2013 | The Mommy Teacher

An Activity A Day Can Go Such A Long Way

Ya know, I need to just start off by saying that I am just like any other mom. I go a little crazy when the chores pile up and my house is messy. I don’t always have my meals thought out. I can’t compare myself to other moms…. Because then I’ll just feel like a hot mess. I am not perfect, and I am actually relieved that I am not expected to be. But, like any other mom, I want the best for my kids, and I am always trying to figure out what more I can do to be the best mom that I can be for them.

I give myself lots of grace because I believe there is a huge learning curve when it comes to raising these little impressionable people.

But, when I am not feeling like a very intentional, efficient, or productive mom, I am not completely satisfied in my role. So that is why, both when I was a SAHM and now as a working mom, I get those motivational moments to sit down and plan out something to make the most of my time at home with my kiddos.

Sometimes just ONE thing can make your day feel like a HUGE success. You might sweep one floor, exercise for one small chunk of time, cook one meal, check off one thing from the to-do list, etc.

Well, even though I aim to purpose learning as a mindset and not just in a compartmentalized way my ACTUAL GOAL is to purpose one quality activity a day.

Most of the time, I sit down & think of a daily activity that I think my son would enjoy and one that I know can be used to teach important skills.

In these times, I can get inspiration from:

1) Pinterest… depending on my children’s age or what I am working with on them. Follow me Follow Casey
2) Friends…which is why I have teamed up with an AWESOME mommy teacher, Casey, to share ideas.
3) Teaching experiences… Which Casey and I both share with you here 🙂
4) Connecting with other moms, whether in my mom peer groups, or moms around the world who share what works for them.

But lots of times, I just get inspiration from what I know would be meaningful to my kids.

The other night, my son was missing his Texas cousins…. So, writing a letter to them was naturally the most meaningful activity for us to make the most of.

1) We pulled out some card stock cut into cutesy shapes (Stationary Template Printable here!), as well as some markers, crafty stamps (his idea), pens, envelopes, and mailing stamps. (Stickers would have been fun too.)

2) I asked Sean Patrick what color he wanted for Kaylee, what color he wanted for Presley, and then I let him decorate.

3) Then I asked him what he wanted to say and I re-vamped it a little and read it to him as I wrote it. He also stamped the bottom with his fingerprints and I drew a heart around it.

4) He carefully placed the stamp in the right-hand corner so the mailman knew we paid for it.

5) He helped me say the numbers in the address so he the mail carrier would know where to bring the letter.
6) He stuffed & licked the letter.

7) I let him put it in the mailbox and lift the flag.

Here is the vocabulary he used to tell daddy about our activity: mail, letter, address, deliver (he said “liver it”), mailman, and mailbox.

And as you can see…. just this ONE, SIMPLE activity made our day an unforgettable and meaningful one.

Share your simple, yet meaningful activities with us & other mommy teachers around the world…comment here or post pictures on our Facebook page 😉

March 15, 2013 by Jessica | 0 comments

Picture This…

A friend of mine is about to start mapping out plans for her new house they are going to have built. When she was telling me about it, her five year old ran to the next room to grab his precious simple sketch of his master plan for their new house with his big ideas in mind.

I loved everything about this moment….

I loved that he wanted to share his thoughts with me.

I loved that he had an idea of his dream house.

I loved that he wanted to be a part of the process.

I loved that I could picture a little architect in the making.

I couldn’t help but text his mom the other day and tell her that if she wanted to extend on this interest… one idea I use with my little ones in the classroom is simply:

1) To give the kiddos a basket of shapes (cut out on cardstock paper for sturdy-ness).

2. Have them trace their shapes on a big sheet of paper or poster.

3) Label their ideas for the items that could make up the room.

How adorable is the "roob" or "door" in the corner? — How adorable is the “roob” or “door” in the corner?

This idea can be used if you and your little one want to re-arrange the furniture in their room then they can be a part of the process for coming up with why a dresser might work best under the window, rather than by the door.

Or, this might be a great idea if you want to help them make a map of your neighborhood to display and they can label their friend’s house.

This could even be a great idea if you want to map out what equipment is in your backyard, and they can include new things that might fit, or include something to save for in the next year.

If you have another idea for this, geared to your child’s interest, then please COMMENT and share with us!

March 13, 2013 by Jessica | 0 comments

House Rules

I recently wrote a post about a Routine Change for our after school schedule that I posted on our chalkboard door.

I also posted our house rules on that same door, in plain view to remind us how to behave throughout the day.

1. Be Respectful
2. Be Obedient
3. Be Honest
4. Be Kind
5. Be Positive

I once visited a classroom that had just two rules: be respectful and be obedient. Brilliant! I mean, you really don’t need much more than that because those are two rules that any type of disobedience can fall under. I call them “umbrella” rules.

I decided to use that in my house. Once your kids get a full understanding of respect and obedience, they are extremely effective for toddlers. However, those are BIG words for little kids, so don’t expect them to immediately understand them. However, if you use the same language a few times while modeling each of the behaviors, then your 2 year old will start telling you all about the appropriate behaviors he or she just displayed. (They also may start questioning you about your appropriate or inappropriate behaviors – but that’s all a part of the learning process).

How to teach your kids about respect and obedience:

-Define the new vocabulary

“Respect means you are being nice and talking nice to your mommy, daddy, siblings, friends and other adults. ”

“Obedience means you listen the first time and always remember the appropriate behaviors you should be showing at all times.

-Model the new vocabulary

“‘Mommy, may I please have some milk?’ is a very respectful way to ask for something. Can you say that? ::wait:: Great! I love how you used your manners and talked to me in a sweet tone. I appreciate you showing me respect. That was a very respectful way to ask me for something.”

“If I tell you to please pick up your clothes, a respectful response should be, ‘Yes, ma’am,’ and then you show your obedience by picking up your clothes right away. Listening the first time every time is a great way to be obedient.”

-Show the opposite behaviors and define them

“If I tell you, ‘Gimme some milk!’ Is that showing respect? No. That is called disrespect and it is not allowed. How can we rephrase or say it again in a respectful tone? ::wait:: That’s right! You say, ‘May I please have some milk?’ I love how respectful that sounds.”

“If I ask you to pick up your clothes and you don’t look at me, don’t listen to me, or tell me, ‘no,’ that is called disobedience and it is not allowed. Instead, what should we do? ::wait:: You’re right! Be obedient! We do the task right away! The VERY first time you are asked to do it! But first, how do we show respect when asked to do something? ::wait:: You’re right. We say, ‘Yes, ma’am.'”

-Model different scenarios of respect, disrespect, obedience and disobedience and have your child label each

“Is this respect or disrespect: ‘Moooooom I wanted to play with that toy!’ ::wait:: “Right. Disrespect. Do we allow disrespect? No.”

“Can you please throw this away? Yes, ma’am! ::throw trash away:: Was that obedience or disobedience? Right! Say, ‘great job, Mommy! Thank you for being obedient!'”

-Have your child generate responses from cues

“How can we show respect to our friends? ::wait:: You’re right… share our toys! Great idea!”

“If I ask you to clean up your spilled milk, what would you do to be obedient?”

-Praise and repeat language

“Thank you for being respectful!”

“I love how you were being obedient! You listened the very first time!”

-Frequent Reminders

“The way you said that was disrespectful, can you please change your behavior and use a respectful tone?”

“I have already told you once to do _____. You have not done ____. Is that being obedient?”

Sure, kids slip up from time to time, but by effectively setting your expectations for behavior and being consistent with praising and correcting, your child will likely choose to meet those expectations.

Now after having these rules for a while, I began to notice a few behaviors that my child was displaying that I still wanted to change. It was necessary for me to set aside a few more rules to clarify which behaviors I did not like, even though these rules can also fall under the first two big umbrell a rules.

3. Be Honest
4. Be Kind
5. Be Positive

My kindergartner, bless his little imagination, can get himself into a lot of trouble with the stories he tells. He is definitely the “dog-ate-my-homework” kid, so we instated the “be honest” rule.

He and his toddler brother were also starting to pick on each other around the same time. Sure, they were both being respectful and obedient toward Mom and Dad, but were they showing the same courtesy to each other? No. So we instituted the “be kind” rule.

Our last rule is to “be positive.” Sure, we can all have bad days (even Mommies and Daddies), but our newest rule is to take a few minutes to yourself to reflect, and then when you return to be with the rest of the family, you must come with a new and improved new attitude. And it must be positive.

After all is said and done, I have been rewarding my kids with tally marks when they follow the rules. We set a goal for our family: 100 tally marks = a trip to Kart Ranch (similar to Chuck-E-Cheese). It’s been way more positive than punishments for not following the rules and they have been more obedient all around, knowing that there is a reward – a positive consequence – at the end. Just a little encouragement for them.

What kinds of rules do you have in your home? Which behaviors do you want your kids to change? What new rules would you like to add to your list of expectations for your kids to follow?

March 11, 2013 by Casey | 0 comments

A Routine Change

In my first year in the classroom, I was complaining to my mentor teacher about some student behaviors that I just was not liking – just venting my frustrations about my ill-behaved children. I will never forget what that teacher told me… “Well, then change them!”

Duh! I don’t know why I was so stuck on doing the same things over and over and yet expecting better results. Even worse was that I was blaming the kids for acting up when, in reality (as hard as this was to admit), the behavior plan and procedures I had created were the problem.

I think about that bit of advice quite often when it comes to my own children. We started the school year off with a great routine for homework. A set place, a set time, materials at the ready… but as the year has progressed, I was hearing more and more complaints about homework: “Can I puh-lease have a snack first?” “I want to sit over heeeeeere instead.” “Do I HAVE to do homework tonight?” “I don’t like homework!” “Can I go play outside first?”

Something’s gotta change.

I developed a new plan and posted it in the middle of our dining room for everyone to see…

After School Schedule

1. Snack Time. This was the biggest reason my kids were complaining about homework… their tummies were rumbling!

2. Homework. I make up homework for my 3 year old (something easy for him to do on his own so I can assist my kindergartner). I haven’t had any complaints since it is written on the board and they must finish steps 2 and 3 to get to the much-anticipated step 4!

3. Bible Memory Verse. Since this is written on the board, we have practiced our memory verses and read our Bibles EVERY DAY this week! What a great reminder for me too!

4. Unplugged Free Time. The kids may choose to play outside, read a book or play quietly in their room. They may NOT play video games, use the computer or turn on the TV. This is normally the time where I feed the baby and begin dinner prep, so they know that mom is unavailable at this time to play. Any fighting means free time ends immediately and we have longer chore time.

5. Chores. The kids have to feed the dogs so they aren’t begging at the table for dinner, clear the table, and pick up toys in the living room. (I will write another post on chores really soon!)

6. Activity Time. By this time, my husband is home from work. One of us gets started on dinner and the other does an activity with the kids (play-dough, building blocks, legos, coloring, etc.) This makes up for the fact that I am not available to play with them during Unplugged Free Time.

7. Prayer. At this time we are all seated for dinner. I made sure to put PRAYER on our list so they would not start eating before praying.

8. Dinner & 9. Clean Up. By putting both of these on the list my kids have been waiting until they are completely finished eating before they start getting up and down out of their chairs. Dinner time has not been the normal circus act that it normally is after having our new routine in place.

10. Free Time. At this point, the kids are allowed to play video games, watch TV, or play on the computer. Funny, though… since starting our new after school activity list, we have BARELY turned on either of these electronics!!! This is a great change as we had gotten into the nasty habit of having something on all of the time.

11. Bath and 12. Bed. We have had ZERO complaints about either of these because the children can SEE these on the list! They KNOW it’s coming after their Free Time and they have been so compliant! It’s magic!

What behaviors, procedures or routines do you want changed in your house? What can you do to change them now? The key to our new routine is that it is posted for everyone to see. Find a great spot to post any new changes you make so your children will be reminded of them frequently. It will definitely prevent a few more gray hairs from poking through, and hopefully you will have a few less tantrums on your hands!

March 8, 2013 by Casey | 2 Comments

Graffiti

A precious First Grade Teacher that was a co-worker of mine used to have bulletin board paper taped to her desk and it was a writing center that she called her “Graffiti Space” for her student’s personal artistic signatures.

The idea stuck with me….especially as a mommy of a little one who thinks that every wall should be his personal masterpiece. I have really drilled it in Sean Patrick’s head that we only write on paper because of all the times I have found his hidden messages on the walls, his body, my couch, the tables, etc.

Tonight, I encouraged him to do just that… to write on paper, but on a LARGE area that I designated as his Graffiti Space for the night.

It was as simple as this…

He helped me tape the paper to the windowsill and the baseboards…. this was a great spot for him because it is in his playroom and mr. clean magic erasers agree with my windowsills and baseboards 🙂

I laid out crayons, markers, and colored pencils and let him pick and choose whatever writing tools he wanted to explore with.

We had so much fun! He would scribble different images and tell me what it was afterwards.

We made rainbows, a special message for daddy, the sun, people, and a lot of other free-writing squiggles just to talk about different ways to form lines (up, down, back and forth, around and around, side to side, etc). This kind of activity makes writing fun for Sean Patrick, and that is honestly my main learning goal for him. I just want him to know how fun writing can be!