The Unthinkable

  I have a very bad habit. Well, I have a few, but the one I'm writing about might ring a bell in other mommies minds. I place limits on myself. I know what I want to do and then I calculate how long it'll take until I mess up or something goes wrong. Always a starter, NEVER a finisher. This is how I felt about teaching my daughter how to read. An overwhelming fear would creep over me when the thought entered my mind. 
  This week was THE week. We reached lesson 3 of Alpha-Phonics and it was time to put sentences together. It had been challenging because she would give up so quickly, but with constant encouragement, she became more confident. We reviewed the short a words (am, an, as, at, ax), then we went over those with an added letter (Sam, man, has, cat, tax). The sentences I used were "Sam sat" and "Sam has an ax". Within 5 mins she had breezed through both. Because she did them so quickly, I didn't have anything else planned!
   Improvising, I cut a bunch of index cards in half and wrote the words on them. We went over what makes up a sentence (Capital letter in the beginning, period at the end). She then proceeded to create her own! Have you ever been so proud that you feel like you heart was 10 times too big? That is just an understatement! I couldn't believe that even though I had not yet "finished" this stage, I reached a pivotal moment in my child's development. By God's grace, this small human learned something completely foreign to her. AND I HAD A HAND IN IT! The same encouragement and scripture I used on my toddler was real to me as well. 

It's been a week full of fun! We started the Ladybug lapbook and have been doing some great crafts. It's coming along but I'm so excited to see it put together. I downloaded "The Grouchy Ladybug" unit from homeschoolshare.com and a few add-ons from teachingmomma.org. I made a ladybug facts wall with flowers and all! Friday was our edible crafts day so that was a great mess (and fun, of course). Amaris pasted mini chocolate chips on rice krispie treat ladybugs. We will finish the unit next week and put the entire book together. Lapbooks are my new best friends! If you want to know some more about them, visit this great blog. So many different subjects and ways to do things that it's specifically tailored to your child. At this young stage, it's great to have something that you can simply have fun with. The learning just kind of....happens!

"But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

2 Corinthians 12:9

Many blessings, 

Lapbook Loving Momma