Monday, December 28, 2009

What a month!

Well, I don't even know where to start! This month has been very exciting. This Christmas season has been soooo magical with an excited three year old to share it with. We have been baking, crafting, train riding, carriage riding, shopping, playing in the snow (yes snow), visiting with family..... whew are you tired yet because I certainly am! We are so happy that Nana has been visiting to share in these great experiences. So here are a few pics of our wonderful end to a tough yet rewarding year!

Making cookie ornaments for our handmade tree...







Making our annual "Thankful For" chain...






Our homemade tree...



Crafting and drinking hot cocoa with our neighbors...




Our day spent in Grapevine and on the Polar Express...

















Our WHITE Christmas...






And a wonderful Christmas with family, excitement, and magic...




Wednesday, December 9, 2009

catch up

So since we have been MIA for a couple of weeks, I decided to quickly run through what the Riggs' family has been up to lately.

We spent a yummy Thanksgiving day at Nani's house....






We watched the Christmas parade....




we have baked....crafted....and still had time to pose!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Oh tis the season for Polar Express..... Let the hypnotism begin (sigh).

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

The Riggs Family LOVES Montessori!

For those of you who are just meeting us or those who have not had the pleasure (yes pleasure) of hearing one of my many lectures about the benefits of Montessori, the Riggs' family LOVES Montessori! For those that have little ones or are thinking about little ones in the future, I highly recommend reading about the Montessori philosophy. Since I could not possibly do justice by try to explain all of the wonderful details of Montessori, I will give a few details and some recommendations for some great books to reference.

We have tried to implement as much of the Montessori philosophy as is right for our family from the beginning, but since the boys have started Montessori school they have blossomed. The first time I heard Kaden say "Lakelan, may I please have that train back" my heart skipped a beat. And when Lakelan responded to this request by (brace yourself) giving the train back, I think that Nathan had to peel me off the kitchen floor! Kaden has become so caring and compassionate towards others I can hardly believe that he once had trouble socializing with others at all. Montessori's main goal, above academics, is to raise self sufficient, caring, life learners and we are so grateful that our boys are able to follow this wonderful philosophy.

I recently asked the boys teachers what their chosen activities are during work time. Lakelan loves puzzles. He is very interested in his letters these days. While reading a book recently, Lakelan pointed at the letter A and said "A aaaaa" he then did the same for the letter S. We are so proud of his progress! Currently Kaden has no interest in learning his letters. His teacher told us that he generally stays in the math section. He enjoys working with the wooden stairs, the rods and the counting beads. He also enjoys his shapes as well as puzzles.

I am sure that I will talk about Montessori more in this blog but for anyone that is interested, some great book suggestions are Montessori From the Start by Paula Polk Lillard and Teaching Montessori in the Home by Elizabeth Hainstock. These books along with many Montessori materials can be found on Amazon.com (whose founders, by the way, are products themselves of Montessori).

So, without further adieu, a few pics of the boys in action....





Kaden strengthening his writing muscles as well as his concentration by pulling Kernels one by one.


Lakelan sometimes spends an hour pouring rice back and fourth.





Lakelan working on his fine motor skills by screwing and unscrewing lids from small containers.