Spending Time

If you asked me at the beginning of last week if I was ready for the kids to go back to school, I would have said "no". By the end of the week, I think everyone was ready. The natives are definitely restless! I've been trying to make a little extra effort to play with them. We've been swimming, started reading our new book club book, and tried to play Parcheesi before I had to run an unexpected errand. Today I altered my planned workout and took the kids on a walk. It helped for an hour or so.

It's challenging to keep up with all my goals, but today I'll focus on the goal of being a good mother. I think it's time to finish that game of Parcheesi!

Last Day

It was our last day of Australia week and our last day of summer school. Thanks to our wonderful neighbor for making our day special. She brought pizza and ice cream for lunch (doesn't that make any day special?).

For our official summer school part of the day, we learned some Australian words and phrases. To summarize our week: We learned about boomers (kangaroos) with our mates (buddies), mostly in the arvos (afternoons). It was a bonzer (excellent) week. Unfortunately, we have Buckley's chance (no chance) of actually going to Oz (Australia) any time soon. It will do no good to chuck a fit (get angry), so we'll just chuck in (give up) on the idea. Thanks for putting up with the earbash (nonstop talk). I'll be a dobber (informant) of our long journey to excellence.

Harry Potter

We took a break from Australia Week to celebrate the completion of a couple of our summer goals. We finished reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and the kids finished their workbooks. How did we celebrate? We went and saw the new Harry Potter Movie. I always think its interesting to see how they change the book to make the movie.

Australia Week, Day 3

Today we learned about the Great Barrier Reef. I never realized the magnitude of the Reef. It covers an area around 1200 miles long! I also learned that starfish can be destructive. I'm not sure if it's all starfish or just the Crown-of-Thorns Starfish.

We also learned about the meaning of the Australian flag - and colored our own.

Australia Week, Day 2

Today we talked about some of Australia's interesting animals. They have a bunch don't they? Of coarse, we talked about the usuals - the kangaroo, the platapus, and the koala (I didn't know the koala's have their pouches on their backs!). We also found a couple that were new to me, like the Honey possums, the Thorny Devils and Echidna. We finished of today's fun with a wordsearch of Australian animals.

Australia Week

We started Australia Week today. We spent most of our time deciding what we are going to learn about the rest of the week. We went over some basic facts of Australia. I didn't realize that Australia is so flat! And it is 5 times bigger than Italy, with just a fraction of the population.

More School Supply Savings

Today I made it to Staples. I bought a backpack and will get store credit for the same amount at the end of the quarter. They also had mechanical pencils, highlighters and pens that were free after rebate. I stocked up on:
12 pack post-it notes for $2
4 pack dry erase markers for $1
5 pack of nice ball point pens for $1

I think I'm officially set for school to start!

School Supplies

Usually, back to school time is one of my favorite times of the year. While I'm looking forward to getting back to our routines, summer's ending too soon. There are still so many things I was hoping to get to that I'm pretty sure aren't going to happen!

We hit Walmart and Walgreen's for most of the school supply shopping. A few years ago I figured out to buy a year's supply of things like crayons, pencils, notebook and paper during the back to school sales. It drove me crazy to spend 20 cents on a box of crayons and then need another box in January and have to pay $2! So I now keep a stash of school supplies in a closet. Even if your kids aren't in school, keep your eyes on the sales and stock up. My mom uses those 70 page spiral notebooks. Last year, I talked her into buying a pack of 10 for a $1. I bet she's saved 10 times that amount.

So what did I get yesterday? From Walmart I got:
the crayons for 20 cents,
markers for $1,
colored pencils for 75 cents,
a pencil box for 62 cents,
1" binders for $2.50 and
2-packs of glue sticks for 25 cents.

From Walgreen's:
10-pack mechanical pencils for 39 cents
2-pack big pink erasers for 29 cents
24-pack pencils for 79 cents
2-pack Sharpies for $1.50
dry erase markers 4-pack for $2 (I might take these back because Staple should have these on sale for $1 next week)

Other great deals from Walgreen's but not school related:
baking soda for 50 cents
jello for 20 cents
case of water for $3
mushrooms for 50 cents

All in all not a bad day!

Stocking Up!

Our local grocery store had some good deals before our trip and even more after we got home. Here's what I've been stocking up on: Gatorade, spaghetti sauce, jelly, cheese, granola bars, cereal, paper products (plates & bowls), tissue, mouthwash, salad dressing, water, juice, and paper towels. The juice, water, and salad dressing were even free with coupons! I admit it's an odd assortment of food storage items and some of the items are only good for short term storage, but it helps to keep me shopping from my pantry.

A website I use regularly to help me find these great deals is Pinching your Pennies. http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=5 Find your state's link and you'll be able to select your favorite grocery store to match the store's sales with the coupons available. If you stock up on the items you use while they are inexpensive, you will be able to build up your food storage and save money by shopping from your pantry too!

The Grand Finale of the 4th of July Week

We finished Fourth of July week by reading a story about Ben Franklin and learning about the Liberty Bell. I didn't know the one I saw was the 3rd casting of the the Liberty Bell - and it still cracked! We also made a birthday cake for the good ol' USA, food activities are a very important part of summer school you know!

Forth of July Week, Days Three and Four

We're still having fun with the Fourth of July! Yesterday we found a fun choose your own adventure type story online. Then we learned more about the Revolution. I didn't remember the war lasting so long. How sad that so many people had to die. I'm eternally grateful for those who sacrificed their lives, from the 1770's until now, so we could enjoy this great country. I'm grateful for those who are willing to put not only their lives on the line, but also leave their families to protect our freedom. I hope we will support their sacrifices by continuing to fight, in our own way, upon the freedoms this country was founded.

We finished off the day by making these fun "windsocks". They are made from cardboard tubes, construction paper and streamers. I found he idea on It's a Daisy Day blog. http://itsadaisyday.blogspot.com/ Here's how ours turned out.


Today, we learned about George Washington. He's a pretty impressive guy. We also did a word search and an acrostic. Here's how they turned out.

Fireworks
Our country
Red
The president
Honest

Firework fun
Obeydens (aka Obedience)
United
Red
Truth
Honoring our country

Freedom
Our beautiful country
United
Red, white & blue
The constitution
Honor

I was impressed that the kids really thought about words that represented the independence of our country!

Forth of July Week, Day Two

Yesterday was another fun day at Summer School. We read a story about Paul Revere and learned about the Revolution. We sang "You're a Grand Old Flag" and learned about the song "Yankee Doodle Dandy". I didn't know that the British started the song as an insult to the colonist. The highlight of the day was fireworks in a glass - don't worry there were no explosives in the house. Here's the link http://www.ehow.com/how_2077266_make-fireworks-glass.html. Monday's lesson about the 13 colonies, reminded them of Pocahontas. We watched that in the afternoon.

A New Month

Here we are again, another month in the history books. For me it's a time to reflect on my goals from June and set July's goals. Summer is going way too quickly. I've done many of the things I wanted with the kids, and there are a few more I'm still hoping to squeeze in. I want to work on sewing lessons - at least mending - and a little more cooking practice.

I hoped to get 12 scrapbook layouts done in June. I'm making progress with 9. I'll shoot for 11 in July. I didn't get as much writing done as I had hoped, but Family History was way over the top! I've added 55 names to my PAF file this month. I will keep plugging on with my writing and family history in July.

What are you working on in July?