some of my favorites

Just real quick I wanted to share about a few sites that are very cool resources. First off, HERE is a blog of a friend who is a VERY creative homeschooling mom. She blogs a lot about her schooling ideas and she is an inspiration to anyone with preschoolers. Looking for ideas of how to get inspired on working with your little ones at home, go and check out her blog.




My girls are part of a Keepers at Home club this year (HERE). It is a group of girls who are learning life skills and striving to be more of a "Godly Girl" . Similar to girl scouts, but with a Christian emphasis. So far our group has worked on badges for first aid and food preservation. We work on some of the badge at the meeting and then we continue at home too. It is something I have always been interested in, and we are thankful that God blessed us with a group of sweet girls to join up with.


Being part of the Keepers group reminded me of this blog (HERE). This blogger introduces the idea of a group that she has formed for some young girls to work on having purposeful friendships. Her group is called Balcony Girls. I think her ideas are really neat and I am praying that I can allow my girls to be part of a similar group.


If you are looking for an email devotional, HERE is a great site that will email you one each day for free. These have blessed me and challenged me and I wanted to share this great resource that can get your day started off in God's Word. If you want them emailed to you, you need to email Don and he will add you to his list.



Totally off topic, we got our immigration finger printing done today. Another thing off the check list. Praising God for His faithfulness.

Favorite Summer Activity - STACATION style

With summer full in swing (I feel like it almost over, but for some of you it has just started) what has been your favorite summer activity? With the economy in the tank and most families tightening their belts, a lot of families aren't going on vacations. And the new thing is the STACATION - things to do in your own area to enjoy without the cost of traveling and hotels.
This of course, appeals to me, as I am thrifty (that is a nice way to put it).

Each year seems different and has different high lights. Last year we really enjoyed VBS at a few different churches. That was a huge treat for me because I was living the single parent life as Chuck had already relocated for the new job. Just to have the morning to myself. WOW. What a treat for the homeschooling mom who always has her kids with her.

Of course the girls enjoyed camp, but I am trying to come up with FREE activities that are fun. Ones that don't cost anything. So...help me, o creative moms, to come up with some other great activities that require little or no budget. (My friend over on this blog HERE posted about this earlier and I thought it was a good post).

• For us we have enjoyed being part of a book club. A fellow homeschooling mom has organized a small book club where the girls read a designated book and then she has activities to coordinate. She has done a fantastic job and the girls have really enjoyed it. The most recent book was "A Little Princess" and then the kids watched the old Shirley Temple movie. The idea was to compare how the book is usually better than the movie.

• Another fun one has been swimming at the neighborhood pool. It is part of our home owner's fees and it is a great way to meet the neighbors. That has been fun.

• One more idea before you all chime in with fantastic ideas. =) Another mom has organized a play group that meets in the back yard (they rotate) and the kids play with water. Sprinklers, kiddie pools, slip and slides, duck duck goose with water on the head, squirt guns...the ideas go on. Everyone brings their sack lunch and towel and the host mom doesn't need to have anything else ready. I thought this one was a great idea.

So...do share some of your favorite summer activities. Things you can do right in your home town. Things that aren't going to break the bank. Ways to keep the kids busy and entertained and having fun until school starts up again. Now we are off to the science center which we have the family pass for and it is air conditioned.

looking for your favorite beauty products

It is that time for me to purchase some new makeup. Even though I don't wear much (I probably should wear more), I need to replace a few basics and I am looking for some new ideas. Aside from the pink frosted lips and blue mascara of the 80's, I have pretty much worn the same thing for ever and I need some inspiration. Who better to inspire me but my fellow blogging friends.

What are your favorite beauty products? Though I am in the market for some basics (foundation, face cleaner, blush, eye color...) what are things that you would recommend? I remember someone (I think it was you Mrs. Moon) who said they had a face wash that they really liked and they found it at Walmart or Target. If I can get it at Target, it is my style. I don't think I have ever gotten anything at the makeup counter at the department store. Maybe that is my problem (yes...sometimes I think cheapness is my problem).

Any-who...inspire me gals. I specifically didn't get anything the other day because I wanted to hear it from the experts. Well, that and the fact that all the choices overwhelmed me and I figured I should do some makeup homework before making my "once ever 3 year purchase". I really never run out of makeup, it's more like it gets so old I have to throw it out.

good morning

I find I can enjoy a special treat when I am trying to "clean out my fridge". I was trying to use up this whipped cream. And, hey...it is a lot cheaper than going out for coffee.

To be honest, my favorite coffee treat is to mix 2 kinds of General Foods International Coffee (the sugar free one and a regular one). I know, I know...I am sure it is horrible for me, but such a special treat. (I figure all my homemade fresh ground wheat bread and tortillas make up for it.)

Hope your morning is starting off great.

Favorite kid toys

I like this idea of posts about my favorites. I wanted to share some of our favorite kid toys. Though we have down sized and gotten rid of some of our toys, these are some of the girls all time favorites. (This is for you Ginny)






















These are Calico Critters. We have looked at these in specialty toy shops for over a year and hadn't gotten any (they are pretty pricey). The girls had some spending money on a trip and each got a "family" of Calico Critters. We don't have the doll style houses, so they set up house in their wooden tree house (last years Christmas gift ~ another favorite).

You will notice most of our favorite toys encourage imaginary play. These Calico Critter remind me of one of our favorite kid videos (I only have it on VHS, which doesn't do me any good since I don't have a player anymore) called Brambly Hedge. That is by far, one of the BEST kid videos.











These are what we call Felt Friends (actual name Felt Kids ~ hard to find a link that has them in stock). A good friend of ours (hi Mommy G) got us hooked on these back in California. They also tend to be pricey, but you can find them on sale at places like TJ Maxx. I love to pick these up when I find them inexpensively and give them as birthday gifts. Great for taking to church or meetings when your kids need to play quietly. The board has a plastic pouch that attaches with the felt pieces inside. We have a good collection now. It is fun to act out stories on the story boards (I included the back of one that show some more themes ~ not just girly themes).



As the kids have gotten older, we have started sorting toys in bins. One of our favorite bins is our music bin. I often have my eye out for interactive toys on sale. Once the dollar store had great wooden instruments. They were great and we stocked up. Our music bin is often pulled out for a march around they yard for a parade, or lately the girls love playing the lap harp.






This is our vet station. Ordered it from a catalog and it has been a big hit. They take care of lots of injured animals and even hook them up to the IV. Love the X-ray part and it even lights up. Does require some batteries (we have never had to replace them in the 3 years we have had this).











This last one is a big favorite. Our wooden toys. They seem to be coming back into fashion. I have noticed them in so many stores. When ever little ones come to our house this seems to be the toy of choice. Tissy loves tea sets and has a little collection. Again, I love how these kinds of toys encourage creative play. I like the collection from . Melissa and Doug. (they also carry a great line of puppets)
















Oh, one more...the doll wardrobe. Picked it up after Christmas sale at Target and the girls put their AG doll clothes in it.

homeschooling favorites

Not sure why the 2 scans are different sizes.

I wanted to share some more homeschooling favorites. I have been meaning to do these posts for about a month and somehow my life just seems busy and crazy (not how I like it). I have finally made my record log for the year. Instead of buying one, I have always made my own (I keep these in an opened binder on the shelf for each of the kids). This year, however, we are "stepping it up" with our school and I needed more boxes to record our work. So I had to adjust it.

Some of the books we have used with Noeo Physics ~ Zip, Zap, Zing, Zoom

We are finishing up our Noeo science program from last year (Noeo site HERE). My kids just love it and I hate that I often put it on the bottom of the list of things to get done. I am trying to make science, SS, and math a larger priority this year. We are learning about sound and movement right now and we are studying string and wind instruments. I love how this program tells me what pages to read and then it gives us the supplies for the experiments. The kids want to do every experiment that is offered. Sometimes my kitchen turns into a science lab.


We are also finishing up our Beautiful Feet geography program (HERE) from last year. Again, the girls enjoy it so much and they love making the maps.
This program has you read these books (also includes the book Paddle to the Sea ~I just couldn't find mine for the pic) by Holling and color and label maps and keep logs of what the kids learn (vocabulary words and such). The idea is to use living books to learn from.
Just a few of some of my homeschooling favorites. More to come on another post. Hope this is a resource for any of you out there.

favorite games

This is the first of a few favorites post. I have been thinking about our school curriculum as we start a new school year. Amazingly this is our 4th year of homeschooling (man, time does fly). There are some things that we have used for school that I would use again, and a few that I wouldn't spend money on for a second time. I think one of the biggest challenges for schooling is to find out what kind of a learner your child is. Whether you homeschool or not, it is a great way to help your child learn the most information and in the easiest way possible. So far I think my kids are hands on and visual. And that has helped us determine what programs and curriculum that we use.

Regardless of the learning style, I am all about having fun while you are learning. I have a pretty good collection of games and hands on learning that we use a lot. I have invested in some of these to use for school, fun and tutoring (I also tutor each week). These are some of my favorites.

These small and very affordable games are one of my TOP favorites. Sherlock and Monkey Memory are memory games. Catch the Match is a observation game and Number Chase is a math game. All need some skill (rather than just luck) and are enjoyable for all ages (maybe 6 to adult). I have ordered them from Timberdoodle (link is HERE) and also found them at a local teacher supply store. You wont find them at TRU or Target. I also like that they are small enough to travel with. We have played them while waiting for a table at a restaurant or in an airport.


This is my collection of Hot Dots. These are boxes of cards that are in different categories. We have some phonics ones, math, states and capitols, money, telling time...They require a special Hot Dot pen to choose the right answer on the card and it lights up and makes noise depending on if your answer is right. I also use these for school, tutoring and time filler for the car or other times like that (you can make the pen silent for quiet places like church).
My only disappointment with these is sometimes the pen thinks the answer is wrong if you have it on an angle rather than perpendicular. You get used to it and quickly adjust how you push the pen down. I also got these at a local teacher supply store and I have ordered them from Rainbow Resource (link HERE). I only bought one pen and I make the kids share.




One more new favorite is Wrap Ups. I got these for math (flash cards are not as hands on but the same idea). The idea is that you wrap the string around the plastic card to answer the math facts and check the back to see if your answer is right. I have looked at these for years and finally bought some recently. It was a huge conformation of how "hands on" my kids are. I have also used them for tutoring and they were a huge hit. The kids don't really realise that I am sneaking learning into their fun games.
Again, you can get these are your local teacher supply store and Rainbow also sells them (link is HERE). I look forward to adding some more of these into our collection.

I will share some other schooling favorites in some following posts. I have a few blogging friends that are new to homeschooling this year and I hope that you find encouragement and inspiration as you take off on this adventure.