The past two weeks have been filled with Zoey's firsts; she has just taken off. She has been showering me with her firsts: first teething cookie, first sweet potatoes, first time saying Mommy, first army crawl, first time (just this morning) saying her sister's name...well kind of, she said "Mia"! This week she also has been saying, "Yeah"! So cute, gives me butterflies in my stomach! I love seeing my girls change and grow, makes a mom gitty with excitement. These are the times when a mom is rewarded and a stay-at-home mom is reminded why she is lucky to be present every second of every day! As children grow, seeing their new accomplishments become harder to spot and farther apart.
With Malia, everything was so new; when she did anything they weren't just her firsts but they were my firsts too as a mom. Watching my first born talk, crawl and sit up were all my first time experiences as her mom. I think I cried with every first, I know I cried every time we changed clothes sizes--Chris would just laugh at me. I didn't want my baby to grow up so fast. I was soaking every experience with her up and I didn't want to miss one second. I wasn't sure when I would be going back to work, so I tried hard to be present for every little thing. I laugh now, first time parent-rookie move! I am still as interested in all that Zoey does but not feeling as crazed about catching it all. I am more interested in enjoying it as it happens and staying present in the miracle of her changing everyday.
I got a little lost in doing things right with Malia that I couldn't always see that I was missing some of the little precious mommy moments. I was so set that she was going to crawl that I missed her army crawl. I was worried about smothering her at night when I slept, so I moved her quickly to her own room at 3 months and began sleep training. Which is good, but I was so set on sleep training that I never let her fall asleep on me for fear she would become dependent. I missed how precious it was to have your baby cuddle against you, safe in your arms that she would fall asleep in them. With Zoey, I sleep train but I am not as crazed about it, I want my baby to feel comfortable enough to sleep in my arms and be okay to fall asleep on her own...maybe its not what the professionals suggest, but it is my choice! Not all firsts need to be repeated! :)
As Malia grows, her firsts are happening at a slower rate so they are easy to miss. I am happy to be home where I can stay aware of her changes and recognize when they occur. My girls achievements big or small are equally as amazing to me but seeing them experience firsts together is a blessing. As Zoey speaks her first words I am also watching Malia's first cheerleading moments, as Zoey makes her first army crawls toward tiny toys, I am watching Malia's first moments of protecting her sister; both of which are their first steps toward being life long friends and creating a sister bond. I recognize these because they are the same ones my siblings and I shared. The foundation steps that let me know I could always trust that they would be there for me when I needed them, that they would cheer me, protect me, and love me no matter what.
So in my Mommy haze this week, I am celebrating all the firsts that have been accomplished and the foundation my family is building. I am thankful to be present of
mind, present of spirit, and present in body to experience all of life's miracles my girls are sharing with me.
Sometimes this circus can seem so spectacular with so many amazing acts going on at one time it is hard to appreciate the elephant tamers bond with the pachyderm or the jugglers adept balancing skills. So while we should enjoy the whole show under our big top remember to stop a moment and appreciate the individual acts as they are truly wanting your attention and applause!
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Mommy Mac Gyver the Modifier
When students are having a hard time completing work, understanding, or struggling with the work load, modifications are put in place to promote academic success. There are many kinds of modification strategies out there for teachers to use for various student needs. One may need to modify the classroom, the curriculum, the way the information is being delivered. There are many ways a teacher can alter subject matter for a student it just takes patience, understanding, and caring.
When I was going to school, student teaching and substitute teaching, academic modification was my area of interest. I loved working with my students and figuring out what made each of them such unique learners. I loved working out ways to reach them, how to turn on learning for them, how to help them become innate learner. This is the root of my passion, this is why I love teaching, this is why I am thankful I still get to experience this with my girls.
Instead of modifying lesson plans and classrooms I am a Mommy Mac Gyver. There are so many times I have to make something out of nothing to appease my girls. Give this mom a paper clip, tooth brush, gum wrappers and a crayon and wahoo stand back, it quickly becomes the best toy ever. I know many of us, Mom's, out there are Mac Gyvers. Just give us a screaming kid and some random items and who knows what we are capable of making to distract them. A mom can transform a boring car ride into a trip to outer space, a walk in the backyard quickly can become a safari!
Modifications are second nature to a mom; it is what our day can become in seconds. You plan a quiet day at home not doing much around the house maybe just a quick pick up, some laundry, ooh maybe prep dinner. Simple tasks, right? Just to accomplish a load of laundry means that I may just have to turn my front room into a fort, my laundry basket into a car, or bassinet into an entertainment center for the two busy bodies that seem incapable of doing anything quiet or letting mom accomplish her chores. I would have to share half the pile of clean clothes with a four-year-old that thinks if she swirls her arms around inside a shirt and says, "right corner together, left corner together, fold, fold, done" really means that she folded a shirt neatly, haha in my dreams, but someday!
Do you think Richard Dean Anderson (T.V.’s Mac Gyver), ever had to Mac Gyver a diaper out of a sweat shirt cause he ran out? How about devising a way for a four-year-old to gain independence by being able to make her own breakfast cereal in the morning...without making a mess, or come up with a way to get carrots in a child's diet without them knowing they were ever on the plate?
Well, my four-year-old has been having a hard time learning to write. I can feel Kindergarten breathing down my neck, this is the last year I have her at home. This is the last year to help her prepare for the wonderful world of learning that lays ahead of her. We have worked out of preschool books the past two years. Malia knows her numbers, letters, how to spell her name, how to jump, hop on one foot, throw a ball, run, skip, her colors, and shapes so what we do we have left? Writing, I have tried books that teach writing through tracing patterns, tracing between the lines, we have tried having her write over the top of my letters, or connect the dashes. All of which have been unsuccessful, she can trace in the lines but when it came to transferring that to letter writing, no go. I talked to many teacher friends, "Give her time," they said. I don't have much time left, I want her to be ready, Kindergarten is around the corner.
So I went to my cousin, Cassie, who is my teaching hero! She gets students to do just about anything, she creates all of her own lesson plans, she reaches students that other's don't, her student's scores are always on the rise...she is a teaching genius! I knew she could help, not only is she a teaching genius but a Mom! She gets me! Cassie told me to try a different medium--"some kids are more into textures than others", she said that many kids when learning to write have a hard time with a pencil because it is a foreign item. She suggested "Modifying" ahh, a word I understand. I could feel my college courses flooding my mind all the methods I learned, all the terms, Yes, YES! I understand! Commence Mommy Mac Gyver, Professional Modifier, my mission: to teach my four-year-old how to write using any alternative teaching method necessary!
When I was going to school, student teaching and substitute teaching, academic modification was my area of interest. I loved working with my students and figuring out what made each of them such unique learners. I loved working out ways to reach them, how to turn on learning for them, how to help them become innate learner. This is the root of my passion, this is why I love teaching, this is why I am thankful I still get to experience this with my girls.
Instead of modifying lesson plans and classrooms I am a Mommy Mac Gyver. There are so many times I have to make something out of nothing to appease my girls. Give this mom a paper clip, tooth brush, gum wrappers and a crayon and wahoo stand back, it quickly becomes the best toy ever. I know many of us, Mom's, out there are Mac Gyvers. Just give us a screaming kid and some random items and who knows what we are capable of making to distract them. A mom can transform a boring car ride into a trip to outer space, a walk in the backyard quickly can become a safari!
Modifications are second nature to a mom; it is what our day can become in seconds. You plan a quiet day at home not doing much around the house maybe just a quick pick up, some laundry, ooh maybe prep dinner. Simple tasks, right? Just to accomplish a load of laundry means that I may just have to turn my front room into a fort, my laundry basket into a car, or bassinet into an entertainment center for the two busy bodies that seem incapable of doing anything quiet or letting mom accomplish her chores. I would have to share half the pile of clean clothes with a four-year-old that thinks if she swirls her arms around inside a shirt and says, "right corner together, left corner together, fold, fold, done" really means that she folded a shirt neatly, haha in my dreams, but someday!
Do you think Richard Dean Anderson (T.V.’s Mac Gyver), ever had to Mac Gyver a diaper out of a sweat shirt cause he ran out? How about devising a way for a four-year-old to gain independence by being able to make her own breakfast cereal in the morning...without making a mess, or come up with a way to get carrots in a child's diet without them knowing they were ever on the plate?
Well, my four-year-old has been having a hard time learning to write. I can feel Kindergarten breathing down my neck, this is the last year I have her at home. This is the last year to help her prepare for the wonderful world of learning that lays ahead of her. We have worked out of preschool books the past two years. Malia knows her numbers, letters, how to spell her name, how to jump, hop on one foot, throw a ball, run, skip, her colors, and shapes so what we do we have left? Writing, I have tried books that teach writing through tracing patterns, tracing between the lines, we have tried having her write over the top of my letters, or connect the dashes. All of which have been unsuccessful, she can trace in the lines but when it came to transferring that to letter writing, no go. I talked to many teacher friends, "Give her time," they said. I don't have much time left, I want her to be ready, Kindergarten is around the corner.
So I went to my cousin, Cassie, who is my teaching hero! She gets students to do just about anything, she creates all of her own lesson plans, she reaches students that other's don't, her student's scores are always on the rise...she is a teaching genius! I knew she could help, not only is she a teaching genius but a Mom! She gets me! Cassie told me to try a different medium--"some kids are more into textures than others", she said that many kids when learning to write have a hard time with a pencil because it is a foreign item. She suggested "Modifying" ahh, a word I understand. I could feel my college courses flooding my mind all the methods I learned, all the terms, Yes, YES! I understand! Commence Mommy Mac Gyver, Professional Modifier, my mission: to teach my four-year-old how to write using any alternative teaching method necessary!
Mom on a budget of $0 equals a Mommy Mac Gyver, repurposing common items from around house to create modified learning supplies!
Pie pan+ leftover moon sand=fun way of sand writing, without finding a beach.
Ziplock+ several drops of random paint colors=clean/reusable finger painting when illuminated by a window (extension for lesson-put two primary colors in bag to teach about secondary colors).
Play-dough= easy fun way to trace letters in or to sculpt letters out of (science project/extension make your own play-dough recipe)
We have been spending an hour a day learning through playing. Then for the fun of it, the rest of the day, I let her use her dry erase letter practicing board to play (uhmm..that’s code for practice). I told her, I know you know your letters and if you feel like trying you can try to trace over these letters and see what you can do. I walked out of the room. When I came back three little letters had been traced over! A shaky hand, not perfect by any standard but BEAUTIFULLY attempted and executed! Amazing!
What my daughter reminded me was every learner is unique, what works for one doesn't work for all. She taught me to have faith and to calm down. When I let go and gave her space and made learning fun she rose to the occasion! My little girl is learning to write! The stress of Kindergarten has diminished. I know my girl is going to do amazing! Lesson learned: MOMMY needed to Modify my behavior. I needed to have confidence in my daughter, step back and when I did she felt confident enough to try!
What my daughter reminded me was every learner is unique, what works for one doesn't work for all. She taught me to have faith and to calm down. When I let go and gave her space and made learning fun she rose to the occasion! My little girl is learning to write! The stress of Kindergarten has diminished. I know my girl is going to do amazing! Lesson learned: MOMMY needed to Modify my behavior. I needed to have confidence in my daughter, step back and when I did she felt confident enough to try!
Monday, August 6, 2012
The Chauffeur
My mother-n-law had a layover near our home today. She called yesterday to see if we wanted to pick her up and have lunch while she was in town, for several hours. We were delighted to get to see her for a quick visit. It would be an hour drive to where she was...so today, I became the chauffeur. It is one of my many hats that I wear.
When I was 16 and just got my learners permit, the road seemed scary, and yet freeing. At 17, I got my actual license but I had a six months no passenger limit; the road was daring and challenging to me. When I was in college, I would drive to release from life and head out on the open road. It didn't matter where I was going as long as I was in the car with the radio blasting. My boyfriend at the time--who later became my husband--went to a school six hours away from me so, we switched off seeing each other every other weekend. I would hit the road for my weekend trip and be filled with so much anticipation and excitement. My CD choices were laid out on the passenger seat: Fleetwood Mac, Bob Marley, Jack Johnson, Rascal Flats for the beginning; Aerosmith, Bob Seger, a little Ludicrous, JayZ, 50cent to help get through the middle/end and wake me up. These were my favorite driving years, the road was always taking me some where new, fun, and well, just some where else.
As I got older, after graduating from college, driving became part of the daily grind: to and from work, sitting in traffic, trips to the grocery store for the forgotten dinner items. Driving began to become a task and not a release. Now, as a Mom, it has become the dreaded obstacle for the day. The road is the hot, black surface that keeps me from a smooth sailing day. It seems just the thought of getting in the car and my kids sense their freedom being taken from them. Seat-belts and carseats are like handcuffs and jail cells! It’s like a scene from cops sometimes trying to get them in the car, ‘Assume the position, you have the right to remain SILENT, the right to a MOM and blah blah blah’ because...yes, the screaming has begun. We could be having a great morning laughing and playing but then oops...Mom needs to run to the store, or a doctor appointment, or even a play-date (something fun), at someone else's
When I was 16 and just got my learners permit, the road seemed scary, and yet freeing. At 17, I got my actual license but I had a six months no passenger limit; the road was daring and challenging to me. When I was in college, I would drive to release from life and head out on the open road. It didn't matter where I was going as long as I was in the car with the radio blasting. My boyfriend at the time--who later became my husband--went to a school six hours away from me so, we switched off seeing each other every other weekend. I would hit the road for my weekend trip and be filled with so much anticipation and excitement. My CD choices were laid out on the passenger seat: Fleetwood Mac, Bob Marley, Jack Johnson, Rascal Flats for the beginning; Aerosmith, Bob Seger, a little Ludicrous, JayZ, 50cent to help get through the middle/end and wake me up. These were my favorite driving years, the road was always taking me some where new, fun, and well, just some where else.
As I got older, after graduating from college, driving became part of the daily grind: to and from work, sitting in traffic, trips to the grocery store for the forgotten dinner items. Driving began to become a task and not a release. Now, as a Mom, it has become the dreaded obstacle for the day. The road is the hot, black surface that keeps me from a smooth sailing day. It seems just the thought of getting in the car and my kids sense their freedom being taken from them. Seat-belts and carseats are like handcuffs and jail cells! It’s like a scene from cops sometimes trying to get them in the car, ‘Assume the position, you have the right to remain SILENT, the right to a MOM and blah blah blah’ because...yes, the screaming has begun. We could be having a great morning laughing and playing but then oops...Mom needs to run to the store, or a doctor appointment, or even a play-date (something fun), at someone else's
house and our good day suddenly becomes a whine and scream fest.
Thankfully, recovery time is quick as freedom is the cure.
So, imagine my delight when my mother-in-law calls and asks us to come pick her up near the airport and hang out... yeah, you are starting to picture my look...it was a 53 minute drive to the hotel where she was. To my surprise, the girls hung in there until the last 15 minutes when Malia started in with, "Are we there yet?" And Zoey was getting fussy and wanted to nap. We arrived at 10 am, my mother-in-law says, "My flight is at 3, would you mind dropping me off at the airport at 1pm?" Mmm hmm...there is that look again, right? Yes! Sure we can take you to the airport. Really I don't mind!” I love my mother-in-law and love my kids getting to spend time with her, however, cars just aren't the best place to do that! The day wasn't bad! We went to Target and that helped smooth things over and fill a gap...till it was time to get back in the car and drive.
My, my, has times changed! My 16/17 year old self would have screamed at an opportunity to drive someone around and hang out for three hours. I probably would have had some great mix tape to go along with the day! (lol...tape, did ya catch that?) All the way up through my 20's I really wouldn't have minded. Taking someone around just meant that I got to enjoy the 'Carpool' lane!! YES!! Carpool lane, when your young, means speed on...right?
I always imagined it would be so nice being a Mom and getting that straight shot to the 'Carpool' lane! Like rounding the Monopoly board and collecting $200's when you passed go! Uhh, not as I thought. It is nice on a busy day and you see the traffic signs flash I-5 40 mins to wherever...Carpool lane 20 minutes! That's nice, but then you drive it and its a crap shoot; sometimes your being pushed from behind or stuck behind a creeper that doesn't acknowledge the 5 or more behind him rule! A rule I try my hardest to respect!
So, imagine my delight when my mother-in-law calls and asks us to come pick her up near the airport and hang out... yeah, you are starting to picture my look...it was a 53 minute drive to the hotel where she was. To my surprise, the girls hung in there until the last 15 minutes when Malia started in with, "Are we there yet?" And Zoey was getting fussy and wanted to nap. We arrived at 10 am, my mother-in-law says, "My flight is at 3, would you mind dropping me off at the airport at 1pm?" Mmm hmm...there is that look again, right? Yes! Sure we can take you to the airport. Really I don't mind!” I love my mother-in-law and love my kids getting to spend time with her, however, cars just aren't the best place to do that! The day wasn't bad! We went to Target and that helped smooth things over and fill a gap...till it was time to get back in the car and drive.
My, my, has times changed! My 16/17 year old self would have screamed at an opportunity to drive someone around and hang out for three hours. I probably would have had some great mix tape to go along with the day! (lol...tape, did ya catch that?) All the way up through my 20's I really wouldn't have minded. Taking someone around just meant that I got to enjoy the 'Carpool' lane!! YES!! Carpool lane, when your young, means speed on...right?
I always imagined it would be so nice being a Mom and getting that straight shot to the 'Carpool' lane! Like rounding the Monopoly board and collecting $200's when you passed go! Uhh, not as I thought. It is nice on a busy day and you see the traffic signs flash I-5 40 mins to wherever...Carpool lane 20 minutes! That's nice, but then you drive it and its a crap shoot; sometimes your being pushed from behind or stuck behind a creeper that doesn't acknowledge the 5 or more behind him rule! A rule I try my hardest to respect!
So here is my question for the day, Carpool lane: is it for those traveling
with 2 or more passengers or (as my husband seems to think) a pass lane
for those traveling with 2 or more and wish to fly past the traffic?
It still amazes me how many hats I wear and how my thoughts about life and driving have changed over the years! Scares me to think about my progression...hmm, am I going to be the 70 year old woman that is too frightened to get behind the wheel and "Free Falling" will be my theme song or will I be the 70 year old woman that has reverted to feeling the need for speed and adventure, while blasting "Life is a Highway"?
Time will tell!
It still amazes me how many hats I wear and how my thoughts about life and driving have changed over the years! Scares me to think about my progression...hmm, am I going to be the 70 year old woman that is too frightened to get behind the wheel and "Free Falling" will be my theme song or will I be the 70 year old woman that has reverted to feeling the need for speed and adventure, while blasting "Life is a Highway"?
Time will tell!
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