Go visit Jen for more Quick Takes.
~1~
It's been a good week. I worked one measly little day and spent the last 2 days with my kids. Sorry about the lack of posts, but little boys come first around here. In the last 2 days we have:
- Signed up for the summer reading program at our library.
- Had a tux fitting for Ender (for his uncle's wedding tomorrow)
- Finished making the wedding gift for my brother and his soon-to-be bride (will share pics next week after they've opened the gift!)
- Broke my sewing machine
- read A LOT
Oh yeah- and Ezra colored all over the t.v. It was awesome.
~2~
Did you catch that "broken sewing machine" part? It completely freaked out on me last night as I got started on the secret wedding gift. After an hour of re-threading, cleaning it out, changing the needle, fiddling with tension and almost pitching it out the window I called my mom. She told me to turn it off and she would stop by to help me figure it out in the morning.
About 5 minutes before my mom was due to arrive I turned the machine on and ran a few lines . . . it worked perfectly. Mom messed with it too and I finished the whole project this afternoon without a problem. Grrrrr...
~3~
I've spent the last several days re-reading sections of Real Learning by Elizabeth Foss, primarily the Teaching Reading and Teaching Writing portions. This is the area that I am struggling in with Ender. He is pushing forward in this area in ways I'm struggling to keep up with so I needed better suggestions and ways to help him. Is there any good way to help him with his handwriting frustrations? Ender desperately wants to write letters and the perfectionist in him wants the letters to look perfect on the very first try. Obviously he doesn't have the control necessary to do this- he's three years old- but he doesn't understand that.
~4~
I mentioned above that my brother is getting married tomorrow. We have had a ton of weddings in the last few years. Superman and I were married in 2001 but it wasn't until June 2006 that my first brother got married, followed shortly by a second brother in December 2006 and a third brother in March 2007. One of my sisters got married in 2008 and now I have my next-to-youngest brother getting married tomorrow. Only 3 siblings to go! My youngest brother and sister are both in serious relationships- maybe more weddings in the next year or two?
~5~
Superman and I have been having a lot of discussions about home learning lately. When to start kindergarten, how a "school day" will look, a budget for materials and books, what is important to cover, what outside activities the boys should be involved in, and that kind of stuff. I'm trying not to feel overwhelmed. Something about the idea of officially starting kindergarten has me a little nervous even though we have an entire year before we start. There is a lot of really good material out there and there's a tiny voice in my head chirping that I can't cover everything that needs to be covered. Then I remember- math, reading and writing, love of learning . . . that's the important stuff.
~6~
Do I have the only little boy in the world who loves to dress in very nice clothes? He's been in 4 weddings before this and every time he has been absolutely in love with the tux. He asked me at the tux fitting if he could keep it forever. I recently found a new shirt and tie for him and he wore it for a few hours every day for almost a week. This kid likes to look nice!
~7~
Want to guess what is staring to ripen in our garden first?
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I used to teach handwriting in first grade. You could try these things: Play lots with playdough and clay to develop fine motor muscles; "Write" letters with a flashlight in a dark room; Write letters in sand or in a tub filled with oats or beans; Write letters with sidewalk chalk; Stamp with letter stamps on post-it notes and post them on things that begin with...; Make letters with torn bits of construction paper, froot loops, beans, etc. and glue on to paper (then you can trace over these 3-D shapes later - two projects in one!).
ReplyDeleteTry to think of as many bigger motor skill projects using letters as you can (using hands and feet or other objects rather than just fingers) to satisfy his need for making, or writing, letters. Then at the same time develop small motor skills to help with the actual "writing" coordination. Another good activity to develop those little muscles is stringing lace cards.
Have fun!