Agent E is Ready for Her Mission!

Our sweet Kelly girl went to her very first audition for an acting role in our upcoming children's church Christmas program: We Three Spies!

It's an exciting Christmas mission.  Agents E, L, and F are "recruits with the CIK (Christian Intelligence Kids)", they are a group of spies who {Secretly} bring Christmas cheer to those who need it.  Their obstacle? Ms. Harriet (sounds like Har-et) King, is a mean, cold-hearted landlord wants to evict them from their headquarters, take away donations, and cancel the Christmas program (Nativity).  The spies' mission is to change her tune and her heart!

Kelly auditioned this past Sunday, September 22nd.  I received an email with the cast list on it just today.  Kelly really wanted to be one of the spies, Agent E in particular.  Well, her little dream came true!  She got the part of Agent E!  Go Kelly! We are so proud of her determination.  Now the real fun begins.  Learning her lines! 

There is also awesome music for the children's choir.  Lyssa will be in that with her pretty little voice. This is also very special to them because it's their first time participating in children's church programs.  Ron's brother is the children's pastor at the new church we are attending which makes it even more {Special} for the girls. We were originally a part of a precious home church (which my parents' ran) doing other work that God had called us to do. It was a beautiful blessing, but now God has other plans for our kids and our entire family.

I'm looking forward to when our little Bethany will be old enough to participate as well.  So much fun!

Can't wait to see this Christmas program! It's going to be awesome!

It's Preschool, Baby!

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I can't believe it.  My youngest sweet girl has entered preschool.  I decided to sign her up two mornings a week at a private preschool called Ward Preschool.  It's a Christian program and the tuition isn't too bad.  They use the play based through learning method which is totally awesome.  They use Handwriting without Tears and I am excited to see how much our little Bethany blossoms through the year.

Many of you may be wondering as to why I am not homeschooling my preschooler and it's simple.  Because I need it and she needs it, haha.  As a former preschool teacher myself, I know that preschoolers are hands on and very busy creatures.  I feel like my little one is not getting what she deserves at this point.  After the year is up, I will pull her back in to homeschool for Kindergarten.

It's also great too because I get to stay in the building and homeschool Kelly and Lyssa.  No time wasted.  A major plus for this mom! I couldn't be more thrilled.  Bethany is happier and ready to learn and make friends.

Her teachers are Mrs. Paluk and Mrs. Richters.  They are sweet and loving teachers.  Bethany already loves them.  So sweet.

Her schedule is pretty standard from free play to circle time, snack, and gross motor.  She absolutely loves preschool and lights up like a Christmas tree when entering the room and seeing her teachers.  So precious!

Preschool Daily Schedule

9:00-10:00 am- Center Choice Time
Blocks, Dramatic Play, Toys, & Games, Art, Literacy, Science, & Discovery, Math, Sand, & Water, Writing, and Journals.

10:00-10:10 Clean Up

10:10-10:30 Opening Circle
Introduction of Letters and Letter Sounds, Spunky Monkeys Adventures (This is the name of her classroom), and Weather Reports.

10:30-10:45 Snack

10:45-11:00 Music and Movement

11:00-11:30 Gross Motor Development
Gym or Playground

11:30 Closing and Dismissal

We have noticed a nice change in our sweet girl already and it's only been a few weeks.  This mom is ecstatic as it was getting difficult to homeschool a 2nd and 5th grader.  I don't know how you moms of 4 or more children do it!  God bless you all.

Lunches Around the World

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Lunches Around the World with Little Passports!

Kids around the world are preparing to go back to school—that means homework, new friends and … lunch? Yes, that’s right! Let’s visit different countries and see what yummy food the school kids eat every day!

France- French children enjoy a 3 or 4-course meal that is made from high-quality ingredients, and are mostly made from scratch. The children all sit in the same eating area, the cafeteria. An interesting fact is that there are no vending machines in schools, because they’re banned due to the high sugar and fat content of the treats they carry. Typical school lunches here can have a variety of dishes and ingredients, such as grilled fish, salad, red beans, seasonal vegetables, garlic sausage, fruit salads and chocolate flan (just to name a few). Another perk is that the food is served on plates and eaten with real silverware!

 

Japan- In Japan, the school lunch ingredients are locally sourced and almost never frozen; in addition, the schools employ nutrition experts that work with kids and teach them the importance of good eating habits. Like the children in France, Japanese kids also eat in a community-like setting with their peers, and even their teachers! The children also wear white hats and robes to serve their classmates, which teaches them teamwork and respect. You can expect to find lots of rice, vegetables, fish, soup, and meat on the plate.

South Africa- South African school meals have natural ingredients such as corn, squash, sweet potatoes, and yams. There’s also rice, soft porridge, and meat that is sprinkled in with the vegetables. A special stew is made called potjiekos (named after a potjie, a three-legged pot), which originated from Dutch settlers. The cook puts vegetables, meat, potatoes, and spices into the pot, which is heated by small amounts of wood and twigs. After cooking, the result is a delectable stew!

Colombia- Colombian school lunch ingredients usually vary from region to region, but can contain rice, potatoes, fruit, beans, meatballs, and vegetables such as corn and avocados. There’s a special vegetarian menu also available, and children from 2 to 5 years old have their food cut and portioned into smaller sizes.

We hope you enjoyed our lunch trip around the world, and perhaps found inspiration to try new foods at your own dinner table!

15% off Blurb for Thanksgiving!

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This year, use Blurb to make a small book for each of those relatives or good friends you want to say thank you to this Thanksgiving. Create your books now and give yourself more time to shop for Thanksgiving dinner! Blurb makes book making simple and from now through 9/9, get 15% off with the code: TAKE15!!

This offer is good for 15% off your product total up to a max discount of $150 USD, CAD & AUD. Each code may only be used once per user and on books made by you. Offer expires at 11.59pm (local time) on September 9th, 2013. Offer may not be used in conjunction with any other offers, volume discounts or retroactively applied to any previous orders.