High Maintenance Mom

Happy Mother's Day!

I made a huge amount of salt dough today for kids to enjoy. I was impressed by how easy it was to make and how much fun the kids had sculpting it. I also really like the idea of making something like this from basic ingredients at home so the kids can see the process instead of just going to the store to buy it...

Game night is a cherished family tradition in many homes. My husband and I have our friends over for game night so when our oldest seemed ready (she is 4) we bought the usual suspects (Candy Land - Dora The Explorer, Chutes and Ladders, Zobmondo!! Entertainment; The Ladybug Game (a house favorite)) and let the fun begin. What we didn't see coming was how quickly she learned the games, how much she loved them and how much our 2 year old liked them too. Sometimes they even "play" the games together. I am still surprised our 2 year old sits and plays with us (and runs off and comes back and runs off again...but still). During this time of board game awe, I stumbled across a very interesting article in The Washington Post about board games and their benefit to preschoolers (http://tiny.cc/0aW1K) They made the valid points I was expecting about color recognition, counting, turn taking, etc but what I also learned was these games help teach social skills like self control....(more)

A friend of mine, who is a reading specialist, was explaining the other day how kids who never go out with their families to the zoo or other trips often do not acquire the vocabulary they need to read at grade level. I knew the trips we took with the kids helped them learn but I hadn't really thought about how hard it is for kids to read about animals if they had never seen them in real life or been introduced to them in stories. Of course, kids learn at different rates so showing your six-month old an animal at the zoo might not have the same effect as talking to an older child about animals. And it also doesn't mean that shoving a year's worth of trips into a week is going to have any benefit. We've recently been trying to help explain how concepts are connected and a recent wedding near DC provided a ideal and early opportunity to talk about the formation of the United States...

I grew up in a bit of an old fashioned family setting. We went on summer vacations as a family, celebrated the holidays at home and always, always ate meals together. Even when I would miss a family meal because of my after school activities, a plate would be saved and either my Mom or Dad would sit with me at the table while I ate. The TV was never on during meals, hats were off and manners were adhered to. That's just the way it was. Nowadays, that cant be said for many families....

When I had only one child I felt I was very engaged in her every activity. From play time to walks, watching TV and reading, I used the time to bond and teach. It was great. I never really thought about how that would change with two kids. It isn't only that there is another child. It is the different skill sets you have to deal with....at the same time!.....

It's that special time again when those of us living in our type A communities rush around to schedule a summer's worth of activities for our kids. At $500 a week we feel nostalgic for the good old days when camp was more than a week long and kids played outside all day. N's preschool class from last year has organized a play date where we will all come with our camp research and plan our summers. Afterwards, I will send our schedule to several of B's friends to see what we can do. One of the parents I spoke with today told me of a camp where the kids are bused to a park where they can canoe. She referred to it as "Old School." In addition to preparing for camps, many of us are also scheduling school tours and going through the application process...

I'm working a night shift on the big island of Hawaii watching the Halema`uma`u vent and data feeds. My 16 days of working 8pm to 4am are almost over and while I love being here, I miss my family. I have to admit that not being able to talk to the kids because of my hours has been really hard. I've been sending pictures by email and writing postcards but it's not the same. If ever do it again, I will spend more time setting up video calls with our computers for the weekends.

Knowing the night shift was going to be hard, I brought several comfort items from home.

Summer Reading Programs are an excellent way to introduce kids to the joys of libraries and reading. Many libraries now have Listening and Parent programs too so everyone can participate. Reading to your kids is one of the best ways to prepare them for school and help them develop lifelong reading skills (Reading is Fundamental). Last year was B's first year in the Reading program instead of the Listening program and it was very exciting. We still read to him but we also had him read a little bit almost every night. Reading the same books over an over really helped as did finding a very simple series that he found interesting. Each child learns to read at a different rate and making the process enjoyable is very important. N and I snuggle with books in the evening. I let him finish the words at the end of rhyming sentences he knows and I occasionally point out words so he starts to learn more about how I read. Check out Read*Write*Now! for more information on reading to kids from birth until the 6th grade.

One of B's favorite days at school was 100's day (on the 100th day of school). B loved counting the school days in his classroom and was very excited for the celebration. In addition to counting out 100 snacks, decorating a crown with 100 stickers, and stringing 100 pieces of cereal into a necklace, the kids also got to search for 100 Hershey kisses. Each of the kisses had a sticker on the bottom with a number written on it. The kids had to match the numbers on the candy to numbers on a large paper Hershey kiss. It was fun to watch the smiling kids try to match the numbers and I wanted to see if N would enjoy a similar activity at home...

Easter comes early this year, March 23rd, so I am thinking ahead about how I will spend it with my husband, 2 year old daughter and 4 month old son. I have decided that instead of an Easter basket full of chocolate (since I will be the only one eating it all) I will fill it with books. My daughter can not seem to get enough books in her hands and she does need a few new "big girl books" as I call them.