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Kamis, 17 Agustus 2017
End of School Year Teacher Gift a Free Printable!
This week marked the end of preschool for Kate.
I may or may not have been totally crying as I picked her up from her last day & we said Goodbye & Thank you to her teachers.
What an incredible 2 years she has had.
Kate has 8 teachers in her class, so I knew I wanted to give them a gift that was meaningful & useful, but didn't cost a lot of money.
And, I knew I wanted it to be handmade-ish rather than totally store bought.
Here is what I decided to do:
What an incredible 2 years she has had.
Kate has 8 teachers in her class, so I knew I wanted to give them a gift that was meaningful & useful, but didn't cost a lot of money.
And, I knew I wanted it to be handmade-ish rather than totally store bought.
Here is what I decided to do:
I got 8 mini terra cotta pots at Home Depot for $1.27 eachI got 2 six packs of zinnias for $2.89 each
{I already had the spray paint}
I spray painted the pots & bases with 2 coats of spray paint.
I made printable that said "Thank you for helping Kate bloom"I printed it on cardstock.
Then I used a 2.5 inch scalloped punch to punch them out and I glued them with a hot glue gun to craft sticks that I already had on hand.
Once the pots were dry (the next day) I planted a zinnia in each one & stuck in the printable.
Didn't they turn out so cute?
Way more fun than just boring terra cotta.I figure her teachers can use the pot at home or they can keep in in their classroom!
Kate had 4 main teachers & the other 4 were in their room once a week for Bible, PE, Music & Science.
For her 4 main teachers I also gave them a gift card to a local Nursery so they can buy some more flowers for their yards.
It has been so neat to see Kate's transformation over the past 2 years...socially, academically & creatively.
Kate's school has them draw a picture of themselves the first month of school & the last month of school. It is fun to see how Kate's art & writing has improved in 9 months.
This was a fun gift to make & I love how inexpensive it was!It was meaningful....Kate really has bloomed this year.
Also, Kate LOVES helping me plant flowers & water our flowers, so this gift is perfect!
Because I love you all so much, I made some printables for you to use also!
Kate's said "Thank you for helping Kate bloom"
The ones for you guys say "Thank you for helping me bloom"
So, you can use them for any kid!
I made them with 3 different background colors:
Pink:
Purple:
Aqua:
{Click to download. Right click & then Save.}Print on cardstock, punch out the labels with a 2.5 inch scalloped punch, glue them to a craft stick and add it to a flower pot! Easy & Cute.
So, if you need an easy End of the Year Teacher Gift idea or Teacher Appreciation Gift, you are all set!
Happy {Almost} Summer!
Linking up here.
Rabu, 05 Juli 2017
Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Ahhh, Christmas. I think that this holiday is actually becoming MORE fun as I age, probably because the kids are starting to really 'get' it and we are creating memories with them now. The anticipation of Christmas is pretty much my favorite. Getting out the decorations, hanging the lights, making shopping lists, snuggling up by a fire, smelling a freshly cut Christmas tree, baking cookies, busy weekends with friends and family. It's all just the best and Christmas Day is wonderful too, of course, but the whole month of December is just magical.
We have always used an artificial tree in the past but this year we wanted to finally get a real one, since both Nate and I grew up with the real deal. On Black Friday we took the kids to a local gardening store and found a beautiful Frasier Fir.
Kids love the fish pond inside and I'm partial to the awesome decorations.
Aw, my little car's first time carrying a tree!
And then the decorating began that day and through the weekend. Truman was amazing this year and actually helpful with hanging ornaments and helping us sort through the decor. Cecelia not so much yet, but she was just happy to be a part of the chaos. I think the Little People nativity scene that my mom got for the kids last year is the ultimate favorite so far. Both kids cannot stop playing with it and baby Jesus regularly rides around in dump trucks and trains throughout our house. So he's a keeper, obviously;)
I didn't mean to have a 'theme' with the decor this year. Mostly I wanted to use all of the stuff we bought last year, when we really had to stock up to fill our house for the first Christmas with more space. And yet, I got a little carried away tying red bows around everything. You'll see---it's a sickness. I'm refraining from tying a few more around lamps and chairs and anything that screams for a red bow.
So yeah, decorating the house and tree with two kids was not awful. Just slightly stressful and only two ornaments were lost in the process.
A few of the 'important' yearly ornaments.
Pre-kids yearly ornaments.
That night after decorating;)
My old trusty wreath that has made it through many a winters (outside sometimes!) and moves.
Ah, yes. Thanks for the great 'tree decorating picture', Cecelia!
I think the results were worth the effort. Kind of in love with how cozy it all feels this year. You should see it with a fire at night. Magical.
All of that red makes me happy. And glitter, too.
We bought two real wreaths this year, and put them inside to add to the amazing scent of Christmas. All it took was a red bow and a few silver blubs and Ta-Da! Also in love with silver bulbs this year, apparently.
And the above tree is the kids' tree--super little and ornaments are able to be thrown and rearranged as needed. Truman loves turning on the lights to 'his' tree daily.
Did I mention that I love having a mantel for the holidays?
Our little mail table has a few decorations, too.
See what I mean about the red bows?
I just love it.
One of the only new crafts I did this year was make Truman another Christmas countdown paper chain. So far so good with it helping him be patient for the big day. He gets really excited to tear off a link each morning and regularly tells me that 'it's a long time before Christmas.'
In the dining room, you can see where we will hang all of our Christmas cards over the buffet. A favorite part of the holiday season, for sure!
Some of my favorite ornaments, including the bottom two which are the ones the kids picked out for this year. So glad that both Nate's parents and my own got us each yearly ornaments throughout our childhood. And that they gave them all to us once we were married! Love having a packed tree full of sentimental ornaments.
And outside of the house, Nate and I quickly decorated during a nap. This year I went with more red ribbon and less garland. Go figure;) Really like decorating our columns each year and the giant wreath on the second story is also a new fave. Probably because of the bow and the bulbs.
The poor little trees in our big planters have already had a rough go-round this year. A big storm blew them both over and smashed a few bulbs. I got a little more creative with their placement using bricks and JAMMING them into the soil (that was basically frozen). And my red ribbon has already seen better days in those trees, so I just hope it lasts through this month.
The only pictures I have at night are by iPhone. Nate is still really into his spotlight directed at the big wreath. I like how Truman's canvas is peeking out of the front door!
Might as well throw this in here, too: our Christmas cards this year turned out super cute. I used Pear Tree Greetings and ended up getting two different cards. One is a super fancy tri-fold (never had anything this nice before!) and one is a more simple flat card. I sent the tri-fold to our closest friends and family, or those that I thought might actually care about a fancy card. Really happy with how they turned out and everyone should be getting theirs in the mail later this week. Such an undertaking but I still really enjoy sending cards. And getting them, too;)
Whew, is that enough of a Christmas explosion thrown at you this year? I guess our halls are decked.
Jumat, 30 Juni 2017
Quote of the day
I used to dedicate posts to my husband's hilarious quotes. I don't do that much anymore. Let's change that:
Truman: "My butt hurts."
Me: (as I look over to see him with his undies and pants at his ankles, walking towards us in the kitchen) "Buddy, we have to wear pants, even if our butts hurt. We can't be half naked." (attempting to pull up his pants because there is nothing out of the ordinary on his cute little booty.)
Truman: "Why I can't wear pants?" (meaning, why do I have to wear pants?)
Me: "Because we all wear pants. You are a big boy and big people wear pants. Daddy doesn't walk around without pants, does he? No. Because nobody would want to see that."
Nate: "Plus we'd have eight kids by now if I did that."
Um. No. Gross. And hilariously random. But mostly gross. Thanks for the chuckle, my dear!
(picture from 2009. Haven't snagged a 'Nate only' picture since then. Whoops.)
Rabu, 21 Juni 2017
The Pain and Pride of the Parenthood Mirror
Parenthood is funny sometimes, and sometimes it is decidedly less funny. In fact sometimes it is downright disconcerting. Sometimes there are these moments when we look at our kids and instead of these darling individual personalities we normally see, instead, we see....a mirror.
Anyone who has children knows exactly what I am talking about. From the time a baby is born the family immediately starts commenting, "Oh he looks just like his daddy," or "She has her mom's smile." As they grow older and start exhibiting more personality the comments begin, "Oh she is stubborn just like her dad," or "He likes art just like his mom." We see familial resemblances and it helps connect us to our family.
Then there comes the moment when a child does something that is exactly like his or her parent and the horrible realization dawns, "Oh wow not just the good stuff gets handed down!" And sometimes it is a behavior or a personality trait that you feel almost guilty about disciplining because you can see yourself in it and realize exactly what is going on in that little head. It is those moments, in my opinion, that are some of the most challenging moments of parenthood. It is like seeing yourself before your parents and life had a chance to forge your actions for the better, or worse. It is uncomfortable and disconcerting and makes you examine yourself and your choices, and hopefully challenges you to continue to try and be better.
For those who have worked hard to overcome or struggle through a flaw (and we all have them) it can feel as though you are starting over from scratch watching your child struggle with the same issues. It can also be an amazing thing. It can help you realize how far you have come. People who have learned to suppress a temper they have come by honestly, or overcome shyness or any other trait that holds them back, can look at their child and understand where they are coming from and how to get them through. And sometimes the difficult answer is to just sit back and watch them walk the same painful path you yourself walked because it is clear there is no shortcut or easy answer.
That is how I feel about my middle child, Raindrop. She is her mother's daughter, as my family says, in all of her high-need, stubborn, intense, over-emotional glory. She is also painfully and cripplingly shy. Now, here is something only those who have known me for an excruciatingly long time know...so am I.
Anytime I tell someone that I am shy I am usually met with disbelief and derision. Surely someone as apparently outgoing and talkative as myself couldn't possibly be shy. But, the fact of the matter is, it has taken me 12+ years of theater training and dozens upon dozens of performance and public speaking experiences just to get me to a point where I can fake it...most of the time. There are times, however, when that shyness still overtakes me. I can think of a recent time, a parent get-to-know-you function at my daughter's school. I was late and when I got to the door I saw everyone engaged and talking already and no matter what I tried to convince myself, I could not make myself walk in. So, I turned and left.
I see those moments in my Raindrop. I see the moments where she approaches a group of children, even children she knows, and she circles them. She looks for the "weak link," the one where she could single out to talk to in the most non-threatening manner. It kills me to watch this. The painful longing of wanting to belong to the group coupled with the paralytic fear of rejection. It is like watching my own childhood in a curly-haired mirror and my heart aches for her and all the pain she will probably go through figuring out how and where she fits in. I wish I could spare her this.
But, then I realize in some ways I already have. I was an adopted only-child. She is the middle child with two siblings living with her biological parents. Watching my kids I have realized, siblings shape and challenge you in ways no other relationship could. She is braver when her big sister is around and I think ultimately it will help her find her feet faster than I did. But, introducing her to theater, my medium for overcoming my own handicap, has given me unspeakable joy. She took to performing just as I did and in doing so, gave me a mirror that I could gaze into with pride and hope. I turned out okay. So will she. And it is possible, just possible that this new version, Amie 2.0 if you were, may even have more talent than I did. But, then again, that may just be the mother-colored-glasses talking.
Here is my girl performing as the Passenger Engine in a rendition of "The Little Engine that Could." Watching this without prior knowledge, you would never guess that the little girl in the yellow dress suffers from severe shyness. It was so much fun to see my little Raindrop shine!
Minggu, 23 April 2017
Incentives Rewards for Childrens Behavior Part 2 of 2
I've been asked many times for specific strategies for incentives and rewards with the children, so in Part 1 I presented to you 9 ideas which we implement in our home. In this Part 2 I would like to share with you our Points and Rewards System to be implemented when we leave the children with a babysitter. *smile*
- The general idea
- The rules
- Ideas for reward containers
- My chart for keeping track
*************************
The general idea
The children earn points each time mom, or mom and dad together go out. They can then spend their points at the culmination of each babysitting time, or they may choose to accumulate points and save for larger rewards.
The rules
* Earning points:
Each time mom and dad go out, each of the youngest children earns 5 points. If I go out during the day for a dentist appointment or such and it will only be 90 minutes or so then I only give them each 3 points.
The oldest two teenagers earn the base 5 points, plus the oldest teenager earns 3 points per hour (of awake time), and the next oldest teenager earns 2 points per hour. They earn more points because they know the family's routines and so do directing of children's activities and the food prep.
Our teenagers quit earning points at the time when lights are supposed to be out at 9:00 pm, regardless of what time mom and dad return and the babysitter leaves. There can be some exceptions, however, such as babies or toddlers having difficulties after bedtime.
* Losing points:
A child loses one point for each infraction, but may lose all of their points or even into the negative for that day. We tell the babysitters not to give warnings - if they feel a warning is warranted, then the child needs to lose a point.
We did make an exception, however, for the first several times that we implemented the points rewards plan to help younger children get used to keeping on the forefront of their mind that they have points they are trying to keep by making good choices.
A teenager can lose points for being unfair or getting the children to bed too late. We haven't told the children the rules for teenagers losing points, though. And we give the teenagers the benefit of the doubt in decision making, knowing that they have extra responsibility with mom and dad gone for a little while.
In the past we've taken away one point from everyone when we've come home to a messy house due to children refusing to participate with cleaning up over the course of the time.
* Young children earning, losing, and receiving rewards:
For a 2-year-old or younger we wouldn't do points at all.
For 3 or 4-year-olds we use "visible points" because a scribble on a sheet of paper means nothing to them. A teenager gets 5 points out and puts them in a clear glass cup or mini-bowl (i.e. 5 chocolate chips, M&M's, gummy bears...you get the idea).
At the beginning of the evening the teenager shows the younger children their cup and cheerfully explains what that is for and when she will get to eat them (which is the next morning - explanation for this to follow).
Every time a little one whines, disobeys, hits, or otherwise needs to lose a point, the babysitter is to kindly and patiently take her to her point cup and explain why she is losing a point and puts the point away. Babysitters or teenagers are not allowed to eat the point though as this could cause bitterness from the young child.
The children then get to eat their points the next morning. The reason for this is because if they are allowed to eat their points at bedtime, then they know the babysitter can't take away any more and and they have been tempted to then take advantage of that situation. (How do they get so smart at such a young age?! *chuckle*)
* Spending points for rewards:
We also rarely encourage the younger aged children to save points because we know that they need their gratification closer to the time when they had to work for it. However we have been surprised at how quickly they caught on to the benefits of saving for bigger rewards.
* Videos
This is allowed on longer babysitting times, such as mom and dad's weekly date night. Reasons for this are two-fold. (1) To help the babysitter and teenagers, and (2) to help the children be more excited that we are going on a date.
We let the children watch a video of their choice from the cupboard of parent-approved videos, or from our Netflix queue of pre-selected videos. The children can work out a system of taking turns picking the video. If a child has a bad attitude about the video their sibling chose, then the bad attitude child must skip their next turn for choosing a video.
Video rules:
- All dishes and dinner clean up must be done first, along with any evening chores the children might have such as putting away the day's laundry.
- The children need to get into their pajamas first, have teeth brushed, and generally be ready to crawl into bed after the video.
- Our friends who created this points system choose to have the selected video follow a 30-minute Christian-based video first, so that it's not just a night of pure brainless entertainment. *wink* We've not chosen to implement this personally, as the typical 90 minute movie already maxes out our younger children's attention span. And, we do not own more than a couple Christian videos (we don't own hardly any DVD's at all but choose to utilize Netflix almost exclusively, or the library). But from what I've found Netflix only offers Veggie Tales for 30-minute Christian videos and only a handful of those are "instant play".
- the video must either be finished or turned off in time for lights-out time.
The children earn rewards in about 4-hour blocks of time throughout the day. This way the children are receiving the rewards of their efforts for good behavior in reasonable amounts of time. And, if someone is having a difficult time for part of the day they have a re-start point built in a couple of times.
We give 5 points for each of three block of time over the course of an entire day from 8:00 am - 12:00, 12:00-4:00, and 4:00 - 9:00 pm. So over the course of 2 days the children have the opportunity to earn up to 30 points, and the teenagers as much as 44 points in a day to be spent however they like.
Ideas for reward containers
When we began the points and rewards system I went shopping to establish our first cache! *smile* I headed out to the local Dollar Tree, and to Wal-Mart to establish our reward system items. For younger children I found abundant non-food items at the Dollar Tree, and have found the food reward items at Wal-Mart, as well as some good non-food rewards.
The teenagers choose their own rewards to have on-hand for when they've accumulated enough points. They typically choose rewards such as clothes, lattes, hair jewelry from Lilla Rose, make up, clothing accessories, or simply trade in points for cash to save up for larger items they would like.
Examples of rewards:
1 Point -
- 1 Skittle
- 1 Mike & Ike
- 1 Candy corn
- 1 M&M
- 1 Hot Tamale
- 1 rubber band hair holder
- Any really little...
5 Points: (think 5 Skittles-wroth)
- 1 Lifesaver
- 1 Starburst
- 1 Hershey's Kiss
- One packet of Hot Chocolate (marshmallows to cover the top = 3 pts. more)
- 1 Sticker sheet
- 1 three-inch glow in the dark bug
- 1 piece Sidewalk chalk
- 1 mini sticker-tape dispenser (Dollar Tree, pkg. of 3)
10 Points: (think 10 Skittles-worth)
- 1 Ring Pop
- 1 pkg. of Smarties
- 1 Reece's Peanut Butter Cup
- 1 Peppermint Patty
- 1 small chocolate bar (2-inch-size)
- 1 small lunch bag size Potato Chips
- 1 Matchbox car
- 1 Headband
- 1-half package of refill caps for cap guns
- Bubbles
- Army men
- Rubber stamps
- Rubber stamp ink pad
20 Points:
- 1 small package of fruit chews
- 1 small package of animal cookies
- 1 small Chocolate bar
- 1 whole package of refill caps for cap guns
- 3 sets of earrings (a card of 9 sets of earrings cut into 3 portions).
- 1 Headband
- 1 package of elastic hair holders
- Hair clips
- 1 Bandana
- Garden gloves (Dollar Tree)
- A Doll set of brush/comb/mirror (Dollar Tree)
- 25-piece Puzzle (Dollar Tree)
- Socks
- Pens, Pencils, Erasers, Mechanical Pencils
- Squirt guns
35 Points:
- 1 one-cup size container of cookies
- 1 regular-size package of Skittles or candy
- 1 pkg. Corn nuts
- 1 Ice cream bar (or a coupon for one)
- A full-size tape measure (Dollar Tree)
- Tools (clamps, screwdriver, hammer...)
- A mini flashlight (Dollar Tree)
- A book light (Dollar Tree)
- An 8-inch plastic dragon or dinosaur (Dollar Tree)
- Action figures
- Scented lotion (Dollar Tree)
- Scented hand soap (Dollar Tree)
- Package of stickers
- Umbrella
- Books
50 Points:
- Certificate for an Ice Cream Cone
- Cap guns
- Nerf dart guns
- Sunglasses
- Model ships/airplanes, etc.
- Clothing
- Clothing accessories
- Lilla Rose Flexi Clips
- Make up
- Books
- Coffee beverages
- Cash in exchange for points
* Food items are always valued higher than non-food items because we'd rather they buy non-food items; but we know how special the food items are so we will always allow them in our reward system.
* Non-food items are valued at 10 points for $1.00 generally
My chart for keeping track
The friends we got this points and rewards system idea from initially used a tablet to keep track with, and eventually developed an Excel spread sheet. I personally prefer creating charts in Microsoft Word "tables", so that is what I did for our family (you may share my template from Dropbox if you'd like, for FREE). Here is the chart I print out and keep one current page of on the refrigerator. *smile* We keep a running record of what is earned, what is lost for poor behavior, what is spent on rewards, and what is the running total for each person. And the children can reference this at any time which is also an incentive in its self.
Here is my plan for recording points and acquiring the rewards:
I recognize this may seem like a lot. But it's very simple, really, especially once you get into the habit of giving the points, then keeping track of who lost and who spent. That's all it is. Our children all caught onto it immediately. The most amount of time goes into simply shopping for your initial rewards supplies, but then you're good to go having found where you'd like to buy things and replace them as they run out. And it's so worth it in my opinion! Our children then do beautifully each managing their own behavior while we're gone, making the babysitting time really pleasant for all.
Our children have all been extremely enthusiastic about this new points and rewards system! *cheer!* They all look forward to it every single time I need to go out, and the youngest children are frequently asking me when I'm going to go out again so that they can earn more points. Perfect. *smile* I hope this idea can be a blessing for your family as well, and I'd love to hear about how it works for you!
Blessings on your family efforts,
Resource:
Here in Dropbox you may print for FREE the points and rewards system rules written out for your reference.
Other related posts of mine you might enjoy:
Here is my plan for recording points and acquiring the rewards:
- I am the only one to do any recording of points earned or lost or spent.
- Each time I go out I record the date, and I record the description of the event for which I'm going out such as our weekly date night.
- Each event of going out uses two rows, a white one and a shaded one.
- I write down in the white "+" (given) column how many points each person is given upon my departure.
- While I'm gone, the babysitter keeps a running list on a post-it note of any points that were lost. This usually references only 1 or 2 people. When I get home we go over the list together and make sure it's justified and everyone understood why points were lost. I also talk to the babysitter, and teenagers tell me how each other did.
- In the morning we then settle up the earned points.
- In the white "-" (taken away) column I record any points that were lost due to poor behavior or disobedience.
- Next I go through each child one at a time, youngest to oldest, and either serve their remaining "visual points" from their glass bowl or allow them to go shopping in the rewards containers to spend their saved accumulated points.
- I record in the shaded "spent" row below in the "-" column any points that were spent.
- Then I record in the "=" column the remaining running total of points for each person.
- Once each person has settled out I do not allow them to go back and change their mind, deciding to spend points that they previously decided to save. Done is done.
- I am the only one to help children shop in the rewards containers.
- (In this photo of my chart, the teenagers column's are not accurate because I forgot that once to give them both the base 5 points, and then the additional per-hour points. Usually their earned points for a 3-hour babysit would equal the base 5 points, then 2 or 3 points per hour depending on if they are head or assistant babysitter. So for a 3-hour sit they would earn 14 points for the oldest teenager, and 11 for the next oldest.)
I recognize this may seem like a lot. But it's very simple, really, especially once you get into the habit of giving the points, then keeping track of who lost and who spent. That's all it is. Our children all caught onto it immediately. The most amount of time goes into simply shopping for your initial rewards supplies, but then you're good to go having found where you'd like to buy things and replace them as they run out. And it's so worth it in my opinion! Our children then do beautifully each managing their own behavior while we're gone, making the babysitting time really pleasant for all.
Our children have all been extremely enthusiastic about this new points and rewards system! *cheer!* They all look forward to it every single time I need to go out, and the youngest children are frequently asking me when I'm going to go out again so that they can earn more points. Perfect. *smile* I hope this idea can be a blessing for your family as well, and I'd love to hear about how it works for you!
Blessings on your family efforts,
Resource:
Here in Dropbox you may print for FREE the points and rewards system rules written out for your reference.
Other related posts of mine you might enjoy:
- Incentives & Rewards for Children's Behavior, Part 1 of 2
- "Raising Real Men - Surviving, Teaching, and Appreciating Boys"
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