Quote Of The Day: Saturday Happiness

Has anyone ever left you alone to make you happy?

Quote Of The Day: Friday Nuts

How many nuts do you claim? Most days I feel like the only nut in a sea of sweet and sour swirling around me.

Gee Thanks Miley, Another Disappointed Mom Here! #mileycyrus #rolemodels

"Message to the negative Miley"

My daughters have loved "Hannah Montana" or "Miley Cyrus" since she was very young, they would watch every single episode of her shows, watch all her movies, listen to all of her music until they heard how she was caught driving without a seatbelt as a teen and just laughed about it. As Miley got older we followed her on entertainment news shows and both daughters were appalled by her looks, her clothing and her "newer music". The cute little "Hannah" was gone and had been replace by this monster-like girl one of them said. Now they hate her music and videos. 

The latest escapades on the VMA awards was it for all of us, so disappointed in such a beautiful young woman. Why does she think that prancing around in her underwear "twerking" with teddy bears is anything but disgusting and not entertaining. I don't think I can look at a teddy bear again after that insane performance. 

The disappointment in my youngest daughters eyes who once idolized "Hannah Montana" was heartbreaking. 

What on earth is wrong with you Miley, how many other young girls out there are you going disappoint. How about setting a positive role modeling example for young girls. You have lost our support and money. 

Bring back the old Miley~~ the good girl

My youngest daughter's birthday party and her beloved Hannah Montana cake!

She was so excited when a friend made this cake for her.

Please lets find some positive role models for my young girls, are there any out there?

Tuesday Tips: Breakfast Cookies , Starting Your Day Off Right #recipes #breakfast

Recipe and photo credit to the Tasty Kitchen , visit to find more great recipes!

Peanut Butter Banana Oat Breakfast Cookies with Carob/Chocolate Chips

Ingredients

2 whole Ripe Bananas, Mashed Until Creamy
⅓ cups Peanut Butter, Creamy Or Chunky
⅔ cups Unsweetened Applesauce
¼ cups Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Butter Extract, Optional
1-½ cup Quick Oatmeal, Uncooked
¼ cups Chopped Peanuts
¼ cups Carob Chips Or Chocolate Chips, Optional

Preparation Instructions

• Preheat heat oven to 350ºF.
• In a large bowl, mix mashed banana and peanut butter until completely combined
• Then add in the applesauce, vanilla protein powder and vanilla and butter extracts. 
• Mix again until completely combined.
• Add in the oatmeal and nuts to the banana mixture and combine.
• (Add the optional carob/chocolate chips at this time if you want them mixed throughout.)
• Let dough rest for 10 minutes.
• Drop cookie dough, by spoonfuls, onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and flatten cookies into circles, about a 1/3″ thick. (If you want the optional carob/chocolate chips on the top of the cookies, push them into the cookies now.)
• Bake cookies approximately 30 minutes, or until golden brown and done. 
• Remove from oven and let rest on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then move to cooling rack. (If you want the traditional fork tine marks on the cookies, use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to score the tops of the cookies while they’re still warm.)

When cookies are completely cool, store in a covered container. Enjoy!

Tuesday Tips: Using Time4Learning for Your Homeschool Family #homeschool #backtoschool

 

We have been a Time4Learning homeschooling family for several years now, all 3 of my children have used this awesome resource for schooling, extra practice and reinforcement of learning.
I have begun to use it more and more as our main homeschool curriculum since the lessons are so fun, interactive and give me the parent a great view of how my child is doing daily in their school work.
As a working mom with much to do on her plate, I needed a way to keep up with lesson plans and how the kids were doing with their lessons. Time4Learning gives me all that and more.
Now I am so excited that they are offering a High School track, we will be utilizing this next year with my middle daughter for sure.

My youngest daughter has struggled with reading and her attention is not at all about schooling, she seems to really like the Time4Learning platform, it keeps her interested, I can level her up or down a grade level according to how she has progressed. The positive reinforcement that she gets from the program has helped to keep her wanting to come back and boosts her confidence. I really enjoy helping her now.
Whether you have a exceptional learner or a special needs learner, Time4Learning caters to all levels of children and makes a homeschool mom a happy mom. Highly recommend it for homeschoolers just starting out, seasoned homeschoolers looking for a change, or even the after school learner that needs extra help with a traditional school program.

Time4Learning is an online interactive curriculum used at home for afterschool reinforcement, homeschooling, or summer study. Time4Learning is student-paced and the levels of the subjects can be set independently.

• Online Curriculum for
  Pre K to 12th Grades
• 1,000+ Student-Paced Multimedia Activities
• Language Arts, Math, Science & Social Studies
• Interactive, Project-Based Activities
• Detailed Reporting for
  Easy Record-Keeping
• Lesson Plans & Teaching Tools for Parents
• Lessons Correlated to State Standards

As a member of Time4Learning, I have been asked to review their online education program and share my experiences. While I was compensated, this review was not written or edited by Time4Learning and my opinion is entirely my own. Write your own curriculum review or learn how to use their curriculum for homeschool, after school study or summer learning.

Proud Homeschooling Family!

Kid are smarter and faster than us!

 

Happy Sunday to you, I wanted to share an email my best friend sent me yesterday because it was so cute. It just goes to prove that kids are smarter and faster than us most everyday. Enjoy the laugh and picture your little darlings saying some of the same things to you.

TEACHER: Why are you late?
STUDENT: Class started before I got here.
____________________________________
TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.
__________________________________________
TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?'

GLENN:K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L'

TEACHER: No, that's wrong
GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.
(I Love this child)
____________________________________________
TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
DONALD: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.
__________________________________
TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't
have ten years ago.
WINNIE: Me!
__________________________________________
TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty?
GLEN: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.
_______________________________________
TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with ' I. '
MILLIE: I is..
TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, 'I am.'
MILLIE: All right... 'I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.'
________________________________
TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry
tree, but also admitted it. Now, Louie, do you know why his father
didn't punish him?
LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand.....
______________________________________
TEACHER: Now, Simon , tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook.
______________________________
TEACHER: Clyde , your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly the same as
your brother's... Did you copy his?
CLYDE : No, sir. It's the same dog.

(I want to adopt this kid!!!)
___________________________________
TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when
people are no longer interested?
HAROLD: A teacher
__________________________________
PASS IT AROUND AND MAKE SOMEONE LAUGH


Note: Due to current economic conditions the light at the end of the tunnel
has been turned off.

 

Back To School Homeschool: Cut Out the Busywork . . . try Notebooking!

Before notebooking, our school days were chocked full of a variety of learning activities and curriculums, but the learning was so dry and dull. By the end of the day, and I mean the-END-of-the-day, the kids were wiped out and so was I. Do you have days like these?
Notebooking will refresh and rejuvenate your homeschooling. It opens the door for meaningful learning while saving you time, money, and those precious hours you currently spend (if you’re like most homeschooling moms) trying to tweak everything that you currently do to make your day better.
Today, I want to help you get started. Notebooking is a very simple tool. Basically, we just want to help our children get what’s in their brain onto paper using both what they can “see” and what they can verbalize. I have been amazed out how effective this has worked with my children. Over the past few years, we have been able to completely eliminate the worksheet/test method from our schooling. We now use notebooking for just about e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g!
We have saved time, money, and SO much frustration by using this tool. Now, instead of a trashcan (or tote that gets tucked away in the back of the closet) full of oodles of paperwork that we’ll never look at again, we have beautifully crafted and individualized notebooks full of their best work–their OWN work–their very OWN homemade books! You will pull these notebooks out time and time again throughout the years, just like your old photo albums, to treasure over and over again.
To give you some getting started pointers, I have prepared a detailed description of how to start your first pages and how to gently add notebooking to your day. We still follow these basic principles outlined in this article with our children today: Read more . . .
(Reprinted with permission from Debra Reed, NotebookingPages.com)

Visit NotebookingPages.com to learn more about their LIFETIME memberships
and their notebooking (& copywork) web-app, The Notebooking Publisher™
I personally use these Notebooking pages and love them, I even bought the lifetime membership! Because I love my notebooks so much, I wanted to share Debra's website with you too. Start your year off right and print some of the free samples, I bet you will fall in love with these notebooking pages just like I did!

Learning At Home With LEGOS Series: day 2 LEGO's in a mixture of subjects #homeschool

“What would life be like if we had no courage to attempt anything?”Albert Einstein


As I promised we are back to talk about using LEGOs in your home learning. Boy did I find a jackpot this week. While adding more LEGO pins to my Pinterest board (homeschooling with LEGO resources) I came across one of my favorite sites. I just had to save this list!
My awesome friend Deb Chitwood has composed this fabulous list of links to all sorts of LEGO Learning Activities. You can visit her blog Living Montessori Now for more great homeschool, Montessori and learning information.

LEGOS are not only fun, but as you can see, there is a vast field of online ideas on how to teach your kids using them.

LEGO Posts with a Mixture of Subjects

Credit post HERE  with much more to share

LEGO Education (click on the grade level and then on activities)

Learning Months of the Year with LEGOS (Photo from 1+1+1=1)

Learn It with LEGOS (Includes Link to Free Printable LEGO Kindergarten Pack) from 1+1+1=1
LEGO Learning (with Free Printables) from Walking by the Way
Teach a LEGO Class (with Free Printable) from Homegrown Learners
Sharing Ideas with LEGO Learning from Homegrown Learners
LEGO Posts from Milk and Cookies
LEGO Posts from A Mom with a Lesson Plan
LEGO Posts from The Tutor House
{Do It Yourself} LEGO Instruction Book by Kristina at Kids Activities Blog
LEGO and Education: Make a Lapbook by Heather at Kids Activities Blog
20+ Activities to Build LEGOS by Rachel at Kids Activities Blog

LEGO Sensorial Activities

LEGO Sensory Play in the Sink from Creative with Kids
Tips for Starting LEGO Kits with Preschoolers from In Lieu of Preschool
Animal Mix Up LEGOS from I Can Teach My Child
LEGO Water Color Sorting from Play Learn Love
LEGO Activity for Tots from Laughing Kids Learn
Fun with LEGOS: Create a Rainbow by Kristina at Kids Activities Blog
LEGO Maze by Trisha at Kids Activities Blog

LEGO Math Activities

LEGO Posts from The Pleasantest Thing
Duplo Number Rods by Julie from The Adventures of Bear at Totally Tots

Montessori Activity – Teaching Addition with Lego Brick Number Rods from Elaine Ng Friis

LEGO Posts (LOTS of posts in different subjects) from Elaine Ng Friis (photo: Montessori Activity: Teaching Addition with Lego Brick Number Rods)
LEGO Math Activities by Rachel at Kids Activities Blog

Counting and Measuring with LEGOS (Photo from The Imagination Tree)

LEGO Posts from The Imagination Tree (Photo: Counting and Measuring with LEGO)
Using LEGO to Build Math Concepts from Scholastic
LEGO Math from Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns
LEGO Math Worksheets (Free Printables) from The Kent Chronicles
Homemade LEGO Math Game from Fun Frugal Mommy

LEGO Counting (Photo from Counting Coconuts)

LEGO Counting (with Free Printable) from Counting Coconuts
Back to Basic-Counting from Early Learning with Marta and Eaton
Learning with LEGO by Allison at Family Education

Building Patterns with LEGOS (Photo from The Work Plan)

Building a Pattern with LEGOS from The Work Plan
Creating Patterns with LEGOS from Hands On : As We Grow

Measuring with LEGOS (Photo from Nurture Store)

LEGO Math Games from Nurture Store
Activity Guide for LEGO Math (Free Printable) from Little Brick Schoolhouse
LEGO Tower Math Game (includes Free Printables) from Swamp Frog First Graders
LEGO Math and Other Activitiesfrom Counting Coconuts
Count and Stamp with LEGOS(includes Free Printable) from Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational
Under Construction (A Greater Than Less Than Game – includes Free Printable) from Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational
Preschool Math Activity: LEGO Measurement from No Time for Flash Cards
LEGO Patterns, LEGO Counting Mats 1, LEGO Counting Mats 2, Spin and Graph, and LEGO Math Mat (Free Printables) at Math Centers
LEGO Posts from Boy Mama Teacher Mama

LEGO Math Game – Greater Than or Less Than (Photo from One Perfect Day)

LEGO Posts from One Perfect Day (Photo: Lego Math Game {Greater Than or Less Than})
LEGO Math: Skip Counting by Deirdre at Kids Activities Blog

LEGO Fractions (Photo from E is for Explore)

LEGO Math: Symmetry from Love2Learn2Day
LEGO Fractions and LEGO Geometry (Free Printable) from E is for Explore
LEGO Math Fractions from Educating Laytons
LEGO Golden Beads Alternative from The Learning Ark
Pythagorean Theorem with Legos(Free Printable) from Manualidades Educativas

LEGO Language Activities

Constructing Letters with LEGOS at Type Goodness
LEGO Letters by Steve Barnett at Behance
LEGO Animal Alphabet (with Free Printable) from Play Learn Love
LEGO Journals or Books from The Educators’ Spin On It
Spelling with LEGO Letters from This Reading Mama
Learn to Spell with LEGOS by Rachel at Kids Activities Blog
Spelling with LEGO from Handmade Beginnings
DIY Spinny Spellers and Repurposing Duplo Bricks from Filth Wizardry

Learning to Read with LEGO Duplo (Photo from The Educators’ Spin On It)

Learning to Read with LEGO Duplo (with Free Printables) from The Educators’ Spin On It

LEGOS Make Poetry Fun (Photo from Small Types)

LEGOS Make Poetry Fun from Small Types
Montessori Grammar Farm with LEGOS from Enchanted Schoolroom

 Check out even more Lego Activities HERE on Living Montessori Now's Free LEGO Printables and 70+ LEGO Learning Activities

Kids’ LEGO Learning Activities Pinterest Board

Deb has a Kids’ LEGO Learning Activities Pinterest Board that She pins to regularly. Great stuff there.
What is your child’s favorite LEGO learning activity? What have you used LEGOS for in your homeschool learning? Tell me in the comments.

Here is my Pinterest board of home learning with LEGOS, I have been adding to it daily since I have discovered so many ways to teach with LEGO's!