Teaching Two » Ashlyn http://www.teachingtwo.com Thoughts of a mommy & teacher. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:44:45 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 Works For Me Wednesday! http://www.teachingtwo.com/2009/02/04/works-for-me-wednesday/ http://www.teachingtwo.com/2009/02/04/works-for-me-wednesday/#comments Wed, 04 Feb 2009 05:31:18 +0000 Anne languages felt book order years loved read find http://www.teachingtwo.com/2009/02/04/works-for-me-wednesday/ works.jpgHere’s another contribution to the Rocks In My Dryer, Works for Me Wednesday blog carnival.  This is something that’s given my husband & I a way to encourage our 5-year old daughter and give her some extra reading practice. 

A few years ago my husband and I read the book Five Love Languages in order to find out what each of our Love Languages were.   If you’re curious, the five love languages are physical touch, quality time, acts of service, words of affirmation, and receiving gifts. 

january-2009-266.jpgBesides just using it for each other, we’ve begun to try to figure out how our girls feel loved by us.  Ashlyn loves spending quality time with us, physical touch, and words of affirmation.  So with Valentine’s Day just around the corner I decided to have her make a mailbox so my husband and I could leave her little notes to encourage her and let her know how special she is to us.  She is so excited! 

We took an empty box of garbage bags, covered it with paper, and she carefully decorated it with stickers, crayons, and paper hearts.  Then, she found a special place in her room for it and made sure to show my husband where it was – hint, hint.  She’s learning quickly. 

She is anxiously waiting for her first piece of mail. 

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]]> http://www.teachingtwo.com/2009/02/04/works-for-me-wednesday/feed/ 8 Ashlyn’s Princess Party http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/12/01/ashlyns-princess-party/ http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/12/01/ashlyns-princess-party/#comments Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:49:45 +0000 Anne college flying tomorrow turns months girl time http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/12/01/ashlyns-princess-party/ I can’t believe it but my little girl turns 5 tomorrow.  We had her party this past weekend and I am still recovering from it.  The theme was a Princess Party which is funny because I swore (before I had girls) that I would never let my girls wear all pink.  My how that has changed!  All 10 little girls came decked out in princess attire.  I was a little worried because the day before Emily said she wasn’t going to wear a dress but a ladybug costume instead.  She changed her mind once all the girls came though. 

We borrowed this amazing castle made out of appliance boxes from a friend.  It was so big we had to remove all the furniture from our living room.  It took 2 hours to put together but it was well worth it.  Right Honey?!?!  This kept the girls entertained for quite a while. 

I split the girls into groups and had them rotate between 3 different stations. 

Station 1- make tiaras.  I bought 2 packs of 6 foam tiaras from WalMart.  It included all the foam stickers as well and only cost $4.00 each.  (Much cheaper than Michael’s)

Station 2- The Royal Salon.  I had my mom and mother in law paint the girls finger nails and put blush on them.  While their nails were drying they got to listen to princess stories. 

Station 3- Pin the Lips on the Frog-  I bought lip stickers and had them put them on the frog. 

For party favors I bought cheap scrapbook paper and some glittery princess stickers.  I had a friend (who has much better handwriting than me) write Princess ________ on each paper and then I decorated them with the stickers.  I laminated them and made them into place-mats.  They got the tiaras they made and a balloon also.  It was a great party.  Here are some pictures.

salon

castle cake

My friend Sarah made this.  I wish I could take credit for it. 

castle

frog

Emily

This is what Emily was doing almost the entire time…EATING!

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]]> http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/12/01/ashlyns-princess-party/feed/ 0 A Weekend Together http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/11/25/a-weekend-together/ http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/11/25/a-weekend-together/#comments Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:33:06 +0000 Anne weekend ocala packed southwind leader highschool headed florida http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/11/25/a-weekend-together/ This past weekend our family packed up our things and headed to Southwind, a Young Life camp near Ocala, Florida.  My husband was the Head Leader for about 300 highschool kids.  He had to work but the girls and I had the whole weekend to relax and play.  He ended up having a lot more free time than we thought though.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures.

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Southwind

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We decided to let the girls sleep together in one big bed.  They stayed up until 10:00 both nights talking.  It was so cute!

Emily and Daddy

family walking

canoeing

Getting ready to go canoeing with Daddy

Ashlyn and Emily

Ashlyn and Emily hugging

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  1. Cut out a turkey shape from brown construction paper.  I traced one that I found online.
  2. Have your child color a coffee filter with washable markers.  It really doesn’t matter how they color it but it will look best if they color most of it and don’t leave many white spots.
  3. Have them spray the coffee filter with water.  This will allow all the colors to run together.
  4. While waiting for the filter to dry, I had my girls draw a face on the turkey pattern that I cut out.  I let Ashlyn cut her own out. 
  5. Once the filter is dry, fold it in half and glue or staple it to the back of the turkey for the feathers.  They turn out really cute!

turkeys

I did a different activity with Emily and I was able to use the same turkey pattern.  This time I wrote her name on the front of the turkey and colored it.  Then I cut pieces of different color construction paper and wrote a letter on each piece that is in her name.  These are the turkey’s feather.  Now she has a game to practice how to spell her name.  I mix up the feathers and she has to put them back together in the correct order.

name turkey

]]> http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/11/16/turkey-activities/feed/ 4 Everyday Trash http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/11/15/everyday-trash/ http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/11/15/everyday-trash/#comments Sun, 16 Nov 2008 03:56:10 +0000 Anne stuck days sick makes long couple house girls http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/11/15/everyday-trash/ What do you get when you put 2 toilet paper rolls, a piece of cardboard, and some cotton balls together?  Here is what my girls came up with. 

Ashlyn found a toilet paper roll and asked me for some purple paper so she could turn it into a telescope.  Emily heard her and of course wanted to make one too.  I gave them the paper and they ran into Emily’s room.  About 15 minutes later they came out with two decorated purple telescopes.  They ran around the house looking through their telescopes yelling something about finding Baby Jaguar (they love Dora and Diego). 

Then Ashlyn found a piece of cardboard and asked if she could have it. She and Emily worked together to decorate it with stickers and markers , added some cotton on the inside and voila created a tent, bed and pillow for her Little People.  They played together in her room for almost an hour.  Who knew two toilet paper rolls, a piece of cardboard and some cotton balls could be so much fun!

It amazing how creative kids can be when given the opportunity.  Look and see what kind of trash you have laying around that your kids can turn into something wonderful!

]]> http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/11/15/everyday-trash/feed/ 0 Halloween and More http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/11/13/halloween-and-more/ http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/11/13/halloween-and-more/#comments Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:30:22 +0000 Anne work planning overdue wrong blame blogging cutting alot http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/11/13/halloween-and-more/ I’ve been really bad about blogging lately and I’m going to blame it on my new teaching job.  Don’t get me wrong I love it but I’ve never been so busy planning, coloring, cutting, and gluing things.  I only work two days a week but it’s a lot of work!  Anyway, here are some pictures of the kids that are long overdue.

Ashlyn and Emily Pumpkin Patch

At Green Meadows Farm

Emily

Ashlyn and Emily with Scarecrow

Emily on Halloween

Ashlyn on Halloween

Ashlyn

Ashlyn with her favorite gymnastics coaches.

]]> http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/11/13/halloween-and-more/feed/ 1 The Best Ever…Maybe http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/10/09/the-best-evermaybe/ http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/10/09/the-best-evermaybe/#comments Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:44:11 +0000 Anne conversations devotional talk awesome everyday daughter mommy started http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/10/09/the-best-evermaybe/ I have started doing a Mommy daughter devotional with Ashlyn everyday.  It has been awesome!  We have had great conversations and I have seen her put into practice what we have been learning.  Each day it focuses on a different story in the Bible.  Then it has some real life questions for Ashlyn to answer and then it has a Mommy’s Touch section.  I have to share stories with her about when I was a little girl. 

The other night after we had finished we were just laying in her bed talking.  She said, “Mommy, you are the best Mommy in the whole world!”  But then she paused and said,” Well, actually, I don’t know if that is true because I don’t know all the mommies in the world.”  You gotta love a child’s honesty!

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www.peepandthebigwideworld.com

www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/fimbles/index.shtml

www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/menu.shtml

]]> http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/09/22/fun-websites/feed/ 0 Things Learned this Summer http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/08/17/things-learned-this-summer/ http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/08/17/things-learned-this-summer/#comments Mon, 18 Aug 2008 01:18:05 +0000 Anne learned summer did many grown physically feel amazing things http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/08/17/things-learned-this-summer/ Our family has had an amazing summer.  We did many things together and the girls learned so much.  I feel like both have grown physically and have become more independent.  As their mom, I am very proud of them but also sad.  My little girls are growing up!!!  Maybe it’s time for another one…

 Ashlyn, (my cautious 4 year old) has come out of her shell and become much more daring.  A couple months before summer began we (Chris) taught her how to ride her bike without training wheels.  Now we go on 4 and 5 mile rides on different trails in our area.  She learned how to swim two summers ago but now jumps off the diving board, and dives down to the bottom of 8 feet deep pools.  What happened to my careful, non risk taker?!?! 

The accomplishment that has made my life so much easier is… she learned how to tie her shoes!!!  I’m going to go ahead and take credit for teaching her that one. 

Now let’s talk about Emily, (my fearless 2 year old).  She is now drinking from regular cups, opening doors (that lead outside), and  drum roll please… going to the bathroom on the “big girl potty.”  This one we just started about two weeks ago but she is doing great!  She is talking non stop and loves to ask “Why Mommy?”  She learned to ride a 3 wheeled scooter and ride on Daddy’s surfboard.  Oh, and I can’t forget to mention that she can count to 6 in Spanish thanks to Dora.

It’s crazy to think that just 2 months ago most of these things were unable to be done by them.  They learn things so quickly.  They really are like little sponges.

]]> http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/08/17/things-learned-this-summer/feed/ 2 Going Back to Work http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/08/12/going-back-to-work/ http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/08/12/going-back-to-work/#comments Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:34:31 +0000 Anne work teaching offered position heading olds hours true http://www.teachingtwo.com/2008/08/12/going-back-to-work/ Yes, it’s true.  I’m heading back to work in a couple of weeks.   I have been offered a teaching position at the preschool Ashlyn goes to teaching 3 year olds.  I will only be teaching twice a week for 3 hours at a time but it still feels kind of weird.  I have been a stay at home mom for going on 5 years now and love it.  Part of me feels guilty for not staying home longer with Emily even though it is only 8 hours a week.  Chris assures me I am still considered a stay at home mom and that it’s just like going to the Y 4 times a week. 

I’m really looking forward to it though.  Ashlyn is going to be in the 4 year old class 3 days a week and Emily will go to the 2 year old class 2 times a week.  I know Emily will love it and is so ready but am I?  We will find out.  My first day is the 19th so I will let you know how it goes.

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