What works for me is starting the holiday season off with a good laugh!!

MARTHA STEWART’S HOLIDAY CALENDAR

December 1
Blanch carcass from Thanksgiving turkey. Spray paint gold, turn upside down and use as a sleigh to hold Christmas cards.

December 2
Have Mormon Tabernacle Choir record outgoing Christmas message for answering machine.

December 3
Using candlewick and hand gilded miniature pinecones, fashion cat-o-nine tails. Flog gardener.

December 4
Repaint Sistine Chapel ceiling in ecru, with mocha trim.

December 5
Get new eyeglasses. Grind lenses myself.

December 6
Fax family Christmas newsletter to Pulitzer committee for consideration.

December 7
Debug Windows XP.

December 8
Create snow sculpture replica of Bethlehem at the birth of Christ.

December 9
Align carpets to adjust for curvature of Earth.

December 10
Lay Faberge egg.

December 11
Erect ice skating rink in front yard using spring water I bottled myself. Open for neighborhood children’s use. Create festive mood by handmaking snow and playing my Christmas album.

December 12
Collect dentures. They make excellent pastry cutters, particularly for decorative pie crusts.

December 13
Install plumbing in gingerbread house.

December 14
Replace air in mini-van tires with Glade ‘holiday scents’ in case tires are shot out at mall.

December 15
Take dog apart. Disinfect. Reassemble.

December 16
Child proof the Christmas tree with garland of razor wire.

December 17
Outfit neighborhood rats with tiny antlers.

December 18
Adjust legs of chairs so each Christmas dinner guests will be same height when sitting at their assigned seats.

December 19
Dip sheep and cows in egg whites and roll in confectioner’s sugar to add a festive touch to the pasture.

December 20
Drain city reservoir; refill with mulled cider, orange slices, and cinnamon sticks.

December 21
Float votive candles in toilet.

December 22
Seed clouds for white Christmas.

December 23
Do my annual good deed. Go to several stores. Be seen engaged in last minute Christmas shopping, thus making many people feel less inadequate than they really are.

December 24
Bear son. Swaddle. Lay in color coordinated manger scented with homemade potpourri.

December 25
Alphabetize all the Christmas gifts for family and friends and cross-reference by color and size.

December 26
Write and mail Christmas thank-you notes. Order cards for next Christmas. Estimate number of cards needed by allowing for making new friends and actuarially appropriate death rates for current friends and relatives.

December 27
Organize spice racks by genus and phylum.

December 28
Build snowman in exact likeness of God.

December 29
Hand sew 365 quilts, each using 365 material squares I weaved myself used to represent the 365 days of the year. Donate to local orphanages.

December 30
Release flock of white doves, each individually decorated with olive branches, to signify desire of world peace.

December 31
New Year’s Eve! Give staff their resolutions. Call a friend in each time zone of the world as the clock strikes midnight in that time zone.

Toys R Us is having The Biggest Game Sale of the Year!

Hasbro games are on sale starting at only $3.99, and you get a $10 TRU gift card if you spend $25 or more. (ends 11/14)

That’s a good deal, but it gets better – there are coupons for some of the games. (And some are finding $2 peelies on the Hi Ho Cherry-o game.)

The fun is not over yet – there is a rebate for many of the games!

So here is the run-down:

• Check to see if there are any coupons for the games you want.
• Buy at least $25 in Hasbro games to get your $10 gc.
• Send in for your Hasbro rebate.

You might consider doing this deal on the $3.99 games even if you don’t have little ones at home. They would make great gifts to donate to a charity this Christmas.

Posted in jingle all the way ]]> http://amyswandering.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/jingle-toys-r-us-board-game-deals/feed/ 0 amyswandering jingle_Page_0-5-1 tru-hasbro-bp_01 http://amyswandering.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/review-american-heritage-education-foundation/ http://amyswandering.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/review-american-heritage-education-foundation/#comments Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:44:22 +0000 amyswandering http://amyswandering.wordpress.com/?p=2756 ]]>

Unlike some of the products I review, everyone can afford this one…it’s FREE!

The American Heritage Education Foundation “is a non-profit, non-partisan educational foundation dedicated to the understanding and teaching of America’s factual and philosophical heritage to promote constructive citizenship and Freedom, Unity, Progress, and Responsibility among our students and citizens.”

They have lesson plans for elementary, middle school, and high school. This curriculum seems geared more for a classroom, but I think most everyone can find something useful here. There are some good units on the symbols of our country like the Statue of Liberty and the Star Spangled Banner. We will be doing an activity next week from The History of Thanksgiving.

The Nitty Gritty:

• Download FREE
• Lesson Plan CD FREE
• Printed Binder $19.95

Things I Like:

• There are interesting topics for all ages.
• The lesson plans are broken up into themes, which makes it easy to just do a short unit.

Value: FREE!

See what my TOS Crew Mates have to say about AHEF!

I was browsing this list of Christmas ideas at Executive Homemaker and came across a great article:
The Four Things Children Really Want for Christmas

You can thank Freebies 4 Mom for setting up this fantastic deal! She has partnered with SeeHere by FujiFilm to give you 50 FREE 5×7 or 4×8 photo cards (even the shipping is free). 

Use the code freebies4mom-1109

expires 11/30

You also get 100 free prints for registering, but be sure to use that promo code in a separate purchase.

A gift from my friends over at TOS

This offer ends today, so get moving!

Target has a buy 2 get 1 free offer on select Wii games, starting at $14.99. Combine this with their $10 off 2 Wii games coupon and you have a great deal. You could possibly get 6 games for $30!

Here’s how it looks:

• Buy 6 Wii games (the 2 cheapest will be free)
  
• Use 3 $10/2 Wii coupons

I received two wonderful books to review for Bright Ideas Press.

A Young Scholar’s Guide to Composers filled a big gap for me. I had scheduled our Composer study for every Friday, but was having trouble piecing it all together. This book is one-stop shopping! It is written for grades 4-8, but is easily adaptable for younger grades. It is a full year’s curriculum, but it will last us much longer since we are just doing it one day a week. All of these wonderful resources are included:

• 32 weekly lessons
• 26 Bios of Famous Composers
• 6 Eras of Music Explained
• Easy-to-Use Comparative Timeline
• Easy-to-Use Maps
• Composer Info-Cards & Game Directions
• Note-Taking Pages
• Quizzes
• Answer Keys Listening Suggestions
• Intricate Coloring Pages
• Resource Books

The only thing I am not crazy about is the binding. It makes copying pages difficult – I will eventually have the spine cut off of mine. It is available in CD-Rom, but I like having the book in front of me while teaching. You can view sample pages HERE.

The Nitty Gritty:

• CD-Rom       $29.95
• Paperback  $34.95

Things I Like:

• Lessons are written from the viewpoint that music is from the Lord.
• The composers are in chronological order.
• There is a good variety of activities.
• It is a very complete curriculum.

Value: Worth every penny.

(I am looking forward to the release of A Young Scholar’s Guide to Poetry!)

Over Our Heads in Wonder was the perfect way to kick off our school year. It is a lovely little science book that shows God’s power through studying the weather and the sky. These topics are discussed:

• Clouds
• Rainbows
• Sun
• Stars
• Snow
  
• Wind
• Storms
• Air

This book was written for grades K-5. We used it for our morning devotional time & it worked great for my whole gang. I think it could serve as a science curruculum for the younger grades. You can view sample pages HERE.

The Nitty Gritty:

• $9.95 Paperback

Things I Like:

• The experiments use items commonly found around the house.
• Each section has its own Table of Contents. It is very easy to mix & match the lessons.
• My kids loved heading outside each day to observe God’s world in a new way.

Value: I think this is a great deal!

See what my TOS Crew Mates have to say about Bright Ideas Press!

Posted in reviews ]]> http://amyswandering.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/review-bright-ideas-press/feed/ 0 amyswandering composers-book-cover-web-231x300 overourheads http://amyswandering.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/howdy-pilgrim/ http://amyswandering.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/howdy-pilgrim/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:39:40 +0000 amyswandering http://amyswandering.wordpress.com/?p=2664 ]]>

I am really pleased with my choice of  Truthquest History this year, and I’m excited that our study of the first colonies just happens to start in November.

Here are some good resources if you are studying the same thing:

The First Thanksgiving

The First Thanksgiving is a free site from Scholastic. You can read historical fiction letters, find grade-specific lessons, and print out activities.

A Pioneer Sampler: The Daily Life of a Pioneer Family in 1840

We are loving this book! It goes through the day-to-day life of the fictional Robertson family. The time period is a bit later, but we are reading it now while we have a little more time.

Hands-On History: Colonial America

The older girls are making a notebook using this book. It is filled with interesting activities which are great learning tools & not just a bunch of fluff.

.

History Pockets: Life in Plymouth Colony

The two younger will be making history pockets.

Who’s Saying What in Jamestown, Thomas Savage?

We learned all kinds of interesting things in this true story about a 13 year old boy who lived in the Jamestown settlement.

Do you have any favorites to share?

Posted in activities, books, thanksgiving ]]> http://amyswandering.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/howdy-pilgrim/feed/ 0 amyswandering pumpkinpilg pioneer hands hpock thom http://amyswandering.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/jingle-all-the-way-to-the-bank/ http://amyswandering.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/jingle-all-the-way-to-the-bank/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:38:43 +0000 amyswandering http://amyswandering.wordpress.com/?p=2658 ]]>

You’ve probably noticed my *Jingle* posts by now, so I thought it was time for a proper introduction.

Christmas is just a few weeks away, and I think many of us are having to cut corners and get creative with gifts this year.

*Jingles* are just good deals that I come across throughout my internet adventures and want to pass along to you.

I might *Jingle* about some inexpensive holiday fun or free events.

I will also be *Jingling* about different ways to make a little Christmas cash.

Be sure to subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss any of the fun!!

You can view all of the *Jingles* HERE

Grab the code for my button in the sidebar to your right —->