2013-2014 Pre-K Curriculum

Hey Everyone! Many friends and family members have been asking me what curriculum we plan on using for Kai's first official year of preschool at home. So I made up a list and gave a little info on why I have chosen that particular material. Just remember, what works for us may not work for you and vise versa. And that is the glory of Homeschooling. You have the freedom and flexibility to change and alter the curriculum used as well as the very way you do school to best meet the needs and abilities of your own child. Families that homeschool have multiplied immensely, especially in the last decade and because of that, the curriculum options and choices are endless! 

Letter of the Week from Confessions of a Homeschooler - We have been using the free printables from Erica's blog for just about a year now and we have thoroughly enjoyed them. They are colorful and bright and easily attract the attention of my very busy boy. Each letter themed week includes a ton of activities from letter tracing and puzzles to color recognition and pre-math skills such as number tracing and picture patterns. Up until this point I have just printed out what I wanted (for free) to do for the week and then laminated them. Now that we are adding a *bit* more structure into our school days, I went ahead and purchased the entire collection and uploaded it to our hard drive. It is 15 dollars for the files or 20 dollars for the actual hard copies in disc form. In my opinion, this is a really wonderful place to start. 

Before Five in a Row- I have had my eyes on BFIAR for quite some time now. A while back when we made the determination and decision to homeschool Kai, I bought a book called 100 Top picks for Homeschool Curriculum by Cathy Duffy (A revised edition of this book has since been released, 101 Top Picks for Homechool Curticulum). In the beginning of the book you are given a brief run down of the different styles of homeschooling. Didn't know there was more than one way to homeschool? Don't feel bad, I didn't know then either. After you are given an explanation of the different schooling styles the book has a questionnaire to help you narrow down the best style suited for you and your family based on your individual needs and desires. If nothing more, the purchase of the book was worth every penny because it included that questionnaire. So my husband and I sat down together and discussed and answered each question. When we were finished we came to the conclusion that the schooling style best suited for our family was an eclectic one. Followed closely behind by the Unit study approach. A Unit Study is an in depth examination of one topic (farms, dogs, treehouses, etc) that uses various academic avenues to approach that topic (math, science, geography, etc). It is a complete immersion into the topic so that the child can view things as a whole rather than disconnected tidbits of knowledge. Which now brings me back to where I began with all of this- BFIAR is a very gentle introduction into unit studies that uses beloved classic children's books as the center. The teacher's guide lays out activities for each of the selected literature choices and you can pick and choose between lessons at your discretion. It is best suited for ages 2-4 and includes books like Corduroy, Runaway Bunny, Goodnight Moon and The Snowy Day. The literature package currently contains 19 titles and is a total of $96.75. If you are on a budget, you can always check out these books from the library and just purchase the teacher's guide which is 35 dollars. I'm really looking forward to starting this curriculum!

Singapore Earlybird Kindergarten Math Standard Edition A- My boy likes math. It comes easy to him. He has known his numbers and has been able to count way before he ever started to recognize letters or letter sounds. I have done a lot of research and believe that this curriculum will be best for where Kai's math skills are now. Each edition is made up with different units to help lay a firm mathematical foundation. It is based on California state standards (a plus in my opinion) and contains a very kid friendly text book, activity book, teacher's guide, and teacher resource pack. You can take everything for Edition A home for a little over 100 dollars. I will let you know how we like it once we get started. 

Montessori- I love love love the Montessori style of teaching and have been implementing it in our tot school from day one. I recently purchased an E-book from the Montessori Print Shop called Montessori at Home. I will be using that as well as a few Early Childhood Teacher's Manuals from Montessori Reserach and Development (Practical Life and Geography and History) in our daily school time. I will go more in depth on montessori style preschool activities in another post. 

Mudpies to Magnets: A Preschool Science Curriculum- I purchased this book from amazon and plan to supplement it within our other areas of study. 

NaturExplorer Studies from Shining Dawn Books- These are inexpensive Ebooks on various subjects that I also plan to use as a supplement to our areas of study.

Links

http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/letter-of-the-week

http://fiveinarow.com/before-five-in-a-row/

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0929320158?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links

http://www.singaporemath.com/

http://shiningdawnbooks.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Mudpies-Magnets-Preschool-Science-Curriculum/dp/0876591128/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1371250741&sr=1-1&keywords=mudpies+to+magnets

http://montessorird.com/index2.php?cPath=2_17

http://www.montessoriprintshop.com/site/mobile?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.montessoriprintshop.com%2FMontessori_At_Home_.html#2812

Ricotta Cheese

I am half Italian. And that by default makes me adore all things pasta and cheese. I mean it's in my blood, right?
Right!
Some of my fondest childhood memories take place at my grandparent's or Nonno and Nonna's house on Sunday nights. Nothing but family, love, and food. Oh, the food!
I'm fairly certain I have been eating ricotta cheese since I could walk. And all the more, loving ricotta cheese since the very first time the yummy, rich, dangerously addictive food reached my mouth. I can just hear my Nonno say, "Lorena, mangia! Mangia!" (Lauren, eat! Eat!) as he heaped a giant spoonful into a bowl. Sometimes, he would mix it with a little bit of jelly or preserves. And other times with a little bit of fresh tomato sauce. Whatever way it was served, I ate it. Happily.
Since, I have been enjoying cooking more of what my family eats from scratch, I set out on a journey to make my own ricotta cheese. When I tell you that this is by far one of the most delicious and easy things to ever grace my kitchen, believe me. I could barely pull myself away from it. I will never, ever buy it pre-made again. Try it, you too, will find it makes you weak in the knees.

Ricotta Cheese

4 cups whole milk
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup heavy cream
Sea salt
*Note: I used all organic dairy and saved a bunch making this myself. Organic ricotta cheese is very pricey and hard to find!

Line a strainer with a triple layered piece of cheese cloth and place it in the sink.

Combine milk, buttermilk, and cream into a sauce pan and heat on medium high.

It will start to slowly boil and solids will start to form. This is the whey (liquid) and the curds beginning to separate. If you have a thermometer, you want it to reach a temperature of 185 degrees. A candy thermometer is best but I don't have one so I used my turkey thermometer. I'm fancy like that.
If you don't have a thermometer, don't worry. You will be able to see this happening. It should take about 10 minutes.
After the curds have formed, remove from heat and use a slotted spoon or hand strainer to scoop out the cheese. Place it in the cheese cloth lined strainer. Every few scoopfuls sprinkle with sea salt.
Now stand over your beautiful creation with a spoon and admire/taste the goodness.

You are welcome, in advance.
Buon Appetito!

Loving Two

I walk along holding your 2-year-old hand, basking in the glow of our magical relationship. Suddenly I feel a kick from within, as if to remind me that our time alone is limited. And I wonder: how could I ever love another child as I love you?

Then he is born, and I watch you. I watch the pain you feel at having to share me as you’ve never shared me before.

I hear you telling me in your own way, “Please love only me”. And I hear myself telling you in mine, “I can’t”, knowing, in fact, that I never can again.

You cry. I cry with you. I almost see our new baby as an intruder on the precious relationship we once shared. A relationship we can never quite have again.

But then, barely noticing, I find myself attached to that new being, and feeling almost guilty. I’m afraid to let you see me enjoying him, as though I am betraying you.

But then I notice your resentment change, first to curiosity, then to protectiveness, finally to genuine affection.

More days pass, and we are settling into a new routine. The memory of days with just the two of us is fading fast.

But something else is replacing those wonderful times we shared, just we two. There are new times – only now, we are three. I watch the love between you grow, the way you look at each other, touch each other.

I watch how he adores you – as I have for so long. I see how excited you are by each of his new accomplishments. And I begin to realize that I haven’t taken something from you, I’ve given something to you. I notice that I am no longer afraid to share my love openly with both of you.

I find that my love for each of you is as different as you are, but equally strong. And my question is finally answered, to my amazement. Yes, I can love another child as much as I love you – only differently.

And although I realize that you may have to share my time, I now know you’ll never share my love. There’s enough of that for both of you – you each have your own supply.

I love you – both. And I thank you both for blessing my life.
Author Unknown

Babies Don't Keep

Holding my baby in my arms, watching his little lips move as he quietly dreams of nursing, listening to the soft sound of his breathing, inhaling the sweet aroma of his baby scent, and absolutely relishing in this moment that will never come again.
He will only be this exact way today. Tomorrow brings growth and new developments and one morning I will wake up, these days nothing but a memory. There is nothing more important or pressing to accomplish than for this mama to just sit and hold her baby.


Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

-Ruth Hulbert Hamilton

3

 

It's ridiculously hard to even comprehend that I am now a Momma to a 3 year old.

Kai turned 3 a few days ago. Man, that went by fast.

How I love that sweet child.

Here is his 3 year old birthday/love letter:

 

Little man,

Today, You are three and most often; are completely perplexing me. Still, so much a baby but with every blink of my eyes you become more and more the little boy I always imagined I would have. You are the boy who believes he is Godzilla fifty percent of the day. I love that two of your favorite pastimes are washing your hands and brushing your teeth. You also LOVE to floss, you are awesome. My boy who wants to be just like his Daddy but is still very much a Mama's boy. You live in a world I am no longer a part of, a land of hiding holes and make believe. Just when I think I have you all figured out, you throw me through a loop hole and I'm off, again chasing after you. I follow you around the world and watch your undying curiosity make leaps and bounds. This life is so interesting and I can feel the youth in my soul awaken as I experience childhood once again. Except this time it's through your eyes. Sometimes, when you sleep, I watch you dream and I dream too.

It's hard to imagine that one day you will pack up your things and set out into this great big world. So, I plan on hanging on to every second of your childhood and soaking it all in. My little boy who loves dragons and monsters. Who wants to help me with everything I do. Who likes to jump on my back and be carried down the stairs. Who grabs my cheeks and kisses my nose.

I can't wait to see where 3 takes you.

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always.

As long as I'm living,

My baby you'll be.

 

Xoxoxo Mom

 

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Lochlan's Birth Story

Hello my Sweet Lochlan,

It's been almost two months since you graced our family with your presence and I decided that now was a good time to write the story of your birth. Details are already becoming fuzzy and I know I will kick myself later if I don't do this now while it's still somewhat fresh in my mind.

In the days and months leading up to your birthday, I had been a giant ball of emotions. One minute, my heart was jumping with excitement and the next, I would be paralyzed with fear and anxiety. Doubts would flood through me and I would have to make a conscious effort to turn off my mind and have faith that all of my payers and choices had brought me to this moment and the decision to birth you completely naturally in the warmth and safety of our own home. In the week before you were born, I remember waking up every day wondering if today was the day we would see your sweet face for the first time. It wasn't until two days before that I began to think that you really were on your way, though I kept telling myself it wasn't time as to not disappoint myself too much.

Saturday September 15, 2012

I had been having contractions all day. Nothing painful or intense but they didn't seem to ease up for the entire day. I went on like usual, your Dad was working at the tunnel and I went shopping with Kai, Grammy and Stephanie. We went to target, my happy store, and walked around. Your brother being the almost three year old that he is, was testing the boundaries left and right. At one point, I even at to walk him out to the car to discipline him. What a sight we probably were! I even thought, "Watch my water break while I'm lugging this wailing child outside!" Luckily, it did not break then, although not so lucky for our midwife. More on that in a bit. So by the time our shopping trip was complete, I was persuaded to call Donna, our midwife just to give her a heads up to what was going on with me. Which at this point, I still thought was nothing. Your Dad came home that night and we ordered Mexican for dinner. I sat with your brother for a long time playing with play dough, reading him books, and telling him stories of all the adventures that you and him would go on some day. I remember haing a lump in my throat and a gut feeling that life as we knew it was about to change drastically and I remember wondering if I was up for the challenge that was ahead of me. Dad and I went to bed quite a bit earlier than usual, around 9 pm, and by midnight my sleep was interrupted by my first actual labor pain.

I jostled your Dad to get up and he suggested I call Donna and/or try to go back to sleep. Agreeing with him, I called Donna and told her my contractions were painful and from my guess were somewhere around 4 minutes apart. I also told her I was still able to talk through them and that they weren't anything terrible. She too, suggested I try to get some rest and I obliged and told her I would call her when things intensified. Now I'm not sure how I managed to do this but I went back to sleep for two hours! At that point in my labor, it was a pretty awesome feat to accomplish.

It was now 2 am and my contractions were intense. Each wave stronger than the one that preceded it and I could no longer lay down during them. I woke your Dad up again, in which he responded that I should try to lay down again. I humored him and attempted to lay down for one contraction but was far too uncomfortable to do so. I called my midwife from the bathroom and updated her on my progress. Still explaining that I was fine in between them but it was getting harder to keep my mind off the pain when I was contracting. She said she would start heading over and that I should call Mel, my very dear friend whom I had asked to be an extra support person during your birth. She too, had given birth at home to her second son and I was fortunate enough to attend her birth as her doula. It was such an amazing experience and I was giddy on the high of her birth for months. So I had your Dad call Mel, because at this point I was losing the ability to talk in between my contratctions. I needed the time in between to rest and mentally prepare myself for the next one.

Looking back, I probably should have realized that my contractions were starting to be one on top of the other but my perception was clouded by the idea I had put in my head that I was going to be in labor for days. Your Dad immediately went into his "Be Prepared" mode and had rearranged the furniture in our living room, lit candles, and put on the pandora station I had selected to give birth to. He was so cute, my heart instantly warms a little when I think about him busily rushing around to get things ready for you. When Mel arrived, my contractions were already more than I thought I could handle. I found comfort in sitting on the toilet and I could feel my desire to seem "in control" slip away. The stronger my contractions became, the louder my voice became. I remember thinking and speaking my doubts that I was not going to be able to do this. I was very kindly reminded that I was in fact, doing it and I was doing it well. At one point, I remember thinking that pounding on the wall and knocking things over sounded like great ideas. I'd like to think that my primal human instincts were to blame for that, but in actuality, it was probably just because birthing you hurt like h***. At this point, your Dad walked into the bathroom and informed me that he was going to go fill up our gas tank. "Just in case", he said. Now at the time this made perfect sense and I didn't think twice about it, maybe I didn't even think about it at all, but looking back now it makes me smile and want to kiss your Dad for being so cute. He had received some advice from Selwyn, Mel's husband, on being prepared and man, did he ever take that to heart. So anywho, he left. To go get gas. :) funny guy.

I'm pretty sure within minutes of your Dad leaving I was fully dilated and effaced. I started to get this overwhelming sensation that I needed to push. The more I resisted pushing the more extreme the pain. Finally, when I couldn't hold back anymore I gave in. I kept telling Mel that I was trying not to push but I was! And where was my husband? And where was my midwife? Mel told me that she was pretty sure that when you had the need to push that you were pretty close to having a baby and I laughed/cried/screamed and said "That would be nice but I'm not getting my hopes uppppppp!"

Your Dad returned in record time and I was so glad. I felt a little, tiny, itty bitty part of me relax. He took over pressing on my back during my contractions and gave Mel a break. In the corner of my eye, I had been watching her text Donna then when I began to say I needed to push, she went out into the kitchen and called her. She came back to the bathroom after the call and said, "She is on her way! She is going 90 and will be here in a minute." Thank. God. I thought.

When Donna walked through my door it was like watching an angel walk into my house. Man, was I glad to see her! This labor had gone from 0 to 60 in just over an hour and I there was no possible way I was giving birth to you without her next to me. She immediately walked over and hugged me. I told her I needed to push and she said "Ok, let's check and see how much progress you have made." "All I feel is a bag of water!", she excitedly replied afterward. I couldn't believe it. it was game time.u

We moved to the living room and your Dad, Mel, and Donna covered up the chaise lounge and got me sitting on up on it. Your Dad was sitting behind me, holding me and loving on me. I gave my first push and a giant gush of water splashed everywhere, including all over my wonderful midwife. Yep, my water broke all over. Giving birth is amazing. By the time I got to the living room I had given in to the pain and contractions and was just going with it. Honestly, I don't remember this pain nearly as much as I remember the pain fom not pushing. I pushed for 12 minutes and you were born.

At 3:58 am on September 16, 2012 I reached down and brought you up to my chest and looked into your eyes for the first time. You were absolutely perfect and it was the most blissful moment of my life. Every pain I had experienced had ceased and was long forgotten. I had you and I had the birth I had been dreaming of. It was one of the most incredible feelings in the world. A high ten times better than anything I experienced during my skydiving days.

Your birth was ideal in every form of the word for me. It was 100% natural. I was at home surrounded by people that I love and people who love me. It was quick. It was safe. And it was beautiful, was it ever beautiful.

 

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6 Weeks, 6 Days

Hello All!

 

This is me showing my little old' blog some love. It has been six weeks and six days since I became a mother of two. Time has completely flown by. It seems like I just gave birth yesterday; the details, images, and feelings still so fresh in my mind (birth story coming next). But clearly it has been much longer than just yesterday which leads me to this evening. I'm currently laying next to a precious little guy who is completely content and all cuddled up beside me. I am exhausted. And happy.

If you were to ask me what life with two kids under three is like, I would tell you it is hard. It is really, really hard. I believe in honesty. And sugar coating things isn't my style, so this is me telling you that having two little ones is no walk in the park. I was not expecting the transition to be as much of a challenge as it actually turned out to be. Silly me :)

My days seem to almost always feel like constant chaos. It takes me ten times longer to do anything and everything. I have become particularly fond of my coffee in the morning. Ok, fond is probably an understatement. My house is never clean the way it used to be. I have trouble finishing my own sentences, responding to emails, calls, and text messages, and remembering to send out birthday cards. I eat every meal in under 5 minutes for fear that the opportunity to nourish my body will pass and I will be sidetracked by changing a diaper, wiping a nose, nursing a baby, cleaning up a spill, or dealing with an unruly individual. And I'm scared to death to leave the house with the boys without another adult to help. The thought alone makes me cringe and want to run to my bed and throw the covers over my head. There are many times (a day) I wonder why on Earth do people continue to have kids. I mean it is just so much work! Then, as quickly as that thought enters my mind, The millions of little things that make parenting so absolutely amazing wash over me and then I know.

I know, that children are a blessing. I know that the hardest things in life, reap the most reward. I know, when I look into the eyes of my little boys that there is absolutely nothing else I would rather be doing then raising them. And I think to myself, "Man, I love being a mother." And I love my two little boys. My thoughts are consumed with them, my dreams are dreams for them, and my heart has never felt more full.

So for now, I will laugh at the chaos and embrace it. After all, it's happy chaos. I know when these moments are nothing but a memory that I will long for the days when the sound of little feet was the music we danced to week to week. (name that song)

And that's about all the love I have to give the blogging world tonight.

From my little piece of chaotic heaven, I am signing off.

 

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