11 Easy DIY No Carve Pumpkins and Other Fall Foliage Home Decor

This video has some ideas that I really love, and not just for Halloween.  With Thanksgiving right around the corner, some of these can be table decor for that holiday too.  I love the Mums table pieces, especially.  Some of this stuff you can get right at the Dollar Tree.  I love the Dollar Tree.  Starting in November I will be sharing some posts for Operation Christmas Child projects that I am working on.  If they are simple enough, our church will include our youth in making them for next year's campaign.  If you don't support OCC, that is ok a lot of these projects can be donated to any charity group you support.

This post may contain affiliate links.  Check out my other blog at, healthbuddydotblog.wordpress.com

Halloween Week 100 DIY Costume Ideas

It is Halloween week, already.  If you are creative, short on cash, or just like to make your own costume, check out the video.  She has some really cute and clever ideas.  Modify for the age of your child.  Below the video find an assortment of masks to purchase.  It is a great deal.  Store them away for Halloween's to come.  What is your kiddo going to be for Halloween?  Mine has moved away from cute and is into scary.  So she is a Zombie Bride or something of that nature. All week I will be sharing Halloween themed activities, and ideas.  We get our pumpkins tomorrow and have some really cute ideas for carving this year.

This post may contain affiliate links.

My other blog https://healthbuddydotblog.wordpress.com

Whimsy Wednesday: Halloween Minute to Win It Games

We are kind of big game fans in this house.  Well, at least 3 out of 4 of us are, lol.  When we were still in 4H each week the kids would play a new Minute to Win It game as a sort of Ice Breaker.  The kids really loved these games and it really helped them learn teamwork and getting to know each other.  Click the link to go to the source of the games, let me know which ones you tried and if you loved them or not.  The image is from the source link.



Save 50% on select product(s) with promo code 50FAMILY50 on Amazon.com

Visit my other blog, https://healthbuddydotblog.wordpress.com/

Throwback Thursday: Why We do Halloween?

From 2008

Friday, October 31, 2008

Why Do We Celebrate Halloween?

Halloween, sometimes called All Hallows Eve, Night of the Dead, and other creepy names. But why do we really celebrate Halloween? Why, did we start Halloween? Some cultures do you use Halloween, as a celebration of the dark side. For the most part, Halloween is a fun celebration, to dress up and be someone else for a night.

Halloween started many years ago, in other countries. These other countries celebrated the end of Summer and the season of the Sun. They prepared for a season of cold, and long nights. October 31st was the day they chose to hold their festival, sometimes referred to as the Fall Festival or Harvest.

When settlers came to America, they brought their holiday customs with them. Many of the settlers came from different countries. Of course, all the customs have been joined and we have our own Halloween celebration. The most important symbol of Halloween is the Pumpkin.

The early settlers used to cut out other fruits and vegetables, and decorate them. The people of Ireland cut out and decorated Turnips. They hollowed out the Turnip and put a candle on the inside. When the Irish came to America they used big, round, orange Pumpkins, and now we have our famous Jack-O-Lantern.

Years ago, in other countries, the poor would beg for food. They were called souls, and people would give them soul cakes. The beggars would then promise that they would remember the dead.

Here, today in America children dress in silly, funny, and scary costumes and go Trick Or Treating. The receive candy, and small trinkets in their basket or pumpkin of choice.

Halloween has become a huge profit maker for American businesses, and according to early polls, people have spent more money on Halloween this year, than any other year. Some companies base their whole company on Halloween and are actually closed for the rest of the year. You can find almost any costume imaginable, now today. From celebrities to superheroes, princesses, politicians, whatever you could think of. It has become one night of fun, a night to get away from the stress of the real world and live in a fantasy. To be someone else for one night, isn't that something everyone wants?

Please remember your Halloween safety rules:

Young children should always be accompanied by an adult
Wear a light on your suit, or carry a flashlight
Walk on walkways, not the street if possible
Go slow, kids run out in the street without thinking
Never eat any candy, before it has been thoroughly inspected by an adult
Have fun, isn't that the most important one

Oceanography: Videos to Learn About Tides, Currents and Waves

Today Caitlin took a break from all the Oceanography reading to watch some videos about the topics she is working on.  The Tide video was especially useful.  Tides are complicated and can be hard to understand.  The lady that explains the waves is somewhat hard to understand due to her accent, but her drawings are self-explanatory and helpful.  She then continued on with the lessons on Easy Peasy Homeschool High School.

This post may contain affiliate links.

Health Buddy Melissa

Halloween Spider Dip Bowl

With Halloween on the way, I will be sharing lots of fun things for kids to do in an educational way.  I think cooking is a great way to learn.  I will be having Caitlin make this as we get closer to Halloween, on a Sunday when we do fun foods for Football Sunday.  I think she will have a lot of fun making this and it is super easy.  Sliced cucumbers, bell peppers, and squash will be used to enjoy the dip.  This video is for homemade dough.  You can buy store-bought dough and it should still work just as good.  Making your own will help with Math skills, and you will know exactly what is in it.

Fitness Friday: Walk at Home

This is a new series for this blog.  Now that my kids are teens, exercise and eating right have gone out the window to a degree.  My son, especially who is now in college, and working is struggling with a healthy diet and finding time to exercise.  I am not sure I can convince him to concentrate more on this, but I can try.

As for my 15-year-old, I still have some control over what she eats, and whether she exercises or not.  She just finished recuperating from an injured knee, so she has lost some muscle strength.  We are slowly getting back into daily walking.  I also would like her to do muscle strength and flexibility training.  Because I do not want to re-aggravate the injury progress must be slow, but steady.  Lucky for her I am a nurse and a Certified Health Coach.  The short 15-minute  walking video below is the one I started with back in January to build my own stamina and strength.  She also is starting with this video. It is a beginner video, but you will walk 1 mile in 15-minutes.  I like Leslie Sansone, because she uses four easy, basic steps that are not hard or complicated to learn.   As much as I love walking outside, we just don't get that 15-minute mile in.  It is more of a nice leisure nature walk, which I love them too.  The video is on Youtube, but if you would rather purchase the DVD, see the link below.  The Youtube video does have ads.  I do use affiliate links for some items.

If you would like to visit my Health Coach blog, click here.  Please note I am not giving medical advice.  If your doctor has advised you not to exercise then please follow that advice.

Around the World in 80 Days

This is a post for a friend who is looking for projects to go with the book.  I thought I had some resources on this blog, already, but apparently, I do not.  A lot of the resources out there are for younger kids but can be easily adapted for older kids.  I personally would do more with the culture of each place visited through research, writing and art projects.  I may actually use this for Caitlin for World History next year. Instead of making a passport, due to age, I may just have her get a passport.  Another thing I would do, for older kids, is to have them cook traditional food from each place visited.  There is a link to purchase the book below if you need it. Speaking of History, this week we start the 2nd Amendment.  This is a huge topic and we will spend several weeks on it.  I will post links for this topic later this week.  A lot of it will be video, discussions and then end with a writing assignment.  There is a debate coming up on the 15th, so that will be on our radar as well.  Caitlin is finally walking, again, so we are back to walking for PE.

These are all free resources, except for 1, and that is only $1.25.  The book is not free and is an affiliate link.  Some of these have extensive activities available and may take some time to weed through.

https://educationpossible.com/around-the-world-in-80-days-book-study-activities/

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Around_the_World_in_Eighty_Days

http://blog.homeschooling-ideas.com/50-educational-board-games/

https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/around-the-world-in-80-days-activities-11187960

https://www.thebarefootmommy.com/2017/05/global-citizen-kids-activities/

https://www.proverbialhomemaker.com/around-world-80-days-unit-study-free-printable.html

Twitter Share Tuesday

Come join in.  You can use any blog post, from any platform you blog on.  No offensive, or violent content, please.  It does not have to be homeschool related.  See the rules below, and post your link.

1.  Post a blog post, not your whole blog, one post you would like others to share.  Share it in the comments.  If you share a blog post you must share the other blog posts in the comments.

2.  Along with your link to your blog post, share the link to your Twitter account where you will be sharing other blog posts to.

3.  Tweet all the blog posts shared in the comments.  Come back tomorrow to be sure you got them all.

4.  This post is active until midnight tonight Eastern Standard Time.

5.  If you miss this week, come back next Tuesday to try again.

6.  Have fun!