Our Crazy Homeschool Life

TPT Cyber Sale!

2021-11-26T09:57:00.011-08:00

Teachers Pay Teachers is one of my absolutely favorite places to find creative printables to go along with our homeschool! Whether it's a holiday-themed activity or something to complement a book study, I always jump on there if I need an additional resource.

As some of you know, I also started listing the printables that I had made for my own boys so that others could enjoy them! Back when we fell under a charter school in CA, my educational facilitator (the teacher that oversaw my son's progress) encouraged me to do so when she saw the things that I had made. Boy am I grateful she encouraged me to do so! It has become a real blessing over the years...

That said, TPT is having a CYBER SALE on November 29-30. My store and many others will be 25% off with the code CYBER21. I love when they offer these sales! They don't host them that often, so it's a good time to jump on the deals when you can!

To go along with this awesome sale, I have a $10 TPT Gift Card GIVEAWAY on my Facebook page that I encourage you to join!

For some fun ideas, here are a couple printables that I love to do in preparation for Christmas!

And last but not least, this is the biggest hit of them all. My boys are too big for it now, but I loved doing this when they were little!

If you tend to shop on Teachers Pay Teachers, what types of resources do you usually look for?

The 5 W's Detective...

2021-08-24T10:48:00.012-07:00

Do you have a little detective in the house? My son dreams of being a spy or detective when he grows up! He's always asking for a new spy costume or spy gear. In fact, you can often find him sporting a fake mustache or holding a little notepad in which he's taking notes on. He even loved when Encyclopedia Brown was our read aloud, etc. You can only imagine the excitement he had when we took him to the Spy Museum in DC!

Well, with Caleb being my detective-loving son, I brought out an old set of printables that I had made years ago for a co-op class I was teaching and it was the perfect fit!

I had originally made this as a fun way for my students to work on their grammar skills that we had just reviewed. Talk about the perfect match for my son, ha! His obsession with being a detective/spy made this activity exciting for him -- way more than his typical workbook assignment!

And because I love going down memory lane, here's a photo of my oldest working on this same activity way back when I taught in that co-op. Ahhh...it seems like just yesterday!

If this sounds like something your kids might enjoy, be sure to click here...

National Rainbow Baby Day...

2021-08-22T22:04:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm a day late and a dollar short, but I felt like it was still worth sharing...

If you know someone who has lost a baby (or you have), but went on to have a happy, healthy little one, yesterday (August 22, 2021) was #NationalRainbowBabyDay. It's a day to celebrate the rainbow that came after the storm. I realize this really has absolutely nothing to do with homeschooling, but if you're like me and have experienced loss, you know this day is a day to feel thankfulness and joy as you think about the sweet rainbow that came after your storm.

While on Facebook today, my memories showed me a post I had made about this particular day with one of my favorite pictures of my oldest. Every time I see it, it brings on the emotions -- tears of joy, immense happiness, you name it. It makes me want to go hug that ginormous kid and remind him how much I'm thankful for him, ha. Okay, okay...I already do that all the time, but still.

This is what I had shared a couple years ago, but it still rings true...

"Today is National Rainbow Baby Day. I'm still in awe of how much our lives changed when our little miracle, Samuel Ryan, arrived. After 8 years of pain and grief from the loss of Jacob, Jordan, and Olivia, we sure didn't feel much hope. Sam's arrival renewed that hope and brought with him incredible joy. Just looking at this photo brings me back to that time and the indescribable joy we felt as we praised God to have him in our arms -- happy and healthy. He and Caleb have brought more joy to our lives than we could've ever imagined..."

If you have endured the pain of loss in your journey to having kids, my heart goes out to you! I hope that you can share in the joy of National Rainbow Baby Day...

If you ever feel compelled to read our story, it can be found here at my old blog...

First Day of School Signs...

2021-08-22T14:12:00.004-07:00

Do you use one?

It's been a tradition in our house since my oldest started preschool.

I absolutely love seeing the growth in my boys with each photo!

It's also fun to see what they each choose for their design each year.

We typically turn it into a silly photo shoot, so I get to capture a hint of their personality as we celebrate the new school year. I love it!

If you happen to do this tradition and are looking for a fun design, be sure to check out my listings on both Teachers Pay Teachers and Etsy! (There are both complete sets and individual grade options.)

I love seeing what people choose each year. There always seems to be one style that is a major hit and it varies each year. This one is the best seller for the 2021-2022 school year so far...

Here are several others that my boys have requested in the past...

If you see one you like, there most likely is a listing for the complete set or an individual grade. If not, please leave me a comment and I'll fix that.

#firstdayofschool

#firstdayofschoolsign

#backtoschool

First Day of School Handprint - Four Years Later...

2021-08-17T12:08:00.003-07:00

Four years ago, while sitting in a hotel after a long day of exploring Yellowstone National Park, I received a call from my sister back in Indiana asking if I could make her a printable for her first day as a preschool teacher. Happy to do so, I sat there while my boys chilled in front of the hotel TV and created her this printable -- not thinking about anything more it than it benefiting my sister and her new class...

Fast forward to now and this little printable is the best selling printable I've ever made! Funny how things happen like that! Over time, this has also led to me making other handprint craft printables for various holidays, etc. If my boys were still little, you'd better believe I'd be doing these with them -- I miss seeing those sweet little hands!

I receive comments all the time about how much the parents love receiving these crafts as gifts -- I was the same way when my boys were little! Give me a thumbprint piece of art, a hand, a foot...you name it. Anything to document their size at that time and I was in love! I mean...now I look at my oldest and he's on the verge of wearing clothes from the Men's section! (insert tears)

If you're like me -- a sentimental momma with kids that are growing up WAY too fast -- grab this or make one that fits your needs. You won't regret it when they start to have hands the same size as you and you begin to miss those days of having little ones. It's super fun watching my boys grow up and see the little men they're becoming, but the days when they were little sure were fun! I love that I have various crafts to remember them by!

Well, That Was A Bust...

2021-08-17T07:31:00.003-07:00

This post may contain affiliate links. By shopping through these links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

We all have them -- those childhood favorites that we can't wait to share with our kids. I still have my Gary Paulsen books from when I was a kid -- Hatchet and The River. I remember absolutely loving these books! Well, the day came when I introduced them to my son. I decided that even though I typically allow my boys to read whatever they want for their daily reading time for school, I was going to require my oldest to read a few specific books this year. They would be books that I either loved as a kid or that I felt were important to cover at his age. First up was Hatchet. To put it lightly, that was a total bust, ha!

He completely HATED it! I thought maybe once he got further into the story, he would enjoy it. Nope. Not one bit. And you know what? That's okay. It just wasn't his cup of tea. He loves documentaries about this sort of thing. He loves movies about this sort of thing. But apparently in book form, it wasn't a winner!

Do you require specific books for your children to read? Or have a set curriculum that requires books outside of the genre that they love? I think it's good to expose them to things outside of what they typically read and I'm still glad I had Sam read it, but I definitely won't be asking him to read the sequel as planned, ha!

That said, are there any novels that you remembering LOVING, but your kids hated?

*****

Update: So after writing about this, I had my boys sit down with me and watch the movie based on Hatchet. Thankfully, I was able to find it on YouTube. It must've been uploaded from a VHS tape, because the quality was absolutely horrendous! Nevertheless, we watched it. It turns out, Sam really enjoyed the movie! In fact, he's still talking about it randomly. On our way to an appointment earlier today, he asked why the pilot had a heart attack. At first, I had no idea what he was talking about so he had to elaborate. Clearly, the movie won him over way more than the book!

*****

Side note: For anyone wondering, when I have my boys read books of their choosing -- or books that I choose for them -- I have them knock out one of the activities in their Reading Journal that I blogged about last week. If you think that might be something you'd like your children to do, definitely check out that blog post here.

Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales...

2021-08-13T17:42:00.024-07:00

This post may contain affiliate links. By shopping through these links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Okay...so it's not often we find a book series that my boys absolutely fall in love with. Like, fall so in love that they have to read every.single.book in the series multiple times! Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales is one of those rare series! It's a silly, comic book style, historical fiction series that has hooked both of my boys more than almost anything they've read!

The first one in the series is a particular favorite for both of my boys -- Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: One Dead Spy. Not only did it introduce my boys to this fun series, but they love this particular period in history. Not long after my oldest first read this one, we toured a lot of sights from the Revolutionary War. We even saw a statue dedicated to Nathan Hale while in CT! It kind of helped bring all of this to life for him and it has stuck ever since then.

It amazes me how much my boys have picked up from these books. I will tell you -- they've learned more history (that they can still reference in conversation months later) from this series than anything that's stuck from traditional history textbooks. I'm honestly amazed at some of the things they'll point out. Whether we're at a museum -- this happened shortly after they read Big Bad Ironclad! -- or watching a documentary, they'll reference something they read in one of these books with complete excitement. It's the joy that comes from knowing the answer before it's taught -- it's fun seeing their faces when they'll excitedly share what they know about the topic and proudly say they knew it because of what they read in Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales. It's not every day that you find something that causes this response!

Definitely consider adding this series to your reading list this year if you have a child in elementary school! My oldest fell in love at around 8 years old, but my youngest followed in his footsteps much younger -- although I'm sure some of that was because he wanted to be like his big bro!

*UPDATE*

GREAT NEWS! Nathan Hale is releasing a new book this fall about the Cold War! I know what my boys will be reading in October!

Why We Love Our #NotConsumed Reading Journal...

2021-08-11T21:23:00.004-07:00

This post may contain affiliate links. By shopping through these links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

As you probably know, we are very eclectic with our homeschool curriculum. I love using a little bit of everything! Sometimes that leaves me wondering if we're covering everything we need to, but I love that I can cater exactly to how my children learn best. I know that what we're using is the perfect fit rather than trying to fit into a box with a standard boxed curriculum. (Those work great for some, just not us.)

After my boys complete All About Reading, we move on to Arrows with Brave Writer. While we work on the Arrows, I also have my boys read on their own for 30 minutes a day. When doing this, I allow them to read whatever they want. I used to just ask a few questions about it once they were done to know that they comprehended what they read. That was until I ran across this awesome Reading Journal by Not Consumed! It has been an amazing addition to our homeschool!

Here is an excerpt from Not Consumed about the Reading Journal...

"The Reading Journal is 168 lessons recommended for grades 2-8. Comprised of 28 unique lessons that focus on vocabulary, word study, comprehension, and higher-level thinking skills, the journal cycles through each lesson 6 times throughout the year, providing just the right amount of practice without too much monotony.

About once a week, students are asked to evaluate the content of their book based on God's truth. They will compare/contrast with Scripture, consider a character's behavior/influence, and even write out how they might share Jesus with the character.

Once a child learns how to read, he/she needs to continue skill-building throughout the elementary years. The Reading Journal provides the necessary practice while still allowing the student to choose what he/she would most enjoy reading."

My son has really enjoyed this change to our homeschool! It takes 15 minutes or less for him to work through his lesson after reading a book of his choice for 30 minutes. I should note that instead of having him go through the lessons in the order that they were printed, I let him decide which one he wants to do each day. To start, I printed out the 28 unique lessons and put them in a binder. It is typical to see my son flip through the binder to find the lesson he wants to do that day -- typically, he picks one that best fits the topic pertaining to whatever he read. Since some of the activities work better for non-fiction pieces vs. fiction, this flexibility has worked out really well!

I should also add that Not Consumed sells this in a printed book or a pdf file. I personally opted for the pdf file -- that way I can continue to print this for years to come for both boys!

I highly encourage you to check this out if you are wondering what to use for your budding reader!

As a last note, this is ON SALE for one more day! I was so excited when I saw that they're hosting a 15% off sale -- it made me go look for any other items we might want to add to our homeschool this year, ha! This sale expires tomorrow (8/12/21), so grab it quick! Be sure to use the code * 2NDCHANCE *

Bookmarks Galore...

2021-08-08T21:21:00.002-07:00

So I don't know about you, but we go through a LOT of bookmarks. I don't know what it is, but my boys just destroy them. They don't mean to, but it happens. That, or they lose them. Either way, they're always looking for a bookmark, ha.

So as I've been sitting here updating a couple old printables, I decided to make them some fun, Minecraft-themed bookmarks. Sure enough, the boys love them! If you have a Minecraft fan, they may be a fun addition to your school supply list this fall. I just print and laminate them and they're ready to go!

While I was at it, I also made some for myself, ha. I love putting Bible verses in places that I frequently look, so this was perfect. These are a few of my favorites...

It's Like Villi!

2021-08-06T07:51:00.006-07:00

This post may contain affiliate links. By shopping through these links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

"Hey, Mom! It's like villi!"

Ah, that wonderful moment when you realize they actually WERE listening during the science lesson...

Loki Success GIF from Loki GIFs

We've been working through our Apologia Human Anatomy and Physiology book and while the boys enjoy it, it's a lot to process at times. So when I gave my son these fun, new pencil grips and this was his first reaction, it totally made my day, ha!

That said, these are so fun! I ran across them at the store yesterday and we're all obsessed. I have a feeling we may need to buy a larger pack!

First Day of School Questionnaire...

2021-08-03T23:04:00.004-07:00

I don't know about you, but I love documenting little things about my boys at each stage. I love getting those Mother's Day questionnaires with their sweet thoughts, and I especially love seeing their thoughts when each new school year comes around!

Since I'm always randomly searching for a new one each year, I decided to just make one this year. If this is something you might enjoy, be sure to click on the image below!

I'll try to upload an image soon of the sweet thoughts my boys wrote down... ;)

Homeschool Curriculum Picks for the 2021-2022 School Year...

2021-07-14T22:43:00.016-07:00

This post may contain affiliate links. By shopping through these links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Whether you're a newbie or an OG Homeschooler, curriculum choices can be tough. Do you continue with what you've used before? Try something new? Do a box curriculum? Follow a friend's recommendation? There are SO many options! And honestly, there are way too many amazing options to choose from. I personally struggle with being able to narrow down our choices and actually stick to something. There are so many that I love that I find myself trying to squeeze in more than I should...

We have now entered our 6th year homeschooling (whaaaaaaa?! I can't believe we've been doing it that long!). That said, it has been the easiest year yet with knowing exactly what we're going to use and feeling confident that we're going to stick with it. We have tried and tested so many different curriculums in the past that I feel like I know what works for my kids and what doesn't. Of course, I know I'll still catch myself at times wondering if we're not doing enough or if we're doing too much. I suppose that just comes with the inner homeschool mom guilt though, right?

Here are my picks for my 2nd Grader...

And for my 5th Grader...

For Language Arts, we use a variety of things. First off, I'll talk about my absolutely FAVORITE! All About Reading -- if you don't know about it yet, click on the link and check it out. You'll thank me later. It's -- by far -- the best phonics curriculum you'll find! It can get a bit pricey, but it's worth every dime. If you've followed me at all, you know how much I love it and how amazing it has been at helping knock out Sam's speech delay. It has helped my boys go from not reading a word, to reading absolutely any word by 2nd grade. Caleb is now on Level 4 and will most likely complete it in the next 2 months. He will happily knock out a lesson or 2 a day -- especially if that includes getting to read the lesson on Messenger Kids with his Grandma Julie! Ha! I highly encourage anyone that is looking for a phonics program to check it out -- especially if you suspect your child struggles with dyslexia. It's truly the best!

I see it often asked online, so I should note...after my boys complete the All About Reading program, I let them move on to reading whatever they want (within reason). I just ask that they read for 30 minutes a day. Because Sam is at the age now where I vividly remember reading specific books and loving them, I'm kind of adding those to his list of what he has to read this year, but I generally don't force a reading program on them. At the moment, he's reading Hachet. At first, he claimed he didn't like it, but by the 2nd chapter, he was hooked! Just to help me know that he's retaining what he reads, I added a super simple reading journal last year that we will continue to use this year (and every year after?). It's not pictured since I just print the pages out as needed, but it's by Not Consumed. It's great! It's just quick, half page, activities to fill out after he reads. I would definitely check it out as a little add-on to your curriculum list!

Another one of my favorites for Language Arts (but isn't pictured above in the main photo) is Brave Writer! We absolutely love their Arrows (book studies). We use several of them every year and so far, we've started the year with The Wild Robot and the boys are in LOVE!

Because I don't make Brave Writer my sole LA curriculum, we just sneak it in here and there. I've gone years where it was our sole curriculum and others where we didn't really use it. I have found that *for us* we like it as a supplement. I don't know how many of the writing projects we'll do this year, but we will leave them open as an option. The Arrows are meant to be a month long, but we typically don't finish in a month. The writing projects are also meant to be a month long, but when we do one, we set aside our other LA curriculum and just do one for a week as our sole focus. My favorite thing about homeschooling is the flexibility and this right here shows why, ha!

Continuing on with some of our other Language Arts choices, Explode the Code is another workbook series that we like. I like that it reinforces phonics while also working on writing and spelling. I didn't have my oldest use the books for as long as my youngest has been doing them and I can see a difference in their spelling. My oldest noticed too and asked to go back and work through the ETC series, so we've added that to his set as practice. There may or may not be a link between their spelling skills and using these workbooks, but I do feel that they help! They're silly, simply, and fun!

For Handwriting, I'm not truly sold on any one curriculum. To be honest, my youngest is working through another Handwriting Without Tears workbook simply because someone gave it to us. When my boys were younger, I preferred the Paw Patrol worksheets that I created to any professional curriculum. (Click here for the free printables.) Now that I'm really just having Caleb do handwriting for further practice, I'm not strict on what he uses. I have Sam work through a cursive workbook once a week for practice as well -- it's a fun joke workbook.

Lastly, as you can see by the photo, we use several Evan Moor workbooks that cover writing and spelling. The boys like them and I like that the layout is simple and to the point. In fact, for anyone doubting the quality, I have compared them to some big name curriculum options that I have sitting around and to be honest, I prefer the way they approach the lessons and the topics covered. My oldest really enjoyed the Spell and Write workbook last year, so I grabbed it for my youngest to try out this year. They only do one side of a page a day and knock it out in 5 minutes or less. In the photo, you can see several EM workbooks, but some of those are being saved for later in the year (mainly the non-fiction writing ones). At the moment, Caleb is using Daily 6-Traits Writing and Spell & Write. The other writing workbooks (along with Explode the Code), will come later in the year after he has finished his All About Reading curriculum. For Sam, he is alternating every other week between the grammar and spelling workbooks while also doing Daily 6 every day. We will take breaks here and there from these workbooks to do some Brave Writer writing projects throughout the year. If you were to use them straight through, each of the workbooks would only last a max of 25 weeks, so it easily gives me that space in between to tie in other things...

Moving on to Math, old school Saxon has proven to be our preferred curriculum. (I'm talking the ancient 1990's version of Saxon that you can only find in an old, beat up way...) We have tried several (including Math U See, Singapore, Masterbooks, Teaching Textbooks, etc.) and have always come back to Saxon. It may seem overwhelming if you're new to it, but just remember -- you make a curriculum work for you, not the other way around. We generally do the practice and then odd/even depending on the day. My boys have really flown through math with this program and enjoy it!

For Science, we are now on our 2nd year using Apologia. We're doing the Human Anatomy and Physiology set this year. Not pictured, but on the shelf, are several extra books and hands on activities that I plan to use with each lesson. I was given the Apologia Notebook by a friend, but I don't think we will use it other than the crossword puzzles. I don't honestly find it necessary. Instead, each boy has a composition book to take notes while going through each lesson. I lay out a huge set of colorful pens and let them have fun. They typically draw the various diagrams and write whatever information they find interesting or important. We typically read through the lesson twice a week and then leave Fridays for reading the extra books on the various topics and/or playing the games and working with the hands-on activities that I have that go along it.

For History, we are also continuing with the 2nd volume of Story of the World. My boys really enjoyed working through the Ancient World with SOTW last year, so we're going through the Middle Ages now. I follow the same schedule as science with history -- reading the lessons twice a week, then leaving Fridays for checking out any additional readers or activities that go along with the lessons that week. I alternate which days we do science vs. history -- it seems to work out well. Oh, and with Story of the World, I would definitely recommend the activity book! Unlike the Apologia Notebook, I do actually find the SOTW activity book quite helpful! It has a great list of reading comprehension questions, activities, maps, etc. to help with the lesson. We use it every time!

Last but not least, we use More Than Words for an additional study of the Bible. We started these workbooks last year, but didn't get too far. We just felt overwhelmed, so I put them away. I'm bringing them back out this year, but with the plan to do them sporadically. I have been dealing with a lot of physical therapy for my shoulder, so we have left MTW for something they can do with dad while I'm at my appointments. I love that it gives them a special time with dad to talk about the Bible. I feel that's so important to have that time with dad! So we may or may not finish these workbooks, but I'm in no rush.

If you're on the hunt and unsure of what to use, I hope this post helps!

And So It Begins -- 1st Day of School!

2021-07-09T21:08:00.003-07:00

To some, it may seem crazy, but after 2 months off, we are now back into the swing of things with our new school year! I've heard of so many homeschoolers that love the 6 weeks on - 1 week off schedule that we decided we're going to give it a try. Surprisingly, the boys were in pretty good spirits about starting school in the beginning of July -- I suppose the idea of constant 1 week breaks helped with that, ha! We're now done with our 1st week and things are going great! There has been very little resistance and thanks to some of our curriculum choices, the boys have actually requested to do extra at times -- total win!

With that said, here's our 5th and 2nd graders...

Excuse me while I cry...they're growing up way too fast!

Here's to a great year ahead!

If you would like to use the same First Day of School printables, be sure to check out my listings below...

Story Of The World -- Take Two...

2020-08-09T23:06:00.013-07:00

This post may contain affiliate links. By shopping through these links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Ok, so if you've read previous blog posts that I've made, you made have come across one where I don't speak that highly about Story Of The World. Well, that opinion has since changed...

Ever since I tried SOTW with my oldest son several years ago, I held on to the curriculum JUST in case we'd want to try it again. You never know how curriculum is going to work -- whether it's great for you and your kid hates it, or vice versa. We are amazingly blessed with an insane variety of curriculum on the market that you're bound to find something that will for well for your family -- regardless of how it works for others you know. SOTW was once thought to be a total bore in this house. I could barely handle and it sure couldn't keep the attention of my kid. However, that same kid now begs for me to read it!

It all started when I was trying to calm my wild monkeys -- I mean handsome boys -- and get them ready for bed. They were literally climbing all over and hanging upside down on their bunkbed. They asked for me to read them a book while they tried to go to sleep, so I tried to think of something boring. I LOVE reading to them before bed, but if it's even remotely interesting or catches a hint of their attention, we'll end up sitting there reading several chapters with them begging for more. It is totally awesome, except when they really need to be asleep instead of wide-awake listening to an adventure story. ;) So that night, I decided to go into our school room and dust off our Story Of The World book. I knew it used to put them (and me) right to sleep -- maybe this was the perfect solution! Maybe, just maybe, they'd be asleep by the second paragraph. Wrong. They were so drawn in, we read a couple chapters, with lots of discussion in between, before I finally said we had to stop for the night so we could get some rest. They couldn't get enough! I guess it's an age thing? An interest thing? My oldest was the same age as my youngest is now when we first attempted it so who knows. Either way, SOTW is a total win in this house now!

I honestly don't even think they consider this school when we're reading it. When we knock out our Saxon math or phonics/writing curriculum, sure...they know they have to sit down, press on and get through it. Sometimes it's with joy, sometimes it's a bit of a drag. But they know it's school and it's something they need to do. With SOTW they'll randomly just ask if I'll read it to them while they're playing. We've been doing several day-trips lately, so I'll bring different books in the car to read -- both read alouds and books for them to read on their own. They'll specifically ask for me to read SOTW with much excitement. It's pretty awesome, ha.

On one of these recent day-trips that I mentioned, I decided to bring along art pads on the drive so that they could do one of the suggested activities in the SOTW Activity book. As I handed each boy their art pad and colored pencils, they both grabbed them with enthusiasm and actually put the effort forth to work on it as I read without one complaint. I mean, it was like the twilight zone! My 4th grader generally has a good attitude about things, but let's be real. He's 9 and school work can be a drag at times. His life goals are to be outside, during every waking moment, playing Beyblades and having Nerf Wars. Even in the car, if I mention knocking out some schoolwork on a long drive, it is received with some deep sighs. Not that day. Not with Story Of The World!

Can you sense the excitement?!

This guy took it very seriously and worked hard on his drawings...

Here is a photo of their finished product. They used the key in the Activity Workbook to create their names in both hieroglyphics and cuniform...

So...if you read my last review of this curriculum and you found yourself in the same spot -- give it time. You just never know how things might change! Here I had planned on using a different curriculum as my spine, but it never showed up. It legit got lost in the mail and we received the empty bubblewrap envelope instead (insert crying emoji). I guess that was a blessing in disguise, because it appears as though we're good to go with our SOTW set!

Jiemba and Friends -- A New Book For Kids!

2020-04-19T21:29:00.000-07:00

This post may contain affiliate links. By shopping through these links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

In the midst of the craziness that we all live in right now, reading has been a highlight for my boys. Sure, they have had their fair share of time playing Minecraft and we take daily bike rides to the lake nearby, but we have done a LOT of reading over the last month. It's been wonderful!

Well, timing couldn't have been better...A publisher contacted me a few weeks ago asking if I'd be willing to help spread the word about one of their brand new children's books. Due to the pandemic, they decided to release the digital copy earlier than expected and want to get the word out about it. (The print copy will be available later this summer.) Since we're always up for new educational activities, I was happy to do so!

I've got to say...my youngest and I LOVED Jiema and Friends! The story is fun, but to top that, the artwork is beautiful! It's hard to keep the attention of my 5 year old at times unless the book draws him in. Not only was he glued to it, but the book created a great conversation about culture, geography, and friendship. My kinder enjoyed a fun story while learning some new vocabulary in the process -- always a win-win!

Here's a little summary of the story...

"When grouchy Samson the croc refuses to give back the boomerang, Jiemba realizes that things are not always what they seem. Join Jiemba and friends on an Outback adventure, and discover how friends can be made, even in the most unlikely places."

After reading Jiemba and Friends, my kinder and I had fun talking about who our favorite characters were -- he especially loved Darwin, the dingo, because he LOVES dogs. Mine was Hetta, the koala bear, because well...koala bears are adorable!

I highly encourage you to check it out! If you're like me -- sad that libraries are closed for the time being -- new digital books are a great option to mix things up a little with our daily reading. Plus, they're offering *free* educational resources (coloring sheets, activity pages, art lessons with the illustrator, etc.) to go along with the book! This is offered as a weekly email -- you just need to sign up on their website - https://hiddenshelfpublishinghouse.com/jiemba-and-friends/.

If this sounds like a book you'd like to check out, be sure to click here...

Exploring The Fairy Tales...

2020-03-21T00:03:00.001-07:00

This post may contain affiliate links. By shopping through these links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Clearly, I've completely dropped the ball on this blog. It's been over a YEAR since I've gotten on here! Between homeschooling while also teaching a set of classes, a cross-country move, then adding my youngest into our daily homeschool schedule -- this completely fell on the back burner. That said, this whole quarantine situation has given me a little extra time and with all the new temporary homeschoolers out there, I figured I might share some of the activities we've been working on...

Okay...I'll at least share this one -- I better not set the bar too high on sticking to it with my track record at this point! 😇

So...my boys aren't exactly huge fans of fairy tales. Are yours? I have all sorts of versions of them -- some from my childhood, the Little Critters set that I had bought my boys during one of those Kohl's Cares promotions, and others I've randomly collected at garage sales. Sadly, when given the option, they're still not what either boy opts for when choosing a book. However, as part of our homeschool curriculum, we use the Jot It Down program by Brave Writer. This awesome program includes a fairy tales project that my boys have loved! (Though they won't admit it, ha...) Along with this program, I've also added the Evan Moor Literature Pockets: Folktales and Fairy Tales workbook to the mix for additional activities.

People approach this project in all sorts of ways, but this is how it has worked for us...

It has been a slow, ongoing, project for awhile now. So far, we've completed 3 fairy tales over the course of several months, but my goal is to complete 10 before putting them all together. I've seen some families make their collection into a book, but we have chosen to make large crafts for each fairy tale (some on 12x18 paper, etc.) so that won't work. My goal is to put them together with loose leaf binder rings when we're all done.

With each fairy tale, we read as many versions as we can get our hands on -- this is usually just from my own stash, but I'll go to the library if I need to. For today's fairy tale, we resorted to ABC Mouse. Social distancing prevented us from utilizing the library, but it still worked out wonderfully! Did you know ABC Mouse is FREE right now due to the pandemic?!?! We had used the app with my oldest when he was in preschool, but so much as changed since then! As it turns out, they have a TON of digital books on the app now. As luck may have it, we found out today that they had two different versions of Goldilocks and the Three Bears on the app! Score! Between those two and my Evan Moor workbook, we had 3 different versions to compare!

After my boys read all three versions of the story, we compared each version. How were they different? The same? Which version did they like more? Why? Etc. We talked about the history behind the original story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and then worked on a sequence activity in the Evan Moor workbook. The best part came next...

The boys LOVE painting! Any excuse to paint will win them over. That said, I let them paint a scene from their favorite version of the story. This brought joy in the midst of the craziness going on right now. They loved it!

After they completed their paintings, they presented them to me and explained the scene that they chose. They each retold the whole story in their own words as well. As part of the Jot It Down program, you are encouraged to dictate what they say. I adjust that to fit our style...

For my kinder, I do write down exactly what he says as he retells the story to me (grammar errors and all)...

I then have him do a small piece of copywork based on his retelling of the story. Here's his finished product (with the dictation on the back). I love the look on his face after he completes any project -- beaming with pride. Hard work pays off!

For my 3rd grader, I do things a little differently. To add a little more of a challenge, I have him retell the story to me verbally and then write it down on his own. I gave him a minimum of 6 sentences and as you may have guessed, he stuck to those exact 6, ha!

At this point, we haven't had a chance to do it yet, but we usually end each fairy tale with a movie. I have yet to look up a Goldilocks and the Three Bears movie, but that will be on the list of things to do over the weekend.

While I'm mentioning Jot It Down, I should add that we have an on-going animal book that we've been working on from the same program. Here's a small sneak peak into that...

We've been alternating between working on that and working on the fairy tales. (Perhaps I'll try and write about that next.) Once we finish these fairy tales, I'm probably going to let them pick a new theme and go with it. I have no doubt my youngest would pick super heroes and their origin stories if I let him, ha!

I love these types of projects. They incorporate so much! My boys willingly do more reading, writing, and discussion on both when we do these projects than with anything else. Having fun while learning in the process is all we can ask for, right?!

Have you done any projects like this? I'd love to hear about them!

Make It Rain! Science Experiment And The Water Cycle Lesson To Go Along With It...

2018-10-23T23:50:00.000-07:00

So...I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but in addition to homeschooling my own children this year, I also added on the job of teaching others as well. I'm helping teach the 1st and 2nd graders at the weekly class my son has been going to for the last 2 years. It wasn't something I had originally planned to do, but I'm glad it worked out! With this new job, I will most likely start creating printables to go along with our lessons in class. With that being said, I wanted to share one that we used during our first week in class!

Our goal is to complete an experiment in class every week. What better way to learn about science than to get your hands dirty and play?!

For our first week in class, we covered the Water Cycle. We watched a video (see below), sang the song together (lyrics are linked below), and completed an experiment that helps kids see how it works.

Here is the video we watched as a class...

Here are the lyrics (feel free to print these for your own personal use!)...

For the experiment, we created our own RAIN! By putting shaving cream over a cup of water and slowly dropping blue water (created with food coloring) over it with an eye dropper, you eventually watch it rain!

Excuse the blurred out faces...

The kids loved the experiment! When doing this experiment, I had my students working in pairs and using the worksheet below to track their work. Not only did this help them take note of their observations, but it also allowed a quick lesson on tally marks. As a quick way to count how many drops the cloud would hold, I had them use tally marks on the back of the page. Once they were done, they added them up and completed the front of their worksheet. It was fun seeing what each student took from the lesson when I read what they put under the "I learned that..." section!

I hope to add more of our recent lessons on this page for those wanting fun ideas. Sadly, I'm 2 months into class and just now sharing this, but here's hoping I can add more soon! If you covered the water cycle with your kids, what fun activities did you use? I love hearing other ideas!

Elephant and Piggie -- The Perfect Way To Start The Semester...

2018-09-02T22:01:00.000-07:00

This post may contain affiliate links. By shopping through these links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

So, as you may have noticed, it's been a little quiet around here...

I've started several blog posts, but I (sadly) haven't had a chance to finish any of them lately. We've been in school a month now and things have been unexpectedly hectic! Gosh, I can't believe it's been a month already! Well, while we've been busy trying to get back into the groove of things, something unexpected happened. I was offered a teaching position at the weekly homeschool class my son's been attending for the last two years. I'm not sure what you'd call it. I don't think you technically call it a co-op since we drop the students off? Whatever you want to call it, my son has been going one day a week for science and social studies/language arts since kinder. He LOVES it! It adds a fun/hands-on day to the mix while still doing our curriculum at home.

So with this said class, apparently the Grade 1/2 class roster grew larger than anticipated over the summer, so they decided to split it into two and needed an additional teacher. It came out of left field when I got the call asking if I'd be interested, but I'm excited about the challenge ahead! It's a good thing we started school early, because I don't think we did a single thing for a week while I was trying to prepare for this new additional aspect of our school year. Ha! I'm looking forward to it, though. I think it's going to be a great year for my son (who happens to be in 2nd Grade now) and the rest of the students!

So why am I writing?

With this new position, I'll be making various printables that we plan to use for our classroom activities. I thought I'd share some of them as they come. Today's post is a freebie and I hope others can enjoy it! It's simple, but fun enough to possibly motivate students. (I hope?!)

So without further ado...

Both of my boys LOVE Mo Willems. If he's written a book, you better believe we've read it -- especially Elephant and Piggie books!!!

With Tuesday being our first class of the semester, I decided to make it a fun one during our reading/writing block and do an Elephant and Piggie theme. We'll start the year with My New Friend Is So Fun! Considering it's the first day, with lots of new kids in the class, I thought this particular book was fitting...

My hope is that most of the kids can read this book, but if not, it's simple enough that we can hopefully get through it without much effort. I found a couple fun activities to do after we read it, but I also wanted to encourage some freewriting. If you've read anything I've had to say about Brave Writer, you know how big Freewrite Friday is in that circle! I love it! Not only do I want to encourage pressure-free, fun, writing, but I also want to see where each of my students are in their ability to write. My hope is that by allowing them to write whatever they wish, we'll see where to go from there.

This Elephant and Piggie printable can be used in a variety of ways. I'm going to use it as an intro during our transition to our writing block. There are three images of the famous pair. I'm going to instruct them to write whatever they want about what they see on the paper. If you think it might interested you, click on the image below for the free download...

If you know of any fun activities to use along with this, please share a link!

Hallmark Is Now At Dollar Tree!

2018-08-30T14:03:00.001-07:00

*Note: This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. Also, even though I was compensated for this post, these thoughts were my own honest opinions. I wouldn't advertise something I don't personally love for my own family.*

Have you heard?!

Dollar Tree is now selling Hallmark greeting cards! More specifically, all stores (6,500 nationwide and counting!) are now carrying Expressions from Hallmark and Heartline a Hallmark Company. How cool is that?! Whenever we need a greeting card, most (if not all) of the time, we shop at Dollar Tree. I love the prices and we can usually find something that works well for whatever we're celebrating. Well, now we can get those affordable cards with the Hallmark name attached! I know my mom will love that -- she always shops Hallmark for special occasions and now this can save a little cash!

Here's an example of a few of the Expressions from Hallmark cards. They are $1 each at all 6,500 Dollar Tree locations...

And here's an example of a few of the Heartline a Hallmark Company cards. They are 2 for $1 at all locations! What?! It's pretty crazy to me that you'll now be able to get Hallmark cards for 50 cents!

I'm loving this sample set of cards they sent me! The quality is fantastic and the images are cute! Some have glitter, others have the foil print (I think that's what it's called?!). They definitely don't give off a cheap vibe, so you may be cutting costs, but definitely not quality. Double win! There are a few in particular that my boys loved, too. They were stoked when they saw the Avengers card, ha! What little boy doesn't love getting a card with their favorite super heroes on them!? When they saw the Disney Princess card, they were quick to tell me who they know that would love it. So sweet! I love the fact that Dollar Tree will now have brand-named characters to choose from. After all, now that school's in session, the birthday party invites will be in full-swing!

With that said, here's a video of my boys checking them out...

If you're like many I know and prefer Hallmark over others, definitely go check them out!

What Makes You Smile?!

2018-07-27T01:11:00.002-07:00

What makes you smile?

If you haven't heard, Gymboree has come out with a whole new look!

After interviewing modern parents, Gymboree has changed the look and feel of their clothes to appeal to these parents in a great way!

Look at this cute little guy in his stylish outfit!

Even before the change, I have always loved their clothes for the quality of the material. The clothes last SO much longer than other brands and the look is always super cute. Now, they have announced that the quality will be better than ever and the pieces will be endlessly versatile so our kids can mix and match and create their own look! So fun! It's perfect timing, too. With school starting back up, all of us moms will soon be shopping for fall/winter clothes. This is the perfect opportunity to check the new look out!

I can totally see my son wearing this look to his weekly homeschool class in September! That is if the temps ever drop enough for him to enjoy long sleeves, ha. Either way, I can't wait to shop for a few things from Gymboree's new line!

*****

With that said, Gymboree has asked us to share what makes us smile as part of their #MadeYouSmile campaign. This is such a fun campaign! We should all savor the joy in life and soak up those fun moments that bring smiles to our faces -- especially with our kids! I could go on and on about all the things that generically make us smile, but I'd rather focus in on something specific to today...

Our family has decided that after 3 years of not having a pup (our sweet basset passed away of old age in 2015), it is time to bring a little craziness back into our house in the form of a 4-legged sibling, ha. In doing so, we've also decided we want to rescue a dog from a shelter. Last time, we bought our pup at 8 weeks old and enjoyed all the fun (and madness) that comes with puppyhood. It's great being able to train up a pup from birth, but I also think there's something special about rescuing a pup and giving him a better life! So, we've been skimming shelter websites daily. We had a little hiccup earlier this week with a possible adoption, but today was the day that brought absolute JOY to my boys' faces. We went into a shelter specifically looking at a sweet 4 month old Chesapeake Bay Retriever. Nothing else struck us on their website. However, we got there and while he was a sweet little guy, he didn't strike us as the perfect match. So as we were leaving, the boys ran ahead and I heard a squeal of excitement from my little guy. As they turned the corner, they ran across (what I think might be) the perfect match! There, sitting in the kennel, was a 3 year old Boston Terrier that absolutely won over the hearts of my boys. This guy wasn't even on the radar for what my husband and I were looking for. I love Bostons, but in our minds, we had envisioned us getting a (much) larger breed. However, I think that's all about to change. My boys had the biggest smiles I've ever seen as they asked for kisses through that poor Boston's kennel gate. They giggled nonstop, begged for me to take him home and said "HE'S THE ONE!!!"

Caleb's face says it all...

And, of course, I'm now noticing Sam is wearing a Gymboree outfit, ha!

We decided to do a "meet and greet" and take him out to the yard to play. The boys could barely contain themselves as they waited for Mickey (the Boston) to come play. As parents, seeing this kind of joy take over your child(ren) brings an indescribable joy and absolutely melts your heart! The pup was so sweet, the boys were in Heaven -- it seemed perfect. Because my husband didn't get a chance to meet him, I didn't bring him home (yet). However, for the rest of the day, the boys couldn't stop talking about him. They told everyone they ran across about Mickey. One pretended to be Mickey in the car while the other gave words of affirmation and loved on him (ha!). They nearly bounced off the walls with smiles from ear to ear just thinking about the sweet pup the entire rest of the night!

That brings us to now -- bedtime. After doing one more "meet and greet" to ensure that he's the right fit, I think he very well might be coming home with us tomorrow. If it works out, I have no doubt the smiles on my boys' faces will be there from here on out. It's the most priceless feeling seeing how much happiness such a little thing as a pup can bring!

*****

This sweet story is how Gymboree's #MadeYouSmile campaign came to life for us. How about you?! What made you smile?! Something your kids did? Something about this new Gymboree line that excites your kids?

There's so much in life that can bring a smile!

Mrs. Wordsmith Review...

2018-07-18T23:00:00.000-07:00

If you haven't checked out Mrs. Wordsmith, I'd highly encourage you to do so! To be honest, I had never heard of it until now. However, we're totally sold now. We received it for free as a product tester and are so glad we did! My boys were so excited when it arrived in the mail. They couldn't wait to rip it open and check it out! The quality is top-notch -- the paper is thick (can withstand the terror of a 4 year old), the colors are bright and vibrant, and stories and pictures are fun and inviting. Sam was laughing the second he started looking through the flash cards and reading the activities. The activities are silly, while still being very educational.

So far, we've only truly sampled it. I didn't want to get too far into it just yet, as I'm going to try and incorporate it into our curriculum this fall and I want to wait until then. However, from what we've used so far, it's a total win in our book!

If this sounds like something that might fit the needs of your family, you can check it out here.

We received both The Social Journey and 10,000 Word Journey. I'll link our short little review videos below...

Here's more information on The Social Journey...

You'll receive a set of fun word cards. These each have a silly picture and the word in clear print...

You'll also receive a book of word stories...

Lastly, you'll receive an activity book. Includes the word, definition, and two activities -- including early handwriting practice activities...

Here's more information on the 10,000 Word Journey...

This comes with a set of word cards. These come with the silly picture, word, definition, and set of word pairs on the back...

It also includes a daily workbook. This comes with the same silly picture, definition, and writing activities on the back...

I plan to use both for each of my boys. I'll be sure to come back and write more once we've gone through more of the curriculum, but I wanted to write a little note now!

It's the perfect time to go buy it before school starts!

Why You Should Explore Our National Parks And What You Need If You Go!

2018-07-14T04:37:00.000-07:00

This post may contain affiliate links. By shopping through these links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Thank you for your support!

I don't know about you, but taking the time to explore our nation's national parks is one of our family's favorite things to do while on vacation! In fact, it's usually the highlight of any trip we take! Our boys love exploring each park, and I love that they learn so much from the wonderful park rangers and all that they offer at the visitor's centers. From exploring volcanic rock at Sunset Crater to hiking up to the waterfall at Yosemite, there are so many wonderful memories created as a family -- not to mention the breath-taking photos to be taken!

Speaking of which, because I mentioned these particular locations, here's Sam at Sunset Crater...

If you haven't been to Yosemite, I highly encourage you to make a trip!

Here's a rare photo of my husband and me, ha.

The bright sun hindered a better family photo, but nevertheless, they loved the view!

My favorite from that trip...

I could go on and on about all the National Parks we've visited over the years -- living in the Southwest for awhile has allowed us to be close to several great ones! However, rather than reading all about where we've been, I encourage you to take a weekend and go explore one with your family. The memories created are priceless!

This guy still talks about his time at Yellowstone!

If you're considering taking that trip, there are two things you need if you go!

1.) Annual Pass

If you're considering taking a trip, be sure to grab an annual pass. If you check out more than a couple parks a year, it more than pays for itself! Living on the west coast, we always make sure to have a pass on hand, as we never know what national park we might run across. In fact, we live very close to a national forest and our NPS pass covers the entrance fees there, too!

Even better...

If you happen to have a 4th grader in the house, your family qualifies for a FREE pass! Thanks to Every Kid In A Park, there's an amazing opportunity provided to all U.S. 4th graders that you really can't pass up!

If you have a child in the 4th grade, they're eligible to receive a FREE National Park Pass! (Available for the duration of the school year) It's NPS' way of encouraging kids to go out and explore what our beautiful country has to offer with their family. There are so many amazing national parks with unique treasures -- I love that this offer is available!

If you're eligible, be sure to click the image above to sign up for your free pass!

My oldest son is just now entering the 2nd grade in the fall, but if this deal is still around in 2 years, we'll most definitely be signing up! I love that they offer this!

2.) National Park Passport

Along with having an annual pass, if you're now considering taking a trip to one our national parks, I have to say, there's something fun and educational that every kid should have!

Passport To Your National Parks

To be honest, I had never heard of this Passport until a couple years ago when we were visiting our nation's capital. My aunt lives nearby and toured the sights with us that day and encouraged us to get one for our boys. I'm SO glad she did! Ever since then, our boys excitedly look for all the stamp stations at each national park that we visit.

Here's an example of the inside of our Passport It's sectioned off by regions with plenty of room for all of your stops...

On a few occasions, we have forgotten our Passport on a trip, so we have stamped scrap paper to later tape in the book. Either way, it's a highlight for our boys and they absolutely love it! I love that it helps in making learning fun! They love to look through it to see where they've been and they will excitedly tell us where all we still need to go, ha! It's such a fun little addition to each national park visit!

Here's an example of when we've needed to tape the tape into the book after having forgotten it on a trip...

Whether you're 3 or 38, it's a fun little addition to each visit. As you can see, the boys go to town with those stamps, ha!

I'll leave you with this sweet photo. While in Canyonlands National Park, Sam asked if he could take a few photos with my good camera. When I turned around, it looked like he was interviewing Caleb -- who, of course, was holding on to his Passport! Ha!

If you've been to a few, which national park was your favorite? Each region has such beautiful sites to see. I think it's almost too hard to decide!

The Letter F - FREE Patrol Patrol Handwriting Printables...

2018-07-08T00:58:00.004-07:00

To continue on with the FREE Paw Patrol Handwriting and Letter Recognition printables, you will find the Letter F below -- including both uppercase and lowercase. They're saved as pdf files, so once you click on them, you should be able to just click on the printer icon and be good to go!

If you find these to be helpful, please leave a comment and let me know! I'd love to hear feedback!

Thanks!

Letter F

*****

Please feel free to print these for personal use. If you would like to share them elsewhere, all I ask is that you link back to this site when doing so.

*****

For the rest of the alphabet, please click here...

For anyone interested in downloading a single file for the entire alphabet, I have them available on Teachers Pay Teachers:

The Letter E - FREE Patrol Patrol Handwriting Printables...

2018-07-08T00:51:00.005-07:00

To continue on with the FREE Paw Patrol Handwriting and Letter Recognition printables, you will find the Letter E below -- including both uppercase and lowercase. They're saved as pdf files, so once you click on them, you should be able to just click on the printer icon and be good to go!

If you find these to be helpful, please leave a comment and let me know! I'd love to hear feedback!

Thanks!

Letter E

*****

Please feel free to print these for personal use. If you would like to share them elsewhere, all I ask is that you link back to this site when doing so.

*****

For the rest of the alphabet, please click here...

For anyone interested in downloading a single file for the entire alphabet, I have them available on Teachers Pay Teachers:

The Letter D - FREE Patrol Patrol Handwriting Printables...

2018-07-08T00:47:00.000-07:00

To continue on with the FREE Paw Patrol Handwriting and Letter Recognition printables, you will find the Letter D below -- including both uppercase and lowercase. They're saved as pdf files, so once you click on them, you should be able to just click on the printer icon and be good to go!

If you find these to be helpful, please leave a comment and let me know! I'd love to hear feedback!

Thanks!

Letter D

*****

Please feel free to print these for personal use. If you would like to share them elsewhere, all I ask is that you link back to this site when doing so.

*****

For the rest of the alphabet, please click here...

For anyone interested in downloading a single file for the entire alphabet, I have them available on Teachers Pay Teachers: