Books to Read Together - Common Core - Supplemental Reading

Little Pea

and

Eat Your Peas, Louise!

Use these two books to supplement your child's education and to help meet the new common core curriculum.  - When you read them help explain to your child how important it is to eat healthy, what you can eat to be healthy and how to have a healthy lifestyle.

Cute and fun read:  Little Pea - is about a Little Pea who must eat his candy (BLECH!) before he gets dessert.

A rookie reader:  Eat Your Peas, Louise! - is about a girl who must eat her vegetables, and how the parent tries to get her to do it.

National Book Lover's Day!

Yippie Skippie!  It's Book Lover's Day!  Time to reflect on what books we think are so great!  I have always been a bibliophile - from the good old days when my mom would read me Dr. Seuss books every night - to when I finally picked up my very first chapter book to read.  (Charlotte's Web - still a favorite in my heart to this very day!)

When I really got into reading mystery books became my staple.  Boxcar Children came first, then Nancy Drew, then finally Trixie Belden.  I have in my collection the entire original series of Boxcar Children books (1-19), Nancy Drew (1-175), and Trixie Belden (1-34).

As I grew John Grisham, Caroline B. Cooney, and Mary Higgins Clark became my reading preference.  Then along came Mary Jane Clark, and Carol Higgins Clark, and Sophia Kinsella (Author of Shopoholic series.)

Now that I have kids I read less books for adults, and you know what?  I really enjoy the reads from Teenager Fiction.  Just a few:

• Matched series
• Uglies series
• Gallagher Girl - Spy Academy series
• Heist Society series
• Secret's of my Hollywood Life series
• 
  

And for this summer I have read 22 books so far.  My goal was 50 - and I will be far short.  However, I still hope to achieve at least 25 books to be 1/2 to my goal.  My summer reading has included:

• Secrets of My Hollywood Life by Jen Calonita
• " " On Location
• " " Family Affairs
• "  " Paparazzi Princess
• The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman
• The Royal Treatment by Lindsey Leavitt
• A Farewell to Charms by Lindsey Leavitt
• Gamer Girl by Mari Mancusi
• Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo
• Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter
• Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter

What have you been reading this summer?  Are you a book lover?  What was your favorite book growing up?  What is your favorite book now?  What would you recommend to read?

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!