A Great Start

We are off and running! 

We have finished almost two weeks of the new school year!

We are excited to get this year going!  We have many new adventures laid before us.............

 

New grade levels.  New students.  New curriculum.  New supplies.  New field trips.   

 

It's a new year!

 

As you can tell, they were eager and excited to start this new school year!

 

And all that excitement brought out our silly sides....................



We kicked off the school year with a little questionnaire.  What a treasured keepsake these turned out to be!  (Just a side note: I didn't come up with most of these questions on my own.  I found several resources on the web, my favorite were from 1+1+1=1.)

Happy Homeschooling!

Reading Punch Cards

Looking for a fun way to track your reading during the school year?

Check out my cute Reading Punch Cards!

I created 3 different styles:

First Day of School Posters - Free Download

Our first day of school is approaching rather quickly!  And the days are finding me tying up loose ends, finishing off projects and planning, and getting everything in order. 

Today I made some cute "back to school" posters for my kiddos.  I plan to take pictures of each of them on our first day of the new school year, holding a poster which proclaims their new grade level that they are proud to be entering.

Homeschool T-Shirt Giveaway

It's Back to School Time!!! 

 

And I am pulling together the last of my preparations for the coming school year - including some "Back to School" shopping!  And this year it's going to include some new homeschool t-shirts for my family from Great Products! 

 

I've run across ads for this company several times and have been very interested in ordering something fun for my kiddos.  Well, now is my chance with the amazing deal that Great Products has going right now!  Click the link below to check out their creative array of homeschool t-shirts. 

 

 

 

They have t-shirts for homeschool kiddos, as well as moms and dads!  And at this price you can have the whole family sporting some cute or funny homeschool t-shirts!

 

And even better.......

Great Products is offering a FREE homeschool t-shirt to one of my readers!

This giveaway will be open for one week - our last week before my clan starts "Back to School"! 

And the winner will be announced on our first day of school - Tuesday, September 3!

Just enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below to be entered to win:

one FREE homeschool t-shirt of your choice from Great Products!

  



a Rafflecopter giveaway

July's Reading List

 It's the start of another new month!  And with that bring a new reading list for our house.  We are enjoying having a select array of books in our reading basket.  And I find that we are taking more opportunities to read because of it.  Even the briefest moments between activities, will find us grabbing a book or two to pass the time.  The kids are requesting read aloud time more and more.  And it's even helped with the chores!  What??!  The chores??!  Yup, even as I type right now. It's the "hurry, clean up your room and I'll read more stories from our book basket!"  And it works!

Our favorite from last month was More Stories From Grandma's Attic.  We all enjoyed those stories.  One chapter was never enough!  I am sure you will see another book from that series pop up on one of our future reading lists.

Well, on to our list for July!  This month I have included several patriotic/historical themed books to go with our country's birthday.  I also grabbed a few bug books - because it is an especially buggy time around here right now.  And then I filled in with a few favorites.

July's Reading List:

Father's Day

Running late....as usual....
But just in case you're right there with me and need a last minute Father's Day gift idea........

The kids have been enjoying some Shel Silverstein poem books that they found on our bookshelf.  Recently, they mentioned this poem to me and I thought it was perfect for Father's Day.  I dressed it up a bit to print off for the D-A-D in our house. 

Remote-a-Dad

by: Shel Silverstein

 

 

And since I'm short on time, I am planning on having Dad take part in the kids' craft to "create" their own remote controls for Dad.  Nothing too fancy.  I'm just pulling out some cardboard and other various craft supplies and letting them use their awesome creativeness to build these special remotes.  Looking forward to lots of laughs as the kids use this poem as a little inspiration for playing with their Dad on Father's Day! 

Hoping this free download is a blessing to anyone else that is running late this year!

Summer Reading Bookmark

It's time for

S U M M E R    R E A D I N G ! ! !

 

I'm always on the look out for a simple way to track our summer reading.  Why not a bookmark?!

You often keep one close by while reading.  So why not make that bookmark doubly useful......

saving your spot AND tracking your reading time!

 

 

This bookmark is simple - you just color in a book on the bookshelf each time you read for 20 minutes.  Once you have colored in all the books on the bookmark, you will have read for

10 HOURS!!!

 

That's quite an accomplishment!

 

And if you're still going strong, you can fill up another bookmark!

 

Our local libraries and other reading games that we sign-up for all have their own tracking systems - some we record the time on the internet, others have sheets or calendars to fill in/hand in.  I plan to use this bookmark as our initial record of reading.  Then, transfer our time to each separate reading game.  I think it will really simplify things to use the bookmarks as our one main record to keep track of for each child. 

 

Click on the pic above to download a copy of my Summer Reading Bookmark. 

Note: it comes with 2 bookmarks per sheet. 

 

I'd love to hear how this Summer Reading Bookmark works for you!  Leave me a comment!!!

 

 



June's Reading List

Well, I'm a bit late in getting this post out...but we still have lots of days in June to fill with reading! 

Last month was our first go at having a reading list.  And I think we did very well!  We didn't get to all the chapter books, so I only put 3 on the list this month.  We did get to most of the picture books multiple times, but occasionally forgot to mark them on our chart.  Overall, I was very encouraged by the increased amount of reading time we spent together. 

And now that summer is starting, and summer reading games are popping up all over, I am sure our drive to increase our reading time will continue to grow. 
 
I was excited to pull out several "daddy" books to go with Father's Day this month.

 

June's Reading List

Chapter Books:
More Stories from Grandma's Attic by Arleta Richardson
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle by Betty MacDonald
Mercy Watson by Kate DiCamillo

Monthly Book List

I wanted to start a monthly book list at the beginning of the year, but due to time constraints I just haven't pulled one together yet.  Well, May is as good a time as any to get the ball rolling!  So here is our list for the month:



Mr. Popper's Penguins by: Richard and Florence Atwater (to wrap up our Antarctica study)
(I also grabbed the Literature Unit from Confessions of a Homeschooler for some added fun!)
Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner
Sarah, Plain and Tall by: Patricia MacLachlan
Antarctica: Journey to the Pole by: Peter Lerangis (another one I found for our Antarctica Study)
I Will Rejoice by: Karma Wilson (a springtime favorite!)
Barnyard Song by: Rhonda Gowler Greene
Book! Book! Book! by: Deborah Bruss
The Children of the King by: Max Lucado
Hugs and Kisses by: Christopher Loupy
Love Your Neighbor: Short Stories of Values and Virtues by: Arthur Dobrin
Library Lion by: Michelle Knudsen
The Kissing Hand by: Audrey Penn
The Emperor's Egg by: Jane Chapman
Seashore Animals by: Michael Chinery
What is a Marsupial? A Bobbie Kalman Book
Seeds! Seeds! Seeds! by: Nancy Elizabeth Wallace (hoping to do some planting this month!)
Time for a Hug by: Phillis Gershator
I'm as Quick as a Cricket by: Audrey Wood
Hush, Little Ones by: John Butler
Bless Me by: Grace Maccarone
Hush Little Baby by: Sylvia Long (I LOVE this version!)

Math Fun - Part 2

My Fact Family Houses post has continued to be a very popular post.  As it has also continued to be a popular activity here in our home.  So, I decided to come up with a more permanent set up for making fact family houses.  Something that might help keep the focus on the actual fact families. 




Fact Family House File Folder Kit

You can read the original Fact Family Houses post here.
 

This file folder kit comes with:

a front cover sheet, title strip, & directions for playing the file folder game

the house page

a set of number tiles

a description of how to construct the file folder game



Math Fun - Part 1

Basic math facts are a key component of early math.  Later math learning will be so much easier if the basic math facts are down pat.  Yet, learning math facts can sometimes be a struggle.  Some kids take great to the flash card method.  Others "see" math better though manipulatives.   Others might find songs to be a help in getting those math facts drilled in.  And sometimes a variety of concepts is need before these facts are committed to memory.  The great thing about math is that there are so many fun ways to practice these math facts.

 

Our newest practice is these Addition Charts.  My goal with these charts was to help my children "see" the numbers and how they work together. 

 

The charts were made to be cut apart, so that only one sum is focused on at one time.  Then, the child can work with manipulatives, finger counting, etc. to fill in the chart with all the possible addends for that sum. 

The Jellybean Prayer for Easter

This is a repost of an Easter project we did last year.  With Easter quickly approaching - only about 3 more weeks! - I thought it was a great time to revisit this great activity.

 

Original Post: 3/27/12

Our first Easter project finally took place.  And it's definitely one of my favorites!  The fact that jellybeans are involved might sway me a bit toward this project.  However, it's really how the jellybeans are used to share the message of Easter. 

The 12 Days of Christmas 2012

I am so thrilled to finally pull together another post.  I miss blogging.  Although, I am just loving having a sweet little baby again!  I just can't get enough of her!  I am taking all the time I can to just sit and snuggle this sweet little angel of ours.  Which is why my posts are few and far between.  Such is the season of my life for now...

 

But I do have a post today!  Even if it is cutting into my sleep time a bit...hmmm...maybe not the wisest choice since I'm a sleep deprived momma!  So we will make this quick!

 

I have been contemplating our Christmas festivities for this year.  Simple is my mantra since having baby #4.  But at the same time I want to have some fun, memorable Christmas activities with my family.  For the past few years I have put together a Christmas Advent activity.  It was really cute!  Made from wedding tin favors and magnets.  I put it on our fridge each year and filled each tin with any event for the day.  You can see it here.

 

This year, however, I felt that 25 activities would be too much for me.  So I have decided to pare it down to just 12.  And since it's 2012, I thought it was a perfect idea!  I decided to forgo my magnetic tins this year.  And I came up with this print out to hang on the fridge instead. 

 

First, I filled in the calendar portion with all the events we already had scheduled...classes, Christmas parties, whatnot.  Then I came up with the 12 activities that I wanted to do this year - actually you can see from the pic above that I'm still lacking a few items, but I'll get them in there soon - I promise!  Then I plotted them out on my calendar.  The great thing about this is that I have more than twice as many days as activities, so I was able to pick and choose the days that worked best for us.  All while not overloading this Christmas season with lots of extra clutter - y'all know what I mean, right?

 

Fun Schooling

I tend to be a task oriented person.  I always feel as if certain things need to be done before the "fun" can begin.  I'm working on this a lot right now.  With a new baby in our family, we don't always have time to get those certain things done.  So, what?  Are we going to never have fun?!  Well, that won't work! 

 

I feel like the Lord is really teaching me to make some adjustments in my life.  To learn to calm down about some things.  Even simple, small things can make a big difference. 

 

As I prepared to go to the hospital to have my little Snuggle Bunny, I put together an activity bag for my other children.  One item I included in that bag was a Mad Lib book.  We hadn't done these yet with our kids (I guess I forgot about them). 

 

 

What a hit!  The kids love them!  We like to do them together as a family - it's so much more fun to laugh together! 

 

Fall Treats

It was a fall rainy day here today.  And we loved it!  "Why?" you ask.  Because we lit a fire in our fire place, snuggled in the living room to watch a movie, and enjoyed some yummy fall treats we made this week!

 

 

Check out these adorable Acorn Cookies!  I found the idea on Pinterest.  It didn't actually have a link, it was just a picture, but I didn't think it looked to hard to figure out.  So, we gave it a go!

Summer Reading Kit

I love playing summer reading games with my children.  I think it is so much to track our reading - especially since we do so much!  And it's a great way to spend a rainy summer day!  We usually participate in the summer reading game at our local library.  But this year we also signed up for one through Journey Forth:

http://www.bjupress.com/books/summer-reading/

It's from BJU Press, some of you might be familiar with their homeschool products.  It's worth checking into, since they are offering a Kindle Fire as a Grand Prize for the game.  Plus, they have a wonderful list of great books to read, divided by age groups.

I poked around online (I love pinterest for this) and found some great resources for tracking your summer reading.  I pinned my favorite here.  I was only able to get the printable to open in my picture viewer and since I'm not all that computer savvy, I decided to make a few adjustments and make my own version.  I love how it turned out!  And today is the day we are going to get started on it!  (It really helps that it's a rainy day, too.)

Here is the Summer Reading Kits my kids are receiving today. 

I placed their logs inside library pockets (the same ones I used for our Tricky Tic Tac Toe game).

The logs are made to look like the old fashioned library cards!

Tic Tac Toe

I love adding a fun new game to our schoolwork! I made a Tic Tac Toe game recently. It's great because it can be used to review anything. And works great with multiple ages. In fact, it's been a huge hit at our house. The kids ask for it almost everyday!

I cut the tops off of 2 file folders to make each side of the file folder even.  I over-lapped the two folders and adhered them together to make it a tri-fold - I used double sided tape, but you could also use glue.  I found a pack of library cards at my local teacher's store and adhered them to the file folder, 3 in a row on each flap.  I also added some cute lettering that I found in my scrapbooking stash.  I made a sheet of X's and O's on the computer, laminated them and cut them out.  I added Velcro dots to the back of each one, placing the other half of the Velcro dots on the library pockets.

Next I folded up the bottom flap and added a second set of Velcro dots here, so we had a storage spot for all

Birthday Party!

We recently had a birthday party at our house!  Miss Curly Girlie turned 7!

She could hardly wait for her party to start!  We decided a few weeks ago to make it a Pajama Party.  I got some amazing party ideas from Pinterest.  I have found it's a better place to search for things like party ideas than just doing a Yahoo or Google search.  On Pinterest, I came across far more of the kind of ideas I was looking for.  Maybe a few too many ideas - that kept me up late a few too many nights!  I really need to work on starting these projects sooner!

Mini M&M Fun

I thought I would kick things up a bit today and add some extra incentives - Mini M&M's! 

(found in the baking aisle with the chocolate chips)

 I wanted to do a thorough practice of special sounds with my Curly Girlie for her Phonics lesson. Since the list is getting quite large, I thought an incentive might be in order. But not wanting to load my kids up on junk, I thought the Mini M&M's would work quite nicely. So I grabbed the bag and we set to playing some games!

Counting Caterpillar

While I had been working on counting by 2's with my Curly Girlie, we only recently started using the terms odd and even.

So I came up with a fun game to help her remember which is which.