Free Printable Worksheets

These are some of my favorite sites for getting free printables.  Of course I'll update and add more as I come across them, but these I have found to be great starting places, and hope you do too!

Planning Playtime
Twisty Noodle

Loopy Love Crochet Hats

I have been on a crochet baby hat marathon over the last couple months.  I ran across this pattern on Pinterest and it is so simple, and quick.  I can usually finish a baby size hat in a couple hours.

I first started making baby hats for our soon-to-be son or daughter, then matching ones from my older kids as a gift for when the baby comes. Since we aren't finding out the gender I had to make one of each color...just in case.  It then expanded to making hats for several friends who are having babies, a couple of Christmas gifts, and...well, you get the picture.  

You can get the full pattern and directions from Moogly.  I modified the pattern just slightly,  the two things I did differently were:

1)  Instead of doing only three chains in Round 2.  I just skipped the second step and went directly from 6 sc in the magic ring to six loops (which is what you have at the end of round 3) by doing one [sc, ch 3, dc] in each of the original 6 stitches.  I found this to make the top of the hat lay flatter.  I followed the directions for my blue hat and made the improvisation in the pink hat.  The blue hat seems to have more of a "bump" of bulk at the start.

2)  The second change I made was that I didn't change my hook size for the brim.  I just used the same hook the whole way...makes the hat less of a beanie and more straight through the end. On some of the hats I left the brim off completely and just ended with a scalloped edge (below).  

Happy Stitching!  

Let me know how it goes...

Preschool - November Week 2 - D, diamond, color matching

Core:

Letter "D" (p.*)

Shape "diamond"

Color matching

Activities:

Dinosaur Popsicle Stick Puzzle(s)

Letter "D" File Folder Matching Game (below)

Song:

Ten Little Ducks - Fisher Price Little People Counting Song (we have the DVD)

Printables:
Missing Letter "d" - to simplify for children who cannot yet write.  Pre-make small paper squares with the letter "d" written on them, and have children place the squares in each blank.

Letter "D" File Folder Game

To play this game, print graphics and words that start with various letters, some with the letter "d".  Have the child place a marble on each of the pictures that starts with the correct letter.

Color Matching 

To make our color matching sheets reusable (and more like a game) I laminated them back to back like a placemat.  Now they can either use a washable marker to circle the correct color again and again, or a token (such as a marker) to place on the correct colored square.  This page was taken from a book about colors I purchased at the Dollar Tree.  See THIS POST for more information.

*all page numbers are taken from "My Big Preschool Workbook" published by School Zone.  Find it HERE.

Follow my 3 Year Old Preschool Pintrest Board for week-by-week ideas!

Home Tour - Bunk Bed Room

Welcome to the Bunk Bed Room!

First up in our home tour is the bunk bed room.  Vague title I know, but since both of our children sleep in this room from time to time, it isn't really the sole property of our son or daughter, although it is our son's primary resting place.  It also doubles as a play room since we have not other official space to put the toys. 

A few features of this room include: a misc. frame collage that I made by painting mis-match frames I picked up at Goodwill and garage sales; an IKEA organizer, and a Target clearance rug.  The dresser (below left) was a $20 craigslist.com find that I spray painted and updated with new nobs.  It's amazing what I coat of paint can do.  Surprises me almost every time.  The bookshelf wall (below right) is my pride and joy.  It was over a year in the waiting, until I finally bought some wood and got to work this summer.  It is one of the first woodworking projects I have done completely from scratch and I'm so happy with how they turned out.  This little nook  between the door and the closet was otherwise wasted space, with the floor vent below we couldn't really put anything there.  This makes corralling the books a little easier and the lower shelves are easy for my toddlers to reach and put the books away by themselves.

  

       

Off the one side of the bunk bedroom is a little sitting room.  At one point it appears to have been a very tiny room of it's own.  When we first moved in, we used it as a small play room, but I found toys were being dragged out into the larger space so we converted it into an honorary "nursery".  My son's crib was in here until he eventually graduated to a toddler bed, and now the bottom bunk (which he calls "top").  We've left the crib up in case of visitors and to be ready when we have our new baby in March.  

Love the animal print blanket and valence?  The "theme" of this room was originally elephants.  As we've transitioned over time it's more and more difficult to tell, but you can get this fabric HERE.  It's called Zoology by Michael Miller.  It comes in a variety of color schemes, but I chose "sea" because it's so gender neutral. Use left over pieces of fabric to fill the frames in the collage. Take a closer look in the upper right below!

Paper Bag Puppet Printables

Yesterday, at a birthday party, the hostess had paper bag puppets for the kids to make.  I thought they would be a great little preschool project.  Why had I not thought of them before?

A quick Google search and I ran across this beautiful website by Scholastic.  Seriously, I am so excited!!!  A printable for every letter.  We are definitely going to be doing some of these this year.

Check them out for yourself!!!

PAPER BAG PRINTABLE PUPPETS

Home Hunt- Spouts

As I sit here eating breakfast with my three year old on a lazy Sunday morning, we are enjoying cups of tea together with our yogurt and cereal.  My french press is sitting between us, and little girls asks, "Mommy, what's that?" pointing to the spout on the front of the pitcher.

This lead me to an explanation of what a spout is and what it does, and then a search for other items in our kitchen that also have spouts for pouring.  I find practical activities like these to be such great learning opportunities, and a way to incorporated exploration into every day.  It's practical learning with life application all around us.

How about you?  Why don't you go on a spout hunt today?  Search your home for things with spouts. What shapes do they come in?  Triangles?  Circles? Are they for liquids?  Gels? Dry goods?  

Here are some places to start:

Cartons (milk, juice, goldfish crackers boxes, etc)

Boxed dish detergent

Salt container

Coffee Creamer

Measuring cups and spoons

Pitchers

Tea Kettle

Watering Can

Condiments

Soap

Instant rice or potatoes

Spices

For an added activity, perhaps with older children, have them try to pour certain objects (say water, rice, salt) from a container without a spout into a cup with a smaller opening.  Then have them try it again from a container with a spout into the same cup.  See if they can pour more successfully without spilling.  Can they pour the same amount without spilling, just more quickly?  Talk about how spouts help us.

Rummy Mommy

My daughter is all about the games.  Make something a game and she'll almost always be on board...for a little while at least...until it's time to clean up. Right? However, she also LOVES games that are wwaaayyy too old for her.  She regularly pulls out our Sorry, Dominoes, Bananagrams, and Rumikub from the game cabinet to "play a game" with the pieces.

Recently in preschool we have been working on number recognition, and my little guy is just starting to catch on to a few of the basic colors.  

Tools for teaching you kids can come from ANYWHERE.  For me it largely depends on how much "mess" I'm willing to let them make with something clearly above their age level.  Yesterday we played with the tiles from our Rumikub game.  We did number and color identification and sequencing.  Little girl practiced her numbers, little boy practiced his colors. 

As with all preschool activities, it didn't last long, but I have to remind myself they are learning and they are having fun.  The pieces in our set are durable and easily washable so they really aren't going to hurt anything or themselves.  

From one mom to another, think out of the box, and use what you have to do the best you can with your kids.  They clearly prefer this to a box of preschool flashcards.  Your kids may too.

Bubble Cups

Kids love blowing bubbles in their drinks, right?  Come on!  Be honest. You did it when you were a kid...maybe as an adult you still do.

This project is a flashback to my childhood.  Specifically, my younger cousins birthday party way back in elementary school.  Thank you Aunt D. for giving me, yet another thing, to carry from my childhood into my future.  

This spring my kids have loved blowing bubbles, yet we're just not quite old enough to handle the "big kid" style of making bubbles.  Unless I was planning to purchase a large bottle of bubble solution weekly, I needed a better option.  Hence the Bubble Cups!

Supplies:

Large plastic cup or jar

Old t-shirt or washcloth

Sturdy straw

Rubber bands

Scissors

STEP ONE

Cut a section of t-shirt large enough liberally cover the opening of the cup or jar.  If using a washcloth, you may want to just use the whole thing.

STEP TWO

Add a quirt or two of dish detergent to the bottom of the cup/jar, cover with and inch or two of water and add the straw.

STEP THREE

Place the cloth over the top opening of the cup/jar, and secure with a rubber band.  Make sure to secure the areas around the straw well to avoid any "stray" bubbles coming up around the straw and near your mouth when blowing.

STEP FOUR

Blow!  Be sure to remind your kids NOT to suck, which is going to be their natural tendency.  The bubbles will pile and pile.  Even smaller children can make a lot of bubbles.  Of course the cups aren't spill-proof so they will dump if tipped, but in my opinion these are a lot easier for little hands to hold than traditional bubble jars and wands.

Tissue Box Banjo

I'm all about making toys that can be "fun and done".  Kids seem to get bored with things very quickly and I'm not one to spend a lot of money on toys.  This is a quick little project that's easy, cheap, and "disposable". 

Supplies:

An empty tissue box

Rubber bands

Step One: gather supplies

Step Two: stretch bands around box

Step Three: play and make music

Preschool - September Week 3 - S, Square, 0-1

Little Violet is running through these pages so quickly, I'm going to have to beef up my lesson planning from here on out, because she clearly loves workbook pages.  Yesterday we bought two more workbooks at Target since she has been wanting 'somebody to be her teacher' everyday and I'm running out of things to give here...plus the printer was out of ink.  Target does have some great little books and TONS of flash cards in the red dot one spot area right now.

Here's what's on for this week:

 Core:

Letter “S” (163-166*)

Shape “square” (40-41)

Numbers “0-1” (215-216)

Activities:

Scissor Activities 

Smiley Faces

Sun Printing – SolarGraphics

I found these SolarGraphics sheets at a garage sale a couple years back.  However, it looks like you can find several different sun printing kits through Amazon.

*all page numbers are taken from "My Big Preschool Workbook" published by School Zone.  Find it HERE.

Follow my 3 Year Old Preschool Pintrest Board for week-by-week ideas!

Preschool - September Week 4 - B, Blue

When we started this adventure mid-August I promised I'd get us back on track by mid-September.  With some morning sickness and less than school worthy three-nager attitude we are 'behind' and back on track.  Here are this weeks lessons. 

Core:

Letter “B” (83-86)

Color “blue”

Friendship

Activities:

Sing the B-I-B-L-E song

It's Game Time (319*)

Read “Little Blue Truck” by Alice Schertle

*all page numbers are taken from "My Big Preschool Workbook" published by School Zone.  Find it HERE.

Follow my 3 Year Old Preschool Pintrest Board for week-by-week ideas!

Preschool - November Week 1 - G, Green

Core:

Letter “G” (107-110)

Color “green”

Good vs. Bad

Activities:

Red Light, Green Light Game

Printables:
Green-Verde Frog Coloring Page

Song:
G is for goofy (below)

Something new we've added in the past couple weeks are the letter circling stories.  My daughter loves to circle things, and these worksheets are a great way for her to work on her upper and lower case letter recognition.  This week is "G is for Gumball".  I read her the story and she then circles every letter "Gg" that she sees.  These were part of some preschool resources given to me by my sister-in-law, but they are original from www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com.  Her printables weren't up and working when I checked out the site, so I'm not sure if they were part of her downloadable archives or not.  I still have to do a little more exploring of what she has to offer, but I've begun using more of her stuff and have really been benefitting from it.

A second thing I've been using recently are these laminated writing practice pages.  They came in the crate of preschool stuff my sister-in-law gave me.  I wasn't planning on using them this year, since we're working mostly on letter recognition, but when we did the letter "P" my daughter surpized me by tracing them perfectly.  We just use Crayola ultra clean markers on them, and they wipe clean with a damp cloth.  The letter "G" was still a little too hard, and I don't think we'll use them every week, but for some of the easier letters, or letters in her name I think they will be helpful.  I'm confident they will defiantly be helpful when we start hand writing in the next couple years.

Find more resources like these from Jan Z Olson and Handwriting Without Tears.  I wasn't able to find the exact product that these handwriting pages (above) came from, but it looks like she has a library of great resources for handwriting and keyboarding.  Unfortunately, they aren't free.  Makes me feel extra blessed that these were given to me.

G is for Goofy Song
an original masterpiece by yours truly
(to the tune of 'C is for Cookie' from Sesame Street)

G is for goofy, that's good enough for me (3x)

Oh...goofy, goofy, goofy, starts with G

Preschool - October Week 1 - L

After hitting the Target after school clearance I am fully stocked with extra Bendon workbooks and cards. I'll try to denote them when able.  This week's come from the 'Same or Different' workbook.

Also on for this week, the letter 'L'.  Since our leaves haven't really turned yet we'll have to see how successful the leaf pressing will be.  Not that we can't press them green but the colored ones are so much more fun to pick out!

I am also planning to have my daughter start practicing her name using a highlighter tracing technique.  A link is on my Pintrest board.

Core:

Letter “L” (131-134)

Spelling Name

Same and Different  

Activities:

Collect and press leaves

Spanish “libro”

Highlighter Name Tracing

Welcome Boards

This little project was actually inspired by a "front porch makeover" themed Christmas package I'm putting together for my sister-in-law.  A few weeks back I pinned a cute board sign that said "Rejoice" which was the inspiration for these welcome boards. These really could be used indoors our out, but I made these with the vision of them setting attractively propped up by the front door to welcome guests.  Ironically, the last name of the recipients of these gifts makes a great pun for a variety of uses.  With a few simple tools I whipped both of these up in an afternoon.

SUPPLIES

Boards: these are reclaimed 1x8 boards in approx. 4 ft lengths.  We had to repair a section of our fence this summer and I have a whole pile of them behind the garage.

Stencil: My Cricut came in perfectly for this.  If you don't have one I'm sure you could either buy some, or make your own with and exacto knife, but seriously for simplicity sake, just find someone you know who has a Cricut or Silhouette and ask if you can borrow it.  I cut my letters out of regular card stock at a width of 5 inches.  Height varries by letter.

Spray Glue/Adhesive

Paint: I used leftover exterior paint from our garden shed, but depending on indoor or outdoor use you can really choose whatever works best for you.  This project took a very small amount of paint so anything you have should do fine.

Sponge Paint Brush: you know, one of those little black spongey ones you can get really cheap.  I think I used a 1 inch brush.

DIRECTIONS

Prep the boards by scraping off any loose paint with a flat edge and rough wire bristle brush.  Also removed any nails or other dangers.  If not using reclaimed wood you can paint or stain your board for desired look.

Lay out your stencils on the board until you get the spacing and look how you'd like it.  Apply spray adhesive to the back of your stencils to make them like a giant sticker, and stick them down.  They don't have to be perfect, but you want them to stay in place.

Select your font color, and dip the sponge brush lightly into the paint.  Until you know how your board absorbs the paint you don't want to put it on too thick.  For crisper edges try a thin layer and do multiple coats if desired.  My first try I overdid the paint on the word "THE" and it leaked under the stencil.

Allow to dry and remove the stencil.  That's it! Now you have a great little decor piece for wherever you choose to put it.  You could also do it double sided for multiple seasons or phrases.

Happy Painting!

Memory Verse Psalm 119:160

"They word is true from the beginning..." (Psalm 119:160)

Sing to the tune of "Pop Goes the Weasle"

Thy word is true from the beginning
Psalm One Nineteen, One Sixty
Thy word is true from the beginning
Psalm One Nineteen, One Sixty

AWANA Jumper Celebrations Bear Hug #8

Memory Verse 2 Timothy 3:16

"All scripture is given by...God..." (2 Timothy 3:16)

Sing to the tune of "London Bridge"

All scripture is given by God, given by God, given by God 

All scripture is given by God, Second Timothy Three Sixteen

AWANA Jumper Celebrations Bear Hug #7

Memory Verse John 1:3

"All things were made by Him..." (John 1:3)

Sing to the tune of 'Jesus Loves Me'

All things we-re made by Him
Jo-hn One Verse Three
All things we-re made by Him
Jo-hn One Verse Three

AWANA Jumper Celebrations Bear Hug #5

Preschool - October Week 3 - O, Orange, Oval

Core:

Letter “O” (144-146)

Color “Orange 

Shape “oval” (45-48, 56)

Activities:

Make doughnuts

Water painting - orange pumpkin 

Memory Verse Psalm 136:3,7

"Oh give thanks to the Lord...that made great lights..."  (Psalm 136:3,7)

Sing to the tune of 'London Bridge' 

O give th-anks, to the Lord

Th-at made, gre-at lights

Psalm one thirty-six

Three and se-ven

AWANA Jumper Celebrations Bear Hug #4

Memory Verse Ecclesiasties 3:1

"He...made everything beautiful..." (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

Sing to the tune of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' (First two lines only)

He made everything beau-ti-ful.
Ecclesiastes Three Eleven

AWANA  Jumper Celebrations Bear Hug #3

Memory Verse Genesis 1:1

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)

Sing to the tune of 'Where Is Thumbkin'

In the beginning (In the beginning)

God created (God created)

The heavens and the earth (heavens and the earth)

Genesis (one verse one)

AWANA Jumper Celebrations - Bear Hug #2

Memory Verse 1 John 4:8b

"...God is love." (1 John 4:8)

Song with to the tune of 'Praise Him, Praise Him'

In the Bible (make book with hands)

First John Four Eight (point with 1 finger, then 4 on right, then add 4 on left to make 8)

God is love (x2) (point to heaven, cross hands over chest like a hug)

REPEAT

AWANA Jumper Celebrations - Bear Hug #1 

Preschool - September Week 2 - E

Week two! Once again a little early, but most of our public school kids here in Iowa officially started classes today so...why not? 

Here's what's on for this week.

Core:

Letter “E” (95-98)

Earth

Memory Verse (Genesis 1:1)

Activities:

Bible Story of Creation

Printables:

God Made Earth Coloring Page 

Matching "E" words
Creation Mini Book

Book:

Any creation storybook of your choice.

*all page numbers are taken from "My Big Preschool Workbook" published by School Zone.  Find it HERE.

Follow my 3 Year Old Preschool Pintrest Board for week-by-week ideas!

Preschool - Curriculum Starts Here

Growing up I started my educational career with a combination of private schools and homeschooling.  My mom taught me everything I needed to know before age 5, even though I never remember doing 'preschool' at home.

Our daughter is turning three this month and preschool is on the minds and in the conversations of nearly every mom I know with children her age. I can't count the number of times I've been asked "what are you going to do for preschool?"

Earlier this summer I came across a great little post on Pinterest of a mom that made up her own curriculum.  (You can view it HERE). I took the format of how she broke down her preschool weeks, and expounded upon them using the book 'My Big Preschool Workbook' by Schools Zone (Get it HERE ). I also found a lot of great books at the Dollar Tree to supplement learning in numbers, shapes, colors, and counting!

I ripped out the pages and divided them into folders for each week. I planned 4 weeks of activities per month.  That gives us the flexibility to have a week off now and then for catch up, vacation, or review.

I also didn't do the alphabet in order so I could synchronize different letters with different holidays or seasonally sensitive activities.  (Example:  L is for leaves is in the fall, R for Rabbit and Resurrection is right before Easter.). I can go a little whacky on the alliterations so be forewarned.

You can also follow my preschool Pintrest Board for more ideas of activities broken down by week.

Preschool - September Week 1 - A

Here we go!  Week one of 3 year old preschool.  I've been preparing for the last two months and am SO excited to begin this homeschool journey.  This morning Miss Violet said she wanted to 'play preschool' so we are starting early.  I'll plan to get us on schedule by the middle of September, but for now I'll take the excitement!!

Core:

Letter “A” (p. 80-82*)

Color “red” (p. 22)

Matching Activities (p. 278)

Activities:

Apple Crafts

Tasting different types of apples

Printables:

Rojo - Red Barn Coloring Page 

Books:

Ten Apples Up On Top

*all page numbers are taken from "My Big Preschool Workbook" published by School Zone.  Find it HERE.

Follow my 3 Year Old Preschool Pintrest Board for week-by-week ideas!

Fizzy Fun

We're half way through summer, and what can I say but that I'm starting to run out of my "regular" ideas to keep the kids entertained.  Some days they do great at playing alone, and the next day I am needed EVERY. SINGLE. MINUTE. or so it feels.

I saw this idea on Pintrest a while back and decided to finally try it.  It's a twist on the classic baking soda and vinegar volcano idea.  Simple stuff.

Here's what you'll need:

A shallow pan (glass 9x13 or baking sheet works great)

Baking Soda

Vinegar

Small bowl or cup

Pipette or Medicine Dropper

Food Coloring (optional)

I purchased some pipettes off Amazon.com a few months back, for this very thing.  I'm a chemist at heart, so pardon my nerdiness.  But yeah!! They're cool, and only about $2 for a hundred pack.

Place 5 or so big spoonfuls of baking soda in the bottom of your pan.  Drop with 6-8 drops of food coloring in various places.  I used blue and green since that's all I had, but you could use any colors and turn this into a great little lesson on how colors mix to make new ones.

Fill a small cup or bowl with vinegar.  We ended up using about a half a cup of vinegar...the baking soda lasted A LOT longer than I thought it would.  

Suction up vinegar and squeeze it onto the baking soda and watch it fizz.  Make colored bubbles and have fun!  Even after all the baking soda has been moistened there was still enough dissolved to make the liquid fizz when you dropped more vinegar on it.  Not quite as dramatic but still very fun!

We spent a good chunk of time doing this, and could have refilled the vinegar multiple times, but I cut it off after a while even though Violet would have gladly played longer.  Even as I type this she is looking and the pictures and saying "I want to do it".  So we might be heading back out for a round two :)

Tape, Rattle, and Roll

It's another scorcher outside, several day in a row of highs in the nineties and eat index of 100+.  I'm running out of ideas of what to do with the kids, even taking them 3 blocks to the library seemed dangerously hot in the van with the AC blasting.

So I whipped out an extra roll of painters tape and got to work.  We have probably a half dozen of them around the house since we bought TWO huge packs when we painted our last house, and...well...I'm not a hug fan of taping things off so we didn't really use it.  Anyway, get yourself a roll of the wide stuff, any color, and find a surface that is somewhat tape resistant.  I chose the kitchen as to not sticky-up our newly refinished hardwood.

Start by creating roads from strips of tape. Rip and stick.  Or just roll the roll until it feels right!  We created quite the network of highways from the trash can to the fridge.  Pulled out a few road signs, emptied the car bin, and we were in business. 

We even used some of the roadways as boundaries for farms, and put the sheep, horse, dog, pig, and cat out to pasture.

It's messy, so I'll say they had fun!

Healthier Living - One Baby Step at a Time

I am and environmental scientist by education, spending 4 years of my life learning about environmental impacts both on humans and by humans.  I am quite fully aware of the zillion dangers, toxins, problems, and views out there.  From some circle I might be seen as a little "tree hugger-y" because I fight against the norm of 1st world consumerism.  In some circles I'm completely un-earlth friendly I"m sure. I know some "hippie" environmentalist who have taken "living green" to a place that I am not willing to go.  I don't want to be too "radical".  I don't want to be "weird" or "extreme". I do want to do the best I can to take care of the earth we have been given, the body I have been given, and the family I have been given.

Creation Care.  We have all been created by God, and without him nothing has been made that has been made.  We are given the responsibility to live off the earth, but also manage it, and to think of others as we would ourselves.  The earth, we are told in the Bible, is headed for an end.  Much of that end includes judgements sent from God to destroy our natural resources or food, land, or water.  The end will come.  The earth cannot sustain life forever.  It is not my job to "save the planet" and thereby determine the fate of the entire human race.  No!  That's God's job.  It's my job to be faithful, wise, responsible, and live by conviction.

In past years I've made steps toward living reasonably, while being conscious of my use, my waste, my exposure, yet still living with some modern conveniences.  I used to be at a place where functioning in modern society was becoming a mental burden for me.  My heart would feel sad every time I threw away a plastic fork, didn't recycle a can, used a plastic bag, didn't get a high MPG on my vehicle.  Although all these things are noble, it's unrealistic in a plastic filled, one time use society.  I didn't want to be depressed and anxious for the rest of my life.  So...I made a compromise.  To do the best I can, realizing I may have to be accountable to God someday for the choices I've made, but also being able to "live" where I've been put and foremost within the financial resources to which I have been entrusted.  Living "green" isn't cheap!

We cloth diaper - for the most part.  I have dabbled with some essential oils, and used to make my own baby products (wipes, rash cream, etc) - until baby #2 came along.  We recycle everything we are able.  I use cloth grocery sacks.  We grow a small garden. I enjoy canning.  I only buy 100% juice, and vowed as a teen to never drink Sunny D. Ever. Again.  A promise I have easily kept. However, despite the small efforts, over time laziness and "normality" creep in.

These past few weeks I've had what feels like a million reminders of the seemingly zillion problems environmental toxins have on the human race.  From a man who lost his wife to cancer, attending an essential oil party, and fluoride being announced as a neurotoxin...and it's in our water.  Then there's evidence of artificial colors leading to behavioral problems in children such as ADHD and aggression, the dangers of household cleaners, and radiation from wifi routers and cell phones.  It's screaming at me.  DO SOMETHING!!  So I will.

This is my new phase plan to slowly lead our family onto a healthier lifestyle.  For our bodies (the temple of the Holy Spirit), our health, our future, and maybe even our happiness.

Phase One: FRESH FOOD
-Avoid artificial colors and sweeteners
-Begin buying organic or farmers market produce. Starting with the "dirty dozen" at least.

Avoiding artificial sweeteners isn't really a change for us.  Aspartame has been giving me headaches for years, and all my learning in nutrition says it's just not good for your body any way around.  Long before the diet soda industry hit mainstream news.  So unless I become diabetic, I don't plan on ever using them.  The artificial colors though...this will be a change.  Sorry kids, Fruit Loops are out, so enjoy the last box in the pantry while we have it.  As for the produce, I dabble here and there with buying organic, but lets face it, I'm a cheap skate with a tight budget. We're talking about $100 a week for two adults and two toddlers.  Doable with reasonable healthfulness, but not exactly a lot of moola to work with.  I have now decided that the additional cost to buy organic produce is going to be well worth the dividends in better health, taste, and quality of life.  At least that's my hope.  So organic here we come!

Phase Two: DRIED FOOD
-Reducing overall dairy consumption, or increasing dairy quality.
-Organic or more natural dried foods

I'm a Wisconsinite by birth.  We eat a LOT of cheese at our house.  Plus, yogurt, milk, ice cream, sour cream, butter, queso dip,... There's pretty much dairy at every meal.  We can definitely work on this.  My husband already drinks almond milk, so eventually switching everyone over to non-cows milk is one goal.  We buy Greek yogurt, in fact my son won't eat any other kind, but we can improve the quality of the brands we buy on all fronts to include more grass fed, less sugary, more natural alternates...if and when the budget allows, hence this being a separate phase from the produce.  On the dried food fronts, eating better cereals, more whole grains, less gluten, higher fiber....you get the picture.  Not necessarily going organic.  Switching to Ezekiel Bread is one idea I have in mind.

Phase Three: CHEMICALS
-Replace current cleaners, detergents, toothpaste, personal care items as they run out.

This runs the gamut of the whole home.  I've made some wise choices, so not everything we use needs to be switched out or changed, but there are certainly some things that can be.  Higher quality make up, better shampoos, safer cleaners, and maybe staring to make some homemade.  I love the idea of having fewer products, fewer bottles, and more control over what is in them.  Stuff management makes me stressed so if we can find something that is safe and works for multiple uses for the whole family, I'm all on board.  Which is why I'm making my first switch to Young Living's Thieves cleaner.  One bottle will do pretty much everything, and replace toilet bowl cleaner, windex, clorox wipes, etc.  This blog is called sweet simplicity after all.

These are the 3 phases I'm hoping to focus on first.  Of course they may not be sequential or complete, but a plan, and a place to start is better than nothing.  Wish me luck!

Playdoh

Ever since I was a child, I had seen and used home made play dough, but never before had I realized how EASY it is to make. 

We've been a name brand play-doh family since my daughter received her first tub a year or two ago with some dough crafting toys in a kit.  For whatever reason it always seemed very firm and not easily molded by her tiny hands.  Even after "working with it" for a while it never seemed to get better.  Then there is the drying, crumbling, clumping, and not moldable anymore, wear out factor.  After a few months we had little crumbly chunks of play-doh everywhere each time she played. Moms out there who can sympathize, give me a shout out!  

We found the recipe below and WOW I will never buy play-doh again.  It is so soft and malleable.  I found MYSELF playing with it 10 times more than I ever did with the store bought stuff.  It's simple to make, from a few all edible ingredients, and it makes a HUGE batch.

Huge!

At first I was wanting to divide it into several colors, but have discovered that having just ONE color to play with is also very beneficial.  We don't have arguments over which color to use.  We don't have the 2 year old, OCD, I'm gonna change my mind in 2 seconds, and now I want the color HE has.  I'm always a little tense about all the colors getting mixed together anyway...something I inherited from my mother and childhood I supposed.

Side note:  Just now, as I'm writing this, I can hear the kids out on the dinning room table playing with dad.   My husband JUST said, like as I'm typing this post, "I like this stuff, this is way better than play-doh" and he doesn't even know what I"m doing right now as I hide away in the office to "de-stress".

Which reminds me, my daughter plays with this home made recipe at least twice as long as the store bought kind.  It seriously keeps her attention longer and the sheer volume of one lump of dough greatly expands creative possibilities. 

Have I convinced you to switch yet?

Home Made Play Dough

2 cups water

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

food coloring

1/4 cup salt

1 Tbsp alum

2 cups flour

Combine water, oil, and food coloring in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil. 

(Don't add oil and water together after one has been heated, just a little something I learned from my chemistry days)

Meanwhile in a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients.

Once the liquid mixture is boiling, pour it over the dry ingredients and stir to combine. 

Knead on a floured surface to enhance elasticity.

Store in a air tight container or bag.

As a closing note, may I add that playing with the fresh, still warm dough, is very therapeutic.  You might just want to make a new batch EVERY time your kids want to play so you can enjoy it yourself.  I would assume you can half the batch if you don't want so much, or could split into multiple colors, but why bother when it's great the way it is!!