Rainy Days and Sundays...

We've had our bout of rainy days recently and you know what? We LOVE THEM! The kids like to snuggle up together on the couch and read as we all listen to the rain that falls on the roof. Once we get our outdoor curtains installed on the screen porch, that will be an AWESOME place to sit and read as the rain falls. 

A few weeks ago we won the BEST package of nature DVD's from our news station! We are so blessed to own these movies and I have already begun creating lesson plans around them! The kids are eager to learn daily. 

We have been on the go so much lately, it has been time to just take a break from being in the car ALL.The.Time. There really comes a time when you just need to STOP and put yourself first.

As I am sure you have gathered on your own, we travel a lot. Whether it be long distances or just a couple hours, we are always on the go. One of the things I LOVE LOVE LOVE to keep in the car is a coloring pack for each child. I got these cases at a library sale and they originally held books on tape! We kept those, but stored them differently and used these cases for this. The tape section is sunken in and helps keep the crayons and pencil in place, while the book clips on the opposite side are perfect for holding paper! 

Be Happy and Enjoy Every Minute my Friends!!!

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Thrifty Thursday!

Thrifty Thursday is here again! I always have to seem so many ideas that when Thursday rolls around, there is just no time for a post about thrifting! These finds are some of my best yet! Maybe because many were found in free boxes, but mostly because they are all excellent learning tools!

The 4 books were each had for .25 each: (For more info on each title, just click on it)

A trip to the Zoo

Guide to South Korea

BATS

Bats Night Fliers

3 Fraction Dice were in a free box! Can't wait to come up with a fun game to use these with!

Animal Counters and Math Cards were also in the free box! These are perfect for my kindergartner and pre-k kiddos, since they need to get started on learning these!

The 4 board games were .99 each and are each complete, in fact 2 of them were NEW IN PACKAGE!!

(For more info on these, just click on the title)

The Scrambled States of America

My kinder and 1st grader need to know all the states and their capitals and this is a fun tool to teach, while having a blast! I already own the game, so this backup is perfect for using in different ways! I plan on laminating the mini maps so that they become portable and wipeable! (New in package!)

Quiz-N-Learn Sight Words, I unfortunately cannot find any information on this game online, but it is fantastic! 

It's a sight word BINGO game that really helps to reinforce what they are learning through reading and flashcards. It makes word recognition and recall quicker!

Match It Shape Shuffle this was the other new in package game with everything still shrink wrapped! It's a great pattern and matching game! My youngest has a ball with it, but there are enough pieces and cards that multiple children can play it together!

Wiggle & Giggle, not quite a learning game, but it's awesome physical activity and these balls are perfect for a  variety of activities!! I'm actually taking them with us for an obstacle course I made!

 
Thrifty doesn't always have to mean thrift shop! I sometimes find and love great deals found in stores or make my own with coupons! I found these blocks at a church tag sale for .49 and they are FANTASTIC phonics block. I figured I would make up a great game for them and added in a 4 pack of dry erase boards from Office Max (.99!!!!) and a pack of Dry Erase Markers from Michael's! (1.50 with 40% off coupon AND an additional 20% off entire purchase coupon!!). This game has proven to be a favorite already! There is something about kids and wiping writing off a board!

Link up in the comments with your Thrifty Finds!!

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Craft in a Minute: Take Away Tic-Tac-Toe

My kids are obsessed with Tic-Tac-Toe at the moment, it's a game that seems to occupy them for hours and they never ever get bored! I decided to make a fun portable game board that can work anywhere, all they have to do is get creative with the playing pieces. A small dish towel and some fun colored tape makes an awesome game board! This is their beach version, rocks vs. shells. At restaurants, they have chosen sugar packets vs. creamers. In the waiting room of the Drs. office, they used nickels vs. pennies! The items are endless and the game is so much fun so far! Easy to do and so portable!

On a quick side note, here is an awesome deal! These inter-locking people are at the TARGET dollar spot! I had to pick some up as soon as I saw them and I plan on going and getting a few more still!! This is an awesome Math Manipulative and a great item for Pattern Practice!

A quick reminder to head on over to My Craft Coupons and get your 20% off coupon from Michaels!
There are some great sales going on this week too, that I just couldn't resist popping in and getting some essentials! Yes, that is my journal up there in the photo! If you get a chance, head on over to my FACEBOOK PAGE and answer my question as to how and if you journal!

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Fun with Words!

My kids love to read and write! We even journaled about Spring Break and write small entries daily. I think this is something that the kids will enjoy looking at in the future. I'm always looking for fun and new ways to learn words and such, but I also like to include my little guy! I recently came across a fun word game What's Gnu and it's a great game for the big kids, but I wanted to adapt it for the youngest. I printed out some alphabet sheets and grabbed my magnet set from TARGET. His favorite part is sliding the letters out on the What's Gnu game, so he slides and then puts a magnet on the matching lower case letter. It's a great way for him to keep the Upper Case and Lower Case letters fresh in his mind! I love it!

I love to use games in ways other than what they were intended for, it's a way of getting more bang for your buck! Here we are using classic Boggle in a fun way. I shake it up and make a list of words that they can then find. It's like a big word search, since they have the list. Once they have familiarized themselves with the grid in that way, they then can move the letters around 1 at a time to create new words! It's basic, but they are learning and best of all, we are all doing it together!!

Oh NO Easter!

 

Is it just me, or does Easter seem to be the CANDY CANDY CANDY Holiday?? As you all know by now, I do not like to give my children too much of this stuff and every now and then I do give them some junk and all is well! Am I doing my children a disservice this way? Every Easter, it seems that I have children throwing up in the car on our long trek home, due to an overwhelming amount of sweets, that even though Mommy and Daddy say NO! Some still insist on giving! 

"It's only 1 day!" 

"They are kids! Leave them alone!"

"It's EASTER!"

"I see them once a year, let me give them what I want!"

But where are all these 'nice' people when I have a little girl in my arms crying at night and throwing up down Daddy's back?

Where are these people when my litle boy throws up all over our freshly cleaned back seat and moaning that there is more coming??

If I let them indulge more often (I even freeze yogurt and tell them that that is Ice Cream!!), maybe they wouldn't get sick? Argg....The good thing is that many people are catching on to where I stand and I only have a couple more stubborn people to deal with! haha!!

First, thank you thank you, to those of you that gave the kids awesome totes, shopping bags and reusable purses/backpacks! These are great for throwing back into everyday use in many different areas of our life! Those that gave regular baskets? AWESOME! Thank you! They fit right on top of the craft table, once I cut the handles off! Perfect for holding foam stickers, glue sticks and the like!! Then there are the CUTE, but eastery baskets....hmmmmm

Alright, anyways! This post is about little trinkets and candy! After Easter, we end up with anywhere between 18-21 easter baskets total (3 kids and many many people we visit). This is A LOT of trinkets! I wanted to share what we do with the smallest items and the stuff that seems to come in every basket.

I decided to take those baskets and make car totes! I took small toys, crayons, stamps, notebooks, bubbles, games etc. and filled 2 baskets. These now sit in my husbands and my car! Each basket has a different variety of items in it and offers the kids something NEW in the car for awhile until it breaks, is worn out etc. I took all the candy and spread it between 3 freezer bags as well and now it's instant snack bag to grab out of the counter and throw into my purse. Now whenever we are waiting a little too long, someone is getting a little too anxious or a bit too hungry (yesterday on  the highway waiting for roadside assitance), then BAM we have something fun and sweet and sugary and maybe this will help ease that once a year massive candy stomach ache! hahha!!

Hope you all had a marvelous Easter Holiday and continue to enjoy the rest of this beautiful Spring that we have been Blessed with! 

One way we re-used Easter Baskets! This was one that the kids got and it now sits on the 'kid tray' of acceptable snacks throughout the day. Instead of having kids opening and closing the pantry all day long, they can look on the counter for an okay snack. They are allowed to only have 1 a day if they are in school or 2 a day if it's a no school day.

~Michelle!~

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