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pitterpatter

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Posts posted by pitterpatter

  1. I stay up way too late just to have time to myself. It catches up with me sometimes, so then I have to go to bed at a decent time for awhile.

     

    When I get into a mood, I take a weekend to do whatever I'm craving. I tell DH that DD is all his and I go sew or bake or whatever. If DD asks me for something during that time (if it's really going to interrupt me), I tell her to go ask Daddy. ;)

     

    Overall, I've pretty much just accepted that my life is all about DD for now. It can be exhausting, though. And, I do miss things from my old life.

  2. Vitamix is awesome! Love, love, love ours!!!

     

    This is our favorite smoothie recipe. I've had it bookmarked for some time. Just copy/pasting the original poster's post because I think it's funny. From Yahoo! Answers.

     

    --------------------------------

     

    I used to work at a smoothie king.

     

    I can't give you the exact recipe, but I can tell you how to make something exactly the same.

     

    1. About 1 large Banana...Maybe 1 and a half

    2. Use about half a cup of Strawberries(you can buy frozen strawberries at the store in small containers. This is what SK uses.)

    3. about 3 to 4 Tbsp. water

    4. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

    5. 1/8 cup sugar

    6. 1/8 cup milk or milk powder.

    they also add a little soy protein.

    Add about a cup or so of ice, and there you go...and Angel Food.

     

    Hope this helps

     

    Source(s):

     

    Used to work there in Glendale, Colorado.

  3. Whatever we can find at reasonable prices. :001_smile:

     

    Right now, we have Cuties, bananas, grapes and apples. Really wanted some strawberries, but Sam's Club was all out last time we went. Can't really get any locally, as we're small and rural. They're all icky and super expensive.

     

    We buy kiwi too. DD loves cantaloupe, but I'm still shy about buying those due to the recall a couple of months ago.

  4. I just discovered this book that I'm really excited about. (I've been searching for something decent and age-appropriate for awhile.) I'm not really into the first half of it, but I think the second half will be perfect for my DD. We're going to start as soon as I can get some of the recommended books rounded up.

     

    0439567211.jpg Nonfiction Literacy-Building Booklets & Activities

     

    Grades K–1 $21.99

     

    You can view the entire contents at the link above. The TOC is descriptive enough that you don't have to scroll through the entire book to get a good idea of what's included.

  5. I'd recommend some little workbooks, games, etc. that asks what sound pictures start and/or end with, etc. Also, some that practice rhyming, which will be helpful, if you plan on using phonics.

     

    You might check into Carson-Dellosa's Home Workbooks series. (I didn't sort them down to preschool reading or language arts books because it kicks some out that I think might be usable for you.)

     

    http://www.carsondellosa.com/cd2/SearchCatalog.aspx?k=home+workbooks&CM_VC=10001&rows=48

     

    You can look inside most of them on their site and they are less than $5 each. Full color and fairly easy to come by too.

     

    We personally have used these two.

     

    AsyncLoadImage.ashx?productId=104343&imageType=FeatAsyncLoadImage.ashx?productId=104348&imageType=Feat

  6. Not sure whether you're still looking, but I discovered this for my DD, who is 4.5 years old. I'm usually not a fan of Scholastic resources, but I think this one will be perfect for her. I'm eager to start it in a week or so. (Gotta collect some books.)

     

    0439567211.jpg Nonfiction Literacy-Building Booklets & Activities

     

    Grades K–1 $21.99

     

    You can view the entire contents at the link above. I plan on skipping pretty much the first half of the table of contents, but there is still plenty left within the second half. Each lesson comes with a book recommendation or two (hope you have a good library), age-appropriate activity and more.

     

    I plan on doing a lesson or two per week, including lessons for specific holidays. :001_smile:

  7. Not to hijack, but I would love to find a list that breaks things down a bit. I would like to start with shorter books that have more (or some) pictures, then progress to longer books without pictures. My DD is not real good about wanting to stop after a chapter or two. We're tried this with some shorter chapter books, but we end up reading the whole thing at once. :tongue_smilie:

     

    We have tons of picture books, but I'm looking for classics.

  8. DD is finishing up HOP: Kindergarten and will be starting HOP: First Grade next month. Is there an ETC that would fit well with HOP: First Grade?

     

    We originally avoided ETC since DD didn't yet know how to write. And, I couldn't figure out how to match it up with HOP: Kindergarten well enough. We used The Mailbox: Word Family Helpers as a supplement instead, but now she's more skilled and mature in her studies, so I think we're ready for something else.

     

    ETC would just be used to break up the monotony of HOP (not that DD doesn't like HOP, but I think variety is good) and for additional practice. HOP is our primary.

  9. I came across the American Symbols picture book series while sniffing out a book about our flag last night. I can't find a good preview anywhere. We live in a small rural town, so I can't just run to the library or bookstore to take a peek. There are four or five of them I'm interested in, so at $8.95 a pop, I really don't want to make a mistake.

     

    Has anyone read any of these?

     

    51UeSP4rZ%2BL._AA115_.jpg51OrAKwo7ZL._AA115_.jpg510nKIumwbL._AA115_.jpg

     

    61EyndKDhhL._AA160_.jpg610sbuMOS1L._AA160_.jpg

     

    PS - If anyone knows where to find them cheaper, I'm :bigear:.

  10. The handwriting issue was one reason we didn't use the ETC books this year. DD is 4.5 years old and we are just finishing up the last few lowercase letters right now. So, I had to look for circle, underline, color, X-out kind of books when I started with her this past fall.

     

    Here are a couple that we use for letters/sounds.

     

    AsyncLoadImage.ashx?productId=104343&imageType=Feat

    http://www.carsondellosa.com/cd2/Products/CarsonDellosa/PID-104343.aspx?CM_VC=10001

     

    AsyncLoadImage.ashx?productId=104348&imageType=Feat - Color the letter, cut and paste. (I cut, DD colored and then pasted with a glue stick.)

    http://www.carsondellosa.com/cd2/Products/CarsonDellosa/PID-104348.aspx?CM_VC=10001

     

    You can view the guts of these two books by clicking on "View Inside". If they aren't quite what you're looking for, there are a ton more in the series. They retail for $4.49 each. If you have a Books-a-Million close, I saw some there for $2.49 over the weekend.

     

    We also used this one by Hooked on Phonics.

     

    51OSOcwNnzL._SL160_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-dp,TopRight,12,-18_SH30_OU01_AA115_.jpg

    Hooked On Phonics Pre-K Letter Sounds Workbook by Hooked on Phonics (Paperback - May 1, 2009)

    Buy new: $4.99

     

    The Amazon preview is totally unhelpful. Christianbook.com has a better preview. - http://www.christianbook.com/hooked-on-phonics-letter-sounds/9781604991215/pd/020633?item_code=WW&netp_id=481249&event=ESRCG&view=details#curr

     

    Also, for minor handwriting, you can use letter stamps or letter stickers. We also use Scrabble tiles, thread letter beads onto pipe cleaners and/or magnetic letters on a cookie sheet off page to complete lessons.

  11. I bought this one a couple of weeks ago when it was $2.99 on Amazon. I haven't checked it for accuracy. Instead of being painted/printed after it was in sphere form, it was assembled like a fabric ball would be sewn (orange peel method). Each section was printed before it was assembled, so a lot of the seams don't match up exactly, which bugs me a bit. Also, the latitude lines don't quite match up at the final seam. For whatever reason, they capped the north and south poles with blue water-colored circles. It appears that right in the middle of Antarctica there is a perfectly round body of water. It also isn't particularly detailed.

     

    For very general geography, I think it's fine. DD's still young, so it will work for our purposes for a couple of years. Eventually, we'll need to invest in something better. The plastic is nice enough, though. There is a loop on top of it so it's easy to hang.

     

    Overall, I'm glad to have it because it's better than nothing and was the right price.

     

    51RN9JJP9WL._AA115_.jpg

    Learning Resources 12-Inch Inflatable Globe by Learning Resources

    Buy new: $9.99 $4.59

  12. I love reading these! So fun!!

     

    I'm trying to hone in on DD interests to see whether there's anything she might really enjoy learning about. (She's at the age where she loves learning about everything.) We travel a couple of times a year and she LOVES the beach, ocean, sea birds, etc. Considering a unit study on that, but that's not real exotic. I wish I would have thought about doing a unit study about the North Pole during the holidays. She was all about that this year.

  13. Do you know whether there are lessons/activities to go with these anywhere?

     

    Bookmarked the Intellego site too.

     

    Thank you!

     

    I second the recommendation for the My Book House books. They are good anthologies of age appropriate literature. I didn't find them until this year and start on volume 3, but I really like them and so does Ariel. There is one Bible story per volume, but you can either skip it, or read it with the approach that it will advance her cultural literacy, since a lot of books, especially older ones, reference Bible stories, and it makes those books more difficult to grasp if the student is unfamiliar with them.

     

    Another thing to look at for history/social studies is Intellego. They have specific subjects for things like Symbols of America or Continents and Cultures in addition to world and US history, and are very hands on, though you will have to gather the supplies yourself. We just started the astronomy unit for 3rd-5th grades and I think it has enough activities to keep Ariel, who is a very hands on and visual kiddo, happy.

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