Making the Most of Today

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

For the First Time

Justin and I took all three of the girls ice skating last night. It was our first time, with the excepting of Justin having gone skating before. V and I didn't get into skates. I have attempted rollerblading once, years ago, too long ago to even remember when and it wasn't a success so I wasn't willing to try ice skating while holding my toddler. I was quite content standing on the cold sidelines watching my family skate in endless circles (lol)...

Vada, if you don't already know is almost three years old(!) and she acts just like a three year old younger sibling would.., determined to do everything her older siblings are doing! She. Wanted. On. That. Ice! So, she did get to go a few rounds with her "PaPa" and she absolutely loved it!

Jasmine compared ice skating to rollerblading and only tasted the ice a couple of times.

Kiliegh clung to the side walls for most of the night but did venture out on her own a few times.

By the end of the night both girls were attempting to do circles and Jasmine was even attempting to race Justin so I think that its safe to say that they felt pretty comfortable out there, especially for their first time!

Seeing Red: A Schoolroom Update

Justin has been keeping very busy with work lately, which has been leaving little time for the schoolroom but he is still making progress! He recently began to paint the faces of the cabinets!

There is still a long ways to go but we've (and I use the word "we've" very loosely) come a long way already! Oh, I can not wait until this is all finished! All of the learning and activity stuff sits in our bedroom and I often find myself sitting on our bed, starring at all of the stuff and daydreaming about organizing, cleaning and of the things that Vada and I will one day be doing. It will be one amazing journey.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Coloring Without Boundries

I recently read a book by Rahima Baldwin Dancy called You Are Your Child's First Teacher, she wrote a section on using coloring block crayons verses typical stick crayons. This is where my interest in block crayons arose. Dancy also mentioned in this same section that all children have artist abilities, those abilities just need to be continuously nurtured. By doing simple things such as trading our children's coloring markers for water colors and offering blank sheets of drawing paper instead of pre-lined coloring pages (where our children are requested to "keep within the lines") then their artistic ability is more likely to remain alive and accessible to them throughout their whole lives. This all made sense to me and I have begun to make small changes in my thinking and in the ways that I not only present crafts to Vada but to my older girls as well.

Coloring with block crayons rather than using stick crayons enables a person/child to cover an entire page with color with very little effort making coloring easier and more fluid-like especially for smaller children.

Stockmar Wax block crayons are made of a sweet smelling beeswax rather than paraffin and can be purchased at many stores but can easily be found through amazon.

For Christmas Vada also received these fun Alex brand Finger Crayons. While the colors are not as vivid as the beeswax block crayons are, they still serve a purpose beyond just coloring!

Finger crayons are great for finger isolation, which is something that we are really working on with Vada.
On a daily basis I have Vada in her thumb splints, well... almost and depending on what I am doing with her I may take them off (but that's besides the point). Long story short, the splints are suppose to help her hold her thumbs correctly so that she has a "correct" pincer grasp. These crayons don't help the placement of her thumb necessarily but they do help Vada hold her pointer in an outward position while at they same time having her thumb also in an outward position, kind of like a pincer grasp. Either way, the finger crayons, helps Vada use her hand muscles differently than she is used to, which is good for her...