K-Tribe retired

De-Friend and Re-Friend & BIG GIVEAWAYS!

2011-08-08T06:28:00.000-07:00

HELLO! My blog has moved to a new address!
Please update your google friend to receive my new posts!

You will need to de-friend the K-tribe blog and Friend me on Believingin1.blogspot.com

I have some up coming give-aways I don't want you to miss.

Kelly

For Uncle Leonard and Friends

2011-07-21T10:09:00.000-07:00

It's been quite the shuttle ride NASA! Thanks! This video is for you. (It was the best one I could find)

Google Friend Connect

2011-07-17T13:34:00.000-07:00

HEY! My blog has moved. believingin1.blogspot.com I believe you have to re-friend on google connect. To see my new posts. Let me know if you have any problems.

Cousins

2011-07-13T04:26:00.000-07:00

I know I have been slow going in the summer here. I do have plans to spruce things up here Stay Tuned. :-) They are in the works by a wonderful PATIENT web designer. I also I will be writing over at Homeschool Village this August once a month as well. I am getting everything set in motion so we will be ready to go in August. So what have I been doing this summer? Well A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of taking pictures of my cute nieces and 1 that's right one little man.

Addy & Tori

Sweet Tori ;-)

The Group Shot. We gave this one to the grandparents. So in all reality this shot took all day. Here are some others you will have a good laugh about.

Smooth and Easy Days

2011-07-07T07:17:00.000-07:00

Smooth and Easy Days sounds like a Fairy Tale in a far away land some days. It’s possible though it just take planning, endurance, perseverance, patience.. Well you get the point! :-D I am realizing every school year this is not easy! I have surfed high and low and found great links to help me along with some great "bloggy friends".

Why re-create the wheel right? It works! I am so thankful for follow bloggers who take the time to show us how they plan. Here are some of my favorites.

-Planners-

Weekly Homeschool Planner by Homeschool Creations

Well Planned Day by Home Educating

OldSchool House Planner by Old School House

-Home School Planning-

Planning for the year- by Believe

Planning, Planning, Planning by The Kelley Eight

10 Days of.. - These are various bloggers writing about all sorts of topics.

Planning Your Homeschool Year by Homeschool Creations

-Are you just getting started in your journey?-

Home School Purpose Statement by Believe

Feeling Overwhelmed? by Leading Little hearts home

Homeschool Planning Tips by Spell Out Loud

Simply Charlotte Mason website is great resource.

Last but not least Homeschool Village is a great network of bloggers giving advice.

Side Note: I will be writing for them once a month on Tots and Babes. :-)

Happy Planning!

Mission of the Month

2011-07-02T18:28:00.000-07:00

Mama’s Mission of the Month

My Mama’s Mission of the Month is a mile long.

Here are my goals for this month.

Clean and organize toy/resource room.

Clean & Organize Basement.

Sell all newborn stuff. (sniffle, sniffle) Know anyone who needs girl clothes?

(I am selling them cheap cheap cheap)

Order the rest of our homeschool supplies.
Finish up reading Season’s of a Mother’s Heart.
Finish Sewing a quilt, and a couple of Crayon Rolls.

Do a little Paper Shuffling. I don’t have much planning for the upcoming school year! Yeah!! Just some small things here and there.

Well I think that’s enough don’t you? What are your goals for this month?

Mama Jenn is hosting Mama’s Mission of the Month. Why don't you head on over and link up too?

LENS Challenge /TILT/

2011-06-28T07:51:00.000-07:00

This weeks challenge.. /TILT/

No Tilt....

Tilt

What do you think? Which one is more appealing?

Wanna link up your photo? Head on over to Home is where you start from.

Home Educating Giveaway

2011-06-24T04:49:00.000-07:00

LooK at this great give away from Home Educating!

"A Journey Home" from Franklin Springs Media

"Beside Still Waters" by Tricia Goyer
Well Planned Day Planner, 2011-2012
1 year subscription to Home Educating Family Magazine

To enter head on over to Home Educating website.

Free Home School Curriculum Part 1

2011-06-23T05:30:00.000-07:00

Free Curriculum Part 1

Budgeting for Homeschooling can be a catch 22 in my house. I think I know what I want and then I drool over all the other stuff. I second guess, third guess and guess again if I bought the perfect curriculum and if I covered everything. That is when FREE curriculum can bless your socks off. As most seasoned Homeschoolers will tell you There is no perfect curriculum. I repeat this to myself frequently.. Come on say it with me, “There is no perfect curriculum.” It’s learning how to adjust what you have, making it work and supplementing where you can. I am so thankful to have a network of resources to pull from when we are struggling in certain areas.

Here are some resources all FREE minus printing and ink ;-)

Free Full Curriculum:
**Edit** How could I forget to add this link. It was sitting in the back of my head and I remembered yesterday. Don't be deceived by the title they have many current links as well.

An Old Fashioned Education

Free Reading Curriculum:

Florida Research Reading - Learning Center ideas, full lesson plans for various sounds, blends and then some more.

Progressive Phonics - Free phonics books teaching lessons included

You Can Read- from 1+1+1=1 This is fairly new from Carissa. She has been a blessing to a number of mother I am sure! I believe there are 3 levels at this point.

Ambleside Online also has some resources to point you in the right direction.

Free Books you can download and or print.

The Baldwin Project

Project Gutenburg

Google Books

Free Math Curriculum:

MEP Math- Free Math Curricula! Years 1-6

Math Dad's Worksheets - Drill math worksheets, you can even make your own.

Free Bible Curriculum:

Explorer’s Bible Curriculum- Enter in your email and they email you a link. You just download each week and you are ready to go.

Homeschool Creations- Jolanthe has great printables for Awanas. If you don't have Awanas near by these are great verses to memorize with your children as well.

Raising Rock Stars- from 1+1+1=1 once again I don't have to re-create the wheel. Great for Pre-K and K Full Curriculum with Lesson plans.

Science Curriculum:

Nature Studies - The is a great nature study resource based on The Handbook of Nature Study.

Lights Camera Action

2011-06-21T10:33:00.000-07:00

Our dear friend was cast in a History Channel Movie.

The story is about Abraham Lincoln. Caleb played him as a little boy.

The movie is due to air in January. In the mean time enjoy these pictures from his day in lights. Great Job Caleb!

Curriculum Roundup

2011-06-19T13:56:00.000-07:00

****EDIT*** I HAVE MOVED BLOGS! PLEASE BE SURE TO VISIT MY NEW BLOG FOR ALL NEW POSTS**** Be sure to update google friend or you will not receive new posts** Thanks for stopping by.

The first of many Curriculum round ups for sure! I do like checking out what everyone else is teaching. Stef over at Educating Layton had a link up this weekend.

Here are the bones of our upcoming school year.

History, Literature, Writing, Fine Arts, Geography, Government....

Tapestry of Grace. (aka TOG) Year 2 Between Ancient and Modern

MATH: Teaching Textbooks

Science and Bible Memory Work Classical Conversations

Science : Nature Studies,Considering God's Creation

Art: Drawing with Children

Spelling: Spelling Wisdom

Readers: We are still looking for if any at all and Handwriting I am sure we will use some sort of copy work.

Whew... That would be 3rd Grade.

Curriulum I will be using for my other daughters are

Letter of the Week (LOTW) from various sites and books

Delightful Reading and Hooked on Phonics
Baby & Tot School for 2.

Saxon Math K, 1

hmmmm did I forget anything???

Last Chance Giveaway

2011-06-17T19:09:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder about my giveaway.

Enter to win before Saturday night.

Follow this post and enter to win.

The Making of A Mother ( How to Overcome Failure)

2011-06-14T03:59:00.000-07:00

"I’m not so good at sewing buttons and I’m sporadic in bread-baking, but one thing I do pretty well is mess up.

I’m not sure there are any words more frequently bounced around the heart of a mom than some version of “I’m a failure.” (I heard that amen.)

In fact, I am prone to wake up in the middle of the night only to start rehearsing all the ways I’m letting my kids down, all the inadequacies and deficiencies, what I’m not giving them, and on and on. Until one night around 3am, as I was praying all my fretting back to the Lord, He’d had enough.

“Are you trusting in your good parenting, or are you trusting in Me?” He asked point blank."

To read the rest hop on over to Raising Homemakers.

.."Her skill set ranges from changing poopy diapers, catching vomit in her hands, probing body cavities for missing small objects, planning arts and crafts for small children, creating a loving environment for her family, and lassoing the moon."

A Mother's Introduction

Giveaway~Thirty-One Party

2011-06-12T18:55:00.000-07:00

We were on vacation all week and I did not plan any posts. I figured a giveaway would make up for it!

Are you still with me? I am hosting a house & online catalog party. A couple of weeks ago I ordered a hanging organizer and I am really liking it. Here is a picture of mine.

I got that idea from Sam over at The Kelley Eight.

Truth be told I am a sucker for bags. Thirty-one Gifts has some great ones. Really cute prints you can choose from and personalize.

If you order this month there is a great special. A large utility for only $9.00 regular price ($30.00) when you order $31 dollars worth of products.

Now for the Give-Away "The Mini Zipper-Pouch"

Rules for the giveaway
(Giveaway Closed) Winner was PAM!

Get One Entry Each:

-Stop by my catalog party at my house anytime this week and check out the catalog. :-)

-Visit the Thirty-one Gifts website and leave a comment telling me your favorite product.

-Follow me on blogger (it's on the bottom of the blog. )

Get 2 Entries: Place an order online click on "my events" and then click on Kelly's party or when you stop by fill out an order form.

HSV Playdate: Race ya to the Playground!

2011-06-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

Home School Village Playdate

Welcome to K-Tribe’s playground.

-About Us -

My husband and I have 4 Girls!....

“Yes, all girls.”

“Yes , they are all mine.”

“No no boys, except Daddy.”

"No boy dogs either my daughter is allergic."

“Why yes they are a handful..hand full of blessings”

“Just the 6 of us, the girls are 7,5,3,10 months.”

“No.. school is not out we homeschool.”

.....O am I rambling?...Please forgive me..I went into grocery store conversation..Moving on... :-D

We have been homeschooling for about 4 years now.

We lean towards Charlotte Mason, Classical approach to education.

Although Tot School is up for grabs and everyone enjoys it here. :-D Somedays it's the beautiful ugly...

I enjoy the 3 R's Reading, Researching, and Reviewing. I am also currently working on learning how to sew. :-)

Here on our blog you will find Reviews, Our Daily Fun or Disasters. Our moments of Learning, and Encouragement. Last but no least Links to encourage you to the women who do it better than I do. :-) Feel free to surf around. I look forward to hearing your comments and connecting with you all on these play dates.

Now it’s your turn to type.

What was the best advice you were given about homeschooling?

What is your favorite School or Organization tool?

Homeschool Postcards Link up

2011-06-01T17:52:00.000-07:00

OOO blogger I have had issues with you today!

Hello from Wild & Wonderful West Virginia!

Add your postcard over at Educating Layton

PS- There is a giveaway..... :-)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-01T04:54:00.000-07:00

Linking up with 5 Minutes for Mom.

We are Weeding and Watching.

2011-05-27T18:40:00.000-07:00

Hey Everybody! It has been so neat to see everyone's gardens and veggies growing.

Ok. Quick edit now that I have read the link details..

So what are we doing. We are weeding. Watching our green beans grow and leaf lettuce. Our Grape Vines and Apple Trees are slowing growing. I don't think we will get any harvest for a couple of years on the apple trees. The grapes will have more flavor each year as they cross pollinate. We also just planted potatoes. We do very well with them in our rocky soil.

Our first meal from our garden will be...

-Leaf Lettuce in a yummy salad-

What has Momma Learned?

The one thing I have learned about Leaf lettuce is you can only cut it once maybe twice. It gets bitter and goes to seed. YUCK! Tastes horrible. Lesson learned. :-)

Also never order plants from Direct Gardening, Waverly Garden or any place that says has an address of Bloomington, IL on there label... We just finished disputing with the company. They totally tried to take our money and run.. I am so thankful for our credit card working everything out!

'Ok here is the Back Story of our Garden if you care to read on...

We have had tons of rain.. I am hoping everything doesn't get rotted. I wanted to give you a quick look into our set up.

We used pyramid gardens this year. They are really nice. Pretty easy to set up. They come with a hose attachment.

We just plug the hose up and a sprinkler sits on the top of the garden and waters the whole thing. Its great!

It works so well we haven't had to turn on the hose once. Hahaa... All this crazy rain has been watering the garden for us. The girls truly pitch in and help Daddy do the hard work.

The wee little one and I just sit and watch. Is that wrong?

Grow little plants and veggies Grow... How are your plants doing?

Got a Button!

2011-05-23T13:10:00.000-07:00

Yeah! I just made a button. The code is on the right hand side.

Cliff's Notes from K-Tribe

2011-05-16T04:22:00.000-07:00

I made the The Old Schoolhouse Review Team! YEAH!!!!!!

What does this mean?

I will be posting reviews through out the upcoming year of homeschool products.

I am excited for this opportunity and hope you will enjoy reading and commenting. If you have never heard of Old Schoolhouse be sure to visit their site.

-A New Look and a New Schedule-

Hopefully over the next couple of weeks/months I will have a blog over haul. I have been working on a new house schedule and will share soon how I manage a house full.

NEXT!

School is coming to a close around here. I just finished our portfolio and am waiting to mail all that jazz in to the board. Planning for next year. I have 97% of everything I need for next year. Although we are always doing some sort of school around the here we take small breaks in the summer and keep on truckin'.

-Summer Bible Study-

I am doing a new bible study online and would love for you to join in.

Its called Good Morning Girls. It's Free too. :-)

The topic is Ministry of Motherhood. Click on over and download this weeks lesson.

What have you been up to?

K-Tribe

Why I Missed the Link Up Day

2011-05-04T13:25:00.000-07:00

Home School Village Garden Challenge OR Why I Missed the Link up Day.

I was so sad I missed the Garden Challenge link day. Of course their is a story on why I missed it. I have been planning a yard sale and getting ready for our Homeschool review. BUT that is not the real reason I missed the link up.

Picture This:

Setting: Nice warm sun was shinning , Morning dew laying on the green grass.

I grabbed my NEW camera and all 4 girls and headed out back to take pictures of what was growing in the garden.

Hostas

Bush Green Beans

As we walked around the yard and talked about what plants were coming up, I had a thought. more like a couple of thoughts...it went something like this:

“Why look at those pretty blue birds in our bird box.”

“I should take a picture of them.”

“ The bird box is a little high.”

Side Note: anything higher than 5 feet is high to me.

“Aww yes there is this lovely log right in front of the bird box, I can climb up there and take a picture.”

“Maybe I should put the baby down. Yea trying to balance a camera and a baby on a log that is not exactly straight could be a problem. “

I set baby down and decide to climb up on this log with my NEW camera, wet flipflops, and a long jean skirt on.

Keep Reading. This is where it gets good!

I am clicking away trying to figure out all the settings and with my new camera(Did I mention that is what new?) up on the log with wet flipflops, long jean skirt. When I started to slip a little with my NEW camera, wet flipflops.. ok you get the picture.

It would have been a fine and dandy trip off the Ye ol log onto the grass if these had not been in the way.

fast forward to the ground. “OOOOO OUCH!!!!” I think I am going to cry.

“Where is my mommy???” nope she's not here. "quick get up Kelly did the neighbors see?"

...Sniffle....Sniffle ....Limp, ......Limp.... I went back into the house.

I thought about taking pictures of the nice brusies that popped up litterally.

Due to the places of some of the brusies I will save face and just tell you they are not pretty. In the mean time enjoy this picture of a worm. See ya Lord willing at the next link up.

31 Days to Clean E-Book Want it Free?

2011-04-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

What a great opportunity to start Spring Cleaning with this book. I am so excited to get my copy. 31 Days to clean Having a Martha House the Mary Way.
Want a free copy? Follow theses instructions.

Free e-book today only: From RIGHT NOW until midnight tonight

(EST) you can get 31 Days to Clean – Having a Martha House the

Mary Way FREE just by using the hashtag #31daystoclean in a

tweet and linking to 31daystoclean.com OR by blogging about the

ebook!

The Old Schoolhouse Review- Zombie Fire Ants

2011-04-21T12:21:00.000-07:00

Zombie Fire Ants Unit Study

The Old Schoolhouse has published a wonderful series of unit studies called The Curiosity Files.

This was our first time completing a unit study and were excited to review such a product. We hit the unit study with ANTicipation thinking we were learning all about Fire Ants, but we were surprised to find out what a Zombie Fire Ant really is! It was amazing to learn how God has created certain insects for certain purposes. Questions like these are answered in the study :

What is a RIFA?

Are Fire Ants hard to get rid of?

Are Zombie Ants good?

“Just for Fun” was one of our favorite parts of the study. One of the projects my daughter had to do was to draw a picture based on the her answers to the questions I read. (If you like insects draw 3 rocks if not draw 2) and so on. She ended up with this cute picture with a giant ant hill and.....well I wont give it away! You’ll have to order the study for yourself to see what you end up with. :-)

This unit study really brought everything together nicely. History, Language arts, Copywork, Quizzes, Craft ideas, Math and of course Science. :-) My daughter had no idea she was doing school. We giggled and were grossed out all at the same time. Some of the activities and work were too advanced for my daughter's age(7), but she ended up learning a good amount despite not completing all suggested work. Also some of the craft ideas suggest peanut butter with a substitute of Nutella which one of my daughters is allergic to both. :-( I like the multi-age range of this study. If your younger is only seven or eight all your kids could be learning the same topic and learning at their level. The Curiosity Files suggested age range is 8-13. As you can tell this age range can be adjusted even up through high school.

You could easily use this for a Homeschool co-op as well. All the Curiosity File Unit Studies are studies on the abnormal and bizarre. Curiosity Files are Creation based. Professor Ana Lyze's , who is your guide through your studies, goal “ is to educate children about subjects they’d never find otherwise, to get them thinking creatively and give their minds some exercise.” I would agree with the Professor I never would have had my daughter study this subject. It has perked our interest so much we can’t wait to do the other studies as well.

Each unit study is normally only $6.95 or you can buy all 9 in a bundle pack for $46.00. Right now Old Schoolhouse has a sale going on where you can get some of the Curiosity files for only $1.00! What a deal!! Some of the other study titles include The Red Tide, Blue Diamond , The Puffer Fish, MRSA and more. To see more titles click on this link. The bundle pack is also available on CD. Our study was about 80 pages. I ended up I printing the unit because I like to be able to flip through and highlight. The pdf book does have links to youtube videos and websites as well so you may want to only print out the student activity worksheets and read the pdf version on your computer. Overall this was a great break in our regular studies. Thanks to The Old Schoolhouse for allowing us the opportunity to review this product!

I just linked up to THe Happy Housewife Reviews. Click on her link to see more reviews.

*I was not paid for this review. *

Ever happened at your house?

2011-04-07T13:19:00.000-07:00

School girl: Mommy what are you eating?"
Me: " mmmm..Nothing!!!
Tot girl:" Can I have some??"
Me : " I'm not eating anything!"
Preschool girl: "Look! Mommy has chocolate!"
Tot girl:" MOMMY!!!!"
School girl: (grins) "heheee"
Me: "No get back!!" "MINE!!" "MINE!!"
Baby: "Whoshie gaga"
Me: Ahhh!! They have surrounded me send help!

L.E.N.S Photo Challenge

2011-04-05T05:17:00.000-07:00

Well I missed the link up but couldn't help but post the picture I wanted to enter.

The Topic was READ. I walked around the corner and found the kiddos like this:

Go and check out the REAL entries over on Home is where you start from.

Spell Out Loud B-Day Bash

2011-04-05T05:12:00.000-07:00

Mo over at Spell Out Loud is having a Birthday Bash!
She is one of my favorites. If you have never checked out her blog now is the time. She is O' so creative. You can find craft ideas, all sorts of printables and digiscrapbook ideas. For her Birthday Bash she

is giving away b-day printables and of course prizes just for you!

I just wanted to say thanks Mo for all your hard work, ideas, reviews and cute pictures of the kids! You are a blessing to many moms. ((HUGS))

Happy Birthday Mo! So what are you waiting for go and visit her blog and join the party!

Homeschool Village Garden Challenge

2011-03-30T18:16:00.000-07:00

Homeschool Village Garden Challenge

Link up with us! Click here.

Garden Plans: We normally have a vegetable garden and we are making some new flower beds as well, but we have had a rough start so far. The weather has been crazy. It has been cold and then snowed today.

So since the snowy weather and we stuck in doors...again.... I created a garden notebook/journal page. The girls will be able to journal and draw pictures as a part of school. :-) You can print it out. Just click this link.

Learning has begun inside. We marched right to the library. We found some great books.

Here is a list of what we will be reading over the next couple of weeks.

Trellis and the Seed We will be working on a lapbook with this book. You can find it over on Homeschool Share.

Other books we picked up:

Seeds and more seeds by Selsam A Science I can read it book.

The Empty Pot by Demi OO Look Here it is online for free.

Sunflower By Ford (This is a nice little reader)

I can’t wait to see what others have planned. I will be surfing your blogs. Make sure you let me know you stopped by!

A Whisper

2011-03-29T12:02:00.000-07:00

A Whisper..A Turning of the Ear...

I know I am not the only one who can relate when I say:

I have learned so much about relationships since becoming a parent. Relationships between my husband and I, the children, and my Heavenly Father. I lost my voice towards the beginning of the year and wrote this in my journal. I thought this was worth sharing.

The good Lord has a gentle way of guiding mamas! Amen?

January 2011

.....I have completely lost my voice and the girls have had to turn their ear to pay attention. The whole tone in the house has changed since I have been whispering. Everyone got quieter. I remember hearing a wise mom say that when her kids get angry or yelling starts to overtake the house she whispers. “A Whisper” , “Well then they will continue to yell and not even listen to me” Seriously?? A Whisper.....

(Charlotte Mason speaks a great deal about turning the ear to pay attention. It is a habit I need to instill the the children. )

In general, it has not been easy with the girls running around stuck inside for the winter. It was hard to believe at first, but during the day they actually were quieter while they played. They were waiting to hear me. I even started to notice that little tot has started to whisper back to me. At some point during the day the Holy Spirit whispered this to me.. A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1 So true! Maybe I need to lose my voice more often.....or talk quieter.( no laughing to those who know me.) Have a Blessed Week.

L.E.N.S Challenge

2011-03-28T04:43:00.000-07:00

L.E.N.S Challenge

My First Time Linking up!

To see other bloggers pics of Spring head on over to the challenge link or link up too!

Have a great week

K-Tribe

Repost: Planning Home

2011-03-26T16:47:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed reading the post on "How to Get It All Done" over on Homeschool Village. I am editing and reposting my "Planning Home" post to add to The Homeschool Village. If you stop by from over there Say Hi! I like "meeting new friends!"

Is it just me or is planning emotional? I enjoy it to the fullest, but it drains me in the process some days. Although, I feel lost with out it. I find if I am not running off a list I feel a little unmotivated and anxious. Somedays run wonderfully others I have to push through. Here is how I plan my days and weeks to be Smooth and Easy. (Ideally speaking) :D

I feel the most accomplished and in control when I have a list or lists!

I have a planning day where I plan for the next week and write what I need to have accomplished for that week. I don't really run a monthly calendar other than what's is our school planner, which I check. I don't use my icalendar that much because there is something beautiful about paper! I like to take a couple moments each day and prioritize my day. I write everything down that needs to be down that day. Things like School, Kitchen, Laundry, Lunches, Dinner prep, Dinner, Dinner for next day. I also like to write in any appointments I have that week. I also like to accomplish one "me time" project ie. sewing, house projects and such.

My List that says "To Do List" is actually my dinner menus for the week. I keep it on the fridge. After Dinner the night before I check to see what I need to prep for the next day. It takes less than 5 min. to check. If hubby works late the next day I make sure he has enough food for lunch and dinner.

I like to plan on Thursdays. I plan my menu and any appointments for that week. I find if I wait until the weekend or Sunday night I am running too much and I get to stressed preparing for that week.

My Chore List is from Donna Young website. I really have benefited from her free printables. I also use her grocery list which I print out and leave on the fridge to update through the week. (Again, ideally speaking) I would love to run off a main schedule like suggested in Mangers of Their Homes. It "looks" very productive I just don't know how realistic that is at this point in our lives.

* Don't feel like you have to fill out the whole Chore Chart. I only use what benefits our day. For instance I don't fill out the bottom chart which says "Do This everyday".

What helps your day run smooth and easy?

Teaching Cursive Handwriting

2011-03-22T10:29:00.000-07:00

Teaching Cursive

Building great handwriting skills can be difficult , but here are some techniques we have had success with.

Trace Paper

Developing fine motor skills can be fun! We place Trace paper over our “Draw Write Now” books and trace the animal pictures. You can use any coloring books pictures or even picture from your favorite books.

Bulletin Board Letters

We use our Bulletin Board Cursive letters and trace with our fingers the letter we are practicing that day.

We trace 3-4 times with our fingers and then use scale down to a smaller size and trace again 3-4 times.

Cursive Page

We currently use "A Reason for Handwriting" and we also use Cursive pages from Worksheet works. When we begin our cursive page we make sure each letter is formed completely. Nice and neat work. I guide her hand at first. Sometimes we go back to the Bulletin Board Letter and retrace again. We do not always complete the whole Cursive page. We may only work on one page a week. Forming good habits is more important than completing the whole page.

We're Back with Moon Beams

2011-03-21T18:58:00.000-07:00

Ugh! We have had one sickness after another and we are finally on the mend. My camera also got sick and croaked. So my hubby bought me a new one! I hope to be back and blogging away in the meantime enjoy a little sneak peak.

Moon Watching:

Did you see how pretty the moon was on Saturday? The moon was the closest to earth than anytime in the past 18 years. Although it did not look super huge, like we have seen the Harvest moon. It was very bright! The girls enjoyed staying up late to check it out!

Playtime with Friends

The girls enjoyed playing outside in the Spring like weather and seeing good friends.

New Birds in Town

Blue birds were out and about. We are hoping they will nest in our new bird houses.

Lacrosse

Last but not least Lacrosse Season is here!

What have you been up to lately? Have you seen any signs of Spring yet?

3 Hobbits and a Giant

2011-02-20T06:10:00.000-08:00

Miracle Baby

We have known this family for years and have been praying for Prince Ryan for sometime now. We have had the privilege of watching him grow and seeing God work has been amazing to say the least.
Recently the news did a little clip on him and it just reminds me how precious he really is..

Watch the clip or visit them over at their blog.

News Clip

Blog: Living with 3 Hobbits and a Giant

Winter Organizing and Touch of Spring

2011-02-12T18:13:00.000-08:00

Ecclesiastes 3

"There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:"

My activities lately have been de-cluttering clothes, closets and still trying to organizing the school area just right. As our family grows it appears organizing is a constant theme. I wouldn't have it any other way. :-)

I always find ideas and inspiration from Rebecca. Her blog is one of my favorites!

I used different size Mason jars and tin cans to organize pencils, markers, glue and scissors.

Our school money is in one of the little mason jars so it is easy to get to.

Side jars bought at Walmart store our crayons and math manipulatives.

Reward basket and checklist hanging with sticker hooks.

The board hangs our preschool verses, crafts and math flash cards. This week I think I smiled every time I passed the table. It felt good to have everything at reach and not feel cluttered. The girls like being able to access the craft items all on there own as well.

As I promised here is the Touch of Spring. Well at least we are hoping it is!

He has been visiting us everyday in the afternoon to eat the berries off the tree.

Has anyone seen Daddy's shoes?

2011-01-29T15:33:00.000-08:00

The conversation went something like this..

Daddy: "Where are my shoes?"

Mommy: "I don't know did you look in the closet?"

Daddy: "uhhh Yes. I need my boots for work today."

15 minutes later...

Mommy: "Girls do you know where Daddy's boots are??

Girls: "Teeheee...O Yes..."

Happy Valentine's Day Daddy!!

Repost: Coloring Pasta

2011-01-13T06:35:00.000-08:00

What you need:

Rubbing Alcohol

Food Coloring

Dry Pasta

Large Ziploc plastic bags

Wax paper

Rubber gloves

Directions:

Pour 1/8 cup of rubbing alcohol into a plastic bag

Add food coloring more for darker colors.

Add ½ lb of dry pasta to the plastic bag

Seal the bag and shake, Let pasta set for 15-20 minutes.

Lay pasta out to dry on wax paper.

Crayon Roll

2011-01-13T06:17:00.000-08:00

Rollin’ Crayons!

I made them for my daughter's birthday. Aren't they cute?

Want to make your own? Here is the Tutorial I used. Happy sewing!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

2011-01-08T11:44:00.000-08:00

Broccoli Cheese Soup

O So Yummy! I have made this a couple times in the past month and it is so good.

Want the Homemade Recipe? Here it is.

4 cups of Broccoli / Cauliflower mix

8 cups Chicken Broth

5 medium potatoes peeled and cubed

1/4 cup chopped onion or diced I have done it both ways.

1/2 stick of butter. (The real stuff)

1 cup of whole milk. (Yup that’s right)

2 cups of sharp shredded cheese.

1 Tablespoon of Sour Cream (optional)

5-6 shakes of salt

4 Tablespoons of Rue. (4 tablespoons of melted butter + 4 tablespoons of flour)

Boil Broth and add potatoes and veggie mix and onion.

Boil until potatoes are mash consistency.

*Remember to save a cup or so of broth to add back in.*

Drain mix and add to large bowl.

In a large bowl or kitchen mixer add the veggies, milk, butter, Rue and cheese to the mixture.

Blend well adding more milk or broth for desired consistency.

Serving suggestions: Garlic Bread, Hot ham sandwiches. I like mine with oranges on the side. :-)

Enjoy!

On the 9th Day Of Christmas..

2010-12-17T07:56:00.000-08:00

9 LIGHTS A GLOWING...

8 Crayons a Rolling

7TH ORNAMENT BROKEN...

6 PLAY PRACTICES..

5 STACKING SQUARES..

4 tickets please...

3 QUILTS IN THE MAKING..

2 SNOW DAYS ALREADY.... AND

1 LITTLE HAPPY BABY....

Merry Christmas to family, friends & our online friends and Tot buddies .

Making Tracks

2010-12-14T08:17:00.000-08:00

So sorry for the delay Diesel and Family!!

These are November pictures.

We worked on number recognition with this little playdough mat.

Worked on scissors practice with the worksheets from http://www.worksheetworks.com/ Mamma LOVES this site!

Diesel with his new found love, PUZZLES. Thanks to his MawMaw who purchased them at the Dollar Store for just a few bucks (literally)! Diesel fell in love with the puzzles while Mommy was recovering from surgery.

He excels with the number recognition and really enjoys working on his numbers. Not so much with his letters; which is OK

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Diesel worked on a Thanksgiving craft (from 1+1+1=1). He colored, cut and pasted. Mama wrote down all the things he was thankful for. Very fun craft to do together and a great opportunity to talk about how God has blessed us; even for the simple things in life, like our pets Tasha and Moses.

Diesel is a Totschooling friend and he usually makes an appearance once a month to say Hi to family and friends. You can find his other posts under the Label Making Tracks.

Happy Holidays!

Tot Dental University

2010-12-01T12:45:00.000-08:00

On-Call 24/7

- Taking New Patients-

-Dentist needs little sleep and travels well most days.-

-Most Foods Accepted.-

-No Nuts Please. -
Check out what other Tots are doing
just click here!
We like to know you stopped by. Just leave us a comment.

Little Tots narration of Green Eggs & Ham?

2010-11-16T11:31:00.000-08:00

Here for your viewing pleasure. Narration of Green, Eggs and Ham via One Fish Two Fish.

The Vintage Pearl Giveaway!

2010-11-08T10:01:00.000-08:00

Look at what The Vintage Pearl is giving away.

It's called the Chunky layers of love. Let me tell you I love it!

This company has the best prices I have found for hand stamped jewelry. I have one of their bracelets marked on my Christmas list. It would be nice to have this necklace too! Just to feel like a pretty women in my jeans and sweaters this winter! Hop on over for a chance to win The Vintage Pearl giveaway.

Make Your Own Handwriting, Math, Geography, Puzzles, Calendars...

2010-11-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

WorksheetWorks.com is a life saver. (Sorry, link has been corrected.) You can make hundreds of different pages to use. There are printable maps, math problems, puzzles, calendars, graphic organizers, word searches and drum roll please..... handwriting pages!!

I can type in the words or sentences I want my kids to copy in trace, cursive or print. You can adjust the size of the letters and how you want the lines to print out.

Its so easy! I have been using them for Awana memory verses over the past couple of weeks.

I just type in the verse they are suppose to memorize for that week and print out the sheet for my daughter to copy. Now I have her copywork done and Awana pages all in one. :)

For the Tots. You can print these bad boys out.

Scissor Practice Sheets and....

Writing Foundations. These are great for keeping my tots hard at work.

Take a look for yourself...

I thought it would be a fun way to review her new words by typing them into a word search puzzle.

It was easy and quick Worksheetworks makes it for you.

Pre-K girl is working on Pre-Writing practice sheet. ( I printed it the wrong way, although she didn't mind.)

Tot Girl just wants to be included just is long as it looks like big sisters. :-)

Now go make some fun Free worksheets!

Did I mention this website is FREE! I love free stuff don't you?

(Just my 2 cents)

http://www.worksheetworks.com/

My Rock Stars

2010-10-26T12:22:00.000-07:00

Raising Rock Stars Preschool Style

The Letter: L,

The Color:Yellow,

Sight Word: See.

“Let your LIGHT shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.”

The past two weeks with this curriculum has really made our day go smoother with my little ones. My girls have really enjoyed doing the power points from 1+1+1=1 member section. We review the power point during the week and the girls take turns flipping through the slides. It is worth the $10.00! It helps me break up the day as well. The 10-15 can be a life saver. I am able to spend time focusing on School girl's school or taking care of baby. Sometimes I even get to go to the bathroom by myself....heheee...

The Word and Song Bible has been so neat to listen to. I checked this out at our church library and we have really enjoyed listening to the stories on tape. I am glad I still have a radio that has a tape player. ;-) (It looks like amazon has the book on CD) The girls follow along with the stories in the book. It also has songs through out the stories.

The Color YELLOW!

We played I spy with theses cards I made up of course the idea came from 1+1. ;)

We did the Candle Craft which was so cute. I really like having everything all planned out for me. All I have to do is download,print and laminate if I need to.The past two weeks I have not had to think of a craft at all. It has been great!

Perfect Find!

I just happened to find on Enchanted Learning a Leaf Book. The leaf book used the same sight word "see" for this week as the RRS. Pre School girl wanted to do her best writing the words out.

Letter L Hunt! We are searching for the letter of the week all over the house. It took Little Ms Tot to pick up on this but once she did she was on a roll.

This week I chose to laminate the story and leave on a big sheet instead of cutting it out. The girls take turns reading through the "I See" book. We are having a great week so far.

I also use the LOW curriculum and Jumbo Fun with this as well! Well that has been our week in a nut shell. Hope you guys have had fun learning. Don't forget to say Hi! I would like to see what you have been doing as well!! See the other Rock Stars over here.

Making Tracks

2010-10-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

Diesel and his mom are stopping by again to show us how school has been going....

Music Time

Diesel is playing the bells while singing "I'm In the Lord's Army" (music time) Diesel used several different instruments during this Music time.

Learning to write (learning to draw lines first). Worksheets are from http://abcjesuslovesme.com/learning-to-write.

Moons, Stars, Triangles! Diesel is working on shape recognition.

Diesel getting ready to watch a 3-D movie at COSI on dolphins and whales. Mama says "It was awesome and the best part was watching Diesel reaching out and trying to touch the dolphins and whales it was like we were underwater with them."

Diesel's Mom highly recommends this place! Diesel didn't want to leave and EVERYTHING is hands on. http://www.cosi.org/

Looks like Diesel is having a great time learning. Don't forget to say Hi!

T is for....

2010-10-18T12:46:00.000-07:00

Tot School 34 Months

We had a productive past couple of weeks. I jumped on board with The Raising Rock Stars! I ended up purchasing the Members Only deal. I am so happy I did we really like it! The power points are wonderful! The Member Only site is worth every penny! My tot and preschooler really enjoy it!
Here are a couple of pics of the RRS Board.

I even found cute star paper in my paper stash!

T is for Turtle puzzle. I also incorporated COH Letter of the Week Letter T stuff. I don't have any pics of us working on those but it was cute stuff!

Something Special Craft of the Tree worked perfect for this week. She is telling me it's a Tuh..Tuh..Tuh.. tree. ;)

Soaking in the The "T Show" holding our letter T.

Not really letter T, but we were making Orange and Red play dough for the fall! I try to make a new play dough color once a month.

While the girls were waiting for the play dough to cook they had a little snack.

Here is the finished product. We also made extra for our one special preschooler for Fall Nature Walk we hosted.

Check out other Tots over here. You may even want to link up!

Autumn- A Time of Change

2010-10-08T11:46:00.000-07:00

"No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace

as I have seen in one autumnal face."

by John Donne

This is our first attempt of a Nature Table. The Branch Vase we made a couple of weeks ago. We filled the Branch Vase with acorns of various colors, shapes and sizes. Hope you will celebrate Autumn with us. Enjoy these upcoming weeks as the leaves change.

Home School Village Link up- Lunch ideas

2010-10-06T13:11:00.000-07:00

What’s For Lunch!?!?

Peanuts are evil at our house and so are tree nuts, eggs and unfortunately the list goes on. Two of my four children have food allergies. So meals at our house can be a bit of a challenge. I try to make sure no matter what they eat, I pack on the protein to make sure they get that before anything else. When I can I like to make it a little fun. ;-)

Here is what we did a couple of weeks ago. This Lunch is protein packed that is for sure!

Hair: Leftover cooked angel hair pasta.

Eyes: Cheese and black beans

Nose: one little black bean

Smile: Rolled up Boar's Head Salami (nitrate free). Boar's Head is probably the best over the counter deli meat you can get.

They had a side bowl of black beans as well.

Now to get down and dirty here are the Food Facts:

Angel Hair Pasta: I am not sure how much a 2 oz serving is but I probably use 1/4 cup of pasta. For 2 oz : 10 grams of protein, 38 carbs, 1 grams of fat.

Boar's Head Hard Salami: 10 grams of Protein (about 6 slices) 9 grams of fat. 0 carbs

Black Beans: 1/2 cup is about 7 grams of protein 19 carbs, 6 grams of fiber

Cheese: Ok so this is the really bad one! We really love cheese...9 grams of fat Ugh! and 7 grams protein. Ok, So looking at the fat intake on that one maybe I should cut out cheese.

We don't do a lot of desserts because of food allergies so Fruit is normally dessert at our house.

Join me over at The Village for more lunch ideas!

To see more HSV Lunch ideas just click on the link. You can also find the icon at the top of the post or on my home page left side bar. :-)

Meal Planning Monday

2010-09-27T05:53:00.000-07:00

Dinner Menu

Monday:Ham & Potato Casserole

Tuesday: Steak & Potatoes

Wednesday: Chicken Roast

Thursday:Steakums

Friday: Tacos

Saturday: Chicken Pot Pie

Sunday: Left Overs

Snacks:

Popcorn

grapes

cheese, crackers

Extras Just In Case I Forgot To Unfreeze Dinners:

Pizza

Pasta

Salmon Cakes

Tot Flying School

2010-09-24T15:03:00.000-07:00

Little Tot is 33 months. If you want to see more tots click the Tot School Picture.

Little Tot has really been putting words together over the last month.
I wanted to share this story with her Tot School pictures this week.

We were watching a movie and folding laundry. Little Tot saw the boy in the movie flying and skiing on top of the clouds.
I decided to tell her that it wasn't real after seeing the amazement in her eyes. I wanted to make sure she knew she could not jump out the window and fly like the little boy. Uhh and yes she would be the one.... Here is the conversation that followed..

Mama: "Sweet Pea you know that's not real.."
Little Tot: (flapping arms like wings and smiling in a cute tot voice), "...Awwww I fly..yes?"

Mama: " Awww Honey you can't fly."
Little Tot: (moving hands like steps), "OK I walk, walk ,walk."

Mama: (Grin and Chuckling) " Honey we can't walk on clouds it's pretend."
Little Tot: (Shaking head up and down showing me step by step how this would happen) , "D-D-D-Daddy hold me and fly Daddy carry me."

Mama: (Smiling and kissing Little Tot for being so cute and persistent), " Daddy can't fly either Honey."
Little Tot: (showing disproval in her face) , "AWWHHHHH", (moving arms like wings again), "Pop Pop Fly!! "

She just too cute! Don't ya think?

Branch Vase

2010-09-24T12:34:00.000-07:00

Supply List-
-Plastic or Glass Jar
-Small Sticks,Twigs
-Hot Glue Gun and Glue
-Suggested Filling: Acorns or Fresh Flowers

I saw this cute Nature Vase over on Garden Mama blog. My goal is to do a craft a week with the girls. I am so glad for these types of blogs! I am just getting into crafts (gulp) I have to get over the mess factor. I am using the "Breathing Technique" through each craft.

Ya know, the internal conversation:
"Breathe Kelly it's going to be OK to make a mess" ,
"It's Ok just breathe." "Isn't this fun girls?",
"We will just clean it up... that's right.. we can clean it up..."
You moms know what I am talking about right?? Please say YES! ;)

So here we go...
I washed out a Mayo jar and dried it ahead of time.
*Inside Tip* If you use a plastic jar like I did make sure the hot glue does not melt the jar.

We took a brisk walk in the woods trying not to eat too many gnats and gathered a bunch of twigs and sticks. We measured the sticks against the jar . Broke off the sticks until we found the desired length. We chose not to make them even at the top.

The girls thought it would be fun to glue on the acorn "hat" tops to some of them.

We glued the measured sticks first. Once I glued in the sticks all the way around. I went back and filled in any holes around the jar. I just broke off the extra sticks into smaller pieces and filled them in.

We then glued on a couple of acorn hats.

Acorn Casserole anyone? We looked for the best acorns and filled the jar to the top!

Doesn't look pretty?

This can be used all year round. You can fill it with flowers as well!

Here is the finished product.

Stop Look Listen Diesel is Here!

2010-09-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

I want to give a Big Hello & Welcome To Little Diesel! He is a Tot Schooler and will be "Making Tracks" here once a month to say Hi to family and friends. So family and friends let Little Diesel know that you stopped by and say Hi! Feel free to leave a comment for him under anonymous and just leave your name at the end of the message and he will know.
FYI: If you leave a comment just refer to him as Diesel not his real name. Thank you.
Soo are you ready? ALL ABOARD!!!!!

Here are his first school pictures!

Everybody knows The Leap Frog Alphabet! Diesel sang each letter sound.

Diesel is working on his Tot Lapbook from 1+1+1=1.

This is actually an old game called, “Mastermind”. Diesel actually pulled this game out himself and wanted to separate all the colors and put them in the tiny holes on the board in rows. So, I got the idea to get out an old egg container and have him separate them by color. He really enjoyed it and it was so simple!

This is a great fine motor activity for little fingers.

Color recognition. (Nothing like school in your slippers!)

We ended our school time by playing with blocks. Momma even got down with him and played. He loved that!

Menu Monday

2010-09-20T04:30:00.000-07:00

This one is for you Unlce Craig!

Meal Planning Monday

Monday: Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Tuesday: Lasagna , Lemon Broccoli, Garlic Bread

Wednesday: Salmon Cakes and Fresh Veggies

Thursday: Chicken Roast & Potatoes

Friday: Hamburgers, Potato Salad & Greens

Saturday: Chicken on the Grill & Salad

Need more inspiration check out Organizing Junkie link up.

Salmon Cakes with Dill Sauce

2010-09-18T03:00:00.000-07:00

I am not a seafood person at all but this recipe is so good!! My Step-Mom and Dad made this for us and I am hooked! It must be the dip! :)

You can find the recipe on Eating Well. Although we make some substitutions and additions.

3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely diced
2 tablespoons dill
15 ounces canned salmon, drained, or 1 1/2 cups cooked salmon
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 3/4 cups quick oats
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1-2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery; cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in parsley; remove from the heat.
Place salmon in a medium bowl. Flake apart with a fork; remove any bones and skin. Add egg and mustard; mix well. Add the onion mixture, breadcrumbs and pepper; mix well.
Shape the mixture into 8 patties, about 2 1/2 inches wide.
Heat remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in the pan over medium heat.
Add 4 patties and cook until the undersides are golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a wide spatula, turn them over onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining patties.Bake the salmon cakes until golden on top and heated through, 15 to 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare Creamy Dill Sauce. Serve salmon cakes with sauce and lemon wedges.

Creamy Dill Sauce
(Which can be used the rest of the week for yummy dressing for sandwiches or chips! :)

1/4 cup Vegenaise( Its actually pretty good) or mayonnaise
1/4 cup Fage (Fa-yeh) Greek plain yogurt or plain yogurt
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Mix all above ingredients and store for up to 2 days.

Labels for Party Glasses

2010-09-17T04:30:00.000-07:00

Labeling Party Glasses

I saw this idea and loved it! Mason jars with everyone's name printed on the glass. I did not have a scallop punch but found clipart online. I added everyones name in the middle of the scalloped circle with a fancy font. Laminated the circles and taped them on the glasses. It worked the tape stuck just fine unless you picked it off. Of course you can super fancy with these you can make them pretty scalloped punches stickers and stick them on. Make a full ribbon around the jar. For now this works for us!

My Top 10 Favorite Homeschool Blogs - Updated

2010-09-16T07:48:00.000-07:00

My Top 10 Favorite Homeschool Blogs

I could not say thank you enough to these bloggers!!! They have encouraged and blessed me in so many ways. These are not listed in any particular order. Just ones I frequent. You can see a full link page by clicking here or on my links label. All of these website printables are FREE FREE FREE! I have given a brief description of each. Have Fun!

1. Leading little ones home- She is a Mom of 5 girls! She encourages and strengthens any homeschool mom with her articles and ideas. She has been a wonderful spiritual mentor for me.

2. Homeschool Creations Great Printables, Craft ideas, Elementary printables, Awana printables also Tot Stuff. I am looking forward to using some of her geography ideas. She hosts a great curriculum giveaway twice a year. Her list goes on and on.

3. 1+1+1=1 The mega Tot site!! I am sure you have heard of it by now :) Thanks Leighann for that one! Tot School, Bible curriculum, crafts, printables, letter of the week, etc. Great network links of other tot blogs as well! She has also added Out of the Zone posts about her older son's homeschooling journey. Did I mention she does giveaways too!

4. Confessions of a Homeschooler- Very cute Letter Of The Week curriculum. You can pick and sort through or print them all out. Of course there is more on her webiste!

5. Spell Out Loud- Homeschooler. She is a TOS reviewer, a digi scrapper, and has great craft ideas.

6. Mama Jenn- She has two sets of twins and one girl! She has great craft ideas and Bible printables. Free Free Free

7 Home Grown Hearts- This blog has tot school, preschool activities, and printables.

7.5 The Snail's Trail- She is knowledgeable about many areas of teaching. She is the one who designed the infamous paint chip phonics game. She is also the founder of Social girl media "creating custom Facebook Pages for businesses and organizations, in addition to being an educational technology consultant."

8. Nature Study - The is a great nature study resource based on The Handbook of Nature Study. OO so handy for art and Science lessons.

9. Ambelside Online- This blog lists suggested year plans for a CM year and has great book resources. Also lists websites for online books that are free.

10. Simply Charlotte Mason This blog defines CM education along with resources to teach.

Chicken Pot Pie

2010-09-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe I got from "Miserly Moms" by Jonni McCoy
I end up adding more chicken, but this is the basic recipe.
Cost of Dish: $2.70 serves 4
Preheat oven to 375 F
1 Cup Chicken Broth
1 Onion Diced
1 Potato Peeled and Cubed
2 Carrots Peeled and Cubed
3 Ribs Celery Cubed
1 Cup left over chicken
2 T Rue( 1 T Butter, + 1 T Flour, melted together)
1 tsp Sage
1 Tsp Oregano
1/2 Tsp Paprika
1/2 Tsp Pepper
(I Omit all seasoning and just add Lawrys Season Salt)
Combine all ingredients in a pan and stir over high heat. Put in a baking dish and spoon crust on top.

Quick Spoon-On Crust
1 cup Flour
1-cup Milk
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 T Melted Butter
1/2 tsp Pepper
Combine all and spoon over chicken.
Bake 375 for 45 minutes.

School Pictures

2010-09-07T13:26:00.000-07:00

1 and...

Our friend who just started homeschooling! He will be making a debut soon here on K-tribe with his own Label "Making Tracks"

Cloth Diaper Orgainzer

2010-08-30T03:00:00.000-07:00

Cloth Diapering is working out rather well. I only have time to do a quick post. I wanted to do an update about our diapers.

I did not have room in the baby dresser to store the Cloth Diapers (CD). So I came up with this.

I put pretty paper in the front drawers and typed up what I keep in each so Hubby or I can put them away in the right place. ;-) I have had these storage drawers forever. I did have the kid's bathroom stuff in them and I was able to purchase a smaller one.
Here is what is in each drawer.
Drawer 1. - Fleece Liners and Diaper Cream
Drawer 2. - Diaper Covers and the liners I use for just them
Drawer 3. - Pocket Diaper Inserts (All Sizes)
Drawer 4. - Pocket Diapers (stuffed)
Drawer 5.- Pocket Diapers

Say Hello To Girl #4!

2010-08-19T12:44:00.000-07:00

Be Back Soon!

2010-08-12T13:26:00.000-07:00

I will be back blogging soon!

Our Allergy Story Part 2

2010-07-31T03:00:00.000-07:00

My husband was away on a business trip and I was pregnant with my third. The Dr. called and said I would like to go over your daughter's results with you. I said OK. Sounds good.
I was thinking finally answers now I can figure out what is going on and get on with life...
Dr: " OK lets get started here I will read abnormal responses."
Me: "OK"
Dr:" crab, shrimp, tuna, salmon, Your daughter should stay away from all shelfish."
Me"OK"
Dr: "Ok lets move on to the next one.
Cashew abnormal, almond, Coconut, Pecan, Hazelnut, Peanut." Yep She should avoid all Peanuts and All Tree nuts."
Me: "Ok that makes sense."
Dr: " All right lets go on.."
Me: At this point, everything turned into a big blur.. I just kept hearing the Dr. list food names and saying abnormal , abnormal,
Dr:" She needs to avoid egg yolks, egg whites, oat, soy, gluten, wheat, beef." Mrs K I think you need to find another allergist to handle her. I am unable to handle this as a Dr. This is too much for me. "
Me: "umm... OK (crying).... What do I do? Who can I contact?"
Dr: "Well you might want to get her involved in a Food challenge program and see Dr. W at Hopkins." Find a Dietitian before you make her sick anymore." (side note Dr. W does not take my insurance , takes 6 months to a year to get into his office and costs a $1,000 for the first visit. )
Me: " uhhh... OK"
Dr." Ok Goodbye"
Me: "Good bye"
WHAT?!?!?!?!?! JUST HAPPENED!!! PANIC SET IN TO SAY THE LEAST!

I was not sure what to do! I couldn't believe a Dr. told us to find someone else and to stop feeding her before I make her sick." What am I suppose to feed her?
Sooo I checked to see if I could get in to Hopkins nope that was not going to happen.. So I tried another state and found another Dr.
So , if you are keeping track at this point that would be 4 Dr's in less than a year. I turned into a label reading crazy pregnant women! She was eating very little protein and was already a very picky eater. I did the best I could with the information I had.
Our appt finally came with this new Dr. and he looked at the results and said here let me give you a copy and we can go over this together.
So long long story a little short (hahaha) Some of the "abnormals" the previous Dr. had read to me and said she was allergic to were not very high "abnormals"... So because her immune system was already high due to a previous reaction some things test abnormal but she would not normally be allergic too.

She has never had a reaction to beef, milk, wheat, or gluten, or soy. So he suggested watching her and letting her choose what she eats. He suggested also watching for reactions when she did eat those foods.

WHEW!! That was a semi- relief!! We have gone almost 6 months since her last reaction. Peppermint is her latest food allergy.

So that my friends is our story so far..She is a fighter and I am thankful for that. The Dr's say she would not be alive if she wasn't a fighter at this point. I hope some other mothers will pick up on the little things their children are telling them and trust themselves to push for answers when you know something is just not right after hearing our story.

I have learned a good amount about allergies and can not believe they way some things are labeled. It's like searching for Waldo. You do have to read every ingredient. Most allergy children have reactions because of cross- contamination not because they actually eat the foods they are allergic to, but that's another post for another day....

Our Allergy Story Part 1

2010-07-28T03:00:00.000-07:00

When my allergy girl was born I did the same thing I did with my previous newborn. When I would nurse her in the middle of the night I would snack on Peanut Butter Crackers and water to keep my energy up.
She would spit up soo much I would have to change my clothes. Yet I just thought maybe she just ate too much. She would cry a lot.. I thought she was just colic...

Around 15 months or so I gave her peanut butter crackers in the car.. She threw up all over. I thought she maybe choked on one of the crackers. She refused the rest and we went home and she took a nap..

A couple of months later I again tried to give her the crackers she refused them, I thought , "Wow she must not be hungry." We were out at a friends house and it was all I had at the time and she would not eat them..

By the time she was two I remember so plainly eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and she asked for some. I went to give her a little taste and the peanut butter just touched her bottom lip and I watched her lips, face, neck, back, belly break out in hives with in seconds.

I couldn't believe it! All these months! The past 2 years what have I been doing!! She is allergic to Peanuts! I gave her meds to take care of the hives and took her to Dr immediately. Of course they got me in very quickly but this specific Dr. was not to helpful to say the least. He just said "Yep she's allergic stay away from peanuts." He did not give us an epi-pen he said I may want to at some point she an allergiest , but maybe when she is older. Well , I took her to an allergist with in the month. They also were not very helpful they did give us an epi-pen and show us how to use it. I took her to an ENT Dr because her nose was always running and she was a mouth breather and she would just drool all the time. They said her adenoids were big and should be removed. The benefits would be she would breath better and her drooling would stop. When they did the surgery the they tested her blood for only environmental allergies at the time. The Dr took it upon himself to go ahead and test.
I did not know I could request more testing and I should have. We found out she was allergic to cats, dogs and grass. Which would explain the random hives she would get because of our cat! Sooo out went the cat! Her nose and hives did get better. I asked them if I could have her tested for other allergies and they said when she is older. That just did not set right with me..

SOOO as months went by and she was continuing to throw up more to different things I knew she had to be allergic to more. I began reading more about food allergies and trying to pinpoint certain things that were setting her immune system off. I found another allergist 30 minutes away and finally got some answers. The Dr. and I thought it would be best to do a blood test of the Top 8 and I could request more. The Dr called and I was happy to hear what was going on but it was more than I ever imagined... To be continued....

Planning For Tot and PRE-K/Kindergarden (UGH)

2010-07-26T03:00:00.000-07:00

This has been so hard for me. It's because I do not like to get messy I am sure. I keep running in my head O Crafts!! O CRAFTS!! WHY O WHY!!! I know the kids love it!!! At the moment I am not where I wanted to be with planning, but it will have to do. I confess I cheated on planning a little.
Here is what I have going on. I again have a planning binder to put all my goodies in.

I made a list of all the sensory bins and Tot ideas I can do with the girls.

* I would like to plan the weeks instead of just grab at this point, but I am running out of energy quickly.*

Thanks to these two blogs I don't have to recreate the wheel!

1+1+1=1 and Homeschool Creations has some great forms to plan with. I would probably and like to plan for 12 weeks and see how it goes and then adjust from there.

I once again used a Curriculum Block Form to plan out what I am using for each child.

This is a monthly print out from Hubbard's Cupboard . There is a Full FREE!! Curriculum listed on there called Joyful Hearts. I liked her character trait teaching ideas and verses.

I am using a Combo of Letter of The Week Materials. Jumbo Fun With the Alphabet and Letter of the Week from COH. I would like to get to Staples and make copies of Jumbo Fun, but I think I am running out of time with baby getting here.

For the Letter of The Week Curriculum I chose to print off selected activities for each letter and place them in a file drawer. I also have other printables in here I have printed off the web.

The younger ones like to have binders like big sister. I color coded the binders and I will place their worksheet activities in there for them. We will go over alphabet sounds everyday so it is placed in the front.

They have a pocket divider for each day where I will place their work.

For other activities , I will refer them to the Tot Bins.

This is a work still in progress as far as planning and figuring out how this will run smoothly.

To see a full list of what curriculum we are using click to this post.

How are you planning for Tot School or PRE K?

This always scares me.

2010-07-21T03:00:00.000-07:00

If you know me you are thinking spiders right?? Well those do :-) , but not more than my daughter's Epi-pens.
I just had to have them refilled, yes we have two. We have come close , but thankfully we have not had to use them.

If my daughter stops breathing due to any allergies she has I am to jab this shot into her thigh. Call 911 and then if the ambulances does not respond in 10 minutes. I then jab the other one into her leg. O and if I leave her with someone I have to trust that they will not hesitate to do the same thing. Every second counts with life threatening allergies.

What does an Epi-pen do?

It keeps her alive! It provides blood to her major organs until a Dr. can treat her with other medication.

What are the side effects?

Blue fingers, blue toes, more throwing up, did I mention turning blue, weakness, headache, chest pain, trembling.

Her Epi-Pens have to stay with her where ever she is. She knows that she needs them. She remembers what it is like have an allergic reaction and she knows that even though it's a shot it will keep her alive if she needs it.

She is one of the strongest four olds that I know! Who do you know that can look at cake, ice cream, chocolate, Peanut Butter and say I can't have that it will make me sick?

What 4 year old does that?

She doesn't even try to sneak the food that she knows could make her sick. She can watch other kids eat it and walk away. That my friends is Self-Control!

( I try to make sure I always have an extra special something on hand just for her to eat , but sometimes that doesn't happen. ) She does well with her "thorn". I know she is smart and a fighter and that's just the way we like her! :)

Planning For The Year

2010-07-19T03:00:00.000-07:00

**This is a series of scheduled planning posts while I am preparing and taking care of new baby girl. Please forgive me if your questions or posts do not get answered or post up as fast as they should.**

I mulled over this for a couple of weeks before I finally dove in. I enjoy planning , but figuring out how to get there is a struggle for me unless I just dive in and experience trial and error until I figure it out. So I did some research via other experienced homeschool blogs and I found some great ideas. Thanks & Hugs to Dana for all her help! All the credit goes to her! Here is a break down of what I did. or how I copied her idea. :-)

FIRST THINGS FIRST

-Choose Your Course of Study and List Your Curriculum

I used forms from Donna Young website to help me with this step. Here is the Course of Study Form I used. Here is the Curriculum Planning Form. To see what curriculum we choose click on my Curriculum Label or here.
I use a different color for each child.

Make A Spreadsheet

I made my spread sheet with weeks listed down the columns & Subjects listed across the top rows.
I then started typing and filling in those blocks! I planned for any breaks ie: Christmas, Spring, etc..

I focused on all the main subjects first and then added the rest once I felt comfortable with what I was planning.

For instance for our Readers/ Chapter Books I counted how pages each story was and decided how long I thought it might take to get through those stories. I marked that many weeks for that story and so on.

I used the Table of Contents of each curriculum choice. I took a glance at each lesson to see how many days I would like to take to cover each lesson. I am also giving time for adjustments through out my scheduled weeks.
I gave 2 or so weeks of adjustment time for each quarter in case we are running behind or need time to work on something special.
I also have two curriculums (Science & Geography) that refer to each other so I pieced those lessons together as well and filled in the holes.

MAKE A BOOK & FIELD TRIP LIST:

I made a book list of all the books I would like for us to read or need to borrow from the library.
I looked up on the library website the ISBN numbers and made sure they carried the books. If they did not I was going to have to order inter- library. I wrote down the ISBN number for each book and if I would need to pre-order to find those books to give me time to prepare.

I then plugged into the spread sheet what week I was going to need those books.
I also made a form for any field trip ideas I thought we could take and other information.

NEXT

I took apart any workbooks and had them copied like Considering God's Creation. I plan on using it for each child and this is a multi-level study. There were pages to be cut apart and note booking lessons. So I took my pages to Staples and they copied all of the pages I needed one sided. *I used my Staples Rewards from ink and my teacher discount card I ended up paying 3 cents!! for over 300 pages* :-)

I am skipping ahead here, but I also have a couple of workbooks that I just pulled apart and placed in page protectors to be used with a dry erase marker. I also place those workbooks in a binder. I have labeled all my binders and keep them together.

THEN

Here we are back on Task. :) I bought a Big Binder the biggest I could find!, Numbered Index Tabs (boy were those a pain to find locally, I found them at Staples , but I had to hole punch them.), Writable divider tabs, and 2 sets of pocket divider tabs for my daughter's binder.

I printed out a clean Curriculum Spreadsheet Sheet, My Book List and placed at the front of the binder in page protectors for reference.
I used my Yearly Spreadsheet to view what I was going to need for each week.
I then placed any worksheets in that tab for that week through the end of the year.

I also made a Weekly Check List for my daughter to put in the front of her binder.

She likes to see what needs to be accomplished for that week. I have stickers she can place in each block as she completes each assignment.

I only printed 1 quarter to start with. Just in case something is taking us a little longer to complete. I don't want to waste paper or planning that far in advance with her weekly sheets.

In her Binder she has weekly pocket dividers tabbed in her binder listed (Monday-Friday) for her work to be kept in.
I will pull out each week from the yearly planner and put her work in her binder according to each day. Behind each weekly tab is a pocket divider Tab that says "Work with Mom". I place any work in there where I know she will need my help or if she gets stuck she can just place it in there and move on if I am not able to help her right away.

TWEAKS & ADJUSTMENTS

YES, I plan on things happening (hahaa ) , but having a schedule gives us a great place to start. It let's us see what needs to be accomplished for that year. I also gave myself in my yearly schedule planner a week of adjustments/evaluation if need be if something just is working right. I don't feel stressed about planning every week now and trying to figure out what to do on top of having a newborn. I am sure I will tweak things here and there , but I am so excited everything is neatly in a binder waiting for next school year!

For The Next Time and To Summarize

I really wish I would have been able to have a get away, but it just didn't work out this year. I am sure I would have been able to get it done fairly quickly if I wasn't still pregnant, teaching and taking care of household things. (Sigh) It probably took me about 2 months on and off. I knew I would not have enough energy at this point to get through and plan a year worth of school.

I think I learned more than I thought I would as I put everything together. I don't regret it at all! Planning for the whole year really got me focused as a teacher. It helped me plan for things that would have been difficult to put together at the last minute. The bigger our family gets the more important it is for me to plan and make sure our house runs smoothly. I feel confident to start my school year even with a 2nd grader (hard to believe), Kindergardener (reading already), one Tot (full of energy) and a Cloth Diaper wearing Newborn!

Are you planning for next school year? I hope so it's worth it. Like I said I am so Thankful to Dana for her post on all this. She blogs over at The Sunny Side of the Room.
Let me know how you are planning for the year.

......Next Monday: Planning For Tot School and Pre K- K. UGH!!

Velcro Medical ID Bracelet

2010-07-16T03:00:00.000-07:00

I bought this bracelet for my allergy child. I thought this one would be more comfortable for her to wear when I am not with her or in big crowds.

Cool Features:

Latex Free

-It comes in various colors. (Camo, pink, gray, purple to name a few.)

-The bracelet is waterproof

-It has adjustable velcro and can grow with her up through age 9 and then I just buy a bigger size.

-Inside the bracelet is a waterproof pull out tab. You can write down your child's name and emergency contact information.

-You can attach it anywhere shoes, wrist, ankle, or bag.

I think this bracelet is good for any child who has any special needs. It can also come in handy if you have a little one who gets lost.

I bought this bracelet over 2 years ago and I can't remember what website I bought it from.
Here are a couple I found that have a good selection of colors.
My Precious Kid and of course they are also listed on amazon.

**I have not been paid for this or benefited from this review in anyway just thought I would share what works for us!**

For the Dads & Moms

2010-07-14T09:22:00.000-07:00

FOR THE DADS...

Dad Life from Church on the Move on Vimeo.

AND FOR THE MOMS....

Mommy Rhapsody from Church on the Move on Vimeo.

According To Charlotte Mason

2010-07-14T07:47:00.000-07:00

Every Day Every Child Should Have...

Something Or Someone To Love.....

Something To Do.......

And Something To Think About....

Homeschooling Purpose Statement

2010-07-11T10:45:00.000-07:00

**This will be a series of scheduled homeschool planning posts while I am preparing and taking care of new baby girl. Please forgive me if your questions or posts do not get answered or post up as fast as they should.**

I am also linking up this post to Homeschool Village just early..

The Homeschool Village Topic this week is Self-evaluation but I thought this ties right in..

Through the school year things can get overwhelming as you may already know....

Day to Day things can just plain wear you out....

I have found the following thoughts and questions help prepare me for teaching and leading as a Homeschooling Momma....

Asking God to reveal my role as a teacher to my children.

"You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."Duet 11

What gifts and abilities has He given to me and my children that I can help cultivate?

What are the reasons I do homeschool?

I pray and ask God to identify and show me how to eliminate any weakness and distractions that keep me from accomplishing our homeschool goals.

I write down what I hope to achieve on a daily/weekly/yearly basis?

I hope you find this post encouraging and are able to focus on what is important as you plan your homeschooling year.

Next Monday: Planning for a Full Year.

"I have no greater joy than to hear my children walk in truth." 3 John 4

Upcoming "Nesting" Posts

2010-07-09T11:14:00.000-07:00

-How I planned for the next school year.

- See what I have been organizing I have less than 2 weeks left.

Neat baby things I bought or received.

AND
- A Cloth Diaper Update

Hope You Are Having A Happy Summer.