Our New School Room {LINKY}

I have fallen in love.  The Hubs let me splurge a few months ago on these shelves from Ikea.  You see we have purchased several of the cheapy type bookcases that have been, well, duds.  When I would load them up with books, because there are bookcases, they break. 

I have been eye balling these Expedit Ikea shelves for a LONG TIME.  I had even been scoping out Craigslist looking for used ones but never found the right ones.  Finally, I asked The Hubs if we could just invest in these and not have to keep buying junkie ones.  He said YES!   I love how sturdy these shelves are, we can load these babies up and guess what,  they DON'T BREAK!  Can I get an AMEN!

Two other additions to the play/school room are the train table and the art center.  Both of which were acquired at Good Will one sunny afternoon.  My mother in law got both of them for the kids. 
We had a train table but the top was pretty jacked up, so when we saw this one for such a deal we scooped it up.  I think the train table was a whooping $10. 

The large plastic drawers make up our Art Center.  The chalkboard was given to us.  I know that it looks cheeeezzy leaning up again the table BUT I don't have anymore wall space because of all the windows and this spot is perfect for the little people. 
These shelves hold all our books plus any educational games that we have.

The art center was filled will all kinds of artsie stuff like scuplty clay, ribbon, buttons, ribbon, and oh yeah, more ribbon.  I think it was $10 or $15.  Not only does it keep the kids busy, it keeps them out of my craft stuff.  Thanks again Mom!!



This is the opposite site of our play/school room.  We use this side mostly for games and toy storage.

 We still have our workboxes, mostly to just house our school stuff.  They don't go thru all the workboxes everyday.   Little Bits got his very own workbox this year.  I actually like the 3 larger drawers because a lot of the stuff I have for him to do wouldn't fit in the Joann's 10 Drawer Cart. 

This is  the view of from our kitchen. 

If you want to see what our play/school room used to look like you can check it out here.

I love to look at other peoples playrooms and school room, it is a great way to get new ideas.  If anyone would like to Link Up their playrooms please do.

A Quest for Shark's Teeth - An Educational Outing

It all started a few weeks ago when I bought the kids some shark books from a yardsale.  Alpha Boy immediately claimed them for his personal book box. 

The LSG Kids, my niece and nephew, on an anchor outside of the Calvert Marine Museum in Maryland.

One day Alpha Boy was looking at the shark books and we were discussing facts about them.  I had told him that they are always losing their teeth and that there was a place nearby (well about an hour away) that we could go and find some.  And keep them. 

You how you can tell your kids something and then you see a certain light in their eyes and total excitement?  This was one of those moments.  I knew that really wanted to make this happen. 


Today was the day.  I took my kids, my niece and nephew and off we went.  An hour away, 5000 punch buggies, 2 million yellow cars (you had to be there) and 2 quiet game winners later we were there. 

Arrr matey!

Our first stop was the Calvert Marine Museum (which is very inexpensive BTW).  I thought we'd be in and out in 30 minutes tops.  Boy was I wrong, the kids loved it here plus there was lots of stuff to do. 

Looking at the sting rays and skates up close.

We started off looking at the sting rays and skates.  There are very cool.  I got to tell the kids how I caught a skate years ago when I was fishing in the bay with friends.  : )  We got to see skate eggs, which was REALLY cool! 

The boys playing with an interactive trivia game screen.

Lots to see and learn!

The life cycle of a skate egg.

Real live skate eggs.  This picture doesn't do this exhibit justice.  It was really neat how you could actually see the babies moving inside the eggs.  Have you ever seen an egg like this?

 They had an awesome mural which captured Little Bit's attention.

Next we went to the discovery room.  I think we were in there like an hour or so.  There were sea hermit crabs, star fish, turtles and other cool critters.  There was a light house and a really cool boat the kids could go in.  The very best part of that room was the Dig Area where the kids could look for fossils and teeth.  And keep them.  One per kid to be exact.  Alpha Boy hardly left this spot other than running back and forth to ask the lady at the desk "Hey, what is this?" 

The Lil' Chef checking out a small diamond back turtle.

One of the tanks in the discovery room, that contains star fish, sea hermit crabs and several other critters.

Alphaboy was so content to stay at the Dig Area and dig and dig and dig!  The kids could keep one fossil of their choosing.  After finding several things worth to keep he finally settled on a Tiger Shark's tooth.

We got to walk thru the rest of the museum looking the different exhibits, including the many aquariums.  We got to see blue crabs, sea horses, lots of fish and my personal favorite, the jellyfish.  I was asking my little peeps, "How can anyone look at these jellyfish and wonder if there is a God?"  God is just such an awesome Creator! 

Just one of the neat exhibits we saw.

This was a HUGE case full of different fossils, sharks teeth and such.

  

At the museum they have an open window to one of the labs. The kids learned ALOT.  She showed us how to tell the age of a whale by looking at parts of it's spine.
This women reminded me of my grandma because of her accent.  Come to find out they were both from Munich, Germany.  I told her, "I knew I recognized that accent anywhere."



How can one look at this thing and not KNOW there is a Creator.  I mean, REALLY??

Maryland is know for it's Blue Crabs (and Old Bay).

nce we walked outside we were greeted by two ADORABLE otters!  I contemplaited how I could take one home with me. I could have just sat there forever and watched these playful little guys. 

I wasn't the only one who enjoyed the otters.

We also enjoyed the view from the lower level of the light house that is at the museum.  The top was closed for lunch and we didn't get to make it back.  After the light house, we got to check out lots of really neat boats, some old and some really really old. 


This was a neat little light house, I really wish we could have gone all the way up.

Checking out some old boat.  One of the boats was a two log canoe from the mid 1800's.

Before we left I asked a lady that worked at the museum how far it was to one of the state parks that we were going to go to for sharks teeth.  I also inquired about how far of a walk it was from the car to the actual beach (one place was like 2 miles!!).  This super kind lady told us just to go to her beach.  she offered for us to just park in her driveway so we wouldn't get towed.  Her beach was free and about a 3 minute walk from her house.  She was SO nice.  She even offered for us to just go inside her porch and grab some shark's teeth that they had if we didn't find any.  I really couldn't believe how nice this lady was. 

We were all having so much fun, nobody wanted to leave. 

We really enjoyed the beach, other than a kind older man that helped us find shark's teeth we had the beach to ourselves.  None of us wanted to leave, myself included.  It was so peaceful and relaxing.

On the way home we stopped for sundae's.  It was supposed to be the prize for the quiet game winners but instead everyone got one.  Well except for Little Bits, he had already drifted blissfully off to sleep. 



I really just thought we'd go and dig in the sand for a bit.  I never imagined how cool the museum would be or how much we would learn.  I thought we were just taking the day off but actually it turned into quite the little science lesson.

It was a good day!

This post is linked up over at Let's Hit the Road - Field Trip Blog Hop!  Great blog for the field trip enthusiast!

The Father's Love

by Joel Sczebel


How has the sinner been forgiven
How has the rebel been made clean
Or blinded eyes been made to see
How have the orphans been adopted
Who hated Your love and ran from grace
Despised and rejected all Your ways

Chorus
How wonderful the Father’s love
The Father’s love for us
That He would send His only Son
To come and rescue us
He has saved us, called us blameless
Guides us now and will sustain us
Oh how wonderful the Father’s love

Your mercy floods our lives with kindness
Your grace has colored all we see
And You have promised not to leave
You freely give Your Spirit to us
So we can be sure we’re sons of God
And rest in the hope of what’s to come

Bridge
Though sufferings may fill our lives
We’re confident we’re heirs with Christ
And so we cry, “Abba, Father”

Top 10 Favorite Homeschool Books

If you have EVER read my blog before you probably know that L.O.V.E. books.  Over the years I have read many a homeschooling how to book.  I have several I have really enjoyed and gleaned a lot from.  I thought I share my Top 10 Favorite Homeschool Books.  So here goes...

Homeschooling: A Patchwork of Days: Share a Day With 30 Homeschooling Families by Nancy Lande - I really liked this book.  I am a visual learner and this book really helped me to get a real picture of what everyday homeschool life looks like. 

Homeschool Open House by Nancy Lande - This like part 2 to the book above. 

The Relaxed Homeschooler by Mary Hood - This book is about just what the title implies, how to relax.  I haven't mastered it yet but this book has helped to put me in the right direction.

The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook by Raymond and Dorothy Moore - This is a wonderful how to book.  Another book about stress free homeschooling.  Are you sensing a pattern yet?? : )

So You're Thinking About Homeschooling: Fifteen Families Show How You Can Do It  - by Lisa Whelchel - this is one of my absolute favorites.  I love how Lisa writes, I felt like I was having coffee with a friend and chatting about homeschool.  She helps to give you the confidence that us momma sometimes lack.

Educating the WholeHearted Child - by Clay & Sally Clarkson - This is a new favorite of mine.  I love Sally Clarkson, I am reading another book of hers right now.  The wisdom and encouragement that this book gives is invaluable. 

Beyond Survival: A Guide to Abundant-Life Homeschooling by Diana Waring - Anything from Diana Waring is a good read in my opinion.  I have this book as well as the audio, it is one of the first things I listen to when I am discouraged about our homeschool journey.  It is kinda like a battery charge. 

A Charlotte Mason Education  by Catherine Levison - This book is really helping me to get a complete understanding of the how to's of the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling.  This is a short read but full of practical ideas.

The Three R's by Ruth Beechick -


The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell - I haven't had this book long but I can already testify that this book is chock full good info for new homeschoolers as well as veterans.  I have already learned a bunch from this one.  A definite read.


So there you have it, my Top 10.  What are your favorites?Mrs. Beechick does a wonderful job explain how simple it is to educate a young child in the Three R's.  This book is 3 books in one, focusing on reading, writing and arithmetic. 

Homemade Playdoh

A friend of mine from church recently made some homemade playdoh for Little Bit's Sunday school class. 

Yep, all homemade.  The last color was red and then it got mixed with another color.  I could hardly take pictures before they were all over this stuff!

I thought it was a neat idea.  I had heard about making playdoh, just never attempted it myself.  I guess I thought that it wouldn't be the same, that it wouldn't be like real playdoh.  Yes, it is a little different but still quite worthy in my opinion. 

I was hanging out with Little Bits this morning in his Sunday school class and this gave us a chance to play with the playdoh.  This reminded me that I wanted to try my friends playdoh recipe. 

I can't believe that I have 4 kids and I am just now getting around to making my own playdoh.  Shame, shame.  I also can't believe how simple it was.  Here is the recipe:

1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/4 cup salt
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Food Coloring - adjust according to shade you are trying to achieve

Yes, I dirtied a few pots but it was well worth the effort.  In the larger pot I doubled the recipe and added yellow food coloring.  Once it was all mixed up I pulled half of it out and ten added red to make orange.

Place all ingredients in a medium sized pot. Cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly.  Dough eventually becomes harder to stir and will gather on spoon. At this point dump the dough onto wax paper, allow to cool somewhat, and knead it until it is smooth. Store in plastic bag or container.

We just added color until we had a shade we liked.



Here computer girl is helping with the stirring.  This is a great recipe for the kids to help out with.

Isn't this just a beautiful picture!!

Just a side note, do not omit the cream of tarter, it keeps the playdoh fresh for about 6 months.



Enjoy!