Christmas Letter Writing Activity

 I know the idea of Santa can be a big debate among homeschoolers, so I'm not going to get in to that. If you do "do Santa" in your house, this would be a fun lesson to do with your kids of all ages. 

This idea came from my mom, actually. When we were kids, we were not allowed to write a list to Santa. We had to write an actual letter to him and show interest in his life. We had to share things about ourselves and thank him as well. I've been wanting to do this with my kids but we never seem to get around to it, so this year it is part of our homeschool plan. 

I've created instructions and a rubric in one- easy to print (just right-click and save). There are a ton of free stationary printables online you can use, or regular notebook paper. 

Be sure to change it up to suit your family. 

Here are some ideas of what kids can tell Santa about/ ask him about:

1. Favorite sports
2. goals
3. What they are struggling with
4. What they have accomplished
5. What they are proud of
6. What they do after school
7. What his favorite cookie is
8. How to make the reindeer a special treat
9. What do the elves and Mrs. Clause like
10. What is his favorite________

Free Printable: Jack-O-Lantern Scripture Printable

My husband and I have always loved Halloween and now our kids do. We love the magic of the season, the weather, and the family fun. My husband actually hates horror movies, while I love them. 

We put up a Halloween tree, play pranks on eachother, and dress-up all month. My kids always get a new cup and some kind of a costume that is useful (hooded blankets, kid onesies, hooded towels, hoodies, etc). Something they can use all year but that doubles as a costume for movie night. We carve pumpkins, paint pictures, and have zombie wars.

We actually do not trick-or-treat. The kids have been once and they were adorable! We usually cook a fun dinner together, have lots of candy, and watch a funny Halloween movie together, like Hocus Pocus.

For us, it's all about family fun. 

We also do a scripture study that shows how we are like Jack-O-Lanterns carved by God. 

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I have this free printable available in poster size and in a size just right to go into your bible. I hope you and your family enjoy!

Poster Size

Bible Size

Free Printable: Brain Break Coupons

I have a freebie for you today and there is a story behind it. On Saturday, my son woke up not feeling like himself. He was moody and tired. He was upset because he didn't think that he could concentrate on school very well. 

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My MIL overheard our conversation and wrote him a note. I explained that it wasn't a school day, but he could keep the note and use it when he needed to, but that work would have to be made up. That gave me the idea for a free printable for you guys. 

I'm going to use these as rewards for especially hard work and maybe just for a smile. My note on the bottom will be that the work has to be made up. 

I hope you enjoy this freebie and find a use for it.  Download here. 

Free Printable: Kids' Thank You Notes

 I have something fun to share with you this holiday weekend. I created this quick little thank you note template for my kids and thought I would share it. This could be used as a gift thank you, thank you for an act of service, or "thanks for being my friend." It is cute and fun- I hope you enjoy it!

The printable has 4 to a page

Download here

Free Printable: Backpack List

 Being at home all the time has been strange. Sometimes I'm not in the mood to accomplish anything. I kind of do the mom thing and veg out. Other times, I've been in organizing/ project mode. That's been my thing in the last few weeks. I have tackled the kids' room, purged toys and stuffed animals, organized them and completely redone their beds. However, there are some projects I've been dying to tackle. 

I've been wanting to get our "on the go" stuff organized. I guess I haven't done it because we can't go anywhere and that is kind of depressing. However, I'm also wanting the kids to get excited about when this is all over. I've listed the things I want to do and I'm getting started. First, I needed a printable!

I'm going to print and fill these out and then laminate them. I'm going to hang them with their backpacks and let them work on packing them. Until now, I've always done that, but they will start. I read Snapper's list to her and I'm hoping that will also help her learn to read. 

I'm sharing them with you. Just right click on the image and save!

Enjoy!!

Free Printable: Monthly Calendar

I have some pretty calendar and planner printables to share over the next few months. I hope you enjoy!

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Free Printable: Scientific Method Printable

My Tbomb is a science nerd, for lack of a better word. He is obsessed with all things science. We even have to pray for the people in Hawaii every night because when he heard about the eruptions, he started studying about volcanoes! He is a big reader- physical books and on his Kindle (kids edition) and the books he chooses are always science.

Because of this, we've been doing a lot more impromptu experiments and I've been really trying to drill the scientific method into him. I use these sheets with experiments and also in a sheet protector for problem solving.

I've created it in both whole page size and half-page size.

Download half-size

Download full-size

Free Printable: Summer Bucket List

Guess WHAT!! It is officially the summer season! Yay!

There may still be some school days left, but that is coming to an end. So, I'm sure you guys are as excited as I am for some summer adventures. Don't let the summer go by without having some adventures. When you are looking for something to do, this list should help- many of these can be done in your own backyard

Download Here

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Just print, put in a frame, and mark off when you are done!

Free Printable: Simple Meal Planning

I see all these beautiful meal planning printables and have tried a few, but none seem to work for me. We take a simpler approach to meal planning. We put a list up, pick a meal for the next night, and mark it off- instead of going day by day. This is what works for us.

I've created this printable that may work for you. It has room for 12 meals, 4 simple meals, desserts, and ideas for the future- like if a family member tells you something they want. You can laminate it or put it in a picture frame. Write the meals available in the boxes and erase when you have cooked it.

When it is time to plan your next group of meals, there should be some left - you can write in more meals and make your list from that, all while knowing what you still have in hand. Meal planning is the one thing that I cannot plan very strenuously with, so maybe this will help you too!

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Free Printable: Fruit Of The Spirit Craft

My favorite part of our school day is Bible Study. I love seeing them learn about God, seeing that light on their face when they understand something, hearing their views on God, and listening to what they get out of scripture.

I made the kids this Fruit Of The Spirit printable a while back and they enjoyed it, so I thought I'd share it here. They keep the finished product in their bibles. Download here. (Directions below image)

This is really simple. Have them color and cut out the pieces. Then, glue the Galations 5 piece to one inside of the orange, the blank orange to the other inside of the orange, and staple together like a book with the leaf on the outside. 

Free Printable: Weight Loss/ Fitness/ Health Tracker

I went to the cardiologist a few weeks back and in addition to my pulmonary stenosis, I also now have a Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction. Basically, when my heart relaxes, the left ventricle takes longer to relax and has a harder time filling up with blood so that oxygen can get through my body, resulting in being tired, short of breath, swelling, and other problems. He basically told me that at the moment I am in no danger, my heart is functioning above 50%. However, if I do not get my weight off soon and do something about my blood pressure being too high and too low that I will go into diastolic heart failure- which we just do not want. So, getting healthy and getting the excess weight off is top priority. What am I doing to help with that? Drinking more water, walking, cutting down on the sweets, and doing weight watchers.

I created this printable to help. Maybe it will help you too!

You can use a new one each week, laminate, and use it however you want. This is what is included for each day: 8 glasses of water, 5 small meals, bp (heart), vitamins, steps (watch) and either exercise or weight (scales- I use the top for weight and the daily ones for exercise).

Download here

Kids' Placemat #FreePrintable Just In Time For Easter

I know I have shared this printable before, but I haven't had much time to work on new ones lately. I did want to share something with you though. I thought with Easter Sunday coming, you may be thinking about Easter Dinner with the family, friends, church, or just your immediate family. Something about Easter just insists on fancy, so placemats are a must.

We all know that putting fancy placemats in front if kids is not a good idea, so I have a better option. With this placemat, you can slide it in a dry erase pocket, laminate, or even put it on the table as is- however you want to do it. I hope you enjoy!

Download Here

Free Printable: How To Do It All

I have some exciting news! The Palmetto Queen and Cari On Media are getting a facelift. The Palmetto Queen will be renamed and there will be a whole new look for it all. I'm also working on a special workshop for January. The information and sign up for Find Your Sparkle 2018 will be announced later this week!

Tonight, I have a special surprise to celebrate these huge things! I have been working on some new printables and I have a special one for you!

You can download it for free here. 

Please do not share the file directly, but send them here. 

Thanks and I hope you enjoy!

Free Printable: Information Page

Now that you have your planner all set up and adjusted how you want it, you really don't want to have to start over. I'm sure you are in the midst of planning some spring and summer adventures. Are you like me and like to have your planner along with you for your adventures- especially if they are longer than overnight? What happens if you leave it behind? Maybe you are having coffee and looking through your days while you relax with some soothing caffeine... what if you get up and walk off without it? How will someone find you to get your sensitive information back to you? With this information page, of course!

(Download)

Free Printable: Monthly and Seasonal ToDos

I shared a week of free printables at the start of the year and now I am going to be doing something a bit different than I have in the past. Each month, I will be sharing a different free printable. This month is a monthly and seasonal to-do sheet.

Tips for using this sheet: cut in half and use the Seasonal part in a sheet protector so that you can frequently reference it. List those things that you want to do each month (wash comforters, wash stuffed animals, backup computer, backup sites, deep clean refrigerator, etc) Place this sheet (without protector) in a frequently visited part of your planner, probably where you put planning reference sheets, like your weekly tasks or perpetual calendar. This way you will often see it and work in the tasks while you are busy planning your week. It is a really handy sheet and I have left it blank so that it is fully customized.

Download PDF

If you download it, I would love to know what you think. If you have suggestions, I would love to hear them. Want to stay up to date and make sure you don't miss a feebie? Be sure to sign up for my newsletter in that pink band at the top of this page!

Free Printable: Cover Page

Everyone loves a pretty cover page. I like to have a few. I put them in the different sections to remind me of quotes and often switch them around with the one in the front.

Today I'm offering a 2-in-one page as well as the half size of the "This Empire" printable. 

Free Printable: Weekly Tasks

My planning routine includes my planner (of course), my monthly calendar, my Google calendar, and my weekly tasks sheet. This weekly task sheet tells me those things that I have to get done every week. I have them broken down by day so that I can add them into my week planner page and not forget anything (well usually). Household, personal, blog, work, paranormal, homeschool, and all other categories are included in this one sheet. While some may use this as a weekly planner, I put it in a sheet protector and use it over and over again.

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Weekly Tasks

Free Printable: Monthly Calendar

If you have read many of my planner posts, you probably know that this is not a printable I would use. I purchase a cheap monthly calendar that fits in the pocket of my planner then, I can pull it out and do my weekly planning with less hassle. However, I know that many of you prefer it to be in the rings and for some matching, so here is a monthly calendar on two pages (half size).

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Monthly Calendar

Free Printable: Checklists

Today's freebie one on that I use quite often. I use it a bit differently than a lot may. I slide this checklist sheet into a sheet protector and use it multiple times. Before I put it in the sheet protector, I write things I need to remember on it. For instance, I have them for travelling, day trips, investigations, and even babysitters. It makes my life much easier, and I'm less likely to take along things that I need.

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Checklists

Free Printable: Perpetual Calendar

As promised, here is another freebie. This perpetual calendar is perfect for keeping up with birthdays and anniversaries, especially for transferring to a monthly calendar. I also use it for writing out birthday cards at the beginning of the year (more on that in another post). I've also included a 3-year calendar, so it is like a 2-in-1

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Perpetual Calendar