Doug Phillips of Vision Forum has penned a delightful and meaningful blog posting about a blessed way to end this current year and prepare for 2012. I wholeheartedly recommend that you go to his blog and read his three points. They are timeless, good for any time of the year, and very poignant. Practicing these three recommendations will bring much peace to your life, and to those around you. Praying that you have a very JOYful and blessed New Year!
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For those of you who receive my "Latest News" via Feedburner, I'm slowly realizing that not everything I'm placing in my posts here are showing up in the emailed version you are receiving. Yup, I'm a bit slow in figuring this out. This is part of what you SHOULD have seen in the email I sent out today about the fun "countdown to midnight" family New Year's Eve party printables! ...except that it should have been two full .PDF file pages to print out for you. Easy, right? So, to access the FREE printables for the New Year's Eve party ideas, just follow this link here: http://www.joyinourjourney.com/1/post/2011/12/fun-family-new-years-eve-party-idea.html and you should find the printables readily available and easy to print out! I'm sorry for the confusion. I'll get it figured out eventually! Please let me know if you have trouble printing it out. Thanks! Happy New Year! For the last, well, umpteen years, our family has hosted a family-friendly New Year's Eve celebration. I wouldn't say we do anything exotic or extraordinary...but we always have a lot of fun! Yes, our girls now stay up until midnight (or later!) with us. I know - we're crazy. And this year, with New Year's Day falling on a Sunday, and our worship service at church starting at 10:45 on Sunday morning, me thinks we're going to have some very tired children - and adults - come Sunday afternoon. Can we say, "NAPTIME?"
All you will need are some paper lunch sacks, a black marker, and paper to print off the FREE printables, below. I happened to already have some white lunch sacks, so we're going to use those. If you don't happen to have lunch sacks, you could also print these off and glue/fasten them to envelopes with the slip of paper ideas placed one inside each envelope. On each bag/envelope, use the black marker to draw in the corresponding time of the event! For our party, I'll be having one bag for each 30 minutes of the evening together. 6:30 ~ Eat Italian food! 7:00 ~ Glowstick "Maffia" game outside for the children! 7:30 ~ Silly String outside for the children 8:00 ~ Foosball competition for the children 8:30 ~ Wii games for the children (Bananagrams and other board games for the adults) 9:00 ~ Ice Cream Sundaes! 9:30 ~ Movie for the children (on the computer in the schoolroom) 11:30 ~ Bible devotional time led by my husband 12:00 ~ Happy New Year! Noisemakers and poppers for everyone! The bags will have the graphics on them, below, and inside will be a slip of paper that explains what the activity will be, plus any additional supplies needed for that activity (if they will fit!). As you can tell, we'll have 9 bags lined up on the dining room table, and every 30 minutes, a child will be selected to open one bag to announce the surprise or activity! |
Fractazmic by "I See Cards" games Recently, the girls and I received a new math fractions card game called, "Fractazmic". Not "Frazzled", which is probably the name Brittany (age 11) would have given it. Hee-hee! Not "Frustrating but Fabulous", which is the name I would have given this game when I was a child. |
Instead, it's Fractazmic! And it is a FABULOUS game to play at home to help children understand fractions better.
Now it may seem from Brittany's renaming of this game that it was too hard for her and that it confused her. Actually, she's spending a lot of her math time this year learning about fractions, and she's found fractions to be a bit tricky for her at times. So her attitude may not be the best about playing a math game revolving around the concept of fractions.
At first, she thought the game was too hard. But Fractazmic is actually for ages 7 and upward, so it really isn't too hard for her at age 11. It just makes her think harder than other games she's played, so for her, she categorized Fractazmic as "too difficult."
Really, though, it's not. Not even for Brittany.
Since Brittany's a smart girl, she did quickly figure out that she can use the pictures on the cards to help her make sets or "hands" to lay down. And that made the game easier for her, which was nice.
When Brittany finishes her current math textbook in another 2-3 months, we're going to keep on playing Fractazmic occasionally to help her keep her fractions skills sharp. I know that she's going to get used to the game as time goes on, and will continue to play better and smarter!
Want to see Fractazmic in action? Take a visit to a Fractazmic speed game where you can play it online! If your time is the fastest, you can even win a free set of Fractazmic for your family!
Here's a short video clip showing Fractazmic being played as a Rummy game. If you're reading this in an emailed newsletter version, you may need to click on the emailed newsletter title to see the videos:
And another version of Fractazmic...Trap!
"I See Cards" also provides everyone with a free download of their booklet HERE which explains how to play the different games using the Fractazmic deck of cards.
"I See Cards" sells Fractazmic for $6.95 and also sells other card games they've developed, including Pyramath (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) and Prime Bomb (prime numbers). It can be played individually or by 2-4 people. Nice that this game has that kind of flexibility!
I'd personally much rather play Fractazmic during math class than do a worksheet. Wouldn't you? !!!
We'll continue playing Fractazmic, and gaining more skill in quickly maneuvering back and forth between fractions that need to be added and subtracted. Games are such a better way of learning and practicing skills like this! I know Brittany will enjoy giving up a math assignment to play Fractazmic once in a while. So will Kelsi (age 14) and I!
Want to see what other TOS Crew members had to say about the new card game, Fractazmic? Click here!
We have a winner for the "My Favorite Bible" Christmas giveaway!
Our winner is: Laura L.!
I have emailed Laura to let her know that she is a winner; she'll have 48 hours to respond with her mailing address. If I don't hear back from her, I'll draw another name. Congratulations, Laura! I pray that this book will be a blessing to your friend and her many children. Merry Christmas!
It's that time of year again!
After a week of horrendous stomach flu and then a few days' jaunt to California for my uncle's memorial service, I've finally had some time to plan our Christmas cards for this year.
I know, I know. Most of you have had your Christmas cards or letters ready since mid-October, right?
Please don't tell me if you have. I just might cry.
I did think about it, mid-October. But my grandmother passed away then, and we made our first jaunt to California for her burial service. We've had a busy, fulfilling few weeks around here, other than the stomach flu. That was NOT fulfilling, in the least!
I decided to do what I did last year for our Christmas cards: use Shutterfly's photo and card site. In years past, I would type out a full-page letter, print it off, fold it, place it inside a Christmas card, sign the Christmas card and often write a little note to make it more personal, and finally stamp and send off the letters. Since we have around 75 people on our Christmas card list, it took me quite some time to do this.
Last year, with Shutterfly, I was able to upload a family photo to a beautiful, professional-looking card, type out a full letter to be printed inside the card for me, and then have them shipped quickly to me. It was so nice not to have to spend a lot of time folding all those letters to stuff into the card envelopes!
This year, we've done the same thing. I uploaded the photo you see above, and typed out a full-length letter for the inside of the card. Then, when the cards arrive, I'll sign our names inside, include a little handwritten note if I have time, and send our Christmas greetings on their way to friends and family!
I've always been impressed with Shutterfly's easy personalized card-making and invitation services they offer on their website. Granted, I do enjoy dinking around on the computer and getting our family photo to look just how I want it. I enjoy typing out our Christmas letter, and all that goes along with it. But it's truly not difficult to navigate their website, and they hold my hand all the way through the personalized card-making process, so I love that!
I wish I could send you all one of our personalized Christmas cards, but I can't. Know that I treasure you, my readers, and I sincerely wish you a blessed Merry Christmas!
Hi! I'm Julieanne!
You'll find me in the kitchen
trying new Trim Healthy Mama recipes, loving God, and carrying out that love as I bless my husband and teen daughters.
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