Homeschooling: Ocean Week 1

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn homeschooling7 Comments

We are in the last few weeks of Kindergarten! It’s hard to believe honestly. While we finish up our regular curriculum, we are also going to do a month long unit about the ocean! Last month my dad and stepmom went to Florida for a few weeks and brought my son and niece back a bunch of books, shells, posters, and sea glass to go along with their lessons. They have enjoyed exploring their discovery table this week!

We started Tuesday with an introduction to the ocean and ocean layers. We made an ocean layer jar – well I did while I explained to the kids, a little demo – and I had to improvise as I did not have Karo syrup. I subbed molasses which didn’t quite work and the bottom layers were a bit muddled. But the kids got the main point of what I wanted to illustrate, so I am calling it a win. My dad also brought the kids back stuffed animal sharks that I surprised them with on our kick off day.

We also started off with small creatures this week, crabs and jellyfish and seahorses. I have to admit, I was pretty fascinated by some of the facts we learned about jellyfish. I can’t say I had read anything about them ever before, so it was kind of all new to me as well. Two things I learned – that jellyfish sort of float out of their mother’s mouths when they are born, and that they don’t have a brain. Since it was a short week and we had a lot to fit in, our craft project this week was a simple one, but both kids enjoyed it. Paper plate jellyfish! Well, my niece had a paper plate one, I yet again had to improvise. I apparently did not have my materials together this week! This time though, my improvisations turned out. I don’t have a picture of Dino Girl’s but it was super cute.

Resource Round Up:

Ocean Animals Mega Unit from Crystal McGinnis

Ocean Zones Jar

Books We Read:

This section contains affiliate links

Night of the Moonjellies by Mark Shasha || Hello Ocean by Pam Munoz Ryan

I absolutely loved Night of the Moonjellies, and so did the kids and my mom. I think it is a new favorite for all of us. I couldn’t recommend it more!

And really this is it for this week! Next week is all about sea turtles (my favorite) and sharks!

Currently….

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized29 Comments

It’s that time again! I’m joining up with Anne in Residence for her monthly Currently..post. This month we are talking about what we are celebrating, collecting, gifting, thinking, and trying!

Celebrating: This one is easy! We are celebrating the addition of our newest family member, born last Friday! My cousin and his wife had their third son on the 28th, named Francis (Frankie) Elias. Frankie is named for our grandfather, and I absolutely love it. He is so darn cute and I can’t wait to meet him! Mom and baby are doing great.

Collecting: Ideas and art for our bedroom refresh that we are starting this month. We loved how the office turned out so much that now we are eyeing other rooms. Our bedroom has not been repainted since we moved in twenty years ago!! It is high time to rectify that. Not only have our tastes changed it’s just been too long. I can’t wait! I already have a few pieces picked out that I want to get but I won’t let myself pull the trigger until we actually start. It will be my reward. This is one that I have in mind. If you follow me here regularly, you will know that I love all things nature and I dig this artist. I bought her fox print for the office, and I kind of like the idea of carrying that idea into another room.

(art by FainaLorah Luna Moth Art Print)

Gifting: Not too much right now? I do have my eyes open for Father’s Day gifts and ideas!

Thinking: About summer and what we want to accomplish – or not accomplish. We want to finish up the bedroom and then sort of spend the rest of the summer without projects except being together, exploring nature, having fires and drinks with family, going on picnics and visiting some of our favorite places. We want a relaxed summer, one that ends with everyday feeling that good kind of tired.

Trying: To encourage butterflies to our yard! Specifically, monarchs. The past few years my friends have all “raised” monarchs to give them more of a fighting chance at survival. This summer, I think Wyatt and I will be joining in. I planted milkweed and all sorts of different plants to entice butterflies, so hopefully we will see some monarch caterpillars hanging out in the garden soon. I am going to have my mom do it too, I think she will like it!

And that is it for this month! Check back next month where we will be discussing what we are currently eating, feeling, going, ordering, and realizing.

Hello June!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized8 Comments

Hello June! Hello summer! I know it is not officially summer yet, but to me June is always the start of summer.

We spent the long weekend fully embracing the season as much as we could. Our Friday plans were rained out – we had a ton of rain and it was cold to boot – so instead of the zoo we bought a bunch of crafts and new paints and hung out at the table just painting and creating. However, Saturday and the rest of the weekend was gorgeous and we took full advantage.

Saturday we had reservations for one of our favorite places to visit, Greenfield Village. We didn’t get to go last year so it was so nice to be back! It was a beautiful morning, sunny and mild, the perfect kind of day to walk around the village and ride the train.

On Sunday we headed downtown. We stopped in at Astoria Bakery, another favorite that we haven’t been to in a year. Wyatt and I waited in the car while Billy ran in and picked up some surprise goodies to eat when we got to our next destination, Belle Isle. Just as Billy was coming out a mounted police officer came clip-clopping down the street and kindly stopped for a photo. Wyatt was not super enthused – the horse kind of freaked him out, although he was a sweet and handsome boy named Ivan.

Loaded up with a box full of goodies, we headed further into the city to Belle Isle. We had forgotten all about the Detroit Grand Prix, and to our surprise they had started setting up for it. They didn’t have it last year but this year things are back in full swing. One crazy sort of neat thing is they set up a week or so before the race and people visiting the island can just drive around the course. So we tootled around it in our Subaru feeling cool before finding a place to park and eat our car goodies. Billy picked out a lot, apparently he felt we needed to make up for all those lost weekends. A piece of torte cake to share, a lemon muffin, and chocolate chip cookies.. we ate all of it except the muffin. The cookies were amazing!

Monday was Memorial Day and we always spend it with my dad. My dad served in the Marines and did two tours in Vietnam, and lost friends and platoon members while there, and while we all remember those who served, I know that his perspective is different. I think spending the day with his grandchildren makes it a little easier.

We had a great time all together. It was the first time that we had been to his house since last Christmas, and it was more than nice to be with each other again. I got to hug my dad for the first time in a year! The kids had a blast, and we spent practically the whole day outside, trading being with the kids, and chatting with the family. There was so much food and so much catching up to do. The day flew by and it was time to go home before we knew it.

I feel like we gave May a good send off, and we are looking forward to the summer!

My Sunday-Monday Post!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized20 Comments

This past week I decided was going to be a break week – and I legit took a break. We got up and stayed in our pajamas until noon, hung out with my mom, went for drives, played and read books, and that was about it. It was really nice. I did call the neurologist as Wyatt is due for another 48 hour EEG, and his awesome neuro said that we could schedule an ambulatory EEG instead of in hospital. This pretty much means that we take him in, they wire him up, then we get to come home. Otherwise, I was pretty absent from most of my usual life, including social media. I hope to catch up with everyone this week, and visit your blogs!

Read Last Week:

I read Kitchen Witch by Wendy Wang which was pretty good. Last spring when I couldn’t really focus on anything, I found this series and read the heck out of them. They are all also “free” if you have a Kindle Unlimited subscription. Once I finished this newest installment, I moved on to a NetGalley read, On the Cliffs of Foxglove Manor. I was excited to start this one as it is set in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on the shores of Lake Superior, and as a Michigander I love to read books set in my home state. I am particularly drawn to “up north” books. So far, this one is keeping me guessing!

Reading This Week:

Once I finish up Foxglove Manor, I am going to start Between the Sea and Stars.

I have oceans and ocean life on the brain right now, as I have been planning Wyatt and my niece’s last month of school – which has an ocean theme. So as they read watery ocean books, so am I. They will be “officially” done with Kindergarten in three weeks, which blows my mind! We are going to keep learning over the summer since I am the one who will have to deal with the dreaded summer slide, so we may as well just keep going! We will have a more informal school though for the summer, and start first grade in the fall.

Posted Last Week:

One lonely book review – Truth or Beard by Penny Reid

Watching and Listening

We have been watching Jonathan Creek still, even though they switched up characters on us. It’s a good end to the night. I also had the realization last week that I might like these cozy mystery shows because my brother and I watched Murder She Wrote all the time as kids. My mom was taking night college classes and I am six years older than my brother, so I was able to babysit him while she was out. That basically meant eating nachos and watching Murder She Wrote. Lol. Anyway. I am still listening to my podcasts, and for some reason spring time makes me feel all goth which is really weird but ok. Maybe it is the rain. Whatever the reason, I am listening to The Grave Talks podcast quite a bit, which is all haunting, ghost type stuff. And when I don’t feel like ghosts, I listen to Ologies with Alie Ward.

And that is about it from our corner of Michigan! I hope you all are doing well!

Book Review: Truth or Beard by Penny Reid

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized10 Comments

Publisher Summary:

Identical twins Beau and Duane Winston might share the same devastatingly handsome face, but where Beau is outgoing and sociable, Duane is broody and reserved. This is why Jessica James, recent college graduate and perpetual level-headed good girl, has been in naïve and unhealthy infatuation with Beau Winston for most of her life.

His friendly smiles make her tongue-tied and weak-kneed, and she’s never been able to move beyond her childhood crush. Whereas Duane and Jessica have always been adversaries. She can’t stand him, and she’s pretty sure he can’t stand the sight of her…

But after a case of mistaken identity, Jessica finds herself in a massive confusion kerfuffle. Jessica James has spent her whole life paralyzed by the fantasy of Beau and her assumptions of Duane’s disdain; therefore she’s unprepared for the reality that is Duane’s insatiable interest, as well as his hot hands and hot mouth and hotter looks. Not helping Jessica’s muddled mind and good girl sensibilities, Duane seems to have gotten himself in trouble with the local biker gang, the Iron Order.

Certainly, Beau’s magic spell is broken. Yet when Jessica finds herself drawn to the man who was always her adversary, now more dangerous than ever, how much of her level-head heart is she willing to risk? 

My thoughts:

I am late to the party with reading this series! I know that so many people love Penny Reid and the world she has created, and I am just getting started. I love the concept of creating this universe and allowing other authors access to it, writing books within that time and space. It’s just sort of a neat communal type creative pool that appeals to me.

I downloaded this one after reading Happy Trail by Daisy Prescott, which I loved. The Winston Brothers made an appearance in that book and I was intrigued.

This book focuses on Duane and Jessica. Jessica is a high school math teacher with a bad case of wanderlust, and dreams of following her heart’s desire of travelling the world one day. She has a pretty big bucket list and the determination to shake the dust off her shoes and hit the road. However, first she has to save money, which means teaching and living at home for a bit – also the hometown of her lifetime crush, Beau Winston, who leaves her unable to speak just by his nearness. His twin Duane on the other hand, inspires nothing but her ire. Until one hot moment of mistaken identity, that is.

This book just jumps right in, right from the get-go, and keeps the energy up the whole book. Reid did a great job of starting out big then backing off, setting up the story and challenges that the characters have to sort out. There were some big surprises in this book as well, that I never saw coming! I always like to be caught off guard, and I certainly was reading this. My friend and I were talking about feeling invested in books yesterday, and how some stories just grab you and make you part of their world – this book definitely did that. I loved watching Jessica and Duane figure out their relationship, and wondered what was going to happen the whole time, wondering how things would be resolved.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the next in the series! I am all about the fun reads right now!

My Sunday-Monday Post

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized44 Comments

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

This is such a busy busy time of year isn’t it? I feel like all the energy that is happening around us in the natural world is echoed in my own life. While bees and birds and all the little animals are busy with spring so are we. Working on the yard, school, getting back together with loved ones after a winter spent cozy at home.

Last night we planted our butterfly garden. We waited as long as we could for it to cool off but it was still sticky gross out while we were working. My face was about as red as a strawberry when we were finished. I have always always been that person who turns red from heat like immediately. It’s awesome. This morning I got up and made strawberry shortcake for breakfast – Billy and I really enjoyed it. Wyatt acted like I was giving him poison and refused to even take a bite though. Kids are crazy! I’m going to take some over to my mom in a little while – I don’t think she will act like it is poison, hopefully!

Read Last Week:

Truth or Beard by Penny Reid: This was pretty good! I picked it up since I had read Happy Trail last week and loved it, and this book is in the same universe, which is a cool concept. Penny Reid has created a world and other authors write books in that same world – it is neat. I have to say I did like Happy Trail more, but this one was still good. However, while Happy Trail was like PG-13 this one was a bit “racier”.

Reading This Week:

I am not sure – mermaids or witches?

Posted Last Week:

Chit Chat Coffee Time – where I talk about going to the garden center where I found lots of things for my butterfly garden

Etsy Artists – AAPI Edition

Watching:

Jonathan Creek mostly. We are enjoying this sort of quirky duo who solve mysteries. Jonathan Creek is a pretty interesting character – he lives in a windmill and invents magic tricks for a famous magician. He and his partner in crime-solving, Maddie Magellan get caught up in some pretty complex situations.

And that is about it from my corner of Michigan. What is going on in your world?

Chit Chat Coffee Time

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn chit chat coffee time, family friendly4 Comments

My week this week was just…blah. Not good, not bad, I can’t quite say what I even did this week. It was just sort of like a week on autopilot. This upcoming week we are taking a break from school, maybe I just need a refresh.

This morning we left bright and early to go to a different garden center. I was joking with Billy that this particular garden center is the one ALL the butterfly people talk about, so we had to be cool too and check it out. I am hoping to help raise monarchs this year so I needed to go to the cool garden center too. And honestly, it was really cool.

My friend who has done the whole monarch thing for years gave me a list of milkweed I needed, particularly common and swamp. I found those and grabbed them, and added some prairie milkweed and also a kind with a very interesting name. They had tables set up with types of butterflies and their host plants which made it really easy to shop. I also picked up a butterfly bush and a few forget-me-nots. They have a butterfly house but it is not open yet, so we will have to go back to check it out.

We went first thing in the morning and no one was there. I love having places practically to myself. We had just planned on Billy and Wyatt hanging out in the car but when I saw it was so empty and open, I called Billy and told him to join me inside, and I am so glad we did, we had a great time. I feel like they just needed to serve coffee and it would have been perfect. (Hint hint Barsons if you read here – set up a little coffee area for people to buy coffee, I am sure it would do well.)

However, now it is so humid and hot outside that we have unloaded it all and are waiting until it cools off a bit. I found a few butterfly eggs on my rue this afternoon and gathered it up. I am actually getting my mom in on this too, and I am taking her these first eggs from a black swallowtail. I think she will enjoy it!

I have spent the past few weeks working on our final month of lessons for kindergarten! I can’t believe this year is almost over! We are going to spend a month finishing up our regular curriculum and we will also be spending some time learning about the ocean and ocean animals. And mermaids, per the request of my niece. Then I get to start planning for next year, and I have to be honest I am really excited about that. We will also be continuing school throughout the summer but more informally. We are spending July immersed in learning about Italy, as part of our family ancestry studies combined with geography. It should be a lot of fun. And delicious as I am going to use it as an excuse to eat all the pasta and tiramisu that I want.

I hope you are all having a good day so far! Enjoy the weekend!

Etsy Artists – AAPI Edition

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn artist review1 Comment
Photo taken by Jackie Munyer

It’s Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month! As the mother of a child with Hawaiian heritage, it is important to me to teach Wyatt about this aspect of his ancestry. My husband’s grandmother, Maleka Kane, was Hawaiian born and bred, and her family is Hawaiian all the way back. My mother-in-law is also a very talented artist; those are her hands pictured above as she works at her pottery. She is also a painter and has worked with textiles, and she has passed her talent for art down to her sons, who all excel at different mediums. I would link her store but she is currently not selling pieces online!

In celebration of the AAPI artist, like my mother-in-law, I found so many amazing pieces on Etsy. I was always an Etsy fan but since the pandemic I have turned to it as my go-to for unique items and gifts, as I want to support artists who may be struggling during this time. Hopefully this summer we will see a return of art fairs though!

(this section contains Etsy affiliate links)

As a reader, these pieces immediately called to me! I am in love with the Book Scout and Literary Kitty Brass Bookmarks (I’m thinking ahead to Christmas book club gifts already!) and I will be honest, I added a bunch of stuff from this shop! (Justinegilbuena) That flour sack towel from KeiaandMolly is also super adorable!! This is another shop I pretty much loved everything listed.

The vintage carved plant stand pictured is also something on my wish list. We are getting ready to redo our bedroom over the summer, and I am pretty sure I need this planter in my life. And, speaking of plants, I am also in love with this cute turtle trellis!! The shop PineandSprout also has little rainbow shelves that I considered – I could probably do a post just on rainbow products, I am a fan. And finally, this little ceramic coffee scoop! I have been wanting a coffee scoop for a while now, and this one from Mammothandminnow seems pretty perfect.

I have inherited my father’s love of blank books and feel like I can never have too many. I am considering getting these two for him as part of his Father’s day gift – my dad is horribly difficult to buy for and I feel like notebooks are the one thing I can really get him, especially unique ones like these two from the shop Cynla. She also has a lot of really neat greeting cards too!

Isn’t that little crochet dragon the sweetest little thing? I save so many crochet patterns and I don’t know why, since I absolutely can not crochet. But look how cute!!! AllaboutAmi had so many squishlicious stuffed animal patterns. Now if only I knew someone to make them!

And rainbows happened. I saw this Hawaiian lei rainbow t-shirt and squealed – I have to get one for my rainbow loving Hawaiian kiddo. Unfortunately they are all out of his size right now so I will have to keep checking back, but I am on Etsy all the time poking around and looking at stuff so, no worries there!

Just as I make sure to educate Wyatt on his diverse heritage, I also want to encourage his love of art. One of his favorite things to do is paint! In fact, we are getting ready for a painting session after lunch today.

Have a great day everyone, and make something lovely this weekend!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized10 Comments

 It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

I missed the Sunday posts, but I am here for Monday! We spent the weekend doing a lot of work, which needed to be done, but now I am tired! It was a good weekend though, that was punctuated by good moments as well. Friday night I had mom’s night at my friends, and I stayed out way past my bedtime, but it was so good to be with them. On Saturday night we had tacos again before going to my brother’s house for a fire and adult beverages while the kids played like crazy. So much giggling and smiles between Wyatt and his cousin.

Read Last Week:

I loved this book! I read it all in one day, and I am ready to read more in this world that Penny Reid created. Be forewarned, I am about to go on a binge.

Reading This Week:

So, the Winston Brothers are characters that were introduced in Happy Trail, and since I had so much fun with that one, I am starting this series. I need some fun reads right now.

Posted Last Week:

Homeschool Dino Week

Book Review: Happy Trail by Daisy Prescott

The Beautiful May Be Small

What We Watched:

We are watching Johnathan Creek still, for the most part. We also are glued to Weed ‘Em and Reap, a YouTube channel, and CottageFairy, another YouTube channel. Wyatt is watching Molly of Denali, Wild Kratts, and Tumble Leaf. I am still listening to lots of podcasts, and the very best one I listened to last week was the Maritime Archaeology (Shipwrecks) episode on Ologies by Alie Ward. I am loving that podcast and I hope to listen to the Cicadaology (Cicadas) episode today.

Homeschool: Dino Week!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn homeschooling6 Comments

It’s been dino week around here! My little niece requested that we have a dinosaur theme, and very specifically asked for a dinosaur life cycle and craft. So, I of course obliged. I call her dino girl for a reason – at five, she already knows pretty much everything about dinosaurs. When I started to get resources together, I decided to focus on skills work with a dinosaur theme, rather than actually learning about dinosaurs themselves. I mean, we did do a little of that, but for the most part everything was more related to dinosaurs instead of about them. And it turned out to be a great week! Wyatt likes dinosaurs but he is not all in, so I did want him to know a little more about dinosaurs before we go to Jurassic Quest next month. We did lizards last week per his request, and I felt like the two, dinosaurs and lizards went hand in hand pretty nicely!

We do have quite a bit of dinosaurs and dinosaur things at our house, so it made it easy to set up an inviting area to introduce this week’s topic. I always like to set it up on Sunday night to surprise Wyatt with our weekly theme, and this was a fun one. When Billy saw it he asked “How will Wyatt survive school with all those dinosaurs?”

So – we did our regular curriculum from Blossom and Root and Math for a Living Education, then added in some fun extra stuff. A dinosaur memory game, and of course, a dinosaur life cycle. We divided dinosaurs into herbivores and carnivores, labeled a triceratops, and reviewed size sequencing. We read about different types of dinosaurs, as well as some fun little stories too. Then yesterday we went to my mom’s for craft time with my mom and Dino Girl.

We are going to keep the theme up for another week, then take a week off of school for a break. When we start back up it will be our last “official” month of school and kindergarten, so we are going out with a splash and doing a month long ocean unit. I am looking forward to it!

Resource Round Up:

Free dinosaur printables from Simple Every Day Mom

Free Dinosaur Printable Pack from Simple Living Creative Learning