Smart tips to get your little one prepped for kindergarten

Tomorrow marks the first day of August and this means back-to-school month for many of us. Being a stay-at-home mom to a rising kindergarten student means getting my little one ready for a whole new world. Since William has never attended pre-school or been enrolled in any programs that are in a group setting, it will be a big adjustment phase for him (and me). It also dawned on me that there are plenty of things he is not used to besides being around other kids. I have been trying to remember the kindergarten days when the girls were in it. One thing that really stuck out to me was the use of hand sanitizer. Being at home most of the time, there has been no need for it. I purchased a bottle and have been teaching William why he will have to use it in school. Of course, I have had to be harder on him with potty practices. He still has never been into a public restroom on his own so I am still VERY a bit nervous about that one. 

Another important thing is his sleep schedule. We started putting him to bed at 8:00 each night and wake him up about 6:45. He had such a tough time getting up this morning so I think we will move his bedtime starting next week to 7:30. A lot of kids don't get enough sleep at night so we want to make sure to not interrupt his sleep schedule as much as we can, even on weekends. Once he wakes up in the morning, we go through the full morning routine of washing, brushing, breakfast and getting dressed. So far so good. 

I recall when the girls were in kindergarten, that they had lunch as early as 10:30 AM. What I do is prepare Will's lunch early in the morning between getting him fed and dressed. I pack his lunchbox as I would for school so he can get in the habit of opening it, eating/drinking and packing up in a short time. When they are that young it can take longer to get situated and they have a very limited time to eat. It's funny, I make him line up like they would at school and he calls me "teacher". It has been going very well and I feel confident that he will make it through lunchtime with ease.

Each morning I have specific practice worksheets, coloring pages and other things that are kindergarten-based to get his mind focused on academics. I even teach him how to raise his hand and not speak until I acknowledge him. It has been really good having his big sisters at home to help out with training him for school.  I have him enrolled in "kinderbee" camp from August 6-8 for him to be screened for placement as well as for him to get a chance to preview what big boy school is like.

He officially starts kindergarten on August 21st. William is so enthusiastic about school and we are all so excited for him.

I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry. I tell myself that each day :)

Getting prepared for kindergarten

I can't believe the time is closing in on us. William starts kindergarten next month and he is so excited. He does still have some days where he tells me he thinks he will just stay home with me forever and I tell him he has to be a big boy. To say that I have been emotional is an understatement! The whole family has been pitching in to help William get prepared for going to school. Daddy has been working on reading and memory and the girls help with coloring, writing and organization. Together, all of the little things are helping to build William into being more independent and well-prepared for school.

Since William still have some issues with eating certain foods that the average kid would eat, I invested in a hot food jar for his lunch. I ordered all Spider-man themed lunchbox stuff from Amazon . I also ordered a small sized back pack from L.L.Bean with his name embroidered. I received a lot of recommendations about the brand. I love that they never charge you for shipping and stand behind their products 100%.

When William tried his back pack on for the first time, we all thought we were going to cry! I have him pack small items and take it with us each time we go anywhere in the car. I figured since he has not had the need for one before now, he needs practice with it. The same goes with his lunch items. Each day I will pack his lunch and he will get the hang of using his lunchbox and food jar. All we can do is encourage him as much as possible. It will be a big transition for all of us!

Smooth Fitness Update: Get your kids into fitness early #SmoothBlogger #spon

I am participating in a campaign as a Smooth Fitness Ambassador and will be reviewing a treadmill from Smooth Fitness in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts/opinions expressed are always my own.

I enjoy getting my walk/jog/run on in the morning during the week. When you have a 5 year old around, it can be a challenge to get your workout complete, without interruption. My son has been so curious about our Smooth Fitness 5.65 treadmill. He often stands by and watches the belt move and you can tell he wants to try it out for himself. Of course a treadmill is not made for small children, so I occasionally let him walk on it with the power turned off.

He has become very creative and gets on the mini trampoline that we have set up not far from the treadmill and makes up his version of exercising. He walks and jogs in place and tells me that he has his very own treadmill. He enjoys when I have my music hooked up to the adapter so he can have a fun workout as well. It's amazing how much his coordination is improving with his pretend treadmill workouts. We both get our exercise in without any interruption and he is being conditioned to having fitness become important at an early age.

If you are thinking about purchasing a high-quality treadmill for your home, I greatly recommend Smooth Fitness. We researched treadmills for 6 weeks prior to receiving ours and nothing can compare. It is truly gym quality and Smooth Fitness has different models to choose from as well as financing and payment options. For what you will pay in a year for a gym membership, you could have paid for a treadmill in full and have your own private at-home gym. Here are a few features of the Smooth Fitness 5.65 treadmill:

SmoothDrop™ Folding Frame: Soft Drop, Easy to Fold Design

Industry Leading Warranty: Lifetime on frame & motor, 5 years all parts & electronics and 2 year in home labor.

SmoothDrive™ 2.75HP Motor: Powerful, Quiet, Durable Operation

Im-pression™ Shock Absorption: Helps Reduce Impact on Joints

Be sure to check out Smooth Fitness on the web, Facebook and Twitter to learn more about their line of treadmills and elliptical machines.

You learn something new every day

You are probably looking at this photo and saying, "What in the world?" Looks pretty crazy. An Outback Steakhouse bag as a decoration? Is this a new trend?

Actually, it is a makeshift fix for a pesky problem we have been trying to resolve.  Behind the bag is William's fish tank. We went into the pet store a few days ago to purchase a couple algae eaters and some algae removing stuff. The gravel and ornaments in the tank were slowly getting covered in algae and we knew we had to do something soon. After getting our fish and water treatment, we headed over to the check-out counter.  The cashier asked me if I was trying to get rid of algae in a fish tank. I told her yes and she politely asked if I would like to hear some advice. I accepted and listened. She was very animated and seemed to know her stuff. She suggested some non-chemical methods for me to try and see if they would work. She explained the ins and outs of algae and asked me how often I turn on the light in the aquarium. I told her I had a day and night light and that I run it 24/7. Well.... she told me that was what my problem was. Too much light has been feeding the algae and allowing it to grow. OOPS! That explained it all right there!

She went on to tell me what steps to take. Of course the obvious thing was to turn the light off. She said to only run it at night, maybe 6-8 hours. Next she suggested that I cover the tank in a blanket for 3-5 days without any light and see if that kills the algae. No lie, I looked at her 10 kinds of crazy. A blanket? She told me that if that didn't work then my other option was a moss ball. I noticed them around the store, but didn't know what they were. Here is an example of what a moss ball looks like:

They are supposed to absorb nitrates and prevent algae. Her last bit of advice was to use a chemical although she was against it. I decided to try her blanket idea... hence the Outback bag. Guess what? Blocking all the light for 3 days now has stopped the algae from growing and it is almost all gone! I plan to remove the bag tomorrow and will purchase a moss ball this weekend. I wish I could remember the young lady's name or face so I could thank her for her wonderful advice! I just love home remedies and I certainly learned a whole lot in the process :) 

Wordless Wednesday

Planting strawberries for daddy.

Wordless Wednesday

Someone has gotten very tall...

Getting ready for kindergarten

The time has come. It was 5 years in the making. Kindergarten registration is here. Today kicked off the start of Expanded Choice applications in our School District. If you want your child in either a Magnet program or to attend a school you are not zoned for, you must complete an online application. Although we live so close the the elementary school that I would like William to attend, we are not zoned for it. I had to fill out Choice applications back when the girls were Will's age. We want him to go to the same school his sisters went to. Me and my husband laugh at how we are starting all over again!

William is so excited and seems ready for school. I know he will do well socially but I still have my mom worries. With William being the last baby, he has been very babied and I take full responsibility for that. I can't help wanting to do everything for him. He's my baby! I know that I have learn to let go. I have to let him become more independent. I think about things like; will he be able to wipe his nose properly if he sneezes? Will he be able to clean his bottom properly if he goes to the bathroom? Will he eat his lunch? I have so many things going through my head! I have vowed to work diligently with him to get him well prepared for kindergarten. I guess all I can do is know that it will all work out. I was frantic when the girls were starting school too. It sure will be strange when he is gone all day and I will be home with just the dog. I know myself though, I will do what I did with the girls. I will volunteer every single day a few times a week. I am looking forward to all the fun things involved in kindergarten :)

My kid could have been a character on Drake & Josh

Do any of you remember the show Drake & Josh? My daughters always enjoyed that show (any maybe I did too) and they compare their sweet little brother William to the little sister, played by Miranda Cosgrove (Megan). You see, the sweet boy in the photo can melt your heart by just one smile.  He can wrap just about anyone around his little finger. He is smart, charismatic and sneaky. He is goood.

Around myself and his dad, William is the good little son... or at least that's how he portrays himself. When he gets around his sisters, he bosses them around and does all the typical, pestering things that little brothers do. As soon as one of the girls try to reprimand him, he runs up to me and tells me (sad face and all) how badly his sisters are treating him and how they need to be in trouble. You should see how pathetic he behaves when he does this. When I go and ask the girls what happened they say he did {insert offense here} and William innocently tries to defend himself. He will plead with me that he didn't do anything and then turn around and make faces at his sisters. He thinks he is so slick too! Funny thing is as I type this post, he is standing at the doorway of my office telling me "My girls are boddering me, they're being bad". I tell ya, boys are a whole different species!!

William's preschool updates

We are in the thick of things around here. Getting William prepared for school takes a great part of the day and sometimes I am ready to give up. He has become obsessed with the idea of going to kindergarten and asks me fifty million times a day if it is time to start yet. It gets tiring, but I guess it's good that he has such an interest in school, having a teacher and making friends. Speaking of friends, I remember about 2 years ago William was very anti-social when it came to being around other children. I was so afraid that he would never like kids his age!

Times have changed and he has become very social. Most people consider home schooled children to be less social but that is not the case here. William is very friendly and loves to be around other children. We went to Monkey Joe's the other day and there was a little boy around his age that was playing alone. William went up to him and introduced himself by saying "Hello, my name is William" and he gave the boy a handshake! The little boy was very shy but eventually warmed up and played with William. His mother was so grateful that William made her son feel comfortable in the environment. She was also very amazed when she found out that William was only four. She said that he was mature beyond his years. I do get that a lot from people. William is very mature and disciplined for his age (and gender). We are so proud of how well he is developing in all areas and can't wait for school to start next year. I think he will do just fine!

Wordless Wednesday | Halloween 2012

William dressed up as a scary dinosaur this year...a Carnotaurus, to be exact! That's what he says he was so we just went with it. We were so lucky to find this great quality costume at T.J. Maxx for only $21! We looked in the Halloween Express store and was not impressed by the cheap quality and marked up prices. If you haven't found a costume yet for you little one, I highly recommend T.J. Maxx!

Such enthusiasm, eh?

Making Laundry FUN!

September 23-29 is National Keep Kids Creative Week. Gain recognizes the importance of National Keep Kids Creative Week and believes that there are ways to make laundry more fun. I am so thrilled to be teaming up with Gain to show you a very simple way to make a sometimes boring chore for a kid, a fun adventure! If you ask my son William what his favorite things are he will quickly tell you, DINOSAURS! He carries around everything from dinosaur flash cards, books, toys and loves his dino apps on the Kindle Fire. It has gotten to the point where he can tell you the names of at least a dozen dinosaurs and fill you in on how big they are and what they like to eat.

I figured that dinosaurs would be a great subject to incorporate into helping out around the house and allowing his creativity to shine. We decided to make a "Dino Adventure" laundry basket. You should have seen the excitement on William's face when we were gathering our craft items for the basket project. I came up with the basic idea but had William do all of the coloring, gluing and helping to hold things to assemble.

We started with some dinosaur template cut-outs that we found online. William chose all of the colors he wanted his dinosaurs to be and enjoyed making dino sounds as he colored. He really got into it! His big sister helped him to cut the dinosaur and dino egg shapes out and glue down them down on construction paper to make them sturdier. We attached simple assorted plastic greenery to our laundry basket to give that jungle feel. Once all the dinosaurs and eggs were completed, we punched holes in them and attached them with bag ties onto the basket in between the greenery. To personalize the laundry basket even more, we made a nameplate so William can be proud to have his very own hamper in his room.

 

 

He just loves the fact that this is his very own basket that he helped create. I think it turned out really cute and it was such fun crafting this masterpiece together. He is already asking about what our next project will be!

He is so proud of his special basket.

I have never seen William so eager to help with laundry before. He very happily loaded all of the dirty clothes in the washing machine.

Of course you must have some good old-fashioned shenanigans to make the chore of laundry even more fun! I am sure William is going to show a lot more effort in keeping up with his dirty clothes. Hopefully I will find more of it in the hamper instead of on the floor!

Won't you join Gain in this great initiative? Have your kids decorate a basket and tag Gain on Facebook. It is such fun! Check out the Gain Facebook page for more details on National Keep Kids Creative Week. You can also follow Gain on Twitter. What creative things will you do with your kids or what suggestions can you share that can bring out your child's creativity

I am being compensated by Gain to share the importance of National Keep Kids Creative Week and Gain believes that there are ways to make laundry more fun. All thoughts/opinions are 100% my own.

Wordless Wednesday | The home school student

Wordless Wednesday

Half-price Tuesday's are back at Monkey Joe's! We are taking advantage of it :)

Four year old boys and shopping

Today I took all 3 kids out to do some back-to-school shopping. We had the stores all mapped out and set time goals. One thing I always do before we leave the house is make sure William is well fed and goes to the bathroom. Everything was set. We headed out. The first few stops were simple because we were literally in and out within minutes. The last stop required us to be in the store for over an hour. Belk had a HUGE clearance sale with tons of merchandise to browse through, so naturally it would take some time. Along the way, the girls would try on a few items and add them to the growing stack. William behaved pretty well and kept picking up random strands of thread from the floor. I usually don't encourage picking things up from the floor but made an exception this time. It was just thread after all.

You can tell that he was getting tired of being in the store so I took him to the boy's department. He then tells me how the store was starting to make him sad. He said he wanted to feel happy again, very dramatically at that. So after the long time spent in the store and the even longer time at the check-out, we finally headed for the exit. Of course all you heard was the loud BEEP BEEP BEEP. We went back to the check-out counter to find out why we were beeping. It turned out from the piles of clothes we bought, there was one ink tag that was not removed. We headed  back to the exit and were successful. We made it out of there! William begged to go home and I gave him his wish. After we were home for about 30 minutes I looked down on the couch and saw this. It was a collection of all the thread my boy picked up throughout the store.

All I could do was laugh. Of course, once he falls asleep tonight, I will turn into the mean mom and throw it away. He might have dislike being in a boring old department store but surely found a way to keep himself occupied!

The last two photos are from a recent visit we had at Monkey Joe's. It is hard to get decent photos when your kid is running wild! It is our new once-a-week spot to go to, especially with how hot it has been. You can't beat all the bouncing, jumping, climbing, sliding and screaming fun! I look forward to when school starts back so we can go on 'Half-price Tuesdays'.

Word-full Wednesday

I bought this book on clearance about a year ago for William and it only occurred to me yesterday that the Dr. Seuss "I can read all by myself" logo was upside down. I can't figure out if it was a mistake and put on clearance, or if it was made like that on purpose because of what the book is about. Hmmm, they mysteries of life...

Needless to say, William loves this book and enjoys pointing all the wacky things he comes across throughout the day. It is our special Wednesday book and I found it fitting to share today :-)

The life of the SAHM

We have less than 2 weeks of the school year left. Time has flown by. The girls have been immersed in studying, exams, SAT's and volleyball conditioning. Of course I am in overdrive as a mom making sure they have all the necessities to make their days go smoothly. I have been spending a lot less time online and a lot more time on the floor playing dinosaurs, camping, blocks and flashcards. I am really working hard at giving little Will the same head start that the girls were given. You really do get to see the big differences between boys and girls! It does seem a little more challenging getting the boy to sit down long enough to learn something new. I think he does better absorbing information as long as he is moving. This sometimes means practicing numbers while doing jumping jacks! Needless to say, I am in great physical shape!

I still go through those days feeling mommy guilt wondering if I am doing enough for the boy. At the end of the day, he displays a lot of what he has learned through his actions. He is listening and paying attention. You better believe if anyone does something they shouldn't be, William will be the first one to let you know that you are not making a good choice. Those are the times that I think he is listening a little too well :)

I already have the Summer calendar prepared and it looks like the kids will be very occupied. I have some family trips I am planning as well. This Summer, we will take day trips or very short trips to close-by cities. No big vacations for us. I just hope that gas prices will continue to decline. I am also getting back into couponing so that we can maximize our cash.

Have you started getting your Summer family calendar set up? Do you have any fun plans?

Looking back

I came across this photo today and it made me smile. This was taken before Will turned 2.

Happiness

Isn't William the cutest fisherman? He is so content when he is out back with his daddy fishing. Look at the concentration face! They did catch some small fish. Of course I make them throw them back in the water. Mean momma! :)

Is my what nasty?

The other day my son was doing something that really annoys me to no end that I think every member of the male species does... touching his 'man parts'. I told him I thought it was nasty what he was doing and he responds "Is your penis nasty too?". I told him that girls don't have a penis and that our private parts were different. I realized that we have not had the conversation yet about the differences between boys and girls. Being the active, typical boy William is he just sort of moved on to the next thing. My husband heard our brief conversation and starts to laugh at me. He says that maybe it was better I explain that to him since I might handle it better. MEN!