Makin' Matches {socks}

Once my daughter was too big for many of her cute little socks, I decided to extended their use. Rather than getting rid of them, I saved them for matching. I have been doing "sock matching" with my kiddos for a long time now. All you need are some matching pairs of socks, preferably in different colors, styles, and patterns. Lay them out and let the kiddos get busy making matches. All of my kids love doing this, because once they are tired of makin' matches, they like to pretend that it was raining socks! They all feverishly run around the room picking up as many socks as possible and chucking them in the air!

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Garden Update

Can you believe it? I certainly can't!!! I can see the cutest little cherry tomatoes starting to grow, as well as the blueberries. We already have a bell pepper. Well, not anymore...I used it in a Mexican pasta dish. Our lettuce is actually edible too! You should should have seen me when we first ate it. My husband had grilled some burgers and I was asking him what he wanted on his. Well, I was disappointed that we didn't have lettuce...until I remembered that we had some in the garden. You really should have seen my jump up and down with excitement as I got my scissors and headed outside to cut some fresh lettuce for the first time! The kids were wondering what all the excitement was about and have even declared that when the tomatoes are ready to eat that they want to have a salad...with JUST lettuce and tomatoes. Is having a garden really going to get my kids to eat salad?!?!? Man, I didn't realize how empowering it is to grow your own food!!! Well, if you can't tell, I am super excited. Green Mama...here I come! {smile}

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Fun Sun Crafts & Activities

With summer soon upon us, I thought I would share some of the things that we did when we learned about the sun.

We practiced out ABABAB patterns with our velcro sun. All I did was cut a circle and some rectangles from yellow and orange foam. We used adhesive velcro to attach the rays to the sun. That way, the kids could use it over and over to work on their patterns. I found this activity here, but I altered it by using foam rather than paper.

We also used paint to work on patterns as we painted the sunrays alternating colors.
We took some grapes and placed them in a bowl by a window. Each day we recorded the process of the sun turning them from grapes to raisins. Once they really looked like raisins, we celebrated by eating some raisins (not the ones we made...we tossed those and ate some store-bought ones...for safety reasons.)
We also made a hand sun! Simply cut out a circle from yellow paper. Trace the child's hand about 5 times on orange paper. Cut out the hands. I let KJ do the cutting so she could work on using scissors. Then glue the hands on the back of the sun.
Finally, we made a weather chart so that KJ could track the weather each day for a week. Were were able to use this to reinforce the days of the week as well. The shades on the sun were her idea...of course! {smile}
Hope you enjoyed our "fun sun" activities and crafts!

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Tot School~23 months: Chalk boards & Dancing Barney

~JI and TJ are 23 months~

Teaching the older kids has become quite difficult with the babies. Desperate times call for desperate measures. So, this week, I was alot more creative. I pulled out alot more activities for the babies to use. Once they got tired of one thing, I whipped out something new for them. This seemed to work well, except for all the stuff I had to pick up off the floor and sort out. If I didn't sort it then, the activities probably would not have been ready to pull out later in the week. So, in attempts to be obedient and spend less time blogging, I will just focus on some of the activites that the babies liked best.

They played with these little chalk boards that I found at the Dollar Store. They had fun drawing and erasing...and then breaking the chalk. It may look like I have a lefty, but he actually uses both hands. I am really going to try to push the right hand, becuase I just don't know how I in the world I would go about teaching a lefty how to write!

As always, they played with their puff balls, spoons, cups, and bowls. But, I wised up and used some old plastic bowls and I got them some little plastic tumbler cups for the Dollar Store...hopefully they won't be able to break these!)

Finally, the last highlight was playing with their Barney Move 'N Groove Dance Mat.

A friend of mine gave this to us and the babies absolutely love it! It plays music and there are little "games" that you can play on it. Oh, and yes, Barney dances and talks! Way too cute!!

So, those were just a few of the things that we did this week.

Be sure to check out Tot School for more great toddler ideas as well as my other website for free online preK resources.

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Fishbowl File Folder Matching Game/Craft

Just wanted to share with you all a file folder game/craft that my kiddos and I made. It was fun to make, but we made it into a game so that we could use it over and over. So, here is what we used...

Supplies:
2 blue file folders
1 manila file folder
Mod Podge (we used the Sparkle kind)
blue tissue paper (we used two shades of blue)
fish stickers (2 matching sets)
glue
scissors


...and this is what we did...

First, I cut the manila file folder in half and then cut out the bowl shape. (I traced around an oval Pyrex dish to get the general shape of the fish bowl.) Then, cut one of the blue folders in half and cut out the water, being sure to make it slightly smaller than the manila fish bowl. Now, here is the fun part. Cut the tissue paper into small pieces and glue it to the blue water. Once dry, coat it with the sparkle Mod Podge. Once dry, glue it onto the manila fish bowl and add on the fish stickers. (I found our stickers at the Dollar Store. The kids love them because they are shimmery!) Finally, adhere the complete fish bowl to the other blue file folder. Use your second set of matching fish to play a matching game with the fish in your fishbowl. Laminate of more durability. Below is a close up of our fishbowl.


This would be great to use with a fish or water theme. I love it because it doubles as a craft and teaching tool!

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Celebrating Fathers!!!

Happy Father's Day to all of the wonderful father's out there!

While my kids and I were making their Father's day gifts, my daughter abruptly announced that she almost forgot that she has two fathers...and asked if she could make a gift for her Father, God. Yes, that is what my 5 year old said!!! So, I want to use her words to remind everyone that as you spend the day celebrating the fathers in your life, don't forget to celebrate your Father as well!

Finally, whenever I think if fathers, I think about an email that my dad sent to me awhile back. You can read it below:

A son asked his father, "Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?" The father who, despite having a heart condition, says "Yes." They went on to do the marathon together. Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying "Yes" to his son's request of going through the race together. One day, the son said to his father, "Dad, let's join the Ironman together." To which, his father said "Yes."

For those who don't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island.

Father and son went on to complete the race together. Here's video footage of the duo. Just to warn you, I cry just about every time I see this!

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Alphabet I-Spy Jar {Keepin 'em Occupied}

What is this? Well, it is a surefire way to occupy your kiddos (as long as they can identify their ABCs). I got the idea of an I-Spy jar from here, but I took it a step further. I have had these little alphabet letters sitting around in one of my craft boxes...just waiting to be used. So, I created the Alphabet I-Spy jar. I took a clean, empty peanut butter jar and filled it about 2/3 of the way with rice. Then I added in all of the letters, being sure to include all 26. Finally I used some glue to glue the lid on and let it dry. The babies love the original version that I made using the link above, but I find that my ABC version even keeps the bigger kids occupied, because they have to find all 26 letters...in order! {smile} Not only are they occupied, but it reinforces their knowledge of their ABCs!


Be sure to check out Picnic Table Talk over at ABC & 123 for more great ideas to keep your kiddos occupied! While you are at it, be sure to stop over to Carisa's blog for more great tools for tots!

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Gardening: Saving Money & Water

For those of you who keep up with me, you probably know that I have started gardening. You also may be starting to realize that I am very cheap (frugal as my husband would say). But, in the book that I followed for two of my gardens, All New Square Foot Gardening, the author suggests leaving a bucket of sun-warmed water near the garden to use to water with. Well, it got me to thinking...how often do I just run the water while I wait for it to warm up...for example to wash dishes or to give the kid's a bath? Well, for me, it is quite often. So, what I have started to do is keep a bucket under the counter in the kitchen and bathroom. Whenever I am just running (wasting) water, I pull out the bucket. I keep it under the counter until it is full. Once it is full, I use that water to water the garden. Now, I do still have to pull out the hose and do some watering, but at least I am putting that water that I would have wasted to good use. Now that is what I am talking about....being green, saving water, AND saving money!!!

Just wanted to share what Works For Me!

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Blender Whole Grain Pancakes

I found the recipe for these DELICIOUS pancakes over at Everyday Food Storage. I am so loving their site and I am really loving these pancakes. They are so incredibly easy to make and the best part (aside from the taste) is that you do all the mixing in your blender (I use and LOVE my VitaMix) and then pour onto your griddle. (I was lazy and I didn't type out the recipe, but if you click the word "recipe" in the first sentence, you can print off a really cute card with the recipe on it!)

The pic above is from when I used whole wheat pastry flour (rather than whole wheat kernels), regular 2% milk (rather than water mixed with dry milk), and two eggs (rather than powdered eggs and water). I made them a second time and I used regular whole wheat flour (not whole wheat pastry flour nor the kernels) and regular eggs (this time I did use dry milk and water) and they were still good!!! The third time I tried using flax rather than eggs. They ended up being a little too salty...not sure if I put in too much salt by mistake or if it was the addition of the flax. Next time I use the flax I will try omitting the salt.

But, I had to share this recipe because they are so good and so easy. I can't wait to try out more recipes from the site.

Don't forget to head over to Blessed with Grace for more great recipes on the Tempt my Tummy Tuesday blog carnival!

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Confession Time on Friend Making Monday

So, it is confession time over at All That is Good. So, I really love this because people always make comments about how I just seem to have it all together. Well, I am sorry to have to admit that I do NOT have it all together. Infact, I am very far from having it all together. Besides, in reality, how can you have it all together when you have 5 little ones (ages 5,4,4,1,1) running around...all the time?!?!?!?! So, let the confessions begin!!!

1) I am on the computer WAY TOO MUCH!!!! I think I am becoming addicted to reading blogs!For example, it is like 8:30 am and I have not showered. The kids have not had breakfast. None of the kids are dressed. No teeth are brushed. Shoot, I haven't even gotten the babies out of their room yet. (By the way, I was convicted about this at church yesterday...which will probably end up being a future blog!!!)

2) I can't remember the last time I cleaned the floor in the kid's bathroom. My husband has actually started to make comments about how he plans on cleaning it. With boys, you know it has started to really smell in there! But, this morning I was able to use it as a way to try to convince my husband that I need a Shark Steam Mop and that it would make cleaning SOOOO much easier. Believe it or not, I think he might be on board. Who would have thought that keeping your bathrooms filthy may result in getting my much wanted steam mop!

3) Okay, it is getting too close to 9am. I am getting of the computer right now!!!! I will be back later today (maybe during the kid's nap time/quiet time) to continue. In the meantime I am going to get all those morning responsibilities underway while I figure out exactly what God wants me to do about my excessive blog-reading problem.

Okay, I am back now....yes, everyone is clean and fed!!!

4) I do yell at my kids sometimes.

5) Sometimes I wish the babies were a year or two older. I just seems to be so hard to keep them occupied so that I can teach the big three and they are ALWAYS getting into stuff!!!

6) I LOVE making lists. The problem is that I make these enormous sized lists, with the expectation of completing them. Then, at the end of the day when I only got to cross of one thing on a list of like 25 things, I am disappointed!

7) I am not really a good cook. What I am good at is following a recipe.

8) I really don't like having to do my daughter's hair. I know it sounds HORRIBLE, but we often go days at a time, a brush has not come near her head, and she is wearing the very same old ponytails. (The only sure thing is that I make sure to do her hair before church on Sundays!) Sometimes I wonder if that is why God gave me 4 boys and 1 girl?!?!?!

9) I am very cheap. My husband likes to say that I am frugal. I am ALWAYS trying to save a dime!!!

10) I have a pit problem. When I was pregnant with my last set of twins, I got this rash under my arms. It was horrible. In public I would discretely try to scratch under my arms without anyone noticing. At home, I scratched like a little monkey with no abandon!! I still have problems with my pits to this day. I have switched from Degree to Tom's (unscented). The Tom's (unscented) doesn't make me itch, but after using it for a few weeks, it seems to stop working. (I start to notice a bit of B.O.) So, I have to switch brands for a few days and endure the itchiness. Then the Tom's works fine again. It is a vicious cycle. So, if you happen to see me discretely scratching or if there is a hint of B.O., you now know why!!! Also, if you have had this problem and have a solution, please help a sister out!!!

Alright, so, I think I have dispelled the myth that I have it all together. In the process, I have probably given too much info, but on well. "I'm not perfect and I hope you like me that way!" I am in a VERY silly mood right now. Those were the lyrics to a Laurie Berkner song that I keep hearing on TV!! Okay, so, enough confessions for now...until next time!

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Preschool Corner: Letter C

So, I figured it might be a little better if I am more specific with my Preschool Corner posts. First, it may make things a bit easier for you to follow along. But, really, it would actually benefit me...since I will be going through preschool again with two more little ones. This way, I will kind of have an online reference to use in the future. With all that said, this past week, we focused on the letter C. Check out some of the things we did:

We counted using some little cards I made a few years ago. Not sure where I printed them from, but on the back of each number card, I drew the corresponding letters in dots for the kids to trace (I laminated them with contact paper so that we could use them repeatedly.) I only put one number on the back of each card, but DC wanted to do a few extra!

We used our cuisenaire rods and our Cuisenaire Alphabet Book to build a clown, candle, and cup. (The rods and the book came with the My Father's World Kindergarten curriculum that we use for my daughter.

Then, the had fun building with the rods and knocking them down. It is something about boys and lovin to know stuff over!

They used their Q-Tip counting trays, but with corn kernels rather than Q-tips.


They glued popcorn to the letter C. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that our Bible lesson for the week was about Jesus being a servant and washing the disciples feet. So, we traced our feet on foam, cut them out and washed them. Now, they make a fun bath toy that sticks to the wall. Their Bible verse for the week was Psalm 100:2,"Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before Him with joyful songs." You can see KJ's feet on the table.


We milked a cow...well, not a real one. It was a latex glove filled with warm water. (I used a straight pin to poke holes in the "teats" so that the "milk" would come out.) They had so much fun! I do recommend that if you try this, you do it outside. There was quite a bit of water all over the place!


We also made butter using whipping cream. We had to shake the container for 20 minutes straight. We all took turns, even the babies!!!


Finally, we made caterpillars using Ritz crackers, raisins, and peanut butter.


KJ wanted to use jelly on hers!

Well, those were some of the highlights from our week with the letter C!!!

Be sure to check out Preschool Corner for more great preschool ideas as well as my other website for free online preschool/kindergarten resources.

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Tot School~22 months: Cones, Rods, and Puff Balls

~JI and TJ are 22 months~

I am not sure if I have mentioned it, but for now, Tot School (for us) is used as a means of keeping the babies occupied while I work with the big three. So, that is why so many of the activities are hands-on manipulative type things. I will pull out just about anything to keep them occupied while we "do school." With that said, here are some of the things that the babies did this past week.

They used a spoon to scoop puff balls into a cup. Yes, I knew it was time to move on to another activity when all of the puff balls were on the floor and the bowl and the cup were broken! :-)

While the older kids used their cuisenaire rods, I gave the babies a few to play with.

Finally the really enjoyed stacking their cones...but...

they enjoyed balancing them on their heads even more!

Be sure to check out Tot School for more great toddler ideas as well as my other website for free online preK resources.

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