There have been good days and not so good days. Yesterday being not so good. Today being good, so far. Lately, with fall approaching and school back in session I have been feeling overwhelmed with the idea of homeschooling. A few of my friends do some sort of "school" with their toddlers and I feel/felt pressured to do the same with Kale'a since she is advanced for her age. But physically, I cannot do it with feeling drained, sluggish and overwhelmed - particularly with being pregnant. A friend yesterday said essentially - don't worry about letters and numbers yet but concentrate on basic things like life skills (how to set a table or fold a towel).
And of course, we can always use more attention to the Bible and it's teachings. In addition, our toddler is pushing her limits of independence which we need to reign in. So, I decided that today we would start learning and focusing more on the Fruit of the Spirit. I drew a large tree trunk/branches (that we'll use in the fall with Thanksgiving leaves). I will make a fruit for each trait and tape it up as we learn about it. I went online and found this lovely, easy lesson plan for little ones
here on the blog RaisingArrows. The devotions require ZERO prep or extra resources (other than a Bible and maybe a song). I just needed help on discussion questions. There are printouts if you want for the devotional and a few activities (like doing a fruit basket but I'm already doing the tree). One of the comments from a reader included children's definitions for each Fruit which I found very helpful. So, today we started with "Love" and talked about what it meant, sang "Jesus loves the little children," read in the Bible the story about Jesus bringing the children to himself, recited Galatians 5:22-23, listened/sang "The Fruit" song by Seeds Family Worship and prayed. Now, throughout the day we talk about ways to love each other (hugs, share, encourage, etc). I greatly look forward to doing this more! It is a great way for both myself and the kids to start the day off focused on God and our hearts.
On other news, Titus is walking mostly full time now (I'm sure it's Daddy's influence over the weekend!) which we are all excited about! He easily climbs our little playground/set and goes down the slide all by himself. Kale'a is trying hard to be a big girl and I need to help her guide that correctly while maintaining respect for us. Saturday we went to one of her little friends' birthday party at a park. It rained a bit but was a good time.
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| Not tall enough like Daddy :) |
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| Being like Mama - hair in bun (when my hair was long), apron on, cooking. |
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| The ever growing squeaker #3 measured a week ahead on the ultrasound. I'm not surprised. Unfortunately, my body recognizes this process (was it only last year?) and is more then welcome to stretch. |
My book 401 Ways to Get Your Kids to Work at Home says these are things appropriate to work on with your 2 year olds, that should be mastered by the time they're 4-6 years old (i.e. you have lots of time):
ReplyDeletePut jammies away, pick up toys, undress self, comb hair, wash face/hands, brush teeth, tidy bedroom, clear off own place at table. And that's it. Just some ideas, there's lots of time. :) Don't feel pressured to do anything you don't feel up to- just keep talking with her about anything/everything- that's the most important thing you can ever do, whole life through.