President's Day Fun

President's Day Unit Study: Abraham Lincoln

Our unit study was based around two books that I got from Scholastic, "I am Abraham Lincoln" and "Abraham Lincoln".  We learned that Abraham Lincoln grew up in a log cabin and always wanted to go to school, but couldn't because he had to help out on the farm.  That mused my oldest so much, he decided he wanted to work on a farm too! Then we found out that Abraham Lincoln knew how to handle bullies and that writing on trees is a great chalkboard for practicing writing the alphabet.  We also had Abraham Lincoln's favorite snack: cheese, crackers and nuts.  And we discovered what money Abraham Lincoln was on.  Plus went back through Washington D.C. pictures and books to discover the monuments and places my kids visited that related to Abraham Lincoln.

We started out our study though with a coin sorting activity!

I made cloud dough (8 cups flour to 1 cup baby oil) and then hid a bunch of coins in it.

They dug through it looking for different coins.

As they found them, my oldest would match up which column it belonged into on the sorting page.

This little guy thought it was a blast to dig and got excited when he found a coin!

He made a log cabin out of popsicle sticks for a craft!

This is a great book to start with and it's entertaining!

Not too overwhelming with facts, just enough to make it fun.

This book was my oldest's reading time, then he told me about everything he learned.

Since Abraham Lincoln liked to practice writing the alphabet on trees, I had him make a chalkboard from a wooden tray.  Here he is painting it up!

What did you do for President's Day?

Have Fun and Be a Blessing!

~Bekah

Tot School Show & Tell: S is for SNOW

~ Chunky Monkey is 23 months ~

It's January, no better time in Michigan than to cover "snow"

and we didn't get as much as the Northeast, but we've had some inches.

We did our posterboard daily which covered the following:

Letter: S (worked on it's sound)

Color: White (means "righteous")

Shape: Circle and a poem about a snowball

Number: 15 (means "free")

Verse: Psalm 51:7

Vocabulary Word: Snowflakes

Sound: -ow (row, tow, mow, blow, throw, snow, grow, show, bow)

And I pulled out our mailbox that I put a magnetic letter "S" in

and the "S" word cards that I printed out from the S Packet at 1+1+1=1.

I sing the following little diddy:

I've got a letter, I've got a letter

Let's look and see, Let's look and see

What letter do we have today?

What letter do we have today?

(open box)

It's the Letter S, It's the Letter S!

Then we review each of the "S" words in the box.

Then we did activities each day, here are some of the ones we did:

Skinny Minnie and Chunky Monkey both played a math game together.

Chunky Monkey rolled the die and Skinny Minnie graphed what was rolled.

This was a great game for not only math, but for team work!

I pulled out the lacing card that I got from Oriental Trading.

He surprised me because he really liked doing this!

He sat and did this activity for about 30 minutes on his own.

He kept trying to figure out how to get it into the holes.

After a couple days of practice and he had it down.

Will be adding more of these type activities in the future.

We worked on name recognition by making a snowman

out of the letters of his name.  He drew the face all by himself.

We reviewed the letters in his name each day after making this.

I printed out the floor numbers from Confessions of a Homeschooler

preschool "S is for Snowman" post, but only did numbers 1 - 5.

I gave him white pony beads for "snow balls" and had him

put that many beads on the numbered cards.

We practiced this every other day.

So it's too cold to go outside here in Michigan, with temps below zero.

So, I went outside and filled a bin with snow and brought it INSIDE.

Gave him a watercolor pallette, brush and cup of water and let him

have at it! He painted the snow and then decided he wanted

to touch it.  At first, it was too cold, then he got used to it.

Then he made me build snowmen and snowballs that he could throw.

Painting a melted a snowman!

I gave him blue construction paper and silver paint glob with a brush.

He had fun smearing it everywhere... thus a melted snowman!

And of course, we made snowman lanterns (got the idea from Pinterest).

I velcroed the little battery operated tea lights to the bottom of the jug,

only because these two are pretty rough with everything!

When I turned on the lights, Chunky Monkey thought it was a real

candle and tried to blow it out and brother followed suit!

Then they had an adventure in the dark with their lanterns.

Big Brother wasn't too keen on no lights, but Chunky Monkey

was in heaven! He was running everywhere with that light and watching

it shine on the ceiling or the wall or light his path - so much fun to watch!

That was a highlight of our Snow Tot School.

What did you do for January?

Have Fun and Be a Blessing!

~Bekah

Deal of the Week: Family Christian Clearance - Dad's Day Mugs

My kids LOVE to go to Family Christian store and just browse the kids section.  They both fell in love with this singing plush frog toy.  It sings the song "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" in a soul style version, they just sat watched that toy over and over and over.

While we were there I browsed the Clearance section because right now everything is 50-75% OFF! I found a couple things that caught my eye that I can use in the months coming up... here is what I found at our store in Flint, Michigan.

Handiworks Through His Hands Craft Kit

This one contained 2 kits for Easter.  

A clay molding empty tomb 

with cross and a rock cross craft.

The Best Dad in the World Steel Coffee Travel Mug

Clearance priced 50% off of $5, got for $2.50

Now, right now Family Christian has a coupon for an EXTRA 20% OFF all clearance items through Thursday, January 29, 2015.  Get your printable coupon or code HERE to use in-store or online.  Act fast, quantities are limited in stores and on online.  I'm going back with my coupon for the Easter craft kits - my kids are going to love me!

Have Fun and Be a Blessing!
~Bekah

#FCBlogger

Date Night Prep for Winter Jam 2015

Winter Jam 2015 is coming to our area in February and I'm planning our date night.  Here is a sneak preview of what I have prepared so far...

I found these lovely glittery snowflakes at a local craft store for one dollar - I couldn't resist.  I'm going to punch a hole in the top and tie a blue ribbon to them and hang them from the ceiling in our bedroom to make a snowflake lane or winter wonderland!

I made an invitation for my hubby and this is the front of it.  "It's a WINTER JAMboree!!" And when you open it up....

He'll find this cute change to the song and the tickets to Winter Jam, thank you to Family Christian!! #FCBlogger

Last, but not least, I created an "Artist Preview" CD for us to listen to.  Family Christian has most of the artists' CD's on sale (not sure how long this deal lasts), but I was able to pick up the majority of the albums we didn't have for ONLY $5!!! You can check out the deals HERE.  I burned off my favorite songs from each artist onto this CD to have a "mix".

This CD will go into a Date Night Box that I am still creating and prepping and thankfully I have time since Winter Jam Tour doesn't appear until February 21st in Auburn Hills, MI. And since it's like a 45 minute drive for us to The Palace, this CD will be perfect for preparing our hearts to worship God and show up ready to receive!!!

I will post another post with the completed Date Night Box closer to the Tour Date, follow my blog to keep updated!

Winter Jam is spectacular and if you have never been, you should go! Tickets are ONLY $10 at the door!  And there is going to be an awesome line up of bands:

• Skillet
• Jeremy Camp
• Building 429
• Francesca Battistelli
• Family Force 5
• Newsong
• For King & Country
• Blanca
• About a Mile
• Veridia

This is perfect for a date night, like what we are doing! OR even for the youth group or take your teenager(s) for a date!  Awesome bands, positive, and a chance to experience God! Don't MISS IT!!! Check HERE to see when the tour hits your area. #WinterJam

Have Fun and Be a Blessing!
~Bekah