Make Your Own Clay Dough Chrismtas Ornaments to Paint and Decorate

Obviously the two little girls I did this project with did not have a care in the world that it is Christmas time. They chose a heart, a dolphin and a rabbit to make into an ornament. I will post the ingredients below to make these. I want to give you a few pointers first. First off they do not come out white. Ours looked more like a sugar cookie color. So, I painted them white. Also, because I wanted them to dry faster, I put them in a toaster oven on low for two hours. They did not dry in that time, and the dough was cracking. So, I let them dry the rest of the way on the counter at room temp. It did take about two days for them to fully dry. They are very hard, but of course could break if dropped. I sanded them for the girls to see if I could smooth them out a little, and then painted them white, and added two layers of Modge Podge. Also, the beads are not a good idea, or glitter. Most of the beads did not stay in place, I had to glue them back in. If you want glitter add them after while the modge podge is still wet. It worked much better that way. Also, make them thick, not thin. You won't get as many ornaments, but they don't crack as easy, and they are way more sturdy. I have two more dolphins, a heart, and an oval that my daughter and I will be painting and depending on how they come out, offering them in my Ebay store. A fun and affordable project, no matter which way you look at it. To make the dough use 1 cup baking soda, 1/2 cup corn starch, and 3/4 cup of hot water. Mix in a pan on the stove until it starts to boil and pull away from the sides. Believe me you will know when to stop stirring and it is ready. I let it cool quite a bit before using.

Science Unit Studies and Free American History Ebook

I bought the Science Unit Studies book below, at a yard sale this weekend. I have read through it, and can't wait to begin using it. Some of them we have already done, either the same way, or similar way. But, there are a lot that we can use in upcoming lessons. I am not sure if my son will do too many, because he has Marine Biology labs to do, but these are perfect for Caitlin.

So far, I have not bee happy with the American History curriculum we are using. So, I am supplementing that curriculum with the book shown below and the CLEP exam study guide, for American History 1.

Thanksgiving Vacation, Lets Draw A Turkey and Pilgrims

We are officially on Thanksgiving break. Normally we only take like three days for this holiday. But, this year is special. My husband and son have left for NY, this evening, and won't be back for a while. So, we are on vacation until they return. Which is OK, because I have a ton of paper work to catch up on. I have added after hour school work to DJ's day, because he needs to study to absorb all the material he needs to learn. He really does not have time to study during a typical school day, or week. His weekends will still be his to do what he wants, unless he gets behind, which should never be an issue for us. Emergencies though can clog up a schedule. I hope they have a ball, and Caitlin and I have some fun things planned too.

One of the most popular posts on this blog, is an old post about how to draw a turkey. So, I found a new one, and updated it to draw a new turkey, and cute pilgrims too. Caitlin was giving the assignment to make a turkey shaped building on her Minecraft world. She said she didn't think she could, but she did and it is splendid. Last year both kids had to make Mayflower ships on their Minecraft worlds. I am thinking a Nativity, Santa and a Snowman are in their Minecraft futures, lol. This will give me lots of time to catch up on some crafting that I have not had the time to do. I love to paint, and I didn't get any in this week. I have a baby cocoon and a baby blanket to ship out to Newborns in Need, and am challenging myself by attempting a long duster type sweater. I will let you know how that goes.

Nutrition and Cooking as an Elective Course Sweet and Sour Chicken

As an elective course, for 9th grade, DJ is taking a very basic Nutrition class.  As part of that class, he is also learning to cook, and wash dishes.  He cooks almost every week night, and is responsible for kitchen clean up on those same nights.  He has basically learned to cook our family favorites, and most common menu items.  We had lots of extra apples, so last month for our 4H meeting he made homemade apple cider, in the slow cooker.  It was a big hit, though most kids still chose the soda over apple cider.  The adults loved it, and we had some for home too.  Then this past week, he made homemade applesauce in the slow cooker.  Super simple and delicious.  It had no sugar added which was good, but I think I like it just a little bit sweeter.  Today we decided to learn to make Sweet and Sour Chicken.  We love it when we eat out, so might as well try it.  Now, any other time I have tried to duplicate Chinese food, it is not successful, so I was kind of not optimistic.  I did not tell him that, lol.  It actually was super easy, and super delicious.  A new favorite here at our house.  The only thing we changed about the recipe was, we served with linguine noodles not rice,  no soy sauce, and accidentally used olive oil instead of regular oil.  That just made it a little less crispy, but no other effect on flavor.  We doubled the sauce, and saved some to use next week with pork.  For the recipe we used, click here.

All three of the recipes mentioned were found on Pinterest.  I love Pinterest!

Sickness In Our Homeschool and Mission US

Have you ever been completely fine, and then bam you are sicker than a dog?  This happened to me this week.  I don't typically get sick.  I suffer from Migraines, but that is just part of my normal life.  I think I actually had the Flu this week.  I have not had the Flu in probably 20 years.  We went out to dinner on Tuesday evening, and as we were leaving the restaurant I started to wheeze.  Odd, but I just blew it off.  I was able to go to Run Club on Wed morning, despite having tight breathing, I had no other symptoms.  By Thursday morning, I was completely done.  Thursday, and Friday, were completely days spent in a coma.  All I did was sleep.  Thank goodness my kids, and husband are able to function without me.  OK so the house was not clean, but I can live with that.  I isolated myself from everyone, so not to spread it.  My bedroom was the germ room, lol.  Yesterday, I felt so much better and was able to start the disinfection process.  Still congested today, but was able to do yard work, laundry, wash dishes, and so much more.  So, yes I am all better.  It is probably my fault I got sick.  Halloween weekend I had to work, and could not sleep well.  My coworkers came to work sick, I ate a lot of candy and did not sleep enough.  That is the perfect mixture for getting sick.  Eat right, sleep, and try to steer clear of those who are sick, and good hand washing, will help keep you from getting sick.  We opted to stay home from church today just to be safe.  The boys are going to NY, on vacation, in a few weeks, and they don't need to be sick and in bed for such an expensive trip.

I had been trying to find the American History game, Mission US, but I could not remember the name of it.  I had it saved to my Pinterest board, Eclectic Homeschool, and finally found it yesterday.  My son, will definitely be playing this online game, as part of his American History studies.  They will be adding a new chapter in 2015, so that is exciting news too. 

American Blackout 2013

This movie was recommended to me by a co-worker.I think everyone should watch this video.  I watched it last night, and will watch it with my kids in the near future.

Crystal Growing Kit, A Sponge Marine Biology Lab and Draw What You See

On Fridays I try to keep school somewhat light and fun. We usually do our labs, and experiments on Friday. A week ago, or so, we were at The Dollar Tree. They had these crystal growing kits, and Caitlin wanted to get one to do. So, I bought one for each kid. They were easy to set up, the kids read and followed the directions with no assistance from me. We checked them today, and they are already starting to form crystals. I will take another picture in a few days to show the progress. The picture shown below was taken yesterday right after they set them up.

DJ had a sponge lab for his Marine Biology. He had to answer the questions in his book, and then we looked at the sponge under the microscope and draw what he sees.

Caitlin found a small lizard being eaten by ants, over the Summer. It was dead, of course, so we saved it to look at under the microscope. We did that yesterday as well. There was not much left to the skeletal remains, but it was still cool to look at.

DJ had a persuasive writing assignment. He was a realtor and he had to convince buyers to buy a haunted house. Perfect for Halloween. You can read it on his blog. It is pretty funny. Caitlin actually had two writing assignments. She had a descriptive writing assignment on how her and a friend would feel walking through a haunted house. She also had to make a Math short story for a prepared answer given to her. This was actually the harder of the two, since she is used to having a word problem, and she has to find the answer. It is a great way to get her thinking in a different direction. I think I will be doing those with both kids on Friday, each week.

We had a great week, hope you all did too. I have put my Etsy store on vacation, and opened an Ebay store. In all my organizing and cleaning, I discovered I have way too much inventory and I need to start selling stuff. Ebay affords me the luxury of auction listings, plus my fixed price store items along with other specialty options that Etsy just does not offer. Check out my Ebay store, and auctions, if you like. I do not have everything listed there yet, it is a timely process.