Transportation

So I broke out my new laminator and we are venturing into Transportation this week. With two boys, this is a theme that is always a crowd pleaser. Luckily it seems that there are many people working on the same thing so we had tons of resources.

We are still taking it slow to reduce stress (to me). We recently turned our basement into a play room so I decided to try school down there in hope that M would be a little bit more occupied and content so I could work with A.

I put together a tot pack with size sequencing, counting, pre-writing, and shadow matching.

A loved the shadow matching. He zips right through it and it doesnt seem to be much of a challenge anymore so we might have to look into something a little bit more challenging for him. Next we worked on counting cards. A has been really impatient (I am assuming its the 2 year old in him) so after we got to five, he started to loose interest. With a promise of doing a craft, he reluctantly finished all ten cards.

Our craft was a traffic light. A did really well and was able to tell what each color light meant. We also are starting to incorporate M into Tot School so here he is making his Tot School debut.

And in Here is M getting upset the glue stick, which he thought was chapstick was taken away from him.

And now he is really upset about it.












And we are ok now because mommy gave in and gave him the glue stick back. I have learned to pick my battles with this little guy and A was actually getting things accomplished so this was one battle not worth fighting.

We sang the song the Wheels on the Bus. The boys really got into it. Here is A's attempt at part of the song. I love his proud smile at the end of the video. Such a big boy. 

And one of my favorite pictures... All that learning and crying over glue sticks just wore my little men out. 

And of course in the mist of 20 degree weather, we have a 50 degree day so we headed outside. A was determined to play in his sandbox. 

We are still here really!!

So it has been forever since my last post. We have not disappeared, we are still around. Things have just gotten crazy around here with all the holidays and it seemed that once we got knocked off our schedule, no matter what I did I could not get back on. I am just taking a deep breath and realizing that its ok and we will get back there sooner or later.

A is doing absolutely AMAZING in every aspect. He is counting like a pro, even without any structured school time. He is starting to actually connect things and numbers. I try to have him count everything, like if I give him grapes or crackers I ask him how many and to count them. Before a few weeks ago he would count but wouldn't even look at what he was supposed to be counting. Now he can connect a number to an item. A has also allowed the number 2 to rejoin he counting. For awhile he would always skip two and jump right to three. Aside from being the funniest two year old ever, his vocabulary is growing like crazy. He like I am sure every other two year old asks five million questions per hour. I (for the most part) happily answer everything I can am happy he has such a curious mind. A's imagination has exploded. He happily can play anything and loves to imagine he is a fire truck man, spaceship man, baseball player, football player, or fix it man. We are so limited on space here, I am glad he can find enough space to still pretend.

A has had issues with sleeping lately. I know its not teething because thankfully all his teeth are in. We are not sure what it is but he has been extremely difficult to get to nap and to bed at night. I have a feeling its partly because he is not getting enough energy out since we are in the middle of cold cold winter here in Michigan. I also suspect it is partly due to potty training. We are using pull-ups during sleeping but he always wakes up try. I think he is waking up at 3 or 4 a.m. because he has to go to the bathroom.

Ok so now on to potty news... A is almost completely potty trained. I say this in the lightest sense because it depends on what you consider potty trained. He has yet to tell us when he has to go but rarely has accidents during the day. Most accidents are our fault for waiting to long or when he gets excited about things. We do not use pull ups when we go out and other then one time, he has stayed dry without any accidents. #2 has been a challenge for us. He can do it  and has when we bribed him with a trip to Chucky Cheese. We thought once he saw he could do it and it was not scary or hurt, he would continue to do it. No we were wrong. We have bribed the boy with everything short of a trip to Disney World, and he still refuses. I am not sure if he has figures how to tell he has to go before its to late. Oh well, that will come. I am just so proud how well he is doing all together.

M.... Oh my sweet itty bitty what a handful this one is. I think M is partly (or mostly) the reason, we have strayed from our formal school schedule. My little toddler is in anything and everything and has a temper like no other. We have attempted projects for the boys to do, and by the end, I am either yelling, sweating or wondering why I even thought I could handle them both. M for some reason is still in the phase of eating and putting things in his mouth. Crayons are just an afternoon snack to him. A never had an desire to put things in his mouth even as a baby so I am hoping this phase ends soon. He does "attempt" to follow directions for about half a second and then whatever we are going, such as painting, gets a taste test. One day I can hope that not everything looks editable to him!

On a more serious not, M has a vocabulary that A didn't have until closer to 2 years old. Many words he says are very clear and can easily be understood. He has even been known to link two words together on occasion. This advance vocabulary is a a blessing and a pain all at once. On the good side, he can easily express what he wants and show us, on the bad side, he can express what he wants and show us and what he wants is what he wants and there is no redirecting this little man. If he wants a piece of candy that is on the counter, and is told no (watch out and plug your ears) he will get a chair and push it over to get it. If he is taken off the chair (again watch out and plug your ears) he will go back and get the chair again. He does not give up or forget. Ahhh but you gotta love him, tantrums and all.

M is also using the potty and on some days more then A. M LOVES LOVES LOVES the potty and will (watch out and plug your ears) express his anger if he is not allowed in there. He has recently discovered that he controls when he can go so whenever he sits he goes. He also goes #2 without any issue at all (Thank goodness!!) A few times a week he will actually ask to sit on the potty himself. I have a feeling as soon as A is completely potty trained, M will follow right behind. Maybe we should have not let A in the bathroom and then it would have been fun when you were allowed to go in there?

My goals for this year are to slowly become less frazzled. I feel like I have been this way since Thanksgiving and despite every attempt cant get out of it. I love school time and so does A but I just have not had the energy or courage to take it back on with as much of a handful that M is. My other goal is less TV or noise in our house. Yes we are the house that had PBS on all day even when no one is watching it. The boys will play, stop and watch a minute then are off to play again. Even now as I type the TV is on even thought I am not watching it.

I hope to post more often. I am not going to put any pressure on me or stress about it if I do not get to it. I put together parts at night for extra money which takes up most of my time and the nights I dont have them, I usually watch adult shows (AKA not barney, Sesame Street, Calliou, or any other show that involves singing animals.)

So hopefully you will be seeing more posts from me soon but we are hear, we are learning, and we are growing.

Fire trucks, pumpkins, and Tot school oh my!

So we have been so busy around here lately and I have not been in the blogging mood. We are finally getting this place in order so we can put it up for sale and it looks so good. Now we just have to keep it this way which is not easy with two little ones running around.

On a side note I feel I have to address our pictures... I have noticed most of the time my boys are not dressed or half dressed... Ok we do get dressed everyday. Most of the time we do school in the morning before we head upstairs to make beds and get ready for the day. A also dislikes pajamas most of the time and likes to sleep in his pull up so in the morning I usually do not put him in them until we get dressed. He is also potty training which helps explain the pants missing most of the time. With M, he is a terror to change and get dressed. He wants nothing to do with it so a cute little clothed bottom you get to see most of the time. Ok... so we do get dressed just in case anyone else noticed that most of my pictures my boys are missing clothing.

We have been doing a pumpkin theme this month and A is loving it. He has learned the 5 little pumpkins song so most our activities I have tired to base around that.

we made a five little pumpkin folder which I used to keep all of his worksheets 

Our pumpkin craft A made for his favorite neighbor Miss Barb. 

Some of our Pumpkin worksheets and activities... Thank you Confessions of a Homeschooler!

 Here we were sorting pumpkins into the correct cup. Each pumpkin had a number on it. It was fun for oh about 30 seconds and then A decided it was time to put them all in one cup and mix them up... I am so glad he has so much patience (insert sarcastic tone here).

This worksheet, A had to color the 3 pumpkins and them I cut them out and he had to glue them in order, Large, Medium and small. He actually did really good but was a little confused since he was not familiar with the word or concept of "medium".


I was so excited to introduce this simple beginning pattern worksheet for A. I had no clue if patterns were even in his range of ability but he got it! I had to slow him down and repeat the pattern a few times but I was so happy that he was able to comprehend.

 Here is the sweetest picture. A was so excited he completed the worksheet. I am so glad he gets proud of himself. 

Here we were sorting pumpkins sizes again. A tolerated this one a little bit longer but as soon as I got up to take care of our Itty Bitty, that was the end. 

We continued on our slow lesson of Creation. We are on day 6 now. A had to color a six and them place stickers on it. He also did a worksheet where he had to place his fingerprints on. He really enjoyed this. 

This may not look like much but to my sweet little A, he had spelled his name. In sheer excitement he ran over to me in the kitchen yelling "mama mama, me spell A...." 

A fun game we played was a color hop. I called out a color and my little jumping bean had to hop to that color. 

some miscellaneous activities we did were...

"help" his little brother with his school

practice cutting

cut and paste dino number matching worksheet

We have also had many field trips over the last couple of weeks. 

We had a play date at the zoo with our good friends Jessica, her two little ones, Angela and her new baby. Us mama's got to talk cloth diapers which we all do and love and the little ones, got to play. 

We also attended the open house at the fire station right down the street from us. To A this was as good as Christmas morning. A LOVES anything "fire truck man".

Our township had a Halloween event for young kids at the local park. They got to walk a path and get candy, pick a pumpkin out of a pumpkin patch, and have cider and donuts. I think as Christian parents we have struggled with how much "Halloween" we allow into our children's life.  As A and M get older I am realizing that they are surrounded by "Halloween" and we don't want to seclude them but edit and filter what they participate in. So for right now our take is they can dress up in nothing "dark", We avoid typical Halloween type items such as skulls, ghosts, vampires and such, and we participate is church events instead of trick or treating. 

Cider Mill

Lastly on one of our nicer days, I took the boys to one of our parks. A is starting to get more daring which means this mama's heart is starting to jump out of my chest. A did really good but did get his feet caught under him while trying to go down a slide and face planted on the ground. Luckily he was ok, but that was enough for me. How am I going to survive this age!

And here was just a sweet (rare) moment between the boys. 

Me do it!

A is 27 months!

This past week seems to have been very busy. It seemed like we had something to do everyday. We did however manage to get some schooling is. A is very excited about school lately and asks me repeatedly "school time now, school time now mama."

I had read somewhere that learning to crab walk can help with prewriting skills because it teaching communication between the brain and your hands and also builds up strength. I don't know if this is true but we sure had fun trying. A took awhile to get it but he finally did and was so proud. 

A has also been learning to spread peanut butter. He loves to help "cook" so I thought it was a good time to teach him. It really teaching his to be patient and control. These are both something this little one needs!

And of course it would not be school without some sort of worksheet. A LOVES worksheets and of course "Me do it" is a consistent phrase out if this toddlers mouth so anything he can do independently we both love. A has used glue sticks before but he is starting to understand directions and concepts of what to do. I cut out the shapes and told him to glue them in the correct leaf and he did it perfectly. He also did one with cherries and having to glue them in that basket with his daddy and loved that one too. 

And here are some action shots from A at the toddler time at Gymnastics. This boy honestly ran for literally and hour straight. He wore me out just watching him. 

And here is my favorite picture of the week. The boys were showing some brotherly love (no biting or crying was involved this time).

Climbing to new Heights

These past two weeks have been busy and exciting. A started gymnastics and absolutely loves it. We have been wanting to put him in it for awhile but last week I decided it was time. His first class, he did cry when him and daddy when out there but he soon got over that and was jumping on the trampoline like a pro.

We continued our study of creation and worked on Day 5. A got to color fish and glue pictures of different types of birds on his number 5.

A is ABSOLUTELY obsessed with the moon. We have no idea why or where it came from but if he sees it he starts screaming and every night daddy has to take him outside to see it. If there is a book with a moon in the picture we are not allowed to turn the page. Since this is one of his new passions, I decided to do an art project and make a moon. I read somewhere (sorry I can't remember) to mix glue and shaving cream to create a puffy paint. A colored to moon yellow first and then he had a good time spreading the puffy paint on. After we sprinkled it with some glitter. Needless to say this was on of his favorite projects and the moon is now being displayed next to out TV per request of A. 

Messy Hands!!

This is before it was completely dried. I did cut it out that evening. 

A loves his worksheets and so do I. A gets very excited to use his school pencils. This week we worked on our pre-writing skills. A is getting a little better but still has a hard time focusing and slowing down. He would much rather just make a circle. 

I also introduced a new worksheet to A. I wanted to see where he was at and if he could understand the concept. On the worksheet there were objects shown from different angles and you had to match them. A totally understood the concept and could match them all. He did have trouble drawing the line from one object to another so I had to help him with that. 

A also got to make "Jesus Corn" anything that we do christian related, we label "Jesus" for A. This helps him connect what he is doing. I found the printable a very long time ago and came across it when trying to organize my stuff. The actual printable was two hard for A so we adapted and made our own Corn with q-tip painting. 

Black - I was lost in the darkness

Red - Jesus died and shed his blood for me

White - Now I am clean and mu sins have been forgiven

Blue - I have been baptized in the Holy Spirit

Green - I am growing in my relationship with God

Yellow - I have the promise of eternal life to walk on streets of gold. 

At the dollar store I had picked up these paper fish. I did not know what I was going to do with them so I just had then laying around. I decided to try a more interactive game which because of our Itty Bitty Infant M, we do not get to do very much. I put some letters that I knew A could recognize along with some shapes and numbers and we went "fishing". In theory this would have worked a lot better but A didn't seem to mind at all and even continued playing it later in the day. 

The tape wasn't that sticky so A decided to just press it on the fish he wanted to catch. M Is lending a hand.

A got use his imagination a lot these past weeks. I am so amazed at the things he comes up with.  A and his daddy were playing a guessing game where A had to act out something and I had to guess. A acted out a mailman and loved this. The next morning he woke up and wanted to play mailman again so we decided to make him his own mail carrier. 

A asked for my brush one afternoon. When I asked what he needed it for he said he had to brush teddy's hair. I didn't think anything of it but when I walked into his room this is what I saw. 

I asked him what he was doing and he said he was cutting teddy's hair. We cut A's hair at home with his daddy's clippers and he was pretending to do the same to his teddy. 

And as we enter another fall in Michigan, our weather is so unpredictable. One day its 90 and the next its 60. We decided to use the nice days while we have them so we headed to the park. We do not get to go very much because its hard chasing two little ones going in two directions and with the water at our park, it makes me nervous. This particular visit was a very important one for A. He finally ventured to the top of the "big" slide on the little kids play structure. 

And here is a favorite picture from this week. I had to get up and go do something so I asked A to cuddle his brother for me. He did such a good job.