D is for Dirty Diapers

Well the kids are adapting well to the new routine, and are doing phenomenally well with letter sounds.  They are able to come up with so many words that begin with the letter of the day.  They enjoy discussing the weather of the day, and are able to identify all kinds of shapes all over their environment.  I just wish we could get rid of the darn diapers.  A child as smart and advanced as CJ really should be out of diapers.  He poops only in the potty, but pees in his diaper all the time.  And today he threw a fit every time I tried to put him on the potty.  I had to change his bedding twice today!  Dirty diapers are frustrating.

Moving away from Mommy complaints, they did great today.  We played a Ducky matching game that their grandparents gave them last Christmas.  We also learned an ABC game I bought at Kohl's that said it is for 3 year olds.  It is a little bit too complicated for them just yet.  Not to mention CJ is at an age where he thinks he is always supposed to win!  I never really left that stage so I can't say too much.  : )

We made our letter D poster, wrote on the carpet, sang letter songs, and practiced all the sounds we have learned so far.  We reviewed the weather and what we learned about mammals.  They were able to explain that our cat Logan is a mammal because she has hair, and doesn't lay eggs.  They watched Dinosaur Train on PBS while I finished canning the peaches and peach spread I started yesterday.  They seem to remember everything they watch on Dinosaur Train and Sesame Street, it is quite amazing. 

Aside from the squabbles about the potty it was a pretty productive day.  When Rich got home he took them to the craft store for awhile so I could finish some stuff up in the house, and they looked all over the store for the letter D, and they were so excited about it.  When they got home we used the pipe cleaners (now called chenille stems) Rich bought, we used them to make shapes and letters.  They really enjoyed that.

We made baked whole wheat coconut doughnuts for breakfast.  The kids helped me measure everything and mix up the batter, and even fill the pan.  They were delectably delicious!  We talked about what a recipe is, how to measure ingredients, and how to prepare for cooking.  Always wash our hands so the germs stay away from the food, and how to read the numbers on measuring spoons and cups.  They are both wonderful helpers in the kitchen and they love to do it!  For lunch we had dill chicken and couscous, as I was running out of D food ideas.  We had Chinese Dumplings for dinner, since everyone was too hot and tired to cook. 

I spent their naptime working on the first few installments of this blog, and developing some materials for tomorrow.  I looked through several preschool workbooks I have bought at BJ's and Walmart, and made a few of my own.  I used MSWord to make a simple worksheet so the kids can match capital/upper case letters to their lower case counterparts, just by drawing a line.  They love doing matching activities, so I figure I can use that as a simple gauge of how they grasped that part of the learning this week.  I also used the same format to do a number to picture match.  The number one to one red hexagon for example.  Next week we will spend some time with simple sight words.  CJ already reads 5 or 6 words consistently, and Eliza recognizes just the word love.  What a great word to start out knowing. 

I think the word we used the most today though, was destroy.  Eliza kept destroying CJ's Lego tower.  CJ destroyed one of his board books, albeit accidentally.  Logan destroyed one of Eliza's coloring pages.  And I destroyed the kitchen with cooking.  Tomorrow should be a little bit less crazy.  I think I will go enjoy a daiquiri now, loving the letter D!