The ramblings and adventures of a SAHM

Ryleigh Turns 5!!

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Wed, 23 May 2012 00:55:00 +0000

Ryleigh Turned 5 the end of April.... and we had a gymnastics party to celebrate the occasion..... here are a few pictures from the event....

Standard Birthday Picture.... "I am now 5!"

Notice the adorable shirt and bow set.... Thank you Missy Prissy Bow Boutique!!

Warm ups....

Stretching....

Some forward rolls...

Braeden getting ready to do a forward roll...

Most of the kids in the foam pit....

Going down the obstacle course slide!

Mid Air...

Picking out the candles for her cake...

Happy Birthday Ryleigh Rae!!!

TOS Crew Review - CAPJAXMATHFAX

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Mon, 21 May 2012 02:31:00 +0000

I have done a lot of math work with my K4 class this year, so I was very excited to have CapJaxMathFax to review for Ryleigh as a member of the TOS Crew. One thing that stood out, right from the beginning, was the outstanding customer service for this company. They are very helpful and will answer any question that you might have- from installing to using the program.

CapJaxMathFax™ Overview

(From the website)

Reinforcement builds skills. Feedback rewards skill performance and maintains importance of program. CapJaxMathFax™ employs a patented rating system that uses reinforcement and feedback data to create a game-like feeling. Ratings allow learners to keep score and set personal achievement goals. Student ratings also constitute a measure telling teachers and parents precisely where a student is in his or her math fact development.

Start at first level.
Beginning at the easiest level generates initial success and establishes keyboard skills useful at higher levels. Math types (+, -, x, /) may be practiced in any order and in combination.

Play through each level.
Advancing through small levels of difficulty assures progress. Just a few minutes each day is all that’s needed.

Watch score climb.
Visible progress encourages students. CapJaxMathFax™ has a proprietary rating system that produces obvious feedback about even small gains. Kids will say, This is fun!

Master all facts.
CapJaxMathFax™ rating system assures structured practice through all sets of facts associated with each math type. Students achieve mastery at each level before advancing.

Immediate Positive Reinforcement.
Immediate knowledge of results is vital to efficient skill development. Most efforts have some element of success. CapJaxMathFax™ captures these with instant feedback about accuracy and response time.

Regular Positive Feedback.
Encouraging information about progress is critical. It underscores the importance of the effort and maintains learner involvement. CapJaxMathFax™ provides feedback about each session with a graphical bar chart, a running summary of session results, and a personalized session progress report.

Achievement Certificates.
Tangible evidence of math achievement is available in the form of individual certificates showing student’s performance and current status. Certificates may be displayed and printed at any time.

Detail Reports.
An Item Detail Report of each CapJaxMathFax™ performance session is available for teacher and parent diagnostic review.

Unfortunately, Ryleigh wasn't so into this "game"/ program.... however she may grown into it as her math skills increase. I thought it was a fun program...and liked that you could put a timer on the questions to add an extra element to it.

You can download the CapJaxMathFax™ Evaluation Program for free at any time. The Evaluation Program provides a good hands-on overview with explanatory notes. If you decide to continue on, the program starts at $29.99.

You can see what fellow CREW members had to say about their experience with the programhere!

Disclaimer- I received a free subscription to CapJaxMathFax in exchange for my opinion of this program. The comments above are my own views and were not influence by CapJaxMathFax :-)

TOS Review- AIMS What on Earth?

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 01:07:00 +0000

"The AIMS Education Foundation is a research and development organization dedicated to the improvement of the teaching and learning of mathematics and science through a meaningful integrated approach."

Both the Tot School and K4 classes love Science days... so I was very excited to review What on Earth? I used it for my K4 class (ages 4 &5). The "experiments" / demonstrations are easy to understand, fun, and.... easy to prep for (yay!!)

From the website:

Grades K-1
30 activities—137 pages

Kindergartners and first graders are naturally curious about the world around them. What on Earth? will bring to their attention details of their everyday world that they previously have not considered.

They will be introduced to nature’s gifts of water, rocks, and soil and explore their many characteristics and beneficial uses. In “Secret Sources,” they will learn that everything comes from something when they discover paper comes the wood of a tree and a tee shirt comes from cotton on a plant.

Clever explorations fill the book that is divided into the following six sections/concepts:

Resources: The Earth has resources that are used to make all kinds of things. Resources can be conserved by recycling, reusing, and reducing their consumption.
Rocks and Soils; Rocks and soils have observable properties.
Water: Water is found in oceans, lakes, ponds, and rivers.
Changes: Earth’s surface can quickly change due to hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes, and wind and wave action.
Day/Night: The sun and moon are objects in the sky that have repeating patterns of movement.
Seasons: The seasons form a repeating pattern. The changes in weather help determine our clothing and activities.

What on Earth? retails for $21.95. It comes with a CD for printing accompanying worksheets. Be sure to check out the AIMS store for other grade level and subjects.

This has made a great addition to our science activities this year. I am not sure I would use this as a stand alone curriculum but to supplement, it has been awesome! One thing that I want to mention- that the book overall seems to be geared to more of a classroom setting....

*As a member of the TOS Crew review program I was given a free copy of this product to review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. To see what other members of the Crew thought click below:

YIKES!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 03:05:00 +0000

It has been crazy over here... and I haven't had a chance to Blog since the beginning of March... currently the Flu has hit our house.. high temps and all... hopefully I am back on track this weekend.... and the Watcha Making Wednesday post will be up next week...

Sorry for the Delay... :-)

Some Pictures from the last month.... (some token pictures if you will)

Braeden LOVED this pocket chart and was so proud that he put his numbers in order all by himself.... (Jan/Feb 2012)

Working with Handwriting without Tears... building the letter...

Ryleigh doing a quick review to #20... I love these table top pocket charts... so multifunctional... and really good for reading!

TOS Reading Eggs

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 04:44:00 +0000

We have been working on reading this year in K4 and Letter Sounds in Tot School, so I was thrilled when I got the opportunity to review Reading Eggs.

Reading Eggs is an online program for ages 3-13.... from learning to read to increasing reading comprehension. There are lots of fun games that the kids really liked. I used it with Braeden (age 2 1/2) and Ryleigh (almost 5). Both seemed to really enjoy it.

Although technology is such a huge part of today's society.... I was not super excited to have the kids use my laptop (that I also use for work).... if you are like me and prefer tangible lessons: Reading Eggs also offers companion books and writing workbooks to go along with the program. These are optional, but reinforce each online lesson.

One thing that I did appreciate was that it tracked each child's progress which was very helpful.

There is a 14-day free trial available.... how fun is that?!? Subscription options:

12 months for $75
6 months for $49.95
Monthly for $9.95

*For the 6 or 12 month subscriptions, add a second or third child for 50% off)*
To learn more about Reading Eggs, be sure to visit their website.

*As a member of the TOS Crew review program I was given a free copy of this product to review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. To see what other members of the Crew thought click below:

Whatcha Making Wednesdays.... Dr. Seuss Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 04:54:00 +0000

This week both classes celebrated Dr. Seuess's Birthday (March 2nd)... and two of my favorite projects were the Thing 1 & Thing 2 and our Cat in the Hat cupcakes...

I saw these cute Dr. Seuss Handprint crafts on LittleKinderWarriors...and had both Tot School and K4 Make them...so fun!!! On one had we used white and blue paper and the other we used red...

Ryleigh's Thing 1 and Thing 2

The Tot School Things.... (I didn't get a picture of the K4 classes)...

We used a box of white cake mix and some red food coloring....frosting... and sprinkles... easy...and fun!

K4 made some Dr. Suess Cupcakes... ie.... we made red and white striped cupcakes...

We seperated out some of the batter and added a little red food coloring... and then alternated white and red spoonfuls....

Frosting and decorating the cupcakes...

The finished "Cat in the Hat" cupcake... notice the stripes?

Some Dr. Suess Books we enjoyed this week:

The Cat in the Hat
ABC
Horton Hears a Who
The Foot Book

Instead of posting my Dr. Seuss activities twice (once as a Whatcha Making Wednesday and once as a school/start post).... I am doing once all inclusive post...Also Linked to: A Mommy's Adventures!; ABC and 123; Red Ted Art ...JDaniel4's Mom; 1+1+1=1; Homeschool Creations; Mom2 lil Posh Divas;

weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

If you have a baking/cooking (etc.) activity that you have done with children and would like to share... please link up!!!! We are always looking for fun...and yummy recipes. If you do link up...please try and visit someone else's entry and share some comment love...

For a Reminder of the Guidelines to Link Up...Please visit here

All About Reading Level 1

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 05:07:00 +0000

I cannot stress to you enough how excited I was to review this awesome program. Seriously....and... I am happy to report that the hype that surrounds All About Reading is completely TRUE!!!

The All About Reading program uses all five of the key components of reading:
Phonological Awareness; Phonics and Decoding; Fluency; Vocabulary; Comprehension

The Level 1 Kit includes:

1. Teacher’s Manual
2. Student Packet (includes Activity Book)
3. Run, Bug, Run! reader
4. The Runt Pig reader
5. Cobweb the Cat reader

The lessons are meant to be relatively short and can be done in one sitting or broken up throughout the day... whichever works best for your family. They are great because they are multisensorial and keep the kids interested. We have been doing sight words this year, so K4 has a pretty long list at this point that they can read... (have memorized).... but... this is such a natural way to learn to read that it does have a semi- magical outcome... where blending sounds and reading become fun and effortless.

The Deluxe Reading Interactive Kit includes the same items as the Basic Reading Interactive Kit:

1. Letter Tiles
2. Magnets for the Letter Tiles
3. The Basic Phonograms CD-ROM
4. Reading Divider Cards

and three additional items:

1. Reading Review Box

2. Reading Tote Bag

3. Star Stickers

The only slightly less than positive thing I found about this product is that the initial set up can be somewhat timely... with the punching and magnatizing all the letter tiles... HOWEVER- there is minimal prep time needed for the 49 lessons... so it's totally worth it.

*As a member of the TOS Crew review program I was given a free copy of this product to review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. To see what other members of the Crew thought click below:

Elmo's Birthday Party.... 2012

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 02:30:00 +0000

Ryleigh is 4 1/2 and Braeden is 2 1/2

Elmo's Birthday was February 3rd.... and both classes had fun celebrating... here are some of the activities that they did....

Ryleigh wore her Elmo Shirt for the occassion .....

Color by Number Elmo...found at the top of this blog in the printable section...Do a Dot Elmo's...Working on their Elmo Shape Craft...Tot School Elmo's...Tot School Snack time...

The K4 Elmo's.....Participating in an obstacle course....A little freeze dance... this time they had to put their hands on their heads when the music stopped...The girls chatting over their snack...The girls played some musical chairs after their snack...

Stories read about Elmo (to name a few...we have oodles...):

Elmo's Big Lift and Look Book by Anna Ross

Elmo's Play Day by Ann Spence

Smile for Elmo by Dana Richter

For more great stART posts check out A Mommy's
Adventures!For more fun projects check out ABC and
123... Red Ted Art ...JDaniel4's
Mom... and
To
see what others did this week check out Tot
School at 1+1+1=1; Preschool
Corner at Homeschool Creations; Mom
2 lil Posh Divas and the Weekly
Wrap-up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Whatcha Making Wednesdays .... Quiche

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:25:00 +0000

After a small technical difficulty last week... welcome back to Whatcha Making Wednesdays... this week the girls made a quiche....

Taking turns adding the ingredients...

The girls loved chopping the broccoli ...

Finished Quiche.... some of the girls loved it... and some of them...not so much....

Ingredients:

1 9-inch pie shell
1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped broccoli,
1 1/2 cups8 ounces fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 cup milk
3 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons margarine, melted
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 tsp pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided, or a Cheddar blend

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake pie crust about 10 minutes or until bottom is slightly brown. Let cool. Cook broccoli until tender; drain well. Combine milk, eggs, margarine, flour, salt, pepper and 3/4 cup cheese; whisk until well blended. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup of cheese over crust. Layer broccoli and mushrooms on cheese. Pour milk and egg mixture over all. Bake at 375° for 35 to 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. 4 to 6 servings.

If you have a baking/cooking (etc.) activity that you have done with children
and would like to share... please link up!!!! We are always looking for
fun...and yummy recipes. If you do link up...please try and visit someone else's
entry and share some comment love...

For a Reminder of the Guidelines
to Link Up...Please visit

here

Whatcha Making Wednesdays ... Cranberry Valentine

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:25:00 +0000

Welcome back to Whatcha Making Wednesdays.... this week has been very hectic and I didn't get a chance to take any baking pictures...so I have a recipe from last week's link up.... Over at Almost Unschoolers they made a Cranberry Valentine that looks incredibly yummy!!!

If you have a baking/cooking (etc.) activity that you have done with children and would like to share... please link up!!!! We are always looking for fun...and yummy recipes. If you do link up...please try and visit someone else's entry and share some comment love...

For a Reminder of the Guidelines to Link Up...Please visit here

Whatcha Making Wednesdays .... Pizza Bites...

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:25:00 +0000

Welcome Back to Whatcha Making Wednesdays.... This week we made Pizza Bites... which I found on Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers, Oh My!!! (Go check out her blog!!!)

Flattening the biscuits...

The girls had fun deciding what to put in their bites...

The finished bites....

The girls of K4 enjoying their snack....

INGREDIENTS:

10 biscuits
20 chunks of mozzarella cheese
20 pepperonis -cut my pepperonis into quarters
Marinara Sauce (for Dipping)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
Cut the biscuits in half and flatten them
Fill with cheese and pepperoni (or other fun things (like olives, mushrooms, etc.)
Fold up the biscuit halves and pinch together
Sprinkle with garlic and put in a greased pan (we used mini loaf and pie pans)
Put in the oven until golden brown
Serve with dipping sauce

TOS CREW Review: Kinderbach

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0000

I teach private Piano Lessons...as well as other Music Classes... so I was very interested to see what Kinderbach was all about....and so excited when I received it to review...

Kinderbach is a creative and inexpensive way to expose your child to piano and learning musical skills, recommended for ages 3-7. It uses fun characters to teach note reading, rhythm, signing, and composition. Good for either in the home or in the classroom... You absolutely do not need a Piano to do these lessons...a Keyboard is perfect!

According to Kinderbach’s website “The best time to learn a language or to begin playing a musical instrument is 3 - 6 years of age.”

Some of K4 listening to different tones and reaching "high", "middle" and "low"....

Many of the lessons include a printable page to reinforce the lesson.... or as an interactive part of the lesson...

The girls were captivated by the videos and enjoyed working along with them...

A nice aspect of the video/ printout session is that they are self correcting....

One thing that I would change to the program is the length of some of the sessions.... a few of them tended to run a little long and we ended up fast forwarding through them.... as the girls lost interest...

KinderBach offers many different purchasing options:

Year Membership - $95.88 one-time payment for the year (equivalent to $7.99 a month)
Monthly Membership - $19.99 billed monthly
Day Pass - $5.95 to try the program for a single day
DVDs - See website for various options

As a piano and music teacher, I obviously feel that Private Lessons are superior...however, if you are unable to afford individual lessons or do not have time to schedule them... KinderBach is a great way for your child to learn!!

*As a member of the TOS Crew review program I was given a free copy of this product to review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. To see what other members of the Crew thought click below:

Whatcha Making Wednesdays .... Pumpkin Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:25:00 +0000

Welcome back to Whatcha Making Wednesdays...This week for K4 the girls made one of our favorites.... Pumpkin Muffins.... this was a great demonstration of why Math is so important...I had to divide the recipe by 5....

Ryleigh takes her jobs very seriously... :-)
The Finished Muffins....

The Recipe was previously Posted HERE

If you have a baking/cooking (etc.) activity that you have done with children and would like to share... please link up!!!! We are always looking for fun...and yummy recipes. If you do link up...please try and visit someone else's entry and share some comment love...

For a Reminder of the Guidelines to Link Up...Please visit here

School Daze.... I is for Ice cream....even in the winter

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:25:00 +0000

Braeden is 29 Months and Ryleigh is 57 months (4 1/2 yrs)

Here are some of the highlights from classes this week... we also did reading, alpha books, math, geography, Spanish, Baking (Whatcha Making Wednesdays)... along with some other activities...

Practicing fine motor transfers with over-sized tweezers... Braeden started with his fingers...

All the kids loved this project.... and repeated it over and over again...

Braeden finished the project by actually using the tweezers (and loving them!)

Working on putting on the sprinkles for our letter craft...

The finished "I" is for Ice Cream....

One of the books that we read this week was The Mitten by Jan Brett...
The kids made snowflake prints to go with it...

Cutting the foam into interesting shapes (snowflakes)...

Dipping the stamp (snowflake)... into the paint...

Smooshing the painted snowflake on the paper...

Ryleigh's finished snowflakes...

Working on playing quarter notes...

Practicing Wet, Dry, Try with Handwriting without tears... so far... no tears :-)

After class is over, the kids enjoy playing in our new playroom
(the other part of the basement)

For more great stART posts check out A Mommy's Adventures!
For more fun projects check out ABC and 123... Red Ted Art ... JDaniel4's Mom... and
To see what others did this week check out Tot School at 1+1+1=1; Preschool Corner at Homeschool Creations; Mom 2 lil Posh Divas and the Weekly Wrap-up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Whatcha Making Wednesdays ....Brownie Bites

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:25:00 +0000

Welcome back to Whatcha Making Wednesdays....This week the girls made brownie bites... we used a package of brownies...and cooked them in a mini muffin tin... nice and easy!

Putting in the ingredients...
Taking turns stirring the ingredients in... with our fun baking utensils....

The finished brownies...

**I have been nominated on Babble for the Top 50 Mom Craft Blogs and Would LOVE for you to vote for me.... I am currently on page number 2....#60 **** To Vote click here

TOS CREW Review: Maestro Classics

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:18:00 +0000

We were recently given Maestro Classics- The Story of Swan Lake to review.... given Ryleigh's love of Ballet and my love of Music (Classical, among many other genres) ... I thought this was a good fit for us... and happily were were not disappointed.....

"The Story of Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky’s greatest ballet score, is the tale of a prince who falls in love with a beautiful princess. The princess, however, has been turned into a swan by an evil magician, and only the prince’s love can break the spell. This narrated version of the classic tale for children is sure to delight all who love ballet and enchanting storytelling.

A 24-page activity book included with the CD contains a biography of Tchaikovsky, information on acoustic and electric guitars, sheet music and words for a sing-along song, explanation of major and minor keys, puzzles and more. MP3 download from Maestro Classics website includes a PDF of the activity booklet. "

Ryleigh had a great time listening to the story and dancing to the music.... we can't wait to check out more of these "classics"....

They currently offer 10 different titles to choose from including Peter and the Wolf, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, and Juanita the Spanish Lobster in English or Spanish.

The Cost of the CD is $16.98 and $9.98 for MP3 Download..... you can buy them from: Maestro Classics

Another great thing about these CD's is that they come with so many educational activities!!! These are fantastic for introducing classical music into your child's routine...

*As a member of the TOS Crew review program I was given a free copy of this product to review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. To see what other members of the Crew thought click below:

School Daze.... A New Year begins....

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:58:00 +0000

Ryleigh is 4 1/2 yrs and Braeden is 28 Months

Although we have yet to have snow this winter (YAY!!!) We have started our winter theme in Tot School and K4.... Here are some of the things we did this week....

Our Winter Sensory Bin.... this is way messier than I anticipated and will be changed out sooner than later...

Handwriting without tears.... wet, dry, try....

K4 doing a high low game with kinderbach...

The girls practiced their math skills....Braeden working on his alpha book...

Both classes worked on some fine motor skills with sticker snowmen...

Braeden really liked this activity...

We started our Road Trip across America from Confessions of a Homeschooler...
this week we did CT...

One of the books we read this week (we read one a class)... was My Red Mittens...

For the project (both classes), we made handprints in red mittens.... this worked really well for Tot School, as our color of the week was RED...The finished mittens (some of them)....

Tot School did Letter H...is for Handprint....

Where I am linking up:
For more great stART posts check out A Mommy's Adventures!
For more fun projects check out ABC and 123... Red Ted Art ... JDaniel4's Mom... and
To see what others did this week check out Tot School at 1+1+1=1; Preschool Corner at Homeschool Creations; Mom 2 lil Posh Divas and the Weekly Wrap-up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Whatcha Making Wednesdays ..... Mini Doughnuts....

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 01:24:00 +0000

Welcome back to a whole new year of Whatcha Making Wednesdays!!! For Christmas this year, I received a mini doughnut maker.... so perfect for kids to help make doughnuts with... its fast...and easy... and oh so tasty!

Ready to start cooking!!!Cooling.... How cute are they?

The girls had a good time dunking the doughnuts in melted chocolate glaze ... and decorating them with sprinkles...

The finished doughnuts.... yummy!!!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups Flour
1/3 Cup Sugar
1 T. Baking Powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 Cup Milk
1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
1/4 Cup Sour Cream
1 egg
1 t. Vanilla

Directions:

Combine Dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
In separate bowl whisk together remaining ingredients, except glaze or topping. Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients. Using a mixer on medium speed, blend until smooth.
Fill each cooking reservoir with about 2 T of batter.
Bake about 4 to 5 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into donut comes out clean.
Glaze or coat with powdered sugar or cinnamon-sugar.

Alphabet Crafts.... and some other fun activities...

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 04:07:00 +0000

Here we are....back from break... I am not really sure where the year has gone... I seem to have skipped blogging about the majority of our school projects... between teaching the two grades, Music and private lessons, Sunday School.... and running a full time business... blogging seems to be suffering... hopefully this year I catch up... but if not... you can always check in on my facebook page.... (become a fan today!- click the button on the side of the blog)....

Tot School has been working on the Letter of the week crafts.... and adding their Letter to the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Tree... For the most part, these crafts are very similar to the ones that Ryleigh did when she was in Tot school....

A is for Alligator...
Gluing on Stripes...

B is for Bee....

K4 using erasers (yes this picture is from October).... for patterns and more than/less than....

C is for Clock...

Sorting money....

K4 getting ready for story-time... I will have to do a separate post showing our new school room and some of our routines this year...

D is for Dog...

Tot School working with some big tweezers to transfer into ice cube trays...

Gluing pieces of his E...

E is for Envelope....

Checking out some slides under the microscope...

F is for Fingerprints...

Gluing beans, lentils, tissue paper, etc.... onto his G...

G is for Garden.....

One of Braeden's favorite activities.... building with blocks...any kind of blocks....

Where I am linking up:

For more fun projects check out ABC and 123.... and
To see what others did this week check out Tot School at 1+1+1=1; Preschool Corner at Homeschool Creations; Mom 2 lil Posh Divas and the Weekly Wrap-up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

TOS CREW Review: Homeschool Spanish

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 03:53:00 +0000

We have been working on our Spanish this year... and I was so excited when I was offered the Homeschool Spanish Curriculum to review... with younger kids (preschool/ kindergarten)... it is not always easy to find a foreign language program that keeps their attention.... Homeschool Spanish is perfect for the entire family...little ones and all...

One of the great things about Homeschooling your children (and others...)... is that you can choose curriculum and subjects that are fun and interesting... one of the things that I incorporate into pretty much each subject is song...I know--- shocker... from handwriting to geography...I like a song for everything... that being said... the first thing I noticed about the Homeschool Spanish curriculum was that it included a fun "greetings" song... that pretty much sold the program for me... it was a natural fit for us...

This is more of an immersion program.... and fear not... if you cannot speak the language (as I can't)... you can still teach this appropriately...as they have sound files and pronunciation help available to you!!! (as part of the program)...

Another awesome aspect of this program is the amount of prep needed for the lessons... virtually none... it is a fantastic time saver... everything is organized for you!!!

REAL Homeschool Spanish has 10 units. Each unit is made up of vocabulary clusters. There are 33 vocabulary clusters and 15 Idea Sections each with 3-4 activity sections along with audio files of native speakers from Mexico using the vocabulary.

This program comes as either a hard copy ($89.95)
OR a digital download ($49.95 which is how we received it).

The Bundled product includes:

Book (the actual text)
Activity Book (worksheets and such)
Answer Book (for the worksheets)
Audio Files (mp3 format)

You can also order a Daily Curriculum Guide for $9.95
that gives you a short daily idea to keep on track.

We LOVE LOVE LOVE this program!!!!!

*As a member of the TOS Crew review program I was given a free copy of this product to review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. To see what other members of the Crew thought click below:

Whatcha Making Wednesdays.... A holiday tradition.... Clone of a Cinnabon

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 03:11:00 +0000

Welcome back to Whatcha Making Wednesdays... unfortunately last week I had some technical difficulties (no internet)...but yay! we are back... Christmas Morning I make Cinnamon buns... (actually I prep them the night before and bake them Christmas morning)... my pictures didn't do the ooey gooeyness justice....so I am posting pictures of some of our other holiday festivities...

Our Elf delivered some holiday jammies...

Our elf snuck one of our Christmas cookies....

Ryleigh and Braeden in their special Jammies Christmas Morning...

Ingredients

1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup margarine, melted
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.
After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

*recipe was found on allrecipes.com*

Whatcha Making Wednesdays.... Sugar Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:25:00 +0000

Welcome to Whatcha Making Wednesdays! This week the kids had their Holiday Parties and both classes made Sugar Cookies with frosting and sprinkles... A perfect way to end our year :-)

The kids had fun choosing which shapes they would make their cookies...Frosting the cookies... the kids used safety knives to frost them...Adding some sprinkles...

Ryleigh's finished cookies...

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
FROSTING:
1/3 cup butter (softened)
3-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in milk and vanilla.
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until easy to handle.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 7-9 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool.
Frost cooled cookies..... and decorate!

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What we have been up to....Christmas Activities....

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:47:00 +0000

So.... it has been a while since I have updated with any school time activities besides baking... apparently working has taken up a bit of my free time.... no worries though.... it takes away from blogging...not teaching... here are some of our Christmas activities that we did during school (or otherwise) over the last month.... over our break I will attempt to get some posts together showing the more academic activities that we have been doing... stay tuned!!!! And... as per usual.... a plethora of pictures are below....

Ryleigh and Braeden decorating our tree after Thanksgiving...

Mosaic Advent Candles:
K4 made these very pretty Advent Candles...

Adding the mosaic tiles...

Working on adding the wreath to the bottom of the candle...

The girls with their advent candles...

Abstract Christmas Trees:
In K4 (plus Braeden...because he didn't nap)... we made Abstract Christmas Trees..... they used fun painting technics...and added different shapes (sponge paint) for ornaments.... and finished with some glitter glue for tinsel...

Painting the tree...

Making sure everyone else is on task....

Finding the decorating process very funny...

The finished abstract Trees....

Button Wreath Ornaments:
Both classes made button wreath ornaments.... stringing white, red and green buttons onto a pipecleaner....and making a circle....

Working very hard on their projects in Tot School....

Inspecting their work...

Working on their ornaments in K4...

Handprint Angels:
The kids made shape/ handprint angels.... it is neat to see Braeden now completing some of the crafts that I have done with Ryleigh in the past...

Gluing on the Triangle (body), Circle (head) and Oval (hal0).....

The finished Angels...

Handprint Christmas Trees:
We also made these Handprint Trees.... I didn't take pictures during this project as it got slightly dice-y at times!

A finished tree...

Gingerbread Ornaments:

Working on their ornaments...

Whatcha Making Wednesdays... Sugar Cookies:
Every week I host a link up for kid friendly cooking/baking/ recipes... this week we made sugar cookies...

Ryleigh decorating her cookies...

Aunt Laura with Andy and the kids.... Ryleigh is tired of posing for pictures at this point....how cute are the matching shirts though? I got them from Missy Prissy Bow Boutique...

Ryleigh and Braeden...hugging it out before the Holiday Party begins...

Santa came to visit our neighborhood with his Firetruck....

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

Some of the Books that we read to go along with our activities:

The Donkey's Christmas Song by Nancy Tafuri
Jingle All The Way ~ Interactice Storybook and Story Buddy Jingle Pup
Corduroy's Christmas (Lift-the-flap Books) by Don Freeman and B. G. Hennessy
Corduroy's Merry Christmas Shaped Board Book by Don Freeman and Lisa McCue
The Berenstain Bears and the Joy of Giving (Berenstain Bears/Living Lights) by Jan Berenstain and Mike Berenstain
The Berenstain Bears Meet Santa Bear (First Time Books) by Stan Berenstain and Jan Berenstain
The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore and Jan Brett

Where I am linking up:

For more great stART posts check out A Mommy's Adventures!
For more fun projects check out ABC and 123... Red Ted Art ... JDaniel4's Mom... and
To see what others did this week check out Tot School at 1+1+1=1; Preschool Corner at Homeschool Creations; Mom 2 lil Posh Divas and the Weekly Wrap-up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Whatcha Making Wednesdays.... pigs in a blanket....chocolate cake

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 02:58:00 +0000

This week the kids made Pigs in a blanket.... so super easy...and yummy!!! Basically we take a Pillsbury croissant dough triangle and a piece of American cheese .... and wrap it around a hot-dog .... bake in the oven at 375 for 15 minutes....

I unfortunately did not get any good pictures of this activity... so... I thought I would share pictures of Ryleigh baking a cake two years ago.... when she was Braeden's age... It is a little strange for me to look back at them and see all the stuff that I let her bake... and be so hesitant to let Braeden do it now.... here she made a Chocolate Cake (dairy free...as I was nursing Braeden and he couldn't have dairy)...

Ryleigh stirring some Flour...

Pouring in some oil and water...

The finished cake...I let Ryleigh pick out which cake pan she wanted to put it in :)

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Whatcha Making Wednesdays ..... Cupcakes!

noreply@blogger.com (sbswtp) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:25:00 +0000

Welcome back to Whatcha Making Wednesdays! This week in K4 we actually made plain ole' cupcakes...from... a ... box... gasp! There was frosting involved...but still... not too terribly exciting from a blogging perspective... The girls still had fun and enjoyed frosting the cupcakes themselves...

The girls stirring in their ingredients... Baking Wednesdays always sparks lively chatter from the girls in K4... ;-)