Preschool Carrots

I have to admit that, for the last year or so, I've had a hard time coming up with blog posts. Or maybe it's not that I don't have things to write about but rather I don't think my stories are that interesting. But I was talking to my mom this morning on my drive to my foot doctor and as I was filling her in on the latest goings on in southwest Kansas she would say, "I thought I'd see a blog post on that" or "I saw so and so last night and she was telling me how she keeps up with your blog". So and so happens to be someone I haven't probably seen in 15 years! Maybe it's time then to start posting , what I think, are some of my more boring stories. First up....pulling carrots.

Yahoo has started preschool this year and she loves it! Every morning she's excited to get up and go and every afternoon she rattles on about what she did that day at school. I love this preschool too. It's through the public school so I'm not paying tuition like I did with the boys in Illinois. She goes a half day every day and best of all it's only two blocks from our front door. Her teacher is young and only in her second year and she's great! Mrs. Lang is so energetic and open to all kinds of new things. I thought the preschoolers and their teacher may like to take a "field trip" to my garden so on Monday they came down to to visit me. I think teachers and schools should use as many resources in their community as possible and I'm all for volunteering my space and skills! 

Their class has 8 girls and 3 boys, poor boys! They were so quiet standing there as I talked, well all but Yahoo. We talked about how plants start as seeds and what they need to grow. They searched out my tomatoes and zucchini and helped me pick them. Then we looked at the carrots and talked about how some plants grow under ground while some grow where you can see them. The highlight for the kids was when each got to grab a handful of carrot stems and pull. Don't worry, I moistened the soil up really well for them to make picking much easier. Once pulled they counted how many they picked, usually four or five a piece. They all wanted to pick more!!! (Wish I could have taken pics but I kind of had my hands full and dirty.) We didn't have time to clean the carrots they picked but I sent some carrots I had picked earlier with Mrs. Lang that they could have for a snack. 

I was more than happy to share my garden with them and see them so excited about growing things. Later that day when I picked up the kids, not only do I get Yahoo but I walk three others to their day care which is our neighbor, they talked all about my garden and so I asked them if they enjoyed the carrots. A couple had no qualms telling me they didn't like my carrots at all. Got to love their honesty! 

Maybe this spring Mrs. Lang would be interested in bringing them all down to plant some seeds! Wouldn't THAT be fun! 

A game I wish my daughter didn't have to play.

We live in a tiny Southwest Kansas town of 900 where it seems everyone knows everyone. DR and I have lived in 5 states and a variety of different communities and the one we live in now is by far my favorite! I've never lived in a community that looked out for one another like this one and where I've felt so very welcome. 

To top off living in just a wonderful community we just happen to live right across the street from Yip and Yap's school and two blocks from Yahoo's preschool. Any activity going on at the school, well, we have a front row seat for. Any game night Rebel fans cars are parked all around our house. On prom night DR and I throw open the windows and enjoy all the oldie music the kids dance to. 

This school started off with no exceptions. A week before school started the parking lot was regularly full of teachers cars as they congregated for training and meetings. 

However, a few days before school though there was some activity that raised my eyebrows. The school parking lot was full of a dozen county police officers at 8:00 am. The officers, many that I knew, didn't seem distressed as they drove in, chatted and mingled together as they went inside. They spent the entire day in the school. What on earth could they be doing in the school ALL DAY? 

Later I found out from a friend, who works at the school, that (duh) the police officers were spending the day at the school doing what I guess you would call a training procedure with the teachers. A couple of the officers were the "bad guys" and the others went through the school, room by room, in formation just as they would if an intruder were to come into the school. Then they showed the teachers if such an event occurs where students should go within each classroom. Our school is teeny tiny and logically I know that a school shooting here is extremely unlikely but I also understand that school administrators, understandably, feel the need to take precautions. (We have a GREAT superintendent by the way!) 

I didn't think much of the safety training and procedures being put in place at the school though. My boys are old enough, almost 9, to understand about why such procedures need to be in place. Sometimes dangerous people show up in schools. I haven't discussed with them in any detail the deaths of Sandy Hook or Columbine students. We've routinely discussed what to do if a stranger tries to take you and things along those lines of course, so they have a healthy level of, I don't know if I'd call it fear, but preparedness.

What really hit me in the heart this week was Yahoo coming home from preschool, which is right next to the boys' elementary school, and she was telling me about the "Intruder Game" they played at school. My heart skipped a beat.

"What's the Intruder Game?" I asked with my heart in my throat. 

Yahoo happily skipped down the sidewalk and innocently answered, "My teacher says "Intruder" and then we all go hide in the bathroom." What really hit me was that there was no fear whatsoever in her voice. Yahoo is more scared of ants biting her feet than she is of an intruder in school. She doesn't understand what it is they are preparing for.

I don't know how I feel about this Intruder Game honestly. Oh, I think the teacher is doing a great job and preparing them for a highly unlikely event with as little drama as possible and that's fantastic. 

But I'm conflicted. Should I be thankful and relieved that this class of four year old's are so very innocent that preparing for a school shooting is something they have to do by playing a game? Or should I take all of this school preparedness as a sign I need to speak to my kids more about preparing for violence against them? In my heart I feel that they need to stay innocent as long as possible. I don't want to scare them. I don't want to put those images in their head they they'll worry about. I don't want them fearful where ever they go. But I also want them prepared. Or maybe I shouldn't worry about them being prepared for violence but lovingly provide them with the social and emotional support so that if they are affected by violence they'll have a network to fall back on. 

What is your school doing different this year? Any thoughts? Concerns? 

Yahoo's Preschool at Home

Yahoo is 3 1/2 years old. Where did the time go? It feels like just yesterday Yip and Yap were 3 1/2! 

When the boys were 3 years old, and we lived in Illinois, I took them to an hour and a half "preschool" at the local high school two days a week. The program was through the home economics department, there was one teenager per child and basically it was giving these high school students hands on experience with young children. They had a big playroom, they provided a snack and usually the kids did some sort of fun art project with a teenage helper. 

The boys spent their next two years, still in Illinois, in a more formal preschool in the next town. Twice a week they spent the mornings at preschool in a nearby town while I ran errands. We moved to Kansas right before they started kindergarten. 

Out here in Kansas, where towns of any size are few and far between, Yahoo doesn't have the preschool options that the boys do. A lot of people have asked me if she's in preschool this year. But no, she's not. 

There is a preschool in our little town. Preschool is five mornings a week but they have to be 4 years old to attend. I sure wish she could go to preschool, she has so much energy that it really needs to be focused on something. 

We did look into going to Dodge City twice a week for a preschool, but it was just too far away to justify driving there so often (besides the days we drive there for football games.) 

I decided to have preschool at home this year. Now, I'm not an expert on kids of this age by any stretch of the imagination BUT I have subbed a LOT in the local preschool so I've stolen lots of ideas from there. 

Most days Yahoo and I have the same morning routine. 

We do our calendar and add another day everyday. We count the numbers and work on number recognition. We have pictures so she has an idea of what is planned for certain days; Sunday is for church, Thursday is for Library, Saturday is for football, etc. And we add special days on the calendar too, like birthdays or days that I'm going to be substitute teaching. 

We sing the days of the week song to the tune of the Addams Family theme song. 

Then we sing the Months of the Year Macarena

I laminated Yahoo's name (Leola) and she practices signing her name with a dry erase marker. Then she's in charge of marking what the weather is doing on her chart. Hmmmm....it's windy in Kansas??? I never would have guessed! 

Do you remember the Letter People? I remember this curriculum when I was in kindergarten and Yahoo loves to point to the letters and say the sounds but her favorite thing to do is watch this Letter People video! 

Some days she dresses Jesse the Weather Bear. 

Today he stood naked though, poor guy, it was only 65 degrees out! 

I bet he was freezing! 

I usually try to have some sort of activity to do with her. 

Some days we sit and count, make patterns with beads, go on a shape or color hunt. Today we made a fall tree. 

And then there are some days we don't do anything. Because after all she's three and sometimes she's just not in the mood which is fine with me. It's hard having your mom as a teacher I'm sure. 

It would be nice to have a preschool nearby but we're doing to best we can out here on the prairie. Besides, I can find just about anything I need on the Internet! 

Anyone have any great activity that Yahoo might enjoy? 

Permanent Dinosaur Jammies

The preschool workings of the brain baffle me. How, for example, can Yahoo watch the same Dora the Explorer DVD everyday and never get bored? Why are cold hot dogs and macaroni and cheese preferable to hot ones? What on earth is the attraction of smearing hand lotion all over my bathroom mirror?

And now, the latest round of odd preschooler behavior....

...the dinosaur jammies.

Exactly 12 days ago I bought these pj's at a church garage sale. Yeah, I knew they were boy jammies but they were cheap, in really good condition, soft and warm. Yahoo said she'd wear them when I showed them to her so we took them home and she's worn them ever since.

Literally! EV-ER-SINCE. For 12 days straight she has worn them. She wears them to bed at night. She insists on wearing them at nap time too. In the morning I'll dress her in jeans but half an hour later she'll have changed into the dinosaurs. I'll dress her to go to the grocery store and as soon as we hit the front door she strips and puts on the dinosaurs.

I guess I shouldn't complain...at least she's wearing clothes now. A month ago I was worried I had a future streaker on my hands.

I've washed them three times in 12 days. And each time it was torture for Yahoo as she waited by the dryer with tears in her eyes. Weird kid.

Maybe this is just the beginning of fighting over clothes with my daughter. After all I remember fighting with my dad over my wearing jeans he thought were too tight or stealing his flannel shirts to wear when I was in high school. Flannel cool? Yeah, I guess I was weird too.

Maybe I should start a scrapbook just for Yahoo's crazy fashions through the years. If she's anything like me, I grew up in the 80's and 90's after all, it could be quite interesting.

*sigh*

It's time to wash the jammies again...pray for our sanity.

Preschool Graduation

My baby boys graduated preschool yesterday!

What a great program!

First the class came out and re-enacted the Christmas story.

Yip and Yap were sheep...the tall ones!

Then the whole class filed out in their graduation caps and sang songs and recited prayers and poems they had learned this year.

The Pledge of Allegiance. There's Yip and Yap again...the tall ones! They are the oldest in their preschool class and with a dad who is 6'2" what do you expect?

When I asked what their favorite part of the program was they answered, "Eating the cookies with Daddy!"

Graduating preschool is hard work! Good thing we have all summer to rest before kindergarten! Wow! Kindergarten is less than three months away. Where did the time go?

Hillbilly Teeth, a Preschool Snack

I found this cute little snack idea here. My boys love to make these hillbilly teeth to take to preschool. Yip even helps make them and he NEVER helps me cook/bake anything! Who can resist such a funny little snack? I think these would be a great snack to serve at a Halloween party.

Slice up a couple of apples and toss them in lemon juice to prevent browning. Spread peanut butter or cream cheese on each slice then place four or five mini marshmallows between the spread then close the "lips" to glue it all together!

A great activity to do with your kids and a healthy snack. Enjoy!