By Basia, on December 11th, 2011
Each Advent, we countdown our way to Christmas by doing various activities such as reading Christmas books, doing Christmas crafts, having a decorate the Christmas tree party, and going to see the Christmas lights. This year we have also added a new activity, the Elf on the shelf, which I hope will become another family tradition. Our Elf arrived at the beginning of December and our first task was to think of a name for our Elf. Somehow, the name Elfis was selected, though no one in our home listens to Elvis. Even so, several family members have said that ‘Elfis has left the building’ when his whereabouts were not known.
Sarah seems to be the one most attached to Elfis and, on most nights I have to wait until she is asleep so I can take him from her and find a new hiding spot for him. Elfis has been found in many spots around our home including vases, the children’s art caddy, above our calendar & weather pocket chart, sitting on the wreath hanging on our hall stand, and even lying down and watching us from the top of the entertainment unit. Once the children find Elfis in the morning, he becomes Sarah’s personal Elf for the remainder of the day.
This year we are going to stick to just this simple activity of moving Elfis around, but next year we might consider adding some cheeky personality traits to our Elf such as the ones Clem seems to possess at Elise’s home. I don’t know how she manages to keep up with three children and such a cheeky Elf!
By Basia, on November 16th, 2011
By Basia, on October 30th, 2011
October has been such a busy month. We have been very busy attempting to complete the list of activities on our Spring Bucket list and celebrating several birthdays including Connor’s 4th birthday. This year I really tried to focus on selecting the birthday traditions we will be using with our children to create fond memories for them. We settled on the following traditions:
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Counting down the birthday using a calendar and paper chain. Each morning as we change the date on our calendar, Connor tore one ring from the paper chain. Then, he counted the days and rings remaining on the paper chain to see how many days until his birthday. This year I decided to do the paper chain entirely in red as this is Connor’s favourite colour.
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Birthday Interview. I saw this idea pinned on Pinterest and knew I wanted to do this with each of my children. They grow and change so quickly and this is such a wonderful way to record some of their likes and dislikes. Some of the answers really surprised me. I am still wondering why Connor chose the Water Buffalo as his favourite animal. We live in a country with no Water Buffalos and he hasn’t seen or read anything to do with Water Buffalos, yet he has liked this animal since last Christmas!
- Birthday Poems. There are two poems / nursery rhymes which I like to recite during the birthday month and the night before my child’s birthday.
Nursery Rhyme which we use during the birthday month. I found this in the book Kindergarten Education: Freeing Children’s Creative Potential by Betty Peck.
Apple, pears, peaches, and plums,
Show me when your birthday comes.
{The child tells me the date of their birthday and points to it on the calendar}
Apples, pears, peaches, and plums,
Tell me what season of the year your birthday comes.
{They name the season}
Apples, pears, peaches, and plums,
Tell me the number of the month your birthday comes.
{They name the number of the month}
Apples, pears, peaches, and plums,
Show me when your birthday comes.
{They point to their birthday on the calendar}
Poem which I say the night before my child’s birthday.
When I have said my evening prayer,
And my clothes are folded on the chair,
And mother switches off the light,
I’ll still be ___ years old tonight.
But from the very break of day,
Before the children rise and play,
Before the darkness turns to gold,
Tomorrow, I’ll be ___ years old.
___ kisses when I wake,
___ candles on my cake.
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Birthday Crown. I love the idea of the birthday child wearing a birthday crown on their special day. We have several felt crowns which we have been using for play and special occasions, but I am in the process of making specific birthday crowns for each of my children which they can choose to wear only on their birthdays. I didn’t quite manage completing Connor’s for his 4th birthday but I know it will be ready for his next birthday.
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Sharing stories about when the child was born and special things they did in the past. This year was the first time that I started sharing special details with Connor about such things as the first words I said when he was born, how we used to sleep together cuddling when he was a baby, and what he used to like and dislike as a baby and toddler.
Other than this, we tried to make sure the birthday was low key and personal. We had a simple birthday cake and spent the day with Connor’s grandparents and cousins at a playground, had dinner, and allowed the children to have a movie night at home.
By Basia, on October 1st, 2011
Jumping in muddy puddles was one of the first activities we did that is listed on our Spring Bucket List. We have had heavy rains for several days which almost resulted in our backyard flooding. After the rains stopped, several deep puddles remained and one of the first things Connor said was that they were the best jumping muddy puddles in the world. He has been quite obsessed with finding the best muddy puddles since reading the book Peppa Pig. Needless to say, the activity was a big hit and resulted in very wet and dirty children. There was so much jumping involved that the gum boots were filled with water and mud, too.
By Basia, on September 28th, 2011
By Basia, on September 26th, 2011
It’s so true that Spring is a time of renewal and rebirth. I find myself feeling so energized with the warmer weather, wanting to do many more things with my children. Alita Jewel’s Treasures posted on her blog a beautiful autumn bucket list. It has inspired me to create a Spring Bucket List for our family. The activities on our Spring Bucket List are in no particular order and we will probably do other things as well. But, if I can manage to get just these things done, I’ll be happy knowing we have done activities that will create fond memories for my children.
By Basia, on September 23rd, 2011
We’ve had these beautiful baby ducklings visit us daily for the past week. They spend entire days either swimming in our pool, or walking around our front and back yard. There are nine ducklings and everyone runs to the windows to watch them when we hear their quacking in the morning. What a lovely way to welcome the first official days of Spring!
By Basia, on September 22nd, 2011
For almost a month now, Connor has been transitioning from picture books to longer stories without pictures on every page. So, I have been trying to decide upon a first chapter book to read to him. During this time, he has also become completely entranced by Peter Pan after reading some of the Peter Pan Golden Books. I knew that he was still too young for the unabridged version of Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie so, I was overjoyed when I came across this book in a thrift store. It’s The Nursery Peter Pan illustrated by Mabel Luccie Attwell and, we have been reading it for the last few nights. There are sections which go over his head but he has been really getting into the book, asking questions at all the appropriate moments, so I know he has been listening. He only asks to look at the book when there is a new picture. I guess it helps a little that he knows the stories from the Golden Books. I am now looking forward to reading all the chapter books that I have been collecting for the past few years!
By Basia, on September 20th, 2011
Back home, the lovely weather beckons us to go outside everyday. These are photos from another visit to our local nature reserve. Sarah loves the clover patches located in the grass and quite happily lies down in them. The clovers have grown so much that Sarah is actually able to hide in them. Connor tried to lie down but found it difficult to relax. He prefers to pick up sticks and branches and pretend that they are dragon claws. Time seems to fly when we are outside and apart from enjoying Spring and having free play, we are not not doing much else.
By Basia, on September 16th, 2011
Despite all the flowers blooming and temperatures reaching 25 degrees Celsius at home, in the Snowy Mountains area, where we go on our annual family holiday, it snowed everyday and temperatures where around –4 degrees Celsius. This year Connor was old enough to have his first ski lessons. He was so excited when we where hiring his ski gear. I, on the other hand, felt a little sad at the realization that he is no longer a baby and is old enough to actually ski! Next year, Sarah will be old enough to get her first ski lessons. Connor had a lot of fun even though he fell over several times. Sarah spent a lot of the time playing in the snow or sitting inside the warm restaurant while I enjoyed numerous hot coffees. Jessica spent majority of the time on her snowboard and only returned when she was hungry.
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