Life Cycle of a Chicken Plus Egg Science

What a wonderful week we have had, learning all about chickens. I would love to actually raise chickens so the kids can see the amazing process in real life. Unfortunately, our neighborhood doesn't allow it, so that will have to wait. I came up with the next best thing for us, a chicken unit study. 

A few of the things I used for our study was the book Where Do Chicks Come From, the Safari Life Cycle of a Chicken figures and Baby Einstein Language Discovery Cards. I also was lucky to have this fun wet felted chicken set from Lavender and Ladybugs . After I had gathered all of the items we were going to use(ahead of time, of course), we were ready to get some learning/fun in.

They all took turns with the flow chart and the life cycle figures. Note to self, make more than one copy when you have four kids working on the same thing ;) 

It worked out though, when the boys were done Bells really got into it. She was able to place all of the figures in the right spot and name them. She was so proud of herself and so was I. YAY!!!  

 If you are interested in the flow chart and the smaller chicken cards they can be found at Learn Create Love. She also colored a chicken coloring page while I was working with the older boys.  

For Little B I added a few Egg language arts activities and they can be found here. 

In this picture it may look like they are just holding eggs, but actually they are squeezing the eggs as hard as they can. Eggs although they seem easily breakable, they aren't at all. 

Using our eggs and the book Where Do Chicks Come From we examined eggs closely. Searching for the different parts, and of course seeing how it felt. We were even lucky enough to find double yolk eggs to explore.   

We finished up our Egg Science with rolling races on the porch. Do they wobble, do they roll straight? What are some of the questions that need answering about eggs? Isn't that one of the best things about Science? Having questions, making educated guesses, and than actually being able to experiment with the object.

Science Rocks!!!

I am sooooooooooo excited about one of our unit studies for this summer, I honestly can barely wait. Make sure you sign up for our emails and Like us on Facebook so you don't miss out.     

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The ABC's of Homeschooling Letter L

I am very excited to be guest writing today on My Joy-Filled Life. Please head over and check out the ABC's of Homeschooling Series. 

I write about ways to keep the children and yourself loving the learning process at home. 

Loving to Learn

The Ultimate Guide for Natural Baby Essentials

This Guide is a place for you to come and find an array of products that will help you on your pregnancy and parenting journey. I filled it with my favorite natural, organic items. Things that got me through the tough times, items that helped bring calm and comfort to the family, and gifts to treasure forever. This is just the beginning of the Natural Essential Guide for Pregnancy, Baby, and Beyond.

Journal through your pregnancy and baby's beginning with a baby book. It is so nice to have a book to go back to and remember all the little things.

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding has to be the best book ever written for a pregnant momma. It is filled with wonderful advice, tips, and support to get you through the beginning and keep you loving every minute of it.

Belly Cream while you're pregnant, you will be thanking me for years to come.
Earth Mama Angel Baby natural stretch oil.
and
Natural Nipple Butter, yes I did say nipple. hehe believe me you'll be sending me thank you cards for this suggestion. It is also cruelty free and certified vegan.

Essential Oils, another true love of mine.  You can order from www.youngliving.com and use my distributor number to order (1798664) or you can send me a message or visit me on Facebook and we can chat about all the benefits for you and baby. I would be more than happy to help you with your essential oil journey.

Our favorite store bought Baby lotion is Shea Moisture Raw Shea Chamomile & Argan oil , with Frankincense & Myrrh. Perfect for Calming and Comfort. In fact we love all of the Shea Moisture products another favorite is Shea Moisture Organic Baby Lotion with carrot oil and Shea butters. Buying these products you can also be happy knowing they are part of the  Fair Trade Market and it's made in the USA. Yay!!!

Diapers are a must, and there are so many choices. What do we like... Bumgenius Organic Cloth all in one snap closure. If you're not ready for cloth all the time, I'm also a huge fan of the Honest company, they will deliver diapers, wipes, household products and so much more right to your door.

Carrying your baby is a wonderful way to increase bonding and comfort for your baby. My favorite carriers are Ergobaby Organic Baby Carrier  and the Maya Wrap Baby Sling.

If you are looking for that special doll or critter for your baby to love and cuddle with, look know further. Dragonfly's Hollow Waldorf Dolls are made with all natural materials and are sweet as can be. You can even pick out what you would want it to look like, because these are handmade and one of a kind. Super special, for your little one. Go here to order.

I'm sure most of us love to have hand knit items for our babies, this cute little set from Elves & Angels is perfect. However, if you are past the baby stage and heading towards Toddler age, they have so much to offer. Check out their website at www.elvesandangels.com. 

Last but definitely not least, make sure you have a good camera. These moments only come once, you want to snap them when you can. 

The Canon EOS Rebel Camera is my favorite. This camera takes amazing pictures that you will  treasure forever. 

If you are looking for other guides for wonderful natural items,
 check out
 The Natural Toy Guide for age 1-6
and
The Ultimate Natural Gift Guide

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Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Alphabet Play

It's Spring time here and guess what that means? Rain, Rain and more Rain. At least that is what it was feeling like this past week. So I decided to bring a little sunshine into our house, and of course make it a fun learning day. One of our favorite books right now is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. So while the kids were asleep I set up a sensory and alphabet experience for the whole family to enjoy.  

Let's go over the quick and easy list of what you need. (Affiliate links provided for convenience)

  The book, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (of course), a container for sensory play (this is a $7 container from Walmart), play sand, a coconut, a few sand toys, a palm tree and letters. 

I purchased the sand toys, palm tree, and letters from the dollar store. 

I really wanted to cheer the house up from the gloominess, so I went all out. I brought in beach chairs, laid out a huge beach blanket, hung a cute (dollar store) Tiki sign up, all under our fabulous Elves & Angels Playstands . I didn't stop there... We got into our bathing suits for the day. It was awesome!

I love incorporating great books into our play, the kids seem to really enjoy the fun and the learning.
They were singing the alphabet song, talking about the letters and sounds. The rain didn't stop us.
We must have read the book at least 10 times that day. It is so nice to watch the children play, and the fact that they are learning so many great lessons too, makes mommy happy.

Are you incorporating sensory learning into your day? I'd love to hear about it, and if you would like other sensory play ideas follow my Sensory Board on Pinterest . You will find hundreds of great ideas. . 

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Spring Showers with Amazon Cash Giveaway

Are you ready for another great giveaway? I'm sure you can find a few ways to use $100, I know I can. Thankfully, I have some good blogging friends and we all love giving things away. All you have to do is click a few links, the more you click the better your chances. Good luck, I can't wait to see who wins. 

Welcome to the

Spring Showers, May Cash Amazon Sweepstakes

Organized by Budget Earth

With Special Thanks to

Mom to Bed by 8, Memoirs of a Clueless Woman, Robyn's View, My No Guilt Life,

Purple Monster Coupons, & My Dairy Free Gluten-Free Life

With the cold temperatures and snow behind us, it's time to start thinking about fun spring activities. Are you planning on having a garden this year? How about purchasing outdoor toys for the kids? Well, we are excited to making spring a bit better for you and your family. One lucky reader will win a $100 Amazon or Paypal Gift card for purchasing whatever has been on their spring wish list! This giveaway is 100% blogger sponsored - meaning that your favorite bloggers joined together to pay for the prize. We love giving something back to you and make all of you smile! Before entering, just make sure to read all the rules below and enter through the Rafflecopter! Spring Showers, May Cash Amazon Sweepstakes

• One lucky reader will win a $100 Amazon or Paypal Gift Card
• Open Worldwide.
• Winners will be chosen at random through Rafflecopter via Random.org.
• Sweepstakes ends May 20th at 11:59pm ET.
• Winner will be notified via email.
• Winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.
• Budget Earth is responsible for prize fulfillment.
• Must be 18 years or older to enter Rafflecopter.
• Only one entrant per household.
• Void where prohibited.
• Entering the Rafflecopter means you agree to terms above.
• Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: This blog did not receive compensation for this giveaway. Facebook, Twitter, & Pinterest are in no way associated with this sweepstakes. Prize fulfillment will be handled by sponsor.

Would you like to have your products featured in a giveaway event? Want to increase your social media exposure this holiday season? See how Mom Powered Media can help! Contact susan.l.bewley@gmail.com to see what we can do for your company!

Handmade Mother's Day Cards from Nature (Guest Post)

I am so happy today to have our first ever guest on Natural Beach Living. Today Marie, from Montessori Setup is sharing a sweet Home made Mother's Day card incorporating nature. Yay!!! 

I am more than excited to be on Natural Beach Living with Kimberly. What an honor! 

We have been thinking about our Mother's Day cards this year and I thought I would be nice to combine our art with our Spring planting. We used celery and apples to make our painted "flowers" for our Mother's Day cards. Thank you for joining us! 

Samuel and Avalyn really love painting and were very intrigued with the thought of using food to paint. It took them a minute to get used to the idea.

We took a stalk of celery and cut it to make two pieces the kids used as stamps. I kept one piece tied together with a rubber band of Samuel (3.5) and Avalyn (2) took the base of the stalk. They chose the color paint and we used paper plates for easy cleanup.

Then we cut an apple in half to make a heart shaped stamp. Both children loved exploring with this new painting experience!

I added in green stems to the bottom of the "flower" pictures the kids created. We will be excited to send these to the grandmothers and great-grandmother's we send cards to each year!

While Avalyn was napping, Samuel and I were able to work with our fruits and vegetables 3 part cards. I downloaded these cards free from Teachers Pay Teachers. If you are not familiar with presenting a 3 part card lesson to your child, I found this video very helpful!  

Samuel really loves 3 part cards and it has really helped him with his beginning sound recognition.

I really enjoyed putting together this projects to share with you. Happy Spring!!

Marie is a work-at-home mother of two. She has been blogging with Kimberly and Lisa Nolan for over a year at Montessori on a Budget and Confessions of a Montessori Mom. After much self study and with a background in education, she is excited to help anyone looking for help setting up their Montessori Inspired environment at Montessori Setup. She would love to hear from you on Facebook, Pinterest, and G+.