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My Very Educated Mother 2020

3 Essential Considerations to Help Decide if Homeschooling is Right For You

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This past month I’ve been thinking a lot about homeschooling. I’ve questioned if we’re still making the right decision, reassessed curriculum choices, researched new subjects, and ordered new homeschool books. It’s an exciting time that reignites my love for learning, making it the best time to share my experiences and advice to those considering homeschooling. 
This is the deal! This is the real stuff you need to be thinking about if you are considering homeschooling! No water-downed or sugar coated info!


Whatever Your Reason to Homeschool


There are so many reasons you might be thinking about homeschooling. For our family it was a choice we made after many unsuccessful attempts to deal with bullying, and if I’m going to be honest it was something I’d wanted to do since my oldest was in kindergarten. During the five years we’ve been homeschooling we’ve met families who homeschool for religious reasons, behavior problems, for consistency (military families), or simply because they were homeschooled and it’s what they know and want for their kids. 

Whatever your reasons - there are still factors you need to take into consideration before you make this decision and they fall into three main categories: Energy - Time - Money. 
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Harry Potter Craft: Paper Owl Letter Carriers

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Just a quick message to remind you to be sure to get entered in the giveaway at the end of this post and follow the links to a treasure trove of creative Potter crafting Ideas. 

These super easy Harry Potter Owl Letter Holders make a great afternoon kids crafts.

Is your family Harry Potter fans? We are, and while we anxiously await the release of the next movie we're trying our hand at incorporating a little bit of the Wizarding World into our crafting!

Last year I had the pleasure of taking part in The Happy Harry Potter Party hosted by RaeGun Ramblings, were I shared my first Harry Potter craft Butter Bear Cork Necklaces. This year I decided to go with a more kid-friendly craft, Paper Owls Letter Carriers. 

Gather supplies and spend the afternoon making one of these super fun Harry Potter Owl Letter Holders!

Supplies

  • Paper (both patterened and colored)
  • Googly eyes
  • felt 
  • mini clothespins
  • glue stick
  • scissors
  • 2in scalloped paper punch (optional)

If you're going to making this project with younger kids I recommend cutting and gathering all the parts ahead of time. That means cutting out circles (I used a salad plate as a guide), triangle felt beaks, and feathers. For the feathers I used a 2 in. scalloped paper punch on a variety of patterned scrap paper. 

How to make a paper owl in four easy steps! Harry Potter Owl Letter Carriers

Step 1: Cut your paper into circles. If you'd like you could use paper plates and paint them for an extra bit of fun.

Step 2: Fold two sides of your paper circle down and then fold over the two closer corners you've created. Um, I'm sorry, that doesn't make sense, but if you look at the pictures you'll see what I mean. 

How to make a paper owl in four easy steps!

Step 3: Glue your felt triangle down so that it peeks out from your fold, and then glue the fold down.

Step 4: Add your eye tufts, googly eyes, feathers, and clothspin claws.

Having a Harry Potter Party? Here's a great idea for invitations!

That's all it takes to create your owl carrier. With a quick search you can find printable Hogwarts acceptance letters to send to your little witches and wizards. Plus, if you're hosting a Potter themed party this is a great way to deliver your invitations.

So easy to make and a fun way of delivering mail. Harry Potter Craft for Kids - Paper Owl Letter Carriers!

Harry Potter Craft for Kids - Paper Owl Letter Carriers! So easy to make and a fun way of delivering mail.

GIVEAWAY 

It's not a party without gifts! Here's one of the prize packs and all the amazing goodies in it! 
Be sure to get entered!


So many awesome Harry Potter gift ideas. Great for readers

 Prize Pack #2 See more about each prize and sponsor at this giveaway post and be sure to enter the other equally awesome prize pack while you're there! Winner must have a US address or be willing to pay for international shipping.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Camp Craft: Finger Woven Bracelets

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This year at Girl Scout camp we used old t-shirts to make these finger woven bracelets. The weaving method is easy to both learn and teach others, in fact many of the girls commented that they'd made them in art class. What I like about them the most is that they require very little supplies and/or time. 

Here's a super easy camp craft to try on your next scouting adventure, finger woven bracelets!

When you're out in the wilderness the last thing you want to do is lug along a bunch of crafting supplies or spend half the afternoon waiting for glue to dry. These bracelets can be made in as little as five minutes making them the quintessential Craft Lightning Camp Craft! 

Such an easy kids craft, perfect for making at scouts, camp, or in a group setting. Woven Bracelets

To begin you're going to need an old t-shirt and a pair of scissors. 

This easy kids craft upcycles old t-shirts into stylish bracelets.

Cut the shirt in strips about 1 1/2" wide, and snip them so that they are one long piece and not a loop.

upcycle old t-shirts into stylish bracelets with this fun kids craft.

Give them a little tug so that they curl up on the edges, and then you're ready to get started. 

Upcycle old t-shirts into stylish bracelets with this fun kids craft. Perfect for camp, scouting, or church groups.

The best way to show how to make these bracelets is with a video. 



During camp the girls worked in groups making their bracelets, and once they understood the weaving method many of them had theirs done in just a few minutes. I, being a southpaw, even managed to show the right-handed girls how to make them!

Use your old tshirts to create these fun bracelets with the kids. A great craft to make during scouts or camping!

I really love these things because you can easily customize their color and when you're out camping they make great arm sweat bands! 

A great craft to make during scouts or camping! Use your old tshirts to create these fun bracelets with the kids.

Click the image below for more fun Craft Lightning Scout Crafts. 


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Strawberry Cream Cheese Crumb Cake

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Strawberries can be sensitive fruit, and by that I mean they can go from looking scrumptious to questionable overnight. Unfortunately, most strawberry recipes call for berries at the peak of their perfection or at least presentable. Since I refuse to waste money, and food, throwing out produce just because it doesn’t necessarily look good, we end up with a lot of strawberry smoothies and milkshakes. 

A great recipe for overripe berries that don't look perfect, a strawberry and Cream Cheese Crumb Cake.


For the last few months TheKimSixFix has been hosting an Ultimate Recipe Challenge, and with strawberries being this month’s challenge ingredient I decided to share a recipe that makes use of strawberries slightly past their prime. (NOTE: If the berries have mold, don’t chance it-duh, throw them in the compost bin.)

I’m all about homemade goodies but when it comes to cake, eh, I stick with the boxed variety. Since this recipe has a few different components it made it much easier to use a mix. While we served it for an afternoon snack, I can image this being a great brunch or breakfast cake, served warm. Since this is a summer dessert I highly recommend storing it in the refrigerator to keep it fresh. 



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Let Kids Be Kids With an Outdoor Paint Station

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This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #Clean2TheCore #CollectiveBias
Let Kids Be Kids - Explore creativity at an outdoor painting station! Kids Activities kids crafts

I’m always looking for fun ways for the kids to let their hair down and create with wild abandon. So last week we set up an outdoor paint station with the sole purpose of letting kids be kids; giving them the opportunity to explore creatively and let their imaginations go. Sure, things got very messy, but with the cleaning power of all® POWERCORE™ Pacs you’d never know it.

Most of my kids have had mild sensory issues during their toddler years. Simply put, they hated getting messy. Currently, our littlest guy refuses to drink out of his cup if it’s wet on the outside. Donuts? No thanks, they make your fingers sticky. Meals are loads of fun at our house! 

Sometimes the creative process beckons us to get a little paint on our hands. Which is why it was important to me to start encouraging the little guy to get dirty. 
Use household utensils to let the kids explore their creative side!


What I love about setting up an outdoor paint station is that we weren’t making a ‘project,’ there are no expectations nor are we looking for a pretty picture to hang on the wall. This is all about exploring and enjoying the experience. 

To set up a station of your own follow these three easy tips! 

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