P is for Play!

P is for Play. One letter and only one part of the ABCs of Teaching Preschool. Deborah of Teach Preschool has hit an amazing milestone on Facebook: 20k fans. Yes, that's right, 20,000 fans!

I'm thrilled to be included in Teach Preschool's celebration! This is only one post in a collection of the "ABCs of Teaching Preschool".

I don't teach preschool, but I do teach my own preschooler as his mom. And one of the most important parts of our day is play, as it is in preschool, too.

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P is for Play

If you haven't noticed, hands on : as we grow is a lot about play.

Children at play.

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Preschool Readiness : Twitter Party 8/25

Henry started preschool last Thursday.

A big day.

Though the day itself didn't seem so big.

After a few weeks of going four mornings a week, it may start to feel different.

I have asked myself many times, "Is Henry ready for Preschool?"

"Is he doing all the things a preschooler should be doing?"

"What does he need to know?"

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Raising Kids is Tough : Ask the Experts

 

Raising a Kid is Tough.

Teaching your children to become responsible adults is a lot of pressure for teachers and parents. To lend a helping hand, experts are here to lend you an ear along with their advice.

The Raising Kids is Tough Series is a series of posts dedicated to help take the tough out of raising kids. Each month your questions on a specific topic will be answered by the Hands on Experts!

Who are the Hands on Experts?

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Kid Talk : Construction Site

During some outdoor play after supper, 

Henry got his big backhoe out and started digging on the hillside.

When I asked what he was doing, the following is his answer.

I'm tearing down a building.

A bakery.

A building that a bakery was in.

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Happy 3rd Birthday Henry!

Henry through the years.


Henry today.[technically this photo was taken last weekend.]3 years old!Happy Birthday Henry!

Tweet    - Henry is 3 years -   

Henry vs George [0-6 months]

I thought it would be a great way to capture the memories of the boys by putting them side by side. I do not mean to compare my children and say one is better than the other. But who doesn't look back at what their first child did when their second child just did the same thing? 

When the boys were born, they looked identical. Over the course of the last 6 months, George has changed into his own self and not a Henry clone. 

Here are a few pictures and stats of Henry and George. 

Henry on the left : George on the right

At the Hospital

Henry : 6 lb 11 oz, 19 inches

George : 7 lb 3 oz, 20 inches

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Toddler Talk : Helping

The one thing that lets me have some sort of order in this house, and keeps me sane, is that
Henry loves to help me clean and do my regular household work.

Dust mopping the wood floors has become a weekly necessity and this is Henry's favorite! I shortened a Swiffer mop by taking out a couple of the sections, so now its just his height.



When doing laundry, Henry always jumps at the chance to help. He brings all the hampers to the laundry room for me. And then returns them to their place. He does try to help with rotating the laundry, but usually gets stuck when pulling stuff out of the washer.Read more »

What We're Reading

Since today is Read Across America Day,

I thought I'd share with you our favorite books in this house.

The number one book in this house :

Cars and Trucks and Things That Go 

Or to us, its known as Goldbug. 

This was my husband's favorite when he was little, and now its Henry's favorite. 
There's a little tiny 'goldbug' on every page, peaking out from somewhere. Henry finds him on every page. (Kind of like Where's Waldo.) The story is pretty funny too along the way. Its about a trip the Pigs are making to the beach for a picnic and their adventures along the way. 
Be prepared for a lot of 'What is that?" questions. There's a lot of odd vehicles and objects along the way.
Bananamobile? Doughnut Car? Rhinoceros Car? Yep, they're all in there.[don't worry, you don't need to make up these names, they're provided]

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Any of the Berenstain Bears Books are the current bedtime favorites : [not really bedtime stories, they're just in Henry's room, so that's what we read.]We currently have been reading these:

 

I'm not sure how I feel about some of the Berenstain Bears books. I know as a child I loved them, as did my husband. But as a parent, I don't always like the message they're getting across. And maybe this is only because Henry is still a little young for them. 

The Berenstain Bears' New Baby : [And no, this is not an announcement that I'm pregnant, we got this book for Henry when I was pregnant with George and Henry still pulls it out to read.] Brother gets too big for his small bed, so he and Papa set out for the day to build a bigger one. While they were gone, Mama gets his little bed ready for Sister who is born that day. The only part I don't care for is at the end when Sister bops Brother in the nose (yes, she's a baby and doesn't know better, but Henry doesn't understand that).

The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble at School : Brother is sick and misses school and forgets about studying, then does bad on a quiz and loses his place on the soccer team. He gets mad about it and then Gramps comes in and helps him fix it all. No consequences?

The Berenstain Bears and the Bad Dream : Brother and Sister learn about dreams and how your mind still thinks when you're sleeping, but in a mixed up way. This book has taught Henry what a nightmare is and now he thinks he has them all the time. Even before he's fallen asleep. 

The Berenstain Bears Go to the Doctor : I really like this book and Henry loves it. He actually really enjoys going to the doctor and has had no problems with shots. But this book helps kids get over the fear of getting their immunizations. It also lets them know that even sometimes Papa might get sick too!

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Flip Flap Farm : this is a newer book of Henry's, so we're still finding all the treasures. "I find a new flap every time I read this!" - Henry's dad.
Henry loves farming and this book is actually pretty educational about all that happens during each of the seasons of farming. And there's tons of flaps, flaps inside flaps, and much more!

  
- Henry is about 34 months -

overheard : phone call

Hello, Grandma C?
You crying?
...
Oh, you have a cold. 
...
Okay...
 [to me:I'm on the phone, shhh, be quiet. When I get off phone, you can be loud.]
... 

Yes...
You have a cold? Okay...
...
Yes...
... [ there were lots of pauses...]
Okay
...
Yes...
...

Okay, bye.

[a good 5 minute conversation by Henry on his toy phone]

- Henry is about 34 months - 

Is it Spring yet?

93 days.
That's how many consecutive days we have played indoors for the entire morning.
I'm so ready for spring.
Henry has had a few days that he played outside with Dad, but I haven't been out at all this winter.[stir crazy]
I can't wait to pull out the outdoor toys and get outside!
Although... I'm bummed... Henry's favorite, I'm afraid, has gotten too small for him.

The Jeep

Though, this year, we're replacing it with this that he got for Christmas.

The Backhoe

These always provide endless entertainment.

The Popper and Bubble Mowers

And there's always the tried and true favorites though.

The playground, his trike and, of course, the farm.

And the all time best.

Nothing. Free play in the yard!

Is Spring here yet?Maybe.Tomorrow there's a high of 60 - I think we'll head out for my favorite - a walk!

Toddler Talk : Potty Training

This week's topic is Potty Training. 

I've been debating about actually writing about our issues or not because I have no answer to it. But I decided to give it a go ahead. 

We are in the middle of potty training - on and off officially. I think we're always potty training. Just not very successful at it. We have tried a few times switching to real underwear the entire day (not at nap or night), it usually lasts for a couple days at a time and by that time, I'm exhausted. 

And my washer can't keep up fast enough.

Henry's getting better though - not successful, just better. He now tells me that he has to go - but its usually always after he already went. 

Pooping is actually more successful than peeing around here - everyone I tell this too gets so excited for me because pooping is such a milestone to accomplish on the potty. Not here. Pooping in general is a milestone for this kid. 

I can always tell when he has to poop - so he gets sat on the potty. It may take 4 or 5 tries at 5-10 minutes each (this conveniently happens about 3 times a day, during every meal - I'd really like a warm meal one of these days) until he actually will allow himself to do it, but, it usually happens... sometime that day. 

Peeing. Well, at least he's uncomfortable now after he pees and wants to sit on the potty and be changed ASAP. That's a step, right? 

We'll get there when we get there and until then, I'll be frustrated.

Proud Mom Moment

Last night, while I was dressing George for bed - Henry was playing in his room too. He got out his First Words Flashcards and starting reading the letters of the words on the back, then flipping it over and saying what it was.

I actually had my camera with me (I'm starting to make it a habit to carry this around with me throughout the day) - so I got a picture of him "reading".


He often did not read the letters in the correct order (left to right) - sometimes it was right to left, other times it was completely random. And he often screws up a, d, b and e, g, j -- but that didn't matter.

What matters is that there was one time when he said: 

m-o-o-n : MOON!

I felt like he was in a spelling bee.

It was perfect.