Is Your Child Ready for Kindergarten?

Walk into the home of a preschooler, or onto a playground filled with 4-5 year olds, and you're destined to hear moms talk about whether or not their child is ready for kindergarten. I just stumbled on a bucketload of resources for those moms!! (Okay, I'm one too - I have a 5yr old headed to kindergarten in the fall). Check out this list of practical resources from education.com.

Here are some of the articles that you will find there:
Transitioning to Kindergarten
Teachers' Ratings of Important Qualities for Kindergarten Readiness
Child Development Tracker: Literacy From Age 4 to 5
Young Children's Emotional Development and School Readiness
80 Skills That Help Ease the Transition to Kindergarten
Redshirting: What's It All About?

Grandmother Review of "Building Character from the Start: 201 Activities to foster creativity, literacy, and play in K-3"

Lynette from Texas just posted a review of our newest book.  She writes from the perspective a grandmother, so it was fun to read her review:

"Building Character from the Start: 201 Activities to foster creativity, literacy, and play in K-3" has so many games and lessons that I can use with any of the kiddos. What an asset for home daycare providers as well as home-school moms! There are many tools to help foster creativity, literacy and play. We played Animal Charades and did Workout Rolls. It was fun to hear the answers that popped out of the kiddos mouths when they were guessing what animals we pretended to be. I would never have thought aardvark. Oh, I could not do many of the workout rolls with my bum knee. But the kiddos showed me how well they could bend, twist, roll and shout too! There is also a CD-rom that is both Windows and Apple capable.

Want to Declutter?

Then you'll enjoy this article from SimpleMom: 19 Tips for Making Your Home Paperless. It's easy to scan, but it's full of tips, resources and reminders.

Billy Graham's Prayer For Our Nation

'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to


seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those


who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost


our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.. We have exploited the


poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it


welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot


abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline


our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power


and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and


called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and


pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the


time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.


Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin


and Set us free. Amen!'

Saylor Family Code

Our family has just adopted a family code, that we are striving to follow.  I like the idea, because it paints a clear picture of the family we want to have and the kind of character we strive to follow.  I'm able to use the phrases to encourage positive behaviors and correct negative behaviors. 

I wrote it, then asked my DH to give feedback, then shared it with the children to ensure their understanding.  Now it's posted on the bathroom mirror next to the kitchen and living room, so we each see it throughout the day when we're brushing teeth and washing hands.

Feel free to adapt the code, if you want to write your own family mantra.  I'd love to see what your write!

Love God

Love others

Do the right thing

Keep a cheerful heart

Speak words of love

Use hands to love others

Honor and obey parents and other adults

Be responsible with your things

Respect others and their things

Find ways to help and encourage others

Forgive others and seek forgiveness

Give thanks to God and others

A real Easter Bunny

I'm going to save this for next year's Easter traditions:

A real Easter Bunny
is white as snow becuase Jesus takes all sin away (Isaiah 1:18).
is gentle, kind-hearted and forgiving (Eph 4:32).
has big ears that are quick to listen (james 1:19).
has big eyes to look carefully and choose what is good (1 Thess 5:21).
has no voice for complaining or arguing (Phil 2:13).

Thanks to Tracy Spurlock for sharing this idea!

Group Activities for Preschool Children

If you know you're going to be hanging out with a group of preschool children, it's always good to have a few extra activities 'up your sleeve'!  My friend Jennifer and I just worked together to create this list of circle-time activities to post in our church preschool rooms.  Feel free to copy it, if you need to use it!  And we'd love to hear YOUR favorite group activities for preschool children!

Simon Says

Duck Duck Goose
Ring Around the Rosy
Red Light Green Light
Mother May I?
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Red Rover
My God is so BIG
Infantry Song
B-I-N-G-O
Jesus Loves Me
Jesus Loves the Little Children
Hot Potato
Freeze Dance
Old McDonald
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Jack and Jill
Mary had a little lamb
Four Corners
If You’re Happy and You know it.
Follow the Leader

Happy Playtime!