Road Trip ~ Destination: Holiday Adventures at Conner Prairie

Looking for a fun holiday treat for the whole family? One of our favorite destinations in December is Conner Prairie in Fishers, IN. Their Holiday Adventures program lets guests experience the sights, sounds, traditions, and smells of 1836 Indiana! We've been members of Conner Prairie for more than a decade, and this is one of MY favorite programs!









In the museum center, your family can browse through Gingerbread Village. Every year bakers of all ages (and skill levels) compete in this friendly quest for confectionary surprises! From scout troops or families with young children, through teens, adults, and even professional bakers, come see what this year's imagination has created. Every entry MUST contain gingerbread, and the variety is astounding. Past years have had a beach, the Conner House, and igloo, barns, summer camps, and so many more fun designs!

On the outdoor grounds, guests can stroll through 1836 Prairie Town. You'll meet residents hard at work doing winter chores, and you might even get to help! As you visit the homes and businesses you will learn about the traditions the various residents celebrate during the winter. You'll meet some families who celebrate Christmas, and learn why other don't. After all, celebrating Christmas wasn't popular in the USA until the 1840's, and didn't become a Federal holiday until 1870.

At the 1823 Conner House, you can join in with staff and volunteers to explore the Science of Baking. What will you find? Depends on which day and what time you visit. Often you'll find them baking bread on the hearth (in cast iron,) mixing up some crumpets, or roasting coffee beans. At other times you'll get to learn about the historical process of making chocolate-YUM!

Plan to spend the whole day, and dress warmly. If you're looking for eating options,  Conner Prairie's food service staff offer lunch options in the Overlook, which is located upstairs in the Museum Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Holiday Adventures at Conner Prairie is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the following days in 2015: December 12-13, 19-20, 26-31, and January 2-3 of 2016! Admission is $12/ adult, $9 for youth 2-12, and free for Members. Find all the details on Conner Prairie's website.

Come join the fun!

Thankful Thursdays 12/10/15 ~ The Gift of Fellowship

Today I was so thankful for the gift of fellowship! 

Sometimes as Moms we get so busy doing whatever needs to come next that we forget the joy that comes from true fellowship with other believers. Today I enjoyed wonderful fellowship with some dear, sweet ladies that many of you probably know.

My dear friend Marcy blogs over at benandme.com and the other lovely lady in the picture with us is Sharon Watson, from Writing With Sharon Watson. Emily has been using some of Sharon’s various curriculum over the past few years, and had the opportunity to talk with Mrs. Watson at our state’s homeschool convention this past Spring. They hit it off immediately. Sharon is such a sweetheart and loves to hear from students that have used her curricula. She loves to talk to them about quality literature and what they are reading right now. 

Although Emily had been emailing with Mrs. Watson for quite a while, she asked me if we could get together sometime so they could talk more. Luckily, Sharon lives only about an hour from us, so we invited her over for lunch. Without Sharon knowing it, I also invited Marcy (and her son Ben) over as well. Marcy and Sharon are great friends so I knew it would be a wonderful surprise.

We had a simple but filling lunch.

After lunch was over Arlene, Ben, and Emily decided to split off from our group and had a fun time talking about Dr Who, drawing pictures, and talking about other stuff. How do I know they were having fun? We kept hearing them laugh from the next room!

Marcy, Sharon, and I talked and laughed, and talked some more. We didn’t talk about anything out of the ordinary for us, we just had time to share our hearts. I had such a wonderful time today with these two ladies who have come to hold special places in my heart!

I encourage you to take the time to enjoy the gift of fellowship ~ you will be glad you did!

Do you ever wonder? Learn more about the Schoolhouse Review Crew Bloggers

Do you ever wonder who makes up this group of Bloggers we call the Schoolhouse Review Crew?

We have some amazing Moms (and a Dad!) on the Crew! We'll be posting a bunch more reviews before you know it ~ we're really excited here at Home Sweet Life about one that's in the works ~ You'll hear more about it soon!

In the meantime, why not click over to some of the other Blogs and learn more about the hard-working, home educating families behind all those reviews!

Hope you find encouragement and some great new reads!

The Old Schoolhouse Resources

By now I'm sure your email inbox has been flooded with posts/ ads/ suggestions/ pleas for you to purchase everything under the sun for Christmas. Am I right? I keep a tight reign on my email, yet every day there are more and more options flooding in with suggestions of how to spend our limited budget.

I'm not going  to hard sell you anything today. I am however, going to tell you about a couple resources that I personally have enjoyed from The Old Schoolhouse. 

Moms and Dads, I know its tough educating your children. Face it, just parenting can be a real challenge at times. As you strive to decide what to purchase (or not) for your children this holiday season, you might want to think about something for yourself. Something that could refresh your homeschooling or offer you encouragement.

Let's step away from what is usually offered to parents as present suggestions . . . like a new car or jewelry (anyone watched football recently and are tired of the ads . . . or is that just me?) In order to successfully home educate your children you need a Bible. Paper and pencils, and a library card are quite helpful, but not necessary. Most of us use some sort of curriculum, books, workbooks, DVDs, etc. for our children. 

What do you as the parent use for yourself?

I'll be brutally honest, I need encouragement in this journey. Do you?

Have you ever wondered how other parents homeschool? Do you struggle wondering if your children might have a learning disability? Are there days when you just want to throw up your hands and walk away? I think we all have days like that. The successes come when we don't give up, when we try again, or try something new. 

Our family has always been on a quest for frugal homeschooling. Sometimes out of need, always out of a desire to be good stewards of our God-given resources. If you're wanting to add a lot of choices to your homeschool, without adding a huge price tag, I suggest you check out SchoolhouseTeachers.com, oh how I wish this was around when our girls were little! Alas, it wasn't. So I spent a lot of time compiling things from the library. It worked for us. I was satisfied...but I'll let you in on a not-so-secret: using SchoolhouseTeachers.com is easier. 

I've written about SchoolhouseTeachers.com a couple times, and I'm sure I'll write about it again. If you want to read those thoughts, just click over here. Yes, I am an affiliate of ST.com, I love The Old Schoolhouse family! Usually I make a few pennies a month, maybe even a quarter. Earlier this year I had a month where I made enough to order printer ink ~ woo hoo! Even if I never made another dime I would tell you about SchoolhouseTeachers.com ~ it is just that good!



Another wonderful resource is The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. This is published digitally monthly and is free to read. You can even get an app for your phone or tablet. It is great to read during those in-between times: your lunch break, waiting to pick up your children, sitting at the dentist's office. I have found some of my favorite home educators to follow after being introduced to them in a past issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.



Once a year TOS (The Old Schoolhouse) prints The Big Book. This hefty tome is filled with great reading on dozens of home educating topics. It is meant to be enjoyed over several months, and used as a reference to look back to throughout the year. Don't try to read it straight through all at once, or you might miss a month of your life-LOL! The 2016 Big Book is heading off to the printers. If you're wanting to get a copy, I suggest you pre-order it now while it's only $10!!! Only $10 to US addresses through January 1st, including shipping. That my friends is a stupendous deal! Once The Big Book hits newsstands it will cost more. It will still be worth the price, but $10 is better. If you're looking for a gift for a friend - this could be it. If you want your own copy- show this to your spouse!



Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Give the gift of yourself, and encouragement, we all need it!

Hope you're having a good week. Thanks for stopping by.
Know you are loved!

Celebrate the Small Things

Dear Moms and Dads,
We so often get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of life that we forget to stop and celebrate with our children. We need to work to change this.

The Psalms remind us that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made." That includes your children, not just you. 

Your toddler who just wrote on the wall with a Sharpie? Yup, fearfully and wonderfully made. That teenager that doesn't like to do their math assignment? They're fearfully and wonderfully made too!

So how do we celebrate small things when life seems so full of chaos and struggle? We look deep and we find things to celebrate. Instead of always focusing on what our children are doing wrong ~ we need to focus on what they're doing right! Did your toddler eat all their peas, learn to use the toilet, put on her own clothes? These are small things that you can celebrate, things you can say "well done" or "great job" to. 

In fifteen years you might wonder what happened to that little girl or boy who used to draw on the wall with Sharpies. Instead of focusing your energy on the struggles, focus on the victories. Trust me on this, you're going to want to store up good memories of their childhood for yourself, not just for them.

Whether you choose to keep a journal of the small victories and accomplishments, or just break out into a happy dance in the middle of the kitchen, find a way to celebrate the small things.

That teen that struggles with math? They may be a whiz at another subject. Don't get yourself caught up in the struggle as your only memory of today. Work to find something about each child to celebrate each day. Tell God how thankful you are for these fearfully and wonderfully made children He has blessed you with.

Little children grow up fast. The days are long, but the years are short. 

Find something to celebrate today!