Life and Adventures of a Homeschool Mama

Time4Learning

2013-12-01T20:34:00.001-08:00

I agreed to write a review of Time4Learning's online curriculm in exchange for a free month trial. After using their program for the past month we have decided to continue our membership. Dr. X has a very hard time with math. So the Time4Learning math lessons were pretty difficult for him to follow along with. He needs the one-on-one attention. But he did great with everything else. He enjoys the animated lessons.The site is easy for him to navigate and it has made my job SO much easier! I created a checklist that I print out daily so that Dr. X knows exactly what he has to do that day. I give him his checklist in the morning. We do our math lesson together. Then he logs onto Time4Learning and uses his checklist to do the rest of his work. Sometimes he can get a little confused by the science lessons. If he has trouble following along I go over the lesson with him and try to explain whatever he is having trouble with. Once he is finished, I can look up what he has done that day, his grades, even the length of time that he has spent on each assignment. I can even print out a grade report. It has been working out great for us so far. It really is a great curriculum for the price.

Time4Learning

2013-10-28T22:07:00.002-07:00

I've been invited to try Time4Learning's online curriculum in exchange for an honest review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so come back and read about my experience! Learn how to use it for homeschool, as an afterschool study program or for summer learning.

Feed The Kitty Game

2013-05-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

I recently purchased some shoes that came in this strange shoebox that opens on the side instead of the top. I started to throw it away. I normally save my shoeboxes for projects. But what on earth could I use this box for? I decided to turn to Pinterest for inspiration.

The original idea that I found was a game called "Feed The Penguin" at littlefamilyfun.com.

Dr. X is crazy about cats. So I decided to make a "Feed The Kitty" game. I wanted to make something that Dr. X and Super E could both do. That's a pretty tall order considering one is a preteen and the other is a toddler. But where there's a will, there's a way.

I started by cutting the top off of my box. Then, I wrapped it in orange construction paper.

I drew out my kitty in three different parts: back legs, body and front legs, and head. Click here for back legs template. Click here for body template. Click here for head template.

I cut out the different parts. I glued down the back legs first.

Next, I glued on the body.

Then, I glued on the head.

Once the glue was dry, I cut out the mouth with an X-acto knife. I cut out two white triangles for teeth and glued them to the inside of the box.

Every kitty needs a tail. I had an extra large pipe cleaner that was black and white. I painted it orange and poked one end through the back of the box.

I wasn't happy with the kitty's eyes. I decided to paint over the black lines. I ended up painting the whole kitty.

I drew up some fish on construction paper and cut them out. I laminated them with contact paper. Then I cut them out again. I have to admit, this was a tedious job. I was trying to save contact paper by cutting them out first and then laminating them. I'm cheap like that. I made four of each color of construction paper. Why four? It's just a nice, even number. I stuck a paper clip on each fish for a mouth. I cut a piece of yarn and glued one end to a wooden dowel and the other to a magnet.

Click here for fish template.

And just to add a cute touch, I cut out a little worm and glued over the yarn and magnet.

Dr. X uses the coffee table as a boat.

I used wet erase markers (you could also use dry erase markers) to write math facts or vocabulary words on the fish.

Sometimes we just fish and call out answers. If correct, the fish can be fed to the kitty. If incorrect, the fish is thrown back.

We also play a game of Go Fish "literally". I write a fact on one fish and the answer on another until all of the fish have something on them. Each player gets 5 fish - face down. The remaining fish are placed face down on the floor. Each player checks their fish to see if they have any matches. Player one asks player two for a fish to match one they have in their hand. If player two doesn't have this fish then player one has to fish from the "pond". If they get a match, they get to go again. If not, it's player two's turn. Play continues until someone runs out of fish. This player is the winner.

The fishing game was a little advanced for Super E. But he will catch a few fish with my help. As we take them off of the fishing pole I tell him the color of the fish and let him feed it to the kitty. As he gets older we can do shapes, numbers, and letters.

I decided to make Super E some mice to feed the kitty. I used Pom Poms because they come in different colors. I glued on pieces of yarn for tales.

I only had white yarn, so I colored the tails with Sharpies to match the color of the mice. I was planning on using google eyes but didn't have any small enough. I ended up just painting black dots on for the eyes.

I gave Super E some tongs and showed him how to pick up the mice and feed them to kitty. He hasn't quite gotten the hang of this yet. He can do it with my help but, on his own, he prefers to use his hands. He thought feeding the kitty was so funny! Each time he picked up a new mouse I would tell him the color.

I decided to put the mice in a bowl and give Super E a spoon to feed the kitty. He loved this idea! He was much better with the spoon than he was with the tongs.

The game is a huge hit at our house for both young and older! Hope you have as much fun with this as we have!

I would love to hear from you and know how yours turns out.

Questions and comments are always welcome. You can also email me at adventuresofahomeschoolmama@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by! Please make sure to check back. I'm just getting started but I will be adding new stuff daily.

Recycled Recycle Bin

2013-05-08T18:16:00.001-07:00

We live in my grandparents' old home. It's an old farm house that's over 100 years old. We are in the process of remodeling it. We've been in this process for the past 9 years now. There are still places that need molding and a few doors that need painting, among other things. We do a little here and there as we get the time and the money. My dad made our beautiful, handcrafted, oak cabinets - pro bono. God bless him! But he wasn't able to finish them, leaving us with no top cabinets and an unfinished edge by the fridge.

I've been trying to think of a way to hide this area because it is a bit of an eye sore.

I recently bought Super E a new basket ball goal. I had planned on saving the box for a later project so I slid it beside the fridge to get it out of the way until I had time to put it away. It was just the right width to fit perfectly between my unfinished cabinets and the fridge. Wouldn't it be nice If I could find a way to use this box to fill in this space? But what could I use it for?

We've been in need of an indoor recycle bin for our aluminum cans for quite some time now. We go through a lot of cans in our house... Well... I go through a lot of cans. What can I say? I have a soda drinking problem. And, yes, I know soft drinks are bad for me. I need to drink more water. I'm working on it.

This box would make a perfect makeshift recycle bin. I started by cutting the top flaps off of the box. I had just enough black spray paint to paint one side. This was the only side that would be showing so that worked out great!

There was a bad place at the top where a piece of tape had been. The trash bag covers that up nicely.

Dr. X collects signs and happened to have several recycle bin signs. I was able to talk him out of one - only because he had 3 more exactly like it. It gave our bin a nice finishing touch. If you don't have an avid sign collector in your house you could always print one from the internet and decoupage it on.

Voila! Much better than the ugly space that was here before. The best part... It was completely free to make. I had all of the materials that I needed right here. Yes, I love these kind of projects!

Questions and comments are always welcome. You can also email me at adventuresofahomeschoolmama@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by! Please make sure to check back. I'm just getting started but I will be adding new stuff daily.

Attack Of The Juice Boxes

2013-05-08T16:07:00.003-07:00

My own personal war:

Is it just me or do these things go forth and multiply?

Our Lucky Day - Update

2013-05-06T09:51:00.001-07:00

Well... Our Lucky Day clover experiment didn't work out at all like we had originally planned.

Click here to read more about Our Lucky Day clover experiment.

After doing a little research, I was under the impression that a clover clipping would not grow roots. Thinking that our original experiment was going to be a bust, the new plan was to dig up the actual plant that contained the four leaf clover, replant it and observe... We couldn't find one.

Really?! How do you find 7 four leaf clovers one day and then none the next? We were starting to feel not so lucky.

But wait! What is that in the bottom of our vase of clovers?

Roots! Guess it's our lucky day after all! I think we might have given up on this experiment a little prematurely. Now, that's not saying that we can get these clovers to actually grow. But we definitely were able to get them to grow some roots.

Four out of the seven clovers grew roots. Time to plant them and hope for the best.

Will our luck continue?... Stay tuned to see what develops.

Questions and comments are always welcome. You can also email me at adventuresofahomeschoolmama@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by! Please make sure to check back. I'm just getting started but I will be adding new stuff daily.

Oh No

2013-05-03T15:45:00.001-07:00

Super E has been having a hard time learning how to talk. We have been working with therapists trying to teach him how to use sign language, choice boards and picture schedules. So you can imagine our excitement when Super E uttered his first "real" word. Finally! We have true communication going on here. But out of all of the words in the English language it had to be no. And boy does he LOVE to use his new skill!

Organizationally Challenged - Part 2

2013-05-02T12:54:00.000-07:00

Most lesson planners are just not flexible enough for me. I hate using the "daily planning" method. I always end up writing out detailed lesson plans only to find our studies leading us in an entirely different direction. When a child's interests lead you in another direction, I think that it's a good idea to follow. I mean, don't get me wrong, we do have structure. There are things that kids need to learn that they might not be truly excited about. Still, I think it's important to follow their interests as much as possible. There has to be room for both. But in doing that, sometimes we are led off of the beaten path. If I have my lessons all planned out for each day, this throws them off BIG time. We'll have to do what I had planned for Tuesday on Wednesday. And then Wednesday's work has to be done on Thursday. But then we decide to do something else and we're another day off of schedule. This leaves me feeling lost, behind, and frustrated.

I decided that I needed to create a lesson planner that is easier for me to keep up with and a lot more flexible. I have included a space for grades to eliminate extra paper work. The less that I have to keep track of, the better. Click on the following links to download my free lesson planning templates.

Math Lesson Plans

Science Lesson Plans

Bible Lesson Plans

Language Arts Lesson Plans

Geography Lesson Plans

History Lesson Plans

Toddler/Preschool Lesson Plans

Blank (Any Subject) Lesson Plans

Blank (Any Subject) Lesson Plans in MS Word Format/ Customizable

I write out the lessons that I plan for us to do in the order that I think we will do them. As we complete each lesson, I mark the date it is completed along with a check mark or a number grade. If we do something that I hadn't planned on - No big deal. I simply add it to the bottom of the list and write in the date. I can do the lessons in any order that I choose and it all works out. I don't feel like I'm falling behind every time we get off schedule. It saves me so much frustration!

Super E's plans are a little different. He obviously doesn't receive a grade for the activities that he does. But I do like to keep track of the areas that we need to work on as well as the activities that he really enjoys. Our "Fun Factor" scale works like this:

= Super E loves this activity

= We didn't like this activity

W = Activity that we need to work on

TA = Too advanced

I keep everything in a three ring binder. The first two pages of my binder are Dates to Remember and Book List.

Dates to Remember is for recording dates to later transfer to my Sticky Note Wall Calender/Planner. The wall planner is great because it is right there - out in the open for me to see. But it's not portable and it's not always available when I need to record a date. Having the Dates to Remember page in my lesson planner helps me to keep all of my dates together in one place until I can write them on the calender. This way, I don't lose them or forget to record them.

The Book List page helps me to keep track of books that I need for future lessons. If I see a book that I would like to use, I write it down on my list. Then I can look for it at the library or book store. Once I have the book, I check it off.

I have a separate tab for each subject that we study. Under each tab I include my lesson plans for that subject followed by a week or two of worksheets, printouts, and notes for the lessons. All other materials are kept in a separate binder until needed.

Don't forget to check out my Freebies/Printables page for other great printables.

Questions and comments are always welcome. You can also email me at adventuresofahomeschoolmama@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by! Please make sure to check back. I'm just getting started but I will be adding new stuff daily.

Organizationally Challenged

2013-05-01T15:49:00.000-07:00

I have to admit... I am organizationally challenged. While I do understand the concept behind planning, I simply have trouble with the execution.

I have tried every type of planner and organizer I can find but still find myself struggling to keep it together.

I have come to the conclusion that the people who are designing these planners are very organized themselves. I need an organizer that is designed for the organizationally inept. I need something super simple that's not complicated to follow. I don't need to record every detail of my day. If I do, I forget to look at what I have written down. So I end up not doing half or even a third of what I had "planned" on doing. And then I feel guilty for not "staying on task". It's a vicious cycle!

But I do understand that planning is important. "He who fails to plan is planning to fail" - Winston Churchill

So I decided to design my own planner. I wanted it as simple as possible. My biggest problem is that I tend to not check my planner after I have done the planning. So I decided that I needed to make something that I would be sure to see.

And the Wall Planner was born!

I painted a sheet of poster board red. You could simply use colored poster board and skip this step. I wanted a red background and I didn't have any red poster board... so, time to break out the paint.

Then I used sticky notes to make the calender. I recommend that you use the ones that say "super sticky". They are a little more expensive than the generic ones but, unless you want the days falling off of your calender, they are a much better choice.

If you wanted to get really organized, you could use a different color of sticky note for each member of the family. Stick them right on top of each other. I, myself, have no desire to be that organized. But sometimes I do stick multiple sticky notes for a day that I need extra writing space.

I used foam letters to add the days of the week across the top.

Long sticky notes worked great for my extra planning section. I had just enough room to stick a row of these down the side.

I use the top one to record library books and due dates. I hate paying library fines. I mean, you might as well just buy the book! I also write the due dates onto the calender to make sure I don't overlook them. Trust me, I need all of the help that I can get when it comes to remembering stuff.

I use the second one for notes.

The last one is for upcoming events - not in the current month.

The great thing about sticky notes is that if you need more room you can always stick another one on top. They're stackable!

I wanted to reuse the same sheet of poster board for each month, so I laminated (contact paper) the month labels and used velcro to stick them to the calender. So, for each month, I can simply pull off the old month and put on the new one.

I laminated a strip of scrapbook paper and then I stuck 3D stickers (Dollar Store) on top of the laminated strip.

I stuck it to the wall using mounting putty. You can find it on the office supply isle. It reminds me of chewed, chewing gum. But it's really easy to use and it's removable/repositionable. You could also use Command strips - LOVE them.

I do still use a three ring binder for my lesson plans. I will post my lesson planning printables and ideas later on.

Questions and comments are always welcome. You can also email me at adventuresofahomeschoolmama@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by! Please make sure to check back. I'm just getting started but I will be adding new stuff daily.

Pit Of Fun

2013-04-30T12:52:00.001-07:00

Okay. So I found a wading pool at Walmart for only $6 and I had this brilliant idea to use it as a ball pit in Super E's room. I bought a bag of 100 balls thinking that should be enough to start out with.

Wow! I seriously underestimated the number of balls that it would take to fill up that pool! At this rate it would cost me a small fortune to fill it.

And Super E was looking at me like, "Okay, what am I supposed to do with this?"

Then I found this great idea on... you guessed it... Pinterest:

This site has directions for making a pool noodle pit as well as other ideas for pool noodles.

I bought 6 pool noodles and cut them up. It worked out great!

The pool noodles actually work out better than the balls because they are softer. Those plastic balls are hard! Another plus is that they are less likely to be thrown. Not saying that your child won't throw the noodles all over the room (Super E does) but they are a lot more likely to throw a ball. I mean, let's face it, balls are for throwing. And if they do throw them, at least they're soft.

A word of caution: I wouldn't recommend the noodles if your child tends to bite or chew on things. They could bite a chunk of the foam off.

Questions and comments are always welcome. You can also email me at adventuresofahomeschoolmama@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by! Please make sure to check back. I'm just getting started but I will be adding new stuff daily.

The Dishes

2013-04-30T08:57:00.001-07:00

I think most moms can relate to this.

Exercise Moves

2013-04-29T21:04:00.001-07:00

Playing The Blues

2013-04-28T20:24:00.000-07:00

We have been learning the color blue this week. The idea was to expose Super E to as much blue as possible and repeat the word "blue" a million times... Or more. But Super E has had a Super cold and hasn't been feeling all that super. So we didn't get to do everything that I had planned. I will be adding more once he is feeling a little more like his super self.

I gathered up a selection of blue items from around the house. I tried to make sure to only use things that were almost completely blue because I wanted to avoid any confusion with other colors. We played with these items and made sure to say the word "blue" each time Super E picked up a new object to examine.

We made letters out of blue bottle caps.

We made an E for Super E.

We played with blue play dough.

We played with blue water beads.

For those of you who do not know, water beads are awesome! They are basically wet, squishy, marbles. They start out as these little tiny beads and grow to be about the size of marbles when you put them in water. They are a great sensory material - wet, slimy, slippery, squishy, bouncy, shiny, colorful... you get the idea. The best part is that they are super cheap! You can find them in most dollar stores and they are normally with the plant stuff. Their intended purpose is actually for watering plants but this is way more fun.

A word of caution: Super E played with these water beads under CLOSE supervision. You should use caution when deciding if your child should play with water beads. They are a choking hazard.

This stuff is wet! And yes, there are water beads everywhere.

The beads that didn't survive the wrath of Super E.

What should we do with the survivors? We made a blue sensory bottle.

I filled the bottle halfway with the water beads and filled it the rest of the way with water. I hot glued the lid on. Just make sure that the top of the bottle and the inside of the lid are both dry. Work quickly so that the glue is still hot when you screw the lid onto the bottle. The Gatorade bottle that I was using had an orange lid so I painted it blue. I glued on some ribbon and added a little scented glitter glue for an extra sensory touch.

Super E loves it!

We made blue Fruity Fizzy Fluff. Click on this link for more on this fun, fruity, sensory material.

Love this stuff!

For more ideas click here and check out our other color of the week posts.

Questions and comments are always welcome. You can also email me at adventuresofahomeschoolmama@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by! Please make sure to check back. I'm just getting started but I will be adding new stuff daily.

Fruity Fizzy Fluff

2013-04-27T13:55:00.001-07:00

This is officially my new favorite sensory material. And discovering it was kind of an accident. My intent was for the boys to play with some baking soda and vinegar - make it bubble. For some added fun I mixed in a packet of Blue Raspberry Kool-Aid.

I made sure the Kool-Aid was mixed in thoroughly with the baking soda because I wanted it to turn blue regardless of where the vinegar was dropped.

I filled an empty vitamin dropper bottle with vinegar.

And let the fun begin!

I should have know that Super E wouldn't be content to just watch the magic happen, but I was a bit concerned about him digging in. It was Kool-Aid after all! And blue, at that! He couldn't resist. He had to see what those blue bubbles felt like.

I just knew he was going to end up looking like Baby Smurf! Amazingly, the Kool-Aid didn't stain his hands at all. It smelled great! You couldn't smell the vinegar but the fruity smell of the Kool-Aid filled the house. The boys had a blast!

And then, right when we thought we were finished, we discovered something even cooler. The blue fluff that remained was moldable! You can shape this stuff.

More vinegar...

Wow! The possibilities! I will be adding more ways to play with this fluff in the days to come.

Questions and comments are always welcome. You can also email me at adventuresofahomeschoolmama@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by! Please make sure to check back. I'm just getting started but I will be adding new stuff daily.

Weighing In

2013-04-27T09:15:00.000-07:00

On a personal note, I have quite a bit of leftover pregnancy weight that I need to lose - and Super E isn't exactly a newborn either! I wanted to be able to hold myself accountable. I need that little extra incentive to stick with it! So I have created the Weighing In page here on my blog. I will be keeping track of my weight loss goals and progress here and I hope that others will join me.

For anyone who would like to keep track of their weight loss with me, simply post your weight loss goal (how many pounds you would like to lose - no need to include your actual weight... I would rather not disclose that information) into the comment section at the bottom of the page. Each week, come back and let us know how much weight you've lost (or gained) and we'll mark it off.

If you have any good tips or advice, please feel free to post those as well.

Losing weight can be so frustrating and can sometimes seem impossible. Together, we can support each other and offer encouragement and motivation.

Synoptic Gospels

2013-04-24T11:06:00.003-07:00

This is a lesson that we did on the Synoptic Gospels. I started by explaining that Mathew, Mark and Luke were different than John because they all told the same story from different view points. I used the following example:

"If three people go to the zoo together and see all of the same exhibits, they are seeing everything from different view points. If later on they are asked to write about what they did, they wouldn't write the same thing. One person might have been fascinated by the zebra while another barely noticed the zebra but was amazed by the lions. Their accounts would be different even though they are writing about the same trip."

The Synoptic Gospels are like that. They each give a different perspective of some of the same events in Jesus' life.

The book of Matthew was written by a disciple. Before he met Jesus he was a tax collector. Tax collectors were looked at as thieves in those times. (He was not exactly winning any popularity contests!) He gave up his life of greed and possessions to follow Jesus. Matthew tells the story of Jesus the promised king. His Gospel was written to the Jews.

The Gospel of Mark was written by a preacher or evangelist. He was an interpreter for the apostle Peter at one time. His Gospel is written to the Romans. He tells the story of Jesus the servant and obedient son of the Father.

The Gospel of Luke was written by a doctor. As a doctor, Luke's interest was in Jesus as a man. He writes his Gospel to the Gentiles (non-Jews).

So each of these Gospels tell the same story, concentrating on different characteristics of Jesus, and with different audiences in mind.

I drew out these bible character outlines for Dr X. to decorate and cut out. And yes, I realize they are bow legged. I was trying to make them easy for Dr. X to cut out. We're not talking masterpiece artwork here, quite obviously - just a Sharpie outline.

He added a money bag to Matthew (That is the Israel new shekel sign on the money bag, in case you were wondering - Dr. X's idea.) and a stethoscope to Luke. He drew their faces and colored them. Then he glued them to construction paper. I cut three rectangles out of construction paper, folded each in half and glued them under the Gospel writers. On the front section we wrote out the name and occupation of the each of the writers.

On the back of the front section we indicated the characteristic of Jesus that the writer was focusing on. And on the opposite section we labeled the audience that each writer had in mind.

Questions and comments are always welcome. You can also email me at adventuresofahomeschoolmama@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by! Please make sure to check back. I'm just getting started but I will be adding new stuff daily.

Internet Educated - "I learnt it on the enternet."

2013-04-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

Isn't it funny how the Internet can make you feel like a virtual mastermind.

That first one is for my hubs. He will attempt just about anything after watching a few YouTube videos... And he's usually successful.

I'm more of a professional pinner, myself. A little time on Pinterest and I think I'm a master chef, Michael Angelo, and a skilled seamstress all rolled into one (I'm really not very good at sewing).

Our Lucky Day

2013-04-23T21:03:00.000-07:00

Dr. X and I were outside enjoying the beautiful weather this afternoon. As we were walking along I looked down at the ground and spotted what looked like a four leaf clover. I looked closer. Sure enough... four leaves! I showed my find to Dr. X who immediately started searching the same patch of clovers.

"I found one!" he shouted.

So we kept looking and found another... And another... And another... We hit a four leaf gold mine!

Dr. X holding his bouquet of clovers

We found 7 all together.

"If we could plant these would they grow more four leaf clovers or would they only have three leaves?" Dr. X inquired.

Hmmmm. Sounds like a science experiment to me. I love it when we just stumble right into a learning opportunity. Regardless of how much money you spend on curriculum or time you put into planning, accidental lessons are always the most fun.

We cut each clover stem at about a 45 degree angle.

We dipped the tip of each stem into the water and then into the root hormone. Then we carefully placed each clover into the vase of water.

Nothing left to do but to wait and watch.

All we need is a variable. We're going to pick 7 three leaf clovers tomorrow and follow the same steps.

So here are our questions:

Will we even be able to get them to grow? I'm not exactly known for my green thumb.
Will the four leaf clovers produce more four leaf clovers, a mixture of four and three leaf clovers, or only three leaf clovers?
Will the three leaf clovers produce any four leaf clovers? If so, which will produce more four leaf clovers - the three leaf or the four leaf? Or will they produce the same amount?

Our hypotheses:

We are going to say that they will grow. I like to think positive.
We think that the four leaf clovers will produce a mixture of three and four leaf clovers.
We believe that the three leaf clovers will only produce more three leaf clovers.

We'll update you once we have some progress.

Here's The Hubs and Super E trying to get in on some of the luck.

Update: Okay. So I did some research and have learned that you can't root the clover plant from a clipping. :(

While that has put a bit of a kink in our experiment, we're not going to let that stop us. We are heading out today in search of more four leaf clovers. We plan to dig up the plant that contains the four leaf clover and replant it. We will also dig up and replant a second clover plant that does not have a four leaf clover. We will examine them both as they grow and see if either plant produces more four leaf clovers (assuming that they survive the replant).

We did learn something from our first experiment. We discovered that you can't root a clover plant from a clipping. That's the great thing about Science! Sometimes you can learn just as much (or more) from a failed experiment as you can a successful one.

If you would like to try rooting another type of plant from a clipping you would follow the same steps as above (if it's a plant that can be rooted, that is).

Stay tuned! We'll let you know how the replanting experiment works out.

Questions and comments are always welcome. You can also email me at adventuresofahomeschoolmama@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by! Please make sure to check back. I'm just getting started but I will be adding new stuff daily.

Puddin' Cup Paint

2013-04-22T20:19:00.001-07:00

I wanted to make some paint to do some finger painting with Super E. I've seen several recipes for pudding paint (made with instant pudding and food coloring) on Pinterest. Well, I really didn't feel like mixing up a batch of pudding... I had enough dishes that needed washing already. And I only needed one color - orange. So I looked in my kitchen and found some pudding cups. Why not?

And thus puddin' cup paint was born.

I just took the pudding cup, added my coloring, gave it a little stir...

And viola!

Time to turn things over to my testing panel.

And we have a winner!

And it's yummy too!

We LOVE this paint! It's so easy to make that it's ridiculous! It dries nicely... You wouldn't think that pudding would, or at least I wouldn't. And, if you prefer, you could always mix up a batch of instant pudding and get the same effect. I just like to cut corners whenever I can.

Questions and comments are always welcome. You can also email me at adventuresofahomeschoolmama@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by! Please make sure to check back. I'm just getting started but I will be adding new stuff daily.

Top 10 Trashy Treasures

2013-04-21T23:40:00.004-07:00

In lieu of Earth Day I decided to look for some good recycling projects to do with the sidekicks. As usual, I found way more potential project ideas than I could ever even think about doing. But with all of the wonderful ways to reuse, as great as it all sounds, the big problem that I have is space. I don't have enough of it! If you do have plenty of space, then, no problem. But searching for trashy treasures can become pretty addictive and I do tend to have a bit of an obsessive personality. I am not trying to land myself on the next episode of Hoarders.

So I've compiled a list of the top 10 "must save" trashy items along with ideas for how to manage the extra clutter.

#10 Baby food jars
They are great! They make wonderful storage containers for anything small. They can be used to store homemade paints. They can be used to plant a seed or catch a bug. They can be decorated to make pretty tealight candle holders. They only make #10 on my list because they are pretty hard to come by unless you have a baby in the house. And even then, many people choose to make their own baby food. Super E is a toddler now and we don't buy a lot of baby food. No baby food = no baby food jars. If you do not have any baby food, maybe you have another product that is packaged in small jars. Our bouillon comes in jars that are just a little bigger than the baby food jars.

If the labels are difficult to remove soak them in hot water. Then you can tackle any remaining sticky residue with Goo Gone. You can find it at most stores in the cleaning isle. It takes the sticky right off!

Here are just a few of the neat ideas I've found for using the jars:

1. Lego head storage jars

2. Crayon organizer

3. Animal jars

4. Magnetic spice jars

5. Snowman ornament

6. Snowman candle holder

#9 Small clear plastic bottles
There are many things that you can do with large soda bottles but they take up a lot of space. I try to keep a few smaller bottles on hand (water bottles or small drink bottles). They can take up quite a bit of storage space as well. But they are super useful so it's always nice to have a few around.

Here are a few ways that you can use them:

1. Sumo bowling (Too cute!)

2. Maracas

3. Bio dome lesson

4. Glow bottles

5. Discovery bottles

6. Waterfall

#8 Cereal boxes, shoe boxes, and other cardboard
Cardboard has so many uses! Boxes can take up a lot of space but if you take them apart they fold flat for easy storage.

They can slide right under the bed and they're out of sight. People do some really amazing stuff with cardboard! But if nothing else, the kids can draw on it.

Here are a few ideas:

1. Trains and cars

2. 50+ things to do with cereal boxes

3. Mailboxes and more

4. Build a rocket

5. Doll bed

6. Pizza

#7 Magazines
These are great for art projects. Let the kids cut out pictures and words and glue them to their work. Once they've had a lot of use and are starting to get pretty holy, throw them out and replace them with new ones.

Here are some ways to get the most out of your magazines:

1. Making faces

2. Make a vase.

3. Make a bow.

4. Picture frame

5. Magazine box

#6 Egg cartons
They can get bulky but if you open them up you can stack them. They can be used for paint trays, art projects, games, sorting activities, or even growing seeds.

More ideas:

1. Play dentist

2. Flowers

3. Table centerpiece

4. Make an owl.

5. Christmas tree - Will need a lot of egg cartons for this one!

6. Spy glasses

#5 Newspapers
We use these daily for protecting our table from our arts and crafts projects. Of course you can do more with newspapers than using them as a paint guard but that alone makes them worth keeping.

Here are some other things you might like to try:

1. Make a Koala.

2. Make a hat.

3. Build a fort.

4. Make a basket.

5. Paper mache

#4 Grocery bags
I line our trash cans with these. They make good diaper disposers too. Why would you throw away an empty trash bag? They are definite keepers! You could crumple them and let the kids experiment with stamping paint to see the texture. You could use them to stuff a scarecrow. But mainly, we use them for trash bags.

#3 Toilet paper/paper towel/wrapping paper rolls
Sword fight! Binoculars! There are so many things you can do with cardboard rolls!

Here are a few:

1. Super hero cuffs - Yes, we will be making these!

2. Make a snake

3. Snowman

4. Octopus

5. Loads of other ideas

#2 Advertisement magnets
You know, like the ones that come on the front of the phone book. I never throw these away. Free magnets! Cut these up and glue them to whatever. The only issue with these is that they are usually pretty weak. So you wouldn't want to glue them to anything too heavy.

Which brings us to the #1 junky jewel - Bottle caps
Yes, I said bottle caps. If you have a young child, bottle caps are awesome! And the best part - they take up very little space. You can collect them to your heart's content and just throw them all in a box somewhere. Count them, stack them, play games with them, stick foam stickers to them and use them as stampers, sort them, use them in art projects, the possibilities are endless!

But just in case you aren't sure what to do with them here are a few more ideas:

1. Spell with them.

2. Make spiders.

3. Ladybugs - Adorable!

4. 10 bottle cap activities

5. Mosaics

6. More ideas

I have no cabinet space to spare so I bought a pop up laundry hamper to store away some of my finds. It was really cheap - Just a few dollars. And it helps to hide my stash.

Happy Earth Day!

Questions and comments are always welcome. You can also email me at adventuresofahomeschoolmama@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by! Please make sure to check back. I'm just getting started but I will be adding new stuff daily.

Orangalicious

2013-04-19T22:53:00.001-07:00

Orange has been our color of the week. We have done orange everything this week:

We've dressed in orange as much as possible. (Which wasn't a lot because Super E doesn't really have very much orange clothing.)

We took orange baths.

First, I looked around the house and tried to gather up all of the orange stuff I could find. I tried to make sure to only use things that were almost completely orange because I wanted to avoid any confusion with other colors. I found some cookie cutters, bottle caps, and a few toys. Then, I cut several shapes from orange craft foam. They stick nicely to the side of the wet bathtub. Time for the finishing touches. I added some orange food coloring to the water, an orange bathtub marker, and one dirty toddler.

We colored orange pictures.

We made an orange noise maker, aka headache maker.

I wrapped a potato chip can with orange construction paper. Then I gave Super E some dried beans and let him put them into the can. He loved that part! I didn't super glue the lid because I knew that if I did, Super E would have a super fit when he couldn't get the lid back off. He likes to take the lid off, take out the beans and put them back in. So I only let him play with this while CLOSELY supervised. Keep in mind that the beans could pose a choking hazard to small children. This should only be played with under careful adult supervision.

We created an orange finger painting masterpiece with puddin' cup paint.

We made orange yummy paint (cool whip and food coloring). Super E painted his highchair with it.

We made an orange lava bottle.

I added enough water to fill about 1/3 of the bottle. I mixed in a little food coloring and some glitter. Then, I filled the rest of the bottle with oil. I used cooking oil but you could also use baby oil. I hot glued the lid on. Just make sure that the top of the bottle and the inside of the lid are both dry. Work quickly so that the glue is still hot when you screw the lid onto the bottle.

We made some orange rice.

We played in orange sensory bins.

We used our orange rice as a base for this sensory bin.

Super E had a blast scooping and pouring the rice.

Spreading out a tablecloth helps to keep the mess under control.

He decided to stick his foot in.

Then he decided to stick his whole body in.

We played a game of orange bowling... with oranges.

We made an orange flower.

And I repeated the word "orange" about 100,000 times.

My best friend,"The Cat Lady", told me that the month of April is Animal Cruelty Awareness month. And their color is orange.

So we've been supporting a cause and learning a color all at the same time! I've been multitasking and I didn't even know it.

April is also Autism Awareness month. So next week will be blue.

Questions and comments are always welcome. You can also email me at adventuresofahomeschoolmama@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by! Please make sure to check back. I'm just getting started but I will be adding new stuff daily.

I lost my child... No, just my mind

2013-04-19T12:04:00.000-07:00

Okay... It's official... I have gone completely, certifiably, insane!

Allow me to explain...
I put Super E down for his nap today. My house was a mad house (What else is new?)... Overflowing toilet, math drama, phone ringing, dog barking, cat meowing... All of a sudden, I noticed that the baby gate had been left wide open. I went into the kitchen to look for Super E but he wasn't there. So I panicked! I was tearing the house apart, calling out his name. I even checked outside in the yard. I was frantic! And then it hit me like a bug on a windshield, "You put him to bed you crazy lady!" Boy was I relieved! Dr. X was laughing hysterically. He has been telling everyone how his mama thought she had lost his baby brother but she had really just lost her mind. What can I say... The kid's got a point.

Table Etiquette

2013-04-19T10:37:00.001-07:00

Today we have been working on perfecting our spoon usage technique: The Swoop and Scoop.

And yes moms, I know what you're probably thinking... "Why on earth is that child not wearing a bib?"

In hindsight, a bib would have been an excellent idea!

Oh well. I guess we're going to find out just how good that stain remover actually works.

Questions and comments are always welcome. You can also email me at adventuresofahomeschoolmama@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by! Please make sure to check back. I'm just getting started but I will be adding new stuff daily.

Sleep Deficient

2013-04-19T07:29:00.001-07:00

Good morning everyone out there in blog land!

True story!

Handicaught

2013-04-18T17:16:00.001-07:00

Dr. X is so funny. We went to Walmart today and he saw a truck in a handicap space that didn't have a sticker. He immediately took out his ipad and took a photo. He said, "They are breaking the law and we need to report them to the police!" I explained that maybe they had forgotten to hang their sign on their rear view mirror or maybe they were handicaped but had driven the wrong vehicle.

Once we were inside he had to find the manager and show him the picture. "Here is proof of the crime!" he said. The manager told him that there really wasn't anything he could do. Dr. X was not satisfied. He has kept the evidence and says that we need to turn it in to the police because "You are supposed to report a crime when you see one or else you are aiding and abetting!"

Life and Adventures of a Homeschool Mama

Time4Learning

Time4Learning

Feed The Kitty Game

Recycled Recycle Bin

Attack Of The Juice Boxes

Our Lucky Day - Update

Oh No

Organizationally Challenged - Part 2

Super E's plans are a little different. He obviously doesn't receive a grade for the activities that he does. But I do like to keep track of the areas that we need to work on as well as the activities that he really enjoys. Our "Fun Factor" scale works like this:

= Super E loves this activity

= We didn't like this activity

W = Activity that we need to work on

TA = Too advanced

Organizationally Challenged

I laminated a strip of scrapbook paper and then I stuck 3D stickers (Dollar Store) on top of the laminated strip.

Pit Of Fun

The Dishes

Exercise Moves

Playing The Blues

We made an E for Super E.

This stuff is wet! And yes, there are water beads everywhere.

The beads that didn't survive the wrath of Super E.

Super E loves it!

﻿Love this stuff!

Fruity Fizzy Fluff

Weighing In

Synoptic Gospels

Internet Educated - "I learnt it on the enternet."

Our Lucky Day

Dr. X holding his bouquet of clovers

We found 7 all together.

We cut each clover stem at about a 45 degree angle.

We dipped the tip of each stem into the water and then into the root hormone. Then we carefully placed each clover into the vase of water.

Nothing left to do but to wait and watch.

Here's The Hubs and Super E trying to get in on some of the luck.

Puddin' Cup Paint

Top 10 Trashy Treasures

Orangalicious

We used our orange rice as a base for this sensory bin.

Super E had a blast scooping and pouring the rice.

Spreading out a tablecloth helps to keep the mess under control.

He decided to stick his foot in.

Then he decided to stick his whole body in.

I lost my child... No, just my mind

Table Etiquette

Sleep Deficient

Handicaught

Love this stuff!