Pom Pom Drop - What to Do With Pom Poms - Cheap Fun

Here is a fun activity I set up as an invitation to play.  It is very inexpensive and you can easily use things around your house.  Surprisingly the kids will stay occupied for a while - and what is even better  - they keep coming back for more!  

All you need is a plastic bowl, a paper towel roll, tape, and some pom poms. 

Step one:  Tape the paper towel roll onto the wall - about 2 week off the ground.

Next place the bowl underneath the paper towel roll.  I put the bowl on a chair so that it would be closer.

I had to test it to make sure it worked.  Then I left.  I didn't tell anyone about the pom pom drop.  I didn't tell my chickadees what to do.  I just left it for them to find and explore.

Sure enough when my chickadees #'s 2 and #4 wondered into the kitchen they found the strange contraption.  They quickly figured out what to do.

They played for almost 1/2 hour.  They also explored the possibilities of how many pom poms they could fit in at once.  A couple was OK - even 3.  But then they started getting stuck.  #2 ripped the roll off the wall and flung the stuck pom poms everywhere.  But when #4 got them stuck he kind of gave up.  I gave him a pencil and he figured out what to do right away.

It was pure joy and so much fun.  This will be a great activity to set up if you have little ones that are not going to be in school.  This can keep them occupied for a little bit - while you teach phonics to a Kinder or math to a 4th grader.  :)

Have a Hats and Chickadees Day!

Summer Learning - A Trip to the Big Horn Mountains - Medicine Wheel

We had to travel this summer for a wedding - and we are always looking for opportunities to learn something new.  So, after the wedding we took a side trip up the Big Horn Mountains in northern Wyoming.  We decided to take the climb to the top of Medicine Mountain and see the Medicine Wheel.

Since it is a protected landmark and sacred to Native Americans - you must walk the 1/2 mile up the mountain to see it - just so you know.   They do have benches along the pathway so you can sit and take a break.  If you are disabled you are allowed to drive to the top.  The hike is probably moderate - and I would recommend being in shape and taking tennis shoes.  Although we all climbed it with our sandals, and all the kiddos aged 9-3 years of age made the climb just fine.  Also, I carried our 3 month old up and down the mountain trail - people were impressed.  :)  

 The flowers blooming right now are gorgeous.  

The views are beautiful!

They had 3 forest service works the day that we hiked the trail.  The three ladies were very friendly and very knowledgeable.  They were able to tell us all about the animals in the area - from Pika to Moose - to the different flora decorating the mountainside.  The Chickadees asked questions like - why did they use rocks?  (A:  They last a long time - the mountain has been on fire several times, and everything burned except the Medicine Wheel and the Rocks.)  What are the flags and things on the fence?  (A:  They are prayer offerings from the Native Americans - kind of like incense at other places of worship.)  What are the rock formations?  (A:  Limestone).  

We almost learned that the circle is very important to Native American culture.  Everything comes back to a circle.  We learned that their are a lot of circle rings all over the Big Horn Mountains and surrounding areas.  There are other "Medicine Wheels" but also Teepee Rings - and cooking rings.  

We saw all sorts of animals at the Medicine Wheel.  We saw this really huge fat Marmot - and lots of Pika's - they were too fast for a picture.  Pika's are like overgrown hamsters.  

Summer can be fun and educational!  Have fun on your vacations - and take time to learn something new!  As any homeschooler knows - learning never ends.

K12 Supplies Are In... Now What?

 Whew!  UPS just delivered all my K12 boxes - full of lots of lovely new learning supplies and course work for the new school year.  It may seem like a daunting task - but don't let the job at hand overwhelm you.  You can get organized!  

First - organize the boxes by student.  I start opening them all up one by one - starting with Chickadee #1.  I have 3 Chickadees in school this year - so I had 7 boxes to go through!

Get a look at your new course work.  Now is a great time to look it all over and get excited with your children about all the cool stuff they will be learning this year!  Here are just some of the books Chickadee #2 will be reading in Lit this year as a second grader.

K12 sends a checklist of all the supplies you should have.  Go through and make sure everything has arrived.  Interestingly in music this year you will be using links online to listen to music - so no music CD's this year.  We will see how that goes.  I hope it goes well!  Also - my 4th grader has no math books.  All guides are online now.  I am not sure how I feel about this - as it is nice to have a hard copy to take with you.  I'm hoping it'll be a good change - but we'll see.

Last - designate a shelf on a book case for each of your students.  Put the subjects in the same order for each of your students so you know where they all are - and you stay more easily organized.  Use a different color binder for each student for their subjects.  When the students complete an assignment just put it the right binder.  I put the subjects in this order- starting from the right and going left - History, Language Arts, (Phonics), Math, Science, Art, and Music goes in the living room where we can dance and have fun with it.

I put all the other supplies together also - Put all the math sets together on a shelf.  Put your art supplies together, and put you science supplies together too - that way they aren't spread all over and they are easier to find!

Congratulations!  You are ready for your first day of school!

Summer Wedding Attire - Feeling Hot hot hot - July 2014

Had a wedding to go to this past weekend.  11 years ago my hubby and I got married in July - and my friend who just got married was AT MY WEDDING - and said he would NEVER GET MARRIED IN JULY because it was too hot.  Well, lol, never say never.  The temperature hovered around 100 degrees - and the wedding reception was at a place with no air conditioning.  Still - it was a total blast - even though we were all dripping in sweat - we danced all night.  My family and I came back to our motel and jumped in the pool at 10:00 at night to cool down - surrounded by dozens of different colored light up palm trees.  Ahhh

I wore this long maxi dress from Modcloth.  Wedding colors were blue, green, and purple - and the theme was peacocks - so I thought I would match the colors.  I loved the motel grounds - it was eclectic, fun, and cool.  Very vintage and kitsch.  

Trying to stay cool by the water fountain.

Earrings:  Gift

Necklace:  Modcloth

Belt:  Spiegel

Bracelets:  Clairs and Modcloth

Dress:  Modcloth

Shoes:  Modcloth

Feeling Vintage in the Kitchen - Blueberry and Nutmeg Doughnuts

For our 11th Anniversary this year (can you believe I've been married that long?  Holy Cow, Batman!) my Aunt got us this Cake Pop / Doughnut Hole Electric Bakery.  So, I decided to try it out.  The results were delicious!  I wanted to take a cute picture of me in the kitchen - but I was still getting over my cold - and really didn't feel like dressing up in a vintage full skirt, button up blouse, and a tie scarf in my hair holding out a tray of these delectable doughnuts.  You get the picture.   You can imagine it if I had done so - it probably wouldn't have turned out cute at all.  Instead enjoy these pics and recipes. and answer my question:  what kind of flavor of doughnut would you make? :) 

Here are the two recipe's I made:

(Taken from the Cake Pop Bakery - Recipe Book)

Blueberry Muffin Munchies

1 Cup Milk

1 Egg

1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

2 Tsp Baking Powder

1/2 Cup Granulated White Sugar

3/4 - 1 Cup Fresh Blueberries

Stir Together Milk, Egg, and Oil.

Add Flour, baking powder, sugar, and blueberries.

Gently mix the batter and pour into pastry wells.

Cook for 3-7 minutes until golden brown.

Open lid w/ oven mitt.

Remove muffins with a wooden spoon.

Quick Donut Holes

2 Cups Flour

1/4 Cup Sugar

1 Tsp Salt

1/2 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tsp Nutmeg

1 Tsp Baking Powder

3/4 Cups Buttermilk (I used Plain Milk)

3/4 Cup Vegetable Oil

1 Egg

Mix Dry Ingredients 

Stir in milk, oil, and egg.

Pour into Pastry Wells

Cook for 3-7 minutes until golden brown.  

Open lid w/ oven mitt.

Remove dounuts with a wooden spoon.

Roll in sugar, powdered sugar, or frosting and sprinkles.

Yum!

Have fun!

Rain, Rain Don't Go Away - I am Wearing Red and Yellow Today!

Today's outfit was worn to a meeting - where I try to be fashionable and modest at the same time to set a good example.

 The tank top blouse is an older purchase from Modcloth - which I still luv luv luv.  I added my Honey Cardigan, and since I love red and mustard mixed together I added my red belt and my red beads.  Usually I wear a fitted tan skirt, but since I still have about 16 pounds left to go before I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight, I decided to forgo that idea and went with this maxi white peasant skirt.  I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised with the results.

 While taking pictures, a storm rolled in and started drenching me and my photographer - and we had to rush indoors to finish the photo shoot.  We ended up playing around and being silly.

Tank Top Blouse:  Modcloth

Yellow Cardigan:  Modcloth

Skirt:  eBay Special

Belt:  eBay Special

Necklace:  Chadwicks

Shoes:  Gift

Science Experiment - Absorption and Color Mixing!

This is a cool science experiment we did on absorption and color mixing!  The chickadees really liked this one.   This is an experiment we conducted with our Green Kid Craft box we get.

First - we colored two glasses of water.  One full of yellow and one full of blue.  I think you could easily use food coloring to do this.  Leave the middle cup empty.

The next step was to take some paper towels, fold them up, and put them from the two cups full of water to the empty one in the middle.

Then we watched as the paper towel absorbed the water and deposited it into the middle cup!  Amazing!  The middle cup turned green!  I would love to do this with other colors.  Try blue and red to make purple, and try yellow and red to make orange!  It was truly awesome.  Even I was quite impressed.

As a bonus experiment they sent us markers to mark along the edge of a paper towel and stick it into water.

The kids also thought it was incredibly cool that the marker flowed with the water as the paper towel absorbed the water.  What cool science!  

Next up in Science - Botany :)

Enjoy and have a hats and chickadees day!

K12 Material Are On Their Way!

I am so excited - got those emails in my inbox this morning - K12 Materials are on their way!  Am I a little bit sick?  I think I am.  ('Cuz I swear, didn't we just get out of school, like yesterday???)  I just love that time of year when they ship out the new course materials for school.  I love opening up all those packages and seeing what we are going to be learning this year.  I also love the excitement of the first day of school!  (Sadly - the excitement wears off fast!  :)

This year I am going to try to be a little more flexible - and use K12 as our OWN school - and not be so stressed out.  (I hope.)  I'll have 3 of my 5 little chickadees in school this fall - and they will be in  4th, 2nd, and Kindergarten.  Of course, Kinder and 1st are all about learning to read read read.  So that'll take up a lot of time.  I'm hoping that I can give #3 my attention that he needs since learning to read is such a difficult task.  I'll also have a 3 year old and a newborn to attend to.  So while I am excited about a new year I am also nervous and have a little trepidation.

I am excited that #3 will be in school - even though I think he will have a difficult time.  He is go go go go all the time and has energy to spare.  He doesn't like to listen or sit still.  I am hoping school work will help him to learn to listen and sit still a little bit better.  Also, every year we have a difficult time with him because he is on the go and bringing toys in to the school room and inciting #1 and #2 to riot - and play instead of do school work.  So, with #3 occupied with his own school work - I hope we might get more done.

I do love that K12 has my curriculum all lined out for me - and gives me a daily plan to follow - because I don't think I would have time to create my own - and I am afraid I would fall behind my own lesson plan - because I would have no "consequences."

So - that is it!  I'm excited!  When will you be getting your course work for the year?  Are you enrolled in K12?  Or some other online school?  Or do you plan your own curriculum?

Have a hats and chickadees day!

Going to Town - Hot Pink and Polka Dots

Going to town with 5 little chickadees is not the easiest task in the world.  Thankfully I do have my mom who helps me out in this regard.  We are able to tag team the kiddos and it works out wonderfully.

I try to make shopping fun for them.  Before we head to the grocery store I cut out what we need out of the sales flier and tape it and how many on a piece of paper for each of the chickadees, and make them look for those item.

I still try to be a fashionable mom about town - and this outfit just spoke to me.  Now, the voters on Modcloth didn't seem to like this outfit, but I stand by it.  We get super hot here in the summer and, I'll tell you what, shorts are something we take seriously!  

I started with my high neck secretary bow polka dot tank top and added my hot magenta pink cardigan over it.  I wanted my hair to stay out of my way so I used a black and white polka dot headband.  Black shorts, and of course, my outfit making Lizard Skin Vintage handbag.  Jewelry was simple today - a thick white bangle bracelet.

It was a very quick photo session - as we were already late picking up my mom to head to town.

We stopped briefly by our old barn from the 1900's for one last photo op.

Headband - Clair's

Blouse - Newport News

Cardigan - Gift

Bracelet - Newport News

Shorts - Newport News

Lizard Skin Handbag - eBay

Sandal's - Thrifted

A Formal Affair - A Walk in the Woods

A walk in the woods with fanciful attire.  Somehow the rustic mixed with formal always just seems so right.  

Getting my outfit ready today I had a horrible cold.  I had an awful fever, cough, body aches, sore throat and headache.  But life goes on - and one must get dressed! ~

I didn't think about getting close-ups and I don't know why.  But on to my outfit.  I started off with my aqua, gold, and black skirt and added my black lace bouse.  I tried on a gold top with a black cardigan but it just didn't seem right.  Next I added my golden lace scarf and draped it more like a cardigan than a scarf.  Last I grabbed my black and gold clutch and my vintage pearl brooch.  I pulled up my hair in a side chignon and slipped my feet into my nude and black lace heels and took a walk in the woods.

Blouse:  Gift

Scarf:  Local Boutique

Brooch:  eBay

Skirt:  Modcloth

Shoes:  Modcloth

Time for Slime! - Science Experiment

This is a really neat science experiment for you and your little ones to do. It's easy and it's fun.  We found this experiment here at the American Chemical Society website for kids.

First we gathered up our ingredients.  We needed cups (2 for each child), craft sticks, spoons, measuring spoon, glue, borax, and (opt) food coloring.

(These directions are from the American Chemical Society website.)

Place 1 tablespoon of water in a small plastic cup. Add ¼ teaspoon of borax. Mix until as much borax dissolves as possible. This is your borax solution.  

If you would like your slime to be a certain color, add one or two drops of food coloring to your borax solution.  

Place 1 tablespoon of water in another cup and add 1 tablespoon of Elmer's glue. Stir with a popsicle stick until the glue and water are thoroughly mixed. 

This is your glue solution. 

Slowly pour all of the borax solution into the glue solution, and stir with a clean popsicle stick. You should notice a sudden change in the solutions.

Your slime is done when you can pick up your popsicle stick and most of the slime comes out on the stick. 

When you have some nice thick slime, pull it off the popsicle stick and move it back and forth between your hands. The more you play, the less sticky it gets. 

The kids loved playing with it and stretching it.  They thought it was pretty neat that they could create their own slime!  Just be sure and wash your hands afterwards!

Have fun!

Have a Hats and Chickadee's Day!