Make your own Pizza, CiCi's style!

Our homeschool group organized a field trip to Cici's pizza. When we arrived, they had about 30 pizzas out with the dough and sauce on them. The manager came out and talked a little bit about the making of pizzas and what the kiddos were going to be doing. He showed them how to add the cheese and pepperonis to their pizza. Kameron got to determine how much of both he put on his pizza. He had so much fun. Then they took them back to see where they go in the ovens, and where they make their own dough. It was really cool to see, I sure had fun!! The pizzas only take 5 minutes to bake, so they each got their pizza back and could eat it. He made it through 3 slices and decided to bring the rest home. He was so proud to show Daddy and Kaydence his pizza he got to make!! He let them have a piece and then he saved the rest and let Grandma and Paw-Paw have some too. It was a great experience and we look forward to doing it again!

File Folder Games

I found this book on Amazon for ready to assemble games for sight words. It is so great! I was able to order it through their warehouse so I got it for half of the normal price, and since I am a prime member, it shipped for me for free in two days!! It works through over 200 sight words. It has 10 different games that you just cut out and paste into file folders. I plan on laminating mine to last for both of my kiddos.I have one folder put together and am very excited about it!! I think they are going to be a fun thing to help my son get his sight words down!! A few of the words in the first game we haven't worked on, so I am going to change the way we learn the words so he can begin playing the games because he will know most of the words used in each one. I am really liking the ready to make books. I have several saved in my cart for future purchases. Here are a couple of them:

Muffin Tin Mondays: Apples

This week the theme over at MTM was Apples! I wasn't sure I was gonna try this one, but in the middle of school, i figured out I could do it! I basically used the tree design by Michelle, but used things we had here lol. I used wheat tortillas and made turkey wraps with lettuce on the top. They had applesauce, and apple dippers with Carmel. Also, some chips, goldfish, bumps on a log and fruit snacks. The red fruit snacks were the apples on their trees. They were so excited about it! It was fun to do and I'm glad I did this. I am loving Muffin Tin Mondays!! Already thinking of ideas for next week!!

Science

A member of our local homeschool group, HEART, organized lessons through the Houston Natural Science Museum once a month. Since we are members of the HNSM, I was excited to see something else involving them. We signed up and went to his first lesson Tuesday. The theme of the lessons are Wildlife and this lesson was about snakes and spiders. I'm not a fan of them, but Kameron soaked it in. He was listening so good and following directions great. I am always so worried about that, but he did awesome! They learned about jumping spiders and made a picture of a spider by drawing legs, eyes and the other body parts. Then they did an experiment that caused the spider to fly into the air. They then talked about snakes, and they saw the shedded skin off of a boa that was probably 10 feet long. They made an envelope that had "rattlesnake eggs" in it. He had such a good time wandering around afterwards trying to get people to peek inside. After the lessons were over, they were given the chance to hold a tarantula. Kameron goes up to the front because he wasn't going to miss this. He waits his turn in line and holds his hand so still while the spider crawls across it. He asked to do it again, so he just got back at the end of the line. Well, Kaydence could not be forgotten, so she jumped right in there and let that huge spider crawl across her hand. Not to be outdone, I stretched out my hand, closed my eyes and let it walk across my hand too. It was actually soft and not at all creepy like I was expecting. We went to the butterfly gardens after the lessons. It was so nice and peaceful in there. I look forward to going back again and spending more time, sitting on the benches, letting the butterflies land and fly all around us. I bought some flavored bugs our the the vending machine on the recommendation of a friend. After that, we had lunch together and headed home. A great day full of science and family fun, Who could ask for more??

The next morning, Adam and Kameron tried the bugs. I thought for some reason, that they weren't real. I thought they were just flavored things made to look like bugs. I guess I was the only one who thought that lol. Adam knew that were real, and when I showed my SIL, she said they were real too. I was wrong, the so were real. They ate crickets and larva!!!! I had tried the larva, but I didn't know it was real. I couldn't even try the cricket cause they looked so real, and now I know why. I won't be buying those again lol, nope, not at all. It gives me chills just thinking about it!!

First Day of Public School

Today was the first day of school for our district. Last night, I was second guessing myself. Worrying about whether or not we are making the best choice for our kiddos. Is he going to be missing out? Will he get everything from us teaching that he needs to be successful out there? I was just full of questions. This morning, I woke up feeling good. I prayed and pondered and feel like I'm going to be doing the right thing. After we got back from the park, we had some company over and one of the guys had been homeschooled! I asked him how he liked it and he said it was good for him. All of his siblings were homeschooled and he said it worked great for their family. It helped me to see someone that had been through it and wasn't deprived. It made me feel so much better. I look forward to this year and the learning that is going to take place by both of us.

I wanted to do something different for the kiddos since they didn't have to be up for school today when all of their friends did. We finished up school and packed a picnic lunch. We headed over to the new park that was built behind our community center. It is a futuristic-style park. At least that is what the description said. It had some things on it that I have never seen before. It was really neat. Not so much for Kaydence, but it worked out good for Kameron. We played there and then went over to the baseball field and play at the playground there. Then, we sat under the pavilion and had our picnic lunch. We then went back over to the new area and played on the water slab. It has jets of water that shoot up and spray. It was so much fun!! I even joined them playing in the water. We were the only people there, and I look forward to bringing more people and telling our homeschool group about it this Thursday when we meet!!

Another Week Gone By

Well, another week has past. I've learned some things about myself. I need a schedule. I need to know exactly what needs to be accomplished and when. I have to have it organized for myself so I can be organized in the other aspects of my life. I'm excited to start this week off on a better foot!

We are going to be working on the same book again this week. There were some things that I didn't get to cover and do that we will be doing. We have a few trips planned this week, so it is going to work out great.

We did our Muffin Tin Monday today. There wasn't a theme for this week, so I basically just served their meals in the muffin tins. They enjoyed having it served up in those muffin tins. It is fixing to storm here, so I better go make sure everything is closed up. Until next time!

Muffin Tin Monday

I stumbled across a site that posts ideas for making lunch and serving it in muffin tins on Monday. I totally loved the idea. I couldn't wait to get started but started drawing a blank. I didn't know what I was going to do. The week I found it was no theme and I just couldn't think of anything lol. This week's theme was Planes, Trains and Automobiles. I started thinking about traveling in each of those. I decided on the peanuts and root beer because that's what I always had on a plane ride. I wanted to make train or car sandwiches, but didn't have a cookie cutter for it so we got stars! Then I put in some fruit and cheese because we take that a lot with us in the car when we travel. I also put in those animal cracker cookies that come in the red train box. The kids loved it!! They were so excited to have the food in the muffin tray. I had found the star one on clearance after the 4th and the flower one I bought on E-bay. You can check out the site I found here: Muffin Tin Monday. Next week the theme is: No Theme so I guess I will be practicing my creative skills lol. We enjoyed our first week and look forward to many more!!

BlueBell, The Capital, and an Awesome Find!

On our way to our Nanny's house, out in Central Texas, we decided to stop at the Bluebell Creamery and take the tour. It was so neat. We saw how they prepare the ice cream and learned that each machine can make 52 1/2 gallons a minute. We were standing there listening to the tour guide for 10 minutes, which means, we saw 520 1/2 gallons made on 1 machine. (There were 6 machines running!!) At the end of the tour, we received a sample of ice cream. They had 8 choices to choose from, and I tried the newest flavor, Nutty Chocolate. It is so good, worth trying!! We had a lot of fun and it helped to break up the trip. After that tour, we headed into Austin to visit the State Capital. We went to the State Capital Visitor Center first. They gave us a ton of information. I was especially excited about the travel guides. I hope to use those a lot this next year, taking small trips. Texas is so big, and that makes so much to see and do. We were able to see some of the things from the history of Texas. Wagon Carts, paintings showing different battles that were fought, flags from the different missions and they had computers set up to tell the stories too. It was really cool and free!! They also had an area where you could put on some cowboy gear and mount a saddle. The kids thought that was the coolest thing ever. Kaydence couldn't fit in the chaps or gloves, but we put on what we could and got their pictures! Then we walked over to the capital. This thing is huge. It was awesome to walk to the middle and look up into the huge dome. Adam and Kameron went up 4 different flights of stairs and looked back down towards me and Kaydence. It was really neat. We saw the room that the House of Representatives meet it. It was huge, and just really cool to see. It was a great visit that all of us enjoyed. I can't wait to have a Texas History lesson with Kameron. We got back home on Thursday night, so today, I had to go to the store for some groceries. I was shopping and looking around and it is unavoidable that I stop at the clearance section. I saw this long box that had been opened. As I got closer, it was an art easel. It was the kind that you can roll the paper down from the top to use. It was really cool looking. Those things have always been out of budget and I wasn't expecting too much when I grabbed it to go scan the price. I was figuring in my head that I wouldn't pay more then 20 bucks for it. I couldn't justify more, so I knew if it was over, it wouldn't be ours. I did some more shopping and finally got to a scanner. I grabbed the box and scanned.........10 bucks!!!! I put that thing back under my cart so quick lol. I was so excited. It is going to be great. I got it set up and the kiddos had a lot of fun drawing on it. It came with washable markers and everything! I was so excited and can't wait to incorporate it into our schooling. That was my awesome find of the week!

Another Week has Begun

This week was the first week that we were able to use our workboxes and have the school room more ready for school. It was great!! We have only done Monday, but I wanted to get some pictures posted of our system that I talked about last post. Kameron loved it. He loved seeing that he was almost done, and he was excited to see what was in the next box.

Here are some pictures of what our school area is. All the shelves will be filled with resource books, our books we have here, and most of the children's books. So it will be a wall of books!!

Lots of planning has gone into my system, so I make sure that I have it right for us. I am so in love with workboxes. I'm thankful for the Internet that gave me the resources to search it out and find the idea. I'm greatful to all of the fellow bloggers and homeschool families that shared ideas and thoughts about it. It is truly going to be a blessing in our homeschool journey. I used Target's awesome containers because they are stackable. Kameron is able to stack them after he gets done with each one. He stacks them beside the table we do school on. I don't have my strip ready yet, because I'm modify the design and making it more fun!! I have my box labels done, but still have to laminate those. I am going to make him cards that he will be able to have to ask for help, tell me he needs a break and a few others. I am so excited to get more things going with that. I love that I am better utilizing the things that I have.

Workboxes oh Workboxes

During my search for homeschooling ideas, I came across Workboxes. It is a shoe box system that uses 12 boxes to help organize the child's school day. You place lessons and activities into each box and the child works left to right and top to bottom to work through each box. I fell in love. I couldn't wait to get started. I bought my containers from Target and am using shelves built into the wall. I'm not following the exact format for the workboxes, but I am doing something that is going to work for us. My containers are green, and I plan on getting pink ones for my youngest. I love these containers because they are cute and the handle folds out so they can be stackable. I have searched many blogs and am so excited to start next week with our book, Meerkat Mail, and the workbox system. I have been planning out my lesson plans by numbering 1-12 to write down what is going in each box.

Homeschool Share, a free website that has so many resources and unit studies just added a new section to their site for workboxes. I was so excited to be able to check it out and get some ideas from it. I look forward to printing and preparing several of the items to use in our workboxes here at the house.

I have read that it is an adjustment to your school day as your child goes through each box, to help your child understand the order that they work through. But, once they get the hang of it, they thrive and do awesome with it. I will post some pictures of my area once I get it all set up. I have to finish painting the brackets for the shelves. I will finish that tonight and get my boxes set up Saturday evening. I can't wait!!

How to Make a Cherry Pie and See the U.S.A.

Last week we rowed, How to Make a Cherry Pie and See the U.S.A. I really enjoyed this book. I can't wait to do the next book by the same author. We reviewed the book we read previously and went over the letter of the week. I introduced the new book and asked Kameron what he thought it would be about. In the story, the girl wants to make a cherry pie, but the bake shop is closed and she has nothing to bake in. She travels around the U.S.A. gathering materials to make the supplies she needs. I introduced 5 vocabulary words this week. As we read, every time he heard one, he was to point it out. That worked really well for him. I put cotton balls all around the kitchen and had him gather an armful of cotton. He estimated how many he thought it would take to make the oven mitts. He picked 39 cotton balls. Then we practiced measuring with a measuring cup. He learned 1 cup and 1/2 a cup. I colored the water red so he could see it easier. It was another great week.
I am taking a break for a few weeks because I have so many ideas and resources that I want to implement and get together. I think I jumped the gun, and got started before I was ready. I want to be the best that I can be at this, and I am just not as prepared as I want to be. I know I will never have everything there is to have, but I also know that I should be using the things I do have. I haven't used them because I am just not organized enough. I need to better organize myself and my school area so the things we need are close at hand. I learned several things in my 2 weeks of lessons and plan on adjusting and lots of list making. I have a ton of copies I need to make along with planning the lessons for the end of July and August. Before I start again, I want to have at least a month of lessons planned.

On another note, Kameron wanted me to read Hank the Cowdog to him one night. I read a chapter then searched I-tunes for the audio book of that book. I found it and spent the best 10 bucks in a long time. He laid on his bed for almost 45 minutes straight just listening to that book. He finished it the next day. I am now going to buy him a new book every few weeks and add it to my I-Pod. Gotta love technology!!

Success...

We finished our first week, and I have to say, I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would, I totally loved it! After the first day, it just felt right. I can't even explain it right, it was just an awesome feeling, and Kameron loved it too. We rowed the book, Blueberries for Sal. We focused on the letter "B" for the week. We learned about bears and blueberries, and we even got to go blueberry picking.

For bears, we learned about black bears since they are the types of bears in the book. I started by helping Kameron fill out a mini book about bears. Things he knew, wanted to know, and what he learned. He had some different coloring pages to color. I had a fact sheet about the bears that I filled in so I could teach him about the different things.

We learned about the best climates for blueberries and things you could make with the blueberries. We practiced counting one we had went and picked the blueberries. We made waffles with blueberries and blueberry muffins. We used some pictures of buckets with blueberries to learn about amounts. One was half full, full, empty, 3/4 and 1/4 full. It was fun. We added those buckets to his lapbook. We also had from that same site, a spinning life cycle of a blueberry bush that showed it growing from a seed to the bush we know and love!

I used my letter pocket chart and focused on the letter "B" He practiced writing both the upper and lower case letters. I wrote out words on the board and he told me which words used the letter b. I had him name off as many words as he could think of that used "B". He would make the "B" sound, and then name a word, it was great to hear him go "bbbb, bike!'

I had so much fun and look forward to our next week of rowing. We are going to do How to make a Cherry Pie and see the USA. I'm super excited about this book too. It doesn't have a planned lesson anywhere, so I'm excited to be doing this one solo again. I don't know why I enjoy that so much, but I like making the lesson plans. It is about a girl that wants to make a cherry pie for the 4th of July. We will be learning about cherries, the letter "C" and the USA!

Until next week......

So it Begins

Here begins our homeschooling adventure. We are embarking on this journey after a lot of debating back and forth, worry over learning enough and socializing, and prayer. I am so very excited about this decision. I know that I can do more for Kameron and Kaydence, teaching them at home, then they will get from a school environment. I don't have to worry about them not being able to pray before their meal, or talk about Jesus around the other kids. Kameron is so full of questions that he would be in trouble constantly because he wouldn't be able to stop asking. I love that with me teaching him, as he asks a question, we can get off topic and answer it. There won't be a test afterwards, or a specific topic that is being covered that leaves no room for questions. He will be here, safe in our house, getting the best of what we can give him. We will have time for camping, fishing, bi-weekly field trips, zoo days, park days, pajama only days and so much more. We don't have to answer to anyone. As long as our kids are learning, then we are going in the right direction. We will be able to teach what we want, how we want, and when we want. A classroom without administration dictating what can happen, it's on us. We control our classroom and that is the best feeling in the world!!!

We are going to use Five in a Row. It is a program that uses the same book for a week, incorporating different subjects each day. I am finalizing the lesson plans for our first book we are going to "row". The book we are doing is called, Blueberries for Sal. We will be picking blueberries next week, so I thought that this book would be awesome for our first attempt.