June 2013 Summertime Fun Update: Perot Museum, Swimming Lessons, Father's Day Fun and More!

It's amazing how fast summer can fly by! We had a super busy and exciting June. It started off with Madison graduating from Kindergarten, Alyssa graduating from High School and Madison's 6th Birthday, all in the first week of June.

My parents came down to visit and attend all the fun events. We went to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science which was on our Summer Bucket List. Because we love the Perot Museum so much, we have an annual family membership so we are able go often and we were happy to be able to share the experience with my parents.

Madison loved drawing a picture on the computer and then spinning the wheel fast enough that the light projected the picture onto the wheel.

The Perot Museum is so cool, I will have to do a future post all about it, but in the meantime here is a great quick article to read. After having lots of fun at the museum we went down the street to the Spaghetti Warehouse for lunch. They have a trolley in the restaurant! It was really cool!

Madison was able to grow a Zinnia plant from seeds in school. It was outgrowing it's little cup, so she had a blast transplanting it all by herself! She is very proud of how well her plant is growing.

Madison really enjoyed going to a Calloways Kids Workshop. She listened to the book, Princess and the Pea and then planted pea seeds in a cup. It was a nice, quick morning activity. The next one is August 21st!

We went out for Madison's birthday to Texas Roadhouse. It is a tradition and she LOVES to sit on the saddle while they shout out Happy Birthday to her!

We are a foster family for the Humane Society of Flower Mound. In June we welcomed our current foster dog, Sadie. She was kept outside most of her life until she was surrendered by her owners to an animal shelter where she stayed for 5 months! She's only a year old. She is very sweet and loving, but really shy and in desperate need of socialization. She's come a long way so far and I know soon she'll find the perfect family that will welcome her into her forever home.

We had a great time doing a 'Naked Egg' science experiment. We placed an egg in a container with vinegar so it would dissolve the outer shell so we could see the inside of the egg. Madison really enjoyed this! In the end, we couldn't see the yolk as well as we thought we would have. I am not sure if it's because we used an Eggland's Best egg versus a regular one. We'll have to try it again before the summer is over and see.

And after the shell dissolved, we had a squishy semi-see-through egg:

I signed Madison up this year for her summer swimming camp at AquaKids and after being inspired by her swimming Coach, she decided to work very hard to move up 5 levels throughout the summer and join the Swim Team in the Fall. In June, she completed Elementary 3 and Intermediate 1. We are all very proud of her and extremely happy with AquaKids for helping her obtain her goal. I am very grateful that they truly cared about my daughter's love for swimming and that they went out of their way to help her reach her goal! I cannot express enough what a wonderful place AquaKids is. They are currently looking to expand to a third location and are taking suggestions, so if you would be interested in having an AquaKids close to you, please let them know where by clicking HERE. They are in the final three for the Best of Denton County 2013 for Best Swim Instruction, so if you have a moment to vote, it only takes a second (no registration required). Thank you!

This year on Father's Day, Jeff took Madison fishing for the first time. She caught one fish and was SO proud of herself! (Since they left early in the morning, I wanted to note that he dressed her, not me! LOL)

Then they went to Bass Pro which offers a lot of fun and free activities every weekend over the summer. They had a blast!

Madison did a couple of summer dance classes at Top Hat Dance, but then decided swimming was her thing. She is continuing to do gymnastics and tumbling too.

Madison has really enjoyed hanging out at the pool with friends. Here she is going down the outside waterslide!
 

We are currently working on some workbooks and reading books every day so that we don't have the summer brain drain. I bought marble jar reward sheets and marble stickers from the teacher store and when Madison completes a chore (make bed, brush teeth, etc) or does a workbook page, then she gets a marble. When she fills up the sheet, she can either pick a prize from the prize bin which consists of dollar store toys and stickers or she can earn iPad time.

Here's a great blog post on 7 ways to Boost Brainpower Over the Summer Vacation!

At the end of June we temporarily watched another foster family's puppy while they went on vacation. His name is Tony and he was a bundle of puppy love! He has already found his forever home, but I feel really good about fostering for the Humane Society of Flower Mound and teaching Madison to give back to her community. She now knows that she is the voice for those who cannot be heard.

Tony was 8 weeks old here and had just found his unknown love for sprinklers and mud. ;)

Jeff took Madison to the skating rink on Memorial Day for a free skate special we saw on FamilyeGuide and she was hooked. She has been skating every week since. The local skating rink, Interskate has skating lessons every Saturday at 9 am for $3 and she LOVES them! She is learning a lot and becoming a great skater!

Madison also started a musical theater camp at Studio B at the end of June. I'll post pictures and videos from the production in my July post.

Check out our 2013 Summer Bucket List! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and having lots of fun!

Look for more upcoming posts on Walt Disney World, toy room and American Girl Doll accessory organization, and July's Summer Update!

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!

A great summer of fun so far!

I am determined to make the most out of the summer before Kindergarten and we are doing just that! Our summer has been filled with different lessons, crafts, treats and fun! I promised myself I would blog about our summer NO MATTER WHAT! :) So here I go.

Madison was extremely excited to turn 5 so she could get her very own library card! I am so delighted with everything the Lewisville Library has to offer for kids over the summer. They have a phenomenal children's summer reading program! Madison is able to read over the entire summer and earn really cool prizes! They also have GREAT children's reading times and programs. Here are some pictures of Madison with her library card and a picture of Zooniversity who presented endangered animals at the library program today. We are so lucky to have a library close that offers so much!

 

Madison completed the first level of her summer reading program through the library and one of the prizes was a free kids meal at Chili's. 

 And the best part of eating out is ordering desert!

 In the morning while I'm still waking up, Madison has free time. She built her Lincoln Logs all by herself by following the instructions! I was so impressed and she was so very proud!

 Here are other pictures of her morning free time activities.

Playdough Fun!

Building a castle

Painting on aluminum foil

Painting

Sand Art

Mosaic Art

Coloring

 

Madison just finished up a two week swimming
camp at Aqua Kids. She passed to the next level and will be starting once a week lessons next week. I am so very, very proud of her. Here are the details for the class/camp she just did:
Requirements to enter the class: 10 second breath control, jump turn and swim to wall, swim 25 feet, get independent forward breath with good recovery, back float, back glide
Goals for the class: Proper body position with forward swim, swim 1 length of our pool with rollover breathing, finning on back 1 width of our pool, introduction to frog kick, underwater swim

And here are the details for the next class she begins on Monday:
Requirements to enter the class: Proper body position with forward swim, swim 1 length of our pool with rollover breathing, finning on back 1 width of our pool, introduction to frog kick, underwater swim
Goals for the class: Freestyle 1 length of our pool with rollover breath, finning on back 1 length of our pool, frog kick 1 width of our pool, underwater swim, diving
Yep, I am one VERY proud momma!

We have been participating in every Passport to Imagination craft at Michaels. Each craft represents a different country and she gets to make a pin as well. A super cool fun activity. We go every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.  (She dressed herself that day)

Madison is continuing to take gymnastics at Best Gymnastics and is loving it.  She is on the Developmental Team and loves Coach Josh. She is excited about becoming a team girl one day and is even more excited to practice hard after watching the Olympic Trials.

Yogi Kids and Sacred Dance opened a new studio together in Flower Mound and are offering $5 classes all summer long. Madison has been taking Kids Yoga, Hip Hop, Storytime Yoga, and Ballet and Tap. I don't currently have pictures, but will be posting some soon!

Downtime is also very important. I have finally discovered how to implement it for both Madison and I for an hour every day....books on CD. I checked out a bunch of Magic Tree House books on CD and downloaded them onto her iPod (temporarily we delete them after she listens to them). She LOVES them and lays down and listens for an hour or more.  It's GREAT!

We also have started a reading list of books that I read to her and she is on Set 2 of BOB books that she reads to me. Next week I am going to start Story Stretchers to go with the books we are reading.  Lots of different activities. I also hope to involve her in cooking and start some music. Trying to find a balance without putting anything off for her can be very difficult sometimes. I am very, very lucky to have a great helper (Madison's sister). She has been wonderful this summer.

I can't believe it is already almost July! It is crazy how fast time is flying by, I need a pause button! I am very fortunate to have a 'cheat sheet' website with all the activities for kids in North Texas right at my fingertips. Thank goodness for FamilyeGuide or I'd miss out on all the fun things to do this summer!

So far it's been a busy and productive summer and his doesn't even include all of the organizing of Madison's room! I'll save that for the next post!

Spring is in the air! Time for lots of fun!

It is warming up outside and I am getting so excited for Spring! We're gearing up for our St. Patrick's Day activities and Spring activities as well! 

Here are some links to great St. Patrick's Day activities that we are currently working on!

St. Patrick's Day from Home made Preschool

St. Patrick's Day from PreKinders

St. Patrick's Day from 2 Teaching Mommies 

Check out my Spring Pinterest Board for lots of fun activities and ideas!

Here are a couple pictures of Madison completing a project from The Printable Share.  Just click on St. Patrick's Day on the site for many more fun activities. 

Madison has also been keeping very active!  She is taking gymnastics once a week and dance class once a week.  I just signed her up for a sports skills class that she will be starting tomorrow too.  We took her bowling for the first time this past weekend and she LOVED it!  She also likes to do yoga on the Wii for fun!

Here is a picture of Madison during her class at Best Gymnastics

Here is a picture of Madison bowling

And a picture of her attempting to do the yoga on the Wii

I always love finding great ideas for kids!  Here are some great articles worth reading from Family eGuide:

Imaginative Fun

Girly Fun

Family Activities Any Time

I look forward to working on our Gardening Unit from Homeschool Creations and planting seeds for her to watch grow! I am also looking forward to having a lot of fun doing activities with Madison that I find on the Family eGuide Calendar and having her get her energy out at Best Gymnastics Spring Break Camp!

Kindergarten registration is next month...it is all happening too fast!  Getting one child ready for kindergarten and the other for her senior year and choosing a college has been an eye opener of just how fast life goes and I'm enjoying every minute of it!