Fairy Gardens

Our Fairy Garden in a pot!

Although we are a superhero-loving family, we have also loved fairies for a very long time...Supergirl would have been named Tinkerbell only a year ago!  Still, we have not forgotten about our love of these tiny creatures who care for nature and our very own fairy forest here at our home,  however creating little whimsical habitats for fairies has been a popular outdoor activity for our family since we first heard about the books Fairy Houses by Tracey Kane and Fairy Houses Everywhere by Barry and Tracey Kane.   The Superkids have been making fairy abodes in inconspicuous places in our own yard, other people's yards, campgrounds, etc...
So when I caught wind of this project via Pinterest and FamilyFun Magazine, I just couldn't help myself!

 What a lovely resting spot on the toadstool!

 I purchased all of my materials at Walmart.  Here is what I used:

• A good-sized plant pot
• Potting soil
• Rocks from my yard for drainage under the soil
• A few small plants: I used Moss, Ajuga chocolate chip(purple) and Stonecrop tricolor(sedum)
• Bag of glass beads-the one I chose had little plastic pink flowers
• Any other small fairy-sized statues or trinkets-I purchased the toadstool from Walmart for @ $2

This was such an easy project!  We made our fairy garden out on the deck as with 3 Superkids, it can get messy with all of the potting soil.  First, we filled the pot with some rocks in the bottom, then we added the soil, obviously the messy part!  Next, we added our plants in the arrangement we felt the fairies might like best!  Next, came the Superkids favorite part....decorating the garden with the beads and statues!  Lastly, we gave our garden a good drink and presented one of the gardens to the Superkid's Grandma for an early Mother's Day gift...she loves fairies too!!  

Imagine you are fairy-sized  and walking amongst the plants!

We know that to keep the Fairies happy, we will sometimes change the look of our garden.  But for now we will be sticking with this design.  I always keep my eye out for any fairy or fairy forest statues ..I was also thinking of trying the craft store for some small wooden furniture or other items we could paint and add for a little change!  If you decide to make a Fairy Garden too, have fun with it!  Think like a fairy...imagine what they might like to find in their garden!  Remember, Fairies like lost things!!!

Workboxes are Awesome!

Super Girl and Batman's Workboxes

Workboxes ARE working for us!  Our day is going much more smoothly than pre-workbox days!!!  I just set the boxes up the night before and the super kids are able to go right up to our classroom in the morning and get started with number 1.  I was able to print my labels from a website called www.meetpenny.com .  She has free printables for making the workbox labels and numbers.  On top of our workboxes are the chart for sticking the finished card or number on.  I printed the chart from the meet penny website and also made my own to put extra things that I wanted the kids to do for the day also.  I purchased my workboxes at AC MOORE on sale for $39.99 each which was like buy one get on free!  

About five minutes after I started workboxes with Supergirl and Batman...I realized Spiderman, although only 3 was going to have a problem with NOT having his own workbox.  Luckily while shopping at Walmart I came across another drawer-like apparatus on clearance for $19!!!  So I modified it to make my little guy feel included in school!  This time not printing the numbers and charts but making them myself with colorful markers so her cannot only match the numbers but the color of the numbers as he is just learning them!  He LOVES having his own...he is really into being a big boy these days!

I have also found a lot of useful Workbox info at www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com.  I love her tips and printables and I am hoping this summer to buy her Road Trip USA Geography & History Curriculum.

I only wish that I had made this discovery at the beginning of the school year!!!

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Work boxes...will they work for us???

Work boxes for homeschooling...
Today I am starting to use the work box system..  I think/hope that this makes things flow a little more smoothly for us.  The kids are often like bouncy balls going in three different directions, with me standing in the middle trying to catch them all!!!


The idea is that each child have a set of boxes in order for them to work more independently.  For example, Batman, my 6 year old will finish something and then take of while I am busy to play with something else, instead of telling me he is finished with a subject.  Now he should be able to go from one box to the next and complete certain assignments on his own...plus it helps me to have everything for the day set in the boxes ahead of time so the children are not waiting for me to prepare or find their next subject.  My daughter, Supergirl, is an 8 year old 3rd grader and is a little better at working independently than Batman, but this system will help her to feel more independent and grown up.  Spiderman, is just 3 and he comes and goes into our school day, but I have decided that since purchasing a set of workboxes for Batman and Supergirl, that I will return to the store to buy a set for him also.  Upon seeing the brightly colored towers of drawers, he instantly wanted his own and this will save my sanity.  I am picturing all the hard work I do, organizing and setting up the system each night for the older kids being destroyed by Spiderman and his curiosity and jealousy!

The other benefit to using the boxes is that my children will not ask me repeatedly each day if they are done yet, but instead will be able to keep track of their daily progression through their subjects on their own.  

I will update our progress on work boxes as we work out the kinks of our system.

Welcome! Meet me!

Hi my name is Sara !  Welcome to my first ever blog and post.  I guess I should start by telling you a little about myself.  I am a wife and mother to three children.  My husband, Chris is a fuel delivery driver.  My daughter, Supergirl, is 8 going on 40, and I have 2 sons.  My oldest, Batman is 6 and the youngest Spiderman is almost 3.  I am a Catholic homeschooling mother.  

I just recently became interested in blogging while getting lost in the blogosphere (thanks to Pinterest!!).  I thought maybe I could pass on some of my good ideas and the ones that I borrow from others as I make my way through motherhood!!  Basically, I try to maneuver my way through motherhood with a lot of humor, organization, and coffee!!