Homeschooling Brilliance: Teaching the Alphabet

Sometimes I have moments of sheer genius.
Actually, I should probably give credit to a friend from church, who forwarded me an email about how to encourage a reluctant learner.  The email was meant for me in dealing with Nathan, but one idea, playing games, actually got applied to Jacob.
Nathan and Jacob have different learning styles.  Nathan is pretty factual, but Jacob enjoys the creative side.  Nathan seemed to pick up on the alphabet pretty easy, whereas Jacob was getting confused with all the different letters I was presenting him.  (We're on week 6 of school, and the letter "K" if that gives you an idea of how quickly this curriculum introduces them.)  Then again, I had a lot more time to focus on making sure Nathan got to go over it several times and several ways each day.
Our curriculum, Answers for Preschoolers, comes with flashcards templates.  I already had them made from going through it with Nathan.  When we had about 5 letters, I played a type of memory game, where I turned them all face down and asked Jacob to find random letters.  He loved it.  Then I realized I could copy off the back of the templates and play memory for real.  This was okay to do when you had 5 letters.  However, full-size flashcards when you have 10 pairs takes up a bit of table space.  So we kind of quit playing that game, and started playing Go Fish with the flashcards.

This is supposed to be the front and back of a single flashcard, but I copied them separately onto the card stock, so we have "pairs" for each letter.

 Then I got the genius idea to make memory cards.  Actually, it was quite simple - even for me! - to set it up on Excel.  I expanded the cell height and width, formatted it to print the grid lines, and then typed out a capital and lowercase letter of each.  Print it out on card stock, cut them out on the lines, and - voila!

There is a slight problem, as d, b, p, and q all look very similar if you don't know which side is up or down. I had to put lines under the letters to distinguish.  Also a problem I didn't think about was that in this font, some letters (like a and g) aren't manuscript style, and he gets confused. 

Jacob loves playing games, and he went from obvious guessing on the flashcards, to confidently calling out the names of letters as he turns them over or draws them.  (I make him tell me the letters in his hand during Go Fish. If Nathan plays with us, I make him tell me the sounds the letters make.)  Using the games is great motivator to get him to the table, or to get him to finish his workbook quickly.  And I enjoy him being excited about doing school and learning!

Blast From the Past

Aren't they cute?  

(I forgot to check the date on the back.... I'm guessing around 1990?)

I've always thought Jacob looks like me.  Or more accurately, like my Dad.  But then I ran across this picture.  Paul's smile looks exactly like Jacob's!

Blast From the Past

Tuffy.

What a dog.

Blast From the Past

Paul's Grandpa Rhodes, around 1943.

I never really thought Paul looked like his Grandpa, until I saw this picture as I was..... well, let's just say I'm nesting.

First off - the hair.  Not that Paul has ever worn his like this, but - that's a lot of hair.  And now I know where Paul got his from.  But also his forehead and his eyes look like Paul's, and maybe his chin (it's been a while since I've seen Paul's chin without the goatee).

Anyhow.  Very proud of both of his Grandpas' service to our country in World War II.  (All four of our grandfathers were in the army, even though mine served after the war.)

This may be the only facial-hair-free picture I have of my husband.  

(That's Nathan, Thanksgiving 2007.)

5 Weeks Left!

So.  It's next month.  Today, I passed the 35 week mark.  I can't believe the new baby is going to be here so soon!
I definitely am feeling close.  I'm having pre-contractions.  The baby is loving my ribs and any other bones it can press into or kick.  I think we have another opinionated baby.... This one loves shoving all the way over to my left side and hanging there until I press it over or lay on my right side until it slides down.
I have probably reached the point where I should be shaving every time I'm in the shower.  Or at the very least, weekly.  Yeah... I'm pretty sure it's been a month.  The fact that I wear the compression stockings, which are so heavy you can't even see the hair through them, and so tight that it doesn't poke out, are the main reason.  Then there's complete lack of motivation.  Really, what is the point at this point?  Other than pride, and let's face it, I pretty much have none left, after spending all summer in shorts and stockings.
I am so ready to meet this baby!  Not necessarily ready to get the pregnancy over with, as I'm not THAT uncomfortable - I'd rather give them a few more weeks to "bake" and have the healthiest baby possible.  I can take a few more weeks.  I just want to know if we have another brother or another sister!
Five weeks still kind of sounds like I have some time.  But I should maybe at least locate the tiny outfits for the hospital and get them washed.  And maybe start thinking about what I'll need to welcome a new baby home....
Oh well.  I've still got 5 weeks, right?  Ha.  This will be the baby that comes early.  Nathan was overdue.  Jacob came the night before his due date, and Zadie came the morning of.  So this one will be two weeks early.  All three of the others were fast labors - 5 hours, 3 hours, 2 hours.  This one will be 40.
Because that's how it works, right?

I'm a Good Mom.... I'm a Good Mom.....

If you could only have heard the cacophony of sobbing coming from upstairs, you would think someone had died.
In reality, what happened was fighting and arguing and complaining over an XBox Kinect game.
We haven't played any games on the Kinect all summer.  It's November, and with the time change, it's dark by 6.  No more playing outside after supper.  So I thought I'd break out the Fruit Ninja and let the boys have an evening of fun, since Paul is working nights.
Yeah, well.  That worked for about 10 minutes.  Then they started fighting over who got the red side.  Then they started arguing about playing this game or putting in the other game (Kinect Sports - which I'd already said we wouldn't be playing tonight).  Nathan had an epic meltdown when I said no, so I made him stand outside.  Meanwhile, I tried to get Jacob back in to Fruit Ninja, but for some reason the sensor wouldn't read me.  As I tried to figure it out, he flipped out on me.  So I decided we'd had enough XBox, and turned it off.
Cue the chorus.
Nathan had come back in and was still hollering, Jacob was sobbing and whining, and Zadie joined in just because she could, I think.
In the midst of this, the dog had followed Nathan inside and was scavenging for food, so I kicked him outside and fed him.  He snapped at one of our orphan kittens that was too curious about his food, and killed it.
I didn't even bother telling the kids about the kitten.  They started fighting about something else, while still sobbing, so I sent them to brush their teeth.  They figured out I was sending them to bed.  At 6:30.
Oh. My.  Gosh.
I would have laughed if it was someone else's kids.  It was so dramatic you would think it was fake.  When I finally got them upstairs, I get this from Nathan, "I don't like this place.  I'm going to live with another Mom."  I said, "Good luck with that."  (So mature.)
I prayed with them, gave them both kisses, and came downstairs.  They were asleep within 20 minutes.
I know that I did the right thing, and I maintained a cool head the whole time, not spanking them all the way up the stairs like I could, and maybe should, have.  But still.  It would have been so much easier to put the other game in, or pacify them with a movie.  Instead, I sent them to bed upset, and let them think I'm the meanest person ever.
I'm a good Mom, right?

Ephesians 3:20 and a Chiefs Game

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.  (Ephesians 3:20)

This verse has been running through my head.  The blessings we have received this year are so much beyond what I could have imagined.  We ask God for the big things, but it's the little things that have surprised me.  Things that we don't even think to ask about.

Specifically, over the last month.  Three things we got to enjoy - for free.  I feel they are blessings straight from God.

Paul really wanted to go see a concert before the baby gets here.  He looked up some different artists, but they were all out of town and out of our price range.  Then my brother texted me about a Matt Redman concert.  Completely free, and only a half hour away.  Paul and I were able to meet after he got off work and enjoy a night of praise.

We also had talked about trying to get away for a vacation.  Previously, almost every vacation has been to see his grandfather in Colorado.  It made for very affordable vacations - free place to stay, take our own food, and it's central to places to explore.  All summer we kept saying, maybe next month, but it just kept not happening.  We also wanted to try to get away for some time alone.  That hasn't happened since before Zadie was born.

Then Paul's parents invited us to go with them to Branson.  They reserved a condo and paid for tickets for us to go to Silver Dollar City.  We were able to spend 3 days there, enjoying lots of family time.  The boys had a blast and are still talking about it.  Paul and I got to spend a morning together, and he let me go in all those shops that I love, but are not good to try to take kids in to - the furniture shop, the candle shop, the Christmas shop..... I really enjoyed it.  I came back from the weekend tired but completely refreshed.

As we were driving to Branson, Paul's supervisor texted him and asked if he wanted two tickets and a parking pass to a Kansas City Chiefs game.  Umm...... YES!  I have wanted to get tickets for Paul to go see the Chiefs ever since we've been married, but just couldn't get over the price of tickets.  And these seats were AWESOME.

Row 23 on the 30 yard line!

I decided that being 7 months pregnant, I wouldn't be the best companion.  So Paul took his dad, and it sounds like they had a great time.

These things are physical blessings that I feel like are straight from God - and they're only things from the last month!  But I can't describe how spiritually blessed we feel.  I am just so happy and peaceful, and looking forward to what God has in store for our lives next!