Top 10 Posts from SpellOutloud in 2011

Wow, another year is almost finished! It was fun taking a look back into the blog archives reading some of my older posts. It's always a treat to see what makes the most-viewed list each year. Here are the Top Ten Blog posts from 2011 on Spell Outloud according to Google Analytics:

1.  Names of Jesus Advent Chain 
2.  ABC Letter Box 
3.  Pretend Play: Ice Cream Store 
4.  Learning Telephone Numbers Printable 
5.  Human Body: Learning About Bones 
6.  Our Valentine Colors 
7.  Cool Ice Cream Craft 
8.  Cupcake Mini-Unit 
9.  Garden Fun Project for Kids  
10. Human Body: Learning About Blood

And my favorite because it stretched me to write this: Do Toddlers and Well-Ordered Days Mix?  

Blog Awards

A big thanks to all who nominated Spell Outloud in the recent blog awards. I was blown away when I saw my blog in multiple categories! So now is the time to vote. Please vote for your favorite blogs (doesn’t matter if it’s mine or not—lol).  Here are the categories my blog was nominated in:

Favorite Homeschool Mom

Best Photos

Best Crafts, Plans, and Projects

Best Homeschool Variety

Best Super Homeschooler

To see all the categories, click the button above.

Me and My Blog- Spell Outloud

It has been almost 3 years since I started blogging at Spell Outloud. When I first began writing, I knew I wanted to give back to the homeschooling community since I had received so much help and support from online sources. I wasn’t sure how though. Now I’m slowly redefining my blog, planning on making things easier to find and navigate, and hope to still share a creative idea or two. :)

“Spell Outloud has nothing to do with spelling and everything to do with learning--especially for families with young children. As a mom of 6, I've grown to cherish cookie-crumb fingerprints on my shirt and crayon-scribbled love notes on my walls. I share many hands-on toddler and preschool crafts, activities, and free printables. In addition, I also showcase homeschool highlights along with curriculum reviews.”

My friend Rachel--who I have now met in real-life thanks to Relevant, has a blog-hop featuring you and your blog. Go check it out and join in!

Reflecting on July and Looking Ahead to August

Today I was reading one of my toddler’s favorite books for the month called Owen and Mzee. It’s a true story of a hippo and a tortoise who become friends after the hippo became separated from his mother after the tsunami in Southeast Asia. Who would of thought that a hippo and a tortoise would or could even become friends? My daughter enjoys seeing these real photographs of this unlikely pair (though she keeps correcting me saying it is a turtle mom, not a tortoise!) and it is a book we read together often.

While reading the book  today, it made me think of friends I never would have met if it weren’t for the internet. Yes, I am thankful for my many online friendship. When I glanced through my stats from last month, I smiled realizing that these sites aren’t just urls to me anymore. These are friends:

Confessions of a Homeschooler
Totally Tots
Homeschool Creations
Mama Jenn
1+1+1=1
Raising Arrows
Living Montessori Now
Heart of the Matter
The Homeschool Village
The Adventures of Bear
Granola Mom 4 God

Looking ahead to August…..

I’ve got several giveaways coming up! If you haven’t entered my craft giveaway, be sure to do so! Who couldn’t use some free craft supplies? I have a  Q&A plus book giveaway scheduled with a fun early childhood educator, a curriculum giveaway, and a dvd giveaway all coming soon.

Hopefully I’ll get some homeschool-related posts up---like what we are doing (I have no clue yet!) I’m trying to switch gears from summer to school, but the gears are stuck----in summer! :)

This and That

I cannot believe that May is here already! I feel behind. I had so many things on my mental to-do list that I didn’t finish. I’m going to try to finish the month of May strong! :)

Big thanks to April’s blog sponsors:

My kids love Speekee Spanish. And with Tiny Prints I was able to send out Christmas cards this year. Tales 2 Go has been fun to listen on my husband’s iPad.  My 8yr. old especially enjoyed Time 4 Learning online education. All four sites have wonderful things to offer---go check them out.

Guest Posting:

I've got a guest post up at Itty Bitty Learners: ABC Spray 'N' Spell

Upcoming:

I decided that since I was able to get this e-book, I should go ahead and do the challenge! This will be a big stretch for me at this time because I've been a little overwhelmed with things on the home front. So, I'm hoping that joining in will keep me accountable.

I several reviews coming up:

Road Trip USA by Confessions of a Homeschooler
Earn It, Learn It
IEW
Monki See

And I’ll have a couple giveaways too!

You Might Be Interested:

Several of my blogging friends have some cool things going on this month that you might want to check out:

Do you need ideas and inspiration for teaching your daughters homemaking skills? In May, Angela will be sharing 30 posts just for you! I’m excited to share that this 30 Day Series is Sponsored by the Simple Meal Planning Website – Plan to Eat!   Series by Homegrown Mom

 

Tonya, From Live the Adventure, has a post with some travel resources for families. I found some helpful information and links there.

Organizing My Blog

I know that I have quite a few new readers after UBP2011 and The Birthday Bash! Thank you for following Spell Outloud. I just wanted to take a moment to explain how I have everything organized around here (well, eventually I will have it all up and running!).

If you are reading my blog in a reader or via email, you might not have noticed that I have streamlined my actual blog site. I am still working on getting the most popular posts easily found (i.e. drop-down menus, re-tagging posts) but I think it looks pretty good so far! :)

When you click on the “Free Printables” tab on the blog, it brings you to my printables homepage.

 

Right now I have 9 categories listed, each having their own page. The ABC Themes, Bible, Misc, Notebook & Lapbook, and Birthday Bash sections are up and running. I hope to get to the other sections soon—but I will admit that it is taking me longer than I thought it would. :)  You can still access all my old printables, but everything new is added to my homeschool printables site.

I try to leave an update on the index page whenever I add something new to one of the categories. I’ll try to remember to post on Facebook and Twitter too. I hope this helps you to find the things you need.

If there is something specific you are looking for, let me know and I might be able to create it for you.

*Don’t forget--- This Friday is the last day to enter the 6 giveaways from The Birthday Bash!

Stay Connected:

Sponsor Shout-Out

I just want to give a big happy shout-out to this month’s blog sponsors:

Speekee has become a favorite in our house! I’m surprised at how much my young kids are retaining. If you are interested in seeing how this Spanish program works, check out the free 2 week trial. You can see my complete review here: Learning Spanish with Speekee.

Tiny Prints has a big selection of Easter photo-cards available just in time for the Spring season.  If you sign up for the Tiny Prints newsletter, you can get 15% off your first order.

 

Time 4 Learning is an online PreK- 8th grade curriculum that can be used as the sole curriculum for the student, or as a supplement. It can be used in homeschools, as afterschool learning, as summer school or for tutoring.

And I’m gearing up for some big birthday fun April 4-9! Big hint---if you haven’t liked Spell Outloud on Facebook, you might want to before April! :) I also made a birthday button—feel free to snag it if you’d like (code is in the sidebar on the site)

Did I mention that I’m going to Relevant? All ad proceeds are currently funding my way.  If you are going, please let me know as I’d love to meet you!

Thank you for your support! :)

Blog Shout-Outs

December was such a busy month of sharing ideas on Spell Outloud! I had so much fun participating in Christmas Tot School and seeing what other bloggers were doing to make Christmas special with their families. I’d like to give a big shout out to the following blogs who sent traffic my way this past December:

Confessions of a Homeschooler
Babes in School Land
1+1+1=1
Totally Tots
Living Montessori Now
Mama Jenn
Homeschool Creations
Best Toys for Toddlers
Itsy Bitsy Learners
The HomeSchool Village

January has a few fun things going on here too. I'll have a give-away at the end of the month (take note on what is being showcased in several posts through the month), lots of product reviews and some free printables.


I'd like to thank my sponsors for the month of January:

Time 4 Learning:  Student-paced online program for prek-eighth grade. Get language arts, math & more.  This online learning site can be used in homeschools, as afterschool learning, as summer school, or for tutoring. You can see my complete review here.

  Tiny Prints:  Stylish card and stationery designs for every occasion.

DaisyHead Creations: Handmade ~ Earth-friendly Knits and Patterns







Thank you!  I’m thankful for everyone who stops by my blog. :)  I’ve been blessed by your comments and support!

Stay Connected:

My Favorite Posts of 2010 Part 2

I posted the first part of my list the other day, and am continuing on for the second half of last year. These are my favorite posts from the year. The pictures bring back so many memories---time really does fly!

July 2010
Chalk Talk with Pam - back from Kazakhstan
I'm excited to introduce you to my IRL(in real life) friend, Pam! Pam recently visited Kazakhstan this summer with an organization called Interlink Resources...

August 2010
Homeschool Room is Finally Finished!
Just a few months ago I had this big mess on my hands with no plan. It was discouraging...

September 2010
The Art of Winging-It:Preschool Edition
I have been told by several of my friends that I am a master at winging it. I have a knack for seemingly preparing things on the fly...

October 2010
Expedition Earth for Co-ops: Implementation
Yesterday I blogged about how we've organized the Expedition Earth curriculum for our local co-op...

November 2010
A  Co-op Tradition
Every semester our co-op visits a local nursing home. We recite the verses we've memorized and songs we've learned for the semester...

December 2010 Tot School Dec. 13-17 We’ve kept things simple this week for Tot school. We pulled out several of our Christmas school fun items...

My Favorite Posts of 2010 Part 1

I thought it would be fun to look back in the archives and see what I've posted over the year. Here are my favorites for the first 6 months of last year:

January 2010

I Hate Math!
I really hate math. I know it is because when I was in school, that was the one subejct area I struggled with greatly. I remember in 8th grade I switched schools and I was so lost in math...

February 2010

Highlights from Last Week
Two days this week we woke up to frost covering all the trees and bushes. It was so beautiful! I passed some spectacular scenes while driving, but since I really needed to pay attention to the road I ...

March 2010
Easter Egg Placeholder Tutorial
Since I'm hosting Easter at my house this year, I thought having Easter place holders would be a fun way to decorate the table...

April 2010
Soft Words
Yesterday I was reading My ABC Bible Verses by Susan Hunt with my 3yr. old. The verse of the day was "A soft answer turns away wrath. Proverbs 15:1"...

May 2010
Up, Up, and Away!
There is something about hot air balloons that are just fascinating to me. They come in so many beautiful colors...

June 2010
My Craft Stash Organization
Craft week at Spell Outloud continues! I thought I'd share how I am currently organizing most of my craft supplies... July 2010

Part II will be posted tomorrow…

Blog Shout-Outs and Updates

I’ve been spending a little more time this past week working on some behind the scenes things for Spell Outloud.  It makes me realize just how much I don’t know about blogging, html, seo, and networking. There have been so many times this week that I wish I could chat with several of you in real life to have you help me figure things out!  :)

One thing I finally did was set up a Facebook fan page for Spell Outloud! I’ve had the icon over in my sidebar forever (did anyone ever wonder why it was a dead link?) I hesitated for awhile because I wasn’t sure if I would be able to keep up with everything. Now just seems to be the right time.  I hope you join me there :)
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And another first--- I’d like to welcome my newest blog sponsors:

Time 4 Learning:  Student-paced online program for prek-eighth grade. Get language arts, math & more.  This online learning site can be used in homeschools, as afterschool learning, as summer school, or for tutoring. You can see my complete review here.

  Tiny Prints:  Stylish card and stationery designs for every occasion. I’ve ordered my Christmas cards from them and they should be here any day! I can’t wait to see them.
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And I’d like to give a big shout out to the following blogs who sent lots of traffic my way this past month:

Confessions of a Homeschooler
Babes in School Land
1+1+1=1
Totally Tots
Living Montessori Now
Mama Jenn
ABC and 123
Heart of Wisdom
Happy Brown House

Thank you!  I’m thankful for everyone who stops by my blog. :)  I’ve been blessed by your comments and support!