Isaac is 28 months

Miriam is 11 months

Monday

I always have the hardest time getting going on Mondays.  So this past Monday I took the morning off and rested :)  I pulled a couple of things off the shelf for Tot School and we just hung out and played and then watched "Oklahoma” together.  It was Isaac’s first time.

As you can tell he enjoyed it very much :)

I also brought out the animal lacing cards. 

These are new for us.  Miriam even got in on it too :)

Circle Time

We also started our daily Circle Time on Monday!!!  I am super excited about this and have been working towards it for a few weeks now.  I recently got a Melissa and Doug set of musical instruments and we will be using these along with our Songs for Saplings CD. Which I LOVE!! (I unexpectedly had the children’s class on Wednesday evening and taught them the first two songs on this CD.  After service was over I heard them singing God’s Word as they were leaving class!!!  I LOVE IT!!    (NOTE:we came back from camp that evening so Aaron could take care of the service)

  Right now in our Circle Time, we will be focusing on our memory verse (via Songs for Saplings), Bible story, and learning other songs (hymns, worship choruses, etc) Then in a few weeks I will be introducing our calendar time!!  I have been so excited about starting Circle Time with my kids.  Miriam will be joining us for this and then will normally go down for her morning nap after that.  

Both of our kids LOVE music!  When I brought out our musical instruments on Monday they had a ball!

I was originally planning on being home with the kids all week while Aaron was at Senior High Church Camp.  The A/C went out at our house Monday (why does it go out when it is one of the hottest days of summer ;)  So the kids and I packed up and went to camp.  Thankfully there was an empty room off the gym we were able to stay and I had plenty of room to put 2 pack-n-plays for the kids and we were able to keep with their normal nap routines. 

Tuesday - Friday

Tot School in a Bag

When I knew we were going to be at camp for a week, I packed a bag for Tot School.  This bag served two purposes:  to try and keep some consistency with what we had already started and to have things to occupy their attention during service time or any other time they needed to be quiet.

What’s in the bag….

• Our Farm Lapbook (I downloaded this free lapbook from Carisa at 1+1+1=1)
• Toy Story Drawling Pad (Wal-Mart)
• Coloring Book and Crayons
• ABC Flash Cards
• Magnetic Board (got this from Wal-Mart for $6 with ABC magnets and pics to go with it.  For this trip alone it was worth it!)
• ABC Magnets
• 123 Magnets
• Melissa and Doug Lacing Shapes (these were a huge hit! Both of my kiddos loved these! For Miriam I went ahead and put some on one of the laces and then tied the ends together so she wouldn’t loose them ;)
• 2 Mother Goose story books
• Chicka Chicka 1 2 3 by Bill Martin Jr
• Brown Bear, Brown Bear  by Bill Mart Jr and Eric Carle
• Letter A Ant Matching Cards from Erica at Confessions of a Homeschooler
• Goldfish Colors Snack Crackers (Isaac and I had fun playing and eating these.  I would hold out a handful and have him pick out the color I called out.  We also worked on counting with these)

I am so glad I put this bag together for my kids this week.  It worked great for us. I’m sure I will be doing this again whenever we travel! 

Other Pics from this Week

Miriam just gets cuter and cuter!  She is such a little sweetie.  She was much more content this week at camp than last week.  I think more sleep might have been a part of it ;)

Isaac playing with two other pastor’s kids.  They were too funny to watch both weeks of camp.  They were like magnets!  Whenever they saw each other they had to be around each other. 

Say Cheese :)

Another pastor’s kid.  Us PK’s have to stick together ;)

Just hanging out while the youth were playing one of Team Challenge games.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous this week!  The temperature was not too hot, it wasn’t too humid, and there was a nice cool breeze blowing.  It was great to see many of the teens we have come to know through the years as well as my cousin who is a pastor and others from different churches.  Even though I was looking forward to the week at home with the kiddos, I’m so glad it worked out for me to go to camp again this week. 

To see what other moms are doing in Tot School this week, check out the official Tot School site!