I got the idea for Snow Paint on the blog MomEndevors. I thought it was such a neat idea and would add a little character to painting. After trying it out, and the fact that it was so simple and quick to do, we will be doing it again! Cowboy loved it and he was so excited to see it dry and puff up like snow! Here is how I did it :
You will need:
Shaving Cream (the cheap but not smelly kind, unless you like smelly : )
Elmers Glue (any brand)
Plastic Bowl
Spoon or something to stir the mixture (I used the end of a skinny water color paint brush)
Food coloring (if you want it to be colored)
Your will be mixing equal amounts of glue and shaving cream.
1. Pour glue into plastic bowl. I just guessed how much I thought I would need and after ended up with a lot left over, So I would suggest starting small and then add more if needed.
2. Add a few drops of food coloring unless you just want it white- then skip the next few steps
3. Stir the glue and food coloring until its all mixed together and bright enough for your liking because when you add the shaving cream the current color of the glue will become lighter.
4. Add the same amount of shaving cream as you did for the glue
5. Stir it up real good!! And you are ready to paint :)
I am not sure if this will be an every week thing or not but when I find a great deal, I will be sharing! This week was awesome and could not wait to share it with you. I spent a grand total of $20.25. Just wait until you see what I got~!!
Deal 1: Craigslist
I started out with scoring a great deal on Craigslist. I had been wanting one of these Fisher Price Counting Pigs for Cowboys Tot Trays for a while now. I also knew Butter would enjoy playing with it too. They are $25.00 brand new and I was not about to pay that, so when this one listed for $5 on Craigslist.. SCORE!!! I can't wait to start using it to teach the concept of money, counting, sorting and colors! Isn't he so cute!!
Deal 2 : Facebook Local Page
My town has a local Facebook page where you can sell, buy, swap or search for items on the page. This week we are doing E is for Elephant in Tot School. While preparing for the week I was wishing I had the Elefun game because it would be so cool to have for free play. Well I searched online on all my regular sites and thrift stores and then I remembered the local page. I had never posted an ad on the page "seeking" something before so, I wasn't sure how long I would have to wait for a response. Well, within 2 hours of the post, a lady contacted me and told me she had one in her garage sale pile, and for me to bring her $5 and it was mine :) I was real excited! While she was getting it ready, she came across Pop the Pig. I remembered seeing a commercial for it and thought, "how dumb." She brought it when we met up and I literally laughed out loud. I had to get it too. It was super silly but my kids would love it. I am not quite sure what the educational value of this game will be other than, don't eat 16 hamburgers or you will POP! Just kidding, the burgers are colored, numbered, and you have to count each time you feed him. I am now realizing, YOU CAN MAKE ANYTHING EDUCATIONAL! It was $5 also. I would totally recommend you to look and see if your town has a local page, if not, You should start one ! I have sold a few things through it and now have had the experience of searching and buying something. You never know, there may be something you have been wanting that someone else has stored away, just waiting for you to scoop it up!
Deal 3: Thrift Store
Can I just say I love thrift stores! You can find so many treasures in a thrift store. Especially if you are like me and are always looking for things to make learning fun. I went to a thrift store about 2 weeks ago and got a bunch of books for school and a brand new Street Car Rug for the boys to drive their cars on and only spent $4 for all of it. Well this week I went in looking for one thing in particular, a brown basket, which I did find... and ... yeah well...a few other things.
I love the fact that all my kids, as of right now, love books; reading them, looking at pictures or being read to. So I, of course, in an effort to keep them interested in them, had to look through the books and WOW! I found some great ones!
I also found this neat game called Atlas to use for Geography. Then I saw this Mancala thing. Opened it up and it had the COOLEST wooden sorter thing full of different colored stones. Honestly, I could have cared less what the game was about I wanted this wooden sorter! It says $3 but I got it for $1.
My total was $4. So what about the other $1.25? Well, Lou was at VBS when I made this trip. When I went to pick her up, she saw the little brown basket I got for Butter and I was BUSTED! She was a little upset that I went thrifting without her.... She then decided to inform me that she TOO had been wanting a brown basket JUST like it, (My thoughts were something like: yeah?!?! for what, who knows... I mean seriously? Its a brown basket !! Jealous Much?) Even though I had those thoughts, I am a sucker and told her that there was another one there just like it and we could stop by there on the way home so she could get it. She is a little spoiled... Just a little though. (The littlest things make Lou happy, I love that about her.) It cost a whole 25 cents. So we went in to get it, and on the way to check out I noticed they had put out another one of those wooden Sorter things!!! So I snatched it up! Total $1.25 :)
FINAL: CURBSIDE!
I am not so sure this is a deal or what.... I am thinking it is, mainly because it was free, so even if we cant use it, we weren't out of pocket. My husband gets credit for these. He had to run out to the store one night and saw 3 of these on a curb and picked them up thinking we could do something cool with them. He can find a use for anything. Although that "cool idea" has not entered our brains yet. Honestly, I am not even sure what these things are. They look like Drying Hangers that you throw your clothes over, but I don't know. If you DO know, please share! Also if you have any ideas, please share. In the meantime I will be trying to figure out what to use them for. I will keep you posted :)
Your turn! Go out and be thrifty and make sure to come back here and share your "Steals of Deals!"
Every year I strive to have memory verses to be a part of our weekly routine. Every year, I fail. Honestly, because I personally don't like memorizing anything. Scripture, recipes, directions, etc. I mean if I don't just remember it, I'm done. I have so much going on that to sit and memorize anything is just not going to happen. I have tried and I will be one verse in and I am thinking, "did I mail that bill?", "what can I cook for dinner?" and "oh I need to add that to my to do list" I know that's horrible but it is what it is.. Truth. In saying that, every year it eats me up :( I know that it is very important to know Gods word and over the years I have remembered some scriptures just by going to church, reading or hearing it repeated and have taught them to the kids. So here I am again, planning for a new year and the desire is still there, the desire for my kids to grow up knowing, loving and depending on God's promises and to know that when things in life and mainly people let you down, they know that one thing remains the same and does not return void and that's the Word of God. "So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11
I think the number one reason I lacked in this area is because I am my kids number one influence. I try to be the kind of mom God wants me to be, but once again, FAIL to be perfect and I screw up alot and they see me for me. So I guess me and my "I'm just not good enough" thoughts kept pushing it aside because I didn't want my kids to think I was trying to teach them things that I myself did not do or practice. Then God showed me that its not only for my kids but for me as well. I NEED THIS. I need to know his word, I need to have it deep in my bones, I need to grow spiritually. As I was planning for this school year, I told myself I gotta do this and stick with it this year because its required of me as a parent and a teacher. "Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it." Proverbs 22:6
So I started researching... Yet again.... And I came across Seeds family Worship. I thought to myself oh this is just another boring verse sung to the tune of some nursery rhyme- but I found a couple YouTube videos by them...I was Shocked as I listened the songs they were awesome!
CHECK THIS ONE OUT!
They created music to go along with scripture in a very fun unique and "memorable" way :) My favorite part is its just the scripture no added words. I don't know about you, but give me a song and if I like it, I'm singing it word for word not even realizing I had "Memorized" the lyrics. Seeds Family Worship is just what I had been looking for! I listened to a few songs and immediately fell in love and bought some albums and added it to our Calendar Time activities.
Also not only did the songs rock but I found some FREE print outs HERE and HERE to go along with the scriptures and lessons.
They are not only for kids, but for momma and daddy too! I listen to them by myself even when I am not around the kids HAHA! If you are like me and have a desire to teach your kids scripture, whether they are big or small, homeschooled or not homeschooled, or even yourself for that matter, I totally recommend Seeds Family Worship! We have already memorized Philippians 4:6-7 and Lou has made up motions for it !! Butter shakes and dances and Cowboy of course says it the best way he can but does great!!
(I do not have a blog to make money. I simply add links to things I enjoy and think my readers would like as well. If you are interested in purchasing Seeds Family Worship click on the picture links and it will take you to their site. If you go through my site to purchase them I am an affiliate and will receive a small percentage of the purchase. No I will not see who purchased, but for anyone who does THANK YOU so much!)
This week I decided to review the letters we have covered over the past few weeks before moving on to another set. The theme for this week was 4th of July so I decorated the school with stuff relating to the theme. We started Monday with Aa is for Alligator and here is a look at the trays.
This week we also started Calendar time in which I do with both Cowboy and Lou. I will write a stand alone post about it in detail, but for now its where we meet all together and sing songs and talk about a topic and fill out sheets in our Calendar notebook, or in Cowboys case he just uses his Tot Book because he isn't quite old enough to do the Calendar notebook yet. Although he thinks he is so I just use his Tot book to make him feel included as far as the writing activities are concerned.
On the front of his tot book I put his Alligator discussion sheet which has a picture and simple questions talking about the picture just to get your little one talking and thinking. If you notice I added a prop with his trays today, the mini alligator, better known as fondue. I don't know why but that's what Cowboy named him and for the rest of the day, fondue joined us in all our activities.
My son is such a boy and so NOT a draw or color kinda dude, but he did great with tracing the letter :) Having Lou next to him did have advantages!
Reading his books on alligators, stamping with letter A&a Stamps, Clothes pin Alligator, Cutting and pasting Letter A craft.
Chart Time: Practicing shapes, and numbers
Tracing Letter Aa, Shape Magnets and looks like he is using Fondue as a spoon to eat and octagon :/
Melissa and Doug lacing beads set also on the tray are different assorted balls I found around the house and some sensory light up ones I found in the $1 section at Target.
Talking about the Bear picture and coloring the color of the day in his tot book.
He put the bears on the correct color and would tell me what color they were as he was doing it
Dress the bear puzzle is fun because you can dress him in anything therefore the puzzle pieces don't have to go in a specific spot. He cut and pasted his Bb craft. Then we read about Jesus and Zacchaeus. It was funny hearing him trying to say his name. Then he found the balls and his favorite I put out were the sensory balls that lit up as you bounced them. I don't even think he played with the others.
We all played a few rounds of Honey Bee (love this game) and then the kids used the leaves to pretend they were both COWBOYS !
