Gift Ideas for Homeschool Mom Appreciation Day, October 3rd

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Can you believe another year has come and gone and it is Homeschool Mom Appreciation Day again? Just kidding, I made this fake holiday up. The fake holiday is to be this Thursday, October 3rd. So be prepared. Parades will be going through towns. Mail won’t be delivered. Moms everywhere get the day off. It will be glorious. Come on, join with me so we can me this happen…

Well while it won’t I thought I would share with you some gift ideas for your registries for the big day…after all I know your family is busy stocking up on gifts galore to shower you with, right?

Here are some ideas:

Perhaps you’d like to show off your impecable grading abilities with some bling for your ride.

Can anyone else feel me with this? Or am I the only one looking around at the end of a homeschool day, wondering what in the world happened to our home…elephants? Angry gnomes?

And then there is this for all of the 999 cups of coffee you have to attempt to drink after reheating it versus that one each month that is actually warm and fresh.

But seriously, if this holiday was for real, this is what I would want:

This shirt is adorable, I love it!

And then there is this book, Teaching from Rest. You must read it yearly just to help you bring your crazy busy self back to center and to let all of the dust and chaos settle around you.

I love this French Press. I have one but took it down to the cottage to use as our coffee maker. If you’ve never tried coffee from a french press, it is a must! There is something so peaceful and calming about making it with a french press and also it tastes amazing! I love this one because it looks like it comes with a lot of accessories and it is gorgeous!

A State of Disaster on Our Bookshelves

The kids and I are on some form of Spring Break this week.

Our CC community has a break paired with us trying to get out the door for Cali this weekend equals not much school work getting done.

Instead I think we are teaching life lessons like how to blow your nose and how to pick up legos effectively.

That’s right.  This morning, I felt well enough to get out of bed, put on clothing that buttons and actually do something with my life. The cold to put all other colds to shame is moving on and I am starting to get some energy back. 

So today…today we conquered the third floor. 

The whole mess of moving everything up there has been something that has been avoided.  I've been in denial about it like William Hale Thompson about the presence of the mob.  I mean, I am really, really good at side-stepping the issue.  But alas, I’ve decided it would be nice to to be able to visit an entire floor of our home this milennium so I’m embracing the need for change. 

Today the kids and I were up there looking at it as though we were expecting to see the mushroom of the nuclear explosion that obviously caused all of the mess to still be in the sky.  Because, it was a legit mess.  How two children who are almost teenagers can trash a room to the degree that this room was trashed is beyond me. 

And I’m sure I am not the only one who has been in this situation but for real, what are they thinking?  I found things like food dye and a funnel among the rubble.  I mean, I know when I’m in the kitchen I think to myself.  I’m going to go and have some alone time so what should I take with me?  Hey look…a funnel. 

Right?

These people are weird.

Anyway, we made a good dent in the mess, there is no way I would classify it as done but we are getting there.  We did also amas some books that needed to be brought down to the new homeschool room.

I’m pretty sure that bringing anything new into a setting is what causes you to see things with fresh eyes for when we brought these books down I suddenly saw the state of our bookshelves with the apparent horror they deserve. 

This is what the bookshelves look like?  When did they get like this?  Who put that there?  How long have they looked like this? 

And so I am now off to purge and throw away and yell and purge some more in order to get the books from the 3rd floor to fit on the shelves.  I secretly have this battle within myself when I have to put something on these shelves... Having limited shelf space makes me have to make decisions and get rid of books we aren't using but geesh, I just hate that so much. There's no wonder in getting rid of books.

I feel the need to admit to you that I am in fact addicted to purchasing vintage children's books but that convo is for a totally different day.

I’m off to clean! 

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And here’s our finished product! It’s not bad! I did have to get rid of some pretty great books which always makes me sad but with CC this is our last time going through Cycle 1 with our kiddos (only with Cal right now actually!) so we won’t be using those books anymore.

Don’t you hate getting rid of books?

What do you guys do when you get rid of books? Do you donate them? Sell them? I’m kind of interested in selling them simply because a lot of them are living vintage books and I know there is a specific market for books like that. Otherwise people pass them by. Comment with how you get rid of books, I’d love to know!

School Planning

When summer sets off is when I like to get started with planning for the next phase...

School Starting!

I have to say, planning for the upcoming school year is one of my favorite things to do. 

Organizing, purchasing new school supplies, spending hours pouring over books...those are all of my favorite things combined into one totally awesome experience! 

Not to mention that it's the chance for me to start with a clean slate.  Forget that I bombed teaching language arts properly or we never finished with all of the math lessons. 

Forget about it. 

Because at the beginning of a new school I get to school school at being school.  I get to look awesome smart and not at all like a slacker mom who once forgot to put a bra on when she left the house.

Some of this stuff you just can't make up folks...

Or that I've bribed a friend with alcohol to teach my kid latin.  Again, these are true stories.

But anyway, at the beginning of the school year I can put on real clothes and forget that in two months I'll be wearing my glue covered yoga pants and trying to figure out who thought paper mache was again a good idea.

Here are some of the things to help you start planning for this upcoming homeschool year:

1. Planner!

One of the biggest components for me to be successful in planning is my Homeschool Planner.  It's loaded with everything I need to be successful.  I have it all in the planner so I can grab and go whether I'm surfing Pinterest for ideas or going to the library to get books for a certain week of school.  Whatever it is, it's all in there and I am ready to go.  

2. School Supplies

Another thing that helps me to be successful in planning is to start stocking up on school supplies.  It's never too early to keep an eye out for a great deal. 

This past week I was buying Ziploc bags at Costco (I am probably the ONE person that runs into that store with ONE thing on my list, teehee).  And as I was browsing I saw these great deals on pens and pencils:

The Ticonderoga Pencils.  96 of them for $12.96!  Holy Moly that's a good deal.  Now these do go on sale at back to school time but I don't remember them being this cheap.  And even if they are I don't have to push people out of the way to get to the pencil display.  They're mine I tell ya, all mine!

These pens though!  So I heart colored pens.  Have ever since I was a wee bit.  But my kids...my kids REALLY like colored pens.  Now that they are getting older I am starting to let them use pens.  I think learning to correctly write with a pencil is super important.  Mind you, I say that as a mom who has dragged her son to a children's hospital week after week after week to work with someone who could help him understand how to hold a pencil.  Let's just say form is important in our house.  And we still use pencils (hence the 96 mondo box of pencils above) but sometimes you just need to shake things up and use 8000 different pen colors. 

And now we can. 

3. Organizing or Perhaps Reorganizing

When the last worksheet is done and everything is completed I know that the last thing you want to do this summer is trudge back through all of your school stuff to try to prepare for the next year. 

But do it anyway. 

Give yourself some time to chill from the situation and then you can charge back in with fresh eyes and a new perspective.  Look at the books, manipulatives, supplies, everything from the perspective of your children and what their ages as well as developmental stages will be when coming back in the fall. 

It always seems you blink and your kids are grown.  I just went through our books and found I had pre reader workbooks for the kids, my kids, who are writing research papers and are gearing up to read Shakespeare next year.  Clearly we no longer need the practice on how to trace a triangle.

So out those go. And out go the little bears to help us add.  Those type of things.  Some of these things don't even take up much room at all but by getting rid of them we can a) find someone to give them to that really needs them and b) it helps to clear the mental clutter. 

It's so great to know your classroom is ready for the grades and ages that you will be teaching in the fall, not a mishmash of just a bunch of stuff you've collected along the way, and who in the heck knows what's even in there.

Anyway, I highly recommend going through your things, donating what you are no longer going to use, pitching what's broken or ruined, and reorganize what is going to stay.

That being said let me remind you to only get rid of things that only your youngest is done with. Even if you have quite the age gap or kiddos who learn in completely different ways, the youngest can still benefit from things that your older children have used in school when they get to that stage. 

My case in point here is our abacus. I bought it a WAY long time ago because I thought it would be cute.  Cute!  Emma never even touched the thing.  Cal would play with it all of the time but never to do math with. I could have gotten rid of the darn thing years ago.  But then this past year Cal was having a really, really hard time conquering multiplication.  I pulled that out and discovered he loves learning with it.  So keeping things until you are completely through that developmental phase just to be sure, really pays off.

4. Planning "Workshops"

I'm just gonna say it:

Sometimes homeschool planning ain't easy. 

I remember last year being holed up in a hotel room trying to combine the sequence and scope of two different homeschool methods or plans. 

It was grueling.

I wanted to cry.

I think I grew an ulcer. 

But in the end I finished it and it felt great.  Through all of the mental hurdles that I posed for myself by doing this, in the end I felt greatly prepared for the upcoming year.

I felt like I owned this school year because I was prepared.  I put it together. 

I have to mention that I did say I went away and did this in a hotel room.  I couldn't imagine all of the crap spread out over the dining room table trying to figure it all out between snipping popsicles open and untangling kite string.

Whether your curriculum is boxed and ready to go or you are starting from the ground up, I would urge you to get away.  You certainly don't have to get out of town and I should mention that I was with my husband on a business trip, not on some spa retreat for "homeschool planning". You could go to Panera for a few hours.  Or a library.  Or somewhere you really love to go just to get out of the house so you can think.  Or do it when the kids are in bed and have time to just sit and mull over everything. If you're an early riser during the summer mornings is a really great time to do it.  There have been years I've found myself pouring over everything for a couple of hours before our kiddos got up on their summer schedules.

And working on it could mean any number of things: maybe you're pinning things on Pinterest to use for this year.  Or writing out a week by week plan of what you're going to do and what supplies you need. Or just reading through teacher manuals to make sure you know what you'll be getting yourself into, ha! Last year I started an all inclusive list of every art supply, thing to buy at goodwill and food item I would need for art projects, history dioramas, science experiments or food exploration.  When I went to the store I kept the list with me and could pull it out to see what I needed and how much of it to get.  So super helpful!

Whatever it is, carving out some time to plan for the upcoming school year is so important and will really give you a feeling of accomplishment and being ready for the upcoming school year. As I've mentioned before I have to look at this as a full time job rather than just something I do here and there.  So preparing for a new project (next school year) is something that goes with treating teaching as a full time job.

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Well I hope these help you to feel prepared to prepare for school!  Have any more to add?  Share them in the comments below, I'd love to know what helps you feel prepared and ready to go for the upcoming school year!

Happy planning!

I am Tweaking the Direction of this Website

Alright I'm just going to get right to the point:

I've been kind of hating this blog. 

At first I set out to blog to chronical my kiddos. 

Loved it. 

This blog then provided me with basically a resume that a major newspaper picked me up and I wrote for them. 

Still loved it. 

I even went on to several magazines who saw my tone and insight as something unique and special. 

Loved that.

Then Cal was diagnosed with Autism and while my first purpose remained I got so much feedback when I blogged about my feelings and emotions about everything that I felt really inspired.  I wanted to share with other moms and to be help along the way in their journeys with autism. 

Loved that.

Along the way though I got the idea to blog for money. So I got off of blogger.  I had this pafe designed.  I started to look cool. 

And that's when I started to love it all a bit less.  I convinced myself that it was just because it was a different platform and because it was all so new. 

I researched everything and started blogging what I thought y'all would want to read rather than what I wanted to write about.

And so that made me like it less.

I got into some business agreements.  I had a commitment.  And with commitment comes a promise to write even when I can't find the words. 

And that's when I started to like all of this a lot less. 

And so I've kind of stepped away from it all.  I've been thinking if I wanted to write at all or if I just wanted to scrap it. 

But what I come back to time and time again is that I love writing about our life here for family and friends to read who live a ways away. 

And I like to write about homeschooling.  It seems like when I do that and I am showing you what we are doing that it helps to keep me accountable and to keep homeschooling cool for the kids so I can help all of you with your homeschool journeys.  I like to share. I'm a sharer. 

So in taking a break I've decided that this blog will be more homeschool oriented.  That may be a bleh or a yeah for you depending on who you are.  I'm still planning on sharing cool stuff to do with your kids and about our lives. 

But I wanted to be open about this all.  I am changing the game, I am going back to my roots and I am blogging about what is keeping ME Super Busy at Home. 

I hope you'll stick around for the journey.  It's all so much fun. 

Love to you all!

Homeschool Co-op Drop Outs: What I've Learned

So I am a co-op drop out. 

Yep, I'm a cool homeschool mom like that. 

I keep thinking of that song about being a beauty school drop out. 

And yes that probably makes me a dork.  I'm learning to be okay with that.

The truth is that this has been a long time coming.

And by long time I mean about a month.

Here we go with my lengthy explanation.

We started a homeschooling co-op in the fall.  It was a group of other families with the moms teaching and assisting in the classrooms with class periods set up.  The kids went to different classes throughout the day and we had a lunch period in the middle. The co-op set the school year into trimesters. 

The first trimester seemed to go fairly well.  We had some issues but nothing serious in the classroom.  The big part I was having a bit of an issue with was when the second trimester came along, the only heavy weight class the kids were in was Chemistry and the kids were falling drastically behind the class with their homework. It wasn't for lack of trying but they were just not grasping what was being covered.  So I was having to struggle with how to get them to learn it while having them behind and not knowing whether to speed them up to be with the class while not understanding what they were doing or to stay behind to understand but go to class every week with unfinished homework and assignments.

The other classes were nice but they were extra curriculars.  Legos, crochet, etc.  And so by going to co-op I felt that we were kind of missing an entire day that could be used for instruction on fun stuff.  Don't get me wrong, I know they were learning things and having a great time with friends.  But I also knew that behind the scenes we were falling drastically behind in math, grammar, and latin.  Yoinkerdoodles.

I also somehow forget that Calvin has autism.  The summer and autumn we were in a really great cycle.  I don't look at my son and see "autism" plastered over his forehead, he's just him.  But over Christmas break he started being able to not communicate again.  And started stimming again.  And a whole other myriad of things including not having control over the tone of his voice.  So when he's answering you in a good mood he sounds like he sounds irritated and mad at you.  It's difficult on us.  It's super difficult on him.

And I just knew then and there.  There was no way I was going to be able to send him back to co-op like this.  I can't ask mothers to handle this when they have a classroom of other children to help.  I can't ask other children to act like nothing's going on when he's yelling at them for no reason. 

And so we dropped out.  I felt really bad.  I cried.  A lot.  I've asked that they allow us to return if we want but haven't heard what the final "verdict" from the leadership board is. 

But in the end of it, I am holding my head high.

I did what was best for our family.  While it was difficult for me because it might not be the best thing for Emma to leave but it is for Calvin, what that meant was if it's not good for one of us it can't be good for any of us.  It might seem unfair sometimes but we're learning we're a team and we have to stick together.

As a homeschooling mom I am constantly worried about what people think of me.  I don't want others to think I'm a "weirdo" because I homeschool.  I want the other homeschool moms to think I have it all together. Ugh.  it's just a weird place to be sometimes when you carry this title.  But in this instance I felt that I had finally grown mature enough to be able to recognize that this was not working and it wasn't the best fit for our family.

Through this homeschooling journey I swear I am learning as much if not more than the children are.  I'm learning to laugh in the rain, to give myself grace when things get rough, and to see things as trial and error rather than failures when they simply don't work out. 

As I write this we should be at co-op right now.

Instead we dropped out. Before I would have felt like a total failure because of that.

Instead we made it half way through a math lesson today before Calvin went into his quiet corner in the homeschool room and was on his own with his cat for 20 minutes.  Then he went and played piano.  He learned 15 spelling words and successfully wrote legibly two sheets of words for me in handwriting.  All of those are things we wouldn't have gotten done even last week.  I'm considering this a win.

And as a homeschooling mom and an autism mom, I'll take as many wins as I can get.

Happy weekend sweet friends!  Hope you learn to look for wins and to give yourself grace.  Love you!

To check out my blog on a link up with other cool ones click here!

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Today my family and I are on a field trip day but I didn't want that to stop us all from celebrating this amazing day.

I always have the kids study Martin Luther King Jr., his life, his speeches, and his example of standing up for what you believe while making sure to not compromise your Christian beliefs.

In case you have no idea what to do or just need me to walk you through this because the caffeine hasn't kicked in yet, here are some things we've used to honor the day:

MLK Jr's "I Have A Dream" speech

I have the kids watch the "I have a dream" speech on YouTube and then we discuss it.  We talk about how 100 years before the speech was the Emancipation Proclamation and what had changed since then.  Then we talk about what has changed between the speech and present day.  I'm going to have them talk to their grandparents about the time period of the speech.  Last year I had them go and speak with my grandmother who passed away a couple of months ago.  She grew up in North Carolina and was able to tell them about how she was able to take a bus to school but the black children couldn't.  It was really good to hear an actual oral account of everything going on in the south and I cherish those times as she is gone now.  She was able to talk to the kids how she never understood why they couldn't ride the bus with them. 

Biography

One of my favorite websites is Super Teacher Worksheets. If you become a member it's only $19.95 a year to have full access but they also have a ton of free things!  This Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. biography is one of those free things.  You can print off however you need and it comes with a sheet to read, questions to answer, and an answer key. 

Cut Out Hands

Okay, I don't know how much of a craft you would call this, but you could have your kids trace their hands on black paper and white, cut them out and glue them together.  We do this and it's so cute to pull them out from the bin every year and see how little their hands used to be. 

We did this activity after we watched the speech and talked about the section where Dr. King said:

"...one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers."

So I hope that helps you with some simple things you can do today to observe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day. 

If you have any other ways you honor MLK Jr. let me know, I'd love to share!

This blog post may contain affiliate links that help offset the cost of running this blog.  You can read my full disclosure policy here. 

Field Trip Ideas for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Coming up on the 18th is MLK Jr. Day. In our family it tends to be field trip day.   The past few years we've been trying to go and experience different things on this day.  One we are all going stir crazy because it is the dead of winter and two, there are so many venues that have free admission so it is amazing to be able to go to these places where each of them would cost us upwards of $100 and we can go for free or simply with the cost of donations.  Amazing!

Not gonna lie, homeschooling gets expensive!  So with these places we feel so blessed to be able to go!  Last year we went to Indianapolis, Indiana and did a whole boom, boom, boom, event of seeing lots of different places.  First we started out at the Children's Museum, followed by lunch at The Tamale Place because it's our favorite place ever.  Ever!  It was featured on the Food Network and is simply amazing, fresh food.  

After a huge lunch we headed downtown to the Eiteljorg and the Indiana State Museum.  We then went to Conner Prairie before we decided to call it a day and head home. 

This year we may go about the same route but I have found that the zoo is free so somehow we will have to work that in!  There are so many amazing places.  Here's some info that I found abnout the places in the Indianapolis area.  If you are in the Midwest these may be worth the trip for you as well:

Eiteljorg

The Eiteljorg Museum is free with the donation of a canned food item for Gleaners Food Bank.  The museum is open 10am-5pm. They have a lot of neat kid areas in the lower level of the museum and they have a huge Totem pole that the kids loved examining and trying to figure out what the animals were. They also have a cool winter wonderland diorama type display with model trains called Jingle Rails set up and MLK Jr. is the last day to see if to for the year!  It is so fun to explore and meander through. 

Indianapolis Zoo

is free with a canned good donation from 9 a.m. -4 p.m. weather permitting. The hardier animals will be out and the indoor exhibits are open as well. 

Indiana State Museum

Indiana State Museum is free with a non perishable food item and is open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. They have a huge S.T.E.M. learning center that is so much fun and they offer crafts related to the Civil Rights Movement.  They also have Martin Luther King Jr's "I have a dream" speech playing continuously in their theater.  Last year when we visited we were able to see the Emancipation Proclamation that President Lincoln signed.  We talked with the kids about what an important signature on that piece of paper was and what it meant in the time of Martin Luther King Jr. We discussed what was better and what still needed improvement then as well as today.  Check their website because other historic sites they manage around the state are also free so even if you aren't in Indianapolis you may find one that is closer to you.

Last year the kids (especially Emma) were obsessed with their Foucalt Pendulum clock.  It is so much fun to watch and wait for. Make sure you watch it when you are there!

Children's Museum

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis  is the best in the nation and it is HUGE!  If you haven't been there you can easily spend the entire day there.  Serious. Open 10-5 there is so much for kids to do I am sure you all will love it!

Conner Prairie

Conner Prairie in Fishers, IN is free on MLK Jr. Day.  Please note that this is just the inside exhibits...it would be freezing for all of the walking outside!  Still there was a ton for the kids to do last year and they got to experience all kinds of experiments with electricity, inertia, and other concepts.  It was so much fun!

Others

Some other free events include the IMAX Theater, the Indiana Historical Society, and the Rhythm Discovery Center

I am sure there lots in your area as well.  I googled "free Martin Luther King Jr 2016 Indianapolis" to get all of the ones above. 

Anyway, we usually study about Martin Luther King Jr. the Friday before the actual day.  I think it is a super important day.  We always watch the "I have a dream" speech video, discuss it and then do a craft,  One year we made wreaths of all hands made with all different colored construction paper.  Anything can be done to bring home the message of unity.  We then usually get books from the library about Martin Luther King Jr. and study his life.  Anyway, it helps to study these things before we go on Field Trip day so that when we see exhibits for the day the kids know what they are fore. 

If you find any other amazing places with free admission be sure to let us all know in the comments section below. 

Happy Field Trip Planning!

Cleaning the Homeschool Slate

Freshening up the homeschool room.  That is what I am doing this week. 

I am a chronic "can't get this right-er".

The first semester I start out with very high hopes of how the homeschooling year is going to go.  I am going to rock the socks off of these kids.  They will learn so much.  Fireworks will go off.  Marching bands will play.  It will be glorious. 

Sadly, we start right after Labor Day in September and by Halloween, October is ending, and I am holding on by the skin of my teeth when it comes to lesson plans: we're grotesquely behind in grammar and math, no one has been able to find the science book for a couple of weeks now, and Latin has become "reviewing flashcards" rather than actually diving into any form of lesson.

Oh how lovely.

From there it is a steep, falling down a slope with jagged rocks fall into some sort of pit we could simply just call Christmas Vacation.

It ain't pretty friends. 

Those weeks between Halloween and Thanksgiving are littered with Halloween worksheets we didn't get to, Thanksgiving crafts that have no merit of learning in them (they would have had we not been doing them the past three years and so now they are tradition and cannot be deemed learning as both of the children are too young for any of the crafts). I try to do schoolwork somedays when we are not plastered with ballet practice for the Nutcracker or bell ringing with Boy Scouts, therapy, cooking, cleaning, baking, and parties.  AHHHH!!!!!

So now that all of the misery is behind us we are in the new year, it's a chance for me to start over and try to figure all of this out.  Again. 

Again, again.

And probably one more again thrown in for good measure.

Can any other homeschool Mama's relate? 

Can I get an Amen?

And that's just talking about our lesson plans not to talk about how the classroom looks like it's trying to eat itself by the time we get to Christmas.  How I bought all of these cool manipulatives before school started and have pretty much forgotten where I even put them.  Epic.mom.fail.

It's always amazing to me though how God takes these failures of mine and shows his grace to me through it all.

And unlike the post Christmas trash and clutter is a constant reminder of my failures, God takes our failures and wipes the slate clean.  Like it didn't happen.  How amazing is that?  I don't have to have a constant reminder of my clutter, of my disorganization, of the lack of time I spent when I should have to put things away rather than let them pile up and pile up.  Rather I can clean it up and there will be no trace of what was here.  Just like God's grace.

I have to tell ya I am an organizational book junkie.  I could sit for hours reading about how to organize and clean, what to use, etc. etc. Unfortunately the problem with those is that those hours spent on the couch reading those books doesn't actually clean hour house. Darn.  But a tip I learned from one of those books is to look at the space where whatever you are picking up actually was.  Acknowledge the spot of floor you can see when you pick up the pile of race cars, or whatever.  But see the cleanliness you have made in what could be a sea of dirtiness. 

Amazing friends.  Simply amazing.  And so today whatever junk you are cleaning up I encourage you to take the time to see what you have cleaned up and acknowledge that.  Be it the box of gift boxes that finally got put in the attic (that would be me I am looking at here!) or laundry you are determined to tackle, or whatever!  Acknowledge what you have gotten done rather than focus on how dirty the other parts are.  I think that's the best any of us can do, right?

I'll be here trying to get all of this right but fortunately we have the power of the Holy Spirit we can call on.  We don't have to do this alone sweet friends!  How amazing is that? 

Let's roll up our sleeves, wipe our slates clean (with God or in our homeschooling rooms!) and let's face our second chance in the face with a smile. 

Happy Monday friends!

What are you all working on this week?  I'd love to know so I can encourage and pray for you!  Comment below :)

Thanksgiving Printables Roundup

The week of Thanksgiving is a major drag when it comes to Thanksgiving.  In essence I'm supposed to be teaching them something but really my mind is preoccupied about making the turkey, and did I remember to get the heavy whipping cream and did I tell my mom to pick up soda?, and on and on.  

Basically I'm a hot mess any other day but Thanksgiving just kind of sets a 450 degree fire under me to elevate me into a bunch a lotta fun mess. 

But you still love me, right?

So we will be doing a lot of worksheets.  A lot of printables.  A lot of turkey, gratitude themed worksheets that will hopefully sneak some learning into my kiddos without them figuring it out.  Oh the twisted webs we weave...

So here are some things I've found on the world wide webs.  

Do you like how I say that like old people say "the sugar diabetes"? 

Of course you do. 

Here's what I've scrounged up for you...

I've been a fan of Free Homeschool Deals as long as the day is short and let me tell you, this time of year is no exception.  

This downloadable packet from Only Passionate Curiosity is perfect for those of us who more than one child because there are sheets on different levels. 

Then there's this entire e-book from Apologia that I can't wait to tear into!  Apologia is the publisher of the chemistry book we are using this year and so far I have been loving it! There are lots of little science snippets, printables, craft ideas, and more!  Super fun! 

Over at the Proverbial Homemaker she has a neat Thanksgiving Lego Challenge.  This set features lego challenges, copy work, memory verses, coloring pages, devotionals, and more!  So amazing for those of us with little ones obsessed with Lego! 

Confessions of a Homeschooler has a really great Thankful Turkey craft.  Lots of fun to cut everything, assemble, and talk about what you are thankful for. 

Confessions of a Homeschooler also has an adorable Thanksgiving Preschool Printables.  Full of different activities you can have fun with puzzles, pre-writing, graphing, and more.  I just love all of her products! 

So there you have it, my list of printables I have found! 

If you have others you'd like to share, please comment below.  I love all of your comments and read each and every one of them.  You guys are so precious to me and I am so THANKFUL for each and every one of you!  I hope these printables help ease some of the stress around the holiday so you can have a blessed time with your little ones! 

Note: This blog contains affiliate links.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.

Homeschooling Science: Bouncy Ball Fun!

In science we've been learning about Chemical Reactions and rubber and naturally we decided to make bouncy balls!  How fun, right? 

I thought I would show you how we made a bouncy ball.  The ingredients are for making ONE bouncy ball so if you want to make TWO bouncy balls then you need to double the ingredients...I'm so smart, right?

Okay so here's what you need: 

List of Supplies: 

Safety Goggles

1/2 tsp. Borax

1 tbsp. Cornstarch 

1 tbsp. White or clear school glue

2 tbsp. warm water

few drops food coloring

2 small plastic cups

a spoon

a timer

zippered plastic bag

Have your supplies together?  Okay, here we go...

First things first we're going to mix the water, food coloring, and borax together in one of the cups.  

Stir, stir, stir until it is all dissolved. 

Okay, next up you're going to take your other cup and pour in the glue and 1/2 tsp. of the borax solution from the first cup. 

Now add 1 tbsp. of cornstarch to the borax/glue fun in your cup but DO NOT STIR YET!!!

Allow it to sit for 15 seconds EXACTLY...<cue the Jeopardy song>...

Then you're going to mix the solution with your spoon until it becomes impossible to stir.  

And then we mix it, mix it...

Can't stir no more? 

Take it out of the cup and form it into a ball with your hands.  As expected this is kind of a stick mess so if you have a sensory sensitive child like I do, you may have to do it for them.  

So there you have it...how to make a bouncy ball so your kids can have tons of fun with their very own creation!  

I got this recipe from the kids Science book: Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics by Apologia.  You can get your copy here.  

Note: This blog contains affiliate links.  You can read my full disclosure policy here