Last week was VERY busy! 

 There was a Preschool field trip to Coborn's (the grocery store).

We got to hear all about how the store is run, we went in the back room

and the coolers and freezers!

The they let us "pet" Larry the Lobster!

That night was the AWANA Awards night!

Above the Cubbies are waiting for all their friends to get up to the front.

Then they sang their Cubbies song for us.

Daniel received his award for finishing his book.

Caleb also received and award for finishing his book.

Isaac said the pledge with the group of SPARKS and TNT kids.

Isaac received his participation award.

Isaac also received a ribbon for finishing the first SPARKS book.

Then, he got speical pin for completing the extra credit cards.

Then on Thursday, there was a Kindergarten field trip to Gale Woods Farm.

Isaac got to milk a cow!

pet a very large dog,

help make salad dressing,

and bottle feed a lamb.

Overall, it was a busy but very fun week!

Evening Fun with Dad

I'm not sure how Dave does it, but even after working a VERY LONG day, he loves to go outside and play with the boys.  Tonight, they were having T-ball practice because you know, T-ball starts next month!




I love how it looks like they are having a conference on the pitching mound in the bottom right hand picture above.

Then there was batting practice . . .
 

and fielding practice . . .

and make sure you have the proper form when you throw . . .
 

but most of all, remember to have fun!

 

My OPINION on Organization and Atmosphere

I want to thank NDDwelling Mom for sharing her view on organization and atmosphere in the home.  I said that I would share my opinion in a couple days, so here we go.

I firmly believe that those who live in a home have the greatest influence over the atmosphere, especially it seems the mother's attitude has influence in this area.  Having said that, I also believe that a certain level of organization and order helps maintain a calmer atmosphere.  This may be primarily because when the house is organized, I know where things are, the kids know where things are and I spend less time looking for things (in general).  I AM NOT an organized person, my closets are not alphabetized, sometimes you can't see the desk . . . or other parts of the office.  I want to be more organized because I think that having a little more organization will make ME feel better which in turn will affect the atmosphere of our home and family.

I do believe that the organization and cleanliness has to be balanced with the right attitude so that it does not become all consuming.  It has the potential to be come somewhat of an obsession and I don't believe that the extreme organization obsession is healthy for a home either.  There has to be a balance of yes, my home is organized and its okay if it isn't PERFECT all the time. 

Well, that's my 2 cents worth . . . aren't you glad you got it for free?

Question of the Week

Last week I asked about toy organization and got some great ideas on ways to improve our toy situation.  Now I am wondering if you feel that the overall organization of your home affects the attitudes of those who live there?  Do you feel/believe that having a well organized home creates a more positive atmosphere?  Or does the atmosphere of the home have more to do with the attitude of  those living there?  I'll post my opinion on this matter in a couple days, just wondering how other people think about this.

Question of the Week

I am going to pose a question to anyone who reads this post.  I would love to get some feedback and ideas!  My question is:  What is your favorite way to organize toys for your children?  What kind of shelves/bins to you use, how do you label them, is there a limit to how many toys you keep?  We definitely need to come up with something better for our house . . . . What do you recommend?

Great Educator's Website

As I've been doing research for a class I am taking, I found this website that I truly enjoy.  The author, Heidi McDonald has many great resources for classroom teachers and the best part is many of them are FREE!  Since I am not teaching full time currently, I plan to use them with my own boys.  I love being able to find so many valuable resources on the internet!  I look forward to sharing more of them!

http://www.uniqueteachingresources.com/

Enjoy wandering around the website!

Easter Egg Hunt

For the last 3 years, my husband and I have hosted an Easter Egg Hunt at our home.  Well, it really isn't much of a hunt, because most of the eggs are just laying on the grass.  The kids enjoy it!  We enjoy having friends over, its a win/win!

This is what approximately 2000 filled plastic Easter Eggs looks like.  I know you were all wondering!

We had about 55 kids (and their parents) attend the Egg Hunt this year!

A short prayer before we get started, and a reminder of what Easter is really about!

Kids, parents and grandparents sorting out their treasures after.  We also had cookies, muffins and juice but I failed to get a picture of that.

And this is what I found in the office yesterday, almost a full week after the Egg Hunt.  Yes, it is a large sack full of filled plastic Easter Eggs that didn't get put out!  So, my kids just finished having their own egg hunt!



My First Blog post!

I know its hard to believe, but I am starting a blog!  I have a few different goals with this blog.

• To update friends and family about what we are up to
• To share with fellow Stay at Home Moms different ideas and opportunities available to us
• To encourage Stay at Home Moms and Educators to always be looking for new ways to learn!

I'm looking forward to sharing with you!