Sunday, September 30, 2012

Respect for God's House


Our church is rather big so the ladies rotate throughout the month for cleaning schedules. Myself and one other clean the fellowship hall on the first Saturday of each month. I always take Little Mister along. I want him to see that we must take care of God's house. It is a place to be reverenced and should be properly maintained and kept clean. While the grown-ups are taking out trash and moving any clutter, he usually pushes around the empty mop bucket and scouts out spots on the floor. He loves to point out a "mess"! I let him wipe little fingerprints off windows and he thinks it's great! No matter what, he is praised as a good helper.

I know when you are at church 3 or more times a week, it has the potential of getting a kind-of commonplace feel. But, I believe we need to teach our children to r-e-s-p-e-c-t the house of God and not treat it like a playground! No running, climbing or the such. My Granny had very, shall we say STRONG, opinions on the subject and made sure I knew all about them too. For some, I suppose, this may sound extremely old fashioned. What can I say? I am a product of my up-bringing and I want to teach my son that same respect. Not only for church but for himself and others!




Saturday, September 29, 2012

Happy Belated Birthday Johnny

A birthday bash for Simple Saturday. 
Sorry we're late Johnny Appleseed!
Sept 26, 1774 - Mar 11, 1845




Johnny Appleseed was a real person.  His real name was John Chapman and his real story is actually nearly as interesting as the legends that have since developed.John Chapman made a quite successful business out of traveling around and planting apple orchards wherever he thought pioneers were going to settle in-mass a few years after he planted an orchard.  He’d find a new area that was largely unpopulated; buy up land for cheap; then establish an orchard. Once he established the orchard (including fencing it in and the like), he’d travel on to a new area and do the same.  Over the course of the year, he’d then travel around visiting each of his orchards and maintaining them as needed, as well as gathering seeds to plant new orchards.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Candy Corn Math with Printables



As we were going to be spending a large chunk of the day at the hospital, only visiting, we needed some easy take-along's that were fun and educational. I made these the night before and they stowed easily in his bag. We only started out with 1-4 and will add additional numbers as needed.




After I sat and cut all these things out . . . I realized how much faster (and easier) it would have been to make them in PhotoShop. So, I just saved you tons of time by making these printables below.
 

 Sweet Bella Roos                  

OneCreativeMommy.com

Thursday, September 27, 2012

I See Your Belly Button!

My Little guy has a belly fettish! 
When he is tired his hand seeks the belly button. 

 
I dare not put him in any one piece outfits because there is no belly access.
 And... he has this thing?!?  
He will come up to me, crawl in my lap, push up my shirt slightly, pull up his shirt, press our bellies together and give me a great big hug along with a sweet grin. His way of showing affection??? I dunno know?
He does it quite often. To date he has thankfully never tried this in public.
He only does that to me. Other family members have received belly hugs on there legs or arm.

As some of you may remember, he has been seeing several specialists about some health issues we have been trying to diagnosis for over a year now. One thing all the doctors notice is his small size and his really distended belly. Although it may be part of the problem, I think it makes a great spot for giving raspberries which he L-O-V-E-S!

With all this belly action around here I couldn't resist giving this activity a try.
He is somewhat of a neat freak for his age, so at first he was a little apprehensive. That didn't last long after the first blob of paint touched the belly.




Reading Confetti     Reading Confetti

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

A Bag of Mississippi

We recently ran across a site that you should know about!

image
We applied and were finally approved. Yesterday we received the information on our adopted soldier. It's a boy!!
I am so excited about this opportunity to teach my son to be appreciative of the ones who serve this great country and sacrifice so much for the freedom of others!

We were instructed not to share too much information but we can say he is somewhere in Afghanistan and he hails from Oklahoma.


We packed our first box today. His initial information states that he is in a remote area and has little access to purchase items like snacks, entertainment and hygiene products. So, we bought some items and filled a box. Little Mister picked out the finger bowling game and insisted we buy it for "the box"! I hope our soldier has a good sense of humor!
When I told him that the box was going far, far away, he asked if there were trees???
Umm, I have to admit I'm not so sure but don't think so. Apparently this would not do! So, he wanted to send some. I told him the box may be a little small for a tree. The next thing I know we were outside gathering the next best things... leaves, dirt, rocks, sticks, acorns and who knows what else.
Our box will be carrying a small bag of Mississippi over 7,800 miles away!




We appreciate our soldiers for all of their (and their families) sacrifice! 
May God protect them!


Tuesday, September 25, 2012

The Day of the Turtle

Does this ever happen to you;
Driving down the road and come up on a turtle trying to cross, you swerve to miss him and watch in the rear view mirror to make sure the car behind you does the same as you let a strange sound escape your mouth. Yeah? Me too. The other day, we actually turned around and was going to assist the turtle across the street. I realized that Little Mister has never seen a turtle up close. So, we brought the mobile-home guy home for the day. Don't worry, when the day was coming to a close, we let him go (far from busy streets)!


Confused about what to name your turtle? Luke or Lucy?


 Finding this creature lead to many learning activities:
Sensory play : cold vs. hot (warm actually) with frozen turtle eggs
Language: the letter T
Math: counting turtle parts, 1 head, 2 eyes, 4 legs...
Literature: Look Out for Turtles by: Melvin Berger and Yurtle the Turtle by: Dr. Seuss
Science: where do they live, what do they eat, etc...
Good Stewardship: we are all part of this beautiful planet! Let's take of all things that live here!




**Featured at The Good Long Road, Kids Co-Op
in honor of World Animal Day

Monday, September 24, 2012

Pay It Forward...

Pay It Forward...

I just started following Dawn, over at Dawn's Disaster, and saw a really awesome post about Pay It Forward. I was lucky enough, and just slipped in, as one of the first to comment on her post. What a cool idea. I am very excited! SO, here it goes y'all:

This is a project originated with Mandi at Debonair Bandit.
Basically, the first three people that comment on this post get something special from me!

The Rules:

*The first three people to comment on this post will receive a little gift - something personal that I have created from me to you.
*In order to receive this present, you have to play along.  Spread the love on your own blog by promising to send a little special something to the first three people who comment on your post.
*You have 72 hours to re-post, or I will have to move on to the next person.
*Sorry, only for those living in the US {I LOVE all my "other country" friends, but shipping costs, WOW!}.
*Please only comment if you're willing to pay it forward yourself.
*Please leave your email address so I can contact you directly.
*Also, share your blog URL so that myself and others can visit your blog!

Now, comment on my post and lets get the ball rolling!

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Scripture Tree: Teaching Compassion

Those of you who have been here before probably remember that I have recently lost a sister to cancer. Well, a few days ago a very close family friend, affectionately known as Granny M, lost her son. Ironically enough, several members of this family helped me SO much through the initial stages of my grieving process. We wanted to somehow reciprocate their loving kindness.

Little Mister has been surrounded by loads of sadness and mourning as of late. Through it all, I wanted to think of a way to reinforce his understanding of kindness and compassion to others. I also want him to learn how God's word is there for us when we are sad, lonely, angry or hurting. It can speak to our personal situation and make us feel better. Hurting may be slow to leave, but we can have a peace in our hearts knowing that God, who loves us very much, has this whole world in his hands; that includes me AND you!


So, I found a few scriptures and wrote them on construction paper. We slipped the paper into ziploc bags. I used a hole punch (making sure to stay on the outer part of the sealed area) and made a hole in the top middle. We then added a piece of cut yarn to tie on as a hook.
 

 We wanted it to be a surprise for her to find on her way to church in the morning. This explains the night shots. Yes, I had my son out late. We tried to be stealthy. However, when I opened the car door he yells, "Oh Mommy, the Moon. It's so pretty!" No one called the police so I don't think they heard him. LOL


We love this family and hope they can find strength and comfort in the Word of God!

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Fall Blog Hop

So excited to be a part of The Fall Blog Hop with Heather over at Teachingmy3.com!
Fall is my favorite time of the year, however, being in the Deep South our Fall doesn't usually arrive until late November into December! Help me get in the spirit early this year y'all!
Can't wait to see what exciting things are to come!
Get to hoppin'!


Teaching My 3
<div align="center"><a href="http://teachingmy3.blogspot.com/2012/09/fall-blog-hop.html" title="Teaching My 3"><img src="http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/o527/hlpharris/fall-blog-hop_zpsc925475e.png" alt="Teaching My 3" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Participation Guidelines
1. Your post must be linked to a blog, not a store. 
2. Your post must be something useful to a teacher and/or homeschooler. 
 3. Add the FALL BLOG HOP button to your post. 

Catch it in the Cup - Simple Saturday

Laundry detergent lid
Hole punch
Piece of yarn
+                 Washer
Loads of Fun


Friday, September 21, 2012

Art and Technology Collide (with a splat)

Found this way cool site that you MUST visit!


 I was doing some research on artists to get involved in the "Kids Get Arty - Exploring Artists" Linky hosted by Red Ted Art, The Imagination Tree, Imagination Soup, Tinkerlab, Creative with Kids and Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas (next on Nov 14) and ran across this site:

He is an artist that became very famous for splatting and dripping paint on canvases.
I loved this site and so did Little Mister. We played for hours. 
The page opens as a blank canvas. All you do is move the cursor across the screen and WOW! If you move swiftly, you get a thin line. Moving slowly gets you a thicker splattered line. Left clicking changes the color of the "paint". Make paintings with few colors or many colors, your the artist!

Only thing I did not like is I found no way to save the pictures. I had to pull out my over-worked camera and snap a few shots! Oh well, it is still an amazing way for art and technology to collide, with a SPLAT!



Little Mister couldn't get enough of all the colors. He kept clicking and splatting! It appears the paint pallet is endless! Best of all, no mess to clean up.
LOVE IT

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Monkeys Love Bananas

As evident by the above pictures, my Little Mister, who is sometimes affectionately known as Monkey, loves bananas!
I guess lots of people must have an affection for the mushy fruit because there are loads of  banana paintings to be found!

We tried to entice a bunch of bananas to pose for a still life portrait but we were unsuccessful! I guess they were to yellow.
We had to suffice ourselves by actually painting ON our bananas! This made for some interesting conversation starters with those who happened to notice our ART sitting in a bowl on the table.


Of course, you can't paint bananas without eating some. So we made Banana Splits on a Stick. Yummy!
Eventually our imaginations just took over everything! It became banana playtime.




Photobucket     Adventures In Mommy Land

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Physics Exam


A Fun Physics Experiment

Pay attention, there will be an exam later... 

Do you remember this?
I believe this is everyone's first exposure to the science of aerodynamics.


 Intro to Aerodynamics 101
The science behind the play:
Aerodynamics = study of forces (wind, blowing into a straw) and the resulting motion of objects through the air.
Play: the air you blow into the straw causes the paper to fly off. The harder you blow the further the paper will go. Blow lightly into the straw then blow hard. Compare the distance the paper flew. What happened?

Trajectory = the path of a object moving through space under the influence of some force (thrust, wind, gravity, etc.)
Play: blow into the straw while holding it level with your mouth and see how far the paper goes. Now tilt the straw up and blow. Compare the distances. What happened?


 

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Stumbling upon a P.O.W. Camp

O.K., I was truly shocked by the sign on the side of the road in the middle of Nowhere, MS! 
Who knew? I sure didn't.



This is rather lengthy but I found it very interesting stuff. 
My geekiness shines through!

Four major POW camps in Mississippi were established at Camp Clinton near Jackson, Camp McCain near Grenada, Camp Como in the northern Delta, and Camp Shelby near Hattiesburg. The four base camps were large compounds designed to house large numbers of POWs. Camp McCain housed 7,700, Camp Clinton 3,400, and Camp Shelby housed 5,300. Camp Como originally held 3,800 Italian soldiers, but the Italians were soon moved out of Mississippi and replaced by a smaller number of Germans.
 
In 1944, the four base camps — Camp McCain, Camp Como, Camp Clinton, and Camp Shelby — developed fifteen branch camps. Ten of these camps were in the Delta. They were located at Greenville, Belzoni, Leland, Indianola, Clarksdale, Drew, Greenwood, Lake Washington, Merigold, and Rosedale. These camps furnished POWs to work in the cotton fields where in the spring under a hot sun, they chopped the weeds away from the young cotton plants with a hoe. In the fall they picked the cotton — a job they disliked. Mechanical cotton pickers had not yet been perfected, so cotton had to be picked by hand. The prisoners dragged heavy canvas bags, and as they filled the bag with cotton, the sack became heavier. As they pulled the cotton from the bolls, the pointed bolls scratched and punctured their hands.
The other five branch camps were located in south Mississippi in the pine lands. They were at Brookhaven, Picayune, Richton, Saucier, and Gulfport. Much of the POW's work was in forestry. They planted seedlings, cut timber and pulpwood, and cleared lands for various purposes. They worked to complete Lake Shelby, a small lake a few miles from Camp Shelby.
Perhaps the most intricate and useful work that was done by German POWs in Mississippi was the Mississippi River Basin Model. The U.S. Corps of Engineers was in charge of major waterways, and they had long wanted to build a one-square-mile model of the entire Mississippi River basin. Such a model could be of great value in predicting floods and in assessing the water flow of the Mississippi River and its tributaries.


The war in Europe ended in May 1945, but the POWs remained in the compounds and continued to work — some for almost a year after the war ended. American soldiers were mustered out of the military quickly and efficiently, but President Harry Truman decided that a labor shortage existed in the United States and that the POWs should remain in this country until the labor shortage was over. Some POWs did not get home to Germany until mid-1946. They had been in the Mississippi camps almost three years.
Over the years since 1946, German veterans have come back to Mississippi to see the camps that they lived in as young men. They are sad to learn that the camps were torn down after the war. The German POWs in Mississippi were probably aged 18 to 20 when they were captured in North Africa in 1943. The survivors of the Mississippi prisoner-of-war camps are now very old. But many of those who are alive still come back to Mississippi to remember their experience. In a strange way the camps saved their lives. Unlike many other German soldiers who were killed in the war, these POWs survived. When they entered the Mississippi camps, their war was over.