We had a big transition here today. It may not seem big to you, but it was a big deal to a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old. Today was preschool storytime at the library. I took Skylar and JonDavid, but not Jacob. He has had a hard time accepting that he would not be going to storytime anymore. We had already talked to him about it, and had a plan for what he was going to do while I took Skylar. But he still cried a little this morning when it came time to go. And, Skylar cried because she wanted Jacob to go. She has never gone to storytime without him, and she is used to relying on him and following his lead in many ways. I assured her that she would be fine, that Mom and JonDavid would be there, and that it was time for her to be a good big sister and show JonDavid how to act at storytime. We reminded Jacob that he was in kindergarten now, not preschool anymore, and that he was going to have a special science class with Daddy during that time. We have had the book for the science lessons for a while now, and I could tell he was torn because he has been eagerly anticipating the start of those lessons. I knew that both of them would be fine if we could just get them through this first transition day.

Well, Skylar did very well at the library on her own. When we got home, I was not even out of the car before Jacob was on the porch talking about what he had done while I was gone. He was so excited to show me what he had learned. I was really happy to see that excitement and know that we were doing the right thing. My husband is doing a study of the human body with Jacob, and today they learned about the brain and spinal cord. They traced Jacob’s body onto paper and hung it up on his door. As they study different parts of the body, they will put pictures of those parts onto the poster. They are also making a book about the body. Jacob proudly showed me the picture of the brain and spinal cord that is on his poster, and explained what he had learned. He also read the page they wrote in the book about the cerebrum, cerebellum, and spinal cord, and he studied it on his own several times throughout the rest of the day. All is well!

Change is hard for anybody, but it is especially difficult for children who find security in routines. Change is part of life, though, and we must help our children learn how to handle it. Kids can be flexible, but sometimes the flexing hurts a little! Once we help them go through with it, they will be OK. In fact, in this situation, they will be better off after going through it. Jacob had fun at storytime, but he has definitely outgrown it. He will get much more out of the good science lessons that his Dad does with him, and it will be good for the two of them to have some time together, as well. It is good for Skylar to break away from Jacob a bit and do something on her own. With some encouragement and reassurance, they can handle the change and enjoy what is on the other side.

Just because a 5-year-old can brush his own teeth and can read does not mean that he will actually read what is on a tube before he puts it on his toothbrush. Last night, Jacob went in to brush his teeth. Usually I put the toothpaste on the kids’ toothbrushes, mainly so they will not get too much. However, Jacob was anxious to get his teeth brushed because he wanted to use the new “Smart Rinse” mouthwash that we bought for him (thank you TV commercials). So, he went in and fixed his own toothbrush. I walked up to the bathroom door and caught a glimpse of his toothbrush just as he was about to put it in his mouth. “Whoa! Let me see that,” I said. The thin, solid white line did not look like Aquafresh…and it wasn’t. I asked him what he put on there, and he handed me a tube. He had put hydrocortisone cream on his toothbrush! I told him what it was, got him out a new toothbrush, and put on the appropriate amount of toothpaste. I guess I’ll keep fixing toothbrushes for a while!

I really like fall! I enjoy the weather, the bright blue skies, and the colors. We spent today celebrating the first day of fall. We started by making apple cinnamon pancakes and bacon for our “first day of fall breakfast.” We used apples from our own apple tree. While we were making the pancakes, the kids and I talked about harvesting and about how we know when the first day of fall is (the autumn equinox–the same amount of daylight and darkness). Last night I made a poster with a fall poem and put it up on our whiteboard (you can see this in the pictures at the bottom of this post). Jacob read the poem, and we talked about what each line meant and what happens during the fall season. We then made a trip to the library and found a few books about fall.

Finally we did an art activity and talked more about fall leaves. I printed out this tree trunk, which is part of the material that is free at KinderPlans.com. The poems are there, as well. The kids colored the tree trunk, added grass and sky, and glued on the poem which I had already printed and cut out. Then they cut pieces of construction paper and glued or taped them on as leaves. We used green, brown, orange, red, and yellow paper.

Here are some pictures…you can click on the picture here to see a larger version. Happy fall everyone!

We have been working on learning the days of the week and the months of the year. I found some songs to help us with the memorization. The kids really like singing these, and it adds a little music into our lessons.

Months of the Year
(to the tune of “Ten Little Indians”)

January, February, March, and April,
May, June, July, August, and September,
October, November, and December,
These are the months of the year.

Days of the Week
(to the tune of “The Addams Family”)

Days of the week, (snap snap)
Days of the week, (snap snap)
Days of the week,
Days of the week,
Days of the week. (snap snap)
There’s Sunday and there’s Monday,
There’s Tuesday and there’s Wednesday,
There’s Thursday and there’s Friday,
And then there’s Saturday.
Days of the week, (snap snap)
Days of the week, (snap snap)
Days of the week,
Days of the week,
Days of the week. (snap snap)

These songs and more are found at CanTeach.

I must write about Sarah Palin. I have tried to restrain myself, since this is not a political blog, but my self-control is finally exhausted. Choosing the leadership of our country is important to our lives and the lives of our children. So, here goes…

From the response of journalists and the Obama campaign recently, you would think that Governor Sarah Palin is running for President. The attention she has gained has been amazing to me, and the energy she has brought to the campaign has been refreshing. It also explains why some seem to dislike her so much.

The addition of a woman to the ticket is supposedly aimed at attracting women voters. Now, I am not saying that there is no desire on the part of the McCain campaign to attract more women voters. However, I also think that they realize that most women and most Americans do not vote for someone just because of gender. At least, I like to think that is the case. I am not so shallow as to cast my vote for someone just because we are the same gender. I vote based on issues, and I hope you do, too. I will be voting for John McCain (by the way, he IS the one running for President) and Sarah Palin because I agree with them on many things. I am in support of drilling for more American oil and telling OPEC to take a hike. I believe in a strong national defense, which I fear Senator Obama will undermine. I believe in handling the Iraq war in a responsible way, and I have absolutely no confidence that Senator Obama can do that. I believe that John McCain or Sarah Palin will appoint conservative judges who will hold to a strict interpretation of the Constitution instead of twisting it to push their own agendas. I believe that babies should be protected whether in the womb, partially out of the womb, or completely out of the womb. I believe in smaller government that works for the people and keeps its nose out of our personal lives and business. These are just a few of the things that come to mind as I think about reasons for supporting McCain/Palin.

The real humor that I find in this situation is the conundrum in which the feminists find themselves. This is their worst nightmare: a woman on the ticket for Vice-President, who actually has a good chance of winning, but who is solidly conservative. Apparently instead of having to answer to men about what we believe, we women are supposed to answer to the feminists and the National Organization for Women. Women have fought for the right to vote, and for the right to choose what they want to do and be. It seems that when we have come to a point where I can choose to be a stay at home mom, and Sarah Palin can choose to be Vice-President of the United States, we have a pretty good range of choices available. But you see, that is not really their goal. Their goal is to tell women what they should choose to be and do and believe.

Gloria Steinem, in her article in the Los Angeles Times, says, “Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Clinton.” That is true, and I imagine that Sarah Palin takes that as a compliment!

Then we have Andrea Mitchell, who apparently is more educated and sophisticated than the rest of us, who said, “She is not appealing to the same women who were really voting or supporting Hillary Clinton on ideological issues but they think that they can peel off some of these working class women, not college educated, who, the blue collar women who were voting for Hillary Clinton and may be more conservative on social causes.” Wait a minute…I am college educated, and she appeals to me! I guess I forgot to consult Andrea before I decided how to vote. What an insult to working women, who, according to Andrea, just aren’t smart enough to know they should vote for Barak Obama.

And here is the best one I’ve seen:
“A spokeswoman for the National Organization for Women, noting Palin’s opposition to abortion rights and support of other parts of the social conservative agenda, told Politico, ‘She’s more a conservative man than she is a woman on women’s issues. Very disappointing.’”

More a man than a woman? Really? Let me tell you something; someone who lives in Alaska, gives birth to 5 children, and becomes governor of the state is more of a woman than any member of NOW will ever be. I thought I was good because I can nurse and type emails at the same time. This woman nurses while doing teleconferences! But you see the point…because she disagrees with Steinem and the NOW crowd, she is not really a woman. And I thought we were supposed to think for ourselves…

Here is a video of JonDavid crawling. He can go pretty fast now!