Christmas Lights Secret Code Scavenger Hunt (Free Printable)

One of my fondest memories of Christmas as a child is driving around on Christmas Eve to look at all the lights. If you know me or you've been reading here for a while, you know that I am almost totally blind. With the little vision I do have, I can see light and color which makes Christmas light displays perfect for me. I used to love pressing my face against the car windows to look out. There was even a house near where I lived that had a huge walk-through lights display. Cars would be parked along the roadside, and families would walk through paths of lights all over the yard. It was my absolute favorite thing at Christmas time! Many of those same lights are now featured at part of the decorations at our local park, and I can take my own kids to see them. It's a tradition I intend to continue as long as possible. This year, we couldn't wait until Christmas Eve so we did our annual Christmas light drive last weekend. To make things even more fun, we used this scavenger hunt from Layers of Learning. Boo enjoyed searching for everything on the list. We found all but one, and luckily, some face book friends gave us a hint on where to go to finish the hunt. It was great fun! For next year, though, I wanted to do something just a little different. I decided to add a little reward at the end of the search. So I created a secret code scavenger hunt. When you find everything on the list, the code says, "Look under the tree." I'll have to make sure to be a little sneaky and put a small gift under the tree before we leave. I think this will add one more element of fun and excitement, and besides, I love presents. If you'd like to try your own Christmas lights secret code scavenger hunt, you can download a free copy below. Merry Christmas, and enjoy!

Click here to download the Christmas lights secret code scavenger hunt. Be sure to remember to put a gift or reward under your Christmas tree before leaving home, or you might end up with some very disappointed children.

Eating Out With Little Ones: Tips For Making Dinner Delightful Instead of Disastrous

I take the parenting stance that it's important to introduce our children to all kinds of experiences and situations at a very young age. We take our children virtually everywhere we go; to restaurants, the grocery store, the library, etc. It gives them a chance to learn how to act in different places, and they gain valuable life skills that will carry on throughout their childhood. However, having said that, I definitely feel that there is a right way and a wrong way to handle outings with children. The other night, my family had the opportunity to eat out at a local restaurant that isn't what I would call upscale, but is casual dining with mostly adults. The atmosphere is fairly quiet and subdued, but their was a child there, thankfully not mine, who was not behaving very well at all. It got me thinking about how I feel about children in a restaurant setting, and I realized that I have a few solid guidelines that I follow when we're out somewhere.

First, be flexible. Know your child, and go out at a time that is most likely to yield good results. This would exclude things like the middle of nap time, fussy time, etc. If that means pushing dinner back an hour, then it might just be worth it. The main goal is to help our children be successful in whatever situation they're in, and that means not setting them up for failure from the beginning. This also means being flexible about the place you choose. A crowded restaurant where you're going to have to wait to be seated may not be the best choice if there is some place else available.

Next, be prepared. I know that sounds like common sense, but it's amazing how many things we forget when we're rushing out the door. Active, little hands can mean big, messy problems at a crowded table. There are a few essentials I always try to have on hand when we're going out. 1. finger food: Just in case the restaurant doesn't have anything available, I always carry finger food in the diaper bag. I usually have a small container of cereal or baby yogurt bites, but we recently had dinner with a mom who had a container with several compartments that she'd filled with a variety of foods. I thought it was a very smart plan. These are also perfect for times when your child is really hungry and can't wait for the main meal to arrive. 2. Toys: I always try to have something to keep the little ones occupied. As they get older, many restaurants provide crayons and a place mat to color, but sometimes it's good to have an alternative. For infants, I recommend a soft toy such as a stuffed animal or soft book. One thing that really irritates me is when a baby has a toy he's pounding on the table. Gator is notorious for this, and trust me, the soft toys make a lot less noise. When Boo was a toddler, we kept an activity bag in the car filled with quiet things to occupy her. Recently, though, I've discovered the idea of busy bags. These are simple, quiet, mess-free activities that can fit into a zipper bag and be pulled out whenever needed. Lots of creative moms have shared ideas on what to put in these, and you can find a great list to get you started over at Still:Living. I'd like to make a few of these for Gator as he gets older.

Finally, be respectful. Sometimes all the flexibility and all the preparation in the world aren't enough to soothe an upset child or prevent a temper tantrum. It's important to be courteous of other diners and know when it's time to leave. Restaurant staff are great about packing to-go boxes quickly for a family with a crying child. And, yes, I might just be speaking from experience. Once, when Boo was a baby, we were eating at Fazoli's, and she started crying for no reason I could discern at the time. Dad told me to go ahead and eat, and he took her out to the car to try to calm her down and figure out what was wrong. Twenty minutes later, as I was finishing my meal, he came back in with her still crying. We switched spots, and I waited in the car with her while he got a box for his lunch. She calmed eventually, and Dad had pasta warmed up in the microwave. It wasn't a fun experience, but we were the only ones who knew it. If we hadn't taken steps to remove her from the situation, the whole restaurant would have had a bad time, and that wouldn't have been at all fair. Also, we need to be mindful of the waiters and waitresses. Their job is to take care of our food needs throughout the meal. Their job is not to entertain or clean up after our children. If, for example, Gator spills his Cheerios all over the floor, we pick them up. Again, I might be the voice of experience here.

If we follow these three main rules, we give ourselves and our children the best opportunity to learn and grow and to make some great family memories in the process. Not to mention, we all get to eat some great food that we didn't have to cook, and, best of all, nobody gets stuck doing the dishes.

Tried and True Diaper Rash Treatment: Aquaphor Plus Maalox

First, a disclaimer: I am not a doctor, and the opinions expressed here are from my own experience and what has worked for my family. Please don't treat this as professional medical advice.

So we're in teething mode again. Gator is working on tooth number seven, and for some reason, that means diaper rashes. It's really the only time he gets them, but they're pretty nasty. A couple of teeth ago, our pediatrician recommended an diaper rash remedy that was new to me. We tried it, and it worked faster and more efficiently than anything else we've used with either child. I'd take before and after pictures to show you just how well it worked, but somehow I don't think Gator would appreciate that much when he gets older. So you'll just have to try it for yourselves.

What you need:
Aquaphor Baby Healing Skin Ointment
Maalox Advanced Regular Strength (liquid
A small container
A spoon or something to stir with

Instructions:
in a separate container, mix equal parts of the Aquaphor and the Maalox. They will not mix easily, but keep stirring. Eventually, the two ingredients will form a sort of paste mixture. Spread some of this mixture on Baby's bottom, and cover with a diaper. You can save the leftover mixture in an air-tight container, but you will probably have to stir it again the next time you use it. If the rash doesn't clear up in a day or two, I'd recommend checking with your doctor; but, so far, this remedy has worked for us every time.

Comments Feature Fixed

So I've heard from a couple of people that they're comments were not showing up on the blog. I believe I have fixed the problem on my end. Hopefully, I'm right. I can't tell you how much I value your feedback. Also, in addition to commenting here, you can always reach me at lifewithbooandgator@gmail.com. Let me know if you have any more difficulty. Thanks.

Origami Christmas Treat Baskets Video Tutorial

Today, I'm sharing a video that Boo and I made demonstrating how to make origami baskets that we're using to hold Christmas candy for the kids in her dance class. All you need to do the project is a square piece of paper, tape or glue, and stickers or other decorations.



If you watch the above video, you'll notice that it comes to an abrupt stop just as we're beginning to decorate our baskets. That's because life happened; or, to be more precise, Gator Happened. He decided to pretend to be Houdini and escape from the straps on his high chair. He then proceeded to turn around in the chair and stand up. Talk about nearly giving me a heart attack. Anyway, given the choice between saving the baby from falling on his noggin and forging ahead with the video, Dad (behind the camera) chose the baby. Good choice. So we've made another video that starts up where the first one left off. Unfortunately, I'm not technically savvy enough to know how to splice them together. Put that on my list of things to learn. Here's the rest of the project. Enjoy!



Please feel free to let us know if you have any questions or comments about this project. We enjoyed making it, and we hope you enjoyed watching.

Boo's Dance Recital and Tips for Choosing Extracurricular Activities

Last Sunday was Boo's Christmas recital for her dance class. She attends class at a local church, and I can't say enough positive things about the program! The recital was a huge success, and I was a very proud parent.

It got me thinking about our children's extracurricular activities. I'm amazed at the range of possibilities out there from sports to dance to music lessons to clubs and groups. There sometimes seems to be an endless supply of things for kids to be involved in, and the choices can become completely overwhelming. So, how do we keep our kids involved in plenty of activities that interest them and not get so bogged down with the running here and there lifestyle that we lose sight of other important things like family time and play time? I'll admit, I'm not always as good at the choosing as I should be. We've had months where we didn't have even one free night at home, and that was with only one child. I don't know how we could have done it if Gator was old enough to have his schedule as well. This year, though, we've scaled things down quite a bit, and I can't believe the improvement it has made. In case I forget myself sometime in the future and try to return to the craziness of being over involved, and in case anyone else struggles with the same thing, I'm posting some thoughts on choosing extracurriculars wisely.

1. Cost: I know, I know, that shouldn't be my first priority; but, lets face it, kids activities can get expensive. So look for things that give your child the best experience for the price.

2. Interest: I'm talking about the child's interest here, not the parent's. Sometimes, it's easy to push our kids into things because they sound really good to us. We have to remember that our children's interests may be different; and after all, they're going to have to participate in the activity. Make it something they'll enjoy.

3. Time: This is another big one, and it's actually the only complaint I have about the previously mentioned dance class. It's at 6:00, right during the time when we're normally eating supper. It's not so bad because it's only one night a week, but too many nights like that could spell major trouble for our evening routine. Try to find activities that don't coincide with another important thing on your schedule.

4. Commitment: Make sure you understand how much of a commitment the extracurricular requires, and if you choose it, be willing to stick with it. This one is especially important with activities like athletics where your child is part of a team. I'm not saying that commitment is a negative. It's not. I believe that children need to learn this valuable skill and to understand the importance of follow through, but don't over commit and become overwhelmed.

5. Organization: If my mother happens to read this, she'll laugh. I'm admittedly one of the most unorganized people around, but, especially if it's a group activity, I think organization is key. We've been to several functions where the majority of the time was spent trying to figure out what was supposed to be going on and where we were supposed to be, and it completely sucks the enjoyment and fun out of things. So take the time to find out how the extracurricular activity is run before you make a final decision about it.

There's no magic formula to tell us exactly what our kids should be involved in, but I think, by remembering these few tips, we can take a lot of the stress out of the decision. Most of all, we want to provide enjoyable, enriching experiences that our kids will learn from and remember far into the future.

DIY I Spy Christmas Ornaments With a Free Printable

Today we made these fun I Spy ornaments inspired by the ones I saw on CBC Parenting. They're a great idea for gift giving and for your own children as well. In fact, we made them for some of Boo and Gator's cousins, but we ended up making extras for our own tree. The original instructions suggest using rice or fake snow to fill your ornaments, but we didn't have either of those things on hand; so we used some decorative sand instead. I think it added some fun color to our ornaments. It did make them quite heavy though; so if you choose to use sand, you'll definitely want to glue the tops closed. We also composed a cute little poem to attach to our ornaments listing the items hidden within, and I'm sharing it here in case anyone wants to use it or get ideas from it. The following are the steps we used to complete this project (poem download link is at the end of this post):

What you need:
clear ornaments with either screw-on or pull-off tops (we bought ours at Walmart for $0.97 each)
paper clips
small jingle bells (available in craft stores. Make sure they're small enough to fit through the hole in the top of the ornament.)
buttons
shells
yarn
miniature clothes pins (available in craft stores)
wooden beads (available in craft stores)
decorative sand
hot glue gun
ribbon
card stock
hole punch
scissors

Note that if you'd like to use different things to hide in your ornament, you can simply create your own list to attach.

Instructions
Put 1 paper clip, 1 jingle bell, 1 button, 1 shell, 1 clothes pin 2 wooden beads, and 3 pieces of yarn (we used different colors) into the top of your ornament. Fill the ornament about 3/4 up with sand. Close the ornament and glue with the glue gun to make sure it cannot be opened. Shake the ornament to mix the hidden items throughout. Print the poem out on card stock, punch a whole in it, and string it on a ribbon. attach the ribbon to the ornament, and you're finished. Now you can enjoy searching for all the items on the list. When you've found them, simply shake the ornament to stir things up, and play again.

Here's the text of the poem we used. The download includes five copies of it on a single page so that you can make more than one ornament at once.

Look inside! Use your little eye!

Here are ten things for you to spy!

A paper clip, a jingle bell,

A button and a small seashell!

Three bits of yarn, a tiny clothes pin,

Two wooden beads and that makes ten!

Did you find them? Was it fun?

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Download your own copy here!

As always, thanks for reading; and remember to visit CBC parenting for detailed instructions for these ornaments and lots more great projects and ideas.

Making Minecraft Snowflakes: Christmas Activity With Dad

Boo has been a Minecraft fan for some time now, and today, she got Dad in on the fun. They found this Minecraft snowflake pattern and instructions on instructibles.com, and they just had to try it. They spent some time figuring out the folding technique, and they ended up tracing over the lines on the original printable to make it easier to see, but they were very happy with their results. Boo has a couple of friends who are also fans of the game; so she intends to make several more snowflakes to decorate their Christmas packages. I love projects like this that take an online interest of Boo's and turn it into an offline experience.

Blocksworld App Review

About a week ago, Boo discovered a free app for her Ipad called Blocksworld, and she's been loving it ever since. As a parent, I'm pretty fond of it, too. So I thought I'd share some of the aspects of the app that we find especially intriguing and fun!

First of all, Blocksworld is a 3D building app. You can choose from a huge variety of different shaped and sized blocks to create whatever you can imagine. There are typical square and rectangle blocks, wheels, people, odd shaped blocks, etc. The possibilities of building alone are endless.

Blocksworld doesn't end there, however. Once you build a creation, the app has action blocks which allow you to animate your creations with different movements and sounds. The interface for doing this is simple and intuitive, but it gets kids thinking like a programmer and teaches logic and sequencing skills.

The app also contains games that users can play in order to earn new blocks for their collections. In addition, app users can publish their own games to the app for others to play. Boo especially loves this feature. She's made a couple of games now and anxiously waits to see how many people play and like her creations. It's definitely a feature that makes the app stand out.

You can also buy or earn additional block packs such as the Halloween pack, the Legends of oz pack, or the Heroes of Aero pack; and the app is constantly being updated with new content and features to make it even more exciting.

Finally, one more cool feature in Blocksworld is that you can record and upload videos of your game play. Boo has done a quick video of herself building a house just to show everyone a bit of how the app works. Please watch it, and let us know what you think. Also, go and download Blocksworld for yourselves to discover all it has to offer. I can't recommend this one enough. You can also learn more by visiting the Blocksworld official website. Happy building!

Homeschooling Through the Holidays: What We're Up To These Days

First of all, I apologize for my absence. When I started writing here, I envisioned posting several times a week with new and exciting content that everyone would be thrilled to read. Unfortunately, sometimes life gets in the way of that. This time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is so busy. However, I thought I'd give you a glimpse into what we're doing in school these days.

We've continued our normal language arts and math program at www.timeforlearning.com We're actually about to finish the third grade lessons with Boo; so I'm going to have to figure out something new come January. Then, usually for history, geography, science, and art we use the units from www.layers-of-learning.com. However, we've decided to do some Christmas focused work for the month of December.

First, we've just started listening to The Cinnamon Bear which is a children's radio dramatization from the 1930's. This is the first year we've done this, and we're really enjoying it. You can find the program for streaming or download at Homeschool Freebie of the Day. The story centers on two children who go up to their attic in search of the star for the top of the Christmas tree and end up having great adventures with the Cinnamon Bear as they chase the Crazy Quilt Dragon who has stolen the star. Homeschool Freebie of the Day also has a lapbook available for purchase to accompany the recordings.

Next, we've been exploring Christmas around the World with a free unit study available from Homeschooling in Detroit. The unit includes online information for each country as well as a suggested craft, recipe, and a notebooking page. We, unfortunately don't have time to complete all the projects, but we'll be picking one craft and one recipe to use as a culmination to our unit. I'll let you know how that goes.

We're also reading one story a day from The Children's Book of Christmas Stories from Project Gutenberg. You can either read the book online or download it in a variety of formats. The book includes over 30 stories, many written by well-known authors. The stories are marked to let parents know whether they are suitable for younger or older children, making this a great book for the whole family. Boo and I are taking turns picking the story we read each day, and it's really putting us in the Christmas spirit.

Finally, we're completing a 12 days of Christmas art pack available free from Enchanted Homeschooling Mom. The pack encourages kids to copy free hand a drawing of each day of Christmas portrayed in the popular carol. Boo sometimes worries about her art ability, though art is one of her favorite subjects, so I'm hoping this packet will boost her confidence. So far, she's really enjoying it and is doing very well with it. The packet also includes handwriting practice which is an added bonus.

Over all, we're really enjoying all of our Christmas projects. We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and that we all keep the true reason for Christmas at the center of our hearts and minds.

Tips for Christmas Shopping for Your Children on a Budget

The other day, I came across this post over at Frugal Homeschool Family, and I couldn't believe how similar our shopping styles are when it comes to gifts for our kids. I Would encourage everyone to hop over there and read it because the author, SUZETTE LADOUCEUR, is spot on. She has inspired me to post a few of my own Christmas gift giving tips and tricks. I'll try not to repeat the great ideas Suzette has already given, but instead, I'll add a few extra.

1. Set a budget. Okay, Okay, I'm putting this one first on the list because it's something that I need to keep in the forefront of my own mine. I love Christmas; and while I always try to help my kids remember the true reason for the season, I'm crazy about the presents as well. So I sometimes have a tough time reigning in the spending. It's important, though, because none of us wants to go into debt just to get through the holidays. The great news is we don't have to.

2. Start early! And by early, I mean like January. lol I know that sounds crazy to some, but starting early allows you to hit the most clearance sales. It also means that you'll be done shopping far in advance of Christmas morning, and you won't be spending extra money because you're running out and buying last-minute gifts. So what should you buy early? Well, if you know your children, you know that there are certain types of activities they enjoy. For example, my daughter loves arts and crafts, I can't go wrong buying her anything creative.

3. Be flexible. I don't ask my children for a Christmas list. Sometimes, my daughter makes one anyway, but she knows that Santa is full of surprises, and she may not get everything she's asked for. My children do have grandparents who like to shop from lists as well; so that means they'll get a few things they really want. However, I don't look for specific items for my children; instead, I choose to look for certain types of things I know they'll like.

4. Plan on one or two big gifts. I don't mean big in size or in expense necessarily, but I mean gifts that your child really wants. This is sort of in contrast to number 3 on the list, but I do always try to get that one certain thing my children want most assuming it doesn't eat up the entire Christmas budget.

5. Think homemade. Don't be afraid to make rather than buy some gifts. The internet is full of DIY projects that would be perfect presents. In the past, my daughter has received homemade play-doh, paper doll kits printed from the internet, crayons melted into fun shapes, etc. Not only are most of these gifts inexpensive, but you might also have great fun making them.

6. Visit a Christmas auction. Many times, around the holidays, you can find a local Christmas auction to attend. Visit Auctionzip to see if their are any going on in your area. This is my absolute favorite place to buy presents because you can get things at great prices, and you never know what you'll find until you arrive. I do have a couple of auction rules. First, don't buy food items unless you've had an opportunity to check the expiration date. Second, if you buy an item that takes batteries, understand that you may need to purchase new ones before the item will work. Finally, arrive at the auction early, doors usually open at least 1 hour before start time, so that you'll have a chance to check out the available items up close before the bidding begins.

Finally, I hope everyone will read Suzette's post over on Frugal Homeschool Family as well because she covers several tips such as shopping consignment stores and watching for sales and clearances with which I completely concur. With these tips to help with your gift giving, I hope you and your children have a wonderful Christmas this year.

Liquid Floor Science Experiment for Kids With Video

This past weekend, Boo and Dad went to Lowes Home Improvement Store to participate in their Build and Grow program where they constructed a science lab. Tonight, Boo tried one of the experiments included in the kit. If you'd like to try it too, you can watch Boo's video tutorial.

The experiment is called the liquid floor, and it demonstrates what happens to food coloring in oil and in water. It's simple and fun and only takes a few supplies: a glass, water, vegetable oil, food coloring, and a pencil. Watch the video below to learn more.



If you enjoyed this experiment, please tell us about it. Stay tuned for more fun science from the Build and Grow kit.

Minecraft Acrostic Poem To Help Review Parts of Speech (Free Printable)

The Minecraft craze has finally reached our household, and I have mixed feelings about it. However, Boo loves the creative mode in the game, and I've decided to take advantage of that by putting together a Minecraft activity to help review verbs, nouns, and adjectives. The activity asks her to write an acrostic poem using the letters in Minecraft; but instead of one word for each letter, she'll write three words. One will be a verb, one a noun, and one an adjective. This way we get language arts and writing practice in the same activity. If you would find this useful for your own little Minecraft fans, please download it below. Also, please feel free to share this post with your friends so they can download their own copies. As always, I'd be greatful for any feedback you might have.

Click Here to download Minecraft Acrostic Poem.

Free Printable Activity Packet for "'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving"

One of my favorite children's books for this time of year is "'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving."It's a fun little story about some children who visit a turkey farm on a field trip and learn that the turkeys are destined to be served at a Thanksgiving feast.

In addition to reading the book, you can watch and listen to it on YouTube.

I've created a few activities to use along with the story that you can download. This is my first printable, and it was originally created to use with my own children; so please feel free to comment with suggestions. Also, if you wish to share this printable, please direct others to this post rather than to the download itself. Thanks, and happy reading.
Click Here for the download.

Our Free Entertainment For This Weekend

So I’ve really been trying to cut down on our entertainment budget by finding free things to do both at home and in our community, and to that end, I’ve been searching the net for free stuff and ideas. Wow! This is a great weekend for free entertainment.

First, we’ll be having two movie nights this weekend which will be fun because it’s rare that we all have a free night to sit through a whole movie. Tonight’s free movie will come from Redbox. You can get a free movie code by texting MOVIE TIME to 727272. We haven’t rented from Redbox in quite a while; so I’m anxious to see what new titles are available.

Tomorrow’s movie night feature is Wreck It Ralph. I’ve not seen this one, but it should be great fun. You can get a free digital copy of this movie for a limited time by signing up or signing in to your Disney Movies Anywhere account and linking it with your Google Play or ITunes account. Once your accounts are linked, Wreck It Ralph should automatically show up in your apps or under “my collections” on your Disney Movies Anywhere account page.

Also, tomorrow morning we’ll be headed to our local Lowes Home Improvement store to participate in their Build and Grow program. This time, the project is a science lab kit complete with activity cards to continue the learning at home. We’re really excited about this one. We’ve been to Build and Grow several times in the past, and it has always been a great experience.

We have a birthday party to attend tomorrow afternoon. So we won’t be able to participate, but I also wanted to mention that Saturday, November 8, is Try Hockey for Free Day. Over 500 facilities around the country are offering a chance for youth between the ages of 4 and 9 to try out the sport of ice hockey. You can visit the website to find out if there is a participating location near you.

Here’s hoping everyone has a fun and safe weekend. If you know of some great free family entertainment, feel free to share it in the comments.

Thanksgiving Thankful Pie: A Family Activity To Give Thanks

This November, leading up to Thanksgiving, we really wanted to be able to concentrate on remembering the things we’re thankful for. So we decided to make this Thanksgiving thankful pie. Putting it together was both simple and fun. We’ll each be adding an apple slice with something we’re thankful for every day. Then, on Thanksgiving, we’ll open up the pie, pull out the apples, and share what we’ve written. If you want to make your own pie, here are instructions and photos describing how we did it.

What you’ll need:

Two pieces of white cardstock

A different colored piece of construction paper for each member of your family

Crayons

Scissors

Glue

Stapler

Zipper bags or envelopes

First draw a pie shape on one piece of cardstock. Then place that piece on top of the other piece of card stock, and cut out your pie. You’ll need to identical pies which is why it’s necessary to cut out both pieces of card stock. Alternatively, you could cut out the first pie, trace it on to the second piece of card stock, and cut it out.

Next, Staple the bottomed three edges of the pies together. Be careful not to staple the top, rounded portion of the pies as this is where you’ll insert your thankful apple slices.

Now you can color and decorate your pie in any way you like.

At this point, you’re ready to make the apple slices that you’ll put inside the pie. Each member of your family will need a different color of apples so that when you pull the slices out of the pie on Thanksgiving, you’ll know who they belong to. Draw and cut an apple slice out of one of the pieces of construction paper. Then trace that same slice on each color of paper. You’ll need one slice of each color for the number of days before Thanksgiving which is on November 27, this year. Place all the apple slices of each color into separate zipper bags or envelopes to make them easy to find. Then, each day, have everyone remove one slice from their bag and write something they are thankful for. The apples are then put into the pocket of the pie where it will remain until Thanksgiving. If you have young children who are unable to write, you can have them dictate to you. To make it more interesting, you might have the youngest children take turns dictating to different members of the family so there will still be some surprises in the pie.

We want to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving this year, and we hope our thankful pie has given you a chance to think about those things in life for which you, too, are thankful.

Great Unit Studies Freebie from The Old Schoolhouse On Educents

Right now, over on www.educents.com, there’s a free set of ebook unit studies from The Old Schoolhouse. It’s a $223 value, and it’s definitely worth the download. The bundle includes 2 complete sets: Curiosity files and Wannabes. We’ve started on one of the Curiosity files studies, Blue Diamonds, today; and Boo and I are both loving it. It includes information about blue diamonds, math concepts and word problems, writing exercises, spelling and vocab, related history, geology, and so much more. This is a limited time freebie, so make sure to get it soon.

Five Fall Lego Challenges

In our house, we love Legos! Although, I have to admit, Boo is far more creative with her building than I am. So, since the weather is cooling down, and we’re going to be stuck inside more; I thought it would be fun to try a few Lego challenges. I have centered these challenges around an autumn theme, and we will be doing them over the next week or so. If you decide to try them as well, feel free to send me comments or pics of your creations.

1.       Autumn leaves are falling. Build something that shows off the color of fall.

2.       Thanksgiving is near. Build a meal you would like to see on your Thanksgiving table.

3.       Animals are getting ready for winter. Build an animal, and talk about its winter preparations.

4.       Football season is in full swing. Build a football related model, or if you don’t like football, build your favorite sport.

5.       The temperature is dropping, and it’s getting colder outside. Build something you enjoy doing in the autumn outdoors.