No Regrets

I recently read an article about the top five things that people regret at the end of their lives.  I started thinking about what I will regret - not at the end of my life, but at the end of "my time" with my kids. They are at home with me now, and before I know it they will be going to kindergarten, then prom, college, and off into the world!  I have five foundational years to really invest in my kids' lives. At the end of these years, I would regret it if I hadn't taught them these truths:

1. God is real and in every part of our lives.  I hope that my children now God, and His Son Jesus, and have learned how He is in everything.
2. You are important, special, and loved.  There are so many distractions that take me away from my kids - are they needed?  I want this to be quality time that teaches them they are worth the investment. 
3. It is not about success; it is about effort.  I hope to teach my kids the value of working hard, and not being afraid of failure.
4. Obedience must be immediate.  The phrase "listen and obey" is repeated often in our home. My children need to recognize and submit to appropriate authority.
5. People are more important than things.  When they fight over toys or when I yell because they broke an objet, it can send the message that the toy or object is more important than the relationship.. which is not the message I want the kids to take away. They are always more important.

What is on your list? What things do you want to teach your children before they leave your home? How can you work now to ensure that you are left with no regrets??

Someone turned 3 this week!

On February 27, Marc turned 3 years old.  I can hardly believe it! He is acting so much older - showing new levels of understanding but still the same sweet, tender-hearted boy.  Since his birthday fell on a Wednesday, we went to playgroup and celebrated with all of his friends there.  Here are some pictures from our morning fun.

 My son is playing with the toy kitchen, my daughter is playing with the car port! 

 We don't do stereotypes in this family. ;)

During circle time, Marc was really into singing the songs and acting out the motions!

 After circle time (songs and storytime) we head to the tables for a snack.  Marc is sitting with all of his best buddies.  We brought cupcakes for all of the kids.

 The little boy in the striped polo shirt, Cade, turned 4 on the 28th, so we brought him a candle for his cupcake, too! (Marc loves Mickey Mouse...)

Marc was so excited about the snack (banana bread) that he was chowing down while everyone else sang "Happy Birthday"to him.  At least Marc took a break to blow out his candle like a champ. ;)

Happy 3rd Birthday, Marc! You bring so much joy to our lives!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

We LOVE playgroup crafts!

Tomorrow we are reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar at playgroup and found LOTS of fun craft ideas on Pinterest to try out.  I opted to try two of them - both with paint, but one using your toddler's hands, and the other your toddler's feet.  

Marc and I tried out the hand craft first - creating a caterpillar out of Marc's hands.  He had a lot fun painting his hand and stamping the page - but this was very mom-intensive to keep it from getting too messy.. perhaps I wouldn't have been too worried about the paint if I put down newspapers or something to protect the floor.

We thought this caterpillar was SUPER cute.. even though Marc got over-zealous with the hand stamping and created a hump-back caterpillar.  Oh well, we still love it!

Verdict: This craft is possible to replicate at playgroup - but will need some serious guidance from adults. It is quick and a fun way to remember the story.

The Caterpillar Foot craft was a little more involved..

Marc laughed as I tickled his tows with the paint brush - and didn't quite understand what was going on when we placed his toes on the paper (there was a lot of paint, so we made several caterpillars). I definitely could have explained what we were doing better to him!  Marc really enjoyed this- and wanted to do it to his baby sister, Emmalyn, as well.. :) She definitely had no clue what was going on!

While we waited for the toe caterpillars to dry, Marc and I had fun painting leaves and fruit for the caterpillars to eat. 

Then I helped him paint the faces and feet on the caterpillars...

...and we continued to paint while we let it all dry.

Then I let him practice cutting while I cut out the caterpillars, fruit and leaves - pulled out the hole punch and then put it all together on another piece of paper.

Verdict: This craft was way too involved for a toddler - so finding a simpler way to reproduce it at playgroup will be necessary.  Having paper with fruit or leaves already on it to let the kids color and then using paint or a stamp to put the toes on and draw the face and feet would make it do-able.  

Looking forward to sharing this one tomorrow!

Are You My Mother?

The Seoul International Playgroup has resumed for the school year, with a new format. The leadership team is taking turns planning and leading playgroup to allow for mom's to miss when needed (kid is sick, appointment, etc).

Playgroup usually follows this pattern:
Free Play
Welcome Song
Circle time (Bible verse, songs, story time)
Snack
Free Play
Craft
Free Play
Clean up

We try to coordinate the activities for the day - usually surrounding whatever book we have chosen to read.

Today was my first playgroup of the year - and my first time to lead the group. We read the book, "Are You My Mother"- and did a bird nest craft to go along with it.  Thank-you, Pintrest, for your unfailing supply of craft ideas.

To prepare, I drew a picture of a Mother bird and a baby bird on thick (cardboard) material and cut it out.  I then traced it onto other colored pages (you could have older toddlers/preschoolers do this!) and cut them out so they would be ready to use.  Using a paper cutter, I cut thin strips of brown construction paper and then further cut them down to a fourth of the length of the paper to make twigs for the birds nest.  

Marc had a great time using a glue stick on the paper plate, placing the "nest" material on the plate -he opted out of the brown "twigs" - and then putting the baby bird in the nest with the mommy.

Of course, it was not complete until he colored the birds.  

This craft was so easy to do and the final product is so cute!  Marc was so proud of his handiwork that it was the first thing he showed his Daddy when he came home from work.

 We are looking forward to more fun crafts to come!