Tia's Preschool (back up plan)

The Preschool options here on base are VERY limited. It's quite a bummer. The base does have a program in their Child Development Center (CDC) called Part Day Enrichment that is the closest thing the base offers to preschool. Tia was in it for a few months last year and really liked it, so I figured we would do it again. Here's the next bummer part...they canceled it for a few months because they have no teachers.

While we are waiting for them to find teachers one of the other moms put together a little Preschool Swap. I was in charge of the first week. It was a lot of fun! It actually felt good using some of the skills that I spent years and lots of money learning about in college. It really made me miss teaching! Not enough that I'd go get a job, but enough to realize that I love teaching. The best part about the week was seeing how excited Tia was about having school at her house. I don't know how long we are going to keep doing this swap, but for now it has been a fun experience for Tia & I.

Learning Time (Letter T).

Game Time (shapes & colors).

Snack Time (circles).

And today I dropped her off at my neighbors for Preschool. When I returned home I seriously sat in the front room for 30 minutes trying to figure out what I should do with no kids and a few hours on my hands. I really didn't know what to do...so I ended up at my favorite store...the Daiso ($ store). Oh how I am going to miss Japan's Dollar Stores when we move next year. They are the best!

Kindergarten

We have a Kindergartener! What an exciting week!

Meeting Mrs. Fitzpatrick (his teacher) & Mrs. Heino (his class aide) the week before school started. We are really excited about them...they seem perfect for Jayden.

1st Day of School

If you look closely at his hair you can see that he cut it himself (right in front in a couple of spots). Way to go little dude :/...scissors are now in mom's possession. At least it wasn't worse.

Picking Jayden up after his first day. He had a great day!

The best thing about this week has been listening to Jayden tell us about each day. I love that he is so excited about learning and going to school.

Pudding Slip & Slide

ReAnn, this post is for you :) Thank you for the awesome idea! Love you tons!

The kindergarteners started school 1 week later than everyone else, so while they were home that last week we decided to celebrate with some of the neighbors.

Two years ago my friend ReAnn introduced us to Pudding Slip & Slide and my kids still talk about how fun it was...it was time to do it again.

Taste testing to see if they liked it. I love the choice of finger Tia always uses :)

Two thumbs up from Briley.

Painting the kids with pudding.

Getting started.

Not sure if this is still cool.

Cute girls covered in pudding.

Attacking each other.

I think this is my favorite picture (thanks Austin for taking it). I love the handprint on Tia's forehead.

Poor Jayden started itching because the pudding had milk in it. For some reason I didn't think it would affect him since he hasn't had a skin reaction in over 2 years. I was wrong. He could not stop itching, had red splotches everywhere, and started sneezing like crazy. We had to make an extremely fast run to the shower, wash off, take some benadryl, say a quick prayer, drink lots of water, and keep a close watch on him for a while. Luckily it didn't get worse. I was pretty scared there for a bit. I thought he was getting better with his allergy, but he most definitely is still allergic to milk. I'm obviously Mother of the Year right?...makes a "milk" chocolate pudding slip & slide for my son who has a milk allergy...wow! Thanks ReAnn for the new tip on how to make it with water...we will be doing that next time!

My friend Austin made all the moms their own little glass of pudding to enjoy while the kids were having fun :)

Thanks friends for celebrating the start of Kindergarten with us.

Family Home Evening Activity

This is what we did for our Family Home Evening (FHE) activity last week. It had nothing to do with the lesson, but it was "TOTALLY AWESOME" (from the mouth of our 5 year old) and definitely worth the fun!

Attacking Darth Vader (thanks Grandma Andrews for the life size cardboard cutouts-they are a HUGE hit in our house).

Destroying the DARK SIDE is serious stuff!

Aunt Tera...recognize this? You deserve a big THANK YOU for this Christmas gift (I know it's been 3 or 4 years, but never too late for another thank you)! It has entertained kids for HOURS at a time! They LOVE it!