Friday Fast Five- Homeschooling Tools Favorites

One of my 2 dear readers (Yes Aunt Dawn & Clare that's you!) requested that I put the new school table my husband made on my blog so she could pin it. So for today's fast 5, I am showcasing 5 our schooling essentials.

1) Our NEW School Table WootWoot! This baby was a piece of cake to make. I bought 2 cheap shelves at Wally World, and had my husband paint a blank door to match. He attached to the door to the assembled shelves with L brackets and Wall-la. A very useful/huge school table! Now to be honest this was about a $60 project with paint and brackets and everything. Plus it is slightly taller than a normal table so regular chairs don't work for kids. We are buying our guys saddle style stools (that also happen to come from Wal-mart). Just giving you the low down so you don't yell at me later;)

You will notice all the items on each kids "end". Those are the components to the rest of today's 5.

2) Their Daily Binders. At the beginning of the school year I bought each kid a cute binder and double sided pocketed dividers.

On each Pocket Divider I put one of the days of the school week.

On Sunday nights I take work out their Math Books, Spelling, Phonics, Etc. and put it in each day's front pocket accordingly. For those subjects that don't have tear out pages, or that have to be read aloud, or something "unpocketable" I put labels on that day's front pocket to remind the kids that we have to do those subjects also. For instance Bible and Science are mostly read aloud subjects, and we always do history together. The pockets are mainly for their "work alone" subjects.

Once that days work is completed it goes in the back of that days' pocket, so I know it is ready to be graded. I LOVE this system and it works really well for us. The kids know what needs done, and I can keep track of what is getting accomplished.

3) These HUGE white beasts are the kids cumulative binders. Once work has been accomplished for that week and graded, I move it to these binders. I keep these to show what they have done for the year.

I keep a clear page protector in the front to hold school work that isn't "hole punchable" such as unit work or crafts.

4) Each of the kids has their own Workbox. This holds all their essentials for schooling. They aren't suppose to use these for any other time. But I can't tell you the amount of times, I have been hollering because Gidey has lost his scissors, or someones gluestick was in their room:/

This small crate holds: A soap dish full of crayons, eraser, scissors, gluestick, and a jar with Markers and Colored Pencils. The kids actually really like this system and we seem to be able to keep up with things better than previous years.

5) Homeschooling...or is it Van Schooling?

My last item is the kids customized clipboards. I hate to admit but we school on the go sometimes. So the clipboards are awesome because they just grab the work from that days binder pocket, attach to clipboard and go. We usually bring a pencil pouch and sharpener too.

There it is folks some of my favorite school tools. I also have an awesome planner that I should share with you sometime...

Friday Fast Five- Current Obsessions

So this Friday I am sharing 5 of my very favorite things ( for the moment). These are things I just can't get enough of:)
1) Vera Bradley is one of my all time faves! Currently I love the new color Safari Sunset. I have the XL duffel on my Christmas List!

2) Pintrest! I spend entirely to much time on here, but I love all the fun ideas. I have actually made a few of them here in the last couple weeks, GO me!

3)Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte! I ♥ these. I have actually only had 3 this season, due to the fact that our Starbucks isn't close and never on my way anywhere:( Still tops my fall faves list!

4)Cookie baking and decorating. SO I see all these beautiful cookie on Pintrest and drool. Of course I think "I can do that". Turns out I CAN'T do this! I am determined to master this, so stay tuned for results...

5)Burlap! I have always loved burlap, but lately I am OBSESSED with it! I have decided to do my new Christmas decor all in burlap and cream, with brown accents. So if you spot anything I need to buy or craft let me know:)

So there ya go another fast five! Hope you have a great weekend:)

Friday Fast Five- 5 things I have recently made in my Crockpot

So now the weather is finally cooling off here in the South. So I am using one of my favorite kitchen appliances again. My crock pot! I have made several yummy yet easy things in it lately. Here are 5 of them.

1. Ham & Beans. This "recipe" is a treasured one from my dear friend Amy. I love the simplicity of it. I stick it all in the crockpot and whip up some cornbread and "Wall-la" dinner:) Here is the "Recipe" : 3 cans of Pinto Beans, 1 can Rotel ( I run mine through my food processor first, cause I don't like chunks!), and a large ham steak cubed. I have substituted the ham steak for pork remnants which are easy to find and cheap here in the south, you could also use a Ham Bone if you ever happen to have that handy;)
2. Bear Creek Soups! You may remember these from last year's post. All these soups are SO tasty and easy to jazz up with a little meat. Stick in CrockPot and Done!
3. Baked Potatoes! These were SO easy. I washed my potatoes, wrapped individually in foil, and then put in Crockpot on low for about 6 hours. Perfect Baked Potatoes with NO effort required. We topped ours with chili & cheese and made a lunch out of them, but I am sure they will be reappearing as a side sometime in the near future.
4. Beef Stroganoff. I simply took my favorite Stroganoff recipe and put the stew meat & wet ingredients (minus sour cream!) in the crock pot on low. I then cooked the noodles and added the sour cream right before serving. My recipe came from Gooseberry patch and I was unable to locate it online, so if you are dying to have it please comment me and I will see what I can do.
5. Hawaiian BBQ Chicken. This is one that has been floating around on Pintrest. I served it over rice. Steve and I really enjoyed it, the kids not as much:/ It was actually surprisingly spicy! You can find the blog and recipe here.

Sorry there are not any pics this week. Forgot to photograph my dishes. Not that Stroganoff or Baked potatoes are that photogenic anyway;)

Friday Fast Five-The Pumpkin Version

So since Muffin Tin Monday has been fairly easy for me to keep up with and post on, I thought I would try out a new topic for Fridays. So I give you the Friday Five, a list of 5 items. The themes will vary;)
This week is Pumpkins! So here is my 5 favorite pumpkin related items for the moment...

1. Pumpkin Spice Bread from Pepperidge Farm. This bread is so yummy toasted with a little butter. I have had it for Breakfast every morning this week! Hence the half empty bag in the photo...

2. This is our new Bathroom Soap: Cinnamon Pumpkin from Bath & Body. Gilly Bean LOVES it!

3. My ALL time fave! Ben & Jerry's Pumpkin Cheesecake IceCream! I was exuberant when they brought this back this fall:)

4. I made my two little "Punkins" pumpkin applique shirts for our trip to the pumpkin patch. Here is one of them:

5. And last I am sharing these fun Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows I found at good ole Wally World. I think these will be so fun in Hot Cocoa! However eating plain marshmallows...bluck:P

There it is: 5 of my favorite (or just fun) pumpkin things. What is one of yours?

P.S. I don't know how it didn't make the list!! But here it is as a bonus- PuMpKiN SpIcE Latte! My all time very fave fall drink:)

A few of my faves...Movie Version

So in an effort to at least blog once a month I am presenting you with a short list of my ALL time favorite movies. I will put them in order of my favorite to my MOST favorite.

A Few Good Men. This has been one of my go to movies for years! Also one of the only movies I can stand with Tom Cruise in it:/       

     

 Sweet Home Alabama. This is such a sweet, feel good movie. I actually had to shop the pawn stores to find it on DVD after I realized I kept watching it every time it was on TV!

50 First Dates. This is one of the very few movies that isn't totally raunchy AND yet it still has Adam Sandler in it. I love that it is sweet but funny. One of the first movies Steve and I went to see once we got married.

The Three Musketeers. This has been one of my faves since I was a teenager. LOVE this movie!

The Princess Bride. This is my ALL time favorite. My feel good movie. I actually just sat down with Steve and the kids and introduced my kids to it:) SO many good lines in this movie!

Ok that is my short but sweet post. Feel free to leave a comment letting me know what your all time fave is:)

May Faves

So I thought I would pick back up in blog land with one of my favorite things...a LIST! Here are a few of my favorite things as of late:

1)

My New Reusable Cold Cup from Walmart! Love the bright orange color, love the reusable straw, and especially love the rubber "sleeve" that is attached. It also contains gel, so it can be frozen and keep your beverages cooler:) So much love for only $5!

2)

You can't tell so much from this pic, but this is the woods behind our house and at the moment it is FILLED with fragrant Honeysuckle!! This is one of my all time favorite scents but only in nature, representations such as candles are inferior. I open my windows and breathe it it. At least once a day I go back there just to take a big whiff. It is especially fragrant in the evenings!

3)

My current addiction! This little guys are far superior to their large counterparts:) At only 75 calories a pack, I indulge in at least a bag a day. Wished I had stocked up better at the after Easter sales...

4)

This huge mess is one of my current faves! Stamping & Crafting! I obviously can't do either neatly so our dining room table has looked like this 4 out of 5 days this week. At dinner I just shift it to the floor;)

5)

This is really a pleasant floral/summery scent. I found it at Wal-mart for less than $3 bucks, and they have matching candles! It really freshens up my living areas and the pretty blue color of the wax matches my decor nicely too:)

Ok, it is your turn! I have wanted to try my hand at a Linky for a while now, so this is a test run. Use the following link and post a blog telling a few of your faves!