Jessica

An Elf Alternative

I have noticed that Elf lovers and Elf haters BOTH have something in common… they are happy with their own way of doing things.
Casey has great Elf ideas (that even incorporate Bible verses), and Krista is an example of someone who all of you Elf-Haters could relate to.  I am not Pro Elf or Anti Elf.

I think I might even fit into a whole new category.

I’m just kind of an observer of all things elf.  So, when I saw these elves, I bought them but I didn’t have any intention of doing the Elf on the Shelf thing.

Stuffed Elves

I actually had a few different ideas in mind:

1) To give them as gifts this year to friends, each holding Personalized Chocolate Bar with caricatures of our family dressed as elves.  (I was really proud when I came up with this gift idea!)

Elf Gift

2) To tell our kids that Santa sent us elf toys to take with us each time we go to do something special for Christmas (like picking out a Christmas tree, caroling, taking pictures with Santa, or going to parties).  If I forget to take them, we will just tell our elves all about them when we get home.  Each child gets their own elf and it is simply a plush toy – no magic involved.

photo 3

3) To decorate with the little cuties.

Decorating with Elves

4) To make boring spots of our house fun and festive…. like the microwave.  I love that their hands velcro together.

plush elves

There isn’t going to be much more to it than that for me, but this was exactly the elf I had been looking for if I was ever going to consider including Elves in our holiday traditions or household.

But maybe you do want this to be your Elf on the Shelf and in that case, CLICK HERE and go buy them. 🙂

 

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24 Christmas Activities with Printables!

In case you missed out last year… we shared a variety of Christmas Activities that are perfect for the whole family.
1  If your kids haven’t written their letters to Santa yet (or Mrs. Claus), we have the template for you.
2  If you want to come up with a fun game or scavenger hunt for the kids and their cousins, we shared ours with you.
3  If you want art activities, we have plenty!
Take a look by clicking here or on the picture below!  And Pin It to save for next year! Christmas Activities

Post on The Mommy Teacher Facebook Page.
merry christmas
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For Kids Who Can’t Write Their Letters Yet – Building Letters {Part 2}

If you didn’t get a chance to read Part 1 {Click here} – go back and skim through it now so you aren’t wondering what in the world I am talking about.

I didn’t even know at the time that that post was a “Part ONE” but when a Pre-k teacher asked me if I could turn it into a printable, I decided to stay up all night (like the night owl I am) and make it happen.

Letter Puzzles Screen Shot

So, here is how this HUGE set works…
You can have your little one cut up the movable shapes that make up the letters or you can cut them yourself and laminate them, but either way….

I made this so that you can work on a letter a day if you want to OR you can have a bunch of the shapes out and about and let your littles explore with combining them to make the letters (or numbers).

You get an E for effort either way… see what I did there?

The first page acts like a little reference.

I am including this set in my Members Page.

If you EVER have problems with getting locked out of the site or losing your password e-mail me Jessica (at) the mommy teacher (dot) com so that I can take care of it!

Thanks!

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Does your kid love “potty” words?

After writing Monday’s post, I thought a little more about my tactics over the last few months to resolve so many of our conversations with my four year old that turn into “Poo-Poo Stink Face.”   Sound familiar?

Sean Patrick speaking at camera

Since one of the first times I heard my son use a “potty word” I told him to go spit it in the potty.

I don’t like to rule out his favorite words entirely, but just giving him a designated space where he can let it all out has spared the rest of us from hearing them as often.

I have always been about CONTEXT:  There is a time and a place for lots of things.  Use wisdom here folks… if the future of a behavior leads to serious issues then avoid it all together!  But, here are kid-friendly examples that I am talking about:

If my kids are climbing on me then I will say “You can climb on monkey bars, but not on mommy.”

If my kids are kicking: “You can kick a soccer ball, but not a person.”

If my kids are biting: “You can bite food, but not your brother’s finger.” (CHARLIE!)

You get the picture.

I don’t want them to GLORIFY any one word or behavior because of their lack of being able to use it.

So, I would rather give them a place to use it.

BUT, that then means that I have to follow up with my child:

Sternly, but calmly “Sean Patrick, that is a potty word. If you want to use that word you need to go to the potty and say it into the potty where no one else can hear it but the potty.

If he does it again, “Sean Patrick, what kind of word is that?” (Wait for him to tell me).  “That’s right, and where does it belong?” (In the potty).

If he does it again, I would bring him to his room to “take a break.”

I know this is so silly to write an entire post about, but it has been encouraging to see that he is okay not using a word or behavior in other settings when he has a place to use it if he gets the itch to.

Now, when he gets around another silly, potty-word-using kiddo, all of my influence seems to go out the window, but… it just gives me a chance to remind him about our little family policy.

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Teaching Kids A Sense of Humor That Isn’t Insulting

Having a sense of humor is really important in my family…we love to laugh at and with each other.

But I don’t want my kids to turn into a bunch of bullies who laugh at other’s expense.

So, we have talked a lot about what is funny, and what is NOT funny.

As my kids vocabulary grows so does their love of words like “doodie-butt” and “doo doo face.”

Name-calling is apparently the funniest thing in the world according to my 4 year old, next to telling someone they smell like fill-in-the-blank.

So, I am turning the tables on all-things-silliness.

If my four year old decides to call me a doodie-butt in a silly moment.  I will look at him with a serious face, and calmly but sternly tell him… “Hurtful words aren’t funny, but I love when you are silly.  Try calling mommy ‘honey bunches’ when you want to be silly.  Okay CUTIE PIE HONEY BUNCH!”  And I throw a name right back at him that is “silly” or “cute” but not offensive.

If my four year old decides to tell me that I smell like something stinky.  Again, I look at him (without freaking out like I am a thirteen year old in defense mode…come on parents- we are the grown-ups here) and just seriously, calmly, and sternly tell him “I love when you are in a silly mood, but it is FUNNY when you tell mommy I smell like something that doesn’t really stink.  Sooooo, let’s try: ‘You smell like cinnamon.'” (Cue the huge laugh like that was the funniest thing we have heard in forever).  “Or… “You smell like SUGAH, sugah (also known as sugar).”  HAH!

And finally, we like to tell stories around here.  Stories that people relate to, and then we put a spin on them with some slight exaggerations and expressions thrown into the mix.  I usually make facial expressions like “REALLY?!?” and ask questions like “What happened next?” or “What was that like?” to get my kiddos to make some funny associations.

These little exercises have made a big difference in our kid’s perceptions of what is funny, and what is not okay.

My son now REGULARLY asks me “Mom, is that funny?”

“Mom, is that silly?”

“Mom, is that a mean word?”

We want our kids to keep their sense of humor and not lose it all together from the parent police.

So for us, it just boils down to funny is silly but not hurtful.

What’s your take on this?

 

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