Category Archives: Holidays

Holidays

Shutterfly

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I love photo cards, especially for Christmas! So I was stoked to start poking around the Shutterfly to try and pick out our Christmas cards for this year!  I have vowed once again that this year I will actually be organized! This year I will have the cards ordered, address labels printed and be ready to go before December 1st! I hope I am not daydreaming;).

We have always gone with the flat photo card because we have adorable kids but then you wonder if you should send an additional letter. You know, to actually talk about those adorable kids. Decisions, decisions right? No, actually! I was really stoked to see their folded photo cards. You can have additional pictures put in it, sentiments, all your names, whatever. I think there is just enough space to put a simple letter that you don’t have to get to flowery in! You know what I mean, you don’t want to be bragging but upbeat none the less. I think this one might be perfect for the NerdFamily!

So what are you doing for your Christmas cards this year?

(I received some cards as compensation for this post! If you are a blogger and are interested in getting 50 cards from Shutterfly go find out how!)

(And yes, I also posted this on my food site;)

Frugal Homeschooler, Holidays

Frugal Homeschooler: Discover a Peep’s World

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So as we venture into this week it is time to have a little fun with our schooling. Now I admit up front that this has nothing to do with the real reasons for Easter so please use it in the spirit given. So first let us take a factory tour to find out how Peeps are born(Click on Factory Tour). We can also do a little Peep math (k-2, 3-5, 6-8). Then on to English class with Peep Haiku. You can visit Fern’s Poetry Club to learn the Haiku basics. The onto the wonderful world of Peep Science. Some of these experiments are appropriate to duplicate at home. Even if you don’t, they are very enlightening and actually very sound. Then using either homemade or store bought Peeps, do a little crafting. You can even go read about Peep “behavior” in conducting research (ok, totally spoof but totally fun). So after all the Peep education, how do you do on the Peep Quiz? Happy Easter

Technorati Tags: Peeps

Frugal Homeschooler, Holidays

Frugal Homeschooler: Easter

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Since it is Easter week I decided to put together a collection of free resources available online! There a bunch of fun things out there so let us jump in!

Crafts:
Enchanted Learning has some really cute projects. I think we might do the Hand print Lilly and the Eggshell Tulips. Crayola also has a ton of Easter crafts for all ages.
History and Traditions:
There are a couple of sites that have some interesting history and traditions pieces. Topmarks has both the Easter story and a piece on different customs. DTLK also has an interesting piece on customs and traditions that include recipes for Russian Easter Bread and hot cross buns.
Math:
Articlesbase has some cute math ideas based on Easter.
Generic:
ABC Teach has a pretty comprehensive site as far as types of activities. It has all kinds of pdfs. Some for math, books, handwriting, dot to dot and more. They aren’t very deep but still educational.
Fun:
Kaboose has lots of mazes from simple all the way to hard. So you can print them out for all levels. The KidzPage has all kinds of fun online games. They have online crosswords, puzzles, and coloring pages. The puzzles are really easy drag and drops while the coloring pages really work on mouse control.
Have fun, have a great Easter and remember that education doesn’t have to expensive!

Frugal Homeschooler, Holidays

Frugal Homeschooler: Purim

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Hey everyone! It is almost Purim!!! Purim starts at sundown on February 27, 2010 and goes until sundown on March 1st. (Why it is 2 days is a different blog post;) But I am here to provide you with a few sites that have free Purim resources!

Of course there is always the homemade noise makers so you can boo Haman and cheer Mordechai!

Homemade treats are almost always frugal. So go make some traditional Hamantachen!

For some printable Esther coloring sheet you can go over to Coloring.ws for some great choices.

Artists Helping Children has a ton of great projects like beaded crowns and masks with different printable options for your kids to make for their Purim pageants.

Chabad has a great Purim site with a link to an entire kids area. There you will find all kinds of literature, recipes and more!

Enjoy Purim! It is a joyous and fun holiday that reminds us of God’s faithfulness.

FRN, giveaway, Holidays, home

Glade Candles Holiday Collection Giveaway!

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I love candles. I love the light and the fragrance. I love the ambiance. But I don’t like the prices of the fancy candles or what is worse, when you light them and there isn’t really much of a fragrance. So I was delighted to discover Glade candles years ago. They smell wonderfully and burn for a long time. Not only are they really affordable, there are even coupons to make them even more affordable!

I love the holidays and all the scents that go with it. So when I discovered the Glade Holiday Collection it was a jackpot! I love the Peppermint Crush because it just makes everything so fresh and minty! I got the Bayberry Spice to try and I love it. I have a fake Christmas tree (allergic to pine) and I really miss the piney smells. This is great for that! Now there is a problem with these candles. My husband came home to the Apple Cinnamon burning and he was crushed. He thought that I was making an apple pie;).

So how would you like to win your own Scented Oil Candle Tin?

Win it!
A Glade Scented Oil Candle Tin will be given to 1 luck NerdFamily Things winner!

To enter:

* Just leave a comment telling me your favorite scent in the Glade Candle Holiday Collection!
* A random winner will be selected and notified on December 9th.
* The winner will then have 3 days to claim their prize.

To earn extra entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra ticket but you must leave a separate comment for each one.

* Subscribe to my feed (if you already do, that counts).
* Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back here.
* Subscribe to my Twitter and then Tweet about this!
* You can tweet everyday for an additional entry, just make sure to leave a comment for each time!

If you want to see more giveaways pop over to Making Money Keeping Money to see more giveaways on Contesting Monday

This post was written as part of a program for Family Review Network and SC Johnson, who provided the product for review and giveaway. I was not compensated in any way except for the complimentary product.

gift worthy, Holidays, TOS Crew

One2Believe Nativity Set

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When NerdDad and I got married, broke and straight out of college, I started thinking of getting a nativity set. Originally I wanted one of those real nice porcelain sets but then I realized that isn’t any fun. I wanted something that my kids (whenever they would arrive) wouldn’t break. Now I have kids (boy howdy do I have kids;) and still needed a nativity. Well you can imagine then how happy I was to receive Tales of Glory Nativity Play Set to review.

At 17 pieces I was amazed what a large set this is for only $18 at Christian Book Distributors. My older 3 kids (7, 5, and 3) immediatelyy started playing with it. And when I say immediately, they took each piece as unwrapped and started playing with them. There are enough groups of characters that each one of them could be responsible for a group in the role play. This set also looks great up on my piano.

I know you may be asking about down sides. Some people may have issues with the fact that it is made of pvc and in China but these aren’t issues at all for us (but I wanted to put it out there for the rest of you). My only issue it that there are some pointy party that are hard so I can’t let the 1 1/2 year old play will them. But that isn’t a big deal beacause it is almost impossible to find a good set for under 3.

One2Believe also makes a variety of other toys that kids love. It is nice to see action figures that are Biblical and the P31 dolls are adorable. 1 thing to watch. The nativity set is $24.99 at the One2Believe site and only $17.99 at Christian Book Distributors. I personally go for the deal so don’t shop on their site unless you can’t find any of the other toys anywhere else.

I highly recommend this Nativity Set and I urge you to pop over pick this up for Christmas, the sooner the more play time you have!

Frugal Homeschooler, Holidays

Frugal Homeschooler: Pancake Studies

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For those of you who don’t know Tuesday February 5, 2008 is Pancake Day. Diane Flynn Keith explains it well:

Pancake Day is also known as “Shrove Tuesday” among Roman Catholics, Episcopalians and other faiths. The origin of the name “Shrove” comes from the old English verb “to shrive” which means to absolve people of their sins. It is common for priests to hear people’s confessions on Shrove Tuesday which is the day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday. Lent is the 40 days of penance, prayer, and fasting that precedes Easter. Traditionally, people abstained from eating eggs and fats during Lent, and pancakes were the perfect way of using up those ingredients before Lent began. Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday is also known as “Mardi Gras” which is French for “Fat Tuesday.”

So on to the curriculum!
PBS Parents have a pancake activity for little ones that teaches shapes. Then Diane Flynn Keith over at Universal Preschool has put together a great line up with books to get from the library (or buy if you must;), pancake recipes from around the world and free printables.

Onto a bit for those out of the preschool age. For fun and logic development there is a Flipping Pancake exercise over at Cut the Knot. Then the Straight Dope Mailbag discusses why pancakes and puddles are round. Then it is time for a science activity over at Hotchalk. You can make a Metamorphic Rock Pancake and discuss geology. They even provide a little questionnaire to help direrct you and review. It is rated 2nd grade- 5th grade but I can see us doing this with our 1st grader.

If you actually want to make pancakes, go over to my food blog and use my Almond Buttermilk Pancakes!

Have a great Pancake Day and remember learning doesn’t have to be expensive!