Understanding History!

This week has been full of Dr. visits and more travel in the car, I honestly think that my kids must be using backpacks now more than ever! The one thing that my daughter cannot stand about the pediatric cardiac waiting room, is the tables and chairs are too tiny! They sit there for hours doing their school work and have to get creative in order to get comfortable. We are working our way through U.S. History this year and right now are reading a book about the Civil War, as I cannot always be with them, since I am in the testing rooms with the other kids, I have devised a plan that works for us all.

We are reading Guts & Glory The American Civil War by Ben Thompson and it's a great read. He has 2 books in the history series and I hope to discover more as we progress on. The boys are hooked on every word and Autumn loves the way he speaks right to kids with his prose and everyone just GETS it. I usually read aloud to Gabriel while he is having to stay still during tests or we are waiting on results or whatever else is going on and the other 2 work together or alone. I am in the process of making up a study guide to go along with this book, so that they can be looking for answers as they read and this way I can be sure they are truly reading and not just skimming! You can check out the study guide in progress HERE. 

Enjoy every minute my friends!

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Learning While Away...Part 1

Recently I shared with you all about a trip I had to take out of the country. My grandmother had fallen ill and we were just not sure if she was going to make it. I flew out with barely any notice and definitely no time to leave behind a detailed lesson plan. This would be learning on a whim! A laminated map of the USA and Mexico, a ruler, some pencils and we were ready for lesson one. For this lesson we would map out the trip from Rockford, IL to Aguascalientes, Mexico, the final destination.

The first task was to map the trip as it was taken from start to finish, the departure in one color and the arrival in another color. Next, was to find the key on the map and find out how many miles each inch was, then they had to begin calculating distances. Needless to say that flying out of the country will less than 48 hours notice, often times is in the thousands of dollars, I had to keep that fee as low as possible. We ended up having to drive 5 hours to Des Moines, Iowa for a better fare.

1. The children had to calculate the driving distance from our home to the airport.
2. They had to find out how many miles per gallon our car got and how much we spent on gas.
3. They had to find out how much we spent on gas & how many miles we drove to get to the airport.

The math for this leg of the assignment was difficult for the youngest, but it gave an opportunity for the 2 oldest to teach him and show him how to do it in different forms.  Next, it was time to board the plane and travel from Des. Moines, IA on to Dallas, TX. For this part of the assignment, they had to do a little Math, Geography and Research.

1. Calculate the amount of miles I would earn on my credit card from this flight for Math.
2. Fill in a blank USA map on the states that were travelled through to get to Dallas. During this point, they also had to fill in the capitals of each state.
3. Do a little research on what is one thing that state is famous for and or what they export.
Finally it was time to head into Mexico from Dallas and Mexico too is divided into states, so this portion of the trip was an interesting learning experience.

1. Calculate the amount of miles from Dallas, TX to Aguascalientes, MX.
2. Fill in a blank MEXICO map on the states that were travelled through to get to Aguascalientes and also list their capitals. This would have to be done through teamwork and research as I knew they did not know much about the country as a whole.
3. Do some research as to one thing each state is famous for and or what they export.

After a very long 26 + hours of flying and travelling there was plenty of learning going on too. At the end of this lesson, they had to total up the miles travelled all together and all states both American and Mexican that were passed through. The states were put on flashcards for future reference and the miles were kept written on the map on each leg of the trip with the total at the bottom.

Next up in this series is a lesson in changing money and buying things. Having the ability to do the math on vacation for exchange rates is such a necessary thing, that they must test their mental math abilities.
MAPS USED IN THIS LESSON:
Blank USA HERE
Blank MEXICO HERE
Filled MEXICO HERE

Enjoy every minute my friends!

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This Moment...

In this moment I am...

~Sipping Jasmine Green tea
~Reading Panic by Lauren Oliver

~Nibbling green grapes
~Smelling a Country Apple candle
~Thinking of blog ideas for tomorrow

In This Moment, I am...

~Laying with my feet in my husbands lap
~Laughing to myself about something silly I heard earlier
~Printing out work for tomorrow
~Preparing for my book club by going over We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

~Wishing my kids were awake so we could all snuggle!

In This Moment, I am thinking of my favorite book store of all times...Town House books in St. Charles. Definitely stopping in for a visit this weekend.

Enjoy every minute my friends!

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In the Library and the Kitchen

Today is a very hands on day in the classroom, we are crafting with clay, building with bricks and so much more. I find the kids get so much more out of using their hands and heads instead of just using their head. I really need to cut the clutter in our classroom this Spring, but it truly feels as though we use it all. Oh the dilemma's of a homeschooler. 

For new book Monday, I will share what is in our new book basket and headed onto our shelves*:

1.With Jesus Always- My Mass & Reconciliation Double Sided book
2.A Christmas Treasury 12 Unforgettable Holiday Stories
(I like to pick up Christmas & Holiday books at big sales & clearance prices so that they are ready for next Christmas when Charlie our Elf brings the Christmas books on arrival!)
3.Meet the Monsters
4. The Offical Ninjago Guide
5. The Ordinary of the Mass in 8 Languages
6. Lord I give You This Day
7. The Barnes & Noble Guide to Children's Books
8. Art & History of Pompeii
9. Sarah Laughs
10. The Stable Where Jesus Was Born
(another Christmas find)
11. The All-Time Awesome Bible Search
12. Sammy's Fantastic Journeys with the Early Heroes of the Bible
13. The Middle Ages
14. Journey to the Center of the Earth Graphic classic
15. New Junior Cookbook
(My son is taking a cooking class and I wanted something that he can easily follow along with at home and begin getting even more comfortable in the kitchen)
16. Human body
17. The Lewis & Clark Expedition

(I needed something to go with a game that I downloaded and will share later this week!)

As the school year progesses, it seem that the shelves just want to explode and this is AFTER hosting a book swap! Time to host another one it seems! Anyway, on to our menu plan for monday!

Monday's are tough for us because the kids have classes from 3-5, then we pick up dad so he can join the evening activities, and then one more class from 6-7:30, this means we have to eat something quick in the car on our way to the final lesson. This monday evening class is only every other week, so that is a bonus. On this day, I have to have something portable that we can enjoy in the car or in the lunchroom at the final class. (I don't like feeding the kids dinner too late as it messes with their sleep cycle too much)

Monday - DIY Sandwich Bar with toppings & Cucumber Spears with Salt & Lime
Tuesday - Basil-Pesto Gnocci served over a bed of Sauteed Spinach and a Cucumber,Tomato & Vidalia Onion Salad
Wednesday- Broccoli Cheese Crockpot Soup served with Fresh baked bread & Avacado Salad
Thursday-Crockpot Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos with Rice served with  Build Your Own Garden Salad that can also be used as taco toppings
Friday- Out to dinner for Dad's Birthday!
Saturday- Out to dinner with friends
Sunday - Pork Roast with Potates, Carrots & Green Beans, Served with a Greek Salad

Enjoy every minute my friends!

Follow Michelle's board Fun with Food ♨ on Pinterest.

All of my recipes can be found on my Fun with Food board on Pinterest

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Planning a Book Swap

Do you have books everywhere? Piles here, piles there, overflowing shelves, tables with stacks, suitcases full? That is a description of my house. We have shelves in every room, piles of books in every nook and yet I keep buying. Our classroom is wall to wall bookshelves and it is fairly obvious that we are bibliophiles over here. One thing I cannot bring myself to do is to get rid of books. What made it easier to get rid of books? Swapping for new books! 

I decided to plan a swap with parents from our homeschool group and let it grow from there. I set up tables in my dining room and living room and everyone just brought their books. We priced them in case people wanted to shop without bringing books to swap and then we were ready to roll. I began planning months in advance, so everyone had time to purge their shelves.

The day of the event everyone showed up with their books ready to be laid out and then we just began swapping. All children were invited as well and they had fun swapping their books for other with their friends. It was a great experience for all involved and other then setting up tables and starting a Facebook event, it did not take much to get it going.

We used anything from carts, to crates to shoe boxes, bins and dresser drawers and suitcases to hold books and then let everyone dig through for what they were looking for. It was such a success we are planning another one for May as well! 

Enjoy every minute my friends!

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Two Tips on Tuesday

A beautiful day for a beautiful girl! Yesterday our Princess turned 10 and we had a great day planned for her with a few surprised that even her detective skills couldn't sniff out. The holiday season is always a mess for us with travel and so many different family houses to see and then add in 2 birthday parties and today the Epiphany. Tomorrow I am glad to see the tree come down and the house slowly get back to normal. We are peppering school here and there but won't get officially back at it until mid January when all has calmed down and the house is beginning to look like a home again and not a warehouse!

My daughter wants to be a spy for the US government when she grows up and she studies spies like nothing else. When she isn't studying how to become a spy or creating spy devices she loves to design fashions and watch movies. One of her surprises was to take her to the movie theater when 3-4 different movies were starting within 40 minutes and let her pick anything she wanted to see. She picked Night at the Museum again and it was still just as great the second time around. One tip that we use often because we are frequent movie goers is to bring plastic or paper bags with us to the theater.We buy the largest size popcorn they have and then give each child a paper bag with popcorn. All of our theaters offer free refills on popcorn so we then refill it for us to share and we are all set! No talking in the movie for someone to pass the popcorn and no freaking out when someone has had it too long. We do the same with a large drink and split it between 3 small reusable covered cups. This keeps movie going cost effective and the chatting to a minimum. Now that the older kids are 9 & 10, they wanted to sit on their own, so we outfitted them with goodies and away they went (5 aisles in front of us when we had the entire theater to ourselves!)

As we begin to re-do our classroom, one thing I always put out first and have handy is the paper. We keep a wide assortment of paper on hand, this allows little hands to always have access to art supplies and creativity. There are notebooks for on the go, colored paper, cardstock, textured papers, lined papers...you name it, we've got it! Organize your paper and you will also always have a visual reminder of what needs to be refilled or replaced.

Making books stand out and look inviting is all it takes to bring children to the library. Long lost books always seem to find a way into little hands when they are on display!

Happy Tuesday my friends and remember to enoy every minute!

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Thoughts on Thursday!

Happy 2015!! How did you spend your 2014 end? We stayed in and partied at home with sparkling wines and mimosas. It was really quite fun and in the end we all created memories. Being together with my wonderful little family always seems to make us all so happy and thnankful, I hope it was the same for you all!

My tip for you all is to use clear brochure holders as book displays in your home. This is a great way to give long lost books a new life. You will be amazed at how much older kids will love getting lost in a 'favorite' picture book. I sprinkle these throughout the home often and change them out whenever I get a chance.

My goal for 2015 is to read 250 books and drink a gallon of water a day! Enjoy every minute my friends!

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A Guide To Boys Reading Ages 5-7

Yikes, readers I 100% apologize! How on earth did this week start up and I am already behind!? Field trips, meet ups, movies and friends have had us in a whirl-wind. This should have been on Monday's blog. Oh well I will play catch up now and you will just have to deal with my ramblings! The weekend was so jam packed, I truly feel as though we were on a 1 week long vacation where we truly had to SEE IT ALL!! WOW! Okay anyway...on with the post. My boys were struggling readers, they learned to read quickly, can do their work with ease and the like, but as far as free reading goes? It takes too much to get them into ANYTHING...Try as I might, I was failing with everything I picked up. What did I decide to do then? Take them to Barnes & Noble, head to the reading level appropriate shelves and we grabbed books. FIRST NOTE that I would only grab books that were part of a series. This was done intentionally so that they could continue reading books without have to look for more every week or so! We took the first books of many sets and had a seat in the corner of the children's section. I read the back of the book and if it got a thumbs up, we read the first chapter together. If it worked it went into the YES pile and if not, we put it back to be restocked. After narrowing it down, we wrote down the title and author of each YES book  and then I let them pick out which series to begin with. Today's thread is all about my 7 year old and the book series' that he has fell in love with since he was 5!

1. Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne, this series is something he fell in love with at 4 when I would read to him and when he started reading. By 5 he was on his own and in love with the stories.

2. A-Z Mysteries by Ron Roy, this is perfect for that wannabe crime solver, easy to read but tackles fun subjects that the kids learn as they go.

3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney, Add in typical boy humor, comic book like pictures and hilarity ensues. This is a series that he has gone back to multiple times

4. Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey, once again that boy humor comes in to play. He loves to read portions of these books aloud and then laugh and laugh.

5. Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown, these adventures make for an easy read that can be finished in no time, by even a slower reader. 

6. Geronimo Stilton by Geronimo Stilton, more comic type photos in these books along with all the adventures Geronimo finds himself on make this series a must read for any age, there is a girl version by Thea Stilton but girls would love these just as much and boys would love the others as well!

7. LEGO Ninajago Graphic Novels, I know that these are not full on books, with more pictures taking over but they are excellent in my book if my kids sit down with them!

8. Goosebumps by R.L. Stine, these not-so-scary but a bit odd books seem to keep boys wanting more as they delve deeper into the series!

9.  Capital Mysteries by Ron Roy, he has hit our list twice but these books are spectacular for the problem solving mind!

10. Imagination Station by Marianne Hering, these books had my son from the first line. These are Christian books that are similar to the Magic Treehouse series. 

Hope these are enough to get your started! Enjoy every minute my friends!!

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Round Up!

Fall seemed to have arrived while we were on vacation and we came home to a yard full of leaves, the sky turning dark super early, a chill in the air and pumpkin everything...it is an amazing transformation to leave sand, sun, tank tops and shorts to come home to leaves, darkness, long sleeves and jeans! I love Autumn (why we named our daughter that!), don't get me wrong, but it takes some getting used to! We collected leaves in all of these clear cylinders to decorate the house for the season and they looks so cute! We put them on the fireplace and peppered throughout the living room.

The Day The Crayons Quit has to be the most AMAZING book we have read in quite awhile! It is hilarious and sooo cute that we bring it everywhere and have people read it. Have not read it yet? Get to your library or even just head to Barnes & Noble, you will love it!!

With Autumn sneaking up on us, I knew I had to start preparing for Winter. One of the kid favorites is painting in the snow. These squeeze bottles are the perfect size for little hands. My kids absolutely love doing this, even making the paint with food coloring and water is a fun project in itself! You can even use squeeze bottles with food, check this out HERE!

One thing my kids loved in Disney World was the Pirate Map treasure hunt. They had so much fun following these maps that it has inspired our next birthday party coming up in December! We plan on having a treasure hunt themed party, with maps and hunts and prizes in trunks. The kids are so excited and I can honestly say that I am too! Follow my Pinterest Board for this Party HERE!

When we take on new studies, I love to use things that I can find around the house, are inexpensive and can be taken on the go! Learning the 50 states and capitals is made fun with this double sided-popsicle stick game. One side has the state and the other the capital. It can be played like a game of pick up sticks, can be used alone as flash cards. My kids also love making up their own games to play, the have added in a timer and give a time limit, added in a note pad and had each person pick 10 and lay them flat, then write down what would be on the opposite side of the stick, they sometimes grab them and use them to quickly decide who goes first, second and third in other games! I keep them accessible at all times and the kids gravitate towards them every now and them outside of class.

Our car ride was electronic-free and the kids didn't notice one bit! We had card games, travel games, homework and plenty of chatter. We all had a blast and in all honesty 20 hours went by in no time at all! One thing that we always keep on hand are chip clips, they are perfect for holding cards for little hands when playing games!

Remember to enjoy every minute my friends!

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Tic-Tac-Spell!

It's Wednesday! That puts us right in the middle of the week, which is usually the middle of our spelling lesson. Here is my youngest son's week 3 spelling list. On Monday, I posted about Spelling Test Success HERE, today we will discuss an alternative or what we do in addition to the notecard daily works.

Start out with a large tick tac toe grid and place it in a protective sheet cover or even a transparency like I mentioned on MONDAY HERE! Now, this board can be used over and over again as a dry erase game. Have the 2 players each pick out a spelling word (Can be played with children of different age levels as well, since each just picks one word from their own list). 

Begin play as though playing regular TTT, but this time use your spelling words, saying each letter aloud as it is being spelled. Winner is chosen the same way! What a fun way to bring in games to learning!

Before spelling comes learning! Here was a great way that I taught my kids upper and lower case letters. We used this worksheet paired with Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Get your own copy of the sheet HERE!

How true this is my friends, especially as a homeschooler, I am with my children 24 hours a day and I seem to hardly see a change and then I look at photos from just the previous year and I am astounded by how much has changed! Let this be a lesson to us all to just enjoy every minute!

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