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?

Linked up here:

Water Play!

 

 My daughter was working a car wash for her school and of course it gets all kids wanting to play in the water, rather than wash cars! I knew just the activity for them once we got home, off to the water table we went!  I filled some squeeze bottles with water (Hobby Lobby .71!) and put a couple drops of food coloring into each and it became a mixing station! Colors were made, soup was created and an all around good time was had! I was sure to put them in play clothes and as far as the water table we used, it was one that we picked up at a rummage sale for 2.00! So needless to say, it's the perfect base for getting creative and colorful!! It's amazing how an ordinary and fun water table becomes an absolute blast for more hours than before.

After packing up all the water toys last year, I knew that this year I wanted to go with something different and fun for the table. I decided to fill it with 'toys' that are ordinarily found in our rubbish bins or in the kitchen! I picked up measuring cups, eye droppers, measuring spoons, scoops and funnels, pitchers etc. all at tag sales and thrift shops! We bought a pack of sponges at the dollar store and cut 1 of them up into strips for them to use too! Jars and yogurt cups and soap bottles rounded it off and now they want to be out there non stop! The best part, is that it really encourages imaginative play with a little math snuck in! Today I heard:
Gabriel: Autumn, let's make some soup!
Autumn: YEAH! WE need 1 cup of soup
Gabriel: No 1/2 a cup, so we need to get rid of 1/2
Roman: I mix it mix it!
Autumn: Gabriel add 1 small spoonful of purple water (MOM! What is 1 small spoonful called)
Mom: 1 Teaspoon

And on and on it went! So much fun!

What do you do with your water table?

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mother's out there! I am very happy to say that I am the daughter to one super amazing woman. She doesn't get online much and I'm pretty positive she has never seen this blog, but I just want the world to know that she is a truly wonderful mother. Growing up we definitely butted heads...A LOT, but you know what? I'm appreciative of that. She was incredibly strict and it drove me wild, even thought my oldest is only 6, I find myself following that same path. I've grown up to be a confidant, strong and smart mother of 3 and I owe that all to her. We learn by what we see and I saw a mother that loved as much as she could, protected as long as she could and did anything and everything to make our dreams come true. I'm happy to say that I have traveled the world thanks to her, gone to a college out of state thanks to her confidence in me, went to private schools my entire life. I could truly write a blog about the woman that call my mother, but I don't know if she would like that! haha! She's a very private person and I admire her for that.

Why is it that on a blog to the World, I can write all this and let her know how proud I am of her, for putting her dreams aside to raise me and make me who I am today, but I could never tell her in person? Why is that here on this platform, I can say that I respect, admire and love my mommy for all she has done and continues to do and I could never utter these words? Why do I worry about making her proud still? Why is it that I have no problems spilling out my thoughts here, but I clam up when we sit on the couch at her house and watch a movie? Did you know that one of my biggest fears is one of us dying and her never knowing how much I truly love her and how much she impacts the way I raise my children. How much my husband does to impress her. Together we work with her in our heads, because she has had that much influence on our lives. Many that don't know her, may call her cold, but those of us that do? We know she has the biggest and warmest heart that beats with love.

All through high school, I remember thinking that if I ever had kids, I would never be as crazy as she is! Now? I pray to God that I turn into the exact mother that she was then and is now. I love you Mom and I'm so glad that God chose you as my mother. I'm literally tearing up as I type this, wondering if she will ever stumble across this? Wondering if I should just hit the print button and tuck it into her card. Mom, if you do see this, I love you more than you will ever know. So many people always say, you never know what you mother went through until you have kids and now I know. That's all I can do, because I have yet to invent a time machine to go back and change it all, the mouth of a teenager! Thank you for always believing in me and please know, that if God let me pick my mother, it would have and always will be you.

Love you Always!
~Michelle!~

Thank you readers, for joining me on this emotional roller coaster of a novella today! I will be back to my normal posting tomorrow! haha! For today, my Mom gets center stage! Oh and no, you can't have her!!
The first photo, shows the gifts that the kids and I made for her! Double sided photo blocks and the kids hands embroidered and placed in a frame.
The second photo is my mom and I at my 30th birthday dinner!

Postcard Swap and Lazy Saturday!

I just came across this awesome postcard swap about to happen! It sounds like so much fun and over 100 families have already joined!! Check it out and let me know if you signed up! Deadline is May 17th!

After a hectic Spring Break Last week and weekend, we stayed in today almost all day!! We did some garage saleling (it's a word if I say so!!! lol), met up with a friend etc. That was all while my husband was at work, once he got home we decided to laze it up! The kids played outside, we grilled and had a fun dinner together and are now snuggling and watching Lemonade Mouth! Soon to be followed by a family game!
What did you do today?

In honor of Lemonade Mouth!

I just received this award from Purple Froggie Clay Stuff and I feel so awesome, as this is the 2nd time this week that I have gotten it! WOW! Thanks everyone! You can read my nominations and my 10 random things here!

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

Sailing Out of the Box!

When I was approached with an awesome idea from Tinker Lab about getting creative with a cardboard box, I knew straight away that this was something we were IN for! She is celebrating her blogging anniversary and what a great way to celebrate! It's one big blog party!! We have been wanting to make a spaceship for quite some time, but when the time to truly decide came around, the ideas were flying around like crazy!!


Gabriel: More Railroad and Car track like we made before:
http://michellescharmworld.blogspot.com/2011/04/craft-in-minute.html

Autumn: Wagon to pull kids and animals in

Roman: Circus Train

Gabriel: Roller Coaster

Roman: Race Car

Autumn: Space Ship

Roman: BOAT!!!

The Boat was obviously the winner and this is them working on it!
It is meant to be a child led activity and I am only there to help with the sharp stuff and to finish out an idea they have. Gabriel can be seen in the above photo gluing on the waves, they brought out our blue blanket that we usually keep in the car for outdoor activities and such. Roman is inside holding the glue on the dials and Autumn is fixing up the flag. They had a rough time with the flag and went through many different materials, before settling on a dowel that I happened to have! (first they tried paper towel tubes, then a wire hanger)

First things first, the little guy insisted it be named after him! hahaha!!! The Roman it became, and then it turned into a lesson as after my oldest wrote the name Roman insisted that there was NO Q in his name! The lower case A looked like a Q to him!

They put in a site scope because this started out as a pirate ship, if you look to the extreme right of the boat, you can see where it started to tear when they tried to get 2 of them to fit in the boat! haha

We used toilet paper tubes and old Disney World maps to make 3 sets of binoculars, when it became a whale watching boat (and penguins!!). They were able to do these themselves after I made the holes for the laces to go through and tied the knots.

Finally, they settled and it has remained a fishing boat! We were in the Dells and they saw some people fishing from their boats as we took a boat tour and I'm pretty sure that's where they got the idea from! I cut the fish, as it was cardboard and drilled the holes to make the fishing poles. They hooked on the paper clips and glued down the magnets!

All in all we have had a blast and the best part? This boat and 'river' have stayed in our living room for over a week and the kids keep playing with it almost daily! Please check out the linky and join us on everyone's cardboard box adventures!!!

~Michelle!~

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Where You Can Find Me!

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Hopping Here today:

~Michelle!~

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Take The Learning Outside!

As the weather warms up, we are all dying to get back outdoors on a regular basis! The kids love to run, jump and yell with no boundries (well except for the fence!). It's fun, exciting and best of all thrilling to get outdoors and play with bubbles, water and sand. Why not sneak in a little learning while you play? 

We took our sidewalk chalk out with us this week and drew reaaaalllly long lines and measured to see who drew the longer one! Then we wrote out number 1-20 on a bumpy hill! We made clouds with numbers on them and hopped from one to the next or just stood still until someone yelled out a number and we all headed to land on that one! We even pulled out the jacks and matched them up to the same color chalk drawing!!

I wrote out some Math problems and before I was done with the last one, my 5 year old was pulling up a chalk and getting right to work!

All the while, I don't think the kids even knew there was a lesson in there! Even Mommy had some fun with the chalk!

Enjoy this month as we near Summer and vacations abound!

Linked up here:

~Michelle!~

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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!~

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Bath Time Fun!

My kids love the Avon body paints and when they ran out, it was a sad day! My 5 and 6 year old take showers, but sometimes they ask for a bath at night, because they like to play. I decided to see what I could whip up for them and came up with some easy bath time finger paints! They are tub safe and drain properly. I used cornstarch and water and food coloring and the ever famous corn syrup!

Recipe:
3 tbsp. Cornstarch
1 tbsp. Flour
3/4 cup Karo light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
½ tsp. Liquid food coloring


Mix it all together!!!

~Michelle!~

I'd Like To Thank.......TEST PAGE

 WOW!! My first ever blog award!!! I have just been graced with an awesome award from Charcoal and Crayons!  How exciting!! I would like to thank her very much for this and my kids who without them, I wouldn't be so crafty and creative! Now, when she accepted the award, she shared 10 random things and I will do the same. It's a little way for you to get to know me!

1. I got married in Disney World!
2. I just had my tonsils out last year.
3. My Favorite All Time Movie is Dirty Dancing
4. I would love to learn how to dance properly in a studio!
5. I am deathly afraid of birds and fish
6. I love my legs and dislike my nose
7. Every time I watch a movie, I wish I were that character. For example: Bourne Identity had me wishing I was a spy, Dirty Dancing always has me wanting to be a dancer, Oceans 11 has me dreaming of robbing places in cool ways, The Substitute had me wanting to be a teacher that could kick some butt...so on and so on! hahaha!
8. I find it very difficult to laugh at myself.
9. I think that my parents are the best people in the world and can only hope that my husband and I turn out just like them in the way they raised me.
10. My grandmother passed on over 13 years ago and I still think of her every single day and still tear up if I think too long.

Now I have to come up with 10 blogs to pass this award on to! Hmmm....

1. Tinker Lab
2. The Sassy Pack Rat
3. At Home With Michelle
4. Come Together Kids
5. Mama Pea Pod
6. Thriftaholic
7. Less Than Perfect Life of Bliss
8. Plain Graces
9. The Tote Trove
10. Roundabout

 

^Have you noticed something new up there?^ I just got a wonderful new banner made for me from The World as I See It! Isn't it fantastic?? It reminds me of Candy Land, which is exactly ME! She is redesigning my blog too! Let's hope that someone as clueless as I am can figure out how to put it all together! hahaha!!

~Michelle!~
Just ignore the following, testing images:

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
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