Every year at preschool, the kids get a VIP day – a time when their family is invited to preschool for the day to help celebrate their birthday. They get a birthday crown, bring their favorite book to read to the class (Piper chose to bring Pinkalicious), and bring their favorite treats for snacktime. Piper’s VIP Day was February 12 and she had such a fun time celebrating with her family and preschool friends.
My friend Kelli had the great idea to throw a Valentine’s party for our homeschool friends. One the myths about homeschoolers is lack of socialization, but I am here to tell you – when do we not socialize? But organizing a party is a bit more work. Kelli took the reigns, but my place is larger so I offered to host. We worked together to come up with some activities we thought the kids would have fun with.
Of course though I had to start my kids day off right – heart pancakes with homemade strawberry syrup.
For the party, I rearranged our living space in an effort to create as open a space as possible.
I decorated a little bit:
Hearts above and in the entertainment center,
Chalkboard art,
and a Valentine’s banner. Nothing too much.
We had about 17 children at the party (including mine). We exchanged homemade Valentines, made Valentine’s crafts,
guessed how many candy hearts were in the container,
played a heart matching game,
and of course had lots of yummy treats!
The kids had a great time getting together with all of their friends!
January 1
2013 is gonna be GREAT, I can feel it! Happy New Year everyone!
The deep freezer is now full with our annual half-cow purchase. Check one thing off the 2013 list!
January 3
Tonight Piper informed Elliottt bedtime that she: didn't want songs, would like blue curtains with flowers, would like her door left open, wants pretzels with white frosting the next time I go shopping. I'm sure there's more in her brain, but that gives me something to work on...
Made Crockpot Chicken Tikka Masala tonight from a new recipe - TO DIE FOR! I could've licked the plate clean
January 6
After enjoying my nephew's baby blessing and family time I am using my Sunday afternoon productively - doing my Bible Study in James and reading Mission of Motherhood: Touching Your Child's Heart for Eternity. Then tonight we will be having family dinner to celebrate Grandpa's birthday. Now THAT'S a good Sabbath!
Get off Facebook Sarah and go watch Downton Abbey!! {fine, I'm going....}
January 7
We got Elliott's benefits package for his new job today. I just about asked him to stay put when I thought it was only going to cover 20% of health care. Then Elliott read it and informed me that the 20% is what WE covered. OK, I guess you can go work there now...
First day back at homeschool after an extended holiday break was just what we needed. I am refreshed and refocused and (hopefully) have priorities straight. Kids did good too! :)
January 8
Just made my own "trail mix" with all the odds and ends from the snack basket in the pantry. That'll clear out some space!
January 9
SUCH a busy day! A little ridiculous all the running around, activities, etc. How DO older kids do it all? I can't even imagine. Seriously. I can't even fathom it.
January 11
You know - 30 minute meals are NOT 30 minutes when kids are involved.
January 12
Only one more night of Fringe? Say it isn't so!
Just watched The Looper. I am glad to know there are still IKEA stores in 2044. Come on set decorators, you don't think I can spot that lampshade??
January 13
All you can eat pancakes at IHOP followed by the Golden Globes (and Red Carpet too). Now if the Patriots win it will be a perfect day!
January 15
I've been making "unfried" (i.e. baked) fries a couple of times now - and they are SO GOOD! There is no going back now...
January 18
Ava has requested to learn about ancient Egypt. I think she just wants to make our pyramid model, so I am gonna make her sit through all of my history reading first. Ha ha ha!
Tonight I thought dinner would be a surefire hit - scrambled eggs, i.e. breakfast for dinner - everyone's favorite. Except Lily was in a mood. And informed me she didn't like eggs. When Elliott got home (just in time for Lily's sake probably) she informed him she only liked eggs at IHOP. Now that's a blow to the ego, huh?
January 19
Anybody seen the show Flea Market Flip on HGTV? It's fun!
January 20
Finished a new quilt top! Woo hoo, that's been sitting in the "to-do" pile for awhile.
January 21
Tomorrow Ava and I are starting place value math. I know I found some good stuff (via Pinterest of course) when I get caught up in playing the online games and looking forward to using marshmallows in math!
January 22
My friend Lisa is sitting in on a Beth Moore live-taping tonight for a new study. What a blessing! I am so excited for her!!
Tonight I took all four girls to Macaroni Grill by myself. Two couples stopped by our table to compliment me on how good they were. That was special of them and very appreciated. It was also before Emma upchucked all over the table.
January 23
Can anyone recommend a good repairman for my washing machine? I think it might need a little work...
One of the girls stuck a large sticker on my shirt without me noticing and thus it went through the wash and I was left with all sorts of gunk on my shirt. I used doTerra's Lemon Essential Oil and it took the gunk RIGHT OUT - without leaving any sort of grease spots or other residue. SWEET!
You know how when everyone is playing so nice that you decide to let them stay up a little later, but then they go into *complete* meltdown mode because you let them stay up late and you think "I should've known better"? Yeah, me too.
January 24
All my mommy guilt about not studying Egypt today has gone out the window now that we have stumbled upon some Ancient Egypt program on TV. Thanks History Channel for helping me out!
January 26
Gettin' my sewing on: patterned my old apron (which I LOVE and I can't find a pattern anymore for it) to make some new ones and am turning all of my regular scarves into infinity scarves (which I wear better). But first, SLEEP. *yawn*
January 28
Emma has been a stinker lately about getting her fingernails trimmed - and we have all been paying the price for it. Well, after she passed out in the car on the way home from the grocery store you better believe the nail clippers were the first thing I grabbed. She didn't wake up one iota.. and then transferred right to bed for the rest of her nap. I think we may be on to something people!!
January 30
Tried to read Barbara Kingsolver's latest Flight Behavior. Just. Can't. Do. It. She is trying to shove so much backstory and description into every sentence. Ugh! It just doesn't flow well at all. Good thing I got it from the library.
Have you checked the price of granola at the grocery store lately? Ridiculous!
Most recipes use either an oil or a sugar as the binder. When I was growing up, my mom made her own granola using honey as the binder. However, this recipe uses applesauce, a much healthier alternative.
Since I have been canning my own applesauce (with no added sugar or flavorings) for a few years now, this is not only a healthy recipe but a very cost-effective one for my family. I use quick oats (because that’s what I always have on hand) and whatever combination of nuts and seeds I have on hand (which usually coordinates with what went on sale at the grocery store). Usually 4x the recipe will last me a month or so.
I hope you enjoy this granola as much as I do!
Applesauce Granola
Source: Fake Ginger
In mapping out our homeschool year, I basically planned out the order I wanted Ava to learn math. When I decided that the step beyond basic addition and subtraction would be place value, I turned to my trusty Pinterest to help me figure out some fun tips and tricks to teach it.
Using stackable styrofoam cups to represent the place value (ones, tens, hundreds) of numbers is a great visual aid. I would have the girls spin the cups then tell me the number they created. Although I made a “hundreds” cup, we usually stuck to tens and ones.
YouTube is a great place to find little fun videos for the girls to watch to learn in a very visual way. Though I don’t have specific examples for you, dig around a little and you will find something that works for you.
Another things that my friend Michelle told me about was making the “ones” into a house and the “tens” into apartments. So I used freezer paper and put a large roll of it on the floor. Then I gave Lily and Ava dot markers and had them make a house then an apartment, explaining that when there are more than 9 people in the house, they have to move to an apartment. Ha! They liked it.
Of course I also supplemented with fun worksheets I have from books I have gathered at thrift stores and garage sales.
There are lots of other activities to be found if you do a quick search on Pinterest. Here are a few others that I wasn’t able to squeeze in or I found after our course was done. I hope all of these ideas are helpful!
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