Too Cute . . .fail, kinda :-)

Sorry, no Too Cute post today!  Last night I had try outs for an upcoming Follie's concert with the group I'm in so my focus all day was practicing my song and then by the time I got home and ate dinner it was 10:00 . . and I'm trying to go to bed earlier so I can get up earlier!!

With that said, enjoy the posts the rest of the week :- )

Hopefully I can round up some good ideas next week.  The big holiday season is starting to peek around the corner (I.e. Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas!!) so I'm sure there will be lots of ideas to share

Have a great day!

Homeschool Happenings - Week 1

As been my norm all summer, I have been posting our "Summer Fun" on Mondays.  I had some big plans for this past week but we ended up doing the big room switch this past week plus throw in a really low month at my husband's job and, well, we stuck close to home and just worked on getting stuff set up.  The boys and I went on a couple of walks, we emptied the pool (which is actually a lot of fun!) but for some reason did not get it re-filled, and played with some of our new school games.  The boys love sharing a room and they love the classroom - Nate loves it because he can now color without asking - there are always markets and paper on the table for him and Josh loves it because he can turn on the stereo all by himself and loves to listen to music.  Throw in games, "cutters", and tape - life is perfect HA!

With that said, I decided to switch to homeschool posts on Monday.  Yes, we are starting homeschool - just preschool, but it is a start.  This week I wanted to share what we are using for curriculum.

1. Bible - My First Hands on Bible and We Choose Virtues - The Bible book we are using is great.  It shares a Bible story, in order of a regular Bible, and then gives activities - simple activities.  In the first lesson, we are supposed to go outside and look at the clouds for one of our activities.  It is my heart to have my boys grow up not just knowing the Bible but loving the truths that are in it and for it to be part of their life so we are starting strong!.  I love the concept of the Virtues lessons.  I just picked up the sets of activity cards - we'll be focusing on one each week, doing the activities and talking about it a lot.  Once we've gone through them all, guess what?  We will start again!!  (Both Josh and Nate will be part of the Bible Lesson)

2. Reading - All About Reading - Pre-Reading level.  This is something that just Josh will be focusing on this year as I prepare him to read.  I'm very impressed with this curriculum and can't wait to dive into it with him.  I plan on also doing these fun alphabet creatures that were shared on Totally Tots. 

3. Rising Rock Stars Preschool (RRSP)  - This is a program that I found over at 1+1+1=1 and I really loved the set up.  It's a Christian based Preschool program that focuses on learning the basic letters and sight words.  The membership is minimal and is a one time fee which includes a fantastic power point.  I love the simplicity of it and the fact that there is a lot of repetition.  We get our memory verse, sight word, number and color of the week from this program.  It also presents some basic skills like cutting with scissors, tracing, and coloring. 

4. Piano - Piano for Preschoolers Yes, we are starting piano lessons.  Josh is very interested in music and the piano - he has already gotten his book out and has been sitting at the piano.  I did quite a bit of research and really liked this beginning book and think it will be a great starting point for him.  I know that in a matter of weeks, he'll be playing the songs. 

5. Nate - Yes, Nate gets his own category.  1+1+1=1 has a toddler section as well.  I've printed worksheets for Nate to work on that coordinate with the letter of the week that Josh is working on.  Nate's items are just put in a binder to use when he wants to join us - I don't plan on really teaching him this year.  Because of when our boys birthdays are, we have late starters so I don't want Nate to jump way ahead and then graduate at like . . .12 ;-) 

6. Life Skills - Life skills include multiple things.  First of all, we are going to start working on skills they need.  For example, one of the first life skills we are going to work on is cleaning up their toys when they are done.  We'll talk about it, practice it, and then they will get rewarded for it (with stickers and then coins for their piggy banks - they LOVE pennies!!). It will then become a chore then need to do daily.  Then we will progress on to the next item.  Life skills also includes other items. I plan on cooking with them once a week - whether it be baking something, making something to go with dinner, or making a fun snack, they need to know how to work in the kitchen.  We also will include "P.E." in life skills.  The goal is to do something specific two times a week - maybe just a walk or maybe working on tee ball skills.  We just want to move :-) 

On Fridays, we will be attending "Friday School" with our local Homeschool group.  This will give the boys a chance to be with other kids and have structure that is different that at home.  I'm also strongly considering attending a MOPS group with a friend of mine which would give the boys another chance to hang out with other kids 2 times a month. 

So what is my plan??  My goal is to get through our Bible Lesson and then either a reading lesson or a RRSP lesson each day.  Piano will only be once a week and Life Skills vary depending on the day.  No pressure :-)  I also have some theme units (Like Apples for September) that I would like to intermingle with our lessons but that will depend on time and desire!

We aren't actually starting "school" until after Labor Day (On Tuesday of that week) so next week I'll share our current classroom set up.

 

Weekly Menu

This week didn't go completly as planned but that's ok. Instead of not using recipes, I ended up having to make due a few times I thought we'd be out.  We had some great meals though so in the end, it all worked out!

This is the plan for the coming week.

Saturday - It's supposed to be hot again and, I fell off my "Hamburgers every week" wagon so we are going to have Burgers on the grill. We'll just have some chips with it to keep it cool and maybe some deli potato Salad.

Sunday - My husband has a concert and there is a pot luck with the group afterwards.  I'm going to make Southwestsern Tossed Salad (it's actually a dip) and chips.  For dinner - I'm planning on picking up a Pizza.  Depending on the weather, we may go to the beach after lunch so I really don't want to have cook when we get home.

Monday - We are going to have the Corn Dog Muffins that I actually didn't cook last Sunday evening because we were so busy moving rooms - we just got a Pizza. I think we'll just have chips with it and maybe some fruit. (This is a simple meal because I have to leave early to get to practice - no time to be wrapped up in the kitchen!)

Tuesday - Stuffed Shells with Cheese, Roasted Cabbage Wedges, Garlic Bread

Wednesday - Lemon Chicken, Cheesy Broccoli and Rice Casserole

Thursday - Coconut Chicken, Baked Beans, Green Beans, biscuits

Friday - Breaded Chicken Thighs, Parsley Potatoes, Corn, Garlic Bread

Yes, a lot of chicken!!!  That is what is in my freezer that needs to be used up :-)

The desserts this week are a Brownie Tart and Lazy Cake Cookies.

Food Friday - A "Two Fer"

This week I have two recipes to share because, well, they were on one plate! 

Chicken Pasta Salad
adapted from  . . well I've had it forever!

I first had this Chicken Pasta salad (show on the top of the plate) probably 25 years ago at a church pot-luck and it has been a favorite every since.  I've made it for showers, banquets, quests and just to eat for lunch :-) It's easy to make and you can stretch it by adding more pasta than the recipe calls for (I always do!)

Ingredients

1 cup shell macaroni – cooked

1 ½ cups cooked and cubed chicken
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cups sliced celery
¾ cups green grapes – halved
¼ cups slivered almonds
½ cup miracle whip salad dressing
1 cup cool whip
½ cup mandarin oranges, drained

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except cool whip and chill.  Add cool whip just before serving and stir well.

 

The second recipe comes from Pinterest!

 

Poolside Dip

adapted from Pinterest

 

This was a good dip recipe - especially to have in the fridge for a snack.  I had it both with crackers as shown in the photo and also with some celery - both were good.

 

Ingredients and Directions:

Pool-side dip: 1 red pepper, 2 jalapenos (unseeded), 1 can of corn, 16 oz cream cheese (softened), and 1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dip seasoning mix. Serve with crackers. Delicious!!

 

Changes!

It seems that the last few weeks, Thursdays are not my day for a blog post :-)  I seem to remember that I had something I wanted to post about but I'm going to save that for next week.  This has been a busy week because . .. we changed rooms!!!  We decided that since we can't paint or put the floors in right this "minute" that we would go ahead and move rooms and then paint as soon as we can around the stuff in the room and hopefully put the floors in by the end of September. 

On Sunday we moved all of our stuff into what was Josh's room and we love it.  It's not quite done - I need to move a curtain, take down some vinyl, and order some new vinyl when I can (I have it picked out, just need to save for it!). We then just kinda threw Josh's stuff into what was our room thinking that the boys would want to keep sleeping in Nate's room.  Wrong.  We had to drag the toddler mattress into the new room and both boys slept there.  So, on Wednesday, I moved all of the rest of the stuff into their new room and they just love it.  They played in there most of the day.  Nate is very ready for his big boy bed so I don't think we'll be waiting for his birthday for that gift ;-)  Considering the fact that he can now climb in and out of his crib . . .what's the point, right?  I have some art to make for the walls still but I know what I'm making and hope to have it done by Labor Day Weekend. 

Also on Wednesday, I cleaned Nate's room, moved two banquet tables in that will be our desks for the time being and moved in two book cases from elsewhere in the house to use for storage of everything from scrapbooking to school supplies.  Right now, as I write this post on Wednesday night, the classroom looks like a storage room but my goal is that by Thursday evening, it will be all put together  The last of the school books/supplies are expected in this week so I want to have the room ready to finish  up my planning.  I want to pick up a few posters at the teachers store still and have one piece of vinyl I want to order for the door.  I should say that the new classroom will also house a space for my husband to record his music.  It should give him more opportunity to do so instead of having to move everything to the basement every time he wants to record. 

My living room is looking less like a toy closet and more like, well, a living room.  I still have a card table to clear off and move out (that I've been using for planning and scrapbooking the last few weeks) once I have cleaned up the classroom and made room for everything.  Even my dining room looks roomier since one of the afore mentioned bookcases used to stand in the dining room and just looked cluttered. 

Nope, no pictures yet.  I did attempt to get some before photos (my husband always seemed to be a few steps ahead of me so I never got the "true" room) and look forward to some after photos soon!

 

Give Them Grace - a Book Study

In July, I posted about my most recent book goal and . .. this book was not in it.  I came across this book just a few weeks ago and it really struck me as something I was looking for concerning my kids.  I want my kids to grow and know the love of God but struggle daily with how to make this a lifestyle for them and not just words.  The author does not mince words at all when it comes to how we share Jesus with our kids.  One of the first quotes that kind of hit me square in the face was this, "Lets face it, most of our children believe that God is happy if they're 'good for goodness sake'. . . . We have told them that being good (at least outwardly) is the be-all and end-all of their faith. "   I read this not long after I said to one of my kids, "I need you to stop disobeying and be good" I mean, what is "good" anyway? 

Chapter 1 - From Sinai to Calvary
One of the first truths this book brings out is the fact that too often we use the Bible as a rule book instead of a book of "Good News".  We are quick to list the do's and don'ts in the Bible but what about actually teaching the truths of the stories given and learning to understand why God thought each of those events was important enough to share.  I was reminded that in order to really use the gospel in my parenting, I have to know the gospel and love it myself.  Ok, I'll raise my hand now and say I'm guilty.  I don't put the Bible first in my day, in my week or sometimes even in my month!  How can I teach my kids the in's and out's if I don't know it myself?  I'm working on that both through starting personal Bible Study (again) as well as through Daily Bible lessons in our preschool which will start soon. The author shared 4 areas of obedience to help the reader understand where this idea of "grace" comes into the picture.  First, Initial Obedience is basically teaching your child to heed your voice (you know, when you say "no" you mean it or, when you call them, they come - in order to keep them safe!)  Second, Social Obedience which is learning basic manners.  We all want our children have good manners :-)  Third, Civic Obedience which is basically teaching them to obey the law.  Forth, Religious Obedience which is ". . .what we teach our children to do as part of a life of faith before them come to faith." An example would be praying before dinner or standing up in church to sing songs - these are just exercises in faith, not a saving faith. "Religious obedience is probably the most difficult and dangerous form of obedience simply because it is so easily confused with conformity to God's Law."  For me, what I gleaned from this chapter was to figure out how to instruct my children in such a way that they don't just learn the "law" - obey because God said so; but rather learn the Gospel - to understand that Jesus gave up all he had - all of his "goodness" and came to earth to live among sinners to teach them.  He gave the ultimate sacrifice for each of us.  In my heart, I want my children to learn to live the Bible, not just know the right answers.  I want the Bible to the reason they do what they do; not have it become a burden.  I know that this concept alone will impact how I teach Bible to my children. 

There are, already, two things that I've soured this book to me just slightly.  One, the author writes in an over top fashion - using, sometimes, difficult explanations and wording to get a point across.  It is written as a counselor would write (which is what she is) but not written as the average parent would read.  Two, she seems to be slamming one particular religion, which I won't state, but twice she has said negative things about parents who are in that group as a whole.  I was really taken aback by it - I firmly believe that Bible is God's one true word but you don't influence others by attacking what they believe either.  As with any book, when you reading it, take it one chapter at a time and look for the truth

If you've followed my "way" of reading, you know that I often read multiple books at once and plan to share what I learn, if it is worth sharing.  With that said, not all of my "Book Study" posts will pertain to the same book.  :-) 

Too Cute Not To Toot

I'm in total homeschool prep mode so when I saw this idea from Burton Avenue, well, I loved it.  I don't plan on getting this up this fall but I do love it for the future.  One of these days when I get to Ikea there are a few things on my list - I'll have to check on their whiteboards :-)

I don't know if I will ever actually make these but they were too cute to not share.  The idea comes from One Dog Woof.

Sorry, short list this week.  I buried up to my eye balls with rearranging rooms and preschool lessons.