Pinterest Inspired Idea

We go on a lot of road trips.  Long road trips.  So, I'm always looking for fun knew ideas to keep the kids occupied in the car...besides movies.  Movies while traveling are a lifesaver, but I do like them to do things that work their imaginations.  I found this idea on pinterest.

 http://ifonlytheywouldnap.wordpress.com/2013/12/04/handmade-gifts-for-boys-lego-lunchboxes-for-on-the-go-building/


When we travel we like to get the kids a new mini lego set.  The problem is, peices frequently fall on the floor or under carseats, which ends in either me having to find it or deal with a crying kid.  So, this was a pretty brilliant idea.  Normally I do legos for Lou as well.  But lately she has been really into Polly Pockets.  So, I decided to look for a little travel dollhouse.  I found a couple on the internet, but they were WAY more than I wanted to pay.  I ended up finding really cheap lunch boxes and thought, why not make my own travel dollhouse, and since I'm using lunch boxes for the boys, why not use one for Lou.  So, I googled free furniture clip art, and kitchen clip art and printed it out.  I also found website that has really cute free printable dollhouse wallpaper.    I printed it up, glued it in with glue dots and voila!  Travel doll house.  :)  Easiest project I've ever done.

Wow.  Trying to explain to my children why this day is so significant is harder than I thought it would be.  They are a little confused about why I get choked up trying to explain.  I'm also finding it a challenge to teach them about it without instilling fear.  I have the kinds of kids who would develop a fear of planes after hearing the details.  (Not that we fly...ever, [for other reasons] but still.  One day they will and I'd like for them to do so anxiety free.)  I still feel the need to teach them about this day.  About the lives lost and sacrifices made, and still being made.

So, in honor of 9-11, here are some resources that I found helpful.

Never Forget Notebooking pages
September 11 A Day to Remember Coloring Book
The Heroes Among Us & Remembering September 11th

Here's a basic rundown of our day.  We start out with scripture study and family prayer.  Once a week we do the pledge of allegiance (We'd do it every day if I could get myself to remember.  Working on that one.) Then we do chores. 

Here are some things that help me get through my homeschooling day.  Anyone with children with ADHD will understand the frustration of trying to get your child to pay attention and "JUST LOOK AT THE PAGE AND READ THE WORD!  Is that too much to ask?!?  We could have been done HOURS ago."  This year I did my research and these are some things I decided to incorporate.

On days we do laundry, I read something science related to them while they work.  When we are done with chores, we eat lunch.  The kids take turns making it.  Then the kids go out and play for a half hour while I clean up and get everything set up for our stations.  The rest of the day consists of these stations and then some quiet reading time and read aloud time.  Stations consist of hands on manipulatives, math, reading, handwriting and draw and narrate.  They get a play/potty break after 4 rotations.  

Trifold boards to do "stations".  This way, they are not distracted by what the other person is doing or what is going on in  the room in general.  I also give the one I'm not working with at the time, headphones so they can't hear us, and will do their activity without wanting to come see what we are doing.  I work with one child at one station, while the other is at a station doing a work alone, hands on activity.  Usually, something like, matching words to objects.  Things like that.  We rotate around the table spending 15-20 minutes at each station.  I put this timer where both kids can see it.   So they know exactly how much time they have left.  It makes it easier for them to stay on task, knowing they are not going to be there forever.

Fidgets and a stability ball are also must haves.  When Jacob has something in his hands, it is easier for him to focus on what he is doing.  Same with the stability ball.  It's amazing how much better he pays attention when he is able to bounce.  

I also let the kids chew gum, drink water, and have snacks.  If I can see he just does not want to focus on something, I have him get up and do some jumping jacks.  Then have him come back and give it another try.  Some days, he just gets to the point where he's done and nothing I do is gonna get him to focus.  So, those are the days we get out our magic school bus, or whatever.

We've only just got started for the year, so it remains to be seen how long these tactics and tools will work.  I will keep you posted.  :)

Tiny Toads

We got back from our 2 week 4th of July vacation to find our baby birds had left the nest...sort of.  From the looks of the pile of bird poop on our front porch, I'd say they still live there.  Now I'm thinking of removing the nest and putting a rubber snake there to encourage them to build somewhere else.  Now that there are no eggs in it, I feel no guilt in doing so.  Well, not much, anyway.  :)  

We also came home to find hundreds of tiny toads all over the place.  They are adorable and we have had fun catching them.  Especially J.  I have to keep a close eye on him to make sure he doesn't hurt them.  They are probably more resilient than I'm giving them credit for, but they just look fragile and I'm afraid he's gonna mush them.  lol.  These pictures are from our toad hunt his afternoon.  Except the first two.  I took those last night for my sister, so she could see how itsy bitsy they are.  :)

  Then we came inside and looked up the difference between frogs and toads.  Lots of fun things in our yard this year.

Baby Birds

We have baby birds!!!

I walked out my front door to go check the mail and looked up to see a little baby bird sticking it's head over the side of the nest.  Looking closer I saw all 4 sleeping with their heads hanging over the edge.  They are fuzzy, so they must have hatched a while ago and we had no idea.  They are so quiet, I wouldn't have known if they hadn't shown themselves.  I resisted the urge to pet their fuzzy little heads.  The kids were so excited to see them.  Yeah nature!  

Bring on SUMMER!!!!

I decided I better start this blog up again. We are wrapping up our school year and getting ready for some fun summer activities.

This last school year was a frustrating one for us.  We took J in for psych testing and I feel certain that ADHD is what he has.  (Even though she can't give him an official diagnosis without a second environment.)  We ruled out any type of autism spectrum disorder.  The psychologist is kind of baffled over his speech and other delays.  She suggested I put him in public school, and I had planned to do so, but every time I looked into registering him I just felt uneasy about it.  So, after praying about it, I decided to continue homeschooling him and we will most likely do some sort of in home therapy for him.  I did a lot of research into ways to make our year more successful and less stressful than last year. Especially since L will be starting this year as well.  I think I have a pretty good game plan and can't wait to see how it works out.  I will post pictures of my planned set up when we start in a couple of months.

As for our summer activities, we decided to try out some nature studies.  We started a butterfly garden and put up a bird house and feeder.  We plan to add things throughout the summer.  We will order tad poles this fall and add frog habitats to our window wells next spring.  We got a late start hanging up our bird house, so I don't anticipate it getting used this year, but that's okay, because we have a cute swallow's nest above our front door with 4 tiny little eggs.  So far we haven't had to many issues with them.  They rarely swoop us.  I'm not a fan of the poop everywhere, but it will be worth it to watch the life cycle of these birds.

I'm most excited about our butterfly garden.  We planted mint and some other herbs. L picked out some flowers and flower seeds and I ordered some wildflower seeds.  It's been fun to watch the seeds sprouting and the kids are having fun taking care of the garden.  If you are interested in starting a butterfly garden, here is a website where you can order free milkweed.   Milkweed is the Monarch host plant.  I will post pictures of our garden soon.

I also splurged a little and decided to do Little Passports.  I am trying it on a monthly basis in case I don't like it.  But it looks really fun, and it will give us something fun to do on days that are too hot to go outside.


Anyone else have some fun summer learning planned???

Homeschool links

My computer is being sent in to get fixed, so before they wipe it clean I need to post some links I have bookmarked.  :-D  http://bubbleblowers.com/homemade.html, http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/printing.html,
http://www.ixl.com/, http://www.cde.state.co.us/choice/homeschool_law.asp,
http://wsd3.schoolfusion.us/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/1597569/File/District%20Map/WSD3%20School%20Boundaries%20Elem.pdf?sessionid=10f44399b624483a636189ed542ba583,
http://www.zillow.com/security-widefield-co/schools/, http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/CO/default.asp, http://www.wsd3.org/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/1597569/File/Register%20a%20Student/12-13%20Forms/K-12%20Enrollment%202012-2013.pdf?sessionid=d3c1a66e13da9c289a00f4551b8b5a36,
http://www.wsd3.org/modules/cms/pages.phtml?sessionid=&pageid=170848, http://www.hslda.org/laws/analysis/Colorado.pdf, http://www.ajourneythroughlearning.net/, https://heartsathomestore.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=110, http://www.startwrite.com/, http://www.cde.state.co.us/scripts/districtprofiles/k12schlwebsites.asp#districts, http://www.time4learning.com/homeschool/homeschooling_in_colorado.shtml, http://www.hche.org/db_images/WheretosendyourNoticeofIntenttoHomeschool.pdf, http://www.homeschoolshare.com/resourcesping.php, http://www.homeschooltracker.com/download_basic.aspx, http://www.rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?subject=11&category=2701, http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/book-of-mormon-stories?lang=eng, http://www.harmonica4kids.com/4-7.html, http://www.lovetolearn.net/catalog/detail/happy%20phonics/0, http://www.latter-dayhomeschooling.com/, https://www.khanacademy.org/, http://my.hookedonphonics.com/myhop, http://members.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html, http://www.aaamath.com/add.htm,http://mykidsweek.com/,  http://donnasdolphins.com/?page_id=14,http://www.csbsju.edu/Documents/Fine%20Arts/education/study_guides/mulligan.pdf, http://www.bookofmormondiscovery.com/homeschool.html,  http://www.first-school.ws/,   http://www.dltk-kids.com/