Bubble Wrap Painting! A perfect project for toddlers

I saw a great idea the other day for using bubble wrap to paint. I had never even thought of this on my own. However, when I saw it, I then googled it some more and saw what pretty prints bubble wrap can make when used to paint.  This week, we are talking to our toddlers about things we can touch and exploring different textures. So, I thought it would be a great idea for them.

The project is so simple to prepare and so easy for toddlers to do. First, you simply cut bubble wrap into small squares (probably about 5 inches X 5 inches or so). I did not measure it. I just eyeballed it. Then, form it into a ball with the bubbles facing the outside and tape it up.

It is small and easy for a toddler to hold.  Then, you can really use anything nontoxic for paint.  You can make your own edible finger paints; I was fortunate to have enough (safe for toddlers) paint at my disposal.  

Put a small amount in a shallow dish or on a cup. Give the child the bubble wrap ball and allow him/her to dip it in the paint and then press it on the paper.

I had to show Gordon Lee to put it on the paper as his first instinct was to put it in his mouth. However, he had just eaten and found it much more fun to make "bubbles" on his paper.

Gordon Lee had a blast with it and did not want to stop. Here is his final product (complete with a handprint so we know it is his).

A King Yet a Servant

I can hardly believe how long it has been since I last wrote a blog.  Simply put, my brain was void of ideas, so I just didn't write.

Yet, for the last 2 weeks at least, there has been one prominent thought appearing everywhere in my life.  And I feel compelled to share it.   As many people know, I have chosen to work with preschoolers and most people think I'm insane for doing so. 
"Why don't you go back to the school system?"
"Maybe you can teach at a community college."
and then the perfectly blunt question "Why in the world are you doing this?"

And my answer "Because right now it makes the most sense."

And there is so much pressure everywhere for people to look down on me as if I am a nobody.  Or for people to view me as somehow cheating myself. But why?

What is success? It is what the world has deemed it to be. And since the world doesn't view my job as successful it is therefore nothing and should be beneath me. The idea is that just anybody can do it.

But the thing is that I feel like I'm doing the right thing where I am.  How is it nothing to be responsible for shaping the lives of children in their most formative and critical years? 

We had a training last Saturday where one of the teachers who works with me remarked that she is tired of this being such a thankless job.  She shared a story about a parent who saw her purse and asked her how she could afford a purse like that! She was astonished that the parent really looked down on her that much.  But while I think of the job I do, I see it this way.  If I am doing what God wants me to do, then I don't need any worldly praise or recognition of any kind.

I could very well be beyond "successful," admired by all, and not be serving the Lord. I'll take the former.

On top of all of that, I keep thinking about Jesus.  This is the Lord himself, choosing to be a nobody.  CHOOSING to allow people to look down on him. And this is because he wasn't living for here and now. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” (John 18:36)

And last week in church, we sang a beautiful hymn reminding me of my purpose in this life.
Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love,
show us how to serve
the neighbors we have from you.

Kneels at the feet of his friends,
silently washes their feet,
master who acts as a slave to them.

Neighbors are rich and poor,
varied in color and race,
neighbors are near and far away.

These are the ones we should serve,
these are the ones we should love;
all these are neighbors to us and you.

Loving puts us on our knees,
serving as though we are slaves;
this is the way we should live with you.

Kneel at the feet of our friends,
silently washing their feet;
this is the way we should live with you.

Gordon Lee at 16 months

I haven't done an update on Gordon Lee in quite some time, so I figured today would be good to catch everyone up with a comprehensive look at his latest developments! :)

On Thursday, Gordon Lee will be 16 months old! It feels like time is flying by.

As far as language goes, he says
Mama/Mommy
Dada/Daddy
Baba
Bubble
Shoe & Shoes
Ball
Dog/Doggie
Outside
Nana (for banana)
Hey/Hi
No
Yeah

He also does sign language.
He does signs for
More
Milk
Eat and
Please

Every now and then he strings two words together.  He has said
Dada shoes (when looking at Lee's shoes)
and "A shoe"

If you can't tell, he is very into shoes! It's his favorite word to say and he says it all the time!

He is almost always rattling off something in his own gibberish!

If you say "dance" he will start dancing around the room or around in circles.  If he hears a song he likes, he will either dance to it or clap to it.

He prefers his Daddy over his Mommy (which makes me kind of jealous).  But he just loves his Daddy to pieces! He loves me too, but he is crazy about his Daddy.  He is interested in WHATEVER Daddy is doing!

He is also going through quite a lot of physical developments. He climbs a lot! He can climb out of his crib now, and he wasn't shy about showing me how he did it. He grabs onto the top rail with his hands and does a spiderman move with his feet on the bars and hoists himself out.  However, for now, we have moved the crib so he can't get out (it hasn't stopped him from trying though).

He loves to climb onto the furniture, and he does not like to be excluded from ANYTHING! On Halloween night, he threw a fit if he missed even 1 trick or treater at the door. So, we took him out on the front porch in a wagon and let him pass out candy. He had so much fun doing that!

He can unbuckle the top buckle of his carseat.  Thankfully, he has left it alone recently as he has discovered unbuckling one part of the carseat is not enough to get out.

He tries to put his socks and shoes on, and he also tries to put socks and shoes on our feet (even if we are already wearing them).

Recently, he has become very unhappy if he has a wet or dirty diaper and wants to be changed immediately. I am happy about this because it's a good sign that I can potty train him soon.

Gordon Lee also follows simple commands like "Sit down" "Lay down" "Bring (named object) to Mommy, Daddy, etc." Nap time has become very simple with him.  I only have to tell him to "lay down," cover him with a blanket, and he will fall asleep in a few minutes.

He is becoming increasingly interested in feeding himself and will now refuse to eat sometimes unless I let him feed himself.  He has not only been interested in using the fork or spoon but he wants to scoop the food up himself. 

He also still loves playing with blocks, and he is now making an effort at stacking blocks of similar size/shape.

He is a very happy baby most of the time.  He even has just cut his first molar and didn't even lose sleep at night over it! :) I am truly thankful for Gordon Lee!

The Story of Toto

All weekend long, Gordon Lee had been oscillating between acting healthy and sick. He would have a temperature and then it would go away only to come back again. He seemed to be losing his appetite, and I was somewhat concerned that perhaps he was developing a bug.  However, in spite of all of this, he seemed to have no trouble happily running laps around the yard and house.  On Monday morning, he was acting just fine with no fever.  Well, by that early evening, he was sick.  He had a fever and was vomiting.  He projectile vomited all over the backseat of my car (that was the first time I've witnessed projectile vomit and I hope it will be the last).  I felt so bad for the poor guy.  

The next morning, he wasn't doing much better.  So, I took the day off of work to take him to the doctor. (As it turns out, he had postnasal drip that made his tummy sick, but that is beside the point of this post..all of this is just introductory info).

Since I was feeling just fine and Gordon Lee wasn't too bad off, I decided to make a short trip to Kohls to make a return. I had the amount of my returned item placed on a Kohls gift card.  When I was finishing my shopping trip, I had roughly calculated the amount of items in my cart and realized I still had about $5 left to spend.

I made my way to the checkout line and saw this adorable puppy sitting on a shelf staring at us.

A few thoughts went through my mind.

1.) My little boy is feeling sick. It might be nice to buy him a little special something to cuddle.

2.) 100% of the proceeds go to helping sick children in the children's hospital. I am so thankful my son is only sick temporarily and not in a hospital. I think I should perhaps show my appreciation for that.

3.) This dog is exactly $5 and that is about the amount I have left to spend.

So, what do you think I did?

Of course I bought him.

Gordon Lee loved him and held onto him tightly in his carseat. He is now wanting to take Toto into his crib with him to sleep (the first stuffed animal he has ever wanted to bring into his crib).

And when I look at Toto, I think "Thank you, Lord, for my healthy child."

Pride and Humility

Disclaimer: This blog is purely covering what I have been learning in terms of Christianity. 


Sometimes, my week has a theme or a "lesson" in it.  I will see or hear the same things repeatedly until I can't ignore the lesson I need to learn. And it's funny how it always starts with one little thing.  Then, it just shows up everywhere in my life. Because of this, I feel like I have to blog about it. 


It's the whole "LOOK at ME" conundrum.


I do believe that we all like to feel good about ourselves. We like to feel as though we're doing things right. And there is a sense of accomplishment when someone else or something else confirms for us that we are. But there is a fine line here. It's the line between doing something right because it is right and doing something right so that we can boast about it.


"May I never boast except in the cross..." says Paul in Galatians. I feel like it is so easy to boast or brag. I think almost everyone can remember a kid in their class growing up who not only excelled at what they did, but that kid also gloated about it.  Nobody liked that kid. For anyone familiar with the show The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon Cooper is that kid. While he is amusing on television, nobody likes a person that arrogant in real life.  Because giving yourself accolades for what you do is like popping a balloon. Nobody really cares then.


But what I have been noticing is even deeper than that. Giving is a good thing, right? I think we should be generous and charitable. Can giving be a bad thing, though? How can giving to people be bad? Ultimately, the act in and of itself ends up benefitting somebody.  So, I wouldn't say it is horribly bad. But the error in being charitable is when we make a scene out of it. We should give because we give--whether or not anybody says "thank you," whether or not anybody takes a picture, whether or not anybody anywhere even knows. 


And this is why Jesus himself says in Matthew 6:1-3 "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so your giving may be in secret."


Why would Jesus want us to give in secret? Because we are prone to stroking our own egos. We are prone to bragging about our "righteous acts." If my heart is truly generous, I will give to those in need without a crowd of spectators. We so often want a reward for what we do.  But what about just doing it just because? Too often we do the "right thing" just to be seen doing the right thing. I know I do it. But I do believe that true Christian maturity means doing the right thing without making a scene for everyone can see.

No, You Can't use the Word "No"

When I was in grad school, we often discussed new methods in classroom management, teaching styles, etc.  One of the things we talked about a lot was how to handle discipline. A trending technique was to avoid any negative wording of rules. You essentially took the word "No" out of your vocabulary so that the students would not feel as though they are being restricted and therefore rebel. Instead, you made them feel as though they had options to choose to do the right thing.  So, instead of writing, "No talking," you would write, "Please sit and work quietly at your desk."


In my first year of teaching, I was so eager to try this out! It sounded so reasonable and practical. I felt I could understand how saying, "No" might make a student feel defiant.  So, I carefully listed all of my rules in a more positive tone.  The only one I really couldn't avoid was, "No Gum." Perhaps I could have said, "Keep gum out of the classroom." However, I felt that was a straightforward rule. Well I posted the rules this way and I did my best to request behavior without just saying no. All I can say, after my experience with it, is that it didn't work. Avoiding that word didn't make a difference. In fact, I noticed that students often responded to the word, "No" better. They had boundaries set. Whether you say "No sleeping in class" or "Please keep your eyes open and  your head up," students who want to rebel will rebel. Period. 


And as I moved on in my career, I noticed that the quietest, most controlled classrooms belonged to teachers who told students "No" and stuck to a consequence when a rule was broken. 


Well, ever since Gordon Lee really started getting around and getting into things, I had to find a way to handle his behavior. Well, I could let him ransack my house and possibly seriously hurt himself, but I wasn't too keen on that. Not surprisingly, the same methodology that circulated in the teaching realm, is abuzz in parenting advice.  Should I avoid telling Gordon Lee "No"? Should I just redirect him? I will admit that I have never questioned myself so much on one thing. Ultimately, I found (just as with the students) that Gordon Lee had the exact SAME reaction to being told "No" as he did to being redirected.  If he wanted to do something, he didn't care if I simply told him he couldn't do it or if I just tried to bring his attention to something else. Plus, sometimes, he would get close to danger so quickly, that I wanted him to learn and understand "No" or "Stop" in case I couldn't get to him fast enough. 

But I will say that I felt so much like a broken record for so long that I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure what the appropriate way to address his behavior was. Still, though, I'd had some experiences that left me feeling like I want my child to understand and respect boundaries and leave it at that. So, I kept saying "No" even if it was for the 100th time. And I kept following through with a consequence. And I also constantly praised him when he did not touch an off-limits object or when he obeyed my instructions.


And after feeling like maybe this wasn't going anywhere, I noticed one day last week that I had only said "No" about a handful of times! My child was beginning to listen and respect boundaries (Yes, I know the terrible twos are still yet to come). And it has really been that way so far since (he does start getting more disobedient when he is getting tired, but that's it). 


And then, as I was lying down to sleep last night, it occurred to me that even God says "Thou shalt not" and "No" without giving us a distraction. And I have settled on the fact that this word is not a bad word. It doesn't need to be avoided. We just need to learn to accept it even when we don't want to.

Hold Your Head Up, Movin' On, Keep Your Head Up, Movin' On

Yesterday was wrought with setbacks.  Waking up 30 minutes earlier than usual, Gordon Lee got things started.  He woke up grumpy.  Not one to disappoint, he decided to maintain this mood for most of the rest of the day.  To make things even better, he would NOT nap for more than 30 minutes.  So, I had one grumpy, sleep-deprived baby on my hands.

While, I was inclined to grumble in my mind, something else kept reminding me to BE THANKFUL.  Focus on the positive.  So, in all of this, I started seeing all of the amazing things. For example, after I watched him go all around the room picking up what seemed like random toys, I noticed he'd put several toys of the same color all in one place! 

Later on, for the sake of our sanity, I decided to take him in the stroller for a jog last night. Being outdoors definitely improved his mood, and he started waving at people and saying, "Hey!" This was brand new! While I was running, the lesson of positivity came to me once again. 
I had been running for about 15 minutes; my goal was to go for at least 30 minutes. I wanted to quit.  When, right on cue, the Eurythmics song "Sweet Dreams" came on.  And the lyrics kept me going.."Hold your head up, movin' on, keep your head up, movin' on." 
While I was thinking about how nice it was to have a refreshing reminder about positivity, I began to realize something else.  While getting through the rough days might mean that you need to "hold your head up" and "move on," something inside me was saying that isn't just it. Maybe the days that seem difficult just need a fresh perspective.  All day long, I felt tired. I didn't get breaks or rest that I wanted. I had to keep "movin' on" because I had no other choice. But the beauty of it is embracing the blessings in all of it. My child is blossoming before my eyes. The weather was beautiful to go out running. 
Thankfully for us today, the trials of yesterday have come to pass. But I think that I am going to aim to not just wait out difficult days because they aren't eternal.  Rather, I want to look for what beauty there is to see among the apparent "wreckage."