We got the tree up (I hope) and the house is looking pretty festive. This week we will be having our Polar Express Party so that will be the main topic of discussion. Here are some of the things that we will be working on this week:
Continue reading “Getting Ready for the Holidays Week 9 (2 Weeks Before Christmas)”
I just realized that I probably need to have a page with all the FREE printables listed to make things easier for myself and others. I’ll try to get a tab on the menu soon too! Not all of these links are to products on my site, so they may not be available in the future.
Scroll DOWN to access the FULL library or click a link below for specific printables.
Here are the links to the printables we have added to our site:
Printables from our 2021-2022 Crisis Homeschooling Year
printable-lesson-plans-updated
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Scripture Cards and box system found for FREE on the Simply Charlotte Mason site.
Continue reading “FREE! FREE! Links to FREE Printables!”
I just thought I’d jump on here and share this simple printable I made. Today is meal planning day here as tomorrow will be our grocery pickup day and I have misplaced the meal planning sheet I was using so I decided to make a new instead of scribbling it out on a scrap piece of paper again this week. Now that it is posted on my blog here I can find it the next time I need it… at least I hope. I’ve already lost a copy of it somewhere on my computer this afternoon… lol.
Meal planning is a must around here and with all of the social distancing precautions still in effect we try not to make too many trips to the store… I really love the Grocery Pickup services but even with their ‘No Contact’ feature I try to only go once a week.
When I write out my meal plans the older girls can see them which means they can help get out the items that I need for each meal. This is especilally helpful right now because sometimes our littlest princess can be very needy and refuses to cooperate when Momma needs to get things done.
Speaking of our adorable little princess, she is singing her ‘you better get over here and pick me up before I start screaming’ song right now. So without further ado, here you go:
Here’s a link to my grocery list that I use as well but I need to update mine as our needs have changed a little bit since the last update. It was also originally organized by the order of the aisles in our favorite store at the time but we know how frequently those things can change. I currently use this as I am meal planning so I can check my pantry supplies and check off what I need for the week’s meals. I then use the grocery app to place my order.
Here’s a blank one also:
**Although I try to provide as many FREE resources as possible this post may contain affiliate links alt no extra cost to you. We may earn a small commission, if a purchase is made through these links, which helps to support our blog and our family. Thank you!
NOTE: My kiddos were 5, 6, 9, 11, and 15 at the time we created study unit. Some ideas may need to be changed/adjusted for older kids.
Tip: If you want to go to a certain week/chapter or topic simply push the ‘ctrl’ and the ‘F’ button down together and a small bar will pop up. Type in the week number or chapter number you want and it will take you to it.
Continue reading “Little House In The Big Woods Adventure Resource List”
**This post may contain affiliate links which help to support our blog and our family.
This post is part of a multi-section post in honor of National Simplify Your Life week which is the first week of August. The original post wasn’t as short and simple as I had wanted it to be so I decided to break it down into a few shorter posts.
Whoa! I know this one may be not be easy for some but you can do it! I know you can. Did you that the average person spends about 12 days every year looking for things? I think a Momma spends twice that amount. That’s at least 30-45 minutes a day wasted because you aren’t organized!
Imagine how much money you could save if you had a system for organizing your bills and getting them paid on time! This tip goes along with Step #6 and should come after you have completed Step #4.
Please don’t try to organize until you’ve declutter because it may get too overwhelming. I recently decluttered and organized our whole house and let me tell you that it has made a HUGE difference in our lives! Everyone can find anything at any time and everything has a place.
Getting organized can include things like setting reminders for birthdays, appointments, paying bills, or important events. We have reminders set for just about everything else like library due dates, semi annual bills, some chores, etc. I even have reminders for the due dates for our club’s newsletters and updates.
The easiest tool I have found to keep me organized is my Cozi calendar. I have it on my laptop, my phone, and my tablet. I have also installed it on Mr. Awesome’s phone and my ex husband has access to our calendar as well. That way everyone knows when we have upcoming appointments and events. Cozi even sends out email reminders!
This makes my life so much simpler as I don’t have to worry about forgetting important things, as long as I have remembered to enter them into the calendar. I also use Cozi for my meal planning so I if I forget my grocery list, or if I forget to make one, I can quickly check my phone for what I need to get. Cozi also has so many other great (FREE) resources to help you organize and simplify your life.
If you don’t have a smart phone or don’t want to install another app you can still use most phones to set reminders. You can also use paper and pencil, post its, or find a nice planner to help you organized. I used to carry a small one around in my purse but now I just use my phone which can be aggravating if the service isn’t great.
For keeping our homeschool schedules straight I like to use Homeschool Manager which I believe is coming out with a mobile app. This has helped so much with keeping track of what needs to be done and what has been done. Not too mention the fact that we can instantly print our attendance reports and report cards which is great. So simple and easy!
These ideas may seem like I am contradicting Step #2 but I think that technology is a great thing if used correctly.
In addition to these ideas you may want to work on setting up systems/routines for handling the following:
Keep your systems simple and work on them to make them easy and efficient. Being organized can keep you from forgetting things and save you so much time and money! This can help to reduce your stress and simplify your life. The next step will have more about routines.
Need ideas to get started? Check out these books here and here. You can also get my FREE printable bill organization spreadsheet by clicking on the link provided.
You can also check out Make Over Your Year for more ideas.
Be sure to check out the other post in this series for more simple ways to simplify your life.
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