Category Archives: education

Dec 11 2012

Christmas Performance at Preschool

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Ladybug had a Christmas performance at preschool this morning. She was soo cute. All of the girls and boys in her class were dressed as little elves. There were also angels, reindeer, and Santas in other classes.  Each child was adorable in the costumes they had made. I think my favorite were the painted on red noses that a few reindeer had. Each class sang a few popular Christmas songs including Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Ladybug did a fantastic job and smiled the entire time. I just wish I had a better seat to capture the special memory.

I tried to get to the school early but then I remembered a little bit before it was time to go that my phone was almost full and I wouldn’t be able to take any pictures or videos. I quickly plugged it in and started transferring all of the images to my computer so that I could make space for new pictures and videos from the performance.

It took 18 minutes to move it all which put me behind schedule. I ended up getting to the school about 5 minutes before the show started. That meant that I had a crappy seat and it was hard to see over every person in front of me with their cameras held high. Note to self, clean out the camera ahead of time and always plan to be at school shows at least 30 to 45 minutes early if I want to get a decent seat.

Oct 6 2012

Crazy Outfits Kids Choose to Wear

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I like to let Ladybug choose what she wants to wear to school.  Some days she matches and other days well let’s just say she is proud of her selections.  She’s even asked to wear some of her dress up clothes to school.  I’ll let her wear most anything she wants as long as it will not be a distraction to her or any of the other children at school.  I would not let her go to school in a pony costume or something crazy like that because I know all of the focus would be on the costume and not on learning.

I have seen some crazy outfit choices over the past years.  As long as she’s happy that’s really all that matters to me.  If she wants to wear a purple polk-a-dot shirt with a green skirt and hot pink leggings, then so be it.

It’s important to me that I give her choices and that she be allowed to have some control over things in her daily life.  Now, I’m not going to let her decide everything, just a few small things that will make her feel independent and like her opinion matters and that she can make a difference in her own life.

Sep 24 2012

Get Creative with School Lunches

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Do you give your child a sandwich for lunch every single day?  well I’m going to give you some tips to make those lunches more exciting, even if you still pack a sandwich every single day.

  • Add some color to each lunch.  Vibrant colors look appetizing and make my mouth water. Include fruits and veggies of contrasting colors.  The more colors you have the larger the variety of nutrients your child will be getting as well.
  • Accessorize with food picks, wrappers, and silicon cups. Bento style lunches make use of these tools and make lunches into works of art.
  • Include a character. if your son or daughter likes Mickey Mouse try using items like cheese to cut out shapes that resemble him or whatever character of your choosing.
  • Give your lunch a theme. Maybe one day try packing a lunch that only has food that starts with the same letter, or is the same color. Or cut everything into the same shape.
  • Sandwich cutters can turn an ordinary sandwich into something exciting just by changing the shape.  I have a collection of sandwich cutters for Ladybug to chose from.  We even have tiny sandwich cutters.  I like that kind that turn your sandwich into a pocket sandwich by sealing the edges of the bread.  This helps to prevent all of the inside fillings from going all over the lunch box or all over tiny hands.  I’ve gotten most of mine from amazon and ebay for great prices.

 

Aug 25 2012

Preparing Your Child for Preschool

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It’s almost time for Ladybug to go to school..  I’ve been preparing her for what to expect and we have been talking about it more and more as the time draws closer.  I thought I would share with you a few things you can do to help your child feel prepared to attend preschool.

  1. Read to your child every day. – Reading with your child every day will help him/her have an understanding of what to expect when it’s time for the teach to read aloud a story in class.  It’s a wonderful thing to instill a love of reading at an early age.
  2. Set up a routine. - When you put things in place and do the same thing every time your child begins to know what to expect.  Start a routine for saying good bye.  Maybe give your child a hug and kiss, a high five, and say, “I love you. Have a great day at school today!”  When your child hears these words over and over again he/she will know that it’s time to leave and tat mommy or daddy will be back t pick him/her up later.
  3. Plan some social activities. -For some children, preschool is the first time they get to have regular social activities with other kids.  It’s perfectly normal.  To help yoru child warm up to other try taking him/her to the library or park where other children are present.  Some kids might enjoy participating at a local kids’ gym or a team sport.  All of these activities help your child to develop skills to be successful in life and school.
  4. Shop for supplies together. - Take your child with you to pick out the school supplies needed for preschool. Picking out a lunch box and back pack can be very exciting.  I know Ladybug loves her new back pack and can’t wait to use it.
Jan 23 2012

Trying to have my creative voice in writing

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Guest post written by Tim Hall

I’ve never been great at drawing or painting, but something that my teachers always told me in school was that I was a good writer. Sometimes I wish that I had gone into writing as a profession but that’s much easier said than done. Well, now I’m going to try and pick it up again as a way to have some fun.

I’ve been doing my research to see exactly how I can really get started creative writing in the right way. While I was online looking for some tips, I ran across the site www.debtsettlementfamily.com. After I looked through it a little bit I decided to use it to help our family get out of debt. I want to set a good financial example for our kids and I think this would be a great step towards that.

I have found all kinds of great tips online about how to really get started with creative writing. I mentioned something about it to my kids, so they got me a nice little journal for Christmas. It was so sweet because they had really paid attention to know to get that. I plan to fill up that and many journals.