kindergarten Archives - Spoonful of Imagination

Preparing a House to Sell {with kids}

February 20, 2013 By Erica Deuel 2 Comments

I feel like I have been going and going. The house preparations to have a for sale sign out front on Friday have kept us crazy busy with lists of to do lists. I literally have four different lists going. The good news is we are making progress. At times it has felt like I don’t know where to start, since there is so much to be done. So, in the middle of working on one project I get side tracked onto another project. It all has to get done, so it doesn’t ultimately matter that parts here and there are getting done except that it drags out crossing something off as DONE. We all like that step.

It really has been fun to feel the change in the house in the decluttering and simplifying. To date, we have now taken 21 bags to Goodwill and filled two trailers of junk that have been hauled off to the dump. That is a lot of stuff. I’ll spare you pictures galore, but a few things we have done this week are:

switched out light fixtures
gone through more closets
found the boys’ room and brought it out of the dark pit state that it was in
cleaned out the kitchen cabinets
taken a picture gallery wall down, repaired holes from screws, and repainted
painted the front door
layed pine straw in the front yard
spray painted like everything (railings, mailbox, etc)…Matt said it was probably a good thing when my black spray paint ran out.
repaired rotten boards
painted most of Matt’s office
added siding to Matt’s office
created a Welcome Sign for back door
made a wreath for the front door

I know I am missing some stuff, but you can get a feel for what its been like around here. I have felt bad for my kids and missed hanging out with them as they have not gotten the quality time they are use too. I have tried to include them in as much as I can. They have helped sort through clothes and toys, and even helped paint their daddy’s office and trim the bushes. They are excited, but there is only so much they can do as well. This week, I have aimed to give them my mornings. I didn’t want to do anything but school and hang with them. It’s been fun to see the change of things we are talking about as we prepare to move.

Over the weekend, we took a good look at our front yard and door, and we decided that the dead plants in the planters on the front steps would have to be replaced. We talked about beauty, color, and life and what we would get for our pots.

On one of our many trips to Home Depot this weekend, we picked up some new plants and the kids helped me plant them.

We talked about the different parts of a plant and what they need to live. We got plants that required the right amount of sunlight for our steps, and I truly hope we can keep them alive for a little while. I don’t have a green thumb. All this talk lead to us looking through books and learning more about plants yesterday. We talked about the three parts of plants and all the variations of plants.

This led to us talking about stories we knew with plants, and ultimately we referred to Jack and the Beanstalk. Since I couldn’t find our book of Jack and the Beanstalk (hopefully it didn’t end up at Goodwill!?), I knew we could find some readings of it on You Tube. We went to the computer and spent a while browsing and watching different Jack and the Beanstalk videos. This was so fun. The boys were interested and were comparing and contrasting the different versions of the stories without realizing they were remembering/reciting details and doing so many other great reading tools.

Our favorite video was by Debbie and Friends and you can see it here. I think we watched it four times and the boys laughed out loud every time. After our videos, we painted our own beanstalks.

All of the sudden, I realized we had done a whole unit of study on plants and all because we were preparing our house to go up for sale. It is so fun to study and learn about life in what is the everyday manner and routine.

I love enjoying my kids, and I am very thankful for the gift of being able to step back and gain perspective. We all needed time away from the to do lists for a bit yesterday and just laughing together. Do you ever find yourself annoyed and irritated by the very things that ultimately give you the most joy?

Today, is our last BIG push on projects, cleaning, and packing up all the tools and supplies. We have our first showing tomorrow. Yes, the day before the for sale sign is out! Ahhh we are praying the Lord keeps directing us each step of the way. Thank you for your prayers! I am not sure if I will have a post ready for my usual Friday post. Please forgive me if I step away for a few days/little bit. I will be back and I will be checking messages. I spent a long time last night re-reading all your messages and ended up in a heap in front of my computer in tears. I have the best readers. Thank you for being in this with us!!

Ps. I am so sorry, but I am taking a break from my All About the Kids Link Up party. Please visit one of my favorite link ups from last week. Dollie with Teachers of Good Things gave a great list of tips on how to build attentiveness in toddlers and preschoolers.

How to Create Snowmen Without Snow!

January 2, 2013 By Erica Deuel 5 Comments

I am so excited to be starting something new for my Wednesday posts. If you have been following me for a little while, you know that Wednesdays tend to be more of my kid activities/craft posts. I often will share something we did for homeschool, but these activities can easily be transferred to any parent that wants to do something hands on with their kids.

Up first, I want to share with you a fun craft we did this past weekend and then I will share what is NEW around here!

We have had the urge for snow around here, but all we have gotten is rain. I love the rain, which is good, but it would be so fun to play in the snow for 24 hours. Since we don’t have any real snow to make a snowman with, I thought we could with cotton balls.

I prepped for this activity by making three different size circles on a sheet of white paper.

I cut them out and glued them onto a creme sheet of cardstock to have a blank snowman. You could have your kids do these two steps, but since I have an age range from Kindergartener to toddler I decided to simplify the steps here (to keep my kiddos attention and their bodies all in one place for the whole activity).

My intention with this activity was to provide different craft supplies like buttons, stickers, googly eyes, paper, markers, glitter and see which child decided to use which for the different parts of the snowman (eyes, buttons, mouth, nose, boots, etc.) BUT they would all use the cotton balls to fill in all over the rest of the snowman to create the “snow” look. Non of them did that.

I had the moment where I could either force them to or allow them to create and imagine on their own. I fought the first and went with the later choice. I am so glad I did because they are all so cute yet different…just like their personalities.

I love what they came up with even better than the images I had in my head of what they would look like. They are their own little artists, and I am reminded they are masterpieces (Esphesians 2:10) just like their snowmen.

I love that Caleb came up with using his cotton balls as snow falling from the sky. I love that J didn’t like the cotton balls at all but gave his snowman the longest row of buttons I have ever seen. I love that Reagan got enough glue on her paper to keep it soggy for hours, and she kept smiling at me through the whole construction as if saying “thank you”.

Do you constantly learn from your kids as you are trying to teach or show them? It is humbling and yet so rewarding.

Now for something new and a small change to my Wednesday posts. I love to browse Pinterest or other blogs and get ideas for crafts and activities I can do with my kids. Rather than just searching the WWW, I want to learn from YOU! This is your opportunity to teach us. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this!

I would love to learn more from you and get to know you! Every Wednesday, I will have a link up party below my latest kid craft/activity that is All About The Kids!! Please feel free to come every Wednesday and link up your latest kid craft, outing, activity, or homeschool tip. I can’t wait to read what you share! I will then pick one of my favorites and share it at some point during the week, before the next link up. So, what are we waiting for!? Let’s get this party started!!

Apple Picking

October 10, 2012 By Erica Deuel Leave a Comment

On Monday, we went on a big field trip. The kids and I went to Ellijay, Georgia (about 1 1/2 hours away) and made a day of apple picking with our sweet neighbors. It was a complete blast!

Reagan was so young last year that she didn’t really get to enjoy the experience. It was fun watching her tug on apples this year and shrill with delight when she got one. Once she had her apple, she wanted to sit and eat it. She loves her stroller “ride”. Which I didn’t mind so much since I was watching the boys climb UP trees for the apples.

Although there were lots of apples within arms reach on the ground, they preferred climbing the trees to get the best apples. Boys are a blast!

There is so much innocent and pure joy in moments like these, as you watch your kids have sheer delight in discovering and experiencing life.

Reagan was not so happy at being taken from her beloved “ride” for a group picture. I love how all the kids have expressions like “come on Reagan”. J is watching my sweet neighbor trying to make Rea laugh. Her girls are watching Rea too, and Caleb is giving me the stare down. Life with kids is all captured in this one picture! 🙂

We totally got our money’s worth of an apple picking experience. I think each child ate at least two apples while we were picking and then our two bags were full. In addition, somehow I find some “stray” apples hidden behind Rea in the stroller? She must have been saving them for later.

On top of LOTS of apples, this week we have been enjoying apple cider donuts and fried apple pies we picked up at the orchard’s store.

We’ve had so much fun learning about apples this week. We’ve talked about the different kinds, names, terms like “orchard”, the parts of an apple, and so much more. You can see a few of the activities we have done this week on The First Grade Parade’s site. Here is her applesauce recipe that we started this morning.

The boys LOVED making this applesauce as you can see in these pictures.

The house is currently smelling amazing as our applesauce is in its last stage of brewing! Can’t wait to try it this afternoon!

Are you enjoying the fun that comes with Fall?? Pumpkin foods? Camp fires? Boots!? I just got the most beautiful boots last week and am wearing them like crazy! Fall is a wonderful time! What is your favorite part of it?

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Kindergarten Tip: Story Dictation

October 9, 2012 By Erica Deuel 7 Comments

Today, I have a quick homeschool tip for you. A simple story dictation (your child makes up a story aloud for you) can encourage so many wonderful things in your young child/student. I got this idea from my mom, and it has become one of the best parts of our school days.

I got a small journal and have dedicated it to Caleb’s stories. Everyday he tells me a story of his own creation, and I write it down. Sometimes I am scrambling to keep up. His stories tend to ramble excitedly from one point to the next (sometimes action moves and large hand gestures are included) and my pen is trying to catch it all. Please forgive my grammer and spelling in these stories as I am writing a mile a minute!

I love it! His imagination is letting loose, and I have it saved in this journal.

These stories have been a great “starter” to lots of conversations for us. We talk about plot, characters, cause and effect, order of events, story title, etc. He is learning all these things as a kindergartener without feeling like he is learning.

In his mind, he has his mom’s sole attention, and he is getting praised to think and dream up the most imaginative stories. I know our boys love for us to tell them a story before bed. This is Caleb’s special time to tell me what ever he wants to come up with. It is easy to see what he is in to when you read through his journal. 🙂 Creativity is a big part of our school days.

Sometimes I come up with a “subject” for him to tell his story about. Often I tell my own short story about the same “subject” that he used. This step models the use of the same subject while teaching all those great story elements I mentioned above. He loves this time. His stories have greatly improved since we started this a month ago.

**You can see we are also working on writing the date, and he is starting to write that at the top of his journal entry for me.**

At times he is more tired and doesn’t want to think up a subject. I have seen story blocks or story stones and have wanted to create my own. I have not gotten to it yet, but I think they would be a fun way to change this assignment up from time to time. I love the simple painted story stones that A Happy Wanderer came up with for her son.

The simple picture could help ignite a story in Caleb’s mind, or he could pick out a few and combine them all into one story! I think the concrete item would help him to hold and get excited, rather than for me to just say aloud a subject. It is a different way and helps spice things up.

Since I have not created my stones yet, I came up with stamps for today. Caleb needed a little guidance on what to “write a story” about. I placed two stamps on our journal page and he created a story with them both.

We are loving this quick yet really valuable tool in our school days. Even if you don’t homeschool, I think it would be a fun activity to do with your child. They are only young once and we will miss their creative imaginations when they are grown. Why not help foster and encourage it, while preserving it in a journal!?

Thank you so much for stopping by, and I hope you are having a great week!

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