Did you know about Personalized Crayola Crayons?

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Did you know that you can personalize crayon boxes? Not only the box, but you can even chose what set of colors to go in the box!

April 24- May 8 - 15% off Personalized Gifts for Mom with code MOMSAVES

This could be a perfect Mother's Day gift for a homeschool mom who continually gets her crayons stolen even when she had given directions not to use her personal crayons and then she gets them back they are broken and not pointy any more...and don't forget the torn paper....

I digress.

Anyway, this would make a cool gift for mom or any one! There are special boxes for Mother's Day, Father's Day, Teachers, Birthdays, Weddings, and more!

And you can choose various sets of crayons...you could even fill the whole box with one color if you want!! You then can have a personal message printed on the bottom of the box. 

You can get them in 8ct, 64ct or ginormous art box.

Go check them out!
And remember, April 24- May 8 - 15% off Personalized Gifts for Mom with code MOMSAVES

Integrating Science into other Subjects

Find out how I integrate science...

I have written before about Ways NOT to Teach a Science Lesson. Today, however, I want to encourage you to teach science. But, I want you to teach it with a different subject.

Integrating science with other subjects shows how they relate.

Science is not just something extra we learn but is part of our hobbies, our history, and our daily lives.

Read the rest HERE.

May Day Flowers

Today our homeschool group is taking May Baskets to a nursing home our church has been ministering to. I thought I would share with you the two kinds of flowers we made!

One is the traditional tissue paper flower made with tissue paper and chenille stems.

Here is a video showing the basics of how we made them. The only difference is we only used 3 pieces of tissue and didn't trim the edges.

The other kind of flower was easier to make but not quite as attractive as when I saw it on Pinterest because I forgot to tell the kids to turn the paper the other way!

Here's the original pin I got the idea from in case you want to do it right!

So excited! I have items for sale on Currclick.com! GIVEAWAY

That's right. Yours truly has items for sale on http://Currclick.com. Hoping to help my family through providing some items that others might also find helpful!

The first items are my I Can Illustrate Psalm 23 booklets which are available in ESV, KJV, NIV, and NKJV. 

I have offered this free on my blog before, but this has been updated.

A brand new item I have on Currclick is Quality Quotations for Copywork: Nelson Mandela. His recent death made me want to have some a way to include some of his memorable quotes in our school day!

Now for a giveaway! That's right, I'm going to give away an item that I made! The winner will receive one item of their choice the Psalm 23  or the Nelson Mandela. Giveaway will end Sunday, February 10.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Appreciation Notes for a Homeschool Mom

My daughter like to make cards and notes for individuals. Sometimes I'm actually the recipient!

After a long day of hitting the books at home, it was a big blessing to receive this...

I'm the best teacher!! I know the rest of you really try, but obviously, I'm the best.

But not only do I rock at teaching!

That's right. I'm the best mom in the WORLD!  What makes me qualified for this title you may ask?

Apparently, I like to cook. Well, I cook but actually I don't really like to do so. 
But this one was the kicker!

Okay, this is true. I do rest a lot. I'm not sure how it qualifies me as best mom in the world, but I'll take it. I do appreciate how THIN this picture makes me look!

Have you been shown appreciation lately?

Friday Funny---Mother and child art

This is almost more sweet than funny. Definitely an idea to try!

When artist Mica Angela Hendricks got a new sketch book a while back, her 4-year-old daughter was insistent upon being able to try it out herself. Hendricks tried to say no, but her daughter used a phrase on her mom that she must have heard a few times herself…

If you can’t share, we might have to take it away…

 



Check out the linked article for more. Or go to the artist's original post.

World Snake Day--Easy snake crafts

Considering all the wars and international unrest it's nice to know that the world can agree on one day to celebrate snakes!

It's a start.

Here's a few ideas from Pinterest to help you celebrate.

Fireworks craft--coffee filters, rubber bands, markers

Here is another firework-type craft. 

I say firework-type because you can also make flowers from them or if you use fall-ish colors, they can be great turkey tails or cut out for fall leaves.

All you need is...

They do need to be washable markers in order to get the right effect.
You flatten a coffee filter, fold it in half and continue to fold the cone shape in half until it gets small. (Think folding like you do for snowflakes only using a coffee filter.)
Then you take a rubber band and wrap it around the coffee filter in different locations and tightness. It will look like this after you have folded and wrapped the rubber band.

The next step you can see started in the above picture.  You start coloring in all the different sections in whatever color you choose. It will look like this.

Next, you stick it in a cup of water or run it under a facet for a few seconds and then squeeze out the excess. Remove the rubber band and...

Ta Dah!

It's tie-dye fireworks!!

Fireworks Artwork---paper, paint, glitter glue & chenille stems.

Unless you are my age group---then you need pipe cleaners instead of chenille stems! ;-)

I mentioned on my previous post about Flag Day/Fourth of July crafts. Although I had to do it differently, of course!

First, we bent 4 stem in half, twisted the "handle" and spread out the legs. We used white poster paint on black construction paper to make the basic firework shape.

Here is what one looked like after we were done with this step.

Now you could sprinkle regular glitter on the wet paint if you wanted to do so, however, I had a goal of getting some fine motor skill practice for some smaller fingers.

So, we let the paint dry and then used some glitter glue to decorate our fireworks.
Here are some of the finished fireworks!

Tomorrow we'll do a different for of "fireworks" that can also be used for flowers and other things.

Flag Day and Fourth of July Patriotic Craft Ideas--Pinterest

I think I will do a few over the next few weeks building from Flag Day to Independence Day.

Wednesday Websites: Share your birthday with someone famous

Of course, you're birthday is famous enough for belonging to you, but what if you also share the date with someone "famous-ier"?

You can find out with these sites.

Smithsonian: Which artist shares your birthday?

Celebrity Famous Birthdays

Famous Birthdays on this Day in History

Who Was Born on My Birthday?

Literary Birthdays Blog

Birthdays of Scientists

Easter Projects: Resurrection Rolls and Stained Glass Cross

Yesterday we did do projects for Easter. One was art and one was baking, but both focused on the real reason for the season.

First, I had come across a cute idea which I posted on Pinterest. I had to use what I had available, so our stained glass cross was a little different.

We didn't have cling-on paper, so I used clear contact paper. We tore off the backing a little at a time and put torn tissue right on the back.

We didn't want to just remember the cross, so we went a step further. I wrote "He Is Risen" on the contact paper and then we tissued the back just like we did on the cross.

I would have used the black Sharpee, but again, we used what we had! I then cut out the words leaving the outline intact. 

Here's our finished project.

I just attached it with household tape. It looks really cool during the day, too, with the sun behind it, but I didn't want you to see the boxes and laundry!

Then in the evening we made Resurrection Rolls. It's been a few years since we've made them, so the experience was fresh for mija.

All you need is a roll of biscuits (you know, the scary kind that can pop at any moment), marshmallows (preferably white mini or large ones cut in half), a little butter, and a little cinnamon sugar.

You set the oven temperature according to the container.

You use these items to tell the resurrection story.

First, you spread out the biscuit explaining that Jesus was laid in a borrowed tomb.

Then you lay Jesus (the marshmallow) in the tomb. He's white because He's been wrapped in grave clothes.

Jesus laying in the tomb anointed with oil and spices.

Then you put a little butter and cinnamon sugar on Jesus. It was a speedy burial, so they couldn't prepare the body fully but did put some spices on him when he was buried (John 19:40).

Of course, the tomb needs to be sealed up tightly by folding the biscuit over and pressing the edges together.

The sealed tomb.

We put the tombs in the oven for about 10 minutes. Check on yours. When they are golden brown remove them. Let them cool for a few minutes.

When you are ready to open them...

Jesus is gone! He's risen from the dead!

Little ones really are gobsmacked by it and even mija was asking "Where did Jesus go?"

Of course, the marshmallow has melted in the oven leaving behind an empty (and yummy) tomb.

We actually made three each allowing each of us to have a turn to tell the resurrection story.

There are many kinds of resurrection rolls recipes, but I really like this one because of the ease and the obvious object lesson.

Wednesday Websites--art and craft

I'm starting a new series on Wednesdays. I'll be sharing websites that I come across. 

I'll also continue to post them on my Helpful Homeschool Website page.
Have you used my page before?

Today's topic will be Arts and Crafts.

One email I look forward to checking out comes from All Free Kids Crafts. The ideas I really like I pin. You can always just go check out the site instead of getting emails. 


Everyday Art was a community art project from a few years ago, but each assignment is still available online. There is a gallery of photos of projects that were submitted at the time. Some projects take months, some only a few minutes. Some cute ideas to use or use as a jump off place.

Garden of Praise is really cool. It has entries for famous artists which tell their stories and show a variety of their artwork. Then it has online puzzles, games and printables which review the artist and what was covered. These are at an elementary level but enjoyable for all.
The site has a lot of free resources on other subjects, too!

What are some resources you use? Please share!

Ten Turkeys in Ten Days--The Finale

Guess what? We ended up with ELEVEN turkeys in ten days!

Two of them were painted yesterday, so we didn't finish them until today. We threw in one more for good measure since I had printed the pages for it. We had a hectic day, so we waited until this evening after the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special.

The first one from yesterday was a hat! I have it pinned here. I knew it wouldn't actually fit us since it originally only fit a toddler, but I just had to make it. I cut them a little narrow, so they didn't stand up quite as well. 
I think they are still cute, however!

Then mija had an idea for a turkey she wanted to make. I didn't want to hog the turkey spotlight, so we went for it!

That made ten, but were we finished? No way. Bring on the classic TP roll turkey. Originally we just going to do it all on our own, but I found sheets to color and cut at ABCTeach.com and it's even one of their free items! My hubby jumped in and made one of these, too.

Thanks for joining us on this turkey journey! Hope you played along. Have a great Thanksgiving.

We're done!

Ten Turkeys in Ten Days--Turkeys 5-8

I'm back on track! I'm cheating a little, but we're back on track. 

If you recall, last week I was ill, so we got behind in our Ten Turkeys in Ten Days. Thanks to Drop 'n Date and Sunday school, mija made two turkeys this weekend at church. I'm counting them!

One is a colored plate with a turkey and her memory verse for Sunday school. The other is similar to the Tootsie Pop turkeys we made last year.

That brought the total up to six turkeys. Today we made two turkeys which brings us up to date!

First, we made mixed media turkeys using magazine pages cut in half for the tail feathers.

We used two "head/body" shapes. One we laid horizontal to give a fuller body and wing look. Then we glued the other one vertical for the head.

Bowling Pin

I don't want to assume you know how to make a head/body shape. You can either use a fat figure-eight or infinity symbol or a bowling pin shape with a little big fatter head than an actual pin. Get the idea?

Infinity Symbol

Our second turkey was also made from Pinterest, but ours is much improved in my opinion!  Snow flake Turkeys

I will show you the original and ours, so you can see the difference with your own eyes!

Source: localfunforkids.com via Betsy Price on Pinterest

Cute but boring. Plain paper for the tail and no body. Here are ours.

We used a full-sized magazine page which gave us our color. We added an actual body and head. 

We both attached our body and tail differently, but I think it looks cute either way. 

So, mija has now actually competed eight turkeys in eight days. One more tomorrow and one on Wednesday and our mission will be complete!

Ten Turkeys in Ten Days--Day 5 doing turkeys 3 & 4

Yup, I'm behind, but not for lack of trying.  I became ill and didn't do ANYTHING from Tuesday evening until this morning. It wasn't until this afternoon that I actually had a sense of purpose!

So, today we actually made two turkeys. One which mija could make easily by herself and one that wasn't too hard once I could focus more.


The first was just a color, cut, and glue sheet, but she enjoyed the "independent" aspect.

You can find the Pinterest link HERE.

The second turkey we made today was a turkey wreath. Here's a link to the Pinterest Pin which gave me the idea.

We made ours a little different. We used 1 x 3 inch strips for our loops instead of the 1 x 6 inch loops recommended. We also used googly eyes.
We hung mine on the newly-dubbed turkey wall.

We hung mija's on the front door with the string leaves we made last week. 
Now, on to turkey anatomy.
For a loooong time, I have been calling the red, floppy piece that hangs down from above the turkey's beak the wattle. BUT THAT IS WRONG.
The piece that hangs down over the nose is called the snood. The wattle hangs under it's neck.




See, one of the joys of home education is the ongoing education of the parents! 

Ten Turkeys in Ten Days--Day 2

Here is day 2 in my Ten Turkeys in Ten Days personal challenge. Today, my hubby participated in the turkey making. What a cool daddy!

This one wasn't on my original post. I found it afterwards, but it is posted on my Thanksgiving Pinterest board.

Here's the pin:

Source: allfreekidscrafts.com via Betsy Price on Pinterest

The Daddy Turkey

The Mommy Turkey

The Mija Turkey

What I really thought was cool was the family aspect of the hand prints which makes this a great keepsake!