FUNtastic Folders! C isfor Christmas and Cookies review

The girls and I were given a copy of Sharon Crooks 

FUNtastic Folders! C isfor Christmas and Cookies Unit to review.  We have been having a great time with it.   Our review:   When you hear about a christmas cookies unit you know that you will be having a good time in the kitchen with your kids! Thanks to this new unit by Sharon Crooks you will also be learning at the same time! Through this unit you will learn science, math, lauguage arts and so much more. At the start of the unit is a listing of supplies that you will need. Most of this stuff is things that you will have on hand. The receipes that are included are kids friendly and very tasty as well! We plan to use these goodies to give out to family and friends as gift. This unit is unique, it actually included two topics, the cookie one and one on the nativity. The Nativity unit ties in many subjects as well. You can't go wrong teaching your kids about the true meaning of Christmas. This activity folder has great hands on learning ideas to do just that. Pictures of the fun we are having coming soon!

School Matinee Series Jigsaw Jones

The near by university host several School Matinee Series shows each year for kids.  The first one of this year was Jigsaw Jones Case of the Class Clown.  Evamarie loves mystery books and she had read lots from this series. 


This is the set from the show:

When you get tickets for the show you are given a study guide to go along with it.  While we waited for the show to start Evamarie worked on one of the worksheets about cracking codes!  William helped her out!

The tickets to these shows are just 5.00 and we look forward to them each year!  The next one is Cinderella!

Kabongo review

Go Go Kabongo

is a great website for kids that are learning to read.  Emma loves the computer like most kids today and with this game site. I don't feel like she is just wasting time.  It has many games that teach reading skills in a fun way. Emma thinks that they are just for fun and doesn't even realize that she is learning.  The colorful characters are really cute!  The site has a parents section that gives detailed progress reports on how your child is doing.  There are also printable pages that you can download to reinforce the skills that the kids are learning online.  Go Go Kabongo is free but there are more games to explore on their site for a fee.  

Your child begins their adventure in the TreeHouse section of the site. Here the get to create their own avitair! Once that is set up they are off to explore the games! As they play the games they earn stickers their very own "create your own" comic book, decorations for their Tree House , or pieces for their personal skate park. 

If you are looking a fun way to teach some reading skills this is the site for you! Give it a try.  You can even enter the code LEARN to get a free game, 4.94 value!!

Head on over to www.kabongo.com today for great learning fun!


(I was given full access to the site for free in exchange for my honest review)

Freezer paper stencil shirt

Several folks have asked how we made the shirts that the girls wore to the dolphin tale movie.  I'm am going to try to explain here:

The first step is to select an image to use for your stencil. Google the pattern you are looking for, we searched dolphin template and found the ones we liked.  Print them off. The next step is to trace the image onto the "dull" or "plain" side of your freezer paper.  After tracing, you will carefully cut out the inside of your image using an x-acto knife. You can use the piece that you have cut as your stencil or the pattern that was left behind.  We used the dolphins that we cut out! 

 Place your cut-out image shiny side down on the shirt and iron over it to adhere it to the shirt.  Make sure that it is stuck down all around the edges.  Use any fabric paint to paint inside the stencil (or all over the shirt in our case)!  For this project we tried the spray on fabric paint!  It gave the shirts a tie dye look!

Let the paint dry then peel off the freezer paper stencil! Enjoy your creation!  You are only limited by your imagination on what type of shirt you can make!


Hope this helps!

Dolphin Tale Giveway

Dolphin Tales is opening up September 23 Nation wide and the mission is for everyone to get out and watch a good wholesome movie. 

The neat part is that the two main characters are homeschooled. Finally, a movie about children who are homeschooled. 

The good folks at Homeschool Movie club sent me some promotional items and I would like to do a giveaway on my blog to promote this great movie!


The prize pack includes:


a tshirt
stickers
movie poster
bookmarks
postcards 
beach ball

Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment below telling me if you plan to see the movie!



Optional Extra Entries: (leave 1 comment per entry) 


Like our school facebook page:  Sack Family Adventures
Like Homeschool Movie Club on facebook and tell them I sent you
Share about this contest on facebook, twitter, or email
Follow our blog with google connect




Contest will end at midnight on Friday Sept. 23rd! Winner will be posted on the blog and contacted Saturday morning!

  

Princess Mail

 A few weeks ago for a writing lesson we wrote to our favorite disney princess!  Today we got our autographed pictures in the mail!

Your kids can do this too!  Write your favorite Disney character (any one will do, doesn't have to be a princess) a letter to and send it to this address:

Walt Disney Company
Attn: Fan Mail Department
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521

You’ll get an autographed picture back in a few weeks. This can be fun AND educational!  They can learn about writing letters, how the mail system works and to be patient for their return mail!

Dolphin Tale

Join homeschoolers nationwide for the very FIRST  HOMESCHOOL DAY  and watch  DOLPHIN TALEwith your group. It makes a statement to Hollywood to rally behind a movie that finally ‘gets it right’ and tells a great story without all the junk, twaddle, and moral compromise! This movie has all the good stuff we want more of and is truly entertaining and inspiring for the entire family. It’s a story we can support and get behind, because it affirms who we are and what we stand for.  This movie even has 2 homeschool kidscast in the starring roles! (The casting agents went to a local support group in California and found them!)

It’s time the homeschool community shows Hollywood we have a voice!!!!  We can show the entertainment industry our strength and our impact on their box office!

The bottom line is that the Homeschool Movie Club (http://www.homeschoolmovieclub.com/) wants to prove that we are a big and VIABLE market and we can support Hollywood IF they will create and produce movies like DOLPHIN TALE – great movies with traditional, conservative family values. I am hoping you will be a part of this great opportunity with me!

Going Batty

Our first unit study for the school year was BATS!  Evamarie played a bat in the Jungle Book.

This was her costume:

These are the books that we read during the unit:

We did the lapbook and unit study from homeschool share on the book Stellaluna.  We learned about where fruit bats live, echolocation, baby bats, whether animals are diurnal or noctural, whether animals are carniivores, herbivores, or omnivores, and the anatomy of a bat.  

We watched the following videos on united streaming:

Stellaluna

The Magic School Bus: Going Batty

We made bat finger puppets:

We also made a bat mobile with glow in the dark painted bats!

My daddy made us a bat house and we hope to get it up this week.

 We hope that some bats take up there and eat up lots of mosquitoes!

We enjoyed a few online bat stories:

http://science.hq.nasa.gov/kids/imagers/intro/story.html

http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/bats/story1.htm

We really learned a lot!

Art Tango Line Collage

We are using the Art Tango videos for our art classes this year.  Our first lesson was about the art element line.  After watching the lesson we were to cut our various types of lines and arrange them in a composition.

This was our final project!

The lessons are great!  We get them on Discovery Education which is free for Georgia Educators.  We look forward to our next one.

Blue Springs State Park

Another brief stop on trip was Blue Springs State Park. Fed by a crystal-clear underground spring, the park's spring pool is the center of attention in this 103-acre park in southeast Alabama.  We were there on a Saturday and it was packed!  I'm sure a weekday would have been much better!

The water was COLD and crystal clear! 

Lakepoint Resort State Park

On our vacation we drove by a neat little park that we would love to revisit when we have more time.  It's Lakepoint Resort State Park in Alabama.  We enjoyed our short time there!


The playground was great.  We had it right to ourselves!

The river was clean and clear!

The girls had their own private island.

 The sun was bright and HOT! We will have to revisit when it's cooler.  They had a pool for overnight guest that looked very refreshing!

We also looked for a geocache there but had no luck!  Maybe next time!

Silly Circus Unit

Ami from homeschool share is putting together some awesome unit studies packs for Kindergarten age kids.  She was looking for families to give them a test drive.  When I spotted the Silly Circus one I knew we had to give it a shot!  A summer camp in town was holding a clown camp and giving a show at the end of the session.  Can you say FIELD TRIP?

This unit includes a library list as well as lots of fun worksheets and activity ideas.  The activities focus on math, reading and writing. One of the good things about this unit is that it's tied to the circus theme, not a certain book. The book list is just a starting point so don't worry if your library doesn't have the books!  Just pick out some circus theme books and read away!

we added lots of fun activities to the unit!

We painted our faces:

We had circus snacks:

And payed carnival games

Thanks to Ami and the Homeschool Share team for letting us get a sneak peak at this unit! We really enjoyed it!

Book Club List

I'm posting this here so that I will not forget what books we are reading on our homeschool book club meetings!

Book Club List 2011-2012

 

September-Kildee House by Rutherford G. Montgomery

 

October-Owls In The Family by Farley Mowat

 

November-The Kitchen Madonna by Rumer Godden

 

December-No Book Club

 

January-The Dollshop Downstairs by Yona Zeidis McDonough

 

February-General Butterfingers by John Reynolds Gardiner

 

March-No Book Club

 

April-Heidi by Johanna Spyri   

 

May-Homer Price by Robert McCloskey

Pieces of My Heart

July 28th 2009 was one of the hardest days I have ever faced.  At 3:30 in the morning our phone rang.  Lawton answered and wasn't saying much.  After he hung up I asked "Who was that?"  He said "It was Wayne"  Lawton has a uncle Wayne and I have a brother Wayne.  For some reason my mind thought he was talking about his uncle Wayne. I asked what he wanted and he took a LONG pause!  I knew that something was really wrong.  He says "Your Granny passed away"  I could not believe what I hearing.  I knew this day was coming and had been trying to prepare my self for it.  She was on a downhill slide we lost my grandaddy in 2004. He was her life and she was lost with out him. She was in good health physically but over come with grief and just started to give up on lots of things. It was sad to see.  She had been in an out of the hospital and nursing home for awhile.  She had only been at this nursing home about two weeks when she passed.  My mom had been to see her that afternoon and she said that granny was complaining about being really tired.  She helped her to bed. Granny would usually want her to stay and ask who was coming to see her next.  This day she did not, she actually told my mom to go on home and take care of her "boys".  This was very odd for her.  I think this was her way of telling my mom that everything was ok and that she was ready to go.

After getting that phone call I was just heart broken.  I did not know what to do. I thought about my kids and how they were going to take the news.  I wanted to run to the nursing home. It took me awhile to decide what to do.  Wayne said he didn't think everyone was going up there, only the kids at this time. I could not take it. I rode up there anyway,alone.  When I got there the parking lot was full so I parked in the gas station lot behind the nursing home.  I could not make my self go in.  I just sat in the car for awhile. The hearse was parked in the back as well.  It wasn't long before the rolled her out.  I just sat and watched it all from a far.  After getting my self together I joined my family members inside.

In the months to follow we set about cleaning out her house and separating out her things.  Most of it we smoothly  but it was not drama free.  As I look around my house at the things that I ended up with I feel blessed.  Granny was one of my best friends and biggest supporters.  She loved to hear about the things that were were learning about and see projects we were working on.  I love to have some of her things around me all the time.  They are not worth much money wise but they mean alot to me!  In our school room I have re purposed several of her items.

She had an old army cot in the barn that had belonged to her father. We fixed it up, painted it, used some fabric to make cushions for it and here it is:

We do read alouds here!

Another item that I have in our room is one of her sewing machine stands.  My daddy put shelves on it for her years ago and she used it as a plant stand on her porch.  Now it holds our stereo and art supplies!

Our wipe off board is made of her screen door that us kids got in trouble for slamming ALOT!!  It was replaced with a storm door years ago and was just in her barn.  I love this piece.  When I look at it and use it with the kids I am reminded of all the times that I walked through this door at her home.

These items are priceless to me but most important are the memories in my heart and in the hearts of my kids and husband.  They knew and loved their granny and for this I am thankful.  I am blessed to have my home on land that she and grandaddy farmed for most of their lives.

As the anniversary of her death draws near I have a granny sized hole in my heart but hold in it the love and precious memories that she has left behind.  I love and miss you Granny!

The Tybee Wave

Each year for my mom's birthday we head to Tybee.  Just the kids, my mom and me :)  While at the beach I wanted to try out a photo shoot idea!  I wanted the kids to jump in the air and I planned to catch them all in the air!  Well we tried...and it ended up happening, just not all at the same time.  Guess they were doing "the wave"

First try, Evamarie in the air!

Next up Emma!

And William, but just a tad!

We tried!  

Happy Father's Day

I tried my best to do a fathers day photo shoot!  I wanted the kids to make the letters D A D with their bodies so I could make a photo collage as a gift for Lawton!

This is how it turned out

Their letter D

Their A

 

 

 

 

 

They never think my ideas are good :(  It turned out ok, I made it black and white and had it printed at Walgreens!

 

Try Geocaching

Melissa Sack (Username: ansbea) invites you to become a Geocaching.com member. It's free!

What is geocaching? It's a high-tech outdoor treasure hunting game that's a great way to explore the world with friends, family or on your own. Participants use GPS-enabled devices to locate hidden containers called geocaches. You can use your smart phone too!!!

There are over one million geocaches hidden around the world today, waiting for you to find them. Visit Geocaching.com to search for geocaches near you.

From June 1- 30, 2011, for each new member that I refer to Geocaching.com, they will donate $1 to DonorsChoose.org.  This will help teachers and other leaders in the community learn more about Geocaching and get them supplies that they may need to start!

Gearing Up for Princess Week

This coming week Emma will be going to a Princess Day Camp at our local Art Center!  She is so excited!

Here is what she will be up to:

Be a princess for a week! Move like a princess! Dance like a princess! This creative movement class is built around the Disney Princess Theme. Campers will dress as their favorite princess, create tiaras and wands, and prepare for the ultimate Princess Tea Party. Watch out! Special guests may include such favorites as Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Jasmine, Belle, Ariel, and others!



 It will be daily from 9-12 so I have decided that the week will be Princess Week here at the Sack house.  We will do the Princess Lapbook found here: http://www.homeschoolshare.com/cinderella.php

If you have any princess themed ideas please let me know!

Broadway and Beyond

William is volunteering this summer at our local Art Center. This summer they have various camps for kids. This past week was Broadway and Beyond.  This kids in the camp wrote and practiced the skits all week. On Friday they preformed for a huge crowd!

William learned lots of new things. One day he even got be the tech director!  Here he is calling the cues from back stage to the lighting and music guy upstairs!

A few photos from the show:

Calgon Take Me Away! My Rite Aid Money Maker!

I read online that Rite Aid had a monthly deal for each calgon bath product that you purchased you got a 2.00 up reward. I had several coupons for calgon products so I headed out to check on the deal.  I found some Foaming Bubble Bath for $2.69 a box!  My purchase looked like this:

7 calgon bubble baths:  @2.69= 18.83

Minus my coupons 7 $1.00 off each box

Price is now down to 11.83.

On my receipt I got $14.00 in ups rewards that can be used just like cash on my next purchase!

After my up's I made a 2.17 profit!  Not bad!

Now CALGON TAKE ME AWAY!!!!!

 

World Turtle Day May 23

The purpose of World Turtle Day, May 23, sponsored yearly since 2000 by American Tortoise Rescue, is to bring attention to, and increase knowledge of and respect for, turtles and tortoises, and encourage human action to help them survive and thrive.^[1][2][3]
Turtle Day is celebrated worldwide in a variety of ways, from dressing up as turtles or wearing green summer dresses, to saving turtles caught on highways, to research activities.

To celebrate  we headed out to our local wildlife center to visit the turtles there!

Summer Session of Sensational Learning Fun Project 3

In Georgia we have access to a great resource called Discovery Education. This is a treasure trove of videos, lesson plans, images and more! All for FREE! We use this a lot in our home school lessons. One series of videos that we plan to use this summer is called Art Tango. Our first Art Tango lesson was a Giant Shoe drawing!  This is the description of the lesson:


Students will understand shape, color, and proportion after completing this lesson. The students will create their giant shoe drawing by drawing it twice as big on a piece of paper and filling it in with either warm or cool colors.


We talked about warm and cool colors and set to work!






Evamarie's drawing 

Emma's Drawing

My drawing (now you see why I love Art tango, I need lessons too!)

Sack Fine Art Gallery!  Location:  Door to School Room :)