Family Style School

Zentangle

2012-02-12T08:58:00.000-07:00

The girls, (Emily 11, Katey 6) and I have been taking Zentangle Art classes. They have been really great so far. We go once a month. We have gone twice. It has been really neat.

Today I drew this in about an hour.

I just wrote my name and then Zentangled around it.

I love it for my first try and doing it so quickly.

Zentangle is also very relaxing. Very!

This post is property of Family Style School.

Valentine’s ~ Pinterest attempt & party plans.

2012-02-11T15:44:00.000-07:00

I love peanut butter. More specifically I love Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs. I know, I know they have nothing to do with Valentines Day. I found a homemade recipe on Pinterest! YUMMY!! I tried it and instead of making them eggs, I made them into hearts.

I just formed the dough flat and cut it with my heart cookie cutter. Then after they froze I dipped them in chocolate. The only thing I would change is doing milk chocolate instead of semisweet.

We spent a little while last week making Valentines to exchange. What I did was print a few recipes on business cards and then we stamped on the back of them. This was easier and cheaper for me than driving to the store to buy store bought ones.

The kids really loved this, especially personalizing them for each person.

On Tuesday we will play some Valentine games, and while I am still working out all the details, there are a few things that I know for sure we are going to do.

They are decorate Valentine cookies.
Play Cupids Arrow, also found on Pinterest.
Play Minute to Win it, Valentine Style. Thanks Pinterest!

And of course,
Opening our Valentine’s we received from a Valentine Exchange Group we are in.

All these ideas can be found on my Valentine’s Pinterest Board.
What are your V-day plans?

Bacon makes it all better!

2012-02-10T09:32:00.000-07:00

It is no secret in our house, we love bacon!!

We bake it in the oven. We eat it often. Bacon is expensive.

Does your family like green beans?

Mine does, but non the less bacon still makes them better. Now I don’t want to have to go cooking up some bacon every time we have green beans, nor could I afford that.

So I always buy bacon bits. Not those super crunchy kind. I put a handfull in with the green beans while they are cooking. They are so good. Everyone likes them so much that I have had to start cooking an extra can with dinner. Mmmm. More veggies.

I know, I know I am adding something a little unhealthy to encourage us to eat more of something healthy. They cross each other out in my book. LOL.

A Quest Through the Mathlands.

2012-02-09T21:18:00.001-07:00

Math Rider is a very fun math facts game.

Once your child has learned some basic math facts, addition, subtraction, multiplication or division. Then they can get started on cementing these facts in. These basic facts are the foundation for all math.

Math Rider works with quests. You are on a quest through the mathlands and in search of something. Each quest consists of you needing to get a certain number of points. For me that was about 10 rides at the advanced level. Each ride consists of 30 questions at the level you select. The facts group as well as easy, medium or advanced. Advanced goes up to the number 12 facts. (ie, 12+12, 12x12, 12/144).

Math Rider has came up with a game that challenges your children to remember these facts. I was surprised at the artificial intelligence of this game. It recognizes the problems that your child misses, or is even just slower at, and it gives those problems more often. If you or your child is wondering which facts they struggle with you can find out on the statistics page.

This page offers so much more than meets the eye. I highly recommend you check out the video tutorial. It will just take a minute. Then come on back and finish reading what I have to say.

Oh good you’re back. See what I mean?

Packed full of so much information. Really!!

This downloadable game costs $37 dollars right now. This deal ends on Feb 15th, 2012. Then it will be $47. They just released an upgrade also! You can even try out the full version of the software for free.

Be sure and check out the computer specs.

There are a only 3 different quests as to not pull away from the real purpose of the game. Each quest still involves your character riding a horse and on a mission. You have to have 99% mastery before the princess can be rescued in the advanced level.

Some of the things that had Katey chopping at the bit to play this are:

It is a game
You get to be a hero
It is on the computer, she loves computer work
It is not so easy that she felt like it was below her level
It was not so challenging that she felt defeated
Horses!!!!

Katey is the primary child that I used this with this year. (Check out my previous review.) She loves it, because she loves computer games. She struggled with it because she does not work super well under pressure. There is some amount of pressure due to the faster you jump the hurdle (answer the question) the faster the next question comes. If you miss a question or don’t answer in time then it tells you the fact. Also that fact is noted in your statistics and therefor shows up more often.

Once you start a quest of facts, add, subtract, multiply or divide you then have to finish that quest of facts before you can change the facts. Last year, I wasn’t real happy about this and I found a way around it. This year, with Katey, I realized the importance of MASTERY. She needed to MASTER the facts before I let her add in more.

Katey is just working on addition mastery right now. I did let her try the subtraction also. I even had fun trying out the game on the advanced level.

To see what others though of this check out this post. To see a wide variety of reviews check out our crew blog.

As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew I review products like this, which I receive for free in order to be able to share my honest opinion.

A day in the life of my First Grader

2012-02-06T06:28:00.000-07:00

This is a real day in Katey’s life She is in 1st grade. She is almost 7.

She wakes up and eats breakfast (usually cereal or oatmeal) then she sits around on the couch reading some Kindle books. This one was Reading Power! Sight Words Kindergarten, that I got free from Amazon.

After that we did some sentence diagraming on the white board.

( I just wrote some sentences with no capital letters and no punctuation. She had to correct those parts and circle the nouns.)

She went and got dressed and ready for the day.

She came back downstairs and did a math worksheet using math blocks.

She did a few lessons on Reading Eggs.

She played Dance Party 3 with Tyler and Emily, while I cooked lunch.

We ate lunch, it was fish, tatortots and oranges that day.

After lunch we did science. She is doing a weather unit currently, we used an orange as the sun to have our inflatable globe rotate around. She learned what that has to do with the seasons.

She played with her sister building a tower out of the math blocks.

She had free time to read and explore the rest of the day….

UNTIL 3:00. That is when we do a family clean up of the day. Katey’s chores are usually emptying the silver wear and any lower cupboard dishes. Then she had to sweep up the piles that an older kid swept.

The rest of the afternoon she has free time. She plays with friends or brothers and sister. Sometimes she even spends time with me. She loves to help me cook dinner and explore.

Not all her days are exactly the same. We alternate history and science. Also we usually do read alouds which we didn’t do that day.

Homeschool Mothers Journal…

2012-02-05T15:54:00.000-07:00

In my life this week… we have been keeping busy and just plugging along. My 2 youngest children have been sick and are now on the mend.

In our homeschool this week… Emily has begun a new unit in science, dealing with magnetism and electricity. That has been fun for all of us. I will share some of the experiments we have been doing next week.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share… One thing that has really helped me this week, well really this month has been to reach out more. I have been reaching out more in my online groups and trying to reach out more in real life situations. Real life is harder for me though. I am getting there.

I am inspired by… See this post!

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing… No where, and loving it!!

What’s working/not working for us… While we are sticking with our curriculum for now, I am not sure for how long. It is just to much for us really. It is taking all day to get through it and there is so much pressure from our parent school to meet their timelines.

Questions/thoughts I have… Next year? What am I going to do next year? Homeschool, Public School? What curriculum? Etc. I definitely love homeschooling. I often feel selfish for feeling like it takes away from any social life I would have. Some of my neighbors meet for moms groups and things. I just don’t have the time for that. I find myself feeling a little jealous at times. I am just reevaluating my why. I am sure I will work through it and be just fine.

Things I’m working on… Encouraging my children to branch out with their friendships. They each have friends they play with on a regular basis, and they are comfortable with that. However, I want them to be able to go out and make friends.

I’m reading… ' target=_blank>Charlotte Fig Takes Over Paradise. I just started and so far it has me wanting to read it every chance I get.

I’m cooking… Nothing out of the ordinary. I am hoping to bake some sugar cookies this week for Valentines Day.

I’m grateful for… So much! Really so much!!

I’m praying for… My son. He is going to have some tough decisions come up real soon. He wants to become and Eagle Scout. Conflicts will be inevitable. He will have to choose what is important to him.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

This is linked up to The Homeschool Mothers Journal.

Sewing my way to Summer

2012-02-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

I am joining a bloggy friend in her challenge. This challenge is to help use up your fabric stock, but to be honest, I don’t really have a stock. So I am going to use it as a challenge to get some sewing projects done that I have wanted to do, even if it means I have to buy some material.

My first project is going to be to set up a sewing area! hahaha! That may be why I haven’t gotten any projects done.

My first sewing project is going to be to hem my pants. I have about 10 pairs of pants that I would really like hemmed.

To join us click on the banner above.

Homeschool Encouragement!

2012-02-03T21:23:00.000-07:00

I have 2 sick kids :'( So I called the doctors office and made them appointments for tonight. We go to a practice with about 4 doctors. I knew that one had recently quit/moved. I ended up seeing the new doctor tonight and she asked me if Katey got sick at school. Katey said, "No, I'm homeschooled!" Then the doctor told me SHE WAS HOMESCHOOLED too.
I seriously think that is the coolest thing. I proceeded to ask her what curriculum and how she made it into medical school. It was so neat. She was homeschooled using Abeka. She then went to ?A Christian University? I can't remember which one. And she scored really well on her MCAT.
She was homeschooled clear through Highschool, with some dual enrollment for higher physics and chemistry. She graduated homeschool. So think about it. We could be homeschooling the next doctors. I just feel so encouraged now. And I needed it.

Celestial Almanack

2012-02-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

Fourth Day Press has created a great Celestial Almanack as a companion guide to their Signs and Seasons Curriculum. You do not need to have used or be using that curriculum to benefit from these ezines.

I received the Feb 2012 Celestial Almanack to review. This ezine is really neat. It covers so many things happening in the sky this month. As soon as I got it, I downloaded it to my Kindle Fire, and it is so easy to access there. The pictures are amazing with just enough detail to not overwhelm a beginner (like me).

I have always loved the night sky, to me the stars are just mesmerizing. I have no knowledge of anything. I mean I can tell you where the moon is, and occasionally find the big dipper or little dipper. Tommy has always been interested in the sky. In fact he owns 2 telescopes. He has some star finder wheels. We have never really used them. They are just a, this is here, that is there kind of thing. This 21 page Almanack is so much more that that. You will learn the how and why.

There are all kinds of things from an Astronomical Calendar to Signs of the Seasons to the Dance of the Planets, and Seasonal Skies.

The Feb issue talks about leap year (this year is a leap year you know?) and why we have it. Who decided on it and more. Did you know what else is on Feb 2nd, besides Groundhogs Day? The Almanack tell you. (hint: It has to do with the dedication of baby Jesus.)

It also discusses how Jupiter and Venus are going to pass each other in March and where to watch for them growing closer together this month.

From the phases of the moon to what to watch for each night. This ~~book~~ whoops almanack is packed full of information. You do not need anything else to use it. Everything can be seen with the naked eye.

Most of these things have to be done at night. What we decided to do is incorporate it into our bedtime routine. It makes it take longer, but we have really been enjoying it.

Click here to purchase this almanack and check out a sample of it.

These almanacks are just $3.00 per issue. That’s less than some gossip magazine and you will get so much enjoyment out of it.

The Almanack is sold through Currclick and is available for instant download. So you won’t miss anything by purchasing it a few days into February.

A few details: These almanacks will only be accurate for you if you are in the Northern Hemisphere. Also, they do build onto each other. You do not need to have read the previous months, but it will build your knowledge.

To see what others though of this check out this post. To see a wide variety of reviews check out our crew blog.

As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew I review products like this, which I receive for free in order to be able to share my honest opinion.

Kinderbach~ You can teach your child piano at home.

2012-02-02T06:06:00.000-07:00

Kinderbach is an at home music program for ages 3-7.

There are 6 levels of Kinderbach. Each level can be done streaming from the internet, they have an iPad app, or you can purchase it on DVD. Each level also has a PDF workbook to go with it. These workbooks include pictures to color, worksheets, even things to cut out and place on the piano keys to make learning to play easier to remember.

It is recommended to do 4 lessons per week and each level has about 40 lessons (10 weeks worth).

Even if you as the parent/teacher/caregiver don’t know how to play the piano it is fine. They offer a parent guide to help you though it. It is also not super parent intensive. You just need to print the pages for the day and start the videos. If you child is going to be practicing on a piano, then encourage that as well.

We don’t have a piano anymore. I did download a piano app on my Kindle Fire and had Katey use that. However, they teach more than just piano. It teaches rhythm, singing, and note reading, high notes vs. low notes and more.

Katey enjoys this a bit. She does not want to have to do it everyday or even practice on the Kindle Fire piano. She does however enjoy doing multiple lessons in one sitting. She has done up to 5 at a time. And usually it is me making her get off the computer. I like that it engages her. It has her do things while she is watching the lessons.

We reviewed Kinderbach last year as well. Check that out here.

The first two lessons of Kinderbach are free. It is worth checking out.

Online lessons start at $7.99 per month and DVD packages start at $40.45 per level. They also have value packages.

To see what others though of this check out this post. To see a wide variety of reviews check out our crew blog.

As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew I review products like this, which I receive for free in order to be able to share my honest opinions.

February Goals Check in

2012-02-02T00:13:00.001-07:00

Back at the end of December I wrote about my January Goals.

Here is how things have been going with that.

Eat out less

This one was truly hard at the beginning of January. I kid you not on January 2nd. I made Ham and Scalloped potatoes for dinner. Somewhere, something went terribly wrong. The dinner was a disaster. I said fine and we went and picked something up. I could have cried that day.

My husband and I did go out on one date out to eat also.

And one other time I just did not have my act together with dinner, so we ended up eating out then too.

This may seem like a lot. I mean 3 times a month, and I am ashamed to admit that it is a huge cutback for us. I have seen my grocery bill increase substantially!! However, we are spending less than we were when we were going out to eat more often. I also feel like we are all eating healthier and enjoying dinner time.

As far as laundry goes, I have not done the one batch a day like I was supposed to. However my laundry has stayed pretty well caught up. I have been doing about 4 loads on Tuesdays, and 4 more on Wednesdays. Then we do a family fold clothes sometime on Wednesday. Tommy has been doing his and Tyler’s laundry once a week, 2 batches and that has helped out immensely.

So while it may not seem like I met my goals, I feel really ~~good~~ GREAT about them.

Time for new goals.

Feb goals will be:

Have a planned grocery day each week. I am hoping for Wednesdays. I am also planning on having that day be the errand day. Any other errands that need to be ran that day, dry cleaner, library, gift shop, etc.

To workout 5 days a week. I have already started doing that. I am on my second week actually now of Jillian Michaels 6 week 6 pack. I have been getting up earlier than the kids and working out. It keeps me from sleeping in and I feel really great about it.

We are done crawling under the bed….

2012-01-31T21:23:00.001-07:00

The girls just got bunk beds. They used to have 2 single beds and they had posts on them where they hung their bedtime items in bags. These new bunk beds did not have anywhere to hang bags from.

They love building forts out of it.
There items kept falling down under the beds.
We had some shower caddy type baskets. That is what they have been storing their stuff in.   Emily’s has her chargers, her Nook, a notebook to draw or write in, a paperback book she refers to often, a cute little owl stuffed animal, her cell phone, iPod, and remote control to her radio. This really keeps all her stuff together. So it has a place up on her bed, and won’t get lost or tangled.

Katey’s has her Tag reader, some Tag books, a flashlight, and a stuffed animal.

This has really saved them from having to crawl under the bottom bunk to get the things that dropped.

This is linked to Works for me Wednesday.

Pick and Draw Review and Giveaway.

2012-01-27T10:51:00.000-07:00

Giveaway closed! Congratulations to Kimberly, Comment #22.

I have a few questions for you.

Was one of your New Year’s Resolutions to spend more quality time with your family?
If so I have found a great way to make it fun for all.
It is a game. It is called Pick and Draw. Rich Davis created this game. He has illustrated many children’s books, greeting cards, he has even drawn coloring books. He also has free art lessons here! Check those out for sure!

What makes a game user friendly?
Is it quick to set up, quick to learn, and fun to play? Does it get you interacting with those playing it too?
Pick and Draw does all those things.

What makes a game family friendly?
Is it that it can be played by a wide variety of ages and any number of people?
Pick and Draw is that.

What if no one can play with you?
Pick and Draw can be played alone or with any number of players.

Is the price reasonable?
Pick and Draw is just $10 for hours of endless fun.

Now you ask me, What is Pick and Draw?
It is a simple game made from sturdy plastic cards, (my 2 year old got ahold of them and they are still fine). There are 5 categories. Face, Eyes, Nose, Mouth, Hair. (You add your own ears if you would like.) Each feature is simple to draw. Don’t worry, we are not going for perfection here anyways, just fun! Each card category has 8 different types. That makes for 60,000 different designs!
How does you play?
You divide the cards into their categories and choose one card from each category, without looking. You then flip each card over one at a time. drawing that feature. After you have drawn all the features, you can then name your character and write a story about them, or you can just go on creating more.
The drawings above were all drawn using the same features, they look different due to placement of the items.
PRETTY NEAT!

How did we play?
We began by playing the same way as stated above. We then decided to switch it up a bit. Each person was assigned a feature. They would draw their feature and then pass the paper to the next person for them to draw their feature.
Another way we played was to have someone else name and tell the story about the creation done by person who was next to them.
Emily even played it using all the cards. She created 9 faces this way. Never using the same feature twice. Then she went through and named them all.

You will need some supplies to play Pick and Draw, you can be as plain or as creative as you want. Any drawing device and canvas will do. We started out with just paper and pencil. Then we went on to Dry Erase. Then onto paper and Crayons. Markers and construction paper. Chalk and chalkboards or sidewalk. Window markers and windows. The possibilities are endless.

The Nitty Gritty
Pick and Draw is a fun family game that can be played as a group or individually. It was created by an actual artist! You do not have to be “artistic” in order to play it and enjoy playing it. Open the door to creative fun for the whole family by ordering Pick and Draw here for just $10.

I am so excited to be hosting a giveaway for you to win your very own Pick and Draw game! Entering is easy!!! Leave each entry in a separate comment. The winner will be drawn by Random.org on Feb 6th. There are 4 ways to enter
1. Leave a comment on this post to be entered.
2. Follow Family Style School on Google Friend Connect.
3. Check out one of Rich Davis’ websites. Pick and Draw website, The Draw with Rich blog, or his Art Website. Tell me which one you went to.
4. Like Family Style School on Facebook and/or Twitter.

GOOD LUCK!!!!
Also one last thing I wanted to mention: I love giving unique gifts for Birthdays or Christmas. It seems to me that people are always more surprised about something they have never seen. It may not provide the same shock value for the child as the trendy toys, but this game will provide long time creative fun. All their friends will want to play it with them. Or think about a friends and family game night with this game. Even a baby shower game (This is what your baby will look like.) SO MUCH FUN!!!

I was generously provided this game for free in order to be able to write an honest review. All opinions are my own. He also generously provided a free copy for the giveaway. Thank you, Rich Davis.

*Affiliate links are used, I became an affiliate after I saw how great this game really was. If you prefer not to use the affiliate links you can purchase Pick and Draw here.

Tips and Tricks for Minimizing Distractions.

2012-01-23T07:38:00.000-07:00

We have a smaller house, and not a dedicated school room. We learn right in our living room/kitchen area. Sometimes the children do schoolwork in their rooms, but that is not always where they want to be they want to be able to be with the family while working, plus it sure does make answering questions easier than having each child yell for me to come to various rooms.

Schoolwork obviously has to get done while other things around the house do too. It can be the other children distracting them from doing their work, or even just what others are doing.

I have came up with a few tricks I would like to share.

When the child on the computer is the one getting distracted, we create a “fort” for them. I still check in on what they are doing often and they usually wear headphones, just to minimize the outside noise.

We also have a “privacy folder” which helps with laptop time, or even worksheet time. It has a very basic Alphabet and 100’s chart to help Katey when she needs it.

We also have wireless TV headphones, (you know kinda like many dentist offices have). These really help out when I have one that is watching a video. Tyler did not want to try them on for this photo.

A chair that does not face the rest of the room. This chair is actually near our front door and is often used for friends and neighbors coats and such. We also sit in it to put our shoes on and off when using the front door. Anyway, it faces the front door and stairs, while still in our main living area. This makes a great reading chair. We can read in the chair, still being in the same room. While not having so many visual distractions. It does NOT feel like you are staring into a corner or anything like that. As you can see it is also right next to a window.

One other thing I recently began doing is letting them go outside and play while keeping one inside for a 10 minute lesson. Then when one is done, we rotate. I keep this special for the lessons I really need one on one concentration with and it doesn’t happen very often.

Often times we are all learning together, however, there are those times when we need to minimize distractions.

I really hope some of these ideas can help you out.

Do you have any great ideas about minimizing distractions while all learning together?

This is linked to Works for Me Wednesday!

Eating Healthier

2012-01-21T11:05:00.000-07:00

One of my January Goals included eating healthier snacks.

I have purchased my produce from Bountiful Baskets for about 2 1/2 years now. It wasn’t as popular when I started as it is now. I knew it would catch on. It is amazing. The produce is fresher, the amount you get for just $16.50 (baskets are $15 each with $1.50 processing fee). The way is brings a community together to volunteer to put the baskets together.

I have been making more of an effort to offer the fruits and vegetables as snacks instead of just sides to meals.

Here is an example of what I got this week.

1 bunch Broccoli

1 huge bunch Cauliflower

1 bag Brussels Sprouts

4 ears corn on the cob

1 bunch lettuce

5 big tomatoes

10 Fuji Apples

4 large Oranges

7 Kiwis

2 Pomegranates

8 Bosc Pears

9 Bananas

Whenever I bring my produce home I check out this website as to how and store it so it lasts the longest.

While some of the veggies I will be using for sides. All the fruit can be snacks, as well as the broccoli and cauliflower. We can dip them in Ranch dressing.

I am just so impressed with my basket this week. I don’t get to choose what is in it, that just adds to the fun. And my children are more willing to try new foods knowing it is a surprise what we get.

I highly recommend Bountiful Baskets. If they are not in your area yet, I think it is only a matter of time. They are growing like mad!!!

Check out their FAQ page here, to see why we don’t get to choose what is in our baskets, and also why not every sites baskets are the same.

Don’t forget to follow me!! I have some great ideas coming up!!

We Choose Virtues

2012-01-20T05:34:00.000-07:00

We Choose Virtues was created by a mother that asked herself how can my children succeed in life without the skills that come from good character? She knows how important character training is. She has created a curriculum that instill amazing character traits in children (and adults too) in just 10 minutes a day.

There are 12 Virtues in the Early Childhood through Elementary set. They are…I am Diligent, I am Kind, I am Helpful, I am Obedient, I am Forgiving, I am Perseverant, I am Gentle, I am Patient, I am Self-Controlled, I am Content, I am Honest, and I am Attentive.

What I received was the Virtue Clue Cards

as well as the Teacher’s Handbook, Kids of Virtueville Coloring Book, Kids Memory Verses, Bible Heroes and Truths as well as the Family Character Assessment.

The way I used these items is first I read through the Teacher’s Handbook. Which gave me some insight on many of the products We Choose Virtues products as well as how they can be used.

Next I decided to have a separate meeting with each of my children over the Family Character Assessment. I had each child take their own, as well as I gave my input to them. It was truly amazing to me how honest they were about their faults. I even took an assessment of my own.

Now I was able to see what each child (and myself) needed to work on the most.

We had the coloring book, which was great for the younger two. It really helped Katey to get to know the Kids of Virtueville.

Now for my favorite part, what I did with the cards, is I simply kept them in my purse. Whenever I noticed a behavior that they were doing great at or needed a reminder to work on, I pulled out the card for that virtue.

For example we recently went to a funeral and the kids were getting restless. I pulled out the reminder card and then I pulled out the patience card. It worked perfectly.

At the grocery store, same thing. One child was wanting, I pulled out the first card as well as the Content card.

I never even had to say anything to anyone. They understood as soon as they saw the cards.

Here is the back of those two cards. It helps you to learn the names of the kids as well as an enthusiastic statement.

We Choose Virtues offers a multitude of products from individually to kits. Their homeschool kit is $99.99. They also offer community school classroom kits.

The Virtue clue cards (which I received) are on sale for $5.99. You can also get the Family Character Assessment and Kids Memory Verses, Bible Heroes and Truths for FREE while you are there.

The coloring book is available as a download for just $3.00

The Teacher’s Handbook is $4.99 for the download.

To see what others though of this check out this post. To see a wide variety of reviews check out our crew blog.

As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew I review products like this, which I receive for free in order to be able to write my review.

Pin It

Making a little bit of everything.

2012-01-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

Emily has been learning about Indians and their dwellings. She made a version of Adobe houses. She put vent holes for the smoke from the fire to escape. She even painted Pictographs on the sides.

When the clay comes out all kids want to create!! Katey created a bowl and a spoon. She was really upset when I wouldn’t let her eat her cereal out of it. I had to explain that these were just for decoration.

Tyler was trying to live up his shirt. LOL.

Well, that’s a day in the life, right?

Patience

2012-01-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

It clearly must take some patience on my husbands part to work on his remote control car like this. Love it. I am so glad he takes the time to teach the boys.

SERIOUSLY!!!

2012-01-13T10:32:00.000-07:00

I know that everyone gets busy especially around the holidays but I just don’t know this year has been absolutely insane for us.

Before Christmas even began, we had a funeral. One of my Grandmother-in-Law’s. While it was expected, you are just never ready for these things.

Then all the wrapping of gifts. Yes, these are my gifts from my Husband. He used electrical tape to wrap them, how manly of him!!

There was also the making of Santa’s treats on Christmas Eve. We made Chocolate and Peanut Butter covered Pretzel Sticks. YUMMY!!

Then we opened pajamas to sleep in. Tyler was so excited to get Thomas the Train pajamas that is what he wanted me to take a picture of.

We had such a fun with our annual tradition of smashing our gingerbread houses on New Year’s Eve.

Yes, I know, don’t mind the pumpkins, I can assure you they are in the garbage now. LOL

I know this may not sound busy, but it sure feels busier than it looks. It has also felt like the last 6 weeks have went by with the blink of an eye. And as I plan on slowing things way down. It just doesn’t look like I can just yet.

To top it off my other Grandmother-in-Law, whom I am close to, is now sick. I just want to say, it sucks, it is hard, it makes me so sad. It emotionally drains me. I know that I want her to be at peace, but what if I am just not ready for it yet? I know God is in control. It is still hard!!

MY TOP TEN POSTS OF 2011!!!

2012-01-11T22:00:00.001-07:00

These are my top ten most read posts of 2011 according to Google Analytics.

Mud is here, Spring is near ~ About a family hiking trip, in the mud!!

Our School Area ~ Our educational area in our new house.

2011-2012 School Year Choices ~ The route we are on this year.

Our Skin, A Preschool Science Experiment ~ A ticklish discovery.

Easiest Way to Keep Your Car Clean ~ Believe it or not this simple trick really works!!

Handmade Personalized Gifts ~ Make an inexpensive personalized gift, that is unique and will be cherished!! Great for weddings, hostess gifts, birthdays, Christmas, and any occasion.

Cleaning Playlist ~ A fun upbeat way to clean

Packing in Zip-Loc Bags ~ How I stayed organized on vacation.

Sometimes Homemade is Better ~ Homemade soap and syrup!!

Repurposing Old Clothes ~ My daughters favorite skort (skirt with shorts) that she just wasn’t ready to give up!

Thank you so much for reading my blog. It really is so encouraging to see how much it is actually read!!

Maestro Classics ~ Swan Lake

2012-01-06T08:43:00.000-07:00

Maestro Classics has been around since 2004. Stephen Simon and Bonnie Ward Simon have been involved in the orchestra long before that, directing sold out symphonies.

Together the Simons created their signature format, alternating music with talking, explanations with musical adventures. The title track is always a work for narrator and orchestra, where the music is just as important as the story. This is followed by background information about the life and times of the work and/or the composer. Then a new musical genre is introduced, taking a theme form the title track and transforming it into jazz, folk, Dixieland, heavy metal, or other style. This is followed by the conductor talking about what to listen for in the music with musical examples. You are then invited to listen again, sometimes with the narration, sometimes without, and people are always astounded at how much more they hear with their new “educated” ears. Finally, each CD ends with a play-along, sing-along, or dance-along track, because participating in the music making is always fun.

~ from their website.

You can hear a sample from any of the music right here on their website.

Their passion for music and educating others in it shines through in their products. It really is an amazing thing.

After listening to the CD once through, our favorite thing to do is act out the symphony with the music and narrator on in the background.

Maestro Classics is more that just music. They offer many educational materials to go along with their CD’s as well. Check those out here.

Swan Lake isn’t all they have.

They also offer:

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
Casey at the Bat
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
The Tortoise and the Hare
Peter and The Wolf, (which I reviewed previously here.)
Juanita the Spanish Lobster
My Name is Handel
The Soldiers Tale

The CD’s are sold individually at a price of $16.98. They offer MP3’s also for $9.98. They have package deals available too.

With the CD you get a great little booklet with some fun activities to do as well, a rebus story, a crossword puzzle, a coloring page.

To see what others though of this check out this post. To see a wide variety of reviews check out our crew blog.

As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew I review products like this, which I receive for free in order to be able to write my review.

Zeezok~ Teaching History through movies

2012-01-04T09:08:00.000-07:00

Having past experience with Zeezok publishing and their Z Guides, I was ecstatic to be chosen to review another one.

I chose Kit Kittredge this time. Emily’s history focus this year has been American History, and I thought that now would be a great time to teach them what the Great Depression was all about.

Now, I would like to say that I have been extremely busy lately. The holidays, and we had a funeral, as well as traveling, (we don’t live close to any family). It was so nice to be able to continue our history, while I was so busy packing and doing laundry and packing and doing laundry.

This Z guide really had no teacher prep work, none, nada, zilch. It was perfect.

Ok, Ok, what is a Z-Guide you ask?

It is a resource that helps you to dig deeper into a movie to learn more about the topic.

The 10 activities in the Kit Kittredge one range from movie review questions, vocabulary for the times, and researching the Great Depression, to a Depression style fashion show, and an acting game.

There is also a For Family Discussion section.

Of course the answer key is available in the guide as well.

Z Guides are really great:

to switch up the teaching style
if you are extra busy for a week, and want something super teacher friendly
to reinforce a time period you have already taught.
for a fun, educational family night
you can get laundry done while watching the movie

At a Glance:

Company: Zeezok Publishing

Product: Z Guide to the movies, Kit Kittredge
Cost: $12.99 for the guide only, you will need access to the movie, which they also sell, or you can get it from you own source.

Age Range: They have guides for many movies, from Elementary all the way up to High School. Kit Kittridge is a movie for Elementary through Middle School age.

Do I recommend it? ABSOLUTLEY!!

I already knew how great their Z Guide for the movie Johnny Tremain is. I reviewed that last year. Check out that review here.

To see what others though of this check out this post. To see a wide variety of reviews check out our crew blog.

As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew I review products like this, which I receive for free in order to be able to write my review.

Year in Review 2011

2011-12-31T08:17:00.000-07:00

Wow what a great year this has been!

2011 has certainly taken my family for a ride.

January

My husband was looking at new jobs in a new town far away. He received a job offer and was laid off practically immediately after the offer. So of course he accepted and we moved our family 4 hours from anyone we knew with less than a month notice.

February

We were just settling into our new town and home. The temperatures in the Winter here are a lot colder than we are used to. Think –20 degrees F. in the mornings. BRRRR!!!! We continued to Homeschool the same way we had been in our old house.

March

With the ~~cold~~ freezing weather getting out and meeting others was definitely a challenge. We made the decision to enroll all the children in Public School. They all fit in just fine and made friends quickly, they all tested in at on or above level in all subjects also. We also got our Chickens this month.

April

With the kids in Public School, I found myself with the urge to still homeschool them, so what I did was chose things that I wanted to work on with them and set up an afterschool type environment. (In the end I found this to be somewhat detrimental for my children, they needed the time to be able to entertain themselves, etc.) Toward the end of April Tyler broke his arm, falling down our stairs. This all happened while my husband was traveling for work in North Dakota.

May

The weather really began to warm up around here and we started to discover our little town. We went to our local chamber of commerce and got a ton of information about what our town offers. We found tons of hiking and Petroglyphs. We began to take advantage of this very much.

June

We went on a family vacation. We went to Lake Havasu, AZ to see family, we saw the Hoover Dam, we also stayed in Las Vegas for almost a week. It was such a blast.

July

We did our normal camping and Summer time fun this month.

August

We also kept this a calm fun relaxing Summer month.

September

We did a week long stay-cation in our town. It was a whole lot of fun. We really learned so much about what our area has to offer. The best part of it has to be our river rafting trip we took down the green river. We also began school this month. We tried out something new this time, K12.

October

It began to feel like we are finally starting to settle into our new life. Our homeschool is back into full swing also. Reviews were also in total full swing this month.

November

My husband and I celebrated our 8 year anniversary. We took a “honeymoon” since we never actually had one. We went back to Las Vegas with out any kids this time. I participated in the Gratitude Challenge, which was so much fun. We also did some traveling for Thanksgiving.

December

We had an amazing December. It has been such a special time for family. I really let blogging sit on the back burner this month and while I have enjoyed the break, I am also looking forward to what next year holds. I love writing this blog.

We traveled to the city for my Grandmother in Laws funeral. We were also able to see lots of family from out of town. We have also decided that we love our new life. My husband loves his job, and we love our community. We put the house we left behind in the city, that we have been renting out, on the market. So after almost a year of being here, I finally feel I am ready to really start my life here!

Whew what a year!!! After writing this I realized it sounds like we travel non stop. That is what it felt like too. For 2012 we are definitely going to try and travel LESS.

I wish you and yours a wonderful 2012!

Time for changes….

2011-12-28T22:15:00.001-07:00

The end of the year always leaves me reflecting on the past year. Thinking about if I have been settling. Thinking about what I could do better. Thinking about what went well and what works perfectly.

So I normally write down some resolutions. I try to “limit” it to no more than 20. I mean I could think of so many things to do better, then I would just get depressed at how much work I think I need .

Years past it has always been things like exercise more, save more money, be a better wife, mother, friend.

And while those are great goals, they are just too vague for me. This year I have been thinking about ways to really make some changes for the better.

Tim over at Families Again posted a great article about how to do just that.

As soon as I read it, which was moments ago, I knew THAT is what I had to do. So I will be setting up a few GOALS a month and then posting my progress on them. Then each month I will be reflecting and seeing the progress as opposed to waiting a year and only seeing the resolutions that I didn’t make. (Really the gym lasted a few months this year, and I still go occasionally, once in the last 6 months is occasionally, right?)

I have got my thinking cap on now as to which ones I would like to work on first.

Let’s see……..

I am going to start out slowly so how about in January I focus on 2 things:

Eating out less, and having more healthy snacks in the house. My dinners are planned pretty well with E-Mealz. I still struggle with breakfast and lunches.
Keeping Laundry caught up. I will do at least 1 batch every day, all the way through. WASH –DRY- FOLD- PUT AWAY

I am going to start focusing now, a head start for me is always good. Then check back in February to hopefully celebrate my successes!!!

Handmade Personalized Christmas Gifts Tutorial

2011-12-20T16:13:00.000-07:00

I have seen others do this with etching cream and contact paper, I read they weren’t dishwasher safe, and well, in my house if it can’t go in the dishwasher it doesn’t get used that much. Doing it this way the dishes are dishwasher safe.

Ok, I have never written a tutorial so bear with me here.
Tutorial:
Use a glass dish. I looked for ones that didn’t have a lot of manufactures emblems and such on the bottom.

Choose your font. I use Word 2007. Then print it out using T-shirt transfer paper selection on your printer. Which mine HP 8500 does not have, so I choose to do a word art and flip it. (much more complicated this way) You need it to print in reverse.

Cut out and tape the design to the inside of the dish.

Flip the dish upside down.
Using a Dremel tool, etch the design onto the bottom dish following the pattern. You are actually etching all the letters backwards. That way when the dish right side up the design will show properly.

When done rinse off the dish and marvel at your creation!
When we started doing this we began with easier fonts. Now we feel comfortable enough to do almost any. For me the bigger the font size the easier it is.

This is linked up to:

Family Style School

Zentangle

Valentine’s ~ Pinterest attempt & party plans.

Bacon makes it all better!

A Quest Through the Mathlands.

A day in the life of my First Grader

Homeschool Mothers Journal…

Sewing my way to Summer

Homeschool Encouragement!

Celestial Almanack

Kinderbach~ You can teach your child piano at home.

February Goals Check in

We are done crawling under the bed….

Pick and Draw Review and Giveaway.

Tips and Tricks for Minimizing Distractions.

Eating Healthier

We Choose Virtues

Making a little bit of everything.

Patience

SERIOUSLY!!!

MY TOP TEN POSTS OF 2011!!!

Maestro Classics ~ Swan Lake

Zeezok~ Teaching History through movies

Year in Review 2011

Time for changes….

Handmade Personalized Christmas Gifts Tutorial

`Tatertots and Jello Friday`

`Works for me Wednesday`

`Blue Cricket Design`

`Today's Creative Blog`

`Not Just a Housewife`