Things I Do Do

I wanted to start my blog kind of short but sweet.  But in the first paragraph of the first post I listed some things I don't do as a mother.  I don't cook, sew, craft or coupon.  Even though I don't do those things there are some other things that I do do.

I love to take pictures.  I can't say I am a photographer (because I am still learning) but I do love photography.  I take pictures for family and friends for practice.  A dear friend of mine is a professional photographer and blogger extraordinaire. You can see her at Life in Color Photo.  She has given me very kind advice as I go.  She also sold me her first digital camera, a Nikon D50.  It is a great camera for learning.  I started a Shutterfly picture share site to be able to easily get photos to my family and friends after I take their pictures.  It allows me to upload full resolution copies of the photos and they can easily download them or print them from their computer.
If you want to check it out it is at www.swanboroughphotography.shutterfly.com.

I also am just learning how to "teach" at home.  My husband and I live in a small town with limited choices for preschool for my 3 and a half year old.  We could pay for private preschool, which we can not really afford at this time and that's really the only choice we have.  There is a head start program here, but only for migrant farm working families.  I also feel like homeschooling would just fit for me and what better years to try it out than preschool. 

My biggest issue was, where in the world do I start.  I had books, I have Pinterest! I can get ideas galore but how do I fit it into our day and how do I make sure we are covering all the bases?  I was overwhelmed mostly about all the choices.  I am the type of person that would rather choose a paint color out of 10 given to me than to look at a whole wall of color chips and try to decide.  This feeling of, ah where do I start, kind of stalled the process until the first day of school for all my Facebook friends came around.  All of a sudden I saw pictures and more pictures of kids Lachlan's age at their first day of school.  I felt so guilty that Lachlan wasn't having that "moment".  I had to at least figure out something to do at home.  My Aunt told me about my 2nd cousin who runs a daycare/preschool in Washington state.  I contacted her and she told me about Funshine Express. It is an all inclusive kit that you can purchase that comes with activities, curriculum, a schedule, a new children's book each month and multiple crafts in a bag.  It has curriculum for 5 days a week and is meant for a group setting but I have been able to adapt it to fit my needs.  It has been a huge help on the, where do I start, problem.  It is kind of costly but I am buying supplies for 2 children and plan on using this same curriculum and supplies for 2 years with Lachlan and when it is Peter's turn 2 years for him.  I also recently discovered that about halfway through the month that month goes on clearance! Which is perfect because I am going through it a lot slower than it is intended.

I ordered the first month from Funshine Express, it arrived in the mail a few days later, I organized the supplies, hung the calendar, weather chart, and other displays and the next day Lachlan got his "moment" his first day of school!

He had such a great time and it was so easy to fit into our routine.  There is a lot more I would like to say about at home preschool but I think I might dedicate a whole post or 2 or 3 to it.