Colored Play Rice

I was asked by my sister in law, Kat, if I’d share the recipe for the play rice I made with Rachael for homeschool back in November 2011. So I figured I could share it on here too to not only gawk at her cute pictures again, but also help anyone else out who is interested in making similar joy in their household.

Recipe for Colored Play Rice
1 cup regular rice.
1 tsp rubbing alcohol
food dye to your hearts content.

Step 1: Stir rice, rubbing alcohol and food dye in a bowl until the color distributes,

She’s concentrating, not scowling, I promise. 😉

Step 2: Spread rice out flat on wax paper or whatever,

Clearly the spreading was the most fun in the making part. =)

Step 3: Let dry for 1 hour.

Start of drying process. End of drying process.

***No she did not stand there for an hour. ***

Then you’re good to go and ready to play! It’s really that easy!!!

***Warning: you will have fun and will need to vacuum.
***Second Warning: sometimes food dye slightly comes off on hands with prolonged play, but the dye washes off easily with soap/water and the rice still remains colored.

Recycled medicine cups, funnels, old teaspoons, large straws, whatever make wonderful play tools. And I must say, playing with rice has such a calming and soothing affect while encouraging great creativity and manipulation of the rice. We enjoyed burying each others hands in the rice and also just letting her go to town making up communities and storylines in her rice play. We haven’t tried it yet, but another way to play in the rice could be to use toy buildings, people, animals or cars to add in more story play and less sheer manipulation of the rice. But Rachael has enjoyed sitting and playing with the rice for 45 minutes, in which I had to put an end to the play because it was lunch time. I’d suggest a plastic tub with high sides that are high enough to keep most rice in, but low enough to allow the child to play without having to stand or bend their arms awkwardly. Also, the larger the tub, the more the mess – so you’d be surprised what a medium sized (for the preschooler) tub of rice would do for creating clear boundaries and also allowing all play to be in view without requiring the child to turn their head (permitting more distraction opportunities). [Recalling how we used rice for play therapy in attending to one task.] Rachael has never complained about the size of the tub of not having enough room to play. We do use the lid to put extra play items on though, when she is not currently using them. The tub we use is about the size of a show box.

May 23, 2012 0

Our Matthew

Today’s Matt’s birthday!!! Happy Birthday, Love!

To celebrate, the girls made cards last night to give to him for his birthday today. Well after making the cards they couldn’t stand him not being a part of their little worlds and had to give it to him right then and there. So he had pre-birthday card enjoyment last night.

Rachael (40 months) wrote almost all the letters on her card, excluding those we have yet to learn (we’re on P right now as we head through the alphabet). I’m proud of her little 3 year old work.

Only letters she didn’t write were T and Y.

Only letters she didn’t write were V, Y and U.

(And obviously the date and age.)

Abi (22 months) clearly did not write the letters on her card, but she did add the commentary on the inside and tell me what to write:

Front & Back

[Abi’s words:] “Tell Daddy… ‘Here Daddy Birthday.”

Today Matt will be spoiled with his choice of cinnamon rolls for breakfast. We have a family tradition of getting to pick whatever you want to eat for one or two meals the day of your birthday. Matt has a lunch date at a local hospital today and his pick was red lobster for a nice date with Mommy and no kiddies tonight. So that left breakfast for the “I’ll ‘cook,’ dear” meal of the day. I’m grateful he picked something easy and tasty. 😉

I’m SUPER excited about giving Matt his gift today and I won’t tell you any more because I want it to be a surprise.

Last night Rachael came out to the store late after church with me to pick out Daddy’s “practical gift” and get his cupcake. It took everything within that preschooler to pick the blue cupcake for Daddy over the pink one she was sure he would enjoy as much as she desired. But she thought about Daddy and settled for the cupcake with the most sprinkles I have ever seen on it – well aware that our tradition is to get an over-sized cupcake and cut it into equal pieces to share amongst the family. So when our teeth and tongues are blue tomorrow, you’ll know why. 😉

So from me and the clan, I send out a huge

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to our dear Matt.

– We love you so much more than we can possibly express in one day.

May 10, 2012 0

Our "Mat Man"

For homeschooling today we continued our focus on anatomy. We’ve been randomly talking about body features (rated G) throughout our routine. Cat anatomy is fun as we catch a run-by “volunteer” (who forgives easily with a few treats).

After completing our lessons on M (we took Friday off), we jumped into our “Mat Man” activity. Now I totally robbed this idea from Handwriting Without Tears so don’t give me any of the credit for the idea. I didn’t think they’d mind since I already bought something from them and they post their lessons online for the taking. But instead of buying their “Mat Man” parts and books, I used two bottle caps (different sizes for distinguishing two different parts), cut outs of Rachael’s hands and feet (better than this, especially since they don’t include feet and we had fun tracing), and “hair” made from the scraps of cloth diaper fleece – Holler! It took me about 5 minutes on the sewing machine to make up my “hair” so that it’ll survive at least two more kids and now belong in the “Mat Man” bag of body parts. hehe. I also used my own $.29 (from Hobby Lobby) rubber foam rectangle (better than this price) for the body and used my previously cut out letter pieces for the outlines. I also made eyes from leftover pieces of poster board foam after making the traced and cut out letter pieces that we use in our introduction to letters. (A cheaper version of this while still purchasing this from the company.)

Here’s our “Mat Man”:

I first started out by putting him together myself, as Rachael and I referenced to features that belong on a body. Then we took our magnifying glass and used it as a pointer/inspector of specific body parts, labeling them on ourselves as we labeled them on “Mat Man”.

“the nose”

“the neck”

We also labeled them on Abi of course! And did you catch that from the above picture that Abi took the initiative of labeling herself amidst our lesson [byproduct of an engaged listener =) ].

Then I took “Matt Man” apart and had Rachael rebuild him, identifying all of his parts.

She had also traced/cut out her own hands and Abi’s feet (hard to keep your own feet flat while tracing, plus we like to include Abi wherever we can) on black paper and used them on her version of “Mat Man” before we pasted them to a paper and decorated them with leftover Easter stickers. =)

Abi made herself ready to join Rachael “at” school this morning. –>

Tongue helps for concentration. 😉

I chose, for the sake of Rachael’s previous anatomy knowledge, to divide the arm into two sections, highlighting the elbow (an open space on “Mat Man”) in between and showing how our arms could bend either direction due to the elbow. I did likewise with the legs and then had Rachael identify upper and lower arms and legs. She was just a bit ready for a slightly more detailed look at anatomy than a single representation of the arm or leg as one piece. To expand upon this lesson in the future, we will bring “Mat Man” back out and enjoy positioning “Mat Man” in various positions due to his elbows and knees providing motion. This way we can also talk about needing energy for motion (beginning science) and how food processed through the digestive track allows for the making of energy – thus enabling us to run and jump and move, etc. We’ve just barely introduced this topic at current, only emphasizing that many things inside help us to sleep, eat, drink, breathe and move.

Rachael has also begun to have casual conversation identifying what things are and are not “alive” and why/how we know that. We have identified eating, breathing, drinking, and sleeping as indicators of life at this point (we’re not into photosynthesis or bacterial life yet – wink,wink). It has been a fun game which also spurred on the unexpected thought from the three year old that “sometimes I pretend my dolls are alive, but they’re not really,” and how drawn objects and created things, like “Mat Man” are a symbol of being alive, but are not actually alive. She really kinda floored me with that line of analytical thought. So “Mat Man” has also been tied to using our imaginations and the distinction between real and pretend.

Rachael was very proud of her ability to create “Mat Man” (hense the initiative to “ta da!” in the picture) and clearly the wheels are turning about “alive” and “not alive” and how that relates to our daily life.

– Fun lesson indeed!

April 30, 2012 0

Anatomy

We took the opportunity to have some fun with our anatomy lesson yesterday. I got a few basic anatomy kid-friendly books from the library (one is a baby book identifying baby parts, but functional and the other two are more advanced anatomy). Not expecting Rachael to grasp the full knowledge of the respiratory and circulatory system, despite the nice pictures =), I just wanted her to be introduced to the fact that a bunch of different stuff inside of us helps us to move and function. I think she might have walked away from the lesson with that – and a billion questions. hehe.

So then I came up with the fun idea of cutting body parts out of a magazine to make our own people (not as gruesome as it just sounded in that sentence). It was a fun project to prepare, wondering what creations would come out of the pieces. We worked together scaling through features of the face or body and talking about where they were placed (me primarily helping with spacial positioning to allow for additional features on the page since Rachael doesn’t really have any spacial concept yet). And this is what we created:

Since we picked each feature independent of the others I found the varying leg sizes fun as well as the large mismatched ears and small hair. =)

Rachael identified the child on the left to be a “boy face” (actually a girl’s) and “girlie short hair” (actually a boy’s) which I found quite entertaining between the boy shirt and big girlie skirt. =)

We had a heck of a lot of fun. =)

April 26, 2012 0

39 Months

We took an opportunity to do homeschooling today. We don’t usually do it on a Saturday, but the Littlest was sick Monday and we were all seeking a day of rest. Since I like to try to do three days of homeschooling per week, we did not do homeschooling on Friday, and Daddy is away on a youth trip this weekend, I figured Saturday was as good as any.

We took the opportunity to do some review. We have been going through an alphabet series of one letter, upper and lower case, per week. Since Rachael is 39 months, I am not expecting her to be able to freehand lower case letters yet (that is a more advanced skill since a lot of those letters have less defined lines [approximately Kindergarten aged]). But in our series (that I’m making up with the help for a few preschool/pre-Kindergarten workbooks I got at the dollar store and a teacher supply store [whoppin’ dollar fifty] and the rest I improv based on state standards for what a child should know to enter Kindergarten), she is expected to trace and attempt to freehand all the capital letters in the alphabet, as well as identify the lower case letters. We have gone from A to L thus far and are in week eleven of the series. I anticipate another 12 weeks of letter introductions to occur (we’ll combine some familiar letters in one week) and then have a review week or two before starting our “formal” Pre-K curriculum. I have been using the resources through the Answers In Genesis curriculum packet to introduce various topics to Rachael so the curriculum will not be completely foreign when we start doing a more structured preschooling. And the alphabet flashcards and 8’11” display resources along with tracing marks have proven helpful for the past series.

I’ve also been using what we refer to as “word pieces” to introduce the letters to Rachael as she has developed her fine motor skills in tracing and, ultimately, writing. These “word pieces” help to introduce the letters in segments, or strokes, and better help her organize the concept of writing the letter. She has really enjoyed the puzzle-like quality and handful of activities on the backs of the mats to aid in the letter’s introduction. While I did not pay for the wooden pieces (they were a bit pricey), but simply traced my sister in law’s pieces and cut them out of foam board, I did purchase the laminated alphabet pages and have used them for an introduction and reintroduction (should it be needed) of the letters at the start of each week. I just couldn’t justify spending $53+ for an introduction material, even if I am planning on using it for all the kids in our household. The upfront cost when on a budget was a bit extreme. But not wanting to break copyright codes, I planned on just purchasing the sheets and then measuring the size of the “wood pieces” until my sister in law decided to purchase the wooden pieces and therefore I could measure the size from the wooden pieces themselves. So between the two of us, she really helped me out to make that product fit our budget and homeschooling needs. We’re just careful not to beat up our “word pieces” as we should be respectful and kind to all our supplies. I may very well actually buy the wood pieces here down the line, but not this year with our tight budget.

I have also used various storybooks, Rachael’s tag (not tag Jr.) reader system (A Christmas gift secondhand for $8.50 plus two books and then added other books via Christmas wish lists and sales racks), library books, and written sentences/words for the purpose of letter identification to begin to introduce the concept of decoding words. I’ve checked out “Teach Your Child to Read in 110 Easy Lessons” from the library and am hoping to start that with Rachael as well when we begin her “formal” pre-K curriculum. Since I have modeled my created lesson plans from the curriculum we are going to use for Rachael’s “formal” pre-K, it should be a more natural transition into increased listening/interaction time. We have been averaging an hour to an hour and a half of preschool three times a week. The curriculum we will begin is a 1.5 to 2 hour 4-5 day a week curriculum that is more holistic in skill and themed. Since Rachael has been exposed to many of the resources, saving the more advanced ones of course to use in the actual curriculum, the compilation of the resources should not overwhelm her. The curriculum in itself is for 180 days and since we are schooling year-round (at least for now) we are in no rush to take any quick pace. Rachael will begin her pre-K curriculum at the ripe age of 3.5. And if you’ve met her or held a conversation with her, I think you’ll understand why so “soon.”

So back to my original point of this post (though the previous explanations are quite beneficial in understanding how we came about this fruit). I had Rachael do some review today and I wanted to share her work with you all. Much of this work she completed independently while I fixed lunch, did house chores and put Abi down for a nap. I popped in for occasional instruction and to see how she was fairing. But without further delay, I give you Rachael’s A-L work.

[My writing: circle of third C and notation where Rachael corrected her own form. Penned third D during explanation to Rachael of the side that the curved part of the D was supposed to be on – she wrote it backward (not a big deal, but still wanting her to see the difference).]

[My writing: Rachael’s self-correction of the second F after drawing the first circled line, she explained that she adjusted the line over to fit the F better.]

I’d say it’s going well.

I’m VERY proud of her. She really worked HARD on this review and applied herself with great concentration, asking questions about letter formation where she had forgotten.

Once again, the child is only 39 months. =)

– Go Rachael!!!

April 21, 2012 0

Pushing Myself and Rising to the Challenge

Well, as I posted on facebook earlier this morning, I came across a family blog, Raising Olives, which talks, among other things, about homeschooling. I love the way the family uses the Word as a basis and a foundation of homeschooling, so of course my ears were perked at the posts. In reading the argument and finding a few new ideas, I have been doing some research over the past few days and putting some serious thought into homeschooling.

But no, worries, people this post will not be all about homeschooling. 😉 Don’t abandon me now, just hang with me a second.

It was from scrolling through the site a bit that I began to wonder the very question most homeschoolers of more than one child wonder – how the heck am I to balance it all and really teach each of my kids without neglecting the other.

While some curriculum is written as a wholistic study for the whole family- LOVE- there are the nitty gritty’s of individual grade requirements that still do not vanish. While we all could be participating in the history lesson, for example, a five year old processes the lesson on a much different level than a 3 year old and therefore has a different outcome expectation.

This is true with all life, but I’m not going to go there.

I started thinking about the dishes stacking up, the laundry taking over and the other repercussions of a full day of homeschooling and being 110% for each kid on our house and schedules. Then I came across the post on putting your family on a schedule. Does this sound so Type A Personality? So of course it perked my ears. 😉

The concept was to think about the things each family member (women, don’t schedule your husbands – not a good relationship helper) needs to get done during the day and would like to get done during the day. Then allot a time period for each thing, realistically, and think through the schedule requirements (ex. nap time, family time, breakfast time, dinner time). Hmmm. This sounded interesting.

So I started with me and made a list of the things I want/need to get done during the day. I came up with about 5 hours worth of stuff to get done between 6:30a and 4pm (when Matt gets home). That’s 5 hours worth of stuff to do in 9.5 hours of time. And why am I falling behind sometimes? Intentionality. So this week I’ve stopped making excuses and been intentional about my time. I’ve found that some days tasks take longer (reflects on Abi’s needy day and it’s repercussions on my workload) but most days I find I have less to do when I have done the workload from yesterday. And I’ve also come across this weird thing called…. clustered free time. What is that to a Mother, you ask? Freedom! I find if I work hard in the mornings that I feel accomplished and like a contribution to my family – let alone coming across this free time stuff. Huh! Who would have thought actually applying Proverbs 31 would get you such nice results? (Hits head).

Through this intentionality I realized I have strayed away from our adventure missions reading routine. When Abi was littler, I used to rock her to sleep in the rocking chair before Rachael and Abi’s nap times, thus allowing a good half hour of reading to the girls daily. As Abi has grown out of the rocking phase I struggled to find a good time to read to the girls beyond picture books. Missing my adventure mission novels, I struggled to put them in during random outside sandbox play and various other times, going for weeks without picking up the book and finding the need to keep renewing the book from the library. Well, sitting down and thinking about it earlier this week, I came up with this idea: post-lunch quiet table play = adventure missions reading audience.

Abi had made it a habit to play in her crib for at least 40 minutes post lunch after I put her to bed, thus keeping up Rachael as well. After 40 minutes, Abi would process lunch, need a diaper change and then go to bed. So, since we were all going to be up anyway, I came up with the idea of table play coupled with missions reading. And I am happy to report IT WORKS!!!

So each day after lunch the girls play quietly (as quietly as a three year old – you’d be impressed- and a 21 month old can play) while listening to me read two chapters. I’ve been impressed at the training opportunity to play quietly and contently by themselves for a half hour. The first day was a bit rough; puzzle pieces hitting the ground, Abi’s constant talking and constant reminders of the need for quiet (not silent) play, my peripheral vision becoming quite distracting while trying to keep solo play going. But the next day got better. And then better. And here we are on Friday, with minimal distractions and the majority of the 30 minutes of quiet play being just that…. quiet. I really am impressed with the girls!

It was about a year ago that I first heard of this idea from a homeschooling, missions-minded Mom of like a bajillion kids (8) who made a missions presentation at the Orphan Seminar that Matt and I attended. We were fresh into the “looking into adoption” group and thought a conference with Sara Groves (come on people) would be a nice “weekend away” for Matt and I to pray and think and pray about the whole prospect. While in the breakout session, the Mom handed practical ideas on how to incorporate missions into your family’s everyday life, many of which we have enjoyed catering to our family’s heart for missions. She mentioned while homeschooling her children (aged tiny to teenager) she had a specific reading time established daily in which everyone gathered in the living room and listened to her read various mission accounts for TWO HOURS!!! I was utterly shocked that her smallest of small kids would sit there and play quietly for such time (though she never once alluded to not having to stop for a break or two so I’m not sure if the two hours was in rapid succession or two or three chunks of time throughout the day). But still, I was impressed. And slightly bewildered.

“It takes training,” was my next thought.

Now while I feel in no way a need to compete or model our family missions love after the exact model of her household, clear expectation and realistic quiet play for busy hands has been such a blessing in my personal reading life, as I have mentioned above. And while at almost 2 and 3 years old they are only retaining handfuls of information (if anything at all some days), it is all in training for the priority, self-discipline and gradual worldview of God’s heart for the lost and dying world.

So as we continue to tweak parts of our schedule and I continue to evaluate and pray through my own contribution and service of my family through my daily schedule (which is subject to flexibility as always), we have seemed to find a good spot for adventure missions readings to be incorporated back into our daily lives. And for that alone in this revamping, I am VERY grateful. =)

***For those of you interested, we are currently reading Amy Carmichael in the Christian Heroes: Then and Now series written by husband and wife team Geoff and Janet Benge. We get borrow them for free from our local library and have enjoyed this husband/wife team’s creativity in taking the biographies of “the big missionaries” in the faith and writing them into a 6th grade friendly adventure novel charting that missionary’s life and work. I have learned so much and look forward to continuing to incorporate these 22 out of 38 novels available free form the library into our lives in the present and future. We’ve already read five of these novels and found great joy in their pages. I am seeing visions of book reports in my children’s future. They also have unit study books available for these novels. 😉

April 13, 2012 0