Whew!

Remember how I said that whenever Casey goes out of town, something dramatic happens?? Last time it was the heater. The time Kelby puked on my computer? He was out of town then too. This time (he's been gone all week), Kelby shoved a play tent poll down his throat and punctured a tonsil.  I loaded all three kids up to go to the ER, only to spend the night there with Kelby while my blessed family members picked up my girls and stayed with them at home. Kelby's fine now, but it was really painful for him for a few days.

That night, though, I kept thinking how blessed I am to have healthy children. My heart goes out to the few moms in my acquaintance for whom hospital stays are simply a part of life. I've been saying extra prayers for those parents and their precious children since Monday.

In other news, I have some good homeschooling books and ideas to share with you today! The first is a book I picked up at a thrift store for about a dollar and it's turned out to be a good one!

We do one lesson a week. We read the story during circle time in the morning then talk about the discussion questions. Then, there are activities and drawing activities you can do too. The girls each have a notebook to draw in.

Next, and probably the most brilliant, is the Mom Bucks Store!!! This was in no way my idea. I got it from my sister, who I think may have gotten it from someone else, so credit does not belong here, but boy do I have to pass this idea along! The kids get Mom Bucks for a number of things throughout the week. I give out lots. Especially for things that it is usually difficult to motivate Natalie to do. Like putting on her glasses for school without complaining, doing her best at handwriting, etc... Even Kelby gets Mom Bucks for things like going potty, being a good boy during school and helping with little jobs. I found this printable and printed a bunch.

THEN, on Friday, after school and after we clean the kids' rooms (for which they get more Mom Bucks for helping with a happy heart), they get to go shopping at my Mom Bucks Store!

It's loaded with stuff from the Dollar Spot at Target, and several little treats. Hot chocolate packets, Pop Tarts, erasers, pencils, silly straws. And also, coupons for 30 minutes of computer time or time on my Nook. The girls love the dress up games on Barbie.com. I don't take Mom Bucks away for "bad behavior". That's no fun.

This has been a huge hit and highly motivating for all the kids. It's something to work towards, which is very important to Natalie especially :)

Third, I discovered this book recently:

It's kinda funny because I had ordered it before going to visit my sister in December, but for some reason my order never went through. Then, my sister pulled it out and said, "here, I thought you might like this". Ha! We LOVE it! Natalie actually asks to do more activities from this book and the girls continue the activities even after school time is over. There are all kinds of games and activities for all ages and all areas of math. We are loving it. We can all do it together (even Kelby!) and it takes little to no preparation for most things. It makes math fun!

Lastly, I got this idea from somewhere online, but I can't remember where, so I can't take credit for this either. We have prayer time before we start school each day, but Natalie was reluctant to pray and Layla prayed for the same basic things every day. So, we got a pail and some big popsicle sticks and created a Prayer Pail.

Since these are the kids' own ideas of what to pray for, they really enjoy choosing three each day and praying out loud for them. Their prayers are basic and adorable. I think God must just love prayers from little ones :)

Well, Casey's on his way home from Nebraska, so my single parenting will end until next time. Can't wait to see what adventures await the next time he leaves town, ha!