How to love a book: Show-n-Tell

Love your book with Show-n-Tell

How can your share your book with your friends and family?  Does your book explore the habitat for the salmon for instance?  Maybe you could find a YoutTube video that talk about the salmon and their trip to the ocean (The River -- https://y3391.myubam.com/p/5731/the-river).  Or maybe your book talks about habitats (like Above and Below-- https://y3391.myubam.com/p/6129/above-and-below). You could maybe share a diorama of a habitat from your favorite animal.  Or you could discuss how the salmon leave for the ocean as baby fish and return as adults.  If you live where there are salmon, like I do, you could even take a field trip with family to see salmon in the fall as they return to spawn.  One time we actually saw a salmon finding a spot to lay eggs.  Nature is so amazing and when we are able to use a story to help enhance that, it’s a bonus. 

Maybe your book talks about creating computer games, you could share how to create a computer graphic, or gizmo.  The important thing is to share the love of your book with others so that they can experience why you love it so much!  

The River  You can more info here: https://y3391.myubam.com/p/5731/the-rive

The fish traveling down the river...

on his way to the ocean.

What book will you share? 

 *The links go to my web site, and I do earn a commission on all web sales. 

Ways to love a book--#1

I am going to be posting, periodically, about 100+ ways we can love a book (or show others we love a book!).  Get ready and put your crafting apron on!  This first way is fun, I can't find my pictures, but when I do I will re-post and include them!  Share your creations with me!

100 Ways to love a book....  #1

If you really love a book, or a scene from a book, make a diorama!  Yes!  Pull out that old shoe box, the glue sticks, paints, crayons , bits of sticks, pebbles, felt, whatever you are inclined to use (good reason to go on a nature hike!) and create a diorama!

First step is to think about the perfect book, scene chapter, etc., that you want to create!  Next pull out a bit of paper and begin to “sketch” what you want to do.  Are there swing sets, a pirate ship, or a deserted island in the back ground?  Maybe you have a lake and mountain and a speeding boat in the back ground?  Well you want to be sure to know what you need to do and the order you need to do it in!  Third, take the lid off the shoe box.  You might need to cut this off (if you are younger than 16 I would make sure Mom or Dad –or another grown up is in the house and OK with you undertaking this project!).  Don’t throw the lid away though!  It’s sturdy and can be used for your characters!  More about that later!

Four.  Now that we have the lid off the shoe box, gather all your supplies and lay them out in a place you can find them.  When that is done, make sure the table is protected, Now, this next step is important; lay the box on its side.  Once it’s on its side you can really visualize how things will be shaping up.  You can paint, draw, color, etc.,  the back and sides of the inside of your box.  Are you creating a park, maybe a lake where a Dad and his daughter, or son, is fishing?  You will want to make sure you depict that.  But feel free to have a little creative liberty.  

Next, the new bottom (side) of the show box should be painted, designed, glued, taped, or whatever you need to help depict the foreground (the front) of the story.  Maybe a dock is jutting out into a lake, or a field of wild flowers is in the foreground….  Let’s see it!  Remember you are depicting a story.  You want your diorama to tell a story!  

 
Do you remember that lid we set aside?  Trace your characters on the lid and cut them out.  After you have cut them out color them! Markers, crayons, pencils, and some paints are great tools for this.  Don’t throw the scraps away just yet though!  Make little stands out of them to help position your characters inside your diorama.  (see diagram). 

Now you can sit back.  Look at what you created! 

Go love on a book today!

Happy Tending,

Kim

Progress in the midst of some chaos

What a week. 
Truly, Progress in the midst of some chaos.....

Grandma Mary Ellen's old Stove

Before I left for UBAM National Convention we decided I needed to move my "office" work space back into the house.  Last year I moved out to a storage shed, and while it has been working fine, it was not good for working in the evenings or weekends and leaving the kiddo in the house.  Since I returned we have been purging and redoing a few things so I can make the transition back into the house, but this time have a real space, not the kitchen table or a small corner in the bedroom where I can keep Hubs up all night. 

I have turned a 8x8 corner of the family room into "command central" as Hubs calls it.  Pictures of that will be forth coming as it is fully completed.  BUT the purging, while LONG over due, has taken a LONG time to accomplish, and this is just ONE ROOM.  We have donated, hauled off, and otherwise disposed of more than two pick up loads of stuff, I der-say much of it junk.  While doing all of this we have redone the floor in the family and dinning room, which was very much needed.  The living room will happen AFTER I recover from this purge.  it wasn't until the dinning room and family got new flooring that it was plainly seen and decided that the living room was in desperate need as well.  Maybe late fall I will take a weekend and we will do the living room.

Callie Cat and Duke have been totally wandering around like we have flipped our lids.

Before

After

The "Workman" Cabinet did get a cleaning and is now on a weekly schedule for Lemon Oil to nourish the wood a little more.  Here it is resting in a new, and I think, better location.

 Through all this upheaval and sorting, and yes there have been some tense moments, I know God is beside us and guiding us.  It's been a tough and tight spring and early summer, but I see God's hand in so much.  He see's our every need, and I know He provides for us.  God is so good. 

I will catch up more later, and I do love getting comments from my gentle friends, but for now it's back to work, but I am leaving you with this:

Monday Refelections

One reason so many Christians today are worn out and faint is because their lives are complicated.  -- Joyce Meyer

And I begin this long time coming blog post telling you that my life is complicated. Yes. It is.  It's been more than 1 year since my last post, and frankly longer than that since I posted with any frequency.  For those that followed me at one time and have stuck with me, THANK YOU.  Thank you for sticking with me while life has been complicated and I adjust to new normals.  Not Homeschooling doesn't mean I have nothing to blog about because I am still tending my garden.

Later this week I will update in bits and pieces but today I will muse on how to embrace the seemingly disorganization that life has been for the last 3-4 years.  It really hasn't been any more disorganized than before.  Adding Gram to the mix changed things a bit, which I am sure to touch on how having your mother in your home can add its onset of complications, but that is for another day.  I pray your gentle friendship will allow me those times and these times.  :-)  

On the home front, we are currently moving things around and Gram has agreed to divest our home of many small items that stack up and create a big mess, of course, a family of four with the gene for hanging onto things long past their use is difficult.  I made the hard choice last night to toss all of Bear's old birthday cards.  Really, what was I keeping them for?  You would be very proud of my resolve.

I have been using Sunday's to mentally plan the big anchor tasks for the week and menu ideas.  This week we are having:

• Lasagna 
• Hobo Meal (Potatoes and Beans with Franks)--it sounded good.
• Goulash
• Breakfast
• Pizza--  Because Friday should always be Pizza right?

That is a lot of meal planning for me.  In the past, I have tried to create 4-6 weeks of rotating meals, and it has proven a headache and unsustainable.   I know my limitations! Instead of viewing this as a failure I decided to adapt and do what does work with my life, my abilities, and my family.  Welcome Sunday week planning.  I am not micro-planning, but planning my anchor tasks, and then each night I am planning the large things the next day and keeping my lists short.  This is working for me and if you are finding planing and keeping to task is proving to be hard this might help you.  I will try to post a VLOG post talking about this soon!  ;-)

For now, Happy Tending!
Kim

New Food Journey

I have decided to take the Whole 30 plunge.

I am rebooting our eating.

I need this to crash course to push us into a healthier eating life.  Food is not the enemy, but our relationship with it might be unhealthy.  I know it is.  If I can't do a project without the reward of a pop and candy bar, then my relationship with food is likely not healthy. 

The idea when the 30 days is up, is that we will morph it into a "WHOLE FOOD" lifestyle, meaning less processed foods.  I am not saying we will never eat processed foods because hey, we like going out to eat, and we like having occasional treats, but 90% of what we eat needs to be recognizable and pronounceable food.

What is the Whole 30?  I am still learning but you can find out the basics at this web link, Whole 30. 

I hope you enjoy the next 30 days as I share my thoughts, concerns, temptations, dilemmas, and the end result ....  in the course I will find that I have accomplished something I said was hard, even impossible.  Yeah, its going to be hard, but its going to be a great sense of accomplishment as well.

We got this!

Reboot your life, yes you can!

Sometimes the day is gone from bad to worse and all you want to do is lay down on the floor in a fetal position. Have you been there?  I know I have.  But once you get to the place it doesn't mean you give up, it means it's time to do a systems check and REBOOT.

Here are ten ways to reboot the day or week (heck, month maybe?  I know I have been there). 

1. Go outside.  Just grab a coat and head out the door.  Of course the littles need to come too.  Go to the park, yes even if its raining (that's what rain coats and hats are for). Go to the beach, this time of year it will be your own private escape. If you have the forethought, pack a thermos of hot cocoa to enjoy and ward off a little bit of a chill.  Even half an hour can do wonders. 
2. Call it an early night.  Make an early night of it.  The day has been going down hill all day and the steam engine is screaming at lightening speed, just figure you will eat cereal and toast for dinner.  Get each child into a warm bath.  Pull out a feel good family movie and grab blankets and pile everyone on the couch.  Watch a movie and cuddle.  The cuddles make the world feel just a little bit more normal again.
3. Make meatloaf.  I have no idea why, but meatloaf makes everyone happier.  Meatloaf like they made it back before everyone decided it was boring.  Spices and garlic and oh yeah a yummy sauce on top.... 
4. Add water and paper...  If you are home alone or your kids are older, take a bath, pick out a book and figure its quiet time for an hour or so. 
5. Bake cookies.  A spice cookie, oatmeal cookie... even a chocolate chip cookie can slow everyone down.  just one batch....  if you don't feel like baking more than a dozen or so, the dough will keep a few days in the fridge, or freeze them for the next time you need the smell of baking cookies in the house.
6. Get Organized.  Sometimes we need to get organized to relax.  But don't take that to the extreme.  Organize one thing.  Hang a key rack, write birthdays on a calendar, something small that can make a difference.  I use to lose the basement keys ALL the time.  I hung a key hook/rack and it has helped tremendously.  It not fancy, just a piece of molding left over from the kitchen that I put a few hooks into.
7. Time Out.  Yep, mommy time out.  Hopefully you can get all the littles into a quiet time and you take a time out.  Read, pray, whatever you need to do.   
8. Put music on and dance.  Put on something fun, has a beat and sing and dance, with the kiddos.    It will leave everyone in giggles.
9. Go off grid....  Turn off the phone, computer..  all those devices which "connect" us and get back into a real connection with people.  Go for a walk in the mall, let the kids play in the play area while you have a coffee or coke and relax.  Kids don't need constant adult intervention.  Yeah we need to make sure they don't disappear or kill each other, but we don't need to have our fingers in the pie all the time either. 
10. Practice realism.  Make real goals for yourself.  Forget what you think everyone else does, make realistic goals for you and your family. 

I am in the boat with you as I continually strive to de-stress and simplify.  What do you do to de-stress you life?

Give thanks in all the things

In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 

1 Thess. 5:18

This day, I am thankful for love.  There is a song which states that love makes the world go 'round and there is a cup full of wisdom in that.  The greatest love known to man is that of God.  This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. – 1 John 4:9-11  There we have the two greatest commands.  We are to love God and then love our brothers and sisters as God loves us.  This is what I am thankful for today, and every other day.  I am truly blessed with having many people around me whom show me love, even on days I don't deserve it.  Sometimes I get so wrapped up in what's going on I neglect to see the love right before my eyes.

Happy tending of your gardens my gentle friends; and remember think of the raindrops as little drops of love!