CA Lapbook

We had a great time learning about CA. I grew up in Northern CA but the state is so large and diverse it was fun learning more about it. I have been to many CA cities and driven from north to south many times, but there are far too many things to take in than I can even imagine.

One of the fun things we learned was that it is ILLEGAL to eat oranges in a bathtub in CA! The kids thought that was really funny. We also studied a bit about Ronald Reagan who was a movie star prior to serving two terms as CA governor and then becoming President of the U.S. Reagan thought it was really neat learning about someone with the same name.

Some things Javon put in his lapbook -
California - 1850 - The Golden State - Eureka - 31st State
~ Prior to European control, CA was inhabited by many differnt Indian tribes. Javon drew a really great Indian.
~ When Mexico lost the Mexican War to the U.S. in 1848, the U.S. gained control and two years later, CA was admitted to the Union.
~ CA Gold Rush - James Marshall and his crew discovered gold near Sacramento in the spring of 1848. By 1849, much of the world knew of CA gold. People that come to mind gold were known as "49ers".
~ CA is one of the most important farming state in the US.Some fruits and Javon picked to put in his lapbook were: Avocados, Apples, Pumpkins, Almonds, Grapes, Pears, Oranges, and Garlic.
~ Some of our CA family includes all of their great-grandparents and one grandma. Granny and Pops, Momo, and Maga. (What are some of your unusual grandparent names?)
~ San Fran has the largest Chinese population for any city in the US. Most of the railroads in CA were made by Chinese workers.
~ CA far exceeds other states populations. Los Angeles is the second most populous city in the nation.
~ CA has THOUSANDS of small earthquakes each year. In 1906, San Fran suffered a terrible earthquake.
~ The Golden Gate Bridge is actually painted RED.
~ Geography - CA has the highest and lowest points in the continental US. Mt. Whitney is 14,495 feet and Death Valley is 282 feet below sea level. The two sites are only 100 miles apart!
~ Death Valley has the highest recorded temp in the US - 134 degrees!

State Flower: Golden Poppy
Capital City: Sacramento
State Bird: California Quail
State Insect: Dogface Butterfly
State Tree: CA Redwood
State Animal: Grizzly Bear
State Mammal: Grey Whale
State Mineral: Gold

Coupons

I just got my grocery shopping high as I watched my total start at $97 and drop down to $42!!! I'm not a total die hard couponer but I do pretty good I think. Here's a few things that I've learned over the past year that fit my life:

1) I usually only shop at one grocery store unless there is an absolute blowout deal. I tried out the multiple store thing, but usually ended up spending a bit more as well as the time just wasn't worth it.

2) I plan my meals based on the weekly adds. I always get whatever meat is on sale and then go through my coupons. I try to only buy items that are on sale plus that I have a coupon for. Some weeks I get a ton of stuff and other weeks not so much.

3) I "large" grocery shop every other week and "small" grocery shop every week. This helps me to really sort out my coupons on my "large" shopping week and just focus more on the store coupons on my "small" week.

4) I very, very, very rarely take my kids grocery shopping!!! Not just because I tend to get things that I normally wouldn't get without them, but it is "my time" and I love to not be distracted. Some people get pedicures, I use coupons....go figure. In mind it's spending vs saving!

5) Buy one get one free items are fabulous if you have 2 coupons. Tonight I got two Glade autospray scent things that are origially 12.99 a piece for $2.99. They were marked down from $12.99 to $10.99 then they were buy 1; get 1 free plus I have two $4 off coupons. Thus I got what some would potentially have paid $25.98 for $2.99.

6) I love to check out the clearance bin at the grocery store because it's usually marked way down plus you can use a manuf. coupon on top of the clearance price! Tonight I got a box of haircolor with the base color plus highlights that normally sells for $19.99 a box for $4.00. It was in the clearance bin for $7.00 plus I had a $4.00 off coupon. Some spend $100 on color and highlights....I spend $4. To me that's WAY cool! I can still look good and do some of the things that make me feel pretty yet do it in a way that doesn't make my family suffer.

7) I usually go late at night after I've put the kids to bed so that way the store is not crowded.

Tonight there was a couple behind me and I apologized ahead of time saying that I had coupons and it might take a few extra minutes. They were great about it and starting commenting on how much I was saving. It was so funny. The husband was in shock and told his wife it was time they start using coupons (in a nice way) and she was totally amazed that I saved over $50. He kept saying, "It's like you've hit the lottery. How did you do that?" I told him to pick up a Sunday paper and simply plan a little and they could do it too. It was fun. I came home and told Josh all about it because it really does make me feel good when I know that I've done something to help out my family.

Are you an artist?

Are you an artist? I am soooooo not! I've always wanted to be able to draw or at least doodle, but it simply doesn't come natural to me. I have one smiley face and one flower that I draw well and that's it!!!

Aaawwwhhhh, the beauty of homeschooling is that you can explore not only your child's interests but yours as well. :-) Since Javon was little I have been working with Javon on various drawing lessons off and on. Reagan, however, has a natural talent at art. It's amazing. At 4 years old she can draw better than I can. Not in a technical sense but in an imaginative sense. Javon can look at something and copy what he sees very well. Reagan on the other hand had a variety of different people that she makes. Some square, some alien, some with curly hair, some with no hair.....all different and dependant on her mood I suppose. Here are a few of the things they did today.

Javon = awesome orange tree and rose for Nana
Reagan = pics of people; the one with the tamborine is me that she drew in like 30 seconds while playing Bible pictionary. She got the word tamborine and drew that super fast.

Non-Scary Pumpkin Carving

This is a cute fall project! Go to www.bhg.com/dogstencils.
There are 13 different breed stencils available.
Fun!

The Set Game

I found a really great website at www.setgame.com. It helps kids understand that a SET is a group of elements with common properties (of size, shape, color, etc.) and should be able to identify elements in sets that don't belong. Ages 5 and up. It's tricky, fun, and mathemathically mind-expanding. There is a new game each day.

Camping

We had a great time camping this weekend! This is family camping trip #3 that it has rained on us. We've went in June, August, and September and every single time it's rained HARD! So, if you plan to camp in the Northwest make sure that the Boggs family does not have a reservation at a state park prior to finalizing your plans. :-) Here's a few things that were memorable or I learned this weekend:

1) That even when everyone at church says you're crazy for going camping when it's POURING rain and lighting/thundering that you'll still make memories and have fun...so just go! :-)
2) Setting up a tent in the rain is much easier when it's not raining.
3) You can survive w/o a ton of stuff. I'm not into the packing enough to cross the Oregon trail kind of camping. Less is more.
4) Speaking of Oregon Trail...I did thank the Lord that I wasn't born a 100 earlier and have to cross the Oregon Trail as I was freezing from the rain and lack of fire.
5) My daughter, who is a total girly-girl, loves to dig and play in the dirt.
6) State camp bathrooms are not the most pleasant. And why don't they have soap? But at least they have bathrooms, so no more complaining. :-)
7) The stars are amazing to look at when you get just a little ways out of the city.
8) The NW is an amazing place to live. We live 20 minutes from Seattle and 20 minutes from an amazing beach that has amazing views.
9) Reading Charlottes Web is even better when done around a campfire!
10) Slugs are fun to look at.
11) Javon loves to find trails that he doesn't know where they will end up. Reagan, not so much!
12) Friends are great things to have.
13) Having a pastor that will come visit you while camping and bring your kids a TON of glow items is pretty cool. Plus other friends who come and bring SMORES stuff!
14) My face feels dried up after 3 days with no makeup. :-)
15) Hearing the birds chirp in the morning is really neat while laying in bed with your family.
16) A thermal shirt, Columbia jacket, plus hoodie does keep you warm in below 50 sleeping weather. :-)
17) Josh is a great dad that worked really, really hard to make sure we all had a great time.
18) Turkey bacon cooks much quicker on a campfire than regular bacon.
19) I am so blessed. People spend thousands of dollars to go on vacations where they are going, going, going the whole time and not really spending a lot of time just "being together". I spend $50 and had a wonderful time with my family!
20) As I watched my kids brushing their teeth this morning with their crazy morning hair and jammies on, I was filled with gratitude that God would entrust them to my care! What a huge responsiblity and wonderful task this is!

Tomorrow, back to school! But that was well worth a few missed days of school to spend time together!!!

Schedule '09-'10

Well, one week of school successfully completed! Here's our schedule and it worked out beautifully last week. Hoping to keep on throughout the year as much as possible.

6:45 AM - Wake up and pray while laying in bed :-)
7:00 AM - Read Bible
7:30 AM - Exercise (Mommy) Kids (Get up, dressed, potty, etc.)
8:00 AM - Breakfast then chores - Mommy: breakfast dishes & counters Javon: tidy entry way and put away shoes Reagan: put away clean silverwear and dust
8:30 AM - Opening Activities: Pledges, Songs, Prayer, Memory Verse, Weather
9:00 AM - Reagan: Preschool with Mommy Javon: Computer Time - Typing & Spelling
10:00 AM - Fruit Break
10:30 AM - Reagan: Preschool Javon: Math
11:00 AM - Reagan: Tactical Activity/Physical Activity
11:30 AM - Daily Project - Art or State Studies
12:00 PM - Lunch
12:30 PM - Reagan: Toys Javon: Piano
1:00 PM - Reagan: Books Javon: English
1:30 PM - Reagan: Nap Javon: Lit. & Creative Writing
2:00 PM - Reagan: Nap Javon: Social Studies
2:30 PM - Reagan: Nap Javon: Science
3:00 PM - Reagan: Help Mommy clean up Javon: Chapter Book then Nap
4:00 PM - Both: Veggie Break and Word Girl/Curious George on PBS
5:00 PM - Everyone: Quick Clean
5:30 PM - Mommy: Start Dinner Kids: Outside Play (when not raining!)
6:00 PM - Dinner
6:30 PM - Mommy: Cleanup Kids & Daddy: Play together
7:00 PM - Family Board Game
7:45 PM - Devotions
8:15 PM - Get Ready for Bed
8:30 PM - Bedtime

Well, there it is. Now for some of you that looks crazy and to others it look like pure sanity. :-) PTL we're all different! My mom has graciously agreed to adhear to my school schedule on her days of teaching with a few minor tweeks. (Thanks Mom for being the best co-teacher in the world!!!)

Do you follow a schedule or go with what the day throws at you? No judging here! Just wondering. :-)

Preschool

I shared this with a friend and thought I'd post it if anyone was wondering about other preschool schedules.

The website that I really like to use to help me with themes for preschool is at www.pammshouse.com/toddler. It says it's for 2 year olds, but I use it to base my week on and then add extra things as needed. I just make sure that each week we have a theme, letter, color, shape, and tactile activity like counting beans, playing with rice, throwing bean bags in a pan, etc. that we do all week long. Plus I have Reagan do a few "pages" a day from a preschool book that you can buy at Sams for like $8.
I also use the library like a crazy person. :-) But I do it ALL online that way I just run in and pick it up. So this weeks theme is grandparents so I would get like 10 kids books that have something to do with grandparents.....perhaps make a family tree....call a grandparent that the kids haven't spoken with in a while, make a card or craft for a grandparent, etc. For me and Reagan, an hour and a half seems to be a good time span for us. I do 1 full hour, take a fruit break for 1/2 hour, and then do another 1/2 hour to finish up. Then we read books and do other things throughout the day. I'm more structured with her simply because of Javon's schedule. It works fine with her personality though. Hope this helps some. Feel free to ask questions as you think of them.