Sunday, August 30, 2015

Sunday Photo Round Up- August 30, 2015

It is time to share my photos from the three photo challenges I participate in! Let's start with Scavenger Hunt Sunday, shall we.

What I'm Doing Today, Inside, Candid, Yum, Natural Light

What I'm Doing Today

WHAT I'M DOING TODAY is playing an alphabet matching game with my preschooler and kindergartner while watching my second grader exercise in the background on the WiiFit U.

Inside

Spent some time outdoors after supper. The children were having a blast finding bugs. Seems we have several crickets in our backyard. This one, somehow, ended up INSIDE Tabitha's net, but it didn't stay there long.

Candid

CANDID shot of the girls playing on the WiiU

Yum

Breakfast for Dinner on Thursday as usual. YUM!

Tried something different, jam instead of syrup on the pancakes. YUM YUM!

Natural Light

Went outside to snap some pictures of some flowers in what remained of the NATURAL LIGHT of the day. Spotted this bumble bee flitting among them. Surprised myself by actually getting a clear enough shot of the busy little thing. Yes, this has been cropped to enlarge it.

Photo A Day Round Up

I am participating in a few different photo-a-day challenges this year. The photos are being shared daily on Instagram, but I thought it would be nice to include a collage of them here on my blog as well. Here are my collages showing the pictures from August 23-August 29.

The first ones are the Photo A Day Challenge from Fat Mum Slim.

The second set are from The Bethadilly Challenge (this is where the Scavenger Hunt Sunday prompts have been coming from this year).

The third challenge is the Schoolhouse Review Crew's Instagram challenge.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Throwback Thursday Blog-Style #62: August 27, 2015

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 August 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.

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:

Originally posted August 25th, 2013
Educational Insights Kidnoculars Review

Here is this week's randomly selected

Featured Throwback Thursday:

Kym from Homeschool Coffee Break shared:

Virtual Refrigerator: Pencil and Charcoal Gallery

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:

Happy Throwback Thursday!

An InLinkz Link-up

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Wordless Wednesday: August 25, 2015 (w/linky)- It is Still Summer, Right?

It seems like such a wonderful summer day.

So why are we finding these?!?

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

An InLinkz Link-up

Littles Learnng Link Up: Homemade Playdough

Welcome to Littles Learning Link Up.

Each month you will find:

A seasonal round-up (at 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.

Homemade Playdough

Since the older girls were preschool age, we have been making our own playdough. Not only do I not have to worry about harmful ingredients that might be in store-bought playdough, but making the playdough is a great learning experience for the children. I tend to start the year with a new batch of playdough and then we make some at least a couple more times during the year.

We use the recipe found in the book, "Slow and Steady Get Me Ready" by June R. Oberlander. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup of flour

1 Tbs vegetable oil

1 cup water

1/2 cup salt

2 tsp cream of tartar

Food coloring

I like to have Tabitha or Amelia read the recipe.

Then we add the ingredients. This recipe is quite simple. Just pour all the ingredients in a pan.

Then stir while cooking over medium heat until it forms a ball.

We were going for a brown color as we making Viking Ships to go with our My Father's World Adventures lessons on Vikings.

Here is a look at what the playdough looks like once the ball has formed. You have to make sure not to cook it too long, or it will dry out faster.

(This picture is actually from the past, but I didn't take any pictures of it at this stage this time.)

Once a ball forms, mommy takes over for a while, because we have to knead the dough, and it is very hot at first. As soon as it cools down sufficiently, I have the children help knead and play with the dough.

I think we succeeded in getting a decent color. Though it didn't look quite right at first, the more we played with it, the more the brown color came out.

Now onto:

Littles Learning Link Up Features

On my last Littles Learning Link Up post, there were 11 wonderful posts linked up. I will be picking one randomly selected post to share, plus the top clicked-on posts.

This week's randomly selected post is:

There's Just One Mommy shared Apple-Themed Skip Counting Activity.

The following posts tied for the most clicks:

Carla from Preschool Powol Packets shared Edible Bubble Science With Apples.

Sarah from How Wee Learn shared A Year Full of Name Puzzles.

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, Preschool, 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.

An InLinkz Link-up

Monday, August 24, 2015

Tuesday's Giveaway Link Up- August 25th, 2015

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

Strawberry Shortcake Berry Tales US Only Ends 8/25