Day 118: A beautiful Letter

After church, I was handed this letter from my Peanut. I don't think it needs any explanation.

Anybody that knows me personally, knows what a rough start Peanut and I have had. For the past five years (and a few months added to that), I've been trying to establish a relationship with her. And only in the last few months, I can see a breakthrough. It makes me so happy. So receiving this today, brings tears of joy to me.

I am thankful that she is part of our family. That she is different and keeps me on my toes. That she is always funny and silly, and brightens up all of our days. I thank her that she teaches me new points of view and that she stretches me constantly. I am blessed with a beautiful daughter.

Day 117: Story Telling Cubes

I am sure most of you have seen those little cube games in the store. We got Story Cubes as a gift for one of the kids, I actually don't remember which one. Nonetheless, they are a great tool for learning to tell stories, homeschooling or not. This morning, the kids got it out and the Hubby joined them in telling tall tales. He is so great with his huge imagination (I don't have any) - I am glad that the kids can play this with him and learn to be creative, something I never learn and it is kind of sad.

The many rounds of story telling actually ended with a round of singing rhyming songs. It was so funny and got really loud, but the kids had a ton of fun.

Day 116: Tic Tac Toe

The Hubby was off today, so we went out for lunch to one of our favorite spots. Of course, as part of the American tradition, the kids get a kids menu that includes coloring pages and other activities. The two big kids usually get to work right away and don't need any help. But little Munchkin still wants help or color together. So I decided to teach her to play tic tac toe. She made all the crosses and I had the circles. Not only did she do a good job with the crosses, but she also beat me the second time! Kids are so much smarter than we think.....

Day 115: Writing the Letters of the Alphabet

While the two big kids get to go to PE class, Munchkin has to hang out with me. For the last five months, this has become her one-hour-of-playing-on-my-phone-time. We believe that technology has its place but we don't let it rule our live, so we are limiting our kids very much on any screen time. This hour is a treasured time for her as she only gets it once a week. (and I am not sure what she will do once PE class is over for the school year)

There are a few apps that I let her play on my old phone, mostly those are puzzles, but lately she has preferred to play letter writing games. Some let you trace, but the lines show up automatically. This one (it is called ABC Tracing) is a bit harder as the lines show as SHE is writing them, crooked and not straight at all. It was her first try today, and I think she did really well. (Proud Mami speaking here)

Now I have looked for the ABC Tracing app and I can't find it anymore - I wonder if they took it off. BUT before you sigh, there are a ton of other tracing apps that are equally good. Alphabet Tracing is free and works the same way. Little Writer cost two dollars, but is just another great app. iTrace uses both techniques, teaching connecting dots to create letters and free writing. Those are just a few, there are many more. 

Day 114: The Scholastic Mouse

Coqui's new favorite book series is Geronimo Stilton. We own a few books as they aren't cheap. So with a trip to the library, we got a total of seven 'new' books into the house. He barely washes his hands coming home, and as soon as he can he plops on the floor and reads. I love when my passion becomes his passion. I love to read and I truly believe that reading will broaden his horizon and enlarge his imagination. Homeschooling rocks.

Apparently, they also have workbooks - I need to look into those. I am sure Coqui won't mind Reading Comprehension as much with his favorite mouse.