And We're Off...

....with a bang too! Check out our cool science experiment we did today on our first day back to school.

We made the can implode using only water. The girls thought it was so cool.

We participated in several swaps this summer and one of the swaps was a Sscience in a Bag swap. Swaps are so great because you get all you need for the given activity in the bag. You just read the directions and go. We got all kinds of fun stuff to do this year! It goes really great in our workboxes too. We're off to a good start.

(Here is a link to see the video)

Tuesday

What a great day today was! This morning the girls and I made Resurrection rolls.  It was very fun, and super messy. (I learned a couple of 'what not to do' tips for next time!)  Then the girls made some beautiful Easter cards for us to take to a nursing home.

Lucy is loving our new workbox deal so much, she actually cheered this morning looking over some of the things she got to do.  (Sigh)  I love that!

Then we went to the nursing home.  This is something I have wanted to do regularly with the girls for some time now and I finally got around to doing it. We went to see a sweet friend named Mrs. Jewell.  She directed my wedding and I cleaned her house for a about a year.  Mike also used to help her in her yard often.  It was such a sweet time to spend with her.  She is such a hoot and still has a quick wit about her.  

After that we went to the park and hung out a bit waiting for Mike to finish up some work. Then we found a letterbox made in honor of the very first Publix ever and came home for some dinner. The girls and I watched a Doughnut man video and now it's off to bed.

What I really wanted to share with you was about the Resurrection rolls we made today.  They tell the story of Jesus and an empty grave.  The girls and I made cute little bags to hand out to everyone at the nursing home today with a poem on them that Mike wrote for us last night.  It was really neat to be able to share a quick moment of Jesus with these sweet people.  Most were very appreciative.  

It was definitely out of my comfort zone to deliberately speak about Jesus to the people.  I didn't know them (and many couldn't hear me!) and sadly it's just not something that comes overly easy to me yet.  But, one of the things that Jesse our pastor is encouraging us to do is to have weekly appointments where we purposely share the gospel.  So this is where I am starting.  

Old people love kids, so I know that my rejection level will be low.  But I want it to be easier and easier for me to share the gospel with anyone at anytime.  So, for now, this is a safe 'practice' place.  Plus, I really have a heart for these people.  It makes me so sad at how many of them are just forgotten and how lonely they are.  It really blessed me today to see so many of them smile and respond to me and my girls. They were truly thankful for some company.  

It is my goal to go about once a month and creatively find ways for me (and my girls) to share the gospel and love on people. I know that somethings are taught and somethings are caught.  I hope my girls catch this because there is no higher calling than sharing the gospel.

 

The story of the roll is this:  The marshmallow represents Jesus, dipped in butter to represent the oil anointed on Him by Mary, then dipped in cinnamon and sugar representing the spices before his burial and wrapped in the bread - the grave.  After they are cooked, the marshmallow disappears (theoretically) and leaves an empty grave.

We learned that if you don't seal the tomb well, Jesus makes a mess!!

Mike's poem: We hope today this roll will bring the joy of Jesus Christ our king, peak inside at the empty grave and remember our Lord's Resurrection Day.  (Mike's so good!)

Lucy and Mrs. Jewell.

Workboxes

We are finishing up the first week of a new (to me) homeschool idea called workboxes.  A friend shared the idea with me and so far we really like it! It has really been fun and very helpful.  Lucy has been getting more work done in less time than usual.   And Booboo loves to see what's next. 

The basic gist of the idea is this: each daily assignment goes in it's own box.  But what makes this fun is you can really mix it up and throw in some cool stuff (that I've spent a bunch of money on and never seem to get around to) to mix up the day and add variety. 

The mom that came up with this system has an autistic child that needed more independence. But this works great for kids without autism too!  You can check out her website here.  Here are some other friends that are using this system. There was also a big discussion on the FIAR boards if your really interested.

So, this is what ours looks like.

This is Lucy's.

And here is Booboo's.

I didn't have the money for clear shoe boxes (like the book calls for) so I called some local Payless's and got all I needed and more for free! So far it seems really great and is a great help to the spring slump we were in around here. 

One of the fun things that Booboo get in her boxes is file folder games (which she LOVES). Here are a couple.

This one is an ABC match.

And this one is a color match.

She absolutely loves these and they are so easy to make.  They have been very helpful in keeping her preschool hands busy and I wish I'd found them sooner!  Here is a website for free ones and here is a great website for very reasonably priced ones. Lucy also has some that are for her grade level that she enjoys as well.

I'm so glad to have some variety AND a schedule. Workboxes are a great fit for us!