But then something happened. The weather changed. The temperature dropped. I  mean dropped from 50’s to 30’s! The perfect spring evening became a frigid winter morning. Our room was freezing!  I woke up uncomfortable and unrested, and just a tad grumpy. ( I can hear my kids and husband coughing and sputtering)  ok, OK!      I was very grumpy.

 It took me forever to get out of bed. I kept trying to get warm. Eventually, I went and got the winter comforter and snuggled under it for a good half an hour trying to psych myself into getting up. Of course, the pets were in the room whining at me the whole time to be let out and get fed. Grrr….Brrr…..

Then Kyle was up, and I knew that was the end of that. Three years olds cannot be allowed to roam the house in the morning. They have powers that can devastate the average kitchen. Especially when armed with Peanut Butter.

Still grumpy and resentful over my lack of sleep, I made PBJ for breakfast… with water to drink… which builds character. (What about my character?)

So I let my kids watch a few children’s shows while I went in my room and checked the news, e-mail, etc….Truthfully, I figured they needed a break from me, and I needed to stop acting like a three year-old throwing a temper tantrum.

I opened my Bible, flipped around a bit, not really knowing what I wanted (or needed) to read, and wouldn’t ya know it…..this is what found me;

            “The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge” Ez 18:2

Interesting. Don’t ya think?  Rebuke really is good for the soul.

I went off to apologize to my children and ask their forgivess.  And to my husband…

…who promptly left to get me a shot of espresso.

God is good.

Love,

Wuzza

Who am I to argue with a super hero?  After all, I was 5 once, and my imagination is still going strong.

I am inspired to be creative today!

Wuzza

*Sigh*

Wuzza

Sorting is an important pre-reading skill. Often you see workbooks where children are asked to sort and label illustrations according to color or size. Or they are asked to match illustrations or pick out the one that does not match. These execises are called same/different. Why is this important, you ask? Because a lower case p, q, b, d, are all simply a different arrangement of a line and a circle. It is important for a preschooler to understand that the different arrangements of the circle and line stand for a different sound. Thus training the eye to recognize these differences is very important to preparing a child to read.

A better way to do this is to use everyday objects around the house. When you help your child sort his/her toys into their various bins, you are helping your child prepare for reading. You can sort blocks, legos, hotwheels cars, coins, stuffed animals….the list is endless.

An even better way is to make the activity meaningful. After all, sorting toys just for the sake of sorting will get old very quickly…for both of you. An activity with purpose and value is the best kind of learning activity. With that in mind, our 3 year-old has the responsibility of unloading the silverware. He has to sort forks, spoons, and butter knives, measuring cups, sippy cup lids, etc… (FYI; He doesn’t handle anything dangerous like sharp knives, etc. And I am with him when he does this) It is a hands on experience; multisensory.  And he is helping his family, himself included, to have clean utensils ready for the next meal.

 It is an important job. There is nothing more frustrating than when you’ve just poured yourself a bowl of cereal,with the milk and you open the drawer for a spoon and there aren’t any! Now you have to hunt one down losing precious minutes while your cereal gets soggy!

So, with one activity, I have delegated a chore, he has gained pre-reading skills, he has built his self-esteem by doing something important and needed, we have done something meaningful together, and we can both feel proud of ourselves, yogurt mustache and all.

Now…if only it stayed that simple…Then they turn 16…and take logic…and argue with you about everything…and it happens overnight

Wuzza

Yes,  those are my kids, my MALE offspring with pillows stuffed up their shirts pretending to be pregnant. No, they are not weirdos. It’s all Bill Cosby’s fault. And if you don’t think TV influences your children, I offer this documented proof.

My kids love The Cosby Show. So their big Christmas gift was all eight seasons of it, which they proceeded to watch marathon style. Between being on Christmas break and having 10 degree temperatures outside, they pretty much went through all eight seasons in 3 weeks. 

In one of the episodes, Dr. Huxtable has a dream in which a volcanic erutption alters the water supply in NYC and men can, and do, get pregnant. Dr. Huxtable, Elvin, and Martin all end up 9 months along, which is where my kids got the idea to stuff pillows up their shirts.

Crazy, I know. But they do look like cute, poofy, little teddy bears.