Love these reminders of why I am so happy to have John home tomorrow.  Its ironic that women sacrificed months, years, even a lifetime with the love of their life so that I get to have mine home for one more day this year. Makes me feel really spoiled!

We shared this printable for Veterans day but I think it’s just as applicable for Memorial Day.

Have a wonderful Memorial day! I hope that we will all take a moment to remember why we really celebrate today, and also take the time to teach our children why today is so special.

Pam shared our summer reading chart yesterday. When we made them I envisioned using them a little differently for our family. I have a plan this summer to make sure my boys are getting their jobs done before they are playing. I took a blank form and wrote their names on the top and then everything that needs to be done BEFORE they can play. I have some baskets that I bought and put up for each of them in the hallway between their playroom and bedroom.  You can download the blank charts in our Summer Reading Chart post!

I wanted a place that their school folder, Scout book, Faith in God book, and their journal would go so we would always know where they are.

Pam printed blank charts and laminated them for me. Then I used clips to clip them to the front of their baskets. Using a Sharpie I wrote their names and their chores along the left side. You can use a Sharpie on something that is laminated, you just have to use a Magic Eraser to get it off.

We have been trying a new way to help our kids stay in bed at night – please tell me our kids are not the only ones that WONT stay in bed when its bedtime! How many drinks and times do they need to go to the bathroom in an hour! On the very top of their charts the left side says “Stay in Bed.” The right side says “10 minutes of Club Penguin.” Each night they stay in bed I put a check in one of those boxes. Thursday is Club Penguin day around our house, so now I add up how many checks they have and for each check they get 10 minutes to play. Last week there was exactly ZERO minutes earned! Oh goodness – there were some rough nights around our house! This week they have been way better since they were so sad that they didn’t get to play last week.

The other things I have going down their morning chart are:

Clean room/Make bed
Reading
Chores
Prayers

Each of them have something different for reading. For Caleb it is reading for 30 minutes. Davis has to practice sight words, and Beckham has to read a book with me. We will be using our chore chart to track their chores. Although we have gotten rid of the reward system. I go back and forth on this. On one hand I think its a great motivator. On the other hand my kids think they should get something for cleaning up their stuff and I’m not okay with that. We all live here and they have to learn how to clean up after themselves. Any thoughts on rewards for chores?

This chart is a great visual of what it takes to be ready to play each day. I think I’m going to make it a habit to put our Do not Knock sign up and when they get their chart done I will take it down.

You can print the blank charts off in our Summer Reading Charts Post.

We may be linking this post up to THESE great Linky Parties!

Here is a Toy Story Pre-K Pack for ya’ll!  I was short on time and took a few of the regular pages out.  My Nathan boy isn’t so into Toy Story anymore, so I put this together for my Jeffrey!  I’ll probably add more pages to it later, but because of time I had to call it good on this one.

I do have a question for you all though – what kind of other pages would you like to see in my Pre-K Packs?  I’ve thought about adding a shapes page, but besides that I would love to hear some suggestions from you all!

Included in this Toy Story Pre-K Pack is:

Prewriting Practice Sheets – Cutting Practice – Which one is different?

Finish the Pattern Sheet – Size Sequencing Sheet – Toy Story Strip Puzzle

4-piece Puzzles – Sorting Practice – Counting Practice Cards

Color the Buzz Lightyear-  2-Part Vocabulary Cards

Letter Bb Identification – Toy Story Matching

Buzz Lightyear Magnet Sheet – Letter Bb Sorting Page

Caleb was baptized in December and I made his announcement, a sign of the covenants he was making, and also his program. I completely forgot to share them at the time because things were so busy, so I thought I would today. This was his announcement and I listed all the information on the right side.

I made a girl version to share also. You can download these as layered pdf’s so you can insert your own picture in and add your text. If you don’t have photoshop you can use free editing software like aviary.com. You can also find them in our etsy shop where we will personalize them for you.

 As people entered the room where the service was taking place we had a table with a picture of Caleb and his buddy Kruz (who was also being baptised that day), the programs, and this pritnable in a frame.

These would make a cute gift for a child being baptized. It been a great reminder for Caleb because it hangs in his room as a reminder. We had a fun idea for the inside of their program too. We asked them each some questions about their favorite things regarding to church and then we put the questions and answers on the inside of the program. It was a lot of fun and pretty funny too.

We may be linking this post up to THESE great Linky Parties!