiple ways to play with crafts based on how the child
reacts or their interests.
Be prepared ahead of time
The plan was to start with an activity which I feel was an original creation but, as I have learned, I am sure it was an idea that I came across at some point in my research that penetrated my brain and hid. I made up a game where I was going to collect pictures from the internet that cover the whole alphabet and post them on a board. CJ would then use alphabet blocks to connect with each picture. Keep in mind. This was the plan so I stayed up pretty late using a book to make a grid on the poster board because apparently in my shopping haste and excitement I forgot I would need a ruler at some point. I then used a marker to make the lines pop and make the board more exciting and colorful my munchkin. Before I knew it, it was too late and I was exhausted so I never got the pictures glued onto the board and I hadn't bought the Woodsie blocks for to paste on the letters.
The next morning, when it was almost time (on the schedule) to play "Match the Picture with The Letter", I realized I didn't have a lot of time to glue the pictures on so I came up with writing the letters in the spots where the pictures go (I wanted to keep them in alpha order to reduce confusion) so I can be more efficient in my pasting. Well that led to a new game, "Help Mommy Paste The Pictures On Their Corresponding Letter". Well I wouldn't use the word corresponding with my two year old. Ha Ha.
As you can see from the picture, CJ found it more enjoyable to get on top of the board and point out the letters. After a few minutes of coming up with creative ways to coax my son into playing the game with no luck. I put the board away. Maybe we can try again later, I thought.
I was not prepared with my planned alligator craft so the day ended with me having to go to Wal-Mart to get more crafts, finding alphabet music and playing that for him, and his usual free play apps on my phone and sesame street. I did continue to make attempts to play my picture letter game to no avail. At the end of the day I felt defeated, but with the drive to do better next time and some valuable lessens learned
Things I Learned: Know that all crafts and games will not take, be patient.
You can actually come up with multiple ways to play with crafts based on how the child
reacts or their interests.
Be prepared ahead of time
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Stay At Home Mom.....Kind of
On July 30, 2012 at about 11:00 am, I became a stay at home mom and it was not by choice. First and foremost being with my child every day is heaven on earth. I didn't think it was possible, but I actually became more attached and more obsessed with him. Shortly into this new change came the shock that being a stay at home mom was nothing like I thought. My house was supposed to be spotless. I would have dinner ready for my husband every night and I would make him breakfast and pack his lunch and blah blah blah. Of course the veteran STAHMs are laughing at me or maybe those super ones are like what's the problem. I first got caught up in taking my son every where. I wanted to keep him active and social. My son is a little slow on the social interaction and I was determined to change that....apparently immediately. Previously my husband was at home with him during the day and of course men are a little (or a lot) more relaxed. He had a daddy and me group, but that was the gist. I was initially so overwhelmed; feeling like I was failing at my new "job". Also, FYI, at the end of the day after I put CJ to bed I was exhausted and trying to figure out why the day felt harder than when I was working. To exacerbate the stress, I had come to the realization that we may not be able to start him at pre-school when we thought which is three years old and maybe not at all or not until four. We are talking over $400 per month for part time and over $800 per month for full time. The next step for an overachieving, Type A person like myself that meant becoming a pre-school teacher asap. After speaking with a mom friend we kind of came up with the idea of planning a schedule for the whole month of October. And with each week, there would be a theme. I researched a lot of blogs and websites and went crazy. I dove in head first and became overwhelmed and depressed and stressed especially after looking at this website: http://playathomemom3.blogspot.com/ It is awesome, but as one of the moms point out they often have housekeepers and clearly the finances to facilitate all that they post. Of course, that disclaimer went in one ear and out the other and I just panicked. Fast forward to now and I am starting to realize I have to let some things go. As a kind of stay at home mom, the kind of refers to the fact that I am trying to establish a new career, I have to realize you have to create a balance and be realistic.
