The Mom Crowd

The reading program I was working on with Darah is still in pilot mode and it was getting difficult to progress past the point we had made it to. I loved the program, but needed something that was a little more complete. I began a new reading program with Darah a few weeks ago. I wrote an article reviewing Out of the Box reading a while back. The company has now changed and is called eReadingPro. They are one of our newest advertising sponsors. The only problem I had with Out of the Box was the cost. eReadingPro has modified their program to accommodate tightwads like me people who are wanting to try it out first before making the big investment. Well, I am a total believer and believe that it is worth the big investment!

I purchased the eBook Do-it-yourself Reading Program Book 1. I paid through paypal and the program conveniently arrived in my email inbox before my paypal receipt arrived! Talk about fast! I quickly downloaded my eBook and got to reading. I had the advantage of having attended their Out of the Box conference, so I had a basic understanding of the program and how it works. The eBook came with everything you need to know to get started and 178 days worth of lessons. It included pictures for some of the abstract words being taught and illustrations for books later on. I got to work making my flashcards and started the program a few days later. This program is a sight-word based program and is not a phonics program.

So how does it work?

This program is geared toward the visual learner. Children with Down syndrome, autism, dyslexia, and an “overwhelming percentage of the population” are often visual learners. While many parents of children with special needs have embraced this program, they have a series for typical developing children as well. It does take some time to get it all set up, but once you set up the program you are good to go. I should be completely set for 178 days and then I will purchase Book 2. You can purchase the program with the flashcards preprinted. I saved a little money by writing them out myself. I keep the flashcards in order in a basket on my refrigerator and look at my daily schedule of what flashcards to present that day. I then show Darah the flashcards three times a day. As simplistic as it sounds, it works! By presenting these gigantic flashcards in groups of 5 over a cumulative 10 minutes a day, Darah has learned about 13 sight words! We are currently working on learning single words, but we will soon progress to learning to read sentences. The best part of this program is it has improved her speech! When she sees the flashcard with the word on it, she is articulating so much better than she did before. Her little voice is just way too cute when she says “pancake.” I am seeing results MUCH FASTER than with the other program we were doing. It requires much less energy and time on my part as well, and Darah seems to engage very well to this program.

eReadingPro will soon be releasing reading programs for teens/youth, adults who are learning to read, and for children and youth who are learning English as a second language. The whole word approach to learning to read is a very effective method! We are also working on phonics and individual letters. For phonics, I strongly recommend this DVD and this toy!

Now that summer is here, all three boys are home all day, and the weather is nice I have felt the urge to beat the summer doldrums. I don’t want every day to feel the same, day in and day out. I notice that the kids get a look on their faces when they are bored and are looking for something to do. It is easy for me to get caught up in doing the morning chores around the house while they play and not think proactively about fun activities they can do. So, I had an idea to come up with a list of activities so that we can do at least one fun activity every day. I tend to be a planner but I don’t always practice it. I know that I usually feel less stressed when I do have some activities planned and it’s kind of fun to tell the boys in the morning what our fun “thing” is that day.

I thought I’d share my list and I hope that if we all put our brains together that we can help each other out with fun ideas to keep boredom at arms length over the summer. My kids aren’t very crafty so I tried to think of a variety of activities to do. We also live in a very seasonal climate so I want to take advantage of the sunny, warm weather while it lasts!

1. Every Monday- Pack lunches while baby Graham is taking his morning nap and head to the supercool park after he wakes up. Eat lunch at the park and play until it is time to head home for afternoon naps.

2. Go to the YMCA during family swim time and splash around.

3. Bake something fun together. Bread, cupcakes, cookies….

4. Go to a “pick your own” fruit/vegetable farm.

5. On Friday it is daddy come home early day and we go to Raccoon Creek. (A local state park 20 minutes away with a “beach” swim area)

6. Make homemade play dough.

7. Make homemade popsicles (vanilla yogurt+frozen berries blended and frozen=yummy frozen desserts! you can even add things like ground flax seeds for a healthy nutrition boost).

8. Go for a nature walk and collect different specimens of bugs, samples of leaves, sticks, and rocks.

9. Make a family tree with pictures of family members and hang it on a wall.

10. Go to the science museum.

11. Go to the dinosaur museum.

12. Go to the zoo.

13. Make paper boats.

14. Go to story time at the library.

15. Go to the indoor park at the mall and let the kids run around in the air conditioning.

16. Play date, play date, play date!

17. Hit the (age appropriate) summer reading list for your kids and read together.

18. Plan a treasure hunt.

19. Make a mobile to hang in the kids bedrooms. (We recently made a bug mobile by cutting out pictures of bugs from magazines and then tying them to straws with thread. We had to balance it by sliding the bugs across the straws but the boys love it and it is fun to watch it move from the breeze of the ceiling fan.)

20. Build a fort inside the house and play games inside the fort.

21. Find and empty parking lot and do some fun sidewalk chalk drawing.

22. Go to an indoor bounce house.

So, kick the summer doldrums in the pants and go have some fun!

Do you remember that scene in the beginning of the movie Parenthood (it came out in 1989 and if you haven’t seen it since you became a parent you totally should because it is really funny) where the Buckmans are driving home from a baseball game and their oldest son is singing, “when you’re sliding into first and you’re feeling something burst, diarrhea, diarrhea…“? It is a very catchy tune and funny, of course. It is one that all kids are sure to love.

But is it funny when your kids come home from school or a friends house and sing it to you? Are you like me–do you secretly hope that your kids will never learn cuss words or say things like, “I’m going to kill you!” or “Mom, can I have a toy gun because so-and-so has this really cool one at their house and I want one too.” (Things my kids have learned from other kids.) What about when your kid learns to hit others because that is what he/she sees other children doing? What do you do when your kids are influenced (by what you see as negative behavior) by other kids? What is the best way to respond?

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SAHM is the internet savvy way of saying “Stay-at- Home-Mom.” Stay-at-home Moms choose for many reasons to stay home with their children. For some, the costs of childcare outweigh the income made if the mom worked outside the home. Other moms are miserable working their 9-5 job and are looking for a change of pace. Other moms choose to forego the workforce so they can spend that time with their children. No matter the reason, there are millions of women who are SAHM.

Ask any SAHM and you’ll receive a laundry list of job titles she holds. Childcare worker, teacher, taxi driver, facilities manager, short-order cook, laundry attendant, janitor, counselor, CEO, entertainer, personal stylist, administrative assistant, accounting clerk, nurse, plumber, automotive mechanic, and cake decorator are only a few of her job titles.

While there is no monetary compensation or typical work benefits like 401k’s or sick leave, there are a lot of satisfying rewards in being a SAHM. The obvious include being there with your children for every milestone, boo-boo, and story time. The not so obvious (and somewhat selfish) benefits include, having breaks for yourself when the kids are napping, all day pajama days, and a more flexible schedule (unless Connor is your child, requiring you to be home for his 9:00am and 1:00pm naps because he is too cool to sleep in the car. LOL!)

The hardest part of being a SAHM for me is that I have three bosses (my husband, Darah, and Connor) who do not always synchronize their job assignments for their lowly slave me. Even with the most supportive of husbands, sometimes he will expect things of me that are just not possible depending on the mood of the day. Some days are very laid back and I’m able to shorten my to-do list. Other days are so chatoic and I’m unable to accomplish anything! These days may include a sick child, a child who won’t nap but desperately needs one, or a child who takes off his poopy diaper and smears it all over his crib. The “more flexible” schedule comes at the cost of having to be on call of untimely events.

I found this article which outlines four things every SAHM needs to know. These four things include:

1. Be proud of what you do.
2. Keep in touch with friends.
3. Stay organized.
4. Get in touch with your creative side.

What are your days like? Do you find your job as a SAHM harder or easier than when you worked?

Connor’s room has these huge sliding closet doors. They take up nearly a whole wall in his room. When I decided to paint his room, I didn’t know what to do about the doors. Did I paint them the same blue that the walls were painted? Did I paint them in a complimentary color to make them more fun? I just wasn’t happy with any of my ideas. I posted my dilemma on a forum and got the great idea of using chalkboard paint

I headed out to Lowe’s and bought a quart of chalkboard paint for $12.00 and went to work. The paint was very oily. I used a brush instead of a roller and painted three coats letting them dry in between. Erasing them requires a wet washcloth, which isn’t too big of a deal. Everyone loves Connor’s chalkboard closet doors. I do have parents ask if this has encouraged my kids to write on walls, and it hasn’t. Both of them know to only write on the closet doors. Writing on regular walls with chalk wouldn’t be as rewarding, anyway! Besides, I’d much rather clean chalk off of my walls than marker or crayon.

What fun decorating ideas do you have for kids rooms?