The Critter Sitters Part 2

My Sweet girl is a natural entrepreneur. The wheels are always turning and she is always trying to find ways and coming up with ideas to start a business.
A couple of years ago she came up with a plan to start a pet sitting/dog walking business. It didn't work out in the neighborhood we were in. She was disappointed but has re-evaluated her business plan and is trying again.
This time she lowered her fees and hired more help.
She has pulled in three other girls from the neighborhood who share the same love for animals.
She has been busy all weekend making contracts, animal care survey's, flyers, and applications/hiring list.
The four girls had a meeting yesterday to come up with a mission statement and rules of conduct between The Critter Sitters. They all came up with a promise between them and everyone had to sign it. They decided they would have a business meeting every other week to evalute progress and things they may have to change.
I am very impressed by their proffessional behavior. I am so excited for them and hope it works out!!

A Beautiful Poem

I Took His Hand and Followed

Mrs. Roy L. Peifer

My dishes went unwashed today,

I didn't make the bed,

I took his hand and followed

Where his eager footsteps led.

Oh yes, we went adventuring,

My little son and I....

Exploring all the great outdoors

Beneath the summer sky.

We waded in a crystal stream,

We wandered through a wood...

My kitchen wasn't swept today

But life was gay and good.

We found a cool, sun-dappled glade

And now my small son knows

How Mother Bunny hides her nest,

Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows.

We watched a robin feed her young,

We climbed a sunlit hill...

Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky,

We plucked a daffodil.

That my house was neglected,

That I didn't brush the stairs,

In twenty years, no one on earth

Will know, or even care.

But that I've helped my little boy

To noble manhood grow,

In twenty years, the whole wide world

May look and see and know.

I Think I Will Be A Toy Maker

Silly guy has been learning about machines in science. He wants to start a tool collection of his own. I bought this kit for him to use some of the simple machines he has been learning about; screwdriver and screws. He really enjoyed putting this plane together.

He was so proud of himself too.

He told me when he was finished ,"When I grow up I think I will like a job where I can use tools. Maybe a mechanic or a toymaker." I just smiled. He then thought of a problem he might have if he becomes a toymaker. "Mom, there is one problem with being a toymaker." I looked at him puzzled because I couldn't think of a problem with being a toymaker. It sounded like a fun job for a 9 year old. So I asked him "What kind of problem?" He looked at me very serious, "Well, I will have to go live in China." I just had to laugh.

The Past Few Weeks

The past few weeks have been pretty busy around our house. I realized yesterday I hadn't blogged in a while. I thought I would catch up a little.....
Well, spring sports are in full swing at our house. I have been working on getting some field trips scheduled for our homeschool group. Also with our homeschool group, one of the other moms and myself have decided to put together a P.E. co-op. As homeschoolers, sometimes our kids miss out on playground/p.e. games because you don't always have enough people to play. I have found some great ideas at this website and I am pumped to get started. We are also going to be signing up for the Presidential Fitness Challenge. Did you know as a homeschool you are eligible to enter the challenge? What a great way to get kids active.
In History, Sweet girl finished up her Anthropology study and is now beginning a Sociology study. She has been writing so much and just enjoying herself. Silly guy is still studying Grasslands in history. He has learned about what grasslands are and why they are so important to us, the Ukraine(The Breadbasket of Europe) and is currently learning about Kenya. He has found interesting the different governments in these countries and has been expressing his opinions and thoughts about the differences.

The kids have been working very hard at keeping up with science projects. Luckily this year(I think), I went all out and bought all of the recommended supplies from Home Science Tools. Oh yes, I bought all of the bells and whistles. Both kids have had an experiment just about everyday. In one hand, it has been a little exhausting for mom but the kids are really able to experience science this way.
Sweet girl is still learning all about space. This project was to chart the phases of the moon.

Silly guy is still learning about machines in science. This experiment was to show him how a screw is a wedge.

I didn't understand this experiment at all, but good thing Sweet girl did. I guess that is what is important. I told her to get the teacher guide, so I could see if we were doing it right. She got all of the answers correct and completely understood the concept. Sometimes I feel like...Good thing I am not in the 7th grade,lol :)

More machine experiments for Silly guy. This one he was observing how an inclined plane reduces work for us and how it can be used as a tool.

After all of those science experiments we found a little time to relax on our favorite beach last weekend. In my opinion it is one of the most beautiful beaches on our island. I can just stare at the beautiful blues and greens of the ocean all day. Absolutely fabulous!

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to cut my hair. I told the stylist I needed something different and I love how it turned out. Every time I looked in the mirror I was feeling run down. After this hair cut I gave the stylist a hug and told her ,"Thank you. I feel pretty again."

Day at the Museum

We took the kids to see the Dinosaurs Unearthed exhibit at the Bishop Museum. The dinosaurs were so life like it was a little scary. There was one woman in the museum who kept screaming every time they moved or roared. It was so funny!
Little man loves dinosaurs but he was not taking his eyes off of these big guys. They moved and made noises and even their skin was leathery like a real lizard. It was wild! We actually went through the exhibit twice because the kids enjoyed it so much. The second time around we took more time to read all of the wonderful information.
Now every time we get into the car Little man says," Go see the dinosaurs!" Sadly we waited until the last day to go and it has left the island. If this exhibit comes to a museum near you it is worth the trip.
Here are some pictures of the trip....The Triceratops is Little man's FAVORITE dinosaur.

An Allosaurus skull. Look at those teeth!! Yikes!

This guy is a Tyrannosaurus Rex juvenile. Some info.. recent findings show that the T-Rex

was warm blooded like a bird and had hair. Very interesting.

A fossil of Triceratops horns

Digging for fossils

Little man had so much fun digging in the rice for dinosaur bones.

I am going to make a mini dino dig for him to play with at home. I think

this will be a great activity for him during school hours:)

Peering through a lava tube.

Grassland Lapbook Assembled

Here are pictures of the Grasslands lapbook put together. Center top: Holds all of those wonderful maps. You can find many maps at

Enchanted Learning. National Geographic also has a map of the grasslands.
The countries included in the lap book are the Ukraine, Kenya, and Argentina. Click on the name of the country for a map. We also cut and glued some

pictures we found to the inside of the cover.

The center is the animal spinner and vocabulary. I had to print off

more copies of the vocabulary page and he stapled them together to make a book.

To the left is the Ukraine page.

Center is the Kenya page. Right is Argentina's page.

He is so enthusiastic about this project I have decided to make another one for his next study-The Rain Forest of the World.

In Full Swing

We started back to school this week after a nice long break. The kids were practically begging me to get back. The last few days of our time off I would find them researching climates all over the world and comparing them(they even made a chart), writing and journaling, making their own science experiments, practicing handwriting(silly guy-he just loves writing in cursive), looking through their curriculum and quizzing each other on math facts while playing at the playground. I said to my husband we have definitely have had enough time off!

Sweet girl started studying an Astronomy unit. This week she learned about the Sun's family; the inner and outer planets, comets and asteroids. One of her projects was to make a scale model of the solar system. As she learned about the planets, she kept a data chart with the information she obtained through the reading. Once her chart was complete she was ready to construct her model. She used the equation: scaled diameter= D/10,000 scale=(10,000 km =1 cm). The curriculum(AOP Lifepac)gave her the the average distances (in cm)from the sun. This was a BIG project. The problem we had was finding a wall in the house that was 589.0 cm long(distance from Sun to Pluto). We improvised and used two walls in our school room. We have a hallway upstairs that would have workedbut she wanted to be able to gaze upon her hard work, :).

Here are pictures of the Solar System. It was really neat to see how small the planets are in comparison to the sun and also how close we actually are to it.

Sweet girl constructing the Sun.

It took 35 pieces of construction paper.

This is the first half of the Solar System. The Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars

Jupiter, and Saturn

Little lonely Pluto. Two wall lengths away from the Sun.

Here is the second half of the Solar System. (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto)

A close up of the first five planets.

In Bible, she had to develop a plan to study the Bible over the next six months. We found a Bible reading schedule over at The Teaching Home website . We decided we would do this as a family so we could discuss and reflect about the scripture we will be reading.

On to Silly guy. He started his new unit in geography/history this week: The Grasslands. I made him a lap book to change things up a bit and he is having a great time assembling and learning. He looks forward to history so he can add something to his lap book. I am loving his enthusiasm.

Before our break he started a unit about machines in science so we got back to that. He made this chart for an I Spy game throughout the unit. This unit will give him many experiments which he will enjoy. In language arts he started to learn about taking notes properly. What a great tool!

His I Spy Chart!

All in all it was a great start to the new year and the second half of our school year.

Grasslands Lapbook

I have designed a lapbook for my son's unit study " The Grasslands of the World." I think it will be fun to change things up a bit and lapbook. I have found it keeps him interested and more engaged if I keep things fresh, especially in History. I will post pictures soon of the completed lapbook but for now please enjoy the free download. Click here!

If you would like to check out my other free downloads check out my page. Other downloads include: State History/Geography Notebook, Desert Notebook, and a couple Nature Scavenger Hunt activities. Click here to view my page over at HSLaunch.
Happy Homeschooling!!

Mom, The Dinosaur Has Babies

My Little man LOVES dinosaurs!! He is fascinated with them. A friend from my home school group gave him two buckets of dinosaurs to play with and he will play with them for hours. Then I bought a dinosaur unit study (about 30 dinosaur books) from another fellow homeschooler and again he will sit for hours and listen to them.
So, for Christmas we bought him this little dinosaur that walks and roars. The other day I came home from soccer practice and there were potatoes on the living room floor. I said to my husband," Why are there potatoes on the floor?" My Little Man then looks up at me with his big blue eyes and replies,"Mom, they are dinosaur eggs." He had went into the pantry and pulled out about four potatoes and was pretending his dinosaur was going to have babies. Of course his father and I thought this was so clever of our little two year old.
After watching and playing with him for a few minutes I said,"Well, I have to finish making dinner," His face got very serious and said,"DON'T COOK THEM!"

Boo Boo

My baby boy got a boo boo the other day. It was the first one on his face. He has been lucky. Only a couple of scraped knees up until this point.
Him and his brother were chasing each other around with (how ironic) an ice pack. Next thing you know, he slipped and bumped his head on the sub woofer and got a boo boo above his eye. It was bleeding pretty bad and we were trying to decide if he needed a stitch. After applying ice and pressure it stopped bleeding and it looked like he would survive.
The picture captures the drama . I said," Show mommy your boo boo, so I can take a picture." He said, "Ughhhh." lol

The First Tee Golf Program

My children started taking golf lessons on the Air Force base and are enjoying it. They are taking lessons through First Tee and I am so happy with this program. They are learning so much about the sport and are really having a blast. The program instills character values through the game of golf. The Nine Core Values are Integrity, Responsibility, Honesty, Sportsmanship, Perseverance, Respect, Confidence, Courtesy and Judgement.
The great thing about the program are the coaches. They have a little character development lesson at the end of each golf lesson. More importantly, they model these values through their actions. They are always positive and the children come home with big smiles and confidence. I have seen big results from this positive environment:)
My children love it so much they wanted to get their own clubs. With their Christmas money, they were able to buy themselves a set.
Silly guy has been outside everyday practicing. I love his enthusiasim.
Sweet girl loves the sport too. She has found time to putt around. She is a busy young lady right now.
If you would like to check out the First Tee program and see if it is offered in your area click here.

Winter Break

Our winter break is coming to an end. We enjoyed most of our time getting ready for and celebrating Christmas. We also enjoyed some family time since my husband took a few days leave.
I took some time to get caught up on record keeping; averaging grades, assessing progress, and reviewing curriculum to checkout what we have coming up and start making my library list.
I also set up a scrap booking station in the corner of my bedroom. I realized I hadn't scrap booked in about two years. The main reason being everything was neatly in containers in my closet. So, I pulled everything out and it is available when ever I have a free moment. It looks pretty messy but believe it or not I know just where everything is. When I pulled out my sticker album, I was very surprised and excited.

Not only did I pull everything out, I couldn't wait to get started. I ordered pictures(from 2007) and got busy right away. I forgot how much I enjoyed this hobby. Here are a couple of the pages I worked on. My goal right now is to finish Little Man's baby album.

I even found time to make a curtain for the bathroom. I made this out of an old shower curtain we were no longer using.

We took the kids to Putt Putt golf on one of my husband's off days. They had a good time!!

Little man decided he had enough of golf and was enjoying the Reggae music. He was drumming away on this garden light. Notice the booty shaking-he he...It was adorable.

Christmas Mosaic Placemats

We made Christmas mosaic place mats today. It was a fun project and a great way to reuse Christmas cards.

All you need....

black sheet of paper, Christmas card, solid color paper, glue and colorful wrapping paper

1. First, lay the card in the center of the paper and trace around it.
2. Then remove the card and tear the solid paper into little pieces.
3. Glue them around the traced card.
4. Glue the card down.
5. Next, tear colorful wrapping paper into pieces and glue down in a mosaic pattern leaving about 1/2 inch frame around the edge.
6. Last, laminate the masterpiece to be used as a place mat.
   

Easy Stir Fry

This is a great recipe for those busy nights( which we have had a lot of those lately). I usually put my rice in the rice cooker before leaving for soccer practice, so it is ready when we get home. I sometimes will cook the chicken ahead of time too.
Easy Stir Fry
Ingredients:

• 1 lb. chicken or stir fry beef cut into strips
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• small onion chopped
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 3 cups of stir fry vegetables or also good w/ broccoli
• about 2 tbsp soy sauce(to taste if 2 tbsp is too much)
• 1/4 cup water
• cashews(optional)
• salt and pepper to taste
• rice

1. Start by cooking your rice.
2. While rice is cooking, heat olive oil in a saucepan and add garlic, onion. Cook until onion is translucent. Set aside reserving juices in the pan.
3. Add your chicken or beef to the garlic/onion juices and cook until no longer pink.
4. Once the chicken or beef is cooked add vegetables, water, garlic, and onion.
5. Bring water to a boil, lower to med heat and cover. Cook until vegetables are tender(about 4 minutes).
6. Add cream of mushroom soup, soy sauce, salt and pepper(to taste). Cook until heated through.
7. Before serving add cashews. Serve on top of rice.

Gingerbread houses

Today we made gingerbread houses. The kids enjoyed getting creative with this project. We only had enough gingerbread to make one house. So Sweet girl and Silly guy shared one. Little man made his own out of graham crackers.

He had so much fun squeezing the icing out of the bag. He loves

to get creative and messy. This project provided both opportunities.

Of course the benefit of licking his fingers was fun too.

Sweet girl and Silly guy's gingerbread house had icicles , Christmas lights and a garden. Very pretty!

Here they are getting ready to dig in. I told them they could have some

but they only could eat a few bites. "It is too sweet!!!"they said.

Moments

I feel so blessed to share so many precious "moments" with my children. Homeschooling gives us the opportunity everyday.
We have so many moments to love, discuss, laugh, play, discover, learn, teach, cry, cuddle, support, be excited, grow, frustration, etc. I could go on....and on.... I enjoy them all(even the frustrating moments).
After having a wonderful day with many "moments", I said to my children,"I am so glad we have this time together. I am so happy we decided to home school!" My Silly guy then replied to me," Mom, I love this time together too. Plus, if we went to public school we wouldn't be able to read the bible and learn about God." It was a great "moment" for me(tears).

Salt Dough Ornaments

We made salt dough ornaments for our Christmas tree. The kids always love to play with dough and these creations will be enjoyed for many years to come.

Sweet girls snow man

The recipe is: 2 cups of flour 1 cup of salt and mix in water until dough is formed. If the dough is sticky add a little more flour. We also applied varnish to preserve them.

Silly guy's Christmas tree

It is as easy as that. Your children will enjoy creating beautiful ornaments for your Christmas tree.
I personally think homemade ornaments are best!! The ornaments from the store are beautiful as well, but when they are made from your children's creativity and heart....well what could be better than that!

Little man made this ornament. The kids are calling it the doughnut. I think it is kind of in the shape of a heart. It has his precious little fingerprints embedded in the clay:)

I decided to trace Little mans hand and make it into an ornament. Precious! I only wish I had did this for my older children when they were small.