Getting Ready for Kindergarten

Excitement is in the air as we prepare for Kindergarten! Elijah will be starting K in September. After several years of research and consideration, I have settled upon my choices for Eli's curriculum. I love what we'll be doing this year!!! For Bible, I decided to use Bible Truths K (BJU). Max will be joining us for this part of the day. We will be using RIghtStart Math Level A, a program emphasizing understanding math as opposed to memorizing without knowing why. For reading I am using a combination of materials that mesh with my philosophy of teaching reading. We will mainly be using Reading A to Z and Patricia Cunningham's Making Words Kindergarten. When Eli is ready, we will also use All About Spelling. We are using Handwriting Without Tears for letter learning and penmenship. Max will be joining us for our unit study which will be either a homeschoolshare.com unit or a Five in a Row book. We are starting the year with Evan-Moor's Nursery Rhyme Pockets. This should be a wonderful year!!!

Visiting the Manatees at Blue Springs

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

December's Free Book Giveaway

And the winners are ...... momofemmett for the "Usbourne Book of Science Activities" and rockie_73 for "How to Make an Apple Pie..". January's bookgiveaway will be coming soon. :)

Visiting Jekyll Island with Kids

For Thanksgiving we visited Jekyll Island in Georgia as we have every year for the many years. I thought I would post a slideshow here to share with family and friends as well as for those considering visiting Jekyll with kids. Jekyll is such a fun place to visit! Some of our favorite things to do are walk on the "driftwood" beach, take long walks around the island, drive around the island at night to see all the critters (deer, possum, raccoons, owls, armadillos), visit the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, eat at the Hotel, letterboxing, play on the playground by the putt-putt course, and as of this year visiting Cumberland Island. Check out my slideshow if you are interested in visiting this unique place!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Toffee Bars

This post is completely off-topic from my blog! :) I love this recipe for toffee bars so I thought I would share for those who need a quick recipe for a cookie swap. It's one of my favorites and most requested at church over the years:

Toffee Bars
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
1 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons of vanilla
1 package of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 small package of pecans chopped (if desired)

In a mixing bowl beat the 1/2 cup butter, the sugar, and salt with an electric mixer on medium to high speed till thoroughly combined. Stir in flour. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 13X9X2 inch baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven about 15 minutes or till edges are lightly browned. In a heavy medium saucepan heat condensed milk and 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat till bubbly, stirring constantly. Cook and stir for 5 minutes more (Mixture will thicken and become smooth). Stir in the 2 teaspoons of vanilla. Spread over baked layer. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or till golden. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the baked layer and put in oven (can be turned off) to melt for a few minutes. Take a knife and spread the melted chocolate chips (they will still look whole until you spread with knife). I cool in the fridge before cutting. The first piece may break when removing but after that they come out beautifully. Enjoy!!!

December's Free Book Giveaway

For December's free book giveaway I have two wonderful books - "The Usborne Book of Science Activities - Volume One" and "How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World" (an ex-library book in very good condition). "How to Make an Apple Pie" is a Five in a Row Book, Volume 1 and has a unit posted here - http://www.homeschoolshare.com/resources_applepie.php. I found myself with two copies of these and thought they would make perfect giveaways. To enter the giveaway leave a comment on this post. Please leave some way of me contacting you back - be it your blog, website, or email address. The drawing will held on December 31st.

And the winners are ...

Penney Douglas won "The Gingerbread Baby" and Diana from http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/thenarrowway won "The Usborne Book of Science Activities Volume Two". Congratulations ladies!!! Stay tuned for December's free book giveaway as I will be posting it in the next few days.