Susan....

I wish I could sew...I don't know how to use a sewing machine so I hand stitch everything which takes FOREVER so nothing gets finished.....

I envy you your sewing talents...

I love fabric too...I used to buy fat quarters all the time! I have so much but never use it!

the diapers and lsing etc sound fab!

Themes...

I like themes...I'm a theme gal!!! When I homeschooled I always used themes...sometimes they were to do with the day/ special events and celebrations....sometimes books.....sometimes trips or places......sometimes season or month....

I think I will be the same with the preschool.

Themes I have planned (and this list is not complete and not in order) are:

Olympics (because of the 2008's in Beijing)
The Gingerbread Man
The Three Little Pigs
Bees and Bugs
Butterflies
Ants
Chinese New Year
Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday)
Halloween
Christmas
Thanksgiving
Food
Birds around us
Hummingbirds (of course lol!!!!)
Colours
Numbers
Our community
Snow
The Moon
Frogs and Tadpoles

I plan to have a magic bag or box......something I take every day and it has a different surprise in it each time...something to show them during circle time....it could have anything in it from an ant farm to a wasp nest to a picture to a piece of animal fur......a chrysalis....a baby chick.......chopsticks...gemstones.....

This year they had 'top banana' where the children took in a special toy or item to show but the whole thing didn't seem to work very well.....so I want to rethink that! I do want to give each child the chance to be special for a day.....but I''m to sure how yet...all I know is I want to do something different.

The preschool is right by the fire station and one of the Dads is a fireman so we can go and see the fire station or have them bring a fire truck to us...the guy who runs the hall drives a school bus and is happy to drive us anywhere locally for a field trip...they've said that so long as there are no animal allergies, then I can even take Charlie along to show them one day.........maybe when we do the three little pigs!

I'm going to grow egg heads with them - where we draw faces on empty upside down egg shells and then grow cress inside the heads like hair!

In the Olympics week we can have our own mini sports day with bean bag throwing contests and little races and obstacle courses and they can each 'win' a medal :) We can learn about the colours bronze silver and gold. Look at Beijing on the globe......

With bees we can invite a local beekeeper (there are several around here) and maybe try honey or look at honeycomb.....maybe they can bring their protective gear to show the children.....

I'm rambling....so uh yeah...I've been planning...obsessively...but thats how I am ;)

The Money Pit....

Lloyd jokes (well kind of jokes) about this house being the money pit like in the movie! It's not QUITE that bad but its getting close lol!

The water guy came over today - he is super nice and so great at explaining things and he talks to ME....explains things to ME which is always a good thing....

He tested our new water and basically we have soooo much salt in it because its 330 ft down....he says the deeper into the earth you go the more salt there is...our water is BEYOND reverse osmosis (GULP Val!!!) and he says the salt would just block that system up very fast....so he recommended a distiller which basically continually boils the water and gets rid of the salt and then pumps it up to a special tap for drinking water. So we are getting a Polar Bear Distiller next Wednesday and then we will ahve PERFECT drinking water....he did say that the salt in the hot water is GREAT for doing laundry and will make the washing nice and white....and luckily the animals water comes from the old well so they won't be getting the salty water and neither will my vegetable garden!

So he may well be here when we get back from the airport next week!

Oh...and Chris is sleeping over at his friends tonight....supposedly staying over to work on a homework project tonight!!!! I haven't told Lloyd yet - he won't approve on a school night!

Tomorrow Laurie won't be coming home as he is going back to a friends house on the bus for a birthday sleepover...his friend has been given fireworks for his birthday gift!!!! WHO the HELL gives their kid fireworks for a gift??? I don't mean as a display but to kind of PLAY WITH?????? I have given Laurie strict instructions of what NOT to do.......so now I have to trust him to do the right thing!!!

The obsessing continues....

Yep I can't stop thinking about this new job. I have day one planned....don't laugh! Yes I know we only stoped for summer today but....you can never be too prepared!!! :)

Day one will focus around the book The Kissing Hand......at circle time I will tell a 'short version' of the story for the little ones who can't sit still for that long! Each child will be given a heart shaped sticker on their hand so if they miss Mom/ Dad/ caregiver, they can hold their hand to their cheek :)

There will be a counting activity where they will raw around their hands and then see how many Hershey's kisses they can fit in their hand! There will be raccoon and heart pictures to colour during free play. there is also a number match game based on the book that I can have on the table during free play.

If I can find a heart in hand cookie cutter I may make cookies for each of them....

I have a little boy who needs tactile/ scented activities....to go along with the story....so I thought the Kissing Hand would be good because his assistant can kiss his hand and hold it to his cheek...he can use his scented markers and someone can draw around his hand which will be tactile and he can hold and smell the hersheys kisses.....I can find a raccoon puppet that he can feel. If I tell his Mom which book we are reading when, she can create a box filled with things for him to go along with the story.

So yes.....that will be our theme for the first day! We will still have free play...show and tell (the raccoon puppet and I will have three facts about raccoons to share....simple things for them to remember...and we can talk about black and white....and then I can 'introduce' all the children to each other by saying their name and asking them their favourite colour.

If the weather is good we can play outside......and I want to introduce them to the new goodbye song!

Of course they will be excited/ scared/ energetic/ unsure......and so I am totally flexible about how much time is spent doing what and if we need to skip some activities etc...but this is my theme for day one.

Tara - I may well borrow some of those books from you - thank you so much!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TANYA!!!!!

HUGE Happy Birthday wishes to Tanya who turns 'almost 30' today!!!

She's almost 30 and is dreading 30!!!! I keep telling her I am LOVING my thirties - best time of my life :) Nothing to be afraid of :) the only downside is that they go too fast!

Happy Birthday Mommaspaz :) Have a great evening with your sleep, chocolate and sex!!!

lol!

More exciting news!

Lloyd was at lunch today with a guy who wants to hire Lloyds company to test their software....they've been talking about it for a long while....

Anyway, this software company can't afford Lloyds hourly rate BUT they have offered him a LARGE amount of shares in the company instead if he takes on the contract! Also they are sponsoring a big convention in Whistler in October and have invited Lloyd along!!! And best of all, they have invited the whole family!!!!! How cool is that?????

So we need to talk over whether it is worth it to Lloyd to take the contract with the shares instead of pay...and the trip too......also it would mean me taking a week off in October.......

Quite exciting.....and the convention will be an ideal place for Lloyd to meet Provincial Government people from across Canada..businesses etc that could all use his company....

Oh and a friend of ours is flying out next week from Newfoundland to speak to Lloyd ...they want him to do some work for them too...so Lloyd may be implementing things over there too :)

Very exciting things happening at the moment....my head hurts from it all! What happened to my nice slow quiet life???????

plans change again.......

A car pulled up....I thought it was the water guy who was coming to test the water for levels of iron, sodium, chlorine etc etc......but now....the children step out of the car and come running in....their friends Mom had taken pity on them and dropped them home (seemed cruel for them to walk from the corner of the road?????????) So Laurie came inside...and Susie and Chris went back to their friends home where they are staying for supper and being dropped home at 7pm.......so there are just the 5 of us for supper tonight!

Sam is fast asleep...

Oh and Susie is the opening number at the talent show tomorrow at school...she is singing 'Oh Canada' solo! She's very excited :)

No idea what to make for dinner - and with only 5 of us here maybe we will make it a junk food night and have toasted sandwiches or something......Lloyd ate out at lunchtime so he won't mind!

Goodbye preschool....

Abigail said goodbye to all her friends today.....here are some pictures...Abigail with Teacher Debbie (left) and Teacher Darlene (right)....Abby with her class......Abby with some friends (the Daughters of the Mom I will be working with) and Abby with her special friend (Teacher Debbies Son)

New blog.....

My friend Val started her own blog :) I am so happy :) Its a great blog too.....but its private so I can't link to it :) so I'm keeping it to myself selfishly :)

Keep blogging Val :)

Tea time...

You know, I really think I need a nice cup of tea! Off to put the kettle on!

Sharon!!

Is the new little one yours??? Or a dayhome child????

S has done grade 2????? OMG!!! Does she still have all that amazing hair???? Would you email me a picture? I'd love to see her and E!!!! I always look around for girls with big hair lol - just in case its S...she's so beautiful!

My head is spinning....

I am feeling really emotional and kind of overwhelmed by everything right now......I feel like I could cry and I have no idea why! I'm happy, sad, confused, excited...unsure, OMG everything!

Abigail finished preschool today. She is no longer a preschooler. We had a big year-end picnic and watched a slideshow of their trip to the goat farm last week. It was a lovely morning and sad that she is saying goodbye to her teachers and friends as many won't eb going to school with her - I think maybe two from her class will be in her kindergarten class.

So I am excited for Abigails new adventure into school...sad that she is growing up too fast.......

But on top of this, I have come hoem with the keys to the hall, boxes of folders and files to go through for preschool....a preschool instructors shirt and neck thingy to hang keys/ whistle on!

I guess then its official - I am the new preschool teacher! Yet I STILL have not talked to the lady in charge! But I have the keys!!!!!

My Assist will be Amanda - another of the Moms from preschool..we've volunteered together before and she is going to come over and have some planning sessions with me before September - I think we'd both like to be a little more organized...'

There is a little guy in the class with mobility issues...he is also blind and hs seizures.....and we spent time talking to his Mom today and asking what she needs from us as his teachers....it was a really interesting conversation! Abigail says he is 'cute' ;)

Then...with all this in mind, a lady comes over to me and asks if I am interested in working full time! Did I want the job of preschool teacher in New Sarepta????!!!!!!

Yikes! It would be Monday and Wednesday all day.......

So she has taken my number and someone will call me....I will only do it if they pay for Abigail and Sams places in the class because Abby won't have school those days so I will have both of them with me.....

I don't really believe what is happening you know and I'm not sure if I WANT to work that much...the plan was that I wouldn't work...Lloyd wanted me at home with the children (which I love!) and then when Sam is at school he was hoping I'd write my book....or I could get a part time job or something for me......but I guess if Sam and Abby are with me, then I'm still at home with them right? But will this be too much? Will Abigail and Sam get fed up with being in preschool every day?

I think I need a diary...maybe Lloyd can get me one from work..I think I need to look at dates and days...

Maybe working through the renovations on the house will be a good thing.....four days away from the chaos every week....and the pay would mean we'd be able to have a fabby holiday in Florida...

Its so weird...I was NOT planning on working for a few years...I was NOT looking for a job...and now I am having jobs thrown at me! What should I do?????? Wah!!! I'm not sure what to do....how much to do.......how much to take on......

Anyway, I am sat here wearing my band thingy around my neck with my keys on it and a tag that say 'instructor'......and thats exciting :)