See? I Told Ya!

Baby Bee at Kids Club

     I knew I couldn't keep a consistent diary, but that's fine.  I'm going to attempt to backtrack and make up for the last 3 days.  That puts me at Friday, the 3rd, right?  Friday was the first time we had direct deposit so that I didn't have to wait until my husband got home before shopping.  He might end up regretting that.  So what I did first that morning was make sure that the kids got off to school, then I dropped the Bee off at preschool.  I had to stay a little while, but got out after about 40 minutes, so it could have been worse.  I was going to go shopping in my neighboring town, but on my way out of the school the counselor asked me about paperwork that I hadn't dropped off yet in the bigger town.  So I decided to go shopping there even though it meant less time to shop.
      I went through my sister's town because we don't have a highway through ours.  Her house is right before the highway on-ramp and I usually stop in to see if they need to go in to town to save gas and you know, just to be nice.  I almost didn't that day because I knew that I didn't have much time and I didn't want anyone to feel rushed, but I stopped anyway.  Turns out the alarm clock misfired and a couple kiddos didn't make the bus on time, so it was good that I stopped in.  We got them off to school and went to drop off paperwork and shop.  It turns out that shopping without a bunch of kids in tow is actually not as scary as I thought, it was nice.
     That said, I went over budget.  I couldn't help it, all those things that I could use and no exact number of bills in my pocket.  Too much freedom for such a small girl.  But most of what I got was for the house, so at least there is that.  All the cool cleaning supplies has gotten me back into the rhythm of things, which I totally needed.

     Anyway, later in the day Big One had a soccer game.  Her coach/kids club leader offered to give her a ride.  I was so thankful because I had actually taken the initiative to invite the people who had called me earlier in the week about Punk and their grandson not getting along to kids club.  The thought there was that we could see the two children interact and see exactly who is doing what so that things could be worked on.  I opted out of Big One's game to see if they would come.  I was sorry to miss it.
     Anyway, so I dropped The Big One off early with Coach K at the kids club building so that they could leave and the other minions begged to stay there.  We were an hour and a half early for club, so I got a pizza to fend off the grumpy bugs.  That was pretty much the end of the night.  The people that I had waited for didn't show and Big One's game didn't go so well because players didn't show and they were short-handed.  But the day itself went well.

Okay, on to the Joy challenge for that day.

3 gifts caught, let go, mid-way:

Tough!  Man, these aren't easy some days, especially when you wait so stinking long to do it.  Alright, 1.  Caught.  My husband, not that he's a fish or anything, but he IS a great catch.  Poor guy surprised me with a hot steak bomb sandwich without knowing that I had gotten pizza.  He's always doing such thoughtful things.  I ate it anyways, it was good :)  And the day before, he brought home a lobster from his work's BBQ for me.  He does things for me that don't involve food, I swear.  But those were two very recent examples.  So I am thankful that I "caught" Broofy.

2.  Let Go:  My apprehension.  It kind of goes along with the whole letting my guard down thing.  There is NO WAY that even a month ago I would be hanging out at kids club for an hour and a half before the club started.  A month ago, the only things in my mind were the feelings of awkwardness and constantly wondering how others perceived me.  I also didn't have the patience to deal with all four younger kids in public.  Even if they were well behaved, the smallest misbehavior would have had me frustrated and worried about what people were thinking.  What can I say, I was depressed and depressed people don't think rationally sometimes.

3.  Mid-way:  Well I guess that would be the Punk thing.  Also NO WAY, Stinking Jose would I have ever invited Bus Kid's grandparents anywhere within a mile radius of me even a month ago.  So the fact that I came to meet them half way is a huge step for me and for the whole situation.  I really feel great about the progress I am making.

So those are my joys for Friday.  I'd say have a great day, but you'll hear from me thrice more today while I make up Saturday, Sunday, and then today.  So until then,

Putting Things Off

     I'm stalling.  I have so much housework to do today.  That toilet incident completely messed with my Cleaning Mojo.  Or whatever.  It messed things up, anyway.  So now I am looking at all the extra stuff that has accumulated since then and am feeling the desperate need to detach myself.  So I am going to do my Joy Challenge.  That makes 2 days in a row, I am on a roll!  Okay, here goes.

3 gifts falling:

     Well that's a tough one.  I'm sure I'm supposed to say leaves or something.   But how about these instead:

1.  My guard.  Truth be told, I have been too scared for too long.  Worried about everything, just so anxiety-ridden.  Scared about how I come across to others who just don't know that I'm shy, scared that I sound ridiculous to everyone I talk to because I'm nervous and say the wrong things, scared of the -ex, scared that my home will never be organized enough for sleepovers, just stupid and senseless things.  Either these things will be or they won't.  It's good to be aware, but stressing over it is a waste of time and energy.  So I am thankful that I am starting to be able to get away from that constant fear and nervousness and that I am able to enjoy each day completely.

2.  The price of gas.  Hallelujah!  I heard the price of gas is supposed to drop below $3/gallon for most of the country.  I haven't heard such awesome news in a long time.  With the prices of everything else going up, like food and household goods, it's nice to know that I will have the gas to get to the store and still have a budget when I get there.

3.  Humidity.  Thank God for that.  Falling humidity comes with falling temperatures.  THAT, I'm not so thrilled about.  But as I sit here typing this, an incredibly wonderful family friend has come by to drop off some sweaters for me.  I have had such a lack of sweaters my entire adult life.  I have coats, but not a whole lot that I can really wear inside while I am at the computer or in bed.  I am so grateful for her visit, she has been such a blessing over the years.  I can't wait to enjoy the warmth this year.

     I suppose if I have to deal with falling temperatures, then the falling leaves are also nice.  So I will throw that in here because I know that I'm supposed to.

     Okay, enough procrastinating, on to clean the kitchen and do some laundry.

Enjoy your Thursday!

Recovering From Yesterday With a Bit of Thanks.

 Happy First Day of October!!!
     Yesterday was not a great day.  I swore that I wouldn't let it bring me down and that I would rise above and well, I didn't.  I allowed the day to just wipe me out.  After the toilet flooding incident, I got a phone call at home from a grandparent of someone that Punk has been clashing with for years.  I guess she wrote a pretty mean note to this boy.  I found out that it was not only my 8 year old, but that an 8th grader was assisting her and doing the actual writing.  The fact that someone found my home number and called nearly gave me a heart attack.  I don't give out my number and it isn't listed under my name or my husband's name.  In fact, I just don't do phones at all, I don't even call my friends or family except for a few select people.  Truth be told, I am petrified of certain situations and awkwardness is one of them.  I think I cried for a half hour after I got off the phone, and the phone call could have been a LOT worse.

     However, I digress.  It's over and I'm moving forward.  Today, a wonderful woman posted something on her Facebook that reminded me of something that I haven't been doing very well.  Showing thanks.  Don't get me wrong, I always say thank you when someone does something for me, but I don't show gratitude for the things that no person is directly responsible for.  Things of this world that I should be thanking God for or events that we attend, things I don't know how to say thank you for.
     So without further ado, the first day of my Joy Challenge.  Disclaimer: I absolutely do not expect that I will remember to do this every day.  My brain could only dream of being that functional :)

3 Gifts Orange:
 
1. The pumpkin that will grow from the seed that Baby Bee placed into the potted soil this morning at school. I am thankful that she can write her own name and I am thankful that she is always thinking of her brother, who she made one for when hers was done. I am also thankful that she is enjoying school, even after I leave.

2. The bag of pumpkin spice coffee sitting by the Keurig. I don't use coffee often and will probably still be digging into that bag long after pumpkin season is over. But I am thankful that I have coffee here to fall back on if I can't afford Dunkin. In fact, I am thankful for coffee in general. Especially the Pumpkin Mocha flavor at Dunkin right now

3. The title block of this blog. It's pretty much just an online diary, but it will be my therapy of sorts to help me stay on the bright side of things. It was a free blog template, so I am happy for that.

     I'm sure that I could come up with more, like the Home Depot event this Saturday that we go to every month or the pumpkin patch that we will be visiting, also this Saturday.  But I will stop here for now.

Enjoy your day,

I Hate When I Forget to Title My Posts :p

     This is one of those mornings where I have a totally rough start.  Usually it drains me and I have a hard time moving forward.  This morning it actually wasn't the kids, the kids did pretty good, actually.  WOOT!

     This morning it was the sight of my home.  Remember how the toilet needed hauling up?   Well it had been, ahem, not done.  Remember how a few kids had snuck in and pooed in the clogged toilet?  Yeah... I turned on the toilet water supply to try to flush and dilute what was in there in a vain attempt at not having to scrape it all out.  Then forgot the water on.

     Fast forward a few hours and we are all going to bed.  Boogie is running the halls, getting out the last of his energy, while the rest of the kids are sleeping and Broofy and I are watching House.  Then I swear that I hear splashing.  *Gasp*  Oh no!  He's splashing in the toilet!  Who left the door open?  Gross!

     Yeah, no.  I WISH he were splashing in the toilet.  Somehow he managed to flush it without us hearing it.  Multiple times.  He flooded the whole living room, the bathroom, and part of the hallway with crap water and was splashing in that.  To make matters worse, I had just moved every misplaced thing from the other rooms of the house into a big pile on our living room floor.  New books, papers, shoes, all drowning in poo water.  Luckily, it was mostly clothes and so they are washable.  But really!?  The living room?  Couldn't have flooded the kitchen across the hall or the hallway?

     All day today I will be cleaning up schnit water and schnit water-logged possessions.  Then I will be surface mopping, then bleaching with the shampooer.  It's all I can take not to sink right back into that depression I am crawling out of.

     God, help me.

     I leave you with this because it makes me feel better:

Here's hoping the day goes better from here on out.  Have a great one,

The Intent Was There

     The intent is always there.  Sadly, I actually got very little done today.  I did clean about a third of my bedroom.  That's actually slightly impressive given the state of my room.  And I did do laundry, so the day wasn't all in vain.

   The big struggle of the day was getting Punk to enjoy soccer and be a good team player.  She asked me to sign her up for soccer, so quitting isn't an option.  But she sees things differently.  Regardless, she is made to dress up and show up to support her team.  She was told that she will do so all season long.

     Well prayers went out for her today because she has been having a very hard time following through and being a team player.  With the help of a family friend, we tried to turn that around today.  As he suggested, I explained to her that God never gives up on people.  I reminded her that he didn't give up on us, even when his only son died on the cross for us and that things were hard for Jesus.  It was never easy.  I told her that we should follow his example and that we should never give up when others are depending on us.  With that little piece of advice and some well needed prayers, we headed out for practice.

     When we first got there, she gave trouble.  She didn't want to play and she fought me about going over to her team.  When she did get over there, her coach took her to the side and sat with her on the side line.  They talked for a little bit and just like she'd never hesitated at all, she got out and played.  She played hard.  She made me so proud.  Prayers at work.  Good job, Punky!

Great ending to a lazy kind of day.

Goodnight and God Bless,

How Does It Do That?

     Ok, so today is Monday.  The Bee doesn't have school on Mondays, so I get to "sleep in" today.  I think really that I'm going to start cleaning.  I feel like the housework never ends, it's so easy to get bogged down and want to give up on it.  But I will beat this and the only way to do so is just to do it.  Even when I don't want to.  Even when it's cold or rainy out and even when I'm super duper tired.  Lucky for me, I'm just tired.  And someone pooped in the clogged toilet, so it's a little smelly until the toilet gets hauled up and we find out what Boogie flushed down it.  But tired and smelly are pretty optimum considering other scenarios, especially since the awesome man in charge gave us coffee.  Yeehaw!

     Plan of attack is simple, first I round up the enemy, then I set up a perimeter, triumph over casualties and allow the useful to live another day.  It's getting easier the more I do it.  At first I had a lot of guilt over tossing perfectly good and sometimes down right new looking things.  But in the end, saving them to be donated involves cleaning, then bagging and dropping them off.  Failed attempts for years has proven that very few things make it that far before being sabotaged and rescued by the troops.  And the house is too full to risk any more failed attempts.  So straight to the dumpster it goes.  No cleaning, no waiting for the next trip to town.  Just gone, because our family is worth it.  Our happiness is worth it.  Routine and a working family space is worth it.

     Some year I would love to set up a recycling system, but we are not in that position yet.  That involves organization.  One day we will be there.  Maybe 2016 will be that year.  Right now our goal is to walk from room to room without tripping and survive the winter without rummaging every drawer and bin we have each morning for gloves of roughly the same material and/or color.

     So on to sweep a room, set up totes and decide what stays and what goes.  And laundry, cause that's a given.  I leave you with this incredibly awesome fact that totally answers one of my life's biggest ponderables up to this point... How on earth does that caterpillar get the body of that butterfly?

Mind blown.

Until tomorrow,

Or whenever,

Well This Could Be Tricky

   So here's the thing: I am terribly disorganized and have no sense of routine at all, but I want to write a blog.  So I need a blog that doesn't depend on any kind of actual structure.  That would be this one, it's my tinker blog.  Occasionally I might post a recipe, a how-to, a letter to my kids or share some random motivational piece that I've run into.  I don't know really what I will be posting, but hopefully someone will find it useful.  If you follow me, have fun and enjoy the whatever :)

All the best,

365 Free Summer Activities and More

     I'm sure you have noticed that times are tough, especially if you support a little one.  But luckily there is a never ending supply of fun for free that you can have right in your own neighborhood!  We've scoured the net... and our own creative stores... for fun ideas that don't involve hours in front of a screen and we've come up with 365 amazingly fun things to do with your kids this summer (and for summers to come).  As we do these activities ourselves, we will link the post with the activity, but for now, we have linked many of them to our favorite tutorials to get you started.
     Keep an eye out a few months from now for our Autumn and Winter list!  If you like this, please share or pin so that others can like it too.  Thanks :)

Free (or almost free)

1. Soda bottle bowling
2. Alphabet photo tour - take a photo of one thing that starts with each letter
3. Camp out during the day
4. Explore a creek
5. Have a picnic
6. Create a documentary - A day in the life..?
7. Clean out a vehicle
8. Make grass or acorn whistles
9. Draw a self portrait
10. No electronics day - this one saves you money!
11. Draw pictures for each other
12. Make a movie poster
13. Run relay races
14. Do brain teasers together
15. Play Pictionary
16. Visit the pet store - no harm in looking
17. Opposite day
18. Go bug hunting
19. Explore the woods
20. Bubble paint
21. Watch a movie
22. Be blind/deaf for a day - NOT an outside activity
23. Copy your favorite book illustration
24. Star gaze
25. Write letters to each other
26. Learn to coupon
27. Make a faerie ring
28. Have a bonfire
29. Make paper airplanes
30. Have a bike parade
31. Play school
32. Sing karaoke
33. Donate old books
34. Do a nature color hunt
35. Ask each other silly questions
36. Do an art swap
37. Make squiggle drawings
38. Learn about another culture
39. Whittle a bar of soap - let kids use spoons to carve with
40. Create a maze
41. Catch frogs
42. Make a touch and feel box
43. Make portraits of each other
44. Play house
45. Write a letter to someone - send it if you have a stamp
46. Make some cookie cutters
47. Take a free online art lesson
48. Skip rocks
49. Bake something together
50. Play hot potato
51. Open a "restaurant"
52. Make finger puppets
53. Make finger print art
54. Write a song
55. Search for fireflies - catch them if you can
56. Make tin can telephones
57. Recreate a favorite movie scene and film it
58. Write and perform a play
59. Have a car wash
60. Try musical glasses
61. Pull weeds
62. Write about a memory
63. Have a bicycle wash
64. Fly a kite
65. Juggle
66. Have a fashion show
67. Make a story by taking turns adding sentences
68. Draw a caricature
69. Make a journal jar
70. Have a spelling or math bee
71. Create a flag for your made up country
72. Learn a line dance
73. Feed the birds
74. Make popsicles
75. Make ice cream
76. Sing along to the radio - use brushes or spoons for full effect
77. Play hide and seek
78. Draw with the non-dominant hand
79. Learn something new
80. Make and use your own glue
81. Play a card game
82. Have a sleep-over with the cousins
83. Make pysanky eggs using crayons and food coloring
84. Start a collection
85. Paint your fingernails
86. Create a mosaic
87. Make an eye spy bottle
88. Have paper airplane distance contests
89. Trade kids with someone else for the day
90. Leaf rubbings
91. Hum a tune and let others guess the song
92. Build a backyard mini golf course with old cups and paper flags
93. Learn and use some survival tips
94. Make a play theater
95. Do papier mache
96. Make fun hairstyles
97. Have a family concert
98. Watch a musical
99. Make a bucket list
100. Make a pencil can
101. Play limbo
102. Do a cooking show
103. Look for constellations
104. Learn a new game
105. Create an obstacle course
106. Pick flowers
107. Have shadow fights/dances
108. Watch old cartoons
109. Make a map of the yard
110. Hunt for feathers
111. Recreate famous art
112. Memorize a song
113. Make paper dolls
114. Design clothes
115. Play hot/cold
116. Pick berries
117. Play 20 questions
118. Make a time capsule
119. Read something
120. Make finger paints
121. Play hangman, tic-tac-toe and dots
122. Play shadow puppets
123. Create a game
124. Go for a walk
125. Wash the dog
126. Free-write for 2 pages
127. Write a book
128. Make placemats
129. Act out a story - perhaps a bible story?
130. Make balloon animals - You can buy a pack of balloons at the Dollar Tree for these
131. Have a toy swap
132. Dance
133. Make a card
134. Play outside
135. Plan a party - it's free to plan anyway
136. Make jam
137. Create a secret code
138. Cloud watch
139. Have a recipe swap
140. Fashion accessory exchange
141. Have a living room camp-out
142. Bring your box tv to the lawn and watch a movie outside tonight
143. Try a new food
144. Start a family band
145. Learn a magic trick
156. Have a scavenger hunt
157. Put on a puppet show
158. Plan a theme week
159. Play duck, duck, goose and ring around the rosies, etc.
160. Donate old clothes
161. Make a fruit bowl
162. Look for birds
163. Gather with friends
164. Have each family member act like another family member - could be an eye opener
165. Make a hanging mobile
166. Play fetch with the dog
167. Make a cartoon strip
168. Make an exercise cube
169. Watch a sunset
170. Make some sea glass
171. Do some origami
172. Make abstract art
173. Donate old toys
174. Build a bird's nest
175. Go on a nature walk
176. Find animal tracks
177. Make tin can stilts
178. Build a dam
179. Design a tree house
180. Make bookmarks
181. Find an object made in another country and learn about that country
182. Have a hot wheels race
183. Spend time at a local recreation center
184. Have sack races
185. Play board games
186. Pajama day
187. Make some mad libs
188. Play detective
189. Play charades
190. Climb trees
191. Play hopscotch
192. Write a poem
193. Do a nature scavenger hunt
194. Play "What am I?"
195. Take a hike
196. Go to a local playground
197. Build a house of cards
198. Play frisbee
199. Go to the lake
200. Make s'mores
201. Make playdough
202. Decorate bicycles
203. Make a puzzle
204. Become a pen pal
205. Paint a rock
206. Visit a local park
207. Make bread
208. Blow bubbles
209. Water gun target practice
210. Make cookies
211. Start a nature journal
212. Send a message in a bottle
213. Make bathing suit clad ginger people
214. Build a sand castle
215. Have a weenie roast
216. Make fruit loop necklaces
217. Read a newspaper (or some other article source)
218. Make sock puppets
219. Find something free on Craigslist and give it an overhaul
220. Visit a local library
221. Make "Flat Stanley" and take him with you today wherever you go and write about it
222. Visit a farm
223. Go for a scenic drive
224. Hunt for four leaf clovers
225. Play badminton - birdies and rackets are sold at the Dollar Tree
226. Play flashlight tag
227. Write in the sand
228. Squirt bottle tag
229. Play croquet
230. Have a water gun fight
231. Have an underwater treasure hunt at the local beach
232. Jump rope
233. Go fishing
234. Clean up a park and then celebrate a job well done
235. Go swimming
236. Have a play date
237. Surprise trip
238. Have a barbecue
239. Try some frisbee golf
240. Visit a local cemetery and look up your ancestors
241. Build a faerie house
242. Plant something
243. Play a ball game
244. Print a map of a place you know and let the kids navigate
245. Make rubber band shooters with unsharpened pencils and clothes pins
246. Make a slip 'n slide
247. Go for a drive and try to find all 50 license plates
248. Hula hoop
249. Make a sundial
250. Learn a phrase in another language
251. Sculpt something
252. Camp in the back yard
253. Movie in the park
254. Visit a friend
255. Draw something
256. Learn a hula dance
257. Draw a new cover for a favorite book
258. Visit grandparents
259. Have breakfast for dinner
260. Collect seeds
261. Have a photo shoot
262. Shower in your bathing suits
263. Start a diary
264. Repurpose an old book
265. Have a book exchange
266. Do some potato or apple printing
267. Play "Hedbanz" or Celebrity Head
268. Make a fort
269. Swap bedrooms for the night
270. Make pinwheels
271. Make a mask
272. Make an instrument
273. Make a kite
274. Make a family tree
275. Make a family newspaper
276. Sew something
277. Spin a globe and make a dish native to the country your finger lands on
278. Make a lava lamp
279. Make clay ornaments
280. Make a compass
281. Make magazine holders
282. Have a tea party
283. Make beach globes
284. Make a wind chime
285. Make crayons
286. Make paper bag lanterns
287. Color t-shirts with crayons
288. Mani/pedis
289. Makeovers
290. Make a book nook
291. Make and send a post card
292. Window shop your favorite store
293. Target practice with some popsicle stick bows
294. Make Harry Potter wands and make some mischief
295. Make paper sailor hats and captain a tin foil river boat
296. Dye some noodles to eat or craft with
297. Make some string art
298. Be creative and come up with a craft to go with a favorite book
299. Make an alphabet book
300. Play "telephone"
301. Make a car map for toy cars
302. Make a balance beam
303. Do something nice for someone
304. Make a club
305. Spin dizzy
306. Do some sink or float experiment
307. Look through family photos
308. Have an indoor picnic
309. Watch home movies
310. Make paper bag puppets
311. Have an indoor "snowball" fight with socks
312. Make your own connect-the-dots picture
313. Make some lacing cards
314. DO some noodle art
315. Make crowns and be royalty
316. Have fun with a pillow pile
317. Make some flash cards
318. Plan a vacation, where would you go?
319. Do an exercise video
320. Rearrange the furniture in a room
321. Make a pinata
322. Play doctor and prescribe "medicines"
323. Practice a fire drill
324. Host a family olympics competition
325. Play Leap Frog
326. Make a Lego creation
327. Trace something
328. Make some mud pies
329. Put on a lemonade stand if you can in your area
330. Make a diorama
331. Indoor "outdoor" games (hopscotch, etc)
332. Make a fork or spoon ring
333. Make an All About Me Book
334. Make some yarn dolls
335. Have a backyard carnival
336. Start a memory jar
337. Start a Mommy and Me or Daddy and Me notebook
338. Make a volcano
339. Make chain dolls - or anything for that matter
340. Invent a silly holiday and celebrate it yearly
341. Blow up a balloon with vinegar and baking soda
342. Draw faces on the mirror
343. Melted crayon rock painting
344. Make some fossils
345. Blow some wish flowers
346. Make giant bubbles
347. Paint with marbles
348. Make a raft, does it float?
349. Make a catapult with cardboard, rubber bands and a skewer
350. Play in the rain
351. Try to stack rocks
352. Make some butter
353. Make some sun prints
354. Play with sparklers
355. Make and photograph a detailed time line of one day
356. Make a family crest and manifesto (or motto)
357. Freeze things in ice and then dig to get them out
358. Create a religious altar (if you are religious that is)
359. Make inspiration boards together
360. Find a free event in the paper and go
361. Share stories about the "old days"
362. Design your dream house
363. Storm Watch
364. Take photos using different camera settings
365. Have some fun with cornstarch and water


Not always free, but fun anyways

1. Make popsicle stick bracelets
2. Make pine cone bird feeders
3. Make marshmallow and toothpick sculptures
4. Make lollipops from jolly ranchers
5. Print face shots of family members and cut out small pieces, then guess who it belongs to
6. Make baseball bracelets
7. Make silly putty
8. Buy a "make and take" craft kit from the store
9. Visit the local pool
10. Go to the batting cages
11. Hide small toys for the kids all over the lawn and let them follow colored arrows to find them
12. Make stepping stones
13. Make a clubhouse
14. Bury treasures around the yard and mark them with colored flags, then let the kids loose with trowels
15. Go ice-blocking
16. Have a watermelon
17. Paint and craft with shells
18. Have a balloon fight
19. Bleach some t-shirts
20. Make t-shirt scarfs
21. Have a photo swap
22. Make popsicle stick puzzles
23. Make fireflies from bottles and glow sticks
24. Have a decorated bag swap
25. Make friendship bracelets
26. Have a decorated flip flop swap
27. Make a photo collage
28. Make a doll
29. Go bowling
30. Paint your own dishes
31. Make a photo memory game
32. Visit the dollar store
33. Take photos of letters around town and make name art
34. Go to yard sales
35. Decorate ball caps
36. Decorate flip flops
37. Work on a home-improvement project
38. Go to the ice cream shop
39. Play mini golf with cardboard or spare wood holes and ramps
40. Make a tee-pee
41. Go to a campground for the day
42. Grow some sponge grass
43. Visit an orchard
44. Make some busy bags
45. Have an ice cream party
46. Eat out
47. Visit a museum
48. Tie dye t-shirts
49. Go to the drive-in
50. Pizza party
51. Go to the cinema

Chalk Preschool Online Curriculum Review

This is a sponsored campaign with Mums the Word Network and Chalk Preschool . All opinions are my own.

     Baby Bee had a birthday yesterday.  She is officially a big four year old or as we like to call her, "an old lady" and she will be starting Preschool in the fall.  She is so excited, she already knows her teacher's names and is starting to learn her alphabet.  I wasn't sure the best way to teach her her letters though.

     We tried writing our letters, words, and names in the air with our fingers at night while we drifted off to sleep.  It worked pretty well and she learned to write her name, but I worried that it would lose it's appeal after a while.  Luckily I was introduced to Chalk Preschool, an online preschool with videos and printables as well as activities.  While I don't have a printer to print out any printables right now, we find that we can save the printables and use them in paint to do a lot of the fun stuff you could if it were on paper.

     Chalk Preschool allows you to have multiple children of different ages in school at the same time.  So I signed up Baby Bee, Lil Man, and for fun I signed up Streaker, even though she is in Kindergarten and a bit beyond the lessons in most cases.

     The program offers videos called Dailies which are all about months, seasons, and days of the week.  The next video category is Weather.  The site has a printable weather graph and temperature graph that you can use to track the weather with your children.  You could stick it inside a sheet protector and wipe it clean each week or print a new one each week and add them to your child's preschool folder.

     The next category is Literacy.  Here Baby Bee watched the ABC Song and videos about what vowels are, the letter of the day and word of the week.  It also allowed her to trace the letter with her hands.  Streaker enjoyed the hands on aspect that the site gives with it's lessons.  It also suggested that parents make dotted letters that the children can trace on paper.  Coincidentally we had just done that earlier while we waited for the girls to get home from school.  Baby Bee was excited to see something familiar.  It was nice for us both to get that confidence and knowledge that we are doing things right, even when we are away from the computer.

     The next set of videos is Math and Science.  With these Baby Bee learned about addition and patterns.  It offered activity ideas and hands on math lessons.  Baby Bee helped count insects and raced against time to count them all before the video shut off.  She almost beat it!  Then she followed the instructions in the hands on video and counted cereal to find out what groups of cereal will equal when added together.  She found out that 4+4 is 8 and 6+4 is 10.

     The last set of videos is art.  Baby Bee had fun working with shapes.  We used a paint program to create shapes and fill them in with color.  We made 10 different shapes like the video asked.  Baby Bee learned that a shape can be anything from a banana to a witch's hat, as long as the outline is complete and color will not seep out.  She also learned about lines and how sometimes lines may look like shapes, but really aren't.
     We also had fun checking out the Chalk Preschool Blog.  We saw lots more fun videos with wonderful activity ideas that Baby Bee got really excited about.

     We love Chalk Preschool.  We love that each day is a new set of lessons especially made for Baby Bee.  We love that we are accountable to log in each day so that we don't miss lessons, it helps us to be excited long term and to log in even on lazy days.  I definitely recommend Chalk Preschool for any parent looking for a great Preschool Curriculum, are wanting to to help their children prepare for Preschool or who's children can not attend preschool and want to prepare their children for Kindergarten at home.
     For more, check out the Chalk Preschool Newsroom to find out what's new and for more season appropriate activities (Pssst, Dads!  You know it's almost Mother's Day... right?).

Except for the product(s) given to me for the purpose of reviewing, I received no compensation for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.

39 Day Lifescape: Become a Better You Book Review

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

     I adore self improvement books.  I don't often use them as they are intended, but I do love reading through them.  I especially love the ones with specific plans and exercises to help you reach your self improvement goal.

     39 Day Lifescape: Become a Better You is a book just like that.  I actually adore this book.  Here's why:

     First of all, the subject matter, who couldn't use a little improving?  Who couldn't use a lesson in being more positive and finding the best in all situations in their own life?  I know I could!  Often I will think about something I have said and think 'Gosh, that sounded a little depressing, you should think more positively'.  So the subject really speaks to me in that sense.

     Secondly, I LOVE that this book tells you about a certain area in your life that you could work on (say, collecting needless things that don't add value to your life) and then gives you actual activities that you can do to help improve yourself in that area.  Each day is a new area with new activities so you won't get bored, in fact you get excited to see what you are going to accomplish tomorrow.

     I think this book is a great tool for anyone who wishes to feel better about themselves and their life.  The book is written by Jaha Knight and is 155 pages in Kindle format.  You can find it on Amazon for $3.99.  I recommend checking it out for sure :)
    
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.