Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Just wanted to share a quick Valentine's idea for any little ballerinas out there.  I made these using heart lollipops and then used hot glue to add some tulle.  :)

We are 100 days COOLer! :)

While I have been taking a bit of a blog break - or maybe a really, reeeeaaallly long one - I found I had some free time on my hands for a few evenings and thought it might be fun to jump back on for another post.  However, I'll be keeping the wording to a minimum (unless you take the old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" literally).

This year, our 100 day celebration came during a bit of a rough patch of illness for us.  We'd been cooped up, and it just seemed like a bit of excitement was in order...

 

We'd already completed a winter themed 100th day at least 2-3 years ago.  However, my kids seemed to be really lamenting the lack of snow this year, so I felt it might be time to have a "snow day" once more. 

 

 Cover each activity with a snowflake once completed!

 

What an easy way to incorporate 100 with these melting snowman kits!  Simply give them 100 seconds to build a snowman and then enjoy the wonder of watching it melt...

 

Snowman necklace with 100 white beads!

 

Toss the "snowball" in a cup and add the numbers.  First child to reach or cross over 100 wins!

 

This was a more time consuming activity - consider yourselves warned if you attempt this at home.  I had each child lie down in a snowball fight pose (except for the youngest who stood against the wall) and traced around him/her.  They then painted themselves and broke open a bag of 100 cotton balls (snowballs) which they glued to the mural.  We actually ended up opening two bags because one just wasn't enough!

 

We counted out 100 cotton swabs and the kids used them to make snowflakes - even our toddler was able to participate in this one with a bit of help.   

 

Snack time!  We counted out 100 items (usually in groups of ten such as 10 pretzels, 10 yogurt covered cranberries, 10 mini rice cakes, etc.) and created our own snow mix for munching. 

It is hard to tell, but these melted snowman pictures are puffy and came out so cute!  We made the puffy paint by mixing roughly equivalent amounts of white glue and shaving cream.  It can be a lot of fun as long as the children are old enough to realize it should not be eaten (or you are sitting right next to your toddler).

 

Spelling practice - the kids practiced spelling snow/winter words in whipped cream.  Yes, our toddler enjoyed participating in this one as well!  The whipping cream was on top of brown (unbleached?)  wax paper.  This was definitely a finger-licking activity!  

Note:  Make sure you do this one AFTER the shaving cream painting above to avoid confusion regarding what can be eaten.   If you do them in reverse order, you run the risk of a toddler assuming that if you can eat one puffy whiteness first, the other is fair game as well.  

Happy homeschooling!  :)

Girls' Club

Today is launch day for Sally Clarkson's new book "Girls' Club"!  Co-authored with her two daughters Sarah and Joy, it focuses on cultivating friendships among women and how powerful such bonds can be.  If you have been struggling with loneliness, wondering how to cultivate friendships with other women - this book may provide just the direction and encouragement you need!

As a homeschooling mom of four children (including special needs), I have had my share of ups and downs.  Often I have found encouragement AND inspiration while reading one of Sally's books, listening to one of her podcasts, or by reading one of the posts on her blog www.sallyclarkson.com.  I highly recommend her to other homeschooling moms (and moms in general).  Her ideas, understanding words, and kindness point me towards Christ and the powerful mission he has given me:  the mission of motherhood (also the title of one of her books). 

For moms struggling to find time to research great composers, artists, and great books for children, she also provides amazing resources on www.lifewithsally.com (this is a paid membership account).  The site includes resources and podcasts that are meant for encouraging moms as well (such as scripture studies, etc.), and the forums are a great resource for moms to share, encourage, or ask questions of other mom members.  Highly recommend this as well!  :)

As always - happy homeschooling!  :)