Holiday Fun at the Ho-Ho-Hoedown

The neighborhood school had a "Ho-Ho-Hoedown" open house to celebrate the holidays. Gracie's choir caroled through the halls while I took Bub and Brystol around to participate in some of the activities. We decorated cookies, visited the holiday shop and used pennies to vote for our favorite trees decorated like The Homeless Christmas Tree in the book by Leslie Gordon. Not surprisingly, our pennies went into the buckets for trees decorated by my kids and their classmates. The "votes" will be contributed to the homeless shelter to provide holiday meals for the poor.

Winter Choir Concert -- December 2010

Gracie joined the choir at the neighborhood school and just had her first concert. They sang several wintry songs and a couple of spirituals. They also collected blankets for residents of a nearby rehab home that they plan to visit as part of a community service project. Though this was her first performance with a singing group, Gracie wasn't the least bit nervous. She had a blast, she remembered all the words and moves, and she did a GREAT job. She's a natural!

All dressed and ready!


Lining up...


Singing holiday songs


Showing off the collected gifts


Peek-a-Boo!


Posing with her BFF, Sarah

Brystol and the Big Elf

Our family doesn't celebrate Santa at Christmastime. Though we don't "do Santa," we do have a picture of the big kids with him when they were small. We took it while we were still figuring out which holiday traditions were important to our family and when we allowed other voices to tell us that not "doing Santa" would screw our kids up for life. Note: it hasn't.

Our kids are great and they love Christmas in spite of Santa never visiting our home. They get plenty of gifts and they know that we exchange gifts as we remember the gift of Jesus. You can follow the link above to read more about how and why we do Christmas the way we do. The point here is that the big kids had a picture with Santa and Brystol had to have one too, so we headed on down to Santa's Wonderland at our local Bass Pro Shops to have her picture taken for free. The kids enjoyed all the free games, activities and carousel rides while waiting, and I enjoyed all the free.

When the time came for Brystol to meet the Big Elf, she was not a happy girl. Looks like she too will be okay with the big guy not popping by.

Parents as Teachers Playgroup

Brystol participated in her first Parents as Teachers playgroup today. Parents as Teachers is a national organization that promotes early childhood intervention and education. It's a free program typically offered through the special services division of the public school district. We found out about P.A.T. when we lived in Oklahoma, and with Bub and Gracie, we took advantage of both the home visits and the playgroup.

During the home visits, a developmental specialist comes to the house to teach and encourage age-appropriate developmental play. The home visit typically is very fun and very casual, but while the child is playing the newly introduced game or activity, the specialist can assess the child to see where they are developmentally, and to ensure they stay on track. If delays are noted over the months or years the specialist is working with your family, he or she can recommend services through the school district or through a child's pediatrician. The parent is also given a list of what things should have occurred or will be occurring developmentally during that child's stage of life. The parent can continue to encourage the developmental process and can report any delays noted over time. It's a partnership really, a very non-invasive process, and one we benefited greatly from in the past. As far as home visits for Brystol, we're on a waiting list. They're not necessary since Brystol is developing normally, but it's nice to have the one-on-one time with an expert and Brystol will enjoy the games and attention.

The playgroup is just that -- a playgroup -- only the P.A.T. playgroup also includes projects or activities to encourage development: arts and crafts to encourage fine motor skills, free playtime to encourage the imagination or social skills, songs and stories during circle time to encourage following directions by sitting and listening, rhythm and music skills, physical activity. The playgroup time is informal, but the developmental specialists are around to assist and educate. For example, at playgroup today, Brystol spent a good bit of time toddling around carrying a doll nearly as big as she is. The specialist spoke to Brystol a few times, commenting on her baby, but then shared with me about Brystol's action being a developmental milestone. She said that early walkers like Brystol begin carrying around very large items -- often large toys or laundry baskets -- and that helps develop their sense of balance. Very interesting!

Painting with Cars


Playtime


Making Faces
(my favorite picture of the day!)

Itty Bitty Art: Scribbles

After lunch, but before a midday bath, when the floor's been swept, but not yet mopped -- that is the perfect time to do art projects with babies. Today's project: mixed media (washable marker, crayon and pencil) on manila paper. Check out her form -- this girl can manage a marker!

The Process


Ma Petite Artiste


The Final Product