What favorite books will your kids write about in their journals?

Her favorite books to read right now are from our Fun Stories, Great Lessons Series. There are 10 different books in the series and she has devoured about half of them.

We don’t want to just read them though. They aren’t that kind of story. The values they teach are ones that I want her to dwell on and remember. That’s why this free printable is a great follow up activity.

How to Use the Free Printable Book Journal

My daughter is 8 so she can use this book journal on her own. If you have younger children, you can still use it! They can draw the picture and then dictate what they want you to write for them. You could also write what they want to say on a separate piece of paper and have them copy it into the journal as a copywork activity.

When we use the journal we might not work on this right after we ready the story. It could be a day or two after which really requires my daughter to recall the different parts from memory. Of course, we go back to the book if she can’t remember something. Your child might like to start out using it while they read or while you are reading to them.

Since she doesn’t get much practice writing in this form, it is a little more difficult for her. I help her with spelling and proper grammar. It’s great practice and the areas where she can draw in make this project fun and a keepsake too!

The Free Printable Book Journal has 8 half-pages that include: Cover, Favorite Part of the Story, Setting, Main Character, Other Characters, Beginning, Middle, and End. Put your email below to download.

How to Put Together Your Book Journal

I made this simple video to show you how to put the pages of the printable together so that they are in the right order. You can staple the pages together or sew them and get extra fine motor practice.

What stories would your children like to use their book journal for?

The post Free Printable Book Journal for Kids first appeared on True Aim.

Free Mother’s Day Printables

This awesome 30-page freebie contains questions about mom and mom coupons that she can trade in with nice things to do for your mom! After they fill these out, treasure them until they are parents! What a fun keepsake and memories to make for mother’s day. Those are the best gifts in my opinion.

Some questions ask are:

If I could take my mom anywhere in the world, I would take her to?

What are 5 things I love about my mom?

If I could by my mom anything in the world, I would buy her?

Complete the form below if you’d like to get this Mother’s Day freebie!

Another fun thing I like to do with my kids, is READ to them! I get bored of reading the same things all the time so this fun Reading Bingo challenge for MayReading Bingo challenge for May keeps things interesting!

You can also win fun prizes for completing bingos and blackouts! Join my Reading Facebook group to participate and get this freebie too!

Mother’s day Giveaway!

Celebrate yourself and Motherhood this year! I’ve teamed up with a wonderful group of bloggers to help pamper 4 Amazing Moms! 
There will be ONE Grand Prize Winner and THREE $100 gift card winners – for a total of 4 winners!! The Grand Prize winner will choose between a combo Air Fryer/Toaster Oven or a Kitchen Aid Mixer (up to $300). It’s our hope and prayer that we will add to your blessing this Mother’s Day, and also show you just how much we appreciate you, our mom readers. 

To enter for your chance to win, simply use the Rafflecopter form below to enter. Now I know that is quite a few entries for you, but each of these bloggers generously chipped in their own money to bring you this giveaway, so I hope you will take the time to do all of the entries. Don’t forget, the more entries you do, the better your odds are at winning!

Giveaway ends Friday, May 12th at 11:59pm EDT.  The winner will have 48 hours to respond to email to claim the prize. By entering this giveaway you may be added to the email lists of the participating bloggers. Please be sure to read the Terms & Conditions upon entering the giveaway. By entering the giveaway, you agree and acknowledge your understanding of the terms & conditions.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post All About My Mom Free Printable and Giveaway first appeared on True Aim.

There are lots of ways to show your affection for mom, but it’s the effort that counts. I’m a sucker for the nice things my kids do for me. I would rather have nice things said, handmade cards, and backrubs over chocolate any day! What about you?

Free Mother’s Day Printables

If you are looking for something that the kids can easily do for mom, here are some free printables for Mother’s Day! There is a page that the kids can write what they think about their mom and some coupons for mom to use to help her around the house and get some special pampering in. 

Which one do you think mom will like best? 

If you’d like to get more free printables each month, join my Book Club Group on Facebook here.

Personally the coupons are my favorite, but I can’t wait to see what the kids say about me. I will treasure looking back at that page and I’m sure having a couple laughs too. Kids are so fun and I’m so grateful to be a mom!

Click here to download your free Mother’s Day Printables!

Mother’s Day Giveaway!

Mother’s Day is coming up and I’ve partnered together with a great group of bloggers to bless some moms BIG TIME this Mother’s Day! 

We are giving away FOUR $100 gift cards to the place of the winner’s choice. The winner can choose a gift from Hobby Lobby, Christianbook.com, grocery store of choice, or restaurant of choice. 

Now I know that the Rafflecopter has quite a few entries, but each of these bloggers generously chipped in their own money to bring you this giveaway, so I hope you will take the time to do all of the entries.  And hey, the more entries you do, the better your odds are of winning!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway ends May 7th at 11:59pm EDT.  The winner will have 48 hours to respond to email to claim the prize. By entering this giveaway you will be added to the email lists of the participating bloggers. Please be sure to read the Terms & Conditions upon entering the giveaway. By entering the giveaway, you agree and acknowledge your understanding of the terms & conditions.

The post Free Mother’s Day Printables – Mother’s Day Giveaway! first appeared on True Aim.

Free Road Trip Scavenger Hunt Printable

If you’re going on a long road trip soon, this printable scavenger hunt is for you! It’s especially great for multiple children and can spark some fun competitiveness.

Increase observational skills with family fun! Print this scavenger hunt for each member of the backseat and try to get four in a row, or all of them!

The following common items are included on the sheet:

• Taxi
• Police car
• Stop sign
• School bus
• Motorcycle
• Gas station
• Red car
• Bicycle
• Scooter
• Ambulance
• Food truck
• Car carrier
• Tractor
• White car
• Dog
• Blue car

Get Your Road Trip Scavenger Hunt Printable!

More Road Trip Ideas:

• Free Printable Road Trip Games: From Tic Tac Toe to Bingo, here are 25 free road trip printables great for kids!
• 27 Busy Bags: For younger children, keep them occupied screen-free with these busy bags! You can also keep reusing them over and over! You can also use them practice reading, writing, spelling, and more.
• DIY Travel Coloring Case: Kids can color on the road with this mini travel coloring case that is incredibly easy to throw together.

The post Free Road Trip Scavenger Hunt Printable first appeared on True Aim.

Free Printable Christmas Bingo Game

There are 5 Bingo cards in this pack. Whether you’re trying to fight boredom, plan a family game night, or wanting something for a long car ride, play this Bingo game! Bingo is interactive and can be a way to keep the kiddos off of electronics for a bit.

In Bingo, the goal is to get five in a row vertical, horizontal, or diagonal.  Hand out a Bingo card to each child. Designate a “caller” or cut one of the cards up. The caller should pull out an image, and each player should cross off that image on their Bingo card. The first person to get five in a row wins!

The Bingo cards can be downloaded below.

Print Your Free Christmas Bingo Game Here!

The post Free Printable Christmas Bingo Game first appeared on True Aim.

8 Tips for Successful Homeschool Organization

1. Get rid of old curriculum you no longer need.

As kids enter another grade, take a day to go through old curriculum and educational materials you have. Make three piles; save, sell, or trash. One of my favorite ways to sell old curriculum is through Homeschool Curriculum Facebook groups and eBay, where you get to keep the biggest percentage. If you’re looking for a fast way to sell curriculum, I’d recommend Amazon, but they take out a bigger chunk.

2. Make a list of everything you need to buy for the upcoming season.

As you go through old homeschool material, make a list of everything you need to buy for the upcoming season. With your list, price match on sites like Amazon, eBay, or Homeschool Facebook groups for the best bang for your buck. Slugbooks allows you to easily search up books and find the best deal on multiple sites.

If you enjoy personalizing your studies, many homeschool blogs have free or low cost unit studies from subjects ranging from math to history. Pinterest has great resources from hundreds of experienced homeschool moms just like you. These unit studies, free or low cost, are especially helpful if you’re on a budget; specifically with science, art, history and PreK-5th grade language.

3. Create labelled bins for pens, pencils, markers, glue, paper, etc.

As homeschoolers, it’s easy to accumulate tons of writing utensils, notebooks, and glue. Involve your kids by having them go through markers that no longer work, sharpen pencils, scrap paper, or empty glue bottles. Take a rubbermaid storage container and keep a drawer for each.

4. Plan a weekly schedule.

Flexibility is one of my favorite things about homeschooling. Still, I love the structure of a schedule and an idea of what I want to accomplish each day. This will be different for each family, but creating a to-do list worked best for our family. We would have a general to-do list of the subjects we wanted to cover, and worked on them accordingly.

5. Organize binders and categories by subject.

Organize bins; one for math textbooks, math flashcards, and math manipulative. Keep another for language arts, science, and so on. We love using plastic milk crates, because they’re easy to stack and pretty sturdy.

6. Make sure everything has a place.

The secret to successful homeschool organization is simple: after you’re done with one subject during a homeschool day, put everything back in its place. Make a rule to keep out only one subject at a time, or one subject out per child. Putting everything back keeps this less messy, and decreases the likelihood of not being able to find a pair of scissors.

7. Get a filing system down.

I use Thirty One’s Fold N Files for organizing papers. Throughout my busy week, I throw all of my papers in my Fold N File; a receipt, something I need to file in my portfolio, or a paper needing to be finished. Then, when I have a few minutes of spare time, I put everything in the file in its new home.

8. Know what you need for homeschool records, portfolios, and personal favorites.

A three ring punch was one of the best things we ever bought. If your state requires you to send records of your homeschool, grab a large binder and put all required information in there throughout the year. Do the same thing with a portfolio, and a collection of your favorite homeschool projects and accomplishments to look back on.

Use these free homeschool binder printables to help kickstart your homeschool organization this season!

Click here to download these binder printables!

The post 8 Homeschool Organization Tips For a New School Year first appeared on True Aim.

They all had wonderful ideas about what they could do at school, work, and extra things out in the community. Then it was my turn to say something I could do. I was really racking my brain on this one because my schedule is already so full. It takes extra effort to get out the door and plan to help someone.

Then my mind came to a story I heard about people at a drive-thru paying for the car behind them. I shared that idea with my girls, but then later I thought about how I could glorify Christ at the same time? So, I decided to make these drive-thru verse cards to give the cashier to give the person behind me at the drive thru.

How to Use Drive-Thru Verse Cards

So the next time I went to get a coffee, I gave the cashier a card and $5 to give to the person behind me. Hopefully, that planted a seed, or gave encouragement. Maybe it even convicted them. Either way, I hope it helps to further God’s kingdom.

I brought the cards to my small group next week and asked how the girls did with their challenge to impact. Some of them said that they opened the door for someone at school. Another said that they helped pack backpacks with food at the local food bank for kids who needed them on the weekends. One girl said that she texted a Bible verse to a friend who was atheist.

Some of them didn’t do anything, so I gave them the cards to slip in a locker, or give to a teacher, to pray with, or memorize.

I think that getting out and personally serving people is best, but sometimes you can’t and it’s ok. There are seasons in our lives when just doing what we are doing with the right attitude is serving God. But if you’d like to do something more, try handing these drive thru verse cards out as a simple act of kindness each week, or each month to give you perspective. It doesn’t have to be at the drive thru. This keeps your mind on serving God, no matter how hard it is to get out of the house.

Click here to download the drive-thru verse cards.

You might also like these posts and resources on teaching your children to think of others more than themselves.

Kindness for kids

 Character Curriculum Set

The post Acts of Kindness: Drive-Thru Verse Cards first appeared on True Aim.

Here are some great ideas to help you utilize this simple tool and keep you organized. First you’ll need to print it out. Click here, or the image below and receive the calendar PDF to your email. Don’t worry if the fields are blue, they will not print that way.

How to Use Your Free Blank Calendar Printable

You probably know the usual things to keep track of with your calendar, but here are some unique things to keep in mind.

1. Post it on the fridge for a simple meal planner. You can also write things that you need from the store in the extra spaces.
2. Put it in a frame on a book holder in the kitchen or workspace to easily write in and change your plans with a dry erase marker.
3. Make a chore chart for your kids and put it on a clipboard on their desk or workspace.
4. Make a cleaning schedule for yourself! Just in time for spring cleaning; write down those cleaning jobs that don’t need to be done more than twice a month.
5. Activity calendars keep you engaged with your children. Commit to 4 activities each month and you will be surprised how much fun you have!
6. Don’t ever miss another community event! Go to your local news station’s website and write down the fun things that are going on in your area.
7. Library fines aren’t fun. Don’t forget to include the due dates on your calendar.
8. Reading incentive calendar – have your children keep track of how long they read each day and reward them accordingly.
9. The night sky is pretty every night, but you can mark some special dates to stargaze on your calendar.
10. Restaurants all over have specials, keep track of when your kid can eat free on your blank calendar!

Picture: What the Craft

Once you download it, how are you going to use your free blank calendar printable?

The post Free Monthly Blank Calendar Printable – Any Year first appeared on True Aim.

My son especially likes all of the fine motor activities that are in it. There’s a threading card, cutting practice, clip cards, and puzzle!

Kids will get lots of letter U writing practice with a tracing page, maze, letter search, and completing the word. I like to put them in sheet protectors to make them reusable. Have your children repeat the letter sound as they write. They’ll learn it in no time!

Free Preschool Printables: Short U Sound Pack

There are 10 pages total with lots of easy words for kids to read with the short letter U. The 10 pages are easy enough for preschoolers to learn how to do on their own, but challenging enough to get good reading practice in. The smaller mini pack size is great because kids don’t get bored of doing the same letter over and over and there is a different activity on each page.

These free preschool printables go great with our Learn to Read Curriculum! Your children will start to read right away with our program so they are motivated to learn the letter sounds.

The early readers are very simple to encourage kids to read them over and over with little help from you. After finishing the lessons, your child will be reading at a 1st grade level! They’ll have a big head start if they finish it before entering kindergarten. If they are older, but struggling with reading, this is the perfect solution to give them the right foundation for reading more complex words. You can get it in print or a digital format.

To download the free preschool printables click on the image below, and receive the PDF to your email. Or sign up for our newsletter and have access to all of our printables on our subscriber freebie page. You’ll also receive a free eBook of the month, exclusive giveaways and more!

The post Free Preschool Printables: Short U Sound first appeared on True Aim.

Welcome to Mom’s Library

This post is filled with parenting tips, activities for young children, crafts, devotionals, recipes, and more!

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Click here to see all Mom’s Library Posts

Winter Printables for Preschoolers and Kindergarteners

Color Sorting with Mittens – Homeschool Preschool

To go along with Jan Brett’s picture book The Mitten, here are some crafts and printables!

Arctic Preschool Letter Hunt – Learning 2 Walk

I love phonics and how they slowly teach reading. Practice letter recognition and word blends with this letter hunt!

Penguin Number Mats – Life Over C’s

Number mats can be used to sneak in learning at mealtimes. Here are some cute winter/penguin themed mats.

Winter Counting Mats – Living Life and Learning

For an alternate set for a slightly higher age range, try these, best for kindergarten to second grade.

Number Word Worksheets – Sight and Sound Reading

Practice number literacy with these worksheets from Sight and Sound Reading!

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UP NEXT WEEK: SAVING MONEY TIPS!

Link up your best post on frugality!

The post Winter Printables and Mom’s Library #172 first appeared on True Aim.