David took his kindergarten assessment test today. He did just fine, scoring above average.
I really wasn’t worried, because I know what his abilities are. I’m not saying he’s a genius, but he’s smart enough. He knows his ABCs, 123s, his address. All that basic stuff.
What he learned he learned at home. David didn’t go to pre-school. So that I can stay home with the boys, we live on a pretty tight budget. Pre-school just wasn’t something we could afford.
Since he didn’t need to learn algebra, I was pretty sure I could handle teaching him the basics. I tried for a time to do structured lessons with him every day. It didn’t work for either of us. There were too many distractions at home.
I’d make a really lousy homeschooling mom.
So his lessons came in the form of discussions when subjects came up. We taught him his address when we taught him what to do if, God forbid, he ever got separated from us out in public. Family time playing Crazy 8′s helped teach him his numbers.
It was fun, and David didn’t know he was learning.
But there were times I wondered if David was at a disadvantage, because he didn’t go to pre-school. Would he be behind? Was there something he needed to know that I wasn’t teaching him?
Today’s assessment proved that I didn’t need to worry about him learning the necessary “book” skills.
I do still worry a little bit about if he’s been socialized enough. He’s around other kids his age at church. He plays with kids at the park, and he has a new playmate next door now.
I also worry that he hasn’t had enough exposure to structured environments. What happens when he realizes he’s supposed to sit still, be quiet and follow the teacher’s instructions for four hours a day?
When I ask myself those questions, that’s when I get a small case of Mommy Guilt. Should we have found some way to send him to pre-school after all?
He’ll probably be just fine. But I can’t help it. Mom has to worry a little bit, right?
Did you send your kids to pre-school? Do you think pre-school is necessary?
Yeah, I got nothin’ today so I’m posting photos. Here’s some obnoxiously cute ones of my kid.
Does not every woman dream of having her very own cute cowboy that does dishes living in her house? Have a daughter around four years old? Want to arrange a marriage? Well, maybe you should wait to decide until after you see the next picture.
I’m really not sure what his plan was here. Either he’s getting ready to backpack through Europe, or he’s pretending to tailgate at a college football game.
If you live in West Michigan, or are planning to visit, here’s a day of affordable fun for the whole family.
Recently we went downtown to the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. I’d heard good things about it from other moms, and what intrigued me most is that general admission is free. Like everyone else these days, we’re trying to be thriftier with our budget.
Well, the KVM is absolutely fantastic! They have some really great exhibits detailing the history of West Michigan that interest Mom and Dad. But the highlights are all the interactive displays that even young children can participate in.
There are several science related exhibits. One features weather phenomenon, and you can watch as a miniature tornado forms. Another teaches how magnets work, and has hands-on activities for experimenting with magnetic energy. A display on electricity allows you to power a light bulb and a radio by turning a crank. That fascinated my son, David. You can even build a remote control car and race it around a small track. That was really popular with David too.
Besides the permanent exhibits, the museum features several temporary ones through out the year. Currently Eyes on Earth details how satellites work using several interactive displays. We spent a lot of time in that section experimenting with orbit and radar imaging. It sounds complicated, but because it’s so hands-on, even four year old David seemed to understand it.
All pre-schoolers will love the Children’s Landscape room. There you’ll find books, games, toys and even dress-up costumes to entertain little ones. We had to tear David away from the indoor snowball fight, fought with bean bags behind cardboard snow forts.
The KVM does have to two exhibits that charge admission. The Challenger Learning Center features a simulated space station and mission control. It was not open the day we were there. The other is the planetarium which has several different shows through out the week. We were fortunate to be there during the show designed for pre-school and elementary children. David enjoyed that too. Both these exhibits cost $3 a person.
We spent about three hours at the museum, including the 45 minute planetarium show. David didn’t want to leave, but Mom and Dad were starving. So we headed down a couple blocks to Old Burdicks housed in the Radisson Hotel.
Old Burdicks is a local sports bar and grill with a family-friendly atmosphere. The menu has a little of everything; steaks, burgers, pasta, Asian stir fry, even comfort food. The food is good, and reasonably priced. What makes it great for families on a budget is that for every adult entree purchased you get a free kid’s meal.
Kalamazoo is fairly easy to get around. There is a parking garage across from the museum. The fee is small and even less on weekends. The garage is centrally located in the downtown area so shops, restaurants and other places of interest are in easy walking distance. We probably would have spent more time downtown, but it was too cold and snowy that day to do much walking.
The Kalamazoo Valley Museum is definitely worth checking out, even if you have to drive a little to get to it. It’s quality family entertainment for free. You can’t get more bang your buck.
David can count to 10 out loud and he can recite his ABC’s. So now I’ve been working on teaching him to read letters and numbers. I thought I’d share some things we’ve been doing, and a few resources I found.
I got the idea for this Ice Cream Cone Counting Chart from First School Preschool Activities and Crafts. I add a new scoop with each number that I introduce. It’s really simple, but David get excited every time we get to top off the cone with another scoop.
First-School has all kinds of free activities, craft ideas and printable worksheets and coloring pages. There’s something for just about any skill or topic you want to teach your pre-schooler. I’ve been using their alphabet coloring sheets to teach David his letters.
We also started memorizing the days of the week. I found several charts and printables to help with that at Easy Learning Activities. And Enchanted Learning has pages and pages of activities for teaching all aspects of time from days to months to clocks. All of these sites are free.
Since Martin Luther King Day is coming up on Monday David and I talked about that a little bit today too. Racial relations are kind of deep subject for a four-year-old. We looked at some pictures of King on line, and we talked about how God loves everyone and we treat everyone equally and with respect even if they are different from us in some way. I told him King tried to teach that to people. I wasn’t sure what kind of craft I could find to go along with that lesson. But I came across this printable to make a little Martin Luther King figure fat DLTK’s Crafts for Kids.
My printer inconveniently decided to run out of ink this morning, so that’s why the poor man is covered in stripes. I knew David wasn’t going to really sit and listen to the King’s I Have a Dream Speech, but I pulled up a video of it on the computer, and let it play in the background while we made the craft.
So there’s just a few things we’ve been doing around here. Do you have any good resources for pre-school activities on an idea of your own to share?
We celebrated David’s 4th birthday today. A very, very snowy day. We have at least a half a foot of snow on the ground. We just planned a small party with his grandparents, and the snow storm made the party even smaller since it prevented his grandma and grandpa who live in Indiana from coming today.
David woke up about around 6:30 this morning, and came in snuggled into to bed with me. He told me, “I want to wait for my birthday to come with you. I don’t want to wait in my bed anymore.” As soon as I told him he didn’t have to wait anymore, it was already here, he said, “Then get up!”
So Daddy and Mommy, still half asleep, watched him open presents before 7 o’ clock.
After he opened everything he asked where the rest of the presents were. Fortunately Grandma and Grandpa arrived later with some more gifts and the pizza for our party. Pizza is one of David’s favorite things to eat. Grandma also brought some party hats. David made all of us put the hats on then wouldn’t wear his.
I did finally get him to put it on so I could take a photo.
Finally, it was time for the cake. In a moment of delirium I decided to make the cake this year. David loves trains, and I had these train candle holders my mom found. I tried to make a train track with some licorice. And that is the extent of my cake decorating skills, and all I had patience for. Look, I never claimed to be Martha. It did taste really good. Just not so pretty. Next year I’m ordering the cake.
David blew out the candles before we even finished singing Happy Birthday.
I think David had a good birthday, and he gets to celebrate again next weekend when when his other grandparents come. If we don’t have another snow storm.
I think we wore him out, because he fell asleep at 5:30 tonight.
Ahh, a few extra hours of piece and quiet for Mom and Dad.
Mommie: Well, David, do you know who our new president is this morning?
David: Who?
Mommie: Barack Obama.
David: Why?
Mommie: Because he won the election last night.
David: But I wanted John McCain to win.
Mommie: I know, but Obama won.
David: Yeah, because John McCain didn’t run fast enough.
“Mommie, when I get big I want to go on a date. But I can’t go on a date now, because I’m still little. Do you and Daddy go on dates?”
“Yes, Daddy and I go out on dates once in a while.”
“Uh-huh. But I’m usually with you when you go on your dates.”
