what i look like when i planned a really awesome activity and there is utter chaos

the first day of a new nursery worker’s day in nursery

Emergency Preparedness for the Little Ones

i'm the first one to openly admit, that i have like no emergency preparedness stuff. well, take that back. i currently have a few things put together thanks to a faithful lady in my ward who cornered me in nursery party to ask if i had my 72 hour kit together yet. and embarrassingly enough, i dont have one. i was sort of into it during the summer time but that whole mess freaked me out cause i went into end-of-the-world apocalypse mode and overwhelmed myself. so then i just quit and looked into all that since.

but there are some crazy things going on in the world and it's winter time over here. you never know what could happen. but i guess there have always been crazy things going on in the world but you just have to be prepared. that's the whole point isn't it? and i'm a mom now and have two little ones to keep alive in case there is an emergency and man oh man just the thought of being unprepared and panicked makes me cringe.

anyways, i committed to her that i would start on my kit the following day, so i went out with the few extra dollars i had and hit up the thrift store for backpacks and wal-mart for the things that i needed from the list. i'm happy to report that at least i have the 72 hour kits ready for the kids.

i was going to create this super awesome cutesy little printable to go along with this post, but that's not what is important. what is important is...

STARTING AND COMMITTING (isn't that the case for everything?)

and it's almost the new year, best time to start new and get things done!

here is an AWESOME starter list that was simple and not overwhelming for me. avoid pinterest, too much going on for the sake of an awesome blog post. this is seriously all you need.

here are a few tips to just help you start immediately:

- go around your house and see if you can find any of these items already.

- the "backpack" - if you have an extra travel bag, duffel bag, or even a pillow case, use that. just find something that can store things in. it doesn't have to be some lightweight whatever back pack but if you want that you can get this one for $20 on amazon. one per kid! 

- use a bunch of ziploc bags to separate everything

- go to your kitchen - if you have ramen or anything processed that has an expiration date of six months from now, put it in there

- schedule - write in your planner, set an alarm to check the 72 hour kits 6 months from now to replace clothes and food. 

you can imagine my pure joy at the small/toys and games suggestion for the little ones. here's my two cents on it:

- include a toy/activity or two that you know your toddler always has an interest in (peej loves cars and junie loves building things)
- notebook and writing/coloring utensils - there are endless things you can do with a notebook and a pen

we worry about getting things that make us look good or make our kids look adorable. we want people to ask us, "where did you get that?" and say "OMG! you look awesome." but when it comes down to being prepared, physically and/or financially and all we have are cute clothes and expensive stuff, none of which are emergency-preparedness worthy, who is the fool!? right??

after you've read this, start. START NOW. if you need someone to report to, report to me please! i'd love to hold you accountable ;)

GO!

[product review] - cheap "wooden" puzzles

a while ago, i posted about some really cute puzzles that i found at "the spot" at target (their dollar section). i hadnt really busted them out cause we lose puzzle pieces so fast here at home and i hate tracking them down. seriously, pull my hair out. in nursery party it's a different story because it's not your house and other people need to use the room so you have to clean. well, i finally let the kids play with them to see how they would like them. and conclusion? the puzzles weren't really that great. the print is adorable, i love robots and i love animals.

but...

they have no guidelines, no helps in how to complete them. toddlers need this. it helps them to feel like they know what they are doing and are somewhat in control and independent. it also makes things easier as a nursery leader/worker to engage but not hover (there are other kids to attend to after all!)

budget wise though, these puzzles were great for us. we needed puzzles and the kids seem interested, so we had to make a few little adjustments. i drew a few dotted lines in to outline the pieces and labeled them 1-whatever on the puzzle piece and the puzzle itself. the kids have actually done pretty well with the puzzles, go kids!

(photo by: ashley so'oto)

tis the season to focus on the savior

i get caught up with a lot of motor skill activities and crafts for nursery. and then i catch myself totally engaged in, well, not the wrong things, but the things that matter less. i am constantly reminding myself that the purpose of nursery "is to help children learn the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and live it. The nursery class should help the children increase their understanding of and love for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, have positive experiences in a Church setting, and grow in feelings of self-worth."

so then i feel a little guilty that i'm doing so much research on crafting but let's be real, you can't teach a full on 20 minute lesson to toddlers. it's just not possible. unless you sedate them of course. but you can find ways to have a positive experience in a Church setting and to grow in feelings of self-worth. i feel like crafting and developing skills in nursery help the kids feel that, feel confident, feel accomplished, feel loved. 

that being said, i wanted to find a nursery craft/lesson help that would satisfy my (and maybe your) need to find something different to do outside of the manual coloring page for the christmas lesson. with help from the google, i found these free nativity printables from pretty prudent. i'm probably not going to print fabric just yet, but i probably should for future usage for the nursery peeps or for myself! but for the kids, i want them to be able to each take home a set, so we'll just be doing paper. 

images from pretty prudent

waiting for the parents to pick up their kids after church

waiting for the parents to pick up their kids

strive to be the best parents in the world

this blog and IG thing about nursery party has been quite the spiritual adventure. hopefully it's helping a couple people out there but it's probably just helped me the most and that's what i needed. maybe i just needed a public outlet to assist my journey through motherhood/parenthood/nurserypartyhood to better understand my roles as a wife and mom and nursery party thrower but also to better understand the little people that i am serving. constantly searching and thinking about what to put on the blog and on my IG has helped me be more creative and patient with my own children, magnify my calling in church with the nursery party kids and see the babies in a much more different light (usually retrospectively because in the moment when they are going nutso, i dont see anything crazy). and arent most blogs just self-epiphanies in a social media form anyway? that's what mine are at least.

anyways, happy saturday. carry on!