Preschool For the tWINs

Last year Mr. Jackson and I were in a neighborhood preschool co-op group. This year he's in kindergarten and his sisters were so excited to start preschool, but I didn't want to commit to anything as involved this year. They don't know that they don't get to go to kindergarten for two years... but they do know they have to be 5 to go... oh well... they'll figure it out. Hopefully. I'm not going to tell them...

I decided we'd keep it low-key this year and just do some fun learning activities at home. We can focus on the letters next year. I also know myself and my lack of motivation halfway through a project. I knew I'd need some kind of organization and a PLAN. I started early and I gathered ideas (mostly via Pinterest). Then I went to the Walmart.

I had seen several preschool/learning shelf ideas on Instagram and Pinterest, and I loved the idea. 

I bought this cute shelf and these three baskets from Walmart to commit myself to the shelf idea. I used it as a book shelf for a few months before it was time to stock it with preschool activities.

Yes, it is in my living room. I knew that if I put it somewhere out of sight, the whole idea would also be out of mind.

I made a list of themes that I would use each week. 

I chose things based on the books and toys we already owned. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on this. (Some favorites: princesses, dinosaurs, zoo, weather, and body.)

My list is super high-tech... 

From there I made lists of all the books, toys/games, and other activities I could think of for each theme. I needed a plan before I ever started or else I would give up. 

I added holiday/seasonal themes for specific times throughout the year. 

I made a rough list of things we'd try to do each day and the amount of time each activity would normally take (this is VERY flexible- we sometimes just sit and read books).  The night before Jackson started kindergarten, I set up the girls' school area.

Shelf setup:

• Theme signs- I pre-made a sign for each theme, so I don't have to scramble each week.
• Felt Letter Board- I also found this at Walmart. It is, admittedly, just for me. This shelf is in my living room, so I'd like to look a little bit put together.
• Theme toy decorations- I try to put something on top (usually including a book) to help the girls recognize the theme of the week since they can't read yet.
• Worksheet basket- This is where all the papers go before they've been completed. Coloring sheets, crafts, tracing and cutting worksheets, etc.
• Activities basket- This is where all the "stuff" goes. Small pieces, games, puzzles, sticker books, etc.
• Finished basket- this is where all the finished papers go- including the ones that come home from kindergarten. We keep them for the week then toss them. It has helped keep the random papers from taking over my house.
• Book cubby- This is where the books go! They all relate to the theme somehow. I don't try to arrange them in any order because they get pulled out throughout the day.

The last two cubbies have been switched around a little according to our needs, but here is what we've been using them for lately:

• Activity cubby- This is where the activities that are too big for the basket go. Large games and puzzles, hands-on activities, etc.
• Supply cubby- This is where we keep the supplies needed for the crafts, worksheets, and weekly setup. The box with supplies (scissors, crayons, glue, and pencils- all labelled because twins fight and are extremely possessive), stapler, blue painters tape to attach things to the wall. 

I usually wait until the day before to print off the worksheets I find so they don't get spread all over the house before we use them. If you're interested in the worksheets, jump over to my Facebook group- I post links there. I found most of them on Pinterest.

You may have also seen that we have snack time during our preschool lessons. Snacks are very simple with very little thought or prep. I usually just grab something from the pantry or fridge. The snacks can go with the theme if you want, or you can serve carrots and crackers every day!

Here are a few of the other themes we've done so far:

The very first day of our at-home preschool, the girls thought their friends were coming over for school, but luckily Daddy broke the news to them that it would just be the three of us.

They were fine with that information once we actually started our lesson. 

It lasted about 45 minutes and we only had preschool 3 of the 4 days that first week. The lessons are shorter or longer depending on their moods and mine. We keep it flexible so if something comes up we can do it. It's been fun so far and the girls are loving it. I've found that it is also a great time to bond with them and get stuff done while they are working on projects. I'm excited to see their progress throughout the year.

Let me know if you have any questions about the games, activities, or books we use.

Summer Bucket List Recap 2017

After creating our family bucket list post at the end of Spring this year, I saw a friend's memory post on Facebook with her GIANT bucket list taped to a door. I had to do it, obviously! (Try not to stare at it too long, the angled lettering will drive you crazy, or maybe that's just me.) Once I covered the pantry door in my kitchen, I continued to add items to our bucket list, including one that we didn't complete- oddly enough, that is the one that I almost didn't write down because I knew we wouldn't have time... Maybe we'll get to it this Fall.
Anyway... Here is a quick reminder of the original list- notice that it's significantly shorter, and not hanging up somewhere in my house.

I have to admit, some of these were lame attempts at adventure, and more so I could mark them off the list than anything else when it came down to it. But as per the title of this post, I promised a recap of our Summer adventures, so I'll just jump right in! (If you want more info on any of these, comment below. It's kind of long, so I didn't do as many links this time.)

Swimming Lessons: I didn't realize until the final day of swimming lessons that I had put my kids in a pre-swim class, so each day we'd come home and my husband would ask if they could swim yet, I'd have to say no. BUT that was not really the point of the lessons. Remember my scared little kiddies who were terrified of the water?? Well... My son will now jump of the side of the pool, go under water, and attempt to swim! My girls are also liking the water a lot more, and will even put their cute little faces in sometimes. All three LOVED their swimming lessons, so I call it a win, and we will most likely be signing up for the next level next Summer. They still talk about it, and I remember it fondly as 30 minutes of uninterrupted reading time for me. 

Summer Kids Movies: This one was fun, but my kids didn't enjoy it as much as I thought they would. Apparently they can't sit through a whole movie... (they don't watch much TV at home) They loved getting to see friends and eating popcorn every week, but they suddenly had to go to the bathroom 4 times in an hour. Most of the kids movies were a little silly, but some were cute and rather enjoyable. We did end up missing a few of them because of scheduling and sick kiddos, but we did make it to most of them. Apparently I have the same problem sitting still, because I felt completely useless for the duration of the movie. It was still a great price, and something fun and relaxing to break up the week. I haven't decided if we will be doing this one again next year or not. 

Pick Cherries Fruit & Vegetables: We tried to do some cherry picking again this year, but with the late Spring frosts, many cherries didn't make it, including the ones at my friend's orchard. We decided to look for other opportunities to pick our own food. We found a fun you-pick farm close to home and decided to try it out. It was so fun! The prices were great and the gardens were huge. The kids loved pulling the wagon and filling the baskets. I was able to make fresh salsa, the watermelon was so juicy, and I had zucchini recipe dreams fulfilled for days! They're still open for late Summer/early Fall harvest, so we'll probably be going again soon. Check them out online HERE.

Picnic: This one should have been fairly simple, but for some reason we waited until the last week of our Summer break to do this one. We went to the park by our house for lunch. It was super windy, but Daddy surprised us by showing up to get the mail (our mailbox is at the park- you can see it in the background) and had lunch with us! I learned that even the smallest items on our bucket list created the same amount of excitement in the kids! (P.S. I love my new backpack with insulated pockets!- it may or may not be marketed as a diaper bag, but I don't really care.)

Camping + Campfire + Fishing: I combined these because we did them all in one trip! 

(We did go camping twice, but we only had a fire and went fishing once.) These are Summer staples in our family, so I knew they'd be happening, but it gave us something to check off- sort of like a free space on a bingo card. I like to try to put my phone away for most of the trip, so I only got a couple pictures, but my husband saved the day (or blog post) with a few pictures of his own. We cooked dinner (including corn on the cob) in the fire one night- delicious! On our fishing expedition, Jackson was the only one in our family to catch a fish. He reeled it in all by himself with his new fishing pole that he got for his birthday. 

An added bonus on our second camping trip- the Solar Eclipse!! We were in a place where we were able to see about 91% of the eclipse. Everything looked a little distorted and the temperature dropped a little. We even saw the crescent shadows- not knowing that was a thing at the time, so I didn't take pictures. Luckily my sister (in-law) was kind enough to share the eclipse glasses with us because I'm a slacker and didn't get any. We did the pin hole in a paper trick also. I didn't really care much about the eclipse when other people were preparing, but it was actually pretty cool to watch. 

Visit New Library: I didn't even think to take pictures when we visited story time at the Spanish Fork Library because we were having so much fun! The kids LOVED it. It's a little bit of a trip, but I think we'll definitely return. They story time was very interactive and so fun for 3-5 year olds. They had a fun little play room with a puppet theater which is where my kiddos spent the most time.

We also decided to check out the Provo Library (pictured above) after a museum trip one day, and stumbled upon an AMAZING traveling exhibit! I feel like I need to tell everyone about it, so if it comes to your city, you can visit! They had vests and hard hats to wear, carts to carry tools and building materials, and many hands-on stations for open-ended questions and learning. Plus, it was FUN. The pictures don't even do it justice. I hope something else like this comes again soon. We didn't even make it to the book section of the library.

Hike: I almost died on this one, or at least I felt dead the next day! We hiked to Timpanogos Cave. The kids practically ran up the whole trail. David did great because he hikes, although he was pretty sweaty as you can see! It was the middle of July at the hottest part of the day after all... The cave temperature felt nice though! The kids started counting lizards they saw along the way. I was SUPER grateful we didn't see any snakes. I felt pretty accomplished after this one! I might do it again... in a few years...

This doesn't quite count as a hike, but it was no walk in the park either... I decided to run a 5k this Summer (2 days after our Timp hike!).  The last time I ran a 5k, I was in the 7th grade... This one was the Temple to Temple 5k in Provo- free to sign up, but I decided to buy the shirt- if I was going to do it, I needed a souvenir. One of my trek daughters joined me and definitely left me in the dust. She's awesome. I did finish under my goal time though! (Don't ask what that was. It was slow.) We had a lot of fun, and we got to see a man dressed as Angel Moroni, and we were cheered on by Cosmo the cougar. I might also do that again... In a few months! 

Eat at a food truck: This was by far the most disappointing one. I had plans to find a highly recommended dessert-style food truck, but time was not on my side. We settled for a quick barbecue truck close to home. It was not worth the check on our list. We threw half the food away and I wrote a bad review on their Facebook page. 

I might try again for a dessert truck, but I don't want to talk about this one anymore...

Those are supposed to be onion rings- bottom right

Splash Pad: We visited a few of these, but the only pictures I took were of my girls holding our friend's baby... We spent the 4th of July at the Springville splash pad while the parades and other festivities were going on, so it wasn't too busy. We spent most of the Summer trying to cool off

The kids and I went to the Scottish Festival in Payson with my parents. Grandpa is the best! He helped the kids walk in the little stream that runs through the park at the festival. 

We also crashed the slip and slide party at the park by our house, well, just the kids and I. David was invited. They used a giant book-promotion sign. It was a grassy, muddy mess, but it was so much fun! I didn't have my contacts in, so I had to keep taking off my glasses. I could barely see, but it was worth it. I also got to take a turn spraying everyone, I mean... the slide... with the hose. I feel young at heart, but I felt so old and sore the next day.

  

Museum: We decided to visit BYU's Museum of Paleontology. It is smaller than I imagined, but there was a lot packed into the small space. It was free, but we did have the kids put some money in the donation box- they played with that thing for almost 10 minutes! The kids each brought their own toy dino and tried to find it's fossil counterpart in the museum. They sang "We are the Dinosaurs" over and over and over that day.  It's great if you want a quick trip (we weren't even there an hour). We had a lot of extra time, so that's when we found the Little Builders exhibit that I mentioned in the library section.

Ride Bikes: This one gave us a little trouble. Jackson had a goal to be able to have his training wheels off by the end of the Summer, but we literally waited until the very last day to take their bikes to the church to practice. His bike tire was flat, so we had to buy a new tube. That took longer than we anticipated because we ended up having to order one. Needless to say, he didn't quite achieve his goal, but he is not much more confident on his bike and wants to practice on our street so he can hopefully get the training wheels off soon. It was a fun family night watching them practice balancing and pedaling. Miss Melanie is pretty fearless on her balance bike. 

Fireworks: On the 4th of July, we put the kids to bed at a decent hour and put an air mattress in our backyard so David and I could watch the fireworks across the valley without leaving our house. It was great! Probably my favorite place to watch fireworks because it requires very little work or prep and it's still a decent show. We also attended two different fireworks displays in Spanish Fork. One for Fiesta Days, and the other for the 24th of July (Pioneer Day) after my race. Both were at the same ballpark. The first one we just went as a family, and the second one we spent time with friends and got drenched by the rain. Still fun though. These were our seats at the Fiesta Days pyro-musical show. We weren't very close to the stage where the bands played, but we were right under the fireworks. 

Pool Party: We were invited to a pool party/BBQ at the Francum pool in Santaquin. I didn't get any pictures because I was busy enjoying time with friends and David was busy trying to calm Hailey. The kids hadn't started swimming lessons yet, and she was basically freaking out the whole time she was in the water. 

We also set up "Hansen Beach" a couple times in our backyard. We only set up the pool once, but it was great. We had the big umbrella for shade, lots of squirt guns (I tried to keep one to defend myself), and it was super close to home. This chair was probably my favorite Summer investment. It was only $15 from Walmart, and I took it everywhere, including the beach. More on that later.

Parade: I thought this one would be easy, because we had several chances, but it ended up being kind of a stretch. We were out of town for the parade I really wanted to attend, but we did make it to our church's Primary Bike Parade in July. The kids (ok fine, I) decorated their scooters, and we went to the church parking lot to show them off. It was madness all around (locked doors, copy machine that wouldn't cooperate, Melanie's wheel fell off, Jackson fell and couldn't find me, and so on... long story) but overall it was a fun time. There were activities and games after the bike parade ended. We made a bicycle craft (thus the need for copies), had a bean bag toss, went bobbing for apples, and finished it off with popsicles.

Train Ride: The kids got to ride the train at Lagoon and at the Scottish Festival, but we didn't mark it off our list until we went on the Heber Valley Railroad Family Night Train. It was a fun night together. They played music on the train and had sing-alongs and dance competitions. The kids couldn't sit still, but luckily we had plenty of space for them to switch seats often. It rained a little while we were on the train, and Jackson spent time looking for barns and waving to people outside the train. We'll definitely go again. It would be fun to go on one of their theme rides. (Wizard Train, North Pole Express, Dinosaur Train, Princess Train) 

Scavenger Hunt: I had big, outdoorsy nature ideas for this one, but I ended up doing something simple to make our grocery shopping experience a little more enjoyable. I made this quick scavenger hunt page with pictures from the internet. I pulled it up on my phone photo editor and let the kids go to town at Walmart. Short and sweet. They loved it. If your kids are crazy at the store, I highly recommend a scavenger hunt or a grocery list that they can check off.

Build a Sand Castle: We visited the reservoir in Springville (until they started charging for parking) and the one in Spanish Fork several times this Summer. This was one of my favorite activities. The sand at the Springville one is way better, but the water is so cold. The water is a lot warmer at the Spanish Fork one, but I got fried every time we went, and the death sand hurt my feet the first time. 

I didn't even get pictures of the sand castles we built, but we made at least two. It was basically a party every time we went though. We had several water fights, made some sand mer-people, created our own Wipe-Out course using emoji floaties ($5 on Walmart clearance), we used kayaks for super slow tube wars, and I basically dominated at the water football catch game. I was even introduced to my new theme song "I Like to Win"! I'm pretty sure the kids just liked the snacks and Capri Sun drinks I brought for them. 

The reservoir is the "beach" I mentioned earlier.

Carousel: My dad's work party was at Lagoon this year. We got to go, and that's where we got to mark off the carousel. David took the kids while we were waiting for lunch. I ran over just in time to get a picture. The kids always love the carousel. It's a favorite for sure. David also somehow convinced me to go on the Cannibal ride. I wasn't really a fan of the beyond vertical drop, but it wasn't as bad as I anticipated. 

Snow Cones: Thanks to Kim Ball's recommendation on my last post, I tried the perfect snow cone this Summer! I honestly don't remember the name of this one (I want to say Summer Breeze, but I'm not sure), but I think it's a peach, watermelon, and strawberry flavor combo from the Tropical Sno shack in Salem, Utah. Perfect consistency, and pretty big! We shared this, but the next time we got 3 different ones. The spoons change colors with temperature, the Shark Attack flavor comes with gummy sharks, they have colorful mini picnic tables (and regular size ones too), and it is located on the road that goes to one of the reservoirs we liked to visit! I'm a fan.

Feed Ducks: We got to do this as a family too. The girls wanted to feed the babies, and the geese made them nervous, but they were not ready to leave when it was time to head home. This is at Spring Lake just up the road from our house. We love when David gets to join us for the fun.

Visit a New Playground: Some friends introduced us to a new playground in Payson that has a staircase shaped like a dinosaur! It was a fun little place that wasn't crowded at all, but there isn't much shade or places to sit. It was great for my little climbers (ok fine, I climbed too...). Hopefully it gets a little more developed so we'll want to go more often.

Ice Cream: This one was pretty great because we didn't even have to pay for it! The kids earned Dairy Queen ice cream coupons from our library's Summer reading program. The perfect shape of these ice cream cones makes me pretty happy. They also earned mini Blizzards, but they liked the cones better. Yay for reading!

BONUS ITEMS

I added some of these as we did them, mostly so I would remember them and be able to add them to our bucket list next year. The others were added because I like to check things off a list.

Fairy Tea Party: This was such a fun and cute party. The girls got to dress up and meet the fairy queen, go to fairy school, watch the fairy ballet, make fairy wands, and eat fairy treats. My friend's family does this in Elk Ridge every year, and they go all out. We loved it! 

Popsicles: Pretty sure these become their own food group in the Summer time. Otter Pops and their generic counterparts currently fill 30% of our freezer. My kids ask me at least once a day for a popsicle. I'm hoping to clean them out of the freezer before it get cold outside. That should not be a problem. I'm really sick of finding the wrappers everywhere though.

Teddy Bear Clinic: I keep seeing these pop up at different hospitals throughout the year, but I forgot about it until after I had created our original bucket list. This is a little bit of a time commitment (you also need to schedule an appointment for some of them), but it was really fun. The kids got to bring their own bears to help make them all better. It is a great way to show kids that doctors are there to help if they get hurt or sick.

Lunch at School: I didn't get a picture of this one. C.S. Lewis Academy has free lunch for kids for a few weeks in the Summer. We took advantage of this a few times, mostly as a bribe for the kids to get things done haha! It was like school lunch that they have during the school year. We were able to catch up with some friends, and have a quick lunch close to home. Best part- I didn't have to cook!

Donut Run: This is my friend, Hailey. (Yes that does confuse my children once in a while, especially my Hailey.) We got our kids together to have donuts and flavored milk at the park. Payson Market has decent donuts, but they still aren't my favorite. I haven't found the perfect raspberry-filled donut in the area yet though. I'll still eat them because, duh, donuts.

(That's the slightly graffitied dinosaur staircase behind us.)

Pajama Day: This was one we had to plan. I thought it would be easy to just hang out in our pjs all day, but since we were in an adventurous state of mind, we definitely had to make a conscious decision to do it. It was such a lazy day and by the time David got home from work, the kiddos were pretty restless (meaning, crazy). It was nice to be home for the day though. It was pretty cozy too. We watched a couple movies and read a lot of story books. Yes, that is my favorite- Tangled!

BBQ: We originally checked this one off at the same time as our pool party, but we also attended a fun BBQ hosted by my friend and her real estate company. The girls each won a pool noodle, and they had free sunglasses and beach balls. I was a big fan of the mint brownies. David was out of town for scout camp and I didn't have to cook!

T-ball: This was Jackson's first organized sport! He did great. It was pretty hot outside, but the games were short, so it wasn't too bad. He made a new friend and he loved the after-game treats. We'll let him decide if he wants to play again next year. The girls were really interested in his games too... not! They found creative ways, like collecting and counting pinecones, to pass the time. 

Road Trip Games: This one was added to the list so I wouldn't forget to use the car bingo cards I bought from Dollar Tree haha! My kids are pretty good at entertaining themselves in the car, so I don't think I'll be buying car-specific games again, at least for a while. They kept dropping the marker lids, and they called everything a stop sign. It was fun for about 20 minutes though. I'll stick with the books and toys if I really need something to help them be entertained in the car.

Trek: This one was just for David and me, but it was the best experience! Seriously, if you ever have the opportunity to go on a pioneer trek, do it! Especially if you get to be a Ma or Pa. I could write a whole post on this because it was that amazing. We now have a whole bunch of teenagers that we consider our kids, and some lifelong friends too. We were able to grow so much, do hard things, and have so much fun. They were able to see my competitive side and my spiritual side. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to walk 21+ miles! Haha it's so hard to explain, you just need to experience it. I wish I could go every year. I was in desperate need of a shower by the end though.

Paint Rocks: These started out to be story stones, but I discovered a fun new(ish) trend. There are people across the country painting and hiding rocks for others to find. It looks like a fun hobby. We enjoyed painting our rocks, but we haven't really done anything with them yet. I think we will hide them though. The kids put theirs back in our driveway so they could see them when they play outside. Which one is your favorite?

Movie in the Park: Many cities have free outdoor movies during the warmer months. We were able to attend one in our little town, and it was really fun! The kids didn't have to sit still, we brought a bunch of snacks (Although one of my snack choices might have been a little inappropriate. I brought goldfish crackers to watch Finding Dory...), and we had pillows and blankets to make it comfortable. I sat in my beach chair- it was perfect! I'm glad we didn't try to attend more because the sun goes down pretty late during the Summer. My kids were so ready for bed at the end. Great for an occasional late night though!

I was hoping that our Summer Bucket List would help us have a fun Summer. It did not disappoint. I was sad that school had to start! This was a fun way to keep track of our family memories as well. If you're considering doing a seasonal bucket list, do it! It's so fun. We might do another one for Winter. Since school has been going for about a week now, I've realize that I am TIRED. The Summer was amazingly fun, but I am ready to chill for a minute. We'll do the whole pumpkin patch/Halloween thing, but for now, I'm taking it easy. We'll focus on schoolwork and having a structured day.  I did type up a quick list of Fall activities if you want to create your own family-friendly Fall bucket list, but I'm not doing it. Let me know if you want the list. I hope this one has inspired you. Thanks for following our adventures!

What was your favorite Summer activity?