teaching kids about thanksgiving
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Great Products for Teaching Kids About Thanksgiving

ByMariel

The past couple months, for homeschool, we’ve been learning all about the pilgrims, the indians in the New World, and the first Thanksgiving. We like to take history slow and really delve into each time period. This coming week we’re going to have a fun Thanksgiving lunch (for school) to celebrate and reinforce what we’ve learned. I LOVE homeschool. Really. I love getting to learn right along with my kids! Anyway, after reading a bunch of books and watching some videos, I’ve narrowed it down to a handful of favorites products for teaching kids about Thanksgiving.

First Thanksgiving Dinner ~ Fun Family Tradition W/ Printable Invitation (she: Brooke)
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First Thanksgiving Dinner ~ Fun Family Tradition W/ Printable Invitation (she: Brooke)

ByBrooke

What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving traditions?  Do you have many?  We have several at our house.  This tradition came from my first grade teaching days.  My cooperating teacher shared this idea with me.  Each year at Thanksgiving our first grade class would reenact the first Thanksgiving dinner.  We would weave place mats, make Pilgrim…

My New Favorite App: Remembary

My New Favorite App: Remembary

ByMariel

When I was little I used to write in my journal all the time. I think I filled up like seven of them. Then I got married, had kids, and sadly I stopped journaling. It’s always been one of those thing that bums me out. I really want to do it but just can’t seem to find a quiet moment or the time to squeeze it in. I’ve always believed that keeping a journal is an awesome form of therapy, which I clearly need. But also, I would love for my posterity to have the option of learning about my life, family, and crazy thoughts. I’ve been getting into family history lately, learning about my ancestors, and how neat would it be if I had a journal from each one! Being realistic with myself, I know that at this time of my life, I will probably not find the time to put pen to paper on a regular basis. BUT, I found a favorite app that I super-duper love, that is making journaling easy for me.

Easy Princess Twist Hairdo Tutorial (she: Rebecca)

Easy Princess Twist Hairdo Tutorial (she: Rebecca)

ByRebecca

Anyone with a little girl NEEDS to know how to do this Princess Twist Hairdo! It’s super simple, fast and everyone will be asking you how you did it. It’s also one of those rare hairdos that works on every length, thickness and texture of hair. It’s especially great for little girls with short pieces of hair at the hair line because the pieces only have to reach a short distance to get twisted into the ‘do! It’s the first hairdo that I was able to do on my girls when they were babies, and it’s still a favorite now that they’re school age. I get asked constantly how I did it on their hair, so I thought I’d just show you all today!

DIY Library Card
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Family Library & DIY Pretend Library Card (she: Kristina)

ByKristina

Besides raiding the fridge and climbing everything in sight, my daughter has started getting into imaginary play lately. Since she’s the oldest, I’ve tried to be creative about some things I can make for her.  Last week it was a gas can for her cozy coupe car, and this week I took a stab at…

homeschool resources
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5 Favorite Homeschool and Educational Products and Resources

ByMariel

I have a deep love for educational products and resources. Deep. I enjoy learning right along with my kids and finding (or creating) ways to make it fun. Anyway, with homeschool in full swing, we’ve been getting lots of use out of some super great homeschool and educational products and resources.

Here’s my current faves:

Daily Writing Prompts – The Teacher’s Corner has a fabulous list of daily writing prompts for every day of the year. What is super cool is that they are all relevant to the actual day, so let’s see… today is September 17th. There are 3 choices of writing prompts. One is about how today is the day the constitution was signed and asks kids to learn and write about one of the amendments. Another is about how September 17th is citizenship day and write what it means to be a good citizen. The last is about how today is the day NASA introduced the first space shuttle, and then a thought provoking question about that. Good stuff, I tell ya. So, not only are they getting handwriting practice, but they are actually writing about something educational.

First Day of School T-Shirt Tradition (she: Jeanie)
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First Day of School T-Shirt Tradition (she: Jeanie)

Byjeanie

Today is a BIG day in the Create & Babble family! My first and only grandchild (“only” until February!) starts Kindergarten today! Yes, today is Jordan’s first day of school. I’ve been wracking my crafty brain to come up with an original photo idea for his big day. There a a lot of great ideas…

10 Great Homeschool and Educational Ideas (& Link Party!)
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10 Great Homeschool and Educational Ideas (& Link Party!)

ByMariel

Hello, weekend!  Last weekend I shared 10 Great Back to School Ideas, and since we still all have school on our mind, I thought this week I would share 10 Great Homeschooling and Educational Ideas!  This is a round-up of some of my favorite posts on ‘Or so she says…’ all about fun ways to…

10 Great Back to School Ideas (& Link Party!)

10 Great Back to School Ideas (& Link Party!)

ByMariel

Hello, weekend. How about 10 great Back to School ideas from ‘Or so she says…’?!? I say, ‘yes.’ Check them out… you’ll find printables, crafts, lunch box ideas, educational fun, and thoughts on bullying. Some good stuff! When you’re done, be sure to link up YOUR great ideas below. I love to see what y’all come up with and find fun new things to share on Pinterest! As a bonus, everything you link up will also be featured on two other really big blogs!

Back to School Countdown (she: Brooke)
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Back to School Countdown (she: Brooke)

ByBrooke

Well, ready or not, school is just around the corner (a week from Tuesday for my boys- way too soon!). We just got back from a quick camping trip over the weekend. Apparently we aren’t the only ones who frantically rush out and try to fit in all the last-minute summer activities we can. It took us searching through four campgrounds to finally find a spot. It wasn’t our first choice, but ended up being the perfect little spot for our family!

I’m not sure if you’ve been counting down the days until school starts since the second week of June, or if you’re ignoring all the school supplies that are lining the shelves right now, and hoping the first day of school won’t happen. I have to say I’m a tad bit excited. I’ve LOVED every minute of our summer vacation, but there’s something rejuvenating about this time of year for me.

Snap Photos. Win Prizes. Love Life. (Instagram July 2013)
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Snap Photos. Win Prizes. Love Life. (Instagram July 2013)

ByMariel

Hello, lovers of life and Instagram! Today, myself and some fellow bloggers, are kicking off something super-duper cool. You know how you’re always snapping pictures for Instagram?? Well, now you can actually win prizes for doing it! If you haven’t joined the Instagram world yet, it’s time! To read about why it’s so great and some Instagram tips, check out this post: All About Instagram.

Now, without further ado, let’s get this party started! Let me introduce you to… ‘Loving Life…’.

Educational BINGO ~ The Kids BEG to Play!
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Educational BINGO ~ The Kids BEG to Play!

ByMariel

I know school is almost over for most of you, and although I intended this activity to be for homeschool, I can see us playing it all year long. It’s nothing fancy, just BINGO…awesome BINGO. I’ve always got my eye out for really great educational products for kids, and while browsing the daily Zulily deals, I saw these really neat BINGO sets for half off. They’re from Lucy Hammett Games and each set is based around a certain theme, like: birds, weather, wildflowers, oceans, body, butterfly, art, and soooo many more! You play it like you would any other BINGO game, but the kids are actually learning with these. Yay! Not only can they learn from the pictures alone, but on the back of each card is a little description/facts about what is on front.

The first time we played, we used jelly beans as the markers. Mistake. Nobody could keep them on the board and out of their mouths!