love to paint

Yesterday as I was looking at Eli, I realized that I need to remember how it's best for him to hold his paper.  I'm right handed and I just can't keep it straight in my head.  I found two great free helps. The first is here:   http://www.fernwood-inf.nottingham.sch.uk/Documents/left%20hand%20hw.jpg This is the main page and it has a lot of other great resources for preschool as well:   http://www.fernwood-inf.nottingham.sch.uk/Help%20your%20Child%20at%20Home.htm The second is  http://handedness.org/action/leftwrite.html On this page, there is a 1 page chart you can print to help you remember how a left hander should position their paper. As for scissors... Amazon increased the price on the Westcott lefty scissors by $3 (making them $8 instead of $5)!  The lefty scissors can be bought directly through Westcott's website for $3 each, but you'll pay $5 shipping, so you'd want to buy more than one pair to make it worth it.  I think I'm going to...

A few days ago, I began blogging about my quest to help my children learn their math facts.  In my journey I found four math cds that I love, each for different reasons.  I previewed a lot of cds on Amazon before finding a few that I enjoyed for both the lyrics and tunes.  The first cd I hadn't heard at all before my kids and I began listening to it.  I had seen the words for one of the songs and I was curious. Contestant #1:   One Hundred Sheep, Skip Counting From the Gospels  This CD has been published by Common Sense Press, the same publisher who publishes Learning Language Arts Through Literature .  This cd has 9 songs.  Children learn to skip count by 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 6s, 7s, 8s, 9s, and 10s.  But, this isn't your normal preschool skip-counting sesame street cd.  The tunes are catchy and fun.   They are fast, though, so your children may have a hard time catching the lyrics at first.  The first time we listened, m...

It seems that I often get excited about reading books.  Then they arrive and they sit on the table for a week, two, and sometimes even three.  Then, one day, I pick up the book and it's the right time to read it.  It's amazing to me how God keeps doing this in my life.  Orchestrating these little, minute decisions and pieces in the puzzle of my days.   This last weekend I picked up a book that opened my eyes and my heart a lot.  There was a hole that was filled by the Lord as I read it.  Compassion and sympathy filled a hole where hurt has been residing for several years.  My heart was encouraged by where the Lord has my husband and I now, by what he's been doing in my husband's heart and mind since he began seminary last August.  From what I just said, you might be surprised what the book is that I'm finishing up.   It's Dangerous Calling by Paul David Tripp.  It's a new book published by Crossway.  The title describes ...

He he he...  When I Autumn was in first grade, I switched math curriculum half way through the year.  I searched and searched.   In the process, I looked at Abeka and noticed that they required daily practice of math facts.  I felt like I was already trying to do so much in a day and I pushed it off.  I pushed it off for two years, actually until spring of last year. I realized that we needed to invest time in the memory of the facts.  Without the mastery of the math facts, I knew my children were not going to be able to complete their math assignments in a timely way.  They would end up spending more time on the facts than on the concept of the problem they were working on.  This hadn't happened yet, but I could imagine it happening down the road.  So, I began searching for how to work on their facts with them. I went through the addition deck with Autumn last spring.  When she didn't know a fact, I set it aside in a pile and she was ...

I have enjoyed watching Downton Abbey on PBS.   It has become so popular!  It seems as if historical fiction with similar themes has risen in popularity alongside this show. One such book with a similar theme is Olivia Newport's novel The Dilemma of Charlotte Farrow .  This novel tells the story of Charlotte, a young woman who's son has been in the care of another woman while she was a housemaid in a large home.  I assume that it is because the help lives in the home that children are not allowed.  The woman who has been caring for her son has to leave and can't care for him any longer.  Charlotte is at a loss as to what to do.  Her employer, Lucy, was on her side, but she is away on her extended honeymoon.  The story follows the events of what happen as Charlotte struggles with her love for her son and fear of her supposed husband who she ran away from.   Plot:  The plot has plenty of twists and turns.  It also has a happy e...

My son is 4 1/2.  He has been left handed since he was 1 1/2 years old.  I was surprised to see this because no one in my family or my husband's immediate family is left handed.  I realized very quickly that he wasn't switching back and forth.  If I gave something to him in his right hand, he switched it right over to his left.  He also held his pencil correctly at that early age of 1 1/2 years old.  It has been very interesting for me to watch.   When he began to work on cutting, I bought two pairs of "left handed" scissors from Lakeshore Learning.  I just learned this week that they weren't true "left handed" scissors.  No wonder he had such a difficult time cutting straight lines.  This week I discovered that he had started to cut with his right hand to compensate (even though this is harder for him).   I have known that I need to learn more about what it means to be left handed and how I can best help my son.  My search...

There are a few movies that I've wanted to see, but have been trying to keep myself from renting.  So, I was excited to find them at the library tonight!   The first one I popped in was Hope Springs.  I have enjoyed Tommy Lee Jones' films, so I wanted to see it. Here's my review:   SKIP IT!  I fast forwarded through over half of the movie.  I think I watched this 2 hour movie in a total of 15-20 minutes.  It was so disappointing.  The "counseling" wasn't funny (nor was any of the movie) and it was just redundant.  And I realized very quickly that I didn't want to listen to any of the counseling sessions or watch any of the couple's attempts to "fix" their problems.    The second movie I watched (since it took so little time to watch the first) was October Baby.  I really enjoyed it.  I enjoyed the acting, story, and ending.  If you've thought about watching it, I hope you will and that you enjoy it.  I had a...