Megamind Family Night

Family Night is FINALLY back!!

With all of the sickness we’ve faced this year, special evenings together have been really hard to plan and pull off.  Tonight’s was literally planned at the last minute.  I only started this afternoon getting it all together. 

It all began when Chris told me last night, before bed, that he was planning on stopping at Best Buy to pick up the movie on his way home. (Since it was released today, it was on sale!)  I then had the fleeting thought that I should try to pull something together, but when Em woke up still puny this morning from strep and a sinus infection, I had put it on the back burner.

Later, as I was sitting at the table helping her complete all her make-up work for the week, I thought… “You know what? … we deserve some fun!” So… I logged onto my laptop, and came up with this. (What was life like before Google?) :-)

Got the menu ideas (Super Hero Subs, “Metro City Munchies” - AKA: Chex Mix, and “Mega Juice” – blue punch, or Kool-Aid, etc..) from this blog. I threw in some extra “Mega-blue-ness”, of course! ;-)

Found all the neat Megamind printables, and other cool ideas at this site.  We didn’t do any games – kids were a little disappointed – because of Emilee’s state of recovery… but I made sure they had plenty of coloring pages, word finds, pictograms, etc… to keep them busy! “Hydration” (water) Gun fights would have been fun, though… maybe next time?

Credit goes to this post for my awesome Mega-loon decorations!

And, of course, I have to thank @chrisreeder for the inspiration.

So, see?  It doesn’t take TOO much time and effort to pull off! The key is to just be intentional about time with your kids.  As always, we had great fun just being together!!

Season’s Greetings

Y’all, I seriously had the best of intentions for keeping you informed and entertained this Christmas Season…

I was going to post about…

• Decking the Halls
• Our NEW Jesse Tree tradition
• Letters to Santa
• Baking Day
• Our Secret Santa tradition (also known as “The Happy Elf”)
• Our recent “Charlie Brown Christmas” Family Night

Unfortunately, through all the hustle and bustle of the season, and having to intentionally carve out time for all of the above, I just flat didn’t get it done.  But what I did “get done” was tons more of precious memories with my family as we focus on the True Reason for the season.

I am reminded of a scene from the Nativity Story…  Mary has just given birth to the Christ-Child, and shepherds have come to visit.  One of the elderly gentleman reaches out, as if to touch him, but draws back knowing that he is not worthy.  Mary looks into his tearful eyes and says, “He is for all mankind”, and the Shepherd reaches back over to caress the Newborn King.

He is for all mankind.  Jesus is the gift that keeps on giving!  I pray that the love, joy, and peace that only a child in a manger could bring, will surround you and yours this Christmas season. May you all experience the treasure of Our Savior!!

Merry CHRISTMAS,

Rescheduling Halloween???

Apparently there has been some conflict as to what night kids will be Trick-or-Treating this year…

One of my favorite PW Bloggers, Cindy Beall, weighed in here about the controversy. (I have to say… she makes some strong arguments!)

And this morning, I saw this come through my TweetDeck account. (I love @MoviePastor… he always makes me LOL!!)

It does seem a bit weird to actually change the date you celebrate a certain “holiday”.  No matter what your feelings for/against Halloween are, it’s listed on EVERY calendar, EVERY year, on OCTOBER 31. This is very important to people like me, who live by their calendars.  (I prefer the Google kind!)

HOWEVER, Florence County has decided to join with several others across the nation this year, and reschedule Trick Or Treat events to Saturday, October 30.  Thank goodness, my friend Mrs. Flossip keeps me abreast of all these types of changes.  Thanks to her, I am ahead of the game this year! (For once!!)

So, while my friends above seem to disagree with this rescheduling of events, I, myself, am an avid complier to rules and regulations… even if they seem to change for no apparent reason. That being said, we will entertain all the neighborhood kiddies at our front door on SATURDAY, NOT SUNDAY this year.

I agree that Halloween can be tricky for Christians… Learning how to be in the world, and not of it, is kinda like walking a tight-rope, at times.  But Jesus didn’t care so much about religious observations, as he did the condition of the heart.  I think he gets a kick out of seeing Skeleton Man, Super Mario, and Lady Robin Hood go Trick-or-Treating… as long as it’s all in the name of good family fun!  (You can read further about my thoughts on Christians and Halloween at the end of this post, from last year.)

I’ve actually adopted  Target’s slogan of “Halloweekend” and planned activities for all three nights!  (The kids are out of school on Monday, so Sunday night is game, too!!)  I’ll be posting pics of our fun on my  Facebook page , so you guys can keep up, especially for the grandparents (they all live out of town).

Also, we truly get “The Best of Both Worlds” this year, because our church is doing TRUNK OR TREAT immediately following services on Sunday!! Yes… I said “immediately following services”.  Kids are encouraged to wear their costumes TO CHURCH on Sunday to be ready for the festivities.  If you do not currently have a church home, I encourage you to join us for the fun!  Also, we’re having renowned youth evangelist, Jay Koopman as our guest speaker on Sunday.  YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS IT!!

So I guess the Flossip was right, after all, when she began the aforementioned post with, “You get to have your candy, and eat it, too!”

Family Night: Back 2 School!

Our entire night was set up as a “mock” school day.   We followed the schedule below:

Period 1:  Morning Work/ELA/Social Studies

Everyone was given a Back to School Word Search to complete as a vocabulary/social environment exercise.  (I think this is what they call a “multi-discipline” approach). ;-)

Period 2:  Art

I found a great indoor craft activity at AmazingMoms.com. This required minimal prep…  Just some water color paint sets for the kids (I got them at Target for a buck and some change, each!), drawing/writing paper, and a cup of water!  Voila! The finished products were beautiful!!

   

Period 3: Lunch/Recess

This was super-simple!! I packed our lunch bags with sandwiches, chips, an apple, and a choice of pudding or yogurt cups.  I only had a few juice boxes on hand, so some of us just filled up our water bottles.  We all “brought our lunch” to the table and chowed down! ;-)  After finishing, the kids deposited their trash and wiped down the table (Yes! We even had “table washers”!!) then headed outside for some play time. 

Period 4: Math

For our “math lesson”, we all gathered around the table and played a game of Crazy Eights.  It was a blast!! :-)

Period 5:  Science

I googled “easy science projects” and found one for creating your own Groovy Lava Lamp.  I prepared a tray before hand that included all the “ingredients” and after our card game, I simply moved it to the table.  We talked about all the different “reactions” we saw as the water, oil, food coloring, and alka-selzer were added together.  The kids absolutely LOVED this!!

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above you see the finished product.  It was fun to put the lid on, and turn it upside down to watch the “lava” float up to the top!

Period 6: AR/Circle Time

At our schools we have a program called AR or “Accelerated Reader” in which the kids get points for reading a certain amount of books within a given grading period.  Instead of coming together to actually read a book, we gathered on the carpet (a la “Circle Time” style) with popcorn and drinks to “watch” one.  Our choices were Charlotte’s Web, The Princess Bride, or Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  I bet you can guess which one they picked…

It really was a great night, and one of the simplest Family Nights, yet!  The kids had fun time, and it got their minds and attitudes in gear for the following week. I am definitely going to do this again next year!!

Family Night: Gettin' Buggy With It

It hit me while I was teaching second grade last week that we haven't had a famliy night in over a month.  While my students were working on some seatwork (a butterfly shaped math puzzle worksheet), I began to slowly churn the creative juices in my brain.

This is what I came up with...

A BUGGSTRAVAGANZA!!!

Menu:
Caterpillar Pizza

Bugs on a Log (two varieties)

Beetle Juice (blue Kool-Aid)



Mud Cake w/ Gummy Worms

Activities:
1. The kids had a ball helping us create (and consume) ;-) the menu.

2.  I lucked up at the Dollar General and found a coloring book with BUGS as the subject.  I photocopied a few of the pages and let the kids partcipate in "coloring competition". They got so into that, we didn't have time for the "Create A Bug" activity I had lined up.  They were supposed to use construction paper, pipe cleaners and plastic eyes to create a bug of their choice. (i.e. Lady Bugs, Butterflies, Beetles, etc..)

3. Bug Hunt.  I found the cutest little Insect Collecting Kits at the dollar store for $2 each.  The original plan was to give them a list of bugs to hunt for in the back yard. (If they could catch them great, if not, they were to record them on the sheet.)  BUT... it rained.  SO... I found some bug stickers and stuck them on index cards, then cut them into small pieces and hid them around the house for the kids to "collect" and mark off on thier cards.  There were also "bonus bugs" to find that awarded "fabulous prizes". ;-)

4.  Movie:  What else??

It was a great night, with very little prep, and a WHOLE LOTTA smiles!

 

Hello??

It all started a couple of weeks ago with SPRING BREAK...
Then ONE WILD WEEK last week...
And NOW? Technical difficulties!

So much going on... so much I want to share... but very little time on my hands...

I promise!! ;-)

Monday Morning Musings

Here's what's going on in my world today...

• I'm alive!!!  In case you missed it (in other words, don't follow me on Facebook, or Twitter) I have been very sick with the most awful. stomach. virus. ever!!! Yesterday was the first non-episodic day I've had since it all started on Wednesday. Today, I'm feeling even a little better.  Hopefully by tomorrow, I'll be back to normal again. (Well, at least back to my old self again, not sure I ever was "normal"!) ;-)
• SO excited about the SPRING weather that we've been having!! Even though I've been cooped up in the house, it's been nice to see the warm, beautiful sunshine, and have the windows open, breathing in the clean, fresh, spring air. Yay!!
• Speaking of sunny, fresh, and clean.  CHECK OUT THE NEW LOOK!  I've wanted to do this for a while, and I had plenty of time on my hands (what else was I going to do during my infirmary?) , so I decided to take it on, and learn some new tricks. In addition to a new layout, I've also added some tabs, and new buttons.  Go ahead... browse around and let me know what you think!
• I've also done a lot of reading since Wednesday.  I have caught up with my Siestas in the So Long Insecurity Discussion Group (I was a couple weeks behind), AND I also finally read Twilight.  Yes.  I said "Twilight". Seems a bit uncharacteristic of me, I know, but  I've seen both the movies, and I just had to see if the book was better.  I wasn't disappointed. It really is a great love story... if you can get past the vampire bit. ;-) The library didn't have New Moon in stock that day, so I'll have to wait a bit on the sequel.
• Gotta send a shout out to my KISA:  You're the BEST!  Y'all, he really has been SO good to me during my illness.  He took the kids to school each day, and picked them up (meaning he had to leave work early).  He did homework.  He made sure they got dinner and baths.  He even played checkers and watched "the worst movie ever" with them.  All the while checking in on me... bringing me Sprite, and spearmint gum (the only thing I could handle for the first two days)...asking me at least every other hour what I needed, and what he could do.  I mean to tell you, I've got ONE GOOD MAN!!!  
• As good as he is, I still have a lot of housework to catch up on, so I'd better sign off for now.  Hope everyone has a super-duper week!!

Under Construction

As you can see, I am working on a new (more permanent) "Face Lift" the blog. Please be patient as you visit, and recognize things changing. I am a complete novice when it comes to blog design so it's definitely a "learn as you go" process. Hopefully the end result will be something we will all love and learn to live with for a while.

Thanks for your patience!!

Family Night Q&A and a Winner!

Thanks so much for joining in on all the Family Night fun this week.  You guys are so sweet with your encouraging comments. 

But, some of you had some questions that I thought I would address in this last and final post:

1. Do we have family night every week? Yes and no.  We have “family time” blocked off every Friday night, but we only do one themed family night each month.  I like to keep the ideas fresh and don’t want the kids to get bored with it.  Also, one Friday night each month Chris “dates” one of the children.  They rotate month to month.  January was Jake, February – Sam, and March will be Emilee’s turn.  We also have one Friday night that we call Pizza & Movie night, where we order in and the kids get to take turns picking the movie.  So, we have something planned almost every week.
2. What kind of chores do my kids do for commission?  Well, it really varies by age. But to give you some ideas, here’s a copy of the chore charts that I came up with for each kid.  I keep these on file in my documents on the computer, but the kids copied them on their FPU chore charts.
3. Is one of the prizes a Chore Chart?  Yes and no.  One of the prizes is the FPU Junior Kit… the chore chart is included.
4. Will I compile an eBook with all my ideas included?  I’ve honestly thought about taking each of these posts and making a book out of them, but I get so many of my ideas from the Family Fun and Amazing Moms websites that I don’t want to plagiarize. I will keep it under advisement, though. If nothing else, I’d like to print out a book as a keepsake for the kids. We’ll see…
5. What is the FABULOUS PRIZE??? Well, like I said, it’s more of a “prize package” but here is what it includes…

I told you it was FABULOUS!!!!!!

And last but  not least…  WHO IS THE WINNER???

Drum roll please….

The fabulous prize package goes to…

My Sweet VALLEY GIRL, Tammi!!

YAY!!! I am so excited!!  I have it all ready to go on my Amazon.com account so just RE-forward me your snail mail address (via email) and I will get it shipped right to ya! ;-)

Hope everyone has a WONDERFUL weekend full of family fun!!

Family Night: Roll Tide!!

This was our second Family Night of 2010. Of course we had to celebrate our beloved “Tide” going to the National Championship game!  So glad I did… we had to do something to lighten the atmosphere… Chris Reeder was as nervous as a long-tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs!

Anyway.  I digress.

To get started, I had all the kids go and get all dressed up in their Bama gear.  Then we painted faces, and made our own “GO BAMA” pennants.  (Making the pennants was very simple.  Chris cut out the triangular shapes from poster board, and the kids used images I had printed out from the computer to draw, trace, and glue their own designs.)  When they were all done, we hung them up with pride!

Our dinner menu consisted of tailgating fare: barbeque sandwiches, potato salad, and veggies & dip. For dessert I picked up some football themed cupcakes at Wal-Mart.

While the kids were finishing the meal, I gave them each a whistle to wear around their necks.  (Found a 6 pack of plastic whistles at the Dollar General and scarfed ‘em up!) I told them that anytime some one got caught saying the words “Bama” or “Tide” they had to surrender their whistle to the one who caught them.  At the end of the evening the one with the most whistles won a prize. (Emilee dominated this one!)

Then we played “GUESS THE SCORE”.  I made a small poster and recorded each one’s guess. At the end of the game, the person whose guess was closest to the final score also won a prize. Of course we all assumed that Bama would win! (Jake was our winner, here.  He guessed that Bama would win 31 to 17.  The final score, as you may recall, was Bama 37, Texas 21.) ;-)

At this point we moved to the family room and got all settled in for kick off!  We jumped and cheered as Bama took the field; the kids were WAY excited!

At half-time we played these games:

• Football Charades – using classic football terms such as helmet, cheerleaders, coaches, team, etc…
• Football Tossing Contest – kids took turns throwing a Nerf football through a hula hoop, moving backward one step after each round.  Last one standing won the prize.  (Jake was a natural!)
• Dizzy Kicker – Each child took a turn being blindfolded and being spun around 3 times. After the third spin, the blindfold was removed and they had to try and kick the “football” (a balloon) through the “goal posts” (Dad’s arms).

During the third quarter, I gave the kids each a packet (manilla envelopes with their name written in a football shape) of activities that included football coloring pages, mazes, and word puzzles. (All printables that I found online by googling “Football” and “Crimson Tide”.) I thought they would get bored after a while, but they didn’t.  They stayed “in the game” til the end.

When it was all over, we celebrated the victory with whoots and high-fives, and distributed the prizes. (I had gotten little trinkets from he dollar store to hand out for each game. I don’t get it, but they love that junky stuff!) ;-)

Then we “hit the showers”; brushed our teeth, put on our jammies, and said our prayers (in Sam’s terms)…

“Bless Jesus, thank you for letting us have a very fun family night, and for our prizes, and our Mommy, and Daddy, and for helping Bama win the game!”

That’s right folks, God is a Crimson Tide fan! ;-)

(Sorry about the lack of pictures, somehow the file didn’t get copied to the computer, and is nowhere to be found!!)

_____________________________________________

One more Family Night post is coming tomorrow, and then Friday I’ll announce the winner of the “Fabulous Prize” package.  So don’t forget to leave a comment to be entered to win. 

Oh yeah, I decided that since THREE Family Nights are being featured this week, there should be THREE parts to the prize. So here’s another (this one rhymes) clue:

To help you find ideas, and know just where to look…

I have the perfect resource, a nifty little _________.

Tune in tomorrow to see what the final clue/prize will be!