"God Pocket"

We got this idea from our Devotional book, "Gotta have God 2" ages 2-5.

We were talking about forgiveness and how we should be sorry for things we may do wrong.  So the activity was about living how God wants us to live.  And the only way we can know how He want's us to live is by learning from His word.  So we made this "God Pocket" which is the name they gave it in the book.  So we stuck with it.  I folded a sheet of paper to make a pocket and printed verses I thought would be helpful for them as good reminders of how our actions and thoughts should be.  So we posted these pockets by our homeschool stuff and they pull one out for me to read to them every once in a while. :)  

You can NEVER read from God's Word too much!

Download my verses here.  Since we have 2 pockets this file prints out 2 of each verse. :)

 

4+4=?

8 is the obvious answer here.  

But right now this mean lots of things.

We are foster parents.  

And yesterday the number of people in our house changed from 4 to 8.

So for me...

4+4= a lot of mouths to feed 

and

4+4= some chaos, some sweet moments.

and

4+4= fun and exciting

and

4+4= lots of noses to wipe :)

and 

4+4= less time to blog. :(

So if you happen to see less blog posts over the next few days.  

Don't worry, I'm just trying to adjust my routine for the next week.

And lets face it....in the real scheme of life, 

no matter how much I love blogging, 

FAMILY COMES FIRST!  

(Even temporary family members.)

 

Letter E

 We had a fun week with the Letter E!  Check it out.

Letter E Memory Verse: 

 Even a child is known by his doings. Proverbs 20:11

(I put this inside the file folder)  Download them all here.

A-Z Collage Sheets.  Download here.  

I did both the capital and lowercase file.  

Plus printed the whole alphabet 2 up on a page to conserve. 
We put Elbow Macaroni on our letter E!

Letter hunt worksheets.   

I put this in a sheet protector so he could do this over again throughout the week.

A-Z Handwriting worksheets.  

I put them in a sheet protector so he can use the same sheet every day of the week!

 Capital/Lowercase Letter Match.  Download the file here.

Print and laminate. :)

Elephant How Many.  I edited this file.  

Click here to download my file. 

Click here to download the number cards.

You can do this a few ways... you can just use the number sheet to put the numbers in order, or to clip on the numbered clothes pin, which you can see more about in our Letter B file.  And then I got these new teeny little clothes pins and I had him clip on that many of those mini clothes pins to the number card.  Then using the file I made he put the number card in the square and gave the elephant that many peanuts.

Elephant size sort.  Download the file here.  

Print and laminate.

Letter E Puzzle.  Download it here. (I used the A-Z large floor mats as puzzles) This way it doesn't have the lines already in the file and you can cut it however you want.  I wanted to do atleast 8 pieces.  I might change it up to more or different shapes or something for a later puzzle...we will see!

  Elephant letter match.  Find the download here.
I do not use the wooden chips that she refers to. 

I just laminated them and that works just as well and is cheaper! :) 

  Elephant magnet page.  Find the download here.

We used our homemade pompom magnets for these.

  We used the E that we already had printed, which we put our elbow macaroni on.  I got these wooden blocks from hobby lobby, and had him place them on the letter shape.  Just another way to have fun while learning how to shape the letter E!

After doing this all week, I had him do it the last day with out the paper underneath.

Letter E cutting practice.  He always loves cutting practice! :)

Download the file here.

Letter E poke it page!  

I made this file myself because I wanted all the letters in one file.

Download my A-Z poke it letter file here.  Take a thumb tack and poke the letter E.  

Practice with forming the letter E.  Make sure to do this while on the carpeted floor. :)

Alphabet sorting folders.

Download the printable letter cards here.

Bean Bag Toss.

Have fun aiming for the letter E!

(I didn't take a new picture, so pretend the beanbag is by the letter E instead. :)

Read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom every day.  And at the end of the week put the letter E on your coconut tree!  I used the A-Z Collage Sheets.  Download here.  And I put them 4 up on a page so the letter would be small enough for them all to fit on our little coconut tree.  

Color by number page.   Download the file here.

This is great because it shows how he's growing and doing better with staying in the lines.  You can still tell that he is a 4 year old boy by his coloring though. :)

Letter E scavenger hunt. 

Here's what we found....and yes we stretched the boundaries on the "electronic device" usually known as an ipod.

EJ and the Bully (book), eraser, envelope, earrings, elephant, eyes and an ear from mr. potato head, engine(from thomas the train set), Elf the movie, and an egg carton.

Elephant Craft.  Find the download here. 

Bear made this up all by himself.  We had this large egg crate bottom, and he took the popsicle sticks and was making shapes out of it.  So I asked him if he could make an E with it!  Awesome new activity to add to our letter of the week!

 

Sky Shot-7

Bringing out some old Sky pics.  

I've taken pictures of the sky for a long time, and I'm pretty sure I will not tire of it!

These are from May of 2009.

Seriously?!? v3

 We pulled into a store parking lot and another vehicle beside 

us rolled down their window and threw some trash right out onto the ground!!!

SERIOUSLY?!?!  

Is the world your garbage can?

Easy Elephant Craft

Looking for a quick craft idea?

Click here to find this Elephant craft and other ideas.

 

Money Bags

We got this great game as a Christmas present. Monkey loves to play it.

I highly recommend this game if your kids are learning the value of money.  Coins in particular.

Here's the low down.
You roll the die to see how many spaces you move.  Then you can collect however much it says on that space.  But there is a twist....when you spin the spinner you might land on a coin that you are not able to use when counting out your change.  This is a great way to teach your child about coin value, how to count the coins and how to get the same amount of change using different types of coins.
In the end count up who has the most money, and you win!

Super great visual, hands on thinking game!

The hands on is a great thing for Monkey.  We've played it many times already and he's finally getting used to the coins at a quicker glance, and not getting so tripped up over the quarter and the nickle.  Always fun when you can learn while playing a game! :)

 

Vegetable Medley

So....this picture was taken after it was scooped out.  I didn't take a fancy picture on the plate.  But this is a ooey gooey wonderful veggie side dish!


Vegetable Medley

1 16 oz package frozen broccoli, carrots and cauliflower (I used broccoli and cauliflower) thawed and drained

1 can of cream of mushroom

1/2 c sour cream

1/4 t pepper

1 c cheddar cheese

1 (2.8 oz) can French-fried onions, divided

Directions

In a bowl, combine veggies, soup, sour cream, pepper and 1/2 c cheese.   Stir in half of onions, mix well.  Pour into an ungreased 1 qt casserole dish.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly.  Uncover; sprinkle with remaining cheese and onions.  Return to the oven until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

This was a new recipe I didn't make myself, but I did do the taste testing.
This recipe is courtesy of my Mother-in-Law.

Weekly Menu-7

Sunday
Lunch-Manicotti
Supper- Pop Corn

Monday
Lunch- Frozen Pizza
Supper- Fruity Chicken Stir-Fry

Tuesday
Lunch- Sloppy Jos
Supper- Taco Twists

Wednesday
Lunch- Peanut Butter & Jelly
Supper- Chicken Tortilla Soup

Thursday
Lunch- Pepperoni Pockets
Supper- Sausage & Penne Casserole

Friday
Lunch- Reubens
Supper- Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

Saturday
Lunch- Family Pasta
Supper- Philly Steak Sandwiches

Baked Ranch Chicken

2/3 cup ranch dressing
3 cups crushed cornflakes
1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
2-3 chicken breasts

Cut chicken breasts into medium size sections.

Dip chicken in the ranch dressing.

Mix the cornflakes, italian and garlic seasoning together.  Dip the ranch chicken in the cornflake mixture.

Place in the pan.
Bake at 375 for 35-50 minutes.  Or until thermometer comes out reading 170

Goes well with Mashed potatoes!


 

Letter V

Letter V File Folder!

Letter V Memory Verse:

“Verily, verily I say unto you, he that believeth upon Me hath everlasting life." John 6:47

Download them all here.  I posted it inside the file folder.

A-Z Collage Sheets.  Download here.  

I did both the capital and lowercase file.  

Plus printed the whole alphabet 2 up on a page to conserve. 
We put valentine heart stickers on our letter V!

 Letter hunt worksheets.  

I put this in a sheet protector so he could do this over again throughout the week.

A-Z Handwriting worksheets.  

I put them in a sheet protector so he can use the same sheet every day of the week!

 Valentine Matching Game.  Download the file here.

Print on plain paper and laminate.

 Matching the valentines by color.  Download the file here. 

I printed these 2 up to make them smaller.  

Then laminated them and cut them in half for him to match the colors.

 Capital/Lowercase Letter sort.  Download the file here.

I printed this 2 up to make it smaller.  Takes up less ink this way.

 Valentine Number match.  Download here.

I printed on plain paper and laminated.

 Valentine Size Sort.  Download the file here.

  Letter V Puzzle.  Download it here. (I used the A-Z large floor mats as puzzles)

This way it doesn't have the lines already in the file and you can cut it however you want.  I wanted to do atleast 8 pieces.  I might change it up to more or different shapes or something for a later puzzle...we will see!

 Valentine letter match.  Find the download here.
I do not use the wooden chips that she refers to. 

I just laminated them and that works just as well and is cheaper! :) 

 Roll a Valentine!  Download this file here.

  Valentine magnet page.  Find the download here.

We used our homemade pompom magnets for these.

 This was new this week.  We used the V that we already had printed, which we put our valentine stickers on.  I got these wooden blocks from hobby lobby, and had him place them on the picture.  

Just another way to have fun while learning how to shape the letter V!

 Letter V cutting practice page.  Download the file here.

Letter V poke it page!  

I made this file myself because I wanted all the letters in one file.

Download my poke it letter file here.  Take a thumb tack and poke the letter V.  

Practice with forming the letter V.  Make sure to do this while on the carpeted floor. :)

 Alphabet sorting folders.

Download the printable letter cards here.

Bean Bag Toss.

Have fun aiming for the letter V!

Read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom every day.  And at the end of the week put the letter V on your coconut tree!  I used the A-Z Collage Sheets.  Download here.  And I put them 4 up on a page so the letter would be small enough for them all to fit on our little coconut tree. 

Valentine coloring page.  Find the download here.

I took the picture before he had finished. :)

Letter V Scavenger Hunt.  Find the download here.

I didn't think we would be very successful in this scavenger hunt.  

We found a "Viper", vicks vapor rub, vaseline, a vulture, violet crayon, van, valentine stickers, vase, vinegar, vanilas, and a veggietales book.

We had to be a little creative but we did ok I thought.

We also made some valentine cards, and cut out hearts for a couple other activities.