Barefoot in Paradise

Teach At Home Thursday: Growing Plants

2013-05-30T05:00:00.000-10:00

There is something about watching things grow and change. This is why I became a teacher and started this series, Teach at Home Thursdays. When I was working in the classrooms, too often parents would they don’t know how to help their children at home without buying materials or curriculum and then they don’t know what way to “teach” their children as there are times they learn different methods at school.

This is so common and breaks my heart to hear a parent say this; after all we are a child’s first teacher. That’s right a parent is a child’s first teacher, but what exactly does that mean? Let’s think about it, first who teaches your child how to be comforted when they are crying? Who is the person or persons that they model their language development from? Are you seeing a pattern here? It all goes and comes back to parent involvement. With that being said, it is my philosophy and always has been to help my student’s parents do thing with them at home that help to develop skills and create opportunities to spend time together as a family. The learning will come from there; it is amazing when it does happen.

A simple and easy activity to do at home is growing things, whether is be a flower, a vegetable or even a fruit. Growing something together is almost symbolic of your relationship with your child; you are learning and growing together.

Start with whatever you want to grow, in my household; we planted flowers, garlic, started lettuce and cucumbers. Cost for the activity will all depend on what you want to plant, where you plant them and what you plan on doing it. The garlic and the lettuce were leftovers from our meals; the cucumbers were given to us in a kit and the flowers, we bought two different kind, wildflowers and gladiolus.

We used baby food, salsa and pickle jars and yogurt containers to start our plants. I picked up a bag of soil at Rite Aide for $5.00. Total cost of the project: $15.00 with the soil and the bulbs that we purchased. Not bad for a learning experience that will hopefully help us have some extra food!

our planted flowers

some garlic (love me this stuff)

into the soil they go!

getting some sun: our lettuce, garlic and avacado tree (well hopefully)

day four: look at those roots!

We started by planting the garlic cloves. They were pretty easy to plant, fill a container, make a hole and drop in the clove. Cover with dirt. Good to go. The Gladiolus were just about as simple, fill a jar with dirt, place bulb on top and done.

Once all of the seeds/bulbs were planted, we discussed what we were going to see, what we thought was going to happen, was it easy or hard to grow food, what they looked like on day one. We took pictures to document our plants.

To help to document the growth and help the children to enhance their reasoning skills, I created a workbook page that they could keep track of their plants. Here it is:

On the page is a line for what day it is of growth, how tall, the date and a space to draw a picture. The picture is the most important part for the children as this is where you will see what they are noticing. At first the children drew an empty container (well filled with soil) . A couple of days later, they couldn’t see the roots, so they drew an empty container. When we turned the baby food jar over, they discovered there had been roots growing the entire time. Woah, what a surprise for them. They knew plants had roots, but didn’t realize they had to grow down before they could grow up! What a neat experience. I loved seeing their faces light up like light bulbs. Continue on another week and we are starting to see green! They are thrilled and I couldn’t been happier with their fascination with how the plants are growing. Even Bean is so excited to see the plants. He always tries to grab them. It has been three weeks now and our books are growing and so are our plants.

our flowers after three weeks! They look great

garlic one: the kids loved seeing it so much we planted three more containers

more flowers: closer look at them

look at our cucumber after two weeks!

and after three weeks! It is always so amazing to me at how fast they grow!

love all the flowers, cannot wait to see them when they bloom

Pumpkin wanted to "unplant" one of the plants so we could explore it more closely. What a great idea, even I sat there in awe. This is our garlic after a week of growing.

Best part of the activity my children have a better understanding of where some of their food comes from. Next step: measuring our plants and introducing the concept of composting.

What have you see when you plant with your children?

Memorial Day

2013-05-27T05:04:00.000-10:00

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

To find out more history of the Pledge of Allegiance, check out this webpage.

Countdown to Summer

2013-05-24T16:37:00.000-10:00

If you been around for awhile or just joining us countdown charts are a huge hit in the Barefoot house! When making the countdowns, I try to incorporate different activities to make whatever it is we are counting down to more interesting. This is also a great way to help incorporate chores! Yes, I said it, chores; there is something about having a chore on a countdown chart that makes it just a little less work like.

For summer, we wanted to make a countdown till the end of school. It was actually Peanuts idea he kept saying “Ma, how many more days? Then are those school days or weekends?” As if it really mattered right? You still have to live that day before the school year ends.

My mind drew a blank on what type of countdown to do, we have down a couple over the years, our back to school one, with pencils and a can, a calendar one where we just crossed the days off, and this time, I wanted some more visual. My disney countdown here. I looked on Pinterest and found a couple of ideas and decided yes, these will work if they are modified just a bit.

What is more summer like than the sun, using construction paper, we cut a sun out. Making paper chains was a big hit for Pumpkin’s party; you can read that here, so paper chains it was. 21 days sounded like a good number of days to countdown from. We couldn’t decide if we wanted to color code it or just make it colorful. The kids decided to just let it go with the flow and see what happened. As they were cutting the strips of paper to make the links, I hopped on word and typed up a list of summer activities to start to make our transition into summer more fun!

These are in order of how I wanted them to occur, also so it matched up with the Memorial Day holiday.

1. Time to clean out your clothes, sort them, what fits, what doesn’t? Pack them and donate the rest. Make a game out of it, who can come up with the most interesting outfit?

2. Bathing suit shoping, woo hoo! Who is ready for summer? Do you need a hat as well? Maybe some sunglasses too?

3. Let’s play outside and make footprint animal sandals, those are going to be fun!

4. Time to move our plants outside, they need the sun and summer lovin’ as well.

5. Make coconut smelling summer playdough. Can you smell it, yup that’s summer!

6. Haircuts! Have to look good for summer. Smile your future is so bright!

7. Celebrate Memorial Day! Let’s make red, white and blue food! It’s the unofficial start to summer!

8. It’s hot today, a summer treat is in order. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

9. Clean out our summer toys, does anything need replaced? Let’s make an obstacle course!

10. Learn some sign language, summer words: hot, summer, fun, play, sand

11. Time to stock up- we need more bubbles. Ready for some poppin’ fun

12. Catch fireflys tonight and let’s make one to hang in the window

13. You are my sunshine- family artwork project.

14. Have a dance party- luau anyone? Summer is almost here can you feel it?

15. Go on a scavenger hunt? Let’s find some fun nature things, get out your egg cartons.

16. Fire time, who wants smore’s? Let’s check out the stars, get out your stargazing kits!

17. Make an end of the year gift for your teachers. Say thank you!

18. Have a water balloon fight, who can get Mama?

19. Get out the summer chairs and furniture, camp out in the backyard?

20. It’s the last night before the end of school, get some rest. Tomorrow is a fun day!

21. It’s officially summer! Welcome, oh how we missed you. Take your last day of school pictures?

The countdown turned out fabulous, I love the way that the colors pop and how it just screams fun. What are some of your favorite summer activities. Have you made your bucket list yet? We are busy trying to figure out how we will make our this year. Here’s one of our favorites. Check out how we have made our summer checklist in the past.

Savory Sunday: Yogurt Drops

2013-05-19T05:22:00.000-10:00

Easy, Cost Effective and Tasty: Yes, that is just my type of recipe or snack. Years ago, I learned that half of what you are paying for at the grocery store is convience! Shredded cheese in a bag, add three dollars to the cost. Umm no thank you, I will shred it myself.

Baby food: Yuck, bain of my existence, why make it harder for yourself and why pay someone almost triple what it will cost you to make at home. I came across these yogurt drops in the baby food section and was like wow, these are great but really $4.29 a bag? umm that is a big no!

I loved the concept of yogurt drops, thus it was time to create my own. Starting with a cookie sheet, piece of parchment paper, a ziploc bag and some yogurt. We had our own for a fraction of the cost and the best part is, I know exactly how they were made!

I started with a strong flavored yogurt, Black Cherry seemed like a good one to start with, after all you will only be getting a small bite at a time.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Fill a ziploc bag with yogurt and snip off the corner, or if you have a pastry bag, that would work as well.

Gently sqeeze dime sized amounts on the cookie sheet.

Place the cookie sheet into the freezer for about 20 minutes and instant drops!

Frozen drops and into a storage container! Love this fun and easy snack!

What do you like to enjoy on a hit summer day?

Best part, we created applesauce drops for Bean!

Bella Kai: Preschool Graduation and End of Year Celebration

2013-05-10T04:48:00.000-10:00

With graduation season in full force, it was time to share one of the preschool graduations/end of the year celebrations that I helped to plan. When Peanut was in preschool, his teacher asked me to coordinate the graduation/end of the year celebration and of course I jumped at the chance.

There were three big challenges: little if no budget, little time and very limited resources. What was I thinking? Hello? Talk about adding stress where it wasn't before! These are my favorite types of parties to plan because I feel as if my skills are really being tested. When you have a big budget, it is easy to make the party look stylish (again this is just my opinion!) and spend money on little things. When there is no money or very little you have to be resourceful and use what you have.

Simple, Fun, Colorful and Memorable was what I shooting for.
Starting with the invitations, I really think they captured what the theme was.

Now, what to do with the kids that again was simple, fun and could include all of the children. We had children going to kindergarten (age 5) all the way to just starting preschool (age 2). I kept racking my brain and racking my brain, I also wanted to incorporate an end of the year memory activity. After days and I do mean days of searching (these were the days before Pinterest) and talking with my colleagues, it hit me! Why not do t-shirts? They are easy, each child can modify it to his or her own desire and best of all, the parents can send in a shirt. This helped with the budge for three reasons, one it saved me from having to create 18 different whatevers! Each t-shirt was something that the children already had and liked. (always a bonus) and three, it was one less thing I had to stress about.

The children were asked what they wanted to put on their shirts and after seeing a couple others putting their hand prints, they all wanted too. The shirts ended up having their hand prints, the year, their name and the room number. At some point, we included the children from the rest of the school that were going to Kindergarten and all of the children in Peanut's room. The more the merrier right?

I have to admit I think t-shirts ended up being the hit of the day! There is just something so cute about seeing children's hand prints!

After the t shirt decorating, we sang a song about the end of the year and going to kindergarten, we also sung it again and changed the wording for staying in preschool for another year! We did our best to include everyone!

Here are the lyrics to the song:

Now I know my ABC's,
Colors, shapes, and days.
I sang some songs,
Learned some poems, rhymes, and fingerplays.

I played outside on sunny days
And inside when it rained.
My little hands and little feet
were busy every day.

My Teacher was (teacher's name), (Ms. Michelle)
I kept her on her toes,
She tied my shoes, combed my hair,
and even wiped my nose.But now it's time to say "good-bye"
To all my preschool friends.
School is over, summer's here,
But learning never ends!

After singing, we enjoyed some cake! The cake was phenomenal, not only was it exactly what I envisioned but it tasted great too (or so I was told, cake is not an item, I actually eat). Isn't it adorable?

Faithfully cakes did a fantastic job, I told her what I was picturing and out came the perfect cake!

When cake was over, we ventured outside for some bubble blowing, after all bubbles are a super fun activity and have a huge impact for very little money. Using items that the school had on hand, the children helped to make bubbles. You can read the recipe that was used in this previous post or find the recipe under the recipes tab of my blog!

The ending part of our celebration was to let go of balloons with a special note attached hoping that someone would get them and send a note back to the children.
Below you will find the tag and the balloon cluster before the children let them go.

We had the children let go of the balloons in age order, starting with the children going off to kindergarten and working our way down to the two year olds, the staff and then the parents that joined us. The children loved to see the balloons float up into the air. While the balloons were floating we were asking the children where they thought the balloons would end up. There answers were great! China, Hawaii, my house, to the president and my grandma in Heaven. You couldn't help but smile! There is just something about a child's innocence.

It was a beautiful way to end the year and celebrate the next step in the children's lives.

Cost breakdown of the party:

Balloons, ribbon and tag: $5.00 ( a local party store gave me a 50% discount, when I told them what it was for, SCORE!)

Invitations: design free (there is a reason, I learned how to do photoshop :) )
printing: we used the teacher's paper allotment for the school year.

Lunch: provided for the children under the school meal program guidelines. There was no choice in the matter under federal guidelines, the children must eat the lunch provided. Using a cookie cutter of a smiley face, and a balloon, we just dressed up the lunch. Cookie cutters, were things that I already had on hand.

T-shirts: children provided. We provided the t-shirt paint, about $10 using a Micheal's coupon.

Bubbles: supplies already on hand. If you are buying them for a special occasion, it will usually cost about $3-4 dollars, depending on the brand of supplies you purchase and also the amount you decide to use.

Paper supplies: napkins, plates, forks, cups and spoons: $12 and the left overs were kept for next years celebration.

Cake: $50, now I know what you are thinking, yes $50 is a lot of money and we could have had
probably got one cheaper somewhere else. With everything else being cheaper or stuff we already had, I wanted a centerpiece. The rave reviews that were received about the cake, made it worth it. There was so much cake left over that we were able to give everyone in the school a piece, about 80 people. Yes, 80 people. The students and the staff throughout loved us on this day!

Total cost of the party: $77 dollars. If you break it down to a per person cost, if you go by the amount of people that ate cake; it breaks down to 96 cents a person! If you go just by party guests, it is $1.27 a person. Either way it is a huge score!

How do your children celebrate their preschool graduation? or kindergarten for that matter? I would love to hear the details.

Travel Tuesday: Pearl Harbor

2013-04-30T16:46:00.000-10:00

As many of you know or are discovering from my blog. I love to travel and visit new places. There is something about learning about a new place that really appeals to me. When I hear of an activity or a place to visit, you can betcha, I am on my computer working away trying to find information and coupons for the place! Throughout the year, I am hoping to share places with you that I have traveled and my tips and tricks for making your visit there wonderful. It is a goal of mine to have all of my kiddos visit every state before they graduate high school. Not only do I want them to see our beautiful country, but there is something to be said about having your children learn and appreciate different cultures.

My first place to share with you is Pearl Harbor. I absolutely adore anything in Hawaii and Pearl Harbor combines my love for Hawaii and my love for history. Yes, I am a history nerd :) Proud of it! You can visit the official tour website : Pearl Harbor Tours or the National Parks web page: Pearl Harbor

First, Pearl Harbor is free. You can't beat that price, now, you are not allowed to carry bags into the museum or monument for security purposes. It cost about three dollars to check your bags. Me, I just lock them in my trunk or leave them at home.

The down fall of the park being free is that you have to go early, they only give out a certain number of tickets and then they are gone. The summer months especially fill up quickly, as do national holidays, Veterans Day, Memorial Day, December 7, Labor Day especially.

I have been lucky enough to visit Pearl Harbor on a few occasions, my first being Veteran's Day and my second on December 7. What an experience I will never forget.

You will begin your trip to the monument by watching a brief (about 15 mins) video of the events leading up to the attacks at Pearl Harbor, you will also be given the opportunity to listen to a survivor speak about the morning. Let me tell you, prepare yourself for tears and goose bumps. Having seen the movie on four separate occasions, I can honestly say I still cry and learn/see something new each time. When the movie is over you then walk to one of the boats that takes you over to the memorial it's self. It is a short ride but very humbling as you listen to sailors explain the events of the morning and show you where exactly they take place. When you enter the memorial it is quiet, they ask that you refrain from speaking loudly and honor the victims of the attack by staying so. I have been a few times and I tell you I learn and see something new each and every time I go. Here are some of my favorite pictures from my multiple trips.

welcome sign and my sister

If you are nice one of the sailor just might take his picture with you.
He told me it was an honor to be bringing visitors to P.H.

This always gives me chills- how anyone survived is a miracle.

by far my favorite- this is a plumeria flower in the oil that still leaks out to this day.

some of the ship is above water and if you look carefully you can see the majority is not.

one of the battleships presently there- just gives you an idea of how big they really are.

The wall of names- the men and women who perished that day- divided up according to branch of service.

the survivors who passed away and wanted to join their fellow service men. They were buried at sea.

the anchor from the Arizona! Talk about huge!

a flag always flies above and you can actually purchase one as a souvenir

each one marks the placement of a ship in the harbor that morning.

flags from inside the memorial

One of my favorite stories to tell about Pearl Harbor is from when I took Peanut there for a visit, you can read all about it here. A good night not Good Bye.

This is just one of many places that I highly recommend you visit when you visit Hawaii. Learn and embrace what Pearl Harbor means to our nation.

Bella Kai Events: Art Party: Decorations

2013-04-19T15:52:00.000-10:00

The final post in the Art Party is the decor and I would have to say that to me the decor is the most important part of the party as it helps to set the mood! Pumpkin's favorite part of the party and I think mine as well was the ceiling decoration. I used polka dot balloons (about $1.25 a pack, I used one) and four table cloths from the dollar store (they were 2 for $1.00), can't beat that! and a pack of paintbrushes, I actually bought them for another project but they worked wonderfully for this! I took the paintbrushes and dipped them in different colored paint! Here was the result!

love

side view

Looks so cool from underneath

I found a banner online and decided that I was going to purchase it, usually I would make it myself but time was becoming an issue. I paid $6.00 for the digital file and I can even use it in my classroom for my students birthdays! So it is a bonus. Then using construction paper, the kids and I make paper chains, we tried to work on patterns (but they were just too into make the chains). I love the impact that they have for such a little bit amount of money and time.

Using simple black table cloths I set the table for the food and main events to take place. Using paper plates, I created palettes. I love free items or items that are so cheap and have a huge impact. Look how cool the palettes look and the best part, the kiddos knew exactly what they were from the get go.

Using left over paint chips from my previous projects, I made a place tag for each guest with the title "Artist and then the child's name?" Don't you just love the way they turned out?

In addition to all of the paint chips under the children's names, I used them as a centerpiece. Laid them on the table and placed white daises in colored water in the center of the table. The flower stems were in the colored water and by the time the party was in effect, the flowers had started to change colors! They looked phenomenal. At the last minute, I added some sparkly pipe cleaners, just to add a little bit more flare!

The little flag banners you see in the back of the pictures, were bought from a party store on sale for five cents each. The best part is that I can use them again.

You might remember one of my first posts was a crayon wreath, you can read about that here. This one I made and decided to keep for the kids playroom! Have to love when you can make something and use it again and again. The wreath hung on the door of the art center. It hung next to a welcome to Pumpkin's Art Gallery sign.

Here is a close up of the welcome sign: We added a butterfly clip to it because Pumpkin loves her butterflies.

The poem that was the entire theme behind the party:

Finally my favorite piece of the entire party was pumpkin's headband, it was just so full of color and fun. I found it on etsy, but I am sure you could easily make one. It is felt rolled up and glued on a stretchy headband, with a gem in the center of each colored circle.

her headband and white pillowcase shirt with the number 3 embroidered on it and a pair of dark blue jeans with the same white ribbon on the bottom of the cuff.

Party breakdown:

Food: $25.00 for everything- with leftovers :)
Decor: $10.00
Pumpkin's outfit: $32.50 (pair of jeans with added ribbon trim, white pillowcase dress and headband)
Event rental: $10.00-

Not bad for a party $77.50! The best part is everything but the food is being reused in someway or another!

Bella Kai Events: Art Party: Food

2013-04-18T12:21:00.000-10:00

Ok, ok, so I am bragging a little bit when I share Pumpkin's art party but I absolutely love the way it turned out!

The food is always the big challenge, how to come in under or on budget and not spend a small fortune and oh yeah the biggest part, how to make the food fit the theme! That is my biggest pet peeve, it has to match.

This year money is super tight (as I am pretty sure most people can relate) and I wanted a high impact for a little bit of money.

I started looking at Pinterest and to be honest, couldn't really find anything that really worked for what I was looking for, so I went to my teacher bag of tricks and away we went!

I started with the main menu, simple and easy. Spaghetti (it's pretty kid friendly) and colored it. Now, I always try to come up with creative names for the food to fit the theme, so we had "yarn" sprinkled with olive oil and Parmesan cheese. Love, how fun and festive and best yet, it cost me $2.00. Not only is is cost effective but it is simple to make, cook your pasta as your normally would. When it is ready, divide it into Ziploc bags and add the food coloring. Shake!

It really looks like yarn! I love it!

Next, were the fruit kabobs! They were as always a simple and big hit! You can read how I make them here. They added a huge splash of color for a little bit of money!

Love love love the fruit!

I always try to have an adult drink and children drink, this way if parents decide to stay they aren't forced to have juice. I started with bottled water and purchased some cheap duct tape with paint splatters and simply taped them around the bottle! They were simple and wonderfully effective. The best part is I got the case of water for free with a sale and coupons, the tape was $3.00!

For the children, I wanted something more fun. I decided to go with sprite (it has less caffeine and sugar) and colored ice cubes. They were awesome, if I do say so myself! The best part of the drink is that the sprite, turned colors and every glass was a different color. We called it creative juice, because it was far from just regular sprite!

In addition to the fruit, we had veggie trays, and popcorn bowls. But my favorite part of the party was the favors, I took chocolate and melted it and colored it! Then using premade rice krispie treats, added a Popsicle stick and dipped the treat into the chocolate, thus creating a paint brush. They were a super big hit and the best part, they cost me .25 a piece!
At the last minute I decided to send them home as a favor and dropped them into a Ziploc bag, added some ribbon and a paintbrush tag!

We served ice cream in cookie bowls and I have to say that this was the hardest part of the food preparation! The bowls were a pain in the butt. First you have to mix the dough and then form the cookie bowl shape over a turned over muffin tin. Then gently pull off and add ice cream! I love the way they look and the idea but I don't know that I will make them again because they are just that time consuming!

Finally the utensils, served as the artist tools! After all, you need tools for eating and for painting!

Bella Kai Events: Art Party

2013-04-17T02:30:00.000-10:00

I have been jumping out of my computer seat to be able to share my Pumpkin's Art Party with you. I have to admit that this is one of my favorite parties yet! My budget skills were tested this year as money has been tighter than ever. I have to share that I love it!

I started by renting the local art center, it seemed only fitting to host an Art Party at an art center. The great part was the building is not only awesome but they supplied a lot of the supplies and they were decorated with ART!

I started by simply decorating the building pillars with purple streamers (as they are pumpkin's favorite color). simple and started the theme for the party!

Pumpkin's party was simple yet sweet. We started off by having the kiddos wear big and old t shirts and using sponge balls decorated an old sheet. It was a paint fight! They adored it and even the adult gathered and joined in. The sponge balls were created using the old sponges and we just dipped them in paint. My favorite part about this was that all of the kids could participate on their own level and lets be honest, art is messy. You can find directions for the sponge balls here.

We then proceeded to bubble paint. I love this activity, not only is it super fun but it is very inexpensive and you can create such wonderful art. You can read my original post on it here.

The finally artsy project was to have the kiddos make fruit loops necklaces. Again, another simple, budget friendly piece, with a high impact. The kiddos can easily create them in anyway that they want and the best part is they only cost me the price of a box of cereal (which was $2.00, I combined sales and a coupon).

Finally, we wrapped up the craft part of the party with the children decorating their own cupcakes. Normally, I wouldn't let them do this, but it was a hit! They loved being able to pick which sugary goodness they wanted to use and they were creating edible art.

I cannot wait to share with you the decorations and printables from the party!

Shopping......

2013-04-16T00:30:00.000-10:00

I hate shopping! I know it sounds funny right but I honestly do, it is such a chore and I even hate spending the money. When I get to make or create something I get excited, but having to go shopping for clothes or for groceries just drives me crazy!

I also hate going with the kiddos, it is a boring task for them and it often compounds the situation. Since Peanut was little I have been working on creating a plan or activity to help with shopping and also to help them learn how to save money when we were shopping.

I started by purchasing a little shopping cart (someone actually stole it out of my truck and I had to purchase a new one, can you believe it?). Amazon has a really nice one here. I give the kiddos their own shopping list created from the ads or ones that I had with previous pictures. This helps them to focus on two to three items that they have to look for and it is their job to make sure we actually bring them home!

I have a little bag in my purse, that contains small toys, such as bubbles, little cars, and even a couple of pieces of candy. They can earn tokens (little chips that I have created with shopping carts on them) to earn towards a treat in the bag. We used to have it so that the kids could only use these certain toys in the bag, during shopping trips, but I found that this just made my life that much more difficult because I had to remember the toys.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how I organize the back of my car (you can read the post here) and I keep the tokens in one of the lower pockets, this way I always have them and don’t have to hear “But, you forgot our tokens.”

The kiddos earn tokens, by following directions and not asking for items throughout our trip. If they ask to have something, that isn’t on our list or those cheap junky toys they sell throughout the store, they loose a token. They also earn tokens, by remembering to get the items on their list, paying for them correctly and remembering to use their coupon. Usually the kiddos, earn about ten tokens per trip. They have the option to “cash” them in once they get to 20 or they can save them for bigger prizes.

The prizes are not anything that I had to buy per say (using my bubble recipe (you can read it here), and some free bottles from coffee drinks and spices, they can earn more bubbles, sometimes we make them special by adding a drop of food coloring. We also get treats from freecycle, you would be surprised at the great little cars, and toys you can find on there. They also can cash the tokens in for certificates, they certificates are different things they like to do around the house and activities. Such as:

15 minute bed time extension

a bath just to play (my kids love water and playing in the tub)

cookie making

water balloon fight

extra story at bedtime

a drive-in movie night

bubble painting

a trip to the park

a hike to the river

one project from the craft binder

If you would like the template for the shopping list or the shopping tokens, please click on the picture below and save to your computer. I hope the printables help you as much as they have helped me!

Love for Leah

2013-04-01T14:34:00.000-10:00

When I started this blog, I wanted to help people. I wanted to give inspiration to parents, teachers and educators. I love using what people do and say to help others be the best that they can be. I am now asking for help, a friend of mine from high school has really opened my eyes (and I am hoping others) as to what family really is about.

Courtney and her husband Craig, are now my newest role models. Let's go back, on November 26, 2010, Courtney's younger sister, Amanda was tragically killed in a car accident in Pittsburgh. I cannot even begin to tell you all about this road and how many accidents that happen here (that is another post). I remember hearing about the tragedy and thinking to myself, how sad and horrible. I remember kissing my Peanut and Pumpkin a little more often that day and then to hear that it was someone I knew! My world was spinning. I cannot even imagine what her family was feeling that day and even to this day. You can read the details about the accident here. (Please be prepared, the pictures are graphic).

Amanda- 1984-2010

Leah is now living with her Aunt and Uncle and is part of their family. Having graduated high school with Courtney, I know how deep her love for her family runs and I know that she and her husband knew they could provide a life for Leah and help her foster the love she had for her mother, Amanda. Courtney and Craig, have never asked for help from the government and have worked hard to help Leah adjust and flourish in her new life. The part that I admire the most is, they did it and never expected anything, not even a pat on the back. They really are Leah's guardian angels.

The Melfi Family- Liam, Courtney, Molly, Craig and Leah

Leah is a beautiful little girl and everyone would like to make her part in the family permanent, at least in the eyes of the law. Courtney and Craig did what they could to make sure Leah never ended up in the system and had a great home.

I know that I cannot imagine what a journey this family has been on and only to find out some sad and very devastating news, in order for Leah's adoption to be official, they have to fund a private adoption. That's right, they kept Leah out of the system and have provided a life for her, only to find out that because she wasn't in the system, they have to pay! When Courtney, posted something on her facebook wall, ranting about the system (never even asking for help), people immediately asked what they could do to help make this adoption help.

With the help of others and of course by the Glory of God, we are asking for your help. There has been a facebook page and donation page set up through Give it Forward in order to raise the funds to adopt Leah. Any bit will help, anything, even a dollar! Let's help make this little girl officially part of the Melfi Family.

Now, as if the story of Leah and her family wasn't enough to make you want to donate, I want to do a little more. For every donation that comes from this blog post, you will be entered into a contest to receive my card and printable services for one year. That's right, one entire year. Any card you want designed, printables for a party etc. When you make your donation, just make sure to add your name/email and when the donation goal is reached, we will randomnly select one winner. Please help adopt Leah.

Thank you in advance and I cannot wait to tell you that Leah has been adopted! I'll keep you posted.

Pinterestology: Oven Roasted Ravioli

2013-04-01T06:00:00.000-10:00

Oven Roasted Ravioli, oh yeah, pin it! I love love love anything that has to do with pasta and this is one of my favorites. It is a simple, yet tasty recipe. You can serve it as an appetizer, or a meal for your kiddos. I found this one when browsing on Pinterest and let me tell you that my friend who tried it was right. It is fabulous!

You will need: about 1 cup of bread crumbs
1 bag of raviolis
milk or egg for dipping

Preheat oven to 350.

Take frozen ravioli and dip into milk, you can use egg but I like the milk it gives it a lighter taste.

Take the milk-covered ravioli and dip into breadcrumbs until covered.

Place the ravioli on a cookie sheet. Continue with the rest of your raviolis.

all covered and ready to be baked!

Once you have the desired amount of raviolis, place in oven for 20-25 minutes. The raviolis will puff up when they are finished and the bread crumbs have a brown toasted look to them.

yummy yummy in my tummy

In the meantime,

Take spaghetti sauce out of the jar, add in some spices, garlic, and warm.
Take the raviolis and dip into the sauce. Enjoy!

Pinterestology: Announcements

2013-03-25T05:00:00.000-10:00

I came across this idea on Pinterest and was saying to myself,

Sure why not? What can it hurt?

I love anything fun I can add to the baby book and these are just perfect.

I sent one of Bean’s birth announcements to the White House , Disney World, and The Queen of England.

Let me tell you that it takes awhile before you receive anything at all. I sent Bean’s announcements on November 1.

The card from Disney arrived on December 5. This is what it looked like! How fun is this! The best part is it cost me one stamp!

Here is the address that I sent it too:

Walt Disney World Communications

PO BOX 100040

Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-0040

On February 15, We received a card from the Obamas! To be honest I have completely forgot all about it, and then bam it arrives!

Isn’t it beautiful? What a great keepsake.

Here is the address that I mailed it to:

President Obama and Mrs. Obama

C/O The White House

Greetings Room 39

1600 Pennsylvania Ave

Washington, D.C. 20500

I have yet to receive anything from the Queen of England. I’ll keep you posted.

If only I had known about this when Peanut and Pumpkin were younger.

City Chicken

2013-03-22T03:30:00.000-10:00

This is a go too favorite in my house, the children adore it and it is such an easy meal to prepare. Start with chucks of pork, whether it already be cubed or you cube them yourself. I prefer to cube them myself, as I am able to afford a higher quality of meat.

Dredge them in flour; I like to add seasoning to mine, some garlic salt and Johnny’s seasoning. Mix all the spices in with the flour and cover the pork.

Once all the pork is covered, place them in hot oil in the skillet. You can place them on skewers and place the skewers over the oil. Me I just toss them right in.

Cook them up until they are done, with a nice brown coating.

Once they are finished, drain the oil (if there is any left).

Pour in one carton of chicken stock. I like to mix it up a little bit before adding in one or two bay leaves.

Turn the heat to medium and let cook for one hour. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

When finished you can keep some of the sauce/gravy and I like to serve it over brown rice.

Just a simple meal and so delicious!

Teach At Home Thursday: Name Painting

2013-03-21T06:35:00.000-10:00

One of the first things I learned in teaching is that you have to make the learning make connections to the children and also the relevance to their lives. When teaching little one the alphabet, the first letters you should teach them are the letters in their names. What can be more relevant to them than their name?

Now, this doesn’t mean that you force them to sit down and practice or even write, but simply make it part of their playing. For example, I like to make up little songs about my kiddos and incorporate their names and spelling.

I also do the same thing with my name. Here is a sample song I sing using my name:

(Sung to the Oscar Mayer commercial)

My mama has a first name,

It’s L-o-r-r-e-n

My mama has a second name

It’s M-a-m-a! (it doesn’t fit perfectly but the point is to have fun!)

What’s that spell? Mama Lorren, you can change the words from Mama to son, daughter and then spell your kiddos names! Mine love this!

It is easy and they start to hear the letter words that are in their name. You can also change the main characters in books to their name as well.

Now onto one of my favorite crafts of all time; not only is it easy but also it turns out to be really beautiful.

Finished product- the kiddos made their own with their names and they turned out awesome!

I used pieces of paper and blue painters tape. You could easily use a canvas to hang in their rooms. Start by taping the letters in their names. When I do this in the classroom, I have the children help me with placing the tape. You can write their name in pencil and have them use the tape to cover the pencil marks.

Using my name, I started by using our vocabulary from Handwriting Without Tears (click on the name to be taken to the official website).

Big line down, little line across. Works wonderfully and makes an L.

Continue doing this with each letter in their name, I did mine with lowercase and capital letters but ideally for the little ones, you would want to start off with all capital letters as they are easier to recognize and read.

When their name is all taped, have them paint their name. You can easily bring in a mini color lesson by asking them the color names and what happens when you mix the colors. Cover the tape completely and then let dry.

When everything is dry, slowly and carefully pull off the tape and you have a wonderful name art print!

Don't you just love it?

Avacado Hair Mask

2013-03-20T05:28:00.000-10:00

There is a big joke in my family that I got all of the bad genes, and my siblings got all of the good ones. We joke about the fact that I am short, and they are not. I look at a Doritos and gain 15 lbs, they devour an entire bag and nothing! (ok, not really that much but you get the point). Anyway, the joke is that I got the great hair gene (I am lucky and my hair grows really fast, or at least it seems too). I do have a couple of tricks up my sleeve and I decided to share them with you.

First, is my go to hair mask,

You will need one avocado,

Honey and olive oil.

Take a really ripe avocado and mash it up the best you can (make sure to save the seed)

Add in about a tablespoon of honey, to be honest, I never really measure I just dump it in the bowl; then mix.

Lastly, add in the olive oil, again, I don’t measure just add it in. It comes out to be about half a cup.

Mix it really well.

Using your hands glob it on your hair and work through. You can comb it if you like, I don’t like doing this as I have found that you get a lot of the mask, in the comb instead of your hair.

Once your hair is covered, twist it up and hold in place with a clip. Wrap your hair in a towel, and wait about twenty minutes.

After the twenty minutes, your hair should be dry and full of lovely chunks of avocado mix! Rinse your hair really well and work your hands through the mask, making sure to get the majority of the mask out. Then shampoo as usual.

You will have softer and shiner hair. I do this twice a month and once a month in the winter to make sure my hair is healthy and hydrated.

You will love it and the best part, the cost is about a $1.00 a mask!

Pinterestology: Jet Packs

2013-03-18T06:49:00.000-10:00

I love the way the kids rocket packs turned out, I saw these months ago on Pinterest and knew my kiddos would love them. I used some different materials but in the end that is what was the point right? Find inspiration and make it your own?

I started with ginger ale and sprite two liter bottles. It was warm outside so I laid newspaper on the ground and stuck sticks into them. Using the sticks to hold the bottles, I started spraying.

I got a bottle of gold spray paint because it was on sale in the clearance section for a $1.00! Have to love a good sale!

Once the bottles were dried, using an orange table cloth (bought on clearance after Halloween for .25 cents!) I cut it into sections and glued them into the bottle and then cut them to look like flames.

Using an old cereal box, I glued the two bottles together and then to the box, which I trimmed to match the contour of the bottle.

The tablecloth had some fringe on the top that was sewn with a strip of plastic. I cut along this and used it for the straps. I measured the kids arms and then glued the straps to the back. To make it more secure, I cut another piece of the box and glued it on top of the strips.

I love these rocket packs and the kiddos love them as well. That is the best part of these.

Fruit Kabobs

2013-03-15T06:42:00.000-10:00

I adore anything that is food related and cute. They not only help make the theme go further and help to tie things together but it helps when they are healthy as well.

For my nieces birthday we made these kabobs.

Aren’t they just adorable, aren’t they?

The best part is they are super easy to make, find the fruit, cut and slide on a skewer. I love how beautiful and colorful they are! Wouldn’t they look beautiful for St. Patrick’s Day treat or even a birthday party. I recently used them for Pumpkin's art party! Wait till I share it with you!

I love the idea of making these and adding a dip. I used a fruit dip recipe that I had for years and it was a hit for the kiddos!

Price breakdown: 100 skewers for $1.99

Strawberries cut in half (one carton) $2.99

Cantaloupe half (cut into cubes) $2.50

Pineapple (can of already cubed) $1.20 (with coupon)

Green grapes (one lb bag) on sale $.99 a lb

blueberries (one pint) $2.99

Purple Grapes (one lb bag) $2.99

They are a little on the expensive side but you can make so many of them. I made 50 kabobs for Pumpkin's party.

Fruit Dip

1 jar of marshmallow fluff (14 oz.)

1 package softened cream cheese (80z.)

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

Mix together slowly, using an electric mixer

when the dip is all mixed, using mixer on a higher speed, make it fluffly.

Add food coloring if desired.

Pinterestology: Laundry Soap update

2013-03-04T05:15:00.000-10:00

You might have remembered my original post about the homemade laundry soap (you can read that post here) that I swear by, I came across this recipe on Pinterest and just had to try it. I love the results and it cost me about $20 I made this batch in September and I am not even a third of the way through it. It is beyond me why more people don't make their own soap!

Start with:

2 bars of ivory soap

1 bottle of purex crystals

2 boxes of baking soda

1 box arm and hammer washing soda

1 tub of oxy clean (3lb box) and

1 box of borax

cost breakdown:

If you notice in the picture there are three bars of soap, but I only used two- bars of soap $1.49

1 bottle of purex crystals- $ 3.00- on sale and had a coupon (stocked up on three more as well)

2 boxes of baking soda- $1.00

1 box of washing soda- $3.50

1 box of borax- $4.40

one tub of oxyclean- $6.00

To make:

Start by grating the two bars of soap. I use a cheese grater and make them into medium sized pieces.

Then using a big bucket, I dump in the rest of the ingredients and mix them slowly using a spoon.

Using a glass jar, the oxyclean container and the purex jar, I refill all of the bottles and have my soap.

Using one tablespoon per load.

I LOVE the way the soap works and you cannot beat the cost!

Pinterestology: Apple Pie in Apples

2013-02-04T04:30:00.000-10:00

I love Pinterest, it is a constant source of inspiration! Following with our new series, Pinterestology, I decided that we would share our apple pie in apples with you. When I first saw these, I thought how wonderful and I cannot wait to try them. Judging from the picture, I figured I could do these in about 20 minutes.

I absolutely love the way the pies turned out! They were delicious and my kiddos constantly ask for them again! The directions are quite simple, find apples that sit as flat as possible, cut off the top of the apple. I used a pairing knife and cut a small circle around the inside of the apple, leaving a bit of apple in the inside and the skin in tact. Basically, you want to form a bowl. Once you get the insides carved out, squeeze a lemon on the apple (this will help to keep from browning).

Remove the top

make an apple bowl

Take the inside and cut them as small as possible, I actually used a food processor. Mix them with brown sugar, sugar and cinnamon. I added a hint of vanilla because that’s how we roll in this house.

yummy apple mixture

Once the apples filling is mixed, put into the apples and then using a premade pie crust- make the crust. I choose to copy the picture and cut the crust into strips to form a lattice style crust.

filling the apples up

cutting the premade crust

lattice on the top

Pop the apples into the oven and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

These are a new staple in our home! Pinterest came through with us!

Growing Candy Canes

2012-12-05T10:55:00.000-10:00

One of my favorite holiday traditions is to grow candy canes.

I start by talking with my kiddos about seeds and how things grow, we then talk about what is needed to grow something. Soil, fertilizer, seed and sunlight.

One of my mentors created this activity and I couldn’t help but to continue it.

You will need a package of Oreos,

One peppermint candy per child

A cup or dish (one per child)

And a candy cane.

Separate the oreo cookie part from the cream. I usually do this before hand just to help keep the process a little cleaner.

Place the cream in one bag and the cookies in another.

Oreo cookies minus the cream

the fertilizer

Have the children smash the cookies to create the soil. I had them use a wooden block, so they didn't hurt their hands.

Place a spoonful of “soil” in a cup.

Add fertilizer (cream) and mix.

Place in seed (peppermint) and place somewhere safe so you can grow your candy cane.

the magical peppermints

Over night a candy cane will grow (with the help of a parent).

seeds after we planted them (this was in my preschool class)

Magical candycanes that we grew :)

This activity was a huge hit in my class this year. I have also sent them home as Christmas presents for my students.

This is what I send home when I use it as a gift

What a simple and fun activity to enjoy the magic of the season :)

Guest Post: Travel Tips

2012-10-31T03:25:00.002-10:00

4 Travel Hacks You Should Know

Traveling is a dream for many, but one that many think is out of reach. The cost of traveling rises every year, whether you want to stay in the country or go overseas for a month-long dream trip to Paris. However, you don't have to win the lottery or find out you inherited a lot of money you weren't expecting to make these travel dreams a reality.

There are many ways that you can save on travel if you think outside the box or use the system to your advantage. Here are 5 of these so-called "travel hacks" that you should know about:

Get Free Airfare

There are many credit cards that offer frequent flyer miles for your purchases, including a rare few debit cards. You can start getting the benefits from these cards by using them for everyday purchases instead of paying cash. Then take the cash you would have used to pay the bill at the end of the month. Some cards offer a bonus stash of miles when you sign up for the card. You can cancel your cards at the end of the trial period and sign up again to keep getting the bonus, a practice known as "churning."

One little-known method that a lot of travel hackers use is to order coins from the Mint on these cards, collect the bonus miles, then deposit the coins in their bank accounts to pay the costs.

Get Discounted Airfare

Chances are that you already know about the major comparison shopping sites such as Orbitz, Expedia, and Travelocity. However, even if these sites seem to be offering you a good deal, chances are the lowest price they offer is still much higher than you could pay. The first thing you can do is call the airline that offers the lowest price on the site. Often, if you contact the airline directly, they will offer lower prices for the same fare.

You can then check the site Which Budget (http://www.whichbudget.com/) to find airlines that fly into and out of your destination, as some of these smaller airlines may not be listed in the major search tools. You may find that these smaller carriers have even lower fares than the major carriers listed in the search engines.

Get Free Lodging

If you're willing to put in a little sweat equity or stay with strangers, you could get a free place to stay for anywhere from a night to more than a month. Services like Couch Surfing, Servas, and Global Freeloaders connect guests with homeowners who are willing to offer a spare room or just a spare couch for travelers.

Services like House Careers, Caretaker's Gazette, and WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms) provide opportunities for travelers to get free lodging in exchange for things like house sitting, performing odd jobs, or helping out on organic farms. By researching ahead of time, you can find any opportunity to suit your interests in just about any part of the world.

Get Discounted Lodging

The best way to save money on lodging if you aren't interested in working for your stay or feeling obliged to a host is to stay at a hostel. Hostels aren't just for college students or young wayfarers. Travelers of all ages, including couples and families, stay in hostels all over the world. Though you'll likely have to share a room with some other travelers -- unless you are traveling in a large group, in which case you will share the room with your traveling companions -- you'll pay a fraction of the cost of a regular hotel. Many hostels can be had for as little as $10 a night.

There are many more travel hacks available for saving money on things like eating out, traveling in the city or country, and entertainment. The key is to think outside the box and to do a little more research. The time you spend could save you a lot of money and make any travel dream possible.

What other travel hacks do you use to save money on traveling? Share your tips in the comments!

Carmen Brettel is a writer and manager for Studentgrants.org, where she has recently been researching grants for returning students. In her spare time, Carmen enjoys gardening and volunteering at animal shelters.

Inspirational Sunday

2012-10-28T11:42:00.000-10:00

Time to Pinterest?....

2012-10-24T09:40:00.000-10:00

As usual, I get these wonderful ideas and then due to time restraints or even just plain being lazy! Ok ok, yes, I have those days as well :) Sometimes, being lazy brings crazy ideas, such as this one. I am sure the majority of you have heard of Pinterest and love the constant source of information and ideas! I have the app on my phone and let me tell you that I find myself constantly tapping it to look for ideas or for just a confidence boost, when I find something from my blog! YAY, and let me quickly shout out thank you for all of you that have pinned something. It really does make me feel good about my blog! :)

yup this is me! source:sarahperkinsphotography.com

Moving on, if you are anything like me, you have a ton of items, recipes, clothes etc pinned on one of your numerous boards. To me, Pinterest, is like my to do list and I get upset when I have too many things on my board that I have not tried yet!

I have decided to start a new section to my blog, called Pinterestology! How many times have you seen something and wondered, does this really work?, or can I remake this? will this look like in my house? Every Monday, we will explore an item on one of my boards, whether it is a craft idea, recipes, or an activity for the kiddos!

My goal is that you find the inspiration to pick items off of your boards an experiment with them at home!

How sad is this that most people view it like this! Let's change the opinion of pinterest and actually use it!

Looking forward to sharing all of our new adventures with you! Happy Pinterestology!

Inspirational Sunday

2012-10-21T11:37:00.000-10:00