Giveaway Reminders: Need Sign Ups and Sponsors!

Just a couple of reminders about some exciting and huge giveaways coming up soon! 

If you missed my last post, starting April 9th, we are holding a Big Mother's Day Cash Bash!

The giveaway has 3 prizes. 

• 3rd place: a 3D Family Canvas Photo made by Emsheldesigns.com, where the winner will get to choose any photo they wish to be placed on Canvas. 

• 2nd place: a beautiful Spa Perfect Relax & Rejuvinate Tote Mother's Day gift basket byBea's Gift Baskets and Gifts 

• 1st place:  will receive the biggest pot of cash (to be determined by how many people sign up--but so far it's over $500!). 

If you are interested in being a sponsor and having your blog link placed in at least (minimum) 100 sites and gaining a significant amount of followers, please ENTER HERE as soon as you can. 

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SECOND, a reminder that coming up in May we also have the Savory Summer Giveaway! We are looking for sponsors as well as bloggers to participate. Savory Summer will be all about food! Anything you can drink, eat, eat with, eat off, cook, cook with, or prepare food with...it all goes! 

I'm looking for sponsors and in exchange, I will offer free advertising on my blog. If you'd like to help me out and be a sponsor, please e-mail me using the button on the right sidebar. Thank you! 

Ya Ain't Gonna Paint No More! Art Lesson

Last week with my K-1st co-op we read I Ain't Gonna Paint No More, an adorable tale based on a folk song about a mischievous boy who just loves to paint the world around him, but especially himself! 

Afterward, we decided to paint ourselves too--at least on paper. We started out by drawing a self-portrait and tracing it with sharpie. This is my example of a loosely drawn random person. 

Then we took bits of tissue paper (NOT the non-bleeding kind), wet them a bit and arranged them onto our portraits.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get many pictures this time but the effect is that once the paper is dry, you peel the tissue up and you're left with a colorful washed effect similar to watercolors. Pretty fun and just a little bit messy. A vacuum comes in handy once this lesson is over! 

Beatrix Potter Freebie

In this unit study students can read the story and look at the beautiful illustrations by Beatrix Potter.  When they are finished they will complete three exercises and play a sequencing game.  A fun way to take a day off and still keep learning!

Do You Show Off Your Kid's Crafts?

Last night at Mpact, Mikayla made a little wreath out of a paper plate, tissue paper, plastic eggs and stickers. She was so excited about her creation and asked me if we could hang it up when we got home. I know she worked hard on it and I didn't have anywhere inside to put it, so I took down the wreath on the front door and put up hers. She was just so tickled. 

Truthfully, it looks silly. It's cute, really, but it's also small and very...bright. It doesn't look natural there--but it made her so happy. So that got me thinking...

Do you have a special place to hang your child's 300 drawings (even though half of them are all of the same thing)? Are you proud to display that play-dough creation (that your still not quite what it is exactly) on the end table, or the 999th Lego sculpture they worked so hard on?

I have to admit, other than our fridge or gifts that they've made specifically for us, I try to  limit their work to their rooms. With three kids who love to draw, build and create (which is a good thing!), it's just too much to display all the time and it easily overwhelms the house. 

How are you when it comes to displaying you kids artwork and crafts? 

Oil Pastel Insects Using Symmetry

I did this project with my 4-6th co-op class last week and it went over pretty well. First we talked about what symmetry is and about patterns. I introduced our project to them, which is creating our own "big bug". In order for it to be somewhat accurate, we talked about the 3 main parts of an insect along with defining characteristics. Then I set them on their way doing the project. 

First, we took a sheet of large paper and folded it in half lengthwise. Then we drew half of our bug on one folded side with black oil pastel. 

Then we folded the other side over it and pressed hard to transfer the color to the other side, making a mirror image and completing our design. It's hard to see in this picture but there's a faint line so we traced over them with the oil pastel again. 

Later we added more patterns into our bugs to make it more interesting. 

The last step was to fill it in with color. I chose watercolors because it would be easier to paint since it resists  against the pastel. This is my example. I chose to focus on complementary colors using blue and orange (more brownish in the photo) on the body, yellow and purple on the top half of the wings, and red and green on the bottom half. 

The kids had fun and I always have one or two that like to veer off and spin their own take on the project. I just roll with it usually lol. Most of these are unfinished because I didn't get a chance to take pictures after they were completed. You get the jist of how creative they were though. :) 

Check Out a Homeschool Conference Online--FREE

Homeschool Convention is a completely FREE and information-packed virtual convention and conference center and it is open 24/7. You will enjoy inspirational speakers, how-to workshops, goodie bags and a beautiful vendor hall. Not only is the environment spectacular to view, you will find great curriculum at great prices from the homeschool companies you have come to love. 

I know I love this idea because I am never able to go to live conventions because they are either too expensive or too far away If you're interested (and why not? It's free!), click here to register! 

While you're there, make sure to visit Knowledge Quest's booth to get a freebie! They are offering Map Trek: Ancient World ($14.95 value) absolutely free! Here's what you need to do:

1. After registering,  head back over to your email inbox and launch the website from the link provided, using your username and password.

2. At the bottom of your screen is a box that reads "Tote Bag". Open that up and click on "view" next to the Knowledge Quest gift (Map Trek). This will launch an internal frame that takes you to our webpage to download.

Enjoy! 

Some Great Easter Resources for You

Lapbook Lessons has shared some links with some really great Easter resources! Check them out!

• Free Resurrection Lapbook
• Easter Egg File Folder Games
• Resurrection File Folder Games
• Story of Easter Timeline & Coloring Pages
• Resurrection Egg Printables
• Stained Glass Easter Craft 
• Jelly Bean Prayer
• Easter Bookmarks (Gift Kids can Make)
• TONS of Preschool Resources
• Natural Egg Dying Activity
• Easter Bible Lesson Links
• Preschool Tot Packs by Carisa 
• Easter Crafts on Mama Jenn
• Easter on Totally Tots

JumpStart Mobile Apps for Under $1.00

I posted a review of JumpStart's website for kids a while back and I wanted to share this with you. JumpStart is now offering some pretty cool mobile apps for just under a dollar at $.99. Head over to JumpStart's mobile apps section to check it out. 

Book Review: Gabby's Stick to It Day

Gabby S Stick-To-It Day: A Story about Never Giving Up by Thomas Nelson Publishers

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gabby's Stick-to-It Day is one of a cute series about Gabby, God's Little Angel. This is the first in the series that we've read. I read this to my 6 year old and even my 10 year old was attracted to the cute illustrations tinged with glitter on the cover. Young readers will appreciate the way Gabby speaks in a realistic way, much like most girls do. The story is very sweet and teaches kids about the importance of trying your best and not giving up when things get tough. Since this is a Christian book, we are reminded of God's word on perseverance, but it is not in an overtly pushy way. Many Christians and non-Christians will appreciate this story with it's message and the humor of the story as we follow a young girl named Sophie on her adventures along with her guardian angel, Gabby.

Recommended and we will be checking out the others in the series.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Litfuse in exchange for my review. All opinions are 100% my own.

View all my reviews

Finished Friday

With life being so busy, many times after we're done with school, things just get randomly thrown in a pile and tossed on the bookshelf. Since we don't have a schoolroom, everything school related gets put on this shelf along with 2 cabinets stocked with art supplies. Long story short, this eyesore has taken up half of our living room for too long. 

It looks like it's getting ready to implode--seriously. So this week's project? Tackle this shelf and purse and organize! 

These are the after shots, a little more organized. First, this helped--a 22 g. bin getting filled up with books I simply must part with.

After that was done I just organized all my papers and books and ended up a little neater. 

On the top I have a spinning rack with "my" stuff like Sharpies, dry erase markers, pens, etc. Then I have the school related library books, a large 3-ring binder for each of the kids that's divided into section to hold their papers and work, and several workboxes I made months ago to hold each subject's books we're using. 

The first shelf holds the art books and supplies along with small totes to hold our manipulatives, math blocks and phonics tiles.

The second shelf holds a big art bin that holds things like extra pencils, glue sticks, scissors, etc. The three stacked small containers hold our frequently used markers, colored pencils and crayons. On the right side is the kids' library books.

The third shelf is all my non-fiction books--Bibles, devotions, marriage and parenting books.

The fourth and fifth shelves hold all my beloved fiction. Look at all that empty space--what should I fill it with?

Your turn--have you completed any projects lately? Have you started spring cleaning your shelves?

Mother's Day Giveaway Seeking Bloggers

Mother's Day is one of the biggest giveaway events of the year because everyone is looking for good gifts for their moms. This year, voiceBoks together with other bloggers, are holding a Big Mother's Day Cash Bash. 


The giveaway has 3 prizes. 

• 3rd place: a 3D Family Canvas Photo made by Emsheldesigns.com, where the winner will get to choose any photo they wish to be placed on Canvas. 
• 2nd place: a beautiful Spa Perfect Relax & Rejuvinate Tote Mother's Day gift basket by Bea's Gift Baskets and Gifts 
• 1st place:  will receive the biggest pot of cash. So far, in just 4 days, we have raised over $500 from our sponsors to go towards the Grand Prize. 

If you are interested in being a sponsor and having your blog link placed in at least (minimum) 100 sites and gaining a SIGNIFICANT amount of followers, please ENTER HERE as soon as you can. 


The official giveaway begins on April 9th.

Pretty on Pinterest: Spring!

Each Thursday, Simply Stacie and Sassy Mama in LA host the Pretty on Pinterest meme where you can link up your posts on the theme of the week. Each week there's a different theme for you to find pins you love on Pinterest and create a post to link up.

This week's theme is Spring. We've had some beautiful spring weather for most of the past week and we've really enjoyed being outdoors. So I thought I'd share some of my favorite outdoor projects I've pinned. 

First, I love this idea for a decorative back patio!

Source: sunset.com via Christy on Pinterest

And I love this beautiful walkway using different colored gravel.

Source: a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net via Christy on Pinterest

These are beautiful seashell windchimes, but I'd change mine up a bit and add some variety.

Source: thriftyfun.com via Christy on Pinterest

If you have a garden, these easy to make glowing orbs would look lovely in them at night.

Source: theartofdoingstuff.com via Christy on Pinterest

And if you don't have a garden, here are some great bed ideas for you to start one!

Source: naturalyards.com via Christy on Pinterest

Teaser Tuesday 3/20

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! All you have to do is:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser for the week:

Cities worked very hard to stay independent of one another, but the Pretty Committee was a global institution that made sure pretties were all more or less the same. It would ruin the whole point of the operation if the people from one city wound up prettier than everyone else. ~p. 262 , Uglies by Scott Westerfield 

Insect Copywork & Activities 3 Volume Bundle Only $1.00

If you're getting ready to do a spring study on bugs, head over to CurrClick and check out this deal! You can get all 3 volumes of Insects Copywork & Fun for just $1.00! 

In Insects Copywork & Fun! you can copy & learn a little bit about fifteen different Insects. These are the fifteen included in these units:

• Ladybug
• Fire Ant
• Horse Fly
• Sphinx Moth
• Stag Beetle
• Walking Stick
• Dragonfly
• Stinkbug
• Mosquito
• Bumblebee
• Silverfish
• Locust
• Damselfly
• Goliath Beetle
• Boll Weevil

This copywork was created to be simple, fun, and not overwhelming. THIS IS NOT JUST A COPYWORK UNIT! It includes information about each topic being copied, along with activity pages, links to accompanying videos, and more. These could be used to start off the school day, or to fill the time while the parent/teacher is busy with something else.

Print and cursive pages included. Suggested for grades K-5 but is very flexible for higher grades. 

Regularly a great price at $1.50, but on sale through Friday for just $1.00! Click here to get it! 

Tri-Moms: Gardening with Kids

Today is the first day of spring--yay!--and this week's topic on Tri-Moms is about gardening with your kids. There are lots of ways to teach your kids about gardening, but keep in mind that a lot of times, it's a process of trial and error. 

Start with some kid-friendly tools. Little hands won't get  tired as easily with smaller, lighter tools in bright colors made just for them. Buy some small gardening gloves (or not, if your kids love getting dirty) and you're all set. 

If you're planting a flower bed, why not try something easy for kids to try, like sunflowers? They're easy to maintain and come in different colors, making it great for kids who are just learning. You can also teach them how to use the seeds for next year. Other easy-to-grow flowers are zinnias and geraniums.

While you're at it, why not get some clay, beads or tiny ornaments and have them make some beautiful stepping stones for their new garden? 

Remember that lovely garden I told you about last year? The one we were so excited about? Yeah, that's not happening this year. We got complaints from our backyard neighbors and a lovely visit from our landlord about resources because of watering the garden. *sigh* It wasn't pretty but I'm going step right around that big ol' can of worms and move on now. 

If you want to teach your kids about gardening but lack the space, or aren't allowed, try container gardening. You can use big flower pots and some soil to get started. Some easy vegetables to try with kids are zucchini and sweet peas.  

Or try a  TickleMe plant (yeah I just found it and I know the kids would love it). 

Above all else, remember to have fun and enjoy the beauty of watching things grow! As always, be sure to check out the ideas from my fellow Tri-Moms,  Kristin and Allyson. 

Do you garden with your kids? Share your tips below! 

Upcoming topics:

April 3: Celebrating the Meaning of Easter

April 17: Spring Cleaning

May 1: Reflecting on the Past School Year

May 15: Summer Learning Plans

A Resource for Reading for the Differently Abled

If you have a child who has special needs or trouble reading, check out Reading in a Nutshell from CurrClick. See the list below to see who this resource was specially designed for. 


If you have finished a phonics program, but your child still has a lot of holes, this product is for you.  You don’t want to go back through an entire phonics curriculum nor do you have time to do so.  This resource will take you through the basic phonics sounds and rules in just a short time. 


Take a few weeks to review the concepts in this book and your child will be back on track and ready to read. 


This book was designed for:

• Remediation
• ESL Learners
• Special Education Students
• Dyslexic Students
• Right Brain Learners

Get it here for only $4.99. 

Looney Tunes Phonics Program 60% Off

If you're child is a Looney Tunes fan and is learning to read or is a new reader, check out this deal from Living Social. For $20, get a six-month subscription to Looney Tunes ClickN Read Phonics (regularly $50)! This is a savings of 60% so if you've been wanting to try it, now's a great time! Click here for details and to snag this deal before it's gone! 

St. Patrick's Day Irish Dancing

My oldest also takes Irish step dancing in addition to ballet, tap and jazz. This year she was invited to perform in the St. Patrick's Day festivities at our local beach resort town. She was really excited but a little nervous since she found out about it only a few days before hand, thus only one rehearsal! 

First she was part of the parade but as a younger dancer, she was assigned to hold the banner while the older team members danced for the judges.

Had to black out the name of the school... safety first, right?

And our young dancers came in 1st place for Best Performing Youth Group! Woot!

Anyway, after the parade, Skylar was able to dance in a showcase on the main plaza along with the other dancers. 

Sisterly love before the show...

Getting ready to go on...

I'm so sad I don't have any video to share of her dance. I filmed it on my camera and when I uploaded it to my computer, it said the file was corrupt and it got deleted. :( However, a friend of mine got a couple shots in so this will have to do. 

I have to show you the film that I did get uploaded. My daughter wasn't in this one but these girls are seriously amazing. The Irish team at our academy is just wonderful! This dance is to the Celtic piece "Ancient Lands", one of my absolute favorites! 

1,000's of Printables Available at Scholastic

I try to limit the number of worksheets that I give the kids in our schooling, but occasionally, I will use them for a quick review or extra math help. One site I found that has a ton of helpful worksheets is Scholastic. They have over 15,000 worksheets like preschool lesson plans, kindergarten worksheets and printable resources all the way up to the 8th grade. 

Some handy tools include creating your own stationery and games, an online file cabinet to store all your favorite sheets, and access to over 100 reading and math learning packs.

If you're unsure, you can sample these free lessons to see how they work for you (scroll down a bit to see them). Plans start at $8.99 and you can save 15% by using the code PO15AD. 

Enjoying the Spring Weather at the Zoo

Last week the weather was gorgeous and warm so we decided to throw out the books for the day and get outdoors. I thought it would be neat to make our own nature study book just of the animals at our local zoo. As we walked through the zoo, I made a list of all the animal exhibits, the animals themselves if they were out, and any information given. My goal is to try to cover at least one or two new animals each time we visit until we've studies every animal at our zoo. I won't show them all, but here are a few of the ones we captured on camera.


You can see our photos so far in the slideshow below (click the photo).

A Delicious Little Mini Unit Study for Just $1.00

With all the Easter candy filling shelves right now, do you ever wonder where the popular chocolate bunny came from? I found this on CurrClick and thought I'd share.

Do something different for your Easter or spring studies! Learn about the history of the chocolate bunny!

This is part of the Two-Day Study Series by homeschool bits. It is not necessary that you take two days to do this study. It is only a suggestion. You can easily adapt this study to last one day, or several weeks. Website links will be provided in case you decide to continue on.

Included within this unit are the following: information and fact pages about the chocolate bunny, illustration/coloring page, questions worksheet, basic blank copywork page with photo/illustration, labeled and blank diagram, suggested vocabulary words including definitions, blank vocabulary cards, vocabulary word search, and suggested websites.

As with all units by homeschool bits, this was created to be simple and not overwhelming. The suggested grade level is 1-5, but depending on how you use the study, it could be used for lower or higher grades. 14 pages.