Investing in Alathia

How is Ali liking preschool these days? Well, the other day, she enthusiastically exclaimed to me, "I LOVE preschool Mom!!!" She is so excited to get out of the door with Grammy that she hardly remembers to tell us goodbye! I love the things she is learning too! Everytime we go somewhere in the van she unbuckles her own seatbelt and then unbuckles Jeremiah and helps him out of his seat. She proudly says, "My teacher says we help one another." I guess when the teacher says it it's pretty cool as compared to when Mom says it! I've had a LOT less clashes with her in the last couple of weeks. I'm not sure if that's related to having some time away from her when she's at preschool or our new napping arrangement but whatever it is, it is nice!

For the past month I've been thinking of ideas for teaching Ali to be even more independent.

What kinds of things are we working on?

*Letting her pour her own milk as long as the jug isn't very full.

*Making her get her own drinks of water by filling the cup in the bathroom.

*Teaching her to wipe herself (not going so well yet...)

*Talking her through a frustrating situation instead of immediately helping or fixing it.

*Continuing to have her clean her own messes/sweep up dirt on the patio from her endless dirt cookie making, etc.

*Having her load the dryer with wet clothes and load the washer with dirty clothes.

*Continue to have her do her daily chores (making her bed, picking up clothes, and cleaning up toys).

*Setting the table.

*Biking. Ever since she started pedaling around on her own on Father's Day she is now thrilled to bike to the park or the store while I push the double stroller!

*Folding towels and washcloths (and continuing her chore of putting laundry away).

*Carrying her dishes to the sink after a meal.

What kinds of things would I like to see her learn this year:

*Cooking more with Mama (she loves it but she's often running around outside burning off tons of energy when I'm fixing a meal so she doesn't get as much opportunity as I'd like her to).

*Learning how to spray down and clean the bathroom sink.

*Folding more clothing items.

*Learning to cut coupons out =)

*Taking out the compost bucket and dumping it.

*Sweeping things off the floor with her small broom.

*Help out in the garden when we are able to have one.

I'm sure there are many more things I would like to see her learn, and will see her accomplish but I'm drawing a blank on anything else right now. I'm amazed at how independent Ali has become already in just the last year and I'm excited to see her doing so much on her own. Of course an Amish girl her age could probably sew a quilt and make a pie by now, but for where we live, she's doing pretty good! I now understand how moms can survive having lots and lots of kids! There is a tendency to think they have 6 babies or 8 toddlers, but as they get to preschool-age and beyond, they start helping and actually doing things for themselves, which is nice!

Ali's First Day of Preschool

Ali was so thrilled to be going to school that I didn't even shed a tear when she left! I have to admit that I have been pretty excited about her having some time away from the house after a really rough week with her last week!

Ali in her classroom, after her first day of preschool. She was so excited about the homemade playdough they made and the songs they sang. I was excited to see her after having a peaceful morning with the boys.

At the Open House last week we got to meet the teacher and explore the classroom. They even have two little gerbils (the class pets!) Miss Jenny had purple goop and shaving cream for the kids to play with at the Open House.

You aren't the only one surprised that my daughter is in PRESCHOOL this year!!! I still can't believe it! You see, all spring and summer, as friend after friend was talking about putting their kids in this or that preschool I told everyone that Ali wasn't going and wasn't ashamed of it. King Jo and I didn't feel it was necessary, or a wise use of our funds this year as we need to be upgrading our housing or saving for a house. I knew that we would do plenty of homeschool preschool activities and learning projects from our many books on the subject.

It just never occurred to me that I would ever send a child off to school. As in: need to buy school supplies, need to make sure they have their backpack, and a jacket, and papers to give to their teacher, have an opportunity to chaperone field trips and join the PIE group, etc.

So, how did all of this come about? Well, this summer my mom, who is a teacher at our local Christian school, mentioned that she had heard that the school might open a preschool program there this year. I expressed mild interest and she decided to call the prospective teacher about it. Well, the teacher was out of town for a couple of weeks, so it wasn't until right before our baby was born that we got the facts on it. The price was comparable to other preschools in town, and a part of me was ALL FOR paying a little something to give Ali a couple of mornings out of the house this winter (and myself a break from her) but I knew King Jo wouldn't go for it. I also knew that I did not want to get 3 kids loaded into the van in the morning in the snow and cold, take Ali to school, and then do it all over again 3 hours later.

When I told my mom that we probably wouldn't be doing it, she got back to me and expressed that they would love to pay for Ali's preschool, and it would be no trouble for her to swing just 2 blocks out of her way on her way to the school on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I wasn't sure about accepting such a big gift from my folks but she said she would love to help us out since we have a new baby and such a small apartment.

So, in a whirlwind of the last few busy weeks, we made the decision to let her go! We felt that 2 mornings a week was perfect as we wouldn't want her to be gone any more than that at this age. Our good friends, who also weren't planning on preschool this year, decided the same week we did to put their twins in the preschool too and we got the last 3 spots available by the grace of God! So, two of Ali's best buddies get to go with her! I'm excited to see how Ali grows this year as a result of the school schedule and training she will receive.

You can tell Jer is used to always having siblings around. When I got him up from his morning nap he held up his toy phone and said, "I talking to Ali." Then, when he couldn't find Ali and was told again that she was at school he said, "Dust-this wake up!" He wanted Justus to wake up and play with him!

When we went to get Ali, she exclaimed, "I missed Baby Justus soooo much because he didn't go to school with me!"

Fun With Beans

Thanks to Mara's post called "Cool Beans" I was inspired to let my kids play with beans tonight while I made supper. It was slightly difficult for them to share and Jer had some trouble dropping some beans on the floor, but overall it was a very fun activity for them and one I plan to whip out often in the future for a sanity saver during meal prep! Thanks for the great idea Mara!

The book Mommy, Teach Me mentions letting kids play with a tub of rice so that's another possibility for some variety. Also, a veteran homeschooling mom told me a few weeks ago that one of the best ways to keep little kids busy while older kids are doing lessons with Mom is to let them drive trucks and cars around in a tub of cornmeal in the kitchen. I like that idea as it would be a bit easier to clean up than sand!

Preschool Activities

Thanks to the inspiration I gained from the book "Mommy, Teach Me!" by Barbara Curtis, I have been trying to stock a supply of things Ali can use for skill building exercises. One thing we've tried, which she really enjoys (and it keeps her busy for quite a while) is using a turkey baster to squeeze water from one bowl into another, left to right. When she masters that, I will give her an eyedropper to try it with.

These large wooden beads (25 cents for a ziploc bag at a yard sale) are so much fun to string onto a shoelace!

These little foam circles were in the toybox at the thrift shop. I'm not sure what they are, but for 25 cents, they make great color-matching objects. I simply have her put all the rings in the largest square of the meal tray, and then sort them by color into the smaller squares. She loves it! Jer likes it too, and we, being the biased parents that we are, think he's SO SMART to be sorting colors at his age!

Ali enjoys washing dishes in a little basin nearby while I wash dishes. Though I usually just give her plastic, unbreakable stuff, the book encourages giving them breakables too, so I'm branching out with that!

The local library has the neatest programs for kids in the summer! This summer's theme is bugs, so today, after some bug stories, they decorated "bug cookies." Most of the moms with young kids in town go! If they fill out their reading charts, they get a prize at the end of the program! Both of my kids love it!

Playing with homemade play dough is one of my kid's favorite activities. They also love to color, sometimes a few different times in a day.