Category: Homeschooling

An Easter Banner

I have a dear friend who does fun crafts with her Mother. The first really cool thing I saw that they each made for their homes was a Christmas banner. It was made of felt squares that were strung together on a pretty ribbon to make a banner. Each square had a letter on it and it spelled out “Joy to the World”. Each letter was made of crafty items like buttons, ribbon and other appliques. So cute! My friend had told me she wanted to make one for Easter too. A couple of months later she pulled me aside to show me her Easter banner. It was adorable, I was so bummed I didn’t have my camera on me.

I was definitely inspired. I was out and about the other day and wandered into a fabric store. I was set on getting the materials to make my own banner. Unfortunately the store I walked into was strictly a fabric store. No fun stuff, kinda of “stuffy”, I felt intimidated and left.

When I got home I decided to go through my scrapbooking stuff to see what I could find…

I came up with some cute things and decided to scale it down and use paper…

Cutting out a banner piece

my selection of colors

A little too plain…

Much better, I decided to add patterned paper.

Drying, just need to hang it up, probably in the front window.

I used cardstock because I didn’t have ribbon thick enough to hold. If you have ribbon use it, this looks a little stiff.

April 5, 2012
A Yummy Breakfast – Huge Hit with the Kids

**sidenote – I was looking through old drafts and found this post, love finding posts!**

Cinnamon Oatmeal, Toast Circles, Fruit Kebob

Breakfast is usually pretty casual, most mornings it is oatmeal or cereal, also yogurt and toast. One morning a week I make eggs, pancakes or waffles. One thing I love about homeschooling is giving them a good breakfast and not having to be in a hurry out the door. We can sit and chat, it is a great start to the day.

Today was no different, just wanted to share. The boys like the presentation, my nephew said, “ooo this looks good to eat”, it was so cute.

March 21, 2012
Homemade Puffy Paint

Have I told you I love Pinterest? Of course I have! My most recent inspiration came from a Microwave Puffy Paint Pin, which led me here: Mom’s Crafty Place. She posted really great pictures, my kids and I were sold. We did it right there and then. We loved it and used every last bit, will do this again!

Thanks to Mom’s Crafty Space for the inspiration!

March 11, 2012
All Systems Go – A Space Odyssey Adventure

We recently spent an afternoon at the Space Odyssey Exhibit at our local Museum. The boys took some day long workshops and then they spent 2 hours taking in the Space Odyssey. It was a treat for me and my husband to watch their enthusiasm soar.

Preston learning about telescopes

Sam explores the exhibits

Learning how water affects the earth

Playing with light

Experimenting with a heat sensing (Thermographic) camera

Adam and Earth

Oliver watch the changes on the model planet

Oliver’s favorite exhibit

Preston with Mars

SuperSam in space

Sam with some astronaut friends

We will definitely go back again and again! I found some online printables from the Museum that you can use to learn every more during your visit. Can’t wait to try them out!

March 4, 2012
Fun with Kitchen Science
Being a homeschooling Mom I am always on the look out for fun, hands on projects to do with my boys. They are in 2nd Grade, Kindergarten and Preschool they especially love science projects. They love to experiment. My kindergartner and 2nd Grader keep science journals. They keep track of supplies used, what they think will happen and then they record what actually happens. These are usually accompanied with pictures, it is a perfect way to track their learning adventures.

I have found some Homeschool websites that offer great suggestions on fun experiments. One website that I recently discovered is from Clorox. It is called Clorox Recipes for Fun, it is a great resource for all things fun to do with your kids. Not only is there a Wacky Science page there is also recipes for Kiddie Cooking, Arts and Crafts, and Creative Cooking. There are so many fun ideas. I can not wait to get cracking at all the fun projects we found.

You can also submit your own recipes.

They have a contest running now through March 27th, you could win $10,000. If you sign up you get entered, if you share a recipe you get an additional 10 entries!

My husband had recently told my boys about a science experiment he did when he was a little boy. He gave me the list of ingredients, we had everything we needed so I sent the boys on a treasure hunt in the kitchen to round up the ingredients on the list. They liked that part and it built up the anticipation of creating something cool.

The Superfizz Volcano Ingredients

Start with Vinegar, dishsoap and food coloring

I let the boys each pick their own colors.

Add baking soda, watch the smiles

Experimenting with more baking soda

My Pretty Yellow SuperFizz Volcano

Smiles all around!

Adam and his Green Machine SuperFizz

Sam joining the fun

This experiment was a huge hit! The boys did it 3 more times, using different colors and different amounts of the ingredients. They played with this experiment for over an hour. Will do this again, the boys were wondering if we could do it outside with an entire bottle of vinegar and box of baking soda, hmmm….

I wonder what kind of mess that might make?! We did have a bit of a mess, so be prepared with clean up materials. We use and LOVE Clorox Clean Up. I used it for clean up on this project and it cleaned up the food coloring with no problems!

Here is the recipe my husband shared:

Super Cool, Super Fizz Volcanoes

Clear Glass Cup

1 Cup Vinegar

2-3 Drops of Food Coloring

1 Tablspoon Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon of dishsoap

(we quadrupled this recipe for all four boys)

The kids love it, do it and watch the joy bubble up as the experiment does, priceless!
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February 18, 2012
Denver Mint Field Trip

Today we went to Downtown Denver and took a tour of the Denver Mint. We went for two reasons, homeschool and Cub Scouts. We are learning about money in Homeschool and my oldest is in Cub Scouts, their assignment is to start and display a coin collection. He decided to collect State Quarters. So, I thought we should take a trip to the Unite States Mint. I went online to get the scoop and it turns out you can make a reservation online. Convenient, easy and guarantees you a spot on the tour.

We lined up and waited, an armed guard came out to tell us the “rules”. No cameras :O( for obvious reasons. We went through the metal detectors into a 2 story room with diaramas and other displays, placards on the walls gave us the history of the Mint and of money. The Tour Guide was so friendly, he took the time to take my kids to a display and talk about it before the tour started. We came face to face with a giant tube filled with 147,000+ shiny pennies, the boys were in awe.

We moved on and watched a video, then on to a room that overlooks the machines. We saw samples of the sheets that the “blanks” are cut out of. We learned how coins are made blank, then heated up until they soften, a die stamps both sides, to finish them off they put a rim around the coin. The rim helps keep the impression on the coin, extending its street life. This Mint can produce up to 50 million coins per day!

We also got to see 100k in gold dollars, so pretty!

To end the tour, they take you thru the original building that housed the mint since 1906. Miners used to bring gold down from the Rockies and trade it for money. We got to see a replica of the Assay Office, very neat & cool!

This part of the building has original light fixtures and gorgeous marble walls. We ended up going down stairs that were one side of a gorgeous, double staircase. wood banisters, iron fixtures, we could see up a few stories to an atrium. We got to see the 350 pound Tiffany Chandeliers, exquisite wood molding, it was truly breathtaking. I was blown away. I wish I could have taken pictures.

The kids really liked seeing all the coins, my oldest was so attentive when it came time to listen to the tour guide. He was very much into it.

Since I knew we would be downtown I researched some fun places to eat. I came up with The Shoppe. That post coming up next… this place deserves a post all its own!

February 1, 2012
A Field Trip to the Denver Zoo

A Field Trip to the Denver Zoo

Thanks to Groupon we were able to spend 5 wonderful hours at the Zoo. We went in late November. It was chilly that morning but I checked the weather and it promised to be warm. It ended up being about 57 degrees, for a Coloradan(oan?) that is practically Summer, lol.

When we arrived we were all bundled up and the skies were gray, it was 9:45. By the time we left, we were hot, without coats and the skies were blue. I love Autumn in Colorado, bright blue skies, brisk fresh air.

There were not many people there, so we took our time, enjoyed every sight to see. We rambled along and learned a lot, talked about everything. We sat and had a leisurely lunch next to the Seals, they are so cute and fun to watch. We were happy to have Cousin Adam along with us. The entire field trip was fantastic.

How far can you jump?

Cute little Snow Fox

A Unique Creature – The Okapis – a cousin of the giraffe (look at his head). He had a super-velvety coat.

The Majestic Lion

Samuel with a lizard, I love his reflection on the glass!

Playing iSpy fish

Climbing the Hippo Statue

I love these animal flags! This picture was taken on the way out, check out the blue sky and compare to the first picture, that is why I love Colorado!

After such a fun-filled gorgeous day, we didn’t want it to end so we topped it off with some choclate milks at a downtown Starbucks.

Brothers enjoying a beverage.

Checking out the sights

In the words of my oldest “This was one of the best days ever!”

January 25, 2012
Vanilla Snow Shakes

This past Wednesday we had our first snowfall, this called for celebration! My boys love the snow and they were so excited to be getting a storm. They woke early Wednesday to peak outside…

I have never seen them get dressed and ready so fast, they bundled up and headed out.

Talk of the coming storm was mentioned on many Facebook pages’. My friend Tom had a comment on his wall talking about Vanilla Creams made with snow. My boys love eating snow (against everything my husband stands for, lol) and I knew they would love to use it in a recipe. We strayed a little from the recipe and ended up with delicious Vanilla Snow Shakes.

After coming in and putting warm jammies, we made these delicious concoctions.

Pour Milk into Snow, add Vanilla and Sugar

Whisk together until creamy and smooth, pour into cups

Enjoy!

October 28, 2011
Adventures in My Father’s World Week 2 -Jesus Suncatcher

We are loving Adventures in My Fathers World. The Bible portion starts with Jesus, His birth, on to when he starts preaching. We are also learning the different names of Jesus. During week 2 we got to make a Jesus suncatcher. The was fun and easy. This final result is pretty!

You need Wax Paper, crayon shavings, glue, scissors, construction paper, an iron and newsprint.

Cut out 2” letters from construction paper

Arrange the letters on wax paper and sprinkle on the crayon shavings, be conservative.

Place another sheet of wax paper on top, cover with newsprint and iron on low. Be sure to have paper under the wax as well.

We added construction paper border to match our letters.

hanging in the window

We will definitely use this technique to create other projects in the future. I am thinking maybe a Mayflower silhouette with blue and white crayons shavings, with yellow for a sun.

October 5, 2011
Our Classroom for a Perfect Autumn Day

A couple of Fridays ago we took class outdoors, what a breath of fresh air! It was amazing, fantastic, refreshing and down right FUN!

We love going to Hudson Gardens, several acres of God’s beautiful creation! We searched for leaves, watched ducks and geese, chased butterflies and bugs, tumbled in the grass and climbed a rock cave, we even did some bird watching.

Since we are now into to the Fall, we were thrilled to see the …

Hay Maze!

and…

Pumpkin Patch!

We also checked out a Leaf Explorer Pack from the Office, we learned all about leaves and trees. There were a ton of fun activities and surprises in the pack.

We also took along this, (thanks Scribbit!):

Thank you God for the Best classroom we could ever ask for!

October 2, 2011