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Homeschool Day in the Life – Timed Lessons

homeshool room

We recently adjusted our homeschool schedule so that we have timed lessons. Prior to this, I began researching a few Charlotte Mason methods and read a book, Modern Miss Mason by Leah Boden. From what I learned, I really loved the reasoning behind doing short, timed lessons. Short is key!

I’ve never been much of a fan of a tight schedule when it comes to our homeschool day, so this was weird for me to start. I always expressed our day as a “rhythm”, starting and finishing as we pleased. I have to remind myself that technically we can still do that, but once the lesson starts we are on a timer.

Want to know what’s crazy – we have LOVED it! This may sound weird, but we actually sit down for a lesson for a shorter amount of time, yet I’m able to get MORE done in our school day than before! Isn’t that crazy?

One day last week, I took some notes about what we did during the day, and I’ll be sharing that with you here. I am going to put start times, but I don’t every feel bound to that. I aim for it, but if I’m early or later than what my plan suggests, I just start when I can. The key is that the lesson is always the same amount of time.

Here’s a link to Charlotte Mason’s timetable, if you’re interested in learning more about the “why” of shorter lessons.

This post contains affiliate links. If you follow one of my links I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!

morning checklist

Breakfast and Chores

I get up between 6 and 6:30. I like a few minutes to myself to read the bible and drink coffee. Getting up isn’t easy to do, because I still get woken up multiple times during the night by litle ones. My secret is having my coffee pot on a timer! It’s like a Folger’s commercial from the 90s…”The best part of waking up…” (are you singing it?) Seriously though, I can smell it and I love that it’s ready for me. Morning motivation.

I am currently reading the One Year Bible. I also use my study bible alongside it to help me dig deeper into what I’m reading for the day.

My kids start getting up between 6:30 and 7:30. They all wake up at different times, and I’m usually making breakfast by then. If someone isn’t up by 7:30, I’ll let them know breakfast is ready. I like to get our day going, so I do wake someone up if it gets pass a certain time.

After breakfast (8:00ish) my kids immediately start their morning checklist. You can read more about this in my morning routine post, but it’s one of the things in our homeschool that has stuck around through the years. It’s a list to get my kids ready for the day and to do a couple chores around the house before we begin.

Independent Work

Once the checklist is done, my two older girls have independent work. They each do something different, and they don’t always start at the same time together. It’s just whenever they’re done with their checklist.

For First Grade: Handwriting (5 mins). We set a timer when she starts, and I tell her she has to complete two lines. She is using a Reason For Level A right now. if she finishes before, great. If not, she stops and finishes it the next day. I used to have her do a lot more independent work than this – it was not successful. Every since we cut it to just writing for 5 min, it’s been so nice. She works hard and does the work well.

Third Grade: Handwriting (5 mins) Same as my first grader – she completes 2-3 lines in that time. We are not using a program for this. I create her copywork based on the literature we are reading. She also does her math independently. I shorten her math lessons so that she is able to complete it in 20 minutes or less. The last thing she completes is her Fix it Grammar lesson which takes about 5 minutes.

Morning Time and Outside

I aim to start our Morning Time at 9:00. Right now we are using Foundations of the Bible from Driven by Grace. We read poetry from “Poems to Learn by Heart” and we read aloud. Usually the book(s) we read is something we are learning in history/science.

At 9:40 We head outside to play, soak in the sun, and the kids usually have a snack. I also get outside for a minute during this time. It makes such a difference in my mood if I get out throughout the day. In the past we have also used this time to go on a short walk.

christian light education math

Lessons Begin

We start lessons at 10:00, and I do math with my first grader. We set a timer for 20 minutes to get the lesson done. I do my best to pick what is the most important and helpful in her lesson. We do not do every single review problem. At the end of the timer, we stop…even when I don’t want to!

I didn’t mention this, but I have four children. While I have lessons with one of my big girls (8yo and 6yo) the other one is playing with my youngest two (4yo and 2yo).

At 10:20 I switch my big girls and start lessons with my oldest. The first thing we do is like a math meeting. Her lesson is usually complete or almost finished because she does it during independent work time. I help her with anything she couldn’t do on her own and we check her work together. I don’t set a timer for this because it only takes about 5 minutes or less.

Next we immediately start our language arts lesson. I recently wrote a post on what we do for this, but I set a timer for 20 minutes to get it done.

I start my next lesson by 11:00. This is language arts with my first grader. We are using Logic of English Foundations B. For this lesson, I set the timer for 15 minutes. I can usually complete 2-4 sections of a lesson during this time. The lessons in this Foundations B book are very long. Even before I started using a timer, we were not completing a full lesson.

preschool fun

Preschool Fun

At this point we are done with our formal lessons! It’s 11:15, and I have a minute to regroup and think about the afternoon ahead. This is also a great time to play with my little two, and that’s exactly what we did.

My big kids were outside, and my little two came in together looking for some time with mommy. We might read books, do a puzzle, or color. I keep it very simple. On this day we did some counting. It was as simple as rolling a dice and counting math cubes into a cup. They loved it!

After 15-20 minutes of preschool fun, I prep our lunch. I don’t always use this time for preschool. I do try to set aside time to play with my little ones, but it’s more about when it fits best in the day. This just so happened to be the time it worked out on this day.

Movie Lunch

About once a week, I let my kids watch a movie during lunch. The movie has something to do with what we are studying. We are working through Foundations of the Bible from Driven by Grace and she lists certain Superbook shows that match the topic.

At 11:40 we watched an episode while eating a picnic lunch. This is always a fun treat!

Mom’s Chores and Outside Time

Between lunch and my son’s nap (12:00-1:00) is just a free time. My kids played outside which gave me an opportunity to work on my personal checklist. I’ve been doing this for about 3 months now, and it’s amazing.

At the start of every day, I write down three things I want to accomplish. It can be as simple as “sweep the kitchen”. My goal is to get those three things done by the end of the day. I feel more productive and it feels like I’m able to keep up with my house better.

At 1:00, I put my son down for a nap.

Afternoon Activity

At 1:15, I designate something I want to do with my older girls that is a little bit harder to do with a little one around. Now that he’s napping, it’s easier to get it done. This usually has something to do with the current unit study we are in.

Today we studied art during the the time of the Vikings. We sat at the table, researched the information with our library books, and looked at examples. We also read about runes and tried creating some on Play-Doh with a toothpick.

Reverse Planning

We finish up our afternoon activity by 2:00. During this time, I can clean up and fill out my planner. I use the reverse planning method and love it! I simply write down the things we accomplished for the day and shut down the school room for the afternoon.

Quiet Time/ Jog

At 2:30 we started quiet time. My son is still sleeping and my two big girls go into separate rooms to enjoy some quiet. Our days flow much better when we all have this quiet time to ourselves. My girls entertain themselves by reading, drawing, or listening to a book. They have come to really love and appreciate this time.

While they are in quiet time, I go for a jog. I look forward to this every day because I can get outside and I can listen to a book or a podcast that I love. It also gives me an energy boost for the rest of the afternoon/evening. My husband works from home so he is able to be the present adult while I’m gone.

My third daughter comes with me in the stroller. She needs a nap, but a full one is too long, if you know what I mean. So, she rides in the stroller and takes a catnap while I run.

Afternoon Snack

Quiet time is usually an hour. At 3:30 everyone comes out for a snack. I’ve learned to do this snack right away otherwise they get to playing and get hungry too close to dinner, snack late, and ruin their appetite. We’ve been using it as a time to just sit and chat together. Some days we even make tea for fun. I also enjoy an iced coffee while we talk 😉

Once we finish our snack time, my kids head outside for the afternoon. I usually spend this time picking up or prepping for dinner.

Evening Routine

At 6:00 we have dinner. My husband and I clean up at the end while the kids play. Right now it gets dark pretty early. We all look forward to when we can spend some more time outside after dinner.

At 6:45, we visit together in our living room. I wish I could say it was peaceful family time, but the energy level is usually quite high. We are together as a family, but it’s quite loud! Even still, I am grateful.

At 7:00 my kids get ready for bed. They don’t GO to bed. I’ve just learned to start our bedtime routine early. It helps me not to get frazzled in the rush to get to bed. By starting early I have more patience and better self control. Once they are ready for bed, we read aloud together.

It’s just me and the girls that read while my son plays with my husband. We have been reading our novels before bed for a couple years now, and it has been so nice. We read so much together! And it is a time that I cherish with them.

By 8:00 we finish up our reading and I put my son to bed. During this time, my girls read silently in their beds.

By 8:30 it’s lights out and time for bed.

Routine

Routine is so important in our home! Not only does it help our kids, but I’ve realized how much it helps me to follow a routine also. On days where we aren’t in routine, I feel pretty funky!

Our schedule has shifted and adjusted over the years, but this is the first time we’ve tried timing our lessons. It used to be where I’d be teaching all the way to lunch and then I’d have to catch up with someone when my son took a nap.

Now, with timed lessons, I’m able to be more efficient and complete our lessons quicker. This allows me extra time in the afternoon to add in some fun!

Does your routine look similar to this? Have you ever tried timed lessons? I was against it for quite sometime, but I’m glad I finally tried it. We have loved it so far!

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My All-Time-Favorite Laundry Hack

laundry basket

I feel like I’ve tried all the laundry tricks in the book – one load a week, complete it all on the weekend, every other day. Let’s be honest, I’ve even purged clothes throughout my whole house so I would possibly have less to wash! Even still, it feels like it never gets easier.

Well, over the last few months I’ve made one small change that has changed my laundry life for the better, and I’m so excited to share it with you.

This post contains affiliate links. If you follow one of my links I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!

The Inspiration

My inspiration came from Kristi Clover, author of “M.O.M: Master Organizer of Mayhem“, who suggested that every person in the family have their own basket. I was so overwhelmed by laundry at the time that I couldn’t even think about doing that. Is there even enough space in the bedrooms? I have three girls in one room! Where am I going to get all these laundry baskets? These were all thoughts that were racing around in my head.

As a family of six, the laundry loads were always present, and I felt like it was impossible to keep up. However, I couldn’t stop thinking about what she said – the benefits she listed seemed so wonderful, and I really wanted to find a way to make it work in my own home.

Laundry Baskets

Of course, I immediately searched Amazon to buy cute little narrow baskets so they wouldn’t take up so much space in the house. They were so expensive! I just couldn’t buy new baskets because I didn’t even know if I liked this method yet.

To save money, I started with the baskets I had and made it work. I made the decision that my husband and I would continue to share a basket. Then, I had enough for each of my three girls. That took care of everyone except my two year old son.

The solution – an Amazon box! I’m serious! I used an Amazon box to hold his dirty clothes. I didn’t want to spend the money on baskets because it’s possible this method wasn’t even going to work for me! So, I set the box in a corner in his room and threw his dirty clothes in there each day.

Well, spoiler alert – it worked, and I loved it! Want to know something funny? My son used that Amazon box for about 3 months before I bought him a basket! (ha!)

The basket I bought him was small and only cost $2.50 at Target. So, if you’re not into the box solution, make a quick trip to target for a great deal!

I do keep a basket in my utility room for towels. So, for example, if a towel is in someone’s basket, I’ll pull it out and put it in my towel basket. When that basket gets full, I wash it! That’s really the only separating I do. We wash everything in cold water and I wash all the colors in it. Is it the best for my clothes? Well, possibly not, but I (nor my children) are wearing anything fancy enough for all of that extra laundry care.

Sorting Before You Wash

The trick to all of this is that the sorting takes place BEFORE you actually wash the clothes. To do this, I had to change my picking up habits. Prior to this, anytime I picked up clothes, I just threw them in the nearest basket or just straight into the washer.

Now, I take the clothing item to the specific person’s basket. This may seem like a hassle, but it’s really not that bad. Most of their clothes are in their room anyway. Or they might be in the bathroom next to their room. So, it’s just a few steps here and there to get it done. The fact that I’m keeping up with laundry makes it all worth it!

I also had to teach my kids about putting their clothes in their own basket. I thought this would take time, but they really picked it up quick, even my three and a half year old.

Smaller Loads

I run a load of laundry almost every day. Because of this, when a child is ready to wash their basket, the load is actually not that big. It makes the folding process quick and easy. Everything in the basket belongs to the same person and it can go right to the drawers.

Each of my children get their basket washed about once a week, and so far it’s been great! The only basket that needs washing more than once a week is mine, but it holds clothes for two people.

My Older Children Wash Their Own Clothes

I’ve always wanted to train my kids to do this, but couldn’t quite find the method to keep it consistent. Most of the time I was wanting them to fold, but there would be so many different items in the baskets. I’d spend a ton of time sorting everything in piles before they could even fold.

With the multiple basket method, that whole step is eliminated. Their basket goes in the wash. (I usually switch it to the dryer when it’s ready) and then they fold it on their own and put it away. Back to the smaller load point – it’s really not too bad for them because the loads are small.

My oldest two girls are the ones that can do this. They are 8 and 6. Their folding is not perfection and many times it gets folded inside out, but I’m picking my battles. They are learning such great responsibility, and it’s saving me time to do something else if I need to.

Scheduling

This method might even work great to assign everyone a day, but I’m not very good about that. I try to put a load in every day, and I usually just pick the one that is the fullest. After doing it for so many weeks, a pattern has started to develop, but it’s not super strict.

I Love This Method

Since I’ve started doing this method, I can’t remember the last time I felt overwhelmed by the amount of laundry that had to get done. I think it’s because the folding and putting away just became easier! Plus, I was doing less thanks to the help of my big girls.

I have three girls, and the constant separating of girls underwear, and girls socks, and shirts that are just one size apart was exhausting! It took so much time to look at every. single. tag. Now, that rarely happens!

Give this a Try

So, what do you think? Want to try this out? Or, maybe you already to this too? I’m telling you this was a game changer for maintaining my home and it’s been an active practice in my home for about four months now.

I never thought there would be a day where laundry wouldn’t bother me, but this little hack has really changed my mindset. The loads are smaller and it feels like there’s a whole lot less. I’m so thankful for other moms out there sharing what works for them, because it inspired me to make one small change. I hope that sharing this here with you can be an inspiration as well.

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Homeschool Morning Routine – Morning Checklist

morning checklist

Our morning checklist is the tried and true practice that has stuck around over the years. As homeschool moms, we are always adjusting routines and curriculum to better fit our needs, and although we have adjusted our checklist at times – the rules of it have stayed the same. It has been such a help for our mornings!

This post contains affiliate links. If you follow one of my links I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!

How it Started

I first thought of the idea a couple years ago when I was listening to a podcast from Durenda Wilson. Unfortunately, I can’t remember what the episode was, but she talked about how important it was for her main living spaces to be clean and clear before she started her homeschool day. At the time, I could feel the weight of the mess in my own home and new this strategy could be helpful.

She also talked about the fact that the key to doing this is to not take it on alone! Get the kids involved. Set up routines and chores so that the whole family is working together and the pressure is not on mom alone.

The Constant Questions

The other problem I was running into was the questions I had to keep asking every single day. “Did you brush your hair? Did you brush your teeth? Is your room picked up?” Times that by four for each of my children, while I was trying to cook and clean breakfast – I was exhausted doing it!

This really drove me to teach them how to be more responsible about getting ready and how to help me in the house more.

checklist

The Morning Checklist

Enter the morning checklist.

I thought carefully about the things I wanted the kids to do to get ready and added that to the list. I also followed the advice of Durenda Wilson and set a goal to have our main living space clean before we started. This means we would work together to get the kitchen and living room picked up each morning.

It’s tempting to put a large list of things on the checklist, because wouldn’t that be the most helpful? However, I found it best for us to smart very small and eventually work our way towards a good quality list.

Breakfast

One thing I wanted to do was put items on their that will be easy to accomplish. For example, “eat breakfast” is on the list. I plan to feed them every day, so I know for sure they will be able to check that off with ease. I want them to feel successful and not defeated as soon as they start.

At breakfast my kids make a “cup for the day“. This is the cup to be used for the whole day. It stays on the table (or the counter) for them to use as needed. I implemented this cup idea because every time my kids were thirsty, they’d just grab another cup.

Some of the fault was on me too – I’d see a cup and put it in the dishwasher. The cycle of always needing a cup continued. So our “cup of the day” rule helps with that.

Getting Ready for the Day

To avoid all of the questions I was having to ask, I added to the list our daily tasks for getting ready. This includes “get dressed“, “brush your hair“, “brush your teeth“.

Now, this doesn’t mean I never have to question them. I have some kids that are really good about the checklist and others that need reminders. However, it’s better than managing all four by myself. No matter what they’re learning to be more responsible.

Morning Chore

The last piece of the checklist was the chore to help me prepare our home for the day. Remember my focus was the kitchen and the living room. So, I chose two jobs that my older two girls would alternate each week.

One would unload the dishwasher for me and the other would pick up the living room. So, their checklist states, “morning chore: __________________” and I write one of those jobs each week. It’s super easy to manage and they help me remember who’s doing what.

Now, at the time we started this my third daughter was only two. She was just learning about chores, but I wanted her to be a part of our family clean-up team. So, I gave the her job of picking up couch pillows. She’s done that same job every day for the last couple years. She’s almost four now and she’s probably ready to do something more, so I’ll be thinking of that soon I’m sure.

Our First Checklist

Did you catch all of the items on the list? I will list it out for you so you can see how simple and small we started. It was so helpful to do it in this way because the kids could accomplish the list, and I didn’t feel pressure of making them do all kinds of tasks in the morning.

  • Eat Breakfast
  • Cup for the Day
  • Morning Chore: ________________
  • Get Dressed
  • Brush Hair
  • Brush Teeth
checklist with pictures

Adjust the List for Each Child

I do adjust the list for each child as needed. For example, I drew pictures on my preschooler’s list because she can’t read it. They aren’t fancy. I just took my pencil and made a quick drawing.

Some tasks may need to be done by one child but not the others. We started my youngest daughter’s list with “throw away pull-up” on there, and she took care of that on her own every morning.

I’m also able to write things on the list if I want something temporary. For example, if my child has to take medication or if their lips are really chapped, I might add “medicine” or “chapstick” with a wet erase marker. Then we can erase it the next week.

Storing and Displaying

We keep our lists in a dry erase pocket. I’ve learned that the best place for them to be displayed is somewhere near me so I can help make sure everyone is on track. For our home this is the utility room door near where I’m cleaning up in the kitchen in the morning. This makes it easy for me to check on the kids as they finish their items.

The dry erase pocket has been so nice. They erase really well, and if I want to write anything temporary for a few days I just use wet erase markers.

Adding Items When We are Ready

As we have gotten used to our checklists, it’s been easier to add more items to it. For example, The girls’ lists now say “tidy room” and “make bed“. I don’t require a perfectly made bed. I just ask them to pull up their blankets and make it look nice.

This would’ve been great to have from the beginning, but at the time it was overwhelming. Once we had mastered our first list, it felt easier to add more. I also feel like this is a big reason why it’s been so successful – starting small.

Final Thoughts

Things come and go with our homeschool, but this is one thing that has consistently worked for us the last couple years. It makes my mornings easier, and everyone knows what’s expected of them.

When we take breaks from our homeschool routine, we usually skip the checklist and have more relaxed mornings. However, it’s the perfect thing to bring back into our morning a week or two before we start up again to kick everyone back in gear for school.

One new thing I did before we started after Christmas this year was I asked the girls if there was anything they’d like me to add? It wasn’t much, but those one or two items they added really gave them ownership of the list and got them excited for routine again. (If you’re curious what they added, one was “deodorant”, another was “vitamin”, and I think one was “feed cat”…which we don’t really have. It’s a barn cat that all the neighbors feed, but my daughter wanted ownership of that. I gave it to her! She loves it!)

Although we’ve done this for a while, we still have our not-so-good days when it comes to getting it done. We’ve had phases where I had to set timers to motivate them. I also have a couple that need lots and lots of reminders, at times. It’s not a perfect system, but it’s one that has been so beneficial to us.

Last thing – I really try to do the same things for myself to set the example. I used to not make my bed, but once I asked them to, I realized I really needed to do it too! I’ve even said things like, “I’m going to do my checklist” when I get ready. I don’t really have one, but they get it! We all have our responsibilities in the home.

What would you add to the list? Do you use something similar? If you try this out let me know how it works for you! Comment here or find me on Instagram @simply.learning.together

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Practical Stocking Stuffers for Learning and Creativity

I tend to be a practical gift giver, choosing gifts that are fun but also useful and helpful to our home. As a homeschool family with four kids, I like to strategize my gift-giving when I can! As I come up with them, I’m thinking about how it might contribute to our day. What is something that my kids will enjoy but it will also help me in our daily routines?

Anyone can benefit from looking through this list, not just homeschoolers. However, this won’t be your typical, socks and underwear and candy-filled stocking. I’ll be adding some ideas that will be fun for kids but helpful to mom (or dad) during a homeschool day.

I’ll be thinking of educational tools to help us learn, activities to entertain my little ones, and fun, educational games or activities my older children can enjoy on their own or during a quiet time.

I have four children. The oldest is 8 and the youngest is two, so these ideas could be for a variety of ages. I’ll also point out that I am by no means purchasing all of these things! A stocking is only so big and I have a budget to keep in mind. This is more of a brainstorm list to share with others.

This post contains affiliate links. If you follow one of my links I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!

little ones stocking stuffers

For your little ones (under 4)

Water Wow – We have a couple of these. Not only are they entertaining. They have lasted over the years.

Stamps – They come in a wooden box, but open them up and throw them in the stocking with a small stamp pad. My little ones love using stamps!

Dot Markers – same idea as the stamps. If the box doesn’t fit, open it! I got one box to split between my youngest two.

Flashcards: Alphabet, Numbers, Shapes… (We have a few of these. I don’t use them to drill my toddlers, we just get them out for fun! Sometimes we match or just talk about them. I enjoy having them.)

Toddler Scavenger Hunt

Uno Junior

Play Doh – If your play doh is anything like mine it’s all mixed up or dried up. Now is a good time to stock up on a few fresh ones 😉

stocking stuffers for learning

For your bigger kids (4-10)

LCD Writing Tablet – this would be fun to do math problems or write sentences, an easy way to mix things up. It could also just be used for quiet time, car rides, or just for fun. The one I’m linking is the smaller version (8.5 inches) so it slides nicely into that stocking!

Rainbow Scratch Paper

Cat’s Cradle – I’m not sure if I want this for them or for me – hello childhood! (LOL)

Dice Game – We use dice all the time. I love how this set can be used as regular dice but it’s also a game in itself.

Flashcards/Card Games – I love card games, and they’re great for learning but also for family fun! There are so many out there. Here’s a few that stick out to me:

Clicks Markers – I’m so pumped about this. This is a definitely-getting item for me. We are always losing marker caps and drying out markers. I’m so excited to try these out!

Chapter Book – Check out a few of our favorites here

Book Light – All 3 of my girls have one of these and use it every night before bed!

Bananagrams – I’ve heard great things about this one. They also have a “My First” version for early readers that I am considering.

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Our Favorite Christmas Party Games

For the past few years, I’ve thrown myself a big Christmas/birthday party to celebrate with my family. We love to get together for the holiday, and Christmas Eve is also my birthday! As a kid, I wasn’t a big fan of having my birthday on a holiday, especially Christmas. Once I had my own kids, I just love filling the day with fun games, family gift exchanges, and lots of sweets! It’s been really special and something I look forward to every year.

We’ve played a variety of games over the last few years, so I’m sharing some of those with you in this post. My goal when looking for Christmas party games is to find one that doesn’t require expensive supplies and one that isn’t going to add more stress to an already busy season.

This post contains affiliate links. If you follow one of my links I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Oven Mitt Unwrapping

This game is one we do every year. It’s a lot of fun, but it’s my kids favorite. It’s easy for them to participate in and since this is a family friendly party – this game is a winner.

In order to set this up correctly you’ll need 3-4 different sized boxes. (A lot of times I use boxes from my pantry, like a cereal box!) You also need 2-3 types of wrapping paper and plenty of tape. My suggestion would be to get these at your dollar store!

I’ve done different items for the gift. It’s usually a small gift card or just something that says “WINNER!” and I’ll have some baked goods to send home for the winner. I keep it pretty simple.

Place the gift in the smallest box. Wrap the box in multiple layers with different types of paper. You choose the amount (Just remember there’s still a lot of wrapping to do!). Next, place that box into the other box and begin wrapping that second box in multiple layers. If you have a third, bigger box, follow the same procedure.

Now you’re ready to play. You’ll want to sit in a circle on the floor or around a table. One person has the gift and a pair of oven mitts. (This is another great dollar store purchase, but these cheap ones from Amazon may do the trick as well!) The next player (to the left) has two dice. Play begins when the player with the dice starts rolling. While this is taking place, the player with the oven mitts will be trying to unwrap as much and as fast as possible. The play stops when doubles are rolled (two of the same number). At this point, the dice are passed to the left and the gift and mitts are passed to the left.

Move quickly! As soon as the next person starts rolling and gets doubles, you have to pass again. The game continues in this way until someone gets their hands on the actual gift inside. This can get really exciting and the best part is no one really knows how much wrapping paper or boxes there are!

4-5-6

Another game we love to play is 4-5-6. I believe it sells in the stores by the name of “Left, Right, Center”. We just grew up calling it something else!

We play for cash with this one, and it’s so much fun. All players that want to play must have 3 one dollar bills. This is a jackpot game so you may or may not go home with that money! The game also requires one set of three dice.

Sit in a circle with your three dollars in front of you. Whoever is first rolls the three dice. If it’s a 4: one dollar goes to the left. If it’s a 5: one dollar goes to the right. If it’s a 6: one dollar goes to the middle.

Now, those are the rules but there are so many different scenarios that could happen. For example, if you roll two 5’s and a 3 then two dollar bills go to your right and you get to keep one. If you roll three 6’s then all three of your dollar bills go to the middle.

The other rule you have to remember is you only roll as many dice as you have dollars. So, if you lost a dollar on your last turn then you only roll two dice on your next turn.

The trick is you want to stay in your circle, even if you lose your money. You never know if a dollar or two will be passed in your direction. The last person with a dollar that doesn’t roll it away WINS!

Here is a link to a video that shows a great visual to the game. In the video, they are using the LRC dice (instead of regular dice) and instead of dollars they use chips.

Jingle in the Trunk

You need empty tissue boxes for this one, the regular size. I think it’s more fun when you put two people up against each other, so you may want to have a couple boxes for this game.

To prepare for the game you’ll need to poke a hole on each side of the tissue box so that you can put a small rope or string through it and tie it around your waist. You’ll want the tissue box opening to face outward and the bottom of the box will be resting on your back side.

Some people fill the box with jingle bells (hence the name). You might be able to find something like that at the dollar store but I believe when we played we used candy, like Hershey kisses. Put a handful inside the box and play your favorite Christmas music.

The person(s) with the box around their waist will dance like crazy to try and get everything to fly out of the tissue box. Whoever gets the most candy out in a certain time – I’d shoot for 20-30 seconds – is the winner.

mystery gift exchange

Mystery Gift Exchange

I learned this game at a bible study once and it was a lot of fun, so I shared it with my family last year. The game does have an “ultimate prize”, so you can decide what that is. The rest of the parts come from the participants.

I told my family to bring a gift that could fit into a brown lunch bag. Now, to make it even simpler, I set a rule that you couldn’t buy anything. So people brought a coffee mug, coozie, portable fan, a rat trap…there was some interesting stuff! Nothing was new and it was small enough to fit in the brown paper bag.

Before the game started, I set each item in a bag and stapled it shut so no one could see what it was. We sat in a circle and began to play.

Two dice are needed and everyone takes turn rolling the two dice and following the directions below:

  • DOUBLES: switch bags with someone OR make two people switch
  • ROLL 5: All bags go one to the right
  • ROLL 9: All bags go three to the left
  • SNAKE EYES: The ultimate Prize and Game Over

Depending on the dice, this game could be quick or take much longer. The neat part about it is everyone goes home with something! One way you could stall the game is to have a bag of candy ready to give to the first person to roll snake eyes. Then the second person could be the winner.

You can see in the photo I have the gift in the middle, a list of directions, and a couple bags of candy to stall if we needed to.

Best Christmas Games

This year I’ve decided to keep it simple and stick to our two favorite: oven mitt unwrapping and 4-5-6. These two games are a lot of fun and everyone can play, including the kids! Have you played any games like this? What are your favorites?

You know, I would definitely call myself competitive so I love playing games. Most importantly, I just love the memories shared playing these games with my family. I love that my kids get to experience the joy and excitement of participating with us, and it makes my holiday birthday even more special!

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Inexpensive Christmas Cards for $30

christmas card

This year I did some experimenting and was able to order our Christmas cards for just $30. I was motivated to do this when I went to my usual source for ordering them and the total for just 50 cards was going to be around $100 (and that was with a Black Friday 50% off sale!)

I’m sorry, but money is already tight during the holidays, and that was NOT going to fly with me this year. I didn’t want to eliminate the cards because I really do enjoy sending them. So, I came up with an alternative to create some inexpensive Christmas cards and I’m sharing that with you!

It’s possible that this idea is obvious or yesterday’s news, but it’s a first for me, and I felt pretty proud saving $70 this December. If just one person is able to do the same after reading this then I will be happy! Now, keep in mind prices may be different based on where you live. The point is – I hope this saves you money!

Do these look as amazing as a glitter-font-filled cardstock photo cards? Absolutely not. However, I think with a little more practice I may get these looking better and better every year.

This post contains affiliate links. If you follow one of my links I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Search for Inspiration

The first thing I did was get inspired. I’m not the most creative when it comes to graphic design. So, I shopped around on Christmas card sites for some different ideas of what I would like my card to look like. I paid attention to colors, fonts and font sizes.

Create with Canva

Have you ever used Canva? It has so many neat things, but I’d say my skills are pretty beginner level. I love that you can even create for free with this website! I decided to make a Christmas card that was the size of a 4×6 photo.

There’s a search bar on the site, and that’s where I entered “4×6” and voila! A template was created for me that was just the right size.

Next, I added the picture I wanted along with the text I came up with. I’m a pretty simple gal when it comes to this stuff, so one picture and a “Merry Christmas!” was all I needed. However, you can really go nuts with this site and do all kinds of things!

Now that I know this strategy works, I may try to get more creative next year! Once I finished my design, I downloaded it to my computer as a .png file.

Photo Prints

I used Shutterfly to do this next step. They were having their Black Friday sale at the time which allowed me to get an even better deal. Instead of choosing their Christmas card option, I selected to order prints!

I was able to upload the .png file and ordered 60 of them! Get this – my total with tax and shipping was $22.51. That’s it! I got 10 more prints than the 50 Christmas cards they offered me at the beginning, and It was almost $80 less.

I was even able to use a code and get 2 sets of free return address labels, so the Black Friday sale was the way to go!

Envelopes

The next thing I needed was envelopes, so I went to the handy dandy Amazon for those. There were all kinds of options, but I ended up going with just a simple white 4×6 photo envelope. At the time I ordered these, they were $8.57 with tax.

Did you total that out? Sixty Christmas cards, 2 sets of return address labels, and 70 envelopes for $31.08! That’s a steal compared to the $100 I was about to pay. Yes, please, and thank you!

Quality

Now, the big question was – How were these going to turn out? Well, I’ll be completely honest with you. The quality looks like a photo. These are not fancy card stock with glitter foil borders. You have to be fine with simplicity, but they printed great and the text looked awesome!

I’ll also say I kept it very basic! Now that I know how this works, I may put a little more effort into it in the future, but overall I am happy with it for what I paid.

Am I late to the game on this? Is it an obvious strategy to save money? I don’t know! All I know is I’m glad I tried it out. I don’t remember Christmas cards being so expensive! So, this is a decent trick I’m happy to have up my sleeve.

My hope is that someone else reading this may be able to save some money and try it too! Merry Christmas to you all!

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Raising Chicks – Tips and Stories From a First-Timer

chicken coop

We bought our first chicks this year, and it feels like we are diving into this huge unknown world of chickens. Neither my husband or myself has any experience with this, so it was a little scary to take it on, but we are in it to win it now!

It was a long road to get here. We did a lot of planning and learned along the way. In this post, I hope to share with you this process. It is not advice (ha!) I am not an expert by any means, but I am SURE that there is someone else out there who has an interest in this and feels completely clueless, just as I did a few months ago.

This post contains affiliate links. If you follow one of my links I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Research

The research started quite a while ago. Doing this way in advance really helped me get over the hump of being too scared and it allowed me to gradually gain knowledge in caring for chickens at a slow pace.

I started by finding people I enjoyed watching on YouTube. Seeing these people take care of their chickens in-action was so helpful and provided a great visual for what I would possibly be doing in the future. Everyone has their own tastes in videos, but a couple accounts I found the most helpful were:

  • Oak Abode (She is super easy to listen to and has TONS of videos about chickens and gardening and more! She also has a blog)
  • Stoney Ridge Farmer is another great one. I only watched a couple, but he definitely seemed like he knew what he was doing.

Online research is always a plus, but it can be very overwhelming…so many different opinions and ideas – it’s hard to sort through. For this reason, I love a good book! This allows me to have all the information I need in one place. I have two AMAZING books that I refer to often:

  • The Beginner’s Guide to Raising Chickens by Anne Kuo – I loved reading about how chickens changed this woman’s life (seriously!) and it even has coop plans inside! This was super helpful as we designed our own coop (more on this later) and we could refer to her plans for guidance.
  • A Kid’s Guide to Keeping Chickens by Melissa Caughney – Well, it’s a guide for kids, but it’s been SUPER helpful for me as a grown woman. This book is fantastic. There are activities, crafts, and recipes throughout (using eggs, not chickens!). It’s fun to look at and easy to follow.
chicken coop

Plan for your coop – Buy or Build

We went back and forth about this. I was afraid to take on a big project and lumber prices were going up. I had my eyes set on this cute little coop at Tractor Supply and figured it would be perfect. For about $500, it felt like a good deal. Then, I saw it in a YouTube video and changed my mind.

It looked so tiny! I mean it obviously works otherwise they wouldn’t sell it and people wouldn’t buy it! However, it’s not what I wanted for my chickens. I knew I couldn’t let them free range all the time, so I wanted something roomy, and a pre-made coop in my budget did NOT fit this criteria.

This encouraged us to build our own. My husband designed it and built it himself. If you want to talk budget, it was a little more than what I hoped to spend on the Tractor Supply version. Our coop plus the run was a little over $700. With that being said, it is probably four times the size of the one I was going to buy and it will most definitely outlast it.

Now, I realize building your own coop might not be your cup of tea, so obviously do what’s best for you. I hope by laying out our thought process, you might be able to feel peace about what your decision is. Making the decision to build our own was a scary one, but I’m so glad we did.

Supplies Needed for Chicks: Container (Brooder)

You’ll need a few things before you actually bring the chicks home. First you need something to put them in. We bought a black container from Lowe’s, and it turned out to be too small. So I found a container in my house that was bigger and we threw that together last minute.

Be sure to make a plan for the lid. We used hard wire mesh and cut it the right size to fit over the top. This was the cheapest and easiest for us. It does not look fancy, but it works great!

Beware, it will scratch you. I cut my arm up quite a bit at the beginning until I learned how to fight back (ha! just kidding, but seriously, I had to move certain ways in order not to get scraped)

Bedding

Next, you need bedding. We started with pine shavings (turns out, I’m allergic!) then switched to chopped straw. Since we had to switch, I researched a bit about the different types of bedding. Honestly, there’s pros and cons for everything, so pick what your comfortable with. Some things to think about:

  • Do you have any allergies that affect your bedding? (Hello, me! This was a surprise)
  • What is your budget? Some are more pricey than others
  • Are you hoping to compost? (Sand can not be composted)
  • Do you have a bedding cleaning preference? (daily/deep-litter)

Knowing the answers to these questions can help you decide what you might want to use.

Heat Source

You will also need a heat source. I really wanted to use a radiant brooder. I got hooked on it, thanks to the YouTube videos I watched. It seemed safer and easier to control. We bought one from Tractor Supply and it is HUGE – so huge it took up the entire brooder. The chicks barely had any room to move, so we caved and bought a heat lamp. It’s worked out great. Lesson learned – size matters.

Be careful when using a heat lamp. Make sure it is far enough away from the bedding and that it is secured to something and won’t fall.

I will say that regulating the temperature was one of the hardest parts for me. It could be the placement of our lamp. We adjusted as we could, but there were times I could tell my chicks were avoiding the lamp, panting, or even huddling up together in a corner. My advice is to make sure you can measure the temperature and be checking on your chicks regularly.

Small Food and Water Containers

Keep in mind the size of your brooder when you purchase these. We made the mistake of picking up the ones we’d use when the chicks move outside, and it is obviously way to large. You can order a set from Amazon like this one, but they are usually cheaper at the feed store.

One thing I quickly realized is that the chicks will constantly kick bedding into the water as well as poop in it. It never fails, I clean it out and they immediately dirty it up. I mention this because as you set up your chick home, you will want to be near a place you can easily dump and refill water. You’ll have to do it all the time!

Chick Starter and Grit

Chick starter is the food for the chicks. I honestly wish I had done a little bit of research on this. When I got to the store, I was at a loss of what to do because there were two types – medicated and non-medicated. I chose non-medicated on a whim, trying to go the more natural route. Then, I got in the car and panic-seached Google if it was the right choice.

I ended up taking the bag back inside and exchanging it for the medicated kind. As with just about everything, there are multiple opinions out there, but you can avoid the confusion by preparing yourself and making your choice before you shop.

One other thing to note, these chicks eat a lot of food! We have 7 chicks and It took them one week to finish a bag. You might want to stock up.

You’ll also want to look into grit. Chick grit helps with digestion, but I hear that some people find it unnecessary. Do your research and make the best choice for your chickens. I am not a chick expert and do not really know the “best” use of this stuff. I’m only influenced by the books I read and the videos I watch.

We did purchase it and started sprinkling it on the food when the chicks were a couple weeks old.

Electrolytes

This is something you can buy to add to the chicks water. It’s supposed to give the chicks a little boost, almost like a Gatorade might for a human. After purchasing some for our chicks, I read the directions, and It turns out the electrolytes have to be mixed in a gallon of water. Well, the waterer is only about a liter, so I decided to mix it in a gallon-sized pitcher and poured from it throughout the day.

Now, I will also say that the directions are very clear that the chicks need access to both fresh water and electrolyte water. Well, we didn’t have two waterers so I alternated regular water and electrolyte water throughout the day. It seemed to work just fine.

Paper Towels

Paper towels have been very helpful for us since bringing the chicks home. An obvious reason would be that they’re great for clean-up purposes. You can also line slippery surfaces so the chicks are safe while walking around.

Gloves

The first time I cleaned bedding, I wished I had gloves. Consider getting some if you want to cover your hands while cleaning. My chicks are 6 weeks old as I get ready to publish this post, and I still haven’t ordered gloves! Yet, every time I clean up their bedding I wish I had them. Just something to think about … 😉

Plastic bags/small trash bag

These are nice to have when you are cleaning out the bedding. If you’re not right by the trashcan, putting the dirty bedding into a plastic bag makes the process a little easier. Don’t feel like you have to go and buy some – save your plastic grocery bags and use those. Depending on what you are using for the bedding, you can easily carry it and dump it into your compost.

We use these trash bags in our bathrooms and they’re a great size – just a little bit bigger than a plastic grocery bag.

Scoop

This is definitely optional, but I preferred having one. You could just scoop bedding out with your hands. (I did do it at the beginning) After a few times, I really wanted something else that I could scoop with. This scoop here is similar to the one I have.

Extra box/Small Kennel

Whenever I need to clean out the brooder, I put all of the chicks into a small kennel we have. I line it with paper towels so they don’t slip. This allows me to do the job quickly while keeping them safe. By two weeks old, they are already trying to fly out, so the fact that they are enclosed in a kennel really helps.

As I mentioned above, this helps me get the job done fast. I don’t leave them in there long. After about five to ten minutes, they are back in their home. You could probably do the same with a box. Just make sure you have a cover for it!

Hand soap and Lotion

Make sure you have plenty of hand soap. I feel like I’m constantly washing my hands – so much so that my knuckles started drying out. Hence, the lotion suggestion. I read a lot about keeping your hands clean and the fact that sometimes the chickens can carry yucky diseases. So the constant hand washing is my preventative. The lotion is more to help my skin!

Brooder Location

This is something you want to think about as you’re setting up. We had thought about keeping them in our shed outside, but we really wanted to be able to see them all the time.

We chose our utility room for the location of the brooder. We have large metal shelves that we adjusted to fit everything perfectly. It’s actually really nice where they are because we can check on them so easily. The biggest benefit is that they are up off the ground safe from toddlers and dogs.

I mentioned in a previous section that being near a water source is also helpful. We are not far from a sink where I can dispose of dirtied water and refill the bottle as much as I need to.

Death of a Chick

It’s sad to think about, but it happens. It happened to us. I really think we could’ve avoided it though so I want to share our story.

When we brought the chicks home and put them in the brooder, there was one that looked bad. It had a hard time getting up and it looked like it was breathing heavy. We gave it some electrolyte water and it perked up a bit. We observed it constantly and saw that it was eating and drinking, but it also isolated itself from the rest of the chicks. After about 4 days, the chick passed away.

It was hard on my kids, and honestly it was hard on me because I grew to love it! However, it was all part of the experience and we got through it.

My advice to you is that if you are picking out your chicks somewhere. Be sure to observe them and make sure they are moving about and acting healthy. For us, it was really hard to “catch” the chicks to purchase them, so we were kind of just grabbing as we could. We had all four kids with us, and by the time we had as many as we wanted, we headed out quickly.

Check your chicks. You might not catch everything, but at least you’ll know you did your best in picking.

Holding the chicks

From what I read, you really shouldn’t hold the chicks right away to prevent stressing them out. I’m not going to lie, we did hold one or two for a short period on that first day. We couldn’t help it!

Every day we try to hold each of them for a minute or two in order for them to get used to being held. This choice was based on a suggestion from one of the books I read. Definitely do your research on the best way to hold them so you don’t hurt them.

As they get older we hold them longer. My kids like to let them walk in their laps. It’s so much fun to sit with them, just be prepared to be pooped on!

Naming the chicks

We talked about this for weeks. All the kids wanted to name their own chick. They even had some names picked out before we even got them, but once we got home it didn’t really work out that way.

We started watching their personalities and naming them accordingly. It was super fun to see how different they were. A few were very difficult to tell apart until they got bigger, so they were nameless for a couple weeks.

Prepare to get nothing done that first day or two

I say this with joy and laughter. We literally stared at the chicks over and over and over the first couple days. It was so fun to watch them and see what they were doing. We had them in the house, so it was easy for us to just walk up and observe.

Make sure you have a day or two set aside to really soak in the cuteness of these chicks!