We hit the first of the Easter egg hunts this week. This one is by far our favorite. The local outreach cam host it every year. They offer a horse ride, an egg hunt and a bunch of games. The girls mostly go for the horse ride and the marshmallow shoot out. Those are there two favorite activities but the really do seem to enjoy them all. We had loads of fun and the girls spent most of the day there.
Its a great organization and they really help a lot of families in our area. Hear is a couple of the pictures as the girls got ready to hunt there eggs.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Spring is on its way!
Temperatures have finally warmed up hear in MO. The girls have been spending more and more time out side. This last week we got in some serious time at the archery range and the park. They also spent a great deal of time playing in the mud in the front yard.
With the warming temperatures comes gardening season. We are planning what will be going into our garden this year. We are keeping it to things that we eat. We only want to grow what we can use since we have a limited amount of space available. So far the girls have settled on broccoli, spaghetti squash, pickling cucumbers, white radishes, carrots, tomato's, green beans, and artichokes. Everything but the artichokes will go into our raised beds. We will be trying out a small straw bail garden this year. Lettuce will be going into those since they are higher off the ground it will be harder for the rabbits to get to. We will also be planting a large plot of calendula flowers, herbs and spices. The girls started blueberry seeds about a month a go they have finally sprouted. We had a lot of excitement over them as blueberries are the girls favorite. I don't know if they will make it but we are giving it a try. If they do well we should have about 6 or more blueberry bushes. How ever it takes about 2 years before they start to produce any berries.

We have begun to prepare the garden. This mean turning in compost and peat moss to try and improve soil quality. The girls find this process quite enjoyable. Mostly because they get to get dirty and play in the water.
We are also getting out and doing some hiking and just visiting some of our favorite places. Big Spring which is about 20 min up the road from us. It is a huge spring that bubbles out of the ground. It has this amazing boiling action and its absolutely beautiful. We stopped by for a quick visit Thursday just to see how it was looking. With all the rain and snow melt its interesting to see the changes in our water ways. Normally this spring is crystal clear. But on this trip is was sort of a green color and you could not see through it. There were no rangers around on this trip but we think its is due to all the extra water that was coming out from the rain and snow melt. The spring tends to flood the area at times. The sound from the water coming out of the spring is so loud. That when you are standing next to it you have to almost yell to hear each other talk. I though we would share some quick photos that we took so you can get an idea of what we saw.
With the warming temperatures comes gardening season. We are planning what will be going into our garden this year. We are keeping it to things that we eat. We only want to grow what we can use since we have a limited amount of space available. So far the girls have settled on broccoli, spaghetti squash, pickling cucumbers, white radishes, carrots, tomato's, green beans, and artichokes. Everything but the artichokes will go into our raised beds. We will be trying out a small straw bail garden this year. Lettuce will be going into those since they are higher off the ground it will be harder for the rabbits to get to. We will also be planting a large plot of calendula flowers, herbs and spices. The girls started blueberry seeds about a month a go they have finally sprouted. We had a lot of excitement over them as blueberries are the girls favorite. I don't know if they will make it but we are giving it a try. If they do well we should have about 6 or more blueberry bushes. How ever it takes about 2 years before they start to produce any berries.
We have begun to prepare the garden. This mean turning in compost and peat moss to try and improve soil quality. The girls find this process quite enjoyable. Mostly because they get to get dirty and play in the water.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
GPA LEARN Review
After the instruction section there are practice problems that your child is ask to do. Each problem is read aloud to your child. They then use the skills learned in the lesson to solve the problem. If they answer the problem is incorrectly they are given a chance to try it again. We found the problems to be grade level appropriate. We like the practice problems and they have really helped the girls. I do how ever wish it could tell them what they have done wrong after a couple of try's.
Once all the practice problems have been completed they move on to the quiz portion. Quiz questions are also read to them. Super helpful if you have a kindergartener that is learning to read. Or if you have an auditory learner. Both grade levels we are using give 10 quiz questions. Once the quiz is completed it gives your child a grade. It tells them how many they got wrong. It gives them the chance to see what problems they got incorrect. It also awards points. You get a different amount of points depending on how you did on the quiz. The better you do them more points you get. You also get a badge. You can get Rock Star, Excellent, or Nice Job. .png)
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Friday, March 13, 2015
The Critical Thinking Co. Math Analogies Level 1 Review
The last few weeks I got to review a learning product from The Critical Thinking Co. They have a lot of great products and you can check there site The Critical Thinking Co. I Reviewed Math Analogies Level 1
Math Analogies Level 1 is designed for grades 2-3. It uses grade level standards that have been identified by the National Council of Teaching Mathematics. Math Analogies Level 1 helps students develop the ability to reason analogically. This is a great problem solving skill that helps kids develop better mathematical skills. This Analogies teaches kids to break down a problem into smaller parts to make it easier to recognize familiar problems to help students find the solution. A two computer download license is $6.99. You can order here at http://www.criticalthinking.com/math-analogies-level-1-software.html For those of you with tablets. It is also available on the google play store and the app store.
I am currently using Math Analogies Level 1 with my second grader. We started working with the program three days a week. I quickly learned that analogies are something we really need to work with more. The first attempt gave her 152 problems. It was too many problems to do at one time and she quickly became over whelmed with it after just a few problems. I made the decision to break that first attempt down over three days. She got it finished but only got 54% of them correct.
After that first attempt I realized she had no idea how to actually read the problems. I had to sit with her and explain what she was being ask to do. The problems are written in a way that most kids are not used reading. An example is G : g :: C :_____ . Which should be read as G is to g as C is to ___. Once she realized that "is to" implied that there was a connection between the first part and the second part of the phrase and that "as" showed that the second part would be similar to the first part it started clicking. Here are a couple screen shots of some of the analogies that she did. It will give you an idea of how the problems are written out.
It took me reading out loud a few problems for her to start to get the connection. After we did few of the problems together she started catching on and began to show improvement and understanding of how to read each problem. Once that happened she began to get more and more answers correct with each attempt and it took her less and less time per problem to solve it correctly. After that each attempt gave her less problems to solve. It gives you only the problems that you got wrong on the previous attempt. We still take a day or two to finish an attempt. But she is showing improvement and I am thrilled about that.
This has been a great supplement to our current math program which does not focus on analogies. I will be starting my kinder out on Math Analogies Level 1 when she starts first grade. I feel it has helped to round out our math curriculum for the year.
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Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Another week is Here
Here it is Wednesday evening and things are crazy around our house. We spent the weekend with my
sister and her crew cleaning out the big cedar trees out front. We finally got some nice weather and the girls got in some serious outside PE time. We spent all day today at the park and archery range. Snoopy is getting better at pulling her bow and is working hard at it. Hotrod girl really enjoyed helping her figure out her bow. This is the first time she has really be able to pull the bow far enough to actually stick an arrow in the target. So that was an exciting moment for us. They both will probably end up shooting better than me in the end. We have actually managed to get quite a bit of classwork done this week. The girls worked so well that we are even ahead in science and history. We just finished a chapter on the layers of the earth.
We took a quick field trip on Monday to the Shut-ins we wanted to observe the changes in the river now that the snow pack has finally melted off. The girls couldn't believe how the 9in of snow we had this last month could make the river swell that much. We had a good time hiking and I even managed to snag a few pictures of the rising water and the girls looking over the edge of the bluff.
Pictures from our field trip:




Pictures from our field trip:
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Visual Learning Systems Review
Visual Learning Systems' is a online science publisher that provides quality videos and content to help students get more out of learning. Through the use of videos, interactive graphics, images and teachers guides, Students get to learn in a new way. Digital Science online elementary edition (grades k-5) or the Digital Science online secondary edition (grades6-16) are yearly subscriptions. You will subscribe to either the elementary edition or the secondary edition depending on your children's needs. You could possibly subscribe to both if you had children in both levels. A yearly subscription runs for $99.00.
We have been using Digital Science online as a supplement to our current curriculum. We have been using between 2 and 3 days a week. It has been a wonderful addition to our current science lessons. The video lessons are on the top of the girls list of likes about the site. The videos in the lessons are nice and sharp. The sound is clear and easy to understand. The videos even play well on my super slow internet. To find a lesson you simple select the subject and it opens a selections of lessons that are available for you to use. For us this means I would pull up content that pertains to the unit we are currently studying in our main science curriculum. Last week we were reading a unit on muscles. I logged into Digital Science Online and found the subject I needed. I then selected a video or videos that had to do with the human body and the muscular system. The girls could then watch the provided videos. You can either select to watch a single video or you can have it play all the videos for that lesson. After they completed the video lessons I could then go to the teachers guides tab and pull up one of the printable activities or work pages as my kids call them. The work pages in my 2nd graders grade level range were simple enough for her to understand with out too much help from me. The work pages for the human body and muscular system were a little above my k5 head since it was an upper elementary lesson. She does love the videos and I feel that she gets more from them than just having the information read to her. There are also pre and post test available for each lesson. I found these to be very useful as I am not all that great at writing my own test. The pre and post test are mostly multiple choice, fill in the blank or true/False.
This last week we are learning about the digestive system. We had done lessons in our main science book but the girls just couldn't picture how it all worked. I was able to go to Digital Science Online and quickly find some really great videos and pictures to help them see what's going on inside there body every time they eat or drink. While the lessons were a bit above there grade level. The girls understood and remembered more from the two short videos they watched than they did from the hole lesson we read about in our science book. The work pages and pre and post test were too hard for the girls grade levels so we did not try them out for this particular lesson. They now get how there food is digested and will gladly share the process with you if you ask them.
Some times our science lessons just need that little extra something to help them get the big picture. Like many kids mine are visual learners. Digital Science Online is amazing for kids that need to see it to understand it. Visual Learning Systems is a great way to give your classroom a little boost and make learning a little more fun. I don't believe I could use visual learning systems as a complete science curriculum. My girls would go through what's offered for there grade level way to quick. But it does make for a really great supplemental material. It has become very helpful to both me and the girls. Digital Science Online by Visual Learning Systems hit the nail on the head. The site is easy to navigate and the content is great. One of the best parts Is, I don't have to worry about inappropriate ad's because there are none. All the videos are safe for my kids to watch unlike some of the other free video viewing sites out there that contain ad's.
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Wednesday, March 4, 2015
53 Progress
| the box tubing is the upper shock mount that I made It will never be seen once the bed is on. |
Next on our list is to stuff a LS1 engine into the narrow frame of the 53. This too will take some modifications but its nothing my torch and welder cant handle.
| out home made blinking exit sign we used strip LED lights it looks cool when its flashing. |
| Mocking up the engine so we can get the mounts set. |
Friday, February 27, 2015
Koru Naturals Review
I received a 2oz. bottle of Emu Oil for my review. The 2oz. bottle sells for $9.85. Ingredients listed
for this product are 100% grade A emu oil with no preservatives or additives. This Emu oil is recognized by the Therapeutic Good Administration in Australia. It is milky white in color and doesn't seem to have much of a smell. It has been analyzed to confirm that it contains all the natural vitamins, minerals, and the essential fatty acids that are suppose to be in it. Emu oil is hypoallergenic and is a wonderful moisturizer that penetrates skin easily and does not clog pores.
Everyone in our house loves both products. I will continue to use them in our home for as long as I can.
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Tuesday, February 17, 2015
We have SNOW!!!
This week we got our real first snow of the winter. We have had some light dusting off and on but this is the first one that was actually enough to go sledding in. We got a whopping 10 in of snow early yesterday morning. I though I would share this picture of our front yard just before dawn. (yes that is all our front yard all the way to the trees in the far back) I called a snow day and the girls took the day off form school. We spent most of the day either shoveling the snow off the decks and drive way or running around in it. Me and the girls attempted to go sledding but it was too powdery hopefully it will be better for sledding this afternoon. We did how ever manage to have a snow ball fight and we took a long snow hike. It looks like we will be getting some ice in the next couple days and possibly some more snow. For those of you who are enjoying the snow with us. Me and the girls wish you lots of FUN and HOT CHOCOLATE!!!!!
Monday, February 9, 2015
Its a new month
This week is going to be busy. Both of the girls are starting new curriculum all of which you will be seeing reviews on over the next month or two. They are so excited to start something new they are how ever fighting over who gets to use the computer first. I am looking forward to sharing the new curriculums with you in the coming weeks.
On the home front we are preparing for spring by clearing brush and picking out what we want to grow in the garden this year. I am working on two new wood projects this week. Both Items I am hoping to sell in my online store I am opening soon. If anyone happens to be interested in buying any of the items that I have written about feel free to send me an email. I am looking forward to sharing my shop with everyone and all the great things I am hoping to make.
On the home front we are preparing for spring by clearing brush and picking out what we want to grow in the garden this year. I am working on two new wood projects this week. Both Items I am hoping to sell in my online store I am opening soon. If anyone happens to be interested in buying any of the items that I have written about feel free to send me an email. I am looking forward to sharing my shop with everyone and all the great things I am hoping to make.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Yum Yum Yum
This week I thought I would share a new recipe I found on tasteykitchen.com the girls have fallen in love with it and I like it because its easy and I can cook it in the NuWave oven it takes less time and doesn't heat up the house. So hear is the recipe slightly modified to fit how I made it.
Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole.
Ingredients:
For the Casserole:
3 chicken breast roasted and shredded.
1/2 lb shaved sliced honey ham
1/4 lb sliced baby swiss cheese
For the Sauce:
4 tbsp. butter
4 tbsp. flour
3 1/4 cup milk
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp white pepper
Topping:
6 tbsp. butter
1 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
3/4 tsp seasioning salt
1 1/2 tsp crushed dried parsley
Put cooked shredded chicken in bottom of round pan of the NuWave oven. Roughtly chop ham and scatter it over the chicken, Lay Swiss cheese on top of ham.
For sauce:
Melt butter in a large sauce pot over medium heat. When butter is melted quickly stir in flour this will form a smooth roux. Once it is smooth and bubbly, slowly pour in cold milk while stirring quickly to ensure a smooth sauce. continue cooking over medium heat tell sauce thickens. Stir in lemon juice, Dijon mustard, smoked paprika and pepper. Allow to come back to a slight boil and turn off your heat. Pour sauce over the casserole and be sure to get it around the edges.
For the topping:
Melt butter in microwave in a microwaveable bowl. Heat tell its melted. Take the bowl out of the microwave and stir in the panko crumbs, season salt, and parsley. Spread evenly over top of casserole.
Bake your casserole in the NuWave oven for about 15-20 min on high tell it becomes bubbly and brown on the top.
I would like to say this is not an endorsement for the NuWave oven we just have one and I use it quite frequently. I also got the original recipe from TastyKitchen.com
Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole.
Ingredients:
For the Casserole:
3 chicken breast roasted and shredded.
1/2 lb shaved sliced honey ham
1/4 lb sliced baby swiss cheese
For the Sauce:
4 tbsp. butter
4 tbsp. flour
3 1/4 cup milk
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp white pepper
Topping:
6 tbsp. butter
1 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
3/4 tsp seasioning salt
1 1/2 tsp crushed dried parsley
Put cooked shredded chicken in bottom of round pan of the NuWave oven. Roughtly chop ham and scatter it over the chicken, Lay Swiss cheese on top of ham.
For sauce:
Melt butter in a large sauce pot over medium heat. When butter is melted quickly stir in flour this will form a smooth roux. Once it is smooth and bubbly, slowly pour in cold milk while stirring quickly to ensure a smooth sauce. continue cooking over medium heat tell sauce thickens. Stir in lemon juice, Dijon mustard, smoked paprika and pepper. Allow to come back to a slight boil and turn off your heat. Pour sauce over the casserole and be sure to get it around the edges.
For the topping:
Melt butter in microwave in a microwaveable bowl. Heat tell its melted. Take the bowl out of the microwave and stir in the panko crumbs, season salt, and parsley. Spread evenly over top of casserole.
Bake your casserole in the NuWave oven for about 15-20 min on high tell it becomes bubbly and brown on the top.
I would like to say this is not an endorsement for the NuWave oven we just have one and I use it quite frequently. I also got the original recipe from TastyKitchen.com
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Our clssroom
This week we are working on turning a bedroom into a Classroom. Its taken me and the girls three days to get it painted. This house has an incredible amount of trim that had to be taped off before we could even begin. We are currently on the second day of painting we chose to go with white because its a small room. Lets face it I am not known for my decorating skills so I was a little afraid to try painting the hole room a color. The big dresser in the middle of the floor is going as soon as I can get some help to move the thing it weighs a tone. We have two old desk that we will be putting in the room one for each of the girls. I wanted to give them there own space to work. We are also going to have a small reading nook under those snazzy corner shelves. Not really sure what we are going to do for decorations though. Check out the pictures of our classroom in progress and if you have any great idea feel free to share them in the comments below. I would love to have some ideas.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Class is Starting
I am days away from the start of my first collage class. I am taking Aroma 101 with the American Collage of Healthcare Sciences. Hopefully it wont be too hard of a class and I will be able to manage it and teaching the girls and everything else I have going on right not. But with a little Prayer and some late nights I will do my best and hopefully get a good enough grade to possibly take some more classes when I can get the money together for them. My class came with some books one of which seems huge and I am wondering how we will get through it in one semester. There is also an E-book and a nice stash of essential oils and supplies for making the different blends I we will need to make for the class. My mom has so graciously offered to be my guinea pig she is a good sport when it comes to trying out my home made items. She was a great sport with the deodorant trial we had over the summer. So hear is a look at all my goodies too bad that oil box wasn't all filled up but I guess it will eventually.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
53' Truck Project
I don't think I have ever talked about my project truck before and I decided now was a good time to share the project with everyone. I am building a 1953 1/2 ton pick up truck. Iv been working on it off and on since I was in high school. When we moved back to Mo a few years a go I was close enough to my dads shop where I could begin working on it again. A lot of time and work goes into making an old truck drive able again. It will probably be another year before its on the road, but we are enjoying the time together working on the project together. The girls are even learning a thing or two. In the last year my dad has taught me how to weld which allowed me to installed the rear leaf spring mounts and built adjustable mounts for the air shocks that I am using. The next step will be to get the upper and lower arms installed so that we can find the proper location for the engine mounts that will hold the LS1 Engine I am installing. Recently we have finished rebuilding a 97 mustang rear end. So here are a few photos of the truck as we got started working on it again.![]() |
| Stripping body filler and paint |
| some of my first welding |
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
SchoolhouseTeachers.com Review
The first thing I have to talk about is the Schoolhouse planners. The Planners come free with your yearly membership. I am a mom that struggles with the planning and tracking portion of class. I can get behind with logging our work if I'm not careful. I am always looking for a simpler way to do it, that doesn't take up half my day. The first thing had to check out the 2014-2015 Schoolhouse planner. Its a quick and simple download. Even for my slow internet it only took a couple of minute to download. The planner includes way more than I will ever use: shopping list, chore charts, field trip log, curriculum recording charts, weekly planner, monthly goals etc. Its even got a must know list with some really great facts that everyone should know. Like when Missouri entered into state hood. I am currently using the field trip planning form and field trip report form. Hotrod princess filled out the field trip report which is handy for our portfolio. The form ask where we went, what she learned, what she liked and didn't like, and she then drew a picture showing something from the trip. She enjoyed it much more than our old form it was a lot simpler. She loved having the space to draw. For my self I am using the field trip planning form. I think it will help keep me a little more organized. It has all the important information that I need to get prepared for the trip. I can stick it in my record keeping folder to document what field trips we went on for the year.![]() |
| My 2nd graders work |
| my kinders work |
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