Posts Tagged ‘preschoolers’
Written by nurse mommy on 25 August 2010
(A family member sent this one to me in an email. This one is still cracking me up!~Nurse Mommy)
From the diary of a Pre-School Teacher:
My five year-old students are learning to read. Yesterday one of them pointed at a picture in a zoo book and said,
“Look at this! It’s a frickin’ elephant!”
I took a deep breath, then asked…”What did you call it?”
“It’s a frickin’ elephant! It says so on the picture!”
And so it does…
” A f r i c a n Elephant “
(Hooked on phonics! Laughs on me…~NM)
Tags: learning to read, Phonics, preschoolers
Posted in Funny Stories | Comments Off
Written by nurse mommy on 23 August 2010
‘Tis the season of sending your children back to school, and according to the local officials, you don’t even need a license to do so! You spend weeks getting them prepared: new wardrobe, a proper scrub-down (mud is ever so hard to get out from finger nails without a good soaking), reminding them they must listen to other adults/teachers, and ingrain an overall “manners” recheck and relearn program.
SIDE NOTE: Every time I send my children to their grandparents, I have to remind them to clean up their language. Not that I have raised sailors for girls, but potty talk is not funny to old people (not that YOU are old, Mom!) and especially has no place at the dinner table. So many things to teach, so little time…
It seems everywhere I glance; mothers and fathers with relieved looks on their faces appear. Some are even beaming! “My kids went back to school today,” they spout out as if they can’t keep it contained any longer. On the other hand the teachers who have been smiling ear to ear all summer have a look of terror or sometimes a blank stare, which can only be seen the first week of school and the day after Halloween, when all the kids are bouncing off walls from their sugar high.
My point is…everyone in my school district is back to school, except for MY two preschoolers. They don’t return to school until after Labor Day. Now this is only 2 weeks away, but it is TWO WEEKS AWAY!!!
Don’t worry, we will find fun and educational things to do alone without any other children around – because everyone else’s children are all in school. And I’m sure by the end of these 2 weeks, my kids won’t be tired of me, and I sure won’t get tired of them running around naked, screaming at the top of their lungs and trying to escape out into the yard. Who would get tired of that game, right?!
So we will head to the pool a couple more times (preferably with suits on), maybe take in the zoo again, and then head to my preferred mega shopping store. I will get them a new lunchbox and pick through the reject school supplies…but will we have to wait in line behind other manic parents searching for their items on their school supply list? I think NOT! As long as they have something pink to sell me…we should be just fine!
Now next season will be another story. Call me manic now or wait until August next year?
©2010, Hatton. All rights reserved.
Tags: back to school, preschoolers, school supplies, teachers
Posted in Motherhood, preschoolers | Comments Off
Written by nurse mommy on 09 August 2010
Reprint from The Kansas City Star news (11/04/2009)
Brace yourself for perfect princess party
By Stacey Hatton
Wednesday,November 4, 2009
Edition: METROPOLITAN, Section: JOHNSON COUNTY, Page 2
With my daughter’s fourth year approaching, all anyone heard from her for two months prior was her upcoming party, the presents she desired and the cake…oh, yes, the pink cake!
As a first time mother, I wasn’t aware how important these three things were, but fortunately, since she reminded me every 13 minutes, I was prepared. A young girl’s fourth birthday, in terms of life importance, is comparable to your first new car, senior prom, your wedding day and the next book in the “Twilight” series all tied into one. It’s that big. Now our daughter’s party request was a surprise to my husband and me, who thought she was enough of a tomboy to barrel through the princess phase unscathed, but boy, were we mistaken.
Tip No. 1: If you have a girl who is 3 years old, start saving up for next year’s party because she will demand:
It must be a princess party — a perfectly precious princess party.
50 balloons, pink and off-pink.
Huge pink cake with pink icing and princesses on it. (Translation: Every Disney princess that has ever been created.)
Every guest must be dressed as a princess, preferably in what? Yes, pink.
A pink princess piñata. I know what you are thinking. Yes, they do make these scary contraptions, but you don’t have to beat a princess over the head with a baseball bat anymore. You can buy a pull-string piñata, but it still felt odd having every child grab a ribbon from the perfectly pink underskirt and seeing copious amounts of candy fall on the floor. We opted for a pink tiara piñata. It’s just as effective for the kids without all the adult jokes.
Tip No. 2: Do not mention this party to your child again until the morning of the big day. If you think it’s a bonding experience to involve your child in the party planning, you are wrong.
So how many girls get invited?
Tip No. 3: Many invitation and party kits come in sets of eight. Whatever you do, don’t invite nine girls. It will rock your planning world.
Tip No. 4: Are there any big sporting events on this day? If you want the men in your family to be present, don’t schedule the big event during a Big 12 or Chief’s football game. They will be irritated and resentment might ensue. This is no way to start off a princess party.
Next, do you have any friends who owe you a big favor? Any friends you can hit up to help on the big day with an “I might need a little help with a teensy, tiny art project for a few girls”?
Promising cake can help if they hesitate, but I told my friend she could keep her tiara and that was enough.
The big day arrives and I was prepared. My friend showed up early, grabbed a tiara and we stood post for the “carriages” to arrive.
Here’s a quick version of the party: introductions and greetings in formal dining room, art project, opening of presents, piñata string spectacular, dance break and a reading of Cinderella.
Things were going great! Then I leaned into my friend and whispered, “We only have cake and ice cream to do, and over an hour and a half left!”
Tip No. 5: Have much more planned than you think you have time for. This can include such improvised games as pin the pink ribbon on the door or pick up the piñata candy with a spoon and put it in your princess purse. Or the best one we came up with: turn up the radio and have a princess dance fest!
The princess party was perfectly precious!
The girls had a great time and after I awoke from my sugar induced coma, I realized all the effort was worth it. My daughter remained in her dress and heels until bedtime, requesting to wear them to sleep (denied). However, she got over it quickly, told me how much she loved her party and was asleep before her head hit her royal pillow.
And I’m pretty sure my big 4-year-old princess dreamt in “pink” that night.
Stacey Hatton is a freelance writer who lives in Overland Park.
©2010, Hatton. All rights reserved.
Tags: birthday parties, KC Star, preschoolers, Princess, princess birthday parties
Posted in Kansas City Star, preschoolers | Comments Off
Written by nurse mommy on 12 July 2010
I finally got the last coat of paint on the walls, the house is sparkling clean and who knew I had wood floors in the family room? I can actually see where I am walking and don’t get injured by a strawberry-scented-naked-plastic-freakish-haired “ankle twisters” when I run for the phone.
There is something beautiful about a clean house. I respect those moms who are able to maintain a clean environment on a daily basis, but I just don’t think it can be a reality at ours. So the “For Sale” sign is perfectly aligned in the well-manicured lawn, the fliers are up and the listing is out for the public. I wait for the phone to ring. (Crickets chirping from outside the home.)
I check the phone to make sure there is a dial-tone. That’s not the problem. Why has the sign been up for 30 minutes and no one has called. I worked this hard for NOTHING?! Did I happen to mention I occasionally have anxiety issues?
The answer to this has to be to ignore the phone. I must live my life and continue with the summer as if nothing is out of the ordinary, with the exception I must follow my children around with the Shop-Vac and a roll of paper towels at all times.
So off to relax in my fresh-smelling living room to get some work done. Ah, sitting at the laptop to type away stress. This is more like it. I feel my shoulders drop and the comforting exhalation travels out through my lips and nose, like a cleansing lip and nose thing… Nevermind.
Munchkin#2: (from the upstairs) “Mom!?”
Relaxed Mom: “Yes, dear?”
M2: “Do you want to see my painting?”
Mom: “That would be wonderful… (Is she calling from the upstairs?! We have no paints upstairs!!) M2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Next visualize a crazed woman with fangs, red eyes, hair teased out like the Barbie dolls tucked away, running up the stairs 5 at a time.
M2: “I painted it for you.”
Crazed Mom: “You drew on the WALLS?! All the way down the hallway? Who told you to do this? Ahhhhhhhrgh……!”
The next part of the story remains vague and in slow motion. I remember steam shooting out every orifice of my body, and a spike in blood pressure that would have killed a bison. Then I am standing behind Munchkin #2’s closed bedroom door panting, sweating and teary eyed and hearing loud sad cries from her room. I need a mommy-time out!
Then, if you have two girls close in age who adore each other, you get this: Munchkin #1 starts screaming, “Mom, you can’t put her in her room (tears pouring down her cheeks). I’m going to get her out of there, you just see!” Great! Now everyone is crying. What am I going to do when they become teenagers? I’m doomed!!
I decide to assess the damage of the hallway mural, in INK I might add, and see if I need to repaint the entire hallway or just touch it up. I am blinded by frustration, so I decide to leave the art there for now and find that calmness I had only minutes before.
Fortunately, the rational member of the family came home for lunch to see the destruction and make sure everyone was getting along. I charged him $10.00 for the art show at the door, gave him 2 drink tickets, some lunch and then he returned to the office. I’m sure he probably was laughing the entire way, but I choose to ignore that thought and not ask.
After I was able to get the ink off the walls, and a sincere apology was made by all the females of the family to each other. I promised both preschoolers I would not go berserk about this house selling business again. Hopefully, I can keep this promise until at least tomorrow morning!
I didn't have a wide angle lense, but she is talented!
Tags: mommy time-outs, preschoolers, removing ink, selling home
Posted in Parenting Tips, preschoolers | Comments Off
Written by nurse mommy on 07 July 2010
Have you ever tried selling your home while having preschoolers living in it? I don’t mean trying to sell the house while hiding the kids in the closet to get rid of them. I’m talking about trying to make your home look salable. I have only been doing this for a few days now, but I’m pretty convinced it can’t be done.
Long ago I decided to let the housework fall to last priority. Keep the children fed, warm, dry and safe are on the top of the list; then entertained and loved are thrown in there too. But how can you make all the meals, snacks, laundry and answer the millionth “why” question and have time to clean your home?
So now on top of the mandatory job requirements, I am required to make my house presentable? I can do this, but I am going to need a team. Quoting Hillary Clinton, “I am going to need a big ‘ole village to get all this junk done.”
So after shipping the kids to grandparents for the weekend, my husband and I worked round the clock for four days to “get ‘er done.” Now we can’t lift our arms over our heads from all the painting, spackling, deep cleaning, and deck repair that was needed to remove all traces of our little precious children. Not that we want all traces of our children gone, but the people who are going to buy our house probably won’t appreciate the cute tiny hand prints and crayon murals in the hallway. I’m just guessing…
Now you may have seen previous stories of mine where the girls painted themselves and the closet in dark pink lipstick or the day they covered the entire office bookcase in lavender glitter glue, so you know my pain. BUT, Hubby and I did it! Sans children, we got the house in good shape…but then (duh, duh, duh, NA) the children returned!
I must say I missed seeing their darling faces and I love them more than anything, but this constantly cleaning up after them, plus all the other every day things that need to be done is going to send me straight to the loony bin. However, did June Cleaver do it? I heard she hit the bottle in the laundry room every day at 3:00PM, but it could be a rumor I just started.
So citizens of Kansas City… hear me out loud and clear. If you know of anyone who wants to buy my house in the next couple of days, please email Nurse Mommy at nursemommylaughs@yahoo.com. I can’t keep up this cleaning and I’m sure I am doing major psychological damage to my children trying to enforce this. End our madness and someone buy our house!!! Have a nice day.
©2010, Hatton. All rights reserved.
Tags: chores, house for sale, keeping clean, preschoolers
Posted in Parenting Tips, preschoolers | Comments Off
Written by nurse mommy on 30 June 2010
Stacey Hatton | Family Cookie Factory holds life lessons
STACEY HATTON COMMENTARY
My family craves anything sweet, but as a health professional, I try not to have the house stocked full of sugary treats.
However, my 3-year-old literally asks for a Popsicle every hour of the day. Winter, spring, summer or fall…all you have to say is “No!” for the zillionth time. And this has been going on for a year. The research says she is just testing us, but come on, the test is over! Put down your pencil and turn over your paper.
Now, the occasional cake or cookie is satisfying, but let me tell you, with two preschoolers, baking can be quite an adventure. To get Munchkin #2’s mind off the blasted Popsicles, we will sometimes play Family Cookie Factory.
One day as I was teaching my children the difference between salt and sugar and how to crack an egg, I started to see Family Cookie Factory was a great teaching tool, not only for baking skills, but life skills.
Here are a few life lessons that fit nicely with the Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip cookie recipe:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. This should be done by a responsible and preferably sober adult. Anything involving extreme heat should be handled by those who have passed grade school — the first time through.
Life Lesson 1: When things get hot, step away from the heat.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Use exact measurements when baking. Baking is like a chemistry experiment and you don’t want to throw things in willy-nilly or you might end up with a savory, flat briquette.
Life Lesson 2: Following directions can be helpful, and crucial if you grow up to be an electrician or a neurosurgeon.
Beat two sticks of butter, with sugars and vanilla until creamy. Two sticks of butter? Oh, my carotid is constricting as I type! There is a fine line between letting your children not feel bad about having an occasional cookie and not gasping and screaming expletives when you see the recipe calls for two entire sticks of butter.
Life Lesson 3: Take care of your body. You only get one and too many toxins and pollutants make aging more difficult and ridiculously ugly.
Add the eggs. Teaching preschoolers to crack eggs is always frustrating, messy or hilarious. I see it as the latter, but I enjoy slapstick comedy. I’d recommend using a separate bowl. Add it to the heart attack mixture in the previous step after retrieving the pieces of egg shell.
Life Lesson 4: Not all people are gifted at all things. The art of egg-cracking is not well developed by all persons. This skill will not be on your SATs.
Beat in flour mixture and add chocolate morsels. The word “beat” is confusing to youth. Educate them to use a hand mixer safely, which includes how to turn it on and off slowly and never aiming it at your sibling.
Life Lesson 5: Chocolate is the most blissful thing God created. A voice came straight from the heavens and gave Mr. N. Tollhouse the recipe. True story.
Drop teaspoon dollops onto baking sheet. That size is not written in stone.
Life Lesson 6: Bigger is…just bigger. Decide what you like and go for it.
Bake for nine to 11 minutes. Make sure to watch the cookies so they don’t get burnt.
Life Lesson 7: Don’t sunbathe too long or often — you’ll get melanomas.
Remove cookies to wire racks to cool. Make sure to let the cookies cool off enough before eating.
Life Lesson 8: Cookie cooling is a difficult lesson in patience. While patience is a desirable quality, it’s impossible to teach preschoolers; so sometimes they just have to learn the hard way. Tip: Have cold milk on close standby for this lesson. It will usually put out the fire.
Stacey Hatton is an Overland Park RN and freelance writer. Her blog can be found at http://nursemommylaughs.com.
Posted on Tue, Jun. 29, 2010 10:15 PM
Tags: chocolate chip cookies, cracking an egg, KC Star, life lessons, Parenting, preschoolers
Posted in Kansas City Star, preschoolers | 2 Comments »
Written by nurse mommy on 23 June 2010
Father’s Day is such a special time at our household. Our girls adore their Daddy and wildly squeal, running with open arms for the “Daddy-sandwich-hug” every time he enters the house. The day needed to be special for him.
This year for Father’s Day weekend, my husband and I decided to take separate vacations. He had a boy’s trip that came together and my dear friend in sunny Florida wanted a play date. Grandparents were keen to it, so husband and I went to the airport and went our separate ways. Very enjoyable for the entire family and would recommend doing this if you can!
The only problem was that since, as you Mom’s know, we usually are the ones to get everything ready for vacations. I had to get the laundry done for all, pack the girls, pack myself, get food purchased for the children, write out the directions for grandparents, and in addition get all the gifts and cards ready for Father’s Day.
Needless to say, I ran out of time and guess what I didn’t do? Yes, that’s right – nary a gift or card for Father’s Day! I was to return home on Sunday bearing gifts and sentiments to not only my children’s father, but mine and my father-in-law who were all going to be attending a dinner together.
I left for Florida early Friday morning and started eyeballing potential gifts in various airport gift shops. Tacky, yes; but no one will ever claim I’m not practical! Unfortunately, no purchases. I’m pretty sure none of the fathers would have wanted a horseshoe-shaped travel neck pillow or a pink Atlanta t-shirt.
Then Florida swept me away…I slowly forgot about the men in my life and the presents I needed to provide. Come on, I was at a spa and poolside for the majority of my trip and you are supposed to “live” in the relaxing moment. You would have forgotten them too!
Vacation is almost over as Sunday morning approaches. I grab a very early coffee, take a once over at the hotel gift shop and proceed to the airport.
I will stop in Kansas City and get it all taken care of. Between the time the plane lands, I can shower, apply some makeup and Visine, and the drive an hour to the in-laws for the dinner celebration for the special men in our life. I can do this. I can do this! Move over Helen Reddy, I am woman, hear me roar!
Well, let’s say I got the grandfathers in attendance covered, but last minute I informed my hubby we were going to have his special celebration of Father’s Day on Monday. It wasn’t fair to just throw this together in such short time. This would give me all day on Monday to shop, find a card, make a nice meal and find my inner June Cleaver by 6:00PM. (He gets this 2 times a year: birthday and Father’s Day). SUCCESS!!
Now I thought when I mentioned to my girls that we weren’t going to give Daddy any gifts at the family party, they would throw a fit. They love parties and gift giving AND cards with hearts scrawled all over in pink and red crayons. But no tears?! No whining?!
Munchkin #1 said, “Mom, we will have a big surprise for Daddy tomorrow. Remember he doesn’t like pink cakes, but he DOES like ice cream sundaes with whipped cream and sprinkles!” That’s all it took for her. A promise that I would provide her Daddy with an ice cream extravaganza was the way she needed to celebrate her love for him.
Munchkin #2 said, “He needs a Princess and the Frog toy.” Interesting choice, but I obliged her. As he opened his gifts on Monday, he thanked his girls with all the gusto in the world because he truly is an exceptional father. With this action, he made his two preschool daughters feel as if they were both special and brilliant for their gift decisions. That’s why he needed a special party. Happy belated Father’s Day, Hubby!
©2010, Hatton. All rights reserved.
Tags: belated, Father's Day, preschoolers, separate vacations
Posted in Motherhood, preschoolers | Comments Off
Written by nurse mommy on 11 June 2010
This morning Munchkin #2 asked me to hurry back to “kill a bug” for her. I grabbed a flip-flop off the floor and a dish towel to be prepared for whatever was to be approached.
“Is it making a noise?” I ask.
Affirmative noise from child.
“Does it fly around?”
“Yes, Mama. It’s in the window.”
I spotted the intruder with the help of my three year old. It was a fly! Ah, my bug of choice. Dropping the flip-flop, I wrapped my dish towel around my hands like dental floss and took my warrior position. Then…THWAPP!!
“I nailed it!” Woo Hoo!
The fly was respectfully and carefully retrieved for his summer canoe trip down the river “Porcelain Grande.” But then much to my surprise, Munchkin #2 starts jumping up and down like a cheerleader, chanting wildly “Go, KU! Go, KU! Go, KU!” For those of you from outside the Midwest and not interested in basketball, interpretation…Kansas University, her parents’ Alma mater!
It’s truly splendid she’s retaining the important stuff! We’ll work out the details later…
Tags: flies, Kansas University humor, killing bugs, preschoolers
Posted in Funny Stories, preschoolers | Comments Off
Written by nurse mommy on 09 June 2010
I don’t know if it is because I am the mother of two young, passionate girls who have a flair for the drama, or if all parents experience this; but when does the whining STOP?! It is the #1 childhood characteristic which makes me want to go running for the hills with my husband’s noise canceling headphones suctioned to my ears, join a group of mute meditators who live in tree houses and sleep in hammocks while reading Walt Whitman. Not that I’ve ever thought this through before…
As a mom, I do let my emotions get me sometimes and inform the girls they need to stop whining at that exact moment. It unfortunately is a little louder request than I intend. Actually, the last time I lost it and pleaded for the whining to cease, they both stopped and started laughing. So I guess my loss of control worked in a backwards way. We all laughed and went on with our day.
As a nurse, however, I know better than that. I realize yelling at your child to stop whining does not work. The child is looking for a reaction from the adult and the yelling definitely counts as a reaction – a poor one, but a reaction.
There is a pretty successful way to cut out the majority of whining, but all caretakers need to be consistent with this method. When the child starts whining, calmly look at the child confused and say, “I just can’t understand you when you talk like that.” Treat the whining like they are speaking in Tongues or another language, and ask them to try it again so you can understand them. The only way this works is if you do this EVERY time a teensy whine comes through their lips. When the child changes her/his tone of voice to a more tolerable one, you can answer their question or help them out showing them praise with a smile, pat or hug.
This isn’t easy because it takes MUCH repetition and will-power from the parent, but you can do it. May the “whining poltergeists” in your home be exorcised with these few steps; and the darling, little sweeties return to your dinner table, their car-seats while traveling across town, and when passing the toy section at ANY store. It will make life much more pleasant – I promise!
©2010, Hatton. All rights reserved.
Tags: Parenting, preschoolers, toddlers, whining
Posted in Parenting Tips, Toddlers (1-2), preschoolers | 2 Comments »
Written by nurse mommy on 19 May 2010
Several years ago, we received a fabulous educational refrigerator musical magnet that’s purpose is to keep young children entertained and supervised while you need to prepare food. (The directions don’t state this, but it really is a no brainer.) The musical toy is recommended for infants who can sit up on their own and usually is appreciated up until toddlerhood.
Now we no longer have toddlers at our home. But at our house, we can’t quite donate this one to Goodwill yet. We have a tradition of when things get a little out of hand, as they often can with two preschoolers 14 months apart; we break out the Booty Dance. Never heard of this one?
When your kids misbehave, as you all know, you have to choose your battles. Is the offense so naughty that “time out” or the act of being sent to your room is necessary, or do you need a diversion tactic?
Sometimes we have to use a little discipline, but if you just want the behavior to stop and for the child to be redirected. Booty Dance Break.
This musical magnet has a button that when pressed will play a different upbeat farm type of song. At first the girls would just take turns hitting the button and then dance around in a circle in the kitchen grabbing the hands of anyone in the room. This then progressed to the same lead up, but then leaning over and shaking your booty and laughing until you couldn’t laugh anymore.
Now the girls have discovered if you place the magnet toy at the right height on the fridge door, you can run over, bump the button with your booty and then shake your hind quarters to your heart’s content!
I decided one day that if I joined them, I might be able to avoid putting myself in “timeout.” If we could cancel out some of the estrogen in the house by increasing the endorphins through exercise, music and laughter, life might be more peaceful at our wild and crazy house. We usually do this for about 15 minutes until the phrase “Mommy is tired!” is heard and then we all seem to get along better for the rest of the afternoon.
The Booty Dance Break is not going to teach children how to behave properly or be respectful. It will not solve all of your parenting issues, but it seems to work in my kitchen; and hopefully, when the girls get tall enough to be seen through the kitchen window dancing with their mother, the neighbors won’t think, “Those poor children! Their mother has been hitting the bottle again and it’s only noon!”
©2010, Hatton. All rights reserved
Tags: Children dancing, dance break, endorphins, preschoolers, refrigerator musical magnets
Posted in Motherhood, Parenting Tips, preschoolers | Comments Off
