Learning, Living and Loving!

Where have I been??? I apologize for just leaving you all hanging. It has been a crazy past week with the Holiday and then throwing ourselves into a new week. We have friends on Spring Break and are still trying to balance school. It's difficult but we are making it work. I hope you all had a Happy Easter and are getting into the new week just fine. 

We love making volcanoes for fun but when we can combine them into a Science Unit, it's even BETTER! I used our old standby Volcano Recipe and Plan but this time as we created it, we discussed all the levels of the volcano and how they are formed. Before we even got around to exploding it, we were already 1 hour in. Another AWESOME activity where the kids don't even know they are working! 

A quick Google search led me to several Volcano worksheets perfect for testing. I found one that would work best for us and printed it out. Homeschooling is made so much easier with the internet so handy! I love what I do and the best part is, is that the kids do too! Find this worksheet HERE!

Sight Words is the name of the games on a daily basis for us. Let me tell you that I try a different game each day and we always have so much fun that even I forget that I am supposed to be teaching. I love inviting the big kids to play, because even though they know how to read they encourage their little brother so much!

If there is one addiction I have, it's to books. I love to read, devour and soak in books. I cannot help it but it truly is my life. I hope to pass this love onto my children and that is what keeps me always buying books. These are the latest to join our collection, courtesy of Easter! In total they got over 10 books for Easter and it really seems as though all of our friends and family know us well!

Easter had us spending time with family and friends. Even though it did not go as planned, it was still a lot of fun. We had an absolute blast at Brunch and then a couple egg hunts and so much more. I think I have more fun on the Holidays when the stress level is low, than my children do. How about you?

My Easter Purse was full of so many goodies that I fell in love with the Easter Bunny! Shh, don't tell my husband! My floral bag was full of a gorgeous set of wood wind chimes for our screen porch, books, a gift card to Starbucks and this awesome reusable Starbucks mug! Add in some Godiva chocolates and a bottle of my favorite wine and well....I will be in heaven for a long long time!

GIVE IT ALL!!

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Is it Bad...

Is it Bad.......

That all the schools are closed due to the big storm and my kids are still having class today?

That my husband has the day off, due to the storm & I still woke him up to help around the house?

That we bought and moved into this house in August and I just yesterday, unpacked the very last box?

Is it Bad.....

That I have been busy organizing our class space, that my clean laundry is piled on the floor for the 2nd day?

That I have been so busy organizing our class space, that I lost track of time & had to order pizza for dinner?

That I have been so busy organizing our class space that I didn't sleep at all on Friday night? 

Is it Bad.....

That while cleaning my bedroom I got so distracted by found wedding photos, that I stopped cleaning?

That because I have an aversion to fish, I have never  ever served it to my family?

That even though I make my children try new things, there are some things I will never try?

Is it Bad...

That I love doing Science Experiments more than my children?

That we do so much hands on learning that my cleaning schedule is discombobulated? 

That while cleaning out the playroom, even I started to play with the neat stuff I found? 

Is it Bad...

That even though the house needs a good cleaning, I have playing outside in this storm on priority?

That even though there are dishes in the sink, I served breakfast on paper plates?

That I wouldn't change it all for anything?

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Cloud Dough Fun!

What are you making today? We made cloud dough! After reading Tinkerlab's  post about this awesome stuff, I just knew it was something we had to try. When crafts are made from the most basic ingredients that are already in your shelves, it's a MUST DO! For a small amount, all you need is 4 cups of four and 1/2 cup of baby oil that's it!! Mix it up and you have some very loose play dough, but it still sticks together wonderfully. 

This was the perfect activity for 3 little ones that didn't want to do too much being sick. Bringing smiles to their faces was so much fun and great to watch. They loved testing out different methods, containers and other goodies from the kitchen.

We tested out what would happen when we colored it and noticed that the food coloring made little blobs of color. We had so much fun experimenting with different things and seeing the reaction we would get with the dough. 

Autumn decided that she wanted to make it all in to a volcano, so they grabbed a beaker and put it right in the center of the tray and covered it up with the dough.

A funnel inserted in to the beaker allowed for easy pouring of vinegar and baking soda. We had a FABULOUS volcano, I just wish we had dyed the vinegar, so that we would be able to see the reaction that we had in color! Definitely try this activity if you get a chance!

It's National Semi Sweet Chocolate Day!

Join us in making up a batch of cookies for your loved ones to share and chat over.

Cotopaxi Volcano!

If you are following our Virtual Vacation this Summer, you know that we landed in South America on Monday and just this morning arrived in Ecuador from Brazil. The flight was 5.5 hours and what a better way to stretch our legs than on a hike to check out one of the World's most active volcanoes?! We learned all about Cotopaxi in the Andes Mountains and decided to build our own! It's so easy that you most likely have all the ingredients at home!

You will Need:

Play Dough

Tin Foil

Baking Soda

Plastic Cup

White Vinegar

Food Coloring

Deep Dish to catch the 'lava'

optional items: Trees and Native Animals

Cover your cup in tinfoil, careful to go over the lip and mold a mountain shape. Ours looks a bit crazy, but I loved letting the kids do it to their liking.

 Iron out the clay so that it becomes flat sheets and then press it over the foil. This seemed to be their favorite part as it took forever!!

Add in trees and animals if you would like and place 2tsp. of baking soda into the cup.
(we made the trees out of pipe cleaners). We used animals from the Rainforest Toob and some other randoms that the kids had on hand.

1 cup of white vinegar with food coloring to make it the color of lava!

Pour in the vinegar mixture a little at a time.

Watch your volcano EXPLODE!!!!

Over and Over again!

The kids have had so much fun with this, that I actually had to empty it out and scoop out the baking soda at the bottom, so that they could erupt it for Daddy too!

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