Helpful Homeschooling Hints: Relax!

Posted:
Feb
17
2011
4 Replies

There is one thing that I have learned over the past few years and that is most days don’t go as planned. Learning is still going to happen even if it doesn’t happen in the way that we want or labored all summer to plan.

My hint for you today is to RELAX!

The past few weeks we have been dealing with sickness and the bookwork hasn’t happened as much as I would have liked, but the learning is still happening. There has been learning through dramatic play, designing their own games, art, and educational television. Learning is happening all the time whether we want it to or not. Think about all the ways that your kids are learning even when you aren’t “officially” hitting the books or following your carefully laid out schedule.

I am linking up with Helpful Homeschool Hints over at Many Little Blessings. Take a trip over there and read about Angie’s favorite free resources and see what other hints people are sharing in their posts.

Honey

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Squishy Soap And Leftover Lavendar Foam Bath

Posted:
Feb
16
2011
2 Replies

If your house is anything like my house, then you have squishy bars of soap and shampoo bottles with just a few drips in them at any given time. For a long time now I have been using a simple system to deal with this problem.

We make our own hand soap. It is super simple and easy. Here is everything you need… hand soap pump, leftover foam bath (bubble bath, shampoo, etc), and squishy half used bars of soap.

You take the lid off your hand soap pump and you squish the squishy soap into the bottle.

After the soap is all squished into the hand soap pump you pour in the leftover liquid that you are using. You can add a little bit of water if it is too thick.

Now, you just put on the lid and shake up the bottle. There you have it. Your new bottle of hand soap.

Now we have an empty foam bottle to use as a bath toy.

I am linking this post up to Works For Me Wednesday over at We Are That Family.

Honey

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Our Favorite iPad Apps

Posted:
Feb
15
2011
7 Replies

The iPad is a recent addition to our homeschooling family. I wrote (HERE) about how the iPad is changing our homeschooling. I had several requests for information about the iPad Apps that we use. So, here you have it.

These are just a few of the iPad Apps that we use for quick transition:

  1. pocket ants
  2. pocket pond
  3. plasma globe
  4. splatter
  5. i love fireworks
  6. fluidity
  7. awesome
  8. art of glow
  9. sky write
  10. talking roby
  11. sound drop
  12. pottery hd lite
  13. bubble snap
  14. doodle bright

These are the single player iPad Apps that the kids can play on their own:

  1. boggle
  2. rocket math
  3. spelling word search
  4. puzzle jewels
  5. uno
  6. solitaire
  7. rush hour free
  8. tapnpop hd
  9. zentomino
  10. uconnect
  11. jar of marbles
  12. shanghai lite
  13. mancala fs5
  14. creationary

These are some of the 2 player Apps that we use for transitions between subjects and students in our homeschool:

  1. spellstacker
  2. checkers
  3. moo free
  4. air hockey
  5. chess free
  6. four in a row
  7. hangman

Here are some of the iPad Apps that we use specifically for educational reasons (as well as for fun):

  1. ibooks
  2. pages
  3. numbers
  4. starwalk
  5. magnetic alphabet This is excellent and easy to use for phonics and spelling.
  6. drawing pad This is the program that we use for writing out our work without pencils.
  7. art studio

And what list would be complete without a few iPad Apps For Mom?

  1. netflix
  2. wordpress
  3. twitter
  4. facebook

I am linking this post up to Hip Homeschool Hop.

Disclosure: The iPad Apps listed here are ones that we purchased (if there was a charge) and actually use. We were not compensated in anyway for this post. We just love our iPad.

Reviews: If you have an iPad App (or other product) that you would like us to consider reviewing, please drop us a note through our contact page.

Honey

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Top 10 Ideas For Stretching Your Large Family Food Dollars

Posted:
Feb
14
2011
2 Replies
  1. Plan. Prepare a menu and a detailed grocery list.
  2. Do a big grocery shop once a month.
  3. Shop at a warehouse store or do your price comparisons at other stores very carefully (using fliers or the store websites).
  4. Compare the costs of the sizes you are buying. Going up another size can often save you TONS of money.
  5. Buy bulk quantities of fruits and veggies when it is a better deal. Compare fresh, frozen and canned as options for fruits and veggies.
  6. Buy bulk sizes of sandwich meats and divide them into meal size portions and freeze in Ziploc bags. We buy a large block of ham or salami for under $10
  7. Buy large cuts of roasts (pork or beef) and cook them all at once and freeze in meal size portions for stews and soups.
  8. Buy bigger sizes of sour cream and margarine to save money.
  9. Buy any treats or snack foods in bulk and plan them out for the month.
  10. Bag up leftover veggies, meats, sauces and gravies to use in soups and stews. We also buy the precooked chickens and take all the meat off the bones and freeze the bones for soup.

This post is linked up to Top Ten Tuesday over at Oh Amanda.

Honey

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Menu Plan Monday

Posted:
Feb
14
2011
Reply

Nothing exciting on the menu this week as we go through the cupboards and freezers in preparation for another monthly grocery shop. I will just list my dinners because I have not yet figured out the rest of the meals. We will probably have oatmeal or pancakes for breakfasts and homemade soups for lunches.

Tuesday – Leftover Chili

Wednesday – Pork stew (made with leftovers from the freezer)

Thursday – Chicken Stew (made with leftovers from the freezer)

Friday - Take n Bake Pizza because it is Grocery Day

What is on your menu for this week?

I am linking up to Menu Plan Monday where you can find other great meal ideas.

While you are over there visiting at Organizing Junkie, you will want to check out this GREAT page of Menu Planning Resources.

Honey

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Sore Throat

Posted:
Feb
07
2011
Reply

Hey everyone, this is just a quick note to let you know that I have not forgotten you. I had tons of posts planned for this week, but I got hit with a nasty sore throat that had me sick in bed for four days. I am heading to the clinic now because I am not getting any better. I would appreciate your prayers for a speedy recovery and protection from anyone else in the house getting sick.

Update: The doctor says I have tonsillitis. Your continued prayers are appreciated. I will be back here in full swing as soon as possible.

Honey

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FunKey Keyboard and Mouse

Posted:
Feb
04
2011
Reply

I was extremely excited to have the opportunity to review the  FunKey Bundle from Chester Creek.  The keyboard and pint size mouse were packaged securely for shipping and I was very impressed to have them arrive on my door. I was equally impressed with the speed of the delivery.

When I opened the package the kids all got excited to see the surprise that was waiting for them. The first thing that struck me (after how it was packaged) was how bright and colorful the keyboard and mouse are. It was very attractive and inviting to the kids and they all gathered around to try to get a look as I opened it.

My autistic son fell in love with it right away and couldn’t wait for us to get it all set up. Elisha was able to type more fluently with this keyboard than with our traditional keyboard due to the color coding of the keys.

All the kids liked the fact that the mouse was small enough to fit their hands.

While we were happy with the keyboard and mouse and we have enjoyed using them, there were two things that we didn’t like:

  1. The yellow keys had white print on them making them difficult to read.
  2. The keyboard sits flat on the table and doesn’t have those tabs to prop it up.

Overall, we have been very happy with our experiences with this keyboard.

Contact Chester Creek to find out more about all the wonderful products that they sell by visiting them at their website and saying hello on twitter.

They also asked me to let you know that there is an Educator’s Discount available.

Here are the specifications:

Operating System: Windows 98SE, 2000, ME, XP, Vista, Windows 7, MAC OS 10.1.5 and higher. Will work on a MAC; no Mac specific keys.
Safety: FCC CE Approved
Environmental: RoHS Compliant
Connector: USB (PS/2 adapter included for older systems)
Size: 18″ x 0.75″ x 6.75 – 8
Warranty: Two Year

Disclosure: I received this product from Chester Creek in exchange for my using the product and giving an honest review.

Honey

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3,012 views and counting!

Posted:
Feb
03
2011
1 Reply

The animation that we made in August 2010 has had 3,012 views. This is a cute animation twist on a classic song, “Itsy Bitsy Spider”. The music is from The GoFish Guys it was used by permission.

We have placed the video in our sidebar for your enjoyment.

YouTube Preview Image

Honey

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Sweet Finds

Posted:
Feb
02
2011
1 Reply

I have some random Sweet Finds for you today.

  1. An awesome word building game with a step by step tutorial on how to make it.
  2. Scrapbook layouts - how cool is this? I never knew this existed.
  3. I found this awesome site that teaches about practical skills.
  4. Check out this really inspiring DIY blog.
  5. This is one site that I want to spend more time at.
  6. Do you need some help building your house?
  7. Have you ever heard of Pan Pastels?
  8. Creative home projects with picture tutorials.

Do you have any Sweet Finds to share?

Honey

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