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This week is my first official week of doing preK3 at home with Owen. When I did preK3 with Madeline we often ran into the problem of Owen (who was 1 at the time) making a mess of whatever activity Madeline was doing at the time. Sometimes it was fine and she didn't mind. Other times we could quickly distract him with another activity she had already completed that he could pretend to do. But many times it frustrated Madeline and make things a little harder than I wanted them to be. We worked around it, but some days were more difficult. Planning for this year I had a feeling I was in for the same battle this year with Ben being 1. I wanted to learn from the past and try to find a new solution. So I thought and thought and thought. In the past often a solution was to do the work at the kitchen table, but that gets tedious. And boring. Working in the morning while Ben naps works, but only if Ben actually takes a morning nap.



Then I remembered pocket charts. And I found my solution. I purchased a relatively inexpensive pocket chart off of Amazon. Jon brought home some great heavy-duty magnets to hang it with. And since the door to our playroom is metal it works well. I can work with Owen while Ben plays in the playroom and everyone is happy.

Owen loves the pocket chart. We can move it high enough so Ben can't reach the materials in the pockets. I can take it down each day if I want, or we can leave Owen's completed work for Jon to see when he gets home. Since the chart is hung by magnets I can raise and lower it to allow Owen access to the higher pockets and he can keep completed activities up if he wants to. As you can see our letter this week is A.

The best part is that since it hangs from a door it doesn't take up anymore room. And when you live in a small(er) house space is at a premium.

I am linking up with Works For Me Wednesday. I have seen posts about it around the blogs I read but I never feel like I have something to share, but this week is different! If you are stopping by from there please leave a comment. I love to visit new blogs!

Works For Me Wednesday

This is my first week linking up with Works for me Wednesday.

What works for me during the summer (or anytime of the year since up until this point my kids have been home with me all day long) is having some sort of schedule. It isn't a rigid schedule, things can change as needed. However, I find my day goes much more smoothly if I know what is going to happen next most of the time.

For instance although there is not rigid get out of bed time set, I do make sure Madeline and Owen are awake by 8 if for no other reason than to make sure they nap in the afternoon! I don't make them eat breakfast as soon as they are awake, but if they have been up for about 30 minutes and haven't asked I suggest eating. They sometimes wake up and the first words are "breakfast?" Other times they get caught up with stories (I love starting the day cuddling and reading stories) or playing. But I know the cranks will set in if they don't eat!

They usually don't get dressed until after breakfast and then I do preschool work with Madeline for about 45 minutes. Some days more, some days less. During this time I am working with her and keeping Owen occupied. Some days he plays by himself, some days he uses the activities she is done with (thank goodness for laminating paper) and other days I read stories to him or play with him while helping Madeline (those are the more interesting days)

After we are done with preschool work we have a tv break. Yes we watch tv every day. Every morning for 30 minutes. I do Madeline's hair while they watch and then usually pack our diaper bag and snacks for whatever we have planned that day as well as eat my own snack.
At least 3 days a week we head out of the house for playtime- libraries, zoos, parks, playgroups, friends' houses, museums, etc- or errands. The other days I either plan an art activity of some sort or we play in the backyard. When I am not this pregnant we often go on walks around the nieghborhood (lately pushing the double stroller causes contractions and lots of pain so we are avoiding it for the moment unless Jon is home to help).

We eat lunch between 11:30 and 12:30, then it is time for tv (yup, another 30 minutes again) and stories and then NAP! After the kids wake up we usually stay home since Jon gets home around 4. They wake up around 3:30 and they miss daddy so we try to be home when he gets home. We might read more books, play with toys, play in the backyard, color, whatever the kids are in the mood for and I am in the mood to pick up after!

Dinner is around 6. I like that Jon is usually home while I am cooking, it makes my life so much easier. If he isn't, I have found that playdough keeps my kids busy for about 30 minutes and they are in the kitchen with me so I can mediate fights if the need arises.

After dinner we have family time, then it is bath time, tv time, stories and songs and bedtime by 8:15.

Now this is my normal schedule. During the fall and winter college semester I work two evenings so whatever days I am working the schedule obviously changes accordingly. And if we have an early playgroup or errand or appointment we again change the schedule. But I have found that without even trying my life tends to fall into some sort of daily schedule. I didn't plan to be this way, but I am definalty happier since I found it! And my kids seem to like it as well.

Our schedule doesn't change with the seasons, but our activities do. However, after I have written all this down, with baby #3 on the way I KNOW things will be thrown into a tailspin this summer. I am hopeful that some type of new schedule will emerge from the chaos of having three kids 4 and under. But I am preparing myself for not knowing what will happen when, and also for allowing more time to get anything and everything done.

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