One of my biggest challenges as a parent is stimulating my children in the right ways. Every day is a new adventure, and if you're like me, requires planning in order to get the most out of your time. As a rule, I choose not to sit on the computer or work on something that requires a lot of focus while my kids are awake. I want to be able to use the time I have with them to teach them and enrich them. Childhood should be magical, and I want to try my hardest to make it that way for my kids.
So, every day that we're not in school, I try to think of fun activities that we all can do together without overwhelming the kids. Too many days have gone by where the T.V. has been on the majority of the day. I get so mad at myself when that happens. In the past, I've tried to make out a schedule for our day, filling up the potential of that day. These rarely last, or even get followed on the day they were made for. I recently ran across another blog, though, whose author talked about making a rhythm for your day, rather than a schedule. I thought that made sense. Things seem to flow more when you talk about there being a rhythm.
And that's what's led me to start writing on this blog again, with a new goal in mind. I'm hoping mainly to help myself with my daily problem of what to do, but also find out new ideas from you and maybe help some other mothers figure out how to enrich their kids lives by using the time with them more effectively.
Now, I want you to know that I'm starting from scratch here. I'm the worlds worst at wasting time. I'm notorious for getting caught up in a daydream only to realize that I've been sitting on my bed for half an hour just staring at the wall and thinking. I've also been known to "check my facebook real quick" then end up an hour and a half later looking at pictures of someone I don't know. Senseless, I know.
But, we all have to start somewhere, right? So, here goes our recent "free" day. (By free day, I mean a day that we don't have school and have no specific agenda.) And I'm not putting times on here because it's a "rhythm" not a schedule, and I don't want anyone to see how late we woke up:
Woke up and had breakfast, scrambled eggs, while watching the tele.
More T.V., while I searched the internet for a fun project to do. (Hopefully this step will never again be in our rhythm because I realize this is something I need to plan ahead of time + I don't want to be on the computer while the kids are up as stated previously)
Painting project.
Bath (much needed after painting project)
Lunch
Movie
Nap
Dinner
Playtime with family
Bedtime
So, this is our typical rhythm as of now, but I'm hoping to make it much better, fine tune it, add more diversity to it, etc. Hopefully, I will get our painting project up soon.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Montgomery 005: Garden Picnic
I got the idea from a blogging buddy to go visit a garden store like Southern Homes and Garden and enjoy the flowers and plants with the kids then have a picnic out on the grounds. So, one day my mom and I ventured out to do this and really had a great time. The kids love picnics. Sidenote: Kids love to eat outside. I don't know why. Maybe it's just me, but I'm not a big "eat outside" person. I love being outdoors, but I feel that food should be eaten in a cool, clean, and non-windy environment. Emphasis on the non-windy part.
But that's besides the point, because this day that we went out just happened to be a particularly lovely day. Actually it was perfect until we were leaving, when it started sprinkling and we could tell a storm was coming. Perfect timing, though. Anyways, this is a good idea for summer fun. It's a way to get out of the house and out in the open where kids can roam free. They also enjoyed the flowers in the store, which actually served as a mini botanical lesson. For them and me because they kept asking me what each flower was and I had to look at the tag on most to find out.
This activity is obviously free and would be even more fun with more kids (and their moms of course).
But that's besides the point, because this day that we went out just happened to be a particularly lovely day. Actually it was perfect until we were leaving, when it started sprinkling and we could tell a storm was coming. Perfect timing, though. Anyways, this is a good idea for summer fun. It's a way to get out of the house and out in the open where kids can roam free. They also enjoyed the flowers in the store, which actually served as a mini botanical lesson. For them and me because they kept asking me what each flower was and I had to look at the tag on most to find out.
This activity is obviously free and would be even more fun with more kids (and their moms of course).
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Life: Beautiful
On a trip a while back, my parents found this Christian magazine called Life: Beautiful. They bought a copy and liked it so much that they bought a subscription to the magazine. And I have to agree with them, this magazine is so awesome. It's kinda like "Real Simple" with a Christian perspective on everything. The down side is that they only publish four magazines a year, so it's like a quarterly thing. Besides that though, I only have good things to say about it. I'm not normally super into magazines. I read the parenting ones every once in a while to get some fresh ideas, same with ones like Southern Living or Martha Stewart.
If you like magazines like Real Simple and Martha Stewart though, you'd probably enjoy this one. It has a good layout too. I guess that's the graphic designer part of me, sometimes I read magazines just because of their layout. For example, I probably read Wondertime for 85% layout/design/it's pleasing to the eyes and 15% content. I love their use of space and how they don't feel the need to cram something into every little space on a page.
Anyways, back to Life: Beautiful. The last issue had 53 ideas of things to do with your kids to spend quality time with them, educate them, socialize them, teach them about God, and a lot of other teaching things. I'm constantly running across lists like this in parenting magazines, like "30 ways to have fun with your baby this summer" and such. Most of those lists have a few good ideas and then a bunch of lame ideas that are things you already do, have to buy a lot of extra stuff to do, or are just space fillers so they can in fact have exactly 30, or however many, things. This list, on the other hand, was very unique and specific in ideas. It was sort of a like a things to do before you turn 12 list. I actually went through with a pen and circled everything that was age appropriate for Jack and Riley. And I plan on doing them. And I will blog about them. I will share the list when I can find the magazine, seeing as it's night time and I don't want to go searching around the house for it right now.
If you like magazines like Real Simple and Martha Stewart though, you'd probably enjoy this one. It has a good layout too. I guess that's the graphic designer part of me, sometimes I read magazines just because of their layout. For example, I probably read Wondertime for 85% layout/design/it's pleasing to the eyes and 15% content. I love their use of space and how they don't feel the need to cram something into every little space on a page.
Anyways, back to Life: Beautiful. The last issue had 53 ideas of things to do with your kids to spend quality time with them, educate them, socialize them, teach them about God, and a lot of other teaching things. I'm constantly running across lists like this in parenting magazines, like "30 ways to have fun with your baby this summer" and such. Most of those lists have a few good ideas and then a bunch of lame ideas that are things you already do, have to buy a lot of extra stuff to do, or are just space fillers so they can in fact have exactly 30, or however many, things. This list, on the other hand, was very unique and specific in ideas. It was sort of a like a things to do before you turn 12 list. I actually went through with a pen and circled everything that was age appropriate for Jack and Riley. And I plan on doing them. And I will blog about them. I will share the list when I can find the magazine, seeing as it's night time and I don't want to go searching around the house for it right now.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Book Review: Little Women and March
Recently a friend asked if I'd read "March." I hadn't so she lent it to me along with the book that it's spun off from, "Little Women." I actually had never read the classic, so I decided to read it first to familiarize myself with the characters before reading "March." So, here are my opinions of both books:
"Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott:
In one word: lovely. This book was so good! It's obviously a very old book, but I was entranced with it in the same way I was with "Twilight," except to a slightly lesser degree of obsession. It captures the essence of the time so well. Girls were so different then. They had much more class overall and were much more modest and polite on the whole. The sisters' innocence was so captivating to me and made me want to be more like them. The old language they use is awesome to me. While reading the book I found myself referring to nice men as capital young fellows and using many more old timey phrases without even thinking about it. One thing that I found funny was in one part, the girls were laughing about this guy using a word that they deemed as old-fashioned. The funny thing was it is a word we use all of the time, although I can't recall it right now.
Anyways, the book basically covers nearly a decade of the March family's life, focusing really on the four daughters. The author actually based Jo on herself, so she does seem to be kind of the main character at points. She was definitely my favorite character though. For anyone who's familiar with the character Jo and knows Claire Colmans, she reminds me so much of Jo. I told her that they need to do a Little Women play at her school and she needs to play Jo. It would be perfect!
This book covers everything from love to loss. It's neat to see the girls mature and grow into women in this great classic novel. I could write more, but I'll stop here and move on to........
"March" by Geraldine Brooks:
Although this was a good read, I was sorely disappointed. I wasn't disappointed in the book itself, but more the main character. This book is about the father of the March family, who is off at war for most of the book "Little Women." He's a decent man, but in Little Women, you read about him through his daughter's eyes. He is much more idealized and reverred. He's a great man who would do anything for his family. If you want to maintain that view of the character then don't read this book. You really won't be missing much. Some might say that's a bit harsh, but it's just my opinion. In "March," he's somewhat of a coward, an adulterer (big no from me), selfish, and a bit more self-centered. On the other hand, he's also very giving, kind, has a good heart, and does love his family very much. I know it's hard to think how someone could be all that at once, but he is. I guess my dilemma was that I read LW, which really is meant for the young, full of goodness and morals and great characters, and then I went right from that to a book meant for a much more mature audience, filled with the hard experiences that life brings.
Good aspects of the book are the eye-opening and heart wrenching stories about slavery and post-slavery attempts during the Civil War. Although the specific stories are made up, I'm sure similar things happened during that time. It's good to think about things like that once in a while, though, because it's a wake up call to how blessed and fortunate we are. People went through such hardships to get us where we are now. It really gives me such a grateful and sympathetic heart. I did love that aspect of the book. God has blessed us so much!
So, both are good books. Definitely read "Little Women" if you haven't, and if you have some time on your hands and want to find out about Mr. March, then read "March" too. Although, I wouldn't recommend it if you want to maintain a high opinion of the character.
"Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott:
In one word: lovely. This book was so good! It's obviously a very old book, but I was entranced with it in the same way I was with "Twilight," except to a slightly lesser degree of obsession. It captures the essence of the time so well. Girls were so different then. They had much more class overall and were much more modest and polite on the whole. The sisters' innocence was so captivating to me and made me want to be more like them. The old language they use is awesome to me. While reading the book I found myself referring to nice men as capital young fellows and using many more old timey phrases without even thinking about it. One thing that I found funny was in one part, the girls were laughing about this guy using a word that they deemed as old-fashioned. The funny thing was it is a word we use all of the time, although I can't recall it right now.
Anyways, the book basically covers nearly a decade of the March family's life, focusing really on the four daughters. The author actually based Jo on herself, so she does seem to be kind of the main character at points. She was definitely my favorite character though. For anyone who's familiar with the character Jo and knows Claire Colmans, she reminds me so much of Jo. I told her that they need to do a Little Women play at her school and she needs to play Jo. It would be perfect!
This book covers everything from love to loss. It's neat to see the girls mature and grow into women in this great classic novel. I could write more, but I'll stop here and move on to........
"March" by Geraldine Brooks:
Although this was a good read, I was sorely disappointed. I wasn't disappointed in the book itself, but more the main character. This book is about the father of the March family, who is off at war for most of the book "Little Women." He's a decent man, but in Little Women, you read about him through his daughter's eyes. He is much more idealized and reverred. He's a great man who would do anything for his family. If you want to maintain that view of the character then don't read this book. You really won't be missing much. Some might say that's a bit harsh, but it's just my opinion. In "March," he's somewhat of a coward, an adulterer (big no from me), selfish, and a bit more self-centered. On the other hand, he's also very giving, kind, has a good heart, and does love his family very much. I know it's hard to think how someone could be all that at once, but he is. I guess my dilemma was that I read LW, which really is meant for the young, full of goodness and morals and great characters, and then I went right from that to a book meant for a much more mature audience, filled with the hard experiences that life brings.
Good aspects of the book are the eye-opening and heart wrenching stories about slavery and post-slavery attempts during the Civil War. Although the specific stories are made up, I'm sure similar things happened during that time. It's good to think about things like that once in a while, though, because it's a wake up call to how blessed and fortunate we are. People went through such hardships to get us where we are now. It really gives me such a grateful and sympathetic heart. I did love that aspect of the book. God has blessed us so much!
So, both are good books. Definitely read "Little Women" if you haven't, and if you have some time on your hands and want to find out about Mr. March, then read "March" too. Although, I wouldn't recommend it if you want to maintain a high opinion of the character.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Riley and the Beast
A while back, Jack and Riley's big "sister," Savannah was in her first play! So, we had to take the kids to see what was also their first play to watch. And watch it they did! I wasn't sure how they would be because they're so little still, but they sat there and watched the whole thing without having to get up once.
The play was Beauty and the Beast, and I think it was the junior high students play. A few kids were picked from the elementary school to play village children and Savannah was one of them. She did really good; it was cute to see her really getting into character. The other kids did such a great job too. The little girl that played Belle was great!
Riley was particularly enthralled with the Beast, though. I think she was kind of scared of him because she kept asking me, "Is the Beast mean, Mama?", to which I would reply "Yes, he's mean, but he's getting nice." Then later, after he "got nice" she kept asking me if he was mean. I kept telling her that he was mean, but now he's nice. Really she was quite obsessed with this whole Beast transformation thing. Later on the way home she kept saying "The Beast was mean, but then he got nice, right mama?" Then out of nowhere, "The Beast is so cute!" This cracked me up!
Which actually leads me to a side story. Yesterday, we were swimming at someone's house and Riley got sunblock in her eyes. She kept crying and whining and I think she did probably get a little bit of sunblock in her eyes, but mainly was sleepy and being a bit overdramatic. The reason is because when my mom took her into the bathroom to wash her eyes out, she was crying and fussing over her eyes, and then she just stops all of the sudden and points to the soap (which had a bow around it) and said "That lotion is so cute with that bow!"
She loves pointing out what things she thinks are "so cute!"
The play was Beauty and the Beast, and I think it was the junior high students play. A few kids were picked from the elementary school to play village children and Savannah was one of them. She did really good; it was cute to see her really getting into character. The other kids did such a great job too. The little girl that played Belle was great!
Riley was particularly enthralled with the Beast, though. I think she was kind of scared of him because she kept asking me, "Is the Beast mean, Mama?", to which I would reply "Yes, he's mean, but he's getting nice." Then later, after he "got nice" she kept asking me if he was mean. I kept telling her that he was mean, but now he's nice. Really she was quite obsessed with this whole Beast transformation thing. Later on the way home she kept saying "The Beast was mean, but then he got nice, right mama?" Then out of nowhere, "The Beast is so cute!" This cracked me up!
Which actually leads me to a side story. Yesterday, we were swimming at someone's house and Riley got sunblock in her eyes. She kept crying and whining and I think she did probably get a little bit of sunblock in her eyes, but mainly was sleepy and being a bit overdramatic. The reason is because when my mom took her into the bathroom to wash her eyes out, she was crying and fussing over her eyes, and then she just stops all of the sudden and points to the soap (which had a bow around it) and said "That lotion is so cute with that bow!"
She loves pointing out what things she thinks are "so cute!"
Monday, June 22, 2009
Pop Pop's Potato Picking Partner
We just got some of our first foods from the garden a couple of weeks ago. Every spring my dad plants a garden, and usually it's pretty stocked with vegetables. For example, last year we had potatoes, eggplant, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, okra black eyed peas, green beans, and cabbage. This year, the garden has gone on the back burner though and is much less attended to. So, this year all we have is potatoes, cabbage, okra, peppers, squash, and some peas. I think that's about it and some of the plants have already died. :( We did get quite a few potatoes, though.
Jack had so much fun picking these potatoes with my dad. My dad would dig them up and Jack would locate the potatoes and pick them off the plant. He was really into it and totally took up his picking duties with pride and seriousness. It was a great experience for him.
My friend Erin and her husband Chad have an awesome garden going on this year. They have maximized the use of their outdoor space and are a good example of how much food you can grow in a small space, for those of you who would like to have a garden, but don't feel like you have enough land for a good one. Her site is here, where there are a few different posts about her garden's progress.
Jack had so much fun picking these potatoes with my dad. My dad would dig them up and Jack would locate the potatoes and pick them off the plant. He was really into it and totally took up his picking duties with pride and seriousness. It was a great experience for him.
My friend Erin and her husband Chad have an awesome garden going on this year. They have maximized the use of their outdoor space and are a good example of how much food you can grow in a small space, for those of you who would like to have a garden, but don't feel like you have enough land for a good one. Her site is here, where there are a few different posts about her garden's progress.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)