Preschool Christmas Craft: A lot of Learning Packed in One Easy Project

Now that it is December we have shifted or daily learning time from our Fall Preschool Projects to Christmas projects. I started our Christmas projects with a Count-down to Christmas Paper Chain. We made a decorative fall paper chain that Jude loved so I thought we needed a Christmas chain. 

What I love about the Count-Down to Christmas Paper Chain is that it offers many valuable teaching moments.

1. Color Recognition - I've been teaching colors to Jude and I am beginning to see my efforts pay off. We used RED and GREEN construction paper both of which he very easily identified.

2. Pattern Learning - I started our chain with an alternating RED and GREEN pattern then let Jude take over. He picked up on the pattern immediately and made sure to keep it going.

3. Dexterity - After I showed Jude how to loop the paper links together he was very intent on doing it himself. I enjoyed watching him skillfully feed each paper through the loop. 

4. Counting and Number Recognition - After we assembled our chain we counted the loops and wrote the corresponding number on each loop. Jude has been able to count to 20 for a while but we ventured up to 26 and he did pretty well.

5. Time and Waiting - Each day we will break a link off of the chain until we have counted down to Christmas morning. Before I had kids I never though about having to teach someone the concept of "tomorrow" or "waiting" but kids don't immediately understand waiting or the idea of a day. I hoping this will give Jude a little better handle on the concept of time.

It's amazing how one simple project can teach so many different skills to a child.

MAKE IT

Make your own Count-Down to Christmas Paper Chain

Supplies:

Construction Paper - I used Red and Green

Scissors

Tape

Marker

Instructions:

Step 1 - Cut the paper into 1 inch strips (approximate - I just eyeball it)

Step 2 - Make a circle with the paper and tape the ends together.

Step 3 - Loop the next piece of paper through the 1st link and tape ends together.

Step 4 - Continue looping paper through and add tape to ends until chain is complete

Step 5 - Count out loud number of link on the chain.

Step 6 - Write the corresponding numbers on each link. (You can do this before the chain is assembled to make it easier to write.)

Step 7 - Hang up your chain and start counting down till Christmas.

Each day until Christmas break off 1 link in the chain.

Super Simple. Super Fun.

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Father and Son Playing Catch {Wordless Wednesday}

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Building Creativity with Lincoln Logs

There is this old Lincoln Log set at my parents house that is Jude's favorite thing to play with when we visit. Although there are many pieces missing and the circular cardboard container has seen better days he will spend hours building. He and Grandma building castles, houses, farms, tall towers, pretty much anything they can imagine. 

The Lincoln Logs belonged to my brother and I. I remember building many great building with that set. Lincoln Logs are more than wood, they are imagination in a can. I wanted to become an architect for many years because of Lincoln Logs and understandably so since they were created by John Lloyd Wright the son of famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

K'Nex makes Lincoln Logs just like you remember, every log is made from real wood. They sent us their Fort Hudson set which includes 70 pieces including a frontiersman. We gave Jude the set as a reward for filling up his potty chart (he's potty training) and he was completely thrilled. Every day he asks to building something with his Lincoln Logs. He loves them so much that we are considering getting him another set for Christmas so he can build more buildings and expand his creativity.

I look forward to the day when I will play Lincoln Logs with my grand children, a few pieces will be missing and the box will be tattered and torn but the creativity will be fresh and new.

I received the featured product however, the opinions expressed in this post are my own and not influenced by the company.

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Teaching Kids to Give: Simple as a Box of Cereal

I've been trying to teach Jude different ways to give and that the holidays are about more than receiving presents. Last week we bought a gift for our the angel tree as part of the Teaching Kids to Give series and this week we mailed a post card to the USO through the Cheerios Cheer program.

Jude eats Cheerios for breakfast almost every day so I thought this was an extremely applicable way to teach him about sharing joy and cheer to our military families across the US. We cut out the specially designed postcard, wrote a small message and mailed it to the USO. Giving can be something as small as a postcard.

Now through November, 2011 at your local grocer, specially-marked boxes of Cheerios cereal will feature Cheer postcards on the front of the box. Simply cut out the postcard from the Cheerios logo, write a message of thanks on the back, add a stamp and mail the pre-addressed card to the USO. The USO will deliver the Cheer card to military families across the country. For each postcard received through November 2012, Cheerios will make a $1 donation to the USO to help fund programs that support military families. To kick off the campaign, Cheerios has already donated $150,000 to the USO and will donate up to an additional $100,000 based upon the number of postcards received from specially marked boxes now through November 30th, 2012.

Connect:
Like Cheerios Cheer on Facebook


GIVEAWAY 

Win - One lucky reader will win a Cheerios Prize Pack. (including: 1 Cheerios cereal bowl, 1 Cheerios cereal spoon, 1 cereal dispenser, 1 “Cheer” box of Cheerios)

 

How to Win - Maximize your chances of winning. Leave a separate comment for each entry. Only valid after you complete the first mandatory entry:

Mandatory Entry

Leave a comment telling a way you teach your kids to give-back.

Extra Entries:

• Follow @bkeepsushonest on Twitter.
• Tweet this (can be done daily): "#Win a Cheerios #Cheer Pack via @bkeepsushonest 12/5 http://tinyurl.com/7knreto #giveaway"

Please leave a valid email in the comments if your Blogger profile is private so that I can contact you if you win. Giveaway ends 12.5 at 11:59pm EST. Winner will be notified by email and has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. See giveaway rules for more information.

Disclosure: Cheerios cereal, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

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First Date Anniversary Date

Every year on the day after Thanksgiving Joe and I celebrate our First Date by going to the same restaurant we went on our first date. We reminisce, laugh and talk about how far we've come.  I think I like First Date Anniversary more than Thanksgiving.

 

The First Date

In 2005 on the day after Thanksgiving Joe and I had our first date. Neither of us knew if it was a date but by the end of the night I think we both knew we'd be seeing each other again. At the time Joe was in between leases (I like to say he was homeless) and sleeping on a friend's couch. So we ate dinner down the street at the Jade Garden, a little Chinese place just down the street. We were the only people in the restaurant and as awkward as first dates are ours was even more awkward as the waiter sat at the table beside us, rolled napkins and eavesdropped. When our meal was over and the waiter brought us the check Joe, still uncertain of the "date" status asked, "what do you want to do about the check." Not really knowing what to do I paid for myself and he paid for himself. 

After dinner we walked back to the apartment where he was staying and decided to watch a movie. (The residents of the apartment were out of town for Thanksgiving.) We decided to watch The Big Lebowski. Joe sat on the end of the couch and I sat next to him, that is the moment he realized it was a date! We watched the movie, held hands and have been together ever since. 

First Date Anniversary - 6 Years Later

Last night we took our annual date to the Jade Garden. I think we even had the same waiter that we had 6 years ago, although he didn't sit and watch us eat this time. (It's a family owned business)

We had a special coupon so we ordered way too much food and tried a few new things. Joe took the liberty of ordering all of our food.

Just like our first date, we were the only people in the restaurant.

We started off the evening with fried spring rolls. Our usual.

For our 2nd Appetizer we had fried dumplings - this was new for both of us. We liked them!

Then we had wonton soup as a starter. YUM! I love the crunchy noodles.

Then our entrees arrived... all 3 of them! Mongolian Beef - my favorite and the same thing I ordered 6 years ago!

Mandarin Chicken - something new for both of us.

And Pan Fried Noodles - Also something new

Of course we had to get a few to go boxes.

And this time Joe paid.

We had an awesome time, even our fortune cookie was awesome.

After dinner instead of watching The Big Lebowski on his friend's couch we went to Target to get a few Christmas present for the boys. It was a pretty perfect evening. I really do love spending time with my husband and I hope we continue the tradition of the First Date Anniversary date for many years to come.

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Noah Ahser - Month Five

So I'm a little late with this month's post. We had family in town and then the holiday craziness. But alas, Noah did turn 5 months old on November 18th.

STATS

Weight: 21 lbs

Eats: only breast milk

Clothing Size: 12-18 mo

Skills: Rolling pro, working out his abs trying to sit up, great with his hands, smiles galore

Sleep: Still co-sleeps, Wakes up about twice a night. He's a big cuddler.

This kid is so happy and giggly. He greets me each morning with a huge smile. He is also super ticklish - it's awesome!

He's really into putting everything and anything he can find into his mouth. I haven't started him on solids yet because I want to wait until he can sit up on his own. Plus once you start solids there's no going back... he'll just get bigger too.

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Teaching Kids to Give: Our Angel

We are members at our local YMCA and each year they have a tree angel program that gives needy children the opportunity to have a special Christmas. I thought this would be a great way for Jude to participate and to learn about giving.

I let him pick the angel off the tree and hand it in to the front desk so we could get the information for our angel. The angel we picked was a 1 year old little girl. The program requires that you purchase a complete outfit and 1 gift. 

He was very excited to pick an ornament and after we got our information I sat down and explained to him, "not all little boys and girls get to have a big Christmas like you do. They don't have all the toys you do, they don't have cool Charlie Brown t-shirts like yours and don't get to eat yummy fruit snacks." (explaining things to a 3-year old can be tricky sometimes.) I told him, "we are going to go to the store to buy a special gift for a special little girl so she can have a very happy Christmas." Then I asked him, "do you want to help me pick out a special present for this little girl?" He enthusiastically replied, "YES!"

So a few days later we went to Target together to pick out the perfect gift for our little girl. He helped me pick out some cute clothes, a fun toy and book. Then we went home and wrapped up the presents and he colored some special pictures for our angel.

Later that day when we returned to the YMCA he helped me carry in our packages and turn them in to the front desk. He proudly proclaimed to the desk attendants, "We got a present for a little girl." He was so proud to give them his gift. He was bouncing all over the place with a huge smile on his face. The rest of the day he told everyone he met that he had given a gift to a little girl. Of course, they had no idea what he was talking about but he was beaming.

I was so proud to see him giving with a joyful heart. Each step of the way I tried to take a few minutes to explain what we were doing and why. I don't know if he fully understands the concept just yet but I love that he has such a giving spirit.

Do you and your kid actively participate in any charity events during the holidays?

How do you teach your kids to give-back?

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Getting Insurance to Pay for a Home Birth: UPDATE, THEY PAID!

So yesterday we got a check in the mail for almost $3000 as reimbursement from our health insurance providers for Noah's home birth. I was completely shocked since last time I spoke with a representative from our insurance they pretty much said, NO we will NOT be able to process your claim.

After the insurance told us NO we were in the process of talking with Joe's HR department when we got the check. We hadn't filed an official claim with HR yet so I'm not sure if they actually intervened yet or not. I do know I talked with several different, very helpful, representatives with our insurance that were working on our behalf to get us paid. So maybe someone was able to work their magic. Either way we are extremely happy.

You can read the ongoing story of how we got Insurance to Pay for Our Home Birth here.

We have learned a lot through this process and I have a better idea of what to do next time around if needed. 

Here are a few tips on what to do if you are planning to have a home birth and file with insurance:

1. Do Your Research - Speak to insurance reps to confirm your policy coverage. Speak with the HR rep at your company to confirm what the insurance reps claim to be your policy. And if possible get it in writing.

2. Have a Plan - Pursue one route first and then have alternate routes to pursue if you reach a dead end. Not only do your research about your policy but do research about the laws in your state regarding insurance coverage of home births. Connect with local home birth advocacy groups to learn the best way to file your claim or file an appeal for a rejected claim. You may not have to use all of the information you obtain but it's good to have a plan just in case.

3. Document - Keep every paper they give you regarding your claim. Write down every call reference number. Get the names of the representatives you talk with on the phone. If you have clear documentation you can make a solid claim.

4. Be Persistent - Know that no one actually WANTS to give you money so they may be vague and cryptic in their correspondence with you. Keep calling and asking for detail explanations and instructions. Don't give up if you get a NO.

5. Be Nice - Kill them with Kindness. Being Ugly won't get you very far. Understand that most of the reps you speak with don't have the real power to change weather or not you get approved. Save your mean voice as a last resort.

I'm not 100% sure what happened that made our insurance change their minds and pay us. I think it was a combination of our persistence, willingness to work nicely with the representatives and their lack of written documentation to back up their claims. Either way I am extremely happy with the outcome. Yay Home Birth!

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Teaching Kids to Give - Thanks AND Giving

Thanksgiving is on Thursday and while it's never been one of my favorite holidays (I don't care for most of the traditional holiday food.) I think this is the perfect time to start teaching Jude about giving. We have so many things to be Thankful for and I think one of the best ways we can express our thankfulness is to give back. I take for granted so many things in my life. Things I think I am "owed" or "deserve", things that many other people would see as a luxury. Giving-back not only reminds me of how fortunate I am to have the life I have but it teaches me that even when I think I have very little to give I actually have an overabundance.

I want to teach these same principles to my kids. I want them to look at the holiday season as more than just a time to receive presents and eat too much. But when I sat down to think about HOW I would teach them I came up a little short.

I started to ask around to other moms about how they teach their children to give. 

Here are a few great posts by moms who are teaching their children to be givers:

Teaching Kids The Spirit of Giving

Above All Else Is Charity

Lessons in Caring, Part One: Generosity

Birthday Wish: A Celebration of Water

I think most importantly I found that the first step in teaching your child to be a giver is to be a giver yourself. Children learn by example and if you are giving-back they will learn that giving-back is the norm.

Over the next few weeks I will be sharing the ways that I am teaching my 3 year old to give. Even though he is only 3 years old I don't think he is too young to understand giving, in fact I think this is the perfect time to teach him to give.

PARTICIPATE

I would love to hear about the ways you teach your family to give. If you have a story of giving or blog post please email me (jessica@thebkeepsushonest.com) and I would love to share it here on my blog. 

I think sharing stories of giving is a great way to encourage others to give.

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Our Trip to Charlotte in Pictures

Last week we took a mini-vacation to Charlotte, NC. Joe grew up there so we visited some old friends, ate too much and shopped at IKEA (I'll save the details of our purchases for another post). We had a fabulous time, here are a few pictures to prove it.

 A little coffee (chocolate milk) and work (games) on the road.

 Playing chess at a coffee shop while dad refuels and hangs out with his high school buddy Mike.

 My delicious lunch from The Cowfish - sushi AND a burger AND sweet potato fries!

 Jude's "sushi" (AKA PB&J) roll from The Cowfish.

 Noah took a lot of naps.

 Joe gives The Cowfish a thumbs up.

 Owner of The Cowfish, Marcus Hall gave Jude and Noah a special gift, The Legend of the Cowfish.

 A random nice lady gave us this awesome coupon outside of IKEA. 

Yes! I worked out in the hotel's "fitness center" It was like 100 degrees in there and the equipment was from the late 80's but they had cable!

 This is Noah's "I'm over IKEA" face.

I can't wait till they open a Cowfish in Raleigh.

Mini-Vacations are the best!

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Great Giveaway Links

Every Thursday The B Keeps Us Honest offers a place to promote your giveaways, Great Giveaway Links. Be sure to link directly to your giveaway and not your homepage. Links that are not directed to the giveaway will be deleted.

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Buy Your Favorite General Mills Products and Receive FREE Milk from Kroger

We are Cheerios addicts. Every morning when Jude wakes up he asks for Cheerios and Juice. With Kroger's current promotion I can buy a month's worth of Cheerios and get FREE milk to go along with it. Now we can eat Cheerios for breakfast, lunch and dinner if we so choose. I know Jude will be pleased to have an overflow of Cheerios and I am pleased with the great deal.

Kroger Free Milk Deal: Between November 13th and  November 26th when you purchase any four participating General Mills products, you will either receive free milk (up to $3; limit of 2) or to receive $3 off your shopping order.*

Some of your the participating General Mills products are Cheerios, Pillsbury Ready to Bake Cookies, Nature Valley Bars and Fiber One Bars.

CONNECT

• Kroger Facebook
• @KrogerTwitter

Excludes General Mills meal and baking products including; Betty Crocker, Old El Paso, Progresso, Hamburger Helper, Macaroni Grill, Wanchai Ferry, Yoplait

*Promotion varies based on store location; check your local Kroger store for details (Cash Offer: Mid South, Delta, Mid Atlantic, SW Louisiana stores, Central Missouri stores and Dillons Missouri stores)

GIVEAWAY 

Win - One lucky reader will win a $25 Kroger Gift Card. (Good at any Kroger Co. Family of Stores)

 

How to Win - Maximize your chances of winning. Leave a separate comment for each entry. Only valid after you complete the first mandatory entry:

Mandatory Entry

Leave a comment telling which 4 General Mills products you would purchase.

Extra Entries:

• Follow @bkeepsushonest on Twitter.
• Tweet this (can be done daily): "#Win a $25 @KrogerTwitter Gift Card via @bkeepsushonest 11/25 http://tinyurl.com/7svjjrt #giveaway"

Please leave a valid email in the comments if your Blogger profile is private so that I can contact you if you win. Giveaway ends 11.25 at 11:59pm EST. Winner will be notified by email and has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. See giveaway rules for more information.

The Kroger gift card, information, and giveaway have been provided by Kroger and General Mills through MyBlogSpark. All opinions are my own.

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The Tiny Blogger {Wordless Wednesday}

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Teaching the 3 year old colors and shapes with Goosie Cards {Giveaway}

At this point in his life Jude is a little sponge absorbing information all the time. It amazes me how quickly he can learn something and recite it weeks later. However, there are a few things that challenge him like learning his colors. I'm not sure why he has a hard time remembering his colors, I think it might be all the different variations of one color that throw him. (We've even tested to see if he is colorblind, which he is not.)

Goosie Cards offered me the opportunity to review some of their personalized flash cards so I thought I would design some to help him learn his colors. While I was looking at the site he saw the pre-designed colors and shapes cards and proclaimed he wanted those cards. So I decided to order the pre-designed cards since I knew he would already like them, plus it saved me a little work!

The cards are very nice. They are thick laminated cards that display the image and title of your choosing. He knows has mastered the shapes and is still working on the colors. I think this will be a very effective and fun for him to learn his colors. The key to having flash cards be effective is repetition so I'm planning to work them into our daily routine along with some of Kristy's great tips on teaching colors to kids.

ORDER

Goosie Cards has partnered with Walgreens Photos so you can order your cards online at Goosie Cards Walgreens.

SAVE

Use the code "goobkeep15" to save 15% off your order.

CONNECT

Like Goosie Cards on Facebook

Follow @GoosieCards on Twitter

GIVEAWAY 

Win - One lucky reader will win a Signature Collection 10-Card Set from Goosie Cards.  

How to Win - Maximize your chances of winning. Leave a separate comment for each entry. Only valid after you complete the first mandatory entry:

Mandatory Entry

Leave a comment telling me what kind of flash cards you would design.

Extra Entries:

• Follow @bkeepsushonest and @Goosiecards on Twitter.
• Tweet this (can be done daily): "#Win a set of personalized flash cards from @Goosiecards via @bkeepsushonest 11/20 http://tinyurl.com/83dhyk2 #giveaway"

Please leave a valid email in the comments if your Blogger profile is private so that I can contact you if you win. Giveaway ends 11.20 at 11:59pm EST. Winner will be notified by email and has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. See giveaway rules for more information.

This product review was made possible by the Double Duty Divas.  I was not compensated for this review other than a product sample provided by Goosie.  All opinions are 100% mine.

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Tips for Traveling with Small Children

This past week we took a mini-road trip to Charlotte, NC where we visited with old friends, ate yummy food and did some shopping. We don't travel a lot because we have 2 small children but when we do it usually goes pretty well because we plan accordingly. 

Here are few of my MUSTS for traveling with small children.

1. Be Flexible - This is essential. If you try to stick to a tight schedule you will inevitably go crazy. Kids require extra time for everything. They have to potty more frequently, eat often, and be entertained. To prevent total melt down (parents included) it's best to build flex time into your schedule when traveling. On our way home from Charlotte we stopped 3 times in 1 hour and traveled 10 miles due to a fussy baby. That was NOT part of our plan.

2. Hotel Suites are Your Friend. Unless you like going to bed at 7:30pm or sitting awake in the dark you should get a hotel suite. Whenever possible try to stay at hotels that have a rooms with separate living and bedroom areas. It means you can put the kids to bed and then stay up late watching cable TV. A win for everyone! I had a FREE Night Stay Voucher for the Country Inn and Suites and they hooked us up with a nice suite that was perfect. We put the kids to bed and then watched reruns of SNL on VH1.

3. Pack Snacks - A hungry child is never pleasant to be around. Neither is a hungry adult. When on a road trip you may encounter delays and altered dining times so pack your bag full of snacks, you won't regret it. I always try to pack healthy yet fun snacks like yogurt covered raisins, cereal bars, crackers and trail mix.

4. Pack Comfort Items - If your child has a favorite blanket, paci, or toy be sure to bring it. Sleeping in the car or in a new place can be uncomfortable and scary so lessen the impact by having familiar and favorite things on hand. EXAMPLE: Noah never uses a pacifier when we are at home but I should have brought one for the car trip. It would have been nice to help keep him calm until we could find a safe place to pull over and attend to his needs. We ended up buying one at Walgreens on the way home.

5. Build In Play Time - Little kids can only handle so much riding quietly in the car and sitting nicely at a restaurant table. Find fun things for your kids to do throughout the day. Stop at a local park. Swim in the hotel pool. Visit a local kids museum. Joe took Jude swimming in the hotel pool, which he thought was awesome. We also visited with some friends that had children Jude's age so he got to play with new friends and new toys.

6. Pack Car Toys Wisely - You will want to bring a few toys along for the car ride but be mindful of what you pack. You don't want something that will be loud an annoying or a toy with a million pieces. We should have planned a little better in this area. Jude brought along his "computer" which offered him hours of entertainment but it doesn't have good volume control and became annoying rather quickly. Books are nice.

7. Have Fun - Most importantly when traveling with your family you should aim to have a great time that will become fond memories for your kids. Things don't always go as planned and spending a lot of time in close proximity with your family can be stressful but if you roll with the punches and alter plans accordingly everyone should have a great time.

Not matter how well we plan we inevitably get lost, argue about where to eat or have a toddler melt-down in public but we try to quickly resolve our issues so we can get back to having fun.

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