Living, Loving, Learning

I will not be making anymore posts on this blog. I started a website that I will post things on.

Here is the link:
http://kidsplayfullearning.weebly.com/

All about children and play. Have fun living, loving, and learning!

Energy Drain

This behavior management technique is from Love and Logic. I tried it the other day and it worked really well.

Andrew had been whining for a few days...something he's picked up lately...and I was getting into a bad pattern of getting frustrated, telling him to stop over and over and throwing my hands up in the air. You know...all the less-effective parenting techniques that we all know DON'T WORK. I have plenty of excuses for my less-effective parenting, but I knew it had to change.

So, I started re-reading Love and Logic Magic For Early Childhood.

I re-implemented the techniques and fine-tuned my skills, but the energy drain was new.

When Andrew started whining, I told him, "When you whine, it drains my energy (100% true). What are you going to do to put it back?"

His response? Just as they said it would be: (Insert whining voice here): "But I don't know how to put it back."

Me: "Do you want some suggestions?"

Andy: "Yes."

I then listed off three chores that he could do that would help "put energy back in me".

It worked. No more whining. And I had a lot of energy back in me. No Joke.

That day.

A couple of days later, it started again and we repeated the same conversation.

This time the chore he chose was to fold his blanket.

He didn't know how, so there was a fair amount of whining and crying when I wouldn't help him. Then I asked if he wanted some help. I laid the blanket down on the floor and then I sat on the couch. I coached him through it and then he figured the rest out on his own. He was so proud of himself when he was done. We had one more energy drain moment a little while later, when he chose to sweep the floor, and none since.

He has been trying very hard to remember to use a non-whiny voice when talking to me and it's obvious.

I love Love and Logic.

Family Nature Walk/Book

Sunday Brad was fussy and David had to go to choir, so I took the boys on a nature walk. We took pictures of cool things and then for FHE we made a nature book. We had fun. Andrew told us what to write for the captions and he helped write some of his own!

Family History Project Revisited

Family History Project Update:

We are having fun asking grandmas and grandpas questions and finding out some fun facts! Andrew was especially excited to find out that Grandma Wright likes to read and I was excited to find out that Grandma Despain loves homemade ice cream!

Family History Project for kids

I came up with a fun way to do some family history with my kids. We created these word documents for both children, and parents and grandparents. I kept mine simple because the boys are young. We will add to their books as they get older and can understand more. Each person has their own page and we added one for their step-grandma because she is an important part of our family, too. 

My Family History

What is my name:

Where was I born?

What is my favorite food?

What do I like to do for fun?

My Dad

What is dad’s name:

Where did dad grow up?

What is dad’s favorite food?

What does dad like to do for fun?

My Mom

What is mom’s name:

Where did mom grow up?

What is mom’s favorite food?

What does mom like to do for fun?

My Grandma

What is Grandma’s name:

Where did Grandma grow up?

What is Grandma’s favorite food?

What does Grandma like to do for fun?

My Grandpa

What is Grandpa’s name:

Where did Grandpa grow up?

What is Grandpa’s favorite food?

What does Grandpa like to do for fun?

 My Step-Grandmother

What is Grandma’s name:

Where did Grandma grow up?

What is Grandma’s favorite food?

What does Grandma like to do for fun?

Over the River: A Turkey's Tale...

There are some books for each season that have become family favorites. We started checking them out at the library and we are developing quite a collection that we want to purchase so we can have them.

For Halloween, we love to read Big Pumpkin
http://www.ericasilverman.com/_b_big_pumpkin__b__71195.htm
This is just a fun book for us. We love the rhymes and the cute story.
                                         AND
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Old-Lady-Afraid-Anything/dp/0064431835
It's a fun book that we have used props for and acted out time and time again. 

For Fall, we love Red Are the Apples.
http://books.google.com/books?id=Oprhx9CN9CsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=red+are+the+apples&source=bl&ots=yNKbxlJNwL&sig=nyQlQ2t6Lf2GAk1GJIPU7lPjdxk&hl=en&ei=RijWTOWhHJKasAOT1qyOCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&sqi=2&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false
It's so poetic in words and pictures. It reminds me of fall harvest and of hours spent canning foods that we will enjoy for several months. It reminds me of spending time with family and enjoying this wonderful fall season.

For Thanksgiving, we love Over the River: A Turkey's Tale
http://www.librarything.com/work/1861665
It's a fun book of pictures put to a familiar song. We read it nightly throughout the month of November, enjoying the story and anticipating going to grandma and grandpa's house for Thanksgiving. 


These books have become family favorites and seasonal traditions. They remind us of good times spent together during our favorite time of year. What are some of your family's favorite books?

Color Science

Again, I used this website as my reference:
http://scienceforpreschoolers.com/topic/physics/color-science

We mixed colors using this handy dandy muffin tin I bought at DI.

We made predictions about what color each set would make. To add sight word practice into the whole thing, I wrote the names of the each color and put it next to the appropriate part of the tin. After we mixed and discussed colors, he got to paint with them.

What's more fun than baking soda and vinegar?

For our science activities this week, we played with baking soda and vinegar. This is the link I used.
http://scienceforpreschoolers.com/topic/chemistry/baking-sodavinegar

Day 1: Experiment with baking soda and vinegar by playing with it and seeing what happens when you mix it together.
Day 2: Blow up a balloon using baking soda and vinegar.

This week we'll be making Irish Soda Bread with baking soda and vinegar!

Favorite October Books

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Old-Lady-Afraid-Anything/dp/0064431835/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1286393844&sr=8-1

The Big Pumpkin
http://www.amazon.com/Big-Pumpkin-Erica-Silverman/dp/0689801297/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1286393874&sr=1-1


Pumpkins
http://www.amazon.com/Pumpkins-Ken-Robbins/dp/0312371411/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1286393923&sr=1-1

Red Are the Apples
http://www.amazon.com/Red-Are-Apples-Marc-Harshman/dp/0152060650/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1286393952&sr=1-1

Ten Red Apples
http://www.amazon.com/Ten-Red-Apples-Pat-Hutchins/dp/0688167977/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1286393993&sr=1-1

Patterning and block play...

Blocks are great for developing math skills. Place a variety of objects in the block area: standard unit blocks, colored blocks (Ikea), plastic animals, empty spice bottles, empty diaper boxes, cars and trucks, leaves, bark, mesquite beans, etc., old keys. Anything you can think of. Put a couple of objects in and change them out periodically. Given the opportunity, kids will discover and explore in ways you would never dream of. They will learn math, spatial reasoning, act out things they see in the world. It's great for classifying and sorting. You will notice your kids classifying different kinds of cars and trucks, animals and objects. These are foundational concepts that will help them to be successful in math.

It's a great opportunity to notice what they are doing and learning and then to extend that learning with a variety of activities and projects.