Homework

So after two years of having the same basic "homework" at Chehalem we have a change.
Most classes are not using journals this year and in addition to RocketMath we are also seeing some Eureka math worksheets.

I like to start the student off with their math homework from their communication folders. This would include finishing their RocketMath worksheets and working on their Eureka math worksheets, if they have any.
If there are no worksheets in their folder I have several copies of RocketMath and have them practice, wither verbally with each other or written, on the level that they are currently on.

We still complete 20 minutes of reading after our math. We have a bookshelf full of books and usually have a nice amount of Library books around. Since we are nearing the haunting season I have chosen several Halloween books such as books from Rainbow Magic, My Weird School, Junie B. Jones... I never borrow anything scary. Other books can be from the school library that your child or mine has checked out or books from your child's personal library.

Occasionally I will print out fun, seasonal and holiday worksheets just for fun. The kids do not have to do anything with them while they are here, they could just take them home to enjoy.

Depending on how much focus we have stored up for homework time depends on how soon they are finished and can move on to just having fun.

Mr(s). Clean

I try, despite having a husband, and 8 year old, 3 year old and 1 year old, to keep our place clean. Sometimes it is a bit of a challenge. We have a light tan carpet that was not new when we moved in 7 years ago, who knows how old it really is. What I do know is that the apartments no longer use it. This carpet has made it through four years of childcare with a gaggle of toddlers and a few infants. It has survived the seasons, pretty big deal when you live on the first floor and are one of the first doors. That mud, rain and leaves sure can make a mess! This carpet has survived a husband who has kept greasy jobs. We have what I call 'ghost' spots which I can significantly reduce in appearance only to have them start reappearing the following day. Even with having the carpet professionally cleaned they are still there.
Even with all those odds stacked against this poor, abused carpet, it is cleaned every other month. No one may notice it but it is clean.
I steam clean the hard floors at least once a week.
I vacuum at least once a day and clean the vacuum and it's filter monthly.
I wipe down the couches and chairs at least once a week.
I try to have the windows and back door opened, even if it is just a crack, to let in fresh air.
I try to use as many natural cleaners as I can.
I make my own disinfecting spray using essential oils. I also have an oil diffuser that I like to get running with a nice mix of oils.
Maybe not many people care how I clean my home but I know that there are some kiddos who may be sensitive to cleaners or carpets that aren't shampooed often.
I know when I was running my childcare when my Chehalem Student was little the parents appreciated this information and maybe someone else will appreciate it too.

We do not have any pets, though we have thought about a betta fish. I have yet to learn of someone allergic to those little guys but I guess you never know.
We do not smoke of any kind, though I do have neighbors who do. Our main smoking neighbors have moved and this has helped out us a great deal.

Outside of cleaning I like to decorate for holidays. I love getting ready for Halloween and Day of the Dead. I never have anything too spooky since I do have littles of my own.
I also decorate for Thanksgiving, birthdays, Christmas/Posadas, Valentine's Day, St. Patricks Day and Easter. I am in no way trying to force anything on anyone, it is just what we enjoy.

Perk up your morning!

Soon school will be starting and so will your new morning routine. Maybe your kids are not like mine, maybe they are, but we can hit several bumps in our school morning road. We can battle about everything or have a perfect flow to our morning but no matter what I need my coffee.

I will be brewing a fresh pot of coffee each morning. I don't have anything fancy, I make my own creamer. Sometimes I make it with coconut milk and other times with whole milk. I also have plain ol' powdered creamer.

Any-who, I will be having fresh hot coffee available in the mornings if you are needing to add a little pep to your step in the morning. Just bring your favorite caffeinated beverage container and enjoy.

I also have a nice stash of green teas, peppermint tea, chocolate tea..... So if you are a tea person, I may just have something for you as well.

Do you have your childcare lined up?

Summer is coming to an end and school is quickly approaching. This year my Chehalem Mustang will be in third grade, this has gone by way to fast! I will be continuing to.provide before and after.school care, do you have childcare lined up? I am still open for before and after school care and provide breakfast, after school shacks, homework help and a bit of play time. Let me know if you are needing.care for your Chehalem Elementary student.

Commonwealth Lake Park

During the summer I would love to visit Commonwealth Lake Park. It has a nice large path, a play ground, plenty of grass, bugs, ducks and geese.

I am wanting to create scavenger hunts and to bring along our kid camera so the kids can take pictures of their interests and then come home for a snack and to draw and write in a journal about our discoveries.

 We would need to start our adventures in the earlier part of the morning , especially during the warm days so we can get on back before it becomes too warm for the kiddos.

Earth Day Craft

The other day was Earth Day, after we had our snacks and finished our school homework we created some pretty sun catchers by using a muffin tin and pony beads. I had asked the girls to use greens and blues since those are the colors of the Earth.

After they arranged the beads just as they liked I placed the muffin tin in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. I then pulled them out, let them cool for a bit and then popped them out of the muffin tin so that the kids could enjoy their creations.

Here is one that my daughter made. So very pretty! Last summer we made up a bunch of these, drilled tiny holes in the top and created hanging sun catchers. This is a very fun craft, a little stinky since you are melting plastic so you will need a fan or some windows open, but other than that the kids really enjoyed it.

Playing on The Hills

There is this nice long curvy path near Chehalem Elementary that my kids call 'The Hills'. They love to play there, on and off the path, running up and down, picking flowers and blowing on the dandelion puffs. We switch up which side we go on once in a while and since it is Spring there are plenty of fun things to find. We look for bugs and different shaped rocks, new flowers that weren't in bloom the last time we went. If we go in the morning we notice that there is dew on the grass and everything is sparkly in the sun.

Chasing each other up and down the path and in the grass is another thing we like to do and if we happen to find a bench, we just have to sit on it for a bit.

I like to take advantage of any nice weather we have, you know how Oregon can be, and take the kids out to run off a bit of energy and explore a bit.

After school we may stop by for about 30 minutes for the kids to loosen up their bodies from all that learning. During the summer we will play here as well, mostly during the morning hours since there is not much shade and it can get a bit hot.

So there you go, The Hills. One of our Favorite places to run and play.

Pipe cleaner crystal craft

 The other day we had fun creating butterflies, stars and moons with brightly colored pipe cleaners and letting them hang over night in a hot water and borax solution.

 We checked them in the morning and beautiful crystals had grown.

Before and After School Schedules

Before School Care - $10

6am - open for earliest arrivals
7am - breakfast is served
7:30 - preparing for school (fixing hair, getting backpack ready, enjoy a show)
8am - car is started and time for shoes and jackets
8:10 - off to school we go!


After School Care - $10

3:05 - school pick up
3:15 - arrive home and time to snack and enjoy a show
3:50 - time to start homework (reading - 20 minutes, writing - 10 minutes & math - 5 minutes)
4:30 - free time for play, listening to music, up to 15 minutes of tablet time, coloring
6pm - time for parent pick up


Reading: We have a bookshelf full of books for reading at beginning level to chapter books. We do have a few bird magazines and library books that we have checked out from the Beaverton City Library if those are preferred for reading. Your child may bring his/her own books in their backpack if you would prefer.

Writing: We have plenty of extra pencils and paper in case your child does not have either in their backpack. The writing shall go on.

Math: I have copies of several of the Rocket Math worksheets. I will try my best to match the worksheet level to the level that your child is currently on. If for some reason I do not have the same level that your child is on I will try try to find the closest level to the lone that they are on for practice. We will be quizzing each other some days verbally and other days we will be writing the answers on the worksheet individually. These will not be timed and we will be working on this practice for a minimum of 5 minutes. Some days we may work more than 5 minutes on math, the more practice the better.

Outside Play: There will be some days when the weather is so lovely that we may stop by the 'hills' as we call them. There are walking paths near the school and there are hills. Plenty of grass and flowers to run and play in. This will take place right after pick up from school and the kids can run and play for around 30 minutes and then we will head back to my place to start up with our after school schedule.
Other days we may color with chalk, play hop scotch or play with toys on the patio as long as it isn't wet or raining.

Summer Fun

 (image found at Somewhat Simple)

During this summer I want to fit in more and instead of sitting and trying to plan out things to do and places to go I found this helpful weekly outline to base our fun on.

Make something Mondays are for science, arts and crafts. Painting, coloring, experiments, rainbow loom, sun catchers....

Time to read Tuesdays have trips to the library. Books can be checked out but need to stay here so we can enjoy them and then return them fro new books the following week.

What's cooking Wednesdays we can make fun snacks. Smoothies, cookies, jello, muffins, trail mix, bread, fruit salad....

Thoughtful Thursdays we can create cards and letters for our families. Birthday cards, Love notes, A hug to send in the mail....

Somewhere fun Fridays are for adventure walks at the Tualatin Hills Nature Park, where we can be Nature Detectives and go on scavenger hunts. Each time we can take a different path, take notebooks to to write or draw what we see, write a journal entry or just enjoy the fresh air.

Are you ready for Spring Break?

Spring Break is creeping up on us, Chehalem Parents. Do you have care set up for your children?
I will be open for full day care, 6am to 6pm, for the whole Spring Break.

I have been looking around for some activities that I know my Chehalem student will enjoy and I hope yours will as well.

I have gathered several word searches, coloring pages, a few science experiments such as growing crystals and growing water beads which we could write about in our journals. I have a small container garden and already have a few sprouts coming up, these would be great for observations and I have a few seeds left over that we can watch develop roots and sprout.

We have a nice little library of our own filled with books for the kids to read and we can work on our rocket math skills as well.

I would love to plan a trip or two to the Tualatin Hills Nature Park on Milikan Way for a Spring Scavenger Hunt. My family loves this Nature Park and their should be plenty of wonderful changes taking place there and hopefully a few critters to spot.

And a trip to the Beaverton City Library would be wonderful! My kids love picking out their own books and your child could pick out a book to borrow from the library and for them to enjoy .

Please contact me either text/call at 503-806-7095
or by comment on this post
or by email at preciosamama@live.com

Happy Monday!

Welcome!

Hello parents, guardians and chickadees!

My name is Rachelle and I am a former Head Preschool Teacher who is now a stay at home mother of three chickadees of my own. My eldest is soon to be 8 years old and is currently in second grade (Mrs Thacker's class). My two boys are 1 and 3 years of age.

I am offering before and after school care for Chehalem Elementary students as well as full day care on non-school days in my home.

During before and after school care I will be providing breakfast, afternoon snack, beverages and homework help. I am able to transport children to and from school in my vehicle.

On non-school days two meals, two snacks, beverages, crafts and science experiments will take place. We can work on our reading, math as well as journals on these days as per the schools homework guidelines.

I work hard to provide a safe environment for children to learn and relax after their day of school.