Four years ago, while sitting in a hotel after a long day of exploring Yellowstone National Park, I received a call from my sister back in Indiana asking if I could make her a printable for her first day as a preschool teacher. Happy to do so, I sat there while my boys chilled in front of the hotel TV and created her this printable -- not thinking about anything more it than it benefiting my sister and her new class...

Fast forward to now and this little printable is the best selling printable I've ever made! Funny how things happen like that! Over time, this has also led to me making other handprint craft printables for various holidays, etc. If my boys were still little, you'd better believe I'd be doing these with them -- I miss seeing those sweet little hands! 

I receive comments all the time about how much the parents love receiving these crafts as gifts -- I was the same way when my boys were little! Give me a thumbprint piece of art, a hand, a foot...you name it. Anything to document their size at that time and I was in love! I mean...now I look at my oldest and he's on the verge of wearing clothes from the Men's section! (insert tears)

If you're like me -- a sentimental momma with kids that are growing up WAY too fast -- grab this or make one that fits your needs. You won't regret it when they start to have hands the same size as you and you begin to miss those days of having little ones. It's super fun watching my boys grow up and see the little men they're becoming, but the days when they were little sure were fun! I love that I have various crafts to remember them by!

So I don't know about you, but we go through a LOT of bookmarks. I don't know what it is, but my boys just destroy them. They don't mean to, but it happens. That, or they lose them. Either way, they're always looking for a bookmark, ha. 

So as I've been sitting here updating a couple old printables, I decided to make them some fun, Minecraft-themed bookmarks. Sure enough, the boys love them! If you have a Minecraft fan, they may be a fun addition to your school supply list this fall. I just print and laminate them and they're ready to go!

To some, it may seem crazy, but after 2 months off, we are now back into the swing of things with our new school year! I've heard of so many homeschoolers that love the 6 weeks on - 1 week off schedule that we decided we're going to give it a try. Surprisingly, the boys were in pretty good spirits about starting school in the beginning of July -- I suppose the idea of constant 1 week breaks helped with that, ha! We're now done with our 1st week and things are going great! There has been very little resistance and thanks to some of our curriculum choices, the boys have actually requested to do extra at times -- total win!

Have you started planning for the new school year? Part of me wants to hold off until August, but then I'll be rushing to figure it all out before we start. Who wants to do that?! I'm so impressed by those I see online that have already bought all their curriculum and have started planning their lessons. So impressed!


So with talking about planning for the next school year, I thought I would share my updated planners and a few others that I love!

Have you bought your new school planner? Or do you even use one? Each and every homeschool is different. I personally like to have everything written down in an organized fashion. Not only does it help keep me on track, but I like to have it on hand if I ever need to look back and reference what we did.

Back when we first started homeschooling (2 years ago), I didn't find a specific planner that I was totally sold on. They were either way out of the price range that I was willing to pay, or the format wasn't right. This resulted in me deciding to go ahead and create my own. I love being able to customize it to fit exactly what I need. Plus, it has been very cost efficient! What doesn't love that?!


I have since shared the ones that I've created on both Etsy and Teachers Pay Teachers. I'm so glad others have been able to enjoy them, too! Here are a few of the new ones I made -- now to decide on which one I'll actually use...






And for those that would rather buy a pre-printed, designed, complete planner, definitely check out Erin Condren! Her planners are beautiful and have EVERYTHING you could possibly think of wanting in a planner. If I were to buy one, I'd definitely choose one of these...

School has officially begun in our house! I can't believe I have a 1st Grader and a Preschooler! Time goes way WAY too fast!!! I feel like our summer break just started, and yet here we are...

Because the first day is always a day worth celebrating, we started it off right with a fun breakfast. Sam picked pancakes with strawberries + whipped cream -- can't argue with that!

Caleb was still asleep or else he would've been in the photo, too.

So, I wrote last week about lesson planners and how I was still debating which route I was going to take. There are so many options and great ways to approach it! Well, after my little guy "helped" me organize our All About Reading flash cards earlier this morning, I decided I had better get moving on the planner issue so that I could start making lesson plans. After all, school will be here before we know it and if it's on my mind right now, I had better do it. So, I decided to go ahead and print out one of the styles that I had created for Etsy. (see below)