Oh The Craft Cupboard NEEDS Organized and Make Your Own Puzzle, House Picture, Highlights Fun, Jell-o Cubes

So now that you have already read my title and you still clicked into this post beware! No really, I've just not gotten to posting a few things so I crammed them all together. Are you ready?

Here is the craft cupboard. I can't believe I'm sharing my disorganization. I am used to be an organized person. Then a tornado of two under two hit and now I'm at two - three and under and it only gets busier. My excuse for the craft cupboard mess is the fact that I have to throw it in QUICK before grabby little hands start digging everything out (and it all collapses onto tiny and my mommy toes).

Exhibit A & Before:

One set of little grabby hands (In her adorable jammies may I add)

After:

NOT an Improvement

You see Oscar there? He sure is appropriate for dead center in this photo. What a horrible organizational system eh? Well, I grabbed some old bags and started neatly quickly and not so gently throwing stuff into the cupboard while the girls were getting into stuff that I just so happened to set in their path. You know, stuff they think they are getting away with playing with. Anyway, please help! Any ideas will make me a happy camper. Please share any websites or ideas. I need the kick in the pants.

Now onto some fun stuff! 

Make Your Own Puzzle

I didn't really know what else to call this, but it was fun! We grabbed some near by toys and put them in a container after tracing each object. Lorelei had a sheet to trace things and I had a sheet to trace some stuff. After tracing it goes into the box so we could find it easily. When everything was done Lorelei got to grab the objects out and find their appropriate spots. She really liked this. Mostly because she traced them herself, found the objects herself and got to finish off the puzzle all by herself. Do you see a pattern? Lorelei loves being "the boss." So any project where she gets to lead is just perfect. Plus the ownership and pride is excellent. It was way too easy for her, but the tracing was good practice. I definitely suggest this easy project/game!

House Picture

The first step was to simply cut out the shapes. I cut out different things for her and let her decide where she wanted them. She chose the colors of the stuff and what I should cut out mind you. (I'm sure she will make a good boss some day.)

We added in some people last minute and she took the project very seriously!

The end product. It's quite good if I do say so myself. Honestly though I was quite surprised with how well she lined everything up. I'm not sure why the guys were crooked, but I'm sure she didn't want it to cover her house up. Another fun and easy project kids love! I definitely suggest this as well. After all you only need a glue stick, scissors, paper and imagination! (Was that last one cheesy?)

High Five for Highlights

We have quite a few of the Highlights magazines lying around the house so we took the one from April and I let her cut out whatever she wanted. Lorelei's face lit up with joy when she heard she could actually cut into a magazine! My idea was to make a collage out of it, but she really wanted to cut out big stuff and glue the single picture onto one single piece of construction paper. She was thrilled though and that is what counts. Plus I loved watching her enjoy herself and seeing how well she is getting along with those scissors!

Above is a game we found in one of the magazines. She liked it for a bit, but it didn't last long. She was super excited about "flipping" the penny though. She didn't have a whole lot of patience for the game. Maybe when she is older?

Jell-O Cubes

So I am calling this one Jello-O Cubes out of humor. There was a tip in a tiny little book my mother gave me that if you put the powder from the jell-o into a dish or pan with an ice cube that the kiddos can swirl the ice cube around to watch it make designs in the powder. I thought it sounded wonderful because Hannah would love it too!

Lorelei dipping her fingers in after dumping the jell-o powder.

...and the joy of being able to eat part of her project!

...getting ready to drop in the ice cubes! Any guesses on what might happen to the ice cube when it gets dropped in and swirled around?

Here we go..the cubes are in and they...

turn into Jell-O cubes. Yep, that's it.Yummy Jell-O cubes for the kids to goo on and suck on and stain little fingers with. Me, I was disappointed it didn't work out. The girls were more than SUPER excited about it. They were playing in it and licking it. After a little gooey fun we took a little break from the cubes so we could wait and see what they turned into.

This is what's on my fridge right now. Lorelei traced her hands and my hand which she loved and made a lot of construction paper pages into hand traced pictures. Then I made her name and let her trace it. She really just wanted to circle them. Fun stuff eh? 

And now the moment...what does it look like after (maybe) an hour? Please enjoy the next few photos word free as you have been a champ reading through this long, LONG post.

So there it is. An unorganized cupboard, make your own puzzle, a house picture and some yummy Jell-O cubes. I hope you enjoyed my lengthy post! Truth is I'm hoping at least one person sits through it.

Thanks again! Please share comments if you'd like!

Nap Time Debate: Homeschooling vs. Public Schools

Swimming, sand, hot sunny days and Popsicles dripping down finger tips. Camping and S'mores all fun summer activities filled with joy and laughter come to an end and the school year vastly approaches. Summer is at it's half way mark and all I can think about is where to send my daughter to school.

She is still working on potty training, though we took her to her first preschool open house back in February or March. Excitement isn't even an accurate description for how Lorelei feels when we walk by the preschool and stop to play on some of the equipment (shhhh, don't tell). She is working hard on potty training, but doesn't seem to have the knack for it as she'd rather be playing right along with her sister, which doesn't quite add up to being ready for preschool.

The girls and I sit together to do endless craft projects, learning letters in work books and cutting out shapes and making puzzles. We do so many learning activities in this house; I even add in learning when we're going for walks or on the beach just by simply asking questions or pointing objects out.

All of this has made me wonder what is best for Lorelei and Hannah in the near future. What is going to be best for my girls? Does homeschooling or Public Schools have the best structure and learning environment for them to flourish and grow?

Homeschooling leaves so many doors open and seems to me to be a much more nurturing environment. It's my responsibility how the day goes and what they have learned by the end of the week. How they view learning and what they learn would be completely up to me. I can send them to summer camp or Library functions or decide to start a homeschooling group for parents and children or I can join a group.

Sending my daughters to a public school offers daily peer interaction and possibilities of ever lasting friendships. Learning from and trusting an adult other than a parent. There are things a public school offers that I simply can't. Learning how to get along with a teacher or peer on a daily basis and coping with their environment; if that may be the case. Odds are in the many years of schooling the children will come across a teacher or peer they just don't understand or get along with.

A child learns to thrive outside the home and learn how to follow their given schedule and earn grades and be admired and seen by peers. It can teach them how to handle a bully or even an assignment they'd rather not participate in.

On the other hand children may feel stifled and left behind their peers if they stay home with their mommy. They may feel uncomfortable in such a fast and structured environment in school.

Are these things I want my children subjected to? Just because it is the norm to attend public school and to learn how to thrive or survive doesn't mean my children need to be subjected to that type of lifestyle. Just as much as keeping my kids home "sounds" like the more nurturing option doesn't mean I need to keep them home with me. After all it takes a village right?

I have so many different arguments on this subject I can't simply decide. Not yet anyway. I'm not sure if I'm the right teacher for my children or have what it takes to guide them into living a happy and fulfilling life as adults. The last thing I want is to look back and think I made selfish decisions. I chose to send them to public school so I didn't have to feel the pressure of their education on my shoulders or I kept them at home with me because I wanted to nurture them and keep them close..too close for their liking.

Expect to see more on this subject in the future as I simply don't have a "winner" for this debate. Both schooling styles seem to be viable solutions to raising children. I hope I can make the right decisions for my children as the years go by. Any advice or opinions, please share!

For some homeschooling information go to http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com. Don't be afraid to look into it yourself. Google it!

For Homeschooling vs. Public Schools Part 2 please click here.

Meet My Girls

Lately I haven't been able to help myself. I have been perusing old photos from the last few years. I have noticed a few things. One, my husband and I have moved a lot. Two, my body has gone through many changes between two pregnancies and weight gain and loss. Three, my girls are growing up fast.

My daughter Lorelei is three. I can't tell you that enough, but I really think it's my way of coping with her growing up. Soon she'll be graduating high school and heading off to college (if mom has a say in it).

She has always been very talkative and very smart. She knew all of her colors by 18 months and could say them fairly clearly. I remember attending a family members birthday which of course had all sorts of balloons. Another member of the family asked her what the colors were after I expressed how smart she was. The member of the family was so astonished that she did in fact know all of her colors.

Potty training as you might know is a different story all together. She just doesn't want anything to do with it. We're doing very well now with consistency and no accidents except for no. 2. I also have to be the one to send her to the bathroom after a few hours have gone by, but this is progress.

Learning has always come fairly easily to her. She knows half of her letters and can use my iPod and her Leapster better than I can. She loves using her computer to learn and find her letters as well as doing a large three foot floor puzzle with all of her letters. It took her a while to get used to the idea of recognizing symbols, but she really likes it now that she has the hang of it.

She also is very athletic and great at dancing, and choreographing for that matter. She is always showing someone a new dance move or song. She can jump around this house and twirl like a ballerina with the best of them. I actually can't wait to get her into a dance class one of these days.

Sensitivity is something that comes fairly easily to her as well. Lorelei likes "reading" to Hannah, but some days it's all about not sharing and "get her away, " but she is very nice and sensitive to her little sister from feeding her, helping her up and down, dancing with her and telling her when she's done a good job.

Hannah is almost 14 months now and is a little fire cracker. She does everything on her own, from climbing, running, getting into things and stealing her big sisters big girl underwear to try and put them on.

She absolutely adores her big sister and tries to say and do what she does. She loves every toy her sister loves and loves being on her bed. Lorelei is also the first one to get a kiss at the end of the night when Hannah is heading to bed.

Cuddling isn't to be forgotten as it is one of Hannah's favorite things. She hugs and cuddles our immediate family a lot, especially mom and sister. She enjoys sitting on my lap when I read stories to the girls and running up to hug her sister when she doesn't know it's coming. Daddy is the one that can get her to sit still believe it or not.

She absolutely loves the water and beach too. She would walk right into the water and keep going if I let her (that is if there aren't big waves coming her way.) She even loves splashing and spinning in the pool.

Hannah is trying to copy all kinds of words and knows a bunch by heart as well. Hannah says:

Bo for Bones (our dog)

Daw for Dog

Mom for Mom

Da for Dad

Or-I for Lorelei

None or Done for Done

Yum mum um for Yummy

Booh for Book

Boo for Boo

Ba for Ball

Ank U for Thank you

Pea for Please

She says so many partial words I can't even post them all, and she even nods yes when you ask her a question. Granted it's to any question, but she knows when she's being asked something.

My girls are growing fast and will be in school in no time. I have noticed a lot of people home schooling now-a-days and I'm not sure how they do it. Maybe with more space and patience than I have. I love watching my girls grow and I hope you enjoy hearing some facts about my girls as well.