Creative Counting Games and more…

It’s hard to believe that February has come to an end! There are several items still on my todo list that I simply will have to move to March. But don’t worry, I’ll still get them done and will share them in due time.

For now, here are the three counting games that we did over the last couple of weeks.

1. Using bottle caps A.J. matched the numbers 20-30. Because I have different shapes and colors, I could also change the activity to have him match the colors and/or shapes.

2. Again, using bottle caps I placed three numbers in a muffin tin and A.J. had to put the correct numbers of hearts in each bin.

3. A.J. counted hearts on pipe cleaners and used foam numbers to put under the correct number of hearts.

Parenthood is a funny thing. There are moments of bliss, periods of sheer chaos and everything in between. On my birthday, A.J. had a tantrum that lasted about an hour or so. It was other wordly. Then yesterday, as I was tucking him in for his nap he asked me to pray with him. Prayer plus nap equals bliss! So in spite of the turbulence we experience as parents moments like this make it all worth it!

This month, A.J. had an opportunity to meet Sonny Emory. Thanks to Dr. Clint Carter and Steve Michaels who told me about the event! I wouldn’t have this picture if it weren’t for Steve. I was in the back of the auditorium nursing Amira when A.J. met Mr. Emory.

Other heart centered ideas…

Next month I will do a better job sharing about the books we are reading and the songs/finger plays that we are singing. I’d better wrap-up this post. We’re going to see Mighty Bugs at the Center for Puppetry Arts later this morning. So, until next time my Loves!

OHHHH…one more thing… My parents came to visit. Here are some lovely pics from their visit.

How did you celebrate the month of LOVE?

Pray, Persist & Prosper

-Asia

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Happy B-day To Me

Today is my birthday. To celebrate, I went to a beautiful spa yesterday with my good friend Ysanne. We had such a blast that we wanted to barricade ourselves inside!!

I’m looking forward to eating my red velvet cupcakes (without the red dye) and  Blue Belle ice-cream later today to continue the celebration. For now, I have to tend to a sleepy 2.5  year-old who’s acting, well…two.

Peace, Persist & Prosper!

-Asia

3 Fun Letter Activities

A.J. is continuing to learn his alphabet by identifying lower case and upper case letters. I printed the capital letter heart printout as well as the lower case letter heart printout from Pre-Kinders.com. There are many ways you can use these printables. I chose to laminate both sheets so I can use them later for Amira. I cut out the lowercase letters and glued them to foam hearts so they would be easier for A.J. to handle.

Last month I created a letter board with various shapes and colors. I re-used this board with the lower case hearts to add a different spin on the activity.The last activity I want to share was exciting to make. I think I had more fun than A.J. on this one! There’s a product called Instant Snow that when mixed with two ounces of water makes faux snow. I turned the snow pink in honor of  Valentine’s Day.

What creative ways are you using to help your little one learn letters?

Pray, Persist & Prosper!

-Asia

Planting Seeds of Gratitude

As the month of “love” comes to an end, it’s a great time to begin intentionally fostering an attitude of gratitude in our children. One way we’re doing this is by creating a gratitude tree. I saw this idea on Pinterest and loved it. Unfortunately I can’t find the pin to credit the source.

For the month of February I asked A.J. what he is grateful for and wrote it on a heart on the tree. I also included what I’m grateful for and plan to keep the hearts as a keepsake.

When A.J. talks with my mom over the phone she always asks him what he is grateful for. These conversations inspired me to be more intentional about talking about gratitude and to explore ways that we can demonstrate this spirit daily. I will share ideas as I come up with them.

How are you fostering an attitude of gratitude in your children?

Pray, Persist & Prosper!

-Asia

African-American History Mini-book for Wee Ones

In honor of Black History Month, A.J. is learning about some famous African-Americans. I found a simple mini-book printable from TeacherVision that is perfect for now. I laminated the sheets, cut them out, added a hole in the middle and used an orange pipecleaner as a ring to hold the book together.

Of course these lessons will extend beyond the month of February because it’s never too early or too late to learn about our history!

What Black History resources have you discovered?

Pray, Persist & Prosper!

-Asia

How’s Your Tone of Voice?

Source: pinstamatic.com via Asia Hadley on Pinterest

 

I saw this on the wall of our local Pak Mail office and the attendant was kind enough to photocopy it for me. This note is a great reminder to think about our tone of voice when we are speaking to others.

Pray, Persist & Prosper!

-Asia

Prayers for our Children

February is the month of love and when the rest of society celebrates Black History. I added learning opposites for February and will also celebrate my B-day this month, so you will read posts about the February happenings surrounding Valentines Day, Black History, opposites and my birthday this month.

I began the month by decorating A.J.’s door with hearts. I saw this idea on Pinterest and added my unique twist. Instead of writing phrases like, “You’re awesome!” or “You’re cool!” I decided to write prayers for our children. Each day I walk into A.J.s room I remove a heart from the door and pray the prayer written on the heart over him.

Although the prayers are from Bible scriptures, I translated them into more simple language. I wrote the verse at the bottom of each heart so that I could remember where the prayer originated.

I plan to keep all of prayers and place them in an album so that we can refer to them time and time again. I do think I should take the hearts down and laminate them. A.J. likes to choose which heart we will read in the morning and he is a bit rough on the construction paper when pulling the heart off of the door. Laminating them will make them more durable.

What prayers have you prayed over your children lately?

Pray, Persist & Prosper!

-Asia

Happy Valentines Day! How to Make Your Own Envelopes

Happy Valentine’s Day! This Valentine’s Day we made our own cards and even our envelopes! In this post, I will show you how to make envelopes yourself.

But first, here is an example of our Valentine’s cards. Since the card has only a back and front, I used a second card to show how A.J. personalized it on the back. He also helped with the gluing and heart.

A.J. gave away these loopy straws to a few of his friends. I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it was so cute. We made it all with scrapbook paper and little clear party bags.

Now on to how to make an envelope.
Start with an envelope shape that you like from one that you already have. Next, open the envelope to reveal the shape. Then, trace the shape of the envelope on card stock paper and cut it out. This will be your template.

Trace the template on your paper of choice. I like to trace on the back instead of the front. Next, cut the paper and fold into the shape of the envelope.

Lastly, glue the appropriate sides closed. That’s it!

What Valentine craft did you make with your little one?

Pray, Persist & Prosper!

-Asia

Winter Theme Wrap-up!

Our theme for January was Winter. As a wrap-up, here are a few activities that we did during the month. I didn’t photograph some activities because I was engrossed in the moment. Nevertheless, I hope what I share is useful to you or to someone  you know.

Arts and Crafts

Snowmen printable cut out from Teachmama.com. Oh you don’t know how badly I wanted to jump in and help out during this activity! I checked myself and let him do it all by himself.

I downloaded the snowman below and snowflake craft from Learn Create Love, home to over 300 printables.

Miscellaneous Activities

A.J. loves to match things, so we did some mitten matching. The mitten printable is from Prekinders.com.

He played with ice…

and even went ice-skating. A.J. enjoyed this activity most.

We learned about arctic animals and read several books. I hope to have the amazon book feature working the next time I share about the books we are reading.

What was your kid’s favorite winter activity?

Pray, Persist & Prosper!

-Asia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Choose Peace!

Source: pinstamatic.com via Asia Hadley on Pinterest

 

Dr. Wayne Dyer is one of my favorite authors. I don’t always choose peace, but I’d like to remember to do so. I will be quoting Dr. Dyer a lot because I’m rereading his book , There is a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem. He has so many golden nuggets in this book that I’d like to remember. I hope you like the quotes, too!

What is one of your favorite quotes?

Pray, Persist & Prosper!

-Asia