Life Lessons - The Mommy Teacher

Authority Figures…. Are you ALL on the same page?

This is a tough one y’all. There can be a lot of authority figures in our kids lives, and well… we don’t always see eye to eye.

But, in my experience, it has shown effective when everyone is on the same page about the BIG issues…expectations, discipline, and roles. Sometimes we can be control-freaks about the little stuff, but we can let go of that stuff when we acknowledge the root of that is PRIDE. Sometimes we need some perspective that other authority figures in our kid’s life CARE about our kids and want the best for them. So, try not to sweat the small stuff. But lets focus on the main things…. we all want to act out of impulse and “maternal/paternal instincts” most often. That doesn’t mean that we are right. Prov.21:2 states that “EVERY way of man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.”

Sometimes we need to “check ourselves” before God.

Here was my check: For a long time I was under-mining my husband’s parenting by constantly sharing with him my early childhood experiences in order to teach him the “right way” to guide Sean Patrick. I admit that I was not the most supportive wife in the area of parenting for the first two years of our parenting together.

On almost every issue we (all parents) can approach something with our own experience, expertise, and opinions. BUT I believe the key to authority figures getting on the same page is when we partner as learners TOGETHER so guiding children becomes OUR resources… not my resources VERSUS your resources.

I am so excited to be in a community group of parents right now going through the book “Parenting is Heart Work” because it opens up so many discussions like how can WE do this better, or this isn’t working so how can WE change “x-y-z” to align with this great tool that WE now have.

Parenting Is Heart Work

Are you seeing the shift in perspective? Are you experiencing this right now?

Share your thoughts in the comments of this post or share if you have found some resources that both you AND your co-teachers (in parenting 😉 ) have found helpful!

August 22, 2013 by Jessica | 0 comments

Calendar Templates!

It is August 1st & a few days ago I realized that I needed a new Calendar template for my “To Do” board but also a calendar template that my little man could explore with. So, I spent a good chunk of time developing calendar templates that I liked and that also had TRACEABLE month titles and also included the identical set in the printable with regular month titles.

[Click HERE to become a member – get unlimited access to ALL The Mommy Teacher Printables including this one!

OR CLICK HERE to purchase any one of these Calendar Templates individually from my TeachersPayTeachers Store.]

What can children learn from calendar exploration?

Patterns – The days of the week repeat their same order every week.

Vocabulary – Yesterday, today, tomorrow, weekend, days of the week, month, months of the year, holidays, etc.

Organization – Graphic organizers (like calendars) are so great for kids to be exposed to. They show order and give meaning to our everyday routines.

One-to-One Correspondence – We wrote one number in each square.

Weather Recording – Check out my weather tracking post with the September template attached for free!

Ordinal Numbers – When you say the days of the week in a sentence you would say “Today is August FIRST, tomorrow is August SECOND,” etc.

What did my calendar experience look like with my 3 year old?

I put our calendars on clipboards and we sat down at the playroom table and talked about them while we doodled on our calendars. I sang the days of the week song, the months of the year song, and then we counted how many days were in August. We “x’d” out the days that had already passed. We marked upcoming events with stickers. I prepared him in advance for days that mommy or daddy had something to do so that I can remind him by pointing to the calendar and he can visually see that the event will come and go.

Sean Patrick felt so “official” with his calendar on his clipboard. While I wrote the numbers and upcoming events on my calendar attached to the clipboard, he “wrote” what he wanted to do on his.

He made a lot of markings and said things like “I will go to Maya’s house on Friday, and MeMe will be 70 on Tuesday.” Haha I loved his made-up events. And his MeMe is only in her mid-50’s but one of her sisters told Sean Patrick that she was almost 70 haha.

He even asked me for another “August calendar” yesterday so that was my indicator that he actually had as much fun as I did with this activity.

August 1, 2013 by Jessica | Comments Off

Bedtime Stories

bedtime stories

Sean Patrick is obsessed with my husband’s bedtime stories… and now I am obsessed with them, because he let me in on his secret.

My husband, Patrick, has been weaving subliminal messages into the imaginative night-time stories he tells Sean Patrick.

His stories about animals in forests or athletes on the field all have hidden messages in them that encourage patience, perseverance, integrity, problem solving, etc. It’s genius! Books always have morals and lessons so why shouldn’t our bedtime stories right?

Sean Patrick likes to be the main character in the stories we tell him; So, Patrick might tell him a baseball story where Sean Patrick is up to bat and misses but he doesn’t get upset or give up, he just tries again.

Or, an alligator might have Sean Patrick’s fishing pole so he has to wait until the alligator falls asleep to get it back like waiting until a friend is done with a toy before taking it back.

I have started to weave subliminal messages into my teaching tips too…

My recent story was about a boy named Sean Patrick who had the strongest alligator chomp (his pencil grasp) that he could chomp down on a wild crayon but the crayon could never break free from his super strength. And when he would write letters they would come alive…. the letter S would slither off of the page like a snake and he would have to catch it with his alligator chomp before it could get away.

Can you tell we are letting our imaginations run wild over here?

July 19, 2013 by Jessica | 0 comments

Newest Addition to TMT Family

Hey Mommy Teachers… this is TMT Jessica here.

We are so excited to welcome little one number three to our family….

Big brother and big sister are so excited!

As a Mommy Teacher, a lot has been going through my mind, and I wanted to share some of the teachable moments I have been purposing throughout the week with the NEWest addition:

1) I have set some clear boundaries for the older two siblings and I am trying to be as consistent as possible with the follow through for my expectations. They can touch her softly/gently but not on the face. They can hold her with mommy’s supervision, and I have set other similar physical boundaries. The kids also have to find something quietly to do while mommy feeds the new baby (typically, they each feed their own baby dolls during this time). We have also changed the baby dolls diapers EVERY time we have changed Kenzie haha.

2) They are learning so many great life lessons and teaching each other so many things… Sean Patrick is in charge of “reading” to Mckayla when she wants Mommy to hold her but I am rocking Kenzie to sleep.

reading to sissie — Sean Patrick’s version of the story…”Oooh Ooh a tiger”

3) We cant get out much right now with a newborn so we are doing LOTS of music and movement (I will write about what we are doing this week) and we are playing in the backyard to get all our energy and wiggles out as well as swimming in the plastic pool, playing backyard sports, singing and dancing, jumping on the trampoline, etc.

4) We are learning about the differences between babies and ourselves (how they eat, sleep, what they can not to that big kids can do like walk, talk, etc.) and we have compared the letters in the kid’s names now that we have a new name to explore (With play dough letter stencils and bath foam letters mostly).

One activity for older kids that I think is SO GREAT and I had to share as an idea for you to keep in your memory bank (or pinterest board) for when someone in your family or a close friend has a new baby is a “Tips for having a new baby” LIST. My creative niece came up with some humorous tips that I should consider now that I have three young kids. Her mommy teacher, my sister, supported her in this writing process and they even re-wrote it to make it more presentable – GREAT handwriting practice. The night she came to visit us, she read it aloud (great presentation for reading, speaking clearly, and practicing “public speaking”). It was REALLY thoughtful and adorable….It is now on my fridge. Read the tips below and enjoy!

Here is the re-written list of parenting tips ... from a 7 year old's point of view! — Here is the re-written list of parenting tips … from a 7 year old’s point of view!

June 20, 2013 by Jessica | 0 comments

Summer Break Curriculum: Community

While a lot of students across the country are just kicking off their summer, Monday starts week 4 of our summer vacation! If you are just now joining our summer quest to never hear the phrase, “I’m bored,” please go back and read Part 1 and Part 2 of our summer learning curriculum and activity schedule.

WEEK 4: COMMUNITY

This week we are learning all about where we live and the people who keep our community safe and functioning.

Vocabulary: community, map, doctor, dentist, teacher, police officer, fire fighter, waiter, waitress, chef, mail person, garbage man/woman, plumber, electrician, cashier, construction worker, librarian (the list is endless)

Role Play/Dramatic Play:

"Dental Health" From the Hive — “Dental Health” From the Hive
Use Jumbo Legos, play dough and yarn to floss your patient’s teeth!

Role play different occupations so your little one can get a better understanding on what roles people play in our communities.Use an old purse as a doctor bag, head phones as a stethescope, ace bandages, bandaids, thermometer, medicine dispenser as a shot, etc.

Use a play tool set to pretend to be construction workers and discuss the different types of things that need to be fixed in a community: houses, buildings, roads, signs, etc.

Take turns being a chef/waiter/customer, cashier/shopper, teacher/student, doctor/patient, etc.

Here is a great resource for dramatic play as community helpers: Growing by Grace.

Reading: LMNO Peas by Keith Baker

My kids absolutely love this book and I love this book because it talks about different community roles with each letter!

Visit your local library and you can find books on each different occupation.

Writing and Field Trip: Write letters and teach your older child how to address envelopes. Decorate a box to use as a mailbox to deliver the letters. Take it a step further and visit your local post office to learn how the post masters deliver mail.

Field Trip: Schedule a field trip with your local fire station!

Safety: Help your child memorize your address and phone number and Mommy and Daddy’s first and last name.

Teach your child how to dial 9-1-1 in an emergency (and also teach that we do NOT dial 9-1-1 if it is not an emergency).

Math: Counting teeth. Roll the dice and add the correct number of marshmallow teeth.

Subtraction: “Sally lost 3 teeth. How many does she have now?” Use “pliers” to pull the teeth like a dentist.

Social Studies: Draw a map of your neighborhood/community and give it to your child as you walk around the neighborhood (or since we live out in the country, as we drive around our town).

Reading Craft for Social Studies: Make a book. Either draw simple pictures or use your camera (or Google clip art) to take pictures to illustrate your book. Each page builds on the bigger picture of where you live.

I live in a home. My home is on ________ Street. My street is in a neighborhood. My neighborhood is in a town/city. My town/city is in a state. My state is in country. My country is on the continent. My continent is on the planet Earth.

I will be posting our completed crafts and activities soon from the past few weeks, so please stay tuned!!! I also pinned BEAUCOUP activities and crafts for Community Helpers! Please visit The Mommy Teacher Pinterest Board for an overwhelming amount of incredible ideas! Comment below with any other ideas for activities to teach about our communities!

June 17, 2013 by Casey | 1 Comment