What we do...

Disclaimer: many days all I can get accomplished with these two little ones is fixing meals and snacks, nursing, changing diapers, taking one to the potty, and maybe washing an occasional load of laundry. But most days, we try to do some of the things listed below. I've been wanting to post this for a while to document things I do with Grayson so Finley will actually get to do some of these things when she gets older. If I fail to write it down, it slides out of my mom-brain way too easily these days.

When Finley goes down for her morning nap I sit with Gray on the couch for Bible time. At the beginning of the week we do a letter of the week out of our ABC Bible Verses book (pictured below). Shout out to Amy for the recommendation. Let me just say that I am completely amazed that this little 2.75 year old can remember all of these verses by only prompting her with the first word. She also loves the stories of "Missy and Bill". Other days of the week we read a story from the Storybook Bible (also a huge favorite) and then I guide her through drawing what we learned about in her "journal". Joseph and his multicolor coat are pictured below.

I didn't snag a shot of this, but once we've read about the new letter for the week, another day we head to the two chalkboards in the hallway. I write up the letter and the verse on one while she practices writing the letter on the other. We've mainly stuck to uppercase letters for now. Then we brainstorm all of the words (and animals, of course) we can think of that start with the letter, and write those words up along with pictures. This is where my skills as an artist prove comical. Grayson likes it though and it gives Justin a good chuckle when he gets home from work. Recently I borrowed a dictionary and encyclopedias from MayMay and Peeps. I am now better armed to answer the constant question "what else starts with 'insert letter of the week'?"

When Finley came along and I was nursing around the clock, we started the 'day of the week' bins. These were inspired by a MoneySavingMom post a while ago, and inspired to be named/themed by my sister-in-law's days of the week schedule. The bins are filled with toys we had around the house (so they are "new" only used once a week), stickers, crayons, magnets, colored pencils, and other dollar store finds. Each day a new bin comes out of the closet when I need a few minutes to nurse, or sort and fold that occasional (constant) load of laundry.

Here is Grayson with her Monkey Monday bin in action. Once a week I also head over to the notimeforflashcards site (see "letter of the week" header) and do a letter of the week craft that gets hung on her art wall. And some weeks we get to do other crafts, often something from our Family Fun magazine. Pictured below are the "flower fairies (and dog)" that Grayson named "Masser, Passer, and Aper". Go figure.

This little girl is definitely starting to recognize letters, sound them out, and frequently asks about words that start with certain letters. Many days we have a hard time getting out the door with Finley's two-nap-a-day schedule, but we always try to at least get to the library on Wacky Wordy Wednesdays. Each week we check out eight books (same number each week so I can remember how many we have!). The other day Grayson looks up at me and says "Mama, I love the library". Yes sweet girl, you sure do!