Inspired Wednesday 3/6

Welcome back to Washed Up Inspired Wednesday!  If you missed last week find it HERE and HERE.

Let me inspire you:

My daughter is 7.  When she was big enough to pick up a pencil she started drawing.  She hasn't put that pencil down since.  She is very creative and has a great eye for detail.  To keep her love of art and the creative juices flowing I try to keep a few things handy.

Some of her paint supplies.

1. Paper - lots and lots of paper -  spiral notebooks, white paper, colored paper, paper in different sizes and shapes.
2. Scissors - regular scissors and fancy scissors
3. Crayons, Marker, Colored Pencils
4. Paints - acrylic, water color, and tempera
5. Extras - oil pastels, sharp pencils, colored ink pens, highlighters

I keep most of these items down low on shelves and in bins for her to be able to use when she wants.  She usually just uses a spiral notebook and mechanical pencil. We have a few instructional books on drawing but she loves to come up with her own thing.  Usually it is horses and barns.

Her drawing of a horse.  She is learning how to shade.

I think that encouraging her love of art and creativity will spark her love of life and living.  I want to keep that spark alive for her and inspire her to achieve anything she wants.  So for now we are encouraging art.

Painting a fish for her daddy's birthday.

Featured post from 2/27:

Hands-On Homeschool: How Important is it to memorize basic math facts?

I chose this link as my feature because we are starting to memorize our addition facts 1-10 and this post hit the nail on the head for me.  I was debating whether or not I felt it was important.  Go read it for yourself and see what you think!  I would love to hear  your thoughts!

Giveaway this week:

A copy of Betrayal by Robin Lee Hatcher

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Inspired Wednesday 2/27

Welcome back to Washed Up Inspired Wednesday.  If you missed last weeks link up you can find it HERE and make sure to check it out HERE as well.

Let me inspire you:

This week I want to talk to you about family fun night!  I must admit that it has been a while since our family has had a family fun night.  It is something I want to take place each week but my family is not very good about keeping a schedule.  We are more a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of family.  Last night we just picked up and drove 40 minutes to the Bass Pro Shop to grab a few deals they have during their Spring Fishing Classic.  Since we left before dinner we even ate at the restaurant inside the store.  It was a special treat for our kids since we do not eat in restaurants very often.  

Last month we had a ton of fun playing Electronic Monopoly together.  Even though the kiddos are small and the game lasts a very long time, they really had a great time.

A while back I made a batch of cupcakes.  I pulled out the decorating kit and we all went to town decorating our own cupcakes as a family.  We had a ball doing it and had a yummy snack when we were done.

It is easy to find fun and special ways for your family to connect.  Supper around the table as a family, day time trips, board games, etc...  The point is, make sure you are taking the time to have family time.  It is important that you get together and enjoy each others company.  You wont regret it!

What fun things do you do as a family?  I would love more ideas to start doing with my family.  Share them in the comments below and make sure you link up to the post!!!  After linking up make sure to grab the button from the page in the menu above "Inspired Wednesdays" so you can show others that you linked up!

Featured Post from 2/20:

*Burd Seeds*: Get Clean Part 2

In this post, she talks about how her family works out a cleaning schedule and sticks to it.  I know that is something that my family needs.  Go check out her post and be inspired!

Make sure to grab the "I was featured" button from the page above.

Giveaway this week is -

A Customizable All-In-One Planner from yours truly!  I created my planner out of necessity.  I needed something that I could open and go right to what was to happen that day/week without using several other planners.  I tried it all from a paper planner I found at WalMart to the My Well Planned Day.  I love my planner and hope that the winner will enjoy theirs as well.

After entering the giveaway on my blog PLEASE make sure that you hop over to A Nest in the Rocks blog and see what she is doing for Washed Up Inspired Wednesday.

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Inspired Wednesday 2/20

Welcome back to Washed Up Inspired Wednesdays.  If you missed last weeks link up, find it HERE.

This week I want to talk to you about thinking outside of the box - the curriculum box!  

If you are like me each year before school starts you have a nice list of all of the curriculum you are going to use for the upcoming year.  You purchase it, stack it nice and neat and start making plans.  Then school starts.  You work away at your plans and then the bumps start.  Then you hit the road blocks.  The days end in tears (and your child is crying too!).  Sound familure?  Well I have been there.  As a matter of fact I was ready to throw my hands in the air recently and so I stopped and prayed.  Then it hit me... I am homeschooling!  I call the shots!  I can change things up to make school work for us not us work for school. So I talked to S.  She told me what she liked about our current situation and what she didn't.  Turns out what  I thought she was enjoying was no fun at all for her.  So we cut out lapbooking and the way we were doing reading.  Instead we started using notebook packs (I got the horse one from Hands of a Child - more on that in another post) and we got a 1 year subscription to Reading Eggs (more on that in another post as well).  So far we have had great success in our homeschool days.  Saturday S joined me in the classroom, fired up her laptop and started a reading lesson.  When her Daddy stepped in from outside she was none to happy with me for allowing her to do school work on a Saturday!  lol!!  That just tells me that she is liking the new direction we are heading.

I say ALL of that to say this... Do not let your curriculum drive the bus.  If things are not working do not be afraid to change them up.  How do you change things up if things are not working for you?  I would love to hear about it.  Please leave me a comment...

Also, don't forget to grab our button from the page "Inspired Wednesdays" in the nav bar above!

Featured Post from 2/13-

A Daily Routine vs. Schedule - Next Gen Homeschool 

I loved this posted because I use routines instead of schedules myself.  I am not one to be tied to the clock on a daily basis.  It just doesn't suit my personality.  To learn more about how she uses a routine in her homeschool and her daily life go check out her post. 

Make sure to grab your "I was featured" button from the "Inspired Wednesdays" page in the nav bar to put on your blog! 

Winner of the Custom Blog Siggie Is:

Renee Gotcher - Renee, you will be contacted via email by Amy at A Nest in the Rocks.

Giveaway:

This week our giveaway is from Amy at A Nest in the Rocks, and let me tell you, it is AWESOME!  She is graciously giving away 2 copies of Praying Circles Around Your Children by Mark Batterson.  (I am currently reading and reviewing his new book about prayer! ;) )  Enter below and make sure to go to A Nest in the Rocks and thank her for this great giveaway!

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Inspired Wednesdays 2/13

Welcome to the second installment of Inspired Wednesday's.  If you missed last week (our launch) go check it out HERE.

Today I want to share a fun and super easy craft project with you.  If your kids can draw or color they are capable of completing this project.

While shopping the other day we saw some Crayola Brand Fabric Markers ($3 and change for 10 markers!) in the coloring isle and my S just had to try them out.  So we found a tShirt ($3 and change in the craft department) and decided that we could try them out.

The front of her shirt.  I am sure you are not shocked that it is horses!!

The back of the shirt.

The directions on the box are simple... put something between the layers of the shirt (we used cardboard).  Color until your design is complete and then heat set.  They offer 2 ways to heat set on the box of markers we bought but I suggest you read the directions on your box and follow them for color retention.

S sporting her newest creation.

The back of her creation.

After the shirt was heat set S wore it all day long!  She loved the project so much we went that next evening and bought another shirt for her and one for her brother.

N's tShirt.  He has taken up a liking of turtles.

The back of N's shirt.  I helped him with the word Turtles.  Otherwise it is his own creation.

NOW!  On to the fun stuff...

Today's Featured blog is............

Practicing Prudence: February Giveaway (Closed)

She writes about a great giveaway she was hosting last week.  She shared one of her favorite artists and giveaway his CD.  Go check it out.  You may find a new music artist to listen to.

GIVEAWAY!!!  You can enter here to get a CUSTOM blog siggie designed by yours truly!!!

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INSPIRED WEDNESDAY! Blog Hop Kick Off!!!

WELCOME to the very first Inspired Wednesday Blog Hop, brought to you by A Nest in the Rocks and Where He Leads We Follow.  Go ahead and grab our official button to put on your blog!

<center> </center> <center> <a href="http://whereheleadswefollow.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Where He Leads We Follow" src=" https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaes0gvp6pOCJ8KbHW8-JGswDy8892nndJQIF5VO_JjPmlvHU5-LXcvIZqyZv_1UlGK3FA1OcmBbus4yDZmnDzT3xqqOmQgHiArH669vA1q_JDaYYcsCKDwub9N0uznM15nZce2yyI0gHo/s1600/Inspired+Wednesdays2.jpg"/></a></center>

This week I wanted to share something fun and new with you to help you get inspired!!!  FLY LADY!  Who here has heard of her.  Raise your hands.  WOW!  Ok.  Let me introduce you.  Marla Ciley the FlyLady, started a cleaning program for those of us living in C.H.A.O.S. (Can't have anyone over syndrome) out of necessity.  She lived it and has found a way to fight through the CHAOS and to get our homes ready for visitors.  Each day you get a very short mission to accomplish.  The mission usually only takes about 15 minutes at most.  Yesterday it was to scrub the trash can clean inside and out.  See, short!  I know that if that reminder was not given to me my trashcan would be dirty and stinky still.  There is a weekly home blessing hour that really helps to keep me on task.  It involves all of the mundane weekly tasks that you need to do.  There is a great feature on the website called the LAUNCH PAD with all of the information you need to get started!  That is my favorite feature.  There is even a challenge for your kids.  They have daily reminders available and they are affiliated with Cozi (a free online calendar).  Cozi inputs each mission right into your calendar and you just look it up and go from there.  Great feature huh?

I hope to talk to you more and more about Fly Lady and how I use it in my home.  Today I wanted to introduce you to what helps me stay inspired to clean my home through the week!

SO, what inspires you?! I cannot wait to hear!!!

Ready for a giveaway?!  Well, Amy from A Nest in the Rocks, is so graciously giving away a copy of one of her daughters favorite books!!!  How nice is she?  Please make sure you go to her blog to check out how she used this blog in her homeschool.  To enter fill out the raffle copter widget bellow...
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HUGE, SUPER BIG NEWS

Yep that's right!  I have some HUGE, SUPER BIG NEWS for you!  I am joining forces with a sweet blogging friend to bring you a new weekly blog hop that is not just for homeschoolers!!!

Inspired Wednesdays came about because Amy, from A Nest in the Rocks, and I have noticed in our own lives that when we hit Wednesdays our energy is give out and we need to be inspired!

We do not want you to be washed up and blue we want to help you become inspired.  We want to help take the stress off of you by linking you up to inspiring blog posts that will include great recipes, fun cleaning tips, creative lesson plans, and so much more.  The best part is that YOU get to write the blogs and link up so that we moms can ban together and create a supportive network to become more inspired through the end of the week.  Who knows, we may even have a clean home with a home cooked meal on the table on a Friday evening! 

Starting next Wednesday, February 6, 2013, we will ask you to link up to a family friendly blog post that will inspire other moms get through there week.  Feel free to link up to ANY fun clean inspirational posts you have!  Get your posts together and come back next Wednesday to link up.  We will be choosing 2 links to feature (one per blog).  There may be a few fun giveaways going on too!!!  I will get a button ready for you to post on your blog or you can copy and paste the one here to your blog to show others that you are taking part in inspiring other moms!!!

Please note that your link must be from your own blog.  The post doesn't have to be published on a Wednesday just link up with us on Wednesday.