The First "RAINY DAY" Activity

This week the forecast calls for rain. You would think that would be a disappointment for most kids. However...for my kids...their faces lit up and they said "Does that mean we get to do some rainy day activities?!?!?" They don't even know what they are because I've been very secretive...but they knew they existed...and that was enough to make them super excited!

So today we did our first rainy day activity....making finger puppets! Here are the creative creations!


All I can say is...thank heavens for preplanned crafts and activities!

Organizing the School Papers!

Ever since Laura and Melissa were little, they've had small file boxes (1/2 the size of a bankers box) to put their special artwork and papers in. Then as they've brought home stuff from school, they've put their "special" school items in their as well. The only problem is...their boxes were overflowing and it was difficult to go through and enjoy because it was just loose paper with no order.

Today...that changed.

Thanks to one of my favorite blogs, I was enlightened to take "The Box" to the next level of organization. I bought 3 plastic, stack-able file boxes, enough hanging folders for each grade plus 2 more for ages 2-3 and ages 4-5, and had the girls organize everything by age/grade. It is a beautiful thing to have a specific spot to put a much loved drawing or report...and a beautiful thing to have all of the school stuff put away!

BEFORE sorting this years work...

AFTER getting everything from everywhere sorted and filed....

and our not so helpful HELPER!Hope you are all enjoying your summer holidays so far!!!

The Third Child

Without realizing it...my third child has been growing up without the same learning experiences as my first two. I didn't fully realize this until I was reading Natasha's journal (I got her permission) and one of her entries months ago stated "I am bored all the time. The only time I'm not bored is when I am at school, when I have a friend over, or when I'm at a friends house."

Ouch.

That entry was a big wake up call for me! This particular child has always played quietly by herself...without a single complaint. I recognize that she does like to be on her own and likely DOES need that in her life...but because she was always playing on her own happily I would NEVER interrupt her to come help me with things. Therefore...she has had VERY LITTLE one on one time with me doing productive things...like cooking. So I've decided to specifically call her out of her room and offer her the opportunity to do something with me more often.

The day after I made this decision, I saw Natasha starting to go into her room and close the door. I spontaneously said "Natasha...do you want to make cookies with me?" (I wasn't even planning on it beforehand!) And do you know what she did? She got a HUGE grin on her face, said YES enthusiastically and bounded up the stairs to me.

The thing that keeps going through my mind is, I can't believe I almost missed it. I almost missed seeing this deficit in my daughter's life. Thank heavens for honest journal entries!!!