My Garmin& Favorite Preschool Learning Tools

Well, though many worse things could befall me... my big let down so far is that my GPS failed me miserably. I had such high hopes.... so much faith in the little device.... My first day out and I almost tossed it out the window into oncoming traffic....it kept telling me to exit onto the ramp in such and such miles but, uh, I had already exited the ramp... I was already on the highway...it just kept acting like I wasn't... Garmin says its an issue with GPS and not the unit... so I guess I just need not put my entire hopes into its ability. Thankfully I had an idea where I was going and what roads to turn on... I guess its just a back up plan,not an actual brain. However, Paul did tell me that no matter where I am, if I hit "Home" that it will atleast get me home and thats worth its weight right there.

FAVORITE PRESCHOOL LEARNING TOOLS - We do not have an actual curriculum that we go with but, these are some of our favorite learning tools for Annah, who is 4.






































*I love all the BrainQuest activity cards and workbooks. And more so, Annah loves them and wants to do them all the time. They are very age appropriate with sometimes having easy questions and sometimes having difficult ones.

*Kiss Your Brain by Dr.Jean and all of her learning CD's are fantastic! Children will learn to sing all the states and Presidents etc...

*We play Old Maid daily with Annah or Memory Game for children and other preschool board games.
* Leap Frog DVDs on learning phonics and how to build words.
* Lacing Beads and Sewing cards
* And a learning clock
In addition, we have dolls to learn how to tie shoes although I hate tie shoes... she still has to learn. Handwriting tablets, coins and dollar bills to learn to count and identify money... we bake, walk, explore, learn how to take care of animals and learn about God, art, and whatever else comes along to teach and daily reading books. She loves to read and we make it a goal to read atleast a very minimum of 5 books per day. Plus, I make up learning stories to tell her.
And lastly, daily we watch "Professor Parrot Speaks Spanish" which is a WONDERFUL learning tool for the Spanish language. Annah knows how to count to 10 in Spanish and knows most of the colors. When we stop at a red light she proclaims "Rojo, Rojo"... I have learned alot from this DVD too. I wish they would make another one but this is the only one they have out.

My Brain Helper Arrived !!!!

So today was a very happy day! In addition to my very first day of volunteer work at the shelter, I received a gift in the mail from my dear husband. I think he was hoping to intercept it and wrap it up for Christmas but no such luck. I saw the brown box at the gate and ripped right into it. I was hoping it was a Garmin GPS which it was! I now have a brain helper! :) You just can't imagine how happy happy happy this makes me. !!!!!! This could completely change my driving ...or lack of driving. I may venture to Mexico all by myself next trip! ??????

Despite my happiness over my new brain help, I was nonetheless completely wiped out when I got home. Its not that it was strenuous work at the shelter at all but the constant ongoing processing of new, rapid incoming information in my head to remember just wiped me out.

And, having to turn people away because there are no rooms empty ......the shelter is full to capacity... and no other shelters within an hour and in a totally different county and city was agonizing... People walk in full of hope and I had to tell them we had no rooms and they just looked so lost, so dejected, so hopeless. They would just stand there with their shoulders beginning to droop and lost hope in their eyes, almost unbelieving.... and tell me they had no where else to go. Fortunately they can keep coming back as often as they want to check in as it is first come, first serve and the turnover rate can keep rolling at a somewhat steady pace giving newcomers a chance to get back on their feet. The program at the shelter is wonderful. They offer so many services and help and counseling etc... and when a resident is fully ready to leave the shelter, they may qualify for a very very very nice, donated, low rent apartment that comes fully furnished. They are of course limited but, what a tremendous blessing and help!

While it was so so so so painful to turn people away, atleast my first day I did not have to look down into faces of little children in the line to be turned away ...today it was adults only. The county is working on building another shelter but they are still in the fundraising aspects of it. It is SO desperately needed!
AND, my gosh people are SO nice there at the shelter...the staff, the volunteers... friendly, kind and downright nice people. Very very pleasant atmosphere and environment to be in. Not to mention its very clean, very well organized, very well run.

Annah is in the tub, I'm making her Catnip tea and hopefully she will fall asleep in an hour or so.

The tea usually quites her down and we always rock till she falls asleep. Not that she is an easy one to go to sleep.... she squirms alot and fights it. But, once she is out, she sleeps all night and is a really good sleeper. Whooo hoooo! :)