Homeschool Themes--Angry Birds

We are just a TAD bit obsessed with Angry Birds here, as are many other families, I assume. Along with our planned homeschool activities I want to do themes since I loved doing themes when I taught preschool. So we'll be doing some fun theme activities in between our 'regular' work.

**Angry Bird Printables to color, cut and play with. We already love printing angry birds, coloring them and cutting them out, but these are great for painting paper plates or using balloons and adding the face pieces to. Find the pieces here.

**This blog has a great AB pre-k and Kindergarten pack that Eli will work on while Harrison does his work. Find the printables here.

**Angry Birds Science: This site has some great stuff about the science of Angry Birds, which may be over Eli's level but Harrison may enjoy. Angry Birds is all about physics after all!

**Angry Birds Math: This is a cute way to use those unix cubes. Now Eli already pretended the cubes were various angry birds characters when we first got them, so I may not even need to add the pictures to the cubes!

**Angry Birds Pom Pom Art: Use pom poms the colors of the angry birds and clear contact paper to create your own AB level!

**Pronoun activity for free on Teachers Pay Teachers.

**Eli will like these Connect the Dots that are great for fine motor.

**These lacing cards are great for fine motor too, use a hole punch to make the holes, then let your child lace them with yarn or string. (laminating the circles prior to lacing will make them easier to manipulate.

**Not sure if we will use these articulation games, but what a great idea!

**Great idea for introducing the "Main Idea" of a passage.

**This writing sheet can help be a great story starter or even a way to discuss emotions.

**More great math freebies here as well.

I'm sure there are many more to be found and I would love to find an Angry Birds Star Wars activity pack. I  may just have to make one, because that's what MY boys are obsessed with!

~~Thanks to all the creative bloggers out there who gather this stuff up!

~~Amy

Butterflies are grown!

We studied some butterflies earlier this summer. We didn't do a full on study as we will do Insects in September when we start back up to school. But I couldn't resist a deal on a butterfly garden net we found and we loved it.  You can reorder more caterpillars when your first batch goes free so I think we will do that again in September.
*This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure page for more information on my affiliate programs.*
Get your own butterfly garden here:


I was a little worried the little guys wouldn't make it at first because it was SO hot when they arrived.

But they did, crawling all around the cup.

We followed the directions, watched them turn into their cocoons, and when it was time, moved them into their habitat and watched them grow into little butterflies fluttering around! The boys got a big kick out of it and I plan to buy more caterpillars so we can do it again!

I encourage every family to give this one a try, it's super fun and easy!
~Amy

I Could Never Do That....

Since I started homeschooling I've had several conversations that went like this,
"So you're homeschooling?"
"Yes." Waiting for the barrage of questions.
"Wow, I could never do that."
"Sure you could! Let me know if you ever consider it, we'd love a buddy!" and I move the conversation on to something else.

Why? Because I'm tempted to say this.

"Yes, you COULD homeschool, you just choose NOT to. There is a difference. Ask me how I know!"

I WAS that mother. I totally supported homeschooling moms, hats off to them but I did NOT want to. I knew it was in our future because of the district we were in, but I was not AIMING for it, not longing to do this.

I'm not gonna lie. I miss the quiet.

But you know what, you CAN homeschool....you just may choose not to. So if you are considering it, and think you CAN'T, let me remind you this.

You are you. Your children are yours. No one else's. Homeschooling doesn't require some wonderful knowledge or training. Do you think teachers knew everything first day of college? No! They LEARNED, studied, picked concentrations, focused. But they worked at it. Do you not do that as a parent? Is there some big instruction booklet I missed getting, because if so I'd SURE like one because my kids are irking my damn nerves lately.

You learn as you go, just like you do EVERYTHING in life. Practice makes perfect....except in parenting. And homeschooling. Every day, month, year could bring a new challenge, interest, child, plan, and so on. You never know what's going to happen....just like in PARENTING! And this crazy thing we call LIFE!

So, don't say you CANNOT homeschool. Say you want to but you're ________ (insert descriptive word here, scared, nervous, selfish, etc.) Because it's ok. I am too. So are a LOT of homeschooling moms. So are a lot of teachers! How many teachers do you think might drink themselves to sleep in the first few weeks (years?) of teaching because it's just such a new and different job? But they keep going back, learning new things, learning new skills and bonding with their students.

Except you don't have to do it with a whole new batch of 20 every year! You have the joy of seeing your children understand concepts and grow and learn. It can be awesome, I've learned that in the short time we've done it.

And it can also make you lose your ever loving mind. You will scream, cry, curse, stomp, drink, eat, and threaten to send them back to public school. Guess what, it's ok. Move past it. Seek solace in something. Talk to a friend. Write a blog! (I mean, hypothetically...)

Do not compare yourself to the other homeschooling moms you meet. Especially the one who's done it for 12 years. Because guess what, she started somewhere too. However, get her number because you're going to need it. Pride cometh before the fall after all, don't be stupid, listen to the veteran's advice!

In the end, they are your children and your decisions. You're going to fail at some things and excel at others. That is REAL LIFE. Contrary to the nice little box the current educational system wants us all to fit in, we're not like that. We are all on learning curves every single day of our lives. Striving to learn.....something.

I don't understand the pissing contests we all get into as parents. I am all for advice, venting, chatting, etc. But, my spawn, my decisions. Homeschool moms are no better than any other mom, and the different types of homeschooling moms are not better than public vs. private school moms. We are all just women who want what's best for our babies.

One of my favorite quotes is, "It's okay not to know how, it's not okay not to try." And that's all, we really can do, every single day.

No matter where your child goes to school.

~~Amy

Throwing Rocks

Recently we took a little nature scavenger hunt and spent some time throwing rocks into the water near Fort Pike in between Slidell and New Orleans, Louisiana. We found most of the things on our scavenger list, watched thunder clouds roll in and ran from dragonflies.

 We found a crab hiding in the rocks!

This little trip was proof you can disconnect kids from their gadgets, stick them out in nature, and they can have fun with ROCKS.

We are now on break from homeschooling until after Labor Day but we've had a pretty good time over our summer session! I put a lot of fun pics on Instagram if you are there, find me, :) I'm "mamaslittlemonkeys"

~~Amy