1,2,3...Come Homeschool With Me

Loss of Identity

2011-09-19T10:11:00.000-07:00

Well, we are now into our full second week of school. Little Cheese and Manny LOVE it! And I am so thankful. It wasn't such a hard to choice to decide to send our children to public school after homeschooling Little Cheese for the last four years. As the time grew near to actually drop them off at the school building though, I must say that the nervousness grew.

Now, just my littlest ones are home with me everyday. And the time flies! Flies! I don't even realize where it goes but suddenly naptime is a priority and I need to get as much done before I leave to pick up my older two because my husband walks in the door almost as soon as we get home.

But, I wanted to share something interesting with you. The thing that I am finding I miss the most is something I didn't think about at all. I have lost my identity. I am no longer seen as a Mommy of four children by strangers but a Mommy to two. I no longer have all of my children with me at Dr's appointments or other errands. People always speak to Goosie, who is now three, and she tells them about her baby brother. But I always find myself wanting to let the stranger know that I do have two more children. I am the proud Mommy of four.

Isn't that interesting?

Killing them with manners....

2011-08-31T13:28:00.000-07:00

Well...today I had another joyful experience at Wally World. Love the place really. (crickets chirping). I have taught my children to always get out of the way of any other adult on the aisle. I have taught them to say "...I'm sorry, Ma'am or Sir, am I in your way?" and then move out of the way. Kindness. Respect. Manners.

This afternoon we taking up the entire back to school aisle. We were having issues picking out the one subject notebooks. Should we get kittens and Captain America or Hello Kitty and Spiderman. A lady walked onto the same aisle and I tried to move our buggy out of the way. "I'm sorry, am I in your way?" is all I said. Polite, customary, manners. Then came the same responses from Manny and Little Cheese. She snarled and the air around us because crackly tense. In a low sing-songy voice she said, "I haven't spoken to anyone, I am just trying to look."

Well, the heat rose in my face. All sense of calmness and the urge to keep my mouth shut left. LEFT! So, I replied in the same sing-songy voice, "I'm sorry, we were just trying to be polite". She abruptly turned and left the aisle.

I read a blog post one time and I wish I could find a link to it about how wonderful it would be if everyone could wear a sign around their neck. "Leave me alone...I've had a bad day" or other examples that I remember from that post were "I'm suffering, I'm lonely, I'm overwhelmed, my husband just left, my daughter has cancer, I just lost my job, I (fill in the blank)..."

My instant thought was to think that she was just a horrible grouchy person. But in reality, my thoughtfully taught manners and response to her might have just been enough to push her over her limits. I wish I could have seen her sign. I wish I hadn't held our "manners" in such a high idol regard!

What's for dinner? Chicken!

2011-07-20T11:52:00.000-07:00

Chicken, chicken, chicken....I love chicken!
I tend to buy the chicken breasts on the bone because I tend to believe that you get more bang for your cluck...I mean buck. It is inevitable, however, that all of the chicken cannot be cut off of the bone.
So, I cook the bones. Sometimes I boil them. Sometimes I bake them. A little pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and season salt.
Once the bones are cooked, you get these lovely little chucks of chicken. These are perfect for all kinds of recipes. They are great for chicken noodle soup, Quesadillas, chicken pot pies, chicken casseroles.... Just put the little chunks into a ziploc bag and freeze them until needed.
Yummy!

Cleaner sooner than later....

2011-07-18T20:23:00.000-07:00

I did it. I heard the mantra even as I did it. I invited a new friend and her sweet children over today for a playdate. I found myself frantically cleaning my house for their arrival. Not that I was expecting perfection but I wanted to at least be able to see the dining room table.

What was it that I heard in my head, my mantra? Don't do for others what you won't do for your spouse. Our house had needed a good ol' fashion cleaning for a week. The dining room doubles as my sewing room and I had my lovely supplies spread all over. We were eating on the kitchen island so there wasn't a real need to rush and clean off the table. Until we had guests that is.

Oh how often I let the house settle into a "tidy disarray" when it is just us at home. A couple things here or there that I don't put away. Papers that need to be sorted. The random toy...that multiplies. Baby stuff on tables. Not filth just disarray.

However, if I would just take the moments that I have and straighten the disarray would disappear. My sweet husband loves a tidy home. He has learned to live in my untidiness and for that I am greatful. But I realized today how much more I should be willing to tidy the house for my husband than I am for a friend.

Oh my.

Ain't No Peanut

2011-07-17T20:16:00.000-07:00

Don't ask me why I titled this post this way. I said it in my head and it stuck that way. However, this post is about peanuts and the fact that we have to avoid them.

When my little Goosie was a year old, we discovered that she has a peanut allergy. She found a peanut butter lid and apparently enjoyed the tasty treat. However, this is when we discovered that she had an allergy to it. Red eyes, swollen face, hives.....it was not exciting.

A couple years later and allergy testing shows that she is still allergic to peanuts. And, to make things even more interesting, our 16 week old baby boy also has the allergy. Yeah. We know this because I held him while eating a peanut butter cookie and he had an allergic reaction. Swollen face, swollen eyes, hives, breakout eczema, whelps....it was not exciting.

We now carry epipens everywhere we go.

Now. Living with a peanut allergy proves everyday to be harder than once imagined. Cross contamination is everywhere. EVERYWHERE!

Tonight after leaving church we stopped by a local ice cream shop. It was busy on this wonderful Sunday evening and we waited in line. The longer we waited, the more nervous I became. What about the scoops that are being used to scoop the icecream? What about the peanuts that are being used for sundaes? Are hands being washed? The frozen stone in which they make smashed icecream was not being cleaned, only wiped. It is not the responsibility of the ice cream shop to make sure that my daughter is safe, it is mine and my husband's.

Needless to say, but my little Goosie only had soft serve.

The one thing that I hold true and fast is that God is the one who holds my little daughter in His hands. And they are not covered in peanut dust.

Hello Friends....

2011-07-14T09:14:00.000-07:00

It has been a long, long time since I have posted here. Life is busy, running, turning, upheaving, and then settling back.

In March, we added this little guy

And my others just keeping bigger....

Goosie is now three!

Manny is now 5 1/2

and my beautiful Little Cheese will be 9 next month.

God has truly blessed our family. Change, however, is also coming on September 6th. The day after Labor Day. "S" Day.

We have made the decision to send our oldest two children to public school this year. It is not a decision we came to lightly but is one that we feel strongly is for the best.

Today, I took Little Cheese for her reading test. As I walked around the school with my two youngest while waiting, I felt excited and strangely sad at the same time. I am so excited for my Little Cheese to be in the school environment. So excited for the experiences that she will have. So excited for the friends that she will make. So excited for the adventures that public school hold.

However, it is the first time that she will not be with me. And I am going to miss her. However, homeschooling will still be part of our lives. Every day I will have the chance to help my children learn and grow and teach them. So, this blog will be up and running so come on....come homeschool with me!

$20 gift card to Amazon for $10!

2011-01-19T04:34:00.000-08:00

Talk about making diapers cheap! Or homeschool supplies, books, music, kitchen gadgets, toys, or any other endless, endless possibility of things that Amazon.com sells!

One of the online daily deal sites, Living Social, currently is offering a $20 gift card to Amazon.com for only $10.

The way this works?

You go to the site and sign up. Once you are signed in, go to "More Deals" on the left hand side menu. I chose the city of Baltimore as my city but I believe that you can choose any city listed. The deal is nationwide. The deal should come up for the $20 gift card. Simply choose to purchase it.

Your gift card information will be sent to you the day after the current deal expires. So, although you won't get the gift card for a couple days, whoo-hoo! $20 to Amazon for cheap! Please note, though, that your banking account will be charged immediately....just so you know.

Here is the fine print on the deal copied directly from Living Social:

The Fine Print

Limit 1 per person, no gifting allowed • Amazon.com Gift Card does not expire • Voucher purchase is valid for US-based customers only • LivingSocial Terms and Conditions apply • The Amazon.com terms and conditions set forth below are deal specific terms that supersede any inconsistent terms in the LivingSocial terms and conditions.

Now, I used Living Social back in December for the first time. It was easy. It was not hard. It was not scary. In fact, it went so smoothly that I am telling you about it!

Important: If you are so inclined, go directly through the Living Social link that I listed above. Yes, I will benefit from it ($5 credit to my account) but so will you! If you have never signed up before, using the link above will also give you a $5 credit on your account. Due to the specific wording of this deal, I am not sure if you will receive your credit toward your first purchase or if it will just be applied to your account for another purchase. However, either way, you must go through the link given to get that credit. Or, just go to Living Social on your own. Just want to be honest and real with you about when I benefit from my posts....

Multiplication practice

2011-01-07T05:34:00.000-08:00

As we are learning our multiplication tables, I am trying to come up with other ways to practice than to just use flashcards.

So, the other day I printed out sheets of paper that had the sums of multiplication tables 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Then, I printed out the problems and we cut them into small strips

Then Little Cheese had to tape the problems under the correct answers on the sheets

to have the ending be like this:

It was just a nice way to practice something that we have been doing every day.

Forbidding the words "I'm Sorry"

2011-01-04T04:45:00.000-08:00

Yep. That's right. I have forbidden my son to use the words "I'm Sorry" for the rest of the day. Is this a free pass to do whatever he wants without any consequences? Absolutely not. Then why on earth would I forbid those words?

I have lost my mind.

No, really, the words are empty and meaningless when he says them. I have taught him from the moment he was old enough to speak to say the words "I'm sorry" when he has done something wrong. Hit your sibling, say I'm sorry. Disobey, say I'm sorry. But, I have taught him a get out of jail free card. Saying those words are what you are to say to get out of trouble. But in truth, those words are to mean so much more. I've essentially taught my son to lie.

Those two words should mean that you have realized you have made a mistake. Those words are to be said when you truly want to let the person know who has been offended that you realize your mistake and you would like to make things right.

Instead, as soon as I start speaking to my son, he starts chanting, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...." over and over and louder than I am speaking. He doesn't mean it. He is essentially saying "Stop, be done. Stop. Be done..." And, chanting over top of what I am saying is even worse disobedience.

So. It's time to make a change. For the rest of day, my son is not allowed to say those words. He must come up with other words to express that he knows that he has done something wrong. Well, you might be thinking, what are other words? "Please forgive...". God calls us to forgive each other, not to say "sorry" until you are blue in the face.

Where we are headed...

2011-01-03T16:38:00.000-08:00

In April we will welcome a new little boy to our house. By April, I hope to have all of the major things covered for the school year.

Also, we are looking forward to a new adventure. Public School. In the fall, Little Cheese and Manny will be going to a wonderful school division. We (and by we I mean my husband and I) are looking forward to all of the wonderful things that come with attending public school.

My husband has worked in the same school division for the past 12 years.

It is a big change...baby, school, newness, not having all of my children at home all day, routines....but that is where we are headed.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T07:33:00.001-08:00

May God bless you and your family!

How to get really cheap diapers....

2010-12-17T17:10:00.000-08:00

As the days approach that we will have two in diapers, I wanted to share with you how I get a really great deal on diapers! They may not be free, but using Amazon Mom and Swagbucks you can get them much cheaper than you can by just purchasing them at the store.

Here's how it works:

Join Swagbucks if you haven't already. It is an online search engine that rewards you with "bucks" for just doing your everyday searches. I typically can earn 20 "bucks" a day, if not a little more depending on how much I am using my computer. I use the Swagbucks toolbar for everything-even for sites that I already know the addresses for by heart (ex: facebook, amazon, ebay, etc)

Once you have earned enough Swagbucks, you can redeem your bucks for a ton of prizes from the Swagbucks store, including $5 gift cards to Amazon for 450 swagbucks. Now, that might seem like alot but in the past year I earned $120 in Amazon gift cards just for using the computer.

Now, if you choose to redeem your Swagbucks for $5 Amazon gift cards, go to Amazon and sign up for their Amazon Mom program. Just by joining this free service, you get discounts on everyday baby items, including diapers with FREE TWO DAY SHIPPING! That means if you need diapers, just order from Amazon and your diapers are delivered at your door in two days! You can cancel your subscription at any time, no questions asked.

So, what does it really look like?

Luvs size 3 diapers/204 count ordered online from Walmart: $35 with free shipping.
Luvs size 3 diapers/204 count ordered online from Amazon Mom: $24.50 with free shipping.

That is an automatic savings of $10.50! However, if you had a $5 Amazon gift card from Swagbucks, your balance drops to $19.50 - a savings of $15.50! Now just imagine if you had more than one gift card...the savings just continue to add up!

Give it a try!

(FYI- I have not been asked by either Swagbucks or Amazon Mom to write this post. I am in no way benefiting from Amazon if you choose to follow the links provided in this post. Nor am I being compensated in anyway by Amazon for writing this. HOWEVER, if you do choose to follow the link in this post given for Swagbucks, you will be listed as a referral for my account. All this means is that when you win, I win the same amount of "bucks" up to 1000. However, you can choose just to go straight to the Swagbucks website and register. (***shameless plug....but if you wouldn't mind, please just use my link...)

A Healthy Family & The Ronald McDonald House

2010-11-18T10:43:00.000-08:00

As Thanksgiving approaches, I realize how extremely lucky I am to have had three very healthy children. I do not know what it is like to have to sit beside my child in the NICU while watching them struggle to survive. I do not know what it is like to watch a child go through chemo/radiation and wonder if they will grow to an adult.

I am extremely thankful and blessed. However, everyday there are families who struggle with these things and more. Illness, cancer, preemies.... Families like Jessieleigh and the birth of her baby girl at 24 weeks...

I do know that the Ronald McDonald (RMDH) houses all over the country help take care of these families by providing a place for the families to stay other than a hotel. What a blessing it must be to walk into an environment where everyone is going through a similar struggle and you can share and be uplifted by someone who truly knows what you are going through. What a blessing to not step into a cold lobby.

So, I have an idea. If you feel similarly blessed, make a donation to a Ronald McDonald house for Christmas. I contacted our local house (located near RMH) and asked what they need:

Items for preemies
Development toys for infants
Small adult gifts

Nothing elaborate. Nothing fancy. I was told by the representative that on Christmas Eve the RMDH opens a small "store" for the families staying so that they can pick out Christmas presents for their child/spouses. So small items that could fill this store would be appreciated.

I know that at this time of year there are literally charities all around the county that need help. I know that there are very, very worthy charities that you might already be helping. But, this is one that I also feel should be helped.

RMDH did not solicit this post. I am in no way benefiting from this post. These are my honest opinions and thoughts.

Complete Christmas Albums $5 each at Amazon!

2010-11-17T04:26:00.000-08:00

Ahhhh....Christmas music! My favorite music for any time of the year. If you are looking for some new music to add to your holiday collection, head over to Amazon! They currently have 100 complete albums to download for $5 each!

Some of the Christmas albums include artist such as:
Third Day
Casting Crowns
Faith Hill
Elvis
Twisted Sister
Bob Dylan
Michael W. Smith
James Taylor
Martina McBride
Harry Connick Jr.
and Tony Bennett

There are also alot of non-Christmas related albums as well.

Merry, merry! Let the music fun begin!

...and this just made me laugh!

A good old fashion pounding

2010-11-11T07:34:00.000-08:00

No, not a good old fashion whippin. A pounding. Have you ever heard of one? The idea is to "pound" a family with goods needed for the kitchen. Such as a pound of sugar, flour, eggs, milk, canned goods, spices, oil, toiletries, etc...

When should you do such a thing? How about when a family has a new baby? A hot meal is a wonderful thing...unless you have picky eaters (*guilt* like our family*) then a meal can be more of a burden than a blessing.

Pound them with the items to make a simple meal instead....a simple can of sauce, noodles, and bread to make spaghetti instead of making your grandmother's favorite recipe that might include such goodies as Italian sausage and hunks of cheese on top. Give them a box of Eggos, syrup, a carton of eggs, pre-cooked bacon, and a gallon of milk. This could replace an egg casserole that may be your absolute favorite (like mine-yum!) but is not a favorite of the husband in the house (like mine).

Do you have a family that is just moving in near you?

Pound them with toilet paper, small travel size containers of toiletries, dish soap, some purex laundry sheets, some light bulbs, and a gift card for a pizza.

Any kindness that you can show to others is always such a blessing...just remember that it doesn't always have to be in the form of your favorite to die for recipe.

My lovely button

2010-10-29T13:30:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say a huge thank you to Jolanthe at Relevant Designs (and Homeschool Creations) for the new button for my blog! I am so excited to have it back and she did an awesome job!

Chicken Pot Pie

2010-10-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

Life as Mom is hosting a "Dinners for New Moms" link up today and I thought I would share the dish that was the biggest blessing to our family. Unfortunately we are picky eaters (shame I know) but this pleased everyone! My dear, dear friend Nancy blessed us with this meal and recipe

**This recipe makes TWO pot pies, so you can make one for your family and one for your friend! Or freeze one and take along with the unfrozen one so that your friend can have a quick dinner in the future.

Chicken Pot Pie- Preheat oven to 425

2 10 oz frozen packages of frozen veggies (green beans, peas, carrots)
2/3 c butter (10 1/2 tbs)
2/3 c flour
2/3 cup onion finely chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 1/2 c chicken broth
1 1/3 c milk
5 -6 cups chicken cooked and chopped (Rotisserie chickens are great for this!)
2 pre-made pie crusts (I use Pillsbury refrigerated kind that come 2 to a box. They are individually wrapped)

1. Cook veggies a little bit in microwave just to soften a little and then drain if necessary-set aside
2. Melt butter in large stock pot and then add flour, onion, salt and pepper. Combine well
3. Remove from heat as you add milk and broth
4. Return to medium heat and stir until bubbles.
5. Once it is bubbling, stir constantly for ONE minute
6. Remove from heat and add meat and veggies.
7. Spray pie pan and add half of chicken mixture (we do not like the crust on bottom but you could do that also if you liked. Just buy an extra box of pie crusts)
8. Put pie crust on top and cut several small slits
9. TURN OVEN DOWN TO 400
10. Bake at 400 for 35 minutes until golden brown.

Now, the cool thing about this dish is that it can be frozen and then put in the oven while still frozen. Just pre-heat oven, then bake at 400 for 2 hours.

Great Polynesian Chicken

2010-10-28T09:42:00.000-07:00

Life as Mom is hosting a "Dinners for New Mom's" link up today. I wanted to share this recipe that is easy to make. It is actually my wonderful Mother-In-Laws yummy recipe.

Polynesian Chicken

1 pkg boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into small pieces
1 jar regular bbq sauce (I use Kraft)
1 jar HOT bbq sauce
1 large can of pineapple chunks
1 green pepper, cut into large chunks
1 sweet onion, cut into large chunks

1. In a large bowl, mix half of regular bbq sauce with half of hot bbq sauce (use different combos depending on how spicy new mom likes food).
2. Open can of pineapple and add half of chunks and half of juice.
3. Add green pepper and onions to mixture.
4. Add chicken (uncooked) into mixture
5. Put into 9x11 baking dish (sprayed with Pam)
6. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until chicken is cooked.

This can be served with rice or noodles

Playdoh math and 100th Post!

2010-10-14T11:38:00.000-07:00

Yea! This is my 100th post!
The other day I pulled out the playdoh for this little face to play with during school time

This face is hard to resist!

My Little Cheese is starting to learn multiplication and thought that playing with playdoh would be so much more fun. So, I figured out a way to combine both!

I wrote out addition problems and wrote the answer. Then I left a space for her to write the same problem again as a multiplication problem.

We then wrote it as a multiplication problem
3 in each group X 3 groups = 9

It actually clicked! I was so excited.

"...in a little crooked house..."

2010-10-08T04:15:00.000-07:00

Here is a recent picture that my little Manny drew of me. See, it is so obvious that I am standing next to the "crooked house" with my crooked smile and slightly crooked eyes. If you look closely, you will see him back on the swingset.

I love, love, love early drawings that our children do!

Spelling with Baking Soda

2010-09-28T04:47:00.000-07:00

Everything that I have read about spelling says that it must be made part of all of the senses...including using your hands. I ran across a blog (please forgive me for not remembering which one...I blog hop so much!) that used salt on a cookie sheet to write your words in.

I didn't have enough salt but loved the idea so I used baking soda instead.

Little Cheese really enjoyed writing her words!

Buttons, Buttons, Buttons!

2010-09-28T04:42:00.000-07:00

Have you got a stash of buttons? Have you ever thought of how many applications they have in homeschooling? The options are limitless!

Here are some of our ways to play/learn with buttons.

We sort by color

We sort by color and then largest to smallest

Goosie likes to line them up

These are just a couple ways....

Yummy Muffins made with Pumpkin

2010-09-21T07:24:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share with you a snack that is relatively healthy. I don't know if you have suffered through a canned pumpkin shortage but we haven't had any in my local stores in almost a year. I was so excited yesterday when I went to Kroger and found some!

What you need:
One cake mix. I like Betty Crocker Devil's Food or Duncan Hines Spice Cake.
One small can of pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filler, just pumpkin)

What you DON'T need:
Oil, Water, Eggs

Mix the two ingredients together until completely mixed. It then will make 18 muffins. Bake at 350 for the amount of time listed on box. It may take a few extra minutes so just test with a fork.

You can top the muffins with a spoon of cool whip.

*This is not my recipe and am not sure where it originated.

Day 3 of Homeschooling

2010-09-07T12:43:00.000-07:00

We had a great start to our year last week....until my husband became ill on Tuesday evening and ended up with a two night (not all expense paid) mini vacation in the hospital. He left without a gallbladder. So, we are starting again.

Over the long weekend, I made a daily wall. The idea is not mine...I must give credit to Jolanthe at Homeschool Creations. Almost everything on my wall is straight from her blog. She also credits several people for ideas that go along with hers.

I also copied her workbox grid and daily "to do" items. Jolanthe has one grid for each child and one grid per day. This way she can organize an entire week's worth of "to do" for each child. She is even color coded. I am not that put together. I will simply put what Little Cheese and Manny are to do each day and then start again the next.

Jolanthe has made awesome AWANA verse printables. We will put a verse in this holder which is actually just the bottom of a sheet protector. It also has space for the weekly Sunday School verse. It is front and center and can be reviewed at any point.
_____________________________________________________

Something very rare has happened. Manny remembered doing a fireman lapbook that Jolanthe created and has been begging to do it again. I was finally able to get it put together today. I did things just a little different than Jolanthe and just wanted to show you quickly....

I like to use envelopes for my holders. I simply cut off the tab and then glue it on.

Also, for the Fire Hydrant colors, instead of having Manny simply color the hydrants once, I used the appropriate crayon and colored the color word. Then I made extra copies of the hydrants and colored them, cut them out, and laminated them like this....

This way we can play over and over again.

A sincere thanks to Jolanthe and all of her blogging friends who have been such inspirations to me and the beginning of our year!

Homeschooling in a small space

2010-08-31T10:02:00.000-07:00

As we prepared for the new school year, my husband was a little discouraged about the way that I was keeping (and trying to organize) our mass of materials. We live in a lovely house that has truly been a blessing from God, with 1456 sq. feet of living space.

We have tried to make our house as functional as possible....three bedrooms, one main bath, one small master bath, a living room, kitchen, and a dining room. It is mostly an open floor concept. Having a devoted homeschool room is not something that I can possible have. We also don't have a lot of "functional" storage furniture. We have furniture. Beautiful furniture that my husband has built but just not storage pieces.

So, what did we come up with?

We took our hall entry closet that held coats and our shoes and emptied it. My husband then filled the space with shelves which I filled with books and bins and all of the other homeschool items that I have.

We still keep our shoes in the bottom of the closet. Each child has a shoe bin (that is conveniently nailed to the wooden shelf) that they are responsible for putting their shoes in. My husband and I put our shoes on the floor beneath the shelf.

So, does anyone else have a clever idea for homeschool storage in a small space?

Here we go....1st day of school

2010-08-30T04:04:00.000-07:00

It seems like summer flew past. Flew! My husband is a teacher at a local high school and just as soon as we get used to him being home everyday he is gone again.

We are starting school today. This year I have a 3rd grader, a preschooler, a two year old, and in God's blessing, a new baby coming in April. We are going to be busy!

I must say that the school day is going to be full of new curriculum, new ideas, reading, coloring, memorizing, writing, and probably a few tears.

However, I would just like to give a shout out to the two blogs that give me the most inspiration:
Homeschool Creations and Confessions of a Homeschooler. It must have appeared as if I was stalking those two blogs over the summer. Much of what we are doing today (especially with Manny and Goosie) has come directly from their blogs.

If you haven't ever checked them out....stop reading this and go there now! I promise you will come away inspired.

Anyone else starting today?

Gearing Up For School

2010-07-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

Hello out there blog friends! It has been a long time since I have posted and I would like to thank all of you that might still be with me.

So....I am wondering what type of manipulatives that you cannot live without in your homeschool routine. Is it letter tiles? Blocks? Playdoh? What type of cool learning tools do you use?

I have some Amazon giftcards lurking (thanks to Swagbucks) and they are about ready to burn a hole in my pocket. So, hit me with your thoughts!

I have a 3rd grader and a pre-k-er. Is that even a word, pre-k-er?

In case you don't know about Swagbucks, it is an online search engine powered by Google that randomly rewards you with "bucks" just for searching. You then redeem the "bucks" for prizes...including $5 gift cards to Amazon. Go here for more details if you are interested and sign up! (***please note that if you sign up under the link above, I will also win Swagbucks when you win. See, it's a win/win deal! Then, you have people sign up under you and then you are also in the win/win deal!)

Thanks for sticking with me! I hope that you are having a great summer and I look forward to jumping back into the school year with all of you!

All fired up over Walmart

2010-05-26T11:47:00.000-07:00

This morning at 7:00 am I found myself at Walmart after dropping husband off at work. With three kids under the age of eight. And we had not had breakfast yet. And I had not had my coffee. And....well, Walmart. 7:00 am. Three kids.

I digress.

It is my habit to put my little Goosie in the front of the buggy. Little Cheese walks beside me and Manny rides on the buggy. Never in the same place more than two minutes. But, I always know where he is so I am at peace with him riding on the side of the buggy.

Well, this morning I was on the search for a new telephone. Ours stopped working...due to a storm that we had. I have a cup of coffee every morning with my best friend while talking to her on the phone. She sadly lives five hours away from me. I wanted to have a phone so that our cup of joe conversation would not be interrupted. And would you believe that I couldn't find the phones? Or a sales associate?

Well, I finally snagged an associate just as another male associate came walking down the aisle toward me. I was busy trying to explain what type of phone I was looking for to the friendly female associate-who by the way never actually spoke to me, just looked and nodded and then walked in direct that she needed to go. Love Wallace World, really.

The male associate kept trying to get my attention. And finally he stopped me and said:
"Please make your son get down from there. It is too dangerous."
I immediately thought that he was climbing on a display. No, he was on the end of buggy, just as he had been for the last two minutes.
I thanked the kind associate and then the heat of anger rose in my ears. A weird, weird thing that I blame on childhood issues, but when I get angry, my ears get hot. It's a middle child thing.

I should have appreciated the gentleman being concerned about my child's safety. But I wasn't.
I should have made Manny get down. But why?
I was in full control of my child. I chose to let him ride on the side of that buggy. I am fully responsible for the actions of myself and my children.
I did not think it was appropriate for this gentleman to assert his opinion onto my day.

I fumed all the way home. But I had my phone. I made my coffee. I picked up the new phone to call my friend (to rant just a little). No dial tone. New phone politely blinked "Check phone cord". I love that machines can now tell you how to fix them. The problem was not my phone's but Verizon's. I hadn't needed to even stop at Walmart this morning!

What do you think? Was I completely (and I mean completely) wrong in thinking that this associates remark was unnecessary?

Mommy Minute Monday (on Tuesday again)

2010-05-04T06:58:00.000-07:00

This is JD and Ellouise H. This is a lovely and wonderful couple at our church. This couple is one of the many reasons that my life as a mom and wife are what they are today. Do you have a JD and Ellouise?

There are two parts to my Mommy Minute Monday-one about manners and kids and one about us girls.

1. What do your children call people who are not part of their generation? Do they call them by their first names or as Mr & Mrs....?

There is a certain amount of respect that has been lost since our grandparents were young. Yes, our grandparents.

I grew up calling other adults by their first names only and quite frankly saw absolutely nothing wrong with it and neither did my parents. If they were friends with my parents, they were my friends too-by association of course. People were introduced to me by their first names there was nothing wrong with that either.

Until I realized that there is something wrong with it.

Where is the respect that we should show those more "distinguished" than ourselves (notice how I craftily avoided the "O" word). What about our children learning their place and showing honor to those who have so much more life experience than they do. Should they speak to those more distinguished as buddies and pals? I think not.

So, here is what I have done. My children call people Mr & Mrs (Lastname). If I am introduced to someone by firstname and I would like to introduce my children to them as well, I politely ask them for their last name. Then I have my children say hello using their last name. There are exceptions to every rule or thought. My exceptions are for my best friends, my first cousins, my dear and special people that I am around all the time. Then, my children call them Mr or Mrs (firstname).

If we are at the store or out and about town we call those that we meet "Sir" and "Ma'am". Children catch onto this and use it very easily-even my almost two year old has caught on.

Teaching respect and honor is never a mistake. Never.

2. "Ellouise" has become a noun in our household. For the last seven years I have attended a bible study with her and some of the dearest girls that I know. Some have come, some have gone but Ellouise has welcomed and loved us all. Our Thursday night meetings allow us to get together, talk, mingle, share and receive biblical wisdom, and learn. Learn from someone more distinguished and knowledgeable than ourselves.

Find yourself an Ellouise. Find someone who can teach, train, lead, follow, share, grow, love, and pray for you and your family. Find someone who can give you biblical advice (not forsaking going straight to the bible for advice) and who will be honest and truthful with you. Invite your friends. Pick a book and bring dessert and fellowship. You might regain a little bit of sanity in the process.

A couple words from me to you...bless you if you made it this far!

BookCloseouts.com 99 Cent sale

2010-04-28T07:35:00.000-07:00

BookCloseouts.com is having a HUGE 99 cent sale on select children's educational books. There is still quite an assortment to choose from! Shipping starts at $3.99 with an additional $1 handling fee. This is a great way to stock up on books/curriculum helps for next year!

Thanks MoneySavingMadness for sharing the deal!

Mommy Minute Monday (on Tuesday)

2010-04-27T05:32:00.000-07:00

One thing that probably every mom says at least once (or if you have a little boy 64,000 times) is "Sit Still" Isn't this a grand idea? Sit still while you eat your lunch, sit still while I brush your hair, sit still while we wait at the doctor's office, sit still while I read you a book. Sitting still is foreign to little boys.

However, I need to approach this simple command as I approach any other command. I have to train it. Yeah. Seems simple doesn't it? Yeah. It takes time (on my part) and effort. So here is how I attempt to do it. I will use my youngest daughter as an example (20 months).

1. Sit her in my lap.
2. Say "Please sit still with Mommy" or something to that effect
3. This is where the training comes in. Be patient through the squirming, whining, limp body trick, crying, and constant requests for "down"
4. Baby will slowly give up. I then sit for about 5 more minutes.

By taking the time to train my little one at home to sit still, she will know what to expect when I ask her to do it in another setting.

Preschool Corner - Letter Recognition/Early Spelling

2010-04-23T05:13:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Jolanthe at Homeschool Creations for hosting Preschool Corner!

For letter recognition/early spelling skills we use the game Boggle Jr. We were able to pick up the game at a local used children's place and it is great!

We pick a card....

Say the letters that are on it and the first sound and last sound.

Then we pick up the eight blocks and then drop them in the box

We search the box for the letters we need, remove all of the ones we need, and then drop the blocks again and again until the word is spelled.

Mommy Minute Monday

2010-04-19T04:10:00.000-07:00

Don't you love it when your child does something right or well? It might be sitting still (and I mean completely still-not kicking their feet, not flailing their arms like tree limbs, not doing a silent dance), it might be following directions completely, it might be winning an award, or being kind to a friend.

Regardless of the situation, how you respond is very important. Do you say "Good Job" or do you say "Good Girl/Boy". Think for a moment about the differences of those two.......

Saying "Good Girl/Boy" carries a lot of silent weight for a child. It could send the message that they are only "good" when they have done something well. Failure or disobedience could lead to feelings of not being "good" enough or maybe even that the parent's love changes due to circumstances. Think about it......

Saying "Good Job" however, is completely different. It does not have the same emotional ties to a parent's affection or being "good" or "bad". It simply is a parent rewarding the child with affirmation that they have done something good!

Using only "good job" will most likely never lead your child to thinking that are a "bad girl/boy" since they didn't live up to the expectations. I say almost never.....our children have a way of punching our emotional buttons sometimes.

Mommy Minute Monday

2010-04-12T11:08:00.000-07:00

This Mommy Minute Monday is wise advice handed out by my dear friend Nancy.

Before I had children, I was in line at a church potluck behind Nancy who was helping her children fix their plates. One of her children wanted some apples that had been sliced however was not happy that the peeling was still on it.

What would I have done? Probably said "Oh, that's ok sweetie, I'll peel the slices for you." Pet, pet, pet, coddle, coddle, coddle.

What did my friend say that has stuck with me for years: "Well, use the teeth that God gave you and eat up to the peeling." Now, this was not said sarcastically but in the most loving but firm Mommy voice. I can still remember standing there amazed at her advice!

It is amazing the things that I do for my children that they should be able to do for themselves. It is amazing the amount of time I spend trying to cover whims and small inconveniences when in reality my children need to learn how to handle the situation themselves.

I think my response next time to one of these whims or inconveniences will be that of my friend's:
"Use what God has given you....(and figure it out!)" Lovingly but firmly said.

I thankful for....

2010-04-06T06:47:00.000-07:00

this reason for homeschooling....

This was a random day, about 10 in the morning. The relationships between siblings is so important and I love that homeschooling keeps them together!

I am also very thankful for those who share their homeschooling experiences and ideas. So today, I have randomly choosen two of you who not only follow me and this silly little blog but also inspire me!

Thanks to:
Amy @ Six Hearts Over Texas
Trudie @ Fun With Little Mouse

I am giving both of them a $5 gift card to Amazon!

Preschool Corner - Using Legos

2010-03-26T06:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Jolanthe at Homeschool Creations for hosting Preschool Corner. If you have never hopped over to her blog, you are seriously missing out on a HUGE resource. The ideas and printables that she offers on her site have been an inspiration to me and has made preschool for my son much more enjoyable!

Seriously. Stop reading this and head over there. If you don't get lost, come back.

This week I want to share how we use LEGOs as a learning tool for my little Manny. He loves LEGOs. He loves anything that requires sitting still (for like 10 minutes) and having to work out a problem. So, here's what I do.

First, I start with a set of matching LEGOs, one for me to build with and one for Manny to use to duplicate what I have created.

Then, create I something that will be challenging by easy enough not to cause frustration.

Manny gladly sits and copies the pattern that I have made for him

Then, he gets to tear it apart and make a pattern for me to copy.

Playing with LEGOs actually has so many different uses:

Sorting by size
Sorting by Color
Copying a pattern
Counting (how many bumps)
And many more things that just won't come to my mind because I need my second cup of coffee.

Have a great weekend!

Blog Hop #7 - State Requirements (Virginia-Option 1)

2010-03-23T07:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Our Worldwide Classroom for hosting this blog hop! This week's theme is "State Requirements". I am simply going to utilize the information located on HSLDA's website for my state. I am thankful to live in a state for which the requirements are relatively easy to meet. There are several different options but I will only list the one that I use.

Required Days of Instruction: Generally, 180 days.
Required Subjects: None

There are three options in our state. I use the Home School Statute.

I have to submit a "Letter of Intent" to homeschool by August 15th to the school system.
Along with that letter, I must also include a list of the subjects that I plan on teaching. I do not have to give a description of what will be taught in those subjects and the school system cannot request more information.
I have to meet one of the following requirements:

have a high school diploma (this is the one that I do)
be a “teacher of qualifications prescribed by the Board of Education
provide a curriculum or program of study
provide evidence that the “parent is able to provide an adequate education.”

Standardized Tests: Only for parents choosing Option I, and only if the child was 6 or older by Sept. 30. By August 1, submit one of the following.

1. Results of any nationally normed standardized achievement test showing the child attained “a composite score in or above the fourth stanine” (i.e., 23rd percentile) or
2. An evaluation letter from a person licensed to teach in any state, or a person with a master’s degree or higher in an academic discipline, having knowledge of the child’s academic progress, stating that the child is achieving an adequate level of educational growth and progress; or
3. A report card or transcript from a community college or college, college distance learning program, or home-education correspondence school; or
4. Another type of “evaluation or assessment which the division superintendent determines to indicate that the child is achieving an adequate level of educational growth and progress.”
Neither the test administrator nor evaluator is required to be approved in advance. Any standardized test can be administered anywhere, anytime, by anybody.

I submit CAT testing each year (California Achievement Test). Only English and Math scores are required to be submitted.

There is also another option for Homeschooling that I do not use, religious exemption. To use this option, you must be "conscientiously opposed" to attending school. Under this option parents receive full exemption of all requirements of Homeschool Law. No test results are required.

Although I don't think that I would use this option even if I could, God blesses our family by my husband's job as a public high school teacher. One cannot "conscientiously oppose" something that one does every day and that provides for our family.

There are several other options but I won't list them here.

The county that we report to has never caused any reason for alarm with homeschooling. We have every right to take advantage of the free testing (eyes, hearing, etc) that are offered to students who attend school. Our school system also sends out a letter gently reminding to test and where the tests can be obtained-including a local Homeschool Group.

Overall, homeschooling in my county has been easy.

Most of the information listed here was either paraphrased or directly received from the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) which is a wonderful resource for requirements of each state.

A Button! I finally have a button- Winners!

2010-03-09T04:28:00.000-08:00

The winners are: My Bilingual Boys and the Loya Family!

I love blog buttons and must admit that I am really, really excited about finally having one for this blog! See it right there on the right?...Right over there?...My wonderful, loving, dear husband made it for me last night!

If you would like to grab it, leave me a comment and I will grab yours back!

How about a giveaway to celebrate?

And, it feels like a wonderful day to give away something! Next Friday, I will give away two $5 gift cards to Amazon.

2 ways to enter....

1. Be a follower
2. Leave a comment on this blog post. It doesn't have to be about grabbing my button-some people just aren't into that kinda thing. Just say hi!

If you are/become a follower AND leave a comment, you will be entered twice. Please just make sure that I have a way to contact you!

It's going to be a beautiful Tuesday here...65 degrees! I will leave you with the song lyrics that are running through my head....

"I’m smellin’ coffee, birds are singin’ just outside
Here comes Your mercy streamin’ in with the morning light"
Chris Rice - Past The Edges

Blog Hop #5 - What's Your Style

2010-03-08T04:21:00.000-08:00

A huge thanks to Our Worldwide Classroom for hosting this blog hop!

So what's my style, my approach, my thinking behind how I homeschool. Well, this is my third year of homeschooling Little Cheese. It has been such a learning experience for me. At the beginning of this current school year, I really struggled with whether or not to continue to homeschool or to go ahead and put her in public school (hubby is a teacher in an excellent school system and the pluses and advantages to school really pulled at me this year.)

So, we started out this year with an official school desk (salvaged from a school), a white board, and tons of workbooks. My goal: to get Little Cheese ready to attend public school for third grade. She was going to be able to sit at her desk, look at the white board, copy work, do work, and basically have no fun while doing it.

It didn't work for long. I hated it. She hated it. It took us to a relationship that God simply did not plan on us having. From the moment the word school came from my mouth...the struggle began. So, some time in late December, I was convinced that the best course of action was to enroll her in public school prior to Christmas break.

God is so good! He changed my heart! You can read more about my post on that if you are interested. First of all, the two days prior to Christmas break in which I wanted to enroll my Little Cheese, it snowed. Feet. God literally closed the doors of the school. Then the first of January, Little Cheese had her tonsils out. No school for a while for her recovery. Then I decided to simply teach my Little One.

I have assembled the best possible curriculum using various publishers. I have sought out ideas and curriculum thoughts from highly admired homeschoolers. I have listened to my friends share their struggles and successes and tried to fit them into how I homeschool. I have found so many wonderful ideas and resources from the incredible amount of wonderful homeschool bloggers!

I am not sure what style of homeschooling we are...only that we are not unschoolers. I guess the best classification is: I AM A HOMESCHOOLER. This is what I am. A mom and a teacher.

Preschool Corner - ABC Poster Board

2010-03-05T04:51:00.000-08:00

This post is being linked to Preschool Corner

A couple weeks ago I had some free time on my hands so I went into our local Dollar Tree Store. I was amazed at the items that they had for school! I found these stickers which were meant to go on the wall...

I bought a piece of poster board and placed the stickers on it like this:

Then I had Manny take pom-poms (which I also found at the store!) and we played and played!

1. Put a pom-pom on the letter that I say

2. Put coordinating pom-poms on coordinating letter colors

3. Put pom-poms on certain shapes

Then we used the same poster board with Little Cheese and her spelling!

Fun With Color & Homeschool Creations!

2010-03-02T19:43:00.000-08:00

I just recently ran across the most wonderful blog, Homeschool Creations. I have been participating in the weekly Preschool Corner that is hosted by Jolanthe through her blog and I have learned so much! The projects and printables that Jolanthe puts together and offers FREE OF CHARGE are absolutely amazing and my Little Manny loves them!

Last week, I noticed this printable located on the left hand side of her blog called Color Matching Cards (image being lovingly borrowed from her site)

"There are 10 pages/colors shown in this set with 6 cards on each page. One of the cards shows a 'base' color. The base colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, brown, black and white." (I borrowed exactly how Jolanthe described them because I simply could not come up with better words!)

I did the following with these cards:

1. I cut them and put the color cards in front of Manny and then mixed up the other cards with images on them and had him separate the image cards by color.
2. I took the color card and one matching image card for each color represented. I mixed them up, put them on the floor upside down and had the perfect matching game!
3. My Little Cheese saw how much fun we were having and so she played an additional game of matching with him.
4. We separated the image cards by Living/Non Living.
5. We separated the image cards by person/animal/bug, food, plant, thing

All in all, we loved these cards!

Preschool Corner - ABC Sorting Game

2010-02-26T06:39:00.000-08:00

I would like to thank Jolanthe at Homeschool Creations for hosting Preschool Corner.

Several months ago I stared at an empty egg carton that I had and just knew that I could use it for something in homeschooling. Why throw away such a great tool that can be used for sorting things?

The idea on how to use it did not come to me until later when I spied a bag of letter tiles in a box of manipulatives that I have. I took that old egg carton/sorter and put it on the table in front of my three year old. Then, I poured the letter tiles out on the table in front of him

Because there are at least duplicates of every letter tile, I put one letter tile in each hole. Then I told my son to find a matching tile and put it on top of the tile in the hole. It was so simple, but he loved it! Not only did it keep his attention for more than 10 minutes, it was also something that he wanted to sit down and play later as I was fixing dinner! Whoo-hoo!

This is a re-post from October. I didn't have any thing to share from this week but wanted to participate! I hope forgiveness will be granted, including posting another sorting task!

Cupcake Liner Multiplication

2010-02-24T04:29:00.000-08:00

My Little Cheese is a very visual learner. She needs to be able to see how math works more than just on a piece of paper. So, I really have to search my brain sometimes to come up with visual teaching aids. Sometimes things are put off for several weeks as I try to come up with that example. Now, I don't mean that we don't do math during this time, we just move on to something that is easy to understand or for which visual aids come alot easier.

Tackling Multiplication. Yeah. I have dreaded this one. But it finally came to me in a moment of brilliance as I was setting up a cupcake liner game for my little Manny. Here is an example for the 5's.

For this visual, I told little cheese that the first number in the math problem was for the number of sets (each liner represents a set) and the second number represents how many are in each set. I pre-cut strips of paper that would show how many were to be in each set and the answer.

Then she took pom-poms and made the problem correct. 5 sets with 1 in each set equals 5.

5 sets with 2 in each set equals 10...and so on.

I am linking this to Works For Me Wednesday

Preschool Corner - Sorting

2010-02-19T06:11:00.000-08:00

This week, I am linking this to Homeschool Creations Preschool Corner.

My little Manny (4 years old) won't sit still for much. He is a start a project and be done with it in 5 minutes kinda little guy. However, he has a fondness for sorting. He will sort pom-poms, beads, stickers, skittles, or anything else that can be sorted.

So this week we set out to do alot of sorting and found new love for cupcake liners.

I found these awesome stickers at my local Dollar store. I simply put one of each shape into a cupcake holder and then put the stickers to be sorted in two other liners.

We are talking 15 minutes of pure enjoyment. Then, the sorting requirements can be changed for color and size.

Then I wrote number in the bottom of some of the liners and Manny had to put the correct number of stickers in each liner.

And to keep my little Goosie entertained while big sister and brother were working, I gave her a task as well...

My 20 month old strung fruit loops onto a pipe cleaner. Pure magic I tell you! I didn't have to worry about her putting them in her mouth as she worked and she loved it!

My Family- Blog Hop Week 2

2010-02-15T05:28:00.000-08:00

I would first like to thank Our Worldwide Classroom for coming up with the wonderful idea to host this blog hop. For more details, click here...

This weeks theme is "My Family" so here is a little about us.

I met my husband when I was 17 and a senior in public high school. I had gone to visit a friend of mine who was a freshman in college and she introduced me to the cutest guy that I had ever met (and also a senior in college which, of course, made him extremely awesome). My friend and I along with my new found crush and his roomate hung out together for several hours. My crush grew with each moment.

Two days later, my friend from college called me. She said that my crush was sitting beside her and he wanted her to ask me to go "steady, you know, date only him and he would date only me". I said yes! We were married two years later!

My husband is....a high school Earth Science teacher. This is his 12th year teaching and absolutely loves his job. His undergrad is in Geology and actually worked in this profession prior to going back and getting his Masters to teach. Several years later he received his National Board Certification. But he is so much more than a teacher.

He is a wonderful Daddy, a wonderul example of a Christian husband, a self taught 18th century cabinetmaker, a self taught mechanic, a webmaster, a wonderful son to his parents, a RC airplane and car fanatic, and besides too many other things to go on about, my best friend.

In 2002 we had our first child, Little Cheese. We were in way over our heads. We loved her, played with her, taught her, read the same books a thousand times, painted, painted, colored.....
She is my firstborn. She is warm, thoughtful, giving, a perfectionist, an amazing artist, and an amazing big sister....

In 2005 we had Manny. My husband and I were so taken with our daughter and how "wonderful" she was that we desperately wanted another girl. We knew what to do with a girl. The day that I went for the ultrasound, my husband could not be with me. So, I asked the technician to keep the sex of the baby a secret and to put that picture in an envelope. Then I closed my eyes as she took the picture and I heard 4 letters on the keyboard being punched. A girl! Another girl! I was giddy as I drove to my husband's work so that we could look at the picture together. I pulled it out of the envelope and it say BOY! Those were the four key punches. B-O-Y-!

Manny is a complete boy, my go all the timer, spinner, jumper, snuggler, play-doh-playing, stick carrying, sweet, sweet, sweet little Man. He doesn't like to sit still, doesn't like to color, doesn't like to sit quietly and listen to stories, and loves to sing loudly! He is a 360 opposite of my daughter. And he is learning to be a great big brother....

In 2008 our second daughter, Goosie was born. She is the love bug of our lives. From the moment she was born, she has wanted to be held close. She loves to dance and sing and play everything that her big brother and sister are playing.

Our family is complete. It is amazing how knowing that is powerful. We have the family that God has planned on us to have and it is completely wonderful.

Our Homemade Valentines

2010-02-12T05:52:00.001-08:00

My Little Cheese (7) usually is very, very, very crafty. She can usually be found with paper and pencils in her bed to color with after the lights have been turned off for the night. She has a constant stash of crayons, markers, string, beads, glue, etc....

But. She had no interest in making valentines. I went to the store and stocked up on red paper, doilies, stickers, and basically everything else that goes into making the "perfect" homemade valentine. Nope. No interest. It turns out that using tape to secure candy to a piece of scrapbook paper with pre-printed wording was much more fun.

We made these valentines that say "Thanks for Being Life Savers" to take down to our local EMS station. We have had to call on our local crew several time in the last couple of years and so I really wanted to thank them. We are going to head to the station later today.

We made these to give to our friends at church on Sunday. Get it? A whole crunch (instead of a whole bunch).

A visit from Mr. Bonehead

2010-02-03T12:23:00.000-08:00

Today we started talking about our skeletons in science (BJU Homeschool). The unit is actually pretty small and so I pulled out this book I got last year on clearance.

Super Skeleton (Build It Now)

It is full of bright colorful pages with tons of information about the human body

But by far the coolest thing is the model of the skeleton that you get inside the book, fondly named "Mr. Bonehead" by Little Cheese

Hopefully you can see by the picture how large the model is and it is 3D!

It's a cool way to dig deeper into bones!

Homemade Lace Up Cards

2010-01-28T04:34:00.000-08:00

The other day I had a brilliant idea (ok, brilliant to me....maybe not on the genius end of things) that I could make Manny homemade lace up cards. He really enjoys doing things that he has to concentrate on and I thought these would be perfect.

Here is what I did. I printed off a panda coloring page. Little Cheese is learning about China and we were going to be discussing panda's so I thought this way Manny would be included. Then I used a glue stick and glued the picture to a manila folder. Anything sturdy could work, including cereal boxes!

Then, once dry I cut out the picture close to the lines but left a border of white. Using a hole punch, I went around the edges and created the lacing holes. A piece of string later and we were off!

For a boy who wakes up with jumping beans in his PJs, he sat still for a good 30 minutes doing this! He also enjoyed coloring the picture when he was done.

Contracting Contractions

2010-01-20T04:55:00.000-08:00

We started working on contractions today and in an effort to make things more hands on for my Little Cheese, I came up with contracting contractions.

I wrote two words on a piece of paper like this:

then you start contracting (folding) the papers to make the new word:

with the 'nt contractions you have to fold twice

and add the ' and you have the new word. Did not become didn't

Whala!

She'll is She Will...and you can practice over and over....

He Will becomes

Wait! Where is the ' Where is the '?

Ok. That's better. (sorry, just hoping to give you a little chuckle)

Contracting Contractions. A good way to go!

Be sure to head over to We Are That Family for the weekly

Spell My Grits

2010-01-13T06:26:00.000-08:00

(Does anyone remember "Eat My Grits?" That's what is ringing in my ears...)

Well, last night Manny desperately needed some entertainment. I opened my pantry hoping that something would jump out at me and there sat the poor neglected container of grits.

I got out a mason jar and searched my kitchen for some odds and ends. I came up with an odd assortment of items, including skittles, that Manny could sit and do a little treasure hunt. And it was very rewarding for him and for me.

Then I got the bright idea to include Little Cheese in the fun but to make it educational. I found our letter tiles (although letter beads would have worked better) and found enough tiles to spell four or five words. I wrote the words on a piece of paper and then threw the tiles into the container of grits.

Little Cheese had to search in the box and find the letter tiles then use them to spell the words written on the piece of paper. This game received a 10 on the Little Cheese 1-10 scale (1 being "I couldn't wait for it to be over because it was so boring" and 10 being "That was great, when can I do it again!"

This would also work well with a full alphabet of tiles or beads for Manny. I could have him pull out the letters and then have him put them in alphabetical order....

You could also play a game of hangman. Add the letters to the word that you have to guess and then add 5-10 extra letters that aren't in the word. Pull them out one by one and try to pull the right letters before you are "hanged".

Lots more possibilities that I originally thought!

Chutes and L(ADD)ers

2010-01-10T11:43:00.000-08:00

Here is a new twist on a wonderful board game, Chutes and Ladders. Little Cheese and I needed to practice on adding and subtracting so, in an effort to make it more interesting, I went searching for a game.

Chutes and L(ADD)ers actually makes a great game for adding and subtracting. Instead of using the usual game piece that is used to determine how many spaces you use, I pulled out a couple dice. A roll of the dice determined the numbers that we were subtracting (smallest from largest). So, if a six and two were rolled, the player would move four (4) spaces. This game can also be used by utilizing flash cards.

This game also works well with adding the two dice together-it just makes the game go a little faster.

Little Cheese loved it and can't wait to play again.

When homeschool isn't working.

2010-01-03T19:43:00.000-08:00

I am going to be honest with you. I am a worksheet queen. I like that the information is all contained on that page. I like that it feels like we are accomplishing getting through a "subject" when it is done. It is also easy.
I have a very energetic four year old boy and a very let me run down the hallway and shut myself in any room that you left the door open and then say "boo" so you will come and find me 18 month old. My 7 year old is very distracted by my other two children and I find it very hard to use manipulatives.

But. A big old but....it isn't working. My daughter really, really, truly dislikes school.

Could it be the thought of sitting at a desk and doing worksheets for a couple hours? Yes. Thanks to my friend Kevin for pointing this one out to me.
Could it be that I expect her to do in one day what should be done in 5? (It's only two pages but I didn't realize that it should be broken down into 5 tiny parts) Thanks to Kevin's lovely and homeschool queen wife Ali for giving me that one!
Could it be that I don't do enough hands on things and take the time to engage my littlest ones in a project so I can take a trip Africa in my living room with my seven year old? Yep...thanks to my dear friend Kim for your inspiration there!
Could it be that I simply need to work on my heart and my daughter's heart and leave school to come (not as in un-schooling but that the heart is simply more important). Yep. Thanks to my friend Nancy for that one!
Could it be that I have not taken the time to figure out what type of learner my daughter is and instead just ordered a hodge-smodge of curriculum that I thought would work best and they all turned out to be worksheet based? Yep. Thanks to my friend Jackie for that one!

So, over the coming days and weeks, I am going to make more and more of an effort to learn about my daughter's learning style (like a love language I would think) and watch and guard our hearts. I am going to include more interactive things. I am going to figure out how to entertain a 4 and 18 month old for more than 10 minutes.

Won't you join me on the journey?

(I am truly blessed to attend a church in which homeschooling is prevalent. I have such a huge group of friends to get inspiration, encouragement, and a good laugh because we have all been there!)

2009-11-30T14:12:00.001-08:00

hihe

Thanksgiving Themes

2009-11-18T06:13:00.000-08:00

As we get closer to Thanksgiving, I am trying to incorporate Thanksgiving, pilgrims, Mayflower, etc themed projects and worksheets into our lesson plans. There are so many places to get ideas but one of my favorites is abcteach.com. They have all coloring pages, reading comprehension/question printables, spelling words/abc order, and the list goes on!

However, I would love to know what you are doing to incorporate this holiday into your lesson plans. It could be a craft, a story book, a word search, anything really.

If you would leave a comment and a link to your page, it would be great! I will try to highlight all ideas that are left!

Thanks and Happy Early Thanksgiving!

P is for...

2009-11-17T04:18:00.000-08:00

I found this lovely book at my local library to share with my Little Cheese about the Pilgrims. It is full of beautiful drawings and information!

Each letter has a corresponding poem to go with it as well as more details off to the side. It really is a good way to share a wealth of information in a very informal setting.

I would highly recommend that try to check it out!

KB Teachers, a great worksheet site!

2009-11-12T09:40:00.000-08:00

KB Teachers is a site that I ran across today in my never ending search for supplemental worksheets for my daughter (2nd grade). I cannot be more excited about this site!

The worksheets range from ABC's, Cursive Handwriting, Anatomy, Geology, Astronomy and more! I have printed some Fall activities sheets to be used by my daughter today.

This worksheet incorporated unscrambling words, cutting and pasting, and an art project all in one, you can't beat that!

There is a 10 day free trial period and then very reasonable rates for quarterly, yearly, or bi-yearly membership. There are also several FREE worksheets that you can print.

I would highly recommend that you go and check this awesome site out!

An ABC sorting game

2009-10-16T04:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I stared at the empty egg carton that I had and just knew that I could use it for something in homeschooling. Why throw away such a great tool that can be used for sorting things?

The idea on how to use it did not come to me until later when I spied the bag of letter tiles in a box of manipulatives that I have. I took that old egg carton/sorter and put it on the table in front of my three year old. Then, I poured the letter tiles out on the table in front of him

Because there are at least duplicates of every letter tile, I put one letter tile in each hole. Then I told my son to find a matching tile and put it on top of the tile in the hole. It was so simple, but he loved it! Not only did it keep his attention for more than 10 minutes, it was also something that he wanted to sit down and play later as I was fixing dinner! Whoo-hoo!

***Update- first thing this morning, the very first thing Manny wanted to do (after asking for candy first) was to play the letter game!

Super Teacher Worksheets

2009-09-08T05:22:00.000-07:00

In my homeschooling endeavor, I utilize alot of free online worksheet sites. Sometimes it is because I do not feel like there has been enough practice in the curriculum that I purchased. Other times, Little Cheese is not quite getting an idea so using these online sites sometimes will explain an idea in a different way. Or, I simply like what is offered online better than what is in the curriculum that I am using.

I have found this awesome site that I want to share with you!

I am currently using this site for our spelling lists. It not only offers a list, but three activities that go along with the list.

It also has worksheets for math, handwriting, reading comprehension, grammar, and phonics. I highly recommend that if check it out!

Spelling Game (2nd grade)

2009-09-02T13:40:00.001-07:00

Today for our spelling, I handed Little Cheese the spelling list that I wrote for her for the week. She has also copied the spelling list in her own handwriting but had to the front and back of a piece of paper so I thought this route would be easier. Please remember that this was our third day and so we are still reviewing words from last year...

Here is the list:

To play the learning game, I wrote her spelling words on the white board but left off letters and replaced them with blank marks. The words also were not in order. Her job was to look at the list and figure out the words.

She got through it alot faster and easier than I thought that she would. The best part-she loved it!

A Math Lightbulb.

2009-09-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

Little Cheese likes math and I am glad because I hated it. I went to public school and completely bombed Trig. The only reason I took it was because my Dad wanted me to have a "higher" math. I do not kid you that on quiz days I would do my best and then write on my paper to my sweet teacher "Please be kind to your loyal trig subject". She was very kind and gracious and started drawing a crown on top of my miserable but passing grades.

A-N-Y-W-A-Y, Little Cheese wrote in math blocks all last year, you know, the block that she has to complete the missing numbers-like this:

Her assignment today, as part of review, included one of these number blocks. I was called to her desk so that she could tell me that the numbers stacked on top of each other in the block! 8 was on top of 18 which was on top of 28....

I tried so hard last year to get her to see this "lightbulb" and it just never turned on. I am so thankful that it clicked so soon this year!

Here we go!

2009-08-31T04:47:00.001-07:00

I don't know if you know this or not...but my wonderful, dear, loving husband is a public school teacher. This is his 11th year of teaching 9th grade Earth Science at our local high school. Today is his first day of school.

Today we are starting our school year too. Pencils are sharpened, lesson plans are made, and the "schoolroom" is ready.

Is anyone starting today? How is it going? I will try to post daily the little things that we do to make it through our day and to make things more interesting!

Manners- Curriculum

2009-08-27T06:40:00.000-07:00

This year, I am excited to officially add "Proper Manners and Health Habits" as part of our curriculum. Now don't get me wrong, it's not that I haven't been teaching her these things on a daily basis and that she is a heathen, it's just that I have never purchased books for it.

I have purchased "Proper Manners and Health Habits" from Rod and Staff Publishers, Inc. These books are small, full of illustrations and wonderful information.

And, the best part for me? The teacher and student book set cost a total of $6.05.

My friend Kim and I have also formed a little co-op for our girls (1st & 2nd grades) to teach them manners from this book: The Family Book of Manners

Skeleton Puzzle

2009-08-23T16:40:00.000-07:00

This Skeleton floor puzzle is currently on clearance for 92 cents marked down from $29.99. That's a savings of 97%. It might be fun to have this to put together for health or science. It says that it is life size.

Be careful, the shipping is over twelve dollars, but considering the other savings, it might just be worth it!

Stocking Up for the year...

2009-08-22T14:06:00.001-07:00

We all know the basics: pencils, pens, paper, scissors, glue, maybe a new bookbag, and many other things that we do to signal the start of the "new school year".

But have you thought about stocking up on something a little different? Magazines. Yep. Magazines. I can't tell you how many times last year I would dig through and tear up my magazines (cooking, craft, women's, family, etc.) looking for pictures to make things.

Have you done this? Is this a lightbulb idea? Anyway, I have an awesome solution to having to cut up your own magazines (which usually are not cheap). The library! Yep, the library! Now, I am not talking about the ones that you can borrow but the ones that they sale when they are too old or the extra copies that they have. My library always has an overwhelming stack that they sale for 10 cents a piece.

If you have never thought of using magazines, here are some ideas:

National geographic: great for science, world history, earth science collages
Cooking Magazines: great for large size fonts/words, and description words like HOT. I would cut out the large letters and have my daughter spell her spelling list using the cut out letters. This worked great for first grade and simple words. These are also great magazines for learning the food groups and making collages
Craft magazines: Well, for getting craft ideas
Family magazines: Great for cutting out pictures of children, adults, families to discuss family order and family dynamics

These are just a few ideas that I had. Do you have any?

Inexpensive solution to a year long problem

2009-08-13T13:07:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone its Kim here again.

I have found a little inexpensive trick that I want to share. One of my pet peeves is having books that do not lay flat when you are writing in them. See how this book wont stay open unless I hold it? I love books to lay flat on a table when a little student is trying to write in them. A couple of our student books do not do that. Last year I pulled out every page, stuck it into a file folder and then when the page was complete it went into another file folder. Ugh! I say to that.

I was seriously looking at investing in a binding machine so that I could tear out all of the pages in our math and writing books and then spiral bind them. These machines are not cheap nor are some of them really easy to work.

An idea came to me to call Kinko's Fedex and see if they spiral bind books. To my surprise they do and they do not charge an arm and a leg to do it. They charge $4.99 for spiral binding and $3.99 for comb binding. They also have a teacher card that gives you %15 off your purchase. This is going to save me so much money and time. See how the spiral lets the book layflat and open and even fold back onto itself.

I pulled out every page and then took it to Kinko's the lady told me I should have left it all intact and just brought it to them. I'm up for that!!
More time saved, cha-ching!

Can I get an amen?

(Kim is my dear friend and has awesome ideas on homeschooling.)

A BFF

2009-07-29T07:41:00.000-07:00

So, today Little Cheese was writing in her journal about a recent trip she took with her Grandparents. She brought the journal to me to read it and I burst out laughing...

My daughter wrote that she made a "BFF"! How in the world does she know what this means? I don't go around using lingo like this and I don't have text messaging so it's not even like she sees me using it. It just goes to show how much of a sponge children really are! She must have seen/heard it on TV or someone else. But it really was funny.

Summer Handwriting

2009-07-04T06:23:00.000-07:00

This summer, in an effort to keep Little Cheese writing, I have bought her a summer journal that has lined paper, like she is used to, and a place at the top for drawing a picture. Every day she is responsible for sitting down and writing something about her day.

Years from now it will be fun to look back over her summer journals to see how much she has progressed, not only in her handwriting but in her writing skills. Also, the sweet baby memories will be fun to recall.

More great toys on sale from Amazon...

2009-06-22T11:39:00.001-07:00

Here are the ones that I could find today. Hurry, hurry, hurry! The prices can go up at any time!

This toy is usually $12.99

This is on sale for $6.99 from $39.99 or a savings of 83%

This toy is on clearance for $13.99 from $44.95 a saving of 66%

This doll is on sale for $29.98 from $119 a savings of 75%

Wow! Great Deal Updated

2009-06-16T10:11:00.000-07:00

**I went to show my hubby this deal tonight to see if he thought we should get one for Manny and Amazon has raised the price to $81.09. I hope someone was able to get it at the other price first!

On Amazon, there is a radio flyer rocking horse on sale. It is usually $129.99 and is on sale for $29.99! WOW! That is a savings of $100

Why am I posting this on my homeschooling blog instead of my TryingToSaveAlot blog? Because it would be the perfect item to keep my little Manny occupied for a little bit during school time!
Just thought I would share.

Special Thanks to one of my favorite blogs, My Penny Pile, for posting the information!

Help With Curriculum Review and Giveaway!

2009-06-11T12:47:00.000-07:00

Well, it is that time of year again. Time for watermelon and cantaloupe, bees, ants, and mosquitoes, firecrackers (almost) and cookouts. And, the end of school! Our testing is done-we are just waiting for the results.

But it also brings about a time of year that I dread. Time to look for new curriculum. I hate this part of homeschooling. There is just so much information available. I feel overwhelmed, there is way too much to process. So I need your help. I am going to be homeschooling second grade next year but I know that there are those who look at this blog who might be starting with Kindergarten all the way to getting ready to finish school with twelfth grade.

So, will you please take a moment and help me and a whole lot of other people out? By helping, I will enter you into a chance to randomly win a $10 gift card to your choice of one of the following: Target, Bath and Body, Walmart, CVS, Gap, or The Children's Place.

All you have to do is leave a comment about the curriculum you have used this past year or that you plan on using next year. You don't have to do every subject (maybe just your favorite) but include the name of curriculum used/Grade Level and whether or not you would recommend to other homeschoolers.

(If you are not a blogger, please leave a comment about your favorite curriculum/subject and a way for me to contact you!)

I will randomly select a winner on June 19th and contact the winner by 3:00 p.m. est.

Lapbook Resources...

2009-06-03T11:31:00.000-07:00

My friend, Kim, is looking for lapbook resources to use next year for her firstgrader. Does anyone know of or have any good (cheap) lapbook resources?

Is this really homeschooling?

2009-05-19T09:54:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Kim here again.

We have implemented a fun activity into our lives. I am not sure if it fits with homeschooling we just find it fun, you be the judge.

We usually take a ocean vacation every year and my kids love the beach. My oldest child decided that she wanted to learn about the ocean in a fun way. I was up for it, so I came up with a work in process project. We do not work on it everyday but when we want something fun and crafty to do we work on it.

We are making an ocean at my house.

I took a decent size bare wall and put blue poster paper up. I then added the brown paper to represent the sand on the beach.

What I do is find a fun ocean animal craft and some facts about that animal, usually online. We then do the craft, talk about the facts, watch video when I can find it and add the craft to our ocean wall.

Here are a few pics to give you a better idea of what we do.

Whats on there already?

clouds- we read a couple of books on clouds and then made our own with construction paper and cotton balls.
Blue whales- paper lunch bags filled with newspaper and then painted.
Bottle nose dolphins- paper mache paper towel rolls and then painted
Sea weed- tissue paper of different colors. Red, purple, green just like the ocean
Coral- construction paper with packing peanuts glued on it.
Starfish- cardstock painted and sand added to the wet paint.
Sea horses- cardstock painted and sand added to the wet paint.
Mermaid- cardstock with tissue paper glued to it and yarn for the hair.
Manatee- paper stuffed with cotton balls and colored grey.
Gulf Stream- made the current in the bathtub (whirlpool) and let it carry a toy boat around the tub. We then wrote Gulf Stream on out ocean and made arrows to represent the current.

An Easy Easter Craft

2009-04-09T05:09:00.001-07:00

Ahhh...the fond memories of dyeing eggs with my sisters. Fussing over who got to drop the little tablet into the little cup filled with the yummy smelling vinegar. Fussing over who got to dip in the pink first and then by the same token get to choose the stickers first.

Then the fussing, whining, screaming and kicking over having to eat those hard boiled eggs that were now a very unpleasant stained color.

My sweet mother-in-law whom I love very dearly (I am truly blessed) loves to do project with my Little Cheese. I think it is alot of fun for Little Cheese to have the opportunity to get to do this with Grandma-you know for the memories. But I won't do it on my own. Too many years of trauma from those funky eggs.

So, instead I offer you an Easter dyeing craft that has so many possibilities!
Dye cone shaped coffee filters!

They become such sweet little baskets that can be filled with a little Easter grass with all kinds of easter trinkets. A plastic egg with a little note that says "He is risen" and filled with some jelly beans....or something like that. Then, those little baskets become such a wonderful gift to give to the older congregation at our church. It is amazing how much someone enjoys getting a simple craft that a child has made. Especially when they no longer have little children in their lives that might do so.

So here we go...

1 Start with a clean cone...

2. Fold it over a couple of times

3. Take one corner and dip it into the paint which has been really watered down.

4. Like this..

5. Keep going with all the corners..

6. Then open it and let them dry out.

Our "A" Wall

2009-04-07T11:05:00.000-07:00

I have never paid much attention to Word Walls. I've always thought that it would be too much work and where in the world would I put one? But, as I have been trying to teach Little Cheese the rules of grammar, the more appealing they became.

Today we put up our "Long A" wall. Nothing fancy. Nothing remotely creative. But it works. Every time we walk by them, we review them. Every time that we say a word that has the long A sound, we run and write it down. This small thing has been such an enjoyment to Little Cheese.

(I don't know if you can see it but she spelled "anyway" as "ineeway". Again, how we pronounce things isn't always the way that it is spelled!)

Hmmm...that's Curious!

2009-04-01T04:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon we sat down at the table to do a little bit of school work. Math is a subject that I do everyday and at this point of the year, I am mainly trying to spend my time hitting new concepts. Horizon's Math is excellent at reviewing things that have already been introduced so we get a little bit of that too.
The concept of "one dozen" was being introduced, the task was to color one dozen objects.
"Oh, ok, I can do that!" Little Cheese reached for the crayons and began coloring in the stars on the page.
I look at her through my I don't think you can figure this one out on your own eyes. I smile and say "Little Cheese, how many is a dozen?"
I was prepared to have her tell me that she didn't know. I was prepared to get to explain what the concept was and then to use several different manipulatives to teach about a dozen.
Little Cheese, still coloring said "Yeah Mom, it's twelve."
"Where did you learn that?" I am always amazed at the things she knows that I don't know about.
"Curious George." Crayon down, task done.

I guess watching some PBS in the morning isn't so bad after all!

(picture from PBS Kids Website)

More 1st grade phonics

2009-03-30T05:42:00.000-07:00

My Little Cheese is constantly amazing me with the words that she can write. It is also great joy to my heart to see that the constant nagging of "hold your pencil correctly..." and "...do the best job you can do when writing your letters..." has paid off.

Here is a letter that she has written to a very good friend:

It says:

"Sarah, thank you for the card. i like it when you send me a card. i am sending you one back because i love you when will i see you agin my dad is goween to put a flor in the play set"

1st grade phonics

2009-03-20T08:59:00.000-07:00

Today as I was doing my visits around all of my blog friends, I ran across this post at Morgan Madness. I enjoyed it so much that it reminded me to post this get well note that Little Cheese wrote for me.

(Translation: I hope you get better even though you are sick. I will love you for ever)

Now, Daddy did help with the word "though" but he only admitted it after I oohh'd and ahh'd over the fact that she wrote it herself. My favorite word that she wrote and misspelled is "git". At least where I live we do pronounce the word "git" instead of "get". Confusing the English language is.

Something that we did to help encourage Little Cheese and now Manny to practice writing was to put up a small piece of white board on the side of our pantry. They both love using the white board markers. It is also very conducive to sitting down and playing games like hangman, word scramble, etc...without using paper!

A "fishy" preschool game

2009-03-18T11:30:00.001-07:00

Today as I sat at the dining room table while Little Cheese worked on her math, an idea popped into my head. I have been wanting to make up a challenging game for her to help to learn all of the vowel blends (ex: ai, ea, ay, ee...). I have been mulling it over and over in my head and it finally clicked.

As I began making my "fishy" game, it became apparent that my little Manny needed something to entertain him and quickly. So, the "fishy" game became his instead. Here is what I did.

I made a template of a fish out of an index card (I had them handy)

(The fish is maybe 3 and 1/2 inches long.)

Then I made a school of fish, and cut them out, and colored them.

Then, I put a letter or number on the back of each fish. Manny had to turn over the fish to find the letter or number that I asked him for. Relatively simple, I know, but he loved it so much that we played it five or six times in a row-something that he hardly ever wants to do.

As far as the game for little cheese, it is still rolling around in my head and gets better all the time. I can't wait to show you what I came up with! Whoo-hoo! I love it when the creative thoughts roll!

Enjoying Phonics Pathways

2009-03-14T13:56:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone its Kim here...

(Kim is my dear friend who is homeschooling her daughter in Kindergarten this year. She is a much more structured homeschooler and I envy her for that. I am having her share things that help her get through her days for a different perspective.)

I am teaching kindergarden this year and wanted to tell you a little about our curriculum. We started the year off with Rod and Staff which I love, but we got to a point where I did not want to teach another new first grade concept. I felt like we needed to work on fluency of reading instead of just keep going with reading rules and larger words.

I stopped my Rod and Staff and did not know where to go next. I am one of those homeschoolers that really really likes my workbooks to tell me what to do next, so needless to say I was stuck. I started looking at everything wondering if it would work for us. Instead I came back to what I never thought I would like or use and am loving it.

I am now using Phonics Pathways. It is simple simple to teach reading. It starts out teaching letter sounds then progresses to blending sounds and all the way up to full blown reading.
We spend about 10 or 15 minutes on the couch just reading a page. My child absolutely loves this, she would rather sit next to me and read than sit at a table and work a workbook page. Who knew? There are even games along the way to play to reinforce what we have learned. Now I could kick myself for not just using this at the beginning of the year.

Online Sites That I Love...

2009-03-13T03:28:00.000-07:00

Everyday I get prepared for our school day by printing off several worksheets for my daughter to work through. All of these worksheets are from free online sites. I love these sites and thought I would share some with you!

ABCteach
TLSbooks
Softschools
Schoolexpress
Free Phonics Worksheets
SuperTeacher Worksheets
Kiddy House
Starfall

SITS-Barnes and Noble Giveaway- Times Up!

2009-03-10T07:47:00.000-07:00

The Secret Is In The Sauce (Sits) is having a spring fling. So, in honor of the spring fling...I am giving away a $5 gift card to Barnes and Noble. Yep. Go buy an Easter Book for your little one. Go buy a homeschool curriculum book. Go buy a good read for yourself...or a cup of jo' at the Starbucks store.

Thanks to everyone who entered my contest but time is up!

The lucky winner is: drum roll please.....
Just Jingle!
I have emailed the winner and a reply is not received in two days a new winner will be announced! Thanks again to everyone who entered.

Two ways to enter-open to US only please.

1. Leave me a comment. Say Hi or how's it going? Say anything at all.
2. Subscribe. I usually have something interesting to say and I check in with my followers everyday. I love to see what other people are doing! If you already are a subscriber, just leave another comment saying hi.

Contest will be over tomorrow, March 11th at 3:00 p.m. I will select a winner and notify you by email so be sure to leave me a way to get in touch with you!

Have a great day!

ABC paper- a giveaway, WINNER!

2009-03-05T05:37:00.000-08:00

Ok, so here is the winner of the paper.... Kim! I will contact you and you will have 2 days to get back to me!

I had the chance to have a date with my hubby a couple weeks ago. We walked into a small art store to browse around without having to hold little hands. My hubby went to the pencils and I headed toward the back of the store.

I found the most wonderful thing....Italian Decorative Paper. This one piece of paper that I found was covered in ABC's...

Oh I fell in love. I purchased one to hang up in my children's room. It is on the larger size (bigger than an 11X14 picture frame so framing it might take some creativity).

I love it so much that I would love to share one with you! I will give away one piece of this beautiful paper to a lucky winner! All you have to do is leave me a message and a way to contact you if you win. Only shipping to USA, sorry...

Have a great Thursday! This giveaway will be over on the 13th.

The Math Worksheet Site - an absolute favorite!

2009-02-26T06:29:00.000-08:00

I have a trusty friend in helping me teach Little Cheese math. Who is my friend?
The Math Worksheet Site.

These are the worksheets available to print and they are each customizable to exactly what you are working on:

(copied with permission from the Math Worksheet Site)

We have been doing the 5 minute drills everyday this week and it is so exciting for Little Cheese to see the improvement that she is making.

Would you like to see what some of the worksheets look like?
This is the drill worksheet:

These were our sheets for the day!

A solution for Workbook Based Curriculum

2009-02-25T10:13:00.001-08:00

Most of the curriculum that I use comes in these handy dandy workbooks. The work is organized, together, flip one page to the next type of lesson planning. I love this. It makes like simple. It makes piecing things together and planning a whole lot easier.

At the beginning of the year I was trying to tear out the pages to make up daily assignments and then put them neatly into a weekly binder. This was going to be great! Everyday I could just pull out the next set of lessons. I would know and Little Cheese would know exactly what was expected of her.

These books, unfortunately didn't make it that easy. The front of one page would be included in one "lesson" while the back of the page would start a new "lesson". How in the world do you fit that neatly into a pocketed binder divided into daily work? I couldn't. I gave up.

My husband had the solution. Three ring binders. We took the workbooks and removed all of the pages (in order of course) and then punched them with a three ring punch. The pages were then placed in three ring binders. Now, instead of trying to remove pages from the workbook everyday, I simply use sticky tabs to mark the beginning and end page in the binder. The pages are removed every morning (one subject at a time or it gets real messy) and the work is done. Once completed, the pages slide nice and neatly right back into their place.

I hope this helps!

Every Number Has A Place (Learning Place Value)

2009-02-23T09:55:00.000-08:00

Math is one of those things that I stress the most with my daughter, Little Cheese. She is in the first grade and for the most part, really likes math. There are some things though, that just absolutely throw her for a loop.

I use Horizons Math as our curriculum and alot of time it will touch on a new subject and then quickly change to a review section. But I still think that it is superior!

My Little Cheese doesn't get place value, you know: 100's, 10's, and 1's. So today I made a way to practice.

I printed off a bunch of 100's, 10's and 1's...like this:

Then I printed off a sheet that had number on it...like this:

And then Little Cheese had to add the appropriate 100's, 10's and 1's
Like this:

A Wonderful Learning Game

2009-02-18T08:06:00.000-08:00

A marble maze. It is such an amazing game to have in your house! We have had ours for three years now and it is still a favorite. Unlike that new bedazzled toy that was received, like a whole two months ago for Christmas. You know, the must have. The please, please, please...can't I have it Mommy thing?
(Actually Little Cheese has never begged for a toy. She didn't even make a list of things she wanted at Christmas. She was just very thankful for the things that she did get. Alot of them, though, are not played with now).

Back to the subject. I highly recommend getting a marble maze for your child(ren). What it teaches? Creativity, colors, counting, puzzle solving, fosters independent and shared play , and fun with a toy that requires batteries. (This is a marble game so you have to be careful with little children and the marbles.)

Creativity: The pieces can be arranged in hundreds of different ways
Colors: Ask your child for specific colors to be added next.
Counting: How many pieces can you use?
Puzzle solving: Pieces have to be arranged so that the marble can freely roll from one piece to another.
Independent/shared play: A child (especially an older child) can put the maze together. There are enough pieces that two smaller mazes can be made or one very large one with more than one starting point. Have a race!

If you are interested in one like I have,

1,2,3...Come Homeschool With Me

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