Atlanta's Frugal Mom

As a preschool teacher, I’m frequently asked about ways to help facilitate learning and growth at home, particularly what activities for young preschoolers can parents work on at home.  During spring conferences with my two-year-old class’s parents, this question is second only to questions regarding potty training .   Trust me, I get how long these summer days can be, and being able to fill your child’s days with meaningful, age-appropriate activities can make or break your summer.  (or winter break.  Or spring break.  Or ….Tuesday!)  So what are some activities for your young preschooler, or any time of the year, to do at home?

Morning car rides can be daunting if you’re not a morning person, and sometimes even if you ARE a morning person.  Although I believe it’s perfectly ok to let your kids be bored, I also believe it’s important to use moments together wisely.  So we tend to spend our morning car ride having conversations, and playing kids car games that help wake them up and keep them on their toes, AND it’s all done sans technology!  Here I delve beyond “Punch-Buggy Charlie” and the license plate game for some good no-tech car games for kids. Car Games for Kids 20 Questions  –  We each take a turn coming up with a person, place, or thing.  Then the other participants take turns asking yes or no questions to figure out what it is.  If we figure it out before the 20th question, we win; if not, then the person answering the questions wins.  This is a good exercise in making deductions and also figuring out good “category” questions.

For some reason, today I felt just a little extra whimsical while watching my daughter.  Like many mothers, I’m sure, I catch glimpses of her older self throughout the course of the day, and today -for a fleeting split second- I saw my little girl all grown up.  I’ve already shared my wishlist for her , but here is my collective little nuggets of advice for my daughter. Advice for My 6-year-old Daughter, for the Teen Years and Beyond   Don’t be a mean girl.  Ever.  But don’t be mean back to the mean girls – how else will they learn kindness if it’s not extended to them? Love yourself , on the inside and the outside.  Treat your body with respect now, and it will thank you in kind as you get older.  Learn now how to take care of your whole self. Be kind but firm.

  I came across this post, from an old blog I created about and for my daughter.  Unlike my actual daughter, this blog’s been neglected for about three years, but I wanted to breathe new life in to this post, as I still feel it’s relevant to her -and to daughters and children everywhere.  What’s on YOUR wish list for your children?   My Wish List for My Daughter October 2, 2010 My Dear Carol, As your mother, I wish for you many things in this life.  Above all, I pray daily that you live an exceptionally long, happy, healthy, meaningful, and purposeful life.  I wish this for you, and any siblings you may have.  I hope to help make those things attainable for you, with these things I wish for you:

It seems like it was just last week I walked my little girl in to Kindergarten .  And yet now, in a blink of an eye, she  was saying goodbye to Kindergarten .  While I knew she was more than ready to start Kindergarten , I still knew this year would be filled with many “new”s: she started a new school, venturing away from the preschool where she was already well-known; which also means she made new friends, whom she embraced with her big heart and they she; new teachers, all of whom she seems to like, her classroom teacher the most! In the last nine months, she’s become an even stronger reader, mastering even more sight words, gained more confidence as a reader, began to experiment with spelling, finished writing her own book, began formerly learning Spanish, learned how to skip count by 2s, 5s, and 10s, learned how to add numbers in her head, almost mastered shoe tying (gonna keep that on our summer checklist!), and grew by leaps and bounds in ways I never imagined! ...

The other day, I took my daughter to the gym with me.  Not for any super-compelling reason, other than convenience and lack of child care. My daughter is five, going on fifteen, and isn’t interested in playing with the “little guys” in the kids zone, where her 2-year-old brother goes.  So, got the green light from my instructor ahead of time to let her come with me to one particular class I take, Les Mills Body Combat . What happened in the 48 hours during and then following that class, and the lessons *I* would learn continue to surprise me, even as I type this out. I prepared her for the class, letting her know that it would be similar to the gym class she got to try out at UFC Perimeter Gym , but with grown ups.  I assured her she was welcome to join in with us, and that it was ok if she didn’t know all the moves.  None of us did, really.  But I also comforted her with the iPad (don’t judge me!), a pad of paper, and her markers.  On the drive over there,...

Explaining death to young children is never a particularly desirable subject, I find, as we wish to preserve their innocence and shield them from anything that may burst their fragile bubble, believing all is always well in their world.  However, death is inevitable.  Some folks lose loved ones later in life, while others experience death of a loved one at a tender, young age.  Following is my story, explaining death to my five-year-old daughter, Carol. My grandmother was fortunate enough to raise her five children, not only to see all eight of her grandchildren grow up, but also see her eight great-grandchildren, AND meet three great-great-grandchildren.  She lived for almost 18 years after my grandaddy passed away, and was the last of her twelve siblings to survive.  She lived through the great depression, and lost her own mother at a very young age.  She was, in every sense of the word, a good Southern woman.  She had the greenest thumb I’ve ever seen, able to revive even the l...

What SHOULD you do if your dog is missing?  We recently went through this terrible experience, and I don’t wish it on anyone.  While we were extremely lucky with our outcome, it could have easily not rather unfortunate.  SO, I’d like to share what I’ve learned from my experience, to perhaps save y’all the trouble and heartache, if you ever find yourself in my shoes. Prevention – Things to Do Beforehand Get the chip.  If it’s within your budget and your pet is young, get the chip implanted. It’s the easiest and fastest way to have your beloved pet return home to you.  Our dog is almost 15 years old, and the chip wasn’t available when my husband got him.  (Yes, he got the dog before he got me…) Keep updated tags on him.  Our dog is prone to losing his tag, so it’s a good idea to keep an extra one handy, if yours is the same way.  Check frequently to ensure tags are still in place, and that the information hasn’t rubbed off. Take ...

Every year we make all sorts of holiday crafts and decorations with our children, and I’ve ended up with a whole box of crumpled, torn paper crafts as a result.  I want to save them all, but I’m running out of ways to display (and repair) them!  This year, we decided to start a grow-with-me holiday centerpiece that we can add to every year and proudly display on the table or mantle.  Check out this fun, easy craft below!   Supplies needed: Cardstock (see link to the right for free template download) Markers/crayons Scissors Glue Paperclip (optional)   Instructions: 1. Print out the template on cardstock and have your child decorate it as desired. 2. Cut out the colored tree. (You may need to help younger ones with this step) 3. Fold the tree in half down the center. 4. Glue the tree halves together, back-to-back. 5. Glue the last two backs together. 6. Fan out the papers so the tree can stand on its own. 7. Enjoy your new holiday decoration! A few notes here: -If you wa...