Wife, Then Mama

Last summer I decided that I was going to homeschool our foster daughters while they were on summer vacation.  There were two reasons for this: 1) Two of the three girls were behind academically.  I really hoped that by working through the summer we could help them get on track for the next school year.  They left our house soon after school started, so I don't know how well it worked. 2) I don't allow my children much in the way of screen time, and these girls were accustomed to having TV and tablets in their rooms all the time.  So they never really knew what to do with themselves.  I figured school work for the morning would help with that dilemma. Choosing a curriculum was difficult for me.  I know that some people bounce around and change curriculum a lot, but whatever I got, I hoped I would like enough to use the non-consumables with Little Guy.  I don't like wasting money, and I hate the idea of some topics falling through the cracks bec...

After a very fun first day of our trip to Alphabet Island this month, we were ready to learn about boats!  You can't very well set sail with out something to sail in after all! Once again we started our day with our brand new coloring books, this time putting some "b's" on a boat before coloring it.  Little Guy said the b's were something, but I can't remember what...  I should write down notes more often. They we did some Island Exploring, which was using our "magnifying glasses" to look at the theme poster.  On the back of the magnifying glasses there is always a question and a charades style prompt, adding to the fun.  Little Guy has always loved this part of Mother Goose Time , probably because he has always been good at it.  One of the twins actually did really well at finding the matching picture too.  I was supposed to bury the magnifying glasses in sand and have them dig to find them, but since I don't have any clean sand, and I don...

Raising children can be expensive.  According to Wikipedia (the ever reliable sort) the average spending per year, per child, is approximately $9500 for dual parent families, making less than $59,410.  I am about 99% sure that I don't spend nearly that much on Little Guy, and 100% sure that families with more than 3 children cannot possibly spend that much, seeing as how the average income of the families surveyed was $38,000.   Regardless of how much children do or do not cost, it is always great to find ways to make it less expensive.  One of the easiest ways to save money is to spend less on clothes. Shop at Second-Hand Stores!  Children grow quickly, so spending $25 on a pair of jeans that will only fit them for a few months isn't the wisest way to spend money.   Purchasing second hand clothes is ecological as well as economical.  If no one bought used clothes, all of the clothes that no longer fit children would be in landfills, desp...

Now for most people. this might not be brag-worthy, but for me, it is a bit of an accomplishment: We have done ALL of the activities (well, not the STEAM stations) for FOUR DAYS IN A ROW! Last month we tried to do Mother Goose Time  with the boys that I baby-sit, but it wasn't a huge a huge success, unless torn paper and slobbery manipulatives are successful. I decided that I would try again at the beginning of each month, because at two, children really can mature a lot in 30 days.  I had much better luck, and although I don't think the little boys are really grasping the point of anything, I think they at least kind of like it.  Little Guy is pretty stoked because now we can do Mother Goose Time everyday again. This month's theme is Alphabet Island, and for the first week we were "Setting Sail". The summer months with Mother Goose Time are all about review, hence the alphabet twist to the island theme.  Day one was just about Islands in general. Ther...

So.  May, much like April, was not our biggest success, Mother Goose Time -wise.  What we did was fun, but it was not very much.  The last day (that we completed) was Praying Mantis Day.   We started out with the Invitation to Create, which would have been much better if I had brought regular glue, rather than a glue stick, but either way, Little Guy had fun, which is really what matters when it comes to art projects.   I don't remember exactly what he did with each thing, because the glue didn't hold the pipe cleaners on, so it went in the garbage as soon as he wasn't paying attention, but he did tell me what everything was.  It wasn't until the last few months that he has really planned what he is doing, and been able to describe his art to me after he finishes, so I am always happy when he can. Little Guy is so good at cutting now, but his children's scissors were no match for his limited cutting skills, so for the pipe cleaners, he to...