Thanks!

I have been trying to find a good way to teach my son and care for my toddler at the same time. It became a HUGE problem that I couldn't find a solution on my own. I am so blessed to have some wonderful friends who have given me lots of great ideas and support with this. I need to say thank you to Ellen in Texas, Lori in AZ, and kcaarin in Pa. Without them I might have given up on homeschooling. I feel that I am now starting to get this all figured out. This week was a trial run with school. My son so far has done great. Most of the time when his little sister is hitting him with a toy trying to get him to play with her he will say it's OK Mom, she isn't bothering me. My DD has done much better than I thought she would. She will play with a toy, books, and such and let us work on things. She is happy to ride on my back (in a mei tai) and let me read a history lesson. DS is able to pay attention to the story as I walk around the room in circles (to keep DD happy). I am making up centers and busy boxes. I am working out at good routine. I think this is going to be a good year after all. I need to say again I am so grateful for the wonderful, smart, and helpful friends I have! THANK YOU!! I am also very grateful for my wonderful children.

Toddler play

Sponges! I got 2 packs at the dollar store. That is 20 sponges for $2.00. I put them in a basket we already had. We have been using them to toss, stack, sort, build tall buildings, hide and they even stick to our felt board. My children have already got $2.00 worth of fun out of them. I hope they can keep her busy so I can teach DS school. I am making up a bunch of what I call busy boxes to keep her busy, happy, and quiet during school time. She loves to SCREAM when she is happy or sad. Her screams do a number on our school time. I will let you know how this works out. I know other people homeschool with a little one. I just need to find out how they do it.

play and eat.

My favorite playdough is the kind cooked on stove with cream of tartar. I decided NOT to make that one this time. My son never put anything in his mouth when he was young so I never tried this with him. My DD is nothing like him. She puts EVERYTHING in her mouth. She eats crayons! YUCK! I made up PB playdough for her to try.

Edible Peanut Butter Playdough
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1 cup powdered milk
knead until smooth.

I had to add in extra powdered milk because it was WAY to sticky for a 1 year old to play with.
I think they ate more of it than they played with. Once DD gets the hang of playing in the dough I will give my favorite recipe a try with her.

DD can draw!

We have tried for months trying to help DD to draw. She tosses pencils and eats crayons. I let her use markers today and she got it! She had a lot of fun with it. Soon as she saw that she was making bold colored lines on the paper she got that "look what I can do" expression on her face! We had lots of fun offering her colors and new paper. She now will hand you the paper when she is done and she says paper more paper.