Puppets!
Yes, today we made puppets!Spencer picked the dog-mommy helped cut everything but the head- Athena picked the cat-and cut it all. She named her Cindy Cat.
We will get back to the puppets later... If you want to read about the puppets I will title a portion of the blog and you can scroll down to the title and continue reading. (I am not sure how to link it yet)
Today started with a cranky attitude. Athena woke up upset. She has been asking about her bio mom since Tuesday which is the normal day she is supposed to be picked up. But bio mom did not show, call, or text.
Wednesday she told me she wanted to go to Granny's to see her mom. I told her I would contact her mom so we could plan it. Then she said "Why don't you ever let me see my mommy?"
This hurt. I know she doesn't understand but we really try to keep communications open with her so she does not feel we are keeping her from her mom. Her mom not showing is a pattern that is getting more difficult for Athena to understand and handle emotionally.
Jerry contacted the bio mom and her response was that she had errands and work to do and would not have the time until Friday to pick up Athena. Of course.
After the conversation I had Athena sit on my lap so we could talk about it. I do not tell her exactly what is said or the exact reason but I do not dismiss the topic and take the time to inform Athena of the situation. I told her "Tonight you are going to stay with Me, Daddy, and Spencer and will see your mom on Friday."
Of course she asks why.
This is the hard part. Telling a 4 year old that her mom is to busy for her is mean and would hurt her heart. But I do not believe in lying to her. It is important with what she is dealing with that she can always trust what me and her daddy tell her and we will not lie about it. So I tell her "She is busy today and works tonight but will see you on Friday. I am sorry honey I know you wanted to see her but you will have fun when you do see her on Friday."
This usually stops all questions and sometimes we just cuddle for awhile or she shrugs it off and goes to play.
Today is Friday.
Again, Athena woke up upset. She was crying over everything. I told her to go lay down in bed and I would call for her when breakfast was ready so she could rest a little because she seemed tired.
When I went to check on her she was lying quietly in bed. I looked at her and knew what I needed to do. I got down on my knees and asked her to join me on the floor. We sat knee to knee kneeling together and prayed. It was amazing! At the end of the prayer Athena's face was glowing. I think she really enjoyed taking that time together and hearing me pray for HER.
I put her heart in His hands.
The rest of the day she stayed really close to me. She wanted to be next to me, hugging, holding hands, whatever it was. And I encouraged it.
Usually when she is dealing with emotions regarding her mom she really tests boundaries with me and misbehaves all day. Today she did not. She did not go to the corner once. A nice change. Prayer is good.
When Spencer was dropped off she asked where her mom was and when she was coming. I told her I was not sure...
The day continued.
Preschool
We had rice again for the sensory station also the reading station, and the dress up station the kids have titled "rain".
'Rain rain go away come again another day'We played out a story where they were caught in a rainstorm being
chased and they had to find shelter. When I asked what was chasing them Athena said "me silly, I am being goofy!"Shapes-
Puppets
The puppet printouts
The printouts are for a slightly different version of The Little Red Hen but the kids did not mind the difference at all and the version that matches the printout is accessible online.
(The website is currently down that has the other version so I am not able to insert the exact link to the book.)
We may check out the other version too :).
They are not printable for lunch bag puppets but we glued them to the bag anyway and it turned out!
We are studying the letter 'Rr' and next week the letter 'Hh' so this book was the perfect pick up. I also named my hen Red, a new vocab word.
The library had a wonderfully big version of the book as well which the kids really enjoyed. They were able to get up close to the book and see everything as well as touch or point to different things on the pages.
The original plan was to read the story during circle time, make puppets, then re-read the story acting it out with the puppets. This did not happen, which frustrated me. I like to finish the things on my list of things to do. I feel unaccomplished when I do not.
The lesson plan included the second reading, bible discussion, and vocabulary. We did not have time for it because making the puppets took an hour and a half!
That seems so crazy to me. Too long.
I usually set a timer and tell her she has x amount of time to finish so we can complete things but after the prayer this morning I did not feel as anxious to get things done as usual and decided to slacken up on the time constraints, she was still learning.
I did continue to give Athena the option to finish up the puppet tomorrow so we could finish our other activities but she wanted to get it finished today. I agreed and she took her time to make her puppet beautiful.
By the time she was finished the kids were hungry for a snack and Spencer was feeling sick, mommy needed quiet time. So I gave up on finishing and cleaned up preschool.
I did pray for patience this morning and was not instantly anxious when cleaning up the rice. That was a blessing.
After Spencer was picked up Athena asked when her mom was coming and I told her I was not sure what the plan was. I had not heard from the bio all day. Athena went upstairs and changed into her jammies and came over to me holding her blanket and asked "Mommy why doesn't my mom want to spend time with me?"
This broke my heart. I told her she did want to spend time with her and must have been busy today.
Finally we hear from the bio at 8pm. She was babysitting her friends kids so they could go out and would be by tomorrow to pick up Athena but she wasn't feeling good so don't expect her in the morning.
We turned the night into Athena night. She picked a place to eat, was able to stay up and play past bed time and had some ice cream. Hopefully this took her mind and heart of the disappointment. Thank you GOD for the wisdom to care for my precious innocent daughter.
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