Caution: Builders At Work

...Supplies...

...A firm foundation is key...

...Concentration...

...A little extra 'glue'...

...Precision...

...Every house needs a pet...

...Marshmallow chimney & A choir of singing gummy bears...

...Proper placement...

...Squeeze...

...Sweet success...

...Perfect little house...

TTT - Word Fun

Two weeks ago, I mentioned I was
'bursting at the seams with excitement'.
My excitement...I flew to VA to visit a dear friend who is on bed rest with her second child.
I surprised her!
It was great!
She is a school teacher, and is a wealth of knowledge. I enjoy picking her brain about school things. She introduced me to Wordle.

You can create things like this

  

Go to www.wordle.net, click 'create'. Then start typing words.
The number of times you type the same word,
on the same line, determines the word size.
The greater the number, the larger the word

I plan to use Wordle as an aid while teaching parts of speech, in creative writing
and as a tool to help study for tests.

Go check it out and let me know how you would use Wordle for learning.

Games-what we've been playing

During the winter months, we spend a considerable amount of time playing games. We play everything from Sorry Sliders to Monopoly- Whitetailopoly Edition... my husband is a hunter, hunting games are a big hit here!

click the pictures to find more information out about the games

If you are a hunting/fishing/trapping/camping type of family, you might enjoy the 'Hunting, Fishing, Camping Trivia Game'. The game is based on thousands of questions about small game & big game hunting, fishing, camping, boating, guns, ammo, trapping, bowhunting, archery, sporting safety, first aid and conservation. I'll must say, I have learned quite a lot from playing this game!

Lego Minotaurus is a favorite game of my boys. They can play it for hours. Honestly, I haven't ever played it. It sounds complicated, but both my 7 year old and 12 year old are great at it.

Lego Creationary is a building game which makes you use your imagination. The dice is rolled to select a building category. Your opponents try to guess what you are building. There are three levels of difficulty, which I think makes it feasible for children younger than recommended (ages 7-12). I recommend adding additional Lego pieces to the game.

Verbal Games are a fun way to teach facts to all ages. The one we play the most often is based on the alphabet, we call it the 'ABC Animal (food, state, capital, city, country...) Game'. We play it all the time; in the car, while waiting, during chore time, as we prepare dinner or when shopping.
The concept is simple. I say a letter and the child or children playing race to say something from their category that starts with that letter. When all of the children are playing, they each get a different category. Whoever can name their item the quickest wins that letter.
Example.... I will say the letter 'A' Gabrielle has to say an animal with that letter, Tyson has to say a food and Braden has to say a city.
Gabrielle and I often play this game while grocery shopping. I am amazed at the animals and foods she comes up with.

We also play verbal math games. I will say a math sentence, my child has to give me an answer.
Example.... 1+3-2*5-3= {7}
The older the child, the longer and harder the math sentence becomes. They really enjoy asking me math sentences too :)

I don't think

we'll be eating at this table today.

However, I am so thankful I have a resident chef because my list for today is
H.U.G.E

I'm not sure if we can really get it all done, but hopefully we'll make a big dent in it.

Topping the list is cleaning the garage, which will lead to cleaning the garden shed. Both have collected far too much junk the past few months. We need to sort, organize, relocate, and toss.

After the garage is clean I plan to clean the SUV.

Next we'll hit the house. The boys need to do major work in their room and I want to sort and organize both of the girls' rooms.

The toys and games need to be sorted as well.

We also have a 55 gallon fish tank and some salt water accessories. It needs a new home. Let me know if you are interested :)

Look out Goodwill, we'll be headed your way!

Savoring Each Moment

Of
.Autumn.
.SunShine.
.Green Grass.
.Picnic Lunch.

.Blond Curls.
.Sweet Cheeks.
.Baby Rolls.

.A Boy Almost A Man.

.Adventure.
.Fun.

.Laughter.
.Self Named Sloth Boy.

.Doing What Dad Does.
.Looking for Bucks.
.No Fear.

.Siblings.
.Love.
.Protection.
.Joy.

.Homeschooling.

Don't worry, we weren't trespassing.
We funded the signs.

Things to come

It was a full weekend

I'm a bit tired.
But we had a great time!

Making Bubbles

Need a cool off activity for your little ones?

Pull out the soap, a bucket or two, a few kitchen spoons and a whisk.

It'll keep them cooking up a storm for hours.

It's hot out there

So after a morning water fight, we did this for lunch.

Hummm....
I think it's just right!

You're wondering what that thing is around his chest?
I don't have a clue.
He went drilling with dad and come home with it.
It's been apart of his attire ever since.
.Boys.

Oh course the hot dogs were followed with Smores.
Dancin' hooting and haulering accompanied the roasting.

The chocolate was a bit impatient and began to melt while the kids danced on the beach, which was fine with me, melted chocolate and graham crackers are pretty good together.

Happy children indeed!
Notice the chocolate dripping from Tyson's Smore.

The lunch was given thumbs up all around.
Delicious!

Minute to Win It

We've finished our school books for the year!

YIPPEE
And...
I'm already looking for and buying material for next year. I know, it's months away, but it is never too early to start planning :) More on that another day.

While finishing is exciting and having a less structured day creates less stress for mom, rainy days and no books create more stress for mom. Why? My kids are creative, and sometimes their creativity, ok alot of times their creativity, tends to get them into trouble. We won't go there today.
Last week it was rainy and cold. Not a very great start to summer break. Determined not to go crazy, I decided to get creative. I didn't have to do much other than gather a few household items and pull up 'Minute to Win It' for 'The level -- Blueprint'. Love that show!

We had a blast :)

We started with The Egg Roll, then went on to Ping Tac Toe and Sticky Situation.

Next we tried Face The Cookie, which provided the most hilarious facial expressions.

We needed a little fruit to balance out our cookie, so next up was Johnny Apple Stack.

Then the kids were a bit thirsty, it was time for Tipsy.

We played numerous other games, all providing many laughs!

Next time your looking for something for you children to do, or an ice breaker for a group gathering, check out Minute to Win It for some great ideas!

Preschool Printables

First-School is a great resource for FREE printable worksheets and learning activities for your preschooler.

You can print pages like this
for learning the letter 'S'.

And pages like this

to practice handwriting.
First-School has practice pages in D'Nealian or Standard Block writing styles.

You will also find printables for:
Numbers
Seasons
Shapes
Months
Days of the Week
Holidays
Bookmarks
and many more activities!!

TIP: Many of the pages have color on them, to save on color ink, choose the black and white print option in your print setup.

Homemade Marshmallows

Who knew you could make marshmallows? Not me until a couple of years ago. Once you feel comfortable making the recipe, the ways to tweak it are endless. Add food coloring to create colored marshmallows. Change up the flavoring, use peppermint,almond, lemon... instead of vanilla. Spread it on a jellyroll pan and use greased cookie cutters to cut out shapes, roll them in hot cocoa mix...
These are just plain delicious!
Ingredients:
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
3/4 hot water
1 cup light corn syrup, divided
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
powdered sugar to roll marshmallows in

Butter an 11x8 pan, set aside

In a large mixing bowl (stand mixer bowl works best) soften gelatin in 1/2 cup cold water.

In a 2 qt saucepan, combine hot water, 1/2 cup syrup and sugar. Heat over high heat, while stirring, until the mixture comes to a boil. Clip on a candy thermometer and cook until the mixture reaches 238-244*. Do not stir mixture after it comes to a boil.

Remove syrup from heat and stir in remaining 1/2 cup syrup.
Using an electric mixer on low speed(stand mixer is easiest), slowly and carefully pour hot cooked syrup into the gelatin mixture. Once all of the syrup has been added, increase mixer speed to high. Beat for 10 - 15 minutes.

Taste some to make sure it is good.

Spoon marshmallow mixture into buttered pan.

Let cool approx 3 hours.
Flip out onto a powdered sugared surface.
Cut marshmallows with a knife dipped in hot water.

Roll marshmallows in powdered sugar to prevent sticking.

Store in an air tight container to prevent drying out.