Wow!  These are so cute and I know they will be a hit!  Fisher Price has released some celebrity Little People figures!  Right now they have The Beatles, KISS, and WWE figures!

I wonder which ones will be next!  Who do you hope they make?

 

Local Athens readers!  The National Night Out is almost here.  On Tuesday, August 6th, you can visit Fairview Street, East Substation, University Oaks, Pinewood Apts, or Rocksprings Homes to enjoy National Night Out with your local officers.  There will be Lil’ Ice Cream Dude treats, pizza, bounce house, and more!

Not in Athens?  You can do a google search to find a National Night Out near you.

I love when companies are able to give back to the community.

Visitors near and far can make a difference in the lives of students while visiting Stone Mountain Park. Georgia’s most visited attraction is offering $19.95 All-Attractions Passes during its back-to-school supply drive July 29 through Aug. 4. To participate, guests are asked to bring a minimum of five items per person. Drop off locations are available at the Crossroads Ticket Plaza and Skyride Ticket Plaza windows.

Suggested items include:

• 3-ring binder
• Loose leaf paper
• Pencils
• Composition notebooks
• Crayons
• Glue sticks
• Liquid glue
• Erasers
• Rulers
• Colored markers/pencils
• Facial tissue
• Hand sanitizer

This supply drive will benefit students and educators at Stone Mountain Elementary School with much needed school supplies.

“Stone Mountain Park serves as one of our most valued partners in education,” said Dr. Char-Shenda Covington, proud principal of Stone Mountain Elementary. “They not only volunteer their time and services, they are an ongoing thread to keep the Stone Mountain community together. We are pleased to have them join forces with us to help educate and inspire our next generation of community leaders.”

For more information about Stone Mountain Elementary School, please visit http://www.stonemountaines.dekalb.k12.ga.us/.

Stone Mountain Park is located 15 miles east of downtown Atlanta. To visit, take I-285 to Exit 39B, Hwy. 78 East. Stone Mountain Park is at Exit No. 8 on Hwy. 78. For ticketing and attractions details or hours of operation call 800-401-2407 or visit www.stonemountainpark.com.

We are getting ready to settle back into some calmer days and for that, I am thankful.  God has been so gracious to us during these busy and crazy seasons.  We spent the weekend cleaning out the garage and got a few things listed to sell.  That’s always a great feeling getting rid of things we don’t need!

This week, we are looking forward to a dear friend returning from being deployed to Afghanistan.  So excited to see him again, and I know his wife and kids can’t wait!  Have a great week!

Monday: Grilled Chicken Salad

Tuesday: Black beans and rice

Wednesday: Nachos

Thursday: Leftovers or cereal

Friday: Sandwiches

Saturday: Dinner out

Sunday: Cajun Cream Chicken

I love this!  Firehouse Subs is offering a free medium sub when you stop by their restaurant on August 3, 2019 with a 24 pack of bottled water!  All the water will be donated to local fire and police departments to be distributed to those in need!

For more information or to see if your local store is participating, please visit the Firehouse Subs website.

I’m hoping to get my youngest in a Mother’s Morning Out program this year so I can focus more on the big kids during our homeschool time.  The one I’m looking at offers a Lunch Bunch program to stay a bit longer, but the kids have to bring a Bentgo style lunch box.  I was just looking online and found some great deals and thought I’d share them with you.

Bentgo Kids Tray with Lid: Currently only $9.99 and available in 3 different colors.

Bentgo Classic – 2 Storage Trays  with Lids – Priced at $14.59-$14.99 AND currently has a $3 off clickable coupon!

12 Pack of Meal Prep Containers – $13.59!

I’m so not ready this year!  It’s going too fast and I want time to slow down and summer to stay a bit longer.  Time to face the facts that school is upon us!

If you care to look back, you can see what we used in the 2015-2016 year here or in the 2016-2017 school year here. 2017-2018 can be found here.  Last year’s 2018-2019 can be found here. Some of it is the same and some has changed.

This upcoming school year, I will have an 11th grader, 7th grader, 4th grader, 3rd grader and a preschooler.  That sounds crazy that we are so far along in our homeschool life now.  The past 2 years my older two have done the majority of their school work with a local homeschool co-op, however with budget changes due to medical bills, we are bringing it back home this year.  I’m definitely nervous about taking everything on again.

Math:

Math, we are once again using Horizons Math, but only for my 3rd and 4th graders. For my oldest, we will continue with Math-U-See and she will be moving on to Algebra 2.  My 7th grader will be using Teaching Textbooks this year.

We are also continuing with XtraMath.org for the 3rd and 4th graders.  I can’t say enough great things about this website!  It’s a completely free way to make sure your kids understand all of their math facts.  As a mom, I can login and see how they are doing as well and what needs improvement.  We actually bribe the kids and each day they get a green light, meaning that they did well, they get a piece of candy.  Once they completely finish a chart, they earn $1  Usually it takes many months for them to complete the chart, but that’s okay!

We will also be continuing to use Whizz.com to supplement in our math. I feel it’s well worth the investment.

Language Arts:

My 3rd and 4th graders will continue through on Saxon Grammar and Writing.  I have been pleased with this program.

We are continuing Building Spelling Skills for the middle 3 to work on spelling.

My preschooler will begin with Explode the Code.

We are continuing Reading Kingdom with our 3rd and 4th gardens, as they are both almost finished with the programs.  I feel it’s been very thorough and has been teaching typing along with reading.  You can get a FREE month here. We tried it out for a review and loved it. When he’s old enough, we will add our preschooler.

My middle schooler is going to continue working through Jump In!, which he started this summer for a review.  I also purchased their high school version to use with my oldest.

We are going to be pulling more stuff for them from All in One Homeschool this year.

Bible:

We are going to work more on Catechism questions this year and reading together as a family.  I am still researching Bible curriculums and haven’t decided if we will do one or not.

Social Studies:

History we will continue to pull from Allinonehomeschool.com for the little girls and of course the vast variety of books at the library.

My 11th grader will be beginning Government and Economics using Allinonehomeschool.com.

My 7th grader will be using Memoria Press’s The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & the Great Republic and 200 Questions about American History.

Science:

Science we will be using Apologia’s Zoology with the middle 3 kids.

We will also continue to pull from Allinonehomeschool.com, enjoy homeschool day at Sandy Creek, and of course the library as well.

My 11th grader will be doing Apologia’s Physical Science this year and my 7th grader will be using Apologia’s General Science.

Electives and Extracurriculars:

My 11th Grader is going to be taking Psychology and Sociology.  She’s super excited about that!

My 7th Grader isn’t taking any extras but he will continue in the local Trail Life Troop.

My 4th and 3rd graders are hoping to take trapeze this year!

The preschooler is hoping to just be outside and play 😉

 

I love having fun for free!  Here’s one that you’ll want to take advantage of coming up this week.  Be sure to read all the information so you can get registered!

Wednesday, August 21 (Session 1: 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; Session 2: 1-3:30 p.m.; Session 3: 4-6:30 p.m.)
Families are invited to enjoy the Museum free of charge once every quarter. Throughout the day, kids will have the opportunity to participate in arts and music-themed activities while celebrating creativity and innovation. Made possible by the support of the PNC Foundation, The Coca-Cola Foundation and CareSource, the three sessions will also offer the chance for kids to explore the Museum’s six permanent, interactive exhibits as well as Doc McStuffins: The Exhibit. Free tickets are limited and advance reservation is required. For more information, please visit childrensmuseumatlanta.org/familyfreeday.

For more information or to register, visit childrensmuseumatlanta.org/familyfreeday

Oh my goodness!  These are super cute!  Right now you can grab  MUK LUKS Kid’s Canvas Shoes for $13.99 and  Free Shipping (7/25 to 7/27) .

I am guessing these will sell out quickly at this price!  I’m loving the fun characters – Uni-Kitty, Unicorn, and even a shark!  So much fun!  They are available in kid sizes 8-12.