Homeschool Mother's Journal/Weekly Wrap-Up September 7

Monday was Labor Day.  It rained early on, so Kiddo #4 threw a dance party.  :-)  The weather cleared up in enough time for the kids to catch a swim.  We still had a BBQ even though it was getting dark.  :-)

Tuesday was definitely a needed teacher's inservice day for this mom, as I had much to organize and get ready since were on vacation until just a few days ago.  I thank Tracy from "A Slice of Smith Life" for her guest post on "Try a New Recipe Tuesday" this week.  Her Green Chocolate Smoothie looked good.  There were also a lot of other recipes shared.  Come check them out and link one up yourself, if you'd like.  It will be open until Monday night.

Our first day of school was Wednesday.  As I wrote about here, we had a great first day, complete with an IHOP breakfast and some special first day photos.

We have eased into our subjects, and will add more in next week, as Kiddos 1 and 2 will start their online classes in Algebra II, Apologetics and English.

On Wednesday, I posted about our visit last week to the Cape May County Zoo.  What a wonderful visit.  We actually got to see a bison calf that was born only hours before stand for the first time.  We were able to get some wonderful photos.  You can see them all here.

Kiddos 2, 3 and 4 started lessons with a new piano teacher on Thursday.  She is extraordinarily gifted and has a wonderful personality and worked well with them.  I look forward to the kiddos progressing under her tutelage.  Also on Thursday, classes started at church.  I am teaching 6th grade this year.  Kiddo #3 is actually in my class, lol, and Kiddo #4 has an amazing teacher this year.  I am so happy about it.  Kiddos 1 and 2 are volunteers and were very busy delivering books, workbooks, etc. to every class and collecting attendance and other paperwork.  I am proud of them!  :-)

Also on Thursday, it was my first week to be co-host of the "Hearts for Home" blog hop!  :-)  You can see and join the party here.

On Friday, after our schoolwork was completed, the kiddos painted some of the shells that we had bought from a store at the beach.  It was a fun way to end our week!

Yay!  We had a great first 3 days of school!

Linking up today with:  Homeschool Mother's Journal, Weekly Wrap-Up, NOBH, 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

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Field Trip Friday- September 7

It is time again for Field Trip Friday!  I love seeing all of the wonderful places that you visit with your families.  :-)  I am happy to be joining my friend Jen at Chestnut Grove Academy for her wonderful linkup.  Also co-hosting with me is Misty from Mimi's House.

This blog hop is designed to share 'FIELD TRIP' related blog posts (does not have to be a homeschool field trip.  It can be ANY trip to ANY place with your children!  :-)




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Thankful Thursday- September 5

On this day, I am thankful for a wonderful and fun first day of school on Wednesday. We started our day with a delicious breakfast at IHOP.

Followed by a local park for some special first day photos

and then back home for some work. (yep, even on the first day!)  ;-)

and what's all work with no play?  :-)

Linking up with ,Kay at Kay's Little Corner, ,Miscellany Monday, Raising Homemakers and Modest Mom and Raising Mighty Arrows,, Spilled Milkshake,Crafty Spices,  Mom's Monday Mingle, Monday Mingle, and Just the Stuff Ya Know , the Fontenot Four and A Sorta Fairytale and Family Fun Friday and TGIF Linky Party

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Hearts for Home Blog Hop

Welcome to the Hearts for Home Blog Hop!  I am thrilled to now be a co-host!     :-)

The most clicked on post from last week was:

Our Homeschool Spaces @ from the Mrs.

A few of my favorite posts were:

• Farm Animal Windsocks from Buggy and Buddy

• Homeschool Fall Bucket List with free printable from Upside Down Homeschooling

• Camping, Night Sky, Nature Center from Royal Little Lambs

Were you featured this week?  If so, congratulations and help yourself to one of our "I was featured" buttons to display on your blog.

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.upsidedownhomeschooling.com/hearts-for-home/" title="Hearts for Home Blog Hop" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r505/upsidedownhomeschool/HFHFeature_zpse5060e68.jpg" alt="Hearts for Home Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

 Are you ready to share your posts this week?  Let's go!  Use the form below to enter your links.  Posts can be anything that shows your heart is for your home: homeschooling, homemaking, parenting, marriage, faith, family, crafts, etc.  Please just kindly link back to this blog or display our Hearts for Home button in your post or on your sidebar.

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.upsidedownhomeschooling.com/hearts-for-home/" title="Hearts for Home Blog Hop" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r505/upsidedownhomeschool/HFH150_zpsf22ef64f.jpg" alt="Hearts for Home Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

 

Happy Hopping!  :-)



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Cape May County Zoo

Last week while still on vacation, we visited the Cape May County Zoo.  We try to get there every year.  Believe it or not, the entrance fee is by donation only and it is well worth whatever you choose to give.  The layout is SO unique.  There are literally boardwalks over many of the animal exhibits, so you get to walk through and over their habitats!  You have such a view and perspective as well as it being so very peaceful and beautiful.

Some very special "firsts" that we got to witness this year include: baby snow leopard cubs playing with their mom, a baby fawn basking in the sun, a snowy owl doing a peculiar dance around a tree, a lion literally roaring at us as he began to partake of his meat supper and the most amazing was that we got to witness a bison calf stand up for the first time!  It was born that very morning and we were there as it stood on its feet!  Wow!  Absolutely amazing and awe-inspiring for sure.

Linking up with: Judy H-J's Thoughts, Mama to 4 Blessings, Create with Joy, NOBH, Musings from a Stay at Home Mom, Tina's Wordless Wednesday,Judy @ CoffeeJitters and Wordless Wednesday at Wordless and  Living Well Wednesday, Modest Mom,  Homemaking Wednesdays and Crafty Spices, Look What We Did and Do Small Things With Love and Wordless Wednesday Bloggers and A Sorta Fairytale and Field Trip Friday and Wildlife Wednesday


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Try a New Recipe Tuesday- September 3

It is September already!  :-)  We just came back from vacation on Saturday (hope you were able to read some of the posts!), so I am lucky to have Tracy guest posting for me today!  She blogs at A Slice of Smith Life.  Be sure to visit her!

For Lisa's "Try a New Recipe Tuesday" Link Up at her blog , Home to 4 Kiddos, I thought I would share my Chocolate Green Smoothie recipe that a friend of mine passed on to me.  This smoothie is what I usually eat drink for breakfast every morning. 


The great thing about smoothies is that you can add or take away ingredients and come up with your own taste, but I will share the one I enjoy most in hopes it will be something you may be interested in trying.

Disclaimer:  I LOVE this smoothie, but after my husband and "cupcakes" tried it they do not like it :-(  They are missing out on a great taste and excellent nutritional benefits too.  Maybe one day they will grow to like it! And maybe your family will be brave enough to try it and like it! :) 

In a blender put in:

* 1 cup of unsweetened Almond milk
* 1-2 cups water, depending on how thick or runny you want the smoothie
* 1 handful of organic spinach leaves
* 1-2 cups of frozen fruit (I like to use the bag of frozen mixed fruit and the bag of wild organic blueberries from Costco for my frozen fruit.)
* 1 scoop of Whey Protein Isolate that I buy HERE from Amazon 
* 1 Tablespoon of Organic Golden Flax Seed that I get from Costco
* 1 Tablespoon of Chia Seeds that I get from Costco
* 1-2 scoops of Stevia Natural Sweetener that I buy HERE from Amazon.  (If you have never used Stevia before, a VERY little goes a long way!  There are over 2,000 servings in the little bottle of Stevia pictured above.) 
* 1 Tablespoon Unsweetened Hershey's Cocoa  (Use the Cocoa if you want a chocolate flavor smoothie, which I always enjoy)

Blend all ingredients together and enjoy!  If your blender mixes the ingredients well enough, you will not be able to taste the spinach leaves and the smoothie will be...well, smooth!

Here's a close up shot of all the ingredients before I blend them together...

...And here's the Chocolate Green Smoothie after the blender goes to work.

It may be a taste you have to get used to, but it really is yummy and tastes like a chocolate shake to me without the guilt and filled with great nutrition!  

I am a Catholic homeschool mom of 5 whose one of many passions is creating and decorating birthday cakes for my children, who are affectionately called "cupcakes" on my blog, A Slice of Smith Life.  My blog is also a way for me to document other areas of my life that are important to me like my faith, family, and homeschooling.  

Lisa here.  Thanks SO much Tracy!  Here are today's features:

Fruit Smoothies from Claire Justineoxox

Chicken Parmesan in the Crockpot from Cooking the Recipe

Eating the Americas- Argentina and Bolivia from Homeschool Coffee Break

Sopa De Quinoa from Feeding Big

Italian Chicken and Broccoli Casserole at Good Work Academy

Linking up with the Gathering Spot, Kids in the Kitchen, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Mighty Arrows,Addicted to Recipes, Homemaking Wednesdays, Living Well Wednesday,NOBH, Judy H-J's Thoughts, 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 Mondays with Countrified Hicks 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

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HUGE Labor Day Sale at A+ Interactive Math

affiliate link included

 A+ Interactive Math knows what it means to work hard.  They understand the sacrifices made by homeschool families to ensure our children get the best education possible.  They offer special discounts and sales throughout the year to help you afford the best math program available.

This Labor Day, they are honoring you!  They are providing our online comprehensive math curriculum for 50% off the original price. (Regularly $124.99- Now only $62.50)

Includes easy to follow, animated video lessons, with interactive quizzes, worksheets for practice and online grading.  The A+ program does the teaching for you, yet allows parents to have as little or as much control and interaction as desired.  Get the details about the A+ Interactive online math here.

There is more:

You can apply my affiliate code, MOMMYOF4 to your 50% off purchase to gain an ADDITIONAL 20% off a full year of math curriculum for ONLY $50!

Enter the code at check out to get your additional 20% savings!

Sale begins at midnight on Labor Day and goes through the following midnight- 12 a.m. (September 2nd through September 3rd)


      1 day only!

 Already purchased A+ Interactive math for this year?

 You can still take advantage of this "best price of the year" offer

 and they will extend your access for another year of A+ Interactive Math curriculum.

FREE Labor Day
printables

Addition & Subtraction math cards for little ones to practice their math facts.  On the blog here ready for download.


See my review of A+ Interactive Math here.  My daughter and son really enjoyed it!  It is a wonderful, hands-on, engaging curriculum for ages through high school.  If you have been considering purchasing it, now would be the time with this substantial discount!

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