Adams Family Farm and Homeschool

Toddler School - Week 10 - More Color

2016-02-26T09:57:00.000-08:00

Baby Jay is doing so well with Toddler School. It's really about fun learning that we do together. She loves to be read to and played with. One issue that we have sometimes is that she wants my full attention when I have to do other things like cook or wash dishes. I try to include her in everything I do, but she isn't always interested in my activity. When I read about Busy Bags, the light bulb went off. That would be perfect! I went to Pinterest, of course, and found a bunch of ideas that I want to try. You can check out my Toddler School Pinterest board here. The first busy bag activity that I made is a Pipe Cleaner Can. Baby Jay found it fascinating. She played for 20 minutes!

Toddler School - Week 9 - Art

2016-02-12T08:01:00.000-08:00

I love doing arts and crafts with the kids. It's one of my most favorite things about doing school with my youngest girls. This week, I chose several different types of art activities for Baby Jay to try. She had a blast!

Jay's Penguin Birthday Party

2016-02-07T19:44:00.001-08:00

Jay turned 7!!!! Her birthday theme request this year was Penguins. Which really surprised me. I expected Frozen or something like that. I was glad, though. I found the cutest DIY ideas on Pinterest. Check out my Birthday Party Board for other ideas.

Children's Ministry - Creation Day 2

2016-01-31T19:54:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, my family and I really stepped out in faith. God called us to start a church! Since we are new and still small, the only children are my two youngest daughters, but I think they still need Sunday School and Children's Church. This week's lesson was on Creation - Day 2. I found some wonderful resources to help me teach the girls.

Toddler School - Week 8 - Red

2016-01-30T07:27:00.000-08:00

This week for Toddler School, we worked on the color red. Baby Jay's favorite red activity was the edible paint. Read on for more!

Library Story Time - The Mitten

2016-01-29T09:45:00.001-08:00

I work part-time at our local Library as a Children's Librarian. One of my most favorite responsibilities is our weekly Story Time. Each week we have a different theme. We try to base our books, craft, and snacks on the theme. Some times it's easier than others.

This week's theme was based on the book The Mitten by Jan Brett.

Toddler School - Week 7 - Blue

2016-01-22T16:32:00.001-08:00

I am SO amazed with Baby Jay! Most everyone thinks their babies are the smartest and most special babies in the world. (I am no exception!) I'm going to brag on her for just a minute. While thinking about themes for Toddler School, I decided it would be good to start spending time on each color. Toddler School Week 4 was about introducing colors. You can read that post here. The first color I chose to go more in depth with was blue. Baby Jay began to recognize and name it after only one day!!!

Toddler School - Week 6 - Birds

2016-01-14T20:46:00.000-08:00

Jay began the Little Keepers At Home activities for the Bird Pin this week. I thought Baby Jay would enjoy learning along with her. We already know how much she loves chickens. You can take a look at our Farm Animals post here.

I was able to photograph a cardinal and a blue jay to show the girls. To read about how CJ made this Milk Jug Bird Feeder click here.

Blue Jay at Milk Jug Bird Feeder

We went outside to catch "ninens" (chickens) today. The weather was beautiful! As well as enjoying the birds, the girls enjoyed a walk, jumping on the trampoline, swinging on the swing set, and sliding down the slide. Baby Jay learned to climb the ladder by herself.

Enjoying the Slide

She enjoyed the books I brought home from the Library for Jay as well as one I brought home for myself. The first was Birds by Melissa Stewart. This wasn't a book that I read to her, but we enjoyed looking at the pictures together. The next was There is a Bird on Your Head! by Mo Willems. Baby Jay thought this book was hilarious. So did I! The book I brought home for myself is Free-Range Chicken Gardens by Jessi Bloom. The pictures in this book are fabulous! Baby Jay can not get enough of this book. She has us look at it with her several times a day.

I would love to read your suggestions for learning about birds!

This post is linked to Tree Valley Academy Learning Kid Link-up #27, Tot School Gathering Place Week 157 , and Learn and Play Link Up, and the Preschool and Kindergarten Community, and Everything Early Childhood Link Up

Toddler School - Week 5 - Farm Animals

2016-01-07T12:46:00.003-08:00

We live on a small farm in Tennessee. We raise chickens and rabbits. I thought it would be fun to spend some time learning about farm animals this week. We talked about their names and the sounds they make.

Toddler School - Week 4 - Introducing Colors

2015-12-30T20:02:00.000-08:00

This has been a busy week because of Christmas so there wasn't a great deal of school time. I did, however, begin to introduce colors using some of the toys that we already have.

Family Christmas Activity Ideas

2015-12-30T19:26:00.000-08:00

We have had an awesome Christmas this year! We started celebrating on the first day of December and did something fun every day. We listened to Christmas songs and watched Christmas movies. I made a ton of goodies! I also planned activities for the whole family to enjoy. If you are looking for some ideas for your family to enjoy for your next Christmas, read on!

Toddler School - Week 3 - Getting Ready for Christmas

2015-12-19T07:06:00.000-08:00

This week for Toddler School, I thought it would be a wonderful way to get ready for Christmas by doing some really fun Christmas activities with Baby Jay. She had a great time!

Toddler School - Week 2 - Library Fun

2015-12-11T07:18:00.001-08:00

This was week 2 of our Toddler School journey. Check out Week 1 here. I was able to bring the kids with me to the Library where I work part time. Baby Jay LOVES the Library! There are so many things for kids to enjoy. I thought it would be great to incorporate the Library into this week's Toddler School.

Beginning Toddler School

2015-11-30T20:36:00.000-08:00

Baby Jay has started Toddler School. She is 19 months old now. This is just our time to play together. With a part-time job, 4 kids, homeschooling, and all the other activities we do, it can be difficult to find one-on-one time with each of the kids. This is a great way for Baby Jay and I to have our time. Are you thinking about beginning Toddler School with your little one? Here is what our first week looked like.

How We Began Toddler School

What to Do With Old Crayons???

2015-11-30T13:32:00.000-08:00

I work part-time at our local library. I'm blessed enough to be our Children's Librarian. We have Story Time every week for preschoolers and young elementary home school kids like Jay. Once a year, we replace the used crayons with brand new ones. We wondered what to do with all the old ones. We decided to make new ones! Want to do this for yourself? Read on!

This is how I made new crayons out of old crayons.

How to Host an Easy Tea Time Party for All Ages

2015-10-09T16:23:00.000-07:00

After reading Tea Party Rules by Ame Dyckman, Jay, my first grader, wanted to have her own Tea Party. I thought it would be great to include all of my kids plus another family. The kids range in age from 18 months to 15 years old. There are 4 girls and 3 boys so I needed it to feel a little less girly. I called it a Tea Time Party to help with that. With 4 kids, a part time job, homeschooling, and starting a new church, I also needed it to be easy.

Hosting an Easy Tea Time Party for All Ages

Jay made an invitation for the family that we wanted to invite. I drew a tea pot on construction paper. She cut it out and glued it onto another piece of construction paper that was folded like a card. She wrote the invitation message inside and the names on the outside. Very easy. She really enjoyed making it.

We started with food because what's the point of a party without food, right? I bought a dozen donuts and cut them into four pieces. I also bought Little Debbie Marshmallow Treats and a package of Butter Cookies. My friend, the other Mom, made Pigs in a Blanket (they were very yummy!).

Now for the tea. I ran a pot of hot water in the coffee pot. We had regular tea bags and Apples and Cinnamon Tea Bags. We steeped the flavor of tea bag we wanted in a cup, added sugar, creamer, pumpkin pie spice, or cinnamon, then some cold water from the refrigerator. We also had orange juice or grape juice if anyone preferred them over tea.

I bought clear Chinet plates, Chinet napkins, and Dixie Plastic Cutlery. This was an easy and fairly inexpensive way to be "fancy" and kid-friendly at the same time.

For our Tea Time Party activities we played board games and the kids took turns playing the Wii. We all had a great time!

For more Tea Party ideas check out my Pinterest Board It's Tea Time!

Peppermint Foot Soak

2015-10-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

Do your feet ever get tired, achy, and hot? Lately, that's what I've been dealing with. I decided to do some research on a good foot soak recipe. I found a great recipe for a

Peppermint Foot Soak.

It just so happens that I have Peppermint growing in my garden! I also have a Dr. Scholl's Foot Spa, like the one pictured below.

Peppermint Foot Soak Recipe

4 teaspoons dried peppermint leaves

2 cups Epsom salt

Add 1 teaspoon of mixture to warm water.

I picked about two handfuls of peppermint leaves, washed, and wiped off the excess water. I then dried them in the oven on the lowest setting for about 30 minutes. When cooled, I removed the leaves from the stem and powdered them with a wheat grinder. You could probably do this by hand or with a blender or food processor. You can also use Peppermint Tea Bags. Each bag is 2 teaspoons of dried peppermint leaves.

Making Art With Nature

2015-09-19T06:36:00.000-07:00

Jay had the best idea the other day! She decided to make a craft with items she found outside. With a stick, leaves, pebbles (and a little help from an adult with a glue gun) she made a butterfly. I think it could look like a dragonfly, too. Didn't she do a great job?

15 Afternoon Snack Ideas

2015-08-28T14:28:00.000-07:00

Even though we homeschool, my kids still really appreciate an afternoon snack. These would be great for after school snacks, too!

Frosting and a Smile - S'more Snack Mix

Recipe here

Jay's First Grade Curriculum

2015-08-11T18:45:00.000-07:00

I have decided to pattern Jay's First Grade year after the Charlotte Mason Method of teaching. I'm still learning about Charlotte Mason, so I am by no means an expert. I thought I would share with you what my plans are for Jay this year.

For Social Studies, I found this Around the USA Study on Pinterest. I loved the idea, but wanted to do it a little differently. I will make a worksheet for each state that she can color. We will study one state a week in alphabetical order.

I found a book at our Library, The Big Book of America by Roger Hicks, that gives a brief overview of each state. It's in color so Jay will know what each item looks like for her worksheet/coloring page. I also checked out a book that listed recipes from each state that we can try. We will read a book about someone who is from our state-of-the-week as well. For Alabama, we will read Helen's Big World by Doreen Rappaport about Helen Keller.

For extra Language Arts, Tara at Embark on the Journey is working on 31 Days of Read-Alouds. I LOVE this! We will do one book a week. I will check it out from the library, print out the activity sheets that I'm interested in, and do a couple of activities that go along with the book. For example, our first week we are reading Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey. She will do some of the activity sheets, we will make Blueberry Muffins, and make Blueberry Art with a potato.

For Science, we are beginning with the Outdoor Nature Challenge.

Each day, Jay will do a lesson in Teaching Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, a few math pages from the Houghton Grade 1 Math Workbook, and Scripture Copy Work for handwriting. We will read in her Picture Bible and work on scripture memorization as well.

We will also be working on the Little Helpers at Home book so that she can receive her award pins each month. This month she is working on the Dishwashing pin and the Baking pin.

This was our first week back to school and Jay LOVED it!

Farm Updates

2015-08-02T19:25:00.000-07:00

This is just a small update about the farming side of our life. The Hubby has done a great job on the garden. These are a few pictures.

White Scalloped Squash

Green Pepper

Okra Plants

Today's harvest

Below is a picture of our newest baby rabbits. The picture is slightly blurry because they are like little jumping beans in the nest box. They are about 3 days old here. Hairless and wrinkly, aren't they? In just 2 weeks they will have all their fur and their eyes and ears will be open. These guys are going to be cute!

Baby Rabbits

6 Tips for Camping with a One Year Old

2015-07-22T20:47:00.000-07:00

Our family loves to camp. We are not hardcore campers, though. I'm not big on having the little ones out there in the extreme heat/cold or storms. We've decided to go again when the weather cools off here a little bit. We've had a heat index of 100 degrees or more for the last few weeks.

This year we will have a 15 month old with us. I've been searching Pinterest for some tips to make things easier. I thought I would share with you some of the ideas that I'm going to try. After our trip, I will let you know whether they were a success or failure.

6 Tips for Camping with a 1 Year Old

1) A tent to sleep in and a tent for the little ones to play in. Extra bugs and dirt can go in the play tent and stay out of the big one.

2) A Sound Machine to help everyone sleep.

3) A Baby Carrier that can also carry baby on back or hip for hiking trips.

4) Some kind of bug repellent is a MUST. I don't really want to put any bug spray or bug lotion on the littlest one, though. I would like to try these stickers.

Creamy Baby Oil also works wonders against mosquitoes. I'm not sure about ticks.

5) I love the idea of using Johnson's Baby Head-to-Toe Disposable Washcloths to give the little ones a bath before bed so they will sleep better.

6) The Pack and Play will be another good place for the littlest one to play so that I don't have to worry about her walking into the fire or something while I'm busy.

For more camping tips, check out my Camping Pinterest Board. Let me know if you've got any good tips for camping with a one year old.

Perfect Southern Biscuits

2015-07-13T12:03:00.000-07:00

My husband and I LOVE large buttery biscuits! No matter how hard I tried to make them, I could never find the perfect recipe. Until the day that I did! I modified that recipe, of course. I thought I would share with you how I made them. Let me know if you love them as much as we do!

How to Make Perfect Southern Biscuits

Add Self-Rising Flour to a mixing bowl. Cut in cold butter with a pastry blender until coarse crumbs form. (The pastry blender makes life SO much easier!)

Blending butter and flour.

Add milk. Using a fork, stir until just moistened. Turn out onto a floured surface.

Dough ready to roll out.

Lightly knead the dough with floured hands for about 30 seconds or until nearly smooth. Roll dough to 3/4 inch thickness.

Dough 3/4 inch thick.

I like to use an old soup can with holes cut into the bottom to cut out 12 biscuits. Place on a greased cooking sheet with sides touching.

Biscuits ready to bake.

Bake at 475 degrees for 13 minutes or until golden brown.

Golden Perfect Southern Biscuits

Spread butter on top and serve warm. My husband loves his biscuits with honey.

Warm biscuit served with honey

To print this recipe, pop-out the image below.

It's Time to Can Peaches!

2015-07-06T08:35:00.000-07:00

My friend Kaity and I canned peaches for the first time this weekend. Things like this are definitely more fun to do with a friend! Since we had never canned peaches before we needed a little help. We found some awesome instructions on this post.

How to Can Peaches

Ingredients Needed:

Peaches

Water

Fruit Fresh

Equipment Needed:

Water Bath Canner

Jars, Rings, New Lids

Jar Lifter

Magnetic Lid Lifter

Knife

How we did it:

We had 3 boxes of peaches that were each a 1/2 bushel. We decided to can them in three batches. This worked well for us, but it took ALL day long. Good thing we were having fun, right?

1/2 Bushel of Peaches

Begin by washing the peaches.

Washing Peaches

The peaches were then peeled, quartered, and pits removed. Use Fresh Fruit to keep them looking nice because this process takes a while.

Peaches ready for the jar

The water in the Water Bath Canner was heating during this process.

Water Bath Canner

The jars were washed and kept warm while the lids were in a little pot of simmering water. Then it was time to put in the peaches and the hot water before placing them in the Water Bath Canner. (Make sure to wipe off the jar rims before placing the lids on.) Process pint sized jars for 25 minutes and quart sized jars for 30 minutes. Remove the jars and place them on a towel to cool.

Canned peaches cooling on a towel

Let me know how your canning process is different than mine!

Tips to Keep Your Family Safe in the Sun

2015-06-11T20:10:00.000-07:00

Summer may not be officially here yet, but it has been over 90 degrees every day this week. Feels like summer to me! Which reminded me of how important it is to keep our children safe from the harmful effects of the sun. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, one blistering burn as a child more than doubles the risk of skin cancer in adulthood. I have seen the effects of skin cancer on my Father-in-Law. I do NOT want that future for my children.

Here are tips to keep your family safe from the sun this summer.

1) Sunblock - use a broad spectrum sunblock with at least an SPF of 15. Apply 15 to 30 minutes before going outside. Reapply every 2 hours or sooner if swimming or sweating.
2) Avoid going outside or stay in the shade between the hours of 10am and 4pm when the sun is hottest.
3) Take frequent breaks in the shade or indoors during other times of the day.
4) Wear protective clothing, sunglasses, and hats.

These tips will greatly reduce the risk of skin cancer due to sun exposure. Your children will thank you one day.

For more tips, check out these two websites:

How to Keep Your Baby Safe in the Sun by babycenter.com
How to Be Safe When You're in the Sun by kidshealth.org