Archive for February, 2009

Travel Alert: Winter Weather Update for the Smoky Mountains

Saturday, February 28th, 2009

They have changed the forecast again! First they said snow tonight, but not much, then they changed it to all rain and now we’re back to snow and freezing rain.

Details:

East TN Special Weather Statement

Great Smoky Mountains TN Winter Weather Advisory/Hazardous Weather Statement

Maybe it won’t do a thing. :)

Be safe,

Denese

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Frugal Crafting: Plastic Bag Crafts

Saturday, February 28th, 2009

Did you know you can crochet with bread bags and plastic grocery bags?

Crocheted Plastic Bag Projects

Check out My Recycled Bags.com for:

More Tote Bags

Marlos Crochet Corner is another site with plastic bag totes:

A couple from Got to Knit:

Plastic Bag Purses

More Rugs

Using Plastic Bags in Crafts

Related Posts:

Frugal Living: Uses For Bread Bags

 

Happy crafting,

Denese

 

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Summer

Saturday, February 28th, 2009

Some Summer flowers to brighten the day. :)

Zinnias

Fritillary on Coneflower

Moth on Marigold

Giant Marigolds

The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; Song of Solomon 2:12

Have a lovely day,

Denese

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Wit and Wisdom from the Hermit in the Holler

Saturday, February 28th, 2009

“I ain’t got no use for a liar or a thief.”

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Hands-On Science in Your Mouth!

Friday, February 27th, 2009

Mouth and Tongue

Mouth Experiments -Eeew! Free e-book of experiments and fun facts about our sense of taste, from Homeschool Freebie of the Day. Available through the weekend.

The Milk Taste Test -Teach your preschooler that different kinds of milk tastes different with this easy and fun preschool science experiment, from Preschool Rock.

Lifesavers Experiment -Simple experiment to demonstrate relationship between taste and smell. An Exploratorium Science Snack.

Apple Pie without Apples -trick your senses, make a chemical apple pie.

Does a mint make your mouth cold? -kitchen science experiment.

Taste of Outer Space -a neat experiment that illustrates why it is harder to drink in outer space, from Easy Fun School.

Facts and News

Your Tongue -all about the tongue; talking, mixing food, swallowing, tasting, and germ fighting; from Kids Health.

Girls have superior sense of taste to boys -results of Danish study.

New Bacterial Species Found In Human Mouth -ScienceDaily, Aug. 11, 2008

Happy tasting,

Denese

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Great Smoky Mountains Weekend Weather

Friday, February 27th, 2009

Are you planning a weekend trip to Townsend or the Smokies?

Wet, windy and snowy weather is in the forecast.

National Weather Service Forecast for Blount Smoky Mountains TN

You might want to wait for another weekend, but then again, you never can tell what the weather will do around here. :)

Currently it’s raining hard and very windy. I’m not going anywhere!

Have a great day,

Denese

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Fun Science: Bubbles

Thursday, February 26th, 2009

Let’s blow some bubbles!

Bubble Activities and Lessons

Incredible Bubbles -mini-e-book of bubble experiments and activities from Homeschool Freebie of the Day, available today only.

Bubble Stationery -make homemade stationery and envelopes with soap bubbles.

Bubble Mill -make a homemade bubble mill; harness the power of the wind for maximum bubble blowing efficiency.

Bubbles in the Wind -science lesson for grades K-4.

Bubble, Bubble Oh How They Bubble! -learn scientific method, graphing using bubbles; science lesson for grades 4-6.

Bubbles: Science or Fun? -science lesson for middle grades.

The Life of a Soap Bubble -high school lesson plan.

Bubble Geometry -experiment with bubbles; make wands in different shapes.

Bubble Sites

The Bubblesphere -all about bubbles including several recipes, history, references, games and much more.

Soap Bubbles -the science of soap bubbles, from Exploratorium.

Bubble Town -more bubble fun; recipes, games, how to blow big bubbles and free poster.

The Art and Science of Bubbles -bubble art, telescope, “Bubblearium”, games, recipes and more.

Frozen Bubbles

I’m Forever Freezing Bubbles -activity for cold weather.

Make Frozen Bubbles -chemistry experiment with dry ice, adult supervision required.

Dry Ice Crystal Ball Bubble -make a giant bubble using dry ice, adult supervision required.

AntiBubbles

AntiBubbles -all about antibubbles.

Making Antibubbles -a simple science project.

Bubble Photography

Just Bubbles -beautiful bubble photography.

Bubble Frenzy -a beautiful picture, very creative.

Bubble Art Photography -Created by Fan Yang, check out the rest of the site for more bubble fun and science.

FreezeBubbles -beautiful photographs of frozen bubbles.

Bubbles Trapped in Ice -picture of air bubbles in ice, O’Dell Lake, Cascade Mountains, Oregon

Have fun!

Denese


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Frugal Living: Uses for Bread Bags

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

If you buy bread, save your bread bags.

Uses:

  • Store homemade breads in them.
  • Store leftovers (roasts, chicken, etc.) in them. (Wrap in wax paper first, if desired.)
  • For breading meats, chicken, etc.
  • Lunchbags.
  • Trash bags in the car.
  • For compost clippings.
  • Plant seeds or cuttings in them.
  • If they’re clear, use them over pots of seedlings and cuttings to make a mini-greenhouse.
  • Use them for collecting, on nature walks.
  • Save up a bunch of them and stuff a pillow.
  • Wet or snowy weather? Pull them over your children’s shoes and add a rubberband around the pants leg. Instant mud boots! (use two over each shoe)

What do you use them for?

Have a lovely day,

Denese

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Butter Book Free for One More Day

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

Did you miss getting Penny Raine’s free download of  How to Make Butter in a Blender yesterday?
If you didn’t, she’s left it up one more day, but today is the last day! Would you like to get another free e-book from Penny? Let her know here.

Denese

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New Homeschool/Education Freebies

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

Slimy Science Fun

Slimy Experiments e-book
Do your children like to “experiment”?
Teach them how to make slimy, fun “science toys” with “Slimy Experiments”, the latest free resource from Homeschool Freebie of the Day. This free e-book includes recipes for Guck, Goop & Oobleck…fun & fascinating chemistry “lessons”, too! This is available today only.



Physical Education

Charlotte Mason used Swedish Drill exercises as part of her physical education program for her students… but what is it? The classic book “The Swedish Drill Teacher”, originally published in 1910, gives the most comprehensive explanation and you can get it free from Simply Charlotte Mason.

History Mini-Unit Study

Learn about the Spartans of Ancient Greece with a free, online  mini-unit from Learning Through History.

Pizza Hut Book-It! Program

Reward your children for reading with the Pizza Hut Book-It! program for homeschools.
BOOK IT! runs every school year from October through March for Grades K-6 and motivates children to read by rewarding their reading accomplishments with praise, recognition and pizza. Enroll in the 2009-10 program here, materials will arrive by early to mid-September.

Happy learning,

Denese

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