Okay, so it finally really snowed on Friday but we couldn't go out and enjoy. Lucas had a yucky cold and then we also had to head out to my parents for the weekend. Too bad because apparently it was great snowman making material. And because I had so much to prepare for, I couldn't read the 'snow' books I've been saving. :( And by Monday, actually even Sunday night, the snow was almost gone.
Anyway we've been on a worksheet kick. TJ loves them. He breezes through them. I can't believe how much we're covering. Well, actually I can, but based on my experience in school, it can foooooorever to do one or two pages. You know, waiting for everyone to get a worksheet and their pencil or crayons out. Or finding the page in the workbook. And for everyone to pay attention so that I can explain the instructions. It can take at least 15 to 20 minutes to do one page, sometimes longer. I think TJ took longer to write his name - great practice - than to do the actual work page.
Yes, I know, worksheets. Not the best thing in the world. But TJ really, really likes doing them. He keeps asking for more. That first day, he did 10 worksheets. He only stopped because I said he should color them. For some odd reason, he does NOT want to color anymore. But one good thing about the worksheets, it gives TJ great practice for writing his name without simply practicing his name. The worksheets give him a purpose to write his name. Not that I expected otherwise, but TJ is doing so well with the worksheets. Things/concepts we have covered are: herbivores, carnivores, bigger/smaller, same/different, left/right, colors, counting and writing numbers 1-4, shapes, and more. And the next day, he did 6 worksheets because I asked him to practice numbers on his own while I tended to LJ but he didn't want to. He wanted to do worksheets instead and since I wasn't letting him, he was done. lol
One of days, I put on a Baby Einstein dvd for LJ to watch while I was working with TJ. LJ chose BabyEinstein: Language Nursery. LJ kind of went back and forth with wanting to work with TJ and wanting to watch Baby Einstein. But I was pleasantly surprised by LJ. There was one part of the DVD, where numbers were said. LJ started following and went ahead to count up to eleven all by himself! I knew he could count to eight - on most days but wasn't aware that he could count to eleven. I was so proud of him!
LJ also likes to pull out Hi Ho Cherry-O to play. He doesn't quite know play the game but likes to pour the cherries from one bucket to another. He's quite cute about it. It's good practice for his hand eye coordination.
Today LJ pulled out Twister. We're practicing our colors with LJ. And reinforcing left and right with TJ. I think the boys had fun.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Getting our fill of Science
What a week! We finally got snow! The boys were so excited! TJ wanted to run out and make a snowman. I hated to have to disappoint him and let him know there wasn't quite enough snow. Plus, the temperature went up and despite having all the snow (at least a few inches), it was quickly turning to slush due to the rain. I will still try to read Dream Snow by Eric Carle and The Snowman by Raymond Briggs, despite being snow-less.
Well, I finally got around to reading the spider fact books to TJ. I read Spiders by Gail Gibbons. Sometimes you wonder how much they really retain. Well, I've got an inkling. I read Spiders to TJ Sunday night before Daddy got home. TJ asked me to read it again on Monday but I was in the middle of something so I told him to "read" it on his own first. LJ was crying for a "tory!" when he saw TJ holding books, so I told him TJ could read to him. And TJ was! Okay, not really, but he was relaying facts that I had read to him the night before. He remembered different spider names and web names, and was telling LJ all about it. Including imitating what I was doing when I was reading to him. There were facts about different spiders and how they catch their prey. So I would grab TJ to show him how the spiders grabbed the insects. TJ got a kick out of it. And TJ was doing the same thing to LJ. Too cute!
We did arts and crafts yesterday. I really wanted to do thumbprint art with the boys but for the life of me, I could not find the giant inkpad I bought. I could have sworn that I bought one from Lakeshore, but it is nowhere to be found. So I had to improvise with washable markers. Daddy loved that. lol LJ and I worked on his thank you cards. (finally!) Then they decorated hearts cutouts with thumbprints. I am really proud of TJ. He isn't afraid to get dirty like he used to. I also showed him how you can use the thumbprints as a springboard and turn them into other things like butterflies or caterpillars or whatever captures your imagination. I drew some for him. Then when he wanted to make some more before dinner time, I told him to give it a shot and try to draw it on his own. TJ was a bit whiny at first and kept asking me to do it for him. I was being stern and said he had to try it and that he wasn't even trying. So eventually TJ did and turned out really cute! He was so proud of himself! I told him he could do it. All TJ has to do is believe in himself.
I also started reading Do All Spiders Spin Webs?, a questions and answer book but TJ was very distracted and jumbling his facts. It might have been too overwhelming for him. I think the Spiders book was more his style and pace.
We re-read Water Cycle tonight and did an experiment representing the water cycle from the Awesome Ocean Science book. It was very simple and only required a short, easy-to-find list of items: a glass jar, plastic bag, rubber band, hot water and ice cubes. I took a glass jar and filled it a third of the way with hot tap water. Then I put the plastic sandwich bag into the jar, leaving about maybe 3/4 inch to an inch of space above the water. I brought the excess of the plastic bag over the rim of the jar and held the plastic bag in place with a rubber band. Then I filled the bag with ice cubes to the rim of the jar. The jar turns cloudy as the hot water evaporates, rises and then condenses near the cold ice. We waited about 30 minutes to see droplets of water hanging from the plastic bag. We shook the jar to cause the droplets to fall, imitating rain. TJ got a kick out of this. And this was so easy to do. I may use boiling water the next time I try this experiment. I do not think the tap water was hot enough. Either that or I need to run the hot water some more.
Also from the Awesome Ocean Science book, we did an impromptu lesson on different kinds of fish. These were the fish that I had to look up/google on the computer for TJ and LJ - LJ looooves fish:
1 barber fish - you won't catch this fish shying away from sharks; in fact, grooming sharks is its favorite pasttime.
2 wolf eel - This fierce-looking fish has sharp teeth, but it's very friendly and can easily be lured out of its rocky den to eat food (like sea urchins) out of a diver's hand.
3 mudskippers (TJ loved this one and I think they're pretty cool, too!) - During low tide, these fish use their armlike appendages to hop around shores where mangrove trees grow.
4 stonefish - It looks harmless as a weed-covered rock, but this fish uses its spine to stick its enemy with deadly venom.
5 sarcastic fringeheads (gotta love the name of this fish!) - These fish may look like they're grinning, but they have a reputation for being pretty ill-tempered. When two of them duke it out for territory, the one with the biggest mouth wins.
6 lionfish - This resident of the Indian and Pacific oceans has a "mane" made of hollow, poisonous spines.
7 stargazer - This unusual-looking creature points its eye directly upward and waits for prey to swim overhead.
8 porcupine fish - When frightened, this spine-covered fish blows up like a beach ball to make itself hard for predators to swallow.
9 parrot fish - This fish has a beaklike mouth equipped for crunching and munching coral.
10 hatchet fish - These silvery deep-sea fish have blade-shaped bodies.
11 four-eyed butterfly fish - A pair of big black spots near this fish's tail can fool a predator into thinking the fish is coming when it's really going.
Well, I finally got around to reading the spider fact books to TJ. I read Spiders by Gail Gibbons. Sometimes you wonder how much they really retain. Well, I've got an inkling. I read Spiders to TJ Sunday night before Daddy got home. TJ asked me to read it again on Monday but I was in the middle of something so I told him to "read" it on his own first. LJ was crying for a "tory!" when he saw TJ holding books, so I told him TJ could read to him. And TJ was! Okay, not really, but he was relaying facts that I had read to him the night before. He remembered different spider names and web names, and was telling LJ all about it. Including imitating what I was doing when I was reading to him. There were facts about different spiders and how they catch their prey. So I would grab TJ to show him how the spiders grabbed the insects. TJ got a kick out of it. And TJ was doing the same thing to LJ. Too cute!
We did arts and crafts yesterday. I really wanted to do thumbprint art with the boys but for the life of me, I could not find the giant inkpad I bought. I could have sworn that I bought one from Lakeshore, but it is nowhere to be found. So I had to improvise with washable markers. Daddy loved that. lol LJ and I worked on his thank you cards. (finally!) Then they decorated hearts cutouts with thumbprints. I am really proud of TJ. He isn't afraid to get dirty like he used to. I also showed him how you can use the thumbprints as a springboard and turn them into other things like butterflies or caterpillars or whatever captures your imagination. I drew some for him. Then when he wanted to make some more before dinner time, I told him to give it a shot and try to draw it on his own. TJ was a bit whiny at first and kept asking me to do it for him. I was being stern and said he had to try it and that he wasn't even trying. So eventually TJ did and turned out really cute! He was so proud of himself! I told him he could do it. All TJ has to do is believe in himself.
I also started reading Do All Spiders Spin Webs?, a questions and answer book but TJ was very distracted and jumbling his facts. It might have been too overwhelming for him. I think the Spiders book was more his style and pace.
We re-read Water Cycle tonight and did an experiment representing the water cycle from the Awesome Ocean Science book. It was very simple and only required a short, easy-to-find list of items: a glass jar, plastic bag, rubber band, hot water and ice cubes. I took a glass jar and filled it a third of the way with hot tap water. Then I put the plastic sandwich bag into the jar, leaving about maybe 3/4 inch to an inch of space above the water. I brought the excess of the plastic bag over the rim of the jar and held the plastic bag in place with a rubber band. Then I filled the bag with ice cubes to the rim of the jar. The jar turns cloudy as the hot water evaporates, rises and then condenses near the cold ice. We waited about 30 minutes to see droplets of water hanging from the plastic bag. We shook the jar to cause the droplets to fall, imitating rain. TJ got a kick out of this. And this was so easy to do. I may use boiling water the next time I try this experiment. I do not think the tap water was hot enough. Either that or I need to run the hot water some more.
Also from the Awesome Ocean Science book, we did an impromptu lesson on different kinds of fish. These were the fish that I had to look up/google on the computer for TJ and LJ - LJ looooves fish:
1 barber fish - you won't catch this fish shying away from sharks; in fact, grooming sharks is its favorite pasttime.
2 wolf eel - This fierce-looking fish has sharp teeth, but it's very friendly and can easily be lured out of its rocky den to eat food (like sea urchins) out of a diver's hand.
3 mudskippers (TJ loved this one and I think they're pretty cool, too!) - During low tide, these fish use their armlike appendages to hop around shores where mangrove trees grow.
4 stonefish - It looks harmless as a weed-covered rock, but this fish uses its spine to stick its enemy with deadly venom.
5 sarcastic fringeheads (gotta love the name of this fish!) - These fish may look like they're grinning, but they have a reputation for being pretty ill-tempered. When two of them duke it out for territory, the one with the biggest mouth wins.
6 lionfish - This resident of the Indian and Pacific oceans has a "mane" made of hollow, poisonous spines.
7 stargazer - This unusual-looking creature points its eye directly upward and waits for prey to swim overhead.
8 porcupine fish - When frightened, this spine-covered fish blows up like a beach ball to make itself hard for predators to swallow.
9 parrot fish - This fish has a beaklike mouth equipped for crunching and munching coral.
10 hatchet fish - These silvery deep-sea fish have blade-shaped bodies.
11 four-eyed butterfly fish - A pair of big black spots near this fish's tail can fool a predator into thinking the fish is coming when it's really going.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
What's for breakfast? Cereal and the Amazon rainforest...
TJ wanted cereal for breakfast. So, guess what LJ wanted for breakfast as well? He was already eating his soy yogurt but immediately moved his bowl and demanded cereal! lol Well, it wasn't too funny at the moment, though. Anyway, the boys like to "read" their cereal boxes. Something they get from me, I guess. lol But when TJ saw LJ's Amazon Frosted Flakes cereal box, he asked me "What is a rainforest, Mommy?" You have to know I got excited about that. Mini-lesson! Who cares what day it is? It's always learning time!
I had to dig through my brain to remember what little facts I remember about the rainforest from the teacher workshops I had gone to. I couldn't go hit the laptop like I usually do since Daddy had taken it with him this weekend. Surprisingly, I remembered terms like canopy and that the rainforest had 4 levels. I can't wait to go the library and borrow some books. I remember the Great Kapok Tree from the workshop, so that book is definitely on my list. We talked briefly about how people cut down trees from the rainforest and how that would destroy many animals' habitats. We touched upon how many (well, not a definitive number) animals and plantlife there are in the rainforest. So many that we have never seen and will never see. And fortunately the cereal box also had information that I was able to read to the boys.
There were also some animals listed and some animal facts on the cereal box - spider monkey, 3 toed sloth (TJ actually remembered this animal as I've talked about it before because it is sooooo slow and he saw it on Diego), harpy eagle, toucan (TJ remembered this bird from the Little People book that he used to make us read all the time!), poison dart frog and the giant anteater (TJ got a kick out of this one. lol) It was fun chatting with TJ about the animals because it sparked associations. The spider monkey made him think of the baboons we used to see at the GA Safari. When talking about the poison dart frog, I reminded him of when I brought him to the Harry Potter book release party and we saw the reptile lady. She had told us that all frogs are poisonous to some extent. Obviously, some more than others. I reminded him how we had to wash our hands if we ever touched a frog. I'm sure we touched upon some other things, like how the wingspan (new word!) of the harpy eagle can be wider than how tall Daddy is. TJ's eyes really widened at that fact. And he thought that it was pretty cool that an anteater can eat up to 30,000 ants a day. Hmmm... we could have used one of those animals a few years back when we had that serious ant problem....
Teachable moments.... Don't you just love them???
I had to dig through my brain to remember what little facts I remember about the rainforest from the teacher workshops I had gone to. I couldn't go hit the laptop like I usually do since Daddy had taken it with him this weekend. Surprisingly, I remembered terms like canopy and that the rainforest had 4 levels. I can't wait to go the library and borrow some books. I remember the Great Kapok Tree from the workshop, so that book is definitely on my list. We talked briefly about how people cut down trees from the rainforest and how that would destroy many animals' habitats. We touched upon how many (well, not a definitive number) animals and plantlife there are in the rainforest. So many that we have never seen and will never see. And fortunately the cereal box also had information that I was able to read to the boys.
There were also some animals listed and some animal facts on the cereal box - spider monkey, 3 toed sloth (TJ actually remembered this animal as I've talked about it before because it is sooooo slow and he saw it on Diego), harpy eagle, toucan (TJ remembered this bird from the Little People book that he used to make us read all the time!), poison dart frog and the giant anteater (TJ got a kick out of this one. lol) It was fun chatting with TJ about the animals because it sparked associations. The spider monkey made him think of the baboons we used to see at the GA Safari. When talking about the poison dart frog, I reminded him of when I brought him to the Harry Potter book release party and we saw the reptile lady. She had told us that all frogs are poisonous to some extent. Obviously, some more than others. I reminded him how we had to wash our hands if we ever touched a frog. I'm sure we touched upon some other things, like how the wingspan (new word!) of the harpy eagle can be wider than how tall Daddy is. TJ's eyes really widened at that fact. And he thought that it was pretty cool that an anteater can eat up to 30,000 ants a day. Hmmm... we could have used one of those animals a few years back when we had that serious ant problem....
Teachable moments.... Don't you just love them???
Friday, February 8, 2008
Gung Hey Fat Choy
Yesterday was Chinese New Year. What a day! Somehow it didn't seem as stressful as it usually is. That's a good thing, isn't it??? But it has been a stressful week. I'm utterly exhausted! All that running around we had to do preparing. The housecleaning, buying of candy and cookies, the Chinese New Year shopping, clothes shopping, the endless laundry. Yikes! I guess that's what this week's theme was, huh? Chinese New Year! lol I still do have a couple of crafts that I had wanted to do. The paper dragon and the lantern. We could work on them this weekend. The beauty of Chinese New Year is that it lasts two weeks! And I still have to read the book I got from the library. I believe it's Sam and the lucky money.
We begin with our Chinese New Year traditions as home. We wake up and greet each other with a "Gung Hey Fat Choy!" I gave red envelopes to the boys and Daddy along with good blessings. For the boys, wishes for good health and wishes for growing up healthy and strong. For Daddy, wishes for good health, wishes for good fortunes in business and wishes for promotions at work. The boys put on their new clothes. Red, of course. Luckily, in the beginning of the week, I found, with the boys' approval, these red Lightning McQueen shirts. Daddy and I put on our new clothes. Then we all got a piece of Chinese New Year candy to kick off our new year with a sweet start. Then a quick little breakfast for us to tide us over until we got to the grandparents. It did take us an hour and a half to get out of the house. I spent an hour packing snacks! I had to be prepared because there might not be suitable things for LJ to eat at the homes we visit. It's a good thing I did.
We went to visit Grandma and Grandpa H first thing. The boys were hesitant at first, as usual. But then again they did wish everyone "Gung Hey Fat Choy" as we taught them to. Well, LJ said "Fat Choy Choy..." Which was still very cute and everyone who heard was amused by it! We had the morning Chinese New Year vegetarian meal. Well, it was supposed to be vegetarian but there was a dish of chicken and a dish of shrimp. Not exactly vegetarian fare. Hmmmm... Then we went to Great Grandma L to visit. The boys had a great time snacking. TJ fell in love with the shelled peanuts. Then it was off to Great Grand Aunt's house. We managed to still be able to see Grand Auntie M and Grandauntie D and Granduncle M. TJ had a blast playing with Max, his cousin, sort of. Second cousin, maybe. I get all confused with this family tree thing. lol But it was sweet, though. When we were leaving, TJ asked Max to come to our house to play. Oh, and how could I forget. Max had greeted us at the door when we first got there. He says "Hi, Justin!" excitedly. He confused TJ with another little boy he knows. Then after his mother corrected him, Max says to TJ "I love you!" So sweet. This was all when we were still standing outside the doorway waiting to go in. lol Then last but not least we went to Grandma S and Grandpa K's house. Grandma S was playing mah jong with some friends. But there we got to relax. Finally. And the snacking continued for the boys. They never napped! And they wouldn't let me nap! Ugh! At least Daddy got to nap. lol We didn't go to anyone else in my mom's side of the family. Good, less to do. And somehow we managed to get away with coming home with less stuff than usual. Yay! Daddy doesn't get why we do this exchanging and re-exchanging and is "frustrated" by this. But it is what it is. Tradition calls for it and I enjoy teaching the boys about our traditions. But I have to admit that we, the younger generation, have been doing away with the exchange of the candies and cookies. Good, less for me to worry about. lol
Anyway, this week wasn't a total loss academically speaking. I did read some books with the boys and TJ did some "reading," too - sounding out 3 letter words and recognizing repetition in books. I really have to start up the word clouds. I think TJ would like that. I did do a quick review with his big Science word from last week and TJ still remembers what the word is that means that animals sleep through winter - hibernate. Yay!
We begin with our Chinese New Year traditions as home. We wake up and greet each other with a "Gung Hey Fat Choy!" I gave red envelopes to the boys and Daddy along with good blessings. For the boys, wishes for good health and wishes for growing up healthy and strong. For Daddy, wishes for good health, wishes for good fortunes in business and wishes for promotions at work. The boys put on their new clothes. Red, of course. Luckily, in the beginning of the week, I found, with the boys' approval, these red Lightning McQueen shirts. Daddy and I put on our new clothes. Then we all got a piece of Chinese New Year candy to kick off our new year with a sweet start. Then a quick little breakfast for us to tide us over until we got to the grandparents. It did take us an hour and a half to get out of the house. I spent an hour packing snacks! I had to be prepared because there might not be suitable things for LJ to eat at the homes we visit. It's a good thing I did.
We went to visit Grandma and Grandpa H first thing. The boys were hesitant at first, as usual. But then again they did wish everyone "Gung Hey Fat Choy" as we taught them to. Well, LJ said "Fat Choy Choy..." Which was still very cute and everyone who heard was amused by it! We had the morning Chinese New Year vegetarian meal. Well, it was supposed to be vegetarian but there was a dish of chicken and a dish of shrimp. Not exactly vegetarian fare. Hmmmm... Then we went to Great Grandma L to visit. The boys had a great time snacking. TJ fell in love with the shelled peanuts. Then it was off to Great Grand Aunt's house. We managed to still be able to see Grand Auntie M and Grandauntie D and Granduncle M. TJ had a blast playing with Max, his cousin, sort of. Second cousin, maybe. I get all confused with this family tree thing. lol But it was sweet, though. When we were leaving, TJ asked Max to come to our house to play. Oh, and how could I forget. Max had greeted us at the door when we first got there. He says "Hi, Justin!" excitedly. He confused TJ with another little boy he knows. Then after his mother corrected him, Max says to TJ "I love you!" So sweet. This was all when we were still standing outside the doorway waiting to go in. lol Then last but not least we went to Grandma S and Grandpa K's house. Grandma S was playing mah jong with some friends. But there we got to relax. Finally. And the snacking continued for the boys. They never napped! And they wouldn't let me nap! Ugh! At least Daddy got to nap. lol We didn't go to anyone else in my mom's side of the family. Good, less to do. And somehow we managed to get away with coming home with less stuff than usual. Yay! Daddy doesn't get why we do this exchanging and re-exchanging and is "frustrated" by this. But it is what it is. Tradition calls for it and I enjoy teaching the boys about our traditions. But I have to admit that we, the younger generation, have been doing away with the exchange of the candies and cookies. Good, less for me to worry about. lol
Anyway, this week wasn't a total loss academically speaking. I did read some books with the boys and TJ did some "reading," too - sounding out 3 letter words and recognizing repetition in books. I really have to start up the word clouds. I think TJ would like that. I did do a quick review with his big Science word from last week and TJ still remembers what the word is that means that animals sleep through winter - hibernate. Yay!
Friday, February 1, 2008
TJ's Jan-Feb Reading Log
Zoom City
Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree
Thomas the Tank Engine - Thomas and Gordon
Thomas the Tank Engine - Thomas' Train
Thomas the Tank Engine - Thomas and the Freight Cars
Disney Pixar Storybook Collection - Off the Race Track
Disney Pixar Storybook Collection - The Supers Save the Day
Disney Pixar Storybook Collection - Red's Tune Up Blues
Bob the Builder Let's Find Shapes
Learn About Shapes
A Bug's Life - Where are the bugs?
Mr Potato Head - An Amazing Adventure
Maisy's Ha Ha
Baby Einstein - What is bigger than me?
Touch and Feel- Bathtime
Monsters Inc - I'm Sulley
Go Away, Green Monster!
Why do Animals Sleep through Winter?
My Car
Water Cycle
The Mitten by Alvin Tresselt
The Mitten by Jan Brett
I know an old lady who swallowed a fly
There's a Wocket in My Pocket
Little People - Sonya Lee Visits the Doctor
Underwear Dos and Don'ts
How Many Ways Can You Cut a Pie?
What Do You Do With a Grumpy Kangaroo?
Don't Do That!
The Color Clown Comes To Town
What Can We Play Today?
Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree
Thomas the Tank Engine - Thomas and Gordon
Thomas the Tank Engine - Thomas' Train
Thomas the Tank Engine - Thomas and the Freight Cars
Disney Pixar Storybook Collection - Off the Race Track
Disney Pixar Storybook Collection - The Supers Save the Day
Disney Pixar Storybook Collection - Red's Tune Up Blues
Bob the Builder Let's Find Shapes
Learn About Shapes
A Bug's Life - Where are the bugs?
Mr Potato Head - An Amazing Adventure
Maisy's Ha Ha
Baby Einstein - What is bigger than me?
Touch and Feel- Bathtime
Monsters Inc - I'm Sulley
Go Away, Green Monster!
Why do Animals Sleep through Winter?
My Car
Water Cycle
The Mitten by Alvin Tresselt
The Mitten by Jan Brett
I know an old lady who swallowed a fly
There's a Wocket in My Pocket
Little People - Sonya Lee Visits the Doctor
Underwear Dos and Don'ts
How Many Ways Can You Cut a Pie?
What Do You Do With a Grumpy Kangaroo?
Don't Do That!
The Color Clown Comes To Town
What Can We Play Today?
LJ's Jan-Feb Reading Log
Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree
Chicka Chicka ABC
Clifford's Puppy Days
What Do I Do?
Peekaboo Farm
Zoom City
Bob the Builder Let's Count
Little People Cars, Trucks, Planes and Trains
Little People Farm
Little People Schoolbus
Mrs. Wishy Washy
Pajama Time
Bob the Builder Let's Find Shapes
Thomas the Tank Engine - Thomas and Gordon
Thomas the Tank Engine - Thomas' Train
Learn About Shapes
A Bug's Life - Where are the bugs?
Mr Potato Head An Amazing Adventure
Maisy's Ha Ha
Baby Einstein What is bigger than me?
Touch and Feel: Bathtime
Go Away, Green Monster!
Thomas and the School Trip
Where is the big red doggie?
Why Do Animals Sleep through Winter?
Little People - Sonya Lee Visits the Doctor
There's a Wocket in My Pocket
Elmo Loves You
Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree
Chicka Chicka ABC
Clifford's Puppy Days
What Do I Do?
Peekaboo Farm
Zoom City
Bob the Builder Let's Count
Little People Cars, Trucks, Planes and Trains
Little People Farm
Little People Schoolbus
Mrs. Wishy Washy
Pajama Time
Bob the Builder Let's Find Shapes
Thomas the Tank Engine - Thomas and Gordon
Thomas the Tank Engine - Thomas' Train
Learn About Shapes
A Bug's Life - Where are the bugs?
Mr Potato Head An Amazing Adventure
Maisy's Ha Ha
Baby Einstein What is bigger than me?
Touch and Feel: Bathtime
Go Away, Green Monster!
Thomas and the School Trip
Where is the big red doggie?
Why Do Animals Sleep through Winter?
Little People - Sonya Lee Visits the Doctor
There's a Wocket in My Pocket
Elmo Loves You
Slacking already
Okay, I'm slacking already. lol I forgot to mention that the boys also colored mittens the other day. I said that we would do something with them when they woke up from nap. Oops. We will get to it eventually. Maybe Monday? See what I mean about discipline?
And, and, and I forgot another book we had read - Baby Einstein Seeing and Counting? I think that's the title. I will have to check because I haven't logged the book yet. We did lots of counting up to five (yes, I know TJ should know higher number amounts than that - but who am I do discourage him?) and I was trying to reinforce answering in complete thoughts. For example, if I ask how many lily pads are there. Instead of TJ simply answering 3, he was practicing answering 3 lily pads. We'll work on answering in complete sentences when he gets this concept down pat.
Anyway, another "good" thing that we have been doing is going to the library regularly. The boys have storytime together at the 'little library' on Wednesdays (although TJ didn't want to go this week) and TJ has storytime on his own at the 'big library' on Thursdays. It gets us out of the house. The boys get interaction with others and we get to borrow MORE books. I borrowed the books on spiders. I think TJ will be excited about that. I will have to expand on that subject. But I feel like we're all over place. I keep thinking "I need to do this! I need to do that!" It just ends up that I feel more scattered and doing nothing. :(
Like yesterday we went to the library. TJ has a 45 minute (well actually 35 min this week since I couldn't find a spot and then screwed up trying to park! But that's a whole 'nother story!) storytime. The librarian (still don't know his name!) is great and very engaging. I know TJ has a lot of fun going to storytime now. But I can't say I did a whole lot more than that yesterday. I have got to get my act together!
My good deed for the day was going over flashcards with TJ today. LJ was going over flashcards, too. More like grabbing them! lol Anyway, the flashcards had pictures along with the words printed on them. On the backside of the flashcards were just the words for the more advanced readers. I was reviewing some of the flashcards - those that LJ let me keep! Then for the simple 3 letter words I thought I'd ask TJ to figure them out. I thought he did a pretty good job. He would sound the letters separately but be able to put them together pretty quickly. I was quite proud of him. Then for the longer words, I just showed him the picture. TJ still made an attempt to sound out the words even though he could have easily just looked the picture to figure it out. With one picture the word was glass, not a word we normally use so TJ said cup. I asked him to look at the word and he figured it out. Yay for TJ. Then he started getting loopy. For some reason TJ couldn't figure out the word bed. He was also telling me that the letter b was the letter n. Huh? And while the b and the d were different letters to him, he still called them by the same letter name. I just chalked it up to him being tired of the drill.
We read the Little People Sonya Lee Visits the Doctor and talked about how shots can hurt. TJ was very brave and said that he would get the shot despite knowing the pain. I reminded him that I would not let anyone do anything to harm him. I try my best to tell the truth to my boys. I do not like lies. I may withhold truths but I will not lie to them. This is not to say I will never lie to my boys, but it is certainly my intention. I am not a very good liar. I definitely do not have a poker face and have a very guilty conscience (even when I have done nothing wrong!) So it's better off for me to not lie. I probably wouldn't be able to keep my "facts" straight. lol
And, and, and I forgot another book we had read - Baby Einstein Seeing and Counting? I think that's the title. I will have to check because I haven't logged the book yet. We did lots of counting up to five (yes, I know TJ should know higher number amounts than that - but who am I do discourage him?) and I was trying to reinforce answering in complete thoughts. For example, if I ask how many lily pads are there. Instead of TJ simply answering 3, he was practicing answering 3 lily pads. We'll work on answering in complete sentences when he gets this concept down pat.
Anyway, another "good" thing that we have been doing is going to the library regularly. The boys have storytime together at the 'little library' on Wednesdays (although TJ didn't want to go this week) and TJ has storytime on his own at the 'big library' on Thursdays. It gets us out of the house. The boys get interaction with others and we get to borrow MORE books. I borrowed the books on spiders. I think TJ will be excited about that. I will have to expand on that subject. But I feel like we're all over place. I keep thinking "I need to do this! I need to do that!" It just ends up that I feel more scattered and doing nothing. :(
Like yesterday we went to the library. TJ has a 45 minute (well actually 35 min this week since I couldn't find a spot and then screwed up trying to park! But that's a whole 'nother story!) storytime. The librarian (still don't know his name!) is great and very engaging. I know TJ has a lot of fun going to storytime now. But I can't say I did a whole lot more than that yesterday. I have got to get my act together!
My good deed for the day was going over flashcards with TJ today. LJ was going over flashcards, too. More like grabbing them! lol Anyway, the flashcards had pictures along with the words printed on them. On the backside of the flashcards were just the words for the more advanced readers. I was reviewing some of the flashcards - those that LJ let me keep! Then for the simple 3 letter words I thought I'd ask TJ to figure them out. I thought he did a pretty good job. He would sound the letters separately but be able to put them together pretty quickly. I was quite proud of him. Then for the longer words, I just showed him the picture. TJ still made an attempt to sound out the words even though he could have easily just looked the picture to figure it out. With one picture the word was glass, not a word we normally use so TJ said cup. I asked him to look at the word and he figured it out. Yay for TJ. Then he started getting loopy. For some reason TJ couldn't figure out the word bed. He was also telling me that the letter b was the letter n. Huh? And while the b and the d were different letters to him, he still called them by the same letter name. I just chalked it up to him being tired of the drill.
We read the Little People Sonya Lee Visits the Doctor and talked about how shots can hurt. TJ was very brave and said that he would get the shot despite knowing the pain. I reminded him that I would not let anyone do anything to harm him. I try my best to tell the truth to my boys. I do not like lies. I may withhold truths but I will not lie to them. This is not to say I will never lie to my boys, but it is certainly my intention. I am not a very good liar. I definitely do not have a poker face and have a very guilty conscience (even when I have done nothing wrong!) So it's better off for me to not lie. I probably wouldn't be able to keep my "facts" straight. lol
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