Friday, November 19, 2010

Elementary Round-Up: A Link Up

I mentioned a few weeks ago that poor Mr. Smackdown didn’t have an outlet for his homeschooling activities

And then he caught wind of this.

Now he is telling EVERYONE that he has his own blog, just like his sister does. 

Umm  . . . not really, but you do have your own blog post, Buddy.   I take a lot of pictures of his learning, but rarely post them.  In my seemingly constant activity on the internet, I have yet to stumble across a “first-grade” link up or “elementary “link-up in which to help hold me accountable to document our learning. 

So, I decided to add one more thing to my plate. 

A Bi-Weekly Elementary Link-Up for my blogging buddies . . . open to anyone so long as you follow these simple guidelines (and I will continue to develop these guidelines as I gain experience and see a desire among others to join in):

  1. Write a blog post about your elementary aged child(ren), first through fifth grade, comprising the activities you did the prior two weeks.  You can include pictures, bullet points, tools used, learning gained, God moments, etc.
  2. Include in the title, Elementary Round-Up, making sure to include a link back to my blog.  By doing so, other like-minded readers can hang out in a central location if they are looking for Elementary School ideas.   Publish your post and then head back to my site. 
  3. Provide the exact link (URL) of the Elementary Round-UP blog post you wrote, not your blog’s home address, through the provided MckLinky.
  4. Optional:  For now, I would love it if you grabbed my blog button over on the side.  At some point, I may get creative and create a button specific to this meme . . .

BIG IMPORTANT HEART MOMENT:  This isn’t a blog post to WOW other moms . . . the point of this is to help YOU document on YOUR blog what you and your child(ren) are learning.  My link-up is only to provide some accountability.  I won’t come and leave nasty comments on your blog if you don’t link up. 

And I’m just going to be real with ya today . . . and not edit my pictures.  It’s going to be hard . . . but I need to be quick!

  • Today was Book Read-In Day.  We stayed in our pj’s (or pa-jammies) and read as many library books as we could.

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  • Mr. Smackdown finished Saxon Phonics K and is moving onto the First Grade curriculum next week!  Actually, that is his Saxon 1 Math that he is finishing.  And yes, you can see his name . . . a huge decision that I am making and probably a blog post for another day.

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  • He is loving A Reason for Handwriting!

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  • Along with his brothers, Asher worked on the Thanksgiving Tot Pack from 1+1+1=1.

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  • Our good friends came over from Ohio and taught the boys about Egypt . . . to wrap up a unit we started umm . . . before we moved into the house!  Now we can move on!  I’ll share later what we learned!

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  • And Asher continually fixes my cabinet door that won’t stay closed!  I am impressed by his creativity!

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  • We also worked on making Thanksgiving note cards to give to our neighbors that Maureen, from Spell Outloud, created.

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  • And we made Christmas ornaments with my sister to participate in an ornament exchange.

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What did you do the past two weeks?

 

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Fermented Potatoes

It started with a noise.

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Then a slow leak.

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Followed by an eruption.

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A volcanic like eruption.

Now that’s what I call fermentation!

For the recipe head on over to The Healthy Home Economist.

P.S. It feels good to be fermenting again. 

15 Dollar Gift Certificate from EcoMom

I used to think that our whole foods diet was enough.  In a perfect world, we would get all of the nutrition we need from our mostly organic fare. 

However, we don’t always eat perfectly. 

Ahem, read between the lines:  our bodies need some help acquiring all the nutrients necessary to run efficiently.

With so many supplements sitting on shelves in the stores, how do you know what is a good one and what is basically cardboard?

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Here are some tips:

  • stay away from synthetic vitamins and opt for food based supplements
  • choose vitamins with less that 1 gram of natural sugar (avoid high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners)
  • avoid artificial flavors, hydrogenated oils, and synthetic dyes
  • pick a vitamin that is free from allergens (milk, yeast, gluten, wheat, etc.)
  • look for rich mineral content
  • check to make sure that the vitamin is produced under high quality manufacturing standards
  • if possible, find a vitamin that has a probiotic bend included . . . if not, be sure to give your child their daily dose of good bacteria

In my search for good vitamins, our boys tested Smartypants Gummy Multi Vitamins, compliments of EcoMom. 

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Does SmartyPants Gummy Vitamins match my criteria?

Yes and no. 

The below paragraph is a description of the vitamin:

SmartyPants Gummies only have 5g of Organic cane sugar per serving (that is 80% LESS sugar than in a glass of unsweetened apple juice). SmartyPants are made with only natural colors and flavors and no High Fructose Corn Syrup. They are also gluten- and casein-free. They never use any fake or artificial flavors, sweeteners, or dyes that are bad for your kids!  Their Omega 3 DHA and EPA fish oil comes from eco-friendly sustainable small fish sources. No unsustainable tuna or contaminated fish!

My main bug-a-boo would be the sugar content . . . which does make this vitamin yummy!  By the way, the vitamin flavors are lemon, orange and cherry.  (Cherry was our favorite!) We were all quite happy taking our candy vitamin everyday.  I could see that this vitamin would be a hit for the fussy eater who is lacking in the nutritional arena of their body.

SmartyPants Gummy Vitamins are available at EcoMom for $21.95.  To be honest, this makes choosing SmartyPants as our children’s daily vitamin out of the question.  One bottle would not even last us half of a month, and Naomi isn’t even taking them yet.  SmartyPants are available for autoship at $17.95, with the first month only being $8.95. 

Because EcoMom is such a great company, they are offering a giveaway to my readers.  Enter to win . . .

a $15 gift certificate to be used at the EcoMom online store.

How to Enter (and yes my friends and family can enter . . . I use www.random.org to pick the winner . . . and you aren't friends with Mr. Random.  No one is. So enter to win ON MY BLOG NOT through a FACEBOOK COMMENT.)

When you leave a comment, make sure you are signed into DISQUE or you LEAVE your email address.  

Mandatory:  Click on the following link and sign up to receive the EcoMom newsletter.

Optional Entries (meaning write a new and separate comment for each)

  1. Become a fan of my blog (look over on the right sidebar) and tell me that you are or already were.  A little avatar will show up when you follow me through Google Connect.
  2. Subscribe to the Granola Mom 4 God Feedburner – meaning you will get me in your in-box! 
  3. Visit Eco-friendly Baby Products - EcoMom and tell me what you would purchase with your $15 gift certificate.
  4. Follow EcoMomCEO on Twitter.
  5. Become a fan of EcoMom on Facebook and let me know.
  6. Purchase something from EcoMom using the 15% discount code (SBBL432) and give yourself ten entries. 

Giveaway Ends:  November 29, 2010 Midnight.

US and Canada residents only!

P.S. Just so you know . . . I received this product for free and could freely express my thoughts and opinions.  I was not paid for this post nor do I have to return the product.

P.S. #2 . . . Check out the EcoPass.  It will allow you to purchase a $99 annual membership, which provides for a 15% discount on every order, as well as free shipping with no $75 minimum requirement.

P.S. #3 . . . . If you won this giveaway last time, you can not win again!  Sorry!  We need to allow new people to try out EcoMom!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Wordless Wednesday: Big Brother

Holding Baby Sister . . .

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Head on over to 5 Minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesday posts. 

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Pumpkin Spiced Latte

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I received this yummy recipe at a very special baby shower for my sweet friend, Beth.  Beth’s sister had made a Crockpot of this rich beverage that far surpasses Starbucks in taste.

Each time I have made it since, it receives rave reviews.  With the weather cooling down, heartwarming songs filing our house, the soothing smell of a pumpkin spice latte is the whipped cream on top of our roof.

And this is what my Monday night girls have to look forward to next week! 

Pumpkin Spice Latte

  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 tbsp canned pumpkin (I often use fresh pumpkin)
  • 2 tbsp cane sugar
  • 2 tbsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp cloves, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, and a pinch of ginger)
  • 1/2 cup brewed espresso or 3/4 cup strong brewed coffee

Cook all of the ingredients in a Crockpot for approximately 2 hours.