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.