been awhile

It's been awhile....oh, how those words always remind me of a song from my youth. I think it was by stained. That is really beside the point, I'm really writing to say It's been awhile since I posted. Believe me though, life is still going, and we are still constantly learning.
I haven't posted on this site for quite some time. I started up another blog on wordpress because I tend to like it more. If I have time to blog I usually use this site now. Feel free to take a peek at alivedinhouse@wordpress.com

My only dilemma is I don't want to delete all the content on this site so it has just sort of been hanging around.

Well too make this long indecisive story get real shorter, I'll just say, I'm still not hitting delete.

A handful of Thanks!!

We made thank you cards for Em's birthday guests. There is something I love about a child's hand print. My mom still has my preschool handprints hanging on one of her walls. It has always been my favorite childhood art piece.

We used a few art supplies we had around the house: kids paint, paintbrushes, and card stock cut up to any size you prefer( When I cut mine I kept envelope size in mind).

Find an area around the house that can get messy. I chose outside because the weather was nice. If I did this inside our house, I would sit at the table or on the floor and put a tarp under us to allow for an easier clean up.

Once we were set up outside, Emery chose a few colors and we went to work. I painted her hand with a good coating of paint. I then placed her hand straight down on one of the card stock pieces.

To make a full print I gently pressed on each finger. I talked with her about doing her best to not wiggle as I did this. It worked for the most part :)

I gently pressed on the bottom, than on the top.

After pressing each finger, I also pressed lightly on the area above the palm. Then lifted her hand straight up. She eventually took over this step as we made each card. This is what it looked like.

We did a few in this color and then I cleaned off her hand so we could do another color. The paint cleans off easy because its kids washable paint. I used a different paintbrush though so I didn't have to clean the brush during our project. My child is a little too fast paced to wait through that. After all the cards were done I let the cards dry in the sun. While they dried I cleaned up and she played in the yard. Once the cards were dry, Em put stickers on the back of each card. She had a pirate party so we tried to use pirate stickers. Once we got started she thought of adding personal touches. Like on Grandma Michelle's card she used convertible stickers. It turned in to her picking stickers for each person on our list. So cute & emergent learning at the same time :) After the stickers were added, I wrote a message in the blank area.

I also wrote the words thank you on the front. We mailed a few and also delivered a few. It ended up feeling  very personal and it cost us nothing...well maybe a few stamps :)

Conversations...2

As Em was getting dressed to go to grandma's house. The attire included purple dress shirt, purple tutu, purple leggings, purple socks, purple hair clips...

Em:" Mom, I want to wear my purple crocs"

Me: " Sorry, hun, it's REALLY raining and your feet will get all wet"

Em:  "Oooo :( I really wanted to be all purple-ish. "

Me: (thinking) Well, when you say it like that. "Okay, but you have to be really careful and you can't stomp in puddles or your socks will get all wet."

Am I a sucker for purple or what? Maybe it was the cute little voice she used and how fashionably appealing she wanted to be? Maybe it was the shoe appeal? (This girl loves shoes!!Today I picked up a whole armload of shoes scattered around the house). I think it was the purple :)

Feeling Purplicious,
M.I. MaMa

Toddler toy to promote musical intelligence

When Em was little she L-O-V-E-D this toy! She still does :) I originally loved the toy because it wasn't electronic. Your child makes the music, not a button :)   The toy comes as a set of musical instruments within this cool drum, which makes for great storage. The set includes a tamporine, drumsticks, rattle, and xylophone. I found the toy at Target. It is called Bee Bop Band. It is made by the brand Parents. I love all the toys made by this brand. Target has a decent selection. What I like best about this brand of toys, is the hands-on play involved. Can u tell by the background, we love play!! The first school I taught at used the following phrase as their school motto, Play is Childswork!

Children need play everyday! I encourage parents to provide a variety of toys to encourage a variety of play: wooden, electronic, educational, stuffed, hands-on, realistic, imaginary, etc. The other day Em and I were discussing her sharing time at school. She told me in her exact words," Mom, I want to bring my computer. Then, when (blank) says, what does it do? I can show her." I felt a little sad. When did toys start having to "do" something? I thought it was the other way around and children do something with toys; it's called play :)

Sorry for the blurred pics~
M.I. MaMa

Building Blocks of Learning in Early Childhood and Infancy

I’ve decided to write this entry because I’m feeling the need to explain why I do what I do with my child. The last thing I want is someone to think is I am pushing her to be a future best student. My only hope is for her to develop a love for learning and aspire to follow her own calling. With that said…

 As a kindergarten and First grade teacher, I observed children with a variety of life skills and attitudes entering my primary classrooms. It quickly became apparent a student’s early childhood experiences and access to tools of knowledge in the home setting, influenced a student’s incoming skills. If a student attended daycare or preschool also affected experiences, access to tools of knowledge, and overall preparation for primary school years.

When my child was born, I kept thinking about the above observation and questioned myself; what can I do now in infancy and the early childhood years to promote a healthy development of life skills that prepare her for a lifetime of learning? Watching Sesame Street and hoping for the best wasn’t the answer I was looking for. Neither were flashcards.  I was on a quest for an in-depth answer that created a love for learning. After all, I whole heartedly believe, if a student loves learning, than skills will naturally follow.

As my child has grown, I have answered my question and want to share it with you. Four traits quickly became a pattern in our daily interactions, and shaped the activities we did every day. These traits are what I call the Building Blocks of Learning; Exposure, Modeling, Intrigue, and Love.

I envision education as a pyramid, with the early childhood years serving as the base. Throughout a human being’s life we constantly build upon our pyramid. A strong pyramid is built with the building blocks of learning at the base, serving as a foundation for a lifetime of learning.

Exposure: Humans crave activity. Everyday I’m further convinced it’s a NEED!  Activity helps develop life skills. Basically, I’m saying, kids of all ages need to get out there! Life skills centering around emotional, social, and intellectual development depend on activity and are a must to succeed in our modern world. With that said, I do my best at exposing Em to the active elements of life and intelligence. Within this block I use the theory of Multiple Intelligence to guide me in providing a full spectrum of possibilities, adventures, and knowledge.

Modeling: Kids are sponges. A child absorbs his/her surroundings every minute of the day. As parents, we’re our child’s first teachers. We prepare our children for life. If I want my daughter to demonstrate certain behaviors, I too must demonstrate these behaviors. (I’ll admit this hasn’t been the easiest lesson to learn and consistently apply to daily life. Patience has never been a strong virtue for me, except while teaching small children. My own child has been the ultimate test, especially while I try to model patience with other drivers!)

Intrigue: Humans are born curious and should remain this way throughout life!! With exposure to life, curiosity is fed and intrigue is developed. Intrigue leads to questions, action, and answers. What would the world be without wonder?

Love:  Children need to feel successful. Actually, everyone should be bundled up and nurtured with this emotion. With each passing day my daughter teaches me more about love. My sister recently told me about some talk show host she was listening to. The host was claiming children were like seedlings needing proper nutrients to grow. How a seedling is prepared determines the strength as a grown plant. Children are the same. Children who don’t receive the proper nutrients in early childhood often struggle as a growing human. Children who do receive the proper nutrients often thrive in life. Love is the key nutrient for success.  

I understand every child is different. On this site I tailor to my child’s developmental and intellectual needs. I am only suggesting ideas. What works for me, may not for you. I encourage adaptation! If you like what you see but think “that is not practical for my life”, I say, adapt and try. You can even ask me how I would do it.

My goal here is FUN, not pressure! If a child’s early childhood experiences include exposure, modeling, intrigue, and love, he/she is on the road to a lifetime of learning J

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Emery made this at school but it was TOO cute not to share. Plus, it is quite a simple prep!

To prep this activity you will need: 3 paper plates, scissors, stapler, tape, black construction paper cut into strips to represent spider legs, yellow construction paper cut into triangles to represent sun rays, and a marker. Before you sit down with your child cut the black strips and yellow triangles. Also, cut 1 paper plate in half. Bring child(ren) to the work area where tape, marker, and whole plates are within hands reach. Have child draw a face on each whole plate. Choose one plate to be the spider, one to be the sun. With tape secure each spider leg; 4 on each side :) Also, secure sun ray triangles on the sun plate. You may need to help with the tape dispenser. Once legs and sun rays are attached, staple one of the paper plate halves to the sun or spider. This makes a nice pocket for a child to slide their hand into. Repeat with other half of plate and other whole plate. Done!! Have fun with your child and exercise both your musical intelligences while teaching the song "Itsy bitsy Spider"...chances are they know it. Make up a skit for the song to spice it up. In the video, Em is trying to hide the sun until it comes out. She also tries to hold the subject more forward when she is singing about it. 

Conversations...1

While watching a video on a point and shoot camera. Little did we know it was on mute :)

Em: "Mom, it's noooot working!"

Me: " Patience, you have to wait a second for it to work"

Em: " Mom, it's noooot working, I can't listen!" as she puts her ear up to the camera