Friday, August 23, 2013


Ran across another great list of "Brain Break" ideas for kids.  

(Still looking for some for hubbies out there.  hehehe!)


Thanks to minds in bloom for another great article.  :)

Link is:

20 Ways to Keep Your Students' Attention (from: Minds in Bloom)






Well, schools just about everywhere around here have 
started once again. Kids are so excited to get back 
into the routine, at least for a while.  

We are once again homeschooling our granddaughter 
who will soon be 7 and is now in the 1st grade.  

Last year we used A Becka Books and we loved it.  

This year we found something new and giving it a try.  
It's K12 online public school for homeschooling.

You are sent all sorts of books and literature 
along with many supplies for the homeschool class.  

Then you log into the site and work online and offline,
clocking how long you spend on each subject, 
working your way through the lesson plan for
the day.  

I am a pretty big stickler to sticking to a routine and 
a schedule as much as possible.  

But there are times that children can be challenged by 
the construction of criticism and/or the lack there of.  

This program allows the excuses to be a lot more limited causing much
more structure and less friction on fulfilling the daily needs required.

At times, even in the best situations in brick and morter schools 
or at home it's tough to keep the attention of the lil ones.  
So I am always trying to come up with lots of ideas.  
We call them "Brain Breaks".

(Also gives me a breather to get the next set ready for the next lesson.)

Therefore this list I ran across really fits my ideas to a "T". 

Be sure to take a look at it and see if any ideas may be helpful 
to you even if you are not actually "homeschooling" 
but just need to keep the attention of those youngsters.  


Thanks to: www.minds-in-bloom.com for the great article.  :)

Link is:

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

The Idea Daybook - what is it?

I wonder how many times a day I something pops in
my head that quickly runs right back out.

Many I am sure. Great ideas, something to take care of, 
something I see on tv, online, in a magazine, or just out of the blue.

Definitely many times.

Well, here is an idea to keep track of those tidbits that 
could be so very important (for real
or in the moment) that we don't want to forget.

Here is the answer that I ran across.   An Idea Daybook.

Next time I go to town I am going to pick up a cute journal of 
some type or fancy it upon my own with some ribbon, etc.
And start journeling this and that and all sorts of ideas that "pop" in my noggin.

Whether or not you do them is totally up to you.

Also read that it would be a great idea to label and have 
specific pages that you put ideas for holidays, parties, birthdays, etc.  
Separate from normal every day ideas.

Too bad I don't already have the book 
so I can make a note to get a notebook.  lol!

Thanks www.homeschooling-ideas.com/homeschooling-tips.html 
so very much for such a fab idea!!!


Link to the article is:

Sunday, August 18, 2013

How Do I Start Stockpiling?

Stockpiling 101 - How to Get Started Stockpiling

So LOVE this article from Stockpiling mom's website.
Loads of great links to learn lots of tips and tricks to building
a stockpile of all sorts of things and save money doing so.

Be sure to bookmark this site and refer back to it often for
reminder ideas.  :)

Thank you stockpilingmoms.com
Link is:

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Helping young ones grasp 24 hr time

I have been working with Haylee lately with telling time.
She is doing a super job with figuring it out, but it's so tough for 
young ones to truly grasp what 24 hrs of time really is.

I just happen to be surfing on Pinterest (which is my normal past time :)  
I saw a post on a time lapse ruler.  WOW!

The link lead to a pay for website, which I try to avoid so did a little googling 
- and boom - there it is - a type of ruler that has a 24 hr period 
on it with noon and midnight as reference points.  

LOVE IT!!!

photo.JPG

So instantly printed it out and highlited here and there and drew on a sun at noon 
and a moon for midnight, cut it out - laminated it with clear contact paper 
(which is awesome - I use it on everything.)
Can't wait for the next "time" lesson and I think this is going t help so very much!

Here is the printable link if you want to try it out too.

Click on it and save to desktop.  Then print and cut.