Monday, November 30, 2015

Tuesday's Giveaway Link Up- December 1, 2015

Tots and Me
Welcome to Tuesday's Giveaway Link Up with your hosts Karen @ Tots and Me, Emily @ Emily Reviews, Shelly @ The Attic Girl, and Rena @ An Ordinary Housewife.

So glad you could join us as we share our giveaways on  Tuesday's Giveaway Link Ups. 

This link up will be posted Monday at 7 PM est. and run all week long! Make sure you stop in as often as you can to list your latest giveaways.

Here is how to use the Giveaway Link Up

1. Post your reviews and/or giveaways, as many as you have, be sure to add the end date (family friendly please)

2. Help spread the word about the giveaway link up by grabbing our button, Tweeting or posting on Facebook. (Not mandatory- but it helps get more exposure to your giveaways as well!)

3. Take a moment to enter any giveaway that strikes an interest to you!

If you would  like to follow the  hostesses, we will gladly follow you back! Simply leave us a message to do so.

Featured Giveaways

Suffragette Movie Prize Pack US only Ends 12/7


$25 Amazon Gift Card US only Ends 12/7


$200 Paypal Worldwide Ends 12/10



Thank you for linking up with Karen @ Tots and Me, Emily @ Emily ReviewsShelly @ The Attic Girl, and Rena @ An Ordinary Housewife.


E is for...Egg Carton Math Mat

Cristi from Through the Calm and Through the Storm and Meg from Adventures with Jude are hosting this great weekly party called Blogging Through the Alphabet. All are welcome to join in, just make sure to keep your posts family-friendly. I am determined to stay faithful this time around. I might not always post on the same day of the week, but I have every intention to post something each week.

Here is how I decided my "theme" for this round of Blogging Through the Alphabet. As I was going through old blog posts recently, I noticed I have some neat ideas for activities and crafts that I did with in the past. Unfortunately, I always included them in my weekly wrap up posts or more recently in Poppins Book Nook posts, so they sort of got buried. I can't really share them as individual activities or create pinnable images to promote them and share my ideas, which is why I started this blog in the first place (to share my ideas with others who work with children). So, I am going to make new posts for these ideas.

I have found there is a huge benefit in this strategy. I am remembering  ideas that I had forgotten, which means I can now do these activities with the younger children. I will be sharing the old pictures and possibly sharing new pictures of the younger children participating. In fact, this is the second week where I wasn't sure what I was going to post about, and through searching my blog I found activities I had completely forgotten about.

Five summers ago I focused on one number a week with Tabitha and Amelia. We made a number book and did number crafts. I also came up with a fun way to display our numbers. Then I used that activity to further the girls' math knowledge during the following school year. 


E is for . . . Egg Carton Math Mat

I printed out a picture of an egg carton and wrote "How many eggs?" on the bottom. Then I added Velcro strips to each cup, plus one piece to the middle of the lid. I also cut out little oval "eggs" and put the other side of the Velcro on the back of them. 


Originally this egg carton paper was attached to our poster. I had made paper strips which had the number written out plus the numeral. The girls were to a place the number strip to the carton and then attach the correct number of eggs. As we made our way through the summer, more and more eggs filled our egg carton.


As I mentioned, during the next school year I then thought this would be a fun way to work on math skills. Specifically, the concept of zero. First I asked the girls if the egg carton was full or empty. When they told me it was full I took one egg away at a time, each time asking if it was now empty. Finally, it was empty and they learned that there were zero eggs in the egg carton.


Then we worked on some subtraction.  I made up some equation cards from 1-12, plus some number cards for the same amounts. 

These equation cards looked like this:

The Numeral - Empty Box with Question Mark = 0

I put the card above the egg carton and the girls had to put the correct number of eggs in the carton.


Then I asked them how many eggs they would have to take away to make it empty again, to equal zero. They used the number cards. These cards were just square pieces of paper that fit over the square on the equation card.


They found the right number, and took away the eggs. Then they put the numeral card in the equation.


Both Tabitha and Amelia enjoyed this hands-on math activity. They were only 3 and 2 years old at the time.

This can also be used for general addition and subtraction practice for numbers up to 12.




Blogging Through the Alphabet” style=

Sunday, November 29, 2015

D is for...Donut Dots Math Game

I began this Blogging Through the Alphabet journey a couple of weeks ago, and I am determined to stay faithful this time around. I might not always post on the same day of the week, but I have every plan to post something each week. And I can't believe I almost missed the letter D. I completely forgot to get this posted before heading out for my son's wedding this weekend. Phew, I got it up though.

Cristi from Through the Calm and Through the Storm and Meg from Adventures with Jude are hosting this weekly party. All are welcome to join in. You don't have to be a Schoolhouse Review Crew blogger or a homeschooler, but you do have to keep your posts family-friendly.

Here is how I decided my "theme" for this round of Blogging Through the Alphabet. As I was going through old blog posts recently, I noticed I have some neat ideas for activities and crafts that I did with in the past. Unfortunately, I always included them in my weekly wrap up posts or more recently in Poppins Book Nook posts, so they sort of got buried. I can't really share them as individual activities or create pinnable images to promote them and share my ideas, which is why I started this blog in the first place (to share my ideas with others who work with children). So, I am going to make new posts for these ideas.

One of the benefits in doing this is, I am remembering these ideas that I had forgotten, which means I can now do these activities with the younger children. I will be sharing the old pictures and possibly sharing new pictures of the younger children participating.

Several years ago I decided to make a math game out of donuts. We were doing Letter of the Week and had made donuts to go with D. They were really yummy too. Then we made these simple donut crafts that I decided would make a great game.

D is for . . . Donut Dots Math Game


I just cut a donut shape out of white construction paper.  Then I cut out the brown paper to look like chocolate glaze.  The girls glued them together. Not much of a craft, but it was meant for them to take part in making our game. 


To play the game we used pony beads as sprinkles and I made game cards.  We had cards numbered where the girls could add on 1-5 sprinkles, represented by the dots.  Or they could lose 1-3 sprinkles (I wrote these cards in red pencil and left only used outlines of dots instead of the black dots). We drew one card per turn and added or subtracted the designated number of  "sprinkles."  The winner was the one with the most sprinkles after we ran out of cards.




Blogging Through the Alphabet” style=

Friday, November 27, 2015

Throwback Thursday (on Flashback Friday) Blog-Style #75: November 27, 2015

Welcome back to... 


On Flashback Friday.

I hope everyone had a marvelous Thanksgiving! Time to get back in the swing of things!

I know, I know, Throwback Thursday seems to be all about sharing pictures from the past, great memories that mean something to you, that you would like to share with others. At least that is how it appears to me. Throwback Thursday wasn't something I was participating in, and then I came up with an idea.

I thought it would be great fun and a help to my blog to share old content, but not just any old content. Each week I will share an old blog post from a previous year, any year, BUT it has to be from the current week (for example, something I've posted around November 27th, from any previous year)  I will go in, edit the post if needed, add a pinnable image if I don't already have one, and share it on Facebook.

I have reviewed some great products in the past (and continue to do so). I thought it would be a neat idea to choose review posts this year and highlight some of these great products again.

Would you like to join in? You do not need to edit your past post in any way, you don't need to create a pinnable image, though it couldn't hurt, in fact it will help your blog traffic to add quality pinnable images to your posts.

Just go into your archives, choose a favorite post from this current week from any previous year, and link it up below. (If you don't have anything from this current week, it is still okay to link up with a post from a previous year around this time.)

I will be pinning posts to my appropriate Pinterest boards and will be randomly selecting a Featured Throwback Thursday post to share next week. Just a note, I will be sharing a picture from your post if you are selected as the featured post, but I will link back to your post. I will ALWAYS give credit and link back. By linking up you are giving me permission to use your picture in the post. 

Here is my Throwback Thursday post:

Here is this week's randomly selected
Featured Throwback Thursday:

Meg From Adventures with Jude shared:



To participate, link up below. It would be great if you could visit several of the other posts that have linked up. Stop by, comment, and pin images so we can help each other.

If you would like to help spread the news:

Tots and Me
Happy Throwback Thursday!


Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Wordless Wednesday: November 25, 2015 (w/linky) - Helpful Friends

Aren't they cute helpers?









Looking forward to seeing your Wordless (or not so wordless) Wednesday posts this week.


Tots and Me


Littles Learning Link Up: Guest Post- Parent the Child You Have (Not the Child You Wish You Had)


 Each month you will find:
  • A seasonal round-up (toward the beginning of the month)
  • A guest post featuring crafts, activities, tips, snack ideas or other early childhood topics. (toward the end of the month)
  • Posts where I share what I have been up to with my preschoolers and/or early elementary children.
Each week, I will host a link up, where you can share either what you have been up to recently, or old posts that may go with the theme.  Feel free to link up more than one post.

Each week I will continue to feature a couple of posts from those that have been linked up. 

I hope you will continue to share your wonderful posts, and I hope you will find something new to try with your child.

It would be great for everyone to stop by and visit the other linked-up posts as well. Check them out, leave some comments, pin those that interest you. Let's make this a real party and socialize with each other.



Today I would like to introduce you to Jennifer from A Peace of Mind.

Jennifer is . . . 
 ….a homeschool mother. Homeschooling means so much to me and is truly an extension of our life together. 
….a mother of three wonderful, sweet and very busy, very loud children. My oldest son Tyler is 8, my middle son Alex is 4 and our darling little lady Cora Jane is now 2 years old and counting. It’s busy in our home – its loud – kind of messy – and very crazy. But we live and love all we can! These little ones, they are all so very different. Uniquely created by out Creator. Precious and fun to share my moments with.
…a daughter of Christ! I am a born again believer, baptized in the precious name of Jesus Christ, and filled with His Holy Spirit. I believe in power of His name – to heal,  to cast out demons, to protect, to raise the dead to life and to save and sanctify all those He has chosen. Let us pray and journey…together with Him.
...a wife – learning so very much – growing – with my wonderful husband. Learning the joys of submission, and being the help meet I was designed to be. Striving to live a life as a meek and gentle spirit. Learning to make a home, to have a content spirit, to serve joyfully as our Lord served and continues to serve. 
You can find Jennifer writing at A Peace of Mind, and she is also on FacebookTwitterG+ and Pinterest.

Today she is going to share: 


The other day it occurred to me that I am my son's biggest problem. You see he and I are very different. Though I can acknowledge that we are very different, I don't allow for those differences as much as I should.  

We homeschool. Initially it was because of the struggles of my oldest son, but then it became a calling from the Lord and now, it's something we do to instill a love of learning and grow our family closer together.

But we all learn differently right? I love to read. My oldest son loves the screens. My younger son is a doer, very hands-on. My daughter is a combination of all of those things. And my other daughter,only six months old, I think will be a very active learner as well.

In the beginning I was convinced that to Homeschool we had to have a very specific order. We had to have a plan and we had to stick to the plan. No excuses. My oldest son especially really struggles with that kind of mindset. Between struggling with attention and focus, and his need to constantly be moving, sitting at a table just isn't a realistic goal for us. There are learning challenges., There are also great abilities and I want to be able to encourage those things that are a part of him. Because God doesn't make mistakes right?

I read this amazing line recently that said, "Parent the child you have". It really opened my eyes because if I can be honest, I think more often than not, I parent the child I imagine having.  

Especially when it comes to my oldest son who is in nothing like me. Even the things we like are completely different. And I admit it, I always imagine my firstborn as being just like me. So I am finding that I have to work a bit harder, be a bit more intentional, when it comes to him so I am parenting a child that God made and not trying to "better" what God created him to be. 

I am learning, slowly, to embrace the creative side. To take joy in his happiness and how loud and rambunctious he may be. In fact the other day when he was loudly celebrating, clapping hooting and hollering, excited about his upcoming visit with his grandparents, I reminded myself that the Bible says we ought to make a joyful noise. And he certainly knows how to do that.

I was talking with another mom about the power of homeschooling, especially kids who have special learning needs, this is the walk of faith. Because we can't always see the fruit. So often with my oldest son I don't see any fruit. Yet I have to remember that seeds are still being planted and much like our apple trees outside, we have to be patient. The fruit will come, but it takes time and a lot of faith in God.

So if anyone else is struggling with a child who just doesn't seem to get it, or is reluctant to learn about anything in the way we think they ought to be learning, be of good cheer. Choose to be joyful. Endure to the end. It will all be worth it,  you will see. Homeschooling, it's not for the faint of heart. It is never really easy but it is always worth it.

We have gone from being a "by the book and taking tests, checking things off of the list and making sure we know everything that the professionals say we have to know for our year" homeschool, to a "relaxed, living and loving learning, child led" homeschool. 

It's not perfect but what is? I mean truth be told if we are enjoying the time we have with our children, what does it matter? If they see mom dreading the start of every day and being angry and frustrated about the work there is to do, what are we teaching them? Because we are always teaching them something. 

If you would like to guest post on Littles Learning Link Up, please contact me via email. My email address can be found on my About Me page. I am scheduling posts for the next several months and would love to include yours. I ask that the guest posts focus on subjects relevant for young children (toddler through early elementary). This could be crafts, activities, recipes, or various tips and advice. I am always open to suggestions. Details will be emailed to those who are interested.

Now Onto:


Littles Learning Link Up Features

On my last Littles Learning Link Up post, there were 16 wonderful posts linked up. I will be picking one randomly selected post to share, plus the top clicked-on post.  

Don't forget to stop by other posts that are linked up. See what catches your eye, stop by, pin the post to a relevant board, and perhaps leave a comment to let the author of the blog know you have been by for a visit. I know I appreciate others commenting and letting me know they have read my posts, so I am sure others do too.

This week's randomly selected post is:



And here is this week's most clicked on post:



Eva from Kid Minds shared Lego Man Goes Skiing: Fun With Magnets.

Join the Party!

I would love to have you join in this week! What sort of activities do you do with your young children? Do you have some favorite activities you would like to share? I invite you to link up below. I will be pinning posts on my Toddler Ideas or other relevant board, and I would love to feature some of the activities each week from what is linked up.

Please know I may share a picture from your post and link back to it, along with sharing how we used your idea in our school time. By linking up you are giving me permission to use a picture from your post. I will ALWAYS give credit and link back. Additionally, if you choose to try out any of the ideas with your child, please make sure you give credit where credit is due.

Linky will be open through Sunday night, to give me time to check out all the posts and get the Features organized. Please take the time to visit some of the other wonderful posts linked up.

Photobucket

Monday, November 23, 2015

Tuesday's Giveaway Link Up- November 24, 2015

Tots and Me
Welcome to Tuesday's Giveaway Link Up with your hosts Karen @ Tots and Me, Emily @ Emily Reviews, Shelly @ The Attic Girl, and Rena @ An Ordinary Housewife.

So glad you could join us as we share our giveaways on  Tuesday's Giveaway Link Ups. 

This link up will be posted Monday at 7 PM est. and run all week long! Make sure you stop in as often as you can to list your latest giveaways.

Here is how to use the Giveaway Link Up

1. Post your reviews and/or giveaways, as many as you have, be sure to add the end date (family friendly please)

2. Help spread the word about the giveaway link up by grabbing our button, Tweeting or posting on Facebook. (Not mandatory- but it helps get more exposure to your giveaways as well!)

3. Take a moment to enter any giveaway that strikes an interest to you!

If you would  like to follow the  hostesses, we will gladly follow you back! Simply leave us a message to do so.

Featured Giveaways

ESV Men's Devotional Bible US only Ends 11/28



VTech Flipsies Sandy's House & Ocean Cruiser Play Set US only Ends 12/1


Suffragette Movie Prize Pack US only Ends 12/7


$25 Amazon Gift Card US only Ends 12/7


$200 Paypal Worldwide Ends 12/10



Thank you for linking up with Karen @ Tots and Me, Emily @ Emily ReviewsShelly @ The Attic Girl, and Rena @ An Ordinary Housewife.


Saturday, November 21, 2015

Kids and a Mom in the Kitchen #127: Fudge Striped Turkey Cookies with Step-by-Step Instructions

Time for Kids and a Mom in the Kitchen
(A weekly linky to share what you and your children have created in the kitchen.)



The linky is at the bottom.

Kids and a Mom in the Kitchen is where I like to post about the time the children and I spend learning in the kitchen and creating yummy foods. Sometimes they go along with our lessons, sometimes they don't. Sometimes they are recipes of my own creation, sometimes they are recipes I have found elsewhere.

I decided to make it a linky party so others can share their great recipes. We love finding new recipes to try, so even if you didn't have children helping you in the kitchen, I would love to see your recipes. If we use your recipe in one of our Kids and a Mom in the Kitchen times, I will link back to your post.

You will find the linky at the bottom of the post. I hope you will join with me in this fun party. Don't forget to check out some of the other great recipes that have linked up.

I had this sudden urge to make Turkey Cookies this week. We have made similar ones in the past, but I wanted to try something a bit different this time. I remembered making them with fudge striped cookies when I was working at the Montessori (I believe) but I couldn't remember the exact instructions. I liked the idea of using the fudge striped cookies because the stripes form the turkey's tail. I found an idea over at Taste of Home and sort of changed it up a bit to use what we had, plus we added wings.

Turkey Cookies

Ingredients per cookie:

2 striped fudge cookies
Reese's Peanut Butter Bells
3 Pieces of Candy Corn
2 mini chocolate chips
Small bit of chocolate frosting


First we unwrapped the Reese's Peanut Butter Bells and spread some chocolate frosting on the bottom. It was placed on the top of one of the striped fudge cookies.


We then spread a dab of frosting on the pieces of candy corn. One for the head...



And the other two for the wings.


Some of us got messier than others.


We then spread a small amount of frosting on one side of the other cookie, plus some on the bottom third of the top of the cookie so it would attach to the rear of the candy bell.


It was Tabitha's idea to use mini chocolate chips for the eyes, again attached with frosting.


We did realize we forgot the wattle for our poor Turkey Cookies. A little piece of fruit roll up could be shaped into the wattle. I have used them before.

Here are our cute Fudge Striped Turkey Cookies. The children did sort of miss the fact that the stripes on the one cookie were supposed to be vertical to represent the tail. They didn't care, they tasted just as good.


And a side view:



Directions:

1.Place one cookie on plate, stripe side up.
2. Unwrap chocolate bell and spread a bit of chocolate frosting on the bottom. Attach to middle of cookie.
3. Using dabs of frosting, attach the candy corn to the chocolate bell. One in the front, upside down for a face, the other two on the sides, point facing backwards.
4. Spread additional frosting on side and bottom third of second cookie. Attach to rear of chocolate bell.
5. Using just a dot of frosting, attach mini chocolate chips to candy corn head for eyes.




Do you have your children help you in the kitchen?  What lessons do they learn? Do you have any kid friendly recipes to share?

I'd love to see your posts, whether you have done something this week or some time in the past. Just link up below. This is a weekly linky.


I am linking up to:
Photobucket More the Merrier Monday
Full Time Mama Hip Homeschooling


Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Try a New Recipe Tuesday at Home to Four Kiddos
The Gathering Spot at Mamal Diane
Friday Food Frenzy at Close to Home
Fantastic Thursday at Five Little Chefs
Foodie Friends Friday at Robyn'sView
Family Fun Friday at Happy and Blessed Home

And here is my Kids and a Mom in the Kitchen linky

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