I know it is hard to believe, but here comes Christmas!  And, with the dawn of the holiday season looming in front of us, it is time for me to get busy on our traditional ornament purchase.

Each year, since the birth of our first son, we purchase an ornament for each child, one that suits their year.  For my older son’s first Christmas, it was an engraved silver cradle (he was 4 months old at the time).  For his second, a glass yellow duckie, just like a bathtub duckie that he loved to chew on and play with.  The following Christmas brought a snowman ornament as we experienced our first snow that year, and then came the line of baseball Santas, soccer Santas, football Santas - whatever the sport du jour was for the year.

With my second son, we honored his first Christmas with the same silver cradle, engraved with his name and birthday.  Each subsequent Christmas brought items similar to his brother’s: a Santa ornament, a tricycle ornament, and last year, a puppy ornament.  Each year marked with a special ornament to help spark those memories of some wonderful occurrance during the year.

It is a tradition in our family, this ornament-of-the-year bit that we’ve started.  And, it makes for a wonderful collection.  Collections can be just about anything.  When I was born, my grandmother started an add-a-pearl necklace for me: each year, she added a pearl until I was eighteen.  When I got married, I wore those pearls with my wedding dress.  It is a sentimental and irreplacable collection of memories of my grandmother as well as memories of each year that the pearls mark. 

What special items, if any, do you collect for your child?  Baseball cards?  Photographs?  Ticket stubs from events?  Share with us some of your favorite ideas for remembering those fleeting childhood days with your children.

For my Mother’s Day gift when my older son was three, he created a stepping stone in his little preschool class.  It graces our front flower bed and greets everyone as they walk to our front door.  And, it is a constant reminder of how little he used to be (and how big he is now, six years later).  Creating stepping stones is an easy project that makes a sentimental and one-of-a-kind gift.

Start with a large container, shaped as you would like your stepping stone.  Ours was created in the saucer of a large flower pot.  Old baking pans (9×9 or even large pie pans) work well, too, depending on the size of hands or feet you intend to impress into the stone.  Other materials are handy to have around as well: glass stones or large beads, pretty rocks or other items to set in the cement, perhaps a twig or other pointed object for writing in the cement should you choose to chronicle the event with a date or name.

Purchase a bag of ready-mix cement and mix enough to fill your container about 2/3 full.  Reading the directions on the package is essential, as each brand has their own instructions and setting time.  Allow the cement to set somewhat, then impress whatever objects you would like into the forming stone.  Hand prints work well as do footprints (be sure to wash right after pressing into the cement).  Let the child decorate the stone with pretty beads or other objects; don’t press them INTO the cement, though!  Let them sit on top so you can still see them.  Any writing needs to be done before the cement is completely set.

This is a simple project but is a great gift for grandparents, parents, close friends and other relatives.  Repeat it year after year to create a collection of stepping stones, chronicling your child’s growth through the year.  It is a unique and beautiful addition to any landscape!

Like most of us, I get oodles of mail throughout the week, but only a handful of things that are truly necessary.  While my family is extremely conscious of our recycling efforts and recycle all the paper we get in the mail, I have found that several pieces of mail can be reused as quick and fun activities for my boys.

The best “junk mail” or “mass mailers” are the ones that come with freebies - labels, notepads, bookmarks, and calendars.  I sort through these items, putting contribution request forms in one pile, explanation letters in the recycle bin, and the stickers, labels and other items in an envelope.  My husband and I go through the contribution requests towards the end of the year (which is probably why we are on so many mailing lists that send us these things!) to make donations, and the kids get to have some fun with the extras that come along with these requests.

I save up return envelopes for the kids as well.  The boys will write letters, make drawings, or even create lists (this week it was a Christmas list) on the freebie notepads.  Then, they stuff these into the envelopes which they then decorate with stickers and return address labels.  My older son loves to cut the little pictures off of the address labels and use just the picture stickers for decorating, while my younger son (age 4) simply loves seeing how many stickers he pile on the envelope.

This is a great activity for restaurants, doctor’s offices, anyplace where kids need something to occupy their time.  It is small and easy enough to stuff into a purse or bag, and when you reuse things you receive in the mail, the cost is appealing as well!

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has released these recalls recently.  Please note if you or anyone you know owns any of the following items:

1. Infant Death Prompts Recall of Convertible Cribs by Playkids USA; Crib Poses
Entrapment and Suffocation Hazards 

2. My Way Corp. Recalls Baby Walkers Due to Stairway Fall Hazard

3. Toy Boats Recalled Due to Burn Hazard

4.  Gaming System Batteries and Recharging Station Recalled by LeapFrog Due to
Burn Hazard

5. Rage Wireless Guitars Used with Popular Video Gaming System Recalled Due to
Chemical Burn Risk

6. Infant Death Prompts Recall To Repair 600,000 Drop Side Cribs By Delta
Enterprise; Spring Peg Failure Can Cause Entrapment and Suffocation Hazards 

7.  Infant Death Prompts Recall to Repair 985,000 Delta Enterprise Drop Side
Cribs; Missing Safety Pegs Can Cause Entrapment and Suffocation Hazards

I would like to take a moment to point you to a wonderful journal that I think you would enjoy.  This is the site of Tara Marie.  It is entitled, Emma Sage, after Tara’s fourth child. 

What strikes me most about Tara’s blog, especially in the post linked above, is how amazing God is.  These are the kinds of moments I see with my nephew, Wes, who is also an incredible creation, like Emma Sage.  Sometimes, we need to hear little snippets like this to remind us what is really important, like loyalty, the kindness of friends (and strangers), and that children really do have so much to teach us. 

Enjoy.

Thank you, Tara Marie, for sharing your gift of the written language.  All of your sites are beautiful and well-written.  It is a blessing to get to know your family, even if only in little snippets through the computer.

Mashable has a great post today about Brightstorm, a company that offers tutorials and learning videos aimed at teens. Well worth a look! It got me thinking about how technology is used in our classrooms. Even my preschooler has computers in her room, with educational games that simultaneously teach and entertain.

This past weekend, at a local “playnasium”, both of my girls were most interested in the computer games, tied only with the plastic roller coaster they could ride. In addition to the classic “workstation” setup, the playnasium also offered computers that were connected to an apparatus that looked like a cross between a stationary bike and the Buzz Lightyear ride at Disney World. The kids actually interact with the computer through the bike, not through a keyboard and mouse.

Technology plays such an important role in our lives, so it’s great that it breaks into our learning environments and that we can interact with it in various ways. If this topic interests you, here are a few more resources online:

• Integrating Technology Into the Classroom - Methods and Means (focuses on secondary educators)
• Using Technology in the Early Childhood Classroom, an inteview from Scholastic with Dr. Bruce D. Perry
• 4Teachers.org, a full website to help educators integrate technology into their teaching

I’m a Southern-gal.  Born and raised by my parents, both Southern folk.  My mom, in fact, is a fourth-generation Texan.  And, while my parents are quite progressive, there are some things that just stick with us, like unsweet iced tea, coordinating purses (especially at Easter), sitting with your ankles crossed, and addressing those that are senior to your age in a certain way.

I was raised to address my friends’ parents as Mr. or Mrs. So-and-so (without the actual So-and-so part).  And, my friends did the same.  Mrs. Berger would call my mom to see if I could spend the night with Michelle.  Mr. Palumbo down the street drove a school bus and we were all a little bit afraid of him.  And, Mrs. O’Keefe worked for the Mars candy company.  She was EVERYONE’S favorite “mom” on Halloween! 

Teachers were addressed much the same way, or at least with a “ma’am” or “sir” thrown in for extra measure.  It was the way to address someone with respect at the time.  And, it has become a dying form of communication.

I teach preschool now.  My last name is quite a mouthful - a German surname with the harsh consonant rattles typical of the language.  While it isn’t the most difficult name to pronounce (it does have vowels, unlike my teaching counter-part who has just two vowels in her 10-letter last name, and one is at the end), it can be a task for a four year-old to learn to say.

Many teachers at our school go by the “Ms. (insert name here)” rule.  As long as the kids use the “Ms.” in front, they are welcome to use the first or last name.  And, for a while, this was my rule, too.  Most of my older son’s friends grew up calling me Ms. Judy.  It bothered me a little, though.  This isn’t how I was taught to address adults, and I wasn’t sure this is how I wanted my son to address adults.  I had friends who asked that kids simply call them by their first names, but my son was taught otherwise.  In fact, we did end up teaching our son to follow the “old fashioned” way - title + surname.  Yes, it sounds more formal but, to me, it also sounds more respectful. 

My kids in my class now address me by my last name (or by simply calling me “teacher” since a few of them can’t seem to be able to remember my last name yet).  My parents of my kids in my class also address me by my last name.  My hope is that my children realize that this method of addressing someone is a sign of respect.  It goes hand-in-hand with ma’am and sir.  For me, it is simply a matter of how we address those that are older than ourselves.

What are your thoughts?  How do young people address you?  How do you wish to be addressed?  And, what is your reasoning?

The Consumer Product Safety Commission recently released the following recalls on children’s toys and products:

1.  Hasbro Inc. Recalls to Repair Nerf Blasters; Child’s Skin Can Get Caught in
Plunger of the Toy

2. Children’s Necklaces, CD and MP3 Players Sold at Limited Too and Justice Stores
Recalled by Tween Brands Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard