preschool preschoolers reanbean Tiny & Buba: lost parent/teacher conference Santa
by reanbean
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The Day We Saw Santa
Two weeks ago, Tiny, Buba, and I went to visit Santa at the mall. It was definitely the highlight of our day, but there was much more to our morning than just a photo session with the big guy in red.
First up that day was a parent/teacher conference with Buba and Tiny’s teachers. I ran plenty of conferences back in my classroom teaching days, and it was really interesting for me to be on the other side of the table this time. The teachers had written up narrative progress reports on each child, and it was fun to see what they chose to point out.
From Buba’s report: Buba explores the room freely. He loves the moon sand and playdough and spends good amounts of time manipulating these materials…His teachers have noted his long attention span and ability to concentrate on the task at hand…Buba has a terrific sense of humor and is well liked by his peers…Buba is well able to occupy himself independently…
From Tiny’s report: Tiny is an incredibly happy child who comes into the classroom with a huge smile and a hug for the teachers each day…Tiny is happy playing with friends or working diligently on an art project alone…Tiny is a kind and thoughtful friend to the other children…Recently she was overheard in the kitchen area saying to a friend, “What do you want? I’ll cook it for you.”
Needless to say, I was very pleased to hear how well both Tiny and Buba have transitioned to preschool. We are all loving their school and their teachers, and look forward to seeing how the kids continue to grow as the year unfolds.
After the conference, we headed down to the mall for our annual visit with Santa (year #4!). Both Buba and Tiny were very excited to see Santa, and went right up to him when they were called to sit on his lap for photos. After they’d had their pictures taken, Santa asked each of them what they would like for Christmas. Tiny responded that she would like Tinkerbell, and Buba answered with, “Um…toys.” Santa chuckled and reminded them to be very good for their Mommy and Daddy (something we’re constantly working on, of course), and then sent us away with a candy cane for each kid. Fortunately, Buba and Tiny do not yet know about candy canes and did not protest at all when I took them away and explained that I would keep these fragile decorations safe until we were ready to hang them on our Christmas tree.
Next the kids picked out one ornament each to add to their personal collection of ornaments that we started their very first Christmas. Tiny picked a fire truck, and Buba picked an ambulance.
Our last stop was to be at the Apple Store to pick up a gift card for a cousin’s birthday present. One interesting, but sometimes difficult, thing about this store is that there is no specific are for check out. A team member comes to you and completes your transaction on the spot using (I believe) an iPhone that is able to run a credit card (not sure if or how they handle cash transactions). So, we picked up our gift card, and then I let the Buba and Tiny sit down and play on the kid computers while I waited for someone to come to ring up our sale. The woman who came was having trouble getting a good signal where we were, so she stepped away from the computers towards the back of the store. I started to follow her, but then explained that I needed to be able to see my kids. She nodded, and I turned back towards the computers to see just Tiny sitting on the little stool in front of the computers.
“Where is your brother?” I asked her. No response. Panic creeps up my spine. “I’m sure he’s just browsing the store,” another team member offered, but one quick sweep and I knew he was no longer in the store. Major panic. I grabbed Tiny and tried to run. I’m sure I looked absolutely crazy, and for good reason. Fortunately, the team member remained calm. “What does he look like?” she asked. 3 feet tall. Brown hair. Bright yellow rain jacket. No sooner had I spoken those words and she was on her head set communicating the same information to every team member in the store. By the time I got out to the mall walkway, I could see an Apple member about three stores down with Buba, who was sobbing. It had only been about 45 seconds from the time I realized he was gone until we found him, but they were the longest and most terrifying 45 seconds of my life. I was shaking and crying as I picked him up and squeezed him tightly.
We paid for our gift card, and promptly left the mall. I felt horrible, absolutely horrible. The magic of the Santa visit was gone, replaced with guilt and disappointment. Buba and Tiny recovered quickly, but it still kills me every time I think about this. My kids are usually so good at staying right by me when we’re out and about, but this recent scare has made it necessary to have even more rules and consequences for behavior when I need to take them shopping with me.
Fortunately the magic of Christmas has prevailed. I won’t forget that horrible experience, but I can’t dwell on it forever either. We’ve got Christmas music playing daily in our house, and soon we’ll be baking and addressing Christmas cards. It’s a happy time of year, and it should feel happy. But you’d be right to think that I hold Buba’s hand extra tight whenever we go into a store, even if it’s just a quick trip. Lesson learned.
A Very Big Deal
There’s been a lot going on over here in the last few weeks. My babies dropped their last formal nap time in exchange for one hour of quiet time. And both Tiny and Buba have been very successful at transitioning to their toddler beds (same old crib, but with the dropside removed).
Things have been going so well, in fact, that T and I decided to throw one more thing at them. They’ve been doing a great job with no-talking quiet time in separate rooms in the afternoons, that we decided to challenge them to no-talking quiet time in the same room on weekend mornings. Just like their afternoon quiet time, I prepared a bag for each that included fun, quiet things to do (books, puzzles, matchbox cars, etc.). We explained that when their Good Nite Lite turned to sun at 6:30am (their normal wake up time), they could get up, turn on the light in their bedroom, and play quietly in their bedroom until Mommy or Daddy came to tell them that quiet time was over. We’d hoped to be able to sleep in until 7am, but were very happy to sleep until 7:30am this morning while Buba and Tiny amused themselves almost silently! T and I were both so proud of how well they had managed their early morning quiet time, but it seemed that Buba and Tiny were even more proud. As soon as I announced that quiet time was over, Buba beamed as he proclaimed, “I didn’t even talk at all!”
Sure, 7:30am is nothing compared to the leisurely post 9:00am wake ups we used to enjoy just 5 short years ago. But it’s a start!
Best Friends Post and Shutterfly Winners
It’s my day to post over at HDYDI.com. Please head over to read my Best Friends post when you get a chance.
And now, chosen by Random.org, the three winners of 25 free cards from Shutterfly are:
#5 Heather
#7 Wendy
and
#3 Heather
I’ll be sending you the code for your free cards later today. Congratulations and thanks to all who stopped by to enter!
Is It Christmas Yet?
Tiny and Buba are so excited and eager for Christmas Day this year. From the moment they started seeing pumpkins in September (yes, I had to remind them that pumpkins are for Halloween and evergreens are for Christmas), they’ve been asking about when they’ll see Santa and when they’ll open their Christmas presents. I keep telling them that it won’t be Christmas for many more days, but it’s really hard for them to understand.
In the last few days, we’ve had their Christmas photos taken,
and we’ve gone to visit Santa.
I would have loved to have delayed both of these experiences until at least after Thanksgiving, but I just can’t handle the mall crowds and business during the post-Thanksgiving shopping days.
Now, of course, Buba and Tiny think that Christmas morning is right around the corner. Too bad our Christmas countdown calendar doesn’t start in November. However, it won’t be too long until I’ll be ready for Christmas music and holiday baking. I’m planning to have both kids choose a gift to donate to Toys for Tots, and I imagine they’ll want to make some holiday cards of their own this year. Hopefully that will help the next several weeks pass quickly for them.
Soon it will be Christmas Day….
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There’s still time to enter for a chance to win free holiday cards from Shutterfly. Don’t forget to enter!
Tiny and Buba on Ice!
I know I learned to ice skate at some point when I was a kid, but I’m pretty sure I wasn’t 3 and a half when I started. However, having lived in New England now for almost 16 years, I know that our kids are going to need some fun, cold weather activities to get us through the long winter months.
It had been proposed that we put ice skates on Tiny and Buba’s Christmas lists, but before asking the grandparents to make that kind of investment, I decided that we should try out ice skating with them first. As luck would have it, our local sports center (soccer/hockey) had some open skate time today. And with T home from school (Veterans Day), it seemed like the best day to try it.
But our adventure was almost over before it began. We arrived at the ice rink only to find that the smallest skate size was a size 8 and our kids would need a size 6 or 7. However, kids under four skate for free and our guys were super, super excited to try it. So we slapped on those too-big skates and gave it a go.
Both Buba and Tiny were a little uncertain at first, but honestly, I was shocked at how quickly they were ready to be off on their own. Buba in particular, was very eager to skate all by himself with no help from anyone or anything.
Tiny was less steady at first, but quickly became the speedy one.
And Buba soon realized that he could cover more ground (and more quicky) when he was willing to use the double crate.
There were certainly a fair numbers of slips and spills, but overall, a good time was had by all.
Holiday Time
I know lots of people don’t care to think about Christmas until Thanksgiving has passed, but since Buba and Tiny were born it just seems like there’s not enough time between the two holidays to get everything done. Don’t get me wrong, we won’t put our tree up until sometime in December, and it will still be a few weeks before I take out any of our Christmas themed decorations. But gift shopping and our annual photo card are something I always like to get an early start on.
I’m excited to be teaming up once again with Shutterfly this holiday season (read on to learn how you can win free cards from Shutterfly!). T and I have been using Shutterfly to create our Christmas photo cards for at least 6 or 7 years now. When we first started making holiday photo cards, we often just used one nice photo of the two of us. However, capturing one great photo with both Tiny and Buba can sometimes be a challenge. With all the options Shutterfly has to offer, I can choose a card that allows me to add 2, 3, 4, or more photos, so we can all send our best smiles out to all our friends and relatives.
We also use Shutterfly to create a photo calendar for ourselves, and often make copies to give as gifts to the grandparents. I love to go through all the photos from the current year to find ones to include in our calendar. I always make a point to chose photos from a particular month to appear on the page for that month in the coming year (so January 2011 photos will appear on our January 2012 page). We all love seeing the photos as we journey through the year, and it’s always great to see how much the kids have grown and changed in just 12 months.
I’ve come to rely on Shutterfly whenever I need to create a new photo project. I used Shutterfly to announce Buba and Tiny’s birth, to make Father’s Day mugs for T and the grandpas, and to create beautiful photo books to store all our best photo memories. Each project is always so easy to do, and I’ve never been disappointed with the finished product.
For sharing my Shutterfly experiences with you, I’ll be getting 50 free photo cards this holiday season. And three lucky readers will win 25 free cards for themselves. All you need to do is leave a comment on this post telling about one or more of your favorite holiday traditions. It’s that simple. Comments must be received by midnight on November 17th (EST), and I’ll announce the winners on November 18th. Good luck!
milestones preschoolers Schedules & Routines Tiny & Buba: no more naps
by reanbean
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Quiet Time
Last Thursday, we tried having quiet time instead of nap time. It was something I’d been thinking about doing for a while. Both Tiny and Buba were still napping, but their nap time kept getting pushed further and further back (from the original start time of 12:30pm to the recent start time of 2:30pm) in order for them to be tired enough to sleep.
It was nice to still have the naptime- some downtime for all of us- but with a late starting nap, my kids were no longer falling asleep before 8pm most nights. And no matter how much I wanted that mid-day break, I knew that it wasn’t worth having 3 year olds who were still awake at 9 o’clock at night. So, we started to entertain the idea of quiet time.
I knew right away that for quiet time to really be quiet, Buba and Tiny would have to be separated- one in their bedroom and one in the living room. They would also need quiet toys to play with- things that could keep them busy and happy for more than a few minutes. So, I put together a bag for each of them, including puzzles, sewing cards, a Magna Doodle, their Tag Readers, and a few small stuffed animals. We talked about the rules for quiet time- stay in your quiet space, play quietly, rest or nap if you’d like- and then gave it a try.
I thought it might take them some time to get used to this routine change, but it’s gone very, very well from day one. Tiny and Buba alternate their quiet time space each day, and are pretty good about staying quiet the whole time (about 60 minutes). I’m still able to get lesson plans done during this time, and I often sneak in a catnap for myself. So far it seems to be a win-win situation. They seem to benefit from some downtime on their own (sometimes they even take a catnap themselves), and bedtime is back to 7pm with both kids asleep no later than 7:30 (often they’re asleep within minutes).
And when quiet time is over, both Buba and Tiny are so happy to see each other and play together again. They even extend quite time sometimes by pretending to nap together in their play tent.
Tiny are Buba are so proud to be big kids who don’t take naps anymore. And, I must admit, I’m proud of my big kids too.
Conversations Family Time Tiny & Buba: Halloween trick-or-treating
by reanbean
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Trick-or-Treat!
Yes, Halloween was technically almost a week ago, but for us, tonight was trick-or-treat night. Due to issues related to our October storm, trick-or-treating in our town was rescheduled until after all the issues were resolved. Even though we had done a bit of trick-or-treating in Grammy and Grandpa’s neighborhood on Halloween night, both Tiny and Buba were very, very excited to put on their clown costumes one last time and visit a few of our neighbors. We didn’t go all over the neighborhood, and they didn’t collect a ton of candy, but it was enough. It was the perfect amount.
After we’d returned home, Buba and Tiny were eager to help pass out candy to all the kids who came knocking on our door. They hurried to the door at the first sound that we had visitors, and carefully placed miniature chocolate bars into the open bags. At one point, Tiny stood before a trick-or-treater with a Butterfinger in her hands waiting patiently for the girl to request the treat. The girl just stood there waiting for Tiny to hand over the candy, but Tiny held firm as she announced, “You have to say ‘Trick-or-treat!’” While her bossiness can sometimes be a problem, I love that she wasn’t afraid to tell a big kid how it’s supposed to go.
Before starting our bedtime routine, T let the kids choose once piece from their plastic pumpkins. He offered M & Ms, Peanut Butter Cups, Crunch Bars, and straight up chocolate. So what did our two little monkeys choose? Raisins! Because for them, that was the perfect ending to their magical night.
Backtracking- Glueing Project
Back at the end of September, Buba, Tiny and I met one more messy milestone together: their first gluing project. This was not their first time using glue, but it was the first time I’d give the kids their own glue bottles along with some jewels and pompoms and just let them have at it.
It was quite an experience. I tried to be as hands off as possible, but it took a little hand over hand training to get both kids to realize how much pressure they needed to apply to get enough glue to actually make their craft objects stick. Once they seemed to get the hang of it, I walked away and let them work. It didn’t take them long to glue down all the jewels and pompoms I had given them, so I let them add a little more color with markers.
Buba made this lovely creation:
And Tiny made this lovely one:
They were both so proud of themselves, and of course, we have prominently displayed them on one of our kitchen cabinets, where we can admire them every day.
We have yet to repeat this project, but I’d definitely be less hesitant to do this or another glueing project again. It kept them busy, they were happy, and the mess wasn’t really all that bad.
(FYI: Washable school glue needs to be pretreated before going into the wash. It says so on the fine print on the bottle, which I didn’t read until the gluey spot on Tiny’s shirt turned into a hard, stiff stain after going through the washer and dryer.)
Transitions in Progress
In just a few days, Buba and Tiny will be 3 years and 8 months old. They’re hardly babies anymore, and really haven’t been for quite some time. But they’re still sleeping in cribs. Cribs with crib tents, to be more specific. T and I have talked about when and how we’ll transition the kids to big kid beds numerous times in the last 8 months, but we’ve never felt confident that we’re all ready for that change.
Both Tiny and Buba have also talked a lot about big kid beds in the last few months. They talk about who has them and who doesn’t. They put couch pillows on the floor and play the I’m-sleeping-in-a-big-kid-bed game. And Tiny has asked many, many times, “When will I get my big kid bed?” Some days I feel so guilty lifting my big, 3.5 year olds into their cribs at nap and nighttime. So what’s the deal? Why haven’t we done it already?
I think fear has had a major role in our decision to keep the kids in their cribs. Fear that our kids will act like crazies again, and that we’ll lose the finality of bedtime that we love so much. When you put a kid into a crib with a tent and zip them in, they really have no choice but to stay there and go to sleep. Tiny and Buba don’t usually fall asleep instantly, but it’s great to know that they’re not going anywhere and not getting into anything. We’ve heard so many stories about parents transitioning their kids from cribs to beds, only to then have to deal with their kids playing around in their rooms when they should be going to sleep or wandering into the parents’ bedroom (and often their bed) in the middle of the night. And while T and I hope that our sleep routines would prevent Buba and Tiny from doing these things, we have not yet been willing to give it a try and just see what happens. The fact that they share a room (and we have no options for splitting them up) plays a big role as well. I’m about 90% sure that if they had their own rooms, we’d have transitioned Tiny and Buba into beds by now.
But even with all of those fears, I’ve recently been more convinced that Buba and Tiny truly are ready to make the transition. For one, they haven’t really been napping consistently. And even when they do nap, it often not until around 2:30pm and then only for 30-45 minutes. The late nap often means they’re not falling asleep until 8:30 or later at night, leading me to believe that they probably don’t really need the nap as much as I want them to (the down time is just so nice). So, I’ve been thinking about starting quiet time at our house, which will take the place of naptime and, hopefully, return us to an earlier bedtime. In turn, I’m thinking that kids who are actually tired at bedtime are less likely to play around when it’s time to go to sleep. In theory, it should all work out well for us, right?
Well, this week we’ve had the opportunity to try it out and see how it would go. At Grammy and Grandpa’s house, there is a room with two twin beds. When we arrive here on Sunday, we brought only a few things, assuming the power would be out for just a few hours. So when naptime rolled around and our power still had not been restored, we put the kids down to sleep in the two twin beds and just waited to see what happened. It wasn’t great. Tiny and Buba (especially Buba) fooled around a lot and slept very little to not at all. But our whole world didn’t fall apart. And when bedtime rolled around, they were good and tired, and we had no trouble at all after turning the lights out. This has been the case for both nap and bedtime for the last three days.
So, it appears that our time to transition Tiny and Buba into big kid beds at home has finally come. I’m still a little nervous (there’s a lot more for them to get into in their bedroom at home than there is in the spare bedroom at Grammy’s), but I know that whatever bumps their may be as we work through this transition, we’ll be okay. The kids are definitely excited about this change, and I think T and I may finally be ready too.