Olympic play

We have enjoyed watching the Olympics and I have been informed by my youngest that she wants to try "luge!" Today we made a little Olympic race of our own by crawling through tunnels, jumping on the sofa, running around the house, and hopping over paper plates. We then colored Canadian and USA flags and talked about what the Olympic rings represent. Enjoy the last few days of these great sports. I love watching ice skating and bob sled, but I am most impressed by the cross-country skiers. Enjoy!

The coloring pages came from here - My Montessori Journey.

Jello Volcanoes

We made a fun science experiment today with vinegar, jello, and baking soda....Jello Volcanoes!

 

All you need to do is add:

1/4 cup of vinegar

4 tsp. of red Jello

2 tsp. of baking soda

and watch the smile on her face!

Letter Search

Olive and Jem enjoyed letter searching today. You can find many ways to play with Parents Magnetic Schoolhouse that was a gift from Target a few years back.

 

Today we helped Jem find the letters and Olive sounded out the words. Their favorite way to play is when I hide the letters around the house and then they match the letter with the right word.

FIAR-The Duchess Bakes A Cake

The Duchess Bakes A Cake by Virginia Kahl is a funny, creative and rhythmical book that we read with our Five in A Row Homeschool Co-op. There are a ton of activities you can do with this book. We talked about the feudal system, not a length, but based it more on kings, queens, and their helpers. The girls learned about leavens in baking and how it's important to follow a recipe. We baked a cake and learned about color mixing. They also learned about a family cote of arms and the importance of their symbols.

 

  

  

We read this book around Valentine's Day and made these cute little Valentine exchange boxes to complete our Co-op.

This weekend in photos.

                                                               At the zoo with Daddy!

 

It's always a good day to bake cookies....as you can tell, my pan is well seasoned!

Flowers for Mommy still holding strong from Valentine's Day.

                                                          Ohh, happy day... a pony ride!
         (sorry pony lady, whoever you are, I hope you don't mind being is this family moment!)

Homemade Bouncy Balls

We made these cool homemade bouncy balls and they really bounce! Give it a try, you'll be surprised that these simply ingredients really work.

Things You'll Need:

1 tablespoon white (Elmer's) glue or tacky glue, but not the washable kind.

1/2 teaspon borax (you can find this in Target or your grocery store in the detergent section).


1 tablespoon cornstarch 

4 tablespoons warm water (add more as needed).

2 popsicle sticks for stirring.

2 small disposable cups


-Put glue in one cup
-Put borax, cornstarch and water in the other cup- wait 15 seconds
-Add water mix to glue cup and stir.
-Once hard to stir, remove and mold into a ball....and bounce away!


PS: You could also add food coloring to the glue mix to make colored bouncy balls.

Big Savings Again!

Big Savings again today with extreme doubles at Harris Teeter.

I spent $32 all all of this....saved a total of $57 with coupons. Ok, I think my extreme couponing is over for the week.

BIG Savings!

I just saved BIG this week at Harris Teeter with extreme doubles. As you can tell I get so excited when I save a ton of money, it's like a gambling rush!

My total bill was $60 and I only spent $20.  I matched up the deals and also had 20, $1 coupons. Look at all the good stuff I bought.

The BEST darn sheet cake!

Trust me, this is the best darn sheet cake you will make this year. I got this recipe from the Pioneer Woman's site  here.

 

It's super yummy, but make sure you have some friends over to share it with or you will eat the entire cake by yourself!

Best Sheet Cake Ever:
From the Pioneer Woman.

• FOR THE CAKE:
• 2 cups Flour
• 2 cups Sugar
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
• 2 sticks Butter
• 1 cup Boiling Water
• ½ cups Buttermilk
• 2 whole Beaten Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• _____
• FOR FROSTING:
• ½ cups Finely Chopped Pecans
• 1-¾ stick Butter
• 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
• 6 Tablespoons Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 pound (minus 1/2 Cup) Powdered Sugar

 In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. 

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa. Stir together.Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat.

Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool. In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. 

Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make the icing. I added hazelnuts. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Add the nuts, stir together, and pour over warm cake.

FREE Museum Days in your state.

If you have a Bank of America card, it could be saving you money this time around. They offer free museum days in most states. In South Carolina we can get into a really cool kids museum for free called Edventure (just found out that it's only for the card holder and the first weekend of each month), but still not a bad deal.  Be sure to check out your state here and enjoy!

Playdough Ballerina

This is how you can find Jem on most days...

Jem wakes up and puts on her favorite ballerina tutu. She loves to sit at her little table molding Playdough. My happy and stubborn child always seems to have a a tune in her head and you'll find her dancing from place to place. I love how the light shines on her in this photo.



We followed this playdough recipe from
Montessori Moments.


1 cup of flour

1/2 cup of salt

1 Tablespoon of cooking oil

1 Tablespoon of cream of tartar

1 cup of water

Mix together and cook on medium heat until it forms a ball. Remove from heat and kneed it. It will be hot. 

Pocket full of HEARTS!

My Buzz Lightyear just left for a business trip and little did he know that his wonderful wife stuffed little paper hearts in just about every pant, shirt, and jacket pocket in his suitcase. The little hearts say everything from "guess what I'm wearing," to "you're the best hubby," and "you make me smile." I can just see it now....he reaches into his pocket in a business meeting and a little heart falls into his palm. It's a perfect little reminder to tell him that I'm thinking of him while he is gone. Happy Valentine's Day!

SNOW!

SNOW...It's snowing and we live in the South near the beach. This has not happened since 1989! We are crazy about snow, enjoy it if you have it.

Heart Games

We are having fun with these foam hearts numbered 1-10 this week. Here are a bunch of easy games we have played.
1. Jump on the number you call out.
2. Memory heart game.
3. Pick a heart and say what number comes before and after.
4. Roll the die and find the number heart you rolled.
5. Hide the hearts around the house and mommy gets a kiss for the number they find.
    That's my favorite.

Find more ideas from these cute bloggers here and  here

The Great Backyard Bird Count- Participate!

The Great Backyard Bird Count takes place February 12th-15th.  All you have to do is watch birds in your yard, or around your neighborhood. Then enter your bird list online. Information from people all over the United States and Canada is collected so scientists can learn what kind of birds are being seen in the winter. Find out more here - this is what we spotted this morning near the birdhouse Olive made with Daddy last summer.

 

I can read!

It's a happy day here at our house! Olive just read the 4th Bob Book all by herself. We had started with the first set, but lost interest after "Mat Sat." We then started fresh with Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons. We were all very excited when she pulled the Bob Books out and started reading us the story...I think she even surprised herself!

You can find both reading items on Amazon.

What we have rowed -FIAR

FIAR or Five In A Row is a literature based homeschool program by Jane Lambert, that we've been using for the past year.  This is how it works...you read the same book for a week and base your math, geography, science, history, and scripture off of that book. We enjoy making lapbooks to coordinate with what we are learning, plus Olive enjoys showing them off when family comes to visit.

Here are some books we have rowed with our FIAR co-op.
 
Andy and the Lion
By: James Daughterty

(Miss K)

Ideas:
Facts about lions
Friendship
Ways to help others
Africa
Lion's body
Talk about dreams

A Pair of Red Clogs
By: Masako Matsuno

Ideas:
Name In Japanese
Japan
Action art
Weather game
Track your weather
Make sushi

Santori Smiles is a good resource for FIAR ideas.

Free Denny's Breakfast 2/9 ONLY

Free is always good!
From 9am to 2 pm on Tuesday, February 9th, Denny's will be giving away FREE Original Grand Slam Breakfasts at participating locations! Call your location to make sure and enjoy your meal!

Our new pet!

We now are the proud owners of this adorable Whites Tree Frog...thanks to my Uncle K. The girls really enjoy watching him eat and using his suction cup feet to climb. Jem is not sure about holding "Frosty" yet, but Olive thinks he's pretty cool.

                                                    Frosty is a Whites Tree Frog

We have 2 pound puppies, 1 hermit crab, and 1 frog.

Sick Day Valentine Sensory Box

This Valentine sensory box has given Jem hours of enjoyment.  She was so excited to explore this box, which is proof that we need to do this more often. Who would have though that red beans and rice, hearts, pom poms, and a few scoops could make a little stomach bug feel so much better.

 

 

For more sensory box ideas go to chasing cheerios and counting coconuts.

File Folder Games

I organized a pre-school file folder game swap with my homeschool co-op last month. Each person made 10 of the same file folder game and received nine different games in return, plus the one you made. I use these games for Gem when I am working with Olive on harder school work.

Here are two great ideas that Gem has enjoyed playing with:
                                                       Color sorting

 

Counting Cookies 1 to 10

I find that these games are easy to travel with when laminated and are a nice change from regular work book pages. 

Our Job!

My friend sent this to me and I got a good laugh. Enjoy!

PARENT - Job Description

POSITION : 
Mom, Mommy, Mama, Ma 
Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop 

JOB DESCRIPTION : 

Long term, team players needed, for challenging, 
permanent work in an often chaotic environment. 
Candidates must possess excellent communication 
and organizational skills and be willing to work 
variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends 
and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. 
Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping

sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities!
Travel expenses not reimbursed. 
Extensive courier duties also required.. 

RESPONSIBILITIES : 

The rest of your life.. 
Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, 
until someone needs $5. 
Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. 
Also, must possess the physical stamina of a 
pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph

in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams

from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. 
Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, 
such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets 
and stuck zippers. 
Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and 
coordinate production of multiple homework projects. 
Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings 
for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. 
Must be a willing to be indispensable one minute, 
an embarrassment the next. 
Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a 
half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices. 
Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. 
Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality

of the end product. 
Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and 
janitorial work throughout the facility. 

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION : 

None. 
Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly

retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you. 

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE : 

None required unfortunately. 
On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis. 

WAGES AND COMPENSATION : 

Get this!  You pay them! 
Offering frequent raises and bonuses. 
A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because 
of the assumption that college will help them 
become financially independent. 
When you die, you give them whatever is left. 
The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that 
you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more. 

BENEFITS : 

While no health or dental insurance, no pension, 
no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and 
no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless

opportunities for personal growth, unconditional love, and

free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right. 

                     AND A FOOTNOTE - THERE IS NO RETIREMENT  --  EVER!!!

This and That

My birthday present has finally arrived! This lovely silver charm necklace from the Vintage Pearl has the names of my girl's and Buzz Lightyear (on the front side). I  love this necklace. It's the perfect way to carry your family with you and you can even add-on....if you family grows.

Olive and Jem also had fun with these snowman counting and sequence activities from Kidssoup. This is a site we subscribe to, but it's worth it for kids ages 3-7.

Free Chore Charts

Sometimes a Mama needs to get mad to get some action around this place! Today I felt like I was saying the same thing over, and over, and over, and nothing was getting put away, or cleaned up. I found this "bright and happy" chore chart from here to help with my cause. Hopefully seeing what they need to do and watching mom cross it off the chart will work? I'll keep you posted.

 

This is the face Mama makes when she's mad!

Montessori Monday- 3 practical life skills

1.  Our homeschool co-op had a fun pizza making field trip last week. The girls kneaded the dough, and learned how to make a pizza pie. We usually have home made pizza night every Friday at our house, but they loved seeing their pizza go into the rolling oven and come out on the other side looking delicious.

 

 

2.  My little one loves Clementines. She usually brings me 3 or 4 a day to peel for her. Today I asked her how she would peel it and she got out her kiddie knife and tried to bite it. Those would all work, but I showed her how to use her thumb to peel the skin away from the fruit...now she's helping herself. No lack of vitamin C in this kid.

3.  We are baking bread today. I printed out the step these cute step baking cards from this great site. Here is the recipe:

Super Simple Yeast Bread - By Hand
Preheat oven to 350° oven for 20 minutes.
1 c. milk
1/4 c. sugar
4 T. margarine
1 tsp. salt
1 pkg. yeast
1/4 c. warm water
1 egg
4 c. all-purpose flour
(we added a little bit of cinnamon and nutmeg and 2 T. of honey)
-First, heat milk gently in a saucepan over low heat. To hot milk add sugar, margarine and salt and let cool.
-In a small bowl mix the 1/4c. warm water and yeast. Set aside until bubbly (about 5 min.)
-To milk mixture add one c. flour and mix well. Then add one slightly beaten egg and yeast mix- ture. -Use a wire whisk to mix everything together.
-Add approximately 3 more c. flour until the dough can be handled easily. Knead and place in greased bowl for first rise.
-Then punch down or knead again. Place in two greased bread pans, cover with a damp cloth and let rise again.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Enjoy!