Easy Salt Dough Ornaments!

We wanted to do something a little different with our Christmas tree this year so we decided to make our own ornaments! I put this off for a long time because I thought it would be too difficult or time consuming. I was surprised to find out that these ARE really simple and quick to make! We used gingerbread cookie cutters this time and we decided to use some of the more natural ingredients around the kitchen to color these with. We used turmeric for the yellow, cinnamon for the reddish-brown, cocoa for the dark grey and just plain salt dough for white. The “people” came out all different shapes, colors and sizes so the boys called them “Gingerpeople of the world”. I thought it was a great idea! The boys had so much fun making these that I know we will make them again next year! I am told that these will preserve until next year, but we might decide to donate them instead of keeping them in the RV all year.

Gingerpeople of the world recipe:
4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup warm water
1 cup salt
Various seasonings for color

Instructions: 
Heat oven to 325 degrees.
Mix ingredients together. It will feel really dry, just keep mixing. The dryer the dough the better they dry out while cooking!
At this point you can separate into a few bowls and add the desired color. We used cinnamon, turmeric, and cocoa powder!
Roll out until about 1/8 inch thick.
We rolled the dough right on the cookie sheet so we didn’t have to move them after we cut them out.
Bake at 325 for about 1 hour or until hard. We have a convection oven so we did about an hour and a half.
Let cool completely on a wire rack and then decorate!
Varnish can be used once decorated to seal the ornaments if you want to keep them for next year!

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We are excited to be offering a giveaway again this year! Our whole family has Great Products homeschool shirts and we love them! They are wonderful to use for field trips and they make making new homeschool friends at the playground easy! This year there are two new ones that are our favorites. The lego one and of course the “MIND craft” shirt! Check out Great Products online to find your favorite shirt!

Great Products has been kind enough to offer one FREE Great Products Homeschool T-shirts to one of my lucky readers!

*This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. We hereby release Facebook of any liability. Winner will be contacted by email 48 hours after the giveaway ends. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send us an email!*

Reminder! Great Products T-shirts are ON SALE right now until September 15th for $5.99!! That is a GREAT PRICE! Check them out here: GREAT PRODUCTS $5.99 T-shirts!

TO WIN a shirt of your own: 
Leave me a comment telling me which shirt you would get if you won! 
Contest ends: Midnight CST September 5th! 

 <3 Jennifer 

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This summer we have had an awesome time as a family participating in the Fulltime Families Summer Scavenger Hunt sponsored by Lazydays the RV Authority! My friends have noticed all the fun pictures on Facebook and want to know where they can find the lists for each week! With permission from Fulltime Families I have printed them below and a free printable PDF is coming! While this was done online it can easily be translated to an offline game between friends or a group! It was so much fun! We still have one more week left to go, so I will update week 4 when we finish! Have fun and good luck!

Rules

This Family Scavenger Hunt is Sponsored by Lazydays, The RV Authority.

Complete this scavenger hunt by taking a photo of each item on the list. There are 100 items, plus a final family portrait (#101). You must submit a separate photo for each item. Your family portrait must be your final photo.

You do not have to be full-time on the road to participate.

This is meant to be fun and stretch you as a family. This is a four week game. Creative thinking is encouraged, but no substitutions.

The items were chosen to be fun, challenging and educational.

1. You must submit one photo per item. One photo cannot represent multiple items.

2. The photo must be of the assigned item, no substitutions are allowed. However, creative thinking is encouraged.

3. The list item number and description must be in the title and/or the description

4. Tag each item with “#lazydaysRVhunt” and the item number in the following format “#ftfld38“. Please follow this exact format. When entered correctly, Facebook will turn the tag into a blue link.  We will use these tags to credit players points.  Incorrectly marked pics will not be counted, however you will be given the opportunity to edit and resubmit with proper hashtags.
5. The Family Portrait must be your final photo (#101), the rest can be taken out-of-order.

6. All photos must be taken after you have joined the hunt. No archival photos allowed.

7. All photos must be your own.

8. No nudity and family friendly pics only.

9. You do not have to take a picture of everything listed, the person with the most points at the end of 4 weeks wins.

10. In the event of a tie, a tie breaker challenge will be issued.

11.  The judge/s reserve the rights to award additional points and / or issue additional challenges on the fly.

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Week 1  (Download Week 1 PDF Here)

• Remember to Tag each picture with the corresponding hashtag and #LazydaysRVhunt
• All pics must be taken expressly for the hunt.  No previous pics please.
• If you have not read the rules, please do so here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/fulltime-families-summer-scavenger-hunt/first-time-playing-start-here-official-rules/555226304544618

(#FTFLD1)”I can’t believe we all fit in here!” 600
(#FTFLD2) Picture a live farm animal 350
(#FTFLD3) Picture of a fountain 200
(#FTFLD4) Picture in a fountain 500
(#FTFLD5) Crossing the street in a cross walk 250
(#FTFLD6) In an elevator 300
(#FTFLD7) Decked out in Sporting Equipment 450
(#FTFLD8) If you’re family was a ‘family band’ 700
(#FTFLD9) Swinging on a playground swing set 400
(#FTFLD10) Jumping on a trampoline  600
(#FTFLD11) A fire hydrant 200
(#FTFLD12) A cactus 400
(#FTFLD13) A palm tree 400
(#FTFLD14) A christmas tree 400
(#FTFLD15) Eating an ice cream by an ice cream sign (you’re welcome kids;) 800
(#FTFLD16) In front of a grocery store 200
(#FTFLD17) The parents in the kids play area at a fast food restaurant 600
(#FTFLD18) Playing video games 200
(#FTFLD19) An aquarium full of fish 450
(#FTFLD20) With a grocery cart 200 (500 bonus points if a team member is in the cart)
(#FTFLD21) With one of those little car rides outside grocery stores 300
(#FTFLD22) Caution tape 200
(#FTFLD23) An insect 200 (+500 if you identify the insect)
(#FTFLD24) Park bench 300
(#FTFLD25) Jump rope 200

(#FTFLDBONUS1) WEB Challenge:  Go to http://www.lazydays.com/ to complete this task and post your screen capture + your pic to get your points: “Are you the Queen of your RV?” This is just right for you! Find it at Lazydays.com. Take a picture in a crown along with a screenshot of what you found. 1000 pts!

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Week 2 (Download Week 2 PDF here)

• Remember to Tag each picture with the corresponding hashtag and #LazydaysRVhunt
• All pics must be taken expressly for the hunt.  No previous pics please.
• If you have not read the rules, please do so here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/fulltime-families-summer-scavenger-hunt/first-time-playing-start-here-official-rules/555226304544618

********** CREATIVITY PASS:  This week you can choose 1 challenge on the list to recreate (drawings / legos / etc)  if you can’t find it.  Use your pass wisely  and tag your picture when you use it with #creativitypass  *****************

#FTFLD26 With a restaurant employee 500
#FTFLD27 With the manager of the restaurant 800
#FTFLD28 At a table with a group of strangers out to dinner 950
#FTFLD29 Striking the same pose as a statue (with the statue) 450
#FTFLD30 Spelling out FtF with your bodies 700
#FTFLD31 In front of a Volkswagen Beetle 800
#FTFLD32 A Hawaii or Alaska License Plate that you found during the week.. in a parking lot somewhere (no substitutions) 950
#FTFLD33 With a mannequin (must replicate stance) 600
#FTFLD34 Four leafed clover 700
#FTFLD35 An American $2.00 bill 500
#FTFLD36 In a Tent and it must be pitched 500
#FTFLD37 With a character from the muppets 700
#FTFLD38 Blowing bubbles with bubble gum 200
#FTFLD39 Something that says “Made in the USA.” 350
#FTFLD40 A cricket mallet 600
#FTFLD41 A foot long (12 in.) shoe 700
#FTFLD42 A take out menu from a Chinese Restaurant 600
#FTFLD43 An origami object that a team member created (A decorative object made by folding paper) 500
#FTFLD44 A T-shirt from Arizona 400
#FTFLD45 Someone hanging upside down 400
#FTFLD46 An LED light 400
#FTFLD47 A reflection 300
#FTFLD48 Buying $0.10 of gas, receipt and pump must show amount (Picture of receipt and pump price needed) 800
#FTFLD49 Inside a Walk In Freezer 700
#FTFLD50 A business card from someone named John 800

#FTFLDBONUS 2 Lazydays Bonus Web Search #2
Like to Fly, but really love to RV. Look for a special offer with a plane in it on Lazydays.com. Take a screen shot of special offer logo and a picture of family members flying paper airplanes for 1500 bonus points!

Week 3 (Download Week 3 PDF here)

• Remember to Tag each picture with the corresponding hashtag and #LazydaysRVhunt
• All pics must be taken expressly for the hunt.  No previous pics please.
• If you have not read the rules, please do so here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/fulltime-families-summer-scavenger-hunt/first-time-playing-start-here-official-rules/555226304544618

********** CREATIVITY PASS:  This week you can choose 1 challenge on the list to recreate (drawings / legos / etc)  if you can’t find it FOR 1/2 CREDIT. Use your pass wisely  and tag your picture when you use it with #creativitypass. The Creativity Pass can not be used for items that state ‘no substitutions’  *****************

#FTFLD51 Doing exactly what a sign says (any sign can work) 200
#FTFLD52 Inside a city bus 500
#FTFLD53 Inside a train 700
#FTFLD54  Behind the counter of a donut shop 400
#FTFLD55 Someone from your team doing a slam dunk (picture must have the person
in the air) 800
#FTFLD56 On a fire engine (a full-size, working fire engine) 600 1000 Bonus points with a fireman in uniform
#FTFLD57 Colorful tongues –eat or drink something to change your tongue to green,
purple, etc 200
#FTFLD58 Picture with a solar panel 300
#FTFLD59 A member of your group handcuffed to a police officer 750
#FTFLD60  Next to an old-fashioned tube television 500
#FTFLD61 Your team in a pet store 400 (100 extra points for each team-member holding an animal)
#FTFLD62 your team on a spiral staircase 500
#FTFLD63 standing right next to a Harley Davidson 500 (500 bonus points if the rider is on it)
#FTFLD64 an ice-cream truck 400
#FTFLD65 running through lawn sprinklers 500
#FTFLD66 video a dramatic earthquake scene in public (15 second video) 600
#FTFLD67 holding a live frog 400
#FTFLD68 Find an unknown couple and ask them how they met. Then post a pic along with their story. 700
#FTFLD69 A team member holding an 8 track tape (no substitutions) 600
#FTFLD70 Create your own sport – name it and take a picture of your team ‘in uniform’ 300
#FTFLD71 A team member in the driver’s seat of a real construction vehicle (not a pick up truck) 700
#FTFLD72 A real tombstone from 1910 (date of death) or earlier.  800
#FTFLD73 A whale 500
#FTFLD74 The Random Act of Kindness Secret Mission… A FtF Summer Scavenger Hunt Tradition.  The completion and documentation of a random act of kindness, with a twist… Your kids (1 or all or any combination of them) have to come up with the random act. Then you find a stranger, perform the act, photograph it, and document the strangers reaction and your family’s reaction. The label for this is #ftfrandomact. And it’s worth 2000 points! But in order to get the points you’ve got to complete this mission just as its stated above. Any questions?

#FTFLDBONUS3 Lazydays Bonus Web Search #3
How many service bays can you find at both Lazydays locations. Find the answer and add a picture of yourself holding the number you found for 1500 bonus points!

 Week 4 Coming Soon! 

The post Fulltime Families Summer Scavenger Hunt sponsored by Lazydays the RV Authority appeared first on That Savage Life.

Washi tape toilet paper roll owls

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The kids were bored this morning so we decided to dig through the craft box! These are made with just a few simple items! 

Need: 

Colored Tape (I prefer paper washi tape since you can re-position it)

Scissors

Glue

Embellishments for eyes and beaks! 

I cut about 3 inches at a time off of the paper towel roll. Folded the centers down to make ears. Cover with tape. Add eyes and beaks! 

**Like this and other crafts? Be sure to subscribe to my blog to be notified of new posts! **

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The post Washi tape toilet paper roll owls! appeared first on That Savage Life.

I ran across an article that talked about naming your homeschool. At first I thought it was silly, but then I realized that some states actually require you to name your homeschool and they treat it as a private school. While Texas does not require you to name your homeschool I thought it would be fun to do anyway!

Why name your homeschool? 

– Some co-ops and umbrella schools might require your homeschool to be identified by name.

– If you make a student or teacher ID you will need a school name.

– Some incentive programs like Book-it ask for it.

– You’ll need a name if you are planning to prepare high school transcripts at some point.

– It will help your kids identify with a school and it can be used when on a field trip.

We brainstormed some rules for names:

– No cute names… cute is fine when you are 5, but it may not be fine when you are applying to college or on your diploma!

– Secular

– Nothing with our last name.

– Has to reflect a passion or something important to us.

What we came up with:

Heartland Preparatory Academy

Why we chose this name: 

–Heartland is the name of our RV manufacturer. This might seem a little weird, but the RV is significant to us. It is where this WHOLE homeschooling adventure began. It is highly possible that I would have never even tried (and loved) homeschooling if my husband had not taken a traveling job and subsequently moved us into an RV to hit the road!

–Preparatory was chosen because our children don’t just DO school and worksheets. They are prepared daily for life as an adult. This includes studying hard and acquiring as much knowledge as possible, taking personal responsibility for themselves and  problem solving!

–Academy was chosen because training is taking place daily in our home to raise intelligent, responsible, productive young men who will one day be leaders to their community and families just as their father is to ours.

We want to know what you named your homeschool… leave us a comment! 

The post We named our homeschool! appeared first on That Savage Life.

Great Products Homeschool shirts are ON SALE for $5.99! These shirts are great and both of my boys wear them weekly!

All of the t-shirts and sweatshirts are Hanes 50/50 Heavyweights expect for the color “Cream” which is 100% cotton.

The sale ends September 15th so hurry over and buy your shirts!

Our favorites are:

Contact them here:

Website: http://www.shopgreatproducts.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greatproducts

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~~~~~~~>>>                                      WIN your OWN!!                                    <<<~~~~~~~~

GIVEAWAY coming VERY soon! Subscribe via EMAIL for an update! 

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The post Homeschool Shirts Super SALE! $5.99! appeared first on That Savage Life.

This week we made NAKED EGGS!

This is an easy experiment!

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Supplies:

1 raw egg

vinegar

container large enough for the egg

Directions:

Place egg in container

Pour vinegar until egg is covered

Place lid on container

Allow egg to sit for 12-24 hours and observe the changes

After the shell is completely dissolved take the egg out, wash it off and let the kids hold it and squeeze it. We even dropped ours from about 4 inches off the counter to see what would happen.

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What we did: 

The boys used their journals to draw what we did (the process).

Next, they drew their hypothesis of what they thought would happen.

When the experiment was finished we drew the conclusion of what actually happened.

They were able to touch and hold the egg in the beginning, middle and end of the experiment to see and feel what was happening with the shell!

Learning points:

The egg’s shell is made of calcium which can be dissolved with vinegar (acid).

Under the shell of an egg is a membrane.

Vocabulary Words:

Membrane- A pliable sheet like structure acting as a boundary, lining, or partition in an organism.

Hypothesis- A hypothesis is simply an educated guess about what will happen in your experiment.

Conclusion-  A conclusion is the result or outcome of an experiment.

Experiment-  An experiment is a way to test the hypothesis.

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Overall: 

We really liked this fun experiment! The kids thought it was so neat the way the shell dissolved and the egg was squishy and bouncy! They had a hard time waiting the 24 hours for the shell to dissolve, but it was worth it!

Did you do this experiment? What did your kids think about it? What learning points did you teach?

**Like my posts? Subscribe to my blog with your email in the right-hand side bar for instant posts right to your inbox!

The post Summer of Science: Naked Eggs! appeared first on That Savage Life.

MusIQ lessons take about an hour and teaches  variety of music theory and history. There is a game to reinforce the lesson and printable activity sheets to go along with the lesson they just learned!

MusIQ comes with everything you need for a well rounded music curriculum. For this particular review we reviewed Children’s Music Journey Volume 1.  Volume one has 25 lessons which is plenty for the year!  The lessons begin with a fun, interactive, well-known composer who teaches the lesson. My kids were glued to the screen!

There is no way that I could teach them anywhere close to what they are learning with Adventus Children’s Music Journey Volume 1! I can’t wait to see how much more they learn as they progress.

Adventus MusIQ is very affordable.  You can buy the program wholly or you can download the software and pay a subscription fee of $10.95 per month.  When we were doing traditional music lessons they were $90.00 a month! This is a great deal!!

The post Adventus MusIQ: A TOS Review appeared first on That Savage Life.

Why do you travel?

Why did you chose this life over a “normal” life?

Why don’t you have a “normal” house?

Why do you home school?

Why are you doing this to your kids?

First things first… we travel out of necessity. We travel to keep our family together. We believe it is important to have a present mother and father in the home. The last thing my children needed was to have their father absent from their lives for 200+ days a year. We’ve done that, been there. My kids are so much better off knowing that daddy will be home every evening and I am thankful for that. We travel because my husband CHOSE this job. He LOVES his job and that happiness flows over into our daily lives.

What is normal? Is normal a big house on land, mom and dad at work 40 plus hours a week, once a year vacations (MAYBE), someone else schooling and raising your children, rooms overflowing with excess toys and electronics? If that is normal… we don’t want it!

We choose to collect memories and not things.

We choose to spend as much time with our children as possible before they move on to their own lives.

We choose to live in 400 square feet.

We CHOOSE this life!

Our lifestyle isn’t for everyone, but it is PERFECT for us!

You know that saying “love grows best in tiny houses”? That is how we feel! As a family we are closer than we have ever been… not just physically, but emotionally. Our home is small… and we like it that way! We have less junk cluttering our home. The boys have very few toys. They prefer to dig in the ditches, go on a treasure hunt in the desert, ride their bikes, swim in the lake, build forts with rocks, play a multigenerational game of ladder ball and EXPLORE!

Home-schooling, or as we like to call it: Road-schooling, was never something we planned to do. When we had kids we just assumed that they would be going to public school like everyone else we knew. It wasn’t until my husband was offered this amazing job opportunity that we even THOUGHT about home school! At first I was so nervous! All the nay-sayers got to me. Told me I couldn’t do it. “Your kids will be weird” they would say. “Your kids will be behind” they said. After almost 2 years of home schooling I have come to the conclusion that only WE know what is best for our children. My children are two grade levels ahead of most of their peers. They are well-traveled, cultured, super social and know their states better than most children… because they have actually BEEN there… not because they read about it in a book sitting in a classroom. If that makes them “weird” then so be it! If weird means they are not average; that they are ABOVE average… I am PROUD to have “weird” children!

I think the real question should be “WHY NOT??” Honestly… we are HAPPY… really, really HAPPY with our lives. I would hope that everyone could say the same about their lives.

The post Happily Uprooted answers WHY appeared first on That Savage Life.

This month I have had the pleasure of reviewing Lone Star Learning‘s Target The Question for 1st grade! Target The Question is daily math program that only takes about 10 to 15 minutes. The purpose of Target The Question is to help children learn how to focus on the question and pick out extra information that is within a word problem. Each day there is a new word problem. The program also has printable worksheets, answer keys, and reference pages available for the parent to print out.

The program itself is simple and easy to use! It consist of minimal buttons and navigates easily! There is one button for the Question of The Week and subsequent buttons for the daily word problem.  There is also a note pad that can be used by the child to help work out the problem.

This program is great if you have a child like mine who is easily distracted by extra information in a math word problem! It really helped him to pick out the information he needed and to discard the information that was not important. This is something he has just started before the review period and now he is a pro! It really helped with his problem solving skills.

The great thing about this program is it takes very little time to incorporate into your home school… or to use after school to boost your child’s ability to Target the Question! The program only requires about 10 to 15 minutes a day! That is fantastic! It is long enough to work your child’s brain and short enough to keep their attention.

This program is compatible with Windows and Mac computers. The Lone Star Learning‘s Target The Question cost starts at 59.99 for a one year subscription depending on the program you chose!

The post Target The Question {{A Review}} appeared first on That Savage Life.