Nikki atthe "Painters 5 " has a greatgiveaway for the Homeschool Creations Curriculum Clean-Out... She is offering AOP LifePac Science Grade 3 Teacher Guide and Set of 10 LIFEPACs...
All you have to do is leave a comment, blog about it, or subscribe to her blog feed!! So, you get 3 chances at this awesome giveaway!!
DS got a "Chia Pet" for Christmas this year... We grew it a couple of weeks afterwads and had great success with it... We are trying it again... So here are our first pictures after getting some little green heads growing...
Here's the total view...Yes, it is the donkey from Shrek... *LOL*
Here is a close-up view of the little buds poking their litle heads out...
Our Cub Scout pack had it's Pinewood Derby... There were some fabulous cars in the race...DS raced his car several times and a couple of the races... The winner who will go to the district race is one of his BFF's (as he puts it).. *L*
They had a great time and it was alot of fun to see all the different cars and watch the kids wace in a non-competitive way...
Saturday, December 13, 2008 - Gymnastics Recital..
DD recently had her gymnastics recital... She was so excited...
The costumes they wore were just white tee's (which had bells painted on them by their instructors) and red or green shorts... They were sooooo cute!!
They turned cartwheels, did backbends, and forward rolls... the finale was a pyramid with several girls doing splits and backbends... DD is on the top of the pyramid...
After the recital, her brother gave her flowers which she definitely loved!!
This year we made our costumes again...Well... sort of...
I found DD's Super Girl costume at the GoodWill... It was actually an adult small and then my mom took it into make it fit...I spray-painted her boots gold and then made a posterboard mask and painter it gold... as for DS, he went as a Pirate and I just cut up a pair of plaid pants (also got at the GoodWill) cut up one of my old shirts and used some tree beads from last years Christmas tree for his gold chains... a bandana and ascarf at his waist completed the look...
And this "old lady" with them is me without make-up...*LOL* Actually, I thought i was a pretty good costume... I just put rollers in my hair, tied them up, put on my robe with some face ceam and some bright red lipstick and said BOO!!!...
Tuesday, October 28, 2008 - Experiment with sound...
Since we are learning about bats this week, I decided to do an experiment on sound because bats use echolocation to help them find direction...
We filled up several glasses with different amounts of water and took turns hitting them with a spoon and listening for the pitch and placeing them in order by pitch...
The kids did really well and learned how the water volume would affect the pitch of the sound emitted from the glass...
Fall and Halloween is always a fun time for us... This year we went to Dollywood for the Fall festivals and then took a walk through the streets of Gatlinburg where we ran into this interesting fellow you will see below...
Thursday, September 11, 2008 - Give me a T... O.... M....M... Y
My kidlets are playing Upward sports again...
DD is cheering and DS is playing flag football... Need I say how much they are enjoying it!!! The Upward program is such a great program... It is non-competitive, meaning no scores are kept and the kids are rewarded for positive behavior... You can check the program out here.
We have been swimming to the city pool several times in the last couple of weeks... Both kids were able to go off the diving board and swim to the side without any problem... I'm so proud of how well they do in the water...
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - Pictures of our Summer Sports...
This summer we tried our hand (or should I say feet) at soccer... DS loved it, DD tolerated it...*L*
Then we were off to Baseball and T-ball... This was DD's first year with coach-pitch T-ball... She improved as the season progressed and was able to hit without the aide of the T by the end of the season... Her team came in 5th in the tournaments...
DS was on the mound this year and I couldn't have been prouder...He really improved his accuracy when throwing to other bases and his catching improved as well... His team came in 4th in their tournament... Which I was extremely pleased with as they played their 1st game of the tournament with only 4 players (DS and 3 girls) ...His teammates didn't show due to a strom in the area... So not to bad... I was so proud of the fact the 4 of them gave it all they had and didn't want to go down without a fight.... what an effort!!!
DS is the one in black pants in the middle holding the trophy!!!
Monday, April 28, 2008 - How we are going to spend our summer...
We have decided on our plan for summer... we are going to continue with school but make it less tense and more fun by incorporating lots of ideas that I have been gathering from other blogs on the Wazley Academy ring...
The kids are really looking forward to doing just some topics that they want too, and I am looking forward to just relaxing and feeling like everything is going to get done... (sometimes during the school year, I get that tense, worried about what they are learning feeling)... I am hoping that is a common feeling shared by many homeschool moms...
It's that guilt that we feel, where we are torn by wanting to be like "SuperMom" and just getting the laundry done... where we want to make sure the kids are enjoying school, but at the same time learning what they should be...
So, we are hoping this will combat those feelings and allow the kids to stay on a scheulde somewhat, but still enjoy their summer and actually leanr when they think they are jusy having fun...
ok... just a quick note... I ordered our Butterfly Garden Habitat... I got the "Insect Lore" brand... Found it on Amazon for a steal... I found mine for less than $15 + shipping....
This weekend the kids went to a birthday party at place called "FUN EXPEDITION"... DH got the honors of taking the kidlets and playing with them as this was my weekend to work... They had such a great time... It is a great place to go on a rainy day or just for fun as everything is INDOORS!!
They have go-carts, climbing walls, games, bowling, and laser tag... DS was so excited to tell me all about playing Laser tag and beating some girls at it.. "MOM, they were teenagers and I beat them!"... The thrill of being a little boy!!!
Tonight we went to see the Lady Vols play... Instead of the usual orange and white wave of the fans, everyone was in pink for breast cancer awareness...It was a fantastic game (and I am not a baketball fan)...They played Rutgers and in the last 2 seconds there was a foul which led to the Lady Vols scoring for the win... You can read about it here .
It was definitely a very active crowd and DD was very excited to watch the "big girls" play...
I found this while surfing late last night and thought it was fun and wanted to share it with everyone...
So I found out that even thought I am approaching the 40's, am overweight, do not exercise like I should, and eat pretty much what I want when I want it, I hopefully (fingers crossed) will still have a life expectancy of 93.9 yrs. ...*LOL*
Here's the results of my Virtual Age Test:
Biological Age: 37
Virtual Age: 18.1 (I wish)
My Life Expectancy: 93.1yrs.
If you'd like to have a little fun, you can take the test here.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - FREE USBORNE BOOKS!!!!
Is anyone out there an Usborne Book Groupie besides me? They are fabulous and especially for homeschoolers like us, they are a wonderful resource to keep in our family library...
My friend Valerie is an Usborne Book consultant and she is currently having a contest right now on her blog for a chance to win $10 in free books!! And who doesn't like books, especially FREE ones!???All you have to do is write a post about Usborne books, your favorite, and how you use use it, or what you love about it... and link it back to her website.
She is accepting entries until Jan. 31... On Feb. 1, she is putting all of the names in a hat and is going to announce the winner on her blog. Sounds great, doesn't it?
Now for the part that I like most... After you read this and you decide to enter, just make a note that you heard about the contest from me in your post or on her blog (make sure you drop her a comment to let her know that you are posting about the contest) and I will have the chance to win $10 in free books also by recruiting the most blog entries...
Currently, Valerie has listed some "INTERNET ONLY" sales with some HUGE savings...You can check them out here.
So here are a few of our NEW favorites...
The kids love them and I like being able to easily tie them into our lesson plans and the ease of use... These are some in our collection, some we use all the time... a few on a daily basis!!
DD's favorite right now is her We recently purchased and DS loves it... He reads it at bedtime...
So, if you have a favorite, which I am sure you do, share it with everyone and let Valerie know and it might just win you and me some FREE books!!!
Saturday, January 26, 2008 - 31 Ways to Practice Spelling...
While having the night to myself, I did some internet searching and came across these neat and fun ideas to use while working on "Spelling" ... I think we will try a few of them in the next week, just to change up things and have a little fun... Happy Learning!!
31 Ways to Practice Spelling
1. ABC Order – Write your words in alphabetical order.
2. Reversed Words – Write your words in alphabetical order – backwards!
3. Rainbow Words – Write each word in three colors.
4. Cheer Your Words – Pretend you are a cheerleader and call out your words!
5. Backwards Words – Write your words forwards, then backwards.
6. Picture Words – Draw a picture and write your words in the picture.
7. Silly Sentences – Use all your words in ten sentences.
8. Pyramid Words – Write your words adding or subtracting one letter each time. The result will be a pyramid shape of words.
9. Ransom Words – Write your words by cutting out letters in a newspaper or magazine and gluing them onto blank paper.
10. Words-in-Words – Write your words and then write at least two words made from the letters in each word.
11. Magazine Words – Use an old magazine or newspaper and find your word. Cut it out and glue it onto blank paper.
12. Story Words – Write a short story using all your words.
13. 30 second Words – Write a TV commercial using all of the words from your list.
14. Popsicles – Make your words using Popsicle sticks to make each letter.
15. Secret Agent Words – Number the alphabet from 1 to 26, then convert your words to a number code.
16. Etch-A-Word – Use an Etch-A-Sketch to write your words.
17. Telephone Words – Translate your words into numbers from a telephone keypad.
18. Sound Words – Use a tape records and record your words and their spelling. Then listen to your tape, checking to see that you spelled all the words correctly.
19. Words You Can Eat – Write your words by arranging alphabet pasta or Alphabits cereal.
20. 3D Words – Use modeling clay rolled thinly to make your words.
21. Bathtub Spelling Practice – Using foam letters, make your words by sticking the letter to the side of the tub.
22. Sidewalk Spelling – Use sidewalk chalk to write the words on the sidewalk or driveway.
23. Poker Chip Spelling – Write all the letters of the alphabet on poker chips. Use them to spell your words.
24. Scrabble Spelling – Play a game of Scrabble using the spelling words.
25. Go Fish – Each time you spell a word correctly, eat a Goldfish cracker for each letter in the word.
26. Word Processing Practice – Use the computer to type the words. Use different colors, fonts, and sizes for each word.
27. Spelling Word Finds J – Create a word find
28. Crossword Spelling J -- Create a crossword puzzle with your spelling words using the words’ definitions.
29. Spelling Puzzles – Write each spelling word on an index card. Cut each card in half and mix them up. Then match the two parts of the word.
30. Finger Paint Bag – Pour a little bit of finger paint into a Ziploc bag and close it tight. Lay the bag flat on the table and use a finger to spell the word.
31. Spelling Squares – Write your word on graphing paper, putting one letter in each box.
Sunday, December 23, 2007 - Princess gets her ears pierced...
Yes, I let her do it... My DD has been wanting to get her ears pierced... and finally DH and I decided to go ahead and do it... afterall, I got mine pierced when I was about the same age and have loved it ever since...
So here is a photo diary of the experience... After the initial shock and pain, she was really very happy and showed them to everyone we met at the mall afterwards...
Hi!! I'm Lisa... Homeschooling mom to 2 wonderful kidlets and this is a journal to share our family life and learning adventures with you...We use an eclectic mix of "child directed" Charlotte Mason studies... So sit down, set a spell and enjoy our homeschool journey...Have a great day and thanks for sharing it with us!!!
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