My Favorite Preschool Learning Games

Criss cross applesauce on the shag carpet in my best friend's childhood room.  It was the end of the 70s and we were just out of Kindergarten with our ABCs and 123s.  We spent our summer days riding big wheels around my block, then swimming in his backyard pool.  Often times his mom would usher us in with hair still dripping wet and set up a homemade board-game  between his two knees and mine.  We called it, "The M&M game," because a little glass bowl in the middle of the board was piled high with those colorful candy prizes.  

Taking turns we'd roll the die and make our way around the cardboard trail, stopping at each space to answer a math question.

9+1=

2+3=

4-0=

For every correct answer we'd grab a treat, never noticing we were learning.

This game, those memories, and the idea that play should be the basis for early childhood learning, became the foundation of how I'd teach my own preschoolers 30 years later.

Starting with a blank canvas, white and clean without a bit of knowledge on it, so like your two and a half year old.  Take a marker and draw a spiral pattern around your board,  make it into a double line and mark off individual spaces in the long learning snake.  Finally, inside each empty box write a letter, uppercase & lower case, or a number from 0 - 10.  But the first box says START, and that final spot holds the letters E-N-D.

Sometimes it was the roll of a die, other times the flick of our shoots and ladders spinner that propelled little minds around the game-board.

My child rolled a 3, and I taught him to move his small plastic horse / super-hero / little people farmer three spaces.  Landing on the letter Mm we clapped together.  Since he was brand new to learning I sang the letter factory song:

"the M says "mmmm" - the M says "mmmm"

Every letter makes a sound - the M says "mmmm"

Once he had done some learning he didn't need my help anymore.  So I'd ask him for the name of a fruit or animal that starts with the letter M.

"The M says mmmm, like monkeys and mangos!"

My oldest child is 10 now and still asks to play the treat game!  However, his game includes division, multiplication, and square roots making a trail around the page.

The other game my boys played, that made number recognition easy, was called "Stack the numbers!"  Simply take index cards and write the numbers 0 - 10, then mix them up and lay them face side up on the floor.  Then let your preschooler Stack the Numbers!

0

1

2

3...

Of course you can use more numbers, like 0 - 50, or 0 - 100, 0r 0 - 200 with just even numbers, or 0-200 counting by fives....

...the stacking options are endless

Your turn!

What were / are some of your favorite preschool learning games.

Today you are enough - a little bit of mom-poetry

Today you are enough

I watched my children push themselves

higher up, then higher still.  

Pumping legs and bending backs

to reach new heights until...

The jump-bump of the swing's release

Made their heart-rates increase,

As they whooped and hollered loud; 

Swinging hard they touched the clouds.

Won the prize,

Realized,

feeling so complete,

Flying up and off the plastic glory-seat.  

I joined the celebration

Saying, "How good and strong you are!"

The littlest let go,

and sailed beyond me far.

The brothers laughed out loud

with giggles great and glorious,

And in that shining moment

We sang out in joyful chorus.

But when I turned around I saw

Another mom's expression fall.

Bent low from life, laborious,

With no joy left at all.

Her children played nearby,

Chirping happily with mine,

But she couldn't find a joy-filled tone.

I think, in fact, I heard her moan.

So I caught her eye and smiled then

Infusing courage like a friend.

Because yesterday she was me,

And I was her beneath that tree.

Mothers, friends, sojourners,

Some days it flows like praise,

But other days are weepy, long,

Enshrouded in malaise.

If today you sang a dirge,

And your heart knew great sorrow,

I pray my rhymes encourage,

And point you toward tomorrow.

Today you are enough

by Wendy Speake

For more poetic encouragement that you are perfectly enough...  come this way.

My favorite Bibles - Part 1 - Children's Bibles

Favorite Bibles.

Each one in our collection has a story.  The white leather-bound Precious Moments Bible, packed away with my little girl memories.  The big red Life Application Bible my Dad bought me to replace said Precious Moments Bible before I left for College.  I didn't see the problem with continuing on as I was, but he said I'd want something a little more mature once I got to College.  As it turns out, he was right.   But I also wanted something smaller, because the study Bible was MASSIVE.

Freshman year I started attending some Campus Crusade for Christ meetings all over Boston, and my enormous study Bible weighed a ton. Over and over again I kept hearing one main theme:   That Christians should ask The Lord specifically for things.  I'd never heard this before, so I was cautious.  I decided to try it and humbly asked, "God, I need a smaller Bible to keep in my purse, one that's not so heavy.  You know I don't have the money to buy another Bible, so would you give me one?"  I thought it was a good first request; I mean if you're going to throw a fleece out and ask the Lord to answer, you might as well ask for something like a Bible.

Wouldn't you know, the next day I stopped by the school mail room and there in my mail slot was a package.  A little package.  And in it was a little Bible.  Sent from Uncle Bob who said he'd found a stack of "these things" hidden away in one of his drawers and thought I might like one, away at school.

A decade later I chronicled my dates with a man named Matt on the inside cover of this small brown, leather-bound gift.  And a few short months later we were married.  I still carry this Bible, though it's falling apart at the binding.

Another decade has passed now;

we've added three little people to our family

and twice as many bibles to our "Collection."

And so today I share my Two Favorite Children's Bibles:

1) The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name  - The theme of Jesus being our rescuer pierces, underpins, transcends, and utterly steals the show in each short story.  The pictures are delightful too.  But more than just another collection of Bible Stories, this one is special.  No matter if the story is from the Old Testament or the New, each one points to Jesus.  Our Savior.  And He is so real and approachable on each page that I often tear up while reading to my children at our kitchen table.

The Action Bible

2) The Action Bible - This is the Bible my first-born has read numerous times from cover to cover over the last few years.  He reads it on his own at night, on his own early in the morning, on his own, poolside, in the middle of the day.  Full of  adventure and intrigue and... ACTION, and told in comic book fashion with dialogue captured in bubbles.  With exciting, bold illustrations, The Action Bible manages to stay true from Genesis to Revelation, giving children a cohesive journey through God's story from beginning to end.

Join me tomorrow for my most favorite Bible yet... the one that hasn't yet been written.

This Mother's 2 Favorite Words

It was my son's first football practice and the couch was teaching simple plays. "Before we run this, does everyone understand the combination?"

Every boy muttered "yeah", except the kid who hollered, "Yes Sir."

Then everything stopped.  They all looked over at the one with the long brown hair, the one in the orange shorts.  My kid.  And I was watching, thinking "Good job, Son."

But the couch said, "My name's not Sir, you call me Coach."

And my boy said, "Yes Sir."

No... No... No...

I wanted to scream STOP! Press PAUSE. Then rewind.  All the years teaching a boy from Southern California to say "Yes, Sir" has felt like an exercise in futility.  Swimming upstream.  "Yes Sir" doesn't belong here on the left coast, and everyone seems to know it but me.

At the grocery store my son is given a lollipop, because even football players like lollipops, and I guide him, "Thank you, Ma'me."  But he echos awkwardly, "Thank you..."  And I give him that look as he pops the sucker into him mouth.  But who's the sucker?  Well apparently he was yesterday on the football field.

But he took it in stride, looking up at me in the bleachers with a shrug, like an "I told you so."  And I shrugged back, like an "I don't care..."  Because "Yes Sir" is music to my ears.  And I've always loved music that wasn't main stream.  Celtic fiddles and movie soundtracks.  I admit that I don't know your top 10 on the music charts, and I'm okay teaching my children to be a little antiquated too.

I'm guessing he doesn't say "Yes Sir" all the time.  I'm anticipating that he'll rebel altogether for a while.  But like most of the good stuff we learn young, like brownie batter tasting best from the inside of the mixing bowl, "Yes Sir" will stick somewhere down deep.

I don't want to lay the law down hard, and make polite, respectful words distasteful by nagging him.  So I coach him quietly, off the field, though his coach on the field undoes it in a moment.  And I laugh with my son and ruffle his sweaty hair and tell him straight, "If you ever play football for the University of Texas, you'd better be ready to call your coach 'Sir.'"

And he shrugs again like he knows better.  So I let it be.

But I have to tell you here and now, Yes Sir, just might be my 2 favorite words.

Yes Sir.

For more of my favorites, visit me here.

Newlyweds with a side of Chicken Salad

There's a bit of a story here before you get to my favorite Chicken Salad Recipe.

Read on...

We stopped attending our Sunday school class at church about a year ago, we just didn't feel that it was where we were supposed to be.  We kept the boys in their two hours of Sunday School fun, but stopped going to our second hour.   Instead we purposed to sit together in the cafe, and earmark that time to really connect with one another - about the deep-down soul stuff we'd been carrying over the course of the week, or piling up over the years of our marriage.

It was an incredible blessing on so many levels.  Primarily, it took the edge off of anything that burdened me throughout the week.  I'd relax at the thought, "Sunday's coming!  Matt wants to know my heart.  I can share what concerns me today... on Sunday."  Within this safe place, we started sharing with more courage and listening with more grace about all the issues in our marriage, our parenting, our individual dreams and struggles.  It was a safe time, a loving time, a healing time.

Then the day arrived when we stopped coming to the table with an intense need to be heard.  It's like all the build-up from the first 12 years of marriage had been worked through and we were communicating well and loving one another intentionally again - Not just on Sundays but throughout the week as well. It just took six months worth of Sunday mornings to get us there.

Now there we sat, across the green patio table, him with a breakfast sandwich and me with my cup of tea, just smiling because we had nothing left to work through.  And he said, "So what do you want to do now?"  I shrugged, and noticed how light my shoulders felt.  It was then I remembered an announcement in the church bulletin that morning about a newly marrieds group just forming.  Sure we weren't newlyweds, but we felt brand new on the inside.  So I opened up the Sunday program and showed it to my guy.  He shrugged his own unburdened shoulders and said, "let's go."

And so, after 13 years of marriage, my husband and I walked into a class for newlyweds.

We walked into the small classroom 10 minutes late, and half a dozen young couples looked up.  I noticed immediately how close they sat to one another.  We waved awkwardly and sat down.  They were halfway through an ice-breaker, where everyone shared the song they'd chosen for their first dance together at the wedding.  So much laughter.  Then it got to us and Matt  stuttered, 'uh... it was by George Straight I think, yeah?"  "Yeah," I affirmed, "and we danced the cowboy cha-cha."  Crickets.

Then the young girl who was leading the class with her husband stood up and explained how the class would stay connected via an iphone app, and I turned to Matt and whispered, "this isn't our generation... and I think that girl baby-sat for the boys when she was in high school, like three years ago!"

After class we chatted with the couple upfront, turns out Nicole had babysat our boys, and they told us how they'd been hoping and praying for a mentor couple to join them.  And there we'd been, sitting together on the patio wondering, "What should we do now?"

The answer came easy, "Absolutely."

Now, a few short months later, and there's no way to describe in one brief paragraph how dear these young couples have become to us?   Matt has sincere love for the young men, and I absolutely adore the gals.  And each time I look at them, pouring over the pages of good marriage books, learning to care and pray for one another, I think how lucky they are to be building these skills so early in their marriages.  And we're learning right beside them, and shedding light on what these principles can look like over a decade in.

To celebrate the start of fall we had all the couples over to our home for lunch.  It was 105 degrees with Santa Anna winds blowing hard, and eucalyptus leaves chattering in the breeze.  That's what fall looks like in Southern California, friends.  The ladies circles around the patio table poolside with the men on the inside of our home.   I watched them through the window, loading up their plates and sitting on the orange couch with a rug at their feet that reads "family."  And we broke bread and laughed hard.

I served my favorite chicken salad recipe and they all clamored for the recipe, which didn't surprise me because it's a gem.  I say it without pride; I didn't invent this medley of fabulous flavors after all.  But I love it heart and soul, and keep Trader Joe's apricot chutney in my pantry at all times just to be prepared.

Today I offer it up to you, wishing I knew the special occasions and people you will share this with in the years to come.  But I also share it with the encouragement, to those of you who are married, to find the time you need in your busy lives to carve out a safe place, a sharing place to deal with the real life challenges you are facing.  Bless you and your husbands today.  Now go make those men some chicken salad!

The Best Curry Chicken Salad (Like Ever!)

Combine Dry Ingredients

5 Chicken Breasts - cooked and chopped

(I prefer two rotisserie chickens for ease)

1 bunch green onions, sliced

2-3 granny smith apples, peeled and chopped

3 celery sticks, chopped

1 cup raisins

2 cups cashews

In a separate bowl whisk together

1 jar mango chutney (I use Trader Joe's brand)

2 tsp. curry

3/4 cup mayo

2 tsp. lemon juice

garlic salt / pepper to taste

Prepare and Serve

Allow the dressing to sit on the countertop or in the fridge for a good 30 minutes before you toss the chicken salad and serve.  This allows the intense flavors to meld.  Also, if serving this as a main dish, you can stir in 3 cups of cooked rice.  I, however, usually serve this beside a few other salads; shown in the picture with this quinoa salad topped with avocado, and a wedge of brie to complete the plate.  

You will own your dinner guests

after serving this dish!

 Guaranteed.