Getting Ready

I have been working on our NEW and Improved schedules and charts for school and life to keep mommy and the boys on track!! I have borrowed ideas from different blogs and other websites I have found to create something that I am hoping will work for our family. I am a Very visual person so if I don't see it it probably won't happen or will be forgotten about! It also has to be easy to follow because I get sidetracked so easily and I have a lot of trouble following routines and schedules. I have been trying to reduce the amount of stuff and get better organized.

First I came up with my daily task chart......

I am hoping that a visual reminder of what my day should look like will help to keep me on track!! I put one upstairs in my bathroom so I would see it first thing in the morning and there is one on the frig!


Next, I worked on what I wanted the boys day to look like and what habits and routines I felt were a priority in our day! This is what I came up with........

Each boy has a chore in the morning and a meal chore each day. They will keep these specific chores for at least 3 months so they get familiar with them and know how to do them well.

Habits we need to master - eating every meal together, brushing teeth, putting their dishes in the dishwasher and cleaning up every day before daddy gets home. These are the things I feel like we need to focus on for quite a few months to get started creating good habits and routines in our house!!!

The black dots are velcro and I have made big check marks with velcro on the back of them that the boys put up after they have done each chore. The check marks are in a bucket next to the frig within easy reach!

I created a few extras for Saturday. Cleaning rooms, scooping poop out of the yard and cleaning out the van.

I have uploaded the charts to scribd if anyone wants to go get one! I put stickers on them with the boys name and I hand wrote the verses on them so these would be easy to just print out and use if you wanted to! The saturday one is a little bit more personalized but you could easily change the pics and jobs in each box!

Boys Chores

Saturday Chores

Checkmarks

Mommys Check Off

This is a chart from Doorposts that i found at the thrift store! I did have to modify just a smidge. All the verses were King James version and so I started out rewriting them in NIV so the boys could better understand them but then I got out my favorite book - Creative Correction by Lisa Welchel - and found some different verses on the same topic that I liked a little better!!! The first column is the bad behavior, the middle column is the verse and the empty column is the consequence for the behavior. I haven't figured out the consequences yet but we are working on that!!!

School & WorkBoxes

A couple months ago we discovered workboxes. I am so excited to use them and I have lots of grand plans but I am getting nervous that by the time we actually start school I will have forgotten all the things I wanted to do and my excitement will have waned!!! Every day i look at those boxes on the shelf and I get a tad bit nervous about filling them every day!!! Can I really keep up with this?? Is it really gonna work for us - we tried it for a couple of days here and there and it worked and i totally bought into the system and now that the excitement has worn off and I haven't been reading so much about them I am getting nervous that I will not be able to pull it off on a daily basis! I desperately want to start school so I can get past this initial hurdle of nervousness and move forward with the workboxes and my school plans but I can't......
We have 1 more week of vacation, a week of poetry camp for Stephen and then Alex comes home to get ready for his school. So now I have the dilemma of deciding if we should start when Alex starts or should we try to start before that with him home all day??
I am so ready to start and mostly just becasue I want to get using the workboxes and get a feel for how it is going to work for us!!!! I am very impatient - it is a pain to wait!!!!

nothing but Mess

I have been trying to clean off the counter and kitchen table ever since we came home and I just can't seem to get anywhere with it! Take a look at what our house normally looks like.......

kindof embarrassing to share but isn't that what blogging is all about??? I must have at least 5 different things I am trying to get done and ready for school in that mess along with all the other clutter, toys and whatnot that sits around the house!! It is neverending and it drives my hubby crazy!! he just doesn't understand this part of homeschooling - I wonder why not???

i am struggling with how to keep the messes i make contained since we are always in the main part of the house....any suggestions??

Homeschool Burnout

Homeschool Burnout

 

I recently read an article in The Old Schoolhouse(spring 2009 issue) titled 10 Burnout Busters for Homeschool Burnout. I found myself applying each of the ‘busters’ to myself and my way of thinking and I thought it would be fun to share my interpretation. I should mention that some of my responses to her ‘busters’ had nothing to do with what she was referring to!

1. Don’t subscribe to the grass is greener syndrome. I just started laughing at this one because the grass is soooo brown at our house! I love to read blogs, magazine articles, talk to other homeschool moms and just listen to what people say and feel and do in regards to their homeschool. Now – I am able to discern that some of it is just not for us but more often than not I find myself trying to figure out How to make it Work for Us. So I really have prayed and been talking to God about sticking with my system and actually seeing if it will work for us and then changing it or not changing it at all! I absolutely will not allow (or will try to very hard) myself to look at other curriculum until we are done with this one or until I am failing completely!
2. Bookend each day with Prayer. I love this idea – she says to greet the day with a “Hello, Lord – what do you have for me and my children today?” I would love to be able to do this without fear and with complete and total faith of what he is going to hand me each day! She also suggests to end the day with praise for what the Lord has done that day. I have heard before to make a point of praising each of the kids for something that happened that day in our nighttime prayers.  I really want to do this. Can you imagine what a blessing it would be for each kid to hear his name being praised at the end of every day to the Lord??? I know it would fill me up so I can only imagine how it will make them feel!
3. Each day, after school is over, spend a few minutes assessing the day and planning for the next day.  This is where workboxes will come into play for me. My plan is to get them loaded and ready to go, all my supplies ready and clean up from this day at the end of each school day. I know that if I leave it till night(after the kids go to bed) I won’t do it because I will have moved into “my time” !
4. Open several Bibles around the house so that you can glean from the word as you go about your day. This is now the third or fourth time I have heard this and we definitely have enough Bibles so maybe I should do it?? Here is my problem – where in the world do you put them so that little ones are not messing with them? I don’t want to get into a verse or passage, get called away or not able to finish it and come back and the pages have been flipped or the bible is simply gone! That would stink because it is highly unlikely that I would even remember where I was reading! If I put them where they aren’t going to mess with them then they will be in places that I am not going to look. But if I put them in an obvious spot they will be in the way and they are going to get messed with by little hands!! What I have done is put verses, sayings and prayers on index cards and posted them in different spots around the house – bathroom mirrors, above the kitchen sink, inside kitchen cabinets, by my bed. The one problem with this is you have to change them every once in awhile to be refreshed and so you don’t just ignore them because you are so used to reading the same old thing and that is where I fail in doing this! I think that if I made a couple sets at a time and had them ready to switch out – that might work. If there was then a specific issue or verse I wanted to pray over I would have to make one or two for that as an extra! The other thing I do is have a devotional or prayer book in each bathroom for those times when you are in there a little longer than usual!
5. Work toward establishing order in your life. I am completely and totally OCD so this is no problem in our house! It is stopping it that is the problem! I always come up with new ways to organize and keep things in the place they belong but since I am always changing things no one – except me – knows where anything goes!! God and I have been talking about this one a lot and I am convicted that he is going to keep me on track this year and help me to stop changing things – unless they are so completely failing! I keep telling myself once I do it this way I won’t do it again and I do do it again and again and again. God and I will spend a lot of time together in regards to this and I know he will change my heart and my desires to be so project minded.
6. Create a rhythm in your day.   This one makes me just roll on the floor with laughter. I cannot even tell you how many times I have tried to make a schedule, a plan, a routine and how many times I end up off in LaLa Land doing nothing that even looks like that schedule! I am somewhat good about following a routine for school  - if we actually do school that day - but in regards to chores, paying attention to screen time and the fact that hours have gone by and Stephen is still on the computer, cleaning on a regular basis, bedtime routines, etc I am horrible at staying on top of things! I did read(again) and listen to a wonderful speaker and author, Carol Barnier, at convention who reminded me of the fact that I am what you would call “Highly Distractable” and she gave me some great ways to combat some of my symptoms! I am hoping that the other areas God is working on in me will help this area to be able to follow charts and schedules a little better because I am going to try again!! For my kiddos!
7. Take a few minutes to plan your meals. A few minutes my butt! If you do not enjoy cooking and cannot look at a recipe and go – yeah, I can make that – without pictures, it is a huge imposition and pain in the behind to do this! I can buy snack foods like a mad woman but when it comes to planning , shopping and keeping the shelves stocked I have failed - beyond miserably. I can cook some things and I am not a bad cook I just do not enjoy it!! When we first got married I bought a lot of prepackaged things and that was how I cooked but over the years(these past 3 in particular) I have begun to care more about what we are eating  and putting into our bodies so I try  not to buy a lot of processed foods(except nuggets and hot dogs), bring in more fruits and veggies, we are making our own bread(that was  a big hit) but it is still hard for a non cook to put it all together!! I started doing meal plans right before  summer and since we have been gone and home and gone again I haven’t bothered to even buy that many groceries for the week we are home. But after the summer is over we will be meal planning( as much as it pains me) but I can guarantee you it will not take a few minutes – more like a few hours(until I get the hang of it – I hope!)!!

My sister has shared a couple of coupon websites which I can’t wait to be home long enough to start using  – coupon mom and southern savers. Southern savers is so user friendly and fantastic – they list the specials by store(they don’t have all stores –  it is based in the southern states) and with each list they have what the store special is and if you should have a manufacturer coupon for that item from the Sunday paper and then what the price of that item will now be. Apparently you can use a manufacturers coupon on top of a store sale which means more savings and if you have a store that does double coupons…It is a great place to start when doing your meal planning for the week – which is my plan. I think we will have to start getting the paper with the coupons in it but that is small if this can save us some serious grocery money!! The boys are starting to eat more and more and each year it is just gonna get worse! Maybe finding good food deals is gonna have to be my new project instead of frequenting the thrift stores for good deals on books and things to paint?? I already really miss the thrift stores but it is sooo worth it!

8. Get outside. This one is huge for me because my hobbies all revolve around being inside the house. Painting, crafts, scrapbooking, decorating – they have nothing to do with being outside! I do enjoy being outside but I have gotten into the habit of sending the kids out so I can do my own thing(which has got to stop – I miss my kids). I go out to hang laundry, sand something down or spray paint something , play in the pool or if they beg and plead with me to come outside on the trampoline with them. I am thinking I need to get outside a little more??
9. Take time to be alone. No problem! I have gotten into the habit of doing my thing after the little ones go to bed but I now have a teenager who stays up later so I really should spend that time with him or around him instead of off doing my own thing. This means it is going to be harder to find some time for myself but my hubby is really good about letting me have time so I will get it but it just won’t be every night!!! I love to go to movies so I will go to the movies alone to get away and I do have some girlfriends that like to get away too so I can hang out with them! But my absolute favorite time is when I am alone in my house – my husband will take the boys camping or to Blue Hole for the day and it is the most fabulous time!!! I must admit that since I have been convicted to homeschool  I really do enjoy my family much more than I did! We have fun together and do things as a family and I haven’t wanted or needed to get away as much as I used to! It is such a good feeling to be home with the family!
10. Don’t forget to laugh! This is sometimes very hard to do but if I keep all the other areas in check this one should come naturally!!! It is easy to laugh with the kids and my friends but sometimes it is not so easy with my hubby  as we are both stressed and don’t get that time together when we aren’t stressed and we can  be more relaxed together – just us! I also think the TV plays into this one because we watch too much of it and don’t get enough time to just hang out together and find ways to laugh as a family!!!

I Painted....

go see what I did at our family blog

Planning

I have yet to do any official planning since we have been homeschooling. The first two years I have used My Father's World and all I had to do was open the TM and it told me exactly what to do for each subject - except LA and math - and if I didn't want to do it we just skipped over it! This year, since I have decided to use some of the stuff I have already around the house, I am going to have to do the planning! I have no idea where to start. Do I plan weekly for all subjects? Do I do an entire plan for the whole year and then adjust it as we go along as needed? Do I really need to plan out math since all we do is go from page to page until we finish the book? What to do?? Where to start?
Thankfully we are going on vacation tomorrow so I don't have to think about it for a few days!

What do you think??

i spent way too much time playing around with this tonight but it was fun to put in cute tags, a new background and of course I had to then put new pics of the boys and myself on here!!!
Thank you shabby blogs - you girls rock with some super cute stuff for FREE!!!

I love my new header!

Prasie the Lord for friends who have a way with technology because I am clueless!!! My dear friend was so sweet to make my creation into a header for my blog!!! I did the scrapbooking to make it pretty and she did all the hard work to get it on there and the right size!!! YEAH!!!
I am off to find a new background that goes a little better!!!!

I have been having a love - hate relationship with Yahoo Groups and Blogs! I love them because you get such a wide variety of advice, responses and chatter in regards to a certain topic or curriculum. I love knowing about people's personal experiences - real life experiences - with a curriculum or program before I buy it or while I am using it. I love having the advice from someone who has been there, done that! I love that we can all share ideas and things we have created or planned to go along with whatever it is we are in a group about!
I hate it because I want to and have to read every single daily digest or post that gets sent out - just in case there is a great idea, something free, a craft, a way to store this or that, a planning suggestion, how to do pg.123 as a file folder game, etc...... There are so many good ideas I am afraid I might miss one but I am also the freak who wants to do them all! I get sucked into all the ideas and suggestions and whatnot and start rethinking everything I have been doing, am going to do or want to do because these ideas sound so good. I then start rearranging, making or buying these wonderful games or suggested items, stopping everything and redoing it all!! Do you think we get anywhere doing all this foolishness - NO!! Now - it is not their fault I feel like I have to do it all - right now. But it is a huge struggle for me! I am the queen of making stuff, organizing it just so and then not doing it that way or not using it! I will spend days making a game or reorganizing for school and spend no time doing school!
I just edited my profile of the most recent yahoo group I was getting to 'no email' because for me it is all or nothing and it has to be nothing right now. I am already having withdrawals! I keep thinking about what ideas might possibly be posting today and should I just check to see if there is something better than the gazillion games I have already created for that exact subject?? I feel like it is a sickness and I just can't get over it - what is wrong with me?? I always have to have a 'project' going on. I can't just be sitting around with the boys or my hubby and enjoying the moment - I feel like I always have to be doing something and projects are great to do in front of the tv or while the boys are doing their thing. The problem is I don't know when or how to stop - I find myself doing the 'project' constantly and not spending any time with my family , staying up late and being grouchy, desperatley needing a nap(which is a waste of more time).
I have got to fight this and get past it so I can be the Homeschool Mom I want & need to be. The Homeschool mom God has called me to be for my boys! The mom God has called me to be for my boys. I need to focus my energy on them. I need to make my boys my 'project', my husband my 'project', my house my 'project'. I really want to and have tried to - lots of different times and lots of different ways but there is somethinga bout the way a 'project' fills me up! Making a meal plan, cleaning the house, shopping wisely, having a good day of school - those things just don't fill me up the way a 'project' does!
People are always asking me 'how do you get it all done'. It is because my priorities are all screwed up and I will work hard to do a 'project' and then get mad at myself, depressed & self loathing because I haven't trained my boys to do this or that, all I do is yell at them, we aren't where we should be with school, with chore training, with a routine to our day, I let them watch way too much Tv and play way too many video games, we forgot to pray because I was in such a rush to get done so I could work on my 'project'.Where does it end? How does it end? I know I have to start with Prayer and the word of God but of course that is another area that falls to the wayside and gets neglected because I was up late, slept in and now we are in a rush to get our day going and I can't figure out how to fit it in after that or I don't stop long enough to enjoy His word and presence in my life! It is a vicious cycle that I have got to change or it is going to drown me!AAARRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!

WOW! I was feeling that burden on my shoulders - it was quite heavy!

Plan or Paint???

I love to craft and paint and I have been pouring a lot of energy into getting school stuff together for August and now for that matter! So...the dilemma is that I think my mother in law is going to take the boys on Monday and we will be meeting them in Canada on Friday after we pick up Alex for vacation. That will leave me with 2 1/2 days to myself!!! What do I do?? Do I do the actual planning for next year and get it all done so I dont have to worry and stress over it while on vacation? and we will be ready to go when we get back from the next trip at the end of july?? or do I paint and craft??? I have alot of ideas to do in my head and some started but not finished projects that i would love to work on!!! What to do - what to do?? I am hoping I can do both but since i hav enever actually done the physical planning for our school year I have no idea how long it will take me???
Decisions...Decisions.....Decisions....

Pizza Hut Book It Program

Here is the link to sign up your Homeschooling family for the Pizza Hut Book It Program!! Free pizza for the kiddos when they read!!
http://www.bookitprogram.com/enrollment_online/homeschoolform.asp

Tidbits from Convention

The Homeschool Convention was AWESOME!!! I got to visit with some of my Girls that I don't see very much during the year and we laughed ourselves silly! It always fascinates me how we go together and then we all end up alone for the majority of the day! We all have different agendas, different styles of schooling and different things we want to look for so we meet for lunch or a speaker and then we are off again to do our thing - there is no pressure to do this or that from anyone!! At the end of the day we all show off our goodies and share what we learned - much FUN, very encouraging and filling to get me ready for the next school year!
I don't go to alot of the speakers because we always buy the cd's so I can listen to them over and over again throughout the year. I went to 2 this year - the first one was Jessie Wise from the Well Trained Mind talking about reading. She talked about how she taught her kids to read and how to use her book The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. I was sold and ran back to the used curriculum hall to see if I could find it - I did!!! I found the book, the magnet board with letters and the flashcards that are used with the program for $15 - it was quite a find!!! I am excited to use this to catch up the older 2 and to start with Thomas. It is very basic and systematic and all you use is the book. She talked about how you only teach reading when they are just learning - you don't also teach them writing at the same time. I had been using Explode the Code which does teach reading and have you doing writing at the same time and it is very hard and frustrating for the boys - they hate it actually! I am excited to can those workbooks and use this book and some beginning readers and games to continue teaching them to read. The idea just makes sense and I think the boys will respond to it! I would love to hear from any of you that might have used or be using this book??
The other speaker I went to was Carol Barnier. She has written a great book that gives you hands on ideas to teach the highly distractable kid called How to get your Child off the Refrigerator and onto Learning and a book for highly distractable moms called If I am Diapering a Watermelon, Where did I leave the Baby? She now has a new book called The Big What Now book of learning Styles. I bought it and can't wait to read it!! I love this lady and have read her first 2 books so I am very anxious to read the new one!! I was so excited to see that she was going to be at our convnetion. I read her books about a year and a half ago and have been using some of her ideas to school this year and they are fabulous! Her books are loaded with hands on, practical ways to teach kids with games and other tips to make it easier for kids to learn without having to write all the time and lots of other ideas - I mean Lots!!! I would HIGHLY recommend her books! I am sure I will be showing off some her ideas soon!!!
I found lots of goodies in the used curriculum hall which meant I didn't have to spend much on new stuff!! I did thoroughly enjoy walking around and around the Exhibit Hall and checking out the new books and all the booths and ideas that are available to us!!! I think that so many moms and teachers could benefit from the convnetion and some of the things that we get to take advantage of as Homeschoolers - books - good books,manipulatives, art projects!
When I left for convention I had just been turned on to the company heart of dakota and since I knew they were not going to be at my convention I was really hoping to get my hands on a used copy of the Bigger Hearts for His Glory book for the boys for next year. I couldn't find it anywhere and I was frustrated and sad because I didn't know what I was going to use now. Without having a chance to get my hands on the book I wanted to use I wasn't prepared to make a decision! I was so sure I would find it!! So - I prayed and talked to God about it that night and when I woke up I was okay with not finding it! The Lord convinced me that I needed to use ALL or MOST of the books I already own!! I have an obsession with thrift stores and yard sales and buying something becasue it is a good deal so I have lots of American History, Science and Bible books that I can easily(maybe) plan myself for the year!! So - we will be doing a slight review of American History to the American Revolution and then continuing on and finishing up what we didn't finish this year from that point on! The boys want to learn about the wars and such so we will!! We will be using the Let's Read and Find out Science books that I have accumulated on all sorts of different topics as well as some Magic School Bus books with some experiments thrown in here and there! We have lots of Bible devotionals. We will stay with Horizons Math and we will start our new reading program for LA. I am looking forward to doing the planning for us - I think!!! It will be a challenge but I really feel like this is what God has called me to do this year so I know he will give me the ability to succeed - as long as I stay on task with Him!!!

I LOVE Convention

No - not because I get away from the kids for 3 days!!! I can still remember my first convention - I must have gone back to the Exhibit Hall over and over again. I was glassy eyed and could barely stand but I just kept walking around and looking! I was a mess - I am sure of it! Last year I kept going back to the used hall - I knew what I was looking for(kindof;at least a little better than my first year) and so I was looking for deals! I have a serious addiciton to buying stuff that is cheap!! This year I am praying HARD that God will keep my addiction in check and that I will not be overcome by the cheapness(not a word - i know) of a book!! Convention for me is a time of pure Joy - I just love to look at all the choices that are out there and all the cool things I cant have but am told I need!!! But it is also a time of great stress - I am overwhelmed by all the people and the stuff! There are so many options for us as Homeschoolers these days. Sometimes I wish it was just the basics as the pioneers of Homeschooling used and we were more focused on God than what curriculum we were going to buy - even if it is a good bible based curriculum! I am torn because I love it - I love the thrill of the hunt, finding that book I really needed(ok wanted) for dirt cheap, looking at all the things other homeschool moms have used that have worked great for them and they are now selling to all of us, all the cool science kits, games and fun stuff and all the BOOKS!!! But the chaos of it is overwhelming at times and definately outweighs the Love of it all!!! But do I stop and say enough...just go back to the room and relax and enjoy the time or go listen to a speaker - there are some awesome ones here...NO I buy the speakers and listen to them throughout the year and head over to the next booth...I might miss something if I leave!!!!
Only 2 more days till convention.........

More Games and New Workboxes

Workboxes have taken over and I am ever so thankful for Sue Patrick for writing a book about the concept!!! I do love them!! They have been so easy for us to use and just throw into our school day and make it better!!! I go to convention next week and she is going to be there - I am excited to see what she has in her booth on display and the possibility of beinga ble to chat with her a little!!!
Anyways - I did have to switch up our boxes to magazine files so that we could use 12 and I need them to fit on the 2 bookshelves, hence the magazine box versus the show box. Thomas will still only have 6 but he has a whole shelf to choose from that houses his stuff!!!


I had thought we would only use 6 or 9 but I have gotten so many ideas from other blogs and the yahoo group and just going through my stuff and the stuff I want to do with them that I decided we would use 12! I got these great number tags and I am so sorry that I can't remember where I got them(if any of you know and wouldnt passing along her blog so I can give her credit I would appreciate it) because they are so cute and the boys like them much better than just the plain ol' number!!


I think this will be the way that I put the cards in their boxes for the things we do together. If I put it into the box - they will think their box is empty and we wouldn't want them to think that!!


I have a small basket on top of the bookshelf for them to put their cards and numbers in when they have finished that box. They didn't seem to care about putting it on a schedule - they liked that it was off the box. If that is enough for them - it is enough for me!!!

File Folder Games Rock.........

I do love Games and I have gone a little crazy making file folder games and other games with paint chips these past weeks!! I think these will be the end of it but who knows!! Over at The Snail's Trail she keeps giving me some FANTASTIC ideas to do so very cheaply - practically free and I get so excited I start making them again!!! Most of these are ideas I got from Momma Snail - I thought I would show off because I sure had fun making them and am ever so thankful for the sharing of ideas out here in blogland!!!

The number words are written out on the folder and they will have to match the dot and the numeral to the word. I only did 1-10 for now and will do 11-20 later on when Thomas is ready to move past these!


Thomas is going to love doing this one. In the envelope are each of the letters in his name and he has to match them to the top to learn how to spell his name! I used a library pocket as the envelope. I cut open the front of it, folded it over and used some velcro to keep it closed and I put packing tape on the top edge so it won't rip as he opens and shuts it!

This is another number matching where he has to match the dots to the numeral.

These are the dots and I used the same library pocket to put the dot cards in.

You can't see the numbers but each 2 square spot has a number on it 1-10. I put packing tape(didn't have anything else around the house, it works and it was late so...) over the numbers so he can use dry erase markers to color them in, practice writing them and he can trace them with his finger! I put a piece of writing strip on the bottom so if he wants to try to write the number without tracing it - he can! Again - it is covered in packing tape so we can use this over and over with a dry erase marker!

In the little baggie velcroed to the folder are pictures of a word that begins with each letter of the alphabet. He will have to match the beginning sound to the proper letter.

This is one of my favorites from Momma Snail. I love the idea of using the preschool workbooks to make games. She also had a rhyming words one which I will get around to doing one of these days. This one is sequences. I got hte pics from a couple of old preschool workbooks.

I was thinking about using this same format to do greater than and less than, before and after with #'s, maybe opposites???

Games, Bees and Life

I have been busy this past week rearranging, making games, tweaking the workboxes, I painted a room that has been waiting to be painted for quite some time, we did some school, and Life has continued around me whether I wanted it to or not!!!!

These are the completed file folder games I showed you in the making in this post


In this one they will have to match upper and lower case letters


This one is a simple matching game for Thomas!


I saw this book storage idea and it has been eating at me to do for quite a few months now!!! I looked all over for cheap magazine boxes to copy her idea and I couldn't find ANY!!! She got hers from Ikea and the closest one to us is 2 hours away - aarrgghhh!!! I hate it when I can't get an idea out of my head and it consumes me because I so want to do it!!!! So - I was halfway to Ikea last week and I just kept driving!!! I bought the boxes - painted them black with some spray paint(who knew you could do that - I tried it - it worked and so I was off and running) and put them on my shelves!!! I love that I can label the boxes with what is in them and it makes it a lot easier to find books when looking! Now - not all the books are in boxes but a lot of them are!!!

I also wanted to use magazine boxes for workboxes since our space is limited and that was my other push to go get them! I am now able to get 12 boxes on the 2 shelves. We will not use all 12 during the summer but I am getting some great ideas to use in the boxes and it is going to be easy to fill them all when we start back in the Fall! I am not done with them yet but will post some pics when I am!!
My OCD is happy for now!!!

We found a BeeHive in a tree in our backyard!! So - we are about to start a Bee LapBook that I got from CurrClick for free!! I am a little scared becasue I dont want the boys to make them angry and they are right near where they play but they are as excited as I am to watch them make their hive and learn about them so.....I am going to brave it!!!
How cool is this........


There are a lot of bees in there - it is a little scary but it sure is neat!!!