our favorite childrens

 Oh I just had to share this funny post!  This was one of the boyz favorite nursery rhymes.  "Little Bunny PHOO-PHOO"

Merry Christmas!

This is what we look like when we are dodging pingpong balls

Our Tresure Island Adventure

We have had a pretty busy day and with the weather warming back up into the mid 70s we plan on just soaking in the sun and looking for more shells.  The dolphins are so close but very tricky to catch on camera!  And yes that is the boys all up 1200 feet above the gulf parasailing.

snap shots from Treasure Island

Sunset on Saturday night

On the Mat!

Well  once again the Elliott's are busy with a sport.  The boys are getting plenty of time wrestling.  It is so different wrestling for a school who is used to wrestling the best in the state.  Boys have all wrestled state ranked teams/individuals.  But to be the best you need to wrestle the best.  After Thursday nights meet we drove to the airport and boarded a plane for Clearwater Beach/Treasure Island Florida.  Tabor is home on break and it was a perfect time for a little R&R.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FRIENDS!!

Tiny gifts that keep on giving.

After a few years of homeschooling, it becomes more than a weekday activity and turns into a way of life.  It’s like Christmas in June every year when the curriculum comes in the mail; opening packages from art supply places, new packages of sketch books, and little stacks of books all waiting to be read.  Beyond the art supplies are art kits, where you can build anything from a catapult to a tiny brick building to creating beautiful friendship bracelets for your friends!   I like to get the most bang for my buck, so I often pack the best of these away for birthday and Christmas gifts!  New drawing pencils end up in the stocking, new sketchbooks end up under the tree tied with ribbons and perhaps a chapter book tucked in on top.  Education is a 24/7 thing around here!

Here is a list of educational gifts that I think would make wonderful Stocking Stuffers for some always learning kiddos. 

FOR THE YOUNGEST - ages 2 - 6

My children like to use playdough or clay when I am reading chapter books.  I have found that it helps with their dictations later if they are listening intently while working creatively.  Homemade playdough is cheap, easy and modifiable in SO many ways.  Add a little essential oils to your playdough and you have a whole other sensory experience for your little one!  Lavender for relaxation, orange for uplifting and alert… so many possibilities! 

Here’s a few that we love:

Gingerbread Playdough recipe - Smells awesome!  It may inspire more than a playdough baking session.  Just a warning!

Candycane playdough recipe - I haven’t done this one, but I have made peppermint!  That is uplifting and always makes me feel clean afterwards.  Even when the playdough is still under my nails.

Pumpkin Spice Playdough recipe - Smells like pumpkin pie.  Are you hungry yet?  Seriously, this stuff is awesome! 

If you are not up for making your own, my personal favorite for my kids is Mama K’s Play Clay!  The aromatic smells that Mama K uses in her clay are amazing! 

Enjoy some fun pattern recognition games with the Pluck Carrot Play Set!   Who wouldn’t want to see this tucked in a stocking with a sweet little bunny puppet or two.

 

And speaking of puppets!   What a great learning tool!  They create a space that is a bit removed from being human, so even the quietest of children will start talking when handed a puppet.  Besides, there isn’t anything cuter than a stuffed face sticking out of the top of the stocking on Christmas morning.  Why not make it one they can learn with?

FOR THE MIDDLES - Ages 5 - 11

If I had to pick ONE toy for children this age it would be playsilks!   They can be a covering for a fort under the table or a silken robe for a Greek warrior.  They have so many incredible uses that each  time your child picks them up they can create a whole new world!   The best variety for the expense has got to be Esty.com.  There are tons of different vendors that make some of the most beautiful playsilk creations!  (Another great thing about playsilks is they fold up into TINY parcels that can be stuffed into a small toybox, or *gasp* a stocking.   

Taking the silks one step further is dress up.  They can create whole worlds for themselves with a simple dress up frock and a wooden sword. Nova Naturals has a great selection of earth friendly gifts that can complete any dress up wardrobe for a little knight or fairy that you may know. 

Gift your kids even more imagination play with wooden and felt food!  Have your little girl make you up a tea party, or your son cook you up a pizza!   This felt pizza from Mellissa and Doug looks like tons of fun!

 

FOR THE OLDEST - Ages 11 - 18

As the kids get older, educational gifts get harder to find that are not electronic.  And if it needs a cord or batteries, it’s probably expensive!  Here are a few gifts that you can tuck into those stockings with out breaking the bank for the oldest kids in your clan. 

Start off the new year right with some creative Writing Prompt Cubes!   These fun story starters would be great to have a sit-in with my teen and tween and just listen to what comes after “One day I want to visit…”

Learning a handcraft is a great TV free pastime for older children!   This felt ball set from Nova Naturals would be a great gift to keep any tweens hands busy and felt balls are wonderful for the youngers.  Perhaps they could make them for their younger siblings?  (There are many more in the ‘crafts’ section at Nova Naturals that would make a great gift for any kiddo with busy hands.)

Magazine subscriptions - online or in paper - are a great stocking stuffer for older kids and teens. 

New Moon is a writing magazine for teen girls written by and even edited by other girls around the globe!

Zoobooks - All my kids love reading the fun facts that are in the Zoobooks magazines each month.  Grandparents in our family have paired Zoobooks with a NorthWest Trek membership for the past few years and I have watched the kids pour over each magazine multiple times. 

I hope this post got your wheels turning about what you can give to those little learners in your family.  If you have any other great learning gift ideas, please pass them along in the comments! 

Blessings for a wonderful holiday!

Winter Formal

ALL OF THIS.......

 Was in preparation

 (notice our doorman....)

 FOR THIS!!

 My angel Sister-in-lawshared memories of her favorite winter formal with Shay.  She then so graciously volunteered to help us re-create the evening for Shay and her group.  It was a HUGE task
that took her away from her family of 6 little darlings to help us.  I will be FOREVER grateful.  She was the mastermind.  Here's what we did..

 As the guests arrived we had a gentleman (Derek's best friend) at the curb to open the car door.  There was another (Derek) waiting at the house to open the front door and usher the couples inside...where yet another (nephew Taylor) was waiting with Christmas trivia for each couple.  This kept the group occupied while waiting for all 7 couples to arrive.  They were then seated...

 and served a 3 course meal  consisting of a delicious holiday salad, chicken cordon bleu with a dijon-parmesan sauce, herb roasted red potatoes, steamed green beans, roll and ended with choices of chocolate, white raspberry, pumpkin or traditional cheesecake. YUM!  The waiters and waitresses (Kinsey and Abbey)  were prompt, helpful, and super cute!

 We then had a surprise visit from....none other than SANTA!!  He came bearing gifts for all.  This is a picture of the group playing the left/right story game.  Santa read a story and they had to pass their gift whenever they heard the words left or right.  They then kept the gift they ended up with.  (They were all the same, so it didn't really matter)  They each received a beautifully packaged ornament that read MHS Winter Formal 2013 with some yummy chocolates.

 Each couple then had photo ops with the big guy...doesn't he look a little familiar???  This happened to be my favorite couple:)

Here they are getting ready to head off to the dance.  What a fun night!  THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to my angel SIL.  We love you!!

Here is our new wrestling team!  We are off to a great start with two big dual wins and this past Saturday we won our first tourney.  Tanner will be at 145 this season with Dalton being 152.  Big home dual on Tuesday night vs Norwood.