Baby Girl's Kitchen Center

I am very excited about this Christmas gift from Santa. It will be such a great tool for teaching vocabulary & communication skills to Baby Girl, as well as just plain fun!

A Different Christmas?

  Christmas will be different for me this year, right? My oldest son is currently deployed to the Middle East and won't be home for Christmas. My parents have just moved three hours away, so for the first time in my life, I won't see them on Christmas Day. So that means Christmas has changed...or does it? Does any of that change the fact that Jesus, the son of God, came to earth as a baby and was born in a manger and is the reason for the season? Does it change the fact that He is my Redeemer, my Lord, and my Savior? Does it mean that I won't celebrate as joyfully as I should? No, Christmas has not changed. Jesus has not changed..."Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8) Therefore, this Christmas I will keep my focus where it belongs: on Him. No matter what you're facing right now, Christmas is still the same. Celebrate!

Help for Homeschooling Your Visually Impaired Child

This post is definitely link-heavy, but I've decided that I should share the books and blogs/websites/etc. that I have discovered that have helped me in working with Baby Girl. First of all, per Wonder Baby, which is a great site for parents of visually impaired children, I discovered that The Hadley School for the Blind offers free online courses for parents of visually impaired children. I've taken one course already and will start another one after Christmas. I highly recommend taking advantage of this offer! My instructor even sent a wonderful gift to Baby Girl: Braille blocks! Here are some pictures of my certificate of completion & Baby Girl's gift:



My certificate: I earned an A!

Braille blocks

  Also, there are some other ideas I'd like to share. I've found that Montessori style learning suits Baby Girl well. This technique works for many special needs children, not just for those that are visually impaired. Here you will find a list of great Montessori blogs. In addition to this, through the genorosity of my parents, we were able to go in together and purchase an iPad for Baby Girl, which has been very beneficial to her. Many of the apps for her are free, and the ones that aren't are usually less than $3. If you have an iPad, this list is helpful for finding apps for children with special needs. This site is also helpful for locating apps and has reviews. Here you will find toy ideas, as well as at this link. Another thing I do that is simple & free...talk, talk, talk! I tell Baby Girl almost everything that I'm doing/that she's doing/that Daddy is doing/that siblings are doing....you get the idea. When you can't see well, you have to rely on other senses in order to learn. We also do a lot of singing. Baby Girl loves music, so it's a great avenue for teaching her. I have blogged about lots of activities that we've done, so if you look for posts tagged with preschool or Montessori or special needs homeschooling or visually impaired homeschooling, then you should be able to read about them. Here is a list of books that I've read that have also helped a great deal:


I hope this post helps, and if you have anything to share, please do so!

Two Years as a Family

Two years ago, Baby Girl was placed in our arms for the first time. What a joy she is!

Rinnah then...on Forever Family Day

Rinnah now...she's come a long way since that first day!

More Christmas Fun

This week has been great! We've enjoyed lots of Christmas activities. We did a lot with gingerbread, from making, baking, and decorating... to reading both The Gingerbread Baby and Gingerbread Friends. We also read The Nativity Story.  Here's a sampling:

Our gingerbread village

Bug makes a gingerbread tree

Doodles helps Baby Girl with her gingerbread girl

Baby Girl decorates her gingerbread girl

Even "Daddy" got in on the action

Cookies decorated by Baby Girl

Cookies decorated by Bug

Cookies decorated by Doodles

Cookies decorated by "Daddy"

Scenes we drew from our reading of The Nativity Story
Top picture was drawn by Doodles
Middle picture was drawn by Bug
Bottom picture was drawn by me

Our December "Tea Time"

Several months ago I posted about our weekly "Tea Time." Here is the link that shows you where I got the idea. This week, since it's the first of December, we chose to do a Christmas theme. Doodles, Bug, and I each chose a Christmas song to listen to and then drew the scene that came to our mind as we listened to our song. Here are our results:

Bug's picture is at the top; he chose "Jingle Bells."
Doodles' picture is in the middle; she chose "The Christmas Song."
My picture is at the bottom; I chose "Baby, It's Cold Outside."
We had a blast doing this activity!

Christmas Fun

Well, the season is upon us again...YAY!!! I turn into a big ol' kid every year at this time. I love everything about Christmas...celebrating the birth of our Lord & Savior, decorating, baking, special times with family & friends, the sights and the smells, and the joy. So, Merry Christmas to all!!!

Baby Girl is completely thrilled about the Christmas tree

Our Sock Advent Calendar...the kids find a gift in their sock for each day of December

Doodles & Bug show off today's Advent Calendar gifts

Christmas Kool Aid: One cherry and one lemon-lime