Thankful for the Service Men & Women

Happy Veteran's Day! Of all the parades that my mom was in last year as Mother Of The Year, I thought the Veteran's day was one of the most meaningful, touching, and relevant to a reason for a parade, that it kind of took a soft spot in the "holiday folder" in my heart. Anyway, tucked that in the back of my mind for a year. I didn't take time to think about my graditude for the service men and women today, until we went to Dole Plantation and there happened to be a little historical display of army vechicles in the parking lot. It was really cool. The Armed Forces Perservation Society (or something like that) had been asked by Dole plantation to come over after their parade. They had a dozen vechicals...WW2 and Veitnam era vechicles...motorcyles, supply runners, jeeps, I can't remember the names of all the cool looking army vechicels, but they were fun. And here we had just came for the pineapple ice cream. Only pics on my cell phone...we couldn't resist to put Willie in the drivers seat of these big army tanks, Lucy was asleep.
On top of that, I came home and got an email from a friend with the following pics. A friend from our playgroup at the nearby park invited us to go to the Fire Station with another preschool group who was getting a tour. This was a little while ago, but I'm so glad my friend had a camera and was willing to send me some momento pics. These guys were awesome! Firemen really have a sense of humor! I actually thought it was really thoughtful of them in the way they presented to the little kids. They were all about making the kids have fun and really like firemen so that if the kid was ever in a situation of danger, and a fireman came to rescue them, the kids would recognize the fireman as someone who can help them and not be afraid. "Cause sometimes with all the gear on, firemen can look a little scary." says one of the men. I thought that was a great thing to teach the kids. Anyway, these guys were a lot of fun, Lucy was sad to go when we left.
Thanks firemen!! And all those who serve society in these noble ways!!

Group pose for a special "fireman's eye view" picture! Don't drop the camera! Would you believe it-- he did!! Okay, the first camera was not real, but we all totally bought it and were surprised! He did take a real picture too!

Firing the fireman's hose!


Who let the dogs out...woof, woof, woof, woof, woof....wahoopwhoop!!

100lbs of gear...in about 30 seconds. We'd be happy if our kids could just get their shoes on in 30 seconds, that'd be great! :)jk, my kids don't even really put their shoes on themselves yet. ;) But these guys have to be pretty strong!

What I learned at school today #5

Oh my, am I halloweened out! When I planned today's activity a month ago, I didn't realize I was going to be helping plan two other halloween activities as well! It's safe to say, we are all halloweened out. And Lucy hasn't even got to wear her costume yet. Anyway, I'll recap the other halloween activities on another post, but let me recap today's pre-preschool.

Activity: Scary Stories Brunch! With a panel of momsters, special guests Sis. Conrad, Sis. Okabe, & Sis. Dupont, who shared their "my scariest moment as a mom" stories with us. The kids watched a movie and made Halloween cards with fun stickers. We also had a potluck brunch.

Who came: Lana, Hereti, Marlise, Joseph, Clara, Margaret, Nia, Wesley, Kipa, Koa, Lia, Misako, Minochan, Maggie, Caden, Chelsey, Matthew, Bear, Ruth, Caira, Melinda, Aislin, Oliver, Courtney, Lucy, William.

It was hard to get the moms going today. It's hard when you have an informal group try and do a formal activity sometimes. But with this activity I had to stick to a schedule because the moms on our panel had to get going to other things. So, it felt a little awkward trying to get the moms to not do their normal socializing, or at least save it until later, and get on with the activity. I need to learn better ways of starting up an activity. The Make a Monster game was not a big hit, but overall I thought the idea of everything was way fun, I loved having the "older" moms come and visit with us. I felt like we were honoring them and their knowledge and that's important to me. They were such dears for taking the time to come be with us! And their stories were a riot and touching!
I made way too much crumb cake (I made a triple batch just in case some moms weren't able to bring anything), we're going to be sick of eating it by... um, tonight.
There was a lot of good food-- thank you to everyone who made and brought such yummy dishes to share!

As for a monster moment myself. So as I'm trying to get everything started with the activity, Willie is crying hysterically. I'm going through the checklist: doesn't want bottle, teething?, tired?, diaper is ok.....nothing...I can tell his cry is desparate though, something's hurting him I could tell. But what? Finally, I have to start the activity so I give him to Margaret who decides she's going to try and change his diaper and starts to take off his shoes. Then she sees that his big toe on his left foot, that poor big toe has been all bent backwards up in his shoe. I felt so bad! I had hurried to put on his shoe and had stuffed his toes in quick enough that it was all bent and he'd been that way for over an hour and he was dying! His toe looked sore, red and kind of separated from being bent back so long. Poor kid. He takes a beating and keeps on ticking though, that boy is some tough stuff!

What I learned at school (yesterday) #4

I had the time of my life yesterday at our little "wannabe" preschool! I don't know about everyone else, but I think they did. Here are a few thoughts:

Activity: POPCORN CIRCLE- Each mom brought their child's favorite book and we took turns reading the books to the kids in circle time. I also prepared some fingerplays, songs, and a small craft. The link was a Mix-and-Match Pumpkin Patch game.

Who came: Margaret, Nia, Wes, Rannie, Courtney, Lucy, Willie, Melinda, Aislin, Oliver, Wendi, Pearse, Misako, Michan, Lana, Hereti, Chelsey, Matthew, Bear, Maggie, Caden.

Although the success rate of a circle time is overall pretty high. Most anything you do, is fun for the kids (at least these kids, it is). But there are some things I would think about doing differently a next time. For example, I would have not brought out food right at the beginning, but let them just enjoy the stories... well, thinking about the stories now, maybe I wouldn't have... anyway, read half, then break for snacks, then read the second half, then do songs, or something like that.
The little footstool we had was perfect, it was great! I thought it was a great way to set the tone and give structure to the activity. Wendi pointed out that it also would be great as a time-out chair....hmmm...good idea.
Other cardinal circle time rule that I broke, that I'll be sure to rectify next time is: when you have props for songs, like finger puppets, be sure to not hog all the fun to yourself, but include the kids. Don't worry, they'll scold you if you forget. I can't beieve I forgot this rule, but I obviously did because I got scolded and had to rectify. (PS- I changed the words to some of the songs and didn't tell anyone before we started singing, so sorry about that.)

I've included the lyrics for the songs that we sung, for the moms that came and maybe heard a song for the first time, or for anyone reading and might learn a new song....

Fast/Slow Large Muscle Movement Song:
(sung to the tune of Row, Row Row your boat, appropriate actions throughout)
Clap, clap, clap your hands,
Clap your hands with me.r
Clap them fast and,
Clap them slow.
Clap your hands with me.
-Stomp your feet
-Slap your knees
-Pat your head
-Sway your arms

Loud/Soft Voice:
Itsy Bitsy Spider- I think everyone knows the words, but for a second verse tell the children about the itsy bitsy spider's cousin, the Great Big, Hairy Spider who has a loud and gruff voice. Get really into it... my daughter loves it!

5 Little Ducks (fingerplay, hold out hands to count the ducks)
Five little ducks went out to play
over the hill and far away (move hand up over head and then behind back)
and the Mama duck said, "Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack"
four little ducks came waddling back.
-then, four little ducks went out.....three came waddling back.
-then, three little ducks went out.....two came waddling back.
-then, two little ducks went out.....one came waddling back.
-finally,
one little duck went out to play
over the hill and far away
and the Mama Duck said, "quack, quack, quack, quack"
No little ducks came waddling back.
The Mama Duck said, (in a louder voice) "quack, quack, quack, quack!!!!"
Five little ducks came waddling back (hand comes back with all five fingers waddling.)

5 Little Monkeys Swinging in the Tree (fingerplay- with my changed words)
Five little monkeys swinging from a tree (show five fingers swaying)
Teasing Mr. Aligator, "Can't catch Me." (hold hands to sides of head, like a "nana-nana-boo-boo like action)
(A little slower and gradually getting softer)
Along comes Mr. Aligator, quiet as can be....and....
Snapped (loud clap with hands) at the monkey in the tree!
(Hold up 4 fingers)
-Four little monkeys swinging from a tree....
-Three little monkeys swinging from a tree....
-Two little monkeys swinging from a tree....
-One little monkey swinging from a tree....
(Final verse:)
No little monkeys swinging in the tree
All ran home just as fast as can be (hitchhiker thumb motion over shoulder)
There goes Mr. Aligator, HUNGRY as can be (rub tummy like you're hungry)
Look! (loud clap) Here he comes, after you and me (tickle child)

The One and Only...William

Willie hit the big One today*! Happy Birthday little guy! We were going to have a small family party, then our neighbors ended up stoping by so the party got a little more roudy! ;) No pics of the fun times, but in the near future. For now, let me give a recap of Willie as he is at age 1!!

1) Looks like Mommy- yes, I have a red-headed, freckled baby boy! Ok, only 4 freckles (I've counted, and Lucy has more) and I'm still convincing everyone that his hair is red, but it really is. It's getting more and more red every day. And I'm so happy about that! I'll prove it with pictures sometime.
2) New Tricks- big boy means he's getting smarter and smarter. He folds his arms to pray. Always on cue, and he's quiet (mostly) for the prayer...so cute! He brushes his hair- the influence of an older sister. But he's a climber (boy through the core) and has been getting onto higher and higher things...watch out mom.
3) Walking- he took his first couple steps a week ago, walking back and forth between Mom and Dad. So he's close, probably in the next month he'll be running as fast as he is crawling now.
3) Words- I've definetly heard "No!" "Dada" "Mamaaa" and "Uh-oh!" come out. Signs...I've only tried teaching him a few, and I've only really see him say "more."
4) Teeth- No, not yet. He keeps to doing lots of his tongue tricks. But it looks like he'll probably be singing, "All I want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth!"
5) He's into- cars and balls, dancing (usually just a bounce up and down. He likes the Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam song), getting more into books (which makes me happy), growling and noise matches with his sister, lauging, favorite game is Ticklemonster especially on the Papasan chair.
6) The little things- that you just love and can't forget about a one year old- he's a cuddler and kisser! (Not like his sister, so it's a treat for us and really cute!) He's actually super shy and whenever someone says hi or gives him a smile, he immediately throws his cheek to the side and tucks his chin in a ashamed baby innocence. He stands on his tiptoes, even when there doesn't seem a reason. I think he's just excited about life! He has the most contagious laugh ever! I can never get enough of it. I think I haven't been noticing when he tries to say words because they're so hidden inbetween bouds of adorable laughter! He talks in baby giggles with a gushing smile-- you can't help but smile from the inside out when you see him laugh!
7) The woes- he is always constipated, like his sister was at this age, maybe worse. Probaby more than you wanted to hear about, but it breaks my heart. He's been better the last couple days though.
8) First Girlfriend- click here to go to a post with a picture of Willie and his first love, well, it's a love/hate relationship. After this photo was taken, the little girl got mad and bit Willie on the back. He had teeth marks and a bruise for a few days.

We love you Willie!! Thanks for the cards Grandma Connie and Grandma B!
*His birthday was Sunday, Oct. 19th by the way, I wrote this post late at night on Sunday and our computer is stuck on Pacific time so it recorded it even later into the night, or Monday morning.

Addendum #1: November 2, 2008: I just had to write the cute little phrases Willie has added to his vocabulary as of lately- "Gasp, whas zat?" and "Wow" I guess that's all I can think of right now. :)

What I learned at school, #3

Let me just preface this with this thought- I live for holidays. I absolutely love getting decked out for the occasion and coming up with fun festive things to do. Well, halloween has lots of fun things associated with it- possibilities are endless!
The recap:

Activity: Halloween Decorations- I am not original, by the way, so let me just go ahead and include all the links for the decorations we made:
-Mr. Bones (skeleton)
-Spirit Jugs (lighted ghosts)
-Giant Tarantula (Mom & Kid craft)
-Halloween Luminario (Mom & Kid craft)


Who came: Margaret, Wesley, Kipa, Koa, Liahona, Chelsey, Matthew, Bear, Melinda, Aislin, Oliver, Elena, Cate, Lana, Hereti, Wendy, Pearse, Misako, Minochan, Courtney, Lucy, William

Ok, so there was just myself and one other mom who made the Giant Tarantula; and I was the only one who made a Mr. Bones, but the luminarios were a big hit. So simple, yet so cute. I actually discovered that the Spirit Jugs can also easily become "Tye-Dyed Jack-o-lanterns." Crayons work well on milk jugs, I found out, so after I drew a pumpkin face on a milk jug, I let Lucy scribble all over it. What a blast! When lighted it makes a fun little groovy pumpkin. Well, overall I'm probably way overboard on decorations. My porch is starting to look really fun though! And besides, I found out I'm going to be doing a game booth at the church's halloween party, so it's more mileage for my decorations.

What I learned at school today, #2

First the quick recap:

Activity: Art Fantastic- sponge painting, Marble Can painting (w/glitter!), and Markers on Mural, a multi-marker approach. We also made instant sorbet... yummy!

Who came: Kipa, Koa, baby, Margaret, Nia, Wesely, Lana, Hereti, Courtney, Lucy, William, Chelsey, Matthew, Bear, Lilly, Melinda, Eliza, Acelyn, Oliver, Ty, Tyla, Precious, Olivia, Laurie, Cierra, Wes, Kelly.

Hmm, well, I learned (relearned) people are... unpredictable- just as plain as that. Kids are.... hard of hearing. Or some seem to be. I realized I just can't keep up with the kids who just have to do everything themselves. It's such a trial in patience. I really don't have any ideas how to get them to listen because they always just have to do, do, do. If you tell them, "Stop, wait." That only lasts about 1.5 seconds, if that. So you really got to get your instructions out there in no time, literally. Well, I just need to learn how to talk to these kids I guess.
I loved today watching a few of the mommas gather the kids for the biggest game of duck, duck, goose and ring-around-the-rosie!! You guys were great!

What I learned at school today

Ok, so I'm not in school. I'm just trying really hard to keep posts interesting (enough) since I don't have any pictures anymore to add to posts.
Well, last week was our first activity for our little momma's playmorning group. Here's a quick recap.

Activity: Gym Games: Skeetball, Goofy Golf, and Snake in the Grass.

Who came: Margaret, Nia, Wesley, Elena, Kate, Kipa, Koa, Baby, Ty, Tyla, Precious, Olivia, Cierra, Kelly, Laurie, Melinda, Acelyn, Oliver, Chelsey, Matthew, Bear, Maggie, Caden, Misako, Mino-monster, Lucy, Willie, and myself. (Did I miss anyone? I hate to ask that question cause I'm going to feel bad if I did!)

So, trying to plan these little activities is like going to school for me, thus let me share what I learned at school. These are all homemade games, mind you, and look very rag-tag and most don't make it through one play session. I guess there's a lesson in there somewhere. I learned that all of these games were way over the kid's heads. The ages of these kids are 4 and under. But the balls are always fun for any age kid. I learned to utilize skills and techniques learned in childhood: like the sock balls (is that what they're called? If anyone had "sock wars" when you were a kid, you know what I'm talking about...when you roll your sock all the down into a ball.) Another important thing to remember: pixie sticks are not the best treat for toddlers. They don't know how to eat them.