Monday Inspiration: Reach For The Stars!

Here is some Monday Motivation for you this week!

Just a little reminder to always try - because unless you do you'll never know what might have happened!

"Remember to reach for the stars and they won't be able to resist flying into your hands"

 -Katherine McNamara

Please feel free to repost or share this inspirational pic anywhere, just remember to leave the watermark (messybeautifulfun.com) in place!

Have a happy week!

Motivation For This Week In Parenting

This week's parenting quote is a powerful one that never fails to stir me up!

"You are the bows from which your children, as living arrows, are sent forth."

-Khalil Gibran

For me this quote is powerful. It means that every day I have a chance to impact my children's future selves in an important way. Whether it's through words, homeschooling, playing a game or enjoying a good book together, every little thing matters and sends them forth into the world prepared for whatever comes their way.

What does it mean to you?

Please feel free to share this quote on social media or on your own blog or pages. Please just remember that you must keep my watermark in place at the bottom (see more at messybeautifulfun.com)

Thank you and have a wonderful week of raising little ones!

Worksheet Wednesday: Skip Counting At The Ice Cream Shop Plus FREE Printables

Teach Skip Counting With A Fun Ice Cream Shop Play Center (And a free printable too!)

Scroll down for the freebie and this set!

So the school year has finally started! I must say that after 8 years of homeschooling I am truly finding joy in it now more than ever. First of all, I feel more relaxed since I have an older teen - he'll be 16 this year! I can see how wonderful homeschooling has been for him and know that even if every day (or year!) isn't perfect, things will still turn out alright! In fact, they'll usually turn out pretty great 😉

One of my goals this year was to include some more play in our homeschool. Last year I focused a lot on books, fun books might I add! But this year my 4-year-old is beginning her schooling, my 7-year-old is continuing too and both of them love games. So last week we played a really fun game made by Busy Little Bugs on TeachersPayTeachers. It was a cute shopping game that I just couldn't resist buying!

I also printed out some play money to go along with it and the girls had a great time playing shopping and counting out coins by ones. However, I wanted to continue on with the skip counting I started to teach my daughter last year. So I thought it would be a lot of fun to come up with different play stations for them to practice skip counting in. That's where this week's center comes from...

I made up this play Skip Counting Ice Cream Shop for us to play with! It can be played with as many people as you'd like - you can just have one person as the cashier/server and one as the customer, or you can have servers, multiple customers and a cashier.

It includes this fun printable sign that comes with a separate sheet of price tags. You can go by our method - which is practicing a different number to skip-count by every week, or you can mix them all up to practice addition. This week we're practicing our 2's, so everything costs two dollars.

The set also comes with these printable bills and coins. I printed ours on colored paper to make them a little more colorful, and save on ink! They come in denominations from 1-10 as well so you can easily practice a different skip counting number every week or mix them up.

Finally, there's the cone cards and scoops! The server will dish out the number of scoops requested and put them onto the cone either with glue or with pre-stuck velcro dots like we did. This way everyone can practice their skip counting! The customer with their "money", the cashier giving the total and even the server(s) counting up how many scoops a customer will get for, say, $6. We're counting by 2's this week so that would be 3 scoops!

Finally, here's the freebie I'm offering this week, which is also included in this pack. It's a printable set of ice-cream scoop skip counting charts - from 2's to 10's! So you get 9 charts, each with 15 numbers.

You can grab the whole printable Ice Cream Shop set in my Teachers Pay Teachers store here for just $2! And you can get your free set of printable skip counting charts by clicking here! Please remember if you're going to share this freebie to link to THIS page, not the direct download :) Thank you! And I really hope you enjoy your Ice Cream Shop!

Motivation For The Week - Laugh A Little!

This week's quote is all about having a good laugh. Whether it's with your partner, your kids, at a joke you overheard at the office or on a TV show, a good belly-laugh is medicine we all need at some point. So even if your day isn't going perfectly, google a funny meme or search for a "try not to laugh" challenge on Youtube. Get a little laughter - and sunshine - into your day!

"A good laugh is sunshine in the house" - William Makepeace Thackeray

*Please remember you can share this on your blog, social media, or print it out. Please just leave my watermark (messybeautifulfun.com) in there*

Have a great week!

A Simple Singing by Leslie Gould: A Book Review

Leslie Gould's newest book in The Sisters of Lancaster County, A Simple Singing.

*Psst - I received a free copy of this book on Netgalley in exchange for my honest review*

If you've read my blog for a while then you'll know that I'm a HUGE Amish fiction fan. I just love the escape from our everyday world full of busy-ness and lights and screens. Trust me, I would never want to give those things up (I AM a blogger after all) but I love to read about simpler times. It's the same reason I also love historical fiction. And this book by Leslie Gould just happens to combine those two things!

A Simple singing is the second book in this Sisters of Lancaster County series. It follows Marie Bachmann who thinks she pretty much has life figured out. Get married to an Amish farmer, live close to her parents in her own district and live the life of a farmer's wife. But as Marie soon finds out, God's plans are not our own...

For years Marie Bachmann thought of herself as the "good" daughter. She was the most loving to their mother, the most dedicated to their Amish way of life. But when a Mennonite farmhand, Gordon Martin, shows interest in her she can't help but be flattered--until her mother sends her off to Florida. While there, Marie begins spending time with bad-boy Eli Jacob, the bishop's son from back home. 

When Gordon shows up in Florida to volunteer in a homeless shelter, her life becomes even more complicated. At the same time her aunt begins telling her of a Civil War-era ancestor and the woman's uncommon bravery . . . a story that begins to work at Marie's heart.

Marie hopes returning home may simplify life, but Eli soon follows. As Marie grapples with whether she should court Eli or leave the church for Gordon, the story of Annie Bachmann shines a light on what God has for Marie's future.

I just adored this book! Not only is it full of the wonderful Amish fiction that I love, but the story of Annie was absolutely my favorite part. If you love reading a good, clean romance with a twist of the simple life then you'll love it too!

You can grab it on Amazon here or Read More About It On Netgalley Here.

FREE Worksheet Wednesday: Pumpkin Number Match 1-20

Free Pumpkin Number Match Game For Preschool and on. A fun way to practice number sense.

**Psst - scroll down for the free download link...

Well, it's finally our first week of school officially this week! I've honestly been preparing all summer for this coming year for many reasons. Mainly it's the first year I'll really be homeschooling 3 kids, and there are so man different levels to think about.

My oldest, MJ, is in high school, while K is in grade 2 (ish) and A is just starting kindergarten. All three of them will be using a certain curriculum that I love called The Good and The Beautiful, but I didn't want to just leap in right away. Especially with the younger ones I wanted to start things out a bit slower and give them some fun learning games and resources to use.

This Pumpkin Match Game 1-20 is one of those things. Made for my youngest, A, it's like playing a fun game, but really gets kids practicing using number sense. That is, matching a number of things to an actual numeral.

And the best part is it doesn't stop at 10 - it goes right up to 20! Plus it has a fun Fall pumpkin theme.

You can choose to print them out and just match them up, or you can cut a slot in them like I did for the pumpkin to go in. It makes it a little extra fun!

You can start by giving your child a wheelbarrow and laying out a few pumpkins - I wouldn't put all 20 out at once since that would be a little overwhelming. I usually put a number out and then put about 5 pumpkins. You can adjust the number of pumpkins to your child's level.

You can go over the number and how to count to it first, or you can just let your child match them all up.

Whatever way you use these pumpkin matching cards, I hope you and yours enjoy them! Download below...

**Please remember that you can share this free resource from THIS page, not the direct download link below. Thank you and enjoy!**

DOWNLOAD THE FREE PUMPKIN MATCH 1-20 HERE

Motivation For The Week - A Fitness Quote To Keep You Going!

Welcome to my motivation Monday! If you feel like you're lagging behind in your workouts this month then don't sweat it! In the busyness of this month, most of us let our own goals get put on the back burner. But remember to let yourself breathe too - sometimes the best medicine is a little R & R!

"Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live" - Jim Rohn

*Please remember that you are free to share this graphic quote on your blog, social media or print it out to enjoy. Please just leave my watermark (messybeautifulfun.com) in the corner. Thanks!*

Have a wonderfully beautiful week!