Sugar & spice & all things nice...

  Finally we are feeling the effects of  Fall here in Florida!!!  :)  I absolutely love fall! It gets me excited to wake up with warm, fuzzy socks on my feet as I head toward the kitchen to make my hot cup of coffee. Ahhh... delight! 
 I also love fall because of all the fun, free family activities that come out.  Pumpkin patches, church carnivals and festivities, & parks (since we live in Florida where it's steaming in the summer, we rarely go to the park unless it's fall or spring :) )
 So last Saturday we headed toward the Pumpkin Patch that we have been going to for a few years now. They have all kinds of fun little activities along with the patch, like bouncy houses, petting zoo, face painting, ect.   There are some great things about going to church festivals.  The people are almost always very friendly, it's a great place to meet people, especially if you're looking for a new church home, and because it is a church they are not able to set a price on most of their festivities, which means that just about everything is considerable donation.  This is nice if you are on a tight family budget. Knowing your money is going toward something good is nice too.
 When we are finished at the Pumpkin Patch we go to a park that is close by called Turkey Creek. Just the name of the park alone suits visiting after the Pumpkin Patch doesn't it?  :)   This park is beautiful.  It is designed for you to enjoy a picnic under a beautiful pavilion, to then enjoy nature as there is a trail that is very family friendly.  We usually go with our extended family to this place, because "the more the merrier" here.  If you are local in the panhandle region, and have never been to this park, I will add a link for you.       

 Happy Homeschooling!

Pumpkin Patch 2011

 Turkey Creek in Niceville, Florida.   http://nicevilleflorida.com/Attractions/Turkey%20Creek.htm

Teaching on a budget

  Homeschooling comes with so many perks, but can be so costly, especially if you are looking into any kind of extra activity outside of the home to make up for what they would receive in going to school.
 With 6 children and 3 that are in grade school, extra activities that cost money ( i.e. music lessons, art class, dance classes, sports) don't really happen right now.  I think it's a wonderful outlet if you are able to do this, but if you are tight on a budget and cannot make this happen then I have good news!  :)
  There is so much offered all around us and it's usually FREE or cost very little.  Even better news, it is  as simple as checking out your city website.  Your city website is there for locals as well as visitors, so it will always keep a calender of events, recreational parks in your area, museums, ect. It will also have links to places like your local library. Follow those links or call your library to see if they offer any story times for children.  We definitely take full advantage of our local library, story hour, and sometimes just somewhere different to do school work.  :)
 Be creative to your surroundings. We live near Air Force Bases, historic sites, & beautiful beaches. There are so many ideas and spin off's that you can use when teaching around your area.( i.e. weather, natural disasters, history, ect.)
 Also don't forget to look into off season deals.  Some places like gulfariums, & zoo's have off season passes, which usually drop to 50-60% off, which is an amazing deal if you can get a yearly pass that will allow you in at anytime.
 Happy homeschooling! 
 

 

Ahh, today is my 10 year anniverysary, so excited!! Can't wait to see my husband walk through the door, hug his neck, and say Happy Anniversary babe.
 What a great 10 years it's been so far!  Many new adventures have taken place in the last 10yrs. I look forward to many, many, more years to spend with him, and grow with him.
 Here are just a few pictures of our special day that we will never forget. I love you Adam!!

                                  October 20, 2001

       Still just as excited to be married today as I was on this day!  :)

  The kids and I went to the park with some friends on Friday. It was so nice to get out of the house, go somewhere to let the kids run free and spend some time with good friends.  We have a great park here called 'Marlers Park'  It's got great shade, and play equipment.  It is also about 200ft from a beach and a fishing dock.  After playing at the playground, the kids were begging to go walk on the beach, so we all decided to go to the fishing dock so they could look at the water, and hopefully see some marine life (since we have had a purple flag all week) and much to our surprise we saw all kinds of neat marine life swimming right by us.
 There was a man on the dock fishing, so we were sure to remind the children to be quite while he was fishing. Well, he was wonderful! He caught a blow fish for the kids to see before tossing back into the water. He had a bucket full of live shrimp that he was using as bait, and he allowed the children to look and even hold one if they wanted.  He then caught a lizard fish, which was interesting.  :)  We also got to see lots of jelly fish and sting ray swim past while looking off the rails into the water.
 It turned out to be a play date/field trip all in one, and you can't beat that!  :)
 Wish I could have captured some of these moments with a camera, but hopefully this won't be the last play date that turns into an unexpected "field trip"  :)
 Just a reminder, if you live in near beaches, that is always a great place to go and teach science. Be sure to keep an eye out for the purple flag, which means there is lots of marine life in the water.  That is a great time to find a safe fishing pier or dock and allow the children to bring their journals to write and/or draw pictures of all the neat marine life that God created to live in the water.  :)
  * For any locals, here is the link to Marlers Park.  It's worth a visit.  :) http://www.co.okaloosa.fl.us/dept_pw_resources_parks_marler.html