First Day of Kindergarten

Today was the big day!   My little man got himself up, got himself dressed, brushed his teeth and was all ready to go!     I made him some banana pancakes and while those were cooking he had himself a bowl of cereal as well.   He was all set to run outside and take his pictures in front of the house and then we were off - all four of us - to drop Ace off on his very first day of school!

A grand adventure awaits!

We stopped on campus and grabbed a few pictures since we were early enough and then we went to where drop off will be every day.   He found his class line and got in it.   Both Loving Husband and I took turns talking to him, his sister and him hugged each other.    Ace in general was nervous and trying to expel that by jumping up and down, but he did good to stay in his place.   He didn't really talk to the other kids around him, but could be because he was occupied with his own family. ;)

 

One last time before he headed off to his class I stopped and he and I prayed together.   I asked him if he wanted to pray and he at first said "Nah"  and then immediately said "Well, yah."   So I said a quick prayer with him and the he and his class walked off toward his class and the three of us headed home.  I didn't cry until we were nearly home and I was talking to Loving Husband about how it seems like not that long ago he was so little and now he's big enough to be off to kindergarten!  

Two hours and 45 minutes (Yes, that's all "half day" kindergarten is!)  go by very quickly, but this mama was eager to get back to the school to find out how he had done!    I arrived with Mae and her and I waited for brother (who she missed a lot!) to come out.  As Ace came out of the building he was leading the class and being ever so watchful of his teacher and what he had to do and where to go.    After everyone was out of the building his teacher told him to make point and make eye contact with mom, he got to give his teacher a high five, and then he was dismissed to me.       I had not yet obtained the 'sitting at his desk' picture and so we waited until the rest of the kids were dismissed to then go back to his classroom with his teacher.

While we were waiting for his teacher to put some of his classmates onto the buses I asked him about his day.   Here are a few of our conversations:

Me:   Did you have a good day?
A:  Yes, I loved it! 
Me:  What did you do? 
A:  Well, we didn't get to go outside.
Me:  Well, that's ok.  I am sure you will on a different day.  What else did you do?
A:  We colored, that was my favorite part, and we listened to a story.
Me:  What book did you read?
A:  {{Answered with the full name of the book that mommy no longer can recall but was thematically themed for the first day of school}}
Me:   Did you like it? 
A:   Well, sure.  I was a bit distracted.
Me:  Oh, why is that?  
A:  Well, the oldest kid in the class [Maybe he's the biggest?  Not sure how Ace determined he's the oldest] was very naughty today.  He was having a hard time.
Me:  Oh?
A:  Yah during story time he was under the desks knocking down all the chairs and then he got his own book and then kept saying a naughty word over and over [Groan, first day really???]
Me: [Cautiously]  Um which one?
A: [Whispering]  Stupid.   He kept saying it over and over and wouldn't stop when Mrs. A said to.
Me:  I'm sorry, what did you do? 
A:  I tried to keep listening to the story.
Me:  That is good.  What else did you do today?
A:  We wrote out our names and colored.    That same kid ripped some one's paper during that part of class too.  I don't know why he was being so naughty!
Me:  Well, sounds like he was having a hard time adjusting and wasn't sure how best to handle himself.
A:  Hmm, yah, I guess. [Not convinced.]
Me:  Anything else exciting?
A:  We got goldfish for a snack!! [Eyes super big while he jumped up and down.]
Me:  Neat!  Do you want to go run around for a bit?  [He was gone before he could answer.]

After he and his sister ran around for a while longer, his teacher finished loading up the kids and we all headed back to the classroom after posing for a picture with his teacher.  He humored me by taking a picture at his desk, it went ok - but he was clearly done with photo-ops.   He is half his father after all - who is always done with photo-ops.  ;)      We headed home and he continued to tell me stories. 

Me:   What was your favorite part about kindergarten? 
A:  Getting to color.  I stayed in the lines the whole time.  Some other kids... did not.  
Me:  That's great that you did!   Did you meet anyone today?
A:  We all learned our names and our teacher wrote things on the board about how we were feeling about kindergarten.
Me:  What did you say?  
A:  I said I was curious. 
Me:  That's a good thing to feel.

After getting home and washing our hands - we started to load up into the car to head to meet dad for lunch and as we drove we sporadically continued to talk about school.

A:  So today I tried to help someone get their name tag off the paper and they took it from me and yelled.
Me:  What did you say when you had their name tag?
A:  I said "I can help you with that"  They were having trouble getting theirs off and I had already put mine on, so I was going to help but then they just snatched it from me.
Me:  Well, maybe they didn't understand you were trying to help.   How did you feel after they took it back from you?
A:  Fine. 
Me:  Well that is good that you didn't let it bother you.   Maybe next time it would be better to offer to help before you take it so no one feels you are trying to take it away. 
A:  Yah, that's a good idea.

Me:  Did you introduce yourself to anyone today and say "Nice to meet you!"? 
A:  No, I wasn't quite ready to say that to anyone yet today.  Maybe another day. 

Me: [My own self curious] So how did you get to be the first one in line?
A:  Well, the teacher said that whoever was first in line would get to give her a high five when they got picked up and so I wanted to have the high five so I got in  line first. 
Me:  Neat!  

Overall, he had a great day at kindergarten and is excited to return tomorrow.   Overall a very successful first day of school! 

Ace was very proud of his coloring. 
Both Loving Husband and I were super impressed with his pencil coloring!

Four Years Old

Four!?  Yes Ace has had a wonderful fourth year on this planet and I couldn't be more proud of him.    He started out his fourth year in Mississippi and it comes to a close back in the NW.   He's quite the U.S. traveler! When we last checked in with Ace he was as busy as ever.  No slowing down since then.  :)

New things for his fourth year:   Potty trained (day and night!),  fully independent and sleeping through the night after we say good night (YAY! HOORAY!! REJOICING!!!), a *big* boy bed, first professional haircut, first filling, and preschool!

Yes, the Monday after he turned 3 I told him that all the diapers disappeared.  I prepped him all of August, made it a big exciting deal that potty training full force was happening and it was.   He of course did great.  Early progress can be read about here.  Overall, he's done great.  In January I decided that he had done so well with the night time pullups (I couldn't remember the last time he had peed in one in weeks and weeks) and so I told him when they ran out they were all gone.  They ran out the beginning of February and we've not had one accident.    A fully potty trained and self-sufficient pottier is what we have now!  Hooray.  Hopefully this marks the end of toilet talk for our eldest son! :)

In general I am in awe at how smart Ace truly is.  He uses sentences like "Actually mom if given a choice, I choose to do this because it seems like the best choice."  or "I just assumed we would be there shortly and that was why I made the decision not to take a nap in the car."  I know adults that aren't that articulate!  He is a sponge for language and words.   Every now and then he still has something just ever so off in his vocabulary or phrasing.   Our dog he calls "Pixeled", he still refers to yogurt as logurt.  It drives his father crazy because it is true Ace when pressed will properly call it yogurt, I find it endearing and cling to the shred of toddler he ever had in the first place when it comes to language.   My favorite misstep in language though has to be the dirty hamster.  I nearly die laughing every time he says it and since it's not a regularly discussed topic in our house I forget about it and it makes it all that much more funny... because honestly how often does one talk about the dirty clothes hamper?  hehe dirty hamster!  I love it! :)   He often thinks faster than his words coming out of his mouth and so this leads to a jumbled repetition of the early phrase of whatever his sentence is while he works out the rest of his thoughts.   Patience is key in these moments, but sometimes we have him stop and think and then speak.  :)

Ace has such a kind heart and it only continues to grow.  He has great patience for his sister - in spite of her right on track status of a younger sibling.   Don't get me wrong they still have struggle wars over non-sharing,  he still gets frustrated when his sister hits him, stands in his way of tv, etc.. but on the grand scheme of things he is quite the loving brother.   He is good to share with other kids in school, church, and play dates - yet doesn't let himself get bullied either.    He has a kind heart toward 'other kids' that are in need and is generous at giving away toys to others.   A sign perhaps he has too many toys himself, but I've known plenty of kids that have too many and still don't want to share with the less fortunate.  If I have to choose one I'll take the kind hearted motivation.   I think one of my favorite things is that on Loving Husband's birthday Ace came running in the moment he woke up and said 'Happy Birthday, Dad!' and then ran off to go potty (typically the first thing he does every morning.)  It was so sweet!  Made me smile, and I'm sure it made his dad smile too.    He is very good at giving positive feedback to others as well.   We were coloring something the other day (he, myself, and his sister) and he was quite the motivator.  "You're doing a great job, mom!  That looks really nice.  Sister's is very pretty too!"  I of course returned the compliment on his fine work as well.    

In this last year Ace has gone through waves of gratefulness and ungratefulness.  It's a learning curve for sure between entitlement and appreciation.    We had a few bumps but for the most part Ace is very quick to tell me thank you and to show me that he appreciates the things and activities that I do for him.  Loving Husband tends to get a shorter end of that stick and we're not entirely sure why other than maybe Ace doesn't feel he needs to provide as much feedback to his dad.  It's a current existing question mark as we trudge into Year FIVE.

Ace is growing!   In this last year he has gained 3lbs and grown 2.5" topping off at 32lbs and 39.5" in the charts.  The end of spring was met with a huge growth spurt that resulted in the need for new shoes.  The others made it about nine months.  Not bad.  :)  In all this growth somewhere along the way his car bed just became impractical!   Every night we'd hear him thumping his arm, leg, head, hand... everything on the side of that small toddler bed.   The next morning he'd complain my ___ hurts.  Poor kid was beating himself up!  So we knew we needed to upgrade.  I looked at a twin but figured that width wise and his star-fish sleeping habits that it wouldn't last long either and so we jumped head first into a full-size bed!  Yep my giant 3.5 year old now slept in this bed that made him look tiny... and I loved it!   He still looks pretty small once again after another summer growth spurt but that first night or so he looked utterly tiny to me and I cherished it!   Sleeping through the night has been in full swing most of this past year - but around 3.5 he was in massive stall before bed mode.   Thankfully as a general rule that has been eliminated and he is pretty easy to put to bed.   Napping is about 70/30 these days with 70% of the time no nap occurring.  For the most part I'd say he still NEEDS the nap but he avoids it and I don't push it unless it's dire.   I suspect in a few months they will cease entirely.

Ace started preschool in January.  We waited until January since our return from Mississippi landed smack in the fall semester and we didn't want to just throw him in right when we returned.  We wanted to ease him back into the NW and give him a good start in preschool.   Overall it was a great experience for his 2 days a week half day program.   He made one really good friend and the two of them started on the same day.  Ace loved school, being able to take a toy to show and tell on a few occasions, being the "special leader" and doing the music program there.   It was so great to attend my first Mother's Day program and his first graduation!   This mommy couldn't be more proud to watch my son sing (and squirm) on stage and sing to us. 

As far as favorite things goes his dad ranks #1 for sure.   He always wants to know where he is, when is he coming home, when is it the weekend and he's STAYING home?  It's adorable.   He has declared that his favorite song "is that one that says 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger' you know that one that girl sings"  Yes, it's true Ace's favorite song is Stronger by Kelly Clarkson at the moment. :)  A favorite series of phrases he's been on a roll with lately have been along these lines  "Sometimes I like to do stuff with just you, me and sister; and sometimes I like to do things with just me and you; and sometimes I like to do things just me and dad... yah."  He alters the the order, the coupling of people, etc but he always seems to say it in this soft and sweet voice sometimes with his head tilted and his eyes squinted.   It's adorable.    I also love his phrase "That's so sweet of you."    Ace is a people pleaser and is always trying to make those around him happy.   As I've said he has a very kind heart!

It's been a great fourth year for our little man.   He's kind, sweet, nervous at times, strong willed, opinionated, and full of energy and we love it all.  I love that he's so aware, engaged, and loves his family.    He loves to do 'something special'  nearly every day and as a mommy I try my best to find fun activities that create lasting memories, lessons, and excitement.   I can't wait to see what year five has for us!!!

1. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE T. V. SHOW? Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Meeeee (said singing.)

2. WHAT DID YOU HAVE FOR BREAKFAST?  (Skipped this question as we were still in bed and had yet to have breakfast and I wanted him to focus and finish... mentioning breakfast would have not worked in my favor.)

3. WHAT IS YOUR MIDDLE NAME? He repeated his whole name (No just your middle one.) I don't know.

4. FAVORITE FOOD? Apples.

5. WHAT FOOD DO YOU DISLIKE? Avocado.

6. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? Black

7. FAVORITE LUNCH?  Apples (Seriously, what else?) Peanut butter and jelly (Hmm maybe I should make that more as I can't recall anytime recently that I made it.)

8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING TO DO? Go out with my dad.

9. IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD ON VACATION, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? The owl park! (said with enthusiasm and it a park near our house, sounds like a cheap vacation and same vacay as last year.)

10. FAVORITE SPORT? Soccer.

11. WHEN IS YOUR BIRTHDAY? August 24th!!!!!

12. ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT PERSON? A daytime to person that loves to eats apples.

13. PETS: Yah, Pixel.

14. ANY NEW AND EXCITING NEWS YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH US? Um... I don't know.  We don't really have that kind of stuff.  You guys do but I don't know I don't... I mean my birthday is exciting!

15. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP ? I don't know yet.  I just don't know yet. (An improvement from last year where 'nothing' often was the winning 'choice' for a profession.)

16. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CANDY? Blueberries!!!! (That's not a candy) The red things that are in red packages. (Skittles?) Oh yah Skittles. (He hasn't had them in months, but sure why not.)

17. WHERE IS THE FURTHEST YOU'VE EVER BEEN FROM HOME? Mississippi!

18. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK? The King and His Six Friends  (He and his dad do read this one together.)

19. WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?  I don't know... spending time with you?  (I'm not looking for a RIGHT answer but that's sweet.)

20. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE?  The Avengers with dad (He hasn't actually seen the movie - he just watches episodes of the cartoon with his father.  But in general  he has abandoned movies a lot in place of many many episodes of a variety of tv programs)

21. WHICH CAME FIRST, THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG? I don't know... The chicken... or the egg.  The chicken came out of an egg and grew up into a chicken. 

Ace's Latest Antics

It's been a bit of time since I've blogged about what Ace is doing and saying.  It's been quite an adventure let me tell you!   The threes truly are his time to shine and challenge and while we are loving this new chapter in Ace's life - it certainly has presented the biggest challenges as well.   

Things that Ace currently loves:  PUZZLES!  And he's good at them too!!   We have a few floor puzzles and they are 48 piece puzzles that he will do entirely on his own. He prefers help and company, but he's capable and we're so proud.   I also have a few smaller table-top puzzles that are roughly 25-30 pieces and he loves to just do it over and over and over - so one day his father presented him with a different challenge - do it upside down and he did...and does.  :)

He loves to wave goodbye when his dad leaves for work, and is very disappointed when he is unable to. He wants to call his dad to say hi "all day long" and recently asked for a real cell phone for Christmas next year, so that he could call people and talk to them.  

I find Ace to be a lovingly typical boy who loves guns, sticks, fighting monsters, and shooting and sword fighting!   Lots of great things flow from his imagination.  Ace enjoys wearing his Halloween costume regularly and protecting his identity!!  He also loves to be silly!  He makes the greatest faces!

He still is sticking with the future job of 'nothing' - he just wants to be an adult when he grows up.  We try to impart on him the fact he'll need to make money to support his wife and kids - but he doesn't seem terribly interested in that right now.   Which is fine - although I'd love for him to want to explore his options!  So far his job list has included:  nothing,  paleontologist (for a brief aspiring few weeks this past summer) and we are currently back to 'nothing'.     Well ok then...
Ace has started to eat a lot more these days, but still during meal times often takes fooooreeeevver or requires a lot of reminding, prodding, timers... etc to get him to eat the food.  He's currently on this kick of wanting to graze all day long - and wanting 'snacks' rather than actual meals at meal times.   It's a work in progress, but gone are the days I worry too much about calorie intake with him.

Humor has really started to sink in around here with him.   He occasionally will tell jokes and his biggest kick right now is to say "Hi Bob" and you are required (and if you don't - corrected) to respond "Hi Larry"  -  Yes Veggie Tales are a big hit in our house currently.  :)   He'll also switch it up and say "Hi Larry"  prompting you to say "Hi Bob"  and he'll go back and forth and try to trip you up.   It's amusing 75% of the time.     In a similar twist all in his own making he's taken on an alternative "bag" and "baggage claim"  - I have no idea where he got it or why - but the game typically involves saying "Hi bag" and/or "Hi baggage claim"  most of the time he's baggage claim and he has the bag (even though I am the bag?? I don't know...)  but then he asks me to ask for something in his bag.   He's had (imaginary) tuna, pickles, diapers, towels, my kindle... all sorts of things have come out of these "bags" that he has.  Often we play this game while driving in the car.   It's silly and time consuming but it really makes him excited - so we play.
Ace has also really started to memorize a lot of things - I've been practicing with him Bible verses - but the other morning he came in and surprised us with his knowledge and memorization of a flip book about Moses.   Now when he 'read' it to us he had it 100% correct.  When I had him do it again for the camera there were a few flubs - but still CRAZY impressive!   The Moses book is not one that we typically read a lot, recently certainly, but it's not like Cuddle was every night for months on end.  We are still a ways off from officially reading, but he's doing great memorizing things!

He loves his sister - but she is starting to wear on his patience some.  There is a lot of gritted teeth "NO SISTER!!!"   He still tries his best, but she is a little sister and really wants to be anywhere and everywhere that her brother is and because of this she is a follower, a snatcher, and a loving pest.  :)  We're trying our best to help Ace find better ways to help redirect the negative and embrace the positive and their loving moments still far outweigh their fighting ones. 

I made them a car to sit in to watch a movie

Sleep? He's sleeping through the night - bed time is frustrating - it involves a lot of stalling, bathroom breaks, water requests, etc... on the litmus test of toddlers - he's right on track.  :-/   We're hopeful that bedtime can be less stalling and more sleeping in the near future.   However, we are really not complaining on his sleep once he IS asleep!   We began potty training the Monday after he turned three and for some time now - he has been fully day time potty trained.    We haven't had an accident in the day in about a month.   At night he also is getting up and going potty in the middle of the night if he needs to and as a result of that we will cease the use of pull ups at night when we are at home.   If we are traveling or staying the night else where for a few more months we'll still use the pull up.  He's a bit nervous about that, but I'm amping him up to be excited about it.  :)

Overall, Ace is doing great - he's a month away from his half birthday - 3.5 when on earth did that happen?   I just can't believe it.  He's loving school,  goes to Sunday School without fuss (although still met with an initial anxiety and protest in the car on the way there)  and he's just overall a great kid!   Can't wait to see what the near future holds for him!

Ace's First Day

Last night I went to bed and set my alarm... for the first time in a long time. Since I quit work the only time that I officially needed an alarm was in the event that we had a doctor or dentist appointment.   It's been nice for the last 4 years, I must say.   Today dawned a new era of the return of the alarm clock (2 days a week!)   I got up at 7 and got myself ready to go, then went into Ace's room and he was mostly awake.     He asked "When is it time to get up?  Is it time for preschool?!"  He was sleepy, but excited!
I got him partially dressed, grabbed him some cereal and apples for breakfast, and grabbed the scissors do to a bit of maintenance on his hair that has gotten quite shaggy.  He was less of fan of that.   We grabbed his shirt and finished getting him dressed.  Got his coat and backpack on and he posed for his first morning of school picture in front of the door.  We left Mae with Mo who was still here visiting us, said goodbye and the three of us headed on to school.

We arrived at school and he was so excited to get out of the car, did great going in, and met his teacher Miss Megan.    After meeting Miss Megan he shied into his father's shoulder.    We met a new friend who also was having his first day and we all walked upstairs together with Miss Megan.    Ace and his new friend got to pick their cubbies to hang their coats and their backpacks.   Ace shied away and said "I don't want to do it."  I helped him get it all put in and as we're doing this he asks "When are you coming back to get me?" I assured him we would be back in a few hours and that he'd have a good time.

We went into his classroom and he got to look around and he and his new friend went over and checked out some toys with his teacher.   Us parents hung back and after a few minutes went over to say goodbye.   Which he barely acknowledged - so we headed out.

Fast forward a couple of hours in which time we had breakfast, Mae had a short nap, and I made Ace a lunch - it was time to go collect him.    Mae came this time and was having a lot of fun playing as I looked around for Ace.  Most of the kids were in the main play area and Ace was busy walking around in the classroom busy as can be.   He came out and smiled really big, and gave me a hug.  He went to grab his stuff and I talked to the teacher who gave a glowing review for his first day.

We hopped in the car and I gave him his lunch which he was VERY excited about and he scarfed.  In fact as I was driving home he was done and wanting more... so we swung through McD's where he consumed 4 nuggets and fries.  I drove us around as he told me about his day "I played for 'thirty hours!', did a project, sang about shapes, played with Matthew, and didn't go do the race (?) outside because it was too cold, and my teacher turned out the lights when she talked to us."

As soon as we got home he showed me his project and showed me his book fair flyer (and so it begins!)  so we looked through that before nap time (which he ultimately he did not take,...)  and marked the end of his first first day of school which he says he's excited to go to again on Thursday! 

The Tree Decorator!

"Mom, can we decorate a little?"   This is the question that has been posed to me every day since we got out the tree.   I try to accommodate - as it is true we are slow to complete the decoration process, but I mostly find it amusing that he's so excited to decorate for Christmas.   I asked him one night what he thought Christmas was about and he said "decorating!"  

I had to stop and pause and have a discussion with him that went something like this...

Me:  Do you understand why we decorate at Christmas time?
A: No.
Me:  Well remember when we decorated for your aunt's birthday party?
A:  Yes, we put up balloons and streamers!
Me:  Yah, that's right.  We did that to help celebrate her birthday.
A:  Oh ok. 
Me:  Do you know that we celebrate Jesus' birthday on Christmas?
A:  YAH!! (said with animated jumps and glee)

Me:  Well, we decorate for Christmas to help celebrate Jesus' birthday, and Jesus is the most important of all and so he gets the most special decorations and that is why he gets so many, because we really want to help celebrate his birthday!
A:  ((excited and jumping))  yah and that's why he gets a TREE! 
Me:  Yep you're right!  So while it is fun to decorate for Christmas, the reason we do it is for Jesus and the reason for celebrating Christmas at all is because...
A:  We want to celebrate Jesus being born! (Said with a big grin!)

Amen!

Subway Art found here.

A Paleontologist

That is what Ace (currently) wants to be when he grows up (and yes I had to look up how to spell that.)   Not too long ago when I asked Ace what he wanted to be when he grows up he would say "nothing" or that "I just want to be a person when I grow up."   I mean I'm not one to pressure my children into over achievement and stress, but I was growing a bit concerned at the total opposite of ambitiousness...

I decided last week to ask again just to see if that lack of ambition and general lack of care for his future remained the same (I mean it's ok if had, he is only three. I'm not mapping out his college career here or anything...) Instead he looked at me with his wide-eyes of excitement and went off telling me all about how he wanted to dig for dinosaurs and brush away the dirt (and sometimes they're in ice!) and that he wanted to find them so he could put them in a museum!  So I explained to him that job is done by a paleontologist, his reply was then "I want to a be a pa-lee-on-tol-o-gist."   I was in awe that he said it right - even if had just heard me say it.  That's a big word to say right for the first time out the gate.

Earlier this week we were watching Dinosaur Train on PBS and there was one of the standard breaks between the episode for one of their mini-segments.  Ace had only been loosely paying attention to Dinosaur Train anyway, mostly he had been playing around with his sister - but as soon as the mini-segment came on the guy said "Hi, I'm a paleontologist...."   Ace stopped what he was doing and said "Hey, that's what I want to be!! I need to pay attention."   And he did.  He stopped jumping around and sat right in front of the tv and listened to the entire segment.   It was adorable and amazing! 

I love watching him grow up and choose his life goals. I have no doubt that this profession choice will change, evolve, be returned to, or perhaps all of the above - but I think it's great he's started to think about what he wants to do "in the future."   I'm sure that his choice to be a paleontologist is largely because of his dinosaur dig we did earlier this summer and reading about Curious George and his adventures at the dinosaur museum, but that's ok - he's expanding beyond that and creating the mental picture of him doing these things and that's what I'm excited about.  I'm excited to watch his little mind unfold.  :)

Seuss-y School

It's school with a Seuss-y twist!  I had been finding lots of great ideas for what to do with Dr. Seuss books and so I wanted to apply some of those with an educational twist.  I didn't own all of the Dr. Seuss books in fact I was missing quite a few of the classics that are really necessary for something like this and so I headed to Half.com and ordered several books for $0.75 (don't get too excited, I still had to pay close to $4 to ship each book, but it was still the cheapest option.) It's always a gamble of their quality at that price but I'm happy to report that I had a 60% success rate with the books I purchased and a 100% "we'll make it work" success (although I probably will rebuy One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.)   With our books procured, I began developing the lessons that would be loosely themed to certain books.  Not all books had a lesson associated with them, some of them were just used during reading time.

Ace's first tray has cards with mom/baby farm animals.  I found them for free at Counting Coconuts, printed, laminated and stored them in a pencil pouch.     This was very easily paired up with Are You My Mother? (an idea that my friend Carrie came up with, thanks!)  And actually by total coincidence all the animals in the small board book were also within the flashcards.    Ace enjoyed this one and has learned some mom and baby combos.  Although he's thoroughly confused about the whole goat baby being called a 'kid'.  He keeps going in circles regarding the fact that he is a kid and that is NOT a kid.  I'd object too if a goat was being compared to me too.  :)

The next tray we have focused on learning some new terms for sizing things.  Ace is pretty good at understanding big, medium, little/small.    So I wanted to introduce another concept with Big, Bigger, Biggest and Small, Smaller, Smallest.   I found this idea with an entire Dr. Seuss unit here, but that unit was too advanced for Ace and I wasn't a fan of the printouts they used for their 'big/small' items and so I went on the hunt and made my own.  Ace did pretty well with it all thought he kept morphing 'medium' into the mix dispite his best efforts. 

The book that accompanies this lesson is Horton Hears a Who!  Ace liked it ok - but since it is one of Dr. Seuss' longer books it wasn't his favorite.  Perhaps he might enjoy the movie.  Although he did like the line "A person is a person no matter how small."  Which I've always loved and kind of consider it my mantra.

For Ace's math skills (which currently are just counting into the teens at the moment) I introduced some sandpaper numbers.   The idea is that he can trace his finger on them and get a feel for how he would later write them.  I ordered the sandpaper numbers here.  Since they were new the first few times it mostly was an exciting pile of them.  They'll become more educational as the exposure to them increases.  The books that accompanied these numbers were Ten Apples Up on Top and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.  

I also had a food activity included with One Fish, Two Fish which I was inspired by from here.   Which was a huge hit with the boy.   I am not sure I've had 'blue' jello before but this stuff was yummy.   Ace enjoyed making it and I am patting myself on the back that I got the Jello to set.

In honor of Thing One and Thing Two that often are seen with the Cat in the Hat on his tv show I created a matching game using pictures of his family members.  Our family of four and the four grandparents.   This by far is the biggest hit.   Ace LOVES to do this tray more than any other.    He likes to line them up, play the matching game, and sometimes just bring them over and smile saying that's our whole family.  It's really sweet.  I plan to expand this game with some of his other friends/family as well and rotate in some new faces every now and then.   

The book that accompanies this tray is The Cat in the Hat's Great Big Flap Book.   Ace enjoys this book in spite of it being one of the books that didn't win the $0.75 half.com lottery.  ;-)  He also received a pair of fun socks when I first gave him that book, which he thought was "pretty cool!"

His final tray was his movable alphabet that I blogged about here and was accompanied by Dr. Seuss' ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book! Which the book in general was a huge hit - although filled with very silly not real words.   He enjoys it. 

Overall, Seuss-y School was much fun.   We still need to make some green eggs and ham (to go with the obvious choice of Green Eggs and Ham)  and paint his feet and make an art project in correlation with The Foot Book. I'll be sure to post about those activities if and when we get to them (they're really more involved and require a lot of time that Mae can't participate in - so it's difficult to execute.)   It's been a lot of fun to create and help Ace learn some very non-seussical things with a very seussical theme.  :)

UPDATE: 3/1/2012  **Thank you for all the Pinterest Interest**   Please if you are pinning (or repinning) please do not pin the pictures of my kids. I try my best to always include pictures that don't include my kids so that you have something to pin.   Thank you!
Linked up on: Living Montessori Now, Sun Scholars, Mom of 2 Posh Divas, Classified: Mom, Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers, and Preschool Corner.

UPDATE: 3/10/2013 - Another Suess-y blog on food and bath fun is here!