Thankful Wreaths and Turkey Lurkey Cupcakes~ A Thanksgiving 2017 Recap

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Hello all! I hope you had a simply marvelous Thanksgiving! We had a low key one this week with my parents and brother. We are having the BIG one with my husband's family, when they all arrive next week. It's going to be a madhouse! LOL. I promised that I would share a few things that we did to make our Thanksgiving week fun.

On Monday, we began reading about Thanksgiving and how it came about. We read a few Thanksgiving books to give background about the topic--I did this mostly for my youngest. My oldest is very knowledgeable about it after

Our Favorite THANKSGIVING Books and Activities

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It's that time of year! When if you are a homeschooler or maybe have preschoolers and/or toddlers at home, you might be considering planning out things to do next week for Thanksgiving! Maybe you have eyeballed some crafts on Pinterest. Or are trying to collect some great books to read. In order to help fuel your ideas, here are some things that I try to work in to our Thanksgiving week studies each year!

Thanksgiving Books

Okay, let's not beat around the bush. Finding books is probably like the EASIEST thing to do. Nearly every library already has them up on display for you--but there are SOOOOOOOOOOO many! How do you know what ones to get? Well I always go with our "tradition" ones, and then like to add in a few new ones each year. Some of them are factual but most of them are just fun! Here is a short list of my favorites, as well as the ones that I grabbed for our reading basket this year--they are mix of older and younger reader books!

Adventures in Crochet ~ Project: Easy Ripple Afghan

I mentioned in my previous Adventures in Crochet post that I had purchased yarn to start working on some easy throw afghans for my sons. I also had said I might start them whenever I got tired of working on my crochet top. Well it happened. I needed a change. LOL. Besides, I couldn't wait to start using that fabulous box of yarn that arrived!

I looked at TONS of afghan patterns but the ones that kept bringing me back were the striped

Thinking Like an Engineer~ For the STEM loving children in your family! {Curriculum Review}

We have noticed for awhile that our oldest son demonstrates strengths in engineering skills. He loves to design new LEGO creations and carefully plans and constructs them—far beyond any pamphlet included in a kit. His drawings have always been remarkably detailed and proportionate to real life. He’s most content designing or making something. When I was given the chance to review Innovators Tribe Thinking Like an Engineer self paced course I jumped on it. I hoped that it would be just the thing my son would thrive in doing, and open his mind into considering a degree in engineering in the future.

About Innovators Tribe

Innovators Tribe was created to provide parents and teachers the curriculum they needed to intentionally help revive innovation, creativity,

Thin Stix Creativity Pack ~ One of Our Family's Favorite Products {a review}

We have been fans of The Pencil Grip, Inc. products since our very first experience with KwikStix back in 2016. We have LOVED seeing the brand add new products to their line, and were very excited when they released ThinStix earlier this year. Our one wish was that they would turn all the KwikStix colors into Thin Stix. Needless to say I was thrilled to learn that the company had done just that and we were given a chance to review the Thin Stix Creativity Pack—all twenty-four beautiful colors!

About Thin Stix Creativity Pack

Thin Stix Creativity Pack is the newest in the Kwik Stix family from The Pencil Grip, Inc. Thin Stix Creativity Pack consists of the twenty-four colors of the Kwik Stix line, in the newest thinner size of the Thin Stix. Now your child can find the size of stick they need—whether thick or thin!

The Thin Stixs Creativity Pack ($19.99) consists of:
12 Classic colors
6 Neon colors
6 Metallix colors

These are the same colors offered in the original Kwik Stix line too!

What makes the Kwik Stix unique?
They are tempera paint in a stick—drying in 90 seconds! They are non-toxic and washable, as well as being nut, egg, and gluten free. No water or paint brushes are needed—simply uncap, twist, and paint. The paint works on wood, paper, cardboard, poster board…even pumpkins! Using these sticks means that much of the dreaded painting mess has been eliminated!

Our Thoughts on This Product

As soon as I told my boys we had gotten the full line of Thin Stix they gave a yell of happiness and asked to get them out right away! Over the course of the review we have used them for regular free paint time, book report illustrations, and even map work. The thinner size of the tubes and paint sticks makes them much handier for more detailed work.

My son wanted to use them to do his mapwork—and because I knew it would be dry in 90 seconds and they were as “clean” as using markers, I didn’t mind at all!

Because of our reviews, we now own a COMPLETE set of the Kwik Stix AND a complete set of Thin Stix—with a bonus smaller classic color set. I am thrilled to have all of these and we regularly pull them down for our creations. My boys have now requested that The Pencil Grip, Inc takes it the next step—making the Thin Stix as thin as a color crayon! We can only hope for that wish! LOL

I whole heartedly recommend the entire line of Kwik Stix by The Pencil Grip, Inc. Especially if your child adores painting, and you don’t adore the mess. We have used these all regularly and still have not run them dry, though I know it will happen sooner or later. Our favorite line is definitely the Metallix. I just love the shimmer they leave on the paper!

Size comparison between the Kwik Stix and Thin Stix

The Pencil Grip, Inc. is happy that Kwik Stix has been picked up with several retailers, including online retailers like BJ's, so make sure you keep your eyes open for a chance to snag some Kwik Stix for your whole family to try!

Want To Know More About The Pencil Grip, Inc?

Over the last several weeks, we have been enjoying our review of Thin Stix Creativity Pack from The Pencil Grip, Inc. You have seen how we used them, but there are so many other uses! I encourage you to visit some of my fellow crew members to learn more!

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Adventures in Crochet...revisiting a hobby

When I was a little girl, my paternal grandma taught me how to do my first crochet chain stitch. I don't remember her teaching me more than that...maybe she did. As I got older, I have admired the way that friends could turn a skein of yarn into a gorgeous sweater or scarf. Others created handmade toys and stuffed animals. Every now and then I decided to pick back up my crochet hook and give it another go. So I would learn another stitch and another pattern. Then I would get busy and away would go the yarn and the needles. Fortunately, it was always like riding a bike. As soon as I pulled it out, I would remember everything I had learned.

Strengthen Reading Skills with The Magic Stories! {Product Review}

We recently were given The Magic Stories to review with my youngest son (age 7). These stories were created to be a supplemental reading program to build confidence in reading and develop strong comprehension and writing skills. Although they are geared for a 2nd/3rd grade reading level, they are good for any child in the elementary years who would benefit from beautifully written stories with coordinating creative writing and comprehension exercises. Because this is just the type of supplemental reading program I desired for our classroom, I reviewed this product with high hopes!

About The Magic Stories

From Allsaid & Dunn, LLC, publishers of The Reading Game and authors of the Wordly Wise series, comes The Magic Stories! This supplemental reading program consists of six