By Holly Giles | Field Trips , Great Outdoors
National Park Volunteers Did you know that many National Park Volunteers are serving our country by keeping parks and historical lands open to the public? Additionally, many of the beautiful places we visit would be closed if it were not for volunteers. Our family was on a working vacation in Tennessee visiting family. On a […]
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By Holly Giles | homeschooling
Find your rhythm This year marks my ninth year of home-schooling. During those years my intent was to home-school with purpose. However, each year I took on the role of each home-school mom stereotype at one point or another and never found my rhythm. Through the years I have: Made my children sit at a […]
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By Holly Giles | Recipes
Butterscotch blonde brownies Have you ever heard of Butterscotch blonde brownies? These brownies are a perfect treat for the kids and they have some veggies hidden inside! My husband says that brownies are not blonde, only brown, so I should call it cake. These blondes have more fun with some butterscotch and carrots mixed in for […]
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By Holly Giles | homeschooling
Homeschool organization Homeschool schedule organization is a popular topic. I use spiral notebooks as a day planner for my children. There are many things swirling around in my head that writing it on a random piece of paper gets me in trouble. When I started using a spiral notebook for my daily schedule and scratchpad I became a bit […]
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By Holly Giles | Family , Inspiration , Mama's Musings
Jesus is calling Thursday morning was hectic. I had to get one boy ready for a trip and another prepared for a lawn job. Meanwhile, try to get me in a dress and heels. I needed faith to get through this day. I had made two cups of coffee since 6:30 am. I took one […]
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By Holly Giles | Field Trips , Florida , florida vacations
Clearwater marine aquarium Have you been to an aquarium lately? Grant, my 10-year-old, and I took a mini-vacation to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium to see Winter, the dolphin who lost her tail. The movie Dolphin Tale was made about her and her journey to receive a mechanical tail. My sister recently moved to Clearwater. So, it […]
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By Holly Giles | Family , Great Outdoors , handicrafts , homeschooling , Simple Living
Prairie Boy Birthday Little House on the Prairie is just as much fun for boys as it is for girls. When my sons decided on a prairie boy birthday party for their joint birthdays I knew I would be in heaven. Our homeschool year had been all about reading the Little House series. In addition, we […]
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By Holly Giles | Florida , Great Outdoors , homeschooling , Nature Study
Adding Wildflowers to your nature study is as easy as looking in your neighborhood. Yes, it can be easy! For some reason, studying wildflowers seems daunting. Where do you find them and how in the world do you figure out what they are? Start in your yard or your neighbors. Most of our area does not use herbicides on […]
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By Holly Giles | DIY , homeschooling , Nature Study
Egg Carton Nature study doesn’t have to be hard. It can be as simple as taking an egg carton on a walk down your street or running around your backyard. A simple way to get outside and look at what is happening in the natural world is a scavenger hunt. Grab an egg carton, 6 colors of paint or […]
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By Holly Giles | Simple Living
Home Organizing I just completed some home organizing. A few weeks before the holidays, Curtis and the boys went on a week-long trip to visit friends. I had the house to myself for the first time since, well, I can’t remember! I made a schedule of all I was going to accomplish while they were gone. […]
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