Homeschool Through the Summer (Even if you don’t homeschool!)

{{In case you are wondering… YES!  They are all this excited about summer school!  ;)}}

As a kid I remember always looking forward to Summer because it meant no more homework and no more teachers!  It meant playing all day long with friends from sun up to sun down, ice cream trucks and popsicles, mud pies and bike rides.

By the time school would start again in the fall I had forgotten so much!  I distinctly remember one particular incident where I could not, for the life of me, figure out how to do a subtraction problem where the top number was smaller than the bottom number.  If I remember correctly, it was the beginning of second grade.  We had learned, the year before, how to borrow from the neighbor to the left but… I hadn’t borrowed from a neighbor for nearly 3 months! 

I sat on the couch with my first homework assignment of the year (math) and I remember laughing out loud when the question was 35 – 8 = …

Because 5 – 8 = 0… THREE TIMES!! 

How was that even possible?  I laughed as I walked my homework over to my mom who reminded me to ‘borrow’. 

Good times, good times.

My kids aren’t so lucky.  They don’t take an entire 3 month hiatus.  We school year round because we take breaks whenever we feel a burn out coming on.  Sometimes one kid is breaking while the others are still chugging along.  Or we break on some subjects but not others.  That’s the beauty of homeschooling!

This summer is going to be so much fun!  I had a friend in my ward call up and ask if we would be interested in forming a small group of kids for a book club. 

HECK YEAH!! 

Three of us and our kids met up to discuss the details and set it all up.  We decided ages 8-12 would be perfect!  However, there is another mom that has a 6 year old that wanted to do it as well, and one of the moms at the meeting also has a 6 year old so it was decided that we could do two separate book clubs.  The two little ones along with H because even though H will be eight next month, she is still not quite ready for the bigger books on the docket for the older kids. 

A schedule was made with a list of all activities planned.  Two moms are in charge of the activities each Thursday throughout the summer (the moms that don’t have little ones at home) while myself and another mom are in charge of the book clubs on Tuesdays each week.  We will rotate having the little ones and the older ones. 

My kids are excited to be doing this with some of their friends and I am excited that we have a plan!  Mind you, these other families do not homeschool.  They do, however, have a vested interest in their children’s educations.  I look at all of these families and think, they would make AWESOME homeschoolers!  But I realize that it’s not for everyone.  And in their own way, they ARE homeschooling!  I love that they have a plan for summer as well! 

In case you are interested here is a list of the activities planned. 

• June 13 – Make bread
• June 20 – Picnic at the lake
• June 27 – Learn about and make kites
• July 4 – No activity planned
• July 11 – Fly kites at The Great Salt Lake
• July 18 – Learn about indexing
• July 25 – take Trax downtown
• August 1 – Make baby burritos (not sure what that is)
• August 8 – Family History Class
• August 15 – Go on a hike 

 

As for the book club, here is a list of the books we plan to read and discuss over the summer for the big kids.  

• June 11 – Bring your favorite book (novel) to tell the others about. 
• June 18 – The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
• June 25 – The Search for Delicious by Natalie Babbitt
• July 2 – Bring your favorite childhood picture book to discuss
• July 9 – Choose a Childhood of Famous Americans book to read and discuss.  Dress as that person.
• July 16 – SOS Titanic by Eve Bunting
• July 23 – The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo and Yoko Tanaka
• July 30 – Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
• August 6 – The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
• August 13 – Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan

 

Obviously, this is just a guideline.  We have a total of six kids in the older group.  Some of them are not readers.  They just don’t like it.  This is the case for the mom’s son who approached us about this group idea.  She just wants him to start reading and enjoy it.  And then there are the 8 and 9 year olds in the group.  They aren’t going to read as quickly as K or her friend who are both bookworms and could read Harry Potter within a couple of days. 

If we start to see that things are just going way too quickly for some, we will simply slow it down.  Discuss one book for two weeks if we have to.  That might mean that we aren’t able to get through them all and that’s ok. 

For the younger group we are simply going to read and discuss a picture book each week, one with a message.  Or a short chapter book that moms can read to them during the week without losing their attention. 

What about you?  Do you school your kids during the summer months?  Are your kids in year-round school?  What do you have planned? 

 

 

Building A Nest

I don’t do nearly enough homeschooling posts. 

On that note, we tried building a nest this week.  A nest.

For birds.

Not as easy as you might think!  My girls learned quickly that they would not make great birds.  They can’t build a brilliant nest.

{That… and they can’t fly… weird!}

Their science book suggested the project and so they thought they’d give it a go.  They had just learned about all the different types of nests that birds make.

Ingredients were gathered.

Mud…

Sticks and twigs…

Weeds…

And with that they set to work.

 

They even tried soaking the twigs in hopes of making them more ‘bendy’.  The dry ones kept snapping.

In the end, they came up with a great little basket thing (or maybe a potholder?)

And C made some delicious pies!  (He was so proud!)

H was determined to build a nest.  This is what she came up with. 

She even put it up in the tree because she thinks a bird might use it.  I don’t have the heart to tell her otherwise.  It could happen!

 

BYOU Magazine Review & Subscription Giveaway

I was given the opportunity to review a magazine aimed at young girls… tweens, and share my thoughts.  It was a no brainer for me to accept this opportunity when they told me it was a magazine focused on trying to empower young girls and build their confidence in just being themselves.



Young girls seem to have worldly views thrown at them from every direction and it’s so hard in those critical tween years to decipher good from bad.  It’s hard to know when you’re giving in to peer pressure and when you’re standing on your own to feet.  All of it seems to run together. 

I remember those years and wanting so badly to fit in, have more friends, be popular…  I don’t that I could have told you who I was.  Most of my rough times came during the early teen years but I think if I had been confident enough in myself before the teens hit, I could have fared much better. 

Anthony and I try really hard to help our impressionable daughters understand that everyone is different.  Everyone is gifted and carries different talents.  Sometimes those talents are hard to recognize in ourselves.  I think we’ve done an ok job, thus far, at helping our kids recognize their own abilities where they excel but sometimes having an outside source is extremely helpful. 

Enter, BYOU! 



It’s a cute little magazine with some really great stories.  I asked each of the girls what parts they really liked after reading it.  A really liked the Q and A sections.  K liked stories (especially the one with Olivia Holt).  We don’t actually know who she is because I don’t allow much TV.  Sorry to all you Disney lovers… I’m not a huge fan.  However, her story was fun to read.  She was bullied a bit through school but persevered. 

H is still a little young to fully enjoy the magazine.  She was still able to enjoy bits of it here and there.



There are fun little sections on how to run a business, quizzes to take (those were always my favorite part of any magazine growing up), and even a ‘Dear Abby’-ish section.  Questions are answered by two different people so the kids get two different perspectives. 

Now, if I’m being honest (which I am!) I would have to say that the price is a little hefty for my liking.  There are 6 issues per year.  You can check out their website, here for pricing and more info.  But I will say that I enjoy the magazine for what it is intended for… Being YOU!  I think it sends a great message in a way that young girls can really relate to.

Here’s the fun part!!  They are allowing me to give away a 1-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION to a reader.  There are plenty of ways to enter.  Good LUCK!

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

President Adams’ Alligator–Book Review

Do you know how many animals have lived in the White House? 

When I was asked to review the book President Adams’ Alligator, I had no clue.  Think about it.  Other than the occasional dog and/or cat from our more recent presidents there isn’t much to talk about in the way of White House pets.

 

Little did I know that the White House used be much more exciting than it is these days.  What a boring bunch of presidents we’ve had in recent elections!!  No alligators, grizzly bears, porcupines, parrots, goats… NOTHIN!  Just dogs and cats. 

Seriously, I am in love with this book!!  The authors themselves… they have a great way of making it fun to read about topics that might seem boring to kids.  Heck, even I’ve learned a thing or two from their books.  (See here and here). 

This one is probably my favorite.  The kids all had a great time searching for President Adams’ alligator on each page.  An alligator… IN THE WHITE HOUSE!!  How cool is that?  They also loved hearing about all the animals and the stories to go along with them.  Some of those animals were pretty adventurous!  And the names of some of those animals were quite… interesting.  That was Anthony’s favorite part.  I like that my kids can name some of the presidents that they didn’t know before because they can now associate a pet to go along with them. 

I highly recommend this book.  And yes, it was sent to me for free in exchange for an HONEST review.  All opinions expressed are my own.  LOVE IT!! 

 

Tea Party

This past Thursday my girls were unable to attend their Liberty Girls and YASA meetings thanks to a rarity in our weather here in Utah.  An ICE STORM!! 

Only one other time have I ever seen the likes of such a storm.  We were living in South Carolina where it isn’t so uncommon. 

Ice storms are pretty cool to see and look at the effects of but not so much fun to drive in.  There were cars sliding off the roads all over and far too many accidents.  Anthony and I felt it best for myself and the kids to just stay put. 

However, the little girls were so looking forward to the Tea Party they were supposed to have at Liberty Girls.  K was to go sledding for YASA but I can’t imagine it would have been all that pleasant considering the weather conditions.  Besides, I don’t know if I would have trusted someone else driving with my child in their car in those conditions. 

I couldn’t do much about the sledding but we could do our best to have a makeshift tea party.  And so we did… A and H were the hosts, of course. 

The American Girl books they are reading this semester (Felicity… my favorite of the American Girls) has them all excited about tea parties, including the famous Boston Tea Party.  H even asked the other day, “Mom, can we have a Boston Tea Party one day?” 

Apparently she is tired of paying taxes to the King and wants to throw tea into the harbor.  Hopefully she’ll understand more about the actual Boston Tea Party as she reads a few more of the books. 

As the hosts, H and A explained to K and I the proper way to act… pinkies up, of course! 

I was in constant violation being that my posture was not superb, my elbows were constantly on the table, and I forgot to ask for things to be passed.  Like marshmallows sugar for my hot chocolate tea.  Or the goldfish crackers cookies to go with it.  I also wasn’t dressed up for such an occasion.  RUDE!

Whoops!!

I did remember to signal when I was done and didn’t wish for any more refills of my tea.  Go me!

Kids Gettin’ Their Craft On: TP Roll Bracelets

You know those hot summer days when the kids are just bored out of their minds and there’s absolutely ‘nothing’ to do? 

Yeah, we have those too.  Never mind the fact that we have toys coming out our ears and books that have yet to be read.  Those things just won’t do on ‘boring’ days such as the one we had a couple weeks ago.  Of course those days are over now (crossing fingers) that school is back in session and we are getting our homeschool groove on.  Ok, maybe only in a perfect world…

But a couple weeks ago, K and her friend found something to do on just such a boring summer day.  It was a miracle!  I didn’t even have to help them think of it.  They just asked if they could have some toilet paper rolls (that I’ve been saving for another project) and some yarn.

 

Sure!!  Why not? 

And this is what they came up with….. 

All they did was cut the TP roll in half to make two bracelets, snipped one side all the way down the middle to create the opening, then put a light layer of glue on the outside and wrap the yarn around.  Does it get any simpler?  I dare say not! 

Once it’s done, simply put it on your arm like a cuff. 

Aren’t they cute?  Creativity at it’s finest! 

**Note:  The only problem they ran into was that K flattened her TP roll out too much as she glued which made it difficult for it to stay on when it was done.  Keep it rounded as much as possible. 

Smash Books

The first time I ever heard of Smash Books was on Pinterest.  One of the gals that I follow has a whole board dedicated to them so they kept popping up on my… ‘feed’?  Is that what we call them? 

Anyway, it looked like a whole bunch of miscellaneous papers, thoughts, pics, lists… pretty much whatever you wanted.  So, I had an idea…

My kids collect garbage!  To them it’s not garbage, more like treasures.  They get upset when I call it anything that sounds ‘trashy’.  Excuse the pun. 

They get little papers from church with thoughts and quotes on them (not what I consider garbage, it just gets cluttered), notes and letters from friends and cousins, and sometimes they like to save things like candy wrappers.  Why?  I know not.  They just do.  But I get tired of finding the trash all. over. the. house! 

Enter, the Smash Book!

Each child was presented with one of these sketch books.  ($3.?? at Wal-Mart – I don’t remember the exact amount.)

And now they can smash whatever garbagy treasures they want into their own personal smash book and I don’t have to find it everywhere.  My kids have smashed everything from church quotes and calendar pictures to lists of things they desire for their future and candy wrappers.  And there’s always room for more because they’re supposed to look cluttered. 

Gotta love it! 

Homemade Moon Sand Recipe

Remember when I talked about all the busy bags I got at the exchange I went to?  (Click here and here)  Well, among all those bags o’ busy-ness there was a bag of sand.  It was supposed to be Moon Sand but given the cost that it would have taken to make 20 plus bags for the exchange, the girl who did it opted to provide the bag of sand along with the recipe for Moon Sand.  That way we could all make it at our leisure and she didn’t have put in a ton of money. 

Please note that it does NOT cost a lot to make one batch (or even more).  It just would have been a lot for that many batches all at once.  Actually it was pretty inexpensive. 

Here’s what you do:

Mix 1 1/2 cups of cold water with 3 cups of cornstarch.  This is the hardest part.  It turns into this weird, goopy stuff that can’t decide if it wants to be liquid or solid.  It’s pretty fun to play in.  The kids liked it. 

Once you’re done playing in the slime, add 6 cups (I liked the consistency at about 5) of regular play sand, one cup at a time.  You’ll probably have to use your hands to get it all mixed in.   

When you’re all done, it looks and feels like damp sand.  The best kind of castle building sand!!  Now it’s ready to play with. (Next time you get it out you may need to add a couple tablespoons of water to revive it back to the right consistency.)  H and A were so excited to find that they could make miniature castles INSIDE the house.  All the kids had a blast.  I have never played with or even seen the ‘real’ Moon Sand so I can’t give a comparison as far as texture goes.  All I know is that the kids are loving it.

 

 

 

 

The Blog in Review - 2011

I started this blog six months ago.  During that time, I have made a few really great blog friends and gained some AWESOME readers!  There are a few of you that even leave comments.  Most of you are too shy but that’s ok.  I love you anyway!  ;)  But thanks for leaving comments when you can.  I love to read them!

It’s been really fun for me to get to know so many of you through your blogs and through emails back and forth.  

I wanted to take a minute to thank the academy……

Oh wait, that’s not right.  I really just wanted to take a look back at some of my greatest hits here on this blog. 

Here are the FIVE most viewed posts of 2011:

Soda Pop Can Hair Bows (most viewed by a LANDSLIDE! – this was my very first post!)

Busy Bag Ideas (Part 1 here, Part 2 here)

Homemade Butter

Sinful Chocolate Chip Oreo Brownies

Raspberry Cream Cheese Bread

Even though the following posts didn’t make it into the Babblin’ Brooke Hall of Fame according to views, I wanted to post some of MY personal favorites.

Mommy Guilt

A Day of Firsts

I’m Gonna Miss This

You Should Know…

You Should ALSO Know…

Our Sunday Adventures

And there you have it!  I can’t wait for a new year of blogging!  And this time it will be a full year.  None of this starting in June business.  I realize that I’m no photography buff, nor am I a great writer.  But I appreciate all of you that take the time to read this little ol’ nothin’ blog.

I’m curious… what are some of YOUR favorite posts? 

 

A’s Birthday Post

Last week A turned eight.  Do you know what that means?  It means that we have a baptism coming up very soon.  Soon, as in, New Year’s Eve soon! 

Yes, we’re slightly crazy but we are trying to accommodate for a certain sister of Anthony’s who will be in town.  Except that she informed me the other day that she may leave before that day. 

Um, all I can say is, she better not!!  She made a fuss about us doing it while she’s here (along with her husband and kids) and New Year’s Eve isn’t exactly ideal for us so… Penny, you’re not goin’ anywhere, my friend!!  ;)

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A woke on her birthday to the breakfast of her choice…

They choose sugary cereals as a ‘special breakfast’ because we don’t keep it on hand very often. 

Her party was the following night and we all had a lot of fun.  There were several people that weren’t able to make it… WHAT THE HECK?  Do they think it’s Christmas time or somethin’?  Nobody’s busy or anything….

The kids decorated gingerbread houses.  Not really, they were only graham cracker houses.  I asked a couple of cousins of mine to help contribute to the candy assortment because this is usually a tradition we do with our kids all together at some point during the season.  This year, the night it was planned, my kids were sick so we rescheduled for A’s party.  It works! 

Aren’t they beautiful? 

On to the cake(s).  THIS is the type of cake you get when you have a December birthday. 

I tried to get her to celebrate in November, before all the festivities but she refused.  Something about it not feeling like her birthday.  Fair enough!

She blew all her candles out in one breath… several times.  Gotta love trick candles!  And all her cousins, siblings and friends helped out after the first three attempts.  None of the adults wanted cake after that.  I can’t imagine why.

Lucky for them, I had a backup plan!  Besides, the first cake was WAY too small for everyone. 

Cupcakes were served alongside the Peppermint Fudge ice cream.  Ever tried it?  I think it’s new, and delicious!!

And this is how C decided to consume his cupcake…

**Sigh** I just don’t know what to do with that boy! ~

I haven’t had a moment to interview A like I did for K, yet.  It’s on my list!  I’ll add it once it’s done.  Holiday birthdays are so finicky! 

For now, I just want to tell you that A is a special little gal.  She really is.  Fire and ice!!  She’s a very stubborn and headstrong little thing.  Sometimes she’s hard to reason with but I wouldn’t trade her for anything in the whole wide world. 

A is beautiful inside and out.  She made me a mom for the second time and for that, I am so grateful!  I don’t know where I would be without her.

I love you B-Boat (Don’t ask)!

 

Hand Vibes–Review and Giveaway

Have you ever heard of Hand Vibes?  They’re bound to become the next craze for kids.  They come in several different colors and have over 30 different sayings on them. 

They are little rings with fun things on them such as BFF, {thumbs up}LIKE, Bro, Fresh, Epic, Dude, Boo-yah, and much much more. 

I have to be honest, I was glad we didn’t get the one that says OMG.  To me that means Oh My Goodness but I know for many people it means something else that would require taking and speaking a very sacred name in vain. 

Aside from that, I think they are so fun. 

They come packaged in sets of three.  Two are visible and one is hidden…. a ‘mystery ring’!  PLUS… one out of every six ring packs will include a ring with a fun, collectible emoticon design.  There are 10 different emoticons to collect.  Hard to find but certainly not impossible ;)

We were not lucky enough to find an emoticon ring.

They come in one size only which means they don’t quite fit little ones such as my C and B and they also don’t fit Anthony.  They were just a little tight on him.  He was disappointed… he wanted to be ‘cool’ like us girls! 

These fun rings can be found in Target, Toys R Us, and other stores. 

But YOU could win some right now!  They would make fun stocking stuffers for the kiddos.  The nice people at Hand Vibes have agreed to give TWO sets of Hand Vibes to ONE lucky winner.  That’s a total of 6 rings!!!  Winner will be chosen this Friday. 

There are four ways to enter.  Be sure to leave a separate comment here on this post for each entry. 

1. Leave a comment telling me the best thing Santa’s ever left in your stocking.
2. Follow my blog via GFC (over on the right) or become a subscriber – leave a comment.
3. Like my facebook page – leave a comment HERE to let me know you did.
4. Tell your friends about this giveaway via Twitter, Facebook or your own blog – leave a comment HERE!

I received no compensation for this post.  I was sent free product in order to write an honest review and host a giveaway.  All opinions expressed herein are my own.

 

MORE Busy Bag Ideas

I really hope you need more busy bag ideas because I’ve rounded up a few more of my kids’ favorites to show you. 

{If you missed the first busy bag post, click here}

And there might be one more post of busy bags coming up… maybe.  Do you need more?  Cause I’ve got ‘em!  Remember, I came home with a whopping 47 bags last week.  To be honest, we haven’t even opened some of them (like the colored pasta or rice – I’m saving those for a project with the girls ;))

But let’s take a look at some of the busy bags that we have played with and loved. 

First up, I’ll show you the two I made.  I’m maybe a little bit ashamed to admit it because mine were soooo inexpensive to make and I know that some people had to have spent quite a bit of money on theirs.  I know I came away with a TON more than I contributed.  But hey, that’s the way it goes.  I couldn’t have done it at all if I didn’t have cheap ones. 

Anyway, back at the ranch….

Popsicle Match 

Cut felt in a variety of colors for ‘popsicles’… 2 per color.  Hot glue, or sew the two pieces of the same color together being careful not to close the bottom.  Write the name of the color of each ‘popsicle’ on the end of a large craft stick (tongue depressor) in black (for beginning readers), and on the other side, write the name of the ‘popsicles’ in the actual color of each popsicle itself (for preschoolers).  Do NOT attach the popsicles.  They are meant to be slid on and off the sticks for matching the colors and/or color names.

Worm Pick-up

You just need a bird (clothespin), a piece of ‘grass’ (paper) and some worms (pipe cleaners).  Cut the worms up and shape them.  Have the bird pick up the worms from the floor or table and put them on the ‘grass’.  {Lots more great ideas for fine motor skills here!}  C likes this one.  He had a hard time with the ‘bird’ at first but he’s got the hang of it now.

Rocks in a Bottle

I know this seems silly but I’m telling you the kids love this! Take an empty water bottle and fill it with those decorative pebbles.  You don’t need the bottle to be full.  My kids (especially C and B) like this a lot.  They dump them out and then they stay busy putting them all back in.  And then they dump them out and put them back in again.  It’s a vicious cycle! 

Actually, they really like it when I let them have an egg carton, too.  They like separating all the rocks into the different egg compartments.  H likes to separate the different colors of rocks this way, too.

Hot Glue Designs

A and H really like this one a lot.  They are already contemplating what other kinds of shapes and designs they could make.

Just take your hot glue gun and make a design on some cardboard (squiggles, shapes, smiley faces, stripes, etc – hey those all start with S… weird!).  Once it’s completely cooled and dried, you can set a piece of paper over the design and rub it with the side of a crayon (remove crayon wrapper first).

Sponge Blocks

C and B have already had a ton of fun with this one!  Just cut some sponges into strips.  It doesn’t get any easier than that, right?  My kids play with them slightly wet to help them stay.  Plus, C likes to squeeze the water out of them (over the cookie sheet, of course ;)).  This keeps my kids entertained for quite a while sometimes.  And sometimes not, you know how kids are…

Wooden Disc Memory Game

I’m sure that’s not the technical name but it’s late and I don’t want to find that particular bag (among the 47!) just to find out.  We’ll have to live with Wooden Disc Memory Game for now.

This is one of MY favorites!  I don’t know why.  It’s just so darn cute!  It’s pretty self explanatory.  Just cut shapes out of felt to fit the discs and glue them on.  Have your child turn 2 over at a time to see if they match.  Match by color and/or shape. 

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And now for a VERY serious question… is anyone else weirded out by the fact that Christmas is NEXT MONTH?!  Hey hey hey, some of these might make great gift ideas, no?  I think so…