Scissors practice

Why are all practice pages lines - be them straight, zig-zag or wavy, most everything I found to help JJ with cutting was LINES.

I was thankful to find this site which had shapes. Not only does it have SHAPES, but it also allowed you to print out large, medium or small shapes! So I can give him different sizes different days and he thinks they are all new and different. At least for now. :D

bits & pieces: august 2, 2010

Why Filters Are Our Friend
A wonderful read about the importance of "filters"

Things to Make Instead of Dinner
A pretty blog. I mostly just LOVE the name of this blog! :D

Geocaching with an iPhone
without having to buy an app! :D

Newest review of the Geocaching App

How to use your iPhone as a GPS

bits & pieces: june 21, 2010

Free Christian ebooks for Kindle or online

Go to the At Lesson Plan

Current Web Readings

Free historical paper dolls
These are hand drawn and not "professional" for lack of a better word, but my girls LOVED them. In fact, they even have King Arthur and his knights! :D

Current Web Readings

Make Your Own Weather Station

Free Web Online games
These are GREAT! For EVERY subject - even chemistry, and all ages. Though most of the games are for younger students.

Gluten Free Sourdough Recipe Book - this looks GOOD, just wish it weren't so expensive. :(

Giving Children Consequences That Work

Current Web Readings

Free Printable Activities

and because this one is SOOOO cool that it might take you weeks to go through, just this one more link:

Book Angles
Being a more relaxed homeschool family (we are a combination of A Thomas Jefferson Education, Charlotte Mason, library only, unschooling, Raymond Moore) we read A - LOT - OF - BOOKS! It is wonderful! This site (Book Angles) is like a movie review site, but for books. It gives you a break down of each book letting you know the level of romance, violence, the Biblical worldview, etc. It is TOTALLY worth your time to check it out.

Current Web Readings

Over the Door Organizer
You have to see this! :D A great organizer to hang on the door for you OR the kids! :D

DIY All in One Outdoor Oven/Stove/Grill/Smoker!!

How to Make a Tiny Terrarium in a Light Bulb
If nothing else, you have to click JUST to see the picture! LOL! So CUTE! GREAT for homeschooling!

Things to Make
GREAT collection of things for kids to make - great for homeschooling!

FREE Anne of Green Gables Study Guide

Current Web Readings

Paper soliders
Paper dolls - FOR BOYS! SOLDIERS!

Paper Toy Soldiers
These are more for the younger crowd (3yr+)

Civil War Paper Dolls and Toy Soldiers

Grass Fed Recipes

Crockpot Leg of Lamb - this was SOOOO YUMMY!

How Public School Cripples Our Kids

Vegetable Planting Guide

Grow It Yourself Series
an easy series on growing your own food.

Current Web Readings

American Revolution Unit Study
This is VERY well done with lots of resources divided into age appropriate groups! :D

Patriotic Freebies
These are GREAT!!

Storeis of God's Faith in American History

Boston Tea Party Unit Study

American Revolution Unit Studies and Lapbook resources

Patriots Reading List

American Revolution Study

Free Creation Books

Uneducating Creativity

You have to watch this video on how we are educating creativity right out of our children.

Current Web Readings

Battlefield For Our Mind and Heart
WONDERFUL read!

The Godly Home
What I am currently listening to.

Months Worth of Probiotics for Price of Cabbage
With JJ's new GAPS diet, we will be making our own sauerkraut. I love how she uses ROCKS in hers! I can't WAIT for her to get a Facebook page!

Watch This
This is a recent episode of the Glenn Beck show on how public schools and colleges are indoctrinating our children. This is a good watch. HT: Israel Wayne

Ressurection Lapbook

Free Haiti Lapbook

The devastation in Haiti is so great it will take years to recover. Most people had not heard of Haiti before the horrible earthquake. We were blessed to be able to learn a little about Haiti from Compassion International (which has a HUGE presence in Haiti).

Now there is a free Haiti lapbook for your children to learn more about Haiti.

You might have to join (it is free) in order to get the lapbook. When you do join, be sure to sign up for their newsletter as they give away a free product weekly (and will often have HUGE giveaways for Mother's day that you won't want to miss!).

Current Web Readings

Attention Games
REALLY REALLY Cute blog!

Math Drills
GREAT site fro FREE math worksheets!

The Hijacking of American Education
MUST read.

Homemade Coconut Milk Yogurt
with JJ's allergies and us now moving to the GAPS diet, homemade fermentation is necessary. It really is for EVERYONE. And since JJ is allergic to dairy, we will be making coconut yogurt. Even if you are not allergic to dairy, coconut is a wonderful health food and you can incorporate it into your diet. :D

Allergen Free Play Dough Recipe

How to Make Coconut Water Kefir
Cost per gallon - about $13 for homemade! Cost for me to buy it from the store ... a WHOLE lot more! LOL!!! :D

Recording Remedies
This is a GREAT idea not just for GAPS, but for anyone who has children with sensitivity to foods.

The Sardine Diet
LOTS of good information about the sardine - a health food for GAPS diet. Not the ONLY thing to eat though LOL!! :D

Current Web Readings

Growing In Strawberry Pots
I LOVE the water tips here!!!

How Mothers Survived Poverty
How did mothers do it back then?? I knew most of the stuff in this article, but it is a good reminder (and a fabulous blog!). And imagine my surprise when I read about a little book called MAKE DO AND MEND. My fabulous SIL got me a copy of this book for Christmas!!! I have been reading through it here and there as time allows and I LOVE IT!

Nature Study with Children

MORE hair style sites, this time for little girls! Thankful to Sonflower Sisters for sharing!
Shaunells Hair - I REALLY like this one. LOTS of pictures and VIDEOS to show you HOW! :D Wonderfully done.
Princess Hairstyles
Cute Girls Hairstyles - this one is REALLY nice too. Seems to have a video with most each style.
Fun Frills and More
Cute 2 Try Hairdo's
Piggies n Ponies

Foto Friday - Learning

So the theme was learning. Should be easy enough to photograph, right? I mean, I am a homeschooling mom who is constantly teaching her children who are constantly learning? But you know what? Momma TOTALLY forgot to pick up the camera but ONCE this week. I need to be better about that.

SO.... without further ado, here are the few pictures I took this week... er, I mean DAY!! LOL!!!

This is EE and MM playing Little House on the Prairie. I am not sure that Carrie would have been wearing ear muffs like little MM is, but she liked the fact that she was matching. :D Matching is learning too, right?? :D

EE setting up a reading game I found at a garage sale. This is an AWESOME game. But none of the pictures of us playing actually came out.

MM and JJ reading. JJ LOVES to "read." He memorizes the story and tells it back to you. This is one of his favorite books. He got it for completing a reading library program during the summer. The picture is not the best, but OH how I love it! It shows how much love these two have for each other, and how JJ loves to read. So I share it.

And go here to see some of my favorite "learning" pictures. :D

Hopefully, next week I will have better pictures. Be sure to head over to Rebecca's to see all the other entries AND to know how YOU can participate too!! :D

OOOHHHH.... I have to add these too! I just took these (like literally minutes ago and had to update this post) when she brought me this! I have been teaching EE to crochet and she has got it DOWN! Those stitches are perfect! She made me a tawashi - her own pattern!! She took several different colors and put crocheted them together - I AM SO IMPRESSED!!!






And an update... I have only been a member of Swagbucks for almost a week now and I have only 2 more swagbucks to earn before I get my $5 Amazon gift card! If I keep this up, I will be able to get a Wii for FREE for Christmas!! And I am so hoping you can help me out and get yourself some free gifts too!!!

You see, when people sign up under you, YOU get $1 swagbuck for every $1 swagbuck THEY earn!! So if you sign up under me, I can get there faster. Then you go and share YOUR referral link with YOUR friends, they sign up under you and YOU earn what THEY earn!

And all you have to do is use them for your search engine. You earn 1-3 swagbucks a day (that is not including the extras you get through codes (see below)!! I have just been using it as my search engine (I do a LOT of searching), and entering in the codes (a new code EVERY DAY!) and am up to $43 swagbucks. $45 gets you a $5 Amazon.com gift card! It generally takes about two weeks to earn. They have other prizes too. It really is worth it. It is one of the easiest ways to make some extra money - no emails to read or surveys to take. Just search the web using Swagbucks!! (***UPDATE! As of 5PM I HAVE 45! MY FIRST AMAZON $5 GIFT CARD!!! WOOHOO!!!!)

The BEST site for finding out where codes are (remember, it is grounds for termination to share the actual code) is Engineer A Debt Free Life. She not only lets you know when one is up, she lets you know when it expires and WHERE to find the code. She will let you know if it is at the top of the page or the bottom, or the middle of page 73. :D. SHE IS THE BEST!!! :D

SO I hope to see you searching around on Swagbucks and let me know what you are saving up for! :D

Current Web Readings

The Million Dollar Parenting Question
A must (but short) read for parents.

Swagbucks.com is a search engine that rewards you in the form of Swagbucks for searching. 45 Swagbucks can be exchanged for a $5 Amazon.com gift card. This generally takes about 2 weeks to earn. PLEASE use my link to join: Join Swagbucks as I do get a swagbuck every time you get one if you use my link. THANKS!!!

Solar Tube
NEAT idea - to keep in mind when we build a house or remodel.

Gluten - what you don't know may kill you
A must read.

Flourless Hemp Chocolate Chunks Cookies
I plan to make these for JJ using flax egg replacer and sunflower butter instead of egg and peanut butter.

Why Public School System Teaches Revisionist History
A REALLY good read.

Finding Coupons for Organic Groceries

Current Web Readings

Bug Farm
A cool game where you are a beneficial bug in your garden. How cool is this? Can I just say I want one?! :D

Plump Stocking
A bit late for Christmas, but not for those after Christmas sales in order to stuff next year's stocking!

Best Books For Girls: 20 Books She Has Loved
From one of my favorite blogs

Can Beans Cure Morning Sickeness??

No Poo Hard Water Epiphny
for those who did not have the wonderful results most of us have with no poo, this read is for you. Tells you what to try if you have hard water.

Homemade Deodorant
Oh this looks SO sweet. I so need to make me some of this!!!

Hairstyles from Yesteryear
Tutorials on beautiful hairstyles. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! Doing a little happy dance right now!

Christmas Web Readings

Homeschooling For Free Christmas/Advent links

Christmas Lapbook

Christmas Unit Studies

Polar Bear Lapbook

The Importance of Friends
A really good read about our children and their friends

Christmas Web Readings

Bible Printables for Christmas

Beautiful Christmas on a Budget
tutorials on inexpensive gifts to make and give! :D

Advent Christmas Unit Study 2007
GREAT collection of links!!!

Hot Chocolate on a Stick
OH YEAH! YUMMO! This blog is GREAT!!! This link is just to hot chocolate on a stick, BUT ....
THE WHOLE BLOG is worth checking out!!! This blog is all about making and giving gifts!! WONDERFUL blog!!!

DIY Therapy Sacks

Tutorial of Felting for Kids
I have NOT seen it done this way before. NO MESS!! This is a mom after my own heart!!! :D :D :D

Patchwork Soup Mix in a Jar
GREAT idea!!!

Tradition
Christmas Traditions of the McDonald Family.

Current Web Readings

A Mother's Hope
A must read for any mom who struggles with a child in their homeschooling.