Oh, I know it has been a while, and I really am trying to get back to updating this more often.....REALLY! We have made a leap into homeschooling preschool, and I admit, it is taking more of my time than I had foreseen to come up with fun ways to do school type learning activities. I've spent lots of time in the last couple months finding, downloading, and printing, and putting together file folder games, other random learning games, and lapbook activities for my girl and I to do. Then of course there is the normal amount of crafty activities like coloring and painting, as well as music, story, and pretending time we do. I love to see how much my girl is absorbing, like a little sponge! It is amazing! A couple months ago I was feeling really overwhelmed with the idea that she was ready to be learning things that I didn't have the background or know how to be able to teach her, so I did a lot of online research, and spoke with some of my more knowledgeable relatives and friends, who all assured me that I was already doing great.......but I still wanted some more CONCRETE IDEAS of things to do together that would be learning activities or a bit more challenging for my girl than I could come up with off the top of my head. (HUGE thanks to those who gave suggestions or even mailed your supplies all the way up north for us!) So, now we are in the implementing stage, where we are spending time doing the games and activities whenever we can/she wants to. It has been a lot of fun! On Friday, for example, we rolled long pieces of paper across the floor, taped them down, then painted the bottom of our feet and walked across the paper, making trackways. My girl LOVED this! Then we painted some more and played an alphabet/picture of animals matching game. We are still in the stage where I am suggesting things we might do, and she gets to pick ones she is interested in, which I feel works great since she likes to be the 'mama' and have me be the 'grown up girl Elise'. I am also feeling a lot better about her being more confident with the skills she will need for real school, so she can not be so shy when we get to that point (maybe), and can concentrate on the social aspect of them when the time comes. Overall, its been good, but we've been busy beavers, to say the least! The unforeseen challenge comes with my girl giving wrong answers on purpose and thinking it is incredibly funny. It started with her spelling her name wrong, but branched out into my asking her anything I know she knows, her giving me the wrong answer, and then giggling uncontrollably. This has also manifested itself in my asking her to do anything, like clean up her toys, or help with a job, or brush her teeth, or stop trying to jump off the back of the couch- and she thinks it is funny to NOT do it......We've had some small stories, songs, and games on obedience, and things have gotten a bit better, but it is still one of those things I didn't know to prepare for and am still not exactly sure how to handle when it is something that she is learning and would be lots easier to learn right the first time, rather than having the game of giving the wrong answers. For a while she was doing 'its funny to spell my name wrong' for so long, that she wasn't spelling it right at all. We had to go back and practice the right way several times, and now we're back to saying it right every time. One of those small things we're working on, which becomes incredibly important when it is a safety issue! Fun fun fun.....
So, there were a couple funny moments at church yesterday, which I would love to share. We were walking through the hallway on our way into the chapel, when my girl noticed a painting of some people on a ship traveling to a new place, having faith that God would keep them safe and get them to their destination (Nephi and Lehi). My sweet little one pointed out the picture, "Mama! Look at that! Look!"
I said, "Yes, who is on that boat?" Keeping in mind that we have been reading some scripture stories, and practicing telling them with flannel board stories so she can do part of our Family Home Evening, I thought she might recognize this painting and the people depicted in it. I forgot however that we've been concentrating more on the New Testament, than the Book of Mormon.....So I ask my girl who is in the picture and she replies confidently, "PIRATES!" I got a good laugh, AND we got another opportunity to learn about a scripture story she obviously isn't all that familiar with!
The other funny incidents were in nursery class later that day. I am blessed to be able to go to class with Elise as her teacher, and be on hand to witness/help her interact with the other kids. She has been doing great lately, although we still have a moment or two where the concept of sharing is in opposition to her ideas of being the one to make all the decisions. And I notice that Elise likes to pretend without the aid of toys more than the other kids. She will be the first one to start hopping around being a frog or kangaroo, or flap like a bird. Occasionally she plays a game she does at home with me quite often. She LOVES to be the mama, and have me be the daughter. She says stuff like, "I am going to my work (or class), and you are going to stay in your class with your friends. If you need me, just call me!" It is not always easy to catch on to which role she expects me to play, but yesterday she made it quite obvious. She kept calling me 'Elise' until I called her 'Mama', then she told me she was going to her class and I was going to stay in mine. The other kids got these really confused looks on their faces and asked, "Where is she going?" It got even more confusing for them when she just went over into a corner and pretended to hammer something together (which is what she usually does when she is pretending to be at work with her Daddy). The other kids don't have their parents in class with us, so they are always a little concerned the Elise is calling me Mama, but they can't have theirs. Throw into the mix that she gets to be the parent, and the kids just didn't understand. I tried to ask if they ever pretended to be the adult, and they just didn't get it. I thought the whole thing was pretty funny.
And the last thing my precious little girl did. It was toward the end of class, and she was coloring a picture of things we can be thankful for, including food, clothes, home, and our families. The family depicted included a mom, dad, sister, and brother. This family depiction isn't very accurate for most of the kids in our class, but they usually roll with it, and color away happily anyways. One little girl, while coloring next to Elise, was describing her family as she colored and announced happily that her Mom was going to have a new baby. When she announced this a while ago, I just thought it was wishful thinking, because she plays with the baby dolls all the time. Now it appears, their family ARE expecting a new baby, and this little girl tells us, often, how she is going to have a new brother, and a baby. Not to be outdone, my little one pipes up yesterday, in a loud, carrying kind of voice, "I'm going to have a brother! Yeah, I'm going to have a baby!" Well, we ARE NOT expecting, and would not really enjoy having people start asking us if we are, but it was really funny to hear her announcing this, and to see the wheels churning in the heads of the other adults in the room. Kinda funny, and I, not knowing what to say, just replied, "Oh, that would be fun, wouldn't it? Well, you have cousins!" She agreed and we started talking about her fun cousins, who she likes to pretend are visiting us and playing games with us. Once we (her and I) played Candy Land, and Elise had to have 3 playing pieces on the board. When asked, she told me that the third piece was for her cousin in Oregon. She then drew a card for herself, and moved her piece. She 'helped' me draw a card and move my piece, and then she helped Cousin A draw her card and move her piece. We played the whole game that way! So, cousins are fun pretend playmates, although the reality of them being their own people with ideas and personalities might be a bit of a shock when we actually get to visit in person!
So, things here are rocking right along. Logan is hard at work, doing lots of things, working on the house as well, and took time last week to paint the car (it looks amazing!). We have reached two milestones with our girl. A couple months ago, she successfully transitioned to not using a pacifier any more!!! We've also had our first tangible success with the 'special seat' training, which we've struggled with off and on for the last couple years. She could do it, she just didn't want to, until we took drastic measures! After trying everything I was comfortable trying to no avail, I discovered she couldn't stand to not have pants on at all, and would use her special seat, on her own, every time, if not wearing them....Which means we spend a lot of time at home, and she is doing FABULOUSLY!!! And earning beads and fun things from the earning box and exclaiming "Hooray!! I did it! I'm a grown up girl!" without any adult prompting/requesting! I NEVER would have thought I would be okay with this option, but as it is working, and she is able to be in control of this situation, we're going with it! Next is the transition to continuing to do well but WITH pants on......Fun times for everyone!!!
So, there were a couple funny moments at church yesterday, which I would love to share. We were walking through the hallway on our way into the chapel, when my girl noticed a painting of some people on a ship traveling to a new place, having faith that God would keep them safe and get them to their destination (Nephi and Lehi). My sweet little one pointed out the picture, "Mama! Look at that! Look!"
I said, "Yes, who is on that boat?" Keeping in mind that we have been reading some scripture stories, and practicing telling them with flannel board stories so she can do part of our Family Home Evening, I thought she might recognize this painting and the people depicted in it. I forgot however that we've been concentrating more on the New Testament, than the Book of Mormon.....So I ask my girl who is in the picture and she replies confidently, "PIRATES!" I got a good laugh, AND we got another opportunity to learn about a scripture story she obviously isn't all that familiar with!
The other funny incidents were in nursery class later that day. I am blessed to be able to go to class with Elise as her teacher, and be on hand to witness/help her interact with the other kids. She has been doing great lately, although we still have a moment or two where the concept of sharing is in opposition to her ideas of being the one to make all the decisions. And I notice that Elise likes to pretend without the aid of toys more than the other kids. She will be the first one to start hopping around being a frog or kangaroo, or flap like a bird. Occasionally she plays a game she does at home with me quite often. She LOVES to be the mama, and have me be the daughter. She says stuff like, "I am going to my work (or class), and you are going to stay in your class with your friends. If you need me, just call me!" It is not always easy to catch on to which role she expects me to play, but yesterday she made it quite obvious. She kept calling me 'Elise' until I called her 'Mama', then she told me she was going to her class and I was going to stay in mine. The other kids got these really confused looks on their faces and asked, "Where is she going?" It got even more confusing for them when she just went over into a corner and pretended to hammer something together (which is what she usually does when she is pretending to be at work with her Daddy). The other kids don't have their parents in class with us, so they are always a little concerned the Elise is calling me Mama, but they can't have theirs. Throw into the mix that she gets to be the parent, and the kids just didn't understand. I tried to ask if they ever pretended to be the adult, and they just didn't get it. I thought the whole thing was pretty funny.
And the last thing my precious little girl did. It was toward the end of class, and she was coloring a picture of things we can be thankful for, including food, clothes, home, and our families. The family depicted included a mom, dad, sister, and brother. This family depiction isn't very accurate for most of the kids in our class, but they usually roll with it, and color away happily anyways. One little girl, while coloring next to Elise, was describing her family as she colored and announced happily that her Mom was going to have a new baby. When she announced this a while ago, I just thought it was wishful thinking, because she plays with the baby dolls all the time. Now it appears, their family ARE expecting a new baby, and this little girl tells us, often, how she is going to have a new brother, and a baby. Not to be outdone, my little one pipes up yesterday, in a loud, carrying kind of voice, "I'm going to have a brother! Yeah, I'm going to have a baby!" Well, we ARE NOT expecting, and would not really enjoy having people start asking us if we are, but it was really funny to hear her announcing this, and to see the wheels churning in the heads of the other adults in the room. Kinda funny, and I, not knowing what to say, just replied, "Oh, that would be fun, wouldn't it? Well, you have cousins!" She agreed and we started talking about her fun cousins, who she likes to pretend are visiting us and playing games with us. Once we (her and I) played Candy Land, and Elise had to have 3 playing pieces on the board. When asked, she told me that the third piece was for her cousin in Oregon. She then drew a card for herself, and moved her piece. She 'helped' me draw a card and move my piece, and then she helped Cousin A draw her card and move her piece. We played the whole game that way! So, cousins are fun pretend playmates, although the reality of them being their own people with ideas and personalities might be a bit of a shock when we actually get to visit in person!
So, things here are rocking right along. Logan is hard at work, doing lots of things, working on the house as well, and took time last week to paint the car (it looks amazing!). We have reached two milestones with our girl. A couple months ago, she successfully transitioned to not using a pacifier any more!!! We've also had our first tangible success with the 'special seat' training, which we've struggled with off and on for the last couple years. She could do it, she just didn't want to, until we took drastic measures! After trying everything I was comfortable trying to no avail, I discovered she couldn't stand to not have pants on at all, and would use her special seat, on her own, every time, if not wearing them....Which means we spend a lot of time at home, and she is doing FABULOUSLY!!! And earning beads and fun things from the earning box and exclaiming "Hooray!! I did it! I'm a grown up girl!" without any adult prompting/requesting! I NEVER would have thought I would be okay with this option, but as it is working, and she is able to be in control of this situation, we're going with it! Next is the transition to continuing to do well but WITH pants on......Fun times for everyone!!!
2 comments:
Sounds like you guys are having so much fun! :) I was wondering where you have found the best resources for your file folder games. I know we're not quite ready for that stage yet, but I figured that if I start putting them together now and looking things up, I might get more done while my little guy is still little. :) We'll see how that goes, of course...
Danielle,
I wish you lived by me and could do a preschool with me. Incredibly, I have no takers in the ward for doing a ward preschool this year! So come move to Pocatello, okay?
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