Reagan Finished Preschool

I cannot believe one year of preschool is already behind us!  Where did the time go?  It was a really great year from Reagan and I'm happy Ryan and I chose to send him to school this year.  He seemed to enjoy going each Tuesday and Thursday and it was always fun to have him come home and (kind of) tell me about the day.  I think he learned a lot and was able to make connections from things he learned at school to his everyday life.  I also really liked his teacher, Ms Kari.  She did a great job with the kids this year.  Although it took Reagan awhile to participate, by the end of the year, he thoroughly enjoyed music class with Miss Kitty!

We ended Reagan's last day of preschool the way we started it - lunch at Chick-Fil-A!  All in all, it was a great year!

12 Weeks of Summer

A few weeks ago I started thinking about this summer and what it would look like.  I had seen lists on Pinterest before about "100 free things to do this summer" and it sparked my interest.  I then counted the number of days from when Reagan gets out of school until this first day back.  It is 87 days.  So I thought I'd come up with a list of 87 things for us to do.  I couldn't quite get that many and after talking with Ryan about taking weekends "off" I came up with a new plan.

There are 12 complete weeks of summer.  Instead of finding an activity for every single day, I decided to find an activity for each weekday - so we have 60 activities instead of 87.  Phew!!  Some of the activities I've chosen are very simple or things we would do anyway (like walk around the block or read books).  But other activities are more involved, like making homemade pizza or visiting a farm.  I've got a decent mix of at home/indoor activities as well as adventurous/outdoor activities.

I wrote all of our activities on wooden craft sticks and I'll place them in a mason jar.  Each morning, one kid will take a craft stick out and that will be the activity for the day.  I'm really looking forward to doing this with the kids because I feel they will get excited about picking the activity and it will also provide some structure during a very un-structured time of year!  At the end of the summer, I'll post a picture of all the craft sticks together for a complete list of the things we did.

The Kids - April 2015

I'm really slacking these days, but here are my notes from last month:

Reagan:

• Learned how to buckle himself
• Observing everything!  He likes to observe numbers, especially the number 4
• Can do some very basic math (2+2)
• One of his dogs is now called Max; Max eats everyday and takes quiet time and prays with us at night
• A more nurturing side is coming now in how he cares for Max
• Comes up with ridiculous stories of why he should get things (like watching a movie because he broke his leg)
• Loves all things Planes: Fire and Rescue (imaginary play is done this way)
• Wants to only read the "S is for Shapes" book 

Kyleigh:

• Can easily count to 12 and sometimes to 20, but gets confused in the teens
• Giving us attitude again :(
• Very motherly toward Rylan (wipes her nose, tries to carry her, calms and soothes her, etc)
• Eating cat food again
• Has to take off jacket/shoes the moment she walks into a building

Rylan:

• Loves to take shoes and socks off in the car
• Kinda saying mama
• Has a will and is using it!  Does NOT like when I redirect her away from the street or when we turn around to walk back to the house
• Wants to be on the ground walking; only wants to be held on her terms
• Teething again (1 more came through)
• Understands coat, socks and shoes and will point to them or walk to where they are before we leave the house
• Sometimes understands who Reagan and Kyleigh are
• When she wants something, she'll lift her arms up and wiggle her wrists (mostly when she wants me to pick her up)
• More interested in books
• Likes to put things on her head