Holiday Home: Christmas Mantle

This is the first week of the Holiday Home linky party for December. This week's link up is Christmas Mantles.

I am using my pics from last year, because it looks the same this year.  The only problem is my ornament wreath didn't store well and it is all out of shape, so no pictures of it right now :)


See how it was already a little lopsided?



Here's the candy jars filled with gumdrops and candy canes.



Thanks for stopping by.  Go check out the other links at The Lettered Cottage.

Black Friday: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

How was your Thanksgiving weekend?

We had a nice Thanksgiving at my Mom and Dad's on Thursday.  Toys R Us opened at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving night and there were a few things we wanted.  My Mom, Heather and I headed up there and got in line at 9:30.  The line was already VERY long!  We didn't mind, as we are used to lines on Black Friday.  However,  two men behind us started smoking.  It was so nasty.  Heather has asthma and we were afraid she'd have an asthma attack.  It was blowing right in our face, no matter how we tried to move.  Heather and I took turns walking off for a bit to breathe.

 This Thomas set was on sale for $12.49 and I had a $10 off coupon from Family Fun magazine.  Woo Hoo, I got the last one and only spent $2.69 with tax.

Finally the doors opened and we headed in.  It was insane.  We have never gone there on BF before.  The people that worked there knew NOTHING.  They were no help whatsoever, as they didn't know where anything was.  We got what we wanted and stood in line to check out.

Here's the best worst part.  We had picked up a game that said $14.99.  We got to the checkout and it rang up $19.99.  I told the cashier about it and she was nice.  She looked for her ad and didn't have one.  She asked the cashier behind her if he had one and he said, "No, they came and took all of the ads and said we didn't need any at the register".  What?!  You've got to be kidding me.  It's like they were trying to rip people off.  We finally got it fixed, but seriously that's insane.  We (or at least, I) won't be going to Toys R Us on Black Friday again.

When we were done at TRU, it was 11:30 p.m.  Walmart opened at midnight, so we figured we just drive over.  Of course the one closest to TRU wasn't allowed to open until 4 a.m., because of city regulations.  So we went to a different one.   We walked in at 12:04 a.m.  Walmart was what I expected as far as crowds went, however I was shocked they had no special line formation for the checkouts.  It was a mess really.  We finally checked out and left the store at 1:30 a.m.

I got 3 of these 12 pc. Corelle sets, $12 each!

As we headed back to the car, I heard a baby crying and then saw that a huge SUV was practically parked on top of my Mom's!  I went to check to see if they had hit the side and I heard the baby crying more.  He was in the SUV next to us.  I tried to peek in to see if anyone else was with him.  I walked around the car, then stuck my head up to the tinted glass to look.  I asked him if he was alone and he said yes.  Poor baby.  I felt so sick, I went to call 911 and Mom reminded me there was an officer right inside of WM.  I ran after him, while Heather and Mom talked to the little boy.  They found out he was 3.  He was crying so hard.  It was 26 degrees outside, the car wasn't on and all he had on was a blanket sleeper.

I went to open the door and it was unlocked.  The police officer got the boy out and we grabbed a blanket from the back of Mom's car for him.  He was so cold.  He had been crying so hard that snot was practically frozen under his nose :(

They put him in the other officer's warm car.  I told Heather we need to give him something.  The only problem was, I bought a big Thomas thing at TRU that wouldn't be very easy for him to hold and at Walmart, I bought plates.  That wouldn't work, LOL!  Heather grabbed one of her King Zhu Zhu pets she had bought for Matthew and we walked it over to him.  I didn't see his face, but Heather said she asked him if he had heard of Zhu Zhu pets and he said yes and she gave it to him.  She said he smiled a bit.

After that, we were all very upset.  Who could do that?  I heard them say they were taking the boy to the station, so I hope the Mom or whoever gets in BIG trouble for that.  It's sickening to think someone would leave their baby in the car.  We think he might have been sleep at home (because of the sleeper) and then put in the car.  The people driving the car probably left him in there asleep and he woke up:

• In the dark

• In the cold

• ALONE

I get so mad thinking about the people who try so hard to have a baby and can't and then there's these useless people out there that have babies and treat them like crud.

(((Please pray for that little boy))) 

At this point it was now after 2 a.m.  Heather needed to head home and she was very upset.  We dropped her off and then went back to Mom's to get my stuff and to have a snack.  I was going to spend the night, but we ended up never going to sleep.  Dave really wanted the 2TB hard drives that were on sale for only $69 at Target on BF.  So, we left the house at 3:30 a.m. to get to Target for their opening at 4 a.m.

 We got in line at 3:45 a.m. and brrr, was it cold!  The line started moving and a lady with 5 other people butts in front of a man a few people up from us.  He said something and she said, "I'm 60 years old, I'm not standing out in the cold".  What?  Why are you out then?  I told her the rest of us had to and she said that wasn't her problem.  What a you-know-what!  The guy tried to tell the Target dude about it and I backed him up on it, but the lady just flat out lied and said she didn't butt in line and they let her in!  Urgh, that ticked me off!

The good thing about Target was they were very organized and the workers knew where things were.  They had blue tape on the ground for you to follow for the line.  While it was a long line, it moved quickly and orderly. 

I got home at a little after 5 a.m. and put all of my clothes, coat and all into the washer because of the smoke at Toys R Us.  ICK!  I jumped in the shower and then in bed.  It took me a bit to fall asleep, because I was so mad that someone left that little boy in the car.  I fell asleep and then got up at 12:30 p.m.  LOL!  The cool thing is that Dave and Abby had put up the tree for me!  All I had to do was the lights and ornaments.

We went to a Thanksgiving Experience at our Church and then to Mom's for leftovers.  What a busy day Friday was!

We spent Saturday and Sunday putting up our Christmas decorations and outside lights.

Links I Like: Advent Edition

How can next week be December already?  I just don't know where the time goes!  We have an advent calendar countdown every year.  Last year, I made it more fun by putting activity or craft ideas or candy in each little door.  This year, I was looking for some new ideas and came across several:

The first is from Hubbard's Cupboard.  I found this link through The Homeschool Classroom. 

From Hubbard's Cupboard, I printed Verses for Advent and Christmas Songs.

There are tons of activities and craft link up on those sites!

I will also include crafts and special outings in the countdown.  Some ideas I have are:

• make a gingerbread house
• go for a drive to see Christmas Lights
• have hot cocoa by the fireplace
• make popcorn and watch a Christmas movie
• help Mom bake coookies
• decorate cookies
• go out to dinner with Mom and Dad (this is special, because we never go out for dinner, usually just lunch on the weekends)

As far as what I'll use as our advent calendar, last year I used something similar to this:

Target

Ours was a Santa shape and much cuter, but each door was really too small though.

This year, I have been looking for a new way of displaying our countdown and have come across some very creative ideas:

24 Ways to Countdown from Tip Junkie

Weekend Make and Takes: Advent


Countdown to Christmas by Thrifty Decor Chick

This Buckets of Joy Advent Calendar from Garnet Hill made me remember that I have little white buckets!  

 I bought 2- 18 packs of them on clearance at Michael's at least 4 years ago.  They've been sitting in my closet waiting for something special.  I better get working on this though!

Do you have any special Advent plans?  

I believe Liz at Sugarplum Creations will be doing a Countdown to Christmas link up in December.  Be sure to head to her blog for upcoming details!

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving!

For me, the day after Thanksgiving is when I officially start to get in the mood for Christmas. I have started my Christmas shopping, but still need to get some things. I am part of the Growing Tree Toys blog network and wanted to tell you all about what they'll be doing this weekend. Every 100th order from Black Friday through Sunday, will be FREE! If you are a winner, you will be contacted and be refunded for your whole order. Also, this weekend use the code: MBBTVL to get 15% off your purchase.

Would you like to help Toys For Tots this season?  Like Growing Tree Toys on Facebook and they will donate $1 per Like to Toys For Tots, up to November 30th.

Happy Thanksgiving and a happy start to the Christmas season!

Wordless Wednesday: Andy's 2nd Birthday

My nephew, Andrew will be 2 tomorrow!  We celebrated his birthday last Saturday:



For more Wordless Wednesday posts, head to:

Go Graham Go


Two of a Kind Working on a Full House

Mom Spotted

The Shopping Mama

Book Review: Passport to the World

Awhile back, I did a review for a few New Leaf Press books.  These were great books and I was pleased when I was contacted to do another review!

I received the book, Passport to the World, by Craig Froman.














From the publisher:  "Welcome to the most unique cultural learning experience for your child!  Children will learn greetings from 28 languages as they flip through the pages of this interactive, cultural scrapbook."

"Passport to the World helps you encounter people and places all over the world, including facts about countries, their capital cities, maps, flags, populations, and religions. This is a fun and fact-filled adventure you can share with others through interactive games included in the back of this book and in your very own passport."
Abby was so excited that we got something in the mail.  First let me say, that on both review occassions, I have been pleased with their shipping.  The items come shrink-wrapped in plastic and are shipped in hard cardboard.  The books are always in perfect condition!

We opened the book and Abby was happy to find it had a passport with stickers to collect inside.  She decided to check out China (because of Ni Hao Kai Lan) first. I was impressed with the layout, graphics and many useful facts included. After reading the Country Fast Facts, Did You Know? section and learning how to say hello, goodbye, thank you and peace in Mandarin, we put the coresponding sticker on our passport.  Abby loved this!

She continued on to learn about Mexico and Australia in our first reading.  We went on to learn about the other countries, and we both continued to enjoy the book's format and facts!

Passport to the World would be a wonderful book to use with your world geography lessons.  Or you could use it as a starting guide for your lessons...read about the country's facts, get your passport out and then continue on with the unit by using more resources.

Oh and when we got to Australia, Abby remembered she had an interactive learning globe.  She got that out and told me more information about Australia.  Perfect :)

Thanks again to New Leaf Press for providing me this book to review.  I was not paid or compensated for this post and this review is my honest opinion.

Homeschool Week 17 Review

I just realized that I deleted the pics of some of Abby's homeschool work from last week!   Oops!

Anyway, it was another quick week.

Math
 Abby completed worksheets 19 through 23 in her workbook.  She is learning the addition and subtraction facts.  I also drew a number line on the chalkboard to help her review these.

Reading
Abby's reading is coming along very well.  This past week she worked on reading some of her books and did a few sight word reviews.  We also are finishing up The Littles Go Exploring.

Science
Hummingbirds were the topic last week.  We read a few Hummingbird books:



We both learned that hummingbird's eggs are the smallest eggs and are the size of raisins.  Abby then used clay to make the shape of a hummingbird's nest and put 2 raisin "eggs" inside.

Here is where the picture of that should be, but I accidentally deleted it.  Instead, here's a picture of a real hummingbird's nest:

I also thought it was cool that newborn hummingbirds know to sit on the side of their nest to go to the bathroom, as to not get their nest dirty!  Isn't that awesome?!

Social Studies
We were out and about a lot this week, so Abby didn't do a Heritage Studies lesson.  Instead she did several pages in her Maps, Charts and Graphs workbook. 



She really enjoys this workbook.

We also did a few of what I call, "real life learning".  I use store ads and catalogs and write up several questions.  Abby then has to use the material to find the answers to them.  The questions range from:  which items costs less, using the cover to find what page an item is on, finding store hours or ordering information, etc.

Exercise
Shockingly, I actually did exercise 3 days this past week.  I did a few Leslie Sansone DVDs.  However, even though my clothes are tight, I feel like crud and I don't want to gain more weight, I just have no interest in exercise.  Why is that?  All I want to do is eat!  Maybe it's a tapeworm!  LOL!  It's frustrating though.

I think homeschooling this week will be pretty light.  Thursday is Thanksgiving already!  How did that happen?  Dave is off on Friday for me to go Black Friday shopping and then we are getting together with his family.

What kinds of plans do you have for Thanksgiving weekend?

Links I Like: Edition 26

Do you have your Thanksgiving menu planned yet?  We have the same things every year, so it's a no-brainer.  However, I'm always open to new dessert ideas!  Thanksgiving is a great time for pies and Tidy Mom is having a Love the Pie Party this week.  Currently, there are over 80 pie recipes linked up!

Speaking of yummy desserts, these Ultimate Reeses' Cheesecake Brownie Bars from Inside BruCrew Life, look amazing!

I also love these adorable Turkey Cookies from Bee In Our Bonnet:

Those might be the cutest cookies ever!

These next few links are homeschooling related.  Almost every day, I worry about Abby's handwriting.  She just has no interest in using lowercase or taking the time to write nicely.  So when I saw Heart of the Matter's post: Why Does My Child Hate to Write, I was eager to read it!

This was a wonderful post and so timely for me too.  Abby is just like "little Billy" in the article.  She can tell you some amazing stories and has a huge imagination, but when it comes to writing it down...not really happening!

Another timely post this week was Back to Basics:  Keeping School Simple from Simple Homeschool.  I especially loved her #2 point, the 7th grade reminder...so true!

Finally, I will leave you with some Christmas decor.  I can't believe in a week from today I will be putting out our Christmas stuff!

I love these Glitter Trees from eighteen25:

They are so simple, but gorgeous!

These Festive Felt Trees from Jolly All Sorts are another cute, but simple idea. 

Check out the link for her printable pattern!

Lastly, this wreath from Johnny In A Dress is so fun and I love the color scheme:

Are you ready to start decorating for Christmas?  I think I'm getting there.  The weather has cooled off considerably, so it's making it feel like winter at least.

Wordless Wednesday: Christmas Pictures

And the winner is:



For more Wordless Wednesday posts, head to:

Mom Spotted
Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House
The Shopping Mama
Go Graham Go

Homeschool Week 16 Review

This week went by really fast!  My computer was acting up and my husband took everything off of it and rebuilt it.  I was bummed that he put on XP as I was so used to Vista.  However, apparently Vista was part of the problem in the first place! 

This past week, Dave was off on Thursday for Veteran's Day.  I had plans to do school, but we spent the day running errands together.  We ended up being out all day on Friday as well, so that was another day off.

Math
Abby continues to enjoy the new math workbook.  She did worksheets 14-18, which focused on addition and subtraction facts.  She knows some of this from Horizons, but I'm happy for the review.  She didn't have her math facts down yet.

Reading
I got out some sight words flash cards I had made and she reviewed these.  It was great to see her improvement since the last time we used them.  One evening at dinner, we used to cards to make sentences that started with that word.  This was my husband's idea and I loved it!  He always thinks of these things.
Abby also did a few more workpages in the Little Critter Spectrum Reading book.

We finished up The Trash Tinies and are now on chapter 9 of The Littles Go Exploring.



Science
This past week, we did a pumpkin life cycle study.  This does seem odd now that I think about it, but Abby had never seen the inside of a pumpkin.  I used to carve pumpkins every year, but haven't for quite some time.  To start this study, we read the book:



Our Halloween pumpkins were still holding up, so we used one of those.  I cut a lid from the pumpkin and let Abby explore the inside.

I then asked her how many seeds she thought would be inside (1,086) and I wrote that in her science journal. I cut the pumpkin in half and we both went to work picking out all of the seeds.

She was disgusted with how it smelled and how it felt.  She ended up using a spoon to pick out the seeds. We counted the seeds together and found that there were 326.

Abby then did a Pumpkin Life Cycle printable.  I am so sorry, but I lost some of my bookmarks in the computer rebuild and I can't for the life of me, find the to link to where I found this.  If you know, please tell me.

While I was busy later in the day, I saw Abby coloring with markers.  When she was finished she came to me and showed me this:

I was so proud!  On her own time, she made a pumpkin life cycle picture!  She explained it all to me, saying that the seed was planted, roots grew, then it sprouted and the flower grew.  She said to the right of the stem was the vines, then the green pumpkin.  Obviously to the left is the full grown, orange pumpkin.  She also added in a bee and butterfly :)  I LOVE this picture!

Social Studies
This past week was Lesson 15, which discussed settlements and how the Indians built the first settlements in the New World. It also asked questions about why people from other countries wanted to come to the New World and what rules people had to live and work together.

I say it all of the time, but I love Heritage Studies!  I'm so glad we have this curriculum this year.

Lastly, I have a huge milestone to report!  Abby was playing restaurant with her Dad and I later found this on the table:

I was pretty sure what it was, but I asked her to confirm.  She told me that it was a menu for The Cat Restaurant.  She had sounded out restaurant!  This is the first time she has done this and I know it's a major step in her reading! 

As the week went on, she started writing in a journal and sounding out even more words.  Now, if I could only get her to use lower case letters :)

I almost forgot, exercise...well I did do a Leslie Sansone 20 Minute Muscle Mile DVD on Tuesday and was so happy with myself.  I just knew I'd exercise all week.  Guess what, I didn't.  URGH!  I have got to make this a priority.

Links I Like: Edition 25

My laptop isn't working very well, so I'm on another computer which doesn't have my saved links and goodies :)  However, I did remember a few fun things I came across this week that I wanted to share.

The first is this adorable turkey shirt from The Cottage Home:

Doesn't this Oreo Cookie Turkey from The Idea Room look so festive and yummy?

It has all of my favorite ingredients :)

I'm loving the simplicity of this Fall Pinecone Wreath from Just A Girl:

It looks gorgeous over her mantle .

I've also found a few Christmas related crafts.  These Faux Snowballs from Susie Harris are so fun!

They look easy to make too!

This Yarn Ball and Ornament Wreath from All Things Heart and Home  is breathtakingly beautiful!  Seriously, I love the textures and the colors.

It's been in the 70's all week, but these links make me look forward to Christmas decorating.  I take the Thanksgiving stuff down the day after and put up the Christmas stuff that weekend.

When do you decorate for Christmas?

While trick-or-treating, I saw into someone's living room and they had their Christmas tree up, lights and all!  That's kind of insane to me!  I also saw a tree in someone's window all lit up, on the way home tonight.

Wordful Wednesday: Goldie

I don't think I ever posted about Goldie.  Back in July, we attended a free event at our local pet store.  Well, Abby won a Betta fish.  Here's how Goldie lived while we were still paying off our debt:



Here's his new digs:



Goldie is movin' on up! He's enjoyed his new tank and we all think he looks and acts healthier!  I honestly didn't even think a free fish from the pet store would live past a week.  We're going on 4 months now.

Do you have fish?  I've never been a fish person, but it's kind of cool to see him swim around.

For more Wordful Wednesday posts, head to:

Two of a Kind Working on a Full House

Scotch Tape Giveaway Winners!

Thanks to everyone for entering the Scotch Tape giveaway!  Here are the 2 winners chosen by random.org:

Congrats to Christy!  You must really need tape, because the generator kept picking 3 and 4 when I was trying to draw another winner!  LOL!

Congrats to MaryAnne as well!

I'll be emailing soon to get your information for 3M.  Enjoy your tape!

HSBA: Voting Has Begun!

Thanks to Susana at Our Homeschool Fun, for pointing out to me that I was nominated for Best Encourager.

I am very honored and flattered that someone would think I am an encourager!  I don't know what to say, except THANK YOU!   Hopefully nobody is looking for me to encourage them to exercise :)

Anyway, check out the huge list of blogs nominated in this year's Homeschool Blog Awards.  This is my favorite way to find new blogs!

Thanks again!

Homeschool: Week 15 Review

Reminder:  Don't forget to enter to win 5 rolls of Scotch Tape.

Last week, Abby and I went to Kansas City with my sister and her boys from Tuesday through Friday.  Abby did so well on the 4 hour trip there.  We stopped at a really neat store called Apple Wagon Antique and Decor Mall.  I sometimes like to browse antiques, but their home decor section was awesome!  It was huge and Abby and I both enjoyed our time there.  I wish I had brought in my camera!

We ended up leaving a few hours before Heather, so we stopped again at a Bass Pro Shop for them to catch up.  They were getting the store ready for the holidays and everything was all decked out.  The lady working there let Abby have a little tour of Santa's Wonderland.  It wasn't quite ready yet on Tuesday, but they were getting it set up for the weekend.  They were going to have free crafts, free pics with Santa, games, free Santa Bandz and more!  Dave and I are planning to take her in a few weeks.  We then meet up with Heather, Bill and the boys and had Wendy's.  

Wednesday, was Heather's birthday and we went to the Legends outdoor mall and then to Oak Park Mall.  Abby was pretty excited to go to the American Girl store there.  She has never been to one before.  It's a bummer their stuff is so expensive!  Later, Bill meet up with us and we had dinner at On The Border.  It was yummy!  

Thursday, we headed to Zona Rosa, but Abby and Matthew were really cranky.  We only made it into the Marshall's Mega store, which actually had less items than any other Marshall's I've been in, go figure?

We ended up taking the kids back to the hotel to rest, but were interrupted by housekeeping.  We took the kids to the lobby and we did some schoolwork.  

Before I left for Kansas City, I used a 40% off coupon at Border's to get a math workbook for Abby.  I'm still trying to decide what curriculum I want, so I figured a workbook would still keep her learning things, but get us away from her much hated Horizons.

Abby loved this workbook!  I had the first 2 pages torn out for her, but she ended up doing 11 more! And that was the extent of our school work last week.  

We finally had enough nerve to try to take the kids out again and went back to Zona Rosa for Charming Charlies.  I had given Heather a gift certificate there for her birthday. 

Friday, was check out day so we packed up the room and headed to IHOP for a very late breakfast.  We then went to Mardel.  I've never even heard of it, but what a fun store!  It's a Christian/Homeschooling Bookstore.  It was huge and I would love to spend more time there someday!

Does anyone else find it funny that the best behaved child out of all 3 was the almost 2 year old?  Andy was an absolute angel the whole week!  Abby was so whiny and asked to buy something every 3 seconds!  Matthew and Abby really know how to push each others buttons and can sometimes bring out the worst in each other!  

Let's just say Heather and I could use a vacation to ourselves right about now!

Here's the only picture I took the whole time we were there:

It was Wednesday morning, before we left the hotel.

Hopefully, your homeschooling week went better than ours :)

Do NOT Under Any Circumstances...

...subscribe to Dish Network!

I don't like to write negative things, but I'm telling you these people are thieves! 

We've been customers for over 10 years, paying annually for our service.  A month ago, I tried to cancel our service to go with Direct TV and they offered several things for FREE.  I should have known it was too good to be true.

Long story short, they are now charging me for it.  HD Receiver, installation, $6/month DVR fee, etc, etc.  This is after I was told several times by several people that there would be NO increase in my bill, no charges.

So, I tried to cancel tonight.  Let me just say that I had to call 4 different times.  I got disconnected the first 3 times.  After talking to 7 people, I was told I can't cancel because of a 2 year contract I supposedly signed, without paying $190.  I don't think so!

I'm currently waiting for this so-called 2 year contract to show up within 10 to 15 days.  I told them I wanted to see my signed copy and the guy told me "it might not have my signature on it".  LOLOL!  Of course it doesn't!

Anyway, after we get this contract that doesn't exist we will proceed to the next step, whatever it may be.

I just wanted to give you all a heads up about Dish Network and to stay very far away from them! 

Scotch Tape Craft and Giveaway! CLOSED

Thanks to Scotch(R) Double Sided Tape for sponsoring my writing about crafts. Add your comment below to be entered for a chance to win free sample rolls to help with your upcoming holiday needs.

Abby uses my Scotch Tape every day: for making books, hanging stuff on the walls, you name it!

When I was asked to do a craft project with Scotch Tape, I knew I wanted to do something Abby could do with me.  We decided to make a Halloween chain wreath.  Now if I were smart, I would have been thinking ahead and used my Fall craft paper, oh well!

Here's what you need:

Scotch Tape
Scrapbook Paper in assorted patterns/colors
Glue Stick
Cardboard

First, I used a few plates to cut out a wreath form from a cardboard box.  Our wreath was about 8 inches across, but you can make it as big or small as you want.

Next, I cut strips of scrapbook paper about 1 inch wide and however long you want your loops to be.  Then I glued coordinating strips back to back, so that when it was looped you would always see a pattern.

Finally, just start looping your paper and taping into place on the cardboard.  So simple!

Here's the finished wreath:



Would you like to make some crafts (or wrap some presents) with Scotch Tape as well?  3M will provide 2 of my readers with 5 rolls of Scotch Tape!

Mandatory Entry:  Leave a comment
Extra Entry:  If you follow my blog or subscribe, leave another comment telling me.

This contest will close on Tuesday, November 9th at 8 p.m. Central.  The winners will be chosen at random.

Please learn more about Scotch(R) Double Sided Tape and other Scotch(R) Products and join the conversation on the Scotch(R) Brand Facebook Page and via Twitter.  


I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Happy Birthday, Heather!

Today is my older sister, Heather's birthday!

For over a year now, her husband has had to drive back and forth to Kansas City for his job.  It really stinks!  I pray everyday that he will find a job closer to home and his family.

About once a month or so, Heather takes the boys to spend the week in Kansas City to be with Dad.  This week, we are tagging along!  Abby and I plan to take Heather out for a birthday lunch this afternoon.  I'm not sure what we're having yet, but there are so many more restaurants here than in St. Louis.  Why is that? 

Anyway:




I hope you have a good birthday today!

Love, Jenny, Dave and Abby

Field Trip

I seriously considered purchasing this shirt for Abby and I to wear today:

zazzle

Don't you wish we could just throw everyone out and start over?  What a mess things are right now!

Anyway, we are headed out to vote today for our social studies field trip :)

Homeschool Week 14 Review

Math
We continued with Horizons math, lessons 58, 59 and TEST 6.  These covered and reviewed:  ordinal numbers, pennies, nickels & dimes, number line subtraction, addition, place value and counting by 10's.

I'm still researching which math to switch to and here are a few I've come across:

A.C.E Math
Mastering Mathematics
Bob Jones Elementary Mathematics

Does anyone have experience with these?

Reading
Awhile back, I had purchased a Spectrum Reading, Grade 1 workbook.  Abby could not read any of it, so I put it away.



This past week, I got it out and she is reading about 85-90% of the words. There are short stories and then a few comprehension questions.  We both like that it's Little Critter!

We also finished The Little Give A Party.  Next up, is The Littles and the Trash Tinies

Social Studies
Abby did Lesson 14, about Southwest Indians.  She learned about the Hopi Indians.  I also learned that Dave knew some things about the Hopi, because he remembers having to do a report on them in grade school :)

Science
The life cycle lesson this week was SPIDERS!  While I hate spiders, I decided to go with it, since it was Halloween week and Abby should probably learn something about them.  EEEK!  We read the book for the week:












and then did some crafts, as opposed to the usual experiments.

We had Andy on Tuesday, so they both made hand print spiders:

We also made spider web place cards for the family.  I saw this idea on The Frugal Family Fun Blog.  So cute!

Exercise
Nothing new here.  I should just leave off this update, but I do it to hopefully guilt myself into exercising.  So far, it's not working :)

Can you believe it's November?  Do you do special Thanksgiving lesson plans? 

I made a list of a few Thanksgiving books we own or are reading from the library right now.  I noticed the other day at the library, that some of these Thanksgiving books are scary!  Two that I picked up to read were about a turkey about to be slaughtered.  Yes, I know that's what happens all of the time, but I don't think it makes a fun kid's book...Ick!