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Did you know that REAL snowflakes really do look like snowflakes?
Sounds kinda funny, but I have never thought about looking at snowflakes until I saw the book The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder at the library and we had our first snow of the season! This book is really amazing!
But, snowflakes really do look like snowflakes!!! I only wish that I had my Canon to take the photos…it was off being repaired…so I had to try to work with what I had…but you can still sort of see the designs, which are pretty amazing!
Catch your own snow crystals: (directions from from The Story of Snow) We used some thick, dark paper. (In hindsight, we should have used non-textured black cardstock.) We set the paper outside on the front porch so that it would be cold. (If the paper is too warm, the snowflakes would melt immediately once they hit the paper.)
After allowing the paper to get cold for about 10-15 minutes we stepped out into the snowfall and “caught” a few on the paper. Remember, snowflakes are really small. You don’t want to try to catch big clumps of snowflakes, but individual ones.
Once you have some snowflakes on the paper, grab your magnifying glasses and check out the designs! No two are exactly the same!
Be sure to check out Science Sunday for more fun science activities.
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This post may contain affiliate or advertiser links. Please review my disclosure policy.
When I saw Cindy’s post over at Along the Way, I KNEW I wanted to make a “night tree” with the kids! What exactly is a night tree? It is a Christmas tree decorated with edible ornaments for the animals.
While I was very excited about the idea, my husband had other thoughts…like…what kind of “critters” would we be “inviting” into our yard?!?!? But, somehow I won him over and we now have a “night tree” in our back yard!
First we read the book, Night Tree by Eve Bunting, which is a very cute story about a family and their tradition of decorating a Christmas tree for the animals filled with all kinds of yummy treats!
Afterwards, we went out to cut down a Christmas tree for the VERY first time!
Yes, we do have a fake tree in the house…and probably always will! Last year I almost convinced myself and my husband that we “needed” to have a real tree in the house until I read Jolanthe’s post about why fake is best!!! (Very funny…)
After we cut our little tree, which the kids had a BLAST doing, we got to work making the ornaments! We used sliced apples and oranges and strung popcorn and Cheerios. We also used cookie cutters to make shapes from the bread and then spread PB on them and coated them with the rice, oatmeal, barley, and quinoa. We twine to string the ornaments so that we could hang them.
Who knew that making a Christmas tree for animals would involve so much fine motor skills! The little boys LOVED stringing the Cheerios!
Once we finished all our decorations, we put them on our tree and waited for the birds and squirrels to discover it! Check out our Night Tree!!
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This post may contain affiliate or advertiser links. Please review my disclosure policy.
I love reading books to my kids and then tying in learning activities and crafts based on the books. In case you don’t already know, that is exactly what I do for my “Once Upon a Book” posts over on Totally Tots.
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The kids LOVE using their Education Cubes. The latest activity with them has been a Christmas Addition game using the Gingerbread Man insert cards.
Each of the kids rolled a cube. Then it was a race to see who could add up all of the gingerbread men AND write down the answer on their whiteboards. We kept track of who won each round with tally marks. I love hands-on learning activities and more importantly I LOVE when the kids are having fun playing a game without “really” realizing that they are learning at the same time!
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Alright, all you mama’s who are participating in Mama’s Mission of the Month for September, this is the December Mid-month reminder about the goals that we set for the month of December. With the month more than half-way over, I just wanted to check in to see how you all are doing!
As for me, the month started out kinda slow. We (as in all 7 of us) were being treated for strep throat. My daughter and I for sure tested positive and everyone else had similar symptoms…so we were ALL on antibiotics. But, I am working on getting back on track now. I must admit, making it a priority to have 1-on-1 time with each child is not as easy as I thought it would be. I am convinced that I need to add it as one of the cards in my SHE Method box!
We have had a few family game nights, though I do hope to make it a planned weekly activity. Some of the games we have had fun playing are Operation, Find It, and Charades for Kids. So, in a nutshell, I am plugging away at making time spent my family more of a priority!
With that said how are you coming along with yourDecember 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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This post may contain affiliate or advertiser links. Please review my disclosure policy.
Once I saw the clip below about The Gift of Love, I KNEW my daughter would love it and jumped at the offer to review it!
The Gift of Love from See The Light is not JUST about teaching art to children. It is completely Biblically based with the focus of “drawing children to Him!”
The DVD features:
The Gift of Love: “The Christmas story, artfully brought to life through the captivating expressions of chalk-art, music, and drama” (from the DVD description)
REJOICE!: Learn creative lettering from artist Heidi Shorts
Away in a Manger: Follow Master Teacher Pat Knepley in using colored pencils to draw Baby Jesus in the manger
Portrait of Mary: Receive a tutorial on chalk-art from artist Gloria Kholmann while creating a portrait of Jesus’ mother
Musical Art: Watch chalk-artist Gloria Kholmann draw the Nativity while accompanied by the music of Jan Roper & Kevin Dukes
Salvation: Lead little ones to Christ with this remarkably simple, yet creative presentation of the plan of salvation.
My children and I absolutely LOVED this DVD, especially the Christmas Story! It was so touching to see the artwork unfold through the retelling of the birth of Christ!
Once my daughter (age 7) realized that there were art lessons on the DVD, she immediately wanted to see them. So, we got out our paper and colored pencils and got ready for the first lesson in creative lettering. Much to my surprise, the boys (age 5) wanted to join in as well!
The directions were concise and clear and the kids were able to follow along quite well. I was actually pretty surprised with how well they did, especially the boys! Check out their creative lettering! (Baby Jesus is inside the letter “O”).
Once we completed the first lesson, my daughter was excited about her accomplishment and wanted to move on to the second lesson. She was VERY excited about drawing Baby Jesus! The lessons, again, were very clear and easy for her to follow. However, we did have to pause the DVD quite a bit because the instructor was moving a bit too fast for her. Here is her completed drawing:
Overall we really enjoyed the DVD! I absolutely LOVED the child-focused plan of salvation! Our ONLY disappointments were in our lack of art supplies. We didn’t have chalk to complete the portrait Mary. Nor did we have the optional extreme colored pencils and black light that are used to illuminate the focal points in the artwork. Needless to say, we are a fan of The Gift of Love…beautiful art, excellent instruction, and moving music, all while focusing on the most wonderful story ever told, the birth of Christ!
Be sure to head over to the See The Light website. There is a homeschool page where you can download free lesson plans (for a limited time). The Gift of Love can be purchased from Amazon or from the See The Light website.
~ Giveaway is closed. ~
Giveaway Info:
Would like to win a copy of The Gift of Love? There are a few ways to enter to win.
The first and mandatory entry is to leave me a comment simply letting me know you would like to win.
Optional Entries:(leave a separate comment for each entry)
The giveaway ends tonight at midnight! The giveaway is open to US Residents only. Please be sure to leave a way for me to contact you should you win!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
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I always think it is fun to see what others have put on their Christmas Wish Lists. So, I thought I would share our list! While I created this mostly for the grandparents and other family members, you may be able to get a few ideas for your own Christmas gift giving. Check out our Christmas Wish List HERE!(You can browse through the different wishes/categories on the left side of the wish list page.)
There is one thing on the list that I am super-super excited about! If the grandparents hadn’t already purchased it, we would for sure get it for the kids. So, what is it???
Educational Insights Power Design and Drill Power Tool Workshop: I have this in mind for the little boys, but I have a feeling that ALL of the kids will want to use it! In addition to all the bolts and drills, it also comes with 19 pattern cards to follow!
You use the tools to copy the patterns on the cards. I am envisioning LOTS of “uninterrupted” time for me to do school with the older kids while the littles are busy drilling! ;-) Plus, it’s portable and self-contained…added bonus!!!
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I just HAD to share this deal with you! For today ONLY, you can get the laminator that I use and ABSOLUTELY LOVE for ONLY $16.99!!!! That is an AWESOME price!!!! I paid over $30 for mine!!!
Head on over and get yours! You will NOT be sorry! But, be sure to get a pack of Scotch laminating sheets to go with it…only a few come in the box with the laminator!!!
UPDATE on laminating pouches: I have gotten a number of questions in regards to the laminating sheets/pouches. A kind reader let me know that she uses these laminating pouches and loves them. She said that they work well with this laminator and that they are nice, thick, and sturdy! I have NOT used these, but once I run out of the Scotch pouches, I am going to give them a shot! They ARE a better buy, which is always a bonus!!! ;-)
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This post may contain affiliate or advertiser links. Please review my disclosure policy.
Christmas is definitely in full swing around here! One of our favorite books has been The Pine Tree Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs. I still get teary-eyed reading it! To go along with the parable, the kids and I had fun making these super cute craft stick Christmas trees. This is just one of many Christmas crafts we have done this year! :-)
Supplies: All you need to make these are some craft sticks (aka popsicle sticks), paint, ribbon, glue, and decorations. We used some rhinestones and a star for our decorations.
Directions: Keep two crafts whole. Break/cut the others to form the tree limbs. Paint one of the whole sticks brown (for the tree trunk) and all the rest green (for the tree limbs). If your children are impatient…ahem…I mean…for quick assembly, use a glue gun to attached the limbs to the trunks and the ribbon for hanging the ornament. Then let the kids get to work gluing decorations onto their tree! Once dry, hang the tree on THE TREE and enjoy!!! :-)
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Oh, doesn’t the name just make you hungry?!?!?!? These cookies are so yummy and easy to make!! Did I mention how incredibly delicious they are??? :-)
Ingredients:
3 eggs, well beaten 1 cup dried cranberries 1 tsp. vanilla 1 cup softened butter 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup white sugar 2 ½ cup flour ½ tsp salt 1 tsp ground cinnamon 2 tsp. baking soda 2 cups oatmeal 1 cup white chocolate chips
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine eggs, dried cranberries and vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 1 hour. Cream together the butter and sugars. Add flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda to the sugar mixture and mix well. Blend in the egg-cranberry mixture and the oatmeal. Fold in the white chocolate chips. Roll into balls and slightly flatten onto an un-greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until very lightly browned. Do not overbake! Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes before removing them from the cookie sheet…and then grab a glass of milk and enjoy!!!
FYI: We were able to make almost 6 dozen cookies from the recipe…which means that there should be one or two cookies left for us to eat tomorrow! :-)
This recipe is SOOO yummy as it is, but the next time I plan to try to make a few healthier substitutions, like flax for the eggs, agave nectar for the sugars, and whole wheat flour rather than white flour. I don’t know of a substitution for white chocolate chips, so I guess they will have to stay put in the recipe…oh well! {grins}
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In lieu of making super sweet homemade gingerbread houses, we (ahem…I) decided to make a slightly healthier, less sugary version instead! The kids had a great time building their holiday houses and almost didn’t want to eat them…that is until I told them it was their snack! Here are some of the houses that the kids came up with!
I would say that they turned out great! Plus, it was a great way to work on fine motor skills for the little ones! Once JI’s house collapsed, he was content sticking dried cranberries onto the graham crackers!
Directions: Blend the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract in a bowl until creamy. Spoon the frosting into a ziplock bag, then use scissors to snip off a tiny corner of the plastic bag. Begin to pipe frosting onto the graham crackers to “glue” the house together. The use the frosting to adhere decorations onto the house. Once you are done, admire your house and then eat it!
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Your probably guessed it! After I got all squared away with Facebook, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and give Twitter a try as well! I just love this Twitter button, because the way that little birdie looks…is the way I used to feel about Twitter! I just KNEW I would N.E.V.E.R be on Twitter! In all honesty, when I first heard about it, I thought it was a sneaky way to inadvertently invite stalkers into your life.
However, I have found that it is actually another one of the great little social networks out there (that I am trying to figure out!) Yes, I am now on Twitter…it is still a little difficult for me to believe!
Well, although I feel very much like a fish out of water, I believe I am beginning to get the gist of all this “social networking”! So, feel free to follow along with my “tweets”! And, if you aren’t already, feel free to follow on Facebook as well!
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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.)
November Mission Update: My November mission was finishing my daughter’s lapbooks, creating some sort of storage system for the kid’s completed schoolwork, creating a Christmas gift-giving list and getting started making gifts. In light of spending the majority of my extra time working on my new project, Education Cubes, I am happy to say that I accomplished my November missions!
I now have a working storage system and I am on my way to completing the lapbooks! Plus, I have made an executive decision that this Christmas will NOT be a “hand-made Christmas” for me (except for the annual calendars that I make for our immediate family featuring photos of the kids). I have realized that I just don’t have the time this year. However, I do have plans for gift-giving and have already made strides in getting my list checked off!!! Yay!!! Hopefully this will mean a relaxing, non-stressful December spent by the fire, cuddling with my hubby and kids watching all kinds of fun Christmas shows!
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 December 2010: My mission for this month is a little different. I am discovering that my kids want more…of me! Yes, I do homeschool, so you would think that they get plenty of “me,” but I sense that they need more.
So, my mission for December is to have one-on-one time with each of my children everyday…even if it is only 5 minutes!
Also, I want to start up a family game night. We have done this in the past, but my husband would end up playing the game and I would head off to do something else. I want it to REALLY be family game night (mom included!!!) :-)
What is your December mission of the month?
If you participated last month, 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 will be open until midnight, December 5th.
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Welcome to my main blog! My name is Jennifer (aka Mama Jenn). I am a Christian wife and home-schooling mama striving to be a Proverbs 31 woman! I am blessed with 5 children, including one princess and two sets of twin boys!
KJ: the princess (4th grade: age 9)
DC & JJ: the big boys (2nd grade: age 7)
JI & TJ: the little boys (kindergarten: age 5)
Education Cubes Membership SALE!!
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I have been busy behind the scenes working on revamping the Education Cubes
blog and creating lots of new insert cards! I thought it would be fun to
offe...
The Little Red Hen
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*The Little Red Hen*
by Jerry Pinkney
This is a wonderful rendition of the classic story of The Little Red Hen.
As I was reading along to the kids, we tal...
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This website and ALL of it's content is copyright protected. The content (including photos) are NOT to be used without my permission.
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Thank you.
Sounds kinda funny, but I have never thought about looking at snowflakes until I saw the book The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder at the library and we had our first snow of the season! This book is really amazing!
Welcome to my main blog!
