What we're learning: Reading

Ahhh reading.  So, even when we had made the decision to homeschool, I was still slightly intimidated by the thought helping my children learn to read.  I planned to just send them to preschool and/or kindergarten and let someone else get them on their way then bring them back home for school.  Seemed like a great plan?!   ; )

In the meantime, when our oldest was nearing preschool age, we found a  Hooked on Phonics program at a garage sale and bought it.  We looked through the program and evaluated it.  We liked what we saw, but it was an older version with cassettes.  Long story short, we resold it and got a newer version for the girls.  

We have used this program as our main reading program and it has truly been awesome in helping the girls learn to read.  Both our first grader and preschooler are reading way beyond their grade level. 

My fears and intimidations have faded and I could not be more proud of how well they are reading, but MUCH MORE than that....how much they LOVE to read.  This is huge!!!

On the days that I'm feeling unsure about whether we are "doing enough" or if I'm on the "right track" with school, my awesome husband reminds me how much the girls enjoy reading and says, "if you can get a child to enjoy reading, they can learn anything by just picking up a book."  We have found this to be so true. 

 Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read

Bob Books

We start them very young around here. LOL

Resources and tips that have helped make our reading journey successful and stirred a passion for reading in our girls:

• Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read  (Pre K -2nd)
• Bob Books
• Bob Book Free Printables/Supplemental

We also:

Attend our local library reading programs (starting them at a very young age).

Borrow (loads and loads of) books on their favorite subjects at the library. 

Keep books handy in our car while running errands or on road trips.

Give each girl a reading light and allow them to read in their beds at night when they are not quite tired. 

Implement daily reading time.

Read to our kids often.

Try being an example by reading.

Buy books as one of their birthday gifts.

Happy reading all!

Mini-Makeover Winner!

Winner from last week's Mini-Makeover for Mom:

 TARA in Maryland!

Congrats Tara! Enjoy your gift for yourself and your new little one on the way. You deserve a little pampering!!

Giveaway: Mini-makeover for Mom

Now, say that 10 times quickly....mini-makeover for mom, mini-makeover for mom. ; )


I love giving stuff away, so this is so fun for me. With Mother's Day approaching, I wanted to share some Pure, Safe and Beneficial products with one lucky momma.  

A very important piece of information that I have learned from Arbonne (even before deciding to sell the products) is that our skin is our largest organ and anything we put on it can be absorbed into our bloodstream in as little as 26 seconds.  This has changed everything when it comes to the products I use for myself and my family.

These are some of my favorite Arbonne products that have been quite beneficial for me as a mom of 4 little girls that I have included in the giveaway:


Fizz Sticks (Citrus & Pomegranite):
These are mommy's little helpers : )))    As you moms know, keeping up with 4 small children (or even 1 or 2 or 3) requires a lot of energy.  In addition to a healthy diet, these little antioxidant energy drink packets are great to add to water to give a subtle boost in energy.  They contain B vitamins and chromium for increased energy.  There are NO artificial sweeteners, flavors or colors AND they are alkaline not acidic like coffee.  (They are the ONLY energy drink I have ever tried because so many others freak me out.) 

RE9 Body Lotion/Serum:  I occasionally apply these to my mommy "battle scar" area a.k.a. lower abs, which has been inflated and deflated 4 times.  There's definitely some proof that I've brought some humans into this world.  I instantly see a difference when I apply the body serum and lotion.  Its gives a quick lift and greatly reduces any crazy lines, squiggles, dimples or whatever shapes and forms are going on down there.  Sorry, TMI?!?  Mommies, you know what I'm talkin' 'bout : )) 


RE9 Body Firming Creme:
This creme supports collagen and elastin to help promote a more firmer more toned look and feel to skin.  I use this on my tummy area as well.  The true life before/after pics of this creme are AMAZING!  I had to try it for myself and it works.

ABC Baby Care:
I use only this on my little ones for bathing.  I like knowing that it's safe for their precious skin and that nothing harmful is being absorbed into their blood stream.  This line has been known to help with eczema for adults and children.  The lotion has cleared up little eczema bumps on my 3 year olds face.


Detox Tea:
This herbal tea (a mix of chamomile and peppermint) contains milk thistle and slippery elm which help with liver detoxification.  One of the advantages of detoxing the liver is assisting in hormonal balance and ridding of excess hormones.  We are all familiar with the hormonal ups and downs with pregnancy, delivery and nursing. If you are looking for a more intense detox, try our 28 Day Detox Boot Camp.

Pure Vibrance Hair Mask:
I'm not sure about you, but my hair texture and lustre has definitely changed in this season of childbearing and nursing.  I realize a lot of that has to do with nutrition and hormonal changes, but this mask is a great external fix.  It's a day and night difference that I feel and see in my hair when I use this 1x per week. 

I would also love to throw in our Aromassentials Unwind Bath Salts (with lavender) for a warm foot soak after a long day of doing all that you moms do.  However, it may be a bit too large to throw in the package.  You can check it out here.  It's prettttty amazing, I must say. Maybe that will be another giveaway?!  Come back and visit to find out.

Anyway, those are the product samples that 1 momma will win from this giveaway.   

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

• Enter below by leaving a comment about being a mom (what you  love most about it or how it has blessed/changed your world or why you need these products ha ha)

• All entries must be in by Friday April 11 @ 11:59 pm CST

• 1 winner will be chosen and contacted by April 14th

• To see more posts like this and be updated on other giveaways, simply subscribe to this blog by adding your email in the "Follow By Email" section to the right. 

Don't want to wait for the giveaway or didn't win? Check out my website!  (Don't forget ask me how to shop at a discount and avoid paying retail.)

What we're learning: Our 100th Day of School

Yay! We finally made it. We celebrated our 100th day of school last week.  The girls have been looking forward to this for a while.  Here are some of the activities we did to recognize the day. 

We've been counting down!  (This is from our Daily Notebooks.)

 We read cooresponding books: 100 Days Of School,  Emily's First 100 Days of School 

Coloring time

Aweeee.  She loves "doing cool" and being big. 

Counting by 10's and working on place value with coins for our 1st grader 

Do A Dot Art Marker art

Number practice with our Preschooler.

They have worked so hard and learned so much this year.  They definitely deserved a 100 Day treat!!!  Notice someone in the house lost her first tooth this week...very proud, very proud!



Here's to the rest of the year!!!

9 Valuable Things I Brought Home From Nashville (besides my family, of course)

Nashville style : )

Our family took a little road trip to Nashville this past weekend for the Teach Them Diligently (homeschool/parenting) Convention. 

I have wanted to go to this convention for a few years and this year it was a bit easier for us to go as we no longer have a nursing baby : ( and our toddlers are a bit more independent from mommy.

It was a great encouragement for my husband and I and quality time with our two oldest daughters. I am so grateful that it worked out and both sets of grandparents were willing to care for our two youngest daughters.

We sat through various sessions for two entire days and were able to hear a lot of wisdom in the area of Christian parenting and home education.  There were a few things that stood out the most to me that I wanted to share:

1.

"Your embarrassment is not worth your kids' resentment."  [Kids have great hypocracy detectors so don't correct them in public for what you've allowed them to do/be at home.]

- Hal & Melanie Young

2.

"The problem is not diagnosing your child's learning style, it's the lack of prescription for it."  

-Carol Barnier

3.

"The overflow of your heart will fill the corners of your home."  

- Amy Roberts

4.

"If something works, do it again!"

-Carol Barnier

5.

"10 questions are better than 1 answer." 

- Socrates, (quoted of course - he wasn't there LOL)

6.

You cannot export what you don't grow at home.

-Ann Dunagan (Harvest Ministries)

7.

"There's no Superwoman, only exhaustion."

-Crystal Paine, moneysavingmom.com

8.

"School is never out! It's not an educational choice, it's a lifestyle." 

-Hal & Melanie Young

The greatest reminder that I came home with was:

9.

There is no perfect curriculum, schedule or formula for homeschooling your children.  

Each family is unique in their talents, learning styles, routine, needs, and priorities. Remember why we are doing this in the first place!

I highly recommend this convention to current homeschoolers and anyone who is considering it. There are so many benefits to attending a conference like this:

• connecting with other homeschool families and being able to relate
• viewing a large exhibit hall with displays from a variety of curriculum/publishers 
• the opportunity to hear from some of my favorite bloggers/writers
• hearing a variety of topics that touched on subjects ranging from practical, inspirational, motivational and spiritual advice

Have you been to this or a similar conference? What are your thoughts? 

Laundry System Makeover

With six people in the house, laundry seems to be never ending. We have some new systems that have made doing laundry a bit easier and more enjoyable (if that's possible). Our laundry room previously looked like a major explosion, which was quite discouraging for me in regards to wanting to conquer laundry mountain.

Thankfully, my right brained husband is awesome at looking for creative solutions to our my organizationally challenged systems.  Yes, I think I have a Pinterest husband ;)  That's just fine with this left brained girl.  I'd so rather do the bills, budget and teach the kids. 

He found these plans for an amazing laundry cabinet.  This way our laundry baskets are built up and save floor space in our long, but shallow laundry room.  

He purchased the baskets and the little chalkboard tags at Wal-Mart and used a paint marker to write the labels. 

We keep our recycle basket on top of the cabinet. (Please disregard the unfinished trim and paint in the background. We have a LOT of ongoing updates/projects in this house). Also, the cabinet is not leaning, that's my photography. : ))

This is the side panel of the cabinet.  He added trim for aesthetic purposes.  He also added wheels so we can move in order to sweep/mop and to take these pictures, I guess. 

 I wanted to add our homemade laundry powder since it's part of the "dealio". It's almost gone, so time to make some more. However, I will say that it lasts forrrrrrever.  It is much safer than most store bought detergents and much more economical. Yes, my hubby found and made this too. (I'm starting to wonder who should be at home full time?!) LOL Anyway, here's the recipe:

Homemade Laundry Powder

3 bars Fels Naptha Soap (grated)

4 lbs. 12 oz. Borax

4 lbs. Arm & Hammer Baking Soda

55 oz. Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

3 lbs. Oxy Clean Free Powder

Optional: Purex Crystals

Mix all ingredients together.  We use an old protein powder scoop and only add about 1/4 of it to each wash cycle.  

I hope this brings a little more ease and joy to conquering laundry mountain in your home!?

Quiet time bins

Although most of us homeschool moms have willingly chosen to keep our children home an extra 6-8 hours each day, that does not mean that we are not normal human beings without a need/desire for occasional quiet and/or alone time.  On the contrary.  

I know this momma definitely needs some time during the day, when possible to relax, read my Bible, get some work done, have a cup of chai or Detox Tea, just THINK... or ALL of the above!  

Because many kids grow out of naps, but still need some down time and/or some alone time (whether they are extremely extroverted like one of mine and don't realize it), this allows them to have some focused activities if they would prefer not to take a nap or lay down.

These quiet time bins have worked out really well for times like these.  We don't necessarily do this daily, just on the days that we are home all day and everyone needs some separation and quiet time. 

My husband purchased these small purple storage bins for .97.  I add age appropriate activities in one bin for each child.  I change the bins or items around each time we use them.  The bins seem to make it a bit of a novelty as the kids get excited to see what is inside.


I'm quite sure there are different versions of these (as with most things) on Pinterest and online, but these are some of the ideas that we use for our quiet time:

Flash cards

Puzzles

  Pop-Arty Beads 

(use your discretion regarding age as these can obviously be a choking hazard)

Books

For older kids: word search, crosswords and connect the dots.

Baby Bear Counters

Other ideas not shown:

Coloring 

Color Wonder Books

Dolls

Lacing Cards

Dominos

Sensory activities

Playdoh (for the brave moms out there)

What ideas do you use for quiet time for younger children?