Engaging the Whole Family in the Educative Process

When your child attends preschool, the teachers, administrators and room parents often work together as a team to keep parents informed and engaged. When you home school, this picture is painted a bit differently. As the parent and teacher, I am holding the reins and driving my son's education forward with our curriculum and day to day activities. So it may seem like family engagement wouldn't play a role in our education style, but it does.

If you've kept up with our family over the last year, you know that we use and love a prepackaged curriculum called Mother Goose Time. The program includes all of the lesson plans, adaptive strategies, manipulatives and creative work needed to educate your toddler or preschool at home, in a more traditional preschool setting or in a daycare setting. This includes newsletters, information and questions that a teacher would send home to parents to help them not only understand what their child is learning, but ask informed questions that start meaningful conversations, after school is done for the day.

As a homeschooler of an only child, I don't want these tools to go to waste, so we use them to create conversations with other family members. When Dad gets home from work he checks out the questions on the newsletter or invitation to create to start a conversation at dinner. When my son goes to his grandparents house, he is often sent with the daily topic poster, an artistic activity and a book all from Mother Goose Time.

There are also weekends where Dad takes over completely. My husband, lover of animals, has rescued turtles, snakes and more over the years. Some have been kept as pets and others donated to a local wildlife sanctuary. This week with Mother Goose Time we have been talking about the many animals that live in the rain forest. When I noticed our snake had shed (I get that that's not an every household occurrence) I asked my husband to run the show and take over home school on that Sunday afternoon. My husband and son discussed sizes, patterns, and used bubble wrap and the snake shed to create a beautiful painting. You will be surprise how the random knowledge or expertise from a spouse or grandparent will come in handy one day!

Being read to and taught by different adults helps build a child's comprehension and ability to engage in dialogue. So while my husband can't be at home for lunch to help my son with pattern puzzles, he can read my son his monthly Mother Goose Time book and ask him questions that might be different than mine.

Whether you are a homeschooler, or parent hoping to broaden your child's vocabulary, perspective and reasoning skills, I encourage you to reach out to family and friends and get them involved you your child's learning. We have been lucky to receive this month's proram in exchange for our experiences. Also, check out Mother Goose Time, their program makes an excellent, creative supplement to young learning, that will also guide you as the parent along the way.

Sensory Friendly Preschool Time

My days are filled with weighted blankets and breathing techniques, and that is okay. Sensory regulation is something my family is trying to manage on a daily basis. It is a small snippet of the bigger picture that is my beautiful, bouncing three ear old boy. As a former early childhood educator, I always made it a goal to address every child as an individual who learns and grow in their own way and at their own pace. Now as a parent who is hoping to enrich their child's education at home, I am tasked will not only addressing my child's unique style of learning, but also meeting his sensory seeking and avoiding needs.

A little over a year ago we began using a home school curriculum called Mother Goose Time. In the last year, the company has taken a lot of feedback from parents and educators and really improved the products and even taken into account fulfilling the needs of children with delays, aversions or sensory needs. We've used a lot of their tips when tailoring our work to our son's preferences.  Because what is the point of buying a toy, going to play place or paying to educate your child if you are just forcing a square peg into a round hole?

I want to give my readers a snapshot of what my three year old's typical day looks like, and how Mother Goose Time fits into that day.

We wake up anywhere between 6:30 and 7:15 am. My son and I race to the kitchen and he grabs the milk and picks out his cup. I make my coffee and my son foams some milk for me. This is a very important job, obviously. I pop some french toast or waffles into the toaster and cut up some fruit. We then sit at the table and read a few books and enjoy breakfast.

We then brush teeth and get dressed, which often involves me chasing him with each individual piece of clothing until he's put together like a ragged paper doll. We grab his "chewy stick" and head out the door to his therapeutic based school. For two hours his therapeutic needs from Occupational Therapy to Social Emotional Regulation are met. I then pick him up and we head either home or to the park.

It might sound crazy to head o a park after two hours of school, but this child needs some heavy work and input. Swings, climbing and jumping or riding his tricycle meet those needs. We then head home and have lunch.

While my son is at school, I take ten minutes and review the Mother Goose Time lesson book and set up a craft based activity, get a book ready and whatever writing or science station we might be doing. after lunch, we usually spend about 45 minutes exploring with Mother Goose Time.

Mother Goose Time does a great job of creating a full sensory experience, so that keeps my seeker engaged. I also make small adaptions that help him stay with the learning a bit longer. If we have a project with paint, Mother Goose Time encourages paint with different materials, from feathers to balls. I will take it one step further and let my son help me make the paint into shaving cream infused puffy paint or let him finger paint at the end.

In any given 45 minutes of Mother Goose Time, we could be blending colors with water and eye droppers on coffee filters or collecting leaves and pine cones to decorate a tree and make a den for a bear to hibernate or even practicing our phonics and reading by making letters from tin foil and play dough or writing in shaving cream. I always keep my son's Z Vibe chewy stick handy and if possible let him take brain breaks and bounce on an exercise ball.

When we have wrapped up, its time for a warm bath to remove all of the dirt, paint and who know what else. Afternoon baths have really allowed my son to slow himself down and not hit that 4 pm crash so hard. We then will either read and use our Mother Goose Time magnetic story pieces and tell stories, play a game or do some math work with the manipulatives. This usually is a 15 minute time frame. Then he watches some Daniel Tiger, Super Why or Thomas for a half hour while I prep dinner.

I hope this peek into our day allows others with children that have sensory regulation issues to see that it is possible for their child to get a lot out of their day with some simple adaptions and a sensory friendly curriculum like Mother Goose Time. 

Where We are on Our Reading Journey

This year, our local library joined the 1,000 books before Kindergarten initiative. We have been on this bandwagon for a while now, and I think it's a great call to parents of the youngest babies to begin reading as soon and you wipe the sleeplessness and coffee haze out of your eyes.

When my son was teeny tiny, he would hoot and holler after his bath and while being changed into his pajamas. The only thing that would calm him was reading a Star Wars ABC book. It got to the point that I would recite, "A is for Anakin, Anakin is an Amazing Jedi...B is for Boba Fett..." when my son would wake up for a night feed, to lull him back to sleep. We would flip through the pages and his eyes would widen at the bold character and rhythmic lines.

While I refuse to credit Star Wars for my son being an early ABC aficionado, I do believe reading to him everyday from the week he came home from the hospital helped.

Fast forward and he is three years old and we are mixing my own phonics style with the multi-faceted Mother Goose Time curriculum.

We began by pointing to words in books and on signs that we notice in our everyday life. I then came across this series of Montessori books, and the Letter Work book has been a staple in our home for over a year. While a full Montessori style of education wouldn't suit my son that has some emotional and sensory regulation issues, I do love the sandpaper letter and number system. They enhance memorization and pre-writing skills.

Everyday, we spent 5 minutes going through this book to solidify each letter's sound and tracing the letter shape. I love that the book reminds the adult and child the correction pronunciation, like "K - KUH like in King." Sometimes as adults we had in our own preformed habits, like saying K - KAH. So I appreciate this books style.

Next we moved on to CVC flash cards and Montessori reading blocks. While I am not a flash card person per say, I do like the simple three letter word on the front and image on the back. My son wants to guess based on the picture, which is okay, he is using context, but that isn't going to work in the future when there are several words on the page. We do a handful of either method at the dinner table most nights.

Then I began my search for early or pre-reader books. We found the Bob books, but at times they incorporated a few too many sight words for a first book. We then found the Flip a Word books at the library. My son really enjoys these. He does try to guess the words based on the pictures, but when it comes time to read the full sentence, I cover the picture with printer paper and then do a little reveal when he's completed the sentence.

We also love how our Mother Goose Time curriculum subscription box incorporates early literacy skills. Every month, we receive a book, magnetic story pieces, and I Can Read book, which combines sight words with words that follow phonetic rules. My son loves using the arrow pointers to read his book. He also enjoys having a book than he can color in and customize. The Mother Goose Time monthly books also do an excellent job of introducing literacy skills. The books follow the monthly theme and engage the children by asking questions, highlighting certain words and most importantly reinforcing the importance of comprehension. This year, Mother Goose Time introduced magnetic story pieces that have been a big hit.

Mother Goose Time sets up the story to make the book a reading experience one that lasts over the whole month. First we read the story. Then we re-read and use the story pieces to act out the story as we read it. Then I ask my son to retell the story with the pieces on our magnetic chalk board. Next, we often do a craft surrounding the topic and incorporating language from the story. Finally, we do a puzzle that is made up of an image from that story.

As a parent who is supplementing their child's education with Mother Goose Time, I don't keep a physical portfolio to track learning, but rather a simple two part method. First I photograph everything. I'm already a Momarazzi type of mom, so this comes easily. I then save his Mother Goose Time learning photos in a Flickr folder. I also save the projects he does and really loves in a Rubbermaid box under the bed. Also in that box, I save the I Can Read books and pointers. Every month or so, I pull out one or two older books to re-read and reinforce his learning. I also tend to leave out a book if the words haven't really stuck in his brain that month.

In this way, Mother Goose Time does an excellent job of repeating and reinforcing a concept in a way that is fun and new for the child that seeks novelty. If we are reading about a bear in winter, we might see the word snow, which is a word that we haven't covered in our CVC cards, but a word that pops up in the lives of children on a regular basis. Over the last week my son has seen the word in his Mother Goose Time books, activities and art projects, so now, snow is an easily recognizable word that he can find going forward when we read our bedtime stories. If you have a child ramping up to read, I highly recommend jumping on the 1,000 books before Kindergarten and Mother Goose Time bandwagons. Feel free to check out the other resources as well and see what works for your early reader! This month, we are lucky to have received the curriculum box in exchange for sharing our experience.

Making the Most of Our Pumpkin Patch Trip with Mother Goose Time

If you know our family, you probably know that we have been utilizing a monthly curriculum box for the last year. From books and puzzles, to music and manipulatives, we love the long-term use we have gotten from each Mother Goose Time box. One of the features that sets this subscription apart is the individually wrapped packs that designate each day of themed activities for you to enjoy with your kids.

Every month, I open the box and look through the packs to decide if any of them coordinate well with outings we plan to do and set them aside for a day or two before that outing. One of my favorite packs every month is the party pack! Mother Goose Time throws in a bonus and it has everything you would need to have a celebration. As a parent of one child, I have used these party packs as play date packs or a chance to have a special day with grandparents.

This month, Mother Goose Time knew we were headed to the pumpkin patch. So we got everything from invitations (which we practiced mailing to grandma,) to a set up for our own little indoor patch, to pin the patch on the scarecrow. We also picked out some books at our library that were a big hit. It's Pumpkin Time and Autumn Leaves are great reads if you are doing a Fall unit or just getting into the spirit of the season with your kids.

Before we left, we made the suggested snacks (because our local pumpkin patch is basically a carnival with bank--breaking caramel apples,) we played pin the patch on the scarecrow and set up a spot for our own patch once we brought home out pumpkins.

Of course, we had a fantastic time. We climbed hay bales, rode ponies and ran through rows of pumpkins. We also took the time to stop and investigate the pumpkins with our Mother Goose Time magnifying glass. We noticed that pumpkins came in different shapes, colors, sizes and textures. One thing that I love about Mother Goose Time, is that they really listen to the parents and teachers that use their product.

This year, I have noticed a marked difference in the suggestions for adapting and assessing a child's work. It has become an easy task to flip to the pages in the lesson plan books and remind myself what skills I should be on the lookout for. Since I am not a teacher of many, I use this and in my son's case, the suggested sensory adaptions, to check how my child is learning and growing over time, both during our learning time and out in the world. While we were at the pumpkin patch I asked my son if he could create some patterns using different pumpkins, then I asked him to sort them back into their correct spots.



When we arrived home placed our pumpkins in their new patch and made our own paper bag pumpkins. We were excited to receive October's box in exchange for sharing out honest opinion. Over the last year, I have come to appreciate making the most of these family moments with Mother Goose Time! I can't wait to see what is in store for next month's family party day.

Apple Picking and Painting Apples

Apple picking has been a tradition in my family for over twenty years. Every year we drive from our home in Illinois to a small town in Wisconsin to pick a variety of apples, take a hay ride and buy delicious cider and donuts. This year is no different.

However, this year we are turning this into a bit of a field trip for our preschooler. Because...everything is pretty much a field trip these days. So before we went, we used our Mother Goose Time curriculum box to pull in more educational elements. This month our curriculum kit is themed around Our Amazing Body. We have talked about body parts, our senses and more thus far. Along the way we've practiced writing skills, recorded observations and made multiple art projects.

One art project that happened to line up nicely was an exploration into pointillism. We defined the style of art, looked at an example and proceeded to make out own apple tree paintings inspired by the movement. Mother Goose Time provided the inspiration photo, information, pom pom balls and clothespins. We used these items and then to take it one step further, made a second painting with single and grouped together Q-tips, for a different effect. I like to talk to my son while he's painting about how the art ties into the bigger picture of our month. We talked about how apples keep our bodies healthy and how we can use our senses when explore the orchard and eat the apples.

This month we enjoyed a curriculum box in exchange for sharing our fun experiences, Mother Goose Time provides an amazing list of books that I've been grabbing from our local library to read alongside our lessons. Between projects, reading and the apple orchard experience, my so was able to have a multi-faceted experience that not only resonated as a family outing, but prompted more questions and investigating!

The Year of No Glitter

So this summer we went to the pool a whopping four times. You might be saying, Nicole that's pretty good! Well, it would be great if we didn't pay for the all summer pass and lessons. Ugh! Most of this summer it was cool, or rainy, or it randomly got warm enough to swim at my child's bedtime or we had a cold. It was kind of a bummer.

I had to compensate with a lot of play dough, paint and baking projects. That's fine, but I think I've hit a wall and it isn't even Fall yet. I have an entire Midwest winter filled with kinetic sand and glue sticks to get through. So before the first day of September even passes, I am banning glitter. I'm done with it, it's evil. It can't be contained in a baking pan or a plastic box or the bathtub, so I am saying no thanks.

I've decided we will still do art projects and have messy time, but I'm allowed to ban glitter and anything that involves bathing or vacuuming after five minutes of play. So I wanted to share some of my latest cleaner alternatives for passing the time and engaging in creative play.


1. A Mother Goose Time monthly box.
This box comes with 20 + days of activities, music, art projects, manipulatives, books, puzzles and more. I have used this box for it's intended purpose as a homeschool curriculum, but I have also taken it apart as well. I have 2-3 of the art projects sitting ready to go in an old plastic container in my kitchen. If we need an activity while I am making dinner, I pull out one of the activities and within a few minutes my son is set creating, doing puzzles, following patterns and more. While I work, we talk about what he is doing and I ask him the questions provided by Mother Goose Time that correspond to that lesson or project. Some projects do include some messy play and even the occasional speck of glitter, but here is a secret....I don't use it. That's what so great about this box, you can follow a lesson plan to the letter or use the items in the way that best fits your educational or recreational style.

2.  Inexpensive items from the Dollar section at Target
A place mat with all the continents and animals from those areas is a conversation piece that cost me $1. I won't cry if it gets ruined. Gel clings that occupy my son and do not require a magic eraser; worth a dollar if you ask me. Oh, and even better are plastic containers from snack packs of cookies. I have a bag full of them. Fill them with paint for a Mother Goose Time project and then toss them when you are done.

3. Color Wonder Mess Free Markers
Markers and paper that cost more than normal markers and paper but are awesome. Especially if you keep them in a closet and make it a special item.


4. Kwik Stix Paint Markers
When I can't even bring myself to squeeze paint from the bottle or break out the water colors, I use these. They are amazing. They give you the coverage of acrylic paint without any liquid mess. We used them to make a Mother Goose Time project and they worked perfectly on my son's paper bag animal puppet.

5.  Wikki Stix
We received these in our complimentary August Mother Goose Time box and I am sold. Little wax sticks that can be shaped into almost anything. My son wanted to use them to spell out his name. Yes please. I am so excited to bring these to restaurants and overnights at grandparents.

I hope these tips have been helpful in finding some creative, stress-free tools for the cooler months ahead. I'd love to hear your tips for projects that don't involve crying during cleanup!
        

Walk Around the Block Challenge

I spend a lot of time as a parent and educator trying to plan the next entertaining activity for my preschooler. We've been to water parks, botanic gardens, beaches, play places, classes and more. I'm glad that I've done this and don't regret it but sometimes I wonder if do to my own anxiety and those pesky social media posts infiltrating my coffee-fueled brain at 1 am, if I could take it down a notch. My son seeks out a lot of movement and activity to stay regulated, but does that mean daily organized entertainment is a requirement? I don't know. Recently I thought, maybe this Wednesday I won't put on my top hat and sparkly leotard for the motherhood song and dance, and we will just walk around the block.

So starting last week, we decided that every Wednesday we would walk or take a tricycle ride around the block after lunch. We would take our time. I wouldn't roll my eyes if my son HAD to stop to collect three perfect pine cones or see how close he could get to a squirrel before it ran up a tree. These are real important elements to a walk, by the way.

On our first trek around the block, we saw a police car. My son remembered how we talked about police officers and their role as peacemakers in our community. This month, we have been discussing super heroes, their powers and the real heroes in society with our Mother Goose Time curriculum box. My son waved "Hi" and we peddled along to a tree that had been cut into pieces on the side of the street. He stopped, got off of the tricycle and examined the rings and took note that one piece looked like a boot print. He asked what these trees would be used for and if they would be recycled or made into paper. Another school topic from Mother Goose Time.

At this point, I'm pretty sure the Michigan-based company has a GPS on me and knows what topics and craft projects to send based on what questions my child is going to ask....

We then stopped to look at some beautiful flowers that are planted every year by a lovely women in down the block. We see orange, yellow and pink. Two of the flowers have different types of beetles on them. So we take pictures of the beetles to look up later, obviously. We stop to talk to a neighbor pushing her napping son in a stroller and show off our R2D2 helmet, which for some reason reminds both of us that we need to go back 20 feet and find three perfect pine cones.

When we get home, I happened to have a peace symbol project set up. Of course my son needs to replicate the colors of the flowers he saw on the walk to make the Mother Goose Time project perfect. I'm so glad we received the box this month in exchange for sharing our experience.

I challenge you, now that school schedules are getting started, activities are underway and that eclipse is over, to walk or ride around your block with your preschooler. I was pleasantly surprised by the observations we made and the questions it prompted. 

Getting Twice the Use Out of Project Materials

We have had another fun week discussing super heroes, super powers and doing amazing (I mean super) projects. We talked about invisibility and made perplexing paintings and created magic message revealing wands. We practiced sounding out our CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words, and learned some new sight words with a super hero themed I Can Read early reader book.

We also used a manipulative that we received in this month's box that has been an overwhelming hit with the three year old crowd: magnetic wands! After all of these activities, I realized we not only had some left over materials, but I also had amazing items that I could re-purpose for other simple projects that I have been wanting to test out! With the Mother Goose Time curriculum box, I've learned that you can do double duty with a lot of the materials.

Materials like early readers and the fabulous magnetic wands will grow with my son. I happened to have just read a bit in an encyclopedia (I know its sounds random, but my kid likes to have the encyclopedia read to him,) about magnets. He wanted to know how strong magnets could be. He also wanted to know if a magnet could be covered in different materials to make it weaker or stronger. Specifically, if water could stop magnetic objects from attracting one another. So apparently Mother Goose Time knew this was going to happen in August and sent me these good quality magnetic wands to experiment with. Thanks for knowing!

We proceeded to fill recycled, plastic dumpling trays with metal paper clips and water. We then froze the trays and once frozen, popped them out onto a baking sheet. My son loved lifting the cubes with the magnetic wands and super hero powers. We then let the ice melt; not a long wait on a hot, summer day. We then talked about the super powers of matter, and how water is easily transformed from a solid, to liquid and then to a gas. Of course. we boiled the water and watched the evaporation in action.

We have loved receiving this curriculum this month in exchange for our thoughts and experiences. Definitely check out how you can get multiple uses out of your Mother Goose Time monthly box.

Not one but TWO Easy Dollar Store Crafts

I interrupt my regular scheduled educational blogs to share two super simple dollar store DIY projects. You obviously need to be at the Dollar Tree this week buying back to school items so get the following: 1 box of crayons (possibly baby ones with no paper,) paper muffin cups, Rigatoni, food coloring and white vinegar.

When you get home, either recruit a sensory seeking child to peel the paper off of the crayons or grab a sharp razor/Xcato knife and get those suckers off yourself. A tip from a DIY failure: don't watch Modern Family reruns while using an Xcato knife. Ugh.

Have your child fill a paper cup lined, muffin baking sheet with broken crayons. You only need to make a single layer of crayons per cup. You can take this a step further and ask your child to sort the colors and put a piece of each color in each individual cup. Or let them make each cup be a mish-mash of whatever they chose.

Set your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit and let the crayons bake/melt for 10 minutes.  I let my son watch the melting action by turning on the oven light. Take out your new trippy crayons and let them cool. Our crayons popped out of the paper easily after cooling.

For DIY number two, have your child count 5-10 pieces of pasta into plastic sandwich bags. We took this opportunity to casually introduce the concept of skip counting. We made four bags of ten pieces of pasta. My son was surprised that we could count to forty in groups of ten so quickly.

Have a small bowl of white vinegar set to go. Your child can scoop two tablespoons of vinegar into each bag. Help them squeeze five drops of your color of choice into each bag. These are more opportunities to touch on skip counting.
Close the bags up and have your child shake and spread out the vinegar and dye in the bags. Now as an adult who doesn't want to dye their family or clothing orange, I recommend placing the bags on a high counter, opened, to let the dye set. After a few hours, remove the pasta to dry completely on a paper towel overnight.

The next day, you can string your pasta beads to make an exquisite bracelet or necklace. Practice patterns or make different carbo-loaded accessories for different occasions.