For the record, this isn't the snakey part of the creek

The other day at the park Truman and I were walking by the grassy side of the creek where you cannot see the bottom. I’m sure it’s not that deep, just murky. He wanted to look at the fish. There are some large ones over there. As we walked, Truman calmly said, “Mommy, what kind of snake is that?” I looked over and saw just four feet from us a gunmetal-colored snake. I’m not sure how big he would have been had he been unraveled and laid out, but his circumference was about that of my upper arm (which is bigger than it used to be or should be, I might add). I screamed, grabbed my son’s arm, and ran with him in tow. (So much for teaching through example.)

We walked (or ran) to the less frightening side of the creek, the side near the walkway just opposite from where we saw the big snake. I didn’t see the big guy, but Truman shouted, “Look Mommy! More snakes.” In the water, slithering on top as if skating on ice, was an 18-inch-long reddish snake. We watched as he wiggled from one end of the creek to the other and back again. He was joined by two more just like him. It fascinated my son…and, me too.

Springy Spiral Snake eating super scrumptious grilled cheese sandwich.

My camera-phone just couldn’t capture the snakes. I wanted to show Rick what Truman and I had found and maybe see if he could identify them. So instead we came home and (this was Truman’s idea) drew pictures of the snakes we saw. And then we started making up others to color. We even make a “snake book.” And then I found this site – DLTK Kids Crafts for Kids – and we did some of the snake activities for kids.

Springy Spiral Snake handler.

They have several different age-appropriate ones to choose from. Our favorite was this Springy Spiral Snake Craft. By the way… Springy Spiral Snake isn’t a big fan of super scrumptious grilled cheese sandwiches.

Photos, JWJourney

Post from: Blisstree

How to Have Fun with Snakes!

My husband has been sitting down with him nightly and drawing the continents and telling Truman whatever he knows about the countries. Truman relays this information to me throughout the day: “Mommy, did you know it is very, VERY cold in Antarctica?” “Mommy, you know what Mommy? There is a really bad war in Iraq.” “Mommy, did you know people in Sudan are very sad?”

My husband has now taken the “world studies” with my son to the next step – flags. He has printed a list of the thumbnails from this FlagWorld site and my son has been coloring the different flags. Not to sound like the dumb-arse that I am, but I had no idea Tuvalu was a country. (And now that I know, I think I want to live there one day.)

Truman wants to know why each continent doesn’t have its own flag, which was a difficult question to answer. And so my son took it upon himself to design flags for each of the countries. (Here’s Africa on the right.) What a pleasant way to occupy my son’s overactive mind during the rainy days of spring break!

JWJourney

Post from: Blisstree

Kids Discover The World Through Flags

I purchased cheap, wooden boxes from the local craft supply store, as well as tempera paints, brushes and foam letters. The kids helped cover the table with plastic garbage bags. They spent an hour painting their creations and made some beautiful designs. The two younger boys made bug catching boxes, that had wire sections on the lids. Ella and Marlie made jewelry boxes. The older boys made treasure chests and Reed made a mini version of a memory box.

The clean up was very easy. I assigned tasks to each kid and we cleaned up in under five minutes. Then, they spent the next few hours collecting bugs, searching for items to put in the treasure chests and playing nicely. Yes, you heard me right. Not one fight broke out all afternoon. I was amazed. I think that giving them some attention and engaging them in an activity that they enjoy, cured the cranky attitudes that boredom often births.

Post from: Blisstree

Curing The Chaos

On top of it, my baby (almost two years old,) is starting to potty train himself. This means constant poop watch. I try to catch him in time to stick him on the toilet. This is not easy when I have six kids barking for help. I also have the job of checking the blogs for comments, responding to them and keeping up blog posts. The icing on the cake was our decision to take my son off of his ADHD medication and search for answers to his condition. This decision entails research, a whole new way of eating and being patient when he decides to have a total meltdown. Sometimes, I feel like I’m being pulled in a million different directions. I lay the blame on myself, because I chose to take it on. It is my duty to try and “balance” all of these things.

My basic job of being a mother and a housewife has become much more involved than I ever imagined. I never thought that I would be juggling PTA fundraising responsibilities, Neighborhood Watch Captain, housework, cooking, marriage, work, Girl Scouts, guitar lessons, summer school, potty training, and a thousand other things. I never imagined that I could handle more than just cooking, cleaning and pregnancy, but somehow, I do. Do I do it perfectly? Heck no. Is everything given an even amount of time? No way. You see, the secret to creating balance, is to stop trying. Sometimes, you have to be able to shift your priorities and give a little more to a certain area. You have to mentally prepare yourself for the chance that things will not be even or go the way you envision them. If you ask me, balance is an illusion. What are your thoughts on creating and maintaining balance?

Post from: Blisstree

Balance…what balance?

…a little too easy, if you ask me. Many parents see their child’s summer break as a cessation of learning. The summer days are often spent on vacation, lazing about the house or whining about how boring life is. While there is definitely a portion of the break that should be used for these three things, there seems to be a lack of preventative maintenance in education. Did you know that most (publicly schooled) kids start the school year, academically farther behind than they did at the previous year’s dismissal? That is just sad. We spent a pretty penny at Sylvan Learning Institute last summer, just to make sure that one of our kids was up to par, come fall. I knew that our brand of summer studies would not be enough to make up for the rough year that he had, so we did what was necessary to help him out. It was money well spent. He is having an awesome year, academically!

My point is, that parents need to realize that summer break needs to include some type of bridging activities, to ensure a smooth transition to the next grade level. I know this sounds easy, but may be harder to execute. Here at our house, I have devised a little plan to keep it interesting for our kids. It is a simple, but effective rewards system. Here are the things that I’ve incorporated into our summer program. This system can be altered to suit the age of your own children (mine are in K-3rd.)

1. I purchased bridging workbooks from an educational store. Some teachers will send home practice books for free!
2. Each page that they complete, will be worth a “Summer Buck” (see explanation below).
3. I purchased play money, marked “Summer Bucks” and some cheap items that the kids can buy with their earned “money.” I will open up a Summer Store at the end of each week, so that the kids can use their money to shop.
4. Every two weeks, we will take a field trip, in order to instill culture and give them something to look forward to. Check your community newsletter for great field trip locations in your home town, or search the web! We will also do summer related science experiments that I found online. Kids love hands on learning.
5. I have devised a schedule, much like our school’s, complete with recess and dismissal. This way, their routine stays fluid. Kids thrive on stability and routine. Summer schedules often rob them of these things and behavior can change for the worse. 
6. We are going to take a vacation. The books will come with us. Breaking habits does not sit well with my children.
7. At the end of summer, the kids will take a final exam. When they pass (I say this with confidence) we will pick a fun activity to celebrate their hard work!

 It is my sincere hope that the kids have a fun summer, but not at the cost of their academic welfare. Summer can be both fun and educational. Parents who have to work, can enroll their kids in summer programs that offer this kind of supplementation, or they can do the work after they get home. There is simply no excuse for letting a child fall behind during the two months of vacation time. With the right tools and some effort, your kids can have a summer full of fun and learning!

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Summer Time And The Living Is Easy