Good morning, friends! We had a busy and fun Easter week, so I just want to quickly journal some blessings today. I haven't had have much time this spring to get too involved with my yard, but one morning last week I ran to Lowe's to pick up some flowers to get started on pots and beds. I'd just been gifted a Dunkin' Donuts gift card by Whitney from Come Home for Comfort for answering a Bible-related question on her Instagram story (@homeforcomfort), and since our DD is conveniently located next to Lowe's, it only made sense to swing through the drive-thru and grab a latte to accompany me on my plant shopping trip. This was such a little treasure in my busy week! I mean, flowers and ... Read more
A New Project!
We've been desperately needing to clear out some overgrowth of vines and brush in our woods. For the first few years that we lived on this property, there was enough cleared ground area for playing and picnicking. We even had an area right by the creek for our tent, Adirondack chairs, and a firepit. But over the years, the usable space has shrunk due to the overgrowth. We have plans to reestablish the area this spring and even add some fun new features, so my husband hired someone with all the necessary heavy-duty equipment to come out and clear the mess while leaving our trees. The guy was scheduled to start work at 7:00 yesterday morning and all week our son had been anxiously ... Read more
Teach Them Tuesday: Homemade Viking Costume
Hello, friends! I told you yesterday that I’d be sharing more boy adventure posts this week. Well, what could be more adventurous than going back in time to sail with the Vikings?! Kids love to dress up! When my girls were growing up, we had a whole cabinet dedicated to their dress-up clothes, packed full of princess dresses, colonial and medieval gowns, native American apparel, jewels, crowns, hats--you name it. My son is still young enough to enjoy dressing up and has a tub in his closet for his hero costumes. Through the years, my kids have dressed up for everything. If they read a book, watched a movie, or learned something in history, they suddenly wanted to be their favorite ... Read more
Teach Them Tuesday: Thumbprint Angels and a Christmas Story
Yesterday I mentioned a Christmas party we had with our homeschool friends. My friend, Kelli, hosted the event and did an amazing job planning and orchestrating a rotation of activities to accommodate our large number of kiddos! She arranged areas around her home for four stations: story, craft, cookie decorating, and games. She took care of the story time and asked three more of us mamas to take the other stations. I was assigned the craft station, so I planned a craft that would go along with the book Kelli would be reading in her station. The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree, by Gloria Houston, is a heartwarming story about a little girl, Ruthie, and her parents living in the ... Read more
Teach Them Tuesday: Thanksgiving at American Village
If you live in Alabama and have had the privilege of visiting American Village in Montevallo, you know what a fantastic educational experience it is. My kids and I have been four times and it has never failed to exceed our expectations. Our "First Friday" group--a homeschool co-op we do field trips with on the first Friday of each month--recently participated in American Village's Thanksgiving program for our November field trip. We enjoyed a day of inspiring American history and lovely fall weather! I have a few photos to share from this most recent trip, but be sure and check out my post from a previous visit for details about American Village and photos of its beautiful colonial buildings ... Read more
Pumpkin Patch Cookies!
My son and I are in a field trip co-op this year which means the first Friday of each month we go some place interesting, educational, and fun with a bunch of great friends! The moms take turns arranging each field trip, and I had the months of September and October. September was supposed to be a trip to a museum and a historic home at our state capitol. Unfortunately, our tour was canceled by the museum a few days before due to a certain virus which shall remain nameless. For our October field trip I had planned a day at a farm and pumpkin patch down the road from our house, and it just happened to fall on the first day of October! There's no place we'd rather be on October 1st than ... Read more
School Day Breakfast and Beverage
I mentioned in a post about our first week of school that, because we didn't have as much as much expense in curriculum and other materials this year, we got our two homeschoolers a back-to-school gift. Each gift cost $25 at Target, and both gifts make the work of our hands a little lighter when it comes to school morning breakfasts! Our son loves a good breakfast sandwich! My husband bought him a breakfast sandwich at a drive thru one morning on their way to the city dump, which is a total guy thing! Ever since then, he's enjoyed making them at home. So when my husband and I were on a date at Target (because our dates are either to Target or Dollar General these days), and he spotted ... Read more
Teach Them Tuesday: Homeschool Highlights of the First Week
We had a fun first week of school here at our little home academy! As with every year, I prayed all summer about our upcoming school year. And, as always, God resolved every question, concern, and decision I took before Him, and got us off to a great start. I love homeschooling my kids and am so thankful for the journey we've experienced together, and, because of that, I can easily get excited for the start of a new year. Here are a few highlights of our first week: We always have a "Pre-First Day of School" on the Friday before our first whole week. This is just a fun day when we take first day photos, hand out school surprises, set up new notebooks, go over the year's plan, and have ... Read more