Joyful Socks Mom: July 2010

7/29/10

A Well-Spent Summer Journal: More Summer School Fun

Summer School Fun continued . . .

Here is a glimpse of some of the summer schooling activities we have been enjoying.

The Squeaker and Scout working on portraits of their dog . . . Duchess Gertrude Esther the 1st . . . don't ask. They gave the portraits to our retired neighbors who love our dog and spoil her totally rotten!

We have had lots of fun at our local library. During the reading program this summer we have enjoyed circus clowns (O.K., no me so much . . . clowns freak me out), snakes and the Incredible Bubble Lady (shown above).

Librarian in a bubble!

Our Juvenile Librarian (her title, not her attitude . . . well sometimes) in the giant bubble.

We love you Courtney!

We pray you are all enjoying a safe and blessed summer schooling season.

Joyful & blessed homeschooling to you!

www.TheMacRak.com

http://www.themacrak.blogspot.com/

7/26/10

Muffin Tin Monday: Mexican Food

Muffin Tin Monday at Her Cup Overfloweth

A Little Bit-o-Muffin Tin-Mexican

I have ventured into the fun world of the Muffin Tin Monday post. I have been a long time "lurker", but no more, I'm ready to dive into the fun. The Bug acted like I was the coolest thing since sliced bread! Why? She got to eat dinner out of a muffin tin. . . O.K.? I'm not sure why that is so awesome, but apparently it is. I set the tray in front of her for dinner and she squealed with delight, professing over and over, "You are the best mommy in the whole wide world!" So, if you are a Muffin Tin Monday "lurker", I encourage you to come out into the sunshine and fill up that muffin tin. You may win mother-of-the-year!

From top-left, clockwise:

Home-made corn tortilla chips, wild blueberry rice cakes, dehydrated cucumbers, chocolate-covered animal crackers (just a little treat, trust me, this is not the norm), taco meat & home-made refried beans.

1 little muffin tin = 1 happy Bug

Joyful & blessed homeschooling to you!

www.TheMacRak.com

http://www.themacrak.blogspot.com/

7/24/10

A Well-Spent Summer Journal: Texas-style Independence Day

A Hometown Independence Day

The summer has been flying by and I realized that I haven't been blogging about all the wonderfully fun activities that we have been doing. So . . . let's back up a little for the in our journal to get you up to speed.

This year for the 4th of July, I got stuck (hard to imagine, I know) on keeping the kids focused on the reality and truth of the celebration of Independence Day. The big stickler for me this year was being sure the kids knew why we feel it is important to celebrate Independence Day and not just "the 4th". The difference may be in semantics, but I'm sticking to this one!

When you are referencing the date, as opposed to the holiday itself, you loose a little bit of its significance. This is the very same reason you will not her me say 9/11 in referring to the attacks on New York and Washington D.C. that fateful day in September 2001. I never want to "dumb-down" or "water-down" the reverence for a holiday or remembrance day when teaching our children. Thus, we practice reiterating Independence Day.

Here are a few things we did on Independence Day.

We started out in our hometown parade. Sorry, no pictures. We were in the parade, marching for the local non-profit that I work for, Mission Granbury. Here is a video clip that the newspaper posted . . . not all that riveting (small town parade and all), but you can see us right after the Pirate little league baseball and cheerleader. Mrs. Mac is on the opposite side of black truck, with cowboy hat on. The girls are in the CASA & Mission Granbury float . . . just F.Y.I.

Celebrating the birthday of the Declaration of Independence!

I had the girls celebrate with some little Happy Birthday greeting cakes. Then we read some stories about the beginnings of our nation. This book by Mara L. Pratt is one of our favorites.

The Squeaker & the Bug all "cowgirled-up"! Yep, we're from Texas, so what better way to spend Independence Day than at the rodeo?

Hmmm . . . doesn't look like Mrs. Mac enjoys getting her picture taken as much as she enjoys taking them. (Thanks Big Daddy Mac!)

Granbury Riders were so fun to watch, but what was the favorite event . . . Wild Brauma Cow Milking! Yep, it's real!

The Bug & her cuz, Mr. Hockey, enjoy the sights of the rodeo up-close-and-personal. The older kids (minus the Bug) enjoyed a little Mutton bustin' - chasing after a sheep trying to catch the one with the ribbon on it's tail.

We hope that you all had a blessed and joyful Independence Day too.
The Macs say . . .HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Happy homeschooling!

www.TheMacRak.com

http://www.themacrak.blogspot.com/

7/22/10

Travel Kits Ebook Review

A Simple Way to Bless Others

Ebook Review

Homeschoolers spend hours in the car, SUV or (for many of us) a white conversion van! lol! People constantly here me say "Hey, we're homeschoolers, we don't travel lite . . . we just travel!" The reason you would hear me saying this is in response to what people witness when I am shuffling my crew through the door. They see my family loaded down with mountains of board games, educational materials, notebooks, books and healthy snacks. Why? I will not allow the versatility of homeschooling to get in the way of me actually educating my children. (I know, I'm just funny that way!) Now, thanks to the Old Schoolhouse, I have found a better option.

I received a copy of Travel Kits: A Simple Way to Bless Others ebook to review for TOS Homeschool Crew. This ebook came just in time for me to enjoy for traveling during the summer months and the daunting task of planning for the next session of academic classes. The Travel Kit ebook is well-planned and easy to navigate throughout the entire read. This ebook is written in a format that will please those who do not want miss a detail & even those "skim-through it" kind of readers. This ebook is designed to help you creatively plan your next road trip to include fun, activities and maybe even some education, while traveling around the country or around the block.

So, what is a Travel Kit you say? A Travel Kit is a "blessing in a box" - or any other container that you may choose. You fill your container with individually wrapped gifts, toys and activities for your crew to enjoy while journeying. You can create many wonderful varieties of Travel Kits to please, entertain and educate your children on any upcoming road trip. I was pleased with the way the ebook simply and effectively describes how to plan and build these wonderful travel kits. This ebook also is full of creative ideas and themes for creating your own one-of-a-kind Travel Kits.

Making and using these Travel Kits can be a new and economical way to inspire and bless others. Who wouldn't love to take along a hand-assembled Travel Kit? You can give these unique items as gifts for children's birthdays or to fellow homeschool families. Young children are not the only people that will love these Travel Kits . . . neighbors, friends, high school grads, traveling dads, grandparents . . . well, basically anyone on your list! No matter the person, or the destination, you are only limited by your imagination.

You can purchase this fun and versitale ebook today at The Schoolhouse Store online for $12.45. Be sure to check back soon, I was inspired to create my own Travel Kit for the kids. I am going to make double so . . . be on the look out for a giveaway!

Joyful & blessed homeschooling to you!

www.TheMacRak.com

http://www.themacrak.blogspot.com/

Other items that you may love from The Schoolhouse Store:

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
Freebie Directory
HomeWork: Juggling Home, Work, and School Without Losing
Get your free copy of the E-Book: The New School Year

7/18/10

A Well-Spent Summer Journal: The Week at the Texas Capital

The Week at the Capital of Texas

The girls and I took off last month on a journey to our state's capital . . . the largest state capital in the U.S. (of course). We are still journaling our "Summer Well-Spent" while continuing the fun and learning during our summer schooling. Here is just a bit of the fun!

Here the Squeaker and the Bug are at our hotel. Kids are so funny, they just love hotels. Fancy ones, cheap ones . . . it just does not even seem to matter.

Here is the Bug with her big bubba . . . let's just call him Mr. Monkey . . . trust me, he would not be offended! He lives and works in Austin and we had some quality hang-out time. Awesome!

Here the kids are observing the most OBVIOUS of any "public announcement" sign we have ever seen. You know, I sure am thankful they pointed out that birds roost in trees!Things that make you go hmmm. . .

Dessert! Enough said.

Here are the kids at their brother's apartment putting on a musical perfomance for mommy. I thought his place looked not so bad for a single guy's pad.

The Texas capitol.

A Hero's Reward exhibit at the Capitol. We love our Texas history.

The cowgirls take on Austin. Too cute!

We loved this monument outside the capitol building. It was donated by the Boys Scouts of America as a dedication to perserving the liberty and freedom this country was built on. The girls thought it was so cool that it was Scout-related. (I'm thinking they are missing their brother - the Scout is visiting family in Houston).

Here is the Squeaker at Barton Springs. It is a pool that is fed by a natural underground aquafier. This makes it freeeeeezing cold, even in the 102 degree Texas heat . . .