Friday, December 20, 2013

Our Mid Year Homeschool Curriculum

Our first purchased set of homeschool curriculum has arrived!!! It's like an early Christmas present! Technically Bella wouldn't be starting Kindergarten until next fall but I wanted to get a head start and ease into schooling at home. I don't intend to rush ahead but feel out what works for her and gently encourage her.



Here's what we got!

  • Math: Saxon Math K set and Manipulative Set I decided to get a head start on kindergarten and after looking at tons of different curriculum (I have been literally going back and forth for a year now), I decided upon Saxon. This curriculum will ease her into this subject. The Math K set has no work book material at this level, which is something I really like. I wanted to hold off on the workbook intensive materials until she got a bit older.

  • Handwriting: A Reason For Handwriting K I know I just mentioned not wanting to do workbook materials but I don't know if there is another way for me to teach handwriting. I think this handwriting book because it has the biblical emphasis that I hope to gently incorporate through out the next year.

  • Reading: Bob Books We rented the first set from the library a few times but I got tired of constantly renewing them and since they are working really well I thought having our own copy would be essential! I have also seen many printables online that go along with these books! We have also been using the I Can Read books at the My First level. This is a great way to incorporate there reading skills while learning about characters and stories.

  • Sight Words: The Best Sight Words Book Ever I liked that I can use this book for several grades, as it gives you tons of different sight words. For each word you create a tiny booklet with 6 different activities. I wanted something basic that I could expand on myself with adding more hands on activities and games.

  • Phonics: Explode the Code. I've heard many good things about Explode the Code and I was excited to try it out. I want Bella to have a solid grasp of phonics!

This is what we are going to start off with. It's the middle of the year, a pretty unconventional time to start but we are ahead of the gtame and homeschooling is all about flexibility!!! I plan on adding extra hands on activities and field trips for other subjects such as science and social studies!


Thursday, December 12, 2013

Free Pre K Princess Pack

I am pretty excited to share this one with you!! This is my first Pre K printable pack. My daughter is obsessed with everything princess and I wanted to create her something she would love!

I would love some feedback, let me know what you think! Download it for free!



Download my version of Princess Pack for free!

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Thursday, December 5, 2013

Bella 11/12





Display Wedding Memories with a Shadow Box


I was looking for ways to display some of my things from my wedding. I wanted to use our invitation, program and some dried flowers from my bouquet. I found this deep shadow box at a home goods store for 15 bucks! Here's what I was able to design....
I used my pins from the bouquet to stabilize the stationary. I hot glued the dried flowers after careful dissembling of the bouquet and rearranging them. Key word here is careful! These are delicate dried flowers that can snap easily!

Whats great about this idea is that you can use anything from any special event. If you want to use a bridal handkerchief, jewelery, special notes and photographs, the options are limitless! What are some of your ideas for keeping and displaying those memorable events?

Monday, December 2, 2013

Garlic Bread Butter Recipe

This is a recipe for the no fuss, simple cook!

One day I whipped this up and spread it on some fresh bakery italian bread. It was soooo delicious!!! You can use this recipe on a variety of things! You can use it as a breakfast sandwich spread, on potatoes and mashed potatoes!The possibilities are endless!

1 stick of butter at room temp (I use Imperials 1/3 less fat)
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon Parmesan and Romano grated cheese blend (I love Trader Joe's)
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon basil seasoning

mix all the ingredients together and spead on sliced bread!

It's important that the butter is at room temperature to ensure the mixing of ingredients is even. You don't want it too soft or runny either. This will not spread as nicely.

If you're feeling experimental, try switching out the seasonings to create your own butter spread. You can go spicy or sweet!