Preparing Your Child for Preschool & Kindergarten Too!

Summer Reading Programs at Your Local Library

jenfoote — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 05:09:30 +0000

This summer, Sarah participated in our local library’s summer reading program. This is the second year she has joined. We were actually unaware that there was a summer reading program before!

Sarah signed up to read 96 books over the course of one month and one week. She did it, barely (hey, that is A LOT of reading), but she did it! I am so proud!

Next week they have an ice cream social where each kid will get a certificate and a book. It is a great free program that encourages reading throughout the summer.

Each week, our local library also hosted special events in conjunction with their summer reading program. We were only able to attend week #1 and week #4. Week one was by far the most popular (with the most kids in attendance), Dan the Snake Man brought a collection of snakes and reptiles. Week #4 was a mini-Aladdin play put on by the youth department of a local theater group.

It was so much fun. Kids of all ages had a blast. Unfortunately, I could NEVER remember to bring my camera; therefore, I missed out on some great pictures.

I know that summer is almost over, but have you checked out your local library and the many fun, free activities they have for kids and families? Don’t forget to check all year round. The fun and free activities for kids aren’t as frequent at our local library in the winter, but there are a few here and there.

I’m Going To Get Back on Track

jenfoote — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 04:53:03 +0000

When I started Preparing Your Child for Preschool, it was just a website without a blog. It shared fun resources for parents and had preschool worksheets to print. I started to incorporate my blog into the site in recent years. When my daughter entered preschool, my site became Preparing Your Child for Preschool and Kindergarten Too! I believe this is okay because many preschool programs, crafts, and activities are the same for both preschoolers and kindergarten students.

I still like to blog about my daughter and our adventures. Problem is that is 7 1/2 and going into 2nd grade. I really want to keep the focus on this website and blog on preschool/kindergarten aged kids. So back I go to the drawing board!

Cool Companies to Follow on Twitter

jenfoote — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 03:07:58 +0000

Are you a Twitter user? If so, you can follow Preparing Your Child for Preschool and Kindergarten Too on Twitter, by clicking here:

Personally, I have got to get better about tweeting myself. I follow 700+ users on Twitter and many of those are companies that provide awesome products for parents and children.

I enjoy following companies because you get great information on products, sweet deals, and are one of the first to hear about giveaways.

If you are the parent of a preschool aged child, here are some companies on Twitter I recommend following:

Learning Curve Toys (LCToys)

Hot, Hot, Hot Summer Days

jenfoote — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 21:19:18 +0000

Image Credit: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1244029

We live in Central NY and are in for a HOT next few days. The temps are forecasted to be in the high 90s, with a possibility of hitting 100 on Thursday.

We don’t have a pool. We did (long story), but had to tear it down because the old house owners never took care of the pool.

We sometimes go to the public swimming pool, but that is where EVERYONE heads on hot days.

We don’t have an air conditioner. We actually do, but are trying to avoid installing the window unit this year to keep electric costs low. It is ready to go if we need it, but trying to avoid it.

So how do we stay cool on HOT days? The sprinkler. I love our sprinkler. It is not a kid’s sprinkler, but rather your standard run-of-the-mill garden sprinkler. Last year, we tried to get our hands on a kiddie pool…no go. Then, we decided to settle for a Slip-N-Slide..no go. The ONLY sprinkler we found for sale locally was at the home improvement store! Luckily it works and well!

Our Daughter Is Quite the Traveler This Summer

jenfoote — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 21:25:21 +0000

Image Credit: www.sxc.hu/photo/210049

We don’t usually take family vacations. Dan works in construction, does not get paid vacation time, and rarely has a good chance to take a vacation during the summer (busy time for construction).

Any vacations we do take usually involve a day at a local amusement park, such as Darien Lake. This summer is going to be different!

In two weeks, Sarah and I are traveling to Minnesota. My brother recently bought a house and works in the Best Buy offices out there. Thanks to my mom, who bought our plane tickets, Sarah and I are joining her on this wonderful vacation/adventure.

Dan, Sarah’s Dad, had the option to join us, but is knee-deep in work right now and cannot take time off. This is the first time we’ve been away. Sarah and I are a bit sad about that, but SO excited about our trip!

At the start of September, Sarah and Dan are traveling to North Dakota. Dan is the god father for his brother’s new baby Taylor. I am not joining them on this trip. It is a short trip, Sarah starts school the day after they get back, and ticket prices are SO expensive for this trip.

I am very excited that Sarah gets to take a “bonding” trip with her dad. It will be quite the adventure for them. Since I say home at work-at-home, every moment is spent with my daughter. It will be difficult at first, but I know she’ll be having a blast with her dad.

Technology and How It Changes Educational Learning Toys

jenfoote — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 01:00:57 +0000

We are big LeapFrog fans in this house. My daughter is 7 years old now, but grew up with LeapFrog learning toys. They played a big part in her “love” of learning.

Yesterday, we were cleaning out her toy room and came across this:

LeapFrog’s My First LeapPad.

My daughter was so excited to find this again. Three years ago, this got used daily and for hours a day! Even though Sarah can read; even though Sarah has read all of these books a million times, she still played with her My First LeapPad for an hour!

“I wonder,” she says “if any new books have been released.” At that point in time, it dawned on me that I haven’t seen this item and the books/cartridges in stores for years.

After checking the LeapFrog website, it is actually neat to see how technology has changed and improved kid’s learning toys over the years.

There is no My First LeapPad found on LeapFrog.com anymore. The item I believe replaced it was the Tag Reader System. The Tag Reader (which looks like a pen) and specially marked books are all you need!

Southwestern Company Came Knocking on Our Door: Door-to-Door Sales

jenfoote — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 01:30:20 +0000

Image Credit: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/881612

The other day, we got had a knock on the door. My daughter ran to answer the door because our neighbor was scheduled to come over for a playdate in about 30 minutes. Talk about disappointment.

My daughter was disappointed to see a door-to-door salesman and not her friend.

I was disappointed because we actually answered the door. Yes, I am bad. I usually just avoid the knock if I know it is a salesperson. Why?

Most salespeople are pushy.
Most door-to-door sales items are overpriced.
I work part-time during the summers.
We are knee-deep in a costly home renovation project.
Therefore, we have $0 extra dollars to spend.

I made it known right from the start that we were on a tight budget and couldn’t buy what he was selling. But, he still wanted to provide the sales pitch. We must have looked like someone who could have been converted. Either that or they still get some sort of credit for doing the sales pitch.

Here are my gripes about the experience:

The guy was very nice. Aside from the last couple of minutes, he was VERY friendly, positive, and overall had a happy-go-lucky attitude. From what I gathered, he was a college student. At first, I almost felt bad for saying no. Haha I think they rely on that in a lot of cases. I knew he was walking, I knew it was a HOT day, and I knew that he was just doing his job.

It started off sounding like they were from the local school district. I got the “We are working with local educators to ensure…” When I outright asked if he was with the school district, I didn’t get a straight answer. He flashed his id badge real quick. When I asked whom he was with, he actually took off his id badge and handed it to me. It stated he worked as a Southwestern Company sales agent. I didn’t like the fact it started out with an implication they were associated with the school district.

“You know Kristen, your next door neighbor with the two twins. Monica from down the street. Oh, and Amber around the corner; I’ve got to come back to catch-up with her later.” These are neighbors that I actually know. I also know they didn’t buy any books. I also know they didn’t say “go checkout this house; she has kids.” It was likely the kid’s toys in the yard that gave it away. Something along the lines of “they value their kid’s education,” threw me for a loop. It was almost implying that I didn’t.

I was handed a book to leaf through, so I looked at two pages. As I said before, we are on a TIGHT budget. I make our own worksheets during the summer, we visit the library each week, we do Scholastic Book programs, and so forth. I do not need to purchase a big educational book set, especially when it costs hundreds of dollars. When I stated, “it does look like a good book, but we cannot afford it.” I got the “Yeah, I am sure it looks like a good book, the whole two pages you looked at.” At this point in time, I wanted to throw the book in the yard.

Once again, I explained that we didn’t have the money to spend even regardless of how great the books/programs where. “Thank you though for stopping by.” The final turnoff, was the asking me for information which of my neighbors had kids. I am mindful of the fact your job is to do sales pitches. I listened to that pitch. Your job also includes knocking on doors – so go do it! That is what I wanted to scream, but I didn’t. I just said “we just moved here, so I’m not familiar with all the neighbors yet.” Luckily, I was able to cut my daughter off before she says “Madison, who is coming over for a playdate, lives right across the street.”

Preschool Rhyming Worksheets: FREE To Print

jenfoote — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 01:36:05 +0000

Summer is a time that we like to spend outdoors. On that same note, some days are just so hot that you want to stay in next to a cool fan or air conditioner. If you are looking for a fun preschool activity this summer, why not enjoy doing preschool worksheets with your child.

When I first started making free preschool worksheets to add to my website, my daughter loved the rhyming worksheets. What isn’t fun about rhyming!

If you are looking for free preschool rhyming worksheets to print and do with your child, please click the link to checkout our free preschool rhyming worksheet section.

A Barbie Photo Shoot: Brought To You By Sarah

jenfoote — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 16:02:12 +0000

My daughter loves to take pictures. Whenever we go for even a simple walk, she asks that we bring the camera along.

Last year, our camera was stolen from our car (we got it back later, but broken). My grandma was nice enough to buy us a new digital camera. We were remodeling our house and wanted to have lots of before and after pictures.

I was a bit nervous about letting my daughter use our new $150 camera, but eased her into the process – what to do, what not to do, how to hold it, how it always needs to go back in the case, and so forth.

She was told that she could use the camera whenever she wanted inside the house, as long as she put it back. Despite having “free use” of the camera, she never took any pictures unless I was with her. Until the other day.

I wanted to unload park pictures from our camera and noticed a cute little Barbie photo shoot. There were about 50 pictures of all of her Barbie dolls. It was so cute!

Playtime at the Park: A Fun Summer Activity for Kids

jenfoote — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:09:59 +0000

My daughter, Sarah, is taking swim lessons at our local public swimming pool. We decided to head to the park 30 minutes before her swim lessons to let her play. She’d get some fun and I’d get some great pictures (win-win for us both).

My Favorite Park Picture

Playtime at the park is a fun activity for kids during the summer. We went early that day. You gotta hit the slides before they get too hot from the sun! There was a little girl my daughter played with a bit and had a blast.

Since Sarah is in school now, she has a lot of friends and playdates from the kids at school. If you are moving to a new school district or if you child has yet to enter school, a morning or an afternoon at the park is the perfect place to meet new friends!