The One With September Lesson Plans: Week Four

We've made it almost a whole month together! Awesome!

The last week of the month is always dedicated to reviewing all the previous skills of the month. I have a few more hands-on and messy activities for this week as well. If you have skipped/missed a few activities, this is the time to play catch up! (Believe me, I have a lot of catching up to do!)

The September Calendar is here! All other printable files at the end of this post.
*Please note that in some of these activities I have shown small objects that may pose a choking hazard to children under 3. You can always accommodate the needs of your child by using bigger objects. Supervise all young children with smaller objects, including rice, etc*

Review: 
Letters: A, B, C
Shape: Circle
Color: Red
Theme: apples, plants
Number: 3


Plans:
Circle Chalk Hop: 
Directions: Use chalk to draw varying colors and sizes of circles all over the sidewalk/patio. Ask the child to hop to the red circle! (continue with other colors). You can also ask older children to hop to the large/small circles. Another variation on the game would be to ask the child to throw a small rock/beanbag onto specific circles.

Apple Pie Sensory Bin:
Directions: Fill a large bowl or rubbermaid tub about 1/3 way full of dry oats. Add in some pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon sticks (or plain cinnamon, etc) to really get the senses going. Use some measuring cups/spoons/kitchen items to foster creative cooking play with the kids! Scooping and dumping is way fun! You can make pretend apple pies using your red pom poms! Have fun with it and play along!

*Note: Tomorrow's activity is red sensory rice.  It takes about 1/2 a day to dry, so I would make it tonight in order to play with it tomorrow!*

Directions to dye rice: dump plain, uncooked rice into a large gallon zipper bag (I bought a 5lb bag of rice but didn't use it all). Add in a tablespoon or two of rubbing alcohol. (I've also heard that hand sanitizer works if you're in a bind, but I haven't tested that theory!) Add in a few squirts of food coloring, zip up the bag, and shake! I would definitely have this be an adult only activity since red food coloring is not very forgiving. Continue shaking and add more food coloring/alcohol as needed. Once it is at the desired color, lay a paper towel on a cookie sheet and spread out the rice to dry. It dries much faster outside if you are able to do so. Enjoy!


Red Rice Sensory Bin:
Directions: Dye rice red. (directions above) Fill a large bowl/tub with rice and other red household items! Use duplos, legos, buttons, cars, pom-poms, or anything else red you can find! Allow your child to explore the red items and scoop/dump them. Hide items and have them dig them out. Kids love this stuff!!!

My kids love using spoons, measuring cups, dixie cups, medicine cups, etc with sensory bins. 

ABC Sorting mat:*
Directions: Print file. Cut letters apart on page 2. Mix up the letters and invite the child to sort the little letter pieces onto the big letters on page 1. (Warning: This skill will be much more difficult than other sorting mats, especially for children under age 2!)


Plant Hunt Outside:
Directions: This month we have been learning about different plant parts (specifically on trees and apples).  Explore outside (go on a walk, to the park, or simply walk around the backyard!) to find different parts of a plant! Pull up a weed and describe the roots. Ask them to identify stems and leaves. They will love this. For some reason, my kids think roots are super cool. It's like a hidden surprise in the dirt or something. It is also lots of fun to go to Walmart/Home Depot/Lowe's and explore the plant section there! Describe the textures of the plants and tree trunks (rough, smooth, prickly, hard, delicate, etc) Have fun!


Muffin Tin Color Sorting:
Directions: Print file. Cut out the colored circles and place them in the bottom of a muffin tin. Invite your child to sort colorful objects (buttons, pom-poms, beads, legos, etc) into the different cups. If you have a disposable foil muffin tin, you can glue/tape down the colored circles and have this be a permanent activity you can keep handy. I love pulling this activity out while I'm trying to cook dinner. For older kiddos, they can use tongs/tweezers to grab the objects (it slows them down a little too if you're trying to kill time, ha!)

I used pony beads, but any colorful objects will work! 

Apple Coloring Page:*
Directions: Print file. It's just a simple coloring page. You can paint, color, with crayons, use markers, glue down torn paper, etc.


That's it for this month! Love you guys! I'm getting excited for next month because I'm IN LOVE WITH PUMPKIN EVERYTHING. Did you know that pumpkins float? Be prepared for fun and pumpkin guts...

Printables here:
ABC Sorting Mat
Muffin Tin Color Sorting
Apple Coloring Page

The One With the Calendar Printable

Hey there!
I recently have been self-diagnosed with a severe case of mom brain. I forget things a lot.
Since having kids, my brain only has a capacity for:
1. Keeping my kids alive.
2. Useless trivia.
I can sing you lyrics to any Barney song, but I can't find my wallet.

 Sad day. This memory loss also includes holidays and birthdays and anything actually important.  Does this happen to you? Fear not! I was inspired online to make this cute reminder for my fridge!

It's all handy dandy in one place, and you can see a year's worth of birthdays and anniversaries! I just have immediate family on mine now, but I plan to add more once I get more organized...which is in the very distant future.

You can laminate it or frame it or stick it on the fridge (like me!), whatever you think! Just use a white pen or sharpie to add in your specific info!

I think it perfectly coordinates with my extreme polka dot frame that my kids made last Mother's Day which I seriously adore and treasure! ;)

If you want the print your own, it's here for free!
Love you guys!

The One With September Plans, Week 3

Hi guys! How's week 3? 
I'll admit, I barely did any activities week 2 since I had a super busy week! But that's ok, we all have our off periods! Time to get back into the swing of things!

Click here for the September calendar!

C Dot Art *

Directions: print file. Allow child to decorate the uppercase and lowercase C. (You can use circle stickers, dot stampers, play dough pieces, or pom poms) Read Dr. Seuss's ABC book, and discuss which letter is "Big C" and which one is "Little c" Hang paper on fridge for the week to reference. 

Circle Stamping:

Directions: Dip the end of a paper towel/toilet paper tube into paint. Allow children to use the tube as a stamp to paint circles onto paper.

C is For Clouds:

Directions: cut a paper plate into the shape of a C. Glue on cotton balls around the c. Discuss how C is for cotton and clouds. Go outside and find the clouds! Do any clouds have fun shapes?

Apple Paper Plates:

Directions: cut a paper plate into the shape of an apple core. Allow your child to paint/color the extra pieces green as leaves. Glue them on top of the apple core! Draw on 3 (number of the month!) seeds! Discuss the vocabulary terms: core, seeds, leaves, peel. 

C Snack:

Directions: Make cookies! Hooray! You can make them from scratch, or simply use pre-made dough. If you're feeling especially sassy, sing "C is for Cookie" like Cookie Monster. 

Play Dough Circles:

Directions: Find plastic round cups/containers of different sizes around the kitchen. Turn them upside down and use the mouth of the cup as a cookie cutter. Make tons of play dough circles. Describe the sizes of the circles (small, large, medium, etc) 

Candy Sorting Mat*: 

Directions: print file. Cut apart the orange, red, and blue candy pieces on page 2. Mix them up, then allow the children to place the corresponding small colored candy on the large candy.

C Letter Recognition:*

Directions: print file. Invite children to find the letters Cc on the sheet. (use bingo stampers, crayons, stickers, etc)

Apple Tracing:

Directions: Cut an apple in half. Lay the apple down flat onto the paper and invite your child to trace around it. Voila! An apple outline! Dig out 3 (number of the month!) seeds from the apple and glue them down onto the paper. 

That's all, folks! Here are the printables:

Cc Dot Art

Candy Sorting Mat

C Letter Recognition

The One With September Plans: Week Two

Here are the week 2 plans for September.  Looking for week 1? Keep scrolling!

You will notice that some of the activities are the same as last week, just changed according to the new letter/theme.  This is intentional for many reasons:
-Kids love repetition. They want to watch the same show over and over. They want you to read the same book 50 times. Sometimes it's annoying, but it's a good thing. It helps them really master a concept.
-It will allow you to get into the rhythm of teaching. It's good to not feel lost and overwhelmed! Mondays are always for dot art. Tuesdays are messy crafts. Wednesdays are always fun snacks. Try to set apart a specific time each day so that you and your kids can look forward to working together! :)
-The repetition allows your children to begin to be confident with each activity, and slowly gain independence while they work. The whole goal of these activities is to prepare your kids for school, where they will need to sit and follow instructions.
-I have 3 kids ages 3 and under. I can't possibly create 30-50 unique activities every month. In fact, I'm glad that I'm wearing pants. But I do love you! 


Week 2 Plans: September

B Dot Art *

Directions: print file. Allow child to decorate the uppercase and lowercase B. (You can use circle stickers, dot stampers, play dough pieces, or pom poms) Read Dr. Seuss's ABC book, and discuss which letter is "Big B" and which one is "Little b" Hang paper on fridge for the week to reference. 

Circle Search:
Directions: Give your child some sort of container (basket, big bowl, grocery bag, etc) and go on a circle search around the house! Look all around and gather all of the circles you see in your container. Use your finger to trace around the circle shape, and describe the attributes of the object.  (A key ring, a plate, Cheerios, a coin, a bowl, CD, clock, puzzle piece, etc.  They are everywhere!) Make it fun! Act excited and gasp when you find one! Discover a square and check to see if they correct you! It's only as exciting as you allow it to be. 

Apple Tree Craft:

Directions: Trace your child's hand and forearm on brown construction paper. Cut it out. Cut out a fluffy cloud shape on green construction paper.  Glue all of these down onto manilla/plain paper into the shape of a tree. Use your child's thumb to paint down "apples" with red paint. Describe the parts of a tree/plant and introduce the vocabulary terms: tree, leaves, branches, and trunk. Ask the child if they can verbally identify each part of the tree. ("What is this part called?") or for younger, less verbal children, ask ("Can you point to the trunk?")

B snack:

Directions: Draw quadrants on a plain piece of paper. Label the quadrants 1, 2, 3, and 4. Ask the child to place 1 snack in the 1 quadrant.  (You can use teddy grahams as bears or Annie's bunnies, or any snack that begins with B!) Continue with the 2 quadrant and ask them to put 2 pieces on it.  Continue until all quadrants of the paper are filled. Then they can eat the snack and fill up the page again!

Red Bubble Art:
Directions: add a few drops of red food coloring into a bowl and add bubble soap into it.  (Remember, red is the color of the month!) Allow your child to dip their wand and blow red bubbles onto plain paper.  It makes fun, colorful circles on their paper. (Circles?!?! Yes, the shape of the month!) You can also dye the bubble solution other colors if you want. 

***If you are confident that your child will not suck inwards, you can 

use a straw instead of the bubble wand to blow and make this art. 

Bear Sorting Mat*:
Directions: print file. Cut apart the red, white, and green bear pieces on page 2. Mix them up, and allow the children to place the corresponding small colored bear on the large bear. 

B letter recognition*

Directions: print file. Allow children to find the letters Bb on the sheet. (use bingo stampers, crayons, stickers, etc)

3 Number Collage*

Directions: print file. Cut out the number 3 outline. Find small items from around the house (beans, stickers, cheerios, beads, sequins, etc)  Ask the child to find and count out 3 of each item.  Glue down sets of 3 items onto the 3 collage. 

Ta-da! You made it through week 2! Here are the printables:

Bb Dot Art

Bear Sorting Mat

B Letter Recognition

3 Number Collage

The One with September Plans! Week One

Hey guys! Thanks for being so patient with these plans! 

Each month, I will post a calendar with suggested activities. You can follow as loosely or closely as you want. Feel free to adjust it to your child's ability level and unique interests. This is just a guide to pace you.  Most of all, have fun! Don't beat yourself up if your kids don't participate as much as you'd like. Sometimes lessons only last 5 minutes. Kids don't have a large attention span. Just try to reinforce what you are learning throughout the day! 

Here are the basic things you will need for the entire year of learning. You will probably own some of these things already! If no, I think you can get most of them at the dollar store! 
Supply List:

-washable paint (all colors) with brushes

-pom-poms of all assorted colors

-alphabet magnets or puzzle pieces

-play dough (assorted colors)

-dot stampers (such as do-a-dot, or simple bingo stampers)

-popsicle sticks

-circle stickers (pictured later below)

-construction paper of all assorted colors

-manilla/plain paper

-glue

-food coloring (assorted primary colors)

-Dr. Seuss’s ABC book

-bubbles
-colored chalk

-muffin tin

In addition, September-specific activities will also need:

-printables I have made (all are indicated with an *)

-uncooked white rice

-rubbing alcohol

-cinnamon, cinnamon sticks, or pumpkin pie spice

-container of oats

-paper plates

-real apples

-paper towel/toilet paper tube

-apple jacks (letter Aa snack)

-teddy grahams, gummy bears or Annie’s bunnies (B for bear/bunny snack)

-cotton balls

-cookie dough (bake some from scratch, or get a tube of dough!)

__________________________________________________________________

September Unit:

Letters: A, B, C

Color: Red

Shape: Circle

Theme: apples, plants

Number: 3

__________________________________________________________________

Print out the calendar and you can follow along week by week!  All files are at the end of this post. 

Activities indicated by  * are printable pages I've made that you can download from this blog. 

Week 1: 

A Dot Art *

Directions: print file. Allow child to decorate the uppercase and lowercase A. (You can use circle stickers, dot stampers, play dough pieces, or pom poms) Read Dr. Seuss's ABC book, and discuss which letter is "Big A" and which one is "Little A" Hang paper on fridge for the week to reference. 

(see the circle stickers I mentioned in the supply list? They are $1, hooray!)

Circle Coloring Page*

Directions: print file. Discuss and describe the shape of a circle. Allow child to decorate the circle (markers, crayons, dot stampers, paint, or gluing down little pieces of torn paper. Older children can trace and discuss the letters in the word "circle") Hang paper on the fridge for the week to reference. 

Uppercase A-Popsicle Stick

Directions: decorate 3 popsicle sticks (paint, marker, crayon, etc) Glue them together into the shape of an uppercase A. Repeat the chant from yesterday's book "Big A, little A, what begins with A?" while you make the craft. :)

Apple Stamping

Directions: cut a real apple in half. Dip it into red/green paint and use it as a stamp on paper. 

A Snack  

Directions: lace apple jacks (you can lace them on shoelaces, yarn, spaghetti, or pipe cleaners depending on your child’s ability/age) Discuss how apple starts with the letter A.

Red Coloring Page*

Directions: print file.  Color the crayon red (using crayon, marker, paint, etc) Older children can trace and discuss the letter in the word "red". Hang paper on the fridge for future reference. 

Apple Sorting Mat*

Directions: print file. Cut apart the red, yellow, and green apple pieces on page 2. Mix them up, and allow the children to place the corresponding small colored apple on the large apple. 

(for older kids, tape the apples around the house and let them "pick" the apples first!)

A letter recognition*

Directions: print file. Allow children to find the letters Aa on the sheet. (use bingo stampers, crayons, stickers, etc)

3 Pom-Poms in Muffin Tins-  This is to learn basic counting. Use a muffin tin and ask children to count out 3 pom poms and place them into each cup.  (You can vary this based on your child's ability by asking them to sort the pom-poms by colors, make patterns, etc.)  Using kitchen tongs/tweezers to pick up the pom-poms makes this more fun and also helps with fine motor development! 

Ok people! That's it for week one! The files are here below! Feel free to use them and share with others. Just please don't be a jerkface and steal/sell these as your own. I don't want to add ugly watermarks on them. We all know those are ugly. Love ya! 

September Calendar

Aa Dot Art

Circle Coloring Page

Red Coloring Page

Apple Sorting Mat

A Letter Recognition

The One with Potty Training

Fair Warning:

This blog contains the topics of poop and pee and all things gross. If you don't like gross stuff, go ahead and move about your business.   

How to Potty Train Twins:

1.) Get all the supplies you need:

     -lots and lots of undies. I would say 15-20 pairs if not more. (We say undies in our household because         the word "panties" is my most hated word of all time.)

     -at least 1 potty chair plus a potty seat to go on the toilet (because inevitably one child will want to go         potty while the other is going)

     -flushable potty wipes (not necessary, but helpful)

     -pull-ups 

     -carpet cleaner, laundry stain cleaner

     -unlimited patience

2.) Get a helper, and get on the same page as each other. Stick together and be consistent. 

-We waited for a 3 day weekend to do this new "potty training boot camp" technique, and it was really awesome! That way, hubby could help me on Monday as well. Here are the techniques of boot camp:
 a) No diapers. Ever. Say goodbye to them and never look back. Don't have any secret hidden ones for emergencies. Pull-ups are for sleeping only.
b) Let them wear only underwear.  This way, they can really feel if that have an accident.
c) constantly ask IF they have to go potty (versus taking them every few minutes). This ensures that they will be able to discern the urge to go independently without being reminded.
d) Constantly ask them, "Is your underwear dry?" so that they are learning to discern wet/dry and know the ultimate goal.
e) Give small rewards for attempts to potty, and larger rewards for potty successes. We did stickers for attempts, and a marshmallow for success!
f) Don't leave the house for these 3 days.


3.) Let the magic happen.
And by 'magic' I mean the utter destruction of your house, your patience, and everything you hold dear in life. Say goodbye to it all. Excited yet? (Don't worry, it will be worth it in the end!!!)

Here is what might happen to you:
Day 1:
Your kid will pee everywhere. All the time. A little bit here, a little bit there, as they have little to no self-awareness. Just change their clothes and remind them to pee in the potty and not in their undies.

Heck, your kid might even kindly save all of their poop for bath time  and yell, "Look! I'm swimming with meatballs, mommy!"  Or one twin might poop all over the floor while another brown-handed twin says, "Here sissy! I found your poop! Here you go!"  There might be a lot of hand washing.  Don't worry, it's just one day. It will be over soon. You can do this.

Day 2:
Your kid finally realizes that peeing all over themselves is overrated, and they decide to sit on the potty. ALL. DAY. LONG.  They have a false sense of urgency, and don't know quite how to save their pee for one larger evacuation. So they pee 1-3 drops every 2 minutes. Somehow this day is worse than yesterday. Maybe it's because you are so frazzled from scrubbing the carpet. Maybe it's because you stayed up late pre-treating Elmo underwear with stain remover. Maybe it's because you just softly wept over the loss of your Pottery Barn throw pillow. Maybe it's because the doorframe of your bathroom is brown and you're not entirely sure why. Probably it's the summation of all of the above. This is the day that you pray for patience.
You can do this. The end is near.

For both of my girls, the night of day 2, something clicked.
They asked to sit on the potty (for the zillionth time) and they peed. More than 3 drops. A real, giant pee. In a potty.
And the heavens rejoiced!!!
This is when you hug your child, and do a dance and squeal and celebrate because it has been the longest 48 hours of your life, but you finally have something to show for it!

Day 3:
This is the day of productivity. You are energized by the previous days' successes, and have a renewed sense of hope for your carpet and sanity.
My kids had no accidents. None. Once everything clicked and the lightbulb went off,  there were no  issues. It was amazing. My kids still sleep in pull-ups, but we will deal with that at a later time.

Hooray for no diapers!!!
Here's to hoping that I get back into the swing of blogging...love you guys!

The One With The Life Update

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaack!

Wow. I haven't posted in forever! As in, I didn't even know I was pregnant last time I posted, and now I have a new baby.  3 children in 25 months. That's scientifically impossible unless you have multiples. Rock on.

 When we first announced that I was having another baby, most peoples' reactions were...uh...less than enthusiastic. I heard lots of, "What are you going to do?!?!" , "How are you going to do this?",  "Um...was this planned?", "Sucks to be you!" (<---ok not really that one) along with other shocked responses. Understandably, these are knee-jerk reactions, but I was hoping for some excitement rather than skepticism   After a bit, I was reluctant to tell anyone about being pregnant, because I felt like I had to explain my life away. But now that little Lucy is here, I don't know what I'd do without her!

And now the time has come. I will explain it all in my handy-dandy FAQ blog post!

Q: Were you trying to have more kids?
A: Yes, we were trying to have more children. It didn't take any time at all, since apparently I'm a fertile myrtle (who'd have guessed?) It makes sense for us to have our kids close in age. It's nice to have all my kids in similar phases of life at the same time. Also, when Lucy is done with diapers, I'm done with diapers forever! Yesssssssssss.

Q: Do you want more kids after Lucy?
A: I have always wanted a bigger than average family, but I'm done having biological children. In other words? Tubes. Tied.
We may end up adopting/fostering later in life when things settle down. I've always had a heart for that and I wish I would have pursued that route earlier in life.

Q: Are you one of those Duggars?
A: Yes.

Q: How many diapers do you go through a day?
A: I change about 20 a day I'd say. That is probably crazy sounding to some, but it doesn't really phase me anymore.  Heck, what's one more diaper? The more the merrier!
I finally broke down and have diapers delivered to the door monthly with Amazon, and it's amazing. Why didn't I do it sooner?

Q: How are the twins dealing with a new baby in the house?
A: They are awesome big sisters. They want to play with her all the time, (or play with their baby dolls and pretend like it's Lucy.)  Initially I was paranoid that they would squish the baby and literally love her to death. I constantly had to make sure she was out of reach if I left the room to do anything.  I still can't leave the twins alone in the room with Lucy, but they try really hard to be gentle.  I thought we were making big strides in this department until just yesterday I caught Emily digging her finger into Lucy's eye. Sigh.
Emotionally, it was a little tougher for Charlotte to adjust to having a little sister.  I wasn't able to carry the girls for 6 weeks after my c-section, so she got really attached to her daddy. When daddy was at work, she had lots of meltdowns. In fact, it has been meltdown central over here recently.  I think its due to the glorious combination of a new baby, 2 year molars, and being a toddler. But things get better every day. They really do!

Q: How are YOU doing with a new baby in the house?
Right now, I'm good. I have a lot going on, but I'm good.  If you would have asked me this when Lucy was 2 weeks old, you would have gotten a completely different answer.
In the beginning, Lucy cried ALL THE LIVELONG DAY (but slept most of the night besides feedings!) and I was completely frazzled by having no help during the day, plus recovering from my c-section. Then the big girls got croup, high fevers, and had to be put on steroids as treatment.
Imagine your life with 1 screaming newborn, 2 sick, (yet steroid-hyperactive) toddlers, plus an 8 inch incision in your abdomen.  It wasn't pretty folks. I was a wreck. I yelled at the girls for the first time in my life.  I cried in front of them for the first time in my life. Their new favorite phrase was, "MOMMY IS CRYING!" That didn't help. I was sleep deprived and had no patience whatsoever.  I was used to my nice routine, my scheduled life, my able body, and healthy kids. I felt like everything had turned upside down.
But by God's grace, we all recovered! We made it through that short-lived insanity and things are much much better! Lucy is the easiest, most chill baby in America now. It's awesome. She sleeps and eats well, and if she's crying, I know exactly why! I am truly thankful for her sweet personality.

Q: How do you get out of the house with 3 little ones?
A: I don't. I don't take all 3 out of the house unless I really, really need to. It's just so tricky to wear the baby plus push a double cart/double stroller. It's feasible, but not a preferred way to do things. Maybe I'll get more adventurous when Lucy is older. I shop online a lot. I go out at 8pm after I feed the baby and the big girls are asleep.
We finally decided to do Mother's Day Out with the big girls, and it has helped a ton! Now I can run errands on Monday/Wednesdays with just 1 baby. It's so awesome to go shopping with 1 baby. Just buckling 1 kid in and out of the car? Amazing. I had never experienced this joy until Mother's Day Out.  (All you girls with just 1 kid just won't understand this until you have another!)

So there you have it, folks. I'm so glad to be back blogging now that I have some time during Mother's Day Out. I will be back to sharing all of my crazy antics and poop stories and toddler/baby fun and games! Hooray!

Love you!