Art Warm-up Printables

Last year for art, my daughter used Drawing with Children by Mona Brookes. One of the suggestions in the book was to do some specific art warm-up activities. These allowed for practice with duplication, matching, and mirror imaging. In order to make it a bit easier on myself, I made up a printable version of the warm-ups and laminated them for re-use (you could also slide them into page protectors). This definitely saved on printer ink and paper!) I would draw the images with a wet erase marker and my daughter would do the exercises with a dry erase marker. That way she could erase her writing without erasing mine. Below are the printables that I made.

FYI…here is an explanation of each page:

Duplication Warm-up: For each row, you draw something in the first box and the child duplicates it in the other three boxes.

Matching Warm-up: For each row, you draw the same thing in all the boxes with just a slight difference. However, the very first box and one of the other boxes need to be EXACTLY the same. The child circles the drawing that is the exact same as the first one.

Mirror Imaging Warm-up: This was by far my daughter’s favorite! There are six boxes with a dotted line down the middle of each of them. You draw something on one side of each of the dotted lines. The child draws the mirror image on the other side.

By the way, since you are doing the drawing for the child to duplicate, mirror and/or match, you can determine how challenging it is for the child!

Download the Art Warm-up Printables Here

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How a Seed Grows {Science Sunday}

I have wanted to participate is Science Sunday for so long…and I have FINALLY gotten together one of our science projects from the early spring to post about.

So, we read the super cute book How a Seed Grows and decided to duplicate the project in the book to see exactly how a seed grows! My kids absolutely LOVED doing this project!

We planted our seeds in eggshells just like the little girl in the book. We used pencils to poke holes in the bottom of the shells and then filled the shells with soil. We made holes in the soil with our fingers and dropped a bean seed into each hole. Finally, we covered the seed with soil and labeled each eggshell with a number.

With kept our egg carton filled with eggshells where it could get plenty of sun light and the kids watered the bean seeds a little each day. 

After three days we dug up seed #1 and observed how the seed had become soft and plump. Two days after that, we dug up seed #2 and noticed that the skin had popped off.

A few days after that we dug up seed #3 and we could see that the roots had started to grow.

We continued this process until we saw that one of the seeds had pushed up and broken the soil.

 

Then it was time to transplant the seeds and wait for our beans to grow! My kids LOVED this project! I saw a similar project in a cute little book called, One Bean by Anne Rockwell, that I hope to one day try with the kids!

For more fun Science Sunday, head over to Ticia at Adventures in Mommydom!

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Mission of the Month: October 2010 {and Sept Accomplishments}

Welcome to Mama’s Mission of the Month! My hope is that this will help me {and you} follow through on some of the goals that we have set for the month! So, if you are a mama and you want to join in, check out the intro post! (If you have already read the rules, you can easily grab the buttons from the Buttons Tab on the top of the sidebar.) 

September Mission Update: My September mission was to basically try to get back on track using the SHE Method. {SHE stands for Sidetracked Home Executives.} When I used to use it program I was really amazed at how much more I was able to accomplish with it. However, over the summer it all went out the door! Well, I have slowly started implementing it again and things are beginning to fall back into place!

 

The basic idea of the SHE Method is that you use index cards as a scheduling system to plan out all of the things that you want/need to do. Each day you check your cards and do which whatever is on the cards for that particular day. Once you’ve done it, you file away the card so that it will come up again when you need to perform the task again.

 

 

I know it may sound kind of confusing, but I have tweaked it a bit so that it is more efficient for me…and it is a bit easier to explain. And, of course, I had to make the system a bit more attractive…I didn’t want to keep using boring ole index cards…so I spiced them up a bit! I hope to post about all of this in MUCH more detail in the VERY near future!  :-)

 

But, in the meantime, I am super excited to be able to give myself a big mission accomplished check-mark for starting back up with the SHE Method!

 

 

There is just something about being able to use the “mission accomplished” button! I just love seeing that checkmark because it means that I got something checked off of my never-ending-to-do-list!!! LOL  So, onto my current mission…

 

My Mission for October 2010: My mission for this month is a little different. When my daughter (who is now a 2nd grader) was in kindergarten, we made lapbooks for each of her letters of the week based on the My Father’s World kindergarten curriculum. Well, we did lots of extra stuff to go into the lapbooks, but I never actually finished putting the stuff in the file folders to actually make all the lapbooks. So, my mission is to complete her kindergarten lapbooks. And, since I will need to store these along with a bunch of other completed schoolwork, I plan to get some sort of homeschool storage system figured out because my little file cabinet is stuffed full!

 

So, my mission for October is to complete KJ’s kindergarten lapbooks and come up with a storage system for my kid’s completed work.

 

What is your October mission of the month?

If you participated in September, how did you do? 

Feel free to link up and share! It is a great way to hold yourself accountable! For more information on how to join in, please read the intro post. The linky below is for you to share your September Mission Accomplishments {and show off your Mission Accomplished button…if you participated the previous month} AND to share your October Mission of the Month! The linky will be open until midnight, October 5th.

 

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Guidecraft Magneatos!!!

As one of the Guidecraft Mom Bloggers, I am super excited to have the opportunity to review their awesome products. Guidecraft offers TONS of great educational toys for children!

I am totally THRILLED because the very first toy we received was a HUGE hit with ALL of my kids. So, what has been the rage around my house????

Magneatos!!!

We received the 36-piece Magneatos Jumbo set and the 24-piece Magneatos Curve set.

Magneatos are a magnetic construction toy. A child’s creativity can soar with these magnetic rods and balls! I love open-ended toys and Magneatos definitely fit my criteria for being a great open-ended toy! We had lots of fun playing with them in all sort of ways!

We made shapes with the Magneatos!

We rolled the Magneatos!

We made patterns with the Mageatos! Well, we started patterns…my son soon decided that he wanted to do his own thing with them…like making circles to roll with his brothers!

My daughter built animals with the Magneatos. Here she is working on her dog!

Another of my boys was determined to make the longest possible line of Mageatos!

Then the kids really got creative!!! They made the connection and realized that they could also put the Magneatos on the refrigerator. So, we started a little color matching with our refrigerator alphabet letters. We matched and attached the red letters with the red Magneatos, green with green and so forth!

We also came up with another game using the Magneatos on the refrigerator. We used the curvy Magneatos to make half-circles and used them as hoops! The kids had a blast trying to “score” red puff balls into the red hoops…blue into blue, etc. {I do not suggest that you use the Magneatos balls for this! Puff balls are a MUCH better idea…unless you are okay with possibility of dents in your refrigerator!}  :-)

 

Finally, the kids came up with the idea of bowling with the Magneatos! We had lots of fun with this! This one was almost a strike!

Plus setting up the “pins” makes for great practice with balance and concentration!

Needless to say, we are thoroughly enjoying our Magneatos and have already had hours of fun with them! The kids have played with them almost everyday since they arrived on our doorstep! Check out some of the great things you can do with Magneatos!

So, want a set for yourself? Head over to Homeschool Creations to win…not one, but TWO sets of Magentos! For more AMAZING Guidecraft Giveaways, be sure to join in on the Guidecraft Back to School Twitter Party on Tuesday, September 28th from 8-9pm EST.

Can’t wait to win? Magneatos can be purchased directly from Guidecraft or you can purchase them from Amazon.

This product was given to me for review purposes and I do not have to return the product to the vendor. I was not paid for this post. All opinions expressed in this post are my own.

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Addition/Subtraction Playing Card Game Board {Multiplication/Division too!}

One of the “games” from our math curriculum was to play a little addition/subtraction game using playing cards. We loved it so much that I made a little game board to go along with it!You can probably come up with various different ways to alter the game, but this is how we play. Start with the game board and a deck of playing cards. Begin with the deck of cards stacked, face side down. Turn over the cards one at a time until you are able to make a complete addition or subtraction equation. Once you are able to make an equation, put the cards in the appropriate spot on the game board. You cannot remove the cards from the board until you have made both an addition and subtraction equation. (This ensures that there is practice with BOTH addition and subtraction…and not just addition…my daughter got over on me with this one and that is why I included this little rule!) LOL

Once you have made your two equations, remove the cards, set them aside and continue turning over cards from the stack until you are able to make another equation. This process {practice} continues until all the cards in the deck have been turned over and there are no more possible equations to be made. 

Download the Game Board Here

FYI, though we haven’t really used it yet, I did include a multiplication/division game board in the download as well!

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Boys Can So {Sew} Too!!!

Who said that boys can’t sew?!?!? Well, believe it or not, my husband was okay with my mom teaching the big boys how to use the sewing machine! KJ loved “teaching” the boys as well! She was so cute guiding their little hands!

Check out my “all boy” holding his own with the sewing machine!

My mom took the boys to pick out their own fabric and helped them make a drawstring bag! Check out the finished project!!!

Who said that boys can’t sew?!?!?!?!

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Mama’s Mission of the Month {Sept Mid-month Reminder}

Alright, all you mama’s who are participating in Mama’s Mission of the Month for September, this is the September Mid-month reminder about the goals that we set for the month of September. With the month more than half-way over, I just wanted to check in to see how you all are doing!

 

As for me, I am plugging away at the SHE Method. I have made some changes to the program to make it easier and more fun for me…of course I will share everything with you all in my Mission Accomplished post at the end of the month!  :-)  (I can’t wait to be able to use the Mission Accomplished button!!)

 

With that said how are you coming along with your September Mission of the Month? Feel free to leave a comment letting us know how your mission is going! {No, you don’t have to leave an update comment. And yes, you will still be able to write your complete Accomplished post and link it up at the end of the month. The update comment is simply a way of keeping you on track with completing the goals you have set for the month.}

 

If you have no clue what the Mama’s Mission of the Month is all about, it is basically a monthly blog carnival designed to help me {and you} follow through on some of the goals that we have set for the month! For more information or if you want to know how to join in next month, check out the intro post!

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Tracing…Motor Skills…Creative Books

One of my 5 year olds, DC, has been making “Creative Books” for quite awhile now. These are simply collections of his artwork stapled together with a title page. However, he decided to make some to sell! Yes, this was his creative genius…he is trying to save up his money to buy a Talking Woody Doll. Anyhow, he started tracing pages from coloring books to make “Creative Books” that other kids can color. Essentially, he is making/tracing coloring books to sell! Initially I thought it was just a cute idea but I soon realized that this is GREAT fine motor practice!

Here are some of the pages in his first creative book for sale.

   

Now, I think the best part has GOT to be the title page! It reads:

Creative Book. Whoever picks out this book can draw in it if they want to. You may not tear out the pages.

I just thought this was the cutest ever! Of course, I bought this one!!! It was well worth the $1 I paid for it!  LOL  So, if your kids are so inclined, let them try their hand at tracing! It is a GREAT way to work on fine motor skills plus it takes quite a bit of concentration!

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Science Observation Page

We are trying to be better about doing all of our science experiments this year. Although we got off to a slow start with science the first week, we have had some fun with our science experiments since then!

Hence, I decided to go ahead and make a science observation page for my daughter to record what she did and what she learned for each experiment. The headings on the page include: Question, Hypothesis, Experiment, Conclusion, and Illustration.

Once the experiment is over and the page is complete, we hole-punch the page and add it to her science folder. In case you are interested, you can download our Science Observation Page here.

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Guidecraft Mom Bloggers

Did you happen to notice a new button on my sidebar? Well, I am joining a group of awesome ladies to be a part of the Guidecraft Mom Bloggers and I am SO excited!

Do you recognize some of the faces below? Most of the moms participating with Guidecraft are writers for the Totally Tots blog. Beginning this month and throughout the upcoming year we will be reviewing and hosting giveaways for some really great educational toys.

Jolanthe at Homeschool Creations is hosting the big kick-off event, the Guidecraft Back to School Twitter Party, on September 28th. Just in case you are wondering the prizes include TWO $500 gift certificates to Guidecraft! How incredibly amazing this that?!?!?!

So, be sure to head on over for more info on how to join in on the party and don’t forget to check out the other Guidecraft Mom Bloggers.

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“Natural” Tic Tac Toe

The kids learned to play tic tac toe this summer. We were at a restaurant and the little activity mats (intended to help occupy your child while they wait for the food) had tic tac toe boards on them…so my husband taught them how to play. They later discovered that you can play tic tac toe just about everywhere…you don’t even need pencil and paper!!! Check out what the kids came up with using just rocks and leaves!!!

This was a neat little extension of our “natural” art activity!

Gotta love fun {completely FREE} activities!!! Hey and there is even some learning going on!!! Doesn’t tic tac toe help with logic and problem solving?!?!?! The kids were working on their math skills and they did’t even know it…honestly, neither did I until I began writing this post!  LOL

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Salt Box {Tactile Penmanship Practice}

We use Spell to Write and Read and Cursive First and they both suggest to use a salt box to help with beginning penmanship. It is a great way to help develop and/or reinforce fine motor patterns needed for writing. Plus it is great for kinesthetic learners who may need a more tactile experience. When teaching my daughter cursive, she practiced her letters in the air, on my back, sometimes in paint, and always in the salt box before ever writing the letter with a pencil on paper. I am now using the same technique with my 5 year olds.

Well, if I can figure out how to make something rather than buy it, in most cases I will. So, while you can purchase a salt box for fairly cheap, here are instructions for making your own!
You will need:

• scissors
• pencil
• salt
• a photo box (like the one below...mine measures about 7.5” x 11”) ***make sure that the inside of the box is black…so that there will be a contrast with the salt***

First you want the box to be shallow so that it doesn’t impede the writing skill. So, to make it easy, take the lid off the top of the box and put the lid on the bottom of the box. Once you have the lid on the bottom of the box, trace all the way around the box. (It is not so easy to take a picture with one hand while trying to show how to trace the lid with the other! LOL)

Next, remove the lid and cut the box along the line you traced. Now, your box will be about 1.5 inches or so deep and the lid will fit on it perfectly. (see photo below)
    
Now, just add salt and let your little scribe get to work practicing!

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Get a FREE Easy LunchBox Cooler Bag!!!

For those of you who don’t know, I absolutely LOVE my Easy LunchBoxes!! They have totally transformed our day as homeschoolers!

For those of you who have not purchased any, now is DEFINITELY the time!!! Due to popular demand, they are currently sold out of the container sets and do not expect another shipment until mid-October.

However, if you place your order now, they are graciously offering a FREE cooler bag as a way to say thank you for your patience. So, head on over and place an order for your very own set of Easy Lunchboxes! You will have to wait awhile to get them, but you will get a cooler tossed in for FREE! Can’t beat that!!!

FYI, I now have 2 cooler bags (so that I can load 6 containers in them…one for me and each of the kids) and I have 12 (yes, you read it correctly…12) containers. I am so loving them! Six of them are packed and ready to eat while the other six are in the dishwasher! LOVE IT!!!

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