Mandatory Family Craft Time - Nov. 20, 2009
I'm usually excited about Thanksgiving each year. Family, friends, fun and fabulous food is something to look forward to. This year it's not the same. It may be because I haven't focused on the what to do's and what to makes. The only thing we've done around here is started Thanksgiving journals. Maybe over the weekend I'll get more excited about the whole thing. I could make some pumpkin bars and some eggnog bread.. that might help my mood.
I think we'll do a family craft together. We've done one when my eldest two where younger. Now that I have five children it will be more fun.
We'll make a Thanksgiving tree.
I'll cut out a tree base out of construction paper and then all my children, my hubbs and I can cut out a bunch of our traced hands in fall colors, and then glue them to the tree.
I think it'll look real neat this year with all the different sized hands.
What about you? Do you do any family crafts together?
Really! I'm back! For Sure! - Nov. 19, 2009
I have had this blog since June of 2005, way back when homeschoolblogger was in beta. I was invited by two dear friends, ByHisGraceInColorado and HomegrownHearts and became hooked. For three years I blogged almost daily or at least three to four days a week. I had many readers and I met a lot of neat like-minded folks. This year was different. I didn't have the energy. I spent my days drained and even though I had creative learning ideas to share I would sit here and stare at my computer. The words just could not flow out the way they used to.
That is changed! I am back. I have my energy back and I feel great!
I haven't thought much about Thanksgiving this year. We will be going over to my grandmothers home. I'm supposed to make mashed potatoes and eggnog bread.
Kids learning: I started my two eldest on Time4Learning. I figure it will give them something different to do plus it will give me a bit more time to focus on my little ones. I have two more that are learning to read.
I'll let you know what my kids think of time4learning in a few weeks when they've been doing it for a while. The nice thing about it is there are no contracts and we can go month to month.
Thanksgiving Journal Continued - Nov. 4, 2009
Here are a few of the Thanksgiving journal prompts I have come up with for my children. I will continue to add to these throughout this month. Enjoy.
What is the definition of Thanksgiving? Write it in your journal along with what it means to you?
Today I am Thankful for...
Look up Psalm 69:30 and write it in your journal. What do you think it means to "magnify Him with thanksgiving?"
Describe your favorite Thanksgiving meal?
Plan a menu for Thanksgiving day. Include recipes. If you can't find a recipe, ask me (mom) to help you find it.
Write about your favorite Thanksgiving memory?
What is something you don't like and why? Should you still be thankful for it?
Oooh! A New Journal Idea! - Nov. 2, 2009
Thanksgiving is quickly approaching. Today I'm thinking (or attempting to) of things that I can teach my kids that aren't the same-o, same-o. You know, the same stuff we do every year during this time.
Last year the kids made "pilgrim hats". (I'll have to find the post to it. They came out cute!)
I think this year we'll make these turkeys. Aren't they cute?
Maybe, starting today we'll do a being thankful for.. journal entries. I like that idea actually. See what I do when I'm in the zone? Now to name it so that I can get my kids excited about it. Hey, I think I'll even get them their own special journals for this. The easy part is that my kids actually like to journal. This should go over well.
Okay, so each day my kids (myself included and heck, if I can get my hubbs in on this, too) well start off with, "I am thankful for..." or "Gratefulness is..."
If I come up with more Thanksgiving promts I'll post it here, folks. (Which I'm sure I will.
Now that I just had an idea burp, now to think about other things we can do for Thanksgiving.
Please share your ideas with me. I love to hear them!
Changes - Oct. 28, 2009
Since my husband started his job three years ago we have struggled off and on with routines. He works mostly out of our home, but he is often out in the field working. My hubbs was on a "staycation" for about three weeks. During that time him and I have been able to really talk about how to make our home run more smooth.
First thing we did was go out and got new bedroom furniture and a new mattress. We've been married almost 17 years and never had bedroom furniture. We'll be painting our room her soon, too. We figure that we'll sleep better on a better mattress and if our room is more of a sanctuary we'll want to go to bed earlier and spend more time in there. I tell ya, after getting our new stuff yesterday I was anxious for bedtime. Our old bed left me sore and in pain every morning. My couch was more comfy than it was.
I didn't have any pain last night nor did I wake up with any from sleeping on the new one. Praise the Lord!
Next, in hopes that we get better sleep and we go to bed at a decent hour we'll have more time in the mornings to spend together as a family for breakfast. We used to all the time and we really miss it. It's amazing how your day can go when you start it with a good family breakfast.
We also want to start exercising together. I usually exercise after he's at work and the kids are getting started on "seat work."
Those are at least a start to a few changes around here. I'm excited about it and I pray that getting us, my hubbs and I on a good routine that our home will start to run smooth again.
What about you? What helps your home run well?
One of These Days... - Oct. 8, 2009
One of these days we'll get into a routine again. Well, either that or our routine is trying to get into routine. Seriously, it seems like every time the kids and I get into a learning routine that it gets blown out of the water somehow. Summer and fall was busy with camping, field trips, my hubbs away for work across the ocean and broken bones. Maybe I'll just give up trying to get into a routine... nice thinking, but... no. I have a few children who learn and thrive better when they have a routine. I am very routine driven also. I get stressed when my routine is messed up.
Thankfully through the craziness of our non-routines, the kids still learn. I think that has to be one of my favorite perks to homeschooling. Learning happens whether it is directed or not. Our recent adventure took us away from learning about explorers (which I was going to blog about, but didn't get time) and learned about Japan while my husband was there for two months. We also traveled around Colorado with my mom for a week seeing and learning about various places.
The week after my husband got home from Japan we didn't do any "formal" learning so that we could enjoy having him back. The second week we didn't get to formal learning due to doctors appointments - one which was a fractured elbow. Here we are at week three and still no routine. My husband had surgery and so I've been distracted with helping him while keeping our home running. Its been interesting.
I'm planning on using this weekend to plan and prepare for next week and get our learning (formal) back on track. Our "school year" starts late October so at least we are still on track.
Mudroom Makeover in Progress - Aug. 30, 2009
Several years ago we enclosed our back porch and turned it into a mudroom/bathroom/pantry. The bathroom (the priority) and pantry were quickly finished up, but the mudroom remained unfinished all this time. I knew how I wanted it, but it never seemed to be a priority. Plus I detest mudding and sanding drywall and that's where the project left off. My mother-in-law took the kids last month so I could work on a project. Dang! That meant I had to actually work on a project! lol I decided to tackle the mudroom once and for all. I did manage to get the room mudded, sanded and primed that weekend. I then had to wait for hubby to put the flooring down.
This weekend we made another Home Depot trip to pick up cabinets. I painted the room at 8pm last night so that we could get the cabinets up today. Sadly, I'm only manager to average about one day a week to work on the project. Still, we're finally at a point where I can see the end in site. Here's the very attractive "before" pictures. It's kind of funny, because directly to the right of the first view, is a totally adorable bathroom. You just had to walk through this mess to get to it!
And the "during" shot. (A view of the same area in the picture directly above) Not close to being done, but at least you can get a feel for the desired outcome. I can't wait!
Don't Forget the Coupons (not the paper ones) - Aug. 25, 2009
Just a reminder to do some checking around before you order online. Just today, I managed to save $230 by spending a few extra minutes doing a bit of searching.
First I needed new Quickbooks business checks and envelopes. After placing the items in my cart I did some Google searches for "intuit coupon code" and "quickbooks checks code". The first couple of sites I went to had nothing current. I nearly gave up. Thankfully, I clicked on www.retailmenot.com where there were several active codes. Most were 10% off or free shipping but one was for 50% off and it worked! Saved me over $100!
Then, my daughter needed new piano books. I first checked the site recommended by her piano teacher and found they would be right at $30 after shipping. I then checked Amazon.com and CBD. No bargains. Finally, I decided to check ebay. Wouldn't you know, someone was selling all four books, in excellent condition, for $13.97 with free shipping! Again, less than half what I would have paid before.
So, less than 30 minutes of searching (for both purchases combined) saved me well over $100.
Halt! - Aug. 21, 2009
Summer is slowing down a bit. Our activities kind of came to a halt when my six year old fractured the top of his foot last week. Poor guy is in a cast for a total of three weeks and is supposed to keep off of it as much as possible. Uh, yeah... not easy!
So, since we are home bound for a few weeks we decided to dive into our learning and get things going again. We are a family that loves adventure so we are learning about explorers. Next week as we get into our studies more I'll share what we learn and do.
Free Accounting Software - Use for School! - Aug. 14, 2009
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