It's been a while...

So, it's been a while.
Almost two months!
We've had a busy two months.
Something had to give.
And while we've been doing fun crafts around here, the blog just hasn't been updated like it normally is.
Life is like that.
Even though I love to blog - I'm a "wordy" kinda gal...when life pushes back and gets full, it's the first thing I shove off my plate.
Sorry for those of you who check back often.
I'm back on again - and hopefully will start blogging more often.
It's a good outlet for me, and if nothing else, gives me a few moments of quiet in a day of crazy.  :)

So.
Valentine's Day!
Yes, we've been crafting, although not as much as we normally do this time of year.
Here are some we've done and loved - first, a penguin made from hearts!  Big kids can trace and cut these out on their own.
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/mheartpenguin.htm

Do you have love bugs at your house?  We do!  http://crafts.slides.kaboose.com/266-our-favorite-valentine-s-day-crafts/8   The final step on these doesn't call for hot glue - but it's what we used to hold them together faster and better. Even Jake (5) can handle a low-temp hot glue gun.  They can be found at the dollar store, and work great for projects like this!

This next one is a "mommy put-together" craft, but cute to do something as a family, and neat as a memory to look back on when they are old.  We hung ours in the middle of our craft wall.  I found it here:  http://crafts.slides.kaboose.com/266-our-favorite-valentine-s-day-crafts/16

That's all we've done for Valentine's Day so far, with two more in the works...and a few others we might get to before Monday. If we do, I'll post them and the links so you can make them too!
Here are a few winter things we've done.
Mittens in snow:

Snowflakes...way too many of these floating around the house - but here are a few they did:

And winter handprint wreaths.  These are about to be replaced with Valentine's Day wreaths, so I wanted to get a photo before I took them down!

And these are just too fun not to share. I haven't been putting too much up here from our homeschool curriculum, but these are Brazillian Carnival Masks that the kids made. They came out awesome!

Phew!  How's that for a catch up?

I'm doing great since surgery in December, and am finally back to jogging two miles each morning, which feels great. I've lost some more weight, but that is another post for another time.  The kids are good, hubby is good, and I can't complain.

I hope you are doing well!

Stacy

An Apple A Day Craft

It's still apple week around here, and today we used construction paper and contact paper to make apples to hang up.  They came out really well!
First, fold a length of contact paper in half, and draw an outline of an apple, leaf and stem.  Then open just half of the contact paper, and give your kids red, green and brown construction paper.  Let them rip the paper into tiny pieces and encourage them to try to stay in the lines on their apples. (This will make cutting them out easier later.)  This process doesn't take nearly as long as you would think.

It will start to look like this:

While we work on craft projects, we love to listen to music. The next few weeks will be filled with songs from Oliver, as Bee and I (and possibly Lex) are going to try out for this show soon!   Here is a small sampling of the kids singing today - with the added benefit of seeing the craft in action!

Then all the kiddos together singing - I think this is so cute:

After they are done, mom can fold the other half of the contact paper up to meet the first half.  Be sure to get all the bubbles out.

Last, they cut out the apples!

They should look something like this when they are completed:

Other highlights of our day included:

Observing our outdoor habitat:

And catching some frogs - who were named Big Daddy and Pipsqueak by Jakie:

Do you have a younger child whose work doesn't take as long to complete as your older children?  We love to do puzzles to keep our little hands occupied.  What do you do?

You know, I realized as I was reading through a few homeschool blogs recently that I am guilty of doing something on my own blog that I cannot stand in other people's blogs.  Have you read blogs where the reader's life seems perfect?  Where they are the perfect wife, perfect mother, perfect everything?  Ugh. So not me - and yet, I realize as I post all this stuff day after day about our schooling that I might be portraying myself that way.  Not that you care to hear about every bad thing in our lives - and not that there are that many to even tell about on a daily basis - but I want to keep this blog "real".  I don't want anyone thinking I'm superwoman.  I am a normal mom, with normal kids. I struggle with my kids being naughty, my weight, and have to work hard to get a load of laundry done each day (today it's more like four that need to be done!).

Anyhow, in an effort to be a bit more transparent with you all...homeschooling has been a blast this week, and we got off to a great start.  However, just today I dealt with the following:

A certain child fell on the floor and pretended to be asleep when asked to do his math paper.

Another child argued with me that Helen Keller never did anything brave and to ask him to write about why she was brave was unfair and mean.  (This went on for like twenty minutes and involved tears...I finally won.)

Another child stared blankly at her wall for fifteen minutes when she was supposed to be taking a math test, and when asked to move back to the classroom so that I could keep her on task (she had been in her room at her desk at the time) acted as though I was a horrible person for asking her to do so.

See?  We're real.  My kids are wonderful, but they are kids. They test me and sometimes I make them cry.  But I love them.  I was thinking today while I was talking to Alexander about not being lazy (I had given him the reason that he needed to train himself now not to be lazy so that when he grew up he would be an excellent husband, father and employee) that I am blessed to have them with me all day, everyday.  I can teach them and train them up to be the men and women God called them to be.  I know it isn't everyone's calling in life, and most of the people close to me think I'm certifiable for staying at home and homeschooling - but I love it. I hope this blog is an encouragement to other moms out there who are homeschooling, or even those who aren't.

Happy Homeschooling,

Stacy

Day two - figuring out how to make the world flat, and who God loves...

We had another fantastic day at school today. In geography, we're learning about the globe, maps and continents. We talked about how a flat map is different than a globe .  After, we drew the continents on an orange, then peeled it and laid it out flat.   It looked like this when we were done:

Later, we talked about how God loves the whole world, and read John 3:16.  We made collages to illustrate the verse:

You know, it's funny.  My first two kids have been so "by the book" when it comes to learning.  One excels in all areas, one struggles a bit, but both learn at pretty steady paces.  They learn things in order, and do just as they are told.  Two plus two is four, sentences end in periods, and zebras are black and white. Then there is my baby.  Now a first grader, and totally into thinking outside the box.  I love that about him.  This kid is gonna change the world...and being his teacher is going to be a blast.  Do you have a child that marches to the beat of their own drummer?  If so, I say embrace it.  Who says a squirrel needs to be gray?

Happy Homeschooling,

Stacy