Okay, first let me warn you this will be a long blog. Please feel free to skip it. Also be aware I would really appreciate the input of my blogger friends on how I am/should handle this teaching dilemma.

I had quite the showdown with one of my classes on Friday. Kids love to talk, some of them will talk continually. This makes it difficult for me to do my job and for other kids to learn. Also I find it VERY irritating that some kids have absolutely NO respect for me and think they can do what ever they please and ignore the rules of my classroom. After telling the kids at least 5 times "NO talking" it continued to be a problem. Also half the time I would address a student's talking I would get "I wasn't talking ___was talking to me" Okay, when it is one or two students talking, it's very easy to deal with them individually. When it is 5 or more students spread over the classroom, it's almost impossible (and time consuming) to figure out exactly who the culprits are.

Eventually I said "the entire class is spending 10 minutes of your lunch time with me" (lots of moaning here..But what the hell...Do you think I like spending my lunch with my students?) Okay fast forward end of the period. I tell the class to pack up and wait at the back of the classroom to be dismissed.

One minute later suddenly everyone is leaving, I say "STOP!" very loudly.

They stop, one kid says "the next class is coming in" and they proceed to leave. I am PISSED, what the hell? Did the ENTIRE class just ignore me?

I follow them down the hall to their next class and ask "What was that? I told you to wait and you just leave?"

Some kids reply "but you said..The other kids were coming in"

I reply "Okay, perhaps there was a misunderstanding, but THEN I yell "STOP", you all stop and look at me, one students explains why you are leaving and you just leave? The bottom line is you completely ignored the last thing I said which was "STOP! Lunch detention is now 15 minutes. Anyone who doesn't show will receive TWO days of full lunch detention next week" (I hear moaning as I leave)

Fast forward to Lunch all but 6 kids show. 3 of the 6 were 80% of my problem, I'm not really that irritated because now they have just quadrupled their punishment and will spend their next two 30 minute lunches in detention. I try to turn the situation into a team building experience I ask the class "How do you think I should handle the talking in class" I let the kids give me their ideas, I thank them for showing up and for their input and dismiss them after only 5 minutes.

This apparently worked, because at the end of the day one student returns and says "You were asking for our opinion, and Jane and I were talking and we thought you should know- the reason those girls didn't show up is that they're all friends and they think it will be more fun to have two days of lunch detention together than with our class, and they can also let you know they're angry. Our class is mad because we got detention because of them and now they get to spend it together"

I say "Thanks for the info, I appreciate that, I'll take care of it." So, I find out "Lunch Detention" at our school means you spend your lunch time at one table in the cafeteria and you can't go through the "Snack" line. So basically these girls will get to hang out together, have lunch, enjoy some good conversation which will no doubt include "Our student teacher is such a bitch!".

I said this was going to be a long blog didn't I?

So, my plan is to assign them each two days detention and have only 3 of them in detention at a time with ME in my room, not in the cafeteria.

If I have them all at once, I know they'll try and gang up on me and tell me how they believe theyare being wrongly punished, and why I'm not being fair (I've already had extensive contact with two of the girls in the last two weeks) The problem with many kids "these days" is that they seem to have no real consequences for their actions. I've seen a lot of parenting where there is a lot of threat of punishment, but rarely any actual punishment. (5 year old picks up a ball and throws it in the house Mom says "if you throw that ball again..." 2 minutes later kid throws ball, Mom says "if you throw that ball again..." 2 minutes later kid throws ball, Mom says "if you throw that ball again..." Substitute some other activity for BALL, I'm sure you know what I mean. Bottom line is ....(undefined punishment) RARELY happens.

When I say "No talking", I mean it. When I say "No putdowns" I mean it. If the only consequence for talking was hearing the teacher repeatedly say "No Talking" why wouldn't they keep talking?

So, here is the other part of my plan...I have this little activity planned for their detention:

Lunch Detention Essay

You will answer the following question in your essay:
Why will working independently, without talking, increase your learning and that of your peers?

1. Your first sentence must begin as follows: "Working independently and without talking will increase my learning because..."

2. Another sentence must begin as follows: "My peers will benefit when I work quietly because.."


3. You must give a minimum of 3 reasons, at least one reason your learning will improve and at least one reason your peers learning will improve.

4. You must use complete sentences in your essay.


5. Your essay must be a minimum of 200 words.
(end of assignment)

Why am I doing this?
1) It will give them something to do while in detention besides try to have a power struggle with me.
2) It will force them to think about how their actions effect their learning as well as the learning of their peers.
3) It will give me amunition in their own words, If I have parents wanting to argue with my being such a hard ass "You have Johnny detention for TALKING? That seems kind of extreme."
(FYI- I had one student crying that day because "they won't shut up" . Yes, he is special needs, but he was only having a more extreme reaction than the other ten students where where going "ssshhh")

Okay blogging friends, what do you think? I am new to this profession, so input is appreciated. Is the Essay thing a bit over the top? What can I do to get these kids to SHUT UP? By the way, I was going to assign the detention days first thing Monday, so that the whole class could see I wasn't letting the "no shows" off easy. I was also going to tell them about the essay, so the class could see they made a good choice by attending detention the first time.

Longest blog in history?

Welcome to Sunday Six, brought to us by Missing JT Snow. I saw this on a blog and liked it :) The way to play is to ask your child the following questions:



1. Why do we go to school?~
"Because we need to learn."

2. What is your favorite subject in school?~
""Making puppets"

3. How do we learn new things?~
"By school"

4. Do you (or do you think you will) like your teacher?~
"Yeah"

5. How do you get to school?~
"By car"

6. What does it mean to make straight A's?~

"How you make straight A's is you go: doo, doo, doo, doo (hand motions here) straight Lines"

Answers by Declan, who is 3 years and 10 months.

So, I video tapped myself teaching yesterday.

Before I viewed the tape, I felt really, really good about the job I did. That said, watching yourself on video tape is painful. Especially if you have you're "chubby" (as my son says, but really I'm FAT). I look at myself every day in the mirror. I get on the scale everyday. I know I'm overweight. Somehow I still didn't realize what I looked like to all you other people in the world until I watched this tape. Honesty, (really, I'm not exaggerating when I say this) I could not believe the person I was watching was me. The first part of my life I had NO problems with my weight. In someways, I think that clouds your judgment- because you always feel like that very athletic, healthy person you were the first 20 years of your life. I did not realize until last night that I look like THAT. How did I get here?

Aside from that (because I know that issue is a surface one...although it certainly sets the stage for how people treat you) boy do I talk fast. I've been told my whole life that I talk fast, but WOW I do talk fast. My MT says I "move quickly" which means I talk fast. It's really not horrible, but I MUST slow down, I know I'm loosing some of the kids. Second issue is that I sure don't look happy. I don't look angry, but I certainly don't look happy. Of course I have vivid memories of hating it when I was in middle school and people always walked by me and said "smile!" I feel fine inside, but I'm just NOT a natural "smiler". I'm not sure if I can change that, it's just kind of a bummer. I know I won't connect as easily with the kids.

On the bright side my MT gave me lots of positive feedback. She even said I showed a good sense of humor with the kids because I joked with them a bit. So I guess maybe that will counter act the lack of smiling?!

So, quite a day with my boy (pictured here with his good buddy Solomon) He was in the most fragile and defiant mood. I think he cried 6-8 times before noon. He also hit me, pushed me, and pretty much refused to do what I asked if it wasn't on his agenda. At one point I looked at him and said "who are you?" (he thought it was a cute game, but I was really thinking "where is my Declan?")

This morning in the car, before his many meltdowns, I noticed he was keeping his eyes closed. He always has problems with his eyes bothering him. I asked "are your eyes bothering you?" Declan replies "Yes". I ask "what do they feel like?" (trying to diagnose the problem: do they ictch, do they burn) He replies "They feel like Crap." I'm not sure I heard him correctly, so I ask "What?" He says again "They feel like crap" I had to giggle to myself. I've never heard him say the word crap. It's something I say all the time, it's actually my worst "swear word". I guess he picked it up.. . now that I think about it, I'm surprised it took him this long.

It snowed last night! Declan was SO excited. He has seen snow before, but I don't think he remembered it. So I just had to scrap the moment.

Today I was back at it with my student teaching. Went very well. I was so tired last week, I'm glad to report I didn't feel so exhausted at the end of the day today. I taught all day, so the class is officially mine for the next 6 weeks. I had a bit of a showdown with my last class of the day. They were constantly talking while other members of the class were giving presentations. I eventually gave the whole class 5 minutes detention on lunch. Some were pretty pissed, so I stopped class and gave them my perspective on the constant talking and disrespect for others. I asked how they thought I should handle it. I received some pretty good input from the class and reached a compromise of just assigning detention to work groups instead of the whole class.

When I was in school, I always hated it when the group was punished for the actions of one or two students. As a teacher I can see why discipline is sometimes handled that way. It's very difficult at times to catch the offender, and the best you can do is narrow it down to groups of students. Eventually the class will police the issue themselves. My mentor teacher thought I did a good job of handling the situation and gained respect from the students for asking their input. I really hope it was a step in the right direction.

Also, there is a new school opening up in our district next year. Consequently many more jobs than normal will be available...and much sooner than normal. I need to decide quickly if I want to apply. My plan was originally to move about 4 or 5 hours away - where I could afford to buy a house. I'm sooo confused. Then again, applying for a job doesn't guarantee anything. The district I'm student teaching in is a very desirable district to work in.

M

Okay..another page...:)

My first scrapbook page! Thanks Casey! I have to say that Photoshop really isn't that easy to use, but I'm slowly getting the hang of it. This will definitely be much faster than the old school way of scrapping.

So, I've spent most of the day just hanging out doing nothing. I've been fighting some bug all week and I think it's just zapped my energy. I'm hoping to be fully recovered when I start teaching full-time on Tuesday.



Help! I'm a book/game/puzzle addict! I've suddenly discovered that my local Goodwill has those items for cheap!!! I purchased all of the above items at my local Goodwill and paid 1.99 or 99 for each of them. Remember that I live in less than 400 square feet, so I'm pretty much at maximum storage capacity for these items. I have 4 other games tucked away around the house because I can't stack them any higher. I really enjoy reading and playing games with Declan, but I think I've created a monster; all he ever wants to do is play games.

So, does the fact that I let my son write his name on my arm make me white-trash? He thought it was a good idea because "if I get lost, people will know that I belong to Declan". The whole writing thing is so new, I just couldn't say "no".

So, my first week is behind me and only 16 weeks to go! I'll basically be teaching full-time next week. I'm already doubting whether or not I will apply for positions teaching in 8th grade. I really think you get the worst attitude from 8th graders. I don't like the extreme attitudes and having to maintain such tight control over the class the whole time. I want to connect and work as a team with the students and that is very difficult at this age. We'll see how things progress. Individually I'm meeting a lot of kids that I really like, but it's the group dynamic that is so stressful to deal with. Never was cool more important than in 8th grade.

The more I think about job hunting, the more confused I get. My Dad was just telling me he'd like me to consider living with them.. in the mother-in-law apartment where I currently live for the next five years and save some money. The problem with that is..well living with your parents is a bit challenging for some parenting issues involving my son, dealing with a small housing space, and there is the whole self-esteem issue of telling people you live with your parents. It is an awesome place for my son. My parents have 1 acre in "the country" with lots of space to roam and plenty of room for playing in the dirt and planting pumpkins. My Dad has offered to remodel our current living space that would practically double the square footage. I'm living in the bottom floor of a two-story building and he would add a stairway and turn the upstairs into a big bedroom/play space for Declan. That would mean I would have a full kitchen on the main floor: a regular size fridge (instead of my ity- bity one) and a STOVE.

So, another problem is that the amount I would save each year is pretty much the same amount of appreciation I would see if I owned a house. I guess ultimately it will come down to which school district offers me a job first. I also like the idea of moving to a small community and building a new life for me and Declan. I still haven't decided if I'll apply for jobs around here, but it will be tempting as I see jobs posted. There is a part of me that feels a little desperate and I want to apply everywhere just to increase my odds of getting a job. I have to be careful with that, because in this profession once you accept a job, you can't back out if something better comes along. Well, you can, but it leaves a black mark on your teaching certificate so that all future employers will know you are UNRELIABLE.

Okay, well now I'm rambling....

I've been tagged. (My first time, thanks Casey)

1.What were you doing 10 years ago?

I had just moved from Bainbridge Island to Seattle. I had also just started working as a Manager with Regal Cinemas.

2.What were you doing 1 year ago?
I was just finishing up my first internship which was in a 2nd grade classroom. I had also just started my 2nd quarter of Grad school.


3. Five snacks you enjoy:
Cinnamon Rolls (Pillsbury), Coffee (decaf), Pineapple applesauce, Beef Jerky, and Tootsie Rolls.

4. Five songs to which you know all the lyrics:
Happy Birthday, I song I made up for my son and have sung to him regularly since I was 6 months pregnant,"Mama loves Declan". The theme song from Sigmund and the Sea Monster, all the usual Christmas carols.

5. Five bad habits:
Snacking late at night, misplacing my keys, misplacing my wallet,my messy car, and I guess those are the only things I'd really like to change about my life.

6. Five things you like doing:
Snuggling and reading with my son each night before he goes to bed, drinking coffee with or without a friend, watching T.V. on my TiVo, learning, and teaching. (pretty much in that order)

7. Five things you would never wear, buy or get again:
a dress, high heels, a perm, candyland, make-up

8. Five favorite toys:
My TiVo, my Averatec laptop (and I love it sooo much because it is an Averatec-- note it's size as compared to a "regular" laptop 4.5 lbs!!), my digital camera, my Playstation 2, and my XBox.

9. Five people I want tagged…pretty much every person I know in blogland has been tagged. Mel, you've been tagged and haven't done this, so I'm tagging you again :)

More on my Valentines day...My Mom is out of town and my Dad decided to cook dinner for me and Declan. It was so sweet: I've never seen him cook more than chili from a can. My Dad is really one sweet teddy bear of a guy.

My mother got me a wonderful card. Well, the card was O.K., but it was the personal message that meant so much. First, some background on me and my mother is that we have had a very turbulent relationship. I have a story I tell that for me sums up my relationship with my Mom:
I was about 8 and celebrating my birthday in Texas. I was having a bad day and I'm sure I was being a pain. I remember crying at one point. I felt that my parents were doing things my brother wanted to do, and not what I wanted to do. So, I was upset a lot of the day, and I'm sure it was no picnic for my parents. That year they bought me a 'Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders' jacket, something I really wanted. Before she gave it to me, my mom said "Remember, this is because we love you, not because you deserve it" So, the message I've received from my Mother, whether intentional or not, is that she loves me, but doesn't like me. I was always too stubborn, too opinionated, too much of a "tomboy" etc.. I grew up feeling like I was NOT the daughter she wanted.

The interesting thing is that my mother and I are sooo much alike. I was just raised on the liberal west coast in the 70's and she was raised deep in the "Bible Belt" of Texas in the 50's. Those two factors can alter the development of a person greatly.

Back to the card. Since I moved back "home" nearly two years ago, Mom and I have worked a lot on our relationship, and I've seen many positive changes. This card I received was amazing: it read "I'm so very proud of you. You're a wonderful daughter and a GREAT mom to Declan. You're helping me be a better grandma!" I ask you...could a mother say anything better to her daughter?! :)

Lastly, I don't know what the heck is going on, but I've been having the craziest dreams the last couple of nights! I have no issues going on with my X, but suddenly she has invaded my dream-life. I had a dream that she came to me and begged me to get back together with her. I felt very bad for her and so I said yes, but I knew I could never trust her again and didn't want to be with her. I bought a puppy and decided that I would work my way out of the relationship and leave her the puppy so she wouldn't be so sad. How weird is that?

As you can see, Declan enjoyed Valentines day. He had his first Valentine party at his pre-school. He came home with this HUGE bag of candy. I told him after dinner he could have ONE piece. I came in the room to find this on the table. He had sampled a large variety of treats(notice the 3 gummies with 1 bite missing on each). He has been sooo good about not sneaking candy, I was surprised that he did this. If my parents say he can have a treat, he will still find me to ask if it's O.K. Anyhow, I guess he really enjoyed Valentines :)

Well, my second day of teaching is behind me. I've had a good few days. My "Mentor Teacher" (MT) taught the first half of the day and I taught the 2nd half. The kids were pretty good. I did end up giving two kids lunch detention for tomorrow. There are always a couple of kids who want to test you.

I also called the parents of the two boys, and that was interesting. One boy, Johnny, was talking and I moved him to another seat. (my discipline policy is the first time you disrupt my class I will move you to a new location. The second time, I will move you out of my class and assign detention. I am VERY clear with my students on this procedure) Shortly thereafter, I'm discussing Solar Winds with the class and standing shoulder to shoulder with this kid and I look over and he appears to be signing or making some kind of hand gestures, attempting to be witty and cute. I send him out of the class. At the end of class I meet with him and ask "Do you think it was appropriate to be using sign language while I'm talking to the class?" He says "Oh, that wasn't sign language, I was doing The Macarana" I reply, "Okay, well you'll have lunch detention tomorrow and you can think about whether or not that was a good choice". He actually took it well and it was a pretty stress free event.

THEN I call his Mother. We are suppose to contact a parent any time a student is disciplined in anyway. I tell her about the incident. She replied "Oh, he was doing the Macarana, I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it. I bet he looked cute." WHAT !! I'm thinking " I can't believe that she just said "I bet he looked cute"." I replied "Well, perhaps (Pause) but it IS distracting for me as a teacher and I'm sure for students who are supposed to be listening. If I allow that sort of behavior in the class, it can waste half the class time." She says "He was doing it for half the class time?" I say "No, but if I ignore it, he will do or say disruptive ("CUTE") things two or three times a day and another student will follow his lead and suddenly your class is full of disruptions"

Trust me I don't enjoy taking such an intense/unflexible position in regards to noise, talking, and behavior in the classroom, but it can escalate sooo quickly to a point where you lose 3-5 minutes of class time. That only needs to happen 3 times in a period and you've lost 1/3 of your time.

Anyway, other than that I had a really good day. I am however, tired. My MT seemed to think I did a good job on my lessons. At first she didn't want me to teach one of the classes because they were such a discipline problem. However, I convinced her that I would be fine and that I could handle it. During a break in the lesson she came up and whispered that I was doing a great job staying "on top of the kids" (of course that made me feel good). I think classroom management can be a big problem with most new or student teachers. I feel that I have a good advantage as I've had a lot of experience in that area. I've been managing teenagers for the past 15 years.

Okay enough already. Happy Valentines Day!

So, another weekend has come and gone. Tomorrow is my big day!




Wish me luck.

So...I decided to ditch work and enjoy my last two days of freedom with Declan. It was fun! We finally had a play date with our friends Casey and Kelton (and Kaylen). Casey and I took the opportunity to re-create a cute photo; boy have they grown! Declan and I just enjoyed the chance to hang out and play games, read books and go to soccer on Thursday.

As for today -


Yes, we saw Curious George (YAWN), but Declan loved it, so for that I was happy. We also had a chance to get together with Declan's good buddy Coleman:



So, Dec and I had a fun couple of days (ignoring many calls from the school in desperate need of subs). Now I'm back to the grind of school tomorrow!

So, with student teaching approaching very rapidly, I'm feeling a bit sad about having less time with my son. I also realized just now, that he has been a lot easier to deal with. About the time I started blogging, his emotions were just out of control. He would cry several times a day, getting angry and upset at the smallest/wierdest things. Of course if you've been reading my blog you know about that. I'm happy to report that he is back to his old self. He still gets upset, but much less often and I can reason with him.

I'm wondering if I'll sub the next two days. I'm torn because it is my last two opportunities to earn money for the next several months, but also two more opportunities to have some good quality time with my son. I'm thinking maybe I'll work one day.



Saw "Walk the Line" this last weekend. Amazing acting in that movie. If Joaquin and Reese don't get Oscars I'm going to be amazed. Not only was their acting top notch, but boy can they sing! Phoenix really sounded like Johnny Cash. Very good movie.

I also saw Brokeback, which was a touching movie with great acting. I was kind of conflicted about the story. Because of my own history, I really don't agree with the themes of cheating and the whole 'grass is always greener' longing for something better/more satisfying. Ultimately all relationships are difficult, great, challenging, exciting, boring etc.. I believe that what makes a relationship work is simply choosing someone who is basically (relatively) a good/stable/emotionally healthy person and being committed to making it work. Life is filled with highs and lows, disappointments, sadness, frustration, excitement, love, anger, happiness, and confusion in no specific order for unspecified durations. Why do people think relationships will be any different? I don't believe they will, I just think you will feel deeply satisfied if you make it to the end of your journey with the same partner you committed to early along the way. Think of all the history of success and defeats that you will share. Okay, rambling here...

I never got around to posting about it, but I subbed 2 other days last week. The last two days, I was in an 8th grade classroom, and at the high school. It is just amazing how difficult those 8th graders are (well, at this one particular school). I only worked 1/2 day, which is 3.5 hours. I sent 4 kids from each of my 2 classes to the office. One kid even told me to go to the office and then declared "war" on me. They were all suppose to be taking a test, so of course they were not allowed to talk AT ALL. After warning them 3 or 4 times, I would say "The next person who talks will need to go to the office" I would then have to send 2 kids and then the class would get that I was serious and settle down. The kid who delcared war on me was such a smarta$%*. After I said I'd be sending the next person to the office, he pipped up and said "I'll go." I said, "Okay, to the office." He looks at me completely surpirsed and said "really?". I said "Yes." He began to argue and become pissed then declared "WAR" as he left the room.

I saw the principal after school and said "so, I sent a lot of kids your way today." He simply replied "Yes, you did" I got the feeling he wasn't so happy about it, actually he came by to check on my class after the first 4 kids were sent out. I explained, that they were taking a test and I'd given several warnings. As a sub, pretty much the only thing you can do is send kids out of the classroom. If the principals can't support that, then too bad. One of the other 8th grade teachers came into my class at the start of the day complaining that his kids had "given his sub hell the day before" and added "these kids need to have some consequence for their behavior" Really, DUH!?? Unfortunately it's really up the the Principals to support the subs and it seems like they really don't like to be bothered with it. Oh well, I don't plan on applying for a job in this district, and I'm only willing to take so much crap.

I start my student teaching on Monday. I will be teaching 8th grade math and science, but in another district. The eight graders at the other school are angels compared to the district that I sub in.

So, I guess that wraps up my subbing for last week. Once again, my spell check isn't working, so there is no telling how many errors I have...

So, as you can see, we went in for pictures today. Declan will be 4 in 2.5 months, but I had a Picture People membership that was about to expire...and I love getting photos (well, not as much as Casey).

My son is just the sweetest kid. Today we were talking about my student teaching, which will begin next week. I told him I was a little nervous because a teacher from my school is going to come and watch me teach. I said I was worried that he wouldn't think I was a good teacher. Declan says "don't worry Mom, if he says you're not a good teacher tell him to wait because when I grow up, I'm going to be your assistant. You can count on me Mom!" I said "Thanks Declan, you're such a good son, thank you for telling me I can count on you." He was very pleased that I was so pleased with his thoughtfulness and replied "Yes, you can always count on me, Mom. If you're watching Scooby-Doo and the monsters scare you, you can count on me. And if your teacher says you're not a good teacher, tell him it's O.K. because you were last time." (I wonder if that would work?)

That whole "count on me" thing was sooo cute and a little funny. I'm thinking "where did he hear that? Do I say that?"

Who is lurking?

Just wondering who is stopping by my blog. I've adjusted my "comment" preferences so that you don't need an account to say hello :)

Drove my son for his weekend visit with my "X" and had a lot of time to listen to music in the car. I found one specific song that did a great job if summing up my focus on life. I may not have a partner on this journey, but I have the most amazing son, fantastic friends and family. My life certainly overflows with the most important things, which brings me to some lyrics I'd like to share:


"We've got CD sets and videos,
radio and TV shows,
Conferences, retreats and seminars.
We've got books and magazines to read,
On everything from A to Z
And a web to surf from anywhere we are

But I hope with all this information buzzing through our brains
That we will not let our hearts forget the most important thing
Is love, love, love, love, love
It's all about love, love, love, love, love.

Everything else comes down to this,
Nothing any higher on the list,than love.
It's all about love. "

-Steven Curtis Chapman

IT'S BACK!

Hooray!!!

I Thought it was time for an update on my boy. The first two photos are of Declan working with his "Poppa". He loves to follow his grandpa around and help him with his various projects. Dad has been amazing with Declan. He is so involved in ways he never was when I was a kid. He'll cook for him, play games, read, and even give him bathes. Dad was of the era when the men worked and the women took care of the kids. He has really changed over the years, it's so strange to see him cleaning the bathroom and doing dishes! What a great example for my son :) Thankfully, Dad has also developed A LOT of patience over the years - no so when I was young. It has been really great to see Declan develop such a close relationship with my parents, especially my Dad since he doesn't have one.

The next photo is of Declan playing an ABC game I bought him for Christmas. He has taken to the letter thing soo well. He knows the whole alphabet, and the sounds that letters make. In the car we play a game I made up called "The first letter is...". I say "The first letter in the word ___ is...." He almost always gets it right. He actually read the word cat tonight without any prompting. I said how did you know that word was "Cat" Declan replied "because I read it before. " Watching them learn is sooo amazing.

The last photo is his new favorite place to watch t.v. He now has the whole Leap Frog DVD library. Those movies are just the BEST! He loves to watch them over and over and he learns SO much. In the photo he is watching Math Circus.

Lastly, those of you looking for a great game for your preschooler, should try Balloon Lagoon by Cranium. I found a used one at the Goodwill, it is just the coolest game. Your kids will play for hours. And I love playing it with him, which is more than I can say about Candyland or Chutes and Ladders!