We're in full summer mode over here now. Kaiden just finished his 2nd grade year up. Yay! We're so ready for summer hangs and road trips. My kids are normally pretty good at keeping busy but if your kids are anything like mine, your probably used to hearing the dreaded "I'm boredddd" every once in awhile. In comes the Idea Box Kids.
The Idea Box Kids is a company that specializes in simple educational activities. And I mean secretly educational. The activities are so fun they won't even realize. 😉 So what are they? Well, there are a bunch of different themed boxes to choose from and each box contains coins with activities revolving around that boxes theme. Each activity is child led and simple to do.
We own the Backyard Box which is so perfect for Kaiden. He's currently 8 but it would defiantly be great for kids below or above his age. This box is all about the outdoors. Some of the coins we've tried out are: take nature photos, look for leaves that have been chewed on, make a pet rock, smell different things and compare, and more.
We also have the Wiggley Toddler Box which is super fun for my almost 2 year old. They include simple activities for you to do with your toddler. Some of the ones we have done are: repeat clapping patterns, touch your toes, do a big belly laugh, get a piggy back ride around the house, and more. My sons development teacher that comes to our house thinks they are a great way to connect with him and help him focus on a task.
If you guys would like your own box you can check out www.theideaboxkids.com. They make such a great gift!
{Disclamer: We received product for free in exchange for pictures and promotion. All statement are our own}
We're getting in the holiday spirit around here and decided to have a little fun with Peeps. I personally hate the taste of them but of course my kids love them. I mean there almost pure sugar. We tried out two different experiments that we found online. One involved trying to figure out which liquid would dissolve the peeps best. The other was seeing how big we could grow the peep by heating up the marshmallow. I'll go into detail about each one below.
Experiment one: Dissolving Peeps
First up we tried dissolving peeps in 4 different liquids. I let my son choose the liquids that he wanted to test. He chose: apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, orange juice, and boiling water. He wrote down his predictions before poring the liquids in the containers. He went with lemon juice for working the best. Next he filled them up and popped a peep in each one. We should have had level glasses but went with it anyways. After the peeps were settled in we could instantly see the one in the hot water changing and appeared to be getting smaller. We decided to let them sit for an hour and come back.
No, we didn't use any alcohol! Just wanted to use clear glasses 😄
After an hour we came back and checked them. The one in the water was already half it's size. The one in the lemon juice looked like it was loosing its color a bit. We decided to let them sit overnight and see if there would be any more changes by morning.
Kaiden ran out first thing in the morning to check on his peeps. The one in water was almost completely gone. We pulled the others out of their mixtures and put them on a paper towel. We observed the changes. He wrote down what happened to each peep including their color and texture. It was pretty fun to see what happened to each one. Then he decided to eat the one that was in the orange juice 😷
Experiment 2: Grow Peep Grow
This was his favorite experiment. We first discussed how we could possible make him bigger. He thought that heat would be the best way to make the change. We decided to nuke him in the microwave and see if his size would change. First he measured the peep's size and noted how he looked. Next we put the peep in the microwave for about 20 seconds. He was amazed watching it grow while it was heating up. We pulled it out and marked the changes we saw. He had doubled in size and his coloring had changed. He also smelled quite gross from the sugar burning. It was fun comparing the peeps.
Do you guys have any more fun peep experiments? These were a hit at my house!
Does anyone else start to feel like they are in rut after the holidays!? I know I do. The break does help a bit but sometimes we need to add in new activities to our homeschool routine. In my plans of giving us some fresh new books/ activities to do I came across Fun Schooling with Minecraft. My guy is a huge Minecraft fan so I thought that this would be right up his ally.
He received this book as a Christmas present. I know, books for a present isn't to thriller for the average kid but this was actually on his wish list. We have been adding it into our day now for about 2 weeks or so. I feel like I can share some of our thoughts about how it is fitting in.
About the book: This book is meant to be used as a curriculum meaning you could use this and add in a few other resources for your homeschooling day. In the beginning few pages it gives detail about what you would all need. We personally just use it as a fun add on to our day. The book says that if your child is under 10 to do 5 pages a day and if over 10 to do 10 pages a day. We normally just do as many as we see fit or that he wants to complete that day. Here's a full review about what the book contains from Amazon.
Don't worry your child won't be playing Minecraft all day with this 😉 Heck, I don't like my guy play even everyday day but the book does give them fun ideas to build in their world. Today we learned about different rocks and minerals found in our state. So he's learning how mining relates to the real world. We found out some really neat facts. He also can't wait to add some of these new types of rocks and minerals to his game now that he knows what they really look like.
Pro's:
Fun daily activities to keep him interested.
Easy to use and very customizable (easy to add into what you are already using)
Learning and play go hand in hand in this book.
Reasonably priced for how many pages you get.
It comes with many different subjects in it.
Con's
A bit repetitive.
Easy to add into our day but we aren't using this as a sole curriculum so some of the pages are wasteful to use. (Ie. some of the math pages because he is using a different math book)
It is easy to use but some of it does take preplanning by you the teacher. (Ie. The watch an educational film pages. I didn't have anything planned so we just skipped it and planned it for the next day. Not really a big deal but something to consider)
Overall I would recommend this as a add on to your homeschool day. Or even if you don't homeschool this would be really easy to add on after school or summers. My son seems to be enjoying it which is what's important. Click here to find our more and where to purchase the book.
If you'd like an inside peek into the book click here to check out the Youtube video I made for it.
We've had a love/hate relationship with cloth diapers while diapering Ezra. I'm glad to say we are at the love point again. I think it takes awhile to find your groove and what works best for you and your baby. That being said, we have tried many different brands out. Now that we have been using cloth for almost 16 months (we took a couple months off) we know what works best for us. This is my first Alva Baby diaper but I do know quite a few who have used them before. Lets break it all down below↓
I'm going to call this more of a first impressions review because we have only been testing the diaper for about a week. I will update this review later once it has been in our rotation for awhile to see how it's holding up. So far it has been working great for us. We've had no issues with leaks and I feel like we get a really good fit. The diaper itself fits very trim on my little man. It's easy for him to run around in and well, just be the wild toddler he is.
The one I am using is a pocket diaper so that means that the insert get's put inside a "pocket" in the diaper. Pocket diapers are one of my personal favorites because they are so easy to customize to your needs. My diaper came with one mircofiber insert. After "prepping" the diaper first, AKA running it through the washer a few times, I popped it on my guy. I had him wear it about 3 hours before changing. That's typically how long we like to go in-between changes. It held all the liquids in nicely, no leaks! I honestly think it could have went maybe 4 hours for us but it all depends if your baby is a heavy wetter or not. I personally wouldn't use this diaper overnight without adding in extra protection. Which again is really easy to do since it is a pocket diaper.
The customization of the buttons really insures that you get a great fit. It has a 2 rise setting and waist and hip snaps. Ezra is just about 18 months old, is roughly 24-25 lbs, and about 31-32 inches tall. To get a proper fit around the waist I have to snap it all the way shut. For the rise, I have it on the last snap setting. He still has plenty of room to grow in this diaper. On their site is says it will fit most babies between 6.5-33lbs. Meaning he could have worn this diaper right from birth until most likely potty training time. I would assume that it would be a bit bulky on a newborn but most all one size diapers are at first.
Alva diapers are a great choice for someone who is on a tight budget. This diaper typically runs about $6. This is much less than any other brand we own. You could build a pretty good stash of about 24 diapers for only $144. That being said you would probably need to buy some extra inserts as well. Besides being really affordable they have super cute designs for both girls and boys. Make sure to plan ahead on buying because shipping can take anywhere from 4-6 weeks to arrive. If you need them quicker they do have a USA tab that has items that says they typically ships 7-10 days.
It all started when Ezra was about 4 months old. I was scrolling on Instagram and came across a picture of a boy about the same age looking so stylish. I thought, "Hey, I want that my kids to look like that!". I wanted to find some truly unique pieces that were on trend with current fashion styles. I mean you can only have so many blue, dinosaur, handsome like daddy shirts.
Hat: Hide and Cotton
Tee: Foxy Mountain
Leggings: The Wild Bambino
Moccs: The Wild Folk
Well along my search to find some new rad clothes for my little man I stumbled upon The Wild Bambino and instantly fell in love. Between all her custom t-shrit rompers to her fun patterned leggings I was hooked. Besides just having some of the coolest clothes around The Wild Bambino also has the sweetest mama running the shop. Amber worked as an ER nurse until her son was born. She then decided to stay at home with her little man and open up shop to make cool, trendy, and hip clothes for her little boy but also wanted to share her creations with everyone else as well. Hence The Wild Bambino was born. She now has added another sweet boy to her family while still kicking butt as a work at home mom.
Tee and leggings from The Wild Bambino
Hat: Hide and Cotton
Boots: Timberland caption
Pictured are just a few of the pieces that we own. You can find a little bit of everything in her shop from custom rompers (thats right, you can send in your own tee and she will turn it into a romper or dress for you) to tees, leggings, beanies and so much more!
T-shrit romper from The Wild Bambino
Hat: Bubba's Truckers
Shoes: Carters
I definitely recommend you check out her shop at www.etsy.com/shop/thewildbambino If you find something you like, and I'm sure you will, use code INSTA10 for a discount. Or just follow along her rad shop on Instagram. Pop in, say hi and let her know Ezra sent you 😉 She has something super fun planned when she hits 10k and you don't want to miss out!
If you're anything like me I'm sure you've struggled with finding balance in your home. It's not all cupcakes and rainbows being a stay at home mom like many think. Insert major eyeroll when I hear people say how nice it would be to sit around and do nothing. We stay pretty busy around my neck of the woods. Homeschooling is a huge part of our day. I'm currently homeschooling our 8 year old. This is our 2nd year doing school from home and we love it. It certainly has its moments but the good outweigh the bad.
One of my main concerns when we started was how I would balance having a baby and giving my focus to my older son. I knew that the baby would take a lot of my time and many told me it would be too hard. We started 1st grade with Kaiden (my oldest) when Ezra (the current baby) was 2 months old. It was nice that we had some time in-between having a newborn and starting our new journey of homeschooling. Here's somethings that helped us get what we needed to done without losing our minds.
Babies:
Babywrap/ carrier: This was a HUGE help for me when my guy was a wee little one. He was colicky and needed to be held almost constantly. I could easily have him nestled up in my wrap and help Kaiden with his work. We would work at the kitchen counter where I could stand and walk around which soothed the baby.
Nap time: For the subjects that really needed one-on-one time we would save it for nap time. We didn't have a set nap time but it always ended up being some what close to the same time. We could really get a lot done during these times. Call them power hours if you wish.
Save some for later: Thats right. One blessing of homeschool is you don't have to go by the norms. You can do "school" whatever time works best for you and your family. We would sometimes save our reading or other subjects for later in the night when dad got home from work.
Toddlers:
Special activities: We have a box of toys that gets pulled out durning school time. It's like all new toys each day I pull it out.
Let them join: A lot of the time they just want to be where the action is. I'll put him in his highchair with a piece of paper and some crayons. He gets to sit next to his big brother while doing his own "work". He also loves joining us when we read. Yes, he doesn't understand what we are reading about but he loves to sit with us.
A favorite show: I know some people and anti-tv and that's ok! Just skip this one. We only put on one episode of Mickey Mouse on each day and it gives us a nice half hour to get some work done.
Nap time: Same as above with the naps. Use them to your advantage. If things aren't going our way we hold off on work until nap time then we can get a lot done. My guy naps for 2-3 hours a day so it really frees up our time.
Location is key: We don't have a fancy homeschool room. Pretty much all our work is done at the kitchen counter. We have an open floor layout so I can see the living room straight from the kitchen. I can let Ezra go crazy with toys out there while working with Kaiden in the kitchen. We have it baby proofed (as of now until he finds something new to climb) so I don't have to worry about it as much. Yes my living room looks like a tornado has went though it daily but that's ok!
It's going to be a whole new ball game when I have a newborn in February while also having a toddler running around. We'll see if I have some new tips after that. I plan on utilizing my wrap again and working around the toddler. We also started early this year to plan around taking the month of Feb. mostly off.
At the end of the day if not everything gets done it's OK! Save the work you couldn't get to for tomorrow. You have plenty of time to teach them what they need to know. They are constantly learning even if it's not in a "structured" form. Have fun with it and try not to let the stress get to you. If we're having a bad day we take an hour and get outside. I have everyone run off their crazies and then we come back in and try to refocus. One last thing is to try not to stress about the house work. I normally have a list of things I try to get done each day but if it doesn't get done there is always another day. My husband is great a really helps out on the weekends when he's home with household work. Everyone just does their part in helping out!
I hope this helped give you some ideas on finding balance. No, none of the information is mind-blowing but putting all the parts together really helped us stress less and get more done.
