Ants at a Picnic File Folder Game

I made this file folder game a year or so ago and the kids still enjoy playing it. The idea is that you want the ants to make it over to the picnic...to eat up all the food of course! {smile}

How to make the game: First off, at the time I let my daughter get involved in making the game. She painted the green grass on the folder. (You could just use a green folder, but at the time I made this...believe or not, I didn't know that I could get colored file folders!!!!) I used a circle punch to make the black circles and glued them on to folder to make a path for the ants to take from the start to the finish, which is the couple having the picnic. The couple, by the way, is some clipart that I found and printed. The game pieces are simply clipart ants glued onto colored circles. We have seven in our family, so I tend to make enough pieces so that if the time ever comes, we can ALL play together. Finally, I laminated the game board and the ant pieces for durability with contact paper.

How to play the game: Begin with the ants at the starting position. The players take turns rolling a die and moving the appropriate number of spaces. The ant that makes it to the picnic first is the winner.

FYI: In the past, I have had to help encourage the "ants" that didn't "win." I would let them know that there was alot of food at the picnic and that the winning ant would need some help because it couldn't possibly eat all the food himself. This seemed to help squash any potential quarrels or tears because they didn't "win." Fortunately we have played enough games now that my kiddos don't get too upset when they don't come in first! {smile} The idea for this game came from our Hands On Homeschooling curriculum.

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Friend Makin Monday: 20 Questions

This week, Friend Makin Monday is being hosted by {ae filkins} and there is a list of 20 questions to answer. Here goes!!!

1. Do you cook every night? I try to, though some nights it ends up being chicken dinosaurs and veggies. I am hard at work on attempting to do monthly meal plans.

2. What kind of laundry detergent do you use & why? I use ECOS, the big jug from Costco. I am trying to make "greener" choices.

3. Do you do laundry every day or loads at a time? If I want to stay on top of the laundry, I must do one load a day (except Sundays.) Right now, I am a few days behind...and the pile of clothes waiting to be folded is getting pretty high!!!

4. How often do you eat out per week? Not too much. We probably eat out at a restaurant maybe twice a month. Eating out with seven people is not cheap!!!!

5. Where do you usually eat out? Wherever I have a coupon to. Yes, I am cheap like that! {smile}

6. What is your favorite retail store? the Goodwill . I hate to admit it, but I LOVE shopping at second hand and thrift stores. I don't really have the patience to look for clothes at the Goodwill, but I am a sucker for finding something and repurposing it!!!

7. What's your favorite thing to drink? Hmmm, high C orange from McDonalds or a white hot chocolate from Starbucks...I don't get either of them very often! {smile}

8. Do you take vitamins? What kind? Yes, I take a multi-vitamin, vitamin C & calcium. Don't know the brands off the top of my head.

9. What percentage of the household chores to you do? Hmmmm, tough question. I do most of the stuff inside the house, unless I get in one of my funks and my husband takes over for awhile to help lighten the load. He is VERY helpful whenever I need him to be. He does, however, handle all of the outside stuff and the trash.

10. Do your children do chores? {Or will they, did they, etc} Yes, they have chore charts that they complete each morning and night. I also have a helper of the day to help with anything else that needs to be done. I plan to post about all of this sometime in the future.

11. Do you go to church? Yes.

12. Do you have a housework schedule? Yes, I use the SHE method and I hope to post about it in the future.

13. Do you keep a working budget? Yes! We don't always stick to it perfectly. Sometimes I do a bit of finagling, but because of our budget, we have eliminated all of our credit card debt as well as some other loans!

14. What do you do at night as a family? When we are all here, we eat dinner together, bathe the kids (not every night though), play with each other, and have family prayer time.

15. How do you prepare yourself for a new week? I try to do most of my planning for the upcoming week on Saturday or Sunday. This mostly involves lesson planning and making sure that I have everything that we need for school for the week.

16. What do your mornings look like? Well, you can read about our schedule here.

17. What time do you get up in the mornings? Realistically, I get up around 7. I wish I got up earlier though. I have my quiet time (Bible reading and prayer)...which sometimes isn't so quiet with the kids anxiously waiting for me.

18. What time do you go to bed at night? I try to get in bed around 10, but it always seems like it is closer to 11.

19. How do you manage all of the paperwork that floods into your household? {bills, school work, magazines, ads, etc} Well, I have a file cabinet with everything anally labeled and filed. Yes, it is all my fault! I am an organizer. I also have a hanging folder type thing just above my desk that houses bills. There is also a standing folder on my desk that is my "needs to be taken care of" area. Anything that still needs attention to goes there. I also purpose to only check the mail when I am free to go through it...that way it doesn't end up lying around somewhere. We also shred and recycle stuff.

20. How do you keep your household organized? {calendars, charts, etc} I keep a calendar by my desk and I keep a small one in my purse. I use the SHE method which is an organization method with index cards. I have chore charts for the kids. I keep a grocery chart that I use to mark items that I need as we run out of them. That way I don't have a whole lot to do to get ready for my monthly Costco trip!

Well, there you you, my 20 answers! Be sure to stop by {ae filkins} for more answers to these 20 questions!

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Make Your Own Geoboard

Geoboards are a great tool for math. Plus they are fun for kids to play and explore with. While you could easily purchase a geoboard, why not have a bit of fun and make your own for a little less! So, after seeing the geoboard over at Spinner's End Nursery, I was determined to make one {or two} for my kiddos.

I made mine a little bit different from the one linked above, but the concept is still the same. (I love that it is made of wood because the wood is a bit sturdier than the plastic geoboards I see most often!)

Supplies:

- a wooden board (I got mine from Michaels. It was sanded with beveled edges for about $2.)
- black spray paint
- hairbows (I got mine from the Dollar Store)
- lots of push pins (also from Dollar Store)
- graph paper
- pen/pencil
- hammer

Instructions:

First, I spray painted the wooden board. Then, I used a pencil and graph paper to mark off the grid template. I made mine about 1.5 inches apart. Next, I laid the grid onto the board.

I made two geoboards and things went much better the second time around. With the first one, I hammered down all the push pins leaving just a bit of room to tear the graph paper away before hammering the pins all the way down. I found this to be very tedious and time-consuming, because the paper kept ripping in very small pieces.

The second time around I took one push pin and pushed it in to mark all of the holes. I only pushed it in enough for me to see the little holes. Then, I took the graph paper off and found all the little holes and hammered push pins into them. It seemed to work much better this way.

All of the kids love playing with their new geoboards and they were so easy to make!

Like the Homemade Geoboard? Be sure to get connected so that you receive the latest Mama Jenn updates featuring crafts, FREE printables, and much more! Subscribe via RSS feed ~ Subscribe via Email Follow on Facebook ~ Follow on Twitter

Looking for more fun math activities, check out my Math Printables page!

Be sure to check out Kid Friendly Friday over at I Blame My Mother for more great kid friendly ideas!

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"I Like Myself!" by Karen Beaumont

I Like Myself!

by Karen Beaumont

Illustrated by David Catrow

This book is VERY cute! I really reminds me of a Dr. Seuss book. The book is very silly, but the little girl exudes self-confidence, which I absolutely love! In rhyme she talks about all the things she likes about herself. Just to give you an idea of the silly nature of the book, the little girl comments on how she would still like herself even if she had "knobby knees or hippo hips or purple polka-dotted lips." Despite the silliness, the true points come across loud and clear!!!

"Even when I look a mess,

I still don't like me any less,

'cause nothing in this world, you know,

can change what's deep inside, and so..."

"Inside, outside, upside down,

from head to toe and all around,

I like it all: It all is me:

And me is all I want to be."

This is a very cute book about having self-confidence and self-appreciation!

Want to know more about the "Brown Like Me" Book Review and how it got started? Clickhere!

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Sesame Street {Color Names} File Folder Game

I don't know why, but I had so much fun making this file folder game! It is another one of my uses for bulletin board borders. This is the boarder that we used.

All I did was cut some colored paper into strips and attached it to the folder. Then I cut the border and attached the corresponding color name. Then I laminated it. (By the way, I don't think I have mentioned it, but I just use clear contact paper to laminate our stuff.) Then, I used some poker chips that I got from a garage sale and wrote all the letters for all of the color names. The kids get to practice spelling the names of the primary and secondary colors.

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This Week's Visitors

This week we had quite a few visitors, some pleasant and some not so pleasant...and of course the kids had alot to say about them!

First off, the stars of the week were Bob and Larry. When I showed the kids the tomatoes and cucumbers that had grown in the garden, the little boys yelled out "may-tos" and "cumers" while the older three referred to them as "Bob" and "Larry" from the Veggie Tales. Of course you know I had to go inside and stick some googly eyes on them so that they would really look like Bob and Larry! While picking some beans from our garden, we found this cute little frog. The kids were very adamant about "Froggy" needing some water to swim in...since he probably came from our neighbors pond. I tried to convince them that we just needed to release him, but they proceeded to fill up the container with water and dirt. I was too busy trying to save the poor frog from my kids that I didn't get to take a pic of the "home" they were created for him!

Next up, we found this on our sunflowers. I told the kids to come look at the grasshopper. KJ took a look at it and said, "Mommy, that is not a grasshopper. It is a praying mantis. I can tell because it has things on the side of its head kind of like my puff balls." (She was obviously referring to her hairstyle! If you look closely, you can see the "things" she was referring to!)

We also found this caterpillar of sorts crawling in the grass. Honestly, I have never seen a caterpillar this big before. I am not even really sure that it is a caterpillar. But, the kids did name him Wormy. They decided that Wormy needed some stuff to make him feel more at home...... Awhile later the kids yelled for me to come look at Wormy jumping and doing flips. I don't think he cared much for his new home. I tried to tell the kids that he probably wanted to get out, but they informed me that he was just "being an acrobat."

Finally, our unwelcomed visitor was the rodent below. I told the kids that it was a big rat. My husband later informed me that it was a possum. I am assuming that it showed up because of the compost materials that we threw over the fence. (Long story short, we attempted to have a compost and it didn't work. So, we ended up throwing the stuff inside of it over the fence.) The rat, errrr I mean possum, was probably having a field day with it. I tried to explain this to the kids, but JJ recommended that get a basket and put some food in it so that the rodent won't have to go back over the fence to eat. Isn't he so thoughtful!?!?!?! I, on the other hand was not so thoughtful!!!

Be sure stop by Not Before 7 for more Tiny Talk Tuesday.

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A Day in the Life: Homeschooling Five Age Five & Under

I tend to be a planner. However, with five little ones, you can't really expect anything to go exactly as planned! I would often get frustrated trying to teach the older three in our playroom/schoolroom because the little boys would into everything. Then, if I strapped them into their seats and did school at the kitchen table, their attention spans would not last long. I would find myself shoveling toy after toy/activity after activity in front of them to keep them occupied so that I could work with the big three. Afterwards, I would find myself dishearted, frustrated and just plain tired. It was really like a circus act.

Well, after reading a story that I talk about in this post, my whole attitude and mindset changed. If you, too, are struggling with teaching older kids with toddlers at your feet, I would HIGHLY recommend you reading it!!! It is so powerful!!! Anyhow, after reading it, I made some changes to our schedule and things have gone much, much better and we have been at it for about two weeks now! So, here is.....a day in my life, homeschooling five kids ranging from ages two to five.

7:00 get up and have quiet time (Bible reading & prayer)...which sometimes isn't so quiet with the kids anxiously waiting for me

7:30 school w/big three in the playroom/schoolroom...BEFORE getting the little boys up (During this time I try work on whatever is most important for the day...like reading, writing or math. I used to attempt to do all of our school after everyone was up and had breakfast, which did NOT work well at all.)

8:00 I shower, get dressed, and get the little boys up and dressed while the big three get dressed and do their morning chores

8:30 breakfast

9:00 school at kitchen table (I start out by finishing up any important stuff we didn't get to that morning. During this time I have planned activities for the little boys to do in their seats.)

10:00 snack

10:15 more school (By this time we are usually doing stuff that the little boys can participate in. These are usually crafts or active projects and activities that, may times we can do outside.)

11:30 clean-up and lunch prep

12:00 lunch

12:30 free play (inside or outside) while I clean up kitchen and do other chores

1:00 naptime/quiet time (The big three play in their rooms and the little boys nap. I used to reserve this 2 hour block for myself to do whatever I wanted/needed to do, but now I tend to use a little bit of the time a few days a week to do sometime special with the older kids. A few days a week when I get the babies up from their nap, I try to spend some quality time with just them...didn't do that before.)

3:00 snack

3:15 free play (inside and outside...this can include anything from watching TV to going on nature walks to dramatic play to playing with our toys to playing at the park to just plain old fun in our backyard...)

5:30 start dinner

6:00 dinner

7:30 start bedtime routine (this includes praying together, reading Bible stories and other books)

8:00 all kids in bed

At this point, I clean the kitchen, do whatever other chores that need to be done and the rest of the time is free for me til going off to bed.

As for our actual school time, when I start in the morning with the older three, we have a routine that we go through before starting our work. We go over our Bible verse, update our calendar with the current date, discuss the weather, and do our 100 chart. At this moment, I am thinking that I will probably start opening in prayer as well. I also want to incorporate more read alouds. I am thinking that perhaps the best time for this would be during the little boy's naptime. Hmmm, things to think about and fit into the schedule! {smile}

Well, like I said earlier, this may look like a nice organized, well-planned day, but it rarely goes as planned. But, I am learning to be more flexible and to go with the flow! {smile}



To read more about the daily lives of other homeschoolers, be sure to check out the Not Back-to-School Blog Hop by clicking the button above. I meant to participate in the curriculum week, but forgot. If you would like to see what we are using, you can click here.

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"I'd Rather be Dumb..."

While reading the book, "A Mom Just Like You," by Vickie Farris and Jayme Farris Metzgar, I was struck to the core by an article that she referenced on p.131-133. If you are a homeschooling mama who is struggling (like me) with teaching the older kids with the toddlers at your feet, this is a must read!!!

One morning while I was trying to help seven-year old Ryan with his math, and our toddler, Earl, was repeatedly bothering him despite my efforts to keep him entertained. He started to pull on Ryan's pencil and would not let go.

I let out a sigh and started looking out the window daydreaming about how it would be if I just had two or three children and no little ones around. I never said anything to anyone out loud, but I thought of all the hours of uninterrupted schoolwork that we could get done, the great unit studies and crafts that we could do, and the great wealth of knowledge that my children could have.

"Mommy," Ryan called out, and his voice brought me back to reality. "I'd rather be dumb and have Earlie than be very smart and not have him." His words hit me like a ton of bricks.

It occurred to me to make sure I kept my priorities the way they should be.

Toddlers and babies take naps, and we can schedule subjects that demand complete attention for those times.

We may not take all the field trips that we'd like, due to the sheer hassle of getting six young children ready, but it causes us to spend more relaxed time at home instead of rushing about.

We spend more time reading out loud when there is a newborn who needs lots of nursing and cuddling.

True, we may get fewer "projects" done, but my children are developing into real servants who like to help their siblings. Aren't our children our ultimate "projects" anyway? The joy that the little ones bring to us far surpasses any craft or science project or field trip.

As for Ryan, he got his pencil back and finished his math. He has tested very well and gone on far above "grade level" in most subjects.

As I thought about his words that day, I realized that I have a very wise little boy who has a lot to teach his mother.

After quoting the article, Farris provides the following encouragement.

This mother learned a lesson that none of us should forget: our young children are a tremendous blessing for the entire family. The "challenge of multiple age levels" is a good problem to have! I have spoken with so many women who would love to have more children, but are unable to. Others, who have watched their youngest child leave home, would love to have some of those years back again. Be thankful for the time you have with your little ones. The time for getting "important projects" done will come all too soon. The time with your "ultimate projects" -your children - is shorten than you think.

Man, did I need to hear this and I would venture to say that I am not the only one! {smile}

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Tot School~25 months: Shot Glasses, Buttons & Chalk

~JI and TJ are 25 months~

After my time away from blogging, I am excited to be back and posting about the babies {ahem...I mean the little boys} and their Tot School adventures. Here are some of the things we did this week:

They strung buttons with some wired ribbon. Yes, I did keep an eye on them! {smile} The wired ribbon made it a bit easier for them.

They had fun using the "big" chalkboard...like the "big" kids do!!! JI just kept on writing and erasing...writing and erasing!
They played with their color matching file folder game. I was really impressed with how well TJ did!

They also played with their fish file folder game. They didn't really do any matching, but they still seemed to enjoy it. I think this matching game was a bit too advanced for them right now.

They LOVED the new geoboards that I made. I will be posting about these next week. I was very surprised when I saw the little pattern that JI had made!

They practiced pouring with some little wooden fish figures to and from little shot glasses that I found at the Dollar Tree.

They even tried using the shot glasses to make pyramids like the big kids! I had been wanting to do this with the kids for awhile, so I was very excited when I found the little glasses at the Dollar Tree. I had secretly been saving all of our little communion cups from church so that the kids could use them! But, now I don't have to! {smile}

Well, these are just a few of the things that we did for Tot School. Be sure to check out Tot School for more great toddler ideas.

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Preschool Corner: Letter A

Well, we started up school this week and got off with a good start. I am using Hands on Homeschooling Age 4 with the big boys and they are loving it. Plus I tend to supplement quite a bit with other things that I find online. So, started off the year with the letter A. Here are a few of the things that we did:

Our theme was air travel. So, we got lots of books from the library about airplanes. We made paper airplanes to fly, which they LOVED! For our dramatic play, we pretended to take an airplane ride. It was quite funny because we they got into a dialogue about a plane trip that we took last year that was, ummm, rather interesting...to say the very least! (Be sure to read it...if you want a good laugh...or cry...if you are symphathetic!) {smile}

We played an ant file folder game that I made. (If interest in the game is expressed, I will post about it and how to make it...just let me know.)

For our Bible lesson, we learned about Ananias and Saphira from Acts 5:1-10. (Ananias for letter A). I took out the kids piggy banks and dumped all the money out. I then put it into a bag and asked them if they wanted it back. Of course they said yes. So, I gave each of them a handful of money and I kept the rest, which they were not happy about. This was a great to tie into the story of Ananias and Saphira not giving all their money and how it made God unhappy.

I took it a step further and decided to turn it into a math lesson. We separated the coins in stacks based on their value and talked a bit about it. Then, since I had been meaning to empty their piggy banks and wrap the coins to deposit into their bank accounts...I had them do it. This was great to work on hand-eye-coordination. They did a few and I did end up doing the rest. Then I had the bright idea to take a field trip to the bank next week...you know for the letter B. {smile} I love it when I come up with stuff like that on the fly! So, the bank is on our "to do list" for next week.

The boys also started their Alphabet book, which is simply a pronged folder (orange for DC and blue for JJ). Each week they will add two pages to their book. The first page is a collage of pictures that begin with the letter of the week. (I go through all the magazines and sales papers that we get and clip pics that I think could be used for their books. I keep them filed away alphabetically so that when we need some pics, I can just grab the file with the letter we need.) The second page is sheet where they practice writing the letter of the week and color a picture starting with it. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I use page protectors to put each page into. That way their "books" are a bit more durable...especially when the carry them around to show off their work to everyone!

Finally, we did a few other things that didn't really pertain to the letter A. They played with the color file folder game that I made for them to help with spelling the color names. Yes, it does say, "reb." JJ had a little bit of trouble with the "b" "p" and "d."

Oh, and the best part is that they discovered the Where's Waldo? books at the library. They had alot of fun trying to find Waldo. We used them at home and at the doctors office. It was a great way to occupy them and keep them quite for awhile!

So, that is a little bit of what the big boys did this week. We are looking forward to next week!

Be sure to check out Preschool Corner for more great preschool ideas.

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Sesame Street Matching File Folder Game

After making this file folder game from bulletin board borders, I decided to make another.

The little boys are very much into Sesame Street right now, so I thought it would be perfect for them. The border that I used is below. I found it at the Dollar Store.All you have to do is cut out two of each circle. Glue one set onto a file folder and use the other set for matching. Laminating is optional.

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"Designed by God so I Must be Special" by Bonnie Sose

Designed by God So I Must Be Special
by Bonnie Sose

Illustrated by Holly Sose

I think this book is adorable. It talks about the different body parts (eyes, ears, nose, skin, body, mind, heart, and Spirit) that God has given us and how we are able to use them. The book is written in a lyrical/poetic format which I think is called a quatrain (where the 2nd and 4th line of each stanza rhymes). I love the bright, vivid colors and the overall message of the book,

"He designed me with Special talents,

gifts and abilities you see,

which let me know that He has

something Special in mind for me."

I think this is the cutest little book. If I had not received this book as a gift, I would definitely purchase it!

Want to know more about the "Brown Like Me" Book Review and how it got started? Click here!

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Make Your Own Strawberry Jam (Bread Machine Style)

For those of you who don't know, I LOVE my bread machine! Did you know that in addition to yummy, healthy bread, you can also make your very own jam?!?!?!? Yes, I am trying to convince you that you NEED to get a bread machine. Believe it or not, I have found most, if not all of mine at either garage sales or thrift stores, paying about $10 on average for each. So, if you aren't convinced yet, take a look at the pic below of the strawberry jam we made. What I love about it is that I can control how much sugar is in it and there are no preservatives!!! Can't beat that!!! So, if you are interested in giving it a try, here is the recipe directly from one of my bread machine manuals.

For Strawberry, Blackberry, or Raspberry Jam:
2 cups of fresh or frozen (thawed) fruit
3 1/4 cups of sugar
(no I'm not kidding...only two ingredients!!!)

Wash fruit and remove the stems. Mash up the fruit. Do not puree it because it is jam so it should have bits of fruit in it. I used a potato masher to do this. Next, measure out 2 cups of mashed berries. (Be sure to measure AFTER mashing them...not before.) Put mashed berries and sugar into the bread machine. I have gotten to where I can make this recipe using just 2 3/4 cups of sugar and we still like it. It is plenty sweet for us. But, using less sugar does make the jam thinner. So, be sure to experiment if you are planning on adjusting the amount of sugar. I will probably try using 2 1/2 cups of sugar next time to see how it goes. Once in the pan, select the jam cycle and let the machine do its work. After it is done, I freeze the jam until we are ready to use it. Yes, it is that easy!!!!

Oh, I have also made raspberry jam and it was delicious as well. However, the kids didn't care so much for all the little seeds getting stuck in their teeth.

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Color Matching File Folder Game

While at the Dollar Store a few weeks ago, I came across a really cute bulletin board border. I decided to use it to make a file folder game for my little ones. This is what I made:

This is what I purchased:

This is what I did with it: Cut out the little colors. You need two of each color. Cut a folder in half. Glue one set of colors to the folder. Laminating is optional (but a requirement in my house if I want it to last more than a few days!). Finally, have fun matching the colors. I still have alot of the border still left...even after making two of the games. Any ideas on what to do with them???

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Does Your Blog Validate You?

In a previous post, I mentioned that there were some reasons in addition to the time factor that led to my decision to delete my blog. Well, in some weird way (though embarrassed to admit it) I somehow started to feel as though my blog validated me as a mom, housewife, homeschooler, homemaker, etc. It sort of made me feel like what I did/do on a daily basis was/is important. Now, being a mom, housewife, homeschooler, homemaker, etc ARE all very important and noteworthy roles, but I shouldn’t need to have a blog to make me feel that way. Well, that is what my blog did for me. I felt “good” because I would get comments from people who were excited about some of the seemingly mundane things that I do everyday. I would check my blog throughout the day…just to see if I had any new comments. Now, don’t get me wrong, it is great to know that other people are interested in your life, but you shouldn’t need those comments to feel important! So, now I ask you, does your blog validate you? If so, please take a moment to evaluate and realize that you shouldn’t need a blog to feel important. Whatever role God has called you to is noteworthy and important…and you don’t need a blog or the blog comments to validate that role!

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"Brown Like Me" Book Reviews

I am very excited to start this new "category" on my blog. What exactly is it? Well, here is the story. One day I was reading a book to my daughter and she got so excited and belted out, "hey mommy, she's brown like me!" At that point I had not really thought too much about how important it was for my daughter to read books about kids who looked like her. Well, her actions clearly let me know that it was important and from that point I decided that I needed to be more proactive about selecting quality books for my kids that featured characters who are "brown like me." This will be a review of books that we really like that have "brown" characters in them. So, stayed tuned for our "Brown Like Me" book reviews!

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