Become an Author/Illustrator Team

{Connor reading the book we wrote/illustrated together}

TIP: Write and illustrate books with your kids; it's a great way to bond over a common goal.

I have a dream of becoming an author of at least one children's book. The problem is that I don't have any fabulous ideas and I'm not a great writer. Plus I think it would be cool to illustrate my own book, but I'm not good at drawing or painting or collage or computer graphics.

So, I decided to adapt my dream and make it come true at home with my own kids. I have a long mental list of bedtime stories that my kids love to hear. They love them because they're true stories from my life. A few of them have become real favorites because they have humor, sound effects, a real climactic moment, or suspense.

I typed up one of our favorite Mommy bedtime stories and had my oldest son help me illustrate it; his drawings are much more interesting and colorful than mine. Now we are united as an author/illustrator team. We're working towards our very own Caldecott Medal!

Organizing Job Charts

{Connor's smile and our summer job list and charts}

TIP: Making simple, do-able job charts makes mom's life easier and helps the kids feel more involved.

I am an organized person. I like to have a plan and I like to have charts and lists to illustrate my plan. The problem with this is that if I don't have time to sit and create charts and lists and hash out a plan, then nothing happens.

This was the case for me with organizing summer job charts/responsibility charts for my children. The time was just not there for me to focus and create what I wanted to create.

Which led to one of my favorite ideas ever!

I let go of the need to plan and create documents and our summer chart system was born in just a few short minutes.

I sat down with Connor one Monday morning and we made a list of the things he and Abby are responsible for each day. He drew himself a chart and I drew one for Abby. We wrote the first letter of each day of the week down the left column and left the other squares blank. I stashed a bunch of stickers on top of the fridge and the kids displayed their charts and job list on the fridge. In about 10 minutes we had our plan and our charts and were ready to work.

Our job list includes:
getting dressed & making bed
morning job
reading time (or workbook time)
computer time (they don't get stickers for this, but it has to come after reading time)
evening job
pick up toys
brush teeth & go to bed

I'm sure this list will change over time, but one thing I love is the idea of a morning and evening job. I didn't have to organize which job they would do each day at each time. I didn't even have to make a list of potential jobs for them to do. I just put those spots for jobs in there. Then at the appointed time I can look around and have them do whatever I need done that is age appropriate. Also, the kids are always surprised with their job and excited to do it because it doesn't become monotonous. It's working great!

For each job my kids do each day, they get a sticker. As many as they earn. On Saturday we count up all the stickers on their charts and they get a dime for each one. We put one-tenth in a tithing bag and save the rest of the money in a cute container. When they get a little more money earned up we'll take some to the bank so they can start saving. And Connor is already grasping the idea of spending some of his money to buy a new toy. (If only he could decide which toy to buy!)

Since my kids are still young, they don't get much money, but I like the idea of them earning a small amount of money for each of their jobs. This way I can teach them responsibility in the home and financial responsibility all in one plan.

(In case you can't figure out how this relates to learning, here are a few things that are being taught in all this. 1. being a responsible member of a family; 2. learning to be accountable for responsibilities and using lists and charts to keep track of them; 3. financial lessons, including saving money for the future and saving money for a desired item; 4. learning the days of the week and sticking stickers on the appropriate day.)

Make it Real

{Connor in front of our planet display.}

TIP: Take something your child LOVES and LEARN about it.

Connor discovered the Fisher Price Planet Heroes when we got a promotional DVD in a freebie bag at the zoo last summer. He was immediately enamored with the Planet Heroes' cool characters and fun toys. Like most kids, Connor wanted to get all the Planet Heroes.

My tip today is to take obsessions like these and turn them into learning experiences. Connor was so excited about these fun toys that he loved learning about the planets. He quickly memorized all the planet names, along with the corresponding toys' names.

One day he was drawing and wanted to draw Earth. We drew Earth, then moved on to Jupiter, and soon we had drawn, colored, and cut out all nine planets. (We aren't ready to give up on Pluto yet!) We hung our planets on one wall in the house, making a lamp become our sun.

Over time we practiced the planet names and the order of the planets and learned a little bit about them. We added the moon and the asteroid belt. We added four moons to Jupiter. (Jupiter has 16 moons, but when I looked in a telescope once I could see 4 moons and after I told Connor that he decided just to make the 4 that I'd seen.) We labeled each planet, an opportunity for Connor to practice his writing.

Take those opportunities to turn the things your kids love into learning experiences that are fun for Mom and kids!

Theme Weeks

{Abby and Connor with symmetrical butterflies they painted during Bug Week}

TIP: Choose a theme to study with your kids each week.

A few months ago I was feeling lame as a mom. I was just getting through the days, not making them special. Not that every moment as a family needs to be special, but I wanted to have one small moment each day that felt special. One moment when I was really living in that moment with my children, experiencing life and learning together.

With a nudge from a good friend, I started Theme Weeks (for example, Weather Week). Each week I chose a topic and came up with five activities, one for each day, we could do to learn about and celebrate our theme. At some point in every day we found time to focus on our theme and, more importantly, on doing something together.

SIDE NOTE: As I mentioned in my introduction, I'm not good at playing with my kids. I don't know how to play trains or Planet Heroes; setting up a track, sorting toys, playing board games, doing puzzle, an activity with a method is more my style. Organizing a plan for focused kid-Mom time is necessary for me to feel involved and successful as a mother.

You can check out the theme weeks we did at the blog I created for planning and recording our experiences. (You'll notice that it's been a while since we've done this. Just like everything, these ideas ebb and flow. I'm sure we'll try theme weeks again when the need for them arises.)

I found that having a theme each week really helped us to learn more about one subject. It helped us remember what we had done and learned. And it helped us learn how to learn; by studying one subject we found different ways to gather answers to our questions.

If you feel like you could step it up a notch as a mom (like I did) then give Theme Weeks a try!

On the Go Games

TIP: Have a few on-the-go games in mind so that you can kick boredom.

We have a favorite on-the-go game that keeps everyone entertained and happy in the car, at the doctor's office, waiting in line, anywhere. I think we usually refer to it as the guessing game or the I'm thinking of... game; it's basically just 20 Questions, but we give more in our answers than yes/no because my kids are pretty young. We take turns thinking of something, giving clues, asking/answering questions, and guessing what it is.

The thing that makes our game a little different, is that we first choose a category. Animals is a favorite (you can specify habitat to make it more specialized). Construction Vehicles is another fun one. The possibilities are endless. You can give clues about a color, a letter, a number, a Thomas the Tank Engine character, a person you love, a place, a book, etc. Anything that you can give a few clues about and have your child guess it will work great.

* * * * *

Another game we play is the Alphabet Game. We start with A and think of a word or two or three that begins with each letter of the alphabet. All the way to Z. Simple. Fun. Educational.

We have also tried the Number Game. Think of things that come in 1's, 2's, 3's. (Ex. There is only one sun. People have two legs. There are three sides on a triangle. Etc.) I really had fun with this one and I think older kids would grasp it a little better than Connor did.

Now you have a couple of ideas to stick in your hat so that when your kids are bored, you can turn the whining into fun as you entertain them and stretch their minds!

By Way of Introduction

Well, Lizzy introduced me to you already, but I'll just add a few more details to her lovely introduction.

I studied Early Childhood Education at Brigham Young University and taught third and first grades before becoming a mother and staying home with my children.

I love learning with my children, but I don't know how to play. I love an organized home, albeit a tiny one. I love blogging as a way to record all the experiences, all the milestones, all the photos we share as a family. I love life. Especially life as a mother.

This week at The Tip Spot, I'll be sharing a few tips for incorporating learning into everyday activities with your children. And any other tips that come to mind. Happy Tipping!

ON THE SPOT!

ON THE SPOT WITH ALANNA TWISS!

this whole week we will be answering a question from reader abby mcintier who asked: "any tips on how to lose a bit of weight while nursing?" and we are soooo lucky because we have a fantastic personal trainer (and hot mama of super cutie cohen) to help not only abby but all of us get healthier and i am certian crazy motivated! alanna is only 22 and is busy, busy! she is working on her physical education degree so she can teach high school gym, and she competes in figure competitions --where she just won her pro card so now she can win $$!-- i honestly did not understand the difference between alanna and a bodybuilder, but thanks to wikipedia we will end any confusion: "The competitors are judged solely on symmetry and muscle tone, with much less emphasis on muscle size than in bodybuilding. Figure competition is a good option for women who want to compete, but without building the extreme muscle needed for bodybuilding." so, she is beautiful (and a fitness model) and not at all scary-looking! alanna's dad was a competitive weight lifter, so she has actually been doing this her whole life! i am excited, and i know you are excited, so let's do this!