Things that are going to do me in as a parent,
i've come up with a little list of some of the lesser joys of parenthood....

reading- looking back i suppose i've done pretty well, Trake and Brynly could read really well before kindergarten but BELIEVE me it was NOT easy. Teaching kids to read requires way more patience than i have.
I'm a bit behind on Grace, ok really behind, 3rd kid- you know how it goes...(hopefully i'll get her caught up)
anyway heres some tips that make it a little easier-(as long as you actually do them)

www. headsprout.com its pricey $100. I signed up for it when i had Trake and was set on homeschooling him (that obviously didn't last). Its a phonics based program with fun games- I don't think i could've taught him to read with just this but it has fun games and really helps kids with blending.

PHONOGRAMS-There are 76. I started both kids at Franklin then took them out at different points. They teach the spalding phonograms in a fairly boring flashcard way but my kids Montessori preschool teacher (treehousemontessori) came up with spalding flashcards with pictures to help learn all the phonograms easier.
example- oa picture of boat. ea picture of leaf, thread, steak because it says the 3 sounds used in those words (if you know about phonograms its easier to understand) She also came up with worksheets that teach the kids to recognize the phonograms using the pictures and then weaning them to not need the pictures. This really helped Brynly who had a hard time looking a 76 flashcards everyday when she got into kindergarten. We could take whatever she was learning at school and put it with the pictures to help it make more sense. I've bought Hooked on PHONICS and didn't love it. It was the old school flashcard, tape version though so maybe its gotten better with technology.

I'm putting Grace in Franklin for kindergarten. I really feel like the phonograms are a great base for reading and spelling. I had Trake in Franklin a extra year and I can tell a difference between he and Brynlys progress. I don't regret taking Brynly out though, she has a great teacher at Bush and is having fun. SO i'll keep her at Bush next year and I'm trying to get Trake into the Mesa Academy for Advanced Studies (Eric calls it the nerd school). Eric tells me I must enjoy creating chaos- 3 kids at 3 different schools all in elementary still.
POTTY TRAINING- i have no tips for potty training. It took me a good 3 years to pt Trake. Brynly 2 weeks at 20 months. Grace not till she was 3. Now Elsie tells me to change her every time she pees so i tell her she's gotta start going on the potty. She sits there and does nothing. We repeat this like 20 times a day. I GREATLY DISLIKE POTTY TRAINING.

3 girls. a lot of NAPPY HAIR. and they are white. it should not be so hard.
remember how Grace cut her hair? well i didn't get mad enough at her b/c she cut the TOP right in the front b/c everyone said she looked cute with the first haircut she gave herself!!!!
(stop being nice to my kids). If you look below at the octopus picture you'll see what i have to do every morning so its not spiky right in front. she hates having her hair up so she takes it out right after school and i have to do it again!
Brynly must get in fights in her sleep b/c her hair is totally nappy in the morning. Lots of leave in conditioner (yes we put it in a ponytail but she takes it out b/c "its uncomfortable". ) This is the main reason I'm putting Grace in afternoon Kindergarten, I don't have it in me to get all of their hair done by 7:45.


keeping it real...