Book Review: The Complete Daily Curriculum - Over 1200 Easy Activities to Support Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles.

I would give this book a 6/10 for homeschooling parents and a 9/10 for traditional preschool teachers. It is available here.

This book would be very useful in a traditional preschool with many students, supplies, materials, and a library, but I found it a bit cumbersome in a homeschool environment with one child and limited materials.

The Complete Daily Curriculum has A LOT of activities - many more than is advertised on the front cover because each activity is expanded to include multiple intelligences. Ideally, you could pick which learning style your child would respond to best and use that only those activities for that style. Once neat aspect of the book is that they have "story circle" books - independent children's books that are related to the theme of each activity. This would be very useful in a traditional school. In a homeschool environment, though, I would have to go to the library and check out the books in advance of even doing the activity.

All of the activities needed quite a bit of prep time. I discovered that I would prefer to find something online that required less prep time than use a lesson in the book. There is an appendix in the back with worksheets and cutouts. They were really neat and could be a lot of fun to do but I didn't find them useful because I don't have a copier, scanner, scrap materials, etc. In a school it would be very useful because all of those things are readily available but it just isn't practical for homeschoolers. For instance, in one activity, I was to find feathers, 6 books for story time, print and cut out 2 pictures from the index, get out crayons and scissors, and paper. This is in addition to learning 3 songs from the index to teach. It's too much work for me for one single lesson! 

I was glad to have a chance to go through it and get a few ideas but I will not be purchasing this book. 

Color Recognition and Sorting

Amita has a hard time with colors. I have a difficult time understanding why this is when she can count to 20, count to 10 in Spanish and Bengali (my husband's mother tongue), and recognize words and all of the letters of the alphabet. If she can do all of that, why can's she recognize the color yellow? It baffles me. Because of that we've been hitting the color recognition pretty hard. There are some color activities in The Learning Box, which, as I've mentioned, is the curriculum I'm using. However, some of it is too advanced for Amita so I decided to supplement with my own stuff. 

So, the other day I was on the internet looking for ideas and I saw a post about someone using an egg crate to do some sorting and a stroke of brilliance hit me. "AH HA!", I thought to myself, "I know what to do!!!!" Whew. So, the next time I was at the grocery store, I bought a bag of different colored poms, similar to these. 

Basically, what I do is hold up one pom, make her identify the color, then put it in a spot in the egg crate. The next time I show her a pom of the same color, it goes in the same spot as the previous color until that spot is full. Since Amita is very tactile and loves organization, this is a great thing for her. I'm not sure if it would ever work with Ashima because I'm not sure she would care if the colors went together or not. 

She basically gets a double whammy because she recognizes the colors twice. Once to name it and a second to put it in the corresponding spot in the egg crate.

Eventually, once she gets the color thing down, I want to move to sorting not only by color, but size too.  

Why We Should All Be Card Holding Members of the "Moms Club"

It started when I  got pregnant. At first, I chalked it up to the fact that it was my first pregnancy and people wanted to help. It got worse as the pregnancy progressed: strangers would ask me personal questions and everyone made sure I knew their opinions on everything baby related. Then, I had Amita and I became intimately familiar with the Mommy Wars.

What are the Mommy Wars? Mommy Wars are the fighting, bickering, judgments, and superior attitudes that moms show other moms, especially in relation to topics about nursing, vaccinations, schooling, sleep habits, and diet. Oh, and just about everything else.

Why do we as mothers feel the need to pick each other apart and put each other down? Do other people really think they are the perfect parent? 

We, as parents, all try to do the very best we can. We make decisions for our families based on the needs of the family. So why does everyone feel the need to judge others? Parenting is hard. What we should all do is show support for other parents. For those that choose to bottle feed their babies instead of breastfeed, who cares? The baby has a full belly at night and lots of love - that's what's really important, right?  One mom uses the cry it out method to get her child to sleep, so what? How does that affect you and your sense of right and wrong? If it gives that mother peace and makes her life easier, then good for her. We all need a little more peace in our lives and should encourage other mothers to have the same.

I used to be a part of a Facebook group called Mommy Support. This was the least supportive group I have ever been a part of. At first, before I realized the group was extremely unhelpful, I invited all of my friends to be a part of it, a request for which I would like to publicly apologize. I'm guessing all it did was make my friends angry and upset, bring down their self-esteem, or make them think they are the worst parent ever, like it did me. Sorry, really. I have since left the group because I figured I would soon be put on high blood pressure medication if I didn't. I think they should re-name the group Mommy Judgment: How to Judge Other Moms Who Are Different From You. That would be an accurate name.

I, personally, like to operate by what I call the Pioneer Woman Parenting Attitude. This is how it works: if you are wondering about something parenting related, you ask yourself, "is this something a pioneer woman would care about?" Often times, the answer is no, unless it's really important, like "should I feed my child?" In that case, if a pioneer woman would care about it, the answer is "yes!". Let's do another example."Should I use a sleep sack or a blanket?" Would a pioneer woman care about using a sleep sack or a blanket? NO. She would be thankful that her children are warm at night. Would she care about what brand of shoes her child has, or if they are soft soled or hard soled? NO. She would be glad simply to have shoes to put in his/her feet. This is how I wade through was is really important in parenting and what is not. That's not to say that I don't have my own opinions on these things but I don't feel like they are the most important parenting decisions I'll make. What's really important? Raising polite, motivated, decent human beings. Those things matter - not how long a person nurses their child, or how they choose to educate their children, what they feed them, or how they get their kids to go to sleep at night.

The only thing we should ask of other mothers: to be the very best mom they can. Until we find an example the perfect parent and that person writes a parenting manual we can all agree to follow, we should stop judging. Here's an idea: how about instead of chewing out someone we've never met on the internet, we take the additional time and spend it with our families? We should not tell others what to do (unless they are doing something to harm their child). We have no right to judge someone until we've walked in their shoes.

One very good piece of advice my mom gave me when I was pregnant? She told me that no one hugs you like your mom. It doesn't matter if she holds you a different way, or if she puts her right hand over her left of vice versa. The hug feels good simply because your mom is showing you she loves you. We all may do things differently but you know what? We're all similar in that we love our children and want what is best for them.

So let's all be card holding members of the Mommy Club. Let's support, uplift, help, and encourage other moms. We don't have to agree with another mom's decision to see she is trying her best. And you know what? That's okay. It's okay for someone to do something different, it's all a part of this wonderful, amazing, and tremendous gift of parenthood we've been given.

Counting and Basic Math

Amita REALLY likes counting. Like, a lot.

Because of that, we count everything. We count the bits of food on her high chair, the butterflies on the wall, the apples in the bowl, etc. She can now count up to 15 on her own and 20 with help (proud mommy moment).

She also really likes using manipulatives to learn and playing with new things. I'm pretty sure that one of her learning styles is kinesthetic. I keep all of my "school" supplies away from her regular toys so it is a big treat for her to get to play with something new.

While she enjoys counting, she does not recognize written numbers. In order to try and implement an activity where she can practice both, I got some popsicle sticks and wrote numbers on them and we practiced counting. First we just counted, then we put them in the correct written order.

It was a very short activity (3-5 minutes) but it helped her! I think repeating it a few times a week and she'll have it!

Book Review: Mudpies to Magnets - A Preschool Science Curriculum

I give the book a 10/10. I originally rented it from the library but ended up purchasing it for future use. It is available here.

Mudpies to Magnets is divided into eight categories: science center activities, circle time activities, construction and measurement, paints and prints, science for a special place (meaning messy activities), health and nutrition, outdoor science, creativity and movement, and hodge podge.

Lessons include key words, materials, directions, discussion questions, and ways to expand the "experiment". Lessons are broken down and explained clearly. I had no trouble understanding what I was supposed to do.

Each lesson is labeled with its corresponding age, 3 year-old, 4 year-old, or 5 year-old, so parents don't have to read the entire lesson to determine if it is age appropriate. A definite time saver!

The lessons are very creative yet rooted in important scientific concepts. They are not overwhelming to do with a young child and don't seem to create too much a mess. Additionally, they don't need more than basic prep work: some time to gather materials (mostly what we have around the house), and time to read the directions.

This is a winner, for sure!

Things I Anticipate Personally Struggling With

There are some things I anticipate struggling with (personally) in regards to homeschooling.

1. Not having enough personal time and/or feeling stressed out.

Some background: We moved to Michigan when Amita was two weeks old not having any family nearby and not knowing anyone. When she was six months old, we found out I was pregnant again (oops). I was pretty sick while pregnant with Ashima and then when Amita was 15 months old, she was born. My mom stayed with us for a week and then she left and Ridhwi had just started the night shift. We basically didn't see him for a month. To say it was hard would be an understatement. Ashima was very colicky and I was up every 2-3 hours nursing, then up with Amita during the day. Only when Ashima got to be about 7 months old did I feel like I was getting back to myself - I was sleeping at night, I had energy, and the thought of basic household errands and chores didn't make me overwhelmed. Luckily I have an AMAZING husband who did as much as he could to help, even with working 80+ hours a week and dealing with his own exhaustion. Have I mentioned I love him? Marriage is truly a gift from God. But, I digress.

I am someone who needs personal time. I don't need to do anything in particular or go anywhere, just some quiet time every day to process, relax, and be by myself. Currently, I get this when I take a bath every night. It's about 20-30 minutes and my husband commits to making sure the kids are okay so I have some time to myself. Sometimes, I can even get a few minutes during nap time if the kids behave. Additionally, I get random evenings/nights when my husband is at work. I guess it makes me a good resident's wife because I'm okay with being alone even though I miss him.

I have no desire to feel stressed out again if I don't need to. I don't want to feel like I am giving up anything for homeschooling -that it is a burden or something that takes away from me personally. I want it to fit seamlessly into our lifestyle and have everyone in the family be happy.

The key (I think) is to hire a babysitter to help for a couple of hours several times a week. I would really like to lose some baby weight and get back to my "pre baby" body. I would also like to be able to go to the grocery store and post office without a baby posse. It would give me "me" time and I would feel better for exercising. Another plus is that it would set a good example for the girls about how to care for yourself.

Stevens Point has a Teachers College through UWSP (University of Wisconsin Stevens Point) and I think that would be a good place to look. They might even be able to help with homeschooling and give ideas!

2. Enforcing a schedule even when the kids are crabby.

When we first got married, Ridhwi and I both thought that I would be the "enforcer" when it came to parenting. Turns out, I'm only good at enforcing other people's kids in the classroom - my own kids are a different matter. That's not to say I let my kids get away with bad behavior, it just means that I'm not as strict as I thought I would be and I choose not to fight some battles. Since I stay at home, I don't want to be constantly disciplining my kids nor do I want to fight all the time. Sometimes I turn on Veggietales while they are eating dinner to have them be quiet. Some times I turn on BabyChannel when they won't stop whining. I'm not proud of it - I want my kids to be able to eat dinner without entertainment - but sometimes I just don't want the fight. I've also not been good about trying new foods because when I'm home by myself I just want them to eat and be happy. We save the new foods for when Daddy is home. Because of that, Amita in particular, is pickier than I would like. 

It is easy for me to give in when the kids want to do something else. I don't let them walk over me, but sometimes it's just easier to allow it. It's not such a big deal when they are 1 and 2 and easily distracted but it will be a big deal if I let it continue or if I don't keep a firm homeschooling schedule and make sure we stick with it. It will be a personal challenge for me. However, I think if I can come up with creative lessons and make learning fun, school will be something they look forward to and not something they don't want to do - like eating peas. At least I hope so. 

3. Spending "quality" time with the kids.

I get a lot of time with my kids. However, when I analyze how much time I'm actually spending one-on-one with no distractions (phone, computer, TV, needing to do some household chore, etc.) I realized a while ago that there is not a lot of actual honest-to-goodness quality time. It was something I immediately felt bad about and tried to rectify. It's not easy, though. One of my goals this year is to spend much less time on the computer and internet. 

I've thought about closing my Facebook account but we use it as a way to connect especially with our families. I also do most of the networking for both of my husband and myself - often logging on to his account and contacting people for him when he's busy at work. It really is not a feasible option to quit it. Additionally, with homeschooling, I've been spending significantly more time online reading articles and looking for books to help me learn. It's a double edged sword - I want to homeschool and spend time with the kids, but I have to be removed and do research. That's another reason why I like The Learning Box, it takes out a lot of the grunt working trying to find activities for the kids. That being said, I've found that actually closing my laptop and turning of notifications on my phone has helped me the most. If I don't hear the ding of a new message, notification, or email, I can wait until before and after the kids are asleep to do most things.

I am on the library waiting list for a book called Hands Free Mama: A Guide to Putting Down the Phone, Burning the To-Do List, and Letting Go of Perfection to Grasp What Really Matters!. I am hoping that it will have some insight and help me balance everything.

All in all, I anticipate I'm going to like homeschooling. That does not mean it will not take some adjustment and I'm sure I'll learn things as we go. However, I think being open and honest with myself (and all of you) by identifying my weak points and try to navigate around them will help avoid any potential areas of conflict. 

Starting Preschool "For Real"

Today was the first day that I started preschool with Amita "for real", and by that I mean with an organized, set curriculum. Before this I've just been winging it.

As I've mentioned in a previous post, I purchased a curriculum called The Learning Box. Just so I'm clear, I have not been paid or coerced in any way to plug their material. I'm going to talk about it because it is perfect for our family.

When it first arrives, it comes in a box like this from UPS with a tracking number:

When you open it up, everything you need for the month is included and organized for every day, including a curriculum guide, visual aids, books, and materials needed for each activity.

I have learned that the actual planning/prep for the lessons still takes a while (due in part to the fact that I have to entertain Ashima during that time too) and the lessons themselves go pretty quickly because Amita can't carry on a very long or in depth conversation.

I chose the 3-day-a-week pack which I think is good for Amita at the moment. She needs to move from one activity to another fairly quickly. I'm also doing morning activities and discussion more than one day (the same activities) so it really sinks in. It also makes it last a week - with about an hour of activities a day. Once Amita gets older I'll switch to the 5 day pack but for now the 3 day is perfect.

One of the themes of the month is to learn about weather. Today we read a book about clouds, finger painted clouds, and made cloud glasses (which Amita LOVED; she's always trying to wear my glasses).

All in all, the curriculum is AWESOME and just what I need. From now on I'll definitely need to spend a little be more time planning (the natives got restless while I found materials and read directions) but that's not too hard to do, right? It's MUCH faster than coming up with this stuff on my own - which never would have happened.

Back After a Long Hiatus!

My husband and I have been traveling the last two and a half weeks (one of those with the kids) and are finally back! I have received my preschool curriculum I ordered and I look forward to beginning it with Amita and posting about how I like it!

It's great to be back - there's truly no place like home. :)

A Day in the Life of a Mukerji Child

This is our typical schedule:

8:00 kids wake-up (I'm super lucky my kids are sleepers)
8:00-9:00: Change diapers, get dressed, breakfast
9:00-12:00: Free time to play. Sometimes they want to play with Mommy, some times they don't. I use this time to write my emails, drink coffee, read, and play with the kids. I purposefully try to keep it as a "quiet" time so we can all have a relaxed morning.
11:30-12:00 Snack before nap.
12:00-2:00 Nap. The kids both sleep for a little over an hour, but they do it at different times. Ashima goes to bed right away and wakes up a little after 1 while Amita needs 20-30 minutes in her bed to relax and calm down before she falls asleep and wakes up right before 2.
2:00-3:00 This is when they have a snack and we do our educational activities. Amita always takes a while to wake up so she appreciates some time before we go out and do errands
3:00-5:30. This is typically when I do any errands I have to do: run by the dry cleaners, go to the library, go to the gym, the grocery store, etc.
5:30-6:30. Dinner
6:30-7:00 Free play
7:00 Get ready for bed - change in to jammies, brush teeth, read one book for each kid, prayers, and bedtime!

There are always appointments and things that require schedule changes but I try to keep it as close to this as possible. I would actually prefer the kids get up a little earlier - we would have more time to do stuff in the morning but alas, they are good little sleepers, so our mornings are usually just quiet time to be together and play.

This is our day. :)