Summer Links and Lists

This post is also appearing on Latter-Day Homeschooling today.

Are you having a great summer?!

I am.

My boys are busy working on their summer fun chart, interspersed with some other activities. 

I thought that for this links and lists I would give you some fun activities, that cost little or no money, to do with your kids.  These are great for the last min "Mom, I am sooooo bored.  What can I do?!" times in your children's lives!

Enjoy.

• Kids love being monsters right?  Just mine...I am sure it is not!  This is a great idea for those monsters to have big monster feet.  Walk in the sand or puddles.  Leave big monster feet prints behind.
• For my son's birthday this year he got a bow.  Since then my boys have been really excited about bows and shooting them, and even making them.  Here is a simple bow your (older) kids could make.
• Have you seen the baked cotton balls making their rounds?  My boys really want to try them, and we will as soon as it is not so stinkin hot out and I can turn my oven on!  They are practically free though so good fun.
• Are you lucky enough to have a sandbox?  If you are, my boys are jealous because they want to turn a sandbox into one of these mud boxes.  They think this would be so much fun.  (and I think girls like getting dirty just as much as boys do...at least I did!)
• I just picked up a pack of shower caps (12 for a dollar) for this fun activity.  Super fun with lots of kids or just two.
• If you have a few kids at your house and they are all bored, this would be super fast and easy to put together and I think it could keep them busy for a while.  I did a popcorn fight once and it was FOREVER to pop enough popcorn for a 20 min fight...worth it, but this activity seems a little less work to me.
• How about chalk?  Do you have some?  Water balloons?  I am sure you have both.  If you do, this activity looks like lots of fun.
• If you used paper plates, you could do this little man tea party on the super cheap.  My boys are obsessed with moustaches so this is right up their alley.  (Yes, even the big one!)
• And because I secretly long for the simple days of the pioneers, this whistle is right up our alley too.  I think if kids had a little patience it would be a very rewarding activity.
• Right now we live in a rental and spray painting our lawn is kind of forbidden...but as soon as we aren't, this is going to happen here.  What fun!
• OK, we did this last month and my boys had a blast.  I had to make a rule that no hands were involved for the big boys because they were just wrestling, but as soon as the hands were taken out of the equation, this was a BIG hit here. 
• Last year the biggest hit of all was our shaving cream war.  Serious fun here.  Cheap, but not free.
• Here are a couple other ideas that I had featured on my summer camp series on my blog this summer.

Have an awesome summer!

Cheers

Book Talk Tuesday - Shadow

When walking through the library the other day, we saw this book and it helped me remember doing an exercise once when I was a young girl in school.

The book is full of illustrations and you make up the story.  On one side of the book is an illustration of what this little girl is doing, and on the other is a wonderful shadow world. 

Eventually that shadow world ends up leaking into her real world and she even changes places to go play in the made up world.

I thought it would be fun to make our own shadow world things.

First we needed a blank piece of paper folded length wise.

Then we wrote our name on the fold (if you do it in cursive it is even more fun...but my baby only knows how to print so we did printing) and traced an outline around our letters.

Then cut out along that outline and open your shape up.

Inside you draw a creature of some sort.  Be creative.

After you are done, admire your creativity and go play with your shadow creatures.

I love how fun this was and how perfectly it went along with the shadow book.

Cheers

Book Talk Tuesday - King Bidgood's in the Bathtub

One of my very favorite books growing up was King Bidgood's in the Bathtub.

I probably drove my Mom nuts listening to it over and over and over and over...

I found out that I had done a really large disservice to my poor baby and hadn't read this treasure to him.  I had to rectify that immediately.  We discovered a mutual love all over again.

You can get just the book, but if you get the chance grab the CD.



The story goes that the king is in the bathtub and he will not get out.

A few people try some great ideas (the queen wants to lunch, the duke wants to fish, etc) but he just will not get out of the tub.

The poor page has to keep up with all the stuff the king keeps doing and finally gets fed up and pulls the plug.

Glub,
Glub,
Glub.

The songs are super catchy and fun.  The story is very cleverly illustrated and really enjoyable to read.  We love the book here.

Cheers

Summer Camp - Ice Excavation

About 10 years ago I met Amber.  She and her hubby Evan lived below us when they were first married.  We used to joke that living under us was effective birth control!  Fast forward a few years and Amber has become a good friend to me.  When I asked her if she wanted to do a post for me she was excited (I know you must have been Amber!) and knew just what she wanted to do with her kids. 

I first found this idea on pinterest and I knew my kids would love it!! I was right, they loved it and wanted to do more but I had only made two. Next time I will have to make more!! This is such an easy to prepare activity that will give your kids a lot of enjoyment.

Step 1: Gather small plastic toys. I used animals and bugs.

Step 2: Get a container to put your toys and water in. I used an ice cream container that was going in my recycling anyways. I was glad I used this because I just ripped it apart to get my ice chunk out. You can really use any container, like a small bowl, muffin tins, an ice cube tray or a Tupperware container.

Step 3: Place your animals in the container and pour the water over the toys. If you use a lot of water your kids will be able enjoy this project for a long time because it will take them awhile to get the toys out. If they are smaller and have a shorter attention span, pour a small amount of water over the toys so they can get the toys faster!!

Step 4:  Place your containers in the freezer until the water is completely frozen.

Step 5: Remove your containers from the freezer and let sit for about 5 minutes. Remove your ice block.

Step 6: I put all the supplies they would need to excavate their animals on a cookie sheet and carried it outside. They were so excited.

At first we started with the plastic hammers but they weren’t getting the job done fast enough. I had to bring out the real hammers. My kids especially loved that!!

The cookie trays got in the way so we ended up putting the ice on the grass or on the cement.

Clean up was easy. The ice melted on its own and I just gave the toys and tools a quick rinse in the sink. I totally recommend this activity. My kids loved it and ask me everyday if we can do it again. Have fun!!

I am sorry, I just can't get over the cuteness of her son in his little hat!  He is in my nursery and is such a hoot!  Amber has more recipes and ideas on her blog here. 

Cheers

Summer Camp - Bubbles, Bubbles Everywhere

I can't have a guest post series without having my sister come visit!  Once upon a time I graduated and left my little sister behind.  She was only 6 so I was not really very sad.  :)  Fast forward MANY a few years and she is one of my very best friends.  She has some adorable little girls that I love so very much and wish I lived closer to.  (Seonaid, I wish you lived closer too...but your girls are so very cute!)  When I was thinking of someone who had some really little ones at home, I naturally thought of her.

My post is a how-to on how to make your own bubble blowers out of straws. My sister gave me the idea which was super fun and literally took minutes to prepare. I started with some straws that I had around the house and a little bit of scotch tape.

Next I just stuffed one end of a straw into the end of another straw and just taped the seam. I made them three long cause two is just boring and four seemed a little excessive and bent around too much.I definitely enjoyed this

Then we all ventured outside. As you can tell from my pathetic pictures it was really tricky to get a picture of the bubbles. Especially since I'm the only one that can blow bubbles and I was the one taking the pictures.

The bubbles worked really well though and it was fun for everyone involved. Here are just a couple more pictures I had to include just cause my kids are cute :-)

I always enjoy doing activities with bubbles, so this was super fun! Besides, it is really hard for kids to make a big mess with bubbles. This is definitely something I would do again.

Seonaid doesn't blog often, and her blog is a work blog, so I am not linking.  BUT if you leave comments on here for her I will make sure she gets them!

Cheers

Summer Camp - Using Your Noodle

When I first started discovering this wonderful new world of blogging a few years ago, the very first blog I ever started reading on a regular basis was Montserrat's.  Even now, over 4 years later, I still make time to read her blog as one of my "must read's".  Lucky for me, she has also become a dear friend.  She has wonderful ideas, a huge heart and is just one of the very nicest people you could ever "meet" in bloggy land. 

While waiting an exorbitantly long time at the orthodontist I browsed through a Family Fun Magazine and came upon a summer idea I KNEW my kids would love to do. See we live out in the middle of nowhere.



Yup, that's our farm surrounded by mountains and desert and sand dunes. The only chance my kids get to actually swim is if we drive 40 minutes to town or if their dad fills up our "redneck" swim tank. Recalling the article in the Family Fun Magazine we decided to use our pool noodles for something else.



Gather together six skinny pool noodles, two thick pool noodles {not pictured}, six toilet paper rolls cut from top to bottom, duct tape, and two 1/2 inch thick dowels {not pictured.



Take a toilet paper tube and roll it into a smaller, tighter tube. Stick half into the end of a noodle, bend the noodle into a circle and stick the other end over the toilet paper tube.



Tape closed with duct tape {it comes is so many fun colors and patterns now!}. Do this to all six smaller noodles.



Lay the six circles and two thick pool noodles out as pictured. Tape circles together where they touch and then to the end noodles.



As is it can be placed on the ground for part of an obstacle course.



Or tap the dowels into the ground and place the end noodles over it. Let 'em have at it trying to throw noodles or balls into the rings.



Think outside the box, use your noodle!

Super fun!  I am going to go get some noodles right now from the dollar store!  If you haven't read Montserrat's blog, go check it out.  You will be glad you did.

Cheers

Summer Camp - Simple Joys of Summer

A few years ago I got to exchange emails with a lovely woman.  Then this year I actually got to meet her!  Yahoo!  She has become a dear friend and I enjoy our association so very much.  Shauna is a homeschooling momma in BC.  With three young children to keep busy she was a natural for my series!

As I was thinking about this post, I was feeling quite overwhelmed with all the great ideas there are in Blogland and Pinterest for engaging and entertaining children through the summer. My mind was boggled. How do I find something unique that Jaime doesn't already have on her awesome list of summer activities that I got a sneak peek at in April? How do I pick just one? What will happen if I can't stop once I start on that path to finding the perfect project to feature? ( I can be a little crazy sometimes...)

Then, as I started looking back through our photos from last summer, I realized that often it is the simple things we do in the summer that are going to be the memories that my children carry through their adult lives. Sure, I remember the big trips we made to California and Wyoming but they don't cast a shadow over the memories I have of camping in the rain every summer or hanging out in the backyard with my siblings. So, instead of a post telling you how to do one of the amazing things I found online or of an amazing place you can visit, I reworked one of my favourite Primary songs to showcase some of the fun (and mostly free) things we did together last summer as a family. Do with it what you will...maybe it will inspire you to have some fun adventures with your kids or maybe it won't. However, it reminded me that sometimes the joy of summer is found in simplicity...it isn't about always jetting off to exotic locations or doing the amazing projects that I find online. Sometimes, the best thing about summer is just being together in a simple moment!

Shauna blogs a private blog, but her school blog is filled with wonderful ideas.  Check it out for more of her positive outlook and ideas.

Cheers

Summer Camp - Summer Fun Chart

To kick off this series of Summer Camp ideas, I thought I would start with something my boys love.  I really hope that you are all like me.  I hope that when summer comes, you try to find things to keep your kids occupied because they need to have something to do each day!

My boys love looking forward to summer though because that means that I make up our summer fun chart. 

For the past few years I have been printing out a list of activities, putting it in a cheap frame (think dollar store) and each time they do one, they cross it off with dry erase markers.  The beauty of having it in a frame is that I can just wipe it off.  Easy Peasy.

This year I thought I would get fancy and make all of you (who want one) a printable list as well.  Just click the photo for a larger one to print out.

Coming up these next few weeks, I have some wonderful guest posts.  These ladies have some really cool ideas for you to try out.  I will be posting summer camp ideas every Monday and Thursday.   Come check them out, and...

Enjoy summer!

Some of these things are just links to a photo, or an idea on Etsy and I figured I could totally do it (without buying them) I hope you will also find them useful.

Make a Catch a Ball             Learn How to Embroider (this is a link for 100 Stitches)
Learn How to Quill            Make a Tin Can Mug
Fishing Tackle Bracelets (for a more "manly" version leave off the beads)
Yarn Dolls                        Salad Spinner Art
Yarn Book Worm               Play Tent (with a hula hoop) and here is another one
Family Dolls (Nesting)          Monster Pillows
Take Close Up Photos (then make a simple book out of them)
Monster Page Corner Bookmarks
Marshmallow Popper           Monster Dolls
Baked Marbles                    Province/State String Art
Bag of Toy Soldiers             Make a Fork Ring
Make Tie Tacks/Earrings out of the end of a spent bullet casing
Make a Giant Flower            Make a Flower Press
Make Rock Candy                Make Rubber band Guns
Tiny Bubbles with straws        Bath Boats with Ice Cubes
Catapult with Popsicle Sticks  Frozen Treasure Dig
Water Hose Gun                   PVC Sprinkler
Flour Tag                            Glitter Balloons
Clay                                   Sumo Wrestle with Cushions
Drums out of Cans                   Fabric Bowls
PVC Periscope                     Superhero Masks
Jellybean Bracelets               Make a Jellyfish in a Bottle
Lip Straws                           Redneck Waterbed
Tape Ball                             Laser Tag with Balloons
Shaving Cream War               Popcorn War
Bubble Wrap Hopscotch         Pudding Painting

Cheers

Teaching English

One of the things I struggle with in Homeschooling is coming up with really good ideas.

I pin stuff like crazy, and use some of the ideas, but sometimes there isn't anything out there that I like or can use with the type of learners I have.

My baby is in Grade One.  He is just learning how to read and loves it.  He HATES printing though. 

Just in case you have one like that, (I really hope I am not the only one!) I thought I would show you something that we are doing that he enjoys.

First, I write him a silly little story using some of the words he has practiced.  (I use the Dolche Sight Words up to Grade Two right now)

Then he reads his silly story to me, and copy's it out below each line.

After much grunting and groaning, and singing of songs, he finally finishes and grabs a piece of paper.  We use blank paper for this.  We divide it into 4 sections on each side and write the little "action" segments in each one.  (eg.  "OK I am going to make some red eggs" goes in one section)

Then he draws me a picture of the little bit of action that is on the section.

This has been great for learning the progress of things happening, thinking of how things could be represented in picture, and encouraging him to write.  It makes for a fun little activity as a "reward" to his dreaded printing!

Cheers

Book Talk Tuesday - "No Backbone" Series

While at the library each week, my baby is required to pick 3 books.  Just 3.  This is usually done for a very long time because he really doesn't enjoy reading.  He likes to have ME read to HIM, but he doesn't like to sit down and read a book on his own.  Until these...

We found three on our library's "new books" stand and he grabbed them asking if he could get them too.  (duh, I did say yes!)  Then we went looking for more.  We found a total of 11 of them in our library.  He wanted all of them!

I am in love with these little books.

They have beautiful photos of the bug/organism discussed in the book...

They have repeating themes.  My son now knows what "molting" is because everything that has and "exoskeleton" (another new word for him) molts.  He also knows that most of the insects that hatch are called "Nymphs" and spiders are "Spiderlings".  He knows what an "egg sack" is and what it looks like.  He also knows some really fun facts on eating, hiding and hunting for each thing we have read about.

He also can tell you a few related things for each...

I love that he is sitting and looking through these books, sounding out the words to learn things on his own so that when we sit together to read them, he already has a basic knowledge and he is excited to learn.

I am so glad we found these at our library.  They have been a joy to read, wonderful repeating themes and words, and beautiful photography.

If you can find them in your library (or want to buy some excellent simple books for younger children) these are so worth it.

Cheers

My Favorite Apps

I love our iPad. 

We are so lucky here in Alberta because we have funding to use for school.  Last year we used some of our funding to buy an iPad and we have been using it ever since.

Just in case you have one you love and want to find a new app or two, I thought I would make a list.  Or you are getting one for Christmas...or iTunes money...

English

Verses Poetry

We love this one.  You get a whole selection of words and you make poems with them.  You can change them up, make them easy, or add words.  Great for practice.  (and no one grades you on your creativity)

Word Abacus

We love how you have to make words on a cool abacus.  I must admit that this is one of dh favorites.  He plays it more than anyone else in our house. 

You get a whole abacus full of letters and you must make words by using the letters adjacent, linking all of them.  Excellent game.

Bananagrams

Classic game, only on the iPad.  My oldest plays this often.  He loves Scrabble and Pick Two, so this is right up his word game alley.

You get a pile of tiles to make crosswords type puzzles with, adding letters as you run out.  When your pile is empty you are a winner!

Textropolis and Fishtropolis

I must admit that when this popped up as a free app, I was rather snobbish and I didn't download it for a couple weeks.  It was a persistent little app and so I finally figured if it sucked I would trash it.

It doesn't suck.

These are our families favorite apps right now.  My youngest is even able to play a bit.  He can pick out a few words and move on to another.  You must make as many words as you can out of the base word.  There are some words that I have never heard, but luckily they define them after you get them!  Great vocab builder for kids.

Word Bingo

This is one I downloaded for my youngest.  There are pre-K words and up.  He is getting really good at reading his sight words so this is a hit.  There are a couple different games that as you complete them you get a "bingo bug".  Later you can go play with your bingo bugs.  They can be shot at words or just tickled to give you little giggles and fun sounds.

Chicktionary

I admit it.  We really are suckers for word games.

This is much like scrabble in that you have a few letters you have to make as many words as you can out of them.  There are a couple ways to play (speed or just find them all) and we enjoy both.  There are a bunch you get for free then if you want more the next packs are pretty reasonable prices.  (I think $1.99)

Math

Drill-San

I love this one for my boys.  You can set the level, the number of questions and what they are doing (multiplication, division, addition, subtraction) then they do them.  After you can see how they did.  It tells you how long it took, how many they got wrong or right, and what percentage that is.

Math Bingo

Another one we enjoy is math bingo.  Just like the word bingo above, this one has a few different games to play.  After you do them you earn bingo bugs to play additional games with.

I think my favorite part of this one is that it looks like a game, but it is really a drill!  :)  Even my youngest can play this one.

Rocket Math
We enjoy the drills that look like games.  :)

This one uses incentives like rocket money.  You have to answer questions to earn money then  you can make a rocket.  Some of them are pretty fun (like a phone booth, a school bus and others).  Then you can see how far your rocket will go by answering more questions. 

History/World Awareness

50 Places of a Lifetime (National Geographic)

This one has some AMAZING photography.  We use it often.  We enjoy using it for the information it contains (there are photos, videos, and written articles). 

Flags of the World and National Geographic GeoBee

Both of these apps are wonderful for the information they contain.  They both have quizzes that are like games so that you are learning and having fun at the same time. 

The flags one has lots of info on each country and flag.

The GeoBee works you up level by level and gets harder and harder as you go.  I enjoy the challenge if presents.  It is slanted to US though,  (so those of us that don't actually live there know ahead of time) with many questions about states and history.

Misc Apps For The Younger Set

How to Draw

This is a fun little drawing program.  It takes you step by step through the process of drawing simple things like a dog, cat and dinosaur.

My youngest likes it best because it is geared towards really young kids who are just starting out.  It is even narrated by young children.

Moody Monster

Apparently this is a program on TV?  Not having TV makes us ignorant to that, so if your littles like moody monster, this will be a hit. 

There are different games in here that you match, make up different things and answer questions.  It is a great pre-K or K game.

Super Why

Also a program I guess...who knew?!

This one has 4 fun games on it.  Rhyming, fixing a story, spelling and hunting letters.  Great game for the younger kids.  This is the app that helped my youngest finally understand rhyming.  For the longest time he would think that the words that STARTED the same rhymed.  Now he understands.

Misc Apps That we Love

BrainPop

Super fun (and educational) app.  There is a featured movie you can watch everyday.  It is always informational and fun.  After watching you can answer questions.  (or not)

There are a few movies each day you can see.  I think it is about a weeks worth. 

All my boys love to watch it.  The youngest still doesn't answer the questions but it is amazing what he retains from the information he hears.

Weird but True

Who doesn't love the books?! 

My boys love this app because of the information (which is funny) and the animations (which are really funny). 

My youngest especially loves the animation that says "That's Weird".

Triazzle

Ok, I added this one because it is my favorite one.  Have you ever put together the three sided puzzles?  This is it only as an app.

I love to figure them out, and it is nice to have the little animations to tell me when I have it right!

Where's my Water?

Love Swampy.

He is a little guy that all he wants is to get clean.  He doesn't want any poison in his bath though because he is unlike others, he likes clean water.

These are fun and rather addictive puzzles. 

You need to get all three ducks, avoid poison, bombs and other obstacles.  Our whole family enjoys this little app.  (and the animations are awesome!)

Spikey

This is another one we just play for fun.  Spikey sticks into everything.  He wants to free all the butterflies but he keeps getting stuck.  You have to shoot him to smash all the jars to free the trapped butterflies.

Little Things

I love the I Spy books.  Well, we all do in my family.

This is a game like the I Spy's.  You have a big photo that you have to find little photos in.  It gets harder are you figure them out. 

This is great fun for all my kids.  (and me when they are in bed!)

Fruit Ninja

Who doesn't like chopping up fruit and wishes to be a ninja?!  That's all I have to say.

World of Goo

I actually held off buying this app for a year. 

I am not a big fan of some of the other big grossing apps, and this has been on the top charts for a long time, but I finally caved and bought it.

It is a great little app.

You have to help the goo balls reach the collection tubes.  You have to be really careful though because if you build a shaky tower, it falls.  You build bridges and towers and various other methods of transportation for your little goo balls.

My youngest is in love with this game. 

Pixlr O Matic

Love this one.

You upload your photos (or if you are in the lucky few who got an iPad2, just take a photo with your built in camera) and apply different things to them.

You can make them black and white, sepia, old fashioned, change the colors, add different extras to them...and more.

Great fun similar to photoshop. 

My two oldest really get a kick out of changing their pictures with it.

Well, that's it for now.  I hope that you might find something that you can enjoy from our list.  We sure have fun with ours.  How about you?  What are your favorite apps?

Cheers