Honoring our Veterans

I love that our community has an annual Veteran's Day Parade. Rain or shine (and today it was rain!), people line the streets and give tribute to some of the bravest, most honorable people to have walked the earth.

Many schools close today, but in our community, the children attend school and spend the day in celebration and remembrance, including participation in the parade.

Luke was excited to be riding on a float, waving his American flag, and singing patriotic songs.

I'm certain he didn't truly grasp the importance of what he was doing, but I hope that as he grows older, and learns more about his grandparents, and his uncles, and some of his older cousins, and the sacrifices they made for his freedom, that he will learn to appreciate the veterans, and will wave his flag with heartfelt pride.

~Lisa

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Sticky, smooth, cold, rough, flat, and soft

As promised, when Luke got off the bus today, I had an inside scavenger hunt ready for him.

I decided to break away from colors, and focus more on other physical characteristics, so I went with STICKY, SMOOTH, ROUGH, SOFT, FLAT, COLD and WARM.

I was really curious to see what he would find for each of these physical descriptions, and he didn't let me down!

I think the most fun was sticky....when he opened a piece of Halloween candy, put it in his mouth, then spit it out on his hands, announcing that his hands were now sticky!

He found the outside of the refrigerator smooth, and the inside cold. The top of his dresser was flat. His blankie was soft. The basket on the table was deemed rough.

He wanted to play more, so I threw in some shapes (triangle, rectangle, oval, circle, and square).

It's always so fun to play with our kids, and when they are learning in the process, it makes it even more rewarding.

Enjoy!

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~Lisa

A Scavenger Hunt!

Today is another picture perfect day in Illinois....sunny, warm, absolutely not what one would expect in November!

Knowing that the cold rainy weather is on its way as early as tomorrow, when my pre-schooler hopped off the school bus today, I suggested that we sit out on the front porch for several minutes and enjoy the weather while he showed me his papers and told me about his adventures at school that day.

While we were talking, the falling leaves from the tree out front caught Luke's eye. He remarked, "Look, it's still Fall!" Which led naturally to a discussion about seasons, and that seasons are many weeks long, not like holidays, which are only one day. Our discussion then turned to things that we see in Fall, and the next thing you know, we had a list of things, including yellow leaves, and red leaves, and green leaves, and orange leaves, and nuts that fall from the trees, and sticks (small sticks, medium sticks, big sticks), and even rocks (small rocks, medium rocks, and big rocks).

With our list in one hand, and a bag in the other, we set off on a scavenger hunt to see if we could find everything on our list.

I think Luke most enjoyed finding the "big stick" which he insisted on dragging back to the house (although he was disappointed that I wouldn't let him bring it inside!).

When we returned to the porch, we looked through our treasures, and commented on the different sizes and shapes and colors.

It was a fun game, and Luke asked me if we could play it again tomorrow. Since the weather is turning cold and rainy, I'm thinking an inside scavenger hunt might be fun.....

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~Lisa

The Importance of Voting

Today is election day.

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As my kids have watched their television shows (i.e., Disney channel primarily), they have been told over and over about how important voting is in our country. In fact, I think it was the Disney Channel's website that actually had an online "election" where the kids could vote for either presidential candidate.

At school, my three grade schoolers (2d, 4th, and 6th) are voting in a mock election.

Voting is in the air!

I was thinking last night about my first venture to the voting booth. I'll admit it...I was terrified! I was afraid I would push the wrong button or completely mess something up. I was intimidated and absolutely certain that everyone else knew "how to do it."

So I decided I would take my children with me to the voting booth today and start familiarizing them with the voting process, so that as they eventually reach voting age, they will feel more comfortable. Plus, they're so eager that the candidate our family is voting for win, and the fact that this is such a monumental election, I thought it would be a great way to include them in a bit of history in the making.

Fortunately, we live in a very rural community, so when we arrived there were only 6 people in line ahead of us. As we walked through the line, the judges were so gracious as I explained to the kids about how they first ask for my identification, so they can first be sure it's me, and also to "cross my name off" because each person only gets one vote.

Next, they watched as the judge flipped through the book and found my voter registration form, and then asked me to sign the form so they could compare my signature to the signature on the form.

We stepped further down the line, where a very patient and kind judge explicitly explained the electronic voting procedure (we didn't have the option of a paper ballot this year), how to input the "secret 4-digit code" and then how to turn the wheel to select each candidate before pressing the vote button.

When at last we stepped into the voting booth, the kids gathered around, and watched closely to be sure I didn't make a mistake and vote for the wrong candidate! After all my selections were made, I pressed the "cast ballot" button, and we all double-checked the printed ballot that appeared, then, with their hands all on mine, I pressed the "cast ballot" button one last time and our vote was cast.

The kids then proudly wore their "I voted" stickers to school, and couldn't wait to share their story with all their friends.

On the way to school, I explained to them how privileged we are in America to have the right to vote. But I also explained to them that whichever candidate is elected, he will be our President, and even though that may not be the man we selected, he is definitely a person worthy to be president, and we should respect that he is in that position because of the "will of the people."

I just hope the excitement they are feeling today will stick with them as they mature into adulthood, and they will never forget that the freedom to vote for our candidate of choice is one of the many things that makes our country great.

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~Lisa

Fun Activites for Everyday Learning

It's been a tumultuous several months as we've been dealing with trying to get a correct diagnosis for our now 12 year old son. Drake was "diagnosed" with ADHD at the age of 4, and was medicated for over 7 years. We're now closer to a true diagnosis (which appears to be Asperger Syndrome) and the past couple of months have been a roller coaster ride of emotions.

But, now it's time to get back to blogging and talking about fun pre-school learning activities!

Luke (who is now 4 and attending pre-school 3 hours a day) is growing and learning so much! But we always have time to squeeze in some learning in our everyday activities.

Here are a few ideas off the top of my head:

• We were at a doctor's office last week, and Luke noticed the office number "4" on one of the doors (He's really into the number "4" now that he IS four!). We spent a few minutes walking up and down the hall pointing to each number and saying them out loud.... "1" "2" "3" "4" "5"!



• Luke loves to sort things, so when I unload the dishwasher, I place all the silverware (that's not too sharp) on the table, and let him sort them, then put them away (this has also become one of his "chores" and he receives a weekly allowance for helping out).



• We went for a walk and gathered leaves, then when we got home we separated them in various groups. First, we did colors (red, yellow, green, brown). Next, we did small, medium, large.

I've found that the best way to teach a pre-schooler is to keep it fun! And when I show an interest in sizes and shapes and colors, he is more excited to participate. Keep it positive....never push.

Enjoy!
Lisa

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A Can-Do Day!

Several months ago, after a trip to the grocery store, I needed a way to keep Luke occupied while put things away. So, I put my canned goods in the middle of the living room floor, and told him to have fun building a castle.

This game has since become one of his favorites, and we play it together every chance we get.

I encourage him to come up with creative ways to stack the cans, and he always amazes me. Sometimes he stands them upright and builds a castle, or a "garage" for his cars and trucks; sometimes he lays the cans on their sides, supports the ends, and builds a pyramid; sometimes he lines them up like a snake.

Without fail, however, his favorite part is knocking them down!

But the last few times we played this game, I was thrilled with how he wanted to SORT the cans. He put all the green beans together; all the peas together; all the tomato sauces together, etc. (Sorting is a primary building block to math!)

There are so many fun and creative ways to play with pre-schoolers, that also encourage learning. I'm learning to look around the house with a fresh perspective to see what we can play next!


~Lisa

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Learning About Forgiveness

Forgiveness is a tricky concept to teach. I don't like to force my kids to say “I'm sorry” unless they really mean it. I also don't let the forgive-ee brush off the apology with a simple “That's ok.” Because it's NOT okay. Rather, I teach my kids to wait until they really mean it, and then tell the offender, “I forgive you.” Sometimes it comes immediately; sometimes it takes a few days. But when it comes, it's sincere.

A few weeks ago, Luke had the time of his life with a huge bottle of baby powder. I can only imagine that it was calling his name. However, the result of his festivities was a sibling's room that was now covered in a layer of sweet-smelling powder (every single surface was covered!), and a lesson in asking for forgiveness.

I was in the kitchen when I noticed it was quiet in the living room. Too quiet for Luke to be in there! He couldn't have been gone more than a few minutes, but as I walked into the living room, he was walking up the steps from the basement where Victoria's room is. He had an extremely guilty expression on his face, and I immediately noticed that he was covered with a fine layer of powder. He smelled wonderful! Like when he was a newborn! He resembled Pigpen from Charlie Brown, with a fine cloud of powder trailing behind him. However, when I asked him what he'd been doing, and he said “nothing,” I knew I needed to investigate.

When I opened the door to his big sister's bedroom, I was overcome with hysterics! It was like a blizzard in there! I couldn't help myself. I laughed until I had tears rolling down my face. I only wish I could have witnessed the fun time that Luke had in that room by himself with that brand new bottle of baby powder. (He later told me he was playing “Smoke & Fire!” -- as he squeezed the plumes of “smoke” into the air.) I also laughed because I'd been asking Victoria to clean her room for several weeks, and now I was going to get my wish! You see, should would never allow ME to clean it (she's 18....her room is her sanctuary!).

I couldn't let Luke see me laughing about his antics, because I knew that in a few hours Victoria would be home from school, and he would need to learn about asking for forgiveness.

When I went back upstairs to talk with him about what he'd done, he was sitting in the middle of the living room floor with a blanket over his head, hiding. He was so afraid that his big sister was going to be angry and think he was a “bad boy.”

I hugged him and assured him that, yes, Victoria would likely be very upset. But, I explained to him, you can't hide from what you've done. I told him that when Victoria arrived home from school he would need to tell her what he had done, and tell her that he was sorry. Then it would be up to her to forgive him. I warned him that it might take her some time, because he had made a very big mess, but I was sure that she would eventually forgive him, and that no matter what, she would always love him.

As for Luke, well, he thought that telling Victoria he was sorry might work; however, he still stayed under the blanket for most of the afternoon, just in case.

~Lisa
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