Thaleia

Favorite Fall Memories

September 26, 2012 By Thaleia Leave a Comment

First off I am a Fall baby! So I LOVE LOVE LOVE Fall. I love the sound of crunching leaves, the smell of apple cider, and the colors of leaves. I remember raking leaves into huge piles and jumping into them. We have done that but not this year, yet. Too much rain and dog poo in the backyard!

When Eldest and Princess were toddlers/preschool age we would go to the pumpkin patch each year. Usually a mom’s group or preschool group would be going for a hayride, fall playtime, pumpkin picking event. I just realized Lil’ Red HAS NOT BEEN to a pumpkin patch,yet! His playgroup is going next Tuesday evening, but he has not gone for photos or anything like that. Holy smokes I cannot believe it! (And to think I was getting pretty good at this whole tradition thing:)

Here are some of my favorite photos from the past FOUR years of our family’s fall activities:

Bocce By Day Bocce By Night

September 26, 2012 By Thaleia 3 Comments

My Kids Love Bocce ANYTIME!

My kids are hooked on Bocce! I think it all started when Riley bought Sports Champions on the PS3. The game includes: archery, bocce, beach volleyball, gladiator, disc golf, ping-pong/table tennis. It’s a great game for yucky rainy days or winter weather. My kids found out there’s a Sports Champions 2 and are hoping they can get that one as well. (Hubby works at Gamestop so maybe they will add it to employee discount site-keeping fingers crossed!)

Amazon already has the new game on pre-order even though it’s not supposed to be released before December!

Here’s my kids playing bocce outside:

During the daytime they used the neighbors front and side yard since it is much flatter than ours. He doesn’t own a dog so no chance of stepping in poop or throwing a bocce ball in poop!

My sister and brother-in-law came over to visit and got roped into playing bocce even though it was really too dark to see! My BIL is a super sports nut so this was right up his alley. Everyone had lots of fun with their aunt and uncle.

So glad all three kids can play bocce outdoors and have some good, safe, fun. We found our set from Walmart on clearance for $8 months ago (amazon has similar bocce sets) and it has been sitting by the front door ever since. So glad they asked to play with it!

A Great Day at the Range

September 25, 2012 By Thaleia 1 Comment

The Shooting Range that is!

Since we are a video game loving family and okay with weapons we decided to attend a Family Skills Day at Spring Valley Shooting Range. Our boys often have some sort of gun in their hands throughout the day. Sometimes impeding school work getting done. Eldest was allowed to buy a pellet gun earlier in the summer but was under strict guidance and supervision. When I read about the Skills Day I knew everyone wouldn’t mind the hour drive to get there!

We are so very thankful for a chance to go to a shooting range and shoot bb guns, compound bows, cross-bows, 22, and rifles. Even Lil’ Red got to participate! We will definitely be putting this on our MUST do Fall list for 2013!

Here’s some photos to share just some of the fun we had!
Lil’ Red on the Range

Princess takes aim

Eldest Hits a Bullseye with Cross-Bow!

Pictures were taken by each of us. Picture collages were created by Princess.

THANK YOU ODNR! Your Family Skills Day was awesome.

Disclaimer: we only used weapons with trained professional instructors under close supervision by us and the ODNR staff. We wore eye and ear protection and listened carefully each time new instructions were given. Please do not shoot weapons in town or in an unapproved manner. Always wear safety protection and be under close supervision of trained/certified instructors.

10 Favorite Little House Resources from Pinterest

September 21, 2012 By Thaleia 9 Comments

10 Little House Resources from Pinterest

Of the 165 LHP pins I have on pinterest these were the top 10 that caught my eye at first glance today:) Hope these give you some fun ideas to do with your children, grandchildren, or co-op.

1. Homemade Prairie Bonnet– lots of great period clothing ideas.

2. Moon Phases with Oreos– love her simple photo tutorial!

3. Owl Pinecone Craft-cute recycled craft. We picked our pinecones up a couple of weeks ago when we were doing leaf and bark rubbings.

4. State Notebook– great way to learn geography and history as you go!

5. Pretzel Cabin– super fun and yummy!

6. Food Preservation (Dehydration Method)- I made apple slices BUT they are already all gone! Gonna try banana chips next or maybe strawberries if they are still in stores next week.

7. Wax Paper Peonies– Scroll part way done to find the wax paper instructions.

8. Popsicle Stick Cabin– great idea if you have a mega box of craft sticks you don’t know what to do with!

9. Taffy– a kid friendly recipe that sounds like fun!

10. Mini Bows and Arrows– something fun and easy for the boys to make.

Frugal Homeschool Tips

September 19, 2012 By Thaleia Leave a Comment

or Dad “What is an Adjective?”

So today Princess had a paper that dealt with adjectives. Since we place worksheets on a clipboard at the beginning of the week, we never really know what day a sheet will be completed on. Each child can work as many sheets a day as they want as long as at least 2 sheets are done OR all sheets completed by Friday.

Riley was sitting in the living room enjoying his cup of coffee when Princess brought this question up. His response, “Bring me the tv and PS3 remotes. I know just the thing to help.” I grinned when I caught on to what was up his sleeve.

School House Rocks!! Unpacking an Adjective.

https://something2offer.com//youtu.be/NkuuZEey_bs

Of course, once one School House Rocks video is played you cannot just turn off the system:) They also watched:

I’m Just a Bill

https://something2offer.com//www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-eYBZFEzf8&feature=colike

Counting by Five’s

https://something2offer.com//youtu.be/NUHFzH06HqU

Electricity

https://something2offer.com//youtu.be/3RzN7T5xpVc

Just some fun Non-traditional ways to learn! The great fun of homeschool is the choice to chose a variety of ways to teach/learn:)

Happy Homeschooling!