Yes, I can read a calendar.
No, she didn't magically age three years overnight.
We are starting some "play with a purpose" now that Big Girl is two. She has breezed through recognition of upper and lower case letters with little effort on my part, so I know she is ready for more intentional learning.
I have been researching, planning, and preparing for months, just waiting for her to be ready. I have dreamed about this day in great detail...
We would get up early and eat hearty, delicious, and frugal egg muffin cups from Pinterest for breakfast. Baby Sis would go down for her morning nap just after I finished the dishes so I could focus on Big Girl during "school time." After taking a "first day of school" photo by the chalk board, Big Girl (in her MudPie outfit and gigantic bow) and I would head downstairs to the designated schooling area of our house. We would then engage in age-appropriate and exciting learning adventures based on my carefully selected and slightly modified curriculum, which addressed language, math, fine-, and gross-motor skills.
But that didn't happen.
After staying up two hours too late getting my materials ready,
I was awoken 20 minutes after falling asleep by not one, but both girls, who proceeded to wake every few minutes for the next few hours. I lost all concept of time and woke for the day an hour after I had planned. I discovered a cranky Big Girl with a runny nose and a Baby Sis who was already napping. I was losing precious minutes of her naptime! I scrawled a "first day of school" flag on the board and begged Big Girl to stop crying long enough to take a decent picture ("I can't want to say keys!").
We helped Dad out the door just as Baby Sis was waking up 45 minutes too early. I decided to give up on the schedule I had planned for the morning. I made breakfast, which was rejected by my honest toddler, sat Baby Sis up with a new toy, and presented Big Girl with her brand new Tot Time Notebook.
The dry erase portion of the lesson started out ok...then she moved on to the binder, the lap tray, her hands, and her face. Big Girl 4, Mom 1.
We plugged through the rest of my plans fairly well, put Baby Sis down for her actual nap, and then headed to the garage for gross-motor time: Hop on Aa. This was a big hit--but it was mostly me carrying her from one A to the next!
God has given me the opportunity to be here with my girls every day, the knowledge to educate them, and the grace to look to him when I fail as a mom and a teacher. My messy-haired-Minnie-Mouse-pajama-wearing toddler, my unpainted and unswept garage, and my failed plans are not Pinterest-worthy.
It was the perfect day.
[Title credit to my sweet friend, Kerri, and her hashtag.]
I was awoken 20 minutes after falling asleep by not one, but both girls, who proceeded to wake every few minutes for the next few hours. I lost all concept of time and woke for the day an hour after I had planned. I discovered a cranky Big Girl with a runny nose and a Baby Sis who was already napping. I was losing precious minutes of her naptime! I scrawled a "first day of school" flag on the board and begged Big Girl to stop crying long enough to take a decent picture ("I can't want to say keys!").
We helped Dad out the door just as Baby Sis was waking up 45 minutes too early. I decided to give up on the schedule I had planned for the morning. I made breakfast, which was rejected by my honest toddler, sat Baby Sis up with a new toy, and presented Big Girl with her brand new Tot Time Notebook.
The dry erase portion of the lesson started out ok...then she moved on to the binder, the lap tray, her hands, and her face. Big Girl 4, Mom 1.
We plugged through the rest of my plans fairly well, put Baby Sis down for her actual nap, and then headed to the garage for gross-motor time: Hop on Aa. This was a big hit--but it was mostly me carrying her from one A to the next!
Our first day of school lasted less than an hour total, including the time it took to rock Baby Sis back to sleep (twice). Tomorrow, I will modify and adjust some of our activities based on my reflection of today. Tomorrow, I still won't get it right, and that's ok.
God has given me the opportunity to be here with my girls every day, the knowledge to educate them, and the grace to look to him when I fail as a mom and a teacher. My messy-haired-Minnie-Mouse-pajama-wearing toddler, my unpainted and unswept garage, and my failed plans are not Pinterest-worthy.
It was the perfect day.
[Title credit to my sweet friend, Kerri, and her hashtag.]
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