Throwback Thursday Blog-Style #178: November 16, 2017

Welcome back to... 

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 16th, 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.

Last year I focused solely on recipe posts for the posts I wanted to share, and the year before that, I shared past review posts. It was fun remembering some of the recipes and reviews I had forgotten about. This year I will be sharing random posts.

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. And if you haven't been blogging for a full year, feel free to share any earlier post.)

Please make sure to share from the past as instructed above if you would like your post to qualify for the Featured Post. Most weeks I find that there is a wonderful post, but I can't feature it because it is a current post, not from the past. I love reading the current posts, if you want to share them. However, I am not able to feature them, because the spirit of Throwback Thursday Blog-Style is to share posts from the past.
Thank you

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 are my Throwback Thursday posts:
(I couldn't decide which one to use today, so I am sharing two)

Originally posted November 16, 2015
C is for...Caterpillar Word Family Chart

Originally posted November 15, 2016

Celebrating Thanksgiving Through Literature - 

10 Thanksgiving Books That Focus on the "First" Thanksgiving

Here is this week's randomly selected

Featured Throwback Thursday:

Gypsy Road shared Make-Ahead Cheats for a Full House

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.

No button currently, and there won't be one until I can figure it out seeing as Photobucket has changed things. Feel free to still share the picture in place of the button. Just link it to my Throwback Thursday Blog-Style permalink please.

Happy Throwback Thursday!

An InLinkz Link-up

Wordless Wednesday: November 15, 2017 (w/linky) : More Bills Fun

Little late this week, computer wasn't working last night or earlier today.

Went to the Bills game this past weekend. Enjoyed some time in the field house as usual. As it was Veteran's Day this past weekend they had the full field flag. Not the best game, seeing as the Bills were trampled, but we had a nice time anyway.

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

No button currently, and there won't be one until I can figure it out seeing as Photobucket has changed things. Feel free to still share the picture in place of the button on your Wordless Wednesday post or in a list of Wordless Wednesday linkies. Just link it to my Wordless Wednesday permalink please.

An InLinkz Link-up

Littles Learning Link Up: November 14, 2017- Paper Plate Turkeys

 Each month you will find:

• A seasonal round-up (usually toward the beginning of the month)
• Posts where I share what I have been up to with my early elementary children (including occasional highlight posts where I share how we used ideas that have been linked up here on Littles Learning Link Up).

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(ren).

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.

What have we been up to?

In our homeschool we have continued our study of Ancient Egypt. We have been reading about Jacob/Israel and his children during our Bible reading time. We have fallen a bit behind in our science lessons on light. Right now we are in the middle of drawing the inner cross-section of a battery and have been learning about conservation of matter. The older girls have been spending a lot of time writing their "novels" for the Young Writers Program of NaNoWriMo. That is their main Language Arts assignment at the moment. Even Harold has been writing his own little book. 

Let's take a look at that review schedule real quick:

A couple of weeks ago I shared my review of The Magic Stories, published by the same people who developed The Reading Game which I reviewed a few years ago. Last week I shared my final Crew review of the year, the one for The Pencil Grip's Thin Stix Creativity Pack. I can't believe our Crew year is coming to a close for 2017. Speaking of which, if you are a homeschooler who also actively blogs, the Crew recently opened up applications for the 2018 Crew year. Stop by the Homeschool Review Crew blog to check it out.

Moving on to this week's craft:

In the preschool co-op class we made Paper Plate Turkeys. Amelia came up with this craft and wanted me to use it with the preschoolers. I was happy to oblige.

She used the same idea of using the smaller, sturdier paper plates and gluing them together to make it three dimensional as I used for the Paper Plate Scarecrows.

This craft was again simple and appropriate for the 3-4 year olds in the group as well as the one year old. It was also a craft they could all make at the same time, instead of two at a time as I have done with other crafts.

Here is what you will need:

2 smaller, sturdy cardboard paper plates

Brown construction paper for the head and tail feathers

Orange construction paper for the beak, legs, and tail feathers

Red construction paper for the wattle and tail feathers

Yellow construction paper for more tail feathers

White school glue

Brown crayon

Small wiggle eyes

I cut the construction paper pieces out in preparation for the craft. Older kids would be able to cut out their own pieces, especially the tail feathers and head. 

The first step for the children was to color the bottoms of both paper plates. Some of the children drew feather details on the tail feathers.

Then we flipped one of the paper plates over and applied glue to half of the rim. The children attached the tail feathers. 

When they were done with the tail feathers, we added glue for the head and legs to be attached.

Then they added the facial details. We again added the glue and had the children place the beak, wattle and one eye. Another eye was added to the reverse side of the head, so the turkey could be two-sided.

The other paper plate was then glued to the first one.

A couple of things I would like to share with you:

Thanksgiving is only a week away! If you are looking for some fun craft and/or learning activity ideas, I invite you to check out my Thanksgiving Round Up.

And last week I shared my newest round up, the Scarecrow Fun Round Up. 

Don't miss my giveaway for a Thin Stix Creativity Pack, featuring all of the wonderful colors available (Classic, Neon, and Metalix). We LOVE these Solid Tempera Paint Sticks.

Giveaway is open to US citizens.

Ends November 22, 2017

Now onto:

Littles Learning Link Up Features

On my last Littles Learning Link Up post, there were 8 wonderful posts linked up. I will be picking one randomly selected post to share, plus the top clicked-on posts.  

Please, 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:

Lisa from Syncopated Mama shared Semicolons, Cupcakes, and Cucumber by Steve Newberry.

And here is this week's top clicked on post.

Katelynne from The Disguised Supermom shared Cultivating Gratitude with a Tree of Thanks.

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 one of my relevant boards, 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 Monday 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.

No button currently, and there won't be one until I can figure it out seeing as Photobucket has changed things. Feel free to still share the picture in place of the button. Just link it to my Littles Learning Link Up permalink please.

An InLinkz Link-up

Picture Book Sunday: 12 Fun Scarecrow Books

Picture Book Sunday

12 Fun Scarecrow Books

Picture Book Saturday is where I share the picture books we have been reading as a family, focusing specifically on the books we are using for homeschooling, though sometimes I may add in some of the other fun books, especially if there is one that we really enjoyed. The chapter books the older girls and I are enjoying are shared about in my Fun Fiction Friday posts. 

This past week I shared my Scarecrow Fun Round Up. We have been reading some really cute books, and I wanted to share them with you.

The Scarecrow's Dance by Jane Yolen is about a scarecrow who gets blown away on a magical wind. He dances and skips around until he finds himself outside the window of a young boy who is praying. The scarecrow hears how important his job is, and he goes back to his field. 

Scarecrow by Cynthia Rylant tells of what a scarecrow is and what he might be feeling and seeing.

The Scarecrow's Hat by Ken Brown is about a hen who loves a scarecrow's hat and would love it for herself. The scarecrow would be willing to part with it for a specific item, which she doesn't have, but knows where to find. Thus begins her adventure from one animal to another, discovering what they would trade for the item the next animal had. We find out what the hen has to give the final animal, in order to give it to the previous animal, and so on until the item the scarecrow wanted is able to be retrieved, getting her the hat. 

The Lonely Scarecrow by Tim Preston tells the tale of a scary looking scarecrow who is lonely because everyone is afraid of him, until winter comes and he is covered with snow, and looks like a friendly snowman. 

Otis and the Scarecrow by Loren Long is about a little tractor named Otis and his farm friends. They all like to play together and can't understand why the scarecrow just continually frowns and ignores them. 

The Little Scarecrow Boy by Margaret Wise Brown is about a family of scarecrows, the father, mother and little boy. The father goes into the fields to make faces and scare the crows, and the little scarecrow wants so bad to be able to do what his father does. But he keeps being told he is not ready and is too young. One day he decides to sneak out and try to scare the crows on his own.

Scarecrow Pete by Mark Kimball Moulton is about a boy and a scarecrow named Pete who is stuck in the field on a pole. Pete introduces himself to the boy one day and starts talking about the friends he has made from the books he reads. The boy isn't too impressed, until they start reading together in the garden and become good friends. 

Barn Dance by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault is about a skinny kid who is drawn to the barn by music being played by a scarecrow. The animals and the scarecrow are having a hoe-down and invite the child to join in, which he does until the break of day. 

The Shy Scarecrow by Mary Packard is an easy reader book. Rags is a scared and shy scarecrow who can't do his job scaring the crows. That is, until the farmer realizes there is something he forgot that belongs to the scarecrow that will help him. 

The Lazy Scarecrow by Jillian Powell is also an easy reader. This scarecrow is so lazy, he doesn't care about keeping the birds away from the seeds. But because they eat all the seeds, nothing grows and the field is dusty and barren. Then the farmer sees the scarecrow waving himself all around, so he decides to take him to another field to work.

Scaredycrow by Christopher Hernandez is about a scarecrow who is so scared of everything he ends up scary them away unwittingly. Unfortunately that just makes him lonely, until a little mouse who is new to the farm decides to make friends with him. 

At the End of the Garden by Penny Dolan is another early reader book about a scarecrow who is at the end of the garden by the apple tree. The story shares the things he smiles at and the animals that make him their home. 

In my Picture Book Saturday posts, there will also be a section where I share the children's favorite books from the past week(s).

Tabitha enjoyed The Scarecrow's Hat and Scarecrow Pete

Amelia loved The Scarecrow's Hat and The Little Scarecrow Boy

Hannah says she liked The Lazy Scarecrow and Scaredycrow

Harold's favorite book was Scarecrow

I invite you to stop by and check out the fun Paper Plate Scarecrows we made, plus all the fun crafts and activities shared in the round up.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you can come back for a visit again soon.

I'm sharing over at:

Fun Fiction Friday - November 10th, 2017

Fun Fiction Friday
November 10th, 2017

Welcome back to Fun Fiction Friday.

In my Fun Fiction Friday I share the books the older girls and I are reading, and a short review of a Young Adult or Juvenile book I have finished, if applicable. I will also ask the girls to tell me something they would like to share about at least one of the books they are currently reading.

I finally got around to reading the Novella compilations from the I Am Number Four series. I finished the Secret Histories and am partway through Rebel Allies.  I have to say, I wish I hadn't waiting so long to read them. I do wish our library system had more of them though.

I also took out The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. I have been hearing of these books for a while, but wasn't sure if I would be interested. Then I took the movie out last week and watched part of it (I fell asleep or I would have watched the whole thing). It was intriguing, though from what I read, it is different from the book (no surprise there). So, I have all the books out in this series now.

Moving on...

We are partway through Star of Light by Patricia St. John.

Tabitha is still reading Prince Caspian.

Amelia is still trying to read The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. 

However, they didn't get much reading done this week as they have been writing their stories for the Young Writers Program of NaNoWriMo.

Fun Fiction Friday

Book Review

I really enjoyed being able to immerse myself in these stories again. And it was quite intriguing to read the tales of those who were not main characters in the original series, to get a behind the scenes look at what was going on during certain points in the story. 

In The Search for Sam, we get to learn more about Adam and what led him to come and join the Garde. I love that we finally get to learn more about One and the relationship they had. 

In The Last Days of Lorien we get a look at the last weeks of life on Lorien through one of the survivors. Though it took me a while to figure out just whose eyes we were seeing it through. I mean, yes, I was aware that his name was Sandor, but it took me til quite a ways into the novella to realize who Sandor was. I figured he was one of the Cepan who made it to earth, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out which Garde he was in charge of. Guess it had been too long since I read the books to remember. 

And in The Forgotten Ones, we move back into the mind of Adam, after the time of The Search for Sam. This story takes place after he had helped free Sam and everyone wasn't sure if he was dead or not. We follow him as he tries to figure out how he can best be of use to the Garde. He realizes there are "forgotten ones" that he can help. We also see that he was receiving help from an unsuspected source. 

Because I had gotten used to changing from one perspective to another in the original series, it was not difficult for me to now be reading from the perspective of Adam and Sandor. In fact, I quite enjoyed being able to see into their minds. I also enjoyed getting answers to what exactly happened during these time frames. And learning more about life on Lorien was quite entertaining. 

As with the rest of the series, there is some language in it. Just so you are aware. All in all though, these were great stories. Next week I should be sharing about Rebel Allies.

I'm sharing over at: