2012 Curriculum

I hate to say that I have a curriculum for my 2 1/2 year old, but I do. Being a former teacher, I have to have everything organized and thought out if I want it to get done. So this is what I have been/will be using with Laken:

• Tot School Printables We've already completed these, but will go back if needed.
• Raising Rock Stars Preschool We've just started doing some of this, but won't be doing all of the copy work and higher level stuff.
• Letter of the Week I just got this and have started printing off some activities. Laken's favorites so far are the large letter tracers.
• Kumon: I have the first 4 of these and this. Laken LOVES them!!
• Tot Time Notebook He loves having his own binder and I love that he can color over and over again with the Expo markers!
• Theme Notebook This is what his theme notebook looks like for now, but it will change with each theme we do.
• Tot Packs and Preschool Packs A lot of these will go into his Theme Notebook.
• Boca Beth (Spanish)
• Family Time Activities We recently got this book and we've been waiting for Laken to get a bit older before starting.
  
• Puggles (Awana) Laken loves his Awana group and we love doing the family activities
• We Choose Virtues We just started this character development curriculum and really like its simplicity and Biblical base!
  
• And lots of learning toys and books!

Wow, now that I've written it out, it's a lot! Obviously we don't do everything every day, but it's nice to have options of things he likes. We'll be adding in more art projects and learning games/toys with Lacy-Kate in the next couple of months as well, so I'll be posting about that as it comes!

Little Einsteins and Truth in the Tinsel

I'm just going to do a quick update on our week so that you can see what we've done!

Laken LOVED the Little Einsteins Tot Pack from 1plus1plus1! I think he did some great work for only being 2 1/2!

I put up a new book shelf in the play room (from IKEA) and he spent a lot of time finding his favorite books and reading on his couch. Here he is enjoying his Bible book!

Here's Mary from our Truth in the Tinsel!

Working on the color book from the Little Einsteins Pack.

Here's Zechariah from Truth in the Tinsel. He had hair and a nose, but they fell off! :-)

Mary and Elizabeth from Truth in the Tinsel!

Laken LOVES to do puzzles!

He did a fabulous job coloring his keys!

Our Angel Gabriel from Truth in the Tinsel!

We had a super busy, but great week! I hope you did too!

Zhu Zhu Pets

I think these little things are hilarious! Laken and his little friend Kiley spent an afternoon chasing them once, so I thought Lacy-Kate would really like playing with one. I found them on sale at Target, so I got Laken a little raccoon one (he's into raccoons right now) and I got Lacy-Kate a pink one (anything pink or sparkly makes her happy)! At first she wasn't sure about it, but once she saw how much fun Laken was having, she didn't disappoint! Here are a few pictures of her and her Zhu Zhu Pet, Sweetie.

Toy Storage

I'm always on the lookout for the best way to organize our growing number of toys. We've been trying to get rid of novelty toys and keep more of the longer-lasting, educational toys. The problem is that a lot of those have lots of pieces! (ie. Lego's, Pegs and Peg Boards, Bristle Blocks, etc.) I had them all in their own Rubbermaid bins, but that presented the problem of where to store them in our tiny space. I tried to rotate them in and out of the basement, but it just wasn't working well. I saw online that someone kept theirs in gallon ziploc bags, but I just don't think those are sturdy enough for two little ones, so I came up with a better idea! I'm storing those toys in lingerie washing bags!! These are GREAT! They are large, sturdy, and they have a zipper! The best part is that we can keep them in the storage ottomans we have and they are easily accessible and we can fit so many more in there!

Here is our Advent Calendar!! Thanks to Mama Jenn! I put her printables in a Hundreds Pocket Chart and Laken just loves it!

Here's Day 2. We were supposed to use a toilet paper roll to make a crown representing that Jesus is our King. Well, I must be the only Early Childhood Educator who doesn't keep toilet paper or paper towel rolls! Oh well, we improvised and Laken finger painted cardboard from a Mac and Cheese box! He didn't know any different and he loved it!

Day 1: Truth in the Tinsel

So today we did our first day of Truth in the Tinsel and it went great! Considering that it had been a long day (trip to Target, Laken's Early Intervention Playgroup aka "school," short naps, Christmas Tree Lighting at the Base Chapel, and a long dinner), it went great! Laken wasn't terribly interested in listening to the scripture, but because I was reading it on the iPad, his eyes were glued to it! He had so much fun making his craft and Micah and I had a wonderful time explaining to him that Jesus is the Light of the World! Lacy-Kate participated by eating that tissues paper :-) I think she'll get more into next year!

Here's a look at what we did!

Check back tomorrow for Day 2 and a picture and description of our Advent calendar!

It's not too late for you to start this as well! There are abbreviated schedules or you can just double up on crafts one day! Click here to buy the ebook!

We Choose Virtues

You might notice that I have added a new button to my sidebar- We Choose Virtues. I have heard amazing things about this character education curriculum and I ordered it on Black Friday. I can't WAIT to get it and start using it with Big Boy. I have a feeling we will need to start with the I am self-controlled virtue. We have some issues there :-) But he's also two and a half, so some of that is to be expected!

Each of the 12 virtues has a Bible verse to go along with the character (if you choose the faith-based cards). I'm hoping to learn and help Big Boy learn these verses. He's learned each of the verses for his Sunday School class, so I know he'll be up for these!

I'll keep everyone updated on how they go!

If you'd like to purchase them, stop by We Choose Virtues tomorrow (Cyber Monday) for 30% off!

Truth in the Tinsel

I'm so excited that Big Boy will be right about 2 1/2 at Christmas this year. The past few years he hasn't really understood Christmas or what it meant, but I've seen how much he has learned in the last year and I know this year will be different. (I mean, how much does my heart melt when I ask him, "Where is Jesus?" and he replies with a pat on his belly, "In my heart!" I know he doesn't fully understand, but one day he will!) I didn't know how we would present the Christmas story (and the Advent season in general) to him and Sassy (she will be 11 months at Christmas), but now I know! Through the blogging world that I follow, I came across Truth in the Tinsel: An Advent Experience for Little Hands and I just thought that it seemed perfect!! I immediately asked if I could review it and Amanda was gracious enough to allow me to review it, even on my little blog! Y'all will truly love this book!! Each day throughout the Advent season you will make an ornament to go on your Christmas tree. They are all very different, but all go along with parts of the Christmas story. One of my favorite things is that the scripture that goes along with each ornament goes beyond just the typical Christmas story. The prophecy about Jesus' birth and even the first proclamation of his diety (by Simeon and Anna- who Sassy was named after!) are part of this study. The crafts are perfect for little hands and I know Big Boy is going to be so excited to be able to make an ornament each day. But even if we don't have time to do one each day, Amanda has provided alternative schedules based on different aspects of the story (characters, prophecy, etc.). Amanda also provides a list of everything you need (broken up by each day) to complete the crafts! This is so helpful to someone like me who needs to have everything ready. She even encourages you to improvise if you don't have all of the items needed. There are also lots of printables to help the artistically challenged (aka me!). This is the perfect book to help teach your children all of the different aspects of the Christmas story and it will give them the opportunity to ask real, deep questions about Jesus!

This ebook will sell for $4.99, but will be only $2.99 on Black Friday (November 25, 2011)! Just follow the links (my affiliate links) in this post to purchase your copy and get started teaching your child about the birth of our Lord and Savior! May you all have a blessed Advent season and a wonderful time celebrating the birth of Jesus!

Continue following my blog throughout the season- I'll be posting the ornaments Micah, Big Boy, and I will be making. Sassy will be present, but in all honesty, she's more interested in eating the craft materials than anything else! Next year she'll have fun participating in Truth in the Tinsel: An Advent Experience for Little Hands!

Heaven is For Real for Kids

This is my first book review for Book Sneeze! I read Heaven is For Real a couple of months ago after my sister-in-law sent it to my husband for his birthday. The book was amazing and I couldn't put it down! This book is the perfect answer to that book for children. While the first book is absolutely amazing, there's no way to share the novel with young children. Heaven is For Real for Kids is a great tool to share Colton's story with a younger audience. When I read Heaven is For Real, I remember just staring at the drawing of Jesus by Akiane Kramarik and wondering if that is really how Jesus looks. I also tried to visualize what Colton could have seen when he was in Heaven, but I just couldn't quite wrap my mind around what everything might look like. The pictures in this book allow you to take a glimpse into his journey through Heaven through his own eyes. I strongly recommend this to anyone with young children who has read Heaven is For Real. You will love being able to share the story and connect Colton’s visions to scripture. It was an incredibly simple and quick read (I think it might have taken me 15 minutes to get through the whole thing), but is one you and your children will want to go back to again and again!

This Week in Pictures

Loving some sibling time!

Just couldn't resist this one :-)

Sassy is always up for an adventure!

She'll definitely be keeping us on our toes!

My little robot!

Big Boy is incredibly proficient on the iPad. Good thing it's filled with lots of educational apps!

Big Boy got a new chair this week, a Keekaroo Right Height Chair. It's very similar to some other wooden high chairs, but slightly more affordable. He LOVES it! It's already helping him a lot with staying in his chair and being able to do more fine motor activities at the table.

It got really quiet for a minute, and I found Sassy emptying out her drawers of toys!

Stop! I'm playing with this toy!!

We had a great week and just wanted to share some pictures with y'all!!

Tot School Jj

So this week we worked a little on the letter J. I'll be honest that we didn't work on it every day. We had a busy week full of doctor's and occupational/physical therapy appointments for the kids. Big Boy knows all of his letters (upper and lower case) as well as their sounds. This is why I don't feel it to be necessary to stick just to working on the letters. It's a great starting point to build around, but I don't always do it. Big Boy needs to be working on gross and fine motor skills, so we did a lot of that this week. Sassy enjoyed playing with all of the manipulatives too!

Big Boy loves his Chuggington trains!

Pegs and Peg Boards

Hmmm....

How do you think this ended?

We did our last big leaf raking this morning, so we had to get some pictures of Big Boy playing in them!

Such a happy boy! And then....

Care to write an ending to our story? :-) I'll tell you this, it ended with ice...

Tot School Ii

So I don't know how many people I've shared this with, but for many different reasons (I'm sure I'll post on this later), Micah and I have decided to homeschool our children. Tot School is basically a step towards that, with toddlers! Big Boy absolutely loves it and always asks to do "Tot Cool!" This week we worked on the letter Ii and we talked a lot about igloos. We also worked on some Winter vocabulary words (jacket/coat, mittens, snow boots, ice skates, etc.). These words were all very appropriate since we just had the first snowfall of the year the weekend before Halloween! Here are some of the experiences we shared this week!

Working on some fine motor skills by drawing straight lines

Sassy was very excited to get to play at the table with Big Boy!

We've been doing a lot of building! Big Boy loves his Legos!

Sassy tried to build too!

We tried having some sibling time. It's still a bit tough for Big Boy. He's working on sharing...

She's always looking up to her big brother!

Sassy is dairy and soy free, so she was very confused as to why she couldn't eat Big Boy's Goldfish!

But Daddy was home, and she got to try eating a banana!

Daddy also worked on teaching Big Boy how to wash dishes! Never too early to learn!

Both Big Boy and Sassy have low muscle tone, so bouncing is a great activity for them. They definitely enjoyed the new 7ft diameter trampoline in our basement!

Sassy isn't walking on her own yet, but she sure likes to try!