With all our independent study lately, the big kid has been looking for ways to dig through a book as a group when he doesn’t have access to the reading circles that are often found in a classroom. We read one-on-one, but a ton of learning and connection comes from reading with your peers. A kids book club was needed to help him solidify what he was reading and and really get engaged!
We get this question from readers a lot. What are good first shoes for a toddler? Having had four boys in 5 years, we know a thing or two about little baby feet and MAN, some companies really get it wrong. Nate and I initially tried buying our own favorite shoe brand and simply getting “baby size.” That resulted in an irritating experience attempting to smoosh tiny toes into kicks that were WAY too narrow. This is one of those purchases where specializing really pays off!
People often ask how we juggle the kids’ school work when we travel so much. Living in California, we’re able to do a blended approach with independent study AND local elementary school enrollment. I’ve explained a bit about how we meet our children where they are in the learning process and supplement with different tools at home. An online tool is actually what helped our son breakthrough and figure out phoneme blending when his school’s traditional approach failed!
Great Wolf Lodge invited us for a visit a couple weeks ago, but Nate got called into work at the last minute. I was momentarily panicked about being alone at this epic indoor waterpark with four little kids, but I realized that the situation was more or less the same as usual. Once you find yourself outnumbered as a parent in a big family, it’s chaotic fun no matter what the specific balance is! I rolled with it, and soon realized that Great Wolf Lodge had a TON of cool things specifically catering to big families like our own.
Teaching our oldest son how to read was a winding road. We shared a bit about our IEP process, how we dug into school choices for him, and how we set up an educational tablet to give him independence and gamify independent reading. Thanks to some amazing teachers and tools, he did eventually learn to read! However, he stuck strong to his claim that he “hates books.” Library time at school remained a problem. He couldn’t envision the characters, and kept getting distracted. We asked around for recommendations to help get him really involved with a story, and a friend suggested augmented reality books.
We’re still renovating our farm and our house, and our current big project is putting a bathroom in the master bedroom. There’s a lot going on in there. Plumbing, tile, demo. The works! Nate and I can’t sleep in there while all that’s going down, so we had to find an alternative. We thought about sleeping in one of our offices (too close to the back door), the playroom (too messy) and the boys’ room (too stinky). The solution? Putting a bed in our living room.
Man, that’s a click-baity title if I’ve ever read one! I hope you’re not all expecting some epic Ziplock bag solution to help bring vegetables camping, or carrots sprayed with vinegar to make them last. I’ve tried all that stuff. It didn’t work. Nope, our “hacks” nowadays tend to be more of the grab-and-go sort. Nate and I have four kids so when we say we have a simple solution, you’re always going to find straightforward, honest, REAL answers even if it’s something like “go to Target and buy this thing.” Ka-bam. Problem solved. It’s not always creative, it’s not Pinterest-y, but it’ll get the job done as fast as possible and it’ll usually save you money.
I’ve mentioned a time or two that Nate works a shift schedule in his role as an emergency first responder for the county. He’s on for 12 hour blocks, three or four days per week, with overtime often adding up to 20 extra hours weekly.
Our family was hit with that gnarly flu last month, and everything got thrown out of whack around our house. It’s all errands and doctor appointments and an obnoxious amount of time spent in the car while we get back up to speed. In order to avoid the drive-thru as much as possible, I’ve been toting along veggie muffins as a handy (and healthy!) snack.
The first day of childcare with my first son was fairly typical. I’d read numerous studies about the benefits of childcare (I’m a former elementary school teacher, after all) and I knew that socialization would do him good. We started with a half day for practice, we implemented a brief goodbye routine, I sent him in with a lovey from home and tried to act super-confident before secretly dashing to the car and loudly sobbing about my baby growing up. My second son’s transition was similar.
And then came child number three.