Daycare selection can be incredibly overwhelming, even after a "final" decision has been made. How do you know it is the best fit for your child? For your family? For your schedule? M is currently with an in-home daycare provider that he adores and we love that he loves her! However, her schedule is no longer conducive to ours. What do we do? Take unpaid days of leave to cover the multitude of unpaid vacation days she takes? Send our child away overnight to my parents' home? Pawn him off on a neighbor? The alternatives seem ridiculous.
I believe in paid vacation for our sitter and the occasional sick day. In fact in her contract she has the same number of paid days as I do as a teacher. I fully support this and paying her to take days like Thanksgiving and Christmas off. It is the unpaid days I am struggling with. It is considerate of her not to charge for these days, but then what do I do with my child? I am barely being given one months notice and she has taken close to 10 unpaid days this school year (not including her paid vacation days and her sick days - totaling close to 12 days). When I discussed with her the number of days she closes on average a school year back in August I was told that she might close two or three times for illness and take vacation days around the holidays. Ultimately she saves her vacation time for the summer (when M is home with me.) Clearly this is not what is happening. I was not told that unpaid days were an option for her or that she would be taking this many days off. This is a huge inconvenience and I am not sure how to handle the situation.
If I am not going to switch M to a new sitter or center, then I guess I should request a calendar of her planned days at the start of the school year so that I have plenty of time to accommodate her schedule. But my question to you... When does it become too much? When do I switch to a new place for M? I am not blessed with family close by or back-up childcare so I really need a reliable sitter. Thoughts? Are my expectations (either way) unreasonable?
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Preparing to Homeschool for Preschool
My husband and I both work full time as teachers. I am a middle school teacher and he teaches elementary school. We love our childcare provider and do not plan on changing M's daycare arrangement at this time. So what do we do about preschool?
Our daycare provider is not a licensed preschool teacher and does not have a preschool program to which she follows. She does lots of crafts and activities with the children - sensory activities as well as letter and number activities. However, I am not sure if it will be enough to adequately prepare M for kindergarten. I am also not aware of any preschool programs that run in the summer or all day so that M would be able to attend. So, with my elementary education degree and certification I am going to attempt to supplement M's education at home by homeschooling him for preschool.
Where to begin...
As with all educators, I started by looking for standards for my state so that I would have a list of goals (standards) that I could use to construct my activities around. By using the state standards I am ensuring I am properly preparing my child for entering a Pennsylvania kindergarten classroom. Standards at this age should be fairly similar amongst states. You can find the standards in two easy to read PDF formats through Pennsylvania Early Learning: Keys to Quality or the Pennsylvania Department of Education websites.
Next I began Pinterest boards of toddler activities and preschool ideas. I have begun collecting ideas for busy bags, sensory bins, worksheets/activities, and crafts. Since M is 13 months, I have focused primarily on creating busy bags for him to begin using in the next few months. He also has a few sensory bins. He ADORES playing with the pom pom sensory bin I made for him and using all of the little bowls and scoops with them.
Since I know have an idea of what types of experiences and skills I will need to reinforce at home with M, enter the Target $1 bins...
I feel like it is a common trend to be a working mother and TOTALLY OBSESSED WITH TARGET! (In fact I think all moms are obsessed with Target!) I have also made a few trips to the local Dollar Tree for supplies. This is what I have gathered thus far...
TARGET:
There were a few things I wanted to buy and did not want to have to print or make so I returned to my FAVORITE source for early childhood and elementary resources - The Mailbox magazine. The magazine can be pricey to subscribe to so when I can, I borrow the new copies (and the old ones) from the elementary school library. However, individuals (like me) can register and create an account to access their THOUSANDS of FREE resources. They have everything from clip art (to use as decorations, crafts, props, and felt patterns for a felt board) to worksheets and units. In addition, the sell e-books for as little as $1 (on sale) and consistently mark their print publications down as well. Just recently they had a sale where I could select 7 books and only pay $35. (These books retail from about $8 - $20 individually.) The books I ordered (in this shipment) all included laminated tear out activity sheets that I did not have to create anything for. Books with math centers, language arts centers, games and activity cards, and task cards. One book has 8 (?) different story books the child can create and color with the laminated figures to go with the storytelling. It is AMAZING! I have also purchased entire units on insects, gardening, and dinosaurs. The prices and quality can not be beaten. I have used The Mailbox in my classroom for years and I can vouch for the quality of their products. (I am in no shape way or form receiving any compensation for this post.)
Now on to assembly and organization. This is where I am currently in the process of preparing for homeschooling. My husband thinks that I am crazy for preparing so far in advance, but I figure M is only going to become more active and sleep less in the years to come, so why not prepare early! I used many Pinterest ideas for busy bags and quiet boxes first. I assembled all of my different busy bags, sorted them by skill the child is using when playing with the busy bag, and then placed them in quiet boxes - one for each day of the week. For example, each box contains a fine motor skill busy bag, a building busy bag, a book, a sorting busy bag, and then a busy bag related to numbers/letters/colors. M will be able to take the bin for the day and play with the items in that particular bin. I am hoping that with this built in rotation of activities he will not get bored with them. I of course have extra bags that I plan on rotating in and out (if I have time) using in the car, carrying in the diaper bag, or making available all the time. I also created three sensory bins - pebbles/rocks, small erasers, and pom poms (or fuzzies in our house) - with one tub of sensory bin tools (ice cube tray, funnels, cups, measuring spoons and cups, scoop, and large tweezers). At 13 months M LOVES to play with the pom poms and placing them in the different cups and then taking them out. It is so cute watching him play!!!
As for the educational books and units I have purchased and downloaded. I have the play dough play mats in sheet protectors (I did not want to pay for them to be laminated yet), all things alphabet are hole punched and placed in the brad part of a folder, cute units are still on a flash drive and have not been printed and sorted yet - it is a little early for that, word wall words are printed and need to be colored and cut, and I have begun assembling The Mailbox materials in Ziploc bags. I am almost finished cutting out the storybook characters and I plan on using them this summer with M on our trip to Canada. I know he can't color his own story yet or read, but I think he will enjoy hearing the story with the little characters to go along with it. I have not decided if I am going to put felt on the back to use with his felt board (I bought cheap canvases at A.C. Moore and wrapped them with felt) or magnets for his tray. So many decisions...
That is where I am in the process and I hope that this does not blow up in my face in the coming years. I am not planning on over-educating my child or taking away his freedom to play and learn through play. My hope is not for my child to grow up faster, be placed in a special program, or attend a "gifted" school. I just want him adequately prepared for kindergarten and have problem-solving skills. In my math classroom I taught through game play for years. I plan on integrating a Montessori approach to my homeschooling and setting up a Montessori inspired playroom when he is older. It is so important to let children learn through play and interaction with their environment. However, as an educator I also understand the importance of learning to sit still for short stretches of time and practice handwriting through worksheet practice.
Our daycare provider is not a licensed preschool teacher and does not have a preschool program to which she follows. She does lots of crafts and activities with the children - sensory activities as well as letter and number activities. However, I am not sure if it will be enough to adequately prepare M for kindergarten. I am also not aware of any preschool programs that run in the summer or all day so that M would be able to attend. So, with my elementary education degree and certification I am going to attempt to supplement M's education at home by homeschooling him for preschool.
Where to begin...
As with all educators, I started by looking for standards for my state so that I would have a list of goals (standards) that I could use to construct my activities around. By using the state standards I am ensuring I am properly preparing my child for entering a Pennsylvania kindergarten classroom. Standards at this age should be fairly similar amongst states. You can find the standards in two easy to read PDF formats through Pennsylvania Early Learning: Keys to Quality or the Pennsylvania Department of Education websites.
Next I began Pinterest boards of toddler activities and preschool ideas. I have begun collecting ideas for busy bags, sensory bins, worksheets/activities, and crafts. Since M is 13 months, I have focused primarily on creating busy bags for him to begin using in the next few months. He also has a few sensory bins. He ADORES playing with the pom pom sensory bin I made for him and using all of the little bowls and scoops with them.
Since I know have an idea of what types of experiences and skills I will need to reinforce at home with M, enter the Target $1 bins...
I feel like it is a common trend to be a working mother and TOTALLY OBSESSED WITH TARGET! (In fact I think all moms are obsessed with Target!) I have also made a few trips to the local Dollar Tree for supplies. This is what I have gathered thus far...
TARGET:
- Workbooks
- Flashcards
- Art supplies
- White board
- Puzzles
- Books
- Maps
- Games/spinners
- Manipulatives - foam blocks and small objects to count
- Organizational bins
- Measuring cups/spoons
- Scoops and bowls
- Ice cub tray
- Metal tray
- Pom poms
- Books
- Puzzles
- Flashcards
- Photo albums (to put flash cards in and to allow M to write on them)
- Sponges (to make blocks)
- Magnetic letters (mine are left over from my college days, but I know they carry them at our Dollar Tree too)
- Shoelaces
- Foam (and other art supplies)
- Pebbles
- Small erasers
There were a few things I wanted to buy and did not want to have to print or make so I returned to my FAVORITE source for early childhood and elementary resources - The Mailbox magazine. The magazine can be pricey to subscribe to so when I can, I borrow the new copies (and the old ones) from the elementary school library. However, individuals (like me) can register and create an account to access their THOUSANDS of FREE resources. They have everything from clip art (to use as decorations, crafts, props, and felt patterns for a felt board) to worksheets and units. In addition, the sell e-books for as little as $1 (on sale) and consistently mark their print publications down as well. Just recently they had a sale where I could select 7 books and only pay $35. (These books retail from about $8 - $20 individually.) The books I ordered (in this shipment) all included laminated tear out activity sheets that I did not have to create anything for. Books with math centers, language arts centers, games and activity cards, and task cards. One book has 8 (?) different story books the child can create and color with the laminated figures to go with the storytelling. It is AMAZING! I have also purchased entire units on insects, gardening, and dinosaurs. The prices and quality can not be beaten. I have used The Mailbox in my classroom for years and I can vouch for the quality of their products. (I am in no shape way or form receiving any compensation for this post.)
Now on to assembly and organization. This is where I am currently in the process of preparing for homeschooling. My husband thinks that I am crazy for preparing so far in advance, but I figure M is only going to become more active and sleep less in the years to come, so why not prepare early! I used many Pinterest ideas for busy bags and quiet boxes first. I assembled all of my different busy bags, sorted them by skill the child is using when playing with the busy bag, and then placed them in quiet boxes - one for each day of the week. For example, each box contains a fine motor skill busy bag, a building busy bag, a book, a sorting busy bag, and then a busy bag related to numbers/letters/colors. M will be able to take the bin for the day and play with the items in that particular bin. I am hoping that with this built in rotation of activities he will not get bored with them. I of course have extra bags that I plan on rotating in and out (if I have time) using in the car, carrying in the diaper bag, or making available all the time. I also created three sensory bins - pebbles/rocks, small erasers, and pom poms (or fuzzies in our house) - with one tub of sensory bin tools (ice cube tray, funnels, cups, measuring spoons and cups, scoop, and large tweezers). At 13 months M LOVES to play with the pom poms and placing them in the different cups and then taking them out. It is so cute watching him play!!!
As for the educational books and units I have purchased and downloaded. I have the play dough play mats in sheet protectors (I did not want to pay for them to be laminated yet), all things alphabet are hole punched and placed in the brad part of a folder, cute units are still on a flash drive and have not been printed and sorted yet - it is a little early for that, word wall words are printed and need to be colored and cut, and I have begun assembling The Mailbox materials in Ziploc bags. I am almost finished cutting out the storybook characters and I plan on using them this summer with M on our trip to Canada. I know he can't color his own story yet or read, but I think he will enjoy hearing the story with the little characters to go along with it. I have not decided if I am going to put felt on the back to use with his felt board (I bought cheap canvases at A.C. Moore and wrapped them with felt) or magnets for his tray. So many decisions...
That is where I am in the process and I hope that this does not blow up in my face in the coming years. I am not planning on over-educating my child or taking away his freedom to play and learn through play. My hope is not for my child to grow up faster, be placed in a special program, or attend a "gifted" school. I just want him adequately prepared for kindergarten and have problem-solving skills. In my math classroom I taught through game play for years. I plan on integrating a Montessori approach to my homeschooling and setting up a Montessori inspired playroom when he is older. It is so important to let children learn through play and interaction with their environment. However, as an educator I also understand the importance of learning to sit still for short stretches of time and practice handwriting through worksheet practice.
Feeding M
It is so hard to find information (and then make decisions) on how to feed a toddler (I can't believe I am calling M a toddler!) I am overwhelmed with my lack of knowledge and the confusing information that I do find. M just turned one and he has four teeth. He eats VERY healthy, but I feel as though I have fallen into a food rut. At the start of the year M was sent with the following food to school each day...
1 hard boiled organic egg
4 oz. homemade fruit (strawberry/banana/mango pouch or applesauce)
4 oz Stonyfield organic yogurt
1 Organic Valley cheese stick (sometimes string cheese, sometimes Colby jack)
5 oz. soup (Healthy Valley Organic Minestrone without salt or Chicken Rice without salt)
1/2 an avocado
From 8AM to 3PM he ate all of the above. He did not care much for chicken or other meats so the big source of protein he got was the egg.
So, back to the drawing board I went.
I found a recipe for healthy spaghettios, made a batch, and he LOVED THEM! Spaghetti-os were a winner! He can't seem to get enough. I used this RECIPE, but I did not add the butter or salt. I also used the little letter noodles from the grocery store. (M didn't seem to mind that they were not rings.) He also likes to eat Dr. Praeger's Spinach Littles and he ate a Dr. Praeger's fish stick the other day (but he seems to be inconsistent in eating chicken nuggets and fish sticks.) He has also recently eaten...
- French toast (with a tiny bit of syrup spread on top)
- Cream cheese and jam sandwich
- Grilled cheese sandwich (with and without chicken/tuna)
- Creamy tomato and spinach pasta (something I cooked for Eric and myself the other night)
- Chicken pot pie (again, another meal I had made for dinner)
- Sour cream noodle bake (see above)
- Edamame (but I need to be more consistent in offering it)
- Macaroni and cheese with sauteed spinach
It's not that M is a fussy eater, I just don't really know what he can handle and what he can't in terms of his teeth or textures. I would just prefer to be making more for him or making meals and freezing them so I can avoid prepackaged food. Even thought what I serve packaged (like the macaroni and cheese) is organic, I just want to be making as much for him as possible. I also want to be able to make meals that we can all enjoy as a family.
Are there any ideas or foods that worked well for your little one? Or meals you made for your family that a little one could eat?
Friday, January 23, 2015
Little Blue Truck Birthday
Well, my little man 'M' is officially one! I am not sure if I should celebrate or cry - he is just growing up TOO FAST!!!
For his first birthday Eric and I chose to have a "Little Blue Truck" theme party. Starting at about five months, M became obsessed with reading "Little Blue Truck." (I am not sure if it was the book itself or the bizarre noises I passed off as animal sounds.) After scouring Pinterest and Etsy for ideas for months, it finally came together! I was just thrilled with how everything turned out.
Over Christmas vacation (I was blessed with two weeks off), I made this cardboard truck to use as a photo prop. As guests arrived, they posed driving the truck for a picture! This was a great way to document all of the guests that came to celebrate M's birthday. I used cardboard from school and reinforced it with paint stirrers. The balloons were ordered from Bargain Balloons and arrived VERY quickly. I was thrilled with the price and quality.
I read a GREAT blog post on not using disposable party items. Instead, use reusable items that can be used for birthdays and parties in the future! It sounds simple, but I hadn't really given it much thought! So, I purchased bandanas at Hobby Lobby for about $1 a piece to use as napkins. Eric folded them and we arranged them in a basket. They were easy to use, wash, and store. In addition, we used clear glass plates that my mom found on sale for $1.25 a piece. Since they are not a specific color or style, we will be able to use them every time we entertain in the future. All of our white serving platters came from Kohl's a few years ago when they had a 40% off sale on the Food Network line of dishes. 
Since the party started at 2 PM, we served light snacks and drinks. I prepared homemade lemonade, water, and milk boxes for the adults and kids, and then blueberry mojitos for the adults. Everything was a huge hit! I labeled the food to the best of my ability using these cute little chalkboard tags from A.C. Moore and a chalkboard marker. Again, they came assembled and were only $1. All I had to do was paint the wood white (which I guess I didn't HAVE to do.) While I made M's cake, I did not make the cupcakes for the party. The ENTIRE family was sick the week prior and I did not have time to bake. Instead I ordered 2 dozen cupcakes (1 dozen yellow, and 1 dozen chocolate) with butter cream frosting and white chocolate pieces on top with decorative blue icing from a local baker.
We used M's dump truck to hold chips (I cleaned it thoroughly before filling it) and mason jars for the drinks. My mom had paper straws left over from my baby shower so we used those as well. I added a few table cloths around the house to brighten things up. On the gift table we attached a banner I purchased through Etsy with M's name. Had I really thought things through I would have ordered the banner to read "Happy Birthday" so that I could use it with multiple children or at multiple birthday parties. Oh well!
Since there were a few "older" children coming to the party - a four year old and a two year old - I prepared a cute little coloring craft. Using the templates from The Mailbox website (educational magazine), I printed out a few trucks and the farm animals. I then used a copier (at school) to shrink the farm animals before printing them so they could all fit in the truck. I made an example for the kids that had not read the book and then left the supplies on the table. This was an easy activity to prepare, and it came in handy during some down time for the four year old boy!
As people entered the party, they walked passed a chalkboard (from Hobby Lobby and originally purchased for my sister's wedding) inviting everyone in. In the foyer I arranged pictures of M from birth through 11 months. We also displayed an additional newborn picture of him and a wooden blue truck that a family friend made for him. I really don't think I could have done a better job decorating! I was thrilled with how well everything turned out. It was also nice that the weather was quite agreeable with us all day.
Back to M's cake. Instead of exposing my son to sugar for the first time, I chose to make him a healthy banana applesauce cake with a maple cream cheese icing. It turned out wonderful. Both him and my husband enjoyed eating it. To decorate the top I added halved blueberries (so that he couldn't choke). I also "dressed up" the high chair with a little #1 pennant and ribbons. I saved this decoration in case baby #2 (when we decide to expand) is also a little boy.
All in all the day went very well. The house was cleaned up and everyone on their way home by 5 PM. M crashed early and quickly that night - he had a long day.
I know that M will not remember his 1st birthday, but I looked at the day as a celebration for me. I survived (and LOVED) the first year. His first year was so full of new things and we both made it through all of the good and the bad together and better for it. Happy Birthday M!!!
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Menu Planning
Menu planning has been a LIFESAVER in the Shaner house. No longer am I running to the store two or three times a week and exceeding my grocery budget. My pantry isn't overflowing with expired goods and well-intended purchases.
So, I do a little couponing and my husband and I have a large deep-freezer in the garage for freeze-ahead meals (when I have time) and sale purchases. My menu planning is far from fancy. I do not use a special form or an app on my phone (tried both and they were too much work). My list usually appears on a used envelope, note card, or receipt. On Saturday or Sunday (usually after Eric has run out to grab papers) I sit down and do a brief mental run down of what I have in the freezer/pantry, check for coupons, and pull out the Martin's sale flyer.
The first thing I do with my menu is write down any special events. These would be nights when one or both of us will not be home for dinner, available to help with dinner, or too busy to mess with dinner. Next I fill in meals that I did not make last week (there is usually one) that I already have all of the ingredients for. Borrowing from my friend Sheila, I plan one Mexican meal and one Italian meal. Usually I pull these from my staple list of favorite meals - tacos, quesadillas, nachos, enchiladas, lasagna, lasagna roll-ups, tortellini, etc.. - once in a while I try a new recipe from Pinterest. Following this I scan the sales flyer and see if anything inspires me - chicken drumsticks on sale, GREAT!, BBQ chicken and sweet potato fries with any fresh veggie I can find on sale. Last but not least, I ask Eric for his input so that he can not complain about the meals for the week.
To help my sister get used to menu planning, I made her note cards that had the name of the dish on the front, and the ingredients on the back (with serving suggestions) so that she can pull out the meals her and her fiance want and quickly jot down her shopping list. If you do not have many recipes committed to memory, I would highly recommend sitting down in front of the TV and making these cards. Again, they aren't anything fancy - just a reference! (Make sure you include where to find the recipe so that when you go to cook the meal you can quickly located the directions.)
All in all, after a few months of practice, my menu planning takes about 30 minutes (including the time needed to make a cup of coffee), keeps my budget under control, and ensures that my family has 7 home-cooked meals each night of the week.
Next up...
MONTHLY Menu Planning
So, I do a little couponing and my husband and I have a large deep-freezer in the garage for freeze-ahead meals (when I have time) and sale purchases. My menu planning is far from fancy. I do not use a special form or an app on my phone (tried both and they were too much work). My list usually appears on a used envelope, note card, or receipt. On Saturday or Sunday (usually after Eric has run out to grab papers) I sit down and do a brief mental run down of what I have in the freezer/pantry, check for coupons, and pull out the Martin's sale flyer.
The first thing I do with my menu is write down any special events. These would be nights when one or both of us will not be home for dinner, available to help with dinner, or too busy to mess with dinner. Next I fill in meals that I did not make last week (there is usually one) that I already have all of the ingredients for. Borrowing from my friend Sheila, I plan one Mexican meal and one Italian meal. Usually I pull these from my staple list of favorite meals - tacos, quesadillas, nachos, enchiladas, lasagna, lasagna roll-ups, tortellini, etc.. - once in a while I try a new recipe from Pinterest. Following this I scan the sales flyer and see if anything inspires me - chicken drumsticks on sale, GREAT!, BBQ chicken and sweet potato fries with any fresh veggie I can find on sale. Last but not least, I ask Eric for his input so that he can not complain about the meals for the week.
To help my sister get used to menu planning, I made her note cards that had the name of the dish on the front, and the ingredients on the back (with serving suggestions) so that she can pull out the meals her and her fiance want and quickly jot down her shopping list. If you do not have many recipes committed to memory, I would highly recommend sitting down in front of the TV and making these cards. Again, they aren't anything fancy - just a reference! (Make sure you include where to find the recipe so that when you go to cook the meal you can quickly located the directions.)
All in all, after a few months of practice, my menu planning takes about 30 minutes (including the time needed to make a cup of coffee), keeps my budget under control, and ensures that my family has 7 home-cooked meals each night of the week.
Next up...
MONTHLY Menu Planning
Back at it again...
I have done a decent job maintaining my professional blog so I am going to try to keep up with my personal blog.
Instead of blogging about family and dogs, this blog will now focus primarly on how I survive each day working full-time, raising an AMAZING son, and running my household. I have been so inspired by other stay-at-home mom and working mom blogs that I thought I would give it a shot! Please comment and share links of how you survive as a woman who does it all!!!
Instead of blogging about family and dogs, this blog will now focus primarly on how I survive each day working full-time, raising an AMAZING son, and running my household. I have been so inspired by other stay-at-home mom and working mom blogs that I thought I would give it a shot! Please comment and share links of how you survive as a woman who does it all!!!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
It has been FOREVER
For the whole two people that follow my blog, I am sorry I have not posted in the last few weeks. Life at the Shaner house has been crazy. Recently, Eric and I were able to get away for the weekend to visit some family. We really enjoyed our time, but also enjoy being back. I am off to present this week at a national conference in Baltimore, so I am beginning my travel preparations. Joba is doing well, no major health concerns recently. Eric is looking forward to wrapping up his graduate class here soon and getting started with baseball season. He is up for head coach so we are looking forward to the official word here in the next few weeks. Other than that there is not much new to report. Off to work on presentation materials!
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