Keeping It Simple

We saw Swell sharks, Leopard sharks, Scalloped Hammerhead sharks, Sevengill sharks, Spiny Dogfish sharks, and the Galapagos shark. Add to that a developing shark pup still in its egg case!

I can't take credit for putting together this project, but if my dd was younger (she is going to be 17yo this summer!), I would put together a box project for card making. For years, Erin has been the recipient of leftover scrapbook supplies from her 3 older sisters and myself- birthday and Christmas gifts often include embellishments and supplies, and her own hard earned dollars have been invested in items that catch her fancy. She has a few card making magazines that have jump started her imagination, but there are plenty of online sites for that too. She has a card for almost any occasion in her box on her desk! She uses rubber stamps, papers, brads, silk flowers, yarn, ribbon... almost anything that you can adhere to a piece of paper. Making a set of note cards tied together with a pretty ribbon can also be a great gift for an auntie or grandma. * I thought it would be nice to post a project that would be fun for an older child (10+) and for a girl! Most of my posts are boy fo...

On some of my Amazon reading lists I write mini reviews (there is not much space allowed). Those are the lists that began slowly and I added a book or two over time. For lists that started all at once with several books, that process is just too time consuming. It would overwhelm me to even think about it. So, this is one of those lists that started with a stack of books, and I have just had a chance to add a few more titles to it over the last few weeks. It is a mixed bag of books that does not fit any one description except that we (my boys and I) found them to be exceptional in one way or another- depending on the book, it may be funny, moving, suspenseful, entertaining, sad... or a few of those combined. Enjoy!! :) Favorite Children's Picture Books

To understand this, you have to know that I love crayons. I love the smell, I love the colors, I love coloring. The boys did a project last November that involved a month of lots of coloring and I often begged them to let me help! (sometimes they did ;)) And, you need to know that in the 4th grade my friend had the most amazing box of crayons. The rest of us had one box with 8 colors. She had an amazing box with kajillions of colors and a built in crayon sharpener!!! Oh, how I coveted those crayons!! So, here I am, all these years later and I spy this super cool crayon caddy on sale for 50% off at the office supply store. Even 50% was a bit pricey, but I could not resist. I am not sure my boys appreciate how truly cool this is, but I do. And, I love it!! Besides, I have tried so many ways to organize crayons- boxes, buckets, containers filled with rice to try and stand the crayons up, wooden stands, and the ever famous "crayon drawer" in our craft cabinet. None are as...

I love a new math resource. This one was posted on the FIAR forum a few days ago. I was pretty sure my boys would love the Hundreds Board Logic and Guess the Number - they tend to enjoy logic and reasoning type things. So, we spent a little time this week playing with those activities. Mathwire / Mathwire blog This video, with an All About Spelling demonstration, was also linked in a FIAR board post. I think it gives a nice idea of how the program will work. The review card component was not demonstrated which I think it too bad--- keeping that review in our day is a key to our progress. (it was not included, understandably, in the interest of time) I also should give a disclaimer to those of you with boys (especially more than one boy)- our lessons do not look at all like the ones in the demo. Same material, different kids! :) All About Spelling