Super Aislin a.k.a. Desmond's Big Sister

All was well at the mall playroom until a little boy Des' age tried to push him away from a toy. Des, not having very many words yet, shouted at the boy. Then, before he knew it, he was stumbling backwards, offended, and wondering if anyone else had seen the assault! He knew his options--whimper and walk away or jump back into the ring--so he jumped back in, desirous to stick up for himself. 
It could have gotten ugly...but we'll never know because Super Aislin came to the rescue! Des' big sister gently rested her hand on the boy's shoulder and said, "This is Desmond's toy." And when the boy wouldn't cooperate, she blocked him from her brother (and the toy) by stretching both her arms out on either side like someone directing traffic. When the boy attempted to push past her, she firmly said, "Don't argue with me." 
She then led him away to a different toy and said, "Let's play over here!"

This event may not seem home preschool-related, but it is to me. My mission as a stay-at-home mom and toddler/preschool teacher is to teach my children what they would learn at any preschool or early childhood center, but above all my mission is to teach them how to be respectful and kind, how to make good choices, and to treat one another like the allies they will always be. 

A Trip Down Fairy Tale Lane

The kids had a blast with the fairy tale theme two weeks ago, so the theme for last week ended up being Fairy Tales & Nursery Rhymes since it's impossible to squeeze the most memorable fairy tales into one week of curriculum :)
Here are a few pictures of the kids' art work from the past couple weeks:

Aislin's Cinderella coloring sheets turned into a crown :) I broke the story up into six clip art pictures to help her with story sequencing and give her something to color afterwards, but it was all her idea to cut the pictures up, glue them onto two thin strips of construction paper and then connect the two to make a crown! I thought it fit the story perfectly :)

"The Little Red Hen" by Aislin

"Jack and the Beanstalk" and "The Three Little Pigs" by Desmond

In other news, Aislin's last ballet class is next Monday; we're taking our first out-of-state family road trip in a couple of weeks during which we'll be celebrating my birthday AND Des turning 2; and, come December, the kids will have a younger sibling :)

A Little Needed Perspective

Not that I've become anti-facebook or anti-blogging (obviously), or that I've suddenly decided that there's something evil about getting online to research new ideas for preschool activities. I have, on the other hand, realized that I've strayed from one of my goals as a stay-at-home mom. Aside from my mission to teach my children, I had planned to simply enjoy being with my kids, to play with them, to be present when with them. For that reason, I've decided to cut back our lessons to three days a week (M, W, F), and the only thing I try to do on a daily basis is the calendar.
Of course this doesn't mean that we sit around doing nothing on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Instead we take those opportunities to do more outside of the house, to have field trips and play dates, to play together and to relax from our otherwise busy schedule.
So, without further adieu, here's the article from The Power of Moms that inspired this new post, my new schedule and my renewed motivation to be a more engaged mom and not just a busy preschool/toddler teacher!

Your Children Want YOU!