March Reading Wrap Up | 2020

This month has been so crazy and I know I'm not the only one who feels the same way. I started the month out strong but as things progressed in our world I found it hard to focus on anything but the news. All of that aside, I feel I had a great month of reading. In this post, I will give the title to each book and a star rating. If you would like to hear my thoughts then you can check out my IGTV.

This post includes Amazon affiliate links. This means if you use my link to make a purchase then I will make some money that will probably be used to buy more books. haha.

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

 

 

 

 

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

 

 

 

The Jabberwocky Princess by Cece Louise

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

Thanks so much for stopping by. Don't forget to go and check out Homework and Horseplay's reading wrap up.

5 Easy Ways to Keep Kids Busy

With schools all over the US closing for the next few weeks, I thought I would share some things I do to keep my kids busy at home. If you are new here, hello! My name is Amanda and I homeschool my 5 kids. Over the last 4yrs, I have had to learn how to keep my kids busy and add in educational elements to their day. I am sharing those ideas with you in hopes that you will find these beneficial. After you read my ideas go visit Homework and Horseplay for more ideas!



This post contains affiliate links. This means if you purchase something I make some money and maybe I can buy myself some new books. (Because you can't ever have enough books)

Ideas To Keep Kids Busy

Poetry Tea Time:

This is an activity my kids love doing. We gather at the table and read poems. My kids especially love silly poems and riddles. We don't have tea since no one here likes it but we do eat treats. You can find lots of poems online for free. My kids are very fond of Shel Silverstein's poetry books.

Sensory Bins:

Sensory bins are a great way to keep kids busy with their hands. There are so many different ideas on Pinterest for sensory bins. You can make these as simple or as extravagant as you'd like. Fill a bin with rice and add in measuring cups and spoons. You can also fill a bin with some water and soap to make a little car wash or a bath for dinosaurs.

Library:

If your local library isn't closed I highly encourage you to check out some books. My local library allows you to request books online and they send an email when they are ready to be picked up. Grab up some books that interest your kids and you can also check out DVDs.

Plan a unit study:

This might sound like a lot of work but it isn't and it goes along with using the library. My kids are currently learning about the US Constitution. I checked out lots of different books for them as well as a DVD. We will read these books over a span of a few days and end it with watching the DVD. You can pick any topic for a unit study. Some ideas can be learning about germs, dinosaurs, trains, animals, weather, different countries or states, space, and anything else that you think would interest your child. You can also ask what they are currently learning about in school and check out books on those subjects. Our family especially love the What Was books. I will link some below.

Play Outside:

If the weather is nice where you are this will probably be a no brainer to play outside. If your kids are like mine they will also get bored being outside. Over the years I have found some ways to keep my kids entertained outside. One game we all love is the Go Find it game. Each kid picks a card and they have to find something in nature that goes with the card. On the cards will be words like soft, small, bumpy, or green. It's fun to see what the find. We also take little nature walks and the kids can search for something interesting. When we get back home I have them draw a picture of what they found and we look up information about whatever it is that they find. They really love doing this.

Here are some bonus ideas!!

• Write letters or color pictures for those in nursing homes
• Bake
• Spring Cleaning
• Hide and seek inside with lights off
• Watch old Disney favorite movies
• Dance Party to 90's music
• Build a fort
• Look through old pictures
• Make sock puppets
• Read chapter books aloud
  
  
  
  

  I hope you have found these ideas helpful. If you have more ideas add them in the comments below. Make sure to check out Homework and Horseplay for more ideas!
  
  

Teaching My Toddler Colors

It's time to teach my toddler her colors. We have been slowly talking to her more about colors by simply pointing out colors in her books. I want to take it up a notch since she is very interested in colors at the moment. In this post, I am going to share with you some simple ways I am teaching my toddler her colors.

Keeping It Simple

I believe that keeping things simple is best. We started to look at different colors in her books with her and pointing out the different ones. In real life, she started to point out colors and incorrectly naming them. This is when I knew it was time to introduce some other ways of learning her colors. I still am keeping things simple for her but we did add some inexpensive items to help her learn.

Teaching Colors

One of the first things I did was start to look at different hands-on items for her to use. I was so happy when Timberdoodle offered me this Dimpl Duo in exchange for a review. I jumped on the opportunity because this is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for.

This hands-on toy offers not only colors but shapes as well. One side has just colors and the other has both colors and shapes. The buttons here are made with food-grade silicone and even include Braile on either side. It's not only great for learning colors and shapes but it's also wonderful for those fine motor skills. To learn more about this product, click here!

I love this for my toddler because it offers a quiet activity for her. Her older siblings also like to help her use it and she is learning her colors very fast. This is a great product to have in any home with a toddler.

In addition to the Dimpl Duo I also bought her flashcards from Dollar Tree. We play simple games with them that she enjoys. Here are some ideas.



1. I hand her the cards after she repeats the color and she lays them on the floor
2. I have her try and find the color that is on the floor
3. We go around the house with one of the flashcards trying to find the color that we have

There are so many wonderful ideas and games you can play when teaching colors. Keep it simple and keep it fun, you'll be surprised by how fast they learn.

February Reading Wrap Up | 2020

February went by so fast and I didn't get as much reading done as I would have liked. I read 4 books and didn't finish 1 book. You can see my video on IGTV where I will be going more in-depth about the books I read. In this post, I will be sharing the title of the books and a star rating from 1 to 5, 5 being the best.

February Reading Wrap Up

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord

⭐⭐⭐

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

 ⭐⭐⭐

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoy these reading wrap-ups as much as I love making them for you. If you want to know my thoughts on these books check out my IGTV here. Also, go check out Homework and Horesplays reading wrap up over on her blog.  See you next time!