Discounted Gift Cards

I saw an article in Times Magazine online about the savings benefits of purchasing discounted gift cards, and Cardpool.com was one of the vendors mentioned. I tried it out last night and was able to purchase an AMC and Home Depot gift card at a combined savings of 16% - not bad! The AMC gift card will be an actual gift, and the Home Depot card will be used for a tile job in a bathroom.

Update: Forget Cardpool.com. I just got an email stating that they canceled my order because they couldn't get in touch with me to verify some information. I guess they tried to call me(but no messages?) because I never got any emails until today(almost two weeks)! What a hassle. Meanwhile Plastic Jungle sent out my discounted cards immediately, and I received them within a few days - much more professional, and better communication with emails when items are shipped, etc.

I'd recommend Plastic Jungle over Cardpool.

More DIY Pallet Furniture Ideas

I think these are from Norway. See more here at Stylizimo.

And here at French by Design

Elementary Level Paragraph Writing Exercise: All Things Bright and Beautiful

IV. PARAGRAPH WRITING —INSECTS

1. Write a paragraph telling how insects prepare for winter. Correct the paragraph and copy it into your notebook for future use. Think of —

Cold — enemies — bees — caterpillars

2. Write a paragraph telling how insects leave their snug winter cradles.

Home Reading. — It is a sign of a gentle spirit to take note of the little creatures that people this great world of ours. Poets look into the meaning of all forms of life. They find things to say that you and I should never think of. Sometimes they say these things in a beautiful way, sometimes in a humorous or whimsical, yet delightful way, as you may learn from these poems: —

All Things Bright and Beautiful.—Cecil Frances Alexander. Ladybird, Ladybird. — Caroline B. Southey. How doth the Little Busy Bee. — Isaac Watts. The Bee and the Flower.—Alfred, Lord Tennyson. The Housekeeper. —. Charles Lamb. To a Butterfly. — William Wordsworth. White Butterflies. — Algernon Charles Swinburne. To an Insect. — Oliver Wendell Holmes. "He prayeth well who loveth well." — Samuel Taylor Coleridge (from the "Rime of the Ancient Mariner " ).

If possible, read one or more of the poems. Commit to memory one that pleases you.

See here for printable page. Right click on image of page at link to print and/or save.

From: Modern English: Elementary Lessons in English, 1906.

DIY Pallet Flat Storage

See more here.

Kindergarten/Early Elementary March Lesson Plans

March lessons plans for young children -The Plan Book: Primary, 1898. Free and in public domain. At link, right click on images of the pages to save. Good clip art for topics as well. Pages 657-768.

Quick view of suggested topic areas:

Decorating with Seashells

See more here.

Thrifty Spring Floral Arrangement: Branch in a Vase

Instead of forcing forsythia stems in a vase, try an entire branch! I really like this idea, and could kick myself for not buying a large round bottle vase like this at the thrift. It was only a few dollars. I do have a tall arching Japanese rose bush branch in a liter Diet Coke bottle which I plan to sink into a basket, but the colored glass would have been very pretty. Tree trimmings make a thrifty and dramatic spring floral arrangement.

First Try: DIY Clothing Iron-Ons

This was my first attempt at trying to fuse plastic bags to fabric. I used a thin plastic shopping bag on my first attempt, and all it did was fuse to my wax paper. A thicker plastic bag did the trick.

I traced an image onto a white plastic bag using a Sharpie, then cut it out into a nice oval with clean edges, and placed it drawing side down onto my cotton t-shirt. I laid a piece of wax paper on top of that, then a piece of paper. With an iron on the highest cotton setting I pressed down for a few minutes, and ironed with a lot of pressure over area of the plastic bag drawing. It did not seem to be sticking, so I ironed the other side of the decal(through the shirt) just to get it good and melted. After it cooled a bit, I gently peeled the wax paper off.

It worked nicely, but my Sharpie was a little old and flat. I'd have gotten sharper lines with a new one. I have no idea if this will stay on through a wash, but for now it's firmly attached. I'll post an update. I'd like to try this again with colored plastic and/or different pen colors.

I tried drawing this snail free hand with the Sharpie but didn't like the results. I'm not a proficient artist; tracing is the way to go with my skill level. I'll go ahead and embarrass myself with a picture of my hand drawn snail - it's the one of the right. The stubby old Sharpie didn't help matters. Tomorrow I'll buy some fresh ones.

Paperless Wallpaper Created with Sharpie Pens

What a money saver! This was done using an overhead projector and a few Sharpies, but a purchased or homemade stencil would work as well. Click here.

Children's Rain Cycle/Evaporation Cursive Copywork

I found this story about evaporation in a 1910 "Primary Education" teachers' periodical. It is free and in public domain. Click on image to enlarge and save.

Bean Development Illustration

This is from a 1911 "School Arts" teachers' periodical. It is free and in public domain.

Click on image to enlarge and save.

Dollar Tree Chinese Dinner for Two

Sometimes I tire of making meals from scratch. It saves a lot of money, but an inexpensive frozen dinner is a lovely reprieve from kitchen duty. This Dollar Tree Teriyaki Chicken (196 calories per serving) for two was really delicious, just like Chinese restaurant food. I added about half a bag of frozen stir fry mixed peppers and onion(Save-A-Lot), minced garlic(Dollar Tree), and a splash of Japanese rice vinegar(Walmart). I served this over some delicious Mahatma brand(Walmart, USA grown) brown rice with soy sauce(real).

Dollar Tree also sells frozen bags of stir fry vegetables which I got along with their frozen salad shrimp(his favorite) for my son. Also found, two thick pizza crusts for a dollar, Hormel pepperoni for pizza(two pouch box), and a bag of ten tortillas.

Homemade Hyacinth Water

This year I added some daffodil flower leaves. I make this with 2/3 water and 1/4 alcohol(grain alcohol or rubbing), and stuff the bottle with hyacinth blossoms. Store in a dark place for two weeks, discard the blossoms, and you'll have some lovely scented water. It helps to shake occasionally while the scent is being extracted.

I've tried witch hazel and rubbing alcohol in lieu of vodka or grain alcohol; however, the scent is overpowering. I might try again using just a few drops of rubbing alcohol or witch hazel.

Children's Vintage Spring Animal Cut and Paste, Drawing Lessons

I found these in 1909 and 1910 "Primary Education" teacher's periodicals. They are free and in public domain. Besides cut and paste, these could work well as traceables or for teacher's bulletin board displays.

Click on image to enlarge and save.

Spring Picnics

The weather has been gorgeous here, and we are enjoying the light breezes and perfect temperatures before the heat sets in. We have very long hot summers.

After she raided the kitchen, my daughter insisted that her older brother join her for a picnic this morning, and surprisingly he indulged her. Lent comes with some beautiful sacrifices.

On the menu:

- cheese sticks
- cheerios
- water


Her flower arrangement - lawn flowers.

First Garden Cucumber of the Year

My indoor organic Sumter cucumber plant finally produced an edible four inch cucumber(half eaten in image by my daughter). It smelled wonderful upon cutting and tasted even better. It is warm enough here that I was able to plant this potted cucumber outdoors today. I may try indoor cucumbers again next winter but use a much bigger pot and a plant light.

When planted outdoors, these Sumter cucumbers are prolific and of a good size. This will be my second year growing these cucumbers in the summer garden.

I'm not sure if these are self pollinators, but just in case they were not, I hand pollinated them with a paint brush. The female flowers have a bulge right before the flower. We ended up with many mini cucumbers, but only one grew large enough to eat.

Vintage 1910 Children's March Calendar(Same as 2011)

I found this in a 1910 March edition of "Primary Education", a teacher's periodical. I print out a vintage calendar every month for my daughter's homeschool area. Click on image to enlarge and save. Free and in public domain.