Hello New Year!

It is time once again to drag one's self from the clutches of the Holiday Blues.

There was such purpose over the holidays. Now it is boring old January. It is a time to spend refocusing energies on the goals of the new year. What do I want to accomplish? How do I want to live my life?

It is also a midway point in the school year. Out with what isn't working and a time to start new projects and refocus on fine tuning of skills.

Take a deep breath. Out with old toxic friendships and time to all myself a rebirth in this beautiful new year.

Lets Get CRAFTY!! or insane...

I started an absolutely insane project awhile ago. I was asked to make a second one and donate it to the school the kids were attending. I think I got overwhelmed by the extensive amount of work that would take not to mention the cost. There was also some fear in the whole putting it together. What if I put the pieces in the wrong spot? So like I tend to do with things I am afraid of I put it away and followed other distractions.

I decided enough was enough and that this could tie in very nicely with the kids Story of the World study. So here I am super excited about it again. Things are moving along quickly now and I can't wait to get it to a useable state.

I ordered all the felt from http://www.benziedesign.com it is so beautiful and soft! Also I absolutely love the company!

I used felt glue to hole the pieces on foe ease in sewing.

A metric pile of laminating sheets was also necessary. 

A printer had to be purchased for printing on wax paper then ironing to the felt in an attempt to cut out the pieces easier. Lets just say it is easier to just cut out one piece at a time than to go that route. I also need the printer for printing on fabric for the ocean labels and all the color 3 part cards (plus general color print use)

Don't forget the vinyl for pockets in the quiet book! I had no idea how huge this roll would be.

I laid everything out.

Then I cut some things out... and gave up

Friday I pulled everything out and spent the evening cutting, then most of the weekend cutting and glueing and sewing. 

This is where I am now! I have North and South America Sewn down.

I even have all the puzzle pieces cut out and ready to go. 

The great 3 part card fiasco. I started with just doing the continent cards, but decided all the animals needed the same color back as the continent they live on to help with clean up and organizing. I also decided they all had to be cut out at the same time so they would all be the same size. 

Then the laminating process began. I used a dot of glue on the back of each to make sure they didn't move around on the laminating sheets. 

 

Here they are all cut, laminated, cut again and organized. 

Now I just have to find some velcro and keep sewing. 

Story of the World Volume 1 Chapter 3&4

I finished making chapter review cards for all of our kiddos. Before anyone gets cranky about making copies each family purchased their own work book and book AND audio book. We are playing by the rules. It took forever to make cards for 7 kids when you factor in cut out, laminate, cut out, and hole punch. I hope they actually end up using these. 

 Here are our scholars busy at work.

Our lap book / binder hybrid is working out nicely. We have 3 sections. The first is lap book which I found here, followed by work sheets from the official SOTW activity book and finally the note booking pages I found here.

Everyone wrote a message and translated it into cuneiform we put our messages on scrolls made with card stock and popcivle sticks. 

For the clay we used Sculpey clay. We did learn that even though the clay seems to not be hardening follow the directions on the package for baking. We left them in for 2 hours till they finally started to burn. Future experiments revealed that while the clay doesn't feel done when you touch it, really it is. 

I decided to add a pocket to the cover to have a place to store all our creations. I just cut a piece of card stock in half and stapled around the edges.

 Here is Xander's creation, a throw back to a Nomad cave drawing.

I opted to not mummify a chicken. My husband threatened to not come home + 7 children touching raw chicken sent my germaphobic self into a twitch. So Flynn Rider took one for the team and the kids wrapped him in gauze and we called it a day.

Story of the World Volume 1 Intro, ch 1 & ch 2

Phew! We got ourselves all set up and ready to roll!

 First off we are using the text book, work book and audio book purchased through Peace Hill Press.

We then assembled a modified lap book. Why did I decide to three ring binder it?? Durability, lack of a giant stapler, greater function, and I just can't figure out how to properly get them put together.


We found our lap book pages here through the amazing blogger Brenda Johnston http://brendajohnston.blogspot.com .

Since we are using a 3 ring binder I was able to add more content. I found not booking pages AND time line cards over at Tending our Lord's Garden. http://tendingourlordsgarden.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html

The final section of our notebook is the work sheets and map work from the Story of the World Notebook. 

Story of the World Volume 1 Chapter 1: Nomads become farmers. We painted cave drawings and made satchels. We modified the satchels to be more universal so we could use them as we progress through time. They also added nicely to the kid's Halloween costumes. 

For Story of the World Volume 1 Chapter 2 we were on to Ancient Egypt. We built a model of the Nile. Looking forward to adding some pyramids, mountains and watching as the grasses grow. 

What study of Egypt is complete without building pyramids out of Lego. 

Here the kids are busy at work constructing the lap book elements, maps and note booking.

Instead of making a crown and staff for the kids Flynn Rider took one for the team and played the part of Pharaoh. Here he is rocking his pharaoh skirt made from felt. 

Holla Holla 2 months!!

Week 10

Week 1

I have officially reached the point where this is my life now. I even had to go in the way back machine of my blog and figure out what week I am on. I get out of the bed in the morning and hit the gym. It is just part of who I am. Have I lost tons of weight? NO. I am rocking 198 now. Do you see that?? I am not 200+ pounds. I am officially UNDDER 200. Something I have been in denial about for the past 2 years. I Feel good. I am strong. I am determined. I am LOVING every second of my amazing life. 

Yesterday I decided it's time to donate everything in my closet that doesn't make me feel amazing. I am sick of being dumpy and bla. I feel good on the inside, starting to look good on the outside so it's time to have at least 2 outfits that make me stand a little taller and feel pretty. 

Adventures in Story of the World Volume 1

We started Story of the World Volume 1. I have the book, work book and recently purchased the audio book from Peace Hill Press. Yesterday we listened to chapter 1 in the car when it was over the kids begged for more!

We decided to make satchels as our craft for the day. The kids each took a turn at the sewing machine.

Today I am working on building a time line!

http://tendingourlordsgarden.blogspot.com/2012/05/story-of-world-timeline-cards.html

This website is fabulous and has time line cards for the first 3 books! She is working on Volume 4.

8 Weeks to a better me!

Well here we are! 8 weeks. Yesterday I ran for a total of 16 minutes. It was a 3 min, 5 min, 3 min 5 min with a bit of walking in the middle to total 31 minutes. It was amazing. I had no idea I could run for 5 minutes. 

I chose the treadmill on the other side of the coffee pot with a view of the front door. I enjoy people watching while I move. The coffee pot was like a carrot on a stick. People would come up and get their cup of coffee and the aroma of fresh brewed coffee would waft over me. It is also right next to the social hour table. It is very inspirational watching over weight senior citizens stuff their faces with donuts and drink coffee. It just made me run faster. 

I don't want to be fat, but more importantly I want to be healthy. I am still 1 pound heavier than when I started.  We have been eating home cooked meals more now than ever. Grocery store trips include a lot more label reading. 

This has been a life style change, not a fad crash diet. I love running and I love making wholesome good food for my kids.