Honey Jar Wedding Favors

I'm taking a little break from wedding planning to show you what my daughter and I came up with for her wedding favors. Cassie's having a rustic style wedding and she thought it might be cute to pass out honey jars... which is quite trendy from I've been told :)

I purchased the jars empty (I'll add the link to the empty jars below in the supplies list) and filled them with honey that I purchased at Sam's Club. One case has 160 jars. We decided to purchase them empty because, 1) it was more cost effective and 2) we wanted to create our own look.

Supply List: (Note: This tutorial makes 160 jars)

• 160 - 1.5 ounce jam jars w/lids  
• honey of your choice -- I used about 15 pounds 
• 1 1/4 yard of any fabric (we choose lace) cut into 4" squares
• cutting board (optional -- you don't need if you use scissors)
• rotary cutter (optional -- you could also use scissors or pinking shears))
• scissors (optional)
• measure stick (optional)
• 24 weight ivory paper
• paper cutter
• double-stick tape
• large clear elastics
• twine (I got the kind in the hardware section of Wal-mart... it ties easier)
• color printer

The jars come in a box with NO kind of cushion or wrapping. I ordered 2 cases and didn't have a broken jar in the bunch. So I suppose they know what they're doing :)

First, add honey to all your jars. I used about 15 pounds. Do not attempt to use honey from a 5 gallon bucket! I don't think that would work well at all. I mean you can, of course, if you'd like to but I personally wouldn't :) I used 3 / 5 pound squeezable bottles. 

I next cut out my 4" squares and added them to the lids with the clear elastic. I think this creates a better look than just adding the twine. Plus it holds the lace into place while adding the twine. 

Next, add twine or ribbon bows. We used about 17" pieces for our jars. We precut them to make adding them quicker.

Meant to BEE... Honey :)

I then created labels to add to the jars. I tried to use a label maker but it wouldn't line up right for me when printing them out. But if you're a pro with that, that's what I would do... much faster! If you use address labels, you obviously won't need the double-stick tape. My labels measured 1"x3" and fit perfectly.

That's it! We loved how they turned out! Only 9 more days until the wedding!

I'll be adding a lot more of what we are doing for the wedding when I make time for that... which might be after the wedding is over. We'll see!

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Linked up...

Narration - The Cornerstone of Notebooking

One of the most common questions for those who are new to notebooking is about narration. The questions most asked vary from what is narration?, when should I start?, how can I use narration with a young child?, and how can I get my child to focus? All of these are good questions and I will explain to you how I've used narration with my children to answer these questions.  First, I want to say that narration is literally the cornerstone of notebooking. 

What is narration? 
Narration is the telling back of information from a piece of literature, a non-fiction book, or any form of media.  Depending on your child's age, you would read aloud or have them read and tell back what they learned from what was being taught or the events that took place. This 'telling back' can be written or spoken aloud.
An important thing to remember as you read to your child is to only read the passage once. This will teach your child to pay very close attention to what is being read.

When should I start narration with my child?
As long as your child is old enough to tell back what you've read to them, they are ready for narration. My youngest was about 3 years old. She was not able to write yet, so I did the writing for her and we would put her words into her notebook.

How can I use narration with my young children?

When my children were young, I would read stories, passages or a paragraph or two and ask them to tell me what we read. As they were explaining to me what we read, I'd write or type out their narration. We would then add their narration to their notebook, as I mentioned above. As they got older and were beginner writers, I would still write or type it out for them however, at this point, I would have them choose the main idea or most important parts of their narration. This was a good exercise for them to begin finding the main idea of the story as well. I would then write that portion on primary-lines with a highlighter for them to trace over. This allowed them to practice handwriting skills using their own words from their narrations. We kept these short so they wouldn't tire too quickly or become frustrated. 

How do I get my child to listen closely?

As your child is listening to you read aloud or is reading quietly to himself, he knows he will be required to narrate, so he is paying close attention to what is being read - most of the time. Not all children are going to pick up on this method quickly, in fact, some of my children took some time to work it out, but in time, they all did. Concentration is really the key. Some children have a difficult time focusing, so reducing the amount of distractions for some children is important. My boys had the hardest time with narration. When they were young, I found allowing them to use their hands allowed them to hear what was being read more easily.  In other words, legos, drawing, tracing and those sorts of activities may help some children be still and pay closer attention. Also, I only allowed that one thing they were doing to be out. I found that too many things laying around the desk or tabletop made for more distractions.  Honestly, it took me a while to get used to allowing my kids to do these things while I was reading, feeling that they weren't paying attention to me. However, when their narrations became much better, I realized they needed something to do with their hands in order to be able to focus better on the words I was reading aloud to them.

Now that all my children read well on their own and have been narrating for many years, it really does come very natural for them. They are all very articulate both in writing and speaking. I believe much of this has to do with the skills they've learned using narration.

Articles and Blog Posts You May Find Useful
The Charlotte Mason Method of Narration from Simply Charlotte Mason
Narration - Tapping into the "Talking Resource" by Karen Andreola 
Narration and Notebooking Part 1 from Our Busy Homeschool
Narration Ideas from Simply Charlotte Mason
Narration from Jimmie's Collage

Programs that Teach Narration Skills

Here are a couple writing programs that I have looked at closely and would recommend to help you with teaching your child to narrate if you are feeling unsure about how to approach this method.

For Younger Students
Writing with Ease by Peace Hill Press

For Middle School
Writing with Skill by Peace Hill Press

Please leave a comment with things that have worked for you or any other suggestions that may help new notebooking parents. Thanks!

ABC's of Notebooking and Lapbooking

Whether you're new to notebooking and lapbooking or have been using them for years, it's nice to see others ideas and perspectives on how they approach these great learning tools.

With that said, I'm putting together a list of MY ABC's of Notebooking and Lapbooking and will, over time, add posts to go along with my list. We all do things differently and there is no right or wrong way to approach these methods. Below are things we've added to or additional methods we've used to go along with our notebooks and lapbooks over the years. I hope some of the things listed below will be helpful to you as well as the posts I'm working to add to my blog.

My kids are older now (4 graduated and 2 I still homeschool who are 13 and 16) and we mostly use electronic notebooking (which is on the list) but we've been notebooking for about 7 years now. Sadly, all of their early work was destroyed in a house fire, but I do have some from the last couple years that I'll be sharing. I've been terrible about adding what we do in our homeschool and I'd like to change that - hence this list to give me some direction :)


I don't have a word for each letter yet, but at some point I hope to have more added. Be that as it may, other letters will have several words and I'll be adding more as they come to mind.


My ABC's of Notebooking and Lapbooking:

• A - Artwork 
• B - Biographies, Book Lists, 
• C - Copywork, Charts, Collages, Currency  
• D - Diagrams 
• E - Embellishments, Electronic Notebooking Pages - (I will be adding a tutorial to this post soon)
• F - Flashcards, Flags
• G - Graphs 
• H - 
• I - Illustrations, Interviews, Inventions
• J - Journal Entries
• K - 
• L - Lyrics to Songs and Hymns, Lab Reports, 
• M - Maps, Mini-books
• N - Narration
• O - Organizers (pre-writing graphic organizers) and Outlines
• P - Postcards, Photos
• Q - Quotes
• R - Recipes, Reviews (books and movies) and References
• S - Scriptures, Stickers, 
• T - Timelines
• U - Unit Studies
• V - Vocabulary
• W - Writing 
• X - eXperiments  
• Y - 
• Z -

If there is anything you've added to your notebooks that you'd like to share, please leave a comment with that info or a link to your blog post about it.

How to Add a Flap to a Lapbook

Today I received an email from Tracie asking how to add a flap to a lapbook, like the one above.  I put together a short tutorial for those who are unsure about how to do this.



The supplies I use are the lapbook (file folder), card stock or 24 weight paper, and packing tape.  You can use other kinds of type, but I prefer packing tape for its durability.



I cut a piece of tape about the width of the lapbook when it's closed.



I then attach the lapbook to the tape using about half the height of the tape.



Last, I just place the paper on top of the remainder of the tape and then you're ready to add your minibooks!

Tracie also asked if I ever use construction paper as a flap.  I don't use it because I find it to be very flimsy.  I choose the weight of my paper after I know what the weight of my minibooks are going to be that I add to the flap.  Some lapbook elements, like a pocket, would need a heavier weight paper.  You can also cut the center portion of another file folder (once you fold it like a lapbook) out and add that to your lapbook in the same way.  This is slightly heavier than the card stock for a little more stability and it is the same length, which looks a little nicer finished.

School and Chore Charts Tutorial

So nearly 20,000 of you have downloaded this chore chart system, but do you use it?  Do you see the vision here?  So many times I download something from the internet and think to myself "well, that's cute, but I don't get it."  So yesterday, I made my son a new chart (the last one got destroyed long ago when we moved).  I know, it took me nearly two year to get around to making him a new one.  I'm not sure why?   I guess I thought he was getting too old for it.  But, when he saw it finished he said "Oh mom, I remember that chart... I loved it!"  Then my 14 year old daughter asked when hers was going to be finished.   I was shocked!  But, it's so easy to use, you'll see why.

Here's what you'll need to get started:

• half size poster board (if you're using the smaller chart you can use the small poster boards that come in a 5 pack)
• velcro sticker buttons (keep in mind that you will need double of one side of the velcro to add to the poster board)
• scissors
• double stick tape
• I also print out something like 'Chris' Chore Chart' to add to the top

Here's how I put it together...

1. First, print off your card choice (small or large)... I personally like the large.  
2. Cut them out and laminate them.   
3. Print out the grid using colored paper (if desired) and laminate.  
4. On your grid chart, add a velcro button to each square
5. Then add the opposite velcro button to the velcro on the grid chart  
6. Next, add all the cards to the grid... the 'opposite' side of velcro will stick to the back of the cards.
7. Now add the 'opposites' again to the back of the cards.  
8. Add double stick tape to the grid and add it to the bottom of the poster board.
9. Above the poster board add all the cards. 
10. Add title with glue or double stick tape.
11. Trim around the poster board

Cards before laminating.

Chart before trimming the poster board.

Finished Charts

In the morning, I just put everything I want him to do that day on the top portion of the chart.  Once he's completed the task he then puts the card on the grid portion.  He's finished when the grid is full.  And,  all you have to do is grab the cards you want them to accomplish that day and move them off the grid.  SO EASY!!!