The Joy of Preschool

We are blessed to be involved in a wonderful homeschool co-op with a fantastic group of people, and our new co-op semester started today. I have taught a variety of classes in homeschool co-ops in the past (i.e., drama, music appreciation, literature unit studies, geography), but this semester I am teaching two of my favorites: A preschool class, and creative writing for middle schoolers. I might write a post about the creative writing class on another day, but today I would like to talk about preschool. At the ripe old ages of seventeen, fourteen, and twelve, my own children have been beyond their preschool years for quite awhile now (sniff, sniff). If I am honest, I will tell you that I miss that age greatly and that it also happened to be my most favorite stage of homeschooling. When my kids were in their preschool years, I made Montessori-style materials to use with them at home, sang songs with them throughout each day, read picture books galore, explored sensory materials again and again, and completed hands-on art projects with them multiple times per week. It was so much fun and I loved, loved, loved it! I truly did! And I really do miss it. Preschool is just my favorite age to teach. That's why I am SO excited to teach pre-K this semester. Please indulge me for a moment by allowing me to share a little bit about my time with the tots today.

I had decided that our theme for this week and next week would be snow, so I began by reading the picture book, Snow, by P.D. Eastman, for story time.

Following story time, we listened to (and sang) the song, Seven Feet of Snow, and we did some fun hand motions along with the music. Here is a link to the song: https://youtu.be/kdVBayKkg1o

After that, we thought of words to describe snow (i.e., wet, cold, white) and talked about fun activities that we like to do in the snow (sledding, building snowman, etc.) We then looked at pictures of some artic animals in The Great Animal Search book and talked about those animals.

After this, we moved to table time activities. I passed out some "snow dough" that I had made at home, and the kids made snow balls and snow men with it. They also simply enjoyed the sensory aspect of squishing and squeezing it. Snow dough is similar to play dough, but the texture is somewhat different. I made it from mixing plain lotion and cornstarch together (the recipe said to use equal parts of each, but I ended up adding more cornstarch), and I added a small amount of glitter to the mixture as well.


Following the snow dough clean up, we still had some class time left, so I moved away from the snow theme, and pulled out a card game to help them learn the concept of opposites. The game is simply a large set of picture cards. I spread the cards out, and after choosing a card at random, each child scanned the other pictures to try to find the corresponding opposite. We also spent a lot of time talking about the pictures and opposite pairs. The opposites card game looks like this:

At the end of our game, parents were arriving to pick up their preschoolers for lunch, so the class ended. However, the other activity that I had planned for today, if time had permitted, was to sing this fun song about opposites with the kids:  https://youtu.be/QrQVPUKn2vo

Hence, I fully enjoyed my first day as a preschool teacher! The lesson was simple, but fun. I found myself reverting to my former speech pathologist self (even though that was a very long time ago) in that I did a whole lot of talking, as well as a lot of open-ended questions and listening, to encourage the kids to think and to develop their use of language. The little ones were so sweet, and it wasn't hard to remember why I miss that stage in my own children's lives so very much. Nevertheless, each age and stage has it's own blessings and beauty, and I have enjoyed homeschooling my children at every one of those ages and stages. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be home with my children, and it isn't something that I take for granted. Life is often stressful, and homeschooling has its difficulties, but there is so much joy to be found in it every single day. May we continue to experience the joy and blessings of this life that God has given us. Thank you for letting me share my day with you!

Renewed Hope In the New Year

Psalm 3: 3-6

"But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the LORD, and he answers me from his holy mountain. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side."

I cannot lie . . . the past five years have been rough. Without going into a lot of detail, some extreme dysfunction within my family of origin had left me feeling depressed, anxious, and confused. It was a relationship in which firm boundaries were necessary to keep my children and me safe, but the person involved did not want to accept the boundaries. Because of that, I found myself estranged. Deep down, I knew that I could not fix the situation, but I still felt guilty and ashamed of myself for not being able to. I am a people pleaser at heart, and when anyone is unhappy with me, I tend to feel guilty about it, whether or not I am actually the one at fault.

My emotions have been a rollercoaster for these past five years. I have struggled with insecurity and low self-esteem. I found that rejection by someone who should have loved me unconditionally caused me to assume that I would sooner or later be rejected by everyone else, too. I walked through life wanting to avoid people and hang my head in shame, even though I hadn't done anything to be ashamed of. In other words, this trial completely rocked my world.

On the one hand, I knew that my family was safer as a result of the estrangement, even though I had never asked to be put in such a position. However, I still ruminated over it time and time again. I fell into despair. I was inconsolable at times. I tried to take control of the situation in my mind--to think about all the ways I should have been able to fix it by keeping the peace and erasing all conflict. The reality was that I never could have controlled the actions of another person, but I still kept thinking about it nonetheless, and I couldn't let go of the misplaced guilt. Essentially, I failed to trust God with it. I tried to take control of something that He alone has control of. I failed to acknowledge that He had allowed this situation, and that He allowed it for my good. He knew all along that it was going to happen. He allowed it to happen in a way that provided for my family's safety, and He used it for my own sanctification. 

As I acknowledge God's sovereignty, I am finally able to begin letting go. I still have a ways to go with that, but it is a start. I can begin trusting in His goodness and thanking Him for his kindness. The Lord is lifting my head. He is sustaining me. He is helping me not to fear anymore. He is helping me to see that I am loved and accepted, not because of anything that I have ever done or failed to do, but because God is love. And by His grace, through Christ's finished work on the cross, I am His child. As a child trusts a loving father, I can trust my Heavenly Father because He loves me and He is good.

So, I am beginning 2018 with renewed hope. God is sovereign over all things. His love and His good plans will never fail. Jeremiah 29: 11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I can take that to heart this year, one day at a time. I can remind myself of it often, regardless of painful life circumstances. I know there will be days when I fail to trust Him, and the old anxiety will creep back in, but I also know that He will lift my head and refocus my eyes on Him once again. He has been with me through this trial, and He will ultimately use it for my good and for His glory. He is faithful, and I am so thankful for that. 

Psalm 121: 1-2

"I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth."