Grayson – Butterbees and Bumbleflies

I’m Baaaack!!

So guess what, y’all? I’m back! Not long before I quit writing last year, we found out we were… SURPRISE!!!!… pregnant! And then last fall, I got back into the classroom at a fabulous private preschool in San Antonio – teaching three days a week as an assistant to a simply amazing teacher who has become a great friend as well as coworker. I absolutely LOVE teaching Pre-K, and look forward to getting back to teaching this summer for a few days of summer camp, and then to diving back in in the fall. So anyway, on February 2nd, Mirielle (a French name that means miraculous, because, she really is, ya know?) was born… and the rest of her story is yet to be written! I’m sure God has an amazing plan for her life!

Now, I’m starting a new adventure in my life – not only being a mom of THREE, but also I have now set a new path for my career! My master’s degree is in curriculum development, and I have long loved creating products for my own classroom, so I figured my maternity leave would be a great time to join the wonderful set of teachers on the fabulous website – Teachers Pay Teachers.

The very first free product I’m offering is a cute little book I’ve titled, “My Colors.” It’s rainbow inspired for the spring, and was created specifically with Gray in mind, because he really wants to learn how to read, and since he knows his rainbow colors, I thought a simple little reader might help him pick up the color words as sight words. Instead of merely creating a book on plain paper, we did a super fun art project to tie it all together, and then because Sis wanted to get involved, she colored her own copy of the book for me to use to show y’all as a sample!

Here’s the link to get your free download of the book. Directions on how to put it together can be found below.

And here’s how we did the art! Y’all, it’s so simple, it’s like falling off of a log! I put some rainbow paint colors in an old egg carton, and made stampers from folded paper towels and clothes pins. First, I had Gray do the craft part – the specific stamping of the colors in order – one purple spot in the middle, surrounded by blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. I showed him on my plate how to do it, first. Then, I let him loose and let him just create art! He used the sponges, his hands, and even asked for a paint brush! I love that he was exploring with the textures, and we talked about how each material he used made different marks on the plates. We had such great discussions, and he was happily occupied for a good 45 minutes! (Total mom score!! Right??) (Sidenote – did you notice how I called this activity both a craft AND art? Check out my post here about the difference between process art and crafts...)

rainbow plates

We’ll be using the other plates he painted as book covers, too… be sure to check my Teachers Pay Teachers page soon for more free downloads, and for other fun book ideas using the covers we made!

How to Assemble Your Books:
To put any of these books together, you’ll want to first make sure your plate is thoroughly dry, then fold it in half, and cut. If you’ve done the rainbow circle, it magically becomes a rainbow! You can simply add a cloud and it becomes much like this craft from Fantastic Fun and Learning. Or, keep going and turn it into a book cover! Take your colored “My Colors” book, and cut it in half. Then, placing the bottom left corner of the book pages in line with the bottom left corner of your rainbow plate, cut around the top to make the arch. Make sure the pages are all in rainbow color order, and then staple in the bottom left corner. Use a sharpie to write your title and name, and then enjoy reading your book over and over!

book assembly

Thank you for checking out this post! If it’s your first time to visit, welcome! I share lots more on Facebook, so be sure to click on over and “like” my page. I’d also love for you to follow my Teachers Pay Teachers page – as I’ll be adding lots of files in the coming weeks and months! I love teaching preschool, and I love that now I get to share with y’all the fun things I’m creating! I’ll also be throwing a few older kid downloads out there as well, when I make little things for Sis! So you won’t want to miss anything – I won’t always do a blog post for every file. If you have something you’d love to see me create, or a topic you’d love to see covered here on the blog, please be sure and let me know! Just shoot me an email any time – I’d love to hear from you!

Keeping Christ in CHRISTmas

It’s hard in the midst of the busyness of the Christmas season to keep the focus where it should be… So might I make a suggestion? You’re already going to be doing craft projects and activities… what if you just tweaked them a bit to make sure that your focus is on Christ? Don’t worry – I’m not suggesting you invent the wheel here! Nope, Alicia Michelle of Your Vibrant Family has already done it for you! (And no, it’s not too late to get it TODAY!)

When I found out about her Christmas system, I was excited to be a reviewer! (Full discloser – I received the set in exchange for my review – these opinions shared here are my own, and links to purchase the set are affiliate links that financially benefit our family – THANK YOU!) But once we started using the system, I started to love it even more! I read through her ideas, and something she said really hit me. I mean, I had head knowledge, but there was something about reading it… this is what she said:

And suddenly, reading this, I realized that it was ok to not cram pack every single day with activity. It was even ok to not do our annual Christmas cookie exchange this year… and instead use the funds to purchase some special craft activities that we could do together as a family, and sponsor an angel from our church’s angel tree.

img_5873-2 — Becca and I painted these wooden letters and as we did, we talked about why we chose “Joy” as her middle name, and also talked about that JOY can stand for putting Jesus first, then Others, then Yourself. It was a really fun time painting together, and a great, deep conversation!

Having this mindset and focusing on the true meaning of Christmas has helped my attitude toward the season so much! It’s amazing. I mean, it seems so simple. Because it is.

Check out the Christ-Centered Christmas Banner we have put together from Alicia’s set… (You can purchase your copy of the set here!)

How we used the banner pieces:
Gray is 2 1/2 and LOVES to stick stickers! It’s a fabulous way for him to work on hand-eye coordination and build his fine motor skills, so I’m always looking for more sticker opportunities for him. He decorated the “Light of the World” banner piece with sparkly star stickers, and we talked about the star that shone over the stable where baby Jesus was born. We also talked about that Jesus can be called the “Light of the World.” Did he get it? I wasn’t sure. But the other night he made the connection when he made a star ornament at our church carnival and he said “It’s Jesus’ star over the manger! Is the ‘Light of the world!'” He also used stickers to decorate the “Merry Christmas” banner piece. He really enjoyed decorating – and when I got the banner hung up, he loved seeing his work on the wall!

Becca is working hard on her handwriting skills, but isn’t super fond of copywork. So – I thought it might be more fun if she could do her copywork onto banner pieces to be hung on the wall. She jumped on it and was so excited! She wrote Psalm 34:18 on the “Hope” banner piece, and on the “Joy” banner piece, she wrote “J is for Jesus” from the poem we read (also in the set!) about the meaning of the candy cane. Then she chose to draw a picture of Jesus on that banner piece as well.

I added a couple of family pictures to the other banner pieces to tie the focus to our specific family. Then, since we typically have a sign in the middle of our art display wall (I originally posted about this wall here), I used Alicia’s beautiful background paper that I printed on my color printer, and then ran it through my laser printer once it was totally dry… and developed a beautiful advent count-down calendar to fit in the frame that regularly hangs there… that we can mark with a dry erase marker! (If you purchase this set, please let me know, and as a thank you for your purchase, I will email you your FREE PDF copy of the “O Come, O Come Immanual” advent countdown calendar – that can easily be printed on top of her decorative paper! It’s not too late to start it!)

I am so pleased with how the whole wall turned out. I love that it’s visible from downstairs in our living room, and that it’s in a place where the kids will see it regularly (upstairs near their rooms) to remember where our focus should be this holiday season.

Another activity we did from this set was actually one I used with our AWANA K-2 group this week. We talked about the meaning of the candy cane, and the kids strung beads on pipe cleaners to make candy canes. They got to keep one, and take one to a friend at school – along with the candy cane poem printable from the set – as a Christmas gift to share Jesus with their friends! The kids had so much fun and were really excited to have a gift to take to friends. They colored the sheets in their classes once they had said their verses, or could take them home to color before giving to their friend. I’ll be doing the same thing with Becca this weekend – she’ll get to make candy canes to give to her friends, and can color the sheet as a Christmas card.

away-candy-canes

It’s so easy to use this set to stay on track, to keep your focus, and yet still accomplish all the goals you normally have during the holiday season! I so appreciate Alicia’s creation of this set, and look forward to using these parts (and more!) next year. I love that there’s so many different options, and I can use what works for our family now, and then still have new things we can add on or swap out next year, or the next!

Might I add… Don’t think if it’s after December 1st that you can’t start this!!!! It is never too late to get your focus right, and there’s always room to do stuff next year, but if you wait to get it, you’ll forget! So click here to get it today and use what you can, and just allow it to build in the future. You won’t regret it. That I can promise.

A Letter of Love

Last night I watched the movie “Miracles from Heaven”… and it really got me thinking. I wrote this letter to my son, and sent it to the special email account we created for him before he was born. I’ve been emailing him (and his sister at her account) off and on as things come up. And then, when he is old enough (probably 21, maybe older), I will share the email address and password with him, and he can begin to go and read these letters. Some of them, I share here on my blog. This is one I felt compelled to share. I hope it is a blessing to someone. Here’s a picture of my lil man playing with chalk paints taken this past week. It’s hard to imagine him a grown man reading this letter, but I pray that someday he will read it, and that it will be a blessing to him.

Hey sweet boy!

By the time you are reading this letter, you’ll be old enough to know the story of how you came to be. The story of God’s miracle of you. And how Mommy (and Daddy) learned that sometimes God’s answer is “no” before it is “yes.”

But this week, I’m thinking about it all over again, and I felt lead to write you this letter. Three years ago this week, I felt you move inside of me for the first time. It was almost like some unspoken covenant from God that THIS was the child I would carry to full term. It was way too early for me to be feeling you, and yet, there you were – my steady kicker who moved ten times more than your sister ever had. Your movements felt like a promise because three years ago this week was also when I was due with your first little angel sibling. Thinking back to when we lost that baby, so very early into our pregnancy, and yet still such a raw and painful feeling… I was so desperately sad. And then, when we lost the second just a couple months later, I was mad at God. Why would He let me get pregnant and then take my babies away? I’ll never understand the answer to that question. But I do know one thing – YOU are a miracle, and every single day I treasure you just a little bit more than I probably would have if we wouldn’t have had that struggle.

Sometimes God walks us through the fire before He gives us the miracle we need… so that we will lean on Him more. So that we will trust in Him and remember He is in control. So that we will fully appreciate the miracle on the other side. Because, if either of those other two babies had lived, we never would have had you. YOU are the answer to why they weren’t meant to be.

So when you struggle in life with wondering why God’s answer is “no”… or maybe He even seems totally silent and the answer is “not right now,” I know it’s hard to be patient. I know it’s hard to trust. I know how easy it is to lose your faith. Because I have been there. But you have the distinct ability that not many people have to be able to just go and look in the mirror. YOU were our answer to “no” and “not right now.” Your LIFE is the perfect picture of God’s perfect plan. Your life may not feel like it’s God’s perfect plan all the time. But YOU ARE A MIRACLE!! He created you with special purpose and meaning. Back in the spring of 2013, months before you were even conceived, He had YOU in mind. He knew YOU. He loved YOU. And He was planning for YOU. He said “no” to two other babies so that YOU might live.

Also don’t lose sight of the strength that comes from the journey. The Bible tells us that in this life we will have pain. We will have sorrow. But to have HOPE – because HE has overcome all the problems of the world. And through the struggles, He gives us strength to overcome. He teaches us to lean a little harder on Him. And He teaches us to reach out to our brothers and sisters who struggle – to support them and be an actual physical leaning post here on this Earth.

I will never fully understand why God wanted me to have two miscarriages before having you. It seems like everything would have been so much easier if I just hadn’t even gotten pregnant until it was time for you. But when I look back at all of the women that I have been able to encourage when they walked through the same valley… and when I think of all of the women that I have been able to bond with by sharing my story and realizing they have walked a similar path… then I start to get a glimpse of the “why.” When I realize how much stronger my faith became – BECAUSE I questioned God, BECAUSE I raged at God, BECAUSE I fell into a heap of emotional mess at His feet when I finally gave up – then I start to get another glimpse of God’s “why.” When I realize how much stronger of a marriage your Daddy and I have because of the fire we walked through together, I start to get yet another glimpse of God’s “why.” I learned that when I am weak, God has given me a very physical representation of His love right here on Earth to lean on. Your Daddy will be strong when I need him. He will lift me up and carry me when I can’t walk – both literally and figuratively.

Most of all, I learned that the old saying “everything happens for a reason” really is true. But for us, we could modify it to say “Grayson happened for a reason.” God has a reason for you. He has a purpose for you. Even if you don’t see it today or tomorrow or next week or six years from now. Your life has meaning. Your life has purpose. Your life is special. Go look in the mirror. YOUR LIFE IS TRULY A MIRACLE.

I’m praying for you, my sweet boy. Every single day. That you will grow into the man God wants you to be. That whoever is the woman to be your helpmate will be strong in her faith, and that she will build you up and encourage you. I pray the two of you never have to walk through the same fires that Daddy and I have walked, but if you do, look in the mirror. When you walk through different trials together, remember Who is in charge. And remember that “why” doesn’t always have an answer that we can comprehend, but He is in control. And He really does have a plan. He loves you, and He created you. YOU ARE A MIRACLE. The woman walking beside you is a miracle who was created JUST FOR YOU. Love her. Cherish her. And carry her through the fire. Being broken together makes the bonds of healing so much stronger. Your cord of three will never fully unravel when you lean on each other, and together lean on Him.

I love you, Baby Boy. I love you, Little Bear. I love you, Bubs. I love you, Gray Gray. I love you, Grayson Cody Hinnant. No matter how old you are when you read this. My love for you will never die. “I’ll love you forever. I’ll like you for always. As long as I’m living, my Baby you’ll be.”

Love,

Mommy

Thankfulness and Thanksgiving – for your Toddler

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Continuing my series on Thankfulness and Thanksgiving, I wanted to give you some ideas of things you can do with your little ones – the toddlers in your house who are just beginning to get the concept of saying “thank you” when you give them something.

I started with a very basic activity for Gray – I asked him, “Who are your friends that you thank Jesus for?” Then, I wrote each of their names on a leaf – from this free printable (shown below) and then we hung it on the refrigerator. He was so proud of his paper! “Those Gray friends! I say thank you Jesus my friends!” Get your own copy of the printable here (it’s page 4 of the free document).

gray-thankful

I also wanted him to be able to participate in some of the thankfulness art he had seen Sister doing, by letting him make some of his own Homemade Cards for his teacher at Mother’s Day Out, and for his nursery teacher on Sunday mornings. He also wanted to make pictures for his grandparents. I started him out by simply painting over leaves, and then once it turned into a full-on sensory activity (I knew it would – the boy loves to paint his hands!) then, I grabbed more sheets of paper and helped him make hand prints, which I turned into turkeys.

tots-say-thank-you

I have a couple of cute poems that I’ve pinned over on my Thanksgiving pin board, and I’ll select one of those to write inside the cards. Super simple, but he had a blast feeling the paint, being tickled by the paint brush, and feeling the silk leaves. It was a great sensory activity that was lots of fun for him!

Note – I love using acrylic paint for kid projects because it easily washes off of skin, and dries quickly on paper. BUT it stains clothing, so we usually do those projects either with a smock, or with him in his diaper.

Back to the original Thankfulness and Thanksgiving post.

Busy Hands, Happy Heart

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This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Most of my posts here are about homeschooling Becca, but this one is all about what to do with the little ones… and highlights what I do to keep Gray occupied so Sis can learn. (And SHHHH! he’s learning, too!) Keeping your toddler occupied while your older child does homeschool is NOT easy! But hopefully a few of these ideas will inspire you and be helpful on your journey!

fine-and-gross

One thing we really struggle with with Gray is that he still likes to put things in his mouth – a lot. I can’t just give him an activity and pay total attention to Sis. So, I have to very carefully select what he does when I’m busy with her. He loves our pop beads set – so when I’m teaching her, I pull out only the large beads on a tray and let him sit on the bench right next to me in our family room (which doubles as our homeschool room).

homeschool-work-area — -homeschool work area-

If we are doing something downstairs at the dining room table, he gets to do play dough next to me, and loves to make prints in the dough. We have little stackers, dominoes, construction trucks, and dinosaurs that all make awesome dough stamps, not to mention our fabulous cookie cutter set. He can stay occupied with play dough for almost an hour! (Plus, I make my own dough, so I can make it any color I want, and he loves to take two different colors of dough and squish them together… which works on those fine AND gross motor skills all at the same time!)

Back upstairs in the family room, we have a little Duplo table (this is the one I’d like to get once we move up to only Legos) and some diaper boxes full of Duplos that Gray loves to build with. Then we also have big wooden blocks (that my dad made for me when I was little!) with which he can build larger-scale items. We also keep crayons and coloring books readily available so that he can color when Sis is illustrating – because nothing is more exciting and makes you feel big and important like coloring when Sis is coloring. And he has been enjoying playing with window clings that I got from Dollar Tree!

There are so many fabulous things you can get your little ones excited about that are going to stretch them and help them grow their fine AND gross motor skills.

pretend-play-activities

Pretend play is so important for little ones, and Gray is all about pretending. He is fairly quiet with his pretend play, so he doesn’t distract Sis too much. If you have a louder child who likes to play really loudly, you might want to skip this section and move on down to the academic ideas, leaving the pretend play for non-school times.

Gray loves our new set of felt dinosaurs. He likes to tell little stories with the dinosaurs, and can either use the portable board with which they came, or can use the larger cork board that I covered with felt that is up in our family room. I love that both kids can stand together at the easel and play, or he can play alone right next to me while she works. He also loves to drive his cars and trains on the activity rug that sits on the floor next to me, and cook “meals” for us in their kitchen, which is across the room. (This link is to a similar set – ours is no longer sold.)

He also loves to grab a reusable shopping bag and pretend he’s shopping, play dress up, and play with Little People figures. The beauty of doing school in our family room is the multiplicity of options to keep him entertained. We do not choose to have the tv on during school time. That is far too distracting for Becca.

academic-activities

Sometimes there is just no other way than to teach her with him sitting in my lap or standing right next to me. (His love language is touch.) For those times, I have some little academic activities that aren’t distracting to her that I can do with him while she is working independently. We have number puzzles matching the numerals 1-10 to their values, and he can sometimes do 1-5 alone. Sometimes he gets frustrated when they don’t fit exactly together (fine motor work!), but I can help him.

He also loves our pattern block shapes that I made out of thick colored card stock and laminated. I use them with Sis as math manipulatives, and he also loves to sort them out and try to count them. You can print your own here for free!

I have also laminated some little basic puzzles that have come out of magazines the kids get – he loves to put the three pieces together to make the trucks, and can put them together wrong to be silly and it’s ok, so he feels very successful with those.

I love the Target dollar section. Sometimes I get surprised and find a $3 item that I love and just have to have, but normally I stick to the $1 stuff. I got some really neat felt sticker numbers there (for $1), and placed one each on a set of 10 index cards so that he can actually FEEL the number, and attempts to put them in order.

He loves so much the big bin of Scrabble letter tiles at the DoSeum, so I finally bought this set so that he can play with the letters at home – and Sis can use them for spelling practice! They are both so excited to have their own letter tiles at home now! Sis also enjoys playing Scrabble Jr, so this now gives him letter tiles to play with, without messing up the board while we are playing!

I hope that you find these ideas helpful, and I so appreciate you purchasing via my affiliate links! What helpful hints do you have to share? What do you like to do with your toddler? And which of these ideas that I’ve shared are you ready to try this week? Let me know! I love to hear from you! Send me comments, and please be sure to head over to my Facebook Page to get involved in the discussion!