My 5 senses book

Jem completed a really cute 5 senses book while her sister was in her homeschool co-op today. My almost 3 year old took great pride in showing me her special "me" book.

My Early Mom's Day Gifts

I think I may be the luckiest mom on our street today! Olive made me such special presents. She said, "you know mom, I am just super creative today," and I have to agree.

 I now have a really neat potholder and a lovely shell necklace. Happy Early Mother's Day to all!

Little Nino's Pizzeria- FIAR

Our Five in a Row Co-op had a fun time today reading Little Nino's Pizzeria, by Karen Barbour. We talked about having a servant's heart, how bigger isn't always better, and how we can help others. Instead of making lapbooks, we made folder menus for our pizzeria story.

We made homemade pizza, along with some pizza topping math, learned words in Italian, and made a Matisse type drawing for the back of our menu. I printed some cards on what you can add to a pizza to play a memory match game and we learned about homonyms- words that sound alike, but are different.

You can find a variety of ideas for Five In a Row books at homeschool share - this site is really a great resource.

The Ladybugs have arrived!

Olive received a ladybug kit from Insect Lore for Christmas. Since the weather is right we ordered our ladybug eggs and they just arrived. In a few weeks we and you will see our eggs change from larva, to pupa, and then into adult ladybugs. We will watch them grow in their ladybug land pictured at the bottom.

And the winner is....

The Activity Mom will soon be the proud owner of Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.  Congratulations to you! 

Thanks you all for taking part in my first giveaway, and the curriculum clean-out hosted by Homeschool Creations, please don't be a stranger...I love your company.

Zydeco Music Review with a taste of New Orleans

If you ever want to take a vacation with out leaving the US, just visit New Orleans! There is so much more than just crazy Bourbon street. You have the unique flavors of food, History, architecture, and music all rolled into one amazing place. It's so different from any other city in the US....it's like the openness of Miami, the look of Savannah, with a Caribbean flare.

The girls and I had the opportunity to hear Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience in concert a few weeks ago. In all honesty, I did not know what to expect. I had heard of Creole before, but never Zydeco music. The concert was fantastic....the sounds of the accordion and frottoir (rubboard) are not easily forgotten. Jem walked away singing and rubbing her belly like a rubboard, while Olive clutched the Mardi Gras beads that were flung to her during the interactive show.

Terrance Simien, a Grammy award winner, told a tale of his people, introducing us to Louisiana Creole culture and the History of Zydeco. I was so excited when we were given the opportunity to review his CD, Creole for Kidz, especially since the girls were talking about being on stage and playing the washboard for days after the concert.

The 10 track CD is one my girls really enjoy listening too and so do I. Their favorite song is "Creole Mardi Gras Run," track #3.  This CD is mix of Zydeco music, Louisiana history, and Creole heritage set to music.  If you have seen the new Disney movie Princess and The Frog, then you have heard Zydeco music. The song "Gonna Take You There" was inspired by an original Zydeco song by Terrance Simien.

Click here  to read more about Terrance Simien and how you can purchase his CD's.


I hope you get the chance to visit New Orleans because it's a fun experience....I sure enjoyed my first trip to the city.

Wikki Stix Fun

My girls really love Wikki Sticks, which are bendable wax covered yarn. They make all sorts of shapes, faces, even numbers, and letters with them. I think they are a great creative learning tool. Most recently we started playing tick-tac-toe with our Wikki Stix...the possibilities are endless.

I think these are a great tool to add to any Montessori tray or Work Box. For example, show a picture of an animal and have the child form the animal out of Wikki Stix, or make their name. You get the idea!
We bought ours from Amazon,  here is the link.

Picture of the week

    The joy of running free in the sun...enjoy your Sunday!
I love this photo taken by Buzz.

Importance of BLOCKS

Jem and Olive love playing with building blocks, not just square ones, but all sizes. Blocks are great educational toys because they allow your child to develop several important skills.

• Creative thinking
• Fine motor skills
• Reading and math skills
• Strategy development
• Social skills 
• Problem Solving

My girls love making patterns with their blocks.  Little did I know that this will help with reading and math skills.  In fact, a study in the October 2007 issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine reported that children who play with blocks average 15% higher on reading scores later in life.

Party Hats and favorite book

My girls love this book by P.D. Eastman. They think it is so funny and get a kick out of the dogs going up, up, up the tree for a big dog party.

We decided to make our own party hats and here they are.....

Just take a paper plate and cut on the lines you see above. Flip the points up and glue on your favorite decorations. Finish by punching 2 small wholes on both sides for the yarn to tie around your chin. We also added crepe paper to make them look extra fancy. Enjoy your party hat!

Paint a Bag

Since our weather here as been better than GREAT we are making beach bags. You can buy some cheap light weight canvas bags from any craft store and use fabric paint to decorate. They do take all day to dry so just be aware of that before you use them.

 Enjoy your day!

My Necklace has arrived.

Thanks to Counting Coconuts and the lovely craftsmanship of Moon Dog Farm of Maine, I now have a lovely new necklace to wear. It is a rose quartz mama necklace carved into a circle. The stone is strong, smooth, and lightweight to wear.  It shines a lovely color of rose-pink and arrived on a black leather string.

When I am holding Jem she likes to stick her finger through the circle and wear it like a ring.  I just want to say thanks for such a lovely giveaway and I am so happy to be the winner. Please check out Moon Dog Farm's etsy store for more adorable eco-friendly, and felted handicrafts.

Clean-Out

I am joining the Curriculum Clean-Out hosted by Jolanthe over at  Homeschool Creations.   What a great idea for us homeschoolers to swap some educational products.
The following giveaway is for the book Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Engelmann, Haddox and Bruner.
Olive has been using this book to read and we thought we would pass the extra copy along.. Each lesson takes 15-20 minutes in to complete.  
To enter:
Leave me a comment and follow by blog to be entered to win, US residents only.  Go here for more details of the Clean-Out.

Full Size Self Portrait

This turned out to be a really fun project. Olive and her friends took turns tracing their bodies on butcher paper and then they drew their clothes, face, and hair. She gets a good laugh every time she sees herself and she can't believe that she is so tall!

Breakfast Fun.

We made these cute sunshine faces out of yogurt, raisins, and strawberries for breakfast. The girls were happy and ate it all. Enjoy your morning with your family.
Mama Jenn has this cute idea as well here.

Discovery: Yellow Belly Slider

Daddy had a surprise waiting for us when we returned home today.....this adorable baby turtle. He is only about 2 inches long and has little claws on his feet. He was found crossing the street, most likely on his way to one of the lagoons on the golf course. This little guy will get pretty large and we plan to return him to the water this evening.

At first we thought he was a snapping turtle, but after searching the internet we found he is a "yellow-belly slider." You can find them near most wetlands and basking in the sun beside ponds.

	Yellow belly sliders are omnivores.  When young they eat a primarily carnivorous diet but as they age they begin to include plants.

Boo Boo Bunnies

I know you may be feeling crummy,
But just stick an ice cube in my tummy.
Hold it to your boo boo tight,
Soon everything will be all right!

This little boo boo bunny has dried some big tears on many occasions. They are easy to make with a simply wash cloth, a few twists, a rubber band, yarn, and an ice cube.  It's funny how this little bunny can bring on a big smile.