My Favorite FREE iPad Apps

 

"Goodnight Safari" is absolutely adorable! The trees in the Savannah shake when you touch them, and the mama giraffe twist her neck and lifts her legs, while you help the baby giraffe feed on the leaves of a too tall tree. You give a baby rhino a bath and help a baby zebra find his mother. Our 3yr old LOVES this book. You can choose to Read Alone, or Read to Me. You can purchase more Learning Activities...but I'm good with free. ;)

The "Endless Alphabet" is my FAVORITE! It is so educational. You choose a letter and the monsters run through the word and all your letters get scrambled! Then you must fill the word back in. I love that when you touch the letters they make the letter sound. So as they add them back, not only are they spelling the word, but they are learning the sounds to read. Once the letters have been replaced to their original places, they cheer and take you to the next page where they read the word, and act out the meaning of the word, then give the kids the definition. Super cute! All of our kids love this app, and beg to play it.

The letter wiggle, stretch, and make the silly sounds.

New words are added weekly! 

 

Such a FUN, & EDUCATIONAL App! 

 This "LEGO" app is cute. Best for a young audience, but our older kids still play it. You build a lego truck and as you speed down the road, you pick up lego pieces, and earn new vehicle pieces...like a helicopter, or new pieces to your truck. Very simple, but the kids seemed entertained by it. So I guess that is the most important factor when picking an app for your kiddos {after your approval of the app, of course!}. :) 

Hoping that these come in handy during our flights in the next week! We have the blessing of heading to Hawaii for 3 weeks on Monday! So very excited to have the homeschooling trip we've always wanted to take our children on. We will be hiking to waterfalls, volcanoes, and to the beach! Many memories will be made on this trip...one that will not soon be forgotten. {And I'm so thankful my work travels with me! Another reason I love my job...I can do it as needed while I'm gone.} We will get to tour coffee plantations, wildlife zoo, and even get to volunteer with a non-profit org, helping people with disabilities and their families enjoy a day at the beach, for a snorkel day! It will be neat to see our children serve others and see the change in their hearts because of it {and Bob & I as well}. 

So that is what we will be up to in the rest of this month! 

Blessings ~ Heather

Thankful November Day 29

Day 29- I am thankful I chose to take a leap of faith in June, and Change the Game for my family. It was the absolute worst year financially for our family. Normally Bob is slow during winter months with work, and it always picks up in March/April. Well this year...it was June, and there was still not much work...that's 6 months of no work. Can you say we were all but freaking out. You can't run a family with 13 hrs a week of work. You start drowning...and it just continues to set you farther and farther into debt. I hate debt...period. What were we to do? 

I looked into going to Nail Tech school. I figured I could sacrifice 3-6 months of my life with my kids to go to school and it would be something that I could do out of my home, while still being with my kids most of the day. {Plus, I really love having my nails done, and I have always wanted to know how to do "what they do!"} I had my school all picked out. Their website had all the costs listed. Bob had ok'd my crazy idea. My mom offered to watch the kids while I went to school. I had prayed long and hard about this decision. I specifically prayed that if it was not the Lord will that He would slam the door on this idea. {I need a slam, not a light closure to really know it's HIM} Well...I sent an email requesting information on enrollment...and a few days later a sweet girl called me back. To my utter shock...there was no Nail Tech classes being offered! What?!?! Their website had everything on there, including the times classes were offered! She said they put all of that up for when the GET a teacher. Really?! I was sad and disappointed that God had slammed the door. He answered my prayer, but not in the way that I had wanted. What now?! 

Waiting another month, trying to figure out a way to work, yet stay home with my kids, homeschool, and be mom.  Bob and I prayed continually about what to do. Work was still a joke. Debt was still piling up. I was still without a hope for a job. One day I asked a gal I know what it was she was doing {I knew she worked from home, homeschooled, and had a big family. And let me tell you, that took so much courage (or desperation) on my end} That day changed our life forever. I leaped in faith. Blind faith. I worked hard, and worked around my kids nap time, and in the evenings, from home, with no day care expenses. I very quickly matched Bob's income. And Bob and I are now focused on changing the game for our family. Since then I have helped many moms reach their goals, and continuing to help more. All while helping pay off debt from those terrible 6 months, and medical bills we acquired over the last 3 months. Every good gift comes from above and we pause daily to thank God for bringing my friend Janice into our life to not only give us hope...but to completely change the game for our family.

That is something to be forever thankful for...

Thankful November

I have been severely absent from blogging these last months...life has been busy, and I just really haven't wanted to. As much as I love blogging, I just couldn't find the motivation to actually do it...so I have decided to finish the month with daily Thankfulness posts. Nothing makes you focus on the good things like being Thankful! Last year after my month of thankfulness posts, I almost started a new blog specifically for thankfulness. I am easily distracted by the negative life experiences and loose focus on the positive...and yet I have sooo much to be thankful for! 

So here we go...12 Days of Thankfulness over the next two days! 

Day 1- I am thankful for my homeschool group! I love these ladies and their love of homeschooling, learning, and their roles as mommy to so many sweet ones. Such a blessing to plan out our year, and spend it together every other week! Field trips, crafts, and fun! If you don't have a homeschool group, start your own like we did. You won't regret it...you'll find other moms who share your struggles, your accomplishments, and your dreams! Such a sweet blessing! 

 

Our homeschool group at Sacagawea Park for Heritage Days

Lewis and Clark at Heritage Days

Day 2- I am thankful ALL of our puppies that Sophie and Mr. Higgins had, found wonderful homes! 

Miss Addie and the pups: Jasper, Big Daddy, and Jacque Cousteau.

Jacque Cousteau...wasn't he adorable?!

 Day 3- I am thankful for double yokes and a little man who loves them! 

One less egg to crack...and it always makes you smile and say, "Haha, how cool! It's a double yoker!"

Mr. Lincoln loves eggs! 

Day 4- I am thankful for auto save on blogger! I accidentally left my page while I was blogging this, and came back to find all that I had written and uploaded still there! I think I would have cried if it had disappeared. lol No, seriously, I would have. 

Day 5- So thankful for iTunes and the Christmas music that flows from it. Once November hits...Christmas music at least once a day is belting out of our speakers. Bing Crosby, Amy Grant, Michael Bublé, Michael W. Smith, Nat King Cole...Christmas is not Christmas without them. Something wonderful comes from these talented artist singing the songs of old, about our Savior, His birth, the angels, and that heavenly night! Music is powerful! It can evoke something inside you, that you didn't even know was there. Stir emotions in you that bring back memories of specific moments in time, special days with special people, and when done well...can make you feel what heaven might sound like with all the angels worshiping our Lord. So powerful. So comforting. So moving. Oh, I can't wait to hear what it really sounds like above! Can you imagine the power of an angelic song?! If these songs stir so much from the heart and aren't even heavenly beings...can you imagine! Ahh...so exciting to think about! 

Don't mind the stripes in the screen...our computer is dying daily...

 Day 6- I am thankful for Pinterest! Such a material thing to be thankful for...you'll find that to be a reoccurring theme here ;) I LOVE Pinterest. Do you know how many magazines I have been able to discard because of this website? Let's just say...more than you think. I have always saved them with those just perfect ideas. You know the ones that you will for sure, someday do? Well, I'm a bit of a dreamers (that's the understatement of the year). So, my life, my house, has become so much freer being able to carry all those thoughts, ideas, dreams, virtually. What a genius idea! So I guess I could say I am thankful for the person in which created Pinterest! Thank you! :) 

A little snap shot of all of Pinterest's wonderness! 

My Way of Shopping Without The Budget Being Blown!

My Dream Garden Ideas!

 6 more coming tomorrow!

Blessings~Heather

A Time4Learning Review

So today is the day! My review for "A Time4Learning" is due in and here are my thoughts:

Overall, the kids liked it. I found it to be too easy. Maybe I didn't utilize it like I should have...I found it to be a bit confusing on the parent side of things. 

Alexis (11yrs), Ty (9yrs), Gabe (6yrs), Addie (4yrs) enjoyed being able to be on the computer. {We usually don't allow the kids to be on the computer, unless it is for a specific reason, and without it being school related, I don't see a reason for them to be online.} 

Here is Alexis' review: 
   I liked being able to get on the A Time4Learning website anytime of day to access my school. That was a perk! I liked that it was "kind of easier" than my regular school work. I also enjoyed the part in which, if you didn't know something, it would show either a video or it would tell you what it meant. I liked not having books everywhere, everything was online. I really enjoyed all the reading that I needed to do (I like to read!) and how entertaining it was. Some of the characters in the videos were really funny!

Ty's review:
    I liked that it felt like I was playing a game, but I was really learning. The math was fun. Geo (a character) taught other people who didn't know about things like subtraction and teaches a lot about math. He really can teach you a lot of things about math! I didn't like the stories that were wrong in social studies. They were weird stories from China about dragons and other myths. I kind of liked making stories with the language arts. I liked that you can stick your own people in it and take your stories to other place like, the beach, the moon, and a kitchen. But, writing is hard for me...so it was fun, but a bit hard. I almost liked everything about it. 


Gabe's review:
   I liked the "Under the Sea" where you put gold and silver coins in the treasure boxes. We practiced sorting. I liked the "Letters & Sounds" part. I enjoyed the story book parts. I didn't like that pink rhino that has a yellow horn and a red stop sign. I liked how much funner it was than real school. 


Addie's review:
   I loved the whole thing! I loved the snake that took a bite of the cake. It was my favorite part. I just loved the whole thing!!! Ok, I'm done.


I enjoyed the time that A Time4Learning freed up for me. I wasn't working directly with the kids for hours at a time. I felt like it lightened my load for sure! I found it mainly entertaining for the children. I know they really liked feeling like it wasn't "real school" as they say. The girls seemed to be excited to do their schooling online (Addie would actually beg to do it 7 days a week), the boys overall enjoyed it, but it was definitely more of a struggle to get them to sit in front of a computer screen and work for a long period of time. They would often say, "I'm bored, do I have to do much more?" Which is a given in most stationary things for boys anyways. 


What I didn't like about it was the fact that I didn't have any say in what was being taught to the kids overall. I never really knew exactly what they were supposed to be on (I'm sure this is my own fault...I was confused as to how the parent end of it worked). I also don't think it is very good for them to be sitting in front of a screen for long periods of time. Not holding an actual book in their hands and always being entertained. (I do know that this is how society is raising kids now a days, but that is one of the many reasons we chose to homeschool, right?) I found it hard to have one computer for all 4 kids to use. It took ALL DAY to do school. So, if we wanted to go somewhere, I couldn't quickly have all of them sit down, crack out their work, and get on the road. We had to either skip a kids work that day, or do it late into the evening. Usually we ended up just skipping it (not a good thing!).


I would recommend A Time4Learning for a supplement to your chosen curriculum for sure! It was entertaining and enjoyable learning for the kids. I wouldn't use it as a core curriculum. I would be more apt to use it for preschool age children. I know our 4 yr old loved it! It would be a good alternative to watching a movie while trying to school the older children. I don't do preschool with our children, so it would be something I would consider for them (and at that age level, it isn't long periods of screen time anyways). 

It was fun for the month that we had to use it, but I think I will dive back into real books and spending that time with my children...teaching them...that is why I homeschool! 


Blessings~Heather

A Time4Learning Review

I've been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. Time4Learning can be used as a homeschool curriculum, for afterschool enrichment and for summer skill sharpening. Find out how to write your own curriculum review for Time4Learning.
 

Storage Idea

If you are like me, you always have a bunch on Huggies diaper wipe containers lying around. I hate to throw away anything that could be used for storage (since being organized sometimes costs a small fortune)! My hubby started using them for his "shop" in the garage, for nuts and bolts (so really the credit goes to him!) and odds and ends that you don't want to get rid of, but no place to put it.

One of Bob's storage containers.

Perfectly stores nail and screws...just pop them through the slot on top.

One of my storage containers...labeled on the outside.

It holds large glue bottles as well as glue sticks.

The slot on top makes it easy for the children to put them away...even the little ones.

 

If you are a stickler for a uniformed look...using all one color, such as white, will help it look more together and not so miss matched. I used this container for the children's school closet. It can get VERY messy and putting the little things away just helps that much more with keeping a somewhat organized school closet.

Blessings~Heather

Fun Projects for Homeschooling

  I came across this blog Eberhart's Explorers while looking for ideas for Presidents Day projects. She has such fun, creative ideas for younger children.

  I am always looking for inspiration for projects. I am very creative when given the time, but lately time is not something I have an abundant supply of! So I get excited when I stumble across a good find and someone who has done all the hard "planning" for me! I'm going to try some of these Presidents projects this week and see how it goes. The children will be happy for a change up in their weekly studies. :) They will be thrilled to learn more about President Lincoln...they chuckle every time President Lincoln is brought up and say, "That's our Lincoln's name!" :)

Blessings~Heather

Thankfulness Day 4 & 5

Day 4

Today I am thankful for:

The ability to homeschool our children. I never thought in a million years that I would make that statement, none the less, with joy in saying it. Thankfully the Lord changed my heart 5yrs ago and we haven't looked back! It's the best opportunity to raise up your children in the way they should go. To build that solid biblical foundation that God commands you to do. 

Deuteronomy 11:19 You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and walking by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise.

It's a perfect opportunity to actually know your children. To see their strengths and weaknesses. To give them the chance to study true life subjects, that are geared specifically to your child's future career or calling. To be able to be flexible to fit our family's structure and life. 

What a blessing it is to homeschool (no matter who says you're crazy)!

Alexis and Ty at one of our homeschooling field trips.

Day 5

I am thankful for good old friends! I didn't realize the rarity of "old friends". You know the ones from junior high, and high school? It is such a blessing to have a group of girls who you go way back with. You all know each others history (the good and bad) and yet you still love each other. It's so much fun to get together with them and enjoy the families that God has given them, and even just to talk about old times! And every time you get together, no matter how long it has been, you just pick up where you left off the last time. :)

Dejah, Me, Katie, Jamie, & Socorro at Rock Bottom Brewery in downtown Portland for my 30th birthday!

 For these things I am truly thankful...

The Lord Is My Shepherd...

A Psalm of David.

23 

 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

3 He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

forever.

 Last week we studied the 23rd Psalm...The Lord is my shepherd.

 Do you like how I spelled shepherd wrong?! Don't know how I only did it on one and not the others. I'm going to claim preggy brain on that one. ;)

 In writing it on their fingers, it is there to help them remember the verse. 

"The, one and only one." "Lord, God, Creator of the universe." "Is, now and always will be." "My, own personal." "Shepherd, Guide and Protector."

If they memorize it this way, it will always be easier for them to look down at their hand, touch each finger, and recite the verse from memory, whether in a time of trouble, a time of thankfulness, or a time of feeding their soul. 

Psalm 119:11

¹¹ I have hidden your word in my heart
   that I might not sin against you.

 We did one project everyday to help us memorize Psalm 23. The kids traced their hands and flipped them upside down to create sheep...added glue and cotton balls and a white eye..voila, you have yourself a sheep! I love our Bible curriculum we have been using the last 2 years for school. It's A.C.S.I. Bible for anyone wondering. There are 4 days of lesson plans with a practical daily "life story" that goes along with whatever Bible verse/story they are learning that week. Then there is usually a craft/project for the kids to do too. We have been using the 1st grade level. I would like to use the 5th for Alexis, but I just don't have the time in one day to do 2 different Bible lessons + all their school work. Therefore she helps teach along with me to the younger ones. She reads verses, helps them figure out the answers to the workbook questions, and writes for them when they need it. Plus, we have such a range of ages that 1st grade isn't too advanced for the littles, and still keeps the attention of the older. You've got to find a balance somehow, and this is how I've worked it for us. :)

 Here they are with their sheep!

 One of the days they cut out 6 sheep and wrote one verse on each of the sheep. Each of the kids had their own sheep and I finished the 6th one.

This is a way of bringing the Bible to life. It helps it become exciting and fun for them to learn and feed their little souls, along with building that strong spiritual foundation they need. Something I've found in the last couple of weeks is adding hand motions to our verses is a tremendous help in memorizing scripture. I let them help in picking what motions should go where. Then at dinner they recite them for Daddy and we discuss what they learned in their lesson that day. I've seen a big difference in Addie (who just turned 4). She seems to really absorb all we discuss and learn. You will usually find her running up to me asking, "Mommy, is this good?" "Is this is good word to say, or is it a bad one?" "Mommy, I didn't lie today! I told the truth!" I find it refreshing to have a little one who wants to please so badly and is willing to ask questions as to whether or not her actions are right, or wrong. 

Praise be to God the Father, for any growth in our home...

Blessings~Heather

Homemade Soft Pretzels....with a Twist!

  Alexis our oldest is always begging to bake something. We have this book called "The Ultimate Book of Kid Concoctions 2" by John E. & Danita Thomas, that grandma sent them. Long story short...Alexis was begging last week to make these "Crazy Pretzels" and I caved and let her have at it. I figured it would be a good way for her to incorporate some math into her day (besides school work) and most importantly the ability to follow directions! And boy oh boy am I glad she did! These are sooo good. Now this could be the pregnancy talking/tasting, but they just hit the spot when you need a little snack....or the entire batch...it's up to you. If I were you I'd share, but be prepared to make a double batch to make them last! Although if you have a "normal" size family, aren't into devouring an entire tray, or have self control, it might be safe for you to just tackle the single batch. ;) 

 They are super simple...my favorite! Here's how it goes...you ready? There are 6 ingredients. Do you think you can handle it? :) 

1 Package Yeast, 1 Tbsp. Sugar, 1 1/2 cups Warm Water, 4 cups Flour, 1 tsp. Salt, 1 Egg, beaten

(The rest is below in the bottom picture)

The girls watching the yeast proof...

Kneading the dough...

My dough snatchers...

Beautiful baby soft ball of dough...

I used a heart shaped cookie cutter for my "Crazy Pretzel" shape...Brushing it with egg gives it the nice golden look...otherwise they look a little anemic...

Here is the end result...Notice Ty's race car w/ driver...Alexis' flounder fish...Addie's number 3...Gabe's pretzel knot...

*Dip them in good old American mustard while they are still soft & warm and you've got yourself one delicious snack!

Recipe for "Crazy Pretzels"... (click to enlarge photo)

  We've made these 4x's in the last week. It makes a great snack to take with to all the baseball games. Now I know some of you cringed at the fact that I say "dip it in mustard," but it really is a lot healthier than cheese and gives it a nice kick. You can also sprinkle some Kosher salt on top before you bake. 

Hope you enjoy them as much as we have!

Tumble Books

  Our family loves Tumble Books! It's a great way to help with reading and for those who can't read, a great place to have a book read to you. I'm sure many other libraries have Tumble Books on their websites, but I haven't looked into it. We use Tumble Books through Fort Vancouver Regional Library, www.fvrl.org

  All you need is your library card number to access this free site. There are many options to choose from. One is the read along. This is were the words light up as they are read by the narrator. The second is Story Book. This is were the narrator reads to the child and turns the pages automatically. The third is Tumble TV. This is were all the books of the chosen grade level play through alphabetically. The fourth is Puzzles and Game. The fifth is Language Learning. These are books written & read in a different language. The sixth is Non Fiction Books. Many are about animals and famous people. There is even an option to make Your Playlist...this allows you to customize books for your child to listen to or read each time they log onto Tumble Books.

  Tumble Books are even on Face Book! If your library doesn't supply a link to Tumble Books, maybe they would subscribe by your request. It's a great tool for homeschooling, or passing the time when it's a rainy day or just too cold to play outside. Check them out!

The Blessing of A Free Homeschool Table!

If you read my Facebook posts you'll remember me talking about a wonderful woman that blessed our family in a way that she most likely didn't realize.



We stopped at her garage sale and she immediately started talking with the children and giving them things, i.e. things that would be throw away when we get home, type things! They were thrilled. She was getting ready to end her sale and I asked her about a table that she had for sale for $30. She asked "Oh, are you interested?" I replied "Yes, but my husband isn't! I think it would be great for our schoolroom and he isn't so sure." She then says "take it! And, do you want the chairs to that go with it too?" Needless to say, I was amazed that she would just give it to us and excepted her graciousness with awe. Then to top things off, she told me about being a librarian and how she loved her job at the school district, and how she would love it if Alexis came by once a week and check out books from her "library" collection at her home. Then proceeded to head into her home and bring back an arm full of age appropriate books for our children! Seriously!?!? Brand new I might add.

We went home, all of us, with smiles on our faces. What a wonderful, happy woman. Here are the results from our freebie!


Ty modeling the "before" chairs...

Before...

Primer...

Paint that I scored at Lowe's for $2.50 each! They were the exact colors I was wanting and I saved $21 total on the paint buying the "mistint" paint.

Supplies...totaling with paint $17.38 Can a table get much cheaper than that?!

Bob painting the top.

Table legs painted and drying.

The finished product. I think it turned out pretty well considering what it looked like before hand.

It's the perfect height for the kids to do their school work (their feet touch, or almost touch the ground depending on which child!)

How about one of these fabrics for the cushions on the chairs? I think they might go nicely with the table and give the room a pop of color it needs so much. But, that will have to wait for another payday! lol

God is so good. He is the provider that we want to be, but can't. He knows what we need and what we don't. Can you imagine the life we'd have if we would just let go of the control that we feel we need to have, and allow God to be God? So many times I put Him in a box. His power is unmeasurable. He is sovereign so why don't we willingly follow? Who knows what He'll have in store? For us it was a blessing of a table we so needed, but didn't know how much until we had it...

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

*She waved goodbye when we left and said "Welcome to Tri-Cities!"