Before and After

I’ve been going through some pictures and thought I’d share a couple of before and after shots.

I think it’s interesting how our garden spider has changed over the course of the summer. Her body is fuller than it was when we first started observing her. It must be all those snacks [like the fly she is ‘saving for later’ in the second picture.]

It’s been a while since I’ve posted about our chickens. They are all doing so well, especially Susan. She has come a long way since we rescued and isolated her from the other hens. Susan is growing new feathers and looking over-all healthier. She loves exploring the yard but she mainly stays close to the house. BIG DIFFERENCE in less than three months. 🙂

That’s all for now. But stay tuned! I have more pictures, a few new product reviews, and a new series on organization!

Sneak Peek – Where is this reading nook and how can you make one for your child?

MEGA Homeschool Freebie from Educents!

Wow! I am really loving Educents!

If you haven’t checked out this awesome educational deal site, you should. They have giveaways and freebies as well as huge savings on a wide variety of educational products. Right now, they are giving away 12 eBooks for FREE! (A $125.10 value!) Limited time only!

Here is what you will receive:

• The Curiosity Files includes: 
  • The Curiosity Files™: Blue Diamond
  • The Curiosity Files™: Blue-Footed Booby
  • The Curiosity Files™: Cave Fish
  • The Curiosity Files™: Cicada Killing Wasp
  • The Curiosity Files™: Dung Beetle
  • The Curiosity Files™: MRSA
  • The Curiosity Files™: Velvet Ants
  • The Curiosity Files™: Zombie Fire Ants
  • The Curiosity Files™: Pufferfish
  • The Curiosity Files™: Quicksand
  • The Curiosity Files™: Rogue Waves
  • The Curiosity Files™: Slime Eels
  • The Curiosity Files™: Solar Max
  • The Curiosity Files™: Snow Rollers
  • The Curiosity Files™: Red Tides
  • The Curiosity Files™: Whirlpools
  • The Curiosity Files™: Vegetarian Spiders
  • The Curiosity Files™: Platypus

[Below is my personal review. It is my honest opinion and I am not being compensated for giving my review in any way. I’m just passing on my thoughts to  you.]

Upon downloading and skimming through the first eBook, I am very impressed. Here are some of the subjects taught in this one unit study:

• Math
• Science
• Geography
• English
• Spelling
• Reading
• Handwriting
• History
• Bible
• Arts and Crafts
• Cooking
• Physical Education

Although the suggested ages are 8-13, it looks like this curriculum could be customized for use with any age. Even toddlers could benefit from some of the crafts, hands-on activities, and reading. It looks like a well-rounded, thorough unit study that could be used to compliment any curriculum or as a stand alone curriculum. I can’t wait to read through the other eBooks. What a great deal!

If you decide to sign up, please use this link to receive a $5 credit on your first purchase.

Happy shopping! 🙂

Learning through Nature

One of my favorite things about summer is watching my children play outside in nature. We are blessed to live in the country and enjoy it’s simplistic, slow pace of living.

My husband and I try to take advantage of every situation and make it a teachable moment. The best part? It comes so easy because our children are very inquisitive and love to learn.

Even better when nature comes to you.

So when a Argiope trifasciata [better known as a garden spider] took up residence on the outside of our sliding glass door, we joyfully observed. The kids have lovingly named her Emily. She has been busy spinning her web all summer long. The intricate way she spins this huge, elaborate web is simply amazing. 

[Please excuse my phone’s reflection.]

As the summer went on, we have watched in delight as she caught different insects, spun and re-spun her web and now she has laid an egg sac. Fun fact: Did you know one female garden spider can produce 1-3 egg sacs per mating season with each one holding up to 1000 eggs?

Observing this small creature has reminded me of how tiny a speck we are in the grand scheme of God’s plan. Every tiny detail was well thought out and designed. What an amazing God we serve!

May I encourage you to slow down, enjoy the simple things and let your children learn through nature. After all, it is God’s gift to us all. 🙂

Homemade Tin Lanterns

We’ve started reading the Little House book series in our homeschool. We finished reading chapter six of Little House in the Big Woods this week. To go along with our reading, we decided to make tin lanterns just like Laura used to go out and help Ma milk the cow. It was a little bit of work but not too hard for my determined seven and ten-year-olds.

Here are some pictures after we finished:

I got the idea from my Little House in the Big Woods Literature Unit. The instructions were clear enough but I felt we could adapt them a little to make it easier. So I’ve created a printable worksheet page with instructions for my blog readers. YAY! Just click the picture below and it should take you straight to it.

Have fun! 🙂

I love Shoebuy!

I know, I know… I have pictures and lots yet to share.. But I’m popping in real quick because fall is around the corner and I gotta great deal on boots over at Shoebuy!!!

These to be exact:

Woooo!! I can’t wait until they arrive!!

I got these babies for $12.21 shipped! Yep, that’s right. Right now Shoebuy has a sale on a huge selection of shoes for the whole family. Also you can take 15% off on top of the sale price through August 21st!

BUT THE DEAL GETS EVEN SWEETER!!

I’m offering my blog readers a $10 off $50 purchase coupon! That should score you at one or two nice pairs for the kids, hubby or treat yourself! Just click through this link and it’s yours!

Happy shoe shopping!! 🙂

Homemade Scented Playdough

 

We’ve been so busy having fun this summer. It’s hard to believe this is the first “personalized” post in over a month. This was one of my favorite crafts we did over the summer. I loved it so much I had to share it with all of you.

ATTN: Moms!

This DIY craft is so easy and therapeutic [yes, I said therapeutic] you will have as much fun as your kids! All you need are 3 simple ingredients that you probably already have in your cabinet: hair conditioner, cornstarch, and food coloring. [For best results: Choose a hair conditioner scent that you really enjoy. I used Dove Go Fresh because I like the citrusy-clean scent. If we make this again I may go with Herbal Essences.]

I did not take a picture of the first step. But you can’t mess it up. Dump some cornstarch in a bowl and mix in hair conditioner. Mix until you reach the desired consistency. Easy. When it holds together well and molds like playdough, go ahead and add another generous squirt of conditioner. Trust me. 

Next divide the dough. We each wanted our own color so I divided it into three pieces. For this step I used disposable cups and gloves since it involved food coloring. [You may want to use a spoon to mix. I used popsicle sticks. Mine weren’t very sturdy so it didn’t work out well. We ended up using our hands, which was more fun anyway.]

 

At this point you may want to decide how dark you want your dough. We didn’t add very many drops of food coloring to ours. Maybe 6-8 drops each. But I absolutely loved the pastel colors! You’ll notice as you begin to blend the color into the dough it looks sort of marbled. Are we having fun yet?

 

After it starts looking marbled, you can then take the gloves off and start playing! 

The texture is phenomenal. The SOFTEST playdough ever. The best part? [Besides the playing part, of course.] The hair conditioner softens  your hands. So while you are having some quality time with your kiddos, you are still making time for a mini manicure. Win-win. 🙂

Here are some of our creations:

 

Remember this has a cornstarch base so it isn’t sticky and messy like most playdough. However, I don’t recommend you do this activity with toddlers since you are using hair conditioner. But it’s perfect for elementary age kids. My daughter is ten and she loved it too.

I like storing ours in a jar because it looks pretty. But a ziploc bag is fine too. When you get ready to play with it later, you may want to add more conditioner as the cornstarch does make it kinda “crumbly” over time.

If you end up making this, please feel free to leave me a comment. I’d love to hear what you think of it.

FREE Webinar: Approaches to Christian Homeschooling

Hello there!

We’ve been busy finishing up our summer with some fun activities and preparing for the upcoming homeschool year. (I hope to share some of those ideas and pictures with you soon, as time allows.) But I had the opportunity this past week to listen to an awesome webinar hosted by Kerry Beck and I wanted to share it with you.

Whether you have been homeschooling for several years (like me), just starting out, or you are considering homeschooling – I highly recommend listening to this webinar.

Here are the topics she discusses:

• Freedoms
• Philosophy of Education
• Christian Education
• Goals
• 7 Approaches: Classical, Charlotte Mason, Unit Studies, Principle, Unschooling, Christian Leadership

It is an hour long so be prepared to make time for it. I know an hour seems like a long time but it gives you time to relax with a cup of coffee in front of the computer, maybe a notebook if you like to take notes, and learn about the different approaches to creating a Christian homeschool. I promise you won’t be disappointed. Kerry Beck is a mom of three homeschooled children and she knows her stuff. She homeschooled them all and now they are successful adults.

Here’s the link incase it doesn’t link you at the above picture: Approaches to Christian Homeschooling 

Have a great week!