Views of Beryl from Central Georgia

One thing I dearly love is watching the clouds in the sky.  I am always amazed by God's beauty and majesty in the skies.  I have recently discovered how much I love to capture the beauty with my camera.  I am also terribly afraid of bad weather.  Somehow, taking pictures of a storm moving in tends to calm me.  This week tropical storm Beryl came ashore.  I am a long way away from it, but we did get some wind, clouds, and rain from the outermost bands.  There was no bad weather, but I thought the sky was beautiful.  I just thought I would share my view of the storm from my home in central Georgia on the evening of May 28.

The lens had started fogging over after being brought out of
the air conditioned house.  I thought it made the picture look
neat.

The moon in the beautiful blue sky peeking through the clouds
at sunset.

Until we meet again, may you be blessed!

Sight Word Book 1 is Here!

It is finally here!  The perfectionist in me caused me to put this project off for a while, but I finally tackled the project and got it done!  True to anything I type, I did find an error in it.  :(  I'm sure you'll spot it easily.  How I didn't catch it is beyond my understanding, but what in life is perfect?  ;)  I didn't take pictures of all the pages in the book, but I think you can get a good feel for the book from the few pictures I did take.  Before I show you the activities to go with the book you must promise not to laugh at my lack of artistic skills!  :)

Just for fun, I added some pages to the end that make this book look like a real book.  After I got the book in the mail, I realized that the suggestions would actually be really good for someone else who might find themselves reading the book to Jacob.

These are sight words from the Dolch Sight Word list that
students learn in school.  This list covers the first set of words
plus a few extra taught in kindergarten at the school in whch
I used to teach.  Each new book will build upon and reinforce
the words learned in the previous book.

Can you believe I didn't catch that?  It still boggles my mind
that one can read something so many times and never see a
mistake like that!  :)
 

Please keep in mind, that this book and the others that follow are to use when my son is older.  He is just now showing signs of really wanting to learn.  He is still in the letters and sounds stage. 

This is the latest sight word activity I've made to go along with this book.  These aren't all of them.  I just picked a few to photograph.  It is very rough in form, but Jacob likes it. He is still too young to read the words, but finding and naming the letters is like a puzzle for him.  Each time he works on this activity and others listed in the book, he is building pre-reading skills.  He is not quite four yet.  Him being able to read the book is not my goal at this point.  My goal is for him to learn that letters have meaning.  Letters have sounds, and when thoses sounds are put together, words are formed.  I also want him to have fun while learning.  When he has found all the letters for a word, we do sound it out and say the word together.  He feels like such a big boy and gives the biggest smile!  If you want to do this with your child, I would recommend using clear contact paper to laminate the cards to keep them from getting torn up so easily.

There is no one right way to play this.  I let Jacob choose
which word he wants to do.  Most of the time, I do have him
start at the beginning of the word and find the letters in order
to help him learn that when we read and sound out words, we
track from left to right.  Of course, he sneaks in other letters
out of order sometimes; he's three-years-old!

Okay, this is where you promise not to laugh!  This is a book anyone can do at home.  I did this to show you, you don't have to have a lot of money and be really fancy with materials when you teach.  The only reason I made a real book is because I have tons of pictures that go to waste if I don't find something creative to do with them.  My books are keepsakes for my children.  I just thought I would kill two birds with one stone.  The only materials you need to make the book is some white paper, a pen, and a stapler.  To make the book, decide what sentences you want to use.  Cut out one square for every sentence, unless you want to put a sentence on the front and back of each square.  Print one sentence on each square.  When all your squares are finished, staple them together along one side to make a book.  When I did this book, I actually made a handwriting component within the book.  For each sight word, the child can trace the letters to write the word.

I heard that!  These are just a few of the pages.  If you are like me and don't like your drawings, you can always use magazine pictures or pictures printed from your computer or internet.  Jake likes laughing at my pictures, though.  I guess I will keep them to hear him giggle!

You are always welcomed to email me with questions about an activity.  I will do my best to help.  I know other readers and I would also love to hear your favorite activities that you use with your children.  I look foward to hearing them!

Until we meet again, may you be blessed!

Happy Birthday!

My sister has always made Alissa's cakes, but
this year was extra special for my sister since
she has recently opened her bakery.

Today was my precious little girl's birthday.  I simply cannot believe she is seven-years-old!  She is such a blessing to me!  We celebrated her birthday with a few of her friends that came to her birthday party yesterday.  It will probably be her last party (sniffle, sniffle).  We have discussed that for future birthdays we will probably just celebrate at home, letting her ask a couple of friends to come and play.  She seemed to be just as happy with that idea.  Since today was her actual birthday, I let her take a break from school work.

Tomorrow will also be a light school work day since we will be going to pick up my husband's truck from the shop.   (It's a good thing Alissa's first grade year is officially over!)  Bill has promised to take us to Lane's peach packing plant on the way home.  I am so excited!  We have lived here for over three years, and I've been wanting to go there for a family outing since we moved in.  It is a neat little place with tours of the plant, homemade peach ice cream (very important here in Georgia!), a little store, and a play area for the children.  I hope we have fun!  I think I need to go researh how to can peaches and make peach preserves!  I see a peach cobbler in my future tomorrow evening!

Until we meet again, may you be blessed!

Weeds and Large Lima Beans

Today began with my normal animal feedings, but when the children decided they wanted to play on the swing set on the beautiful morning we had, I decided to do some heavy duty work in the flower beds.  Rainy and windy days have caused the weeds to go crazy!  I normally like to control weeds with vinegar, but because of very windy and rainy days, I haven't been able to spray enough to keep the weeds at bay.  We finally had a calm day earlier in the week and Bill had to use the chemicals.  Ugh!  There was just no getting around it.  The vinegar had just not been enough to kill them, and I couldn't pull them fast enough.  I'm telling you, these weeds are rainforest-worthy!  I've never seen such!

This morning I tackled what Bill had not been able to spray, and I started cutting back or dead-heading all the plants that bloomed earlier in the spring.  I took a quick break to get supper in the crock pot.  Before I finished with that, Bill got up from bed (He's a truck driver and has crazy hours.) and asked if we wanted to go to Thomaston with him while he ran a few errands.  Of course, after not spending any quality time with him for so long, we said yes!  We went and enjoyed lunch together and ran errands.  Upon returning home, the children wanted to play in the pool so I worked on the weeds some more.  I cleared out the grass that had crept up around my tomato and bell pepper plants, and then I finished what I had started earlier this morning.

Oh, yes!  I almost forgot one of the most exciting parts of my day!  While we were out, I was finally able to find some English Lavender plants!!!  I am so excited!  I have wanted lavender plants for years.  If the store still has some plants left when I go shopping next week, I plan to get more.  I had just done some research a couple of days ago on the types and uses for lavender.  When I got through with my weeding and pruning, Bill dug up one of my miniature gardenias that has been sick for a while and we planted the lavender in its place.  I can't wait for them to bloom!

Add all that to the fact that I was able to get 2 white flour sack kitchen towels and lavender scent fabric softener, and I am one excited lady!  It doesn't take much to make me happy!  :)

So, on to a new recipe!  This has to be one of the easiest meals to prepare!  We call it beans and sausage.  :)  To make this recipe you need a crockpot, a large bag of large lima beans that have been soaked overnight, a large onion that has been chopped, one pack of polska kielbasa that has been sliced, and one can of cream of celery soup.  If you don't like to use canned soups, you need two stalks of celery and your favorite cream soup recipe.

Place the soaked beans in the crockpot.  I use the soaking water in the crockpot, too.  Add in the chopped onion, sliced kielbasa, and four cups on water.  If you are not using canned soup, you also need to add in the chopped celery. 

Put the lid on the crockpot and cook the beans and sausage on low for about 6 hours or until beans are done. 

When the beans are done, stir in the soup, and let the beans sit for a few minutes before serving.  If you really want your taste buds to do a happy dance, serve the beans and sausage with Mexican style cornbread.  Yum!  Try it!  You might like it!  :)

Until we meet again, may you be blessed!

Thanksgiving Craft for Children

My heart was heavy tonight, so I got my hands busy to keep from dwelling upon negative emotions and thoughts.  I wish the project had been a little more tedious and had taken a little longer!  :)  Since it didn't, I decided to do a blog post about the project.

This is a project I started last November when I was teaching my Thanksgiving lessons with my daughter.  We try to include my three-year-old son as much as we can, so this was one fun, easy project in which he could participate.

In November, we used handprints to make a Pilgrim and an Indian/Native American. 

To make the Pilgrim, I painted each child's four fingers black and the palm a light tan.  As the child held his/her fingers close together, he/she pressed the painted hand to the center of the paper.  After the paint dried, I painted a black band and a gold square for a buckle on the Pilgrim's hat.  Then I painted on hair and a simple face.

To make the Indian, each child picked out a color to paint each finger.  The fingers have to be painted quickly to keep them from drying too much to make a good print.  The palm was painted a light brown or darker tan than the Pilgrim.  After the print was made and dry, I painted on the headband with the design, the hair, and the simple face.

While shopping for groceries and birthday party supplies today, I finally found some frames on clearance that I could use.  How lucky was I that there were only two frames- or maybe I'm lucky that they had at least two...???  :)  Um, anyway, once the children were in bed and my mind was racing I decided to get busy and finish the project.  I tend to be a perfectionist, and when I am afraid a project is going to give me a hard time, I procastinate.  Thankfully, tonight, I was able to channel that negative energy and the project was quite easy.  I thought I might share a little trick I used to make the project easier.

When I do a framed project, I am a little nutty about the picture or other subject being centered.  ( I am seriously trying to get over this, lol!  I have started leaving things a little imperfect on purpose to remind me nothing in life is perfect, and it's okay! This method works well until it is the house I try to leave imperfect; then my husband goes nutty.  Heeheehee!  I just couldn't help myself. ;) )  Okay, enough silliness.  When I took my frame apart, I noticed the paper had rectangles printed on the paper I figured I could use them as a guide.  This picture is just so that you can see how the rectangle could be seen through the paper. 

I flipped the frame paper over. (I had to flip it over because the green rectangle was too dark and could be seen through the artwork paper.)  I held the frame paper and the art paper up to a light to line the print up in the middle of the frame.  I hope that makes sense.  When I had the print centered, I carefully put it down and taped the artwork in place. 

I repeated the process with the other print, and then I repeated the whole process with the other frame.  I think they turned out really cute.  The paper is acid-free, so I hope this will be a project we can use to decorate with for many years to come.

Tennessee Terresa and Pennsylvania Jane

I have a wonderful friend, Terresa, with whom I went to high school.  She is all the way in Tennessee, but bless her heart.  She has helped me finally figure out how to add tabs to my blog.  She is precious!  Thank you, sweet lady, for your help.  Now, I've got to figure out how to actually put things under those tabs!  Please, hang in here with me!  I'll get there.  Technology is trying to run way ahead of me, and is doing a great job!

My other precious friend, Jane, is all the way in Pennsylvania.  She is my newest friend.  She is a little stinker that is full of surprises. ;) She has suggested that I link my Pinterest boards to this blog.  Jane, I haven't forgotten.  That is my next project. 

I just love my friends!  I do have a really close friend, Appie, that lives about 45 minutes away, but due to crazy schedules, I hardly get to see her anymore.  I miss all my friends when it has been a while since I have heard from one.  Each one has so much going on in her life.  I pray for each often and thank God for the friendship he has provided.  Sometimes I get lonely and sad not having physical contact with friends since we moved, but getting on the computer and seeing one of them online sure does a lot to lift my spirits!

In closing, a while back I said I would share an "I Am" sight word book that I was going to use with my son.  I had originally planned to just fold some paper and draw some stick figures, BUT it turned into a MUCH bigger project.  I decided to make a real book illustrated with my own photos.  I am now working on a whole series of sight word books that build on each other to use for his kindergarten year.  Thank goodness he doesn't start kindergarten until next year!  I would really like to try to have these published by a children's book publisher, but goodness, where in the world do I start with that???  I guess the trusty Google searh.  My first book should be here in about five days.  I'll let you preview it and tell me what you think when it comes in.  I will still do another book that anyone can use at home that will use a handwriting component, but that will have to wait, yet again.

Until we meet again, be blessed!

War With a Walking Stick!

What did I think I was going to do to the coyote chasing my chickens when all I had in my hand was a walking stick?  LoL!  I don't know, but all I knew was something was after my chickens and chicks.  I flew out the door screaming my head off like a mad woman.  My poor Fern couldn't be convinced that her chicks were safe with the other hens.  She kept going back to the edge of the woods with the lurking danger calling as desperately for her chicks as I was calling for her to come back and trust me.  Luckily, this time, I won.  Mama and her walking stick scared off the coyote.  :)

The most amazing part was that when the chickens started going crazy, I was reading the last few lines of an article in the magazine "Above Rubies".  The article was by a woman shepherd comparing her experiences as a "mother shepherd" to God as our shepherd.  She had discussed how the shepherd knows the cries of his sheep and loves them.  The shepherd knows the dangers and does all he can to protect the flock.  My flock that was crying out was not sheep.  It was chickens, but I heard their cry.  I knew I had to act quickly to help.  Isn't that beautiful to think we are God's sheep.  He knows our dangers, and He knows our cries, whether it is a cry for love, a cry for need, or a cry for help.  If we as humans are quick to act to the cry of the creatures in our care, how much swifter God's reaction to us must be!  I had tried to call Fern.  She couldn't understand I heard her calling her babies and I heard her cries for me to help  She couldn't be still and calm enough to understand me and hear her babies calling her.  Isn't that the way it is with us and God?  We get into situations where we cry out to God.  We are so caught up in the emotions of what we are going through, we fail to hear God or see His answer.  Yet, He loves us deeply, and continues to call out His answers to us, if we could just be still in mind, body, and soul.  He is always there answering!

Later in the day, we found one of our little friends that has been hanging around the farmette.

This is a gopher tortoise.  These are an endangered species and are Georgia's state reptile.  We have several on our property.  We don't usually know which one we are looking at, so the turtle usually gets called Mr. Carmicheal.  The people who are native to our area actually call these totoises gophers. Talk about confusing!  :)

We thought the excitement for the day was over this evening until we were winding down our outside activities.  Alissa discovered a hummingbird in the garage.  Thankfully, this time, unlike last summer when the same thing happened, Bill was at home.  He finally got it out with a fish net.

Who needs a science textbook when one lives on Southland Farm?  :)

Thank you for spending a few minutes here with us!  Until we meet again, may you be blessed!