homeschool classroom tour

I've been holding off on doing this post because I wanted to get a feel for what actually worked for us. It's been a little under a month and this set up is still working great. We don't actually have a spare room to homeschool in so this is actually just a corner of the boys room. The calender and plastic photo holder get put up each morning and get put away in the afternoon. This is to prevent curiuos toddlers to destroy it in the night. At first I wasn't sure if it was going to work (as I tend to be sort of forgetful at putting things away) but actually it's worked great and it just gets tucked on the side of their toy shelf before nap time. The rest of the items on the wall are too high to reach so they get left on the wall. 

Here is what we are working with. 

1.Monthly Calendar Pocket Chart

2. photo pocket chart that we use to hold our scriptures and theme related items for the month

3.our color of the week name and animal (based on Brown Bear, Brown Bear)

4. Weather chart

To the side of that I have a small book shelf that we use for toys. Typically things that go along with our theme or used for cognitive work. And I am going to let you in on a tip my MIL gave me that has changed my life and the struggle to have the boys pick up after themselves. Seriously it's amazing and so simple. Are you ready?....

You place a matching picture on the box of toys and on the shelf itself. That way they know EXACTLY where to place the item. What's even better about this is they are learning something in the process, in my case it's shapes but this can be used to matching animals, letters (capital, and lowercase) maybe even math equations to the answer,  just about anything. I am so sold on this because it has really made  a huge difference on how much the boys are able to clean themselves, even W can clean things for the most part on his own. 

I've also found that limiting the amount of toys on a shelf as well as limiting them to have to play with only one or two items and having to clean and put away something before pulling something else out has made a big difference. Note: this routine took my MIL about two months with the boys when she was here to really ingrain it  in them before she left. I can't thank her enough, it has made this one less battle I have to deal with since they are pretty good about it now, but it just takes being consistent. So keep at it, I no longer feel like my house is taken over by mountains of toys that aren't being played with and the exhausting after bedtime clean up. 

What's on our shelf?

1. one tile puzzle with container of appropriate tiles 
2. family photo matching game
3. babies and blankets
4. puzzles 
5. two sets of blocks 
6. basket of animals
7. daily reading bible

On the top shelf and wall  I have our art from the prior week displayed as well as our circle time books. 

Lastly, our art work is typically done on our dinner table and the boys sit across from each other in their booster seats. This setup workes best for us because there are times when I may have to step away (change a diapers, switch the laundry) and depending on how messy the project is I would prefer it to be contained a little. I keep all our school supplies in the hall closet. As they get older I think we will have art supplies more accessible and an art table for them . 

That's it, our classroom in a nutshell. I am sure there will be things that we will switch around and find more helpful as the time goes on but for now this is working great.

Exploring the five sense - Touch

Despite my lack of blogging we are still here, and still continuing with our five senses activities. To read about our first one you can click HERE. This activity is super easy and can be done with items around the house. 

I gathered together a few scraps of fabrics from old projects.  I looked for fabrics with different types of textures. Here is what I used and the words I used to describe them to Bear. 

1. faux fur (soft, furry)
2. felt (smooth) 
3. burlap (rough, scratchy)
4. feather, not a  fabric but since we have been talking about owls and birds it was perfect (fluffy, soft)
5. minky fabric (bumpy)
6. PUL (slick,smooth) 

I would hand him each fabric one at a time and ask him what he thought it felt like.  He used words like soft and fluffy on his own. I would describe the rest of the items to him having him touch them  as we went along. He loved rubbing  the items against his cheek, until he got to the burlap. 

This was a quick and easy project with not a lot of set up or clean up required, but it helps introduce textures and build on your little ones already growing vocabulary. 

Sick Days and Pedialyte Recipe

As I mentioned before we have been home resting the last week being that the boys have been under the weather. The worst was my sweet Bear. He got hit with a major stomach bug and has not been himself lately.

When kids (or any one for the matter) have diarrhea or throw up the biggest issue is dehydration.  I was watching his wet diapers closely. He normally is just a water or breastmilk drinker since we don't have juice in the house typically, but after a few days of not really eating much and pretty much only drinking water and breastmilk I could see him getting a bit weak. And after a long stretch with a dry diaper I started to worry more. 

We tried regular Pedialyte at first and he wasn't having it at all. I also tried watered down Gatorade and he still refused. Finally good ol' trusted Google led me to Baby Savers. I had never been on this site  before and it seems pretty neat. She gives three different recipes but number three was one I knew would work for B because orange juice is his favorite. For the original recipe click HERE

This is my modified recipe. I halved most of the ingredients since this can only be refrigerated for three days and I didn't think that he would drink it all. 

•  1 quarts water
• 1/2  teaspoon baking soda
• about 2 Tbls of Agave nectar ( the original calls for sugar) 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup of OJ

The Results: He totally loved it and drank it right up. We had a wet diaper within the hour and I could see him get a little more energy. I am not claiming that stuff stuff is a miracle worker but I am saying it worked great for B, he got the fluids he needed and it was a step in the right direction. We have added more probiotics to his diet as well and today was the first day that he is acting more like himself.

Isn't seeing your little ones sick the worst? I always feel a little helpless because I so badly wish I could make them better. I am very thankful to have found this recipe and that it worked so well for us. Do you have any homemade recipes that you use when you or your little ones are sick?