Tot-School has begun!

Welcome back!!

As you can tell, I haven't been very good at staying up to date on the blog.  My family, grad school, and a very active toddler leaves me with little time to organize my thoughts on here.  Although resolutions are for New Year's I am starting again now.  I hope to become more regular with my posts and I am going to try to cover more topics than just my favorite little munchkin.  

If you have any ideas you would like me to cover or are interested in, please leave me a comment!

I am still at home with Makenzie every wonderful day and now that she is actively exploring EVERYTHING in sight I decided it was times to start the Crown Family Tot-School.  This is just my version of preschool at home. Although right now it is just Makenzie and I, one day I hope to expand and have more littles (not just more of my own kids) here learning and exploring with us.  Our family's schedule isn't your typical Monday-Friday work week with weekends off so I had to get creative when creating a tot-school schedule that even Ross could do when he is home with Makenzie. So as of right now our actual daily schedule is very, very flexible.  Hey, I am new at this homeschool thing.  Here is what our typical day looks like:

7:30am      Wake, potty, breakfast 
8:30am      Get dressed, free play
9:30am      Potty, theme concept activity, outside time (run the canal, look for ducks, feed  
                  the chickens/goats)
       **If we have to go grocery shopping or run any errands we do that first thing.
11:00am    Sensory play while I make lunch
11:30am    Lunch time, potty
12:00pm    Story
12:30pm    Nap time
3:00pm      Wake, potty, snack
3:30pm      Theme concept activity 
4:00pm      Potty, swim Lessons
5:15pm      Free play (inside or outside)
6:00pm      Dinner
7:00pm      clean up, Daddy time
7:30pm      Bath, potty, Get ready for bed 
8:00pm      Bed time.  

Again this is a very general schedule.  Because the weather is warming up now (finally!) we try to get outside as early as possible to do fun stuff and save indoor time for more focused activities since it is usually hot after nap time.  Swim lessons are not everyday and it really depends if Ross is home whether we have somewhere to be or if we can stay and 'play'. 

I have planned themes for each month from June 2015 - May 2016.  We started this month with OCEAN because we knew we will be going on a few trips to the Aquarium and the beach.  (I hope to write a wrap-up post at the end of each theme summarizing what I planned, what we did, and what Makenzie loved). 

Next month's theme is America & The Great Outdoors. We have a camping trip planned as well as a few other mini vacations to explore. 

Other themes we will cover over the next several months are nursery rhymes, my body, 5 senses, The Farm & Farm Animals, Fall,  Winter.  

A few other things we will cover in our tot-school are stories from the bible, new finger plays and songs, cooking projects, science fun, and even memory versus.  I love thematic curriculum planning so you will notice the activities, trips, snacks, and stories we do will somehow be related to the current theme we are learning about.  Our trip to the Aquarium last week was the perfect way to start our Ocean theme, it really got Makenzie fired up about "fishies" and the ocean.     

Pinterest is a great resource for homeschool ideas and for free print-ables. Here are a few of my favorite websites so far.  
Welcome to Mommyhood
Preschool Post
Fantastic Fun & Learning


I hope you are all having a wonderful start to SUMMER!!!

God Bless You,

~ miss Kasie ~

I'm back!

I know, I know.  It seems like forever since my last post.  I am sure you can understand that life just gets, well, busy.  Here's a a quick update.

New year means new family photo
(top row: Auntie Ky, Tia Jessie, 'dada'; bottom row: Vavo, Makenzie, 'momma')

• Makenzie is almost 18months old already. (more on her below)
• Ross is working as usual and a little LOT more OT. 
• I am back working on my MA in Early Childhood Education.  I have two courses left.  Graduation should be December of this year!!!  I think the ceremony is in June of 2016 though.
• I also recently became a Wellness Advocate for doTerra.  I just received my own Home Essential Oils kit and already I love using them.  If you have any questions feel free to contact me kcrown22@gmail.com

"swing"

What's in store for the Crown Family in 2015...

• Several fun runs with Makenzie in tow in her new gigantic jogger.
• Ross goes to Bachelor party at spring training.
• Family trip to Seattle for a good friend's wedding followed by a pit stop in Idaho to visit Grandma and Grandpa (hopefully that works out).
• Kasie attends a Positive Discipline workshop and becomes a certified trainer.
• Annual Camping trip.
• Kasie delivers first Positive Discipline workshop for preschool teachers as Cognate Project for grad school.
• Makenzie turns 2!!! (what?)
• Kasie finishes grad school!

These are just what we have penciled in on our own calendar but the good Lord may have many others to share with us later.  

What are you and your families planning for 2015?

Makenzie update...

approximately 18 months

over 20lbs

just under 30 inches tall

RUNNING!

talking our ears off

learning 4 languages (uses 3 of them)

vocabulary of about 75-85 words

loves "bach, bachs" (chickens) & booty (pirate's booty)

runs to the bathroom to go "boo poo" or "pay, pee" or "poddy"

wears pigtails 

eats with fork & spoon "most" of the time

cousin AMANDA is her "person"

favorite words: "aqua", "mas", "all nun" (all done, no thank you, stop), "ups" (up please)

JOY

She was an octopus for Halloween!

new balancing skills

Christmas Shades

Momma's #1 helper in the kitchen

My blogging resolution this year is to post one blog post each month on the following topics:

1. Makenzie

2. Our family's adventures throughout the year

3. Cooking (recipes, both new and old)

4. doTerra Essential oils and the ways we use them in our home

5. Crafting (My goal is to complete one project each month)

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are enjoying a great start to the new year!  

Many Blessings, 

~ miss kasie ~