Groundhog Day Ceremony Raleigh, NC 2012

Today was a perfect Spring day for the traditional Groundhog Ceremony here in Raleigh, North Carolina. With blue skies and sunshine, the crowds gathered at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences for the annual arousing of Sir Walter Wally, the resident Groundhog from the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Here we all sang "The Groundhog Song" to wake him up. Oh, what fun it all was.  You'll see Wally's findings were consistent with Punxsutawney Phil of Pennsylvania, more Winter.  Wally said, "The good news is, 'this is Winter!'"  A day of Sunshine and 60s!  We all agreed this is the kind of Winter we can take for another six weeks!

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/02/02/1825521/sir-walter-wally-sees-his-shadow.html#storylink=cpy

                              

Our Homeschool loved the Festivities of this Field Trip. We were so thrilled to be there. 

I quickly snapped these and look how excited the children are to pet Wally. :) 

My sweetie was very careful and happy to get to pet him. 

Here are at the words to "The Groundhog Day" Song. We all loved it. 

The boys got to meet Mr. John Connor of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. 

He lead the festivities. And was kind enough to pause with the Tigers! 

Waiting for the Ceremony to begin! I nice young Mom with her baby in a stroller

next to us snapped this. :) 

See my happy boy with his moment with Wally! 

After petting the Groundhog, the boys lit up when the educator let them know

all sorts of snake facts. See the gleam in their eyes. I love it! 

At the Festivities! Love my boys and their joie de vive! Their eagerness to 

learn and know. After the Ceremony, the boys thanked me and said, 

"This the best field trip ever - can we make this a Tradition!?" You bet! 

I've already iCalendared myself for 2013~ 

See ya there! 

Warmly, Carolina Mama

Interview with Todd Wilson of Family Man Ministries

We were blessed this weekend to have Todd Wison of Family Man Ministries give an awesome - sweet seminar on homeschooling. We felt like it was a great realationship seminar as well. :)

Todd touched on many different key points. Some of them were directed towards home schooling subjects. One of the key points that really touched Boulder Mountain Man and about getting your priorities in order. One of the most important priorities he talked about was a relationship with God then spouse first and foremost.

Todd talked about the lies homeschooling moms believe, which was very helpful to me. Mountain Man bought the book "Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe" for me - it's good to realize some of the subtle ways we buy into the negative thoughts and lies that come our way often by those meaning well yet not educated themselves on homeschooling and its awesome benefits for the whole family.

Loved getting a minute to interview Todd Wilson regarding his ministry and the weekly email for Dads! [why does YouTube consistently get the one shot of you talking mouth open to be the cover of each video. Who knows! :) Otherwise, enjoy!]



One of the most powerful statements made was "LOVE YOUR CHILDREN JUST THE WAY THEY ARE!" This is so true as a mom of multiples, as they are still two very different people! Our boys each surprise and delight me each day with their uniqueness. And they challenge me in so many awesome ways.

There are many more resources that you can check out at Family Man Ministries today! We had a great time, sometimes you just gotta say: Can learning really be this fun? You bet it can!

Warmly,

Homeschooling At the Beach and My Vlogger

Here's an up close and personal look at "Homeschooling at the beach!" Seriously, here is Mountain Man and the Tigers holding school while we were all away at the beach earlier this month. Love it!




On this same trip to Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina I captured this photo of Tiger B - with my new Flip Ultra - vlogging our trip on the beach! "His mother's child!" As my mama would say. Is that not adorable. I just love it. And he did a great job.



We had an amazing time at Ocean Isle Inn and at the Ingram Planetarium on Sunset Beach.



At the Museum of Coastal Carolina they have a wonderful interactive Tidal Touch Pool. Exhibits showing the erosion of the beaches. And Carolina Shells display. Much more. The children loved both the Planetarium and the Museum.

Museum of Coastal Carolina



Then we were royally entertained at Cinelli's by Peter and his amazing staff. This is awesome Italian food right on Ocean Isle Beach. In fact, we walked from the Coastal Museum of Carolina to Cinelli's! Thank you Peter and we highly recommend your restaurant. The Pizza for our TweetUp was spectacular! So yes! Go try Cinelli's and tell Peter and Friends Hello!

A sincere Thank You to Ocean Isle Inn, Museum of Coastal Carolina, Ingram Planetarium and Cinelli's Ocean Isle! We appreciate your sponsoring the MomBloggers2010 of Ocean Isle Inn! We're loyal fans! See ya real soon!

***Next Ocean Isle Inn update will have Mountain Man's live vlogging of the Dolphins of Ocean Isle Beach, NC! So great!

Warmly,

NC Live Library

Hello North Carolina! I am so excited that NC Live LIbrary contacted me about this new program they have. We love education here.

At NC Live, you can access all of the online library resources (magazines, newspapers, videos, journals, ebooks, etc.) that libraries across the state have pooled their money to provide online to North Carolinians.

NC Live is useful to lots of moms out there who don't have time to get to the library but would like to have PBS videos online for their kids, or for moms who want a place to find trusted health and wellness information. They even have full-text online subscriptions to magazines like Consumer Reports.

Homework just got simpler!

How awesome is that?! Can I tell you how helpful this could have been when the Twins were little! Hey, it is hugely helpful now. For homeschoolers, it is awesome to have this resource right in our own home school.

"NC LIVE is a statewide collaborative among the nearly 200 public and academic libraries in North Carolina. Consisting of four Communities of Interest (COIs), the organization ranks include the libraries of the University of North Carolina System, North Carolina Community College System, the public libraries of North Carolina, serving all 100 counties, and the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities.

NC LIVE provides the people of North Carolina with online access to a large and diverse collection of resources aimed at serving educational, economic, and informational needs of everyday life." [read more here...]


Thank you NC Live for your wonderful program and updates! Do you access online live libraries such as this? Would you, could you, should you?!! :)

Warmly,

The Homeschool Read Alouds

The Homeschool that reads together truly progresses and finds enrichment!

So I have learned from those who have gone before and from our own reading to our children all along. There is something perfection about our children when we are reading to them. I love to see their eyes dance and light up as they listen to the words. Gain a new concept or just follow the character development and story line.




One of the benefits of homeschooling our boys and getting lots of extra reading time. When the boys were in school, I was a regular in the classroom volunteering in some aspect, whether as Room Mom, Fundraising, Lunch Room, Snacks, ESL etc. However, my favorite was "Book and a Bite!" where I gathered a select handful of books to read to my child and his friends in the classroom while they ate their lunch.

It was a simple act. One I loved and my sons were crazy for and so as we have homeschooled, we've sort of kept this activity going. The boys are happiest when I say let's eat outside and have Book and a Bite. I am too.

It's simple and yet communal. What could be better? Books and Nature. Those who read here know we love all things nature and outdoorsy. So enjoying books outdoors is no surprise.

Currently, we are reading "Trumpet of the Swan!" and we are loving it at each page turn. It is a delightful read by E.B. White of Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little. I have to say we almost love this one as much.

Read Alouds For Homeschoolers and All:

1) Reading aloud fosters a love of learning;
2) Develops a child's thinking skills;
3) Helps his imagination and
4) Piques his creativity
5) Leaves them loving reading and begging for more.

As the Reader here are some ideas on the "how to" of effective Read Alouds:
1) Get comfortable - sofa, cushy chairs, outdoors,
2) Have fun - here I rolled up a chair - this added a lot of character and was a fun new way to engage;




3) Be expressive. Children love excitement and your own creativity in reading and expressing each character and the plot as it develops
4) Show the pictures where everyone can see; let them know everyone will get a chance to see.
5) Let them color, doodle and even write a key word you call out on occasion. This works well for us. At the end, they have a pretty picture with key words about the story.

*Have a Bookmark on hand, you'll be so ready to pick right up where you left off.

After a great afternoon of reading, the Tigers had their eyes on this huge pile of leaves and we let the sun set on the boys while playing in the leaves. By the end, it looked like this...



Warmly,

Look What I'm Loving...

If you haven't noticed life is a little full-on here at Carolina Mama. The Mom Bloggers Conference was amazing. The joke at the conference, and on the internet because apparently it is a real thing, is that bloggers go to a Conference and a certain percentage go home and - heaven forbid - close their blogs!

In a small way, I feel like my "life" distractions coming right after the Conference make me laugh with other blog moms - Go to Mom blogging conference, come home and don't write! :) Not exactly but it is funny.

Quickly, I wanted to share a little bloggy "Pick Me Up" ... I'm Loving...



The Pioneer Woman also shares greatly about Homeschooling! Am I the only who wonders how it got to be October already! It's been an awesome Fall. On the homeschool front, I could not be more excited and encouraged by this article I read over at Rea's - The Pioneer Woman.

It's worth repeating that Rea has so many great topics that she covers well. Time doesn't allow me to read as often as I'd like but I always find the most helpful and supportive content to moms and homeschool moms.

Now, we're bustling around getting ready for "Disney on Ice! Celebrations!"


What are you loving today? Have a great day!

Warmly,

Homeschool Sports Solution

Recreation and sports are a big deal in our home. Mountain Man and I love sports. No surprise, the Tigers do as well. This Summer you saw us go through some fun camps - tennis, basketball, soccer. We're always including swimming. I love to run, Mountain Man loves volleyball... I would love to surprise him with one of these Volleyball Trophies the next time he plays with his Volleyball League.



As a homeschool mama, I want the boys to feel accomplishment even though they are not in the big school setting. They work hard. They try, they try harder. They succeed and sometimes they try again. We instilling character here. And a love of athletics and exercising that will last a lifetime.

And a fun things like these Soccer Trophies will be perfect the next time the TIgers are in Soccer Camp or League. This Summer was special with their cousin here from New Orleans. My sister and I got them all set. She bought adorable Soccer uniforms representing Germany, Spain and Brazil! Talk about the talk of the team. Our three! Then Carolina Mama had a professional photo shoot with the three cuzzies in their uniforms! Memories for a lifetime for sure.

Hopefully, I will not need these Wrestling Trophies any time soon for my eight year old Tigers. :) However, I could reward with one daily with all of the boys power here. :) Aren't these all the best. And the prices make me want to make them a weekly reward!

What sports do your children like? If you homeschool, how do you "do" sports? and reward for them?! I love learning more on this topic! It's one we'll be perfecting for ... well, a lifetime! That's my Tip for Homeschool Solutions today! This "Works For Me Wednesday!" and every day. What about you? To get more Tips. Visit the WFMW link above and Enjoy!



Warmly,

Let Them Eat Cake

Buses are squeaking, children are squealing and it's quiet around here. Another school year has begun. A week ago, we started another year of homeschooling. We're off to a great start.

The Back to School Cakes cool.... We love vanilla and chocolate...



Chocolate Icing rules. Shhhh a sneak preview pre-Sprinkles which are almost as important as the cake and icing itself.



I'm thankful I get to do this. Our road was a winding one that lead to homeschooling our twin sons. God's plans revealed. It is exhilarating to watch our boys grow and learn and L.O.V.E to learn. To see them comfortable and questioning and embracing this year. To not miss it. It's going to be a great year!

Warmly,

Brother, Brother, Brother P-Touch Tip & Giveaway

Brother, brother, brother - here's what' going on! Have you checked out the new Brother P-Touch Labeler? I was so happy to receive this on our first day of school!



The Brother P-Touch PT-1290 Labeler is the more advanced handheld labeler in the new Simply Stylish product series. It includes an easy-to-use Deco Mode application that prints extra-stylish labels, but also has 2 professional fonts appropriate for the office.

Why You Need It: The PT-1290 has a sleek look and includes 15 “Deco Mode” patterns that can print up to two lines for more efficient labeling.

To Enter just take these three easy steps:

1) Post a Comment here stating Why You need the P-Touch Labeler.
2) Tell us what you would label!
3) Twitter or Blog this Giveaway (a mention with a link to the Giveaway is fine).

This meets Brothers' requests so that they can understand us the Mom Blogging community better! How about that! Let's applaud a company who wants our feedback. And you get a chance to Win this awesome label maker.

Check out what we did with ours:


We have enjoyed making various labels for our Homeschool and organizing up a little more. It is amazing the use you have for this machine once you have it. Next, I am thinking of the endless possibilities of labeling my kitchen just right! :)

Please spread the word on this awesome new product because it is one of the best tips out there for your family. Visit "Works For Me Wednesday" for more Tips.


Warmly,

Back To School Snacks: Libby's Jumbo Fruit Cups & Giveaway

It's hot and Summer's ticking away and with School around the corner. What are we thinking about - School Snacks! That's right - are your favorite school snacks? I can tell you one of our newest and biggest favorite Tip for Back to School Snacks:

School Snacks Libby Jumbo Fruit Cups

That's right! These Libby’s Jumbo Cups™ are growing right along with the Tigers. They are a great source of their "5 a Day!" Believe me as a Homeschool Mama, any time we can have a quick, healthy snack and the children can open it themselves, that makes for Awesomeness! We love these easy to eat and open Fruit Cups by Libby! You will too.

In stores beginning September, Libby’s Jumbo Cups™ are packaged in 3-pack sleeves and available in four delicious varieties: Diced Peaches, Diced Pears, Mixed Fruit and Cherry Mixed Fruit, at an approximate retail price of $3.39.



Fun Facts: Pear trees can grow to 60 feet and may be as old as 300 years
The pineapple is one of the world’s favorite tropical fruits
Pears are part of the rose family

Our favorite fact is that it's another simple way for our children to get another fruit in their day. And it's one they L.O.V.E! Can I just say, these didn't last long at our house. Come September, Libby look out. We're stocking up.

Enter Giveaway!:

One of your readers will win (8) cups, (2) of each variety; mixed fruit, peaches, diced pears, cherry mixed fruit



Enter easily by :

1) Commenting here what you liked best on the Libby’s Jumbo Cups™ site. It's fun so check it out.

2) Tweet this Giveaway! :)

3) Enter each time you do both! :)

If you want more tips Check out "Works For Me Wednesday!" Please share your tips here, what's your favorite Back to School tip?! It's getting close. :)

Warmly,

MLA Home School Field Day

MLA Field Day looked like this for the "Sack Race!"

The Egg Toss...

Long jump, Football Throw. And it's just best you didn't see the Students vs. Staff in the Three Legged Race! ;) The Students took us big time!

We wrapped up with watermelon... (sweet thing bit his lip after having a filling done at the Dentist. So here he is trying watermelon with the lip. :)

... and popsicles! Home school is good! Actually great! What's your Field Day looking like?

Warmly,