Weekly Wrap-Up/My Week in Review/THMJ- September 28

It was a busy week!

On Wednesday, we attended the Homeschool Day at Graeme Park.  The main house on the property, the Keith House, was built by PA Governor Keith in 1722.  The property was purchased by the Governor's daughter and son-in-law, Dr. Thomas Graeme.  Dr. Graeme was a respected doctor, justice of the PA Supreme Court and port physician for Philadelphia.  The home entertained patriots, politicians and many of our founding fathers.  It also served as an encampment for our troops during two battles of the Revolutionary War.  We toured the mansion, "joined" the militia, saw colonial craftsmen, did some fishing 18th century style and played colonial games.  What a fun afternoon!

On Thursday, we headed down to Bethany Beach, DE.  We visit every year as Kiddo #1 and hubby attend the NASCAR race.  We stay at a military base close by to the beach.  Since it was raining when we arrived and couldn't do anything outside, we headed for the base gym.

On Friday, the kiddos got some outdoor play time in before Kiddo #1 and hubby left for the racetrack for the K and N race.  The rest of us visited the Nature Center trails, strolled the boardwalk, visited an arcade and played some miniature golf.

On Saturday, we did something we have never done before-- went for a dolphin/whale watching boat ride.  While there were no whales to be seen, there were SO many dolphins.  They seemed to enjoy entertaining us, flipping their tails, jumping high into the air and trying to race our boat.  What an amazing sight.  The pictures do not do it justice.  By the time you grab the camera, the dolphin has already gone back under the water.   They are such incredible and graceful creatures!  On the way back to Bethany from Lewes (the town from which the boat tours leave), we found a church to attend that was quite nice.

As Kiddo #1 and hubby headed to the main race on Sunday, we all went to the beach.  What perfect beach weather.  Who would have thought that the last Sunday in September would find a crowded beach on a warm and sunny day?  :-)

Tomorrow (Monday), we are heading to Assateague to see the wild horses!  I can't wait.  Last year, they came right over to our car and were everywhere we looked.  Hope we can see them like that again.  Stay tuned for more posts as we have a couple more days of our long-weekend adventure!

Linking up today with:  My Week in Review,  Homeschool Mother's Journal, Weekly Wrap-Up, Show-Off Friday, Learn and Link and It's a Wrap, Friendship Friday and Friday Connection and Family Fun Friday and T.G.I.F. Linky Party and Let's Homeschool High School and This Week and Collage Friday

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My Week in Review- #6

We are in Bethany Beach, DE for a long weekend, so my post will go up in a couple of days so I can share some photos!  :-)  Come check back.

An InLinkz Link-up

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Try a New Recipe Tuesday- September 23

It is time for another week of recipe sharing!  :-)

There was a tie again last week for most-read post.  They are:

Kickin' Chicken Pasta Recipe from Practical Princess Diaries

Dehydrating Cinnamon Apples from Home to 4 Kiddos

No new recipes tried here this week, but I am sharing an old favorite in the first spot below.  It is perfect for the upcoming fall weather.  So, come check out my "Shipwreck Casserole."  :-)

An InLinkz Link-up

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My Week in Review/Weekly Wrap-Up/THMJ- September 20

What a great week!     :-)

On Monday, Kiddo #4 finished a net bag she made for her big brother for his kickboxing class.  It easily fits his gloves and other equipment.

She also helped us in canning many pints of carrots.

I want to thank everyone for all of the birthday wishes on FB, G+ and other media.  I really appreciate them!  What a special day.  My hubby and I took the kiddos to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.  For those of you who aren't familiar with this amazing science museum, it is the most visited museum in the state.  Here is their website if you would like to learn more.  We climbed aboard a train from the 1920's, climbed through a neural net, viewed "Our Sky Tonight" in the Planetarium, watched "Born to Be Wild" in the IMAX theater (5 stories high and 70 feet wide!), conducted all kinds of experiments, flew in a flight simulator, rode the SkyBike and so much more!

(1) is the train, (2) is the neural net,

(3) is a photo of us together at lunchtime and (4) is aboard the flight simulator.     :-)

(1) is the IMAX film, (2) is conducting an experiment and (3/4) are up on the SkyBike.

I also enjoyed seeing some artifacts that belonged to Benjamin Franklin (1).  My kids always love seeing Focault's pendulum (2).  It moves only with the movement of the earth!

My parents took us out to dinner and we came home to cake and more celebrating. (3/4)  A great day, indeed!  :-)

In between celebrating and field trips, there was work going on, including Kiddo #1's first week in a college class.  There is much reading and writing required and he has his first quiz due on Monday night.  Say a prayer for him.  He'd appreciate it!  :-)

Speaking of field trips, we were lucky enough to go on two special ones this week.  On Friday, Cherry Crest Adventure Farm in Lancaster County, PA had one of their homeschool days.  What a wonderful place filled with wholesome, hands-on entertainment.  We spent the day with our dear friends and got to meet other friends in person for the first time.  You name it, the farm has it-- all kinds of games, animals and even a 5 acre corn maze!

Huge slides and games of all kinds!

more games and a perfect view of the train

a newborn calf and pedal powered go-karts

Some scenes from the corn maze (yes, the piano was IN the corn maze, along with all kinds of other entertainment, a snack bar and more!)  and a goat from the petting zoo

In front of a covered wagon, petting zoo and 4-day old baby chicks!

As you can see, this family-centered farm was much fun for all of us.  This was our second year and we look forward to making it a an annual tradition!  :-)

I hope you and your family had a wonderful week and wish you nothing but the best in the weekend to come!  God bless!  

My posts this week:

My Week in Review Linkup (come share your posts!)

TOS Review: My Student Logbook

Try a New Recipe Tuesday (do you have a recipe to share?)

Dehydrating Cinnamon Apples

Linking up today with:  My Week in Review,  Homeschool Mother's Journal, Weekly Wrap-Up, Show-Off Friday, Learn and Link and It's a Wrap, Friendship Friday and Friday Connection and Family Fun Friday and T.G.I.F. Linky Party and Let's Homeschool High School and This Week and Collage Friday

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My Week in Review #5

I can't believe 5 weeks have gone by since the very first week of My Week in Review!  :-)

My family and I are going to the Cherry Crest Adventure Farm on Friday, so I will wait until Saturday to publish my post.  Hope you can come by and see it!     :-)

An InLinkz Link-up

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TOS Review: My Student Logbook

Today I am reviewing a butterfly My Student Logbook from My Student Logbook.

What is a student logbook?  It is for the student-- a book for them to keep them organized and on task with their studies.  The idea is so simple, but it works!  This spiral bound planner, geared for grades 2 and up, is available in dated and undated versions.  There is a flap with a checklist that the parent/teacher fills out with what the student is working on.  This is a reusable checklist that can move from week to week!  And, if there are all different subjects or projects in a subsequent week, there are plenty of additional checklists!  :-)

I wrote out subjects, specific assignments, activities and chores.  Some of these occur daily, some bi-weekly and some weekly.

There is also a time column in which the parent can write either what time each task is to be done, or how time the task should take.  There is ample space for notes, which would be helpful for additional information, assignment explanations, reminders, or encouragement notes to your child.

I have tried many planners in the past and have found them to be laborious, cumbersome and more work than benefit.  I would start out gangbusters, but never continue.  Not My Student Logbook. This is a simple, but brilliant system that gave my daughter a sense of independence and accomplishment. She knows, just by glancing at it, what my expectations are for the week and she can pace herself accordingly.  And, she just loves the pretty butterflies.  :-)

Also included in the planner are scheduling suggestions, blank log sheets for the entire school year and logs for field trips, books read and even hints for creating a high school transcript.

There are many different covers available (as you can see above, my daughter chose the butterflies). They include the butterflies, dinosaurs, sea life, jets, rainforest, freedom, planets, golden vines and vintage map.

My Student Logbook was created when Corina Abbott was expecting their 7th child.  She was homeschooling four of the older children at the time.  We all know how overwhelming that can be! Not satisfied with other planners (as I have not been) and decided to make her own.

These versatile and helpful planners are available for:

PDF: ($10-$20)

Printed spiral bound (what I received):  $15 plus $5 flat rate shipping

Here is Corina showing everything that is included in a My Student Logbook

To find My Student Logbook online:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/MyStudentLogbook
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMxzpy91vov8a8nDpyp2ihQ

To read what my colleagues on the crew had to say about My Student Logbook, click on the logo below:

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Try a New Recipe Tuesday- September 16

It is time for another week of sharing your recipes!

In the first spot below, you can find my Dehydrating Cinnamon Apples post.  What a delicious and easy recipe that is healthy, too!  Come check it out!  :-)

There was a tie for the most viewed post from last week's hop.  The two posts are:

Canning Peaches from Home to 4 Kiddos

and

Food that Kids Will Love to Make and Eat from Natural Beach Living

An InLinkz Link-up

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Dehydrating Cinnamon Apples

I have canned cinnamon apples many times (super yummy!), but had never tried dehydrating them until this past week.

Oh my goodness, what a delicious snack surprise!  (and a healthy one, too)  They taste just like candy.  :-)

First, I sliced the apples pretty thin and put the slices in a bowl of water and Fruit Fresh so they wouldn't brown. (photo 1)

After all of the slices were cut and in the solution, I took them out, dried them and sprinkled cinnamon on either side. (photo 2)

I laid the slices in the dehydrator, making sure that there was plenty of space in between each slice so air could circulate well. (photo 3)

Mine were in the dehydrator (145 degrees) for about 17 hours.  You can check them anywhere between 15 and 18 hours.

Enjoy! (Photo 4)

 We sure did!  :-)


Linking up with the Gathering Spot, Kids in the Kitchen, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Mighty Arrows,Addicted to Recipes, Homemaking Wednesdays, Living Well Wednesday,NOBH, Claire Justine, Wisdom Wednesday , Favorite Things, Modest Mom, Full Plate Thursday and Melt in your Mouth Monday and Show Off Friday and Tuesday's Table and Look What We Did and Titus 2sday,  Mom's Monday Mingle, Monday Mingle, Crafty Spices, Better Mom,Create with Joy, Thursday's Treasures, Tasty Thursdays and Wonderful Food Wednesday and  Tuesday How to Party and the Tried and True Recipe Party and Kids and Mom in the Kitchen and Family Fun Friday and Clever Chicks Blog Hop andAll My Bloggy Friends and Hearts for Home Blog Hop and Foodie Friends Friday and Family Fun Friday and TGIF Linky Party and Food on Friday andHip Homeschool Moms, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home andGood Tastes Tuesday and Thriving Thursday and Friday Flash Blog Hop and Munching Mondays.

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My Week in Review/Weekly Wrap-Up/THMJ- 9/12

Can't believe another week has gone by already!

On Saturday, we had our first 4-H meeting of the new year.  The kids got to work on a community service project of making no-sew blankets for chemotherapy patients.

It was a busy week with schoolwork, online classes, classes at church, Taekwondo, Kickboxing, doctor's appointments and we even squeezed in some canning and dehydrating.  Phew!

On Thursday, 9/11, I discussed with my children the events of that day- a day they were too young (or not even born!) to remember.  Kiddos #1 and 2 were toddlers and I was 6 months pregnant with Kiddo #3.  It started as a special day, being Kiddo #1's first morning of preschool.  Kiddo #2 and I were just sitting down to watch Sesame Street when the phone rang.  My dad told me to change the channel to the news.  As I watched the events unfold live, I, like everyone else viewing the horror, was profoundly affected.  How can anyone see those things happen right before your eyes and not be?  I will never forget those images the rest of my life.  I grieved, not only for the enormous loss of life, but for my children.  I knew the world that I grew up in was gone and that the world they would live in would be so very different.  How can a mother not fear for her young (and unborn) children, knowing that we would go to war, knowing that my husband would probably be deployed (he was a little over a year later).  So many thoughts and fears and prayers.  The emotions were just as raw as I saw the footage again.  But, I needed to see it.  We need to remember. We need our children to know not only what was lost that day, but what incredible heroism, sacrifice and goodness is in the heart of ordinary Americans in the midst of tragedy.

I wrote a tribute post that I would love for you to read.  It is short and to the point, but I think it will touch your heart.  You can read it here.

Some of the things the younger kiddos are working on this week include a Zoo lapbook (not only about zoos in general, but about the zoo we visited last month while at the beach.)

Kiddo #2 is enjoying his ASL class and Kiddo #1 is looking forward to his college class that begins this Monday!

Our garden is still producing!  We have peppers, eggplant and lots of tomatoes still growing:

On Friday, I took the kids to a local park.  It is a gated and secured park (which I love!) for residents of our township.  It has hundreds of acres and includes all kinds of game fields, fishing, biking, hiking, camping, golf, miniature golf and more.  It is truly a treasure!  I had forgotten all about it until today and thought it would make a nice surprise outing.

At first, the kiddos played some kickball.  After the game, we headed out on the trail.  We saw a young man catch a 9 pound fish on our journey.  How wonderful to be surrounded by only the sounds of our footsteps, crickets and the birds.  There were trees as far as the eye could see.  Very peaceful. The weather was just perfect in the 70s for our outing.

We ended the afternoon with a Rita's water-ice treat.  :-)

My posts this week:

Canning Peaches

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Never Forget

Hearts for Home Blog Hop

My Week in Review

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!  :-)

Linking up today with:  My Week in Review,  Homeschool Mother's Journal, Weekly Wrap-Up, Show-Off Friday, Learn and Link and It's a Wrap, Friendship Friday and Friday Connection and Family Fun Friday and T.G.I.F. Linky Party and Let's Homeschool High School and This Week and Collage Friday

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My Week in Review #4

It's that time again!  How was your week?

I am planning a surprise for my Kiddos for tomorrow (Friday) and since they read my blog, I won't mention it here, lol, but I will wait to post My Week in Review until Saturday so I can share photos from our adventure.  :-)  Hope you'll come back and check it out.

An InLinkz Link-up

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Never Forget

Do not ever forget.

Do not forget those who lost their lives.  Do not forget those who sacrificed their lives to try to help others.  Do not forget that the hatred perpetrated on that day continues and that these people will never rest until our nation, and what it stands for, are wiped from the Earth.

We will be victorious if we do not allow our country to falter, if we do not allow her to ever forget her reason for being on this Earth, the mission given to us by the founders-- to live the principles upon which they began this nation, the very principles that have inspired countless people and nations for over two hundred years.....

This country, the ultimate "experiment" in liberty has endured, and will continue to endure if we undertake the enormous responsibility given to us by the founders-- to not let anyone, foreign or domestic, remove from our memories the truths of this great nation's history, founding and mission; that we strive to defend the liberties given to us by our Creator against those who not only wish to fundamentally change our country, but contribute to her demise.  Let us turn toward our Creator, not away from Him.  He inspired our founders to greatness and will continue to do so in us if only we ask it of Him.  Our nation has turned away from Him, but just as in the story of the Prodigal Son, He will welcome us home with open arms and mercy beyond all telling.....

May God bless each of us and may He bless America always.




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Hearts for Home Blog Hop- 9/11

It is time for another wonderful week of post sharing about all things home!  :-)

The most viewed post from last week was:

Passionate Physical Love from Soul Survival

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.marriagemotherhoodandmissions.com/hearts-for-home-blog-hop-hosts/" title="Hearts for Home Blog Hop" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.marriagemotherhoodandmissions.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/CoHostH4HButton300x300.jpg" alt="Hearts for Home Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

 

An InLinkz Link-up

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Try a New Recipe Tuesday- 9/9

Welcome to another week of recipe sharing!  Can't wait to see all of the delicious recipes and ideas!

We have been doing some canning here at the Home to 4 Kiddos.  Check in the first spot below for my Canning Peaches post.  I give step by step instructions for those who are interested in trying their hand at preserving.  It isn't difficult at all!  :-)

The most viewed post from last week's hop was:

Twix Truffle Brownies from Olla-Podrida

An InLinkz Link-up

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