Jump right in!

The more days that have went by and the more boredom that has passed got me thinking. Why wait til Hadley is 3 to start "preschool?" I have more than enough time on my hands and she can start learning now! Now, there are certain things I want to do and set-up for her room, but I don't have to have that done to start teaching her. 

I just went at it this morning with the letter A. I use her chalkboard/dry erase board easel to teach her all the time and it doesn't always keep her attention. She usually wants to erase what I write as soon as it is written, which can be pretty frustrating. I asked her over and over, "Hadley, what letter is this?" and she would just look around or walk away. I then decided to go make a letter search. 

I told her to find the A's and she immediately went to each A and colored each one without making a mistake. This shows me that she is paying attention to me whether I think so or not. Or, that she already knows the letter A and I'm just aware of how smart she really is! She has been saying her ABCs for awhile, but like I said, I can never get her to tell me what letter is which when I point one out. Maybe she is just stubborn?

After we did that worksheet I gave her a letter A printable with examples or things that start with the letter A. Kid will color anything. 

Now, I have decided to introduce ABCmouse on top of my preschool teaching to hopefully maximize her learning. ABCmouse is a virtual classroom all online that teaches everything you need to know. There are games, puzzles, art, songs, books, science, social studies, printables, etc. I am pretty obsessed with it and today has been our first day using it. I am starting with the basics and took Hadley through the A lesson. She did great with it and really liked the art and songs. The thing is she doesn't understand how to use the mouse on the laptop, so we will have to work on that. But, I'm sure she will get it in no time. ABCmouse does cost some money, but for now we are doing the month free trial. You can cancel at any time, so I highly suggest checking it out. I am impressed so far!

The past week of "firsts."

Hadley's first time to the movies! 

First time having popcorn too.

 

I say it was a success. 

 First time doing her hair like this. I kinda like it..

 

First sunglasses of the year, because the ocean ate mine :(

 

First time at story time that Hadley decided the other kids were ok to sit with.

And the first time I have seen this number on a scale in a long time, thanks to being sick for a whole week.

 

 

Preschool on the brain

I have decided that I am going to do preschool at home when Hadley turns 3. I had been thinking about this, but really made up my mind when I read my friend Lauren's blog over at Adventures with little man. 

She will be starting this journey the same time I will so I am excited to be comparing lesson plans with her and see how she is handling it.

Let me just say that it is overwhelming! There is so much to learn and it's hard to narrow down what you want to do weekly. I am currently try to nail down lesson plans for September and I feel myself keep changing my mind because I feel like I think of something better. Right now I plan to start with the alphabet and weekly themes to go along with that. As soon as I get all my ducks in a row and figure out all my activities, printables, crafts, and all that I will post lesson plans here if anybody else is interested in doing this. 

You can also check out my ideas on my preschool Pinterest board. I will be adding to it constantly I'm sure. I am pretty sure my first week I am going to focus on the theme "In the sky" with the letters A-E. Lesson plans to come! EDITED: I have already changed my mind and decided to steer away from themes while focusing on the alphabet so I can give Hadley a broader view at things that start with that letter.

Myrtle Beach 2013

We just got back from our trip to the beach yesterday and let me tell you, it was exhausting! Who would have thought that going to the beach would be so relaxing and tiring all at the same time. Taking a toddler on vacation is hard work. This is the first trip we have taken as just us three, so this is really the first time we didn't have any help this time. It even wore Hadley out. She went full throttle the first day without even napping and then by the second day she decided she would nap. On the third day she was pretty cranky all day because she started running a fever of 103.5 the night before. Let me tell you, it never fails that my kid runs a fever every.single.time we leave the house. She doesn't usually end up actually sick, but she always runs a fever for a day or two. It's the strangest thing. 

Anyway, on our first day we spent the whole day at the beach. From 9-3 we splashed in the water and picked seashells. 

That night we went to eat at Wild Wings Cafe and walked around Boardwalk at the Beach and rode rides and did some shopping. She had so much fun looking at the fish and turtles along the bridge and daddy bought her a new Life is Good shirt. She is one spoiled little girl.

The next day we got up and spend half the day at the beach and the other half at the pool.

Successfully napping in the shade with Bella. 

That night we went to dinner at Margaritaville at Broadway at the Beach and walked around riding rides and doing more shopping. I knew something was wrong because she wanted to be held the entire time and halfway through when Adam handed her to me I noticed she had a fever. I didn't have anything on me so I had to wait til we got back to the room to take her temperature. Sure enough she had a temp of 103.5. I gave her some tylenol and she spent that night in bed with us. I loved having her sleep beside me. 

She was still feeling pretty crummy the night day and ran a low grade fever pretty much all day. We spent the morning at the beach and she fell asleep around 12 and we napped on the beach under the umbrella for about 2 hours. As soon as she woke up she was still cranky and we tried to go to pool and that was a disaster. We decided to stay in that night because I also started feeling really bad. Hadley and I were really pitiful that 3rd day. Father's Day. Sorry, Adam.

Our last day we decided to swing by Ripley's Aquarium on our way out because we knew Hadley would love it. This aquarium was pretty small, but she didn't care. She ran all over that place. They had a play room with a slide, puzzles, blocks and a train track and I think she loved it more than the fish. She got to pet a baby shark and see a mermaid.  I felt awful that morning so I didn't take any pictures on my phone, but Adam took a lot. 

Overall we had a good time and Hadley really loved the ocean. I just wish we didn't get sick there at the end, but something always happens. Today Hadley isn't running a fever anymore, but she has been coughing. I am still feeling pretty crappy myself. Hopefully we will get over this pretty soon.

Wordless Wednesday