The Sensible Mom

Food, DIY, Chicago Mom Blogger

Peep and the Big Wide World (Plus a Fun Science Activity!)

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This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with PEEP and Latina Bloggers Connect.

I love the Peep and the Big Wide World children's videos, games, and activities! I'm also sharing a video for a fun Mentos Science Project to try with your kids! #Mentos #Science #Experiments #Homeschool

Homeschooling my 5-year-old son, David, is not easy.

He’s always been my strong-willed child and lets me know right away when he doesn’t like something. Whether it’s coloring or working with flashcards, if he’s not interested in it, well, school can turn into the “low part” of his day in a hurry. πŸ˜‰

As his mother and teacher, I don’t want that for him. I want him to be excited about school and learning. So you can imagine how excited I was to have discovered an entire website full of educational activities that David actually loves!

Peep and the Big Wide World

The website is called Peep and the Big Wide World. It’s named after the series by the same name that appears on public television. Maybe your kids have watched an episode already?

The Peep and the Big Wide World series stars a wide-eyed chicken named Peep, a robin named Chirp, and an endearing duck named Quack. They live in a large urban park β€” a place of endless wonder, adventure, and mystery – perfect for learning science and math concepts each and every day!

I love the Peep and the Big Wide World children's videos, games, and activities! I'm also sharing a video for a fun Mentos Science Project to try with your kids! #Mentos #Science #Experiments #Homeschool

David and my other kids have been getting to know Peep and his friends, and amazingly, David and Isaac, my 7-year-old son, are learning even as they watch.

They learned how to “Mississippi count” the other day. πŸ™‚

They’re learning even more from the Peep and the Big Wide World educational apps that we installed on some of our electronic devices. As a mom, I’m a huge fan of apps that teach my kids rather than simply entertain them.

The mobile-friendly digital hub gets preschoolers engaged using fun activities and helps parents be ready and confident to facilitate the exploration of math and science with their child.

I love the Peep and the Big Wide World children's videos, games, and activities! I'm also sharing a video for a fun Mentos Science Project to try with your kids! #Mentos #Science #Experiments #Homeschool

Pour and Squirt Water Activity

One of my favorite parts of the Peep and the Big Wide World website is the educators area where you can find a number of different activities to engage your child and encourage their curiosity.

My three youngest kids loved this pour and squirt water activity that I came across on the website.

Here's a super easy and fun Pour and Squirt Water Activity for Kids! #homeschool #fun #kids

We basically filled different sized bowls with water, and then they used a variety of household items to pour, squirt, and play.

Here's a super easy and fun Pour and Squirt Water Activity for Kids! #homeschool #fun #kids

Mentos Science Activity

Seeing some of the different activities on the Peep and the Big Wide World website made me think about a science experiment we’ve been wanting to try as a family, but kept putting off for one reason or another.

We’ve been wanting to try a fun and easy science activity that involves dropping a bunch of mentos candies into different kinds of pop.

Mentos + Pop = a very fun and wild science experiment to try with your kids! #Homeschool #science #experiment

There’s an incredible chemical reaction that occurs between the pop and the mentos, and you really must see it to believe it!

Mentos + Pop = a very fun and wild science experiment to try with your kids! #Homeschool #science #experiment

So, we created a video. πŸ™‚

David having fun with the Mentos soda experiment

We finally carved out time, gathered the supplies, put on our jackets, and had a GREAT time experiencing such a crazy experiment first-hand!

Below is the video we created for the mentos science activity. The results might surprise you!

I’m so glad we took the time to finally try the mentos experiment.

It is as fun as it looks. πŸ™‚

But, you know, I’m even happier to know that I have another resource when it comes to teaching and homeschooling my kids. I’m certain that I’ll be going back to the Peep and the Big Wide World website again and again. I love that there’s even a Spanish version of the site available – perfect for when I start introducing my kids to more espaΓ±ol!

Are your children familiar with Peep and the Big Wide World? Do your children enjoy doing science activities at home?

Connect with Peep: For the latest updates, you can “like”Β Peep Latino on Facebook and follow Peep here on Twitter.


10 Goals for the Week (and Our Giveaway Adventure)

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10 Goals to Tackle This Week

Last weekΒ was special.

I mentioned that I won a family giveaway, but I wanted to wait to share exactly what I’d won.

Well, I’m ready to spill the details now. πŸ˜‰

I entered and won a giveaway for a trip to Chicago to attend the PlayCHIC fashion show, the Toy and Game Inventor of the Year Awards, and the Chicago Toy and Game Fair. I was already planning on attending the Chicago Toy and Game fair with my family on Saturday, November 22nd, for a media and blogger breakfast. We wanted to go last year as a family, but David was in the hospital at that time.

That being said, when we won this year’s giveaway, we ended up getting to attend more than just that event!

ChiTAG VIP Weekend Giveaway

We technically won a trip to Chicago which included travel and a 3-night hotel stay. However, because we live in the suburbs of Chicago, we didn’t end up having any of the travel expenses covered. That was a bummer because parking at the hotel was expensive.

It was nice to be able to spend a couple of nights in Chicago, though. πŸ™‚

Along with the hotel stay, we were given tickets to attend the PlayCHIC fashion show, and I was thankful that they ended up giving us enough tickets for our entire family to attend. It was a fun, light-hearted fashion show that even my kids enjoyed. Truthfully, they liked the experience much more than I thought they would!

The fashion show was on Thursday night, and for the following night, we had four tickets to attend the Toy and Game Inventor of the Year Awards (also known as the TAGIE Awards). Because we only had four tickets to this elegant dinner ceremony, we decided that Ruben would go with our three older kids while I stayed with our two youngest ones.

As a blogger, I’ve been blessed to attend lots of fun and even fancy dinners/events. I wanted Ruben and the kids to go to the TAGIE Awards and have a great time! And from what I heard afterwards, they did!

TAGIE Awards

On Saturday, we went over to Navy Pier for the ChiTAG media and blogger breakfast, and then subsequently had a fun time exploring the ChiTAG fair. There was a lot to see and experience at the fair, and my kids loved it!

david-and-isaac

Once we’d finished walking around the fair, we went back to the hotel and ate lunch. And then Ruben and I looked at each other and decided that it was time to pack our things and head back home. We weren’t planning on going back to the fair on Sunday, and all the meals out and parking fees were adding up. So we checked out of the hotel on Saturday afternoon instead of on Sunday morning and headed home.

It was exciting to win the ChiTAG Giveaway. It was certainly a blessing. And going together as a whole family this year was a reminder of just how far David has come.

All I can say is: Praise the Lord!

David at ChiTAG

As for my goals, I had added them to my Google Calendar and was able to get most of them crossed off.

Here’s what I accomplished last week:

Family/Mothering Goals:

1. Continue to work on memorizing two verses of scripture as a family

2.Β Go shopping for dressy clothes we need for a family event later this week — We won a family giveaway. More to come on that later.

Personal Goals:

3. Do resistance band exercises 3x

4. Walk a total of 75 minutes on the treadmill

5. Read 20 pages of The Most Important Place on EarthΒ (affiliate link) by Robert Wolgemuth

6.Β Wake up by 7:00am every day — I was up by 7:00am four times last week. That’s a big improvement! I’m thankful to now have an accountability partner to help me make getting up before my children a habit.

Home Management Goals:

7.Β Plan out Thanksgiving menu — We’re keeping things pretty simple. I live with picky eaters, and I’m going to make dishes that they like. I’m skipping the ones I’d end up eating all by myself. I’m sure the scale will thank me later. πŸ˜‰

8. Clean upstairs bathroom

Business Goals:

9. Edit and post theΒ DIY video on how to make homemade hair conditioner — The video has been edited and uploaded to YouTube, but I didn’t get around to posting it here on the blog just yet.

10. Photograph a product that’ll be featured in an upcoming blog post

Here are my goals for this week:

Family/Mothering Goals:

1. Continue to work on memorizing two verses of scripture as a family

2. Take time as a family to tell each other what we’re thankful for

Personal Goals:

3. Do resistance band exercises 3x

4. Walk a total of 90 minutes on the treadmill

5. Read 20 pages of The Most Important Place on EarthΒ (affiliate link) by Robert Wolgemuth

6.Β Wake up by 7:00am

Home Management Goals:

7.Β Vacuum upstairs

8. List one thing to sell on ebay

Business Goals:

9. Post theΒ DIY video on how to make homemade hair conditioner

10. Photograph a product that’ll be featured in an upcoming blog post

What are your goals for this week?


10 Goals for the Week

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10 Goals to Tackle This Week

Last week was busier than usual, so I didn’t get to a lot of my goals.

I can’t say I’m not disappointed. πŸ˜‰

But it’s a new week. And because we have even more planned this weekΒ than the previous week, I’m going to keep my goals simple and doable.

Here’s what I accomplished last week:

Family/Mothering Goals:

1. Continue to work on memorizing two verses of scripture as a family

2. TryΒ a new science experiment with the kids and record it

Personal Goals:

3. Do resistance band exercises 3x

4. Walk a total of 75 minutes on the treadmill

5. Read 20 pages of The Most Important Place on EarthΒ (affiliate link) by Robert Wolgemuth

6.Β Find an accountability program/group/person/something that’ll help me to start waking up earlier

Home Management Goals:

7. De-clutter the living room — My husband and kids helped with this and did a great job! We ended up buying a piece of furniture from IKEA to help organize the toys in the living room. Now the toys are in bins that are easy to pull out and put back when they’re finished.

8. Organize and clean Elisabeth’s play area — My son ended up getting this done for me.

Business Goals:

9. Edit and post theΒ DIY video on how to make homemade hair conditioner

10. Photograph a product that’ll be featured in an upcoming blog post

Here are my goals for this week:

Family/Mothering Goals:

1. Continue to work on memorizing two verses of scripture as a family

2.Β Go shopping for dressy clothes we need for a family event later this week — We won a family giveaway. More to come on that later. πŸ™‚

Personal Goals:

3. Do resistance band exercises 3x

4. Walk a total of 75 minutes on the treadmill

5. Read 20 pages of The Most Important Place on EarthΒ (affiliate link) by Robert Wolgemuth

6.Β Wake up by 7:00am every day — So far, so good! I was up at 7:00am today!

Home Management Goals:

7.Β Plan out Thanksgiving menu

8. Clean upstairs bathroom

Business Goals:

9. Edit and post theΒ DIY video on how to make homemade hair conditioner

10. Photograph a product that’ll be featured in an upcoming blog post

What are your goals for this week?


How I Use My Intel Tablet to Stay Organized

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#sponsored: I’m required to disclose a relationship between our site and Intel. This could include the Intel Corporation providing us w/content, product, access or other forms of payment.

How I Use My Intel Tablet to Stay Organized #IntelTablets

If it’s not on the calendar, it’s not REAL.

This is a saying I heard earlier this year, and it made a huge impact on my thinking. How so? Well, now I schedule as much as I can on my Google Calendar. Getting ready for the day, homeschooling, cleaning, blog posts, reminders to schedule blog posts, recipe testing, photo shoots, social media reminders, emails, exercise and on and on.

I schedule it.

I’ve stopped using a paper planner and instead plan out the important and even mundane tasks on my Google Calendar. It’s made a world of difference, and I don’t see myself ever going back to writing out my schedule again. One huge reason is because Google Calendar allows me to block out time for each task, and that makes it easy to see when I’ll have time for something and when I’m over scheduling myself and need to make a change.

How I Stay Organized

I’m not able to sit down at my computer as often as I’d like to (kids, you know πŸ˜‰ ), so I’ve been relying mostly on my smartphone for Google Calendar reminders throughout the day. I’ve also loved using my smartphone to quickly create short notes or lists that I can come back to when I need them.

Honestly, this way of getting things done works for me.

But… when there’s an opportunity to make staying organized even easier, well, I say try it! And that’s exactly what I did when Intel sent me an Asus MeMO Pad 7Β Intel TabletΒ to review.

How I Use My Intel Tablet to Stay Organized #IntelTablets

As you can see, the Intel tablet is larger than my smartphone, but it’s still small enough to carry around the house and not feel like it’s a burden. It has a 7-inch screen and is quite thin and lightweight which makes it easy to slip into your purse.

The display is AMAZING! Whoa. I wasn’t expecting such a high-quality display from such a budget-friendly tablet! I’m so impressed. πŸ˜‰

By the way, electronic devices are difficult to photograph well, but trust me, the screen display is crisp and clear.

Asus MeMO Pad Apps and Organization Tools

Besides the great outward features, the AsusΒ Intel tabletΒ is equipped with its own apps. One of my favorites is the “Quick Memo” app. In a flash, this app allows me to create a note or list like the one I made in the picture below.

How I Use My Intel Tablet to Stay Organized #IntelTablets

I can then pin that list to the home screen of the tablet, so that I can see it and tackle whatever it is that needs to be done.

How I Use My Intel Tablet to Stay Organized #IntelTablets

There are a lot more Asus apps on this tablet. I’m personally looking forward to understanding the Asus “Do It Later” app very soon! πŸ™‚

Google Calendar on the Asus Intel Tablet

I still use Google Calendar every single day. I would be a mess without it. But it’s bigger and better on the tablet than it is on my smartphone. It’s so much easier to see my schedule and move things around. And calendar reminders go straight to my tablet as well.

How I Use My Intel Tablet to Stay Organized #IntelTablets

So, for staying on top of everyday life and so much more, I love this Asus Intel tablet! πŸ™‚

What are some of your favorite ways to stay organized?