Ten Things I Will Miss About Sunrise School

1.  The Ponytail Posse

 

 

2.  Field Trips

 

 

3.  Smiles

 

 

4.  Forts

 

 

 

5.  Different ages learning and loving together

 

 

6.  Nap time!

7.  The classroom

8.  Teaching kids to pray for missionaries

9.  Wonder of reading

Photo by Sarah Grace Photography

10. Daily News

 

Thank you to all the parents who trusted me to love, teach, and care for their children.  I had a blast!

10 Things I Won't Miss:

1.  Diapers
2.  Wet bathroom floors
3.  Tattling
4.  Tying suspiciously damp shoelaces
5.  Cooking 2 full meals a day
6.  All the washcloths and napkins
7.  Snot
8.  Not being able to leave home
9.  Eternally dirty floors
10.  Endless paperwork and record keeping for childcare licensing

Playroom Make-Over

Some of my family came to over this weekend to help finish prepping for our newest bundles(s) of joy.  Plan was to steam carpets, clean out fridge, scrub baseboards, and the like.

Boring.

Instead, we spent an exorbitant amount of time at Wal-Mart and did a full classroom to playroom make-over.  Oh my goodness.  They did an amazing job. 

It is now such a fabulous room, I kind of want to keep it for myself.  I'd probably still let my girls play in it sometimes.  But it could just be used with my permission, and only if they promised not to mess it up.

 

 

My eldest, crazy artistic sister did this whimsical tree free hand.  Just slapped this beautiful tree on the wall like it was nothing.  How are we related?  I have trouble drawing stick people.

 

The long counter serves as a desk and has seats made of file crates which are labeled and filled with toys.  A place for everything and a thing for every place.  Only the OCD could truly appreciate this.

 

 

My youngest, incredibly handy sister and creative sister-in-law made this stage for my little drama queens.  It has storage at the top, a chalkboard wall for drawing scenery, curtains, and twinkly lights.  It is even more wonderful in person.  There have already been several plays.

 

 And it's even cooler with the lights off.  So much joy.  Come over for a play-date.

Home Study Confession

It was early 2012, and God would not leave us alone about fostering.  A year later and we finally started the process.

I know there will be joys.  But right now what we have is the not fun part.

Piles of paperwork - and it's only the beginning.

Hours of classes - some helpful, some redundant.

But the light at the end of the tunnel is approaching.  One last hurdle.  It's a big one.  The Home Study.  Oh, the Home Study.  Four and a half hours.  That's a long time to behave like a "normal" family.

We were mostly concerned about our little four-year-old performer, story-teller.  She did fabulous.  Her new best friend is our caseworker.  However, we were so focused on what Motor-Mouth Jr. was going to say that we forgot about Motor-Mouth Sr...

OK, so I did a great job in the joint interview.  Nothing over the top Hannah-ish.  But, Patrick was there to be my anchor.

Then the private interview.  Here's where I was afraid.  No husband sitting next to me. 

Who is going to silently shake their head when I start to share too much?  Or squeeze my hand when I babble on and on?  Or softly kick me when it's time to shut up?  Or give me huge, disbelieving eyes when I cross the line of appropriate adult conversation?

For all my fears, once the individual interview starts, I feel like I am acing it.  I have said nothing embarrassing.  Patrick would be so proud.  Then this question - BAM - out of the blue.

Caseworker:  Do you think there could be something to make your sex life better?

Me:  You mean, like a toy??

Caseworker:  (Embarrassed laughter)  Um...I'm sorry.  No one has ever answered that before.

I have no ability to pass up the possibility of making someone laugh.  Thus is my Home Study confession.  Now we are praying that the caseworker will see past me and still give us a kid or two.

Seriously, though, please be in prayer with us.  In all likelihood, our next child is already alive, but just not in our home yet.

Go Outside!

This has got to be the best Sesame Street video ever.  Every time I hear it, I want to have a dance party in my backyard...and give Elmo a big kiss.

 

 

This Jason Mraz guy's research is pretty good.  The National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education says:

 

"recess is an essential component of education and that preschool and elementary school children must have the opportunity to participate in regular periods of active, free play with peers."

So, we go outside as much as possible here at Sunrise School.  Even the smallest love soakin' up the Vitamin D.

I try to give my kids as many open-ended "un-toys" to play with as possible.  Here we have pillows (pool noodles cut in half) around a pretend campfire.  The noodles have been guns, swords, horses, antenna, and light sabers.  The scrap wood is the same wood used by the kids for this.

 

And here's my newest and favorite outside toy, our music station.  PVC pipe + old cans = Big time fun.  I even got all kinds of crazy and let the kids spray paint it for me.

 

Source:  http://www.peacefulplaygrounds.com/pdf/right-to-recess/recess-importance-of-play.pdf



John Has a New Name

 

My nephew lives by this code.  John.  Batman.  Optimus.  T-Rex.  Folks, he has a new name.  I've been bursting to share the latest news.

 

 

• Um, so sometimes the water coming out of our tap is yellowish brownish.  Does anyone else have that problem?
• Look at sweet Joshy's news.  Having a good Granna is such a precious thing.
• Can't get enough of that Gideon and his "yester" words.

 

Fireball Rhino is the newest classmate at Sunrise School.  He has a tail, sits on his haunches, and can only grunt.  He is fabulous.

The next week's news overflows with excitement.

Until next time, remember to play with the children in your lives.  Soon they will be grown up and going to scary places...like kindergarten.

Pass the Oxygen: Parenting in the Trenches

I love my children.  Dearly.  But sometimes parenting is so hard.

It started when I woke her up from her nap.  She hit me.  That's a first for this house.

Now, before you get all Judgy-Judgerson on my parenting, know that I am trying.  I've read the books.  My husband and I have taken classes.  We've prayed with and over our children.

After our usual discipline techniques I thought she had calmed down.  Then the whining.  Which became crying.  That escalated to yelling.  Which gave rise to an all out kicking, throwing, hitting, screaming banshee fit.

By now I am at a loss.  I've tried every reward, discipline, and punishment I can think of.  If you are feeling holier-than-thou about your parenting right now, you do not have a strong willed child.  Bless you, and please keep your comments to yourself.

Just when I thought all hope was lost, I threw up a Hail Mary pass.  (Forgive the football analogy, but tonight is the NFL draft.)  The one thing I could think of to end the madness: I sent her straight to bed without supper.

Never done this before.  Hated doing it.  Don't think I'll ever do it again.  If you are wanting to berate my parenting skills, you'll have to line up behind yours truly and shovel through piles of self-loathing to reach me.

So, here I am.  Also not eating supper.  Googling "encouraging verses for parents."  I read through them praying for some new insight.  Some glimmer of hope for my weary bones.

The commentary at the bottom of Proverbs 29:17 caught my eye.  It said that in Hebrew, the "peace" spoken of in the above verse is "rest properly, a breathing again."
 
And it hits me.  That's why this thing called parenting is so hard.  There is no rest.  There is no breathing.  It is split-second decisions.  It is one human attempting to show grace to another human. 

And it is hard.  Harder than I thought it would be.

But it is also much more wonderful than I ever imagined.  Even after moments like tonight, I wouldn't trade it.
 
Tonight, this notion of peace is keeping me sane.  Knowing that persistent and consistent discipline will birth proper rest.  A breathing again.  Delight to my soul.

Till then, could someone please pass the oxygen?

Painting with a Squish

No Texas childhood would be complete without the reading of Tomie dePaola's The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush.  This classic tale explains the proliferation of the wildflower and the origin of its name.

 

In days of yesteryear, Little Gopher, was a painter.  Due to the scarcity of Walmart, he had to make his paints from crushed berries and rocks.  This notion of "no Walmart" is always fun to teach to small children.

 

 

So, what did we do after reading this story?  Made our own paint from berries.  With nine children.  Alone.  In a carpeted dining room.  I promise I'm not crazy.

 

 

Each child was given a bowl and spoon for squishing blueberries and strawberries.   The end result was a bit messy, but so much fun.  I have found that most things worth doing with children are.

 

Some of us may have eaten most of our berries pre and post painting.

 

All in all, an excellent, hands-on activity for preschoolers.  However, I do think the finished masterpieces will attract extremely "pesty" art-lovers.