friday favorties || first week of summer

Happy F r I d a y!

It was the first official week of summer break over here, & I think we broke it in well.

I went crazy planning to kind of map out a few of the things I don't want us to miss out on, (even started planning Cam's packed lunches for school- yes, I'm that crazy girl) of course my planner would have ended in May, so now I'm patiently awaiting the arrival of my new one in the mail!  Trying out a new kind... the kind you refill instead of toss.

Am I a nerd if I'm excited over that?

🤓

Until then, there's this chicken scratch on the refrigerator:)

And that chicken scratch helped us have a great week & knock four things off our hope to list. 

 And it didn't feel at all like hustle & bustle. 



Now linking up with the girls of High FIve for Friday + Friday Favorites for some more mumbo jumbo:)

---



One.  Week days at the pool

We have found, that if you hit the pool just right on a weekday, you can find it all to yourself.  Cam was the bravest I've seen this summer, & set aside all his little fears.  He actually jumped off the side of the pool without all that five year old poundage landing on my head!  I'll call that a win!  Conley calls the "kiddie pool" the "kitty cat pool" & it is the most precious thing you've ever seen... until you spend the rest of the time picking up his trail of fruit loops or pray no one seen him spill his Gatorade in the pool after you tell him for the 32,332 time to get it away from the pool.😬
 

Two.  Safety City + snow cones

A girlfriend & I tried to go to this place last year, but came on a day when they were closed.  The hours are SO weird, but if you hit it just right... it is totally worth the planning out to go!  And make sure you make plans for a snowcone or ice cream after... it can be quite toasty & everyone is sure to break a sweat.

 
look at that mini sunsphere!
 
 
mini Tennessee theatre
 
and mini Neyland
 

Basically, at certain times, this sweet little mini Knoxville is a place kids can come to learn skills they need to be "safe citizens" in their communities from policemen and firefighters.  The Police Department of Knoxville offers several programs throughout the year where kids can come to learn & practice what they have been taught in the miniature city.  They learn traffic safety by riding bicycles, miniature cars, and walking through the city as pedestrians.  During the summer months, they open the city twice a week for a few select hours to anyone who wants to bring their bike/battery powered car or scooter.  It truly was the coolest/c u t e s t thing ever.  The boys LOVED it. 

I just wish the pictures did it justice!

Three.  Trying something new

I've been praying about a "side hustle."

Aka anything I can do on the side, without leaving my boys, to earn a little extra money.
I've tried make-up, children's clothing, essential oils... 
I've come to one conclusion through it all.  You can forget ME asking someone if they're interested in buying anything.  I'm just NOT a salesperson.
I still love all of those things... just not my thing.
 I gravitate toward anything creative & this cake decorating class popped up out of nowhere & I thought... why not???  I do have a thing for baking anyway. 
Four weeks of learning & hands on practice...
We shall see where it takes me!

Four.  Popsicle shirts

Can't.  Stand.  The. Cuteness. The boys "need" this for the fourth.

I love Cat & Jack.

 😍

Five.  Top knots are everything

My hair has looked like dried out scarecrow hair ever since the day after I got it done & tried to fix it myself.

Thank the Lord for top knots & hair spray!

Living in this all summer.

 😝

Leaving you with this...

 

I've seen a lot of mom shaming on social media this week & it just makes me so sad.

We are all trying our best, & we all are good at different things.

Nothing makes one mom better than the other.

We are in this to help one another, not to bring each other down.

Perfect doesn't exist! 

Don't let social media fool you.
I admire each & every woman/mama out there... you all rock what you do!❤️

 

 Some of my favorite posts from last weeks link up:

Eurofox || She shares my love for a garden + I loved her insta stories this week about getting up early to workout.  She knows my struggle!  But we do it anyway ;).
And her accent!  Much fancier than my southern drawl:P

Sparkles + Lattés ||. She has great taste in shoes (Natives... cough) and she featured a great video about Dr. Seuss.
 

Simple Purposeful Living || Erin featured 7 cheap water activities to do with your kiddos this summer.  Such a great list... check her out:)

speech therapy + the dollar bin || summer felt memory game

I've really been brainstorming of ways I can share creative ideas for building speech & language each week at home with your littles.  There's a lot of great resources out there, guys!  I think I've found a fun way to share ideas with you (that's a tad bit different than everything that's already out there *at least in what I have found, anyway*).

  It's so hard to figure out how to stand out in the blog world & offer something unique & useful!

 

As I'm working & organizing my "speech bins" over the summer, I'm going to feature one fun activity/item from a dollar bin/store that's free or cheap- & ways that a speech therapist might use it in a therapy session.  And how YOU can use it in the same way at home without leaving the house or attending a session! 

***NOT to discredit or encourage missing your speech or language therapy session AT ALL.  Just a little extra! extra for ya;)

 AND you don't have to have a child that needs therapy... these are all great educational things to do over the summer outside of speech development.
 

FIRST UP...
A game that can technically played in silence, can be used in so many fun therapeutic ways with a little chatter added in the mix!
 

 FELT MEMORY GAME
Where? Target
How Much? $3
What ages? 3-6, however you can use it preschool through geriatric if you so choose.  Everybody loves a good memory game!
How many players? 1-2
What skills can be targeted during this activity? Vocabulary, description, visual scanning, short term memory, attention, spatial perception, turn taking, following directions.

If you were to observe me during a session, you would think most of what I am doing is play.
And a lot of talking.
And you're right.
In therapy we have techniques that we call all the talking we are doing. 
"Modeling, self-talk, parallel talk."
What the heck? Right??
In other words, comment on pictures.  
Use a slow pace and use language your child can understand. 
I can instruct til' I'm blue in the face, so I'll just give you an example
 (that's what I always need to comprehend best!)

Say we get the "ice cream" card.

Ice cream!
Look, Cam!  I found the ice cream card.
What flavor do you think this ice cream is?
It is pink.  When I see pink ice cream, I think it is probably strawberry!
It looks like there is a cherry and sprinkles on top, too!
They put their ice cream in a cone.
The ice cream is cold!  If they don't eat it fast, it might melt!
Hmmm.  I wonder where I can find another strawberry ice cream.
(flip another card over in search for it's match)
Is this a strawberry ice cream?
No, it's not a strawberry ice cream.

It may even sound annoying.  I get it.  I annoy myself sometimes.  But, think about it... especially if a child does not talk, or has very few words... think of all of the words you just shared with them while looking at ONE card.  In doing this, I've just given my kiddo so many exposures to the word "ice cream" as well as words associated with it such as "flavor, strawberry, cone, cherry, sprinkles, melt, cold." And what's better?  There's not a lot of pressure on my little friend to have to label or answer a ton of questions.  The next time you find ice cream, see if they remember.  "Look!  It's the _________" (pause for a minute to see if they want to recall or tell you something about it.)  If they don't say the word, its okay!  Say it for them again.  It's all about us exposing them to these fun summer words in the first place.  It may be easy to pick two or three cards per game to concentrate on, rather than trying to use these techniques with every card.  You'll know what to do with how your child reacts to you:)
 
You can even change it up & focus on different things each time.
Wanna work on categories? Ditch the checkerboard & spread out the cards & organize into fruits, drinks, vegetables, sweet treats, main meals... you name it.

French fries are a pretty laugh-able veggie... but Yolo.

Want to target details & descriptions?  Let's do same & different:)
Split cards into two different stacks.  Lay one match on the table and stack the others.  Let child draw card & find the one that is the "same" as their picture. 

For different, stack both sides & draw a picture from each stack & tell whether they are the "same" or "different" & explain why.

My boys are ALWAYS up for a game of "I Spy."  Why not turn one set of the felt cards over & play a round!

What about phonemic awareness?  Gotta love that one for the speechies:)
-Rhyme Each time you turn a card over, name the item and then a word that rhymes with it.

-Sounds in words In an effort not to overwhelm the kiddo, spontaneously have them tell what sound a food begins/ends with. 

"Pizza!  What does Pizza start with?  P!"

Or
"Hot dog!  What sound does "hotdog" end with? G!"

 

Really, the possibilities are endless.  With older kids you could take the felt picture cards & use them for story telling, making up songs, recalling recipes you may cook up with the ingredients.  And there you go, sweet mamas.  For 3 bucks, look at all the cool & fun things you can do to enrich your kids speech and/or language skills right from the comfort of your own home.

*Modifications:  If you're just teaching your child this game, you may want to start with 2 sets of matching cards to practice & explain the concept.  As they understand, add more cards in the mix!

Have a game/activity/toy at home you'd like to use in a therapeutic way?
List below or email me & I'd love to give you some ideas!

 

summer lovin & hope to do's

It's officially the first day of summer in the Adams abode!

I still can't believe it's here, & have finally had time to start thinking of all the things I'd like to do this summer with the boys.

Do you ever think back to the summers of your own childhood? 
Down below I've listed some things we'd like to do this summer, as I do most summers.  The more I think about it, the more I'm pretty sure, unlike us today, our mom's & grandmothers didn't cook up a big "bucket list" for each summer.  But, gasp.  If I remember correctly, it seems as though the summer days I recall where still full of all the things I hope to do with the boys each year.  Swimming, picnicking, playing outside, making mud pies & forts, helping my mom go to the green house & plant new flowers in her flower beds.

 I think it's true that "Every summer has a story."

In the case of each summer (or year, for that matter) we are blessed with,
 there will never be another like the one we are experiencing now.
Cam is five, Conley is two, Cade is twenty nine, I am t h I r t y.
We are each the youngest this summer than we will ever be again.

So yes, I'll still do the list.  With only hope to's instead of to do's.

Knowing that if we don't check off every thing on the list,
we still had the best summer ever just being together
& enjoying every moment making memories that will become some
 of our favorite stories in the years to come.
okay, maybe not # twenty eight but you get my drift!
 
SUMMER HOPE TO DO'S...

one//  Stop the ice cream truck (& don't forget to have cash ready!)

two // catch a library story time

three // splashpads + playground dates

four // Dollywood + Splash Country: we've never been to splash country! 

five // Safety City: it's a mini Knoxville for kids to practice "safety skills" like crossing roads/driving bikes/scooters... we went last year & learned it's only open special times.

six //lazy pool days

seven // lake days with boys that actually jump in the water (& maybe ride a tube!)
we haven't conquered a toe in the water yet... 

eight // fireworks + sparklers!

nine // grab a snow cone (or two!)

ten // make homemade ice cream!

eleven // get our fruit/veggies from the farmers market downtown

twelve // attend a day camp (I found an astronaut one for Cam!)

thirteen // go to bible school!
fourteen// visit the zoo

fifteen// spend a day at the muse

sixteen//catch fireflies

seventeen// make smores

eighteen// visit the sunsphere up close

nineteen// make a garden (or at least plant our pumpkin seeds!)

twenty // dine at the food truck park

twenty one// visit the flower truck (okay, this is mostly for mama)

twenty two// go on a picnic

twenty three// see the sunflowers

twenty four// attend a festival downtown + go to the farmers market one Saturday morning!

twenty five// hit up the movies on a rainy day for their $1 showings.

twenty six// learn to ice skate

twenty seven// take the boys to a dirt car race
twenty eight// Potty train Conley.  The most exciting, dangerous, entertaining, adventurous "hope to do" of them all.

Most of my ideas come from Knoxville Mom Blog.  I love that resource!