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Mommy 101

Kindergarten School Days

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Time flies! We’re just about 4 weeks into the school year and my older son’s foray into Kindergarten. Overall, he’s enjoying it and things are going pretty well. Here’s a look back  into our first 4 weeks…

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First day of school went very smooth, Raef was excited to see some friends he already knew from ARPD Tiny Tots as well as TBall and day care programs. He lined up first by his classroom too!

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This year we didn’t do any official back to school shopping, but we did purchase a new backpack (TMNT) and his one request was to have his name on it, so we got it embroidered..and it was well worth it!

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Eagle Eye!! At his school they award “eagle eye” recognition for children who are seen following directions, listening attentively, being kind, etc… Raef was the first one in his kindergarten class to receive this award and he was also recognized in front of the entire school during the Wednesday morning meeting.

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Back to School Night was nice, I made sure to ask his teacher what supplies and/or extras she would like to make this year easier. We got lots of info about all-day kindergarten and what types of curriculum that will be taught. It was also fun to see Raef’s self portrait hanging up on the wall in his class. *Note – We are still learning ways to manage with the after school “emotions” and meltdowns, as well as trying to implement an earlier bedtime.

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A trip to the dentist was also on the agenda. Both my boys had their semi-annual teeth cleanings, and while Raef doesn’t have any cavities, we need to stay on top of it so he doesn’t get any! One plus of his teacher is that she doesn’t allow any sweets, no candy, cookies, chips, etc… Unhealthy snacks get sent home, so that helps me keep his sugar to a minimum.

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Finally, with this week came picture day. I can totally remember “picture day” being such a big deal, what to wear, how to fix my hair…but for a 5-year old boy maybe not such a big thing, right? Well, mine actually wanted a certain haircut and proceeded to carry his comb around with him, even as we attended the birthday party of one of his classmates the evening before…lol! His Dad attended his first PTA meeting and we may’ve also lost our first jacket. At any rate, we’re enjoying the start of the school-age ride and can’t wait to see what comes next!

 

Mommy 101

Snowman Soup

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I wanted to do a special something for my 3-year old’s preschool class, and teach him about giving this season, as well as receiving. I was looking for something themed for the holiday season, not too heavy on the wallet and a “gift” we could make together. So, after scouring the internet, I found “recipes” for Snowman Soup! It’s a really simple idea and all you need are a few simple ingredients.

  • Hot Cocoa packets
  • Candy Canes
  • Marshmallows
  • Chocolate

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Since I found chocolate covered marshmallow snowmen at the store, I used those and I scored at the dollar store with small holiday print baggies.

Screen Shot 2015-12-10 at 10.07.10 AMTo customize it, I found this cute, FREE printable online that we personalized with my son’s name, printed them out on card stock, then stapled to the top of the bags to make “Snowman Soup.”

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We also made this alternate version with chocolate chips and marshmallows. Overall, I love that it was easy for my toddler/preschooler to assemble and I also feel it’s an appropriate “treat” for his peers!

Mommy 101

Kiddie Swim Lessons

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Spring has sprung and summer is coming quick…and now is the best time to sign children up for swim lessons! We started our lessons this past weekend, a second “season” of swim instruction for Raef and the first for Isaiah – well, he is only 8 months! For us, living in Florida where there’s water everywhere (ocean, intra-coastal, canals, pools, etc…), we felt it was especially important to get our children familiar and comfortable with the water ASAP. There are all sorts of options when considering swimming lessons. You can hire a private instructor that will come and teach your child in your own pool, take class at a private facility or at community run programs like city parks and rec, community pools, YMCA, etc…

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Here are some alarming statistics on drowning:

  • Nationally, drowning is the leading cause of injury-related death among children ages 1 to 4, and the second leading cause of death for ages 0 to 19 years.
  • About one in five people who die from drowning are children 14 and younger.
  • A child can drown in minutes in less than 2 inches of water.
  • Ten people die every day from unintentional drowning in the United States.
  • Only about 35% of Americans know how to swim, and only 2% to 7% swim well

And those are the facts, so teaching your child to swim needs to be top priority! If you can’t afford lessons, there are some programs with “scholarships” set up for children to learn this important survival skill. Click here for an interview I hosted with Comcast Newsmakers (Florida), where I interviewed a woman who runs the “Swim for Jenny” memorial fund in South Florida. It was created to help children learn how to swim so tragedy like drowning does not occur.

We really enjoy and look forward to taking our boys to swim class. First, it gives us (and them) great 1 on 1 time without the distractions of things like the television, computer, phone, etc… Second, it’s a fun activity to do while they are young (and the younger the better when it comes to learning how to swim). Third, it gets them tired, so you can expect them to take a nice nap after class. Lastly, watching them develop and learn the skill of swimming, going under water and holding their breathe is a pretty cool thing!

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I look at it like a fun family activity…I know I’ve always wished I was a better swimmer, so I’m excited to give my kids the opportunity to learn early in life. Now, you can’t expect a child to learn in a handful of lessons, it’s something that needs to be repeated and practiced continually, before you can be sure they know how to swim. So, we plan to keep them in class for a while, but we know that it’s a life saving investment. Oh and one more thing…don’t forget to pack post-class snacks, as they are sure to work up an appetite!

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Mommy 101

Prenatal Yoga

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When I was pregnant with my first child, it was a huge educational experience. There was so much to learn about how to properly care for my unborn child (and myself) through diet and exercise, not to mention trying to absorb and digest all the information related to preparing for your newborn’s arrival! Now, when it came to the birthing process, as I started to formulate my birthing plan and consult my circle of friends on how it all worked out for their deliveries, I really started to think that I wanted it to be as natural as possible. So…of course the thing to do was sign up for a prenatal yoga class.

Now, I am not a “yoga” person… AT ALL! When it comes to exercise I prefer more active movements with loud music (to keep me awake and distracted), and I want it to go by fast! Haha! However, as I did my research I thought this would be the perfect time to give yoga a shot, because not only would it be good to help me and my body with stress, but it would also teach me helpful techniques for the natural delivery I was hoping for.

I took my first pre-natal yoga class of “Mamaste Yoga” at a yoga studio in Coconut Grove, Florida. It wasn’t bad at all, I had a great experience my first class in and I kept reminding myself about all the benefits of yoga when pregnant, especially when it comes to labor and delivery. I bought my own yoga mat and everything! 🙂 And, like I already mentioned, yoga isn’t really my thing, I had taken a semester long course while at San Jose State University, and let’s just say I was anything BUT hooked on it…so this was a positive return to a practice I had pretty much tried to leave behind!

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Basically, we worked on different breathing techniques and focusing on ways to relax and really be in touch with the baby belly. It’s kinda nice too, because all the other students in the class are also pregnant, so they’re all going through similar body changes. One thing we discussed in between stretching and breathing is the “pelvic floor.” That’s another area we concentrated on and exercised. At first I was like what!?!?! But then I figured out that contracting the “pelvic floor” is just another way of saying KEGELS! ha!!

I continued attending classes weekly up until about my 35/36 week mark. I started around 24 weeks or so… I found that I definitely benefited from learning the (deep) breathing techniques and it was very helpful when it came to finding relaxation and getting my body to calm down, especially toward the latter weeks when you’re ready to burst and feeling uncomfortable in just about any rest position you can get into… Looking back, I also liked the stretching and meditation aspects of the class.

One thing you had to be mindful of toward the end of the pregnancy was the “squat” position, because in some cases, when you get into that squat, the baby can really “drop,” and the labor process can begin! In my case, no amount of squatting was getting my baby to drop and I ended up being induced since the ultrasound was indicating I had a pretty BIG baby in there. At the end of the day, I didn’t have the natural delivery I had hoped for…but it’s okay, everybody made it out safe and sound. And these days, I really wish I could have the quiet time to stretch, breathe and meditate! OHM!!!

Mommy 101

GYMBOREE

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When my older son reached the 5/6 month mark I started looking into classes and activities nearby where we live, that would benefit his development. One of my girlfriend’s suggest a “gym” class, as she had taken her daughter to one and they really enjoyed it. We had a few different options in my area, from mommy & me classes, to music and then I came upon Gymboree! Now Gymboree Play & Music does offer several different options, but I opted for the “gym” part. I really wanted something that was going to give my baby physical activity. We had already been attending baby story time events at our local library, where there was lots of music and reading…but I needed something to help tire him out a little more!

For me, I think we started going to Gymboree classes at the perfect time in his development, as he was just starting to sit on his own, but still immobile – unless you count his wiggly rolling around movements! The class structure was perfect, they had songs, guided us through physical exercises and movements, then a parachute, bubble and a”Gymbo” puppet followed by more songs. It was a great way for me to interact with my son, while also allowing him to explore, socialize and develop with other children about the same age as him! Of course the facility is totally child-friendly, safe and clean too…he loved just sitting and laying on the play mats. I could tell from the first how much he enjoyed it and from the way he passed out once we got in the car and for the rest of the afternoon that day, I really enjoyed it too! 😉

Gymboree offers the first class as a free trial, and then after paying a small membership fee and getting a promo discount for the monthly class charge, I didn’t hesitate to sign up. In the next few months that we went to our weekly class, he began sitting on his own, then crawling and eventually trying to stand. Now I’m sure he would’ve been learning all of those things on his own at home too, but I really liked having a guided class every week where he could work on the different skills. After 3 or 4 months we stopped attending, as I was pregnant with baby #2 and my belly was getting a little too big and uncomfortable to be in class with him, but I certainly plan on signing the second one up for Gymboree too, starting in a couple months.

A few of the other pluses for me were interacting with the other parent’s who had kids that were the same age as mine, my Gymboree location was very good about disinfecting and sanitizing the play balls and equipment, plus baby gets such a good “workout”..leading to a nice long nap…BONUS! Also, if you miss a class, makeups are easy and they also offer “open gym” times when you could bring your child in to play outside of class times.