I love Teacher Vision.  I can count on them to send me great newsletters filled with information and projects for my children.  I can count on them to provide me with a slew of assignments, subjects, and reading for me and my children.  It is a great website and I recommend it not only for homeschooling parents, but for certified teachers too!  

I received their newsletter in my email today and it included a free packet of Autumn Activities & Lesson Plans for children in grades K - 6.  I thought "What fun!" and opened it up and discovered a lot of great things to keep my boys busy and I started right away.

Today, after my boys completed their History assignments, I sent them outside to collect some healthy, green leaves from a few of the trees we have in our yard.  Then in a few weeks, I will have them gather a few more leaves from the same trees.  Then a few weeks later the same ... and so on.  I thought it would be interesting for them to see the changes that the leaves go through as they progress into the fall months and then into winter.  

In the Autumn packet, they have included a "Tree Observation Chart" for the children to fill out.  I thought this would be a good opportunity for them to fill out this chart each time they go out and collect leaves from their tree.  I also thought that they could discuss any other changes they might have noticed including why they think these trees go through this stage when the weather gets cooler.

This is a fun project for children who live in areas of the country that experience the change of seasons like we do here in North Carolina, and to inspire you to send your little ones outside to experience this fun project, I have included it here for you to download and share with your little ones!

Download AutumnLessons

WE HAVE A WINNER!  I know, I fell off the wagon and ran late on this contest.  Sorry 'bout that.  Guess I've had a lot on my mind lately.  But, we have a winner and I am proud to say that Alice is the lucky recipient of Rae Grant's books Cooking Fun and Crafting Fun.  Oh boy, is she ever going to love 'em!  

Thank you all for entering.  Hey, if there is one thing I know for sure, the odds are pretty good that if you keep entering my contests, you are bound to win something because not many people know about my blog, so that definitely improves your odds of winning.  Unlike Ree who has a contest and 13,000+ comments.  I don't know how she does it.  She must have a blog magnet somewhere that I haven't found yet.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!  Alice, email me at susan@raisin-toast.com to claim your prize.  I'll need your address to ship them out to you.  Hope you love these books as much as I do.

Now that the kids are home and out of school for the summer, around here we are always looking for something fun to do with our kids.  I, personally, do not like them sitting in front of the computer, playing the Wii, or X-Box, all day long.  It is bad for their eyes and bad for their brain.  So, we limit their use of electronics and encourage our children to read and do other things that are better for them - like crafts, cooking, painting, playing outside, riding their bicycles and scooters, playing board games, and reading.  There is so much that they can do that does not require an electronic device or a computer, and I recently found 2 books that have encouraged my children to try something new and fun. 

I found 2 books by Rae Grant that I thought would be fun for the kids, and I was right.  The books are Crafting Fun and Cooking Fun, and what I found so interesting about these books is that they include crafts and recipes from days gone by.  I ran across some classic projects in the Crafting Fun book that reminded me of my own childhood and crafts that I would create from simple household materials.    There were a few that I had completely forgotten about until I opened up Rae's book.  Talk about a woman after my own heart, she has put together 2 books that you will love and will bring back a flood of memories from your own childhood.  Darn, I wish I had thought of this!  

Both books have fun illustrations and useful information.  In the Cooking Fun book, there is a listing of Weights and Measures that are easy for little ones to read and refer to when their cooking up something special.

Now where did she get this Hot Cocoa recipe?  Come on!  This was my family secret!  Or how about this Hot Milk and Honey for those nights you can't sleep.  Maybe Michael Jackson should have taken a clue from this instead of medications - ya think?  He was apparently suffering from insomnia.  I'm sure some Hot Cocoa or Hot Milk and Honey would have surely done the trick.

Or how about some of Grandma's Cinnamon Toast?  I love Raisin Toast, but man do I ever love Cinnamon Toast too!  Yum.  Especially with Hot Cocoa!!!

Turkey BLT anyone?  Tuna Salad?  Lunch time!

Easy Cheesy Broccoli Soup?  Hey, I like the Emergency Soup.  We have quite a few emergencies around here.

This one made me smile.  Potato Pancakes.  My mother makes these all the time.  Whenever we have leftover mashed potatoes (the real ones by the way), the next morning she'd say "You want some Potato Pancakes?"  You better believe it!  I love 'em!  Funny thing is, this is the first cookbook I've ever seen that has the recipe.  Or how about the Glazed Carrots?!!  My grandmother "Mama Lil" used to make these every holiday!  They were the only way I'd eat my carrots. 

Oh My Goodness!  Snickerdoodles!!!  My Favorite Cookies!  Lordy, this is great!

Looking through the Crafting Fun book, I ran across just as many memorable childhood projects as I did recipes in the Cooking Fun book, and this book is divided into seasonal sections.  What a great idea!

Do you remember taking a brown paper grocery bag and making book covers for your school books? I sure do! I would doodle all over them - to the dismay of my teachers.

How about a 2-stick diamond kite?  You don't have to fly kites only in the Spring.  If it's windy out, it's a great day for flying a kite!

Wanna make your own soap?  I used to make soap as a craft project and shape it into flowers and stars.  I sometimes used cookie cutters to shape my soap.  This is so much fun!

I remember pressing flowers, do you? They make great memories and also bookmarks!  I used to press flowers and then make them into bookmarks with that stuff you paint on top that makes it into a hard plastic coating.  What was that stuff?  I can't remember. 

Oh fun!  Pinwheels and Dangle Bead Bookmarks!  When I was little, I used to love to go to the grocery store with my mother, and there were always pinwheels at the register or in the children's isle.  I wanted one.  "Mommy, please buy me a pinwheel!  Please!"  Well, I eventually learned how to make my own and then instead of buying me pinwheels, my mother bought me packages of colored and origami paper, chopsticks, and crayons.  Of course, everything I did that was crafty involved a box of 64 Crayola Crayons.

How about a confetti blower for the 4th of July?  Or paper hats?  I used to make paper hats at my birthday parties. 

Well, with all this fun, wouldn't you like to have a set of these books for yourself?  I thought so!  Just answer this question in the comments for your chance to win the Cooking Fun and the Crafting Fun books.

What project or recipe do you remember from your own childhood?

Contest will end Monday night at 6pm.  Winner will be announced before noon on Tuesday. 

Good luck everyone and have a great 4th of July!

What a wonderful post!!

Makes me happy! Can’t wait to read the comments.

May I suggest this?

In case you didn’t see it  I have a new blog :

http://craftingfunforkids.typepad.com/hatchings/

and this author website.

http://www.craftingfunforkids.com/

If you can mention those or link up to them that would be great.

I wish I could send you a batch of brownies but you have the recipe. Try it!!

I have a post on  ideas http://www.craftingfunforkids.com/

Happy 4th....

Most grateful too.
Rae