Preschool: F is for fish

We began week seven of our humble preschool program having just returned from a weekend of camping at Deerfield Fair in NH.  Since camping took priority over school, I didn’t get much done for the week and decided to give us a break on Monday.  I pretty much let the kiddos do what they wanted, and even when I don’t suggest or initiate activities, they’re pretty good at keeping themselves busy.  

Bible
The Bible story of the week was about baby Moses, one with which Gwen is already familiar, and by the end of the week she was telling me all about how Moses’ mama put the basket in the river to save him from the bad guys and that the princess took him from the water.  To get us started with the school day after breakfast cleanup, I played a few songs from the CD that comes with 100 Bible Stories, 100 Bible Songs.  We danced around with instruments, and then I read the condensed story of baby Moses. 

Theme
“F is for fish” proved to be a very easy, versatile jumping board for learning a variety of things.  Inspired by Counting Coconuts, I spent way too much time making a set of counting felt fish. 

 

I love how they turned out and the kiddos were super-excited; Gwen actually started crying when we weren’t finished with it before she went to bed.  Daddy made a little fishing pole with a magnet, we used a blue cloth for “water,” and they went fishing.  Gwen had to say what number was represented on each fish when she caught it.

 

I got a couple simple books about fish from the library.  One of my favorite fish stories is The Rainbow Fish, and I found a cute rainbow “f” fish craft to go along with it. 

After reading the story we used Crayola’s Flower Book Report to talk about it.  Here are Gwen’s answers:

What happened?
The rainbow fish swam away to the cave.  The rainbow fish at first didn’t give the other fish the shiny scales, and then the rainbow fish shared his shiny scales.

Who was in the story?
The rainbow fish, the different fish, the starfish.

Where & When?
In the ocean.

What did you learn?
That the rainbow fish didn’t share.  Share!

What was your favorite part?
The starfish.

Since our vocabulary word was “fin,” I found this cute story called Feather Fin, particularly nice because it glorifies listening to your parents.

I haven’t made a sensory bin since our B is for bird week, though I have gotten good at dumping interesting items into a container for the kiddos to play with. I saved the rice and beans mixture from the creation bin and have used it on a number of occasions.  Josiah’s favorite would have to be using it to load all his dumptrucks, making trails through the rice.  I got sick of finding piles of dried rice around the house and stuck it outside on nice days. 

The last time I got a sensory pan out for him, he made such a mess, and another mess after I cleaned the first one, that I decided to nix the rice for a bit. 

This time around I got out the pasta I colored with vinegar and food coloring (should have used the rubbing alcohol because I can still smell the vinegar!) and created a simple Hide-n-Seek Bowl with a bunch of toy fish and colored aquarium rocks.  The kiddos loves it, and eagerly dug in to find all the pieces. 

I dumped the contents into a bigger pan and let them play with it some more, letting them “fish” for pieces with little nets.  These kinds of things can entertain them for hours - just be prepared for some clean-up!

Letter
Most of our letter posters have been decorated with stickers up until this point, but for the letter F I thought it would be neat to do fingerprints.  I got out some inkpads and Gwen and I stamped our fingerprints all over. 

It’s on our bulletin board, but I don’t always remember to show Gwen the Funny Font Book from Happy Brown House.  We got around to it this week, and I showed her how there can be lots of versions and variations of the letter F – plain, fancy, whatever – but that they all represent uppercase and lowercase letter Fs.   

During Josiah’s naptime we do the work I’ve put out on our trays, and afterwards we jump on the computer, I hand the mouse over to Gwen, and she does Starfall’s letter activity. 

Number
The number for the week was number five; even though I keep forgetting the previous numbers, we’ve been consistent tracing the numbers while saying the corresponding number rhyme from ABCJLM. 

I worked math in with the felt fish, some workbook and dry erase pages, and a fish counting mat that I got from the KidSparkz fish theme page.  I laminated the water page, laminated and cut out the fish pieces, and when I wrote a number in the box Gwen had to place the appropriate amount of fish in the water. 

Color
I’ve been alternating between emphasizing a shape one week and a color the next.  This week was the color green, so we did some tracing/coloring, and I broke out 1+1+1=1′s color puzzle that I finally got around to laminating.  In the interest of maximizing laminating sheets, I made the main puzzle pieces two-sided. 

I guess I forgot to take pictures, but I printed out Homeschool Share’s story resources to go along with The Big Green Pocketbook.  Gwendolyn asked to do this over and over, and had lots of fun putting the elements from the story in her “pocketbook.”

Rhyme
Since it fit nicely with the theme and the number for the week, I chose “1-2-3-4-5 Once I Caught a Fish Alive” for our rhyme.  A while back I got scored a free VHS copy of “Playtime – Children’s Book of the Month Club;”  I’m so happy I grabbed it because I love the compilation of songs and animation.  1-2-3-4-5 is just one of the songs on the tape.     

Etc.
It was pretty easy coming up with food and snacks to go along with this week, but I will admit that it can be a challenge finding healthy options.  Phil tells me I don’t need to bother with coordinating snacks, but it’s nice to tie everything together.  I ended up getting goldfish crackers, and put some gummy fish in some [sugar-free] green jello. 

One of the activities that the ABCJLM curriculum emphasizes is name recognition.  Each week has some sort of name activity, and the past few weeks have centered around matching the letters in your child’s name.  This week I wrote Gwen’s name on her dry erase board and she had to find the corresponding Scrabble tile and put it under the correct letter.   

Sometimes I’m overly ambitious and bookmark a whole bunch of ideas for the week, using only two or three when it’s all said and done.  Check out my F is for fish pinboard for other ideas.

Daily
We haven’t been as consistent with the Starfall calendar activity, though almost every day we talk about what day of the week it is and Gwen usually sings her “Seven Days” song from the first two weeks.  Every night we do our weather watching jars, and Josiah has insisted on helping us with the pom poms.

Bulletin Board

Book Basket
Bible
The Story of Baby Moses (a board book)
The Moses Basket

Theme/Vocab
Rainbow Fish
The Pout-Pout Fish
About Fish: A Guide For Children
Feather Fin
Let’s Read About Pets: Goldfish

Letter
Froggy Goes to Bed
Fox in Socks
Franklin Fibs
Fancy Nancy and the Fabulous Fashion Boutique
Forest Child
Alpha Tales – Fifi Ferret’s Flute
My “f” Book
Farms ABC
Flora’s Surprise
I Just Forgot
The Fairies’ Alphabet Book

Number
Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
The Berenstain Bears and Baby Makes Five
Ten Little Fish

Color
Green Eggs and Ham
The Big Green Pocketbook
Go Away, Big Green Monster!
Grandpa Green
If Only I Had a Green Nose

DVDs
Finding Nemo
The Fox and the Hound
Disneynature Oceans

Linking up…

Gwen is 3 years old (45 months) and Josiah is 1 (21 months).

Pink & Green Baby Shower – a celebration of life

“Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him.”
Psalm 127:3

Growing up, I thought the nurturing gene may have somehow passed me by, because although I thought babies were cute, I wasn’t drawn to them.  I didn’t flock like the other girls to new mothers, oohing and ahhing, asking to hold their babies. 

And then I had a baby girl.  

Having children changes everything, no lie.  It changes your perspective in so many ways.  I love babies.  I still don’t rush over to new mamas, but I crane my neck to get a look at the tiny hands and feet, the tufts of soft hair on their heads, smile and offer congratulations or some sentiment about the precious bundle.  And every baby makes me think of my own children, how small they once were, how quickly they’re growing up.  While the urge to have another isn’t as strong now as it was when I only had one, I do sometimes feel that longing to hold my own baby again. *sigh*  

So, what’s the next best thing to having a baby?  Your best friend having a baby!  Nikki gave birth to beautiful Liberty Rose on July 1st, a name she’s had picked out since the first time around. 

While I love to be organized, ambitiously plan, I’m not very good at planning parties.  I get into the details, the food and decorations, but not all the other stuff – contacting people, figuring out how many servings we’ll need if “x” amount of people show up, narrowing down a time and place that’s suitable for everyone involved – gah, it gives me a headache!  But I’ve been wanting to throw Nichole a shower for a while, and with the help of a few friends we pulled it off.

I’m still waiting for Becky to show off some of her party shots on How-To Hospitality – and I’m sure she’ll make sure to include at least a couple endearing hospitality fails from the afternoon – but for now I’d like to regale you with the lovely Pink and Green Tea baby shower that Becky, my sister-in-law Jenn and I put together to welcome Liberty.

Becky remembered Nichole telling her she loved the combination of pink and green, so when I told her that Hostess {with the mostess} had some great party ideas, she looked around and thought it would be neat to go with their Sunny “Lemonade Stand” theme and substitute lime instead.  Of course, this was just a starting point, and the end result was totally different.  I decided to google pink and green baby shower, pink and green party, you name it - and yikes! – the ideas are endless and overwhelming.  We narrowed down our list of ideas to a few favorites.

Decorations
Of course, we tried to stick with shades of pink and green.  We went for the more muted colors, but there were some bright pops here and there. 

Handmade paper circles like the ones in this beautiful Bump Smitten: Pink & Green Garden shower were meant to be a backdrop the a dessert table, but since the weather was worsening due to the impending Hurricane Irene, we moved the festivities inside and had to change the original set-up.  Alas, I don’t think I ever got a shot of these, but Becky did a great job accordian-folding scrapbook papers for these.  We ended up hanging these in a window, along with strands of silver beads.

Somewhere I had seen a tutorial for tissue paper pom poms, and they made festive many of the occasions that popped up on my goodle search.  I thought, these would be easy enough!  I found a great assortment pack of white, pink, and green tissue papers at Target, and armed with good ol’ Martha Stewart’s  Tissue Papar Pom-Poms How-To – and laughing at this tutorial (yes, we braved the green ones) - we folded and scrunched and fluffed away.  It gets easier after the first one.  

We made a few big ones for hanging, and some smaller ones to double as flowers on the table.  The effect was gorgeous, nixing the need for fresh flowers (even though fresh flower are always nice, but one must make these decisions when working with a budget). 

Pooling our resources and dishware, we came up with some elegant settings of white china and pink glass.  The centerpieces, along with the pom pom flowers, were silver candleholders and vases in varying heights.  

 
Menu
We rearranged some of the furniture to suit the flow of guests, and ended up putting a dining room sideboard out on the porch to serve as the food table.  It echoed the elegant simplicity with white and glass plates; pom poms and silver beads brightended up the area. 

My mouth started watering as I saw the spread for this Pink and Green Baby Shower from Heather Christo Cooks.  I was immediately drawn to the lime bars with macadamia nut crust (I always go for desserts), and was trying to figure out how I could alter a recipe for lemon-raspberry bars when I discovered that Heather Christo was nice enough to share her recipe for the lime bars!  I think the only changes I made were using white whole wheat flour for the all-purpose, and rapadura sugar for the white.  They tasted great, but it was humid and the sifting of confectioners’ sugar dissolved on top of the bars so they didn’t look as nice as the original version. 

Among some of the other “savory tastings” and “sweet somethings” were chicken salad with grapes wrapped in lettuce, cucumber tea sandwiches, multigrain chips with hot artichoke dip, strawberry cupcakes, and strawberry scones with lemon curd and jam on the side.

Pink lemonade and limeade were on top of the list, and I lucked out with Martha Stewart’s recipes for Mint Limeade (using chocolate mint from my own garden) and Pink Lemonade with cranberry juice – yum!

We served these beverages – along with ice water – in canning jars that doubled as place card holders.  I had seen these whimsical striped straws among other party ideas, and found a green and pink straw combo pack along with some pink plaid cupcake liners at The Bakers Confection’s Etsy shop.  We also served tea for those brave enough for a hot drink.

Think Outside The Box
A fun little idea was to set up a photo booth where people could have their picture taken.  When we moved the shower inside, there wasn’t really a good spot for this.  While setting up for the party, this old couch of my grandmother’s sat on the porch, and it was too big to move out of the way.  I decided to dress it up shabby-chic style so it would blend in, and we ended up using that as the photo booth.  Think outside the box, and work with what you’ve got!

We had a lovely time, I ate way too much sugar, and I was so glad to be able to welcome this little life and bless a friend. 

Protect Those Pearly Whites

In my quest to become healthier, more economical and environmentally-friendly, I’m always finding things to improve upon.  Why am I always surprised when the best ideas are the simple, back-to-basic methods?  You mean, fresh produce is healthier than packaged foods?  Indeed, it is, believe it or not.  I don’t care how many vitamins and minerals they’ve added in the process. 

It’s a challenge, sifting through the latest fads.  It’s exhausting, trying to discern the truth between what the health professionals are touting, what the latest FDA regulations say, and the myriad opinions of everyone else.

Health and hygiene products today contain all sorts of chemicals and additives – many of them because they’re cheap, extend the shelf-life of the product, make it smell good, or achieve a nice lather.  Little by little I’ve been trying to weed out some of these harmful products, and last year when I stumbled upon the idea of not using shampoo it got me curious about some of the other things I’ve been using.  Raising a family makes you more aware of even the smallest of choices.  

Like… what kind of toothpaste you’re using.  I’ve been hearing more and more about the evils of Sodium lauryl sulfate, or SLS.  Found in all sorts of products, from shampoo to bubble bath to body wash, it is a known irritant that can cause canker sores, among other things. 

And what’s the deal with fluoride?  Nowadays it seems the more, the merrier.  Have an ice cold glass of fluoride, swish and gargle with fluroide, then brush with more fluoride.  If a little is good, more must be better, right?  As Kelly says in her article on Fluoride Safety,

“‘What is more natural?’ Adding something to water that doesn’t naturally occur there in the first place doesn’t sound natural to me. So here’s where we came down on the subject: we got rid of it.”

The latest concern revolves around the effect of glycerin in toothpaste.  It’s in almost every kind of toothpaste, even the fluoride-free varieties.  There are those, like Dr. Gerard F. Judd, who believe glycerin coats the teeth, preventing  remineralization.  On the other side of the fence we have people like Dr. Paul H. Keyes, who criticizes Dr. Judd’s research, insisting that his findings are false, that glycerin is a “harmless additive” that has important anti-bacterial qualities.  Better safe than sorry?   

Some of the other common ingredients in toothpaste and other oral care products that can be toxic or potentially lethal include alcohol, food dyes, silica, and Triclosan, among other things.  No wonder there are warning labels on tubes of toothpaste!  And if you’re the frugal type, there are even greater concerns – like the bargain toothpaste that can be found at discount and dollar stores, as they are most likely unsafe imported toothpaste from China, containing DEG aka Diethylene glycol (used in anti-freeze).

Curious how your brand of toothpaste, shampoo, lotion, or other product scores for safety?  Check out the Cosmetic Safety Database (CSD), where you can find out how a product ranks according to its ingredients and supporting data.  For instance, after inputting Burt’s Bees Natural Toothpaste Kids’ Orange Wow – which I got on sale a few months ago - I find that it gets a whopping 4 out of 10 on the hazard scale.  For a kids’ toothpaste?  That’s wow alright.  Along with all the data it gives for a given product, CSD also gives a link for the percentage of similar items that have a lower hazard concern.  Here is a list of toothpastes, starting with the lowest hazard.       

Nowadays you can easily find a fluoride-free toothpaste, if not at your grocery store or pharmacy, then online stores such as Amazon or Drugstore.  Brands that offer fluoride-free varieties include Burt’s Bees, Jason Natural, Miessence, Nature’s Gate, Weleda,  Kiss My Face, Natural Dentist, and Tom’s of Maine.  Here’s the rub: most of them still contain glycerin and other controversial ingredients. *sigh* 

I decided to google homemade toothpaste recipes, mostly because I was sick of looking for fluoride-free children’s toothpaste for the kiddos, then for myself as I read up on some of the more common ingredients in traditional toothpaste.  As it turns out, there’s a whole slew of recipes for homemade toothpaste.  The most common ingredients include soap (as a cleanser, duh), coconut oil (for whitening and anti-bacterial qualities, among other things), stevia or xylitol (both as sweeteners, and in the latter for anti-bacterial and cavity control ), baking soda (for polishing teeth and freshening breath), and essential oils (for flavoring). Some of them contain glycerin, as the jury is still out on that debate.  I came across this recipe for homemade toothpaste when looking for one specifically without glycerin.  Here are a few more from Passionate Homemaking, Tammy’s Recipes, and The Nourished Life.     

If you really want to get down to basics, Dr. Ray Behm Jr. DDS reveals The Secret to saving your teeth.  It all comes down to baking soda and salt, mixed with one of three liquids (colloidal silver, hydrogen peroxide, or aloe vera).

Feel like trying a toothpaste that’s free from all those chemicals and additives, but don’t feel like making your own? Tooth Soap has gotten rave reviews, and I imagine there are shops similar to Rose of Sharon Acres on Etsy that sells a product called Tooth Chips (I would love to try the clove!).

I’ve been using a homemade version for about a week now, and am curious to try some of the other concoctions.  After scouring some of the organic brands, I’m going to try Nature’s Gate Creme de Anise (with a more traditional mint flavor for the hubby).  What brand of toothpaste are you currently using, and have you had success with a natural toothpaste? 

No Poo

When I first heard the phase “No Poo” or “No Poo-Poo,” I assumed it had something to do with elimination communication or potty training.  So, naturally, I was intrigued!  However, as mistaken as I was, I was delighted to discover the benefits of this concept.  Simply put, No Poo is to stop using shampoo.  Sound drastic?  Hold your horses.  If you google the phrase you’ll come up with lots of links providing user tips and insights.  

According to Instructables, the benefits of No Poo include the following:

1. Shampoo is expensive.
2. Chemicals in shampoo can irritate and dry out your scalp and hair.
3. Chemicals in shampoo can be hazardous to your health.
4. Your body produces oil to naturally condition your hair and keep it healthy. Using shampoo daily upsets the natural balance and causes you to produce more oil than necessary to compensate.
Read more on the No Poo phenomenon at Instructables.

As I was trying to find more information about the exact method and what different people had to say about it, I stumbled upon this blog article on greenUPGRADER.  I’ve been playing around with different ratios of ingredients, and while I don’t have it down to an exact science, here is my basic method:

Dissolve a spoonful of baking soda in a cup of warm water (you can bring the measuring cup into the shower and fill it with water from the shower head so it doesn’t get too cold).  After wetting your hair, slowly pour the baking soda mixture over your scalp and massage it in.  Rinse thoroughly.  In the same measuring cup, pour apple cider vinegar (I fill it about halfway between the bottom and the quarter cup mark); a drizzle of honey mixed in adds some conditioning.  Fill it with water again, stir around to incorporate, and slowly pour over your scalp and massage in the same manner as the baking soda.  At this time I like to clip my hair up and let it sit while I wash the rest of my body, and then rinse my hair at the end. 

I’ve been trying to live a healthier, greener lifestyle, and it’s so fulfilling when I find something that combines these benefits while being economical at the same time. 

Now excuse me, I gotta go wash my hair.

Be Green

I know, I know, three posts in one day – I’m sorry! But I’ve been reading articles about homemade cleaners and have been wanting to try some. I’ve done so in the past – baking soda, lemon juice, olive oil for furniture polish, etc – but just never stuck with it. I’m really interested in trying some of the natural recipes for laundry detergent.

I had saved an article from Health magazine, and listed with various ideas for going “green” is the Green Living website. There are TONS of ideas, from shopping to cleaning to decorating, but for now I’m trying to focus on more eco-friendly cleaning. If you have any ideas/success stories let me know, but for now here are some of my fave bookmarks that I hope to try:

The Five Basics for Non-Toxic Cleaning
Tips and Hints to Keep Whites White
The Best Window Cleaner
Homemade Soft Scrubber
Non-Toxic Oven Cleaner
No More Static Cling!
Annie’s Favorite Wood Floor Soap
Vinegar as Antiseptic: Floor Wash with Herbs
Washing Soda: All-Purpose Cleaner
Counter Cleaners
Three Ways to Kill Mold Naturally

Since there are so many different articles and tips, some of the information is redundant. For instance, baking soda and washing soda are used in a lot of the recipes, so you may encounter referrals for those different uses.

Some links to other websites:

Natural Household Cleaning Recipes (you’ll need to scroll down)
How to Make Your Own Laundry Detergent – And Save Big Money (I REALLY want to try this!)

Does anyone know of any good, inexpensive, natural grocery store? Whole Foods is WAY too expensive! I found Back to Basics in E. Greenwich referenced online, but have never been. I think Belmont Market in Wakefield might be another choice, but I’ve never been.

Other simple tips from the aforementioned article:

“Ditch plastic shower curtains for those made with organic cotton or hemp… a hemp liner resists mildew, and cloth curtains can easily be washed.”

“Shift to organic coffee and milk… coffee crops are among the most heavily sprayed with pesticides, and cows are treated with hormones and antibiotics.”

Use “natural repellants that can do the job without toxins. Try using an orange peel that’s been scored to release citrus oil to discourage cockroaches and other insects. Or visit planetnatural or eartheasy.