30 Mother's Day Service Projects to do for Moms and Grandmas

Gifts are GREAT, don't get me wrong, I LOVE Mother's Day gifts, however, my favorite kind of Mother's Day gift is an act of service. 

Let's face it, there are five kids, one working husband and only ONE of me. I simply don't have time to do everything that needs to be done in a day. Acts of service mean I can put my feet up, enjoy a rare luxury or just have life go a little smoother for a moment. So here are 30 acts of service you can do for your mom for Mother's Day. 


1. Clean her bedroom. Bedrooms so often get over looked.

2. Open a storage unit and move out some household clutter.

3. Organize all the sock drawers.

4. (LDS) Check her size and buy her some new garments 

5. Frame and hang some of her favorite pictures.

6. Buy all new pillows for the bed (sleeping, not decorative).

7. Haul garbage out of the yard, porch or side of the house.

8. Detail her car (either professionally or yourself).

9. Wash the outside windows.

10.  Go through all the children's toys, throw away broken ones, haul away ones they don't play with anymore.

11. Wash the baseboards, doors and door frames.

12. Clean the bathroom including the hard water stains, soap scum, tub, shower fixtures, toilet and window.

13. Clean and organize the pantry and/or cupboards.

14. Clean the inside and outside of the washer and dryer.

15. Clean all the kitchen appliances.

16. Clean and organize the family junk drawer.

17. Clear out any cob webs.

18. Fill her wallet with cash, stamps and bank deposit slips.

19. Is she hand watering her garden? Get the woman some drip lines! :)

20. Pack up some emergency lunches and put them in them in the cupboard in bags. Try things like cans of tuna, single packs of mayo, crackers, jerky, individual applesauce containers (don't forget the spoon!), pretzels, nuts, raisins, granola bars, dried fruit, trail mix, etc.)

21. Fill the cupboards with regular baking items such as spices, vanilla, powdered sugar, cup cake papers, flour, baking powder, yeast, pie filling, food coloring, etc. to save her on grocery trips. 

22. Upgrade her beauty tools. Trade in her regular brush for a boar bristle brush. Buy her some organic wash cloths. Upgrade her make up to a higher end brand (Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Eve Pearl, Armani, etc) Or trade her up to organic make up (like Organic Wear), depending on what she would like best. Be sure to keep her same colors!

23. Wash, sanitize and deodorize the household AND outdoor trash cans.

24. Organize her craft cupboard, sewing room, or yarn basket.

25. Create a car organizer in her car with hand lotion, lip gloss, tissues, a pen, a pencil, chewing gum, dry shampoo, hair spray, mints, hair ties, pads or tampons, diapers, wipes, sunglasses, hand wipes and trail mix.

26. Get a huge stack of paper plates, cups and disposable utensils and give her some time off from dishes.

27. Replace the broken screen on her iPhone.

28. Book her an appointment at the salon for a trim, wash, color and style. Also book a babysitter. 

29. Gather up white clothing, curtains, table cloths, napkins, etc from around the house and soak them in Oxyclean and hot water for several hours. Then wash them, dry them and put them back, whiter and fresher!

30. Look up on Pinterest "crock pot freezer meals." Prepare and freeze a week or a month's worth of dinners for the family (also a GREAT idea for Grandmas!)

European Geography, Week One, 6th Grade Study Unit

This is one week of study for European Geography, 6th Grade 

Using the map above draw a map of Europe on a large poster board. If you know any of the countries, fill their names in. For any countries you do not know, use the map below to fill the names in for the countries on the map you create. Please also fill in the oceans and seas.

Today you are going to add the capitals of the European countries on your big map using this map below.

Using the map on the next page answer the following questions in your main lesson book. Use your best penmanship, full sentences and correct punctuation.

How many different language types are found in Europe?

In which countries do they speak romance languages? Are they close together?

In what countries do they speak Germanic languages? Are they close together?

Give an example of an English word that comes from a romance language and one that comes from a Germanic language.

Where do they speak Slavic languages. Does the Slavic language use the same alphabet we do?

Today you are going to draw pictures of two European castles, then find where the castle is located on your European map and mark that spot.

Blarney Castle, County Cork, Ireland

Blarney Castle, as viewed by the visitor today, is the third to have been erected on this site. The first building in the tenth century was a wooden structure. Around 1210 A.D. this was replaced by a stone structure which had the entrance some twenty feet above the ground on the north face. This building was demolished for foundations. In 1446 the third castle was built by Dermot McCarthy, King of Munster of which the keep still remains standing.

Schloss Neuschwanstein, Bavaria, Germany

Not an ancient castle, Neuschwanstein Castle (Schloss Neuschwanstein) was built by Bavarian King Ludwig II in the late 19th century (kids will find it looks familiar, as the castle was copied by Disney for Sleeping Beauty Castle).

Today we are continuing with castles. Draw these two castles and place their location on your map.

Tower of London, London, England

Go to http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/families/gamesandmakes and choose a Tower of London game to play for 20 minutes

Go to http://great-castles.com/amboisegallery.php and draw pictures of Château d'Amboise in Indre-et-Loire France

Using white paper glued to cardboard from old cereal boxes create a 3D image of one of the castles you have studied this week.

Chalkboard drawing - American Flag

6th grade art.

Roman Bricks

Today my 6th grader made mud bricks using mud and an ice cube tray. Then he built some small structures. Prior to building the bricks we spent a few hours on You Tube watching video tours of the Google Earth ancient Rome project (no longer available on Google Earth, but videos are on You Tube). My little boys are Rome obsessed right now (and their mama is a bit too ;) )

Catching Up

Can I brag for a sec? I made the matching dresses and tie :)

I haven't blogged for a while. I apologize. We took a break from all technology, including electric lights for the 40 days of Lent. My 8 year-old challenged us to live like Amish! LOL

It was a very interesting 40 days and I learned a lot. For the first time ever I actually looked forward to day light savings time because it meant an extra hour to clean my kitchen before it got too dark!

I also had to live with the newspaper being my only source of news which meant I missed some things (like Spock's passing, may he rest in peace). I also saw how bias reporting was in my local papers as opposed to being able to fully research a story online. That was disappointing.

All in all I read much more, mostly history books. I discovered a renewed love of history. The kids and I read through Tim Tebow's autobiography and we really loved it. His life story is an amazing example especially to young Christian men :)

We had a wonderful Easter and enjoyed spending time with a few family members. It's so nice to have family nearby and while I still long for my children to have cousins as I did growing up, I am so very thankful for what Heavenly Father has given us :)

His grace and mercy are beyond description.

God bless you! I pray you had an amazing Easter. He lives!