Tuesday, September 25, 2012

FAQ: How do you co-sleep?


This one is a very funny question to me. As a mama who was once a co-sleeping baby/child, it seems odd when people don't understand what co-sleeping (also called family bed or bed sharing) is or how it is done. Many families do it many different ways and I have tried most them at one time or another. We found that what works best for us is this:



This is a real pic, of my real bedroom, with our real sleeping arangement. I tend to not make the bed(Gasp!). We took one side off our crib and sqeezed it between our bed and the wall. For more info on that click here. Squirrely typically sleeps in the crib (at least until she scoots herself over to me during the night). Then I sleep next to her. Bunny sleeps on the pink pillow in the middle. Papa sleeps next to the night stand. I am planning to switch Squirrely's and Bunny's places at some point. But for right now, Papa said he would prefer Squirrely to be on my side. We each have our own blanket to keep the blanket hog (aka Papa) from ending up with all the covers in the middle of the night. Also by having seperate blankets, it eliminates the chance of baby getting entangled by the bigger blankets.

After bathtime, around 7:00, we all pile into bed together. Papa reads a couple of stories, while I nurse Squirrely. Then I lay her down in the crib (unless she is fussy, then Papa snuggles her).  We turn out the light, and I nurse Bunny for a few minutes before she snuggles up to go to sleep. Once she is asleep, Papa and I usually head to the living room to hang out for a bit. Squirrely comes with us, and snoozes in her bassinet or snuggles with one of us until we go to bed around 10. I usually wake 3-4 times during the night to nurse Squirrel or take Bunny to potty. I keep a small basket at the bottom of the crib with a spare diaper, extra binky, etc. Papa rises early for work, leaving us girls to snooze til 7 or 8:00.




That is about it. This is what works for us. Some year, I hope to move Bunny and Squirrel to their own room together. But I am in no rush.

As for "Alone Time", the couch (or other places) works just fine...

If you have a question you would like me to answer, please leave it in the comments below or email me at hannahwhitewv@gmail.com with QUESTION as the subject.


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Monday, September 24, 2012

Life Learning


"There is no difference between living and learning.” ~ John Holt




"Children don’t need to be taught how to learn; they are born learners. They come out of the womb interacting with and exploring their surroundings. Babies are active learners, their burning curiosity motivating them to learn how the world works. And if they are given a safe, supportive environment, they will continue to learn hungrily and naturally – in the manner and at the speed that suits them best." ~ Wendy Priesnitz




"Learning is not the product of teaching. Learning is the product of the activity of learners." ~ John Holt




“Life learning is about trusting kids to learn what they need to know and about helping them to learn and grow in their own ways. It is about respecting the everyday experiences that enable children to understand and interact with the world and their culture.” ~ Wendy Priesnitz



“Do not train children in learning by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.” ~ Plato




"Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death." ~ Albert Einstein

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Sunday, September 23, 2012

The All Year Round Blog Carnival: Autumn: September 23rd



sunnydaytodaymama


It is so much fun to co-host the Autumn Edition of the All Year Round Blog Carnival, hosted by SunnyDayTodayMama.  Every day new ideas, crafts, recipes are being added to the list! Each week, I hope to highlight a few of my favorite ideas!


Famiglia&Seoul shared Painted Salt Dough Leaves for Fall.
With Bunny's love of paining, this is a must-do!



Delightful Children's Books shared Ten Children's Books About Fall. 
We will be sure to check a few of these out!



One of my very favorite fall projects making its way around Pinterest are these beautiful
Maple Seed Birds by Reading Confetti!



A great project, that would be a "mama amd me" project in my home (due to Bunny's age), is this



PlayDrMom had another painting project that I loved!  We often use coffee filters for art projects.  She used them to make beautiful fall leaves!



Be sure to check out the entire Autumn Carnival.  You will be inspired, I promise!
Then come back and link up your creations, activities, books, whatever fall ideas you enjoy!
You will always find my link up at the top of my blog, titled

Saturday, September 22, 2012

An Enchanted Childhood Playschool ~ The Very Hungry Caterpillar

We started off the week reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar. We then headed to the island to make our own caterpillars.  We are always looking for ways to teach additional skills and concepts in a fun, subtle way.  We used circles of the primary and secondary colors to make the caterpillars.  We introduced each color and mentioned how mixing certain colors made new colors. 

The children were instructed to "make some kind of home for their caterpillar" with the markers. 


The oldest (4 years 10 months) made an ocean for his caterpillar!




Wednesday found us making caterpillars again! 
This time the little ones put beads on pipe cleaners to make caterpillars!







 a little "tutorial" of sorts


The "four year olds" worked a Butterfly Life Cycle puzzle!
I love these sweet, silly boys!


 

Thursday, we built on the earlier discussion about mixing colors to make new colors. 
We read  Mouse Paint and then mixed our own paints to see just how it worked!


They used the colors to paint paper plates...




Some little girlie insisted that along with the six basic colors, we HAD to have PINK!




...that we turned into BUTTERFLIES!!!



We found this cute butterfly idea at First Grade Best.


Snack! 

We were able to get out every day, except one (the Rainy Day Playdough Day!)





It seems to me her hair has grown sooo much this summer!


Next week? The Very Busy Spider


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