3 Dinosaurs is 9 months!

9 months ago I started this journey and was not sure where it would take me. I’ve met so many people and learned so much about myself and my girls along this journey and I look forward to keep going with it! I have several printables that are Holiday coming out. I’m working on several at the same time. So whichever I finish up first will go out.

I wanted to do something different with this post. I’ve been releasing something on this day but I have a set pattern and did not want to change. So let people on Facebook ask me questions.

Samantha asked “What have you learned as a new blogger?”
Answer: No matter what you start it takes time to get started. It helps if you can connect with other people that are doing what you are doing. Working together and learning from others is great. I also learned to always link back to a source of where you got something. People like when you link back to them and I’m no exception. I also learned that comments can make my day. I love to hear from people about what they like or did not like. Patience and time to let things grow is always important. Don’t step on other people as you are trying to gain a following. Also always thank others that help you!

Valerie asked “I’d like to know what a typical day looks like for you? With 3 girls, when do you find time to do all those great printable and keep up all the activities you do with them?”
Answer: I ask her for a day and she picked Wednesday. My day normally starts about 5am when one of the girls gets up. I try and workout but it has not happened lately. I just wake up now at 5am. If they are not up I put some laundry in the wash and grab some quick computer time. It last about 30 minutes. I get Rose up at 6am so she can be ready on time to get to school. I make sure they ready to go. Off to the bus and then clean up the house and get ready for Mary’s Speech. Then in the middle of speech get Amelia off to school and then get back for the end of a speech. After speech, Mary and I do some OT activities and I do some cleaning, then maybe a few minutes on the computer if Mary is playing nicely by herself. Go get Amelia. Talk to Amelia about her day at school who she played with, what she learned, and any special activities they might have done. Lunch for the two girls and then quiet time for them. This is when I get most of my computer time in during that time. It last about 90 minutes and then off to do more fun things with the girls. We might pull out the OT cards and work on those exercises for a while, then get Rose off the bus and help her with her homework and reading. I might also do speech homework with Rose if she has some sent home. Review her day at school and what she learning. The girls will play some or a planned activity. I do cleaning and get stuff ready for the night and dinner. I finish up laundry and put it away and see what else is left. Dinner by 6pm and then get bed time started by 7pm and finish up about 7:30 and then do the numerous trips for waters and hugs. Make sure all the girls are sleeping and not doing something else about 8pm. A lot of time I will crash after they do. Some times I get more computer time and a few times I do watch TV with my husband. Then bed by 10pm for sure.

Valerie asked “What is the thinking process behind a book activity? We reads lots of books but I can’t imagine activities with them, it’s totally foreign to me.”
Answer: I try and pick one element that the girls might pick up on. They always look at the items they might be drawn to. I always read the books first before they get a chance. I pick two items. Then I think about what they liked in the book. For the Virtual Book Club book last month Chop Sticks they liked the idea two sticks working together could pick stuff up. I can’t up with as much stuff as they could play with. For other book projects I see what I can come up with that would be fun for them to remember the book.

Jill from Enchanted Homeschooling Mom asked “What is each one of your daughter’s favorite packs that you have made?
Answer: Rose’s favorite are the Zoo and Dinosaur. Rose also said “all the activities are great mom”. Amelia favorite is the Shelf Elf…which you have not seen yet and she watch me make. Mary is the Farm Pack.

Amber asked “9 months ago what made you decide to begin this wonderful blog?”
Answer: It was a lot of strong prodding from some friends who thought it would be good to share some of the fun ideas I did with my girls. Plus it was a creative outlet for me as well. It has been a great choice for me!

Susan asked “How do you think of all those ideas for printables?”
Answer: Most of them come from books. I see books I want do some activities with for the girls. The first pack I made was because I fell in love with the book Hogwash! (Wilson, Karma). I was looking for a Farm pack to use with it. I never could and waited for other to do it. Finally, I started to looking for images and what it would take to make a pack. It took me 2 weeks to make it. But most of the others are all because of various books I found that I wanted expand on for my girls that I could not find something for them. Some I wanted to expand on the Speech Pack that was given to my girls while there were at school. I wanted more activities to do with those packs. So my ideas come from lots of places. Some times I see a set of images and like and just wait until I find a book to go with them. I will say that I plan on expanding some of the older packs.

Elizabeth asked “How do you fit in activities after school?”
Answer: Sometimes it happens and other times it does not. I have to work it in. At times I do teasers in the morning to make it something to look forward to. I might read the book for the activity if we have time. Or let her look through something we would be doing. A lot of times I don’t plan on something for Rose on her busy days but she ends up doing something her sister did anyways. It all depends on the days.

One question I got asked a lot was how I make so many printables. A lot of it has to do with making templates to use for any page I make. I also have notes and some I just memorize the size of image that I need for that set. It make the work go much faster when I don’t have to guess sizes of images. I can open and go right to work. I have learned many different techniques over the last 9 months that help. But I will say that big packs take LOTS of hours to make. And new things always take extra time.

This has been lots of fun answering questions!

Cassie – 3Dinosaurs.com