Space Fun!

My son is VERY into all things space at the moment, as I mentioned in a previous post, so when I came across this book at a charity shop for .12, I just about died with excitement!!! It was new in the packaging with the receipt still taped to the cover! (9.95). We quickly wanted to devour it, but I waited for a day when it was just my little guy and I. We went to the park and took a blanket to just hang out and read and create! My daughter had recently made a rocket in Science Club, so I knew just the activity to go with our reading. We had such a fun and magical day, I just wonder what I can do to top this one next time we hang out! haha!!

Word Find Fun on Friday!

 

My son is learning his sight words and sometimes flashcards get so boring (WAY more than sometimes!) and we need to change it up a bit! This past weeks homework was to SEARCH for words, a hunt of sorts. All boys love to go on treasure hunts and once you kick in a magnifying glass, it seems to be so much more fun.

His job was to look for sight words in a Newspaper Article. I took a newspaper page that had many small articles on it and broke it up into multiple little assignments. With each column I wrote at the top of the paragraph what word he was going to be looking for. 

We started it out easy with first looking for one of his favorite letters, so he understood the concept and then we moved on to searching for 1 word at a time!

He loved using his magnifying glass and hi-liter and when the homework was completed he gave me a hug and a kiss and said:

I love this kind of homework!

Moments like that make me feel wonderful and give me goosebumps, does that make me overemotional? 

What gives you goosebumps?

Craft in a Minute! Colored Sand

 We are on our way to the sane park after school today, but for my little guy he just can't wait to get out there! He was getting antsy and the water table and sandbox just weren't doing it for him! I figured we would stick with our Sand theme that we have going on after school, and came up with just the thing! Colored Sand! I went into my studio and came out with some empty plastic bottles I had and we got straight to work!

Materials Needed:
Cheese Grater (.10 at a tag sale)
Plastic Spoon
Container (Old hummus container)
Sidewalk Chalk
Sand (from our sand box!)

Just take the chalk and grate it into the sand that you have previously scooped and keep on mixing it up, so you can see how much you need to add! This took us barely any time to make up (I grated and he mixed!) and then before you knew it, he was having a blast mixing it all together! hahaha!!

5 a Day Book Project! Week 2

Last week we began our 5 a day book project and it has been an absolute blast! The kids end up loving the books and getting really into them! By the end of the week even the 3 year old was taking turns 'reading' some of them!! This week we picked 5 more together!

As I was heading out for my 2nd round of pick ups, my mail lady had some wonderfully glossy packages for me! I love when mail arrives! My new subscription to PARENTS magazine started coming!! I was leafing through it in the parking lot and this AWESOME article SHOUTED to me! It's about the BEST BOOKS YOU HAVE HAVER HEARD OF! This was PERFECT for this weeks 5 a day!

I changed around some afternoon plans and after I had everyone in the car, we headed STRAIGHT to the library! I was in luck as our library had 3 of the 4 books listed, but 1 was at another branch (due to arrive in 3 days) and the other was a no-go. That's alright though, 2 out of 4 made it onto this weeks list!

The first 2 books on my list are from the Magazine list! First up is The Snail and The Whale, this was AMAZING! The illustrations alone are phenomenal and the story is fun. This book is in our Amazon cart for sure!

Button Up is a collection of poetry about different items of clothing, as it is lengthy (but sooo cute), we are going to just do 1 poem each week, which is awesome because I just read another blog this morning that is doing the same thing!! I wish I could remember who it is, so if it's you PLEASE let me know in the comments and I will link you up!

Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late is an old fan favorite! We love this series of books from Mo Willems and the situations always have us laughing!

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! If we had one, we of course had to add another! haha! Once again this book is just charming!!

Finally, we have YES DAY! This book is truly a childs dream and in fact has inspired me to add 1 more thing to the very bottom of our 3 Kids 2 Parents 1 Awesome Summer, BUCKET LIST!  If you have not read this book yet, PLEASE check it out! It's so fun!

A great tip I can constantly share is to have your books out in the open so that the kids can browse through them throughout the day too!

Do you have a list to share? Please put it in the comments!!

CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT 5 a DAY!

5 a Day Book Project! Week 1

Happy Day! I am finally taking a minute to sit down today and I am just smiling with how wonderful it all went! Every morning, I wake up before my husband and kids, to have that moment where everything is still and quiet and perfect. You know, when the air holds a small chill and the sun has yet to appear over the horizon. Everything seems so new and fresh and forgiving. This moment is all my own, I take a glass of orange juice (fresh squeezed the night before) and usually have a seat on the deck. The air just invigorates me and tells me that it's a new day. Next, I sit quietly and check e-mails and all other Social Media that I have going on. Finally, my favorite part of the morning is taking in some blogs. I usually check about 10, but if I have time, I can do as many as 20! This morning I came across The Imagination Tree's post about the 5 a day Book Project. This seemed absolutely spectacular and right up our alley! We are a huge reading family! I've mentioned it before that we love to do anything that has to do with books! To read more about the project, please click on the link and go to Imagination Tree's blog!

I knew straight away that in addition to reading Charlotte's Web (1 chapter every night) and whatever the kids brought to me, we would go a more structured route. I went straight to our handy book display and emptied it out (today was our day to replace the books anyway!) to get it ready for our 5 books.
I meant to do this earlier today, but it got busy with one thing after another! I finally now had some time to put some things together and here they are! As soon as the new books hit the display, little hands were grabbing and ready to turn the pages!

First up, is Goodnight Moon, an old favorite that has been retired from our shelves for too long. This was a large lap book that we recently found at a tag sale! The kids love the brightness of the photos and with the size of the book, there is no arguing that someones head is in the way!

Next up, is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! Without a doubt, a hands down Pre-School favorite! This one always gets all the kids answering and reading along with me, I knew this would be perfect for this project, to start us off!

Purplicious is a new book that we have yet to delve into! We bought it over the weekend and have waited for just the right moment! Isn't this perfect?! We can't wait to see what happens here!!

Busy Boats is a book we picked up on a treasure hunt recently and we have yet to read, I figure it was perfect book to read, after our Sailing Adventures!

Finally, we have Let's Measure it. This book goes well with my little guy's daily lessons this week with measuring things. We are using household goodies to measure things, in addition to a measuring tape! 

We are starting our reading tonight! Hope they love it as much as I already do!!

This 5 a day project, has definitely made it onto our Summer Bucket List! 

Are you doing this? What are your 5 books for this week?

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Old is New Again!

Would you like your kids to read more? Look at books? I have the perfect solution!

We have a VAST collection of books (2 book cases in common areas, the boys have 1 and Autumn has 2, we have 1 small one in our room), we are BIG readers and love nothing more than to sit on a blanket in the park, thumbing through a book.

Sometimes, old favorites get lost and are never seen or heard from again! I picked up a fantastic paper sorter at a tag sale for .50 and popped it on top of our nature table! I went into each book shelf and grabbed 1 book, then I put 1 book in each paper slot. Within MINUTES, the kids were curious as to what was in there and they grabbed a book and sat and leafed through! Then they traded and did it all over again! It's amazing how putting something on display, makes it new again!

Try it! 

Our Summer Bucket List!!

Our Summer Bucket List!

This Summer is going to be one to remember! We have so much planned and even more unplanned! I found a blog that was talking about doing a bucket list of things that you would like to accomplish this Summer and I figured this was right up our alley! We have 93 days of Summer, so I will have a list of 93 items, even though some are ongoing and we can do multiples in one day. I just like the thought of 1 fun thing for every day of Summer Break!
1. Go Around The World!
2. Go to the Children’s Museum of Rockford
3. Children’s Museum of Chicago
4. The Zoo
5. Science and Industry
6. Petting Zoo
7. Small Town Carnival
8. Have a beachside picnic
9. Take a train ride somewhere new
10. Camp under the stars
11. Go to the Mall of America
12. Have a yard sale
13. Make a new friend
14. Field Museum
15. Planetarium
16. Spend a lazy day on a pontoon boat
17. Build a robot
18. Make a wishing tree in a local park
19. Volunteer
20. Go to the Aquarium
21. Be Super Heroes!
22. Make Smore’s over an open flame
22. Catch fireflies late at night
23. Go to the drive in
24. Make our own ice cream
25. Have a lemonade stand
26. Go on a date downtown with my husband
27. Purge each of our rooms of 50 things!
28. Go on a scavenger hunt
29. Have a huge water gun fight
30. Go Berry Picking
31. Go to a large Farmers Market
32. Make Wind Chimes
33. Join the Library Summer Reading Club
34. Take a Trolley Ride
35. Spend a day at the arboretum
36. Go Bowling
37. Play Miniature Golf
38. Go to the Children’s Theatre
39. Lego Land
40. Listen to a professional Outdoor Music Concert (ravinia)
41. Fly a kite
42. Go puddle jumping in the rain
43. Let the kids plan a full days meals
44. Make Jewelry to give to someone else
45. Fall in Love
46. Take one photo every day of our activity
47. Train Museum
48. Jelly Bean Factory Tour
49. Camp out in the living room
50. Make Soap
51. Go to an Amusement Park
52. Do a LARGE puzzle throughout the summer
53. Find Chic-Fil-A near my dads house
54. Eat every single meal outside in 1 day
55. Family Game Night
56. Make a 100 link paper chain to be ready for the first 100 days of school countdown!
57. Play with ice in a wading pool on a hot hot hot day
58. Create an entire outfit from thrift store finds (everyone picks their own)
59. Take after dinner walks
60. Go to the water park
61. Go to the splash park
62. Go to an outdoor movie at the park (not the same as drive in)
63. Go on a nature hike
64. Write letters to friends and family (at least 8)
65. Have a movie marathon on a rainy day
66. Get REAL Italian Lemonade
67. Go to the SEARS TOWER (I will always call it that)
68. Go to a baseball game
69. See a civil war re enactment
70. Play with paint
71. Play with clay
72. Bake Cupcakes and give them away! (Take to Daddy’s work)
73. Go to church every Sunday
74. Go to the Butterfly House
75. Go to a farm
76. Take a class
77. Meet friends for ice cream
78. Go for sushi
79. Read books outside
80. Play in the pool!
81. See my grandma
82. Go on a road trip
83. Watch the sunset
84. Go on a boat tour
85. Roller Skate
86. Race Go Karts
87. Race Remote Control Cars
88. Play at a new-never-been-to play ground
89. Visit the Japanese Gardens
90. Kidnap Nana and hang out with her for a day
91. Kidnap Grandpa and hang out with him for a day
92. Build a fort
93. Go on a bike ride


That’s it! We did it! I have so many more ideas! hahaha!!!
Do you have a bucket list? If so link up in the comments! I would love to read everyones!

ETA:
Okay, I just can't stop! I want to do more!
94. Build a Giant Sandcastle
95. Make Lollipops
96. Make hotdogs over a fire!
97. Have a YES DAY!
98. Make a hummingbird feeder

 Linked up with other lists here:

~Michelle!~

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Twitter: @MichellesCharmW

Facebook: MichellesCharmWorld

Today's Thoughts!

Appreciation

This was Teacher Appreciation Week! What did you bring in for the special teachers in your life? We did these fantastic baskets with print outs found here!

This basket was made from the bottom of a strawberry container!

The bud vase? A syrup jar from a restaurant!

Enjoyment!

The weather got warm and we hit the park! I love how portable the bubble station is! I pulled it out and my son started playing and within minutes the entire park was hanging out with us!! I would have taken a photo, but as I didn't know any of the children, I didn't think it was right. Get out there and enjoy the day!!

What Just Happened?

Blogger is not letting me see my subscribed to blogs!!! What happened? Did this happen to anyone else? I'm in a mad panic, because I can't read some of my favorite blogs today!!!

Linked up here:

~Michelle!~

Text generator

Another Virtual Vacation Update!

Our departure date is getting closer and we couldn't be more excited!! Every time we are out and about, I have this exciting adventure in the back of my mind and that's why I post updates! I am almost always picking up more and more goodies to go along with us on our adventures!

This awesome load of stamps from around the world, I picked up at an antique shop in Wisconsin Dells, while we were on vacation over Spring Break! It was an awesome find as it was 2 GIANT freezer bags full of hand cancelled vintage stamps from all over the world! This cost me 2.00! I plan on using these fantastic stamps to put in their passports, use on Country crafts and other fun things as we go along!

This gem was found at the Michaels dollar section! The perfect addition for our journey to France! Looks like we know what our craft in France will be! For 1.00, I bought each child one, so that they could all do their own!  I am on the hunt for just the right Eiffel Tower guide book, to read aloud as we do this project.

 Michaels once again hits a home run with these awesome die cuts on clearance for .79! It's a large package of 30 of them and I plan on using these as journaling tags in their journals AND to write the word of what it is in English and the Language of the Country we are in as well on them! A way to sneak in language learning, writing and journaling all in one handy craft!

If you remember my previous update, I mentioned those post cards on sale for .99. They are now on clearance for .79!! I also picked up this awesome STAMP punch for 13.99 with a 40% off Coupon AND an additional 10% off coupon! These are perfect for making Country stamps AND decorating the back of the post card for the Country we are in at that moment and then sending them off to Family and Friends! I even printed out mailing labels for the bottom of the postcards that say:

Follow our Virtual Vacation at www.MichellesCharmWorld.Blogspot.com!

My favorite buy from Michaels? These awesome GLOBE pushpins! They are perfect for charting on our map each location we visit! I have a large project in mind for this, that I will keep you post on in another update!

Want some of the goodies found here? Message me and I will be glad to run a price by you and shipping if you don't have any of this local!

Want one of our Virtual Vacation Kits as shown in the first photo HERE, then message me for the price! I have already shipped off 8 of these!!

Want to read more about our journey and travel along with us?
Virtual Vacation
Update 1

Magnet Fun!

I have seen some really fantastic felt boards lately and I love how they entertain creativity! As I've mentioned before, we are ALWAYS in the car, so I wanted something more portable for my little ones. Recently, I had the pleasure of attending Box Tops University as the coordinator of my daughters school. They gave away some goodies for attending and one of them was a package of AVERY Magnetic Sheets! I used many of them to make up magnets for the school (To remember to clip box tops over the summer!!) and had some left over! I knew just what to do!

I used mod podge to glue down scrabook paper to the sheets and then used the mod podge over it and cut our shapes in all sizes and colors and prints! Then, I let the little ones design to their hearts content! Before I knew it, they were asking for certain shapes.

Their magnet boards were 2.99 at a local teacher store, that now always seems to be sold out of them!

Scrapbook paper was from my scrap pile of random pieces.

Simple and So fun!!

~Michelle!~

Linking up here:

Virtual Vacation Update!

As you all know from my previous post, we are off on a trip around the World this Summer! Alright, it's a virtual vacation, but we are excited none-the-less! I have had 8 people message me and want to join us on our trip! How fun!! I've even sold 6 of the above kits to help others join our trip! I wanted to update everyone on what we have been getting ready, since take off is a little over a month away!!
Our Itinerary is ready and posted! The kids have been asking so many questions and keep looking through our 'suitcase' of stuff!!

 

I have also purchased this book as a guide to some of our stops! I have been on the internet and the library like crazy, readying myself for all that is to come. Every single time I stop in a charity shop, my eyes are open for maps or guidebooks that will help in some way or another!

The 2 Japan for Kids and Kids Trips in Tokyo books came from a charity shop for .59 each! The Geo Cards are awesome reference cards that I found at Barnes and Noble.

I found these fantastic post cards at Michaels for .98! I love that they are plain on 1 side and will allow the kids to design them from each Country we are in and then they can send them to family members! They are really excited about this part!!

At the moment, the plan is to post on Monday with:
1. Country we are landing in
2. Craft we will make that week
3. Sights we will see
4. Recipe of what we will cook
5. Other activities we will do while in that Country
6. Links to any print outs you may need (for example: Orient Express train ticket)
7. Photos from the previous week of things that we did and any other notes!

Please feel free to link up your blog if you are joining us!!

Virtual Vacation Post (Original Post)
Virtual Vacation Update 1 
Virtual Vacation Update 2
Virtual Vacation Update 3 (not yet posted)

~Michelle!~

In The Rain!!!

With so much rain falling constantly this week, I said to heck with it and we headed outside anyway!

Sometimes flip flops and ice cream in the rain is a good thing! A memory that will stay with them for awhile was created and to those people that asked if we needed a ride, thank you, but no, we are busy creating moments that will play in our minds years from now!

~Michelle!~

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