I cannot live without Quiet Time. My day is usually broken into two parts- pre-Quiet Time and post-Quiet Time. Mornings are busy with us either going out and about or busy with us cleaning the house. Quiet time gives us a designated time during the day for everyone to spend time alone recharging for the rest of the day. I find that a little peace in the middle of a turbulent day makes all the difference to keep mommy being kind and not cranky. No one likes cranky mommy.
After Quiet Time, I’ve started a new designated time- Table Time. Payton’s first report card noted that he had some areas to work on, namely developing his fine motor skills (ie. holding a pencil, using scissors) and letter/sound recognition. The teacher in me kicked into gear and we have been enjoying Table Time ever since.
Table Time consists of the three of us coming to the table to work on a skill. Sometimes I read a story that features a certain letter (ie. Fran’s Firetruck for the letter “F”) or sometimes I have worksheets that help the boys practice their letters. I should say Payton practices his letters as Dev mostly just colours on the page.
But that’s okay as Dev is now consistently able to spell the first four letters in his name. It’s that darn “N” that keeps giving him trouble.
This past week we spent a Table Time creating a town on a piece of paper with stickers. Getting those little stickers off is tricky for little fingers and great for hand-eye coordination. Torren hangs out in his chair beside the table adding comic relief with his bubble blowing and happy chatter. Soon he’ll be joining in.
Both Payton and Devin have developed their skills ten fold since we’ve started Table Time. Payton’s teacher remarked on his progress which made this teacher/mommy heart so happy. Now if I could just get the hang of drawing Optimus Prime, I’d be even better.
What do you do with your kids to reinforce what they’re learning at school? I’ll take all suggestions!
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I just had to add this picture. While picking out books at the library yesterday I came across this book. Evidently our family has been being followed and documented. Creepy.
