Making Time to Read

Reading and writing have been my strong suit my whole life. Growing up, I remember sometimes staying up late into the night just to finish a book. And even into adulthood, I still have a love for reading, even though, I often go through periods where I hardly pick up a book for months. 

Luckily, one thing I managed to pass on to my children is my love for reading as well. I honestly believe Mackenzie loves reading more than I ever did, which says a lot. And not a day goes by that Phoenix, Tyler, and Elijah don't grab a handful of books off of our bookshelf just to spend some time reading. 

Lately, I have been making an effort to turn off and put down technology and pick up a book instead (unless I am actually reading a book on the iPad). I have finally read some books that had been sitting, and even dove into some that I had not planned or heard anything about beforehand. 

Here is a list of books I have read recently and definitely recommend: 

• The Fault in Our Stars
• Gone Girl
• Desperate
• A Love That Multiplies
• The Body Book

I have also been making time to read with my children as well. We have been including Bible Study a few nights a week and we are even starting a few of the classics that we have had on our shelf but haven't read yet. We just started reading Grimm's Fairy Tales, a book we received from my dad several Christmases ago. It was wrapped in plastic, and if I am being totally honest, we only just recently tore the plastic off. It's quite a beautiful book, each page edged in gold and a ribbon bookmark.

As part of our Summer Bucket List, I hope finish this book and include at least one other book... perhaps Gulliver's Travels.

It's no joke when I say that I have a pretty rowdy bunch of children. My younger three are always on the go from the moment they wake up at 5:00 am (Yes, 5:00 EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.). They literally try to squeeze in every minute of their day with on the go activities. Some days I drop long before they do. However, sitting down to read a book with them, calms them down every time. The conversations we have with our children while reading with them have always been some of the best. 

What are some of your favorite books to read, or that you would love to read, with your children?

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Strawberry Picking at Vollmer Farm

Strawberry season is usually early May thru about mid June in central North Carolina. Drive anywhere outside of the city limits and you are sure to see signs every few miles that advertise strawberry picking at many of the local farms. I remember going strawberry picking with my grandmother as a child, but had yet to take my own children after all the years of living the country life. Last Saturday, the weather was perfect, so on a whim, we loaded up the three littlest kiddos and drove out to one of our local farms for our first strawberry picking experience as a family.

Not only does Vollmer Farm offer strawberry picking, there is also blueberry and blackberry picking mid-late summer as well. My grandparent's had a big blackberry bush that I remember picking from as a child, but I have never picked blueberries. I would love to go back for blueberries in another month or two.

Of course, we couldn't resist the homemade ice-cream, but overall, this was a relatively inexpensive day for us. Some of our best times are when we don't spend a ton of money, so we have made it one of our goals to go on many adventures this Summer, but to spend as little as possible. We already have a few other plans in mind!




So, what are we planning to do with all of these strawberries? 

I will be putting them in smoothies for a quick and delicious breakfast, adding them to water for refreshing infused water creations, making a delicious sugar free syrup for my paleo pancakes, and even creating some tasty frozen greek yogurt popsicles with the kids.

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Distraction-Free Learning with Bing in the Classroom

Many thanks to Bing for sponsoring today’s post, and inspiring me to share about their #adfreesearch classroom initiative.

Education is something we strongly value in our home. That doesn't mean we know it all or always get things correct, but providing our children with opportunities to learn, as well as demonstrating our own desire for continued education, is something we strive to work hard at.

Computers have become commonplace in the classroom, therefor, it is my duty as a parent to teach my children the importance of using computers responsibly and in a way that benefits their education.  Computers, and the internet, open up a wonderful world of educational opportunities for children, whether it be to play a math game, search for information on a particular topic, watch a video, or even watch live feed of the animals at the National Zoo.

As much as I love for my children to be able to use the computer, I often feel guilty for saying no because of how easy it is to become distracted by all those ads. No matter how much I talk to my children about using a computer responsibly, I still have to closely monitor their usage because sometimes there are those distractions that can often be misleading to a child. Believe it or not, I've already learned the hard way about how easily a child can navigate to an inappropriate website. Even I've been known to click on something that turned out to be completely different than what I had been lead to believe.

Sometimes it isn't as easy for teachers to monitor children on a computer when there are 20 kids in a classroom, and that's why I love what Bing is now doing for schools, with Bing in the Classroom. In schools, when students use search engines other than Bing, they are shown ads that can distract from their studies. With Bing in the Classroom, all advertising is removed, there are strict filters for adult content, and enhanced privacy protection.

We often forget that these are just children and that they don't always have the attention span like an adult. They are so easily distracted so it is nice that Bing in the Classroom has removed these ads and blocked searches from being used for personal advertising for all Bing searches done through the schools network.

Bing in the Classroom is now available to all schools in the U.S.  and can even earn your child's school free Microsoft Surface tablets. 

"We've made it even easier for people to support the schools they care about. Our popular Bing Rewards program enables people to earn credits towards Surface tablets for a school of their choice simply by signing up and searching with Bing. Now we are making it easier to see how many Rewards credits an individual school has earned. You can search for any school by ZIP code and see how many other people are contributing, how many Surface tablets the school has earned so far, and how many credits are needed to earn the next Surface. And we'll also tell you if the school is registered for the search enhancements, so you can know if your kids are receiving ad-free, safer, more private search in the classroom when they choose Bing.

Anyone can earn credits just by searching the web with Bing—similar to a frequent flyer program. Credits can be donated to help get free Microsoft Surface tablets for schools. It's easy! All you have to do is stay signed in as you search with Bing."


Are you ready to begin supporting your child's school and protect them while using computers in the classroom with Bing in the Classroom?

Click HERE to locate your child's school and try it now, free! 


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Mini Style | Hair Springs

I was not financially compensated for this post. I was given a set of Patriotic Hair Springs in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced. Six Cherries on Top Disclaimer/Terms of use

This is definitely Tyler's favorite outfit. She just had to have a denim vest like this after Mackenzie got one last year. Tyler really looks up to Mackenzie and sometimes she loves to copy her big sisters style. 

Denim vest: GLO jeans

Ruffle layered top: Children's Place

Denim Skirt: Old Navy

Hair bows: Hair Springs
Shoes: Walmart

Tyler LOVES this Patriotic set of Hair Springs Traci sent to us. They are such a fun hair accessory, and they come in a ton of different colors to choose from. They work in all types of hair and can be used to decorate your hair, hold hair in place, or secure loose hairs. 

How would you like the opportunity to win a set of Hair Springs? Traci has so kindly offered to give one Six Cherries on Top reader ONE set of Hair Springs (any 6 colors of your choice). Enter below for your chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Mini Style | Little Miss Sassy Skirt

We all know Tyler is my girly girl, but what you may not know about her is that she also has a horrible temper and can be one heck of a handful. She pretty much does her own thing because there is no changing her mind when she is determined to do something. If I am being completely honest, I am already scared of the teenage Tyler I will have to deal with. Just maybe, I will get lucky and she will mellow out some before then.

But of course, Tyler isn't always a tough girl. We love to paint our nails, put on make up together, and do each other's hair. And like always, she will pick a skirt or a dress over a pair of pants or shorts. She played soccer in this same outfit later on, and then dug in the dirt and searched for clovers shortly after that. And later on, when we went inside, she smelled like sweat and dirt. Ha!

Shirt: Mudd from Kohl's, $6

Skirt: Thrifted, $2

Shoes: Old Navy, $2.50

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Crafts for Kids: Rainbows & Shamrocks Watercolor Garland

We love St. Patrick's Day around here, simply because our heritage makes us part Irish. Plus we love holidays, and there's just something fun about rainbows, leprechauns, shamrocks, and pots of gold. Do don't go all out, but my kids definitely know when I holiday is approaching. 

Since my school children are out this week for Spring Break, I decided to keep them busy with some fun activities. The beginning of the week was warm, dare I say HOT outside, so we spent a lot of time outside. However, when we woke up today, we were a bit fooled because as bright and sunny as it was, it was bitterly cold out there. This mom is not a fan of the cold, so inside activities for us today!

Rainbows & Shamrocks Watercolor Garland

You will need:

• Watercolor paper
• Watercolor paint
• Paint brushes
• Baker's twine
• Hole puncher
• Scissors
• Tape
• Shamrock printout
• Rainbow printout

Because I only had really thin printer paper and super thick watercolor paper, I printed out the two pages (I had to shrink the rainbow down some), cut out one of the shamrocks, and the rainbow, and traced them onto the watercolor paper. However, if print onto card stock, you should be good. 

I just simply let my kids paint as they wanted and let them cut them out, after they dried. Then, we punched two holes in the top of each one and threaded the baker's twine through. Lastly, hang it up anywhere you want. 

We also had fun talking about the real meaning of St. Patrick's Day and finding Ireland on our new globe. Get yourself a globe! My kids love to look at that thing for hours! I see an atlas in our future as well. 

I knew Elijah was going to struggle with cutting his own shapes out, so I cut his for him, and allowed him to cut my shamrocks instead. I really wanted to make sure that his rainbow and shamrocks got hung up, but I also wanted him to get the opportunity to cut as well. My sweet boy definitely needs a little more practice! He tried so hard though. 

Of course, there are so many ways this can be done. The idea is to just have fun, am I right? If you don't have watercolors or any type of paint at all, use crayons, markers, or even allow your child to glue fabric scraps, for a fun twist. 

If you make a fun St. Patrick's Day garland, I'd love for you to share it with me. 

                    

Mini Style | Long Hair, Don't Care

It has been pretty nice outside for the last several days and we have taken full advantage of it by getting outside as much as possible. Amongst our busy weekend, we even made it out to my Dad's house. We always love going to Poppy's house because he has a great yard for playing in. We spend a lot of time out there in the Summer, cooking out, chalking in the driveway, and eating lots of popsicles and ice-cream sandwiches. Even this past weekend, the kids got to enjoy a small taste of what's to come this Spring and Summer. 

This is the same house my Dad has ever lived in, he built it right after I was born, so I have spent my entire life playing in this yard and in this driveway. I love that I can share it with my own children now.  

Polka dot shirt: Target, $8

Skirt: Old Navy (many years ago... it used to be Mackenzie's), $?

Leggings: Walmart, $3

Boots: Kohl's, $19.99

Belt: Thrifted, $1

This is an outfit that Tyler put together. Absolutely nothing wrong with it, I just like to put that out there because there are times when I do make "suggestions" or put together some of her outfits. I don't do that often though. 

Can I just point out how long my baby girl's hair is getting? She absolutely refuses to get it cut. Not that I want it cut, but I often give her the option to get it cut, when I am cutting Phoenix's hair, only if she wants and she always says "NO".  I've said it before, but I love how incredibly girly she is.