Back to School 2013

Somehow the summer flew by and it is already the first day of school again! This year, my oldest started college at Oklahoma State University. She started last Monday and was kind enough to send me a picture of her continuing the tradition of holding a 'First Day of School Sign.' I was so excited when Family eGuide posted a Back to School Tips post that linked to a post by Digital Mom Blog that had a First Day of School Sign for College students!!! It was part of a series from Pre-K up, so my First Grader had the same design too! 

I wish every morning went as smoothly as the first day of school. Madison was up at 6:30am on her own after her alarm went off and by the time I went to check on her, she was already dressed and her bed was made! In no time at all we were off!

She was super excited to have her own desk this year, as opposed to a shared table last year!

Last year my husband took her to school every morning because I am not anywhere close to being a morning person. I felt guilty this year, because I do stay at home, so I vowed to get up and take her every day. Since I am doing mornings now, I also have pre-planned lunches and outfits. I don't want to just pack her a sandwich everyday so I found a TON of great ideas on the 100 days of real food website.

Her lunch today was a whole wheat waffle sandwich with cream cheese, Agave sweetener, cinnamon, and raisins mixed inside, petite baby carrots and ranch dip, pears, strawberry milk and a fiber one brownie for desert. I would like to eventually fix lunches that do not include any pre-packaged or canned items at all. That is my goal.

In preparation of outfit planning, I made sure I sprayed all of her shoes, her backpack and lunch box with protector spray so it is much easier to keep clean during the year by wiping them down periodically.

 Then I made sure I had all of her outfits preplanned including socks, hair clips, and shoes. I made sure she was good with wearing each outfit, since she's becoming more independent and wants to pick out her own clothes.



I chose a dress for the first day of school, but I always have her wear a pair of comfy shorts under it, because she is 6. :) The teacher wanted them to always wear closed toe shoes, but the flip flops match the dress...so I just sent a pair of tennis shoes to school to stay in her locker and she can change shoes if she needs to.

On meet the teacher night, her teacher thought that P.E. might be on Tuesday, so we planned an athletic outfit.

Wednesday's outfit includes pigtails, because in First Grade they're still cool!

Thursday:

And Friday:

Now that Madison is back in school and Alyssa is away at college, I think I can clean the house and it will stay clean longer than 5 minutes! I can't wait to get to spend more time blogging, organizing, volunteering and doing household projects. Here's to an awesome school year! *Clinking coffee mug*

Support Small Businesses Series - Best Gymnastics

Madison started taking gymnastics classes at Best Gymnastics when it first opened in Flower Mound, TX over two years ago. Best Gymnastics is an exceptional business because of the values the business was built upon and the amazing staff that carry out the vision of Best Gymnastics every day.

In Madison's first class, I noticed that she was being taught gymnastics like I had never seen it taught before. She was 3, and she was taught how do skills from beginning to finish. The coaches weren't just 'going through the motions' they actually cared that she learned how to do things the right way! She was really learning gymnastics while having fun. And she LOVED it! As she has progressed throughout the years, the quality of instruction has been extraordinary regardless of her level or coach. I have never experienced that with any other activity she has been involved in.

What do I love most about Best Gymnastics? There are many things, but the main reason is the feeling of being treated like family. The coaches are all very close and would do anything to help each other out. This extends on to their classes...they care about the kids as if they are their family too. All of the coaches want the very best for the kids in their classes and teach them correct gymnastics, exhibit an amazing amount of patience, are very encouraging, and work with them every week to help them master different skills. They go out of their way to give their all to every class they teach, every day. They are not there for 'just a paycheck', but because they love what they do and they want to make a difference in every child's life. That is why Madison takes classes three days a week and has gained such a sense of accomplishment and a high self-esteem. I am impressed with their emphasis on safety because they are very well organized and follow safety rules and have an age appropriate learning progression so my child is safe while learning gymnastics. I know that Best Gymnastics has the cleanest gym in Texas. That also shows how much they care. Best Gymnastics is also very fair to me as a customer and they don't charge 'member' fees for events or annually, or try to lock me into a contract. They don't have to. Best Gymnastics is a business with integrity.

If you love Best Gymnastics, please vote for them to be nominated for the Best of Denton County 2013 award HERE. Just choose Sports & Fitness, Gymnastics and fill in Best Gymnastics as the Nominee. You don't have to register and it only takes a moment.

If you would like to try Best Gymnastics, they offer a free trial class. They also have AWESOME  activities for kids and if you are interested in signing up for one of their camps, FamilyeGuide has a coupon HERE!

You can also check them out on Facebook!

Support Small Businesses Series - ART house

My daughter LOVES taking art lessons at the ART house. She has the opportunity to learn many different art techniques and types of art, refine her fine motor skills and learn some art history too! The classes at the ART house allow her to express her creativity, which is very important for her development. She is beaming with pride when she brings home her artwork every week. I like the small class size and personalized attention she receives. Not only are the classes here fun, but she learned so much that she received an E (Exceeds expectations) on her report card in Art class for school!

ART house has two locations, one in Flower Mound and one in Southlake. If you love ART house then please nominate them for the Best of Denton County 2013 award! If you would like to try a class or camp at the Flower Mound location, Flower Mound Family offers a coupon HERE!

Why Small Businesses Are the Best!

Small business owners have a special place in my heart. In my opinion, not only do they give better service, they are the heart of what the American Dream stands for. My grandpa owned his own business for his entire life and was happy and successful. He left a legacy that will be handed down from generation to generation. Work hard-play hard. I truly believe in supporting small business owners that work so hard, day in and day out so that they can provide us with a quality like no other. Franchises loose the 'heart and soul' of quality and the 'hometown' feel.

Here are the small local DFW business in alphabetical order that I am going to write posts on that I believe are exceptional. If you have the opportunity to nominate any of these for the Best of Denton County Award 2013, thank you in advance! You don't have to register and it only takes a moment. Right now with the economy, it is more important than ever to support them! If they are nominated and win they are given free advertising and a prestigious title. This means a great deal to each of them. This is an easy way to give back to your community and make a difference! I am not affiliated with any of these businesses or paid for these posts. All opinions are my own. If you are not familiar with any of the businesses below, please take a moment and check them out.

Art House

AquaKids

Best Gymnastics

Cross Timbers Animal Medical Center

Enzo's NY Pizzeria

FamilyeGuide

Studio B Theater

Faithful Blogging

So today begins the day of faithful blogging. I did really well on a previous blog I had, and then I started working. I loved my job so much, but there wasn't time to do all of the things I really wanted to do too. Two years later I left my job to focus on my family and to spend more time volunteering. I miss writing blogs for them, but I am very happy to have the time now to write my own. :) I have so much to write about, like our Disney trip and summer learning and fun, but first....the last two weeks of school....

School is officially out and I am now a proud mother of a First Grader and a College Freshman. In the past couple of  weeks, I survived the last week of school, kindergarten graduation, my parents visiting and a high school graduation.I am going to do short blog posts on each of these, since someone once told me that no one likes to read long things. ;)

Madison. She has had the BEST year of kindergarten ever! Madison and her class were blessed with the best teacher in the world. She had tons of fun participating in Mad Science after school, dance class, gymnastics, tumbling, and art class.

The year came to an end with Field Day, Splash Day and Kindergarten Graduation.

Super Hero Field Day photo credit: Jennifer Bassier

Super Hero Field Day photo credit: Ms. Walker

 

Splash Day photo credit: Carrie Parker

Kindergarten Graduation photo credit: Carrie Parker

First Day of School 2012

This morning went amazingly well and Madison was very excited and didn't seem nervous at all!  Yes I am making my senior hold a sign.  That's what happens when you have a sister 12 years younger than you, however I don't feel too bad since you get to reap the magic of Christmas and Easter for many more years than you were intended to. :) I found the signs on Pinterest!

After pictures Alyssa gave Madison a huge hug and wished her a great first day of school!

Madison's backpack is almost as big as she is!

She was very excited to get to school, but once she got there and sat down, I think reality set in. I think her expression speaks for itself...

She's getting read to color her sheet.

And then I gave her a hug and said goodbye. She asked me if I was going to cry..after giving me a very concerned look and me feel immediately guilty for having her worry on her first day of school, I quickly lied and said no and then she gave me a great big smile. The teacher than proceeded to ask me if I was ok. I wonder if she was afraid I just wasn't going to leave...lol So I took one more picture on my way out. 

Then I went home and bawled like a baby. I am sure she will have a great time in Kindergarten and now I just need to focus on all the projects I've been dying to do the past 5 years. :)  The next post will be on the preparation for Kindergarten...I'm doing the posts a little backwards, but I was so excited to post the pictures from today I couldn't help it. :)

After school we are going to do a 'First Day of School Interview'. Just a great time capsule keepsake. :) We'll also do a Last Day of School Interview as well and make it a tradition.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie...

It's ironic how this is the book we focused on this past week and somehow it seemed to be the theme of the week...wanting one thing after another! LOL.

I hope everyone had a great Forth of  July! We decided to take it easy and went to Vista Ridge Mall during the day for our festivities. It was an air conditioned event which is key in the middle of the summer in Texas. They had crafts and facepainting so Madison really enjoyed it! Later that evening we watched fireworks. It ended up being a late night, but that's ok once and awhile.

Madison enjoyed making her take home craft from the Lewisville Library

This week we enjoyed reading "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" by Laura Numeroff. We have it as part of the Mouse Cookies and More Treasury.

It has activities and songs and a CD that is the audio version of each book and the songs too. Madison listened to them over and over. Then we did some activities. She drew a picture like the mouse did in the book, she made playdough cookies and molded a mouse out of molding clay.

Then we did some great If You Give a Mouse a Cookie activities I downloaded for free from ingles360 that have activities for preschoolers as well as grade school! For more activities to make books and reading fun visit my Book Lists and Activities Pinterest Board.

If you have a post that you would like to share with activity ideas to go with books please leave a comment below with your link!

Life of a Five Year Old...Weekend of Brave, Swimming, Science and Fun

This weekend was a busy and fun one! Every Saturday for the summer, Madison takes ballet and tap in the morning at Sacred Dance and loves it! Then Daddy takes her to Michaels for their Passport to Imagination craft. This past Saturday was Canada. She made a picture frame and a maple leaf pin to place on her lanyard with the rest of the pins she has been collecting from the different country crafts.  On Sunday morning DH and Madison worked on her Science Kit. You mix liquids to become crystals. She loves doing these types of Science experiments with her Daddy. :)

Then DH attempted to teach her to ride her bike, however she just isn't wanting to balance on it. I am going to try to have her ride her scooter more so that hopefully she will learn that you have to balance. :) It was only 92 degrees which is perfect here for the middle of summer in Texas so we went went to the pool for a bit. Madison loves to jump off the diving board and loves to swim.

My husband took Madison to go see the movie Brave. We have read the books (I got her an easy reader, a picture book and a chapter book) and so she has been anxiously awaiting the movie. She loved it, despite the scary bear scene. Yes, he thought it would be funny to line her up with the bow and arrow for the picture...

I am getting all prepped for next week. I decided that we are going to pick a couple of books a week to do extra learning activities with. The books for this week are 'If You Give A Mouse A Cookie' and 'Runaway Bunny.' I choose this one because my aunt gave Madison a treasury book that includes this story.  It has a CD with the author's narration and a couple of songs for each of the stories. At the end of each story it also includes some recipes and learning activities. I have also found some good resources on Pinterest and from my Story Stretchers Book. Each week I am going to give her options for morning free play. She can choose to do whichever options her heart desires. :) I do not let her watch much TV.  I am not found of it at all. Last week I let her watch one episode of SuperWhy. I also limit her iPad use to 20 minutes a week as well.  I have found that when I let her watch TV or play electronics that she looses all interest in learning and playing and is constantly begging as if she's addicted so now it's once a week and that's it.

 I am looking forward to a great week! We are going to be doing our regular weekly events:

• Preschool Time at the Lewisville Library
• Swimming Lessons at Aqua Kids
• Passport to Imagination Crafts at Michaels
• Kids Yoga at Yogi Kids
• Developmental Team gymnastics class at Best Gymnastics
• Clue Finders Program at the Lewsiville Library
• Kids Ballet and Tap at Sacred Ground Dance

 We are going to finish reading What Your Preschooler Should Know. It is a GREAT book that has stories, songs, history, science and more!

We also should finish up the BrainQuest cards for ages 4 -5 years.

And we are working on sight words. I found this great colorful set for free on Pinterest from education.com!

I was able to complete her room organization. I still have some laundry to put away before I post pics of the closet, but here are the hair bows and her new dress up area in her room:

Here is the before picture of all of her hair accessories

And the after..I put them in bead sorter boxes from Michaels. We ended up having a total of 4!

Here Madison is sorting her jewelry. She had it dumped together in several little conatiners.

Here it is sorted in little pockets. This organizer hangs up in the closet and is two sided.

I used to have her dress up clothes on the lower level of her closet, but I wanted the closet to just be for regular clothes so I had DH take out the shelves in her bookshelf and added a tension rod (hopefully it will stay). She has three bins to the side that hold dress up accessories. Now it's accessible and organized.

After her room is complete I will be moving on to the Toy Room. Ugh. First I think we are going to try to find a way to organize the doll area first.

And...Madison lost her 3rd tooth today!  The front left one. It is going to take some getting used to for both of us! LOL