Summer Preschool - Our Curriculum for the fall

Lets keep it real - we've played a lot this week :-)  Just played . We are still enjoying some really nice days - so much better than last summer - so I am not about to stop the play.  Plus, I'll be honest, I'm enjoying not planning and not overseeing planned activities.  We all play together some times and some times I'm able to get some extra things done around the house.  I'm sure as the summer heats up, I will need to help the kids accomplish some things so that they don't get on each others nerves but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Anyway . .. here is our plan for the fall.

The main curriculum that I will be using for Josh comes from Confessions of a Homeschooler and is her K-4 program

This curriculum really covers all of the bases in every basic subject that a 4 year old should know.  We are not technically starting Kindergarten with Josh this fall since his birthday doesn't hit until the end of October.  We made the decision to wait one more year plus this put Nate and Josh only a year apart in grades which will keep them together through the years in other activities.  Not to mention that homeschooled kids tend to graduate a year early (not always but often) so waiting a year won't hurt him.  One of the things I love about this curriculum is that 36 weeks of lesson plans are provided and within the plans are links to everything you need to print.  It is awesome that the work is already done!

The main curriculum that I will be using for Nate this year also comes from Confessions of a Homeschooler and is a great preschool program.

Last year, the boys did the same curriculum because Nate wasn't really in preschool.  He just tagged along for fun and some days, left the table early.  Because he did a lot of the work with us, though, I had to find him something new to use in "Preschool" by himself this year.  This curriculum is a great option because it is similar to what Josh is doing so when he compares his work to his brother's it won't seem so different.  (It is my plan to use the K4 curriculum with Nate next year).  This curriculum comes with 26 weeks of lessons, pre-planned, with links, ready to go!! 

I like to add a Bible Supplement to our day because it is so important for kids to be grounded in the Bible.  I did a lot of research and found this curriculum from Positive Action that I really impressed me.

Bible is one of those subjects that both boys can do together so I will be working with both Josh and Nate on this study. The interesting thing about this is that I "grew up" on Positive Action material.  I complete 6 years of Pro-Teens as a teenager in my church so it excites me to share this same curriculum with my kids. 

I also plan to start Handwriting with Josh using curriculum found at A Reason For.

Learning to Read goes hand and hand with learning to write so plugging this in even once a week will help him alot.  I like that they use scripture verses as writing practice.

This last item is a bonus item - it is PE curriculum from Family Time Fitness and is a great way to do PE when you don't have a clue.

I want my kids to be active and enjoy sports.  I looked at this last year but my kids weren't ready for it at that point so I waited but I am planning to pick it up this year to use with the kids.  We also like to put our kids into an activity . . .our focus right now is actually swimming.  They will be enrolled in swimming lessons by the end of July and we plan to continue with those until both boys can swim with confidence.  We did gymnastics this past spring and the boys enjoyed that but swimming skills can save their life. :-)  We are also tentatively thinking about putting Josh in soccer this fall - we'll see! (Nate is too young still!)

My next step is to start working on our schedule.  I'm thinking about doing a 6 week on/1 week off rotation which would open it up for us to have a longer break in December and finish up our year mid-May.  Josh's curriculum begins with a lot of review so starting in Mid-July wouldn't be a big issue and we would only do his K-4 curriculum for a little bit each day.  I plan on using time next week to lay out the plan, starting printing the first 6 weeks of lessons and also get the other stuff ordered so I'm ready to go :-)

Happy Father's Day!!

I just wanted to take time today to say 

Happy Father's Day! 

to my dad :-)  He's an awesome dad that would do anything for me

My kid's would like to say 

Happy Father's Day!

to Darryl - their dad!  

We've done a little shopping and I have a nice dinner planned ( he doesn't have to grill - what is it with making dad cook on Father's Day?).  

 

Camping - Food!

We really do enjoy camping (even backyard camping) and have come up with some favorite "recipes" to sue every time we camp.  I thought it would be fun to share my camping ideas and "lists" over the next few weeks. 

A little background - we are tent campers.  We bought a tent for our first anniversary and have used it ever since.  When we had Josh, and then Nate, we decided to rent Mini-Cabins while the boys were little in order to have a more "controlled" environment in case of rain or cooler temps.  It also made it nicer for the kids to nap and go to bed on time since the tent gets so warm during the day.  This year we are retuning to tent camping since the boys are older and they love the idea of a tent.  Ultimately we want a camper/pop-up trailer and have committed to save this year for one so that by next spring we can purchase one and, ultimately, camp more often and for longer stretches of time.  The camper will help with not needing to worry about the weather and we'll also be able to bring our dog since she'll be able to sleep in the camper (she is not a lover of storms, fire, lakes, loud noises, etc HA!)  I personally would love a small camper (with A/C and a bathroom) with one pull-out to open the space up (so I can leave everything packed!)  but financially, a pop-up may be in our future instead.

So our food ideas are pretty simple.  We've always been limited on space for packing (starting with a trailblazer, then an Alero, an impala and now back to a trailblazer) so we only took one large cooler one one small cooler.  This usually means one store run mid-way through the weekend to pick up a few more things but that's ok too. 

Some of our favorite camping foods are:



Breakfast
Eggs, Bacon and Danish
Pancakes, Sausage and fruit
Cereal and Donuts

Lunch
To be honest, before kids we always ate out for lunch.  Darryl and I liked to explore little towns on the lakeshore so we would stop on the way and pick a fun place to eat. With kids, we are changing our ways so here are few things that are on my radar for lunch this camping season.
Walking tacos or nachos
Sloppy Joes
Chicken Tacos

Dinner
Marinated Steak Kabobs (cooked over the campfire) with fried zucchini and baked potatoes (crock-pot)
Hot Dogs with chips and homemade salads

Snacks
S'more's (of course!)
Family favorite chips, crackers and cookies - I usually make homemade cookies but not always
Cheese Sticks
Popcorn (I would like to get a popcorn popper eventually so we can make popcorn at our campsite)


We do have Pie Irons but really haven't used them.  There is a post over at Mustard Seeds that shares links to lots of ideas for Pie Irons including this idea for breakfast.

Do you have favorite camping recipes?  Feel free to share!

The Loss of a Friend

Today we are attending the funeral of a wonderful woman who was taken from this life much too early.  I know that God doesn't make mistakes and that He has a perfect plan but it sure is hard to watch a mom of 6 kids slowly lose her battle with brain cancer.

I've known Betsy for about 16 years.  She and her husband, John, have 6 kids ranging in age from 7 through young adult and Betsy is a homeschooling mom.  She poured her life into her kids and into missions through the church.  She is by far one of the sweetest ladies you could ever meet.  Even through out her battle with cancer this past year, her sweet spirit spilled over in everything she wrote and shared.  She trusted God every step of the way and shared her wonderful testimony through the daily grace she showed.   I saw her about a month ago when we were visiting my parents and had a few moments to say hello; she took time to thank me for sharing that the we prayed for her with the boys and had this photo above posted on our Bulletin Board so we could talk about her and why we were praying.

As hard as it is for those left behind to see her go; she is so much better off.  She is healed - she can see clearly, dance, sing, and even skip along heaven's roads. She is complete with no more pain.  Betsy will be greatly missed by her family, her friends, and her church.

Recently, I've had two other acquaintances from college who have lost their wives to various illness' - one to a stroke that took her unexpectedly and another to a year long battle with cancer.  It has made me stop and think what I need to do to make sure that my family . . .my husband and my boys . . can carry on.  Both of these men have mentioned how they had no idea what their wife did on a daily basis until she was gone and have been overwhelmed with all they did not know.  This has impacted me and I want to make sure to leave a legacy in many ways.  I'll post more about that later but for today, we will remember Betsy as we celebrate her life with so many friends and family.

Weekly Menu - the one before vacation

 Once a week, The Lean Green Bean does a "Food Prep" link party.  Prepping food after grocery shopping has never been a strong point of mine so often fruits and veggies get tossed because they get lost in the fridge.  A few weeks ago I was inspired by a friend who posted photos of her prepped fruit on facebook and have taken time to do some prep myself.  This is what I prepped from the store this past week.

1. Grapes - a big bowl for at home and one bowl for Darryl's lunch one day.
2. Strawberries - a big bowl for home, one for Darryl's lunch and one for a smoothie
3. Lemons and limes for my water
4. Pineapple for a smoothie
5. Raspberries for snacking on (My favorite!)
6. Ham wraps for my snack - Ham with cream cheese wrapped around a pickle

Looks yummy doesn't it?  I recently picked up the round Zip-lock bowls (both big and small) and I love them.  Round is so much more fun than square :-)


Oh boy, oh boy, oh BOY!  I cannot WAIT for vacation :-)  We are so excited to get to enjoy some family time without the stresses of work or day to day life.

So, here is our plan for eating from now until our vacation starts!

Friday - We are attending a Funeral today so we will be gone all day.

Saturday - Hopefully the boys and I are going to head to the park in the afternoon and have Darryl meet us for a "picnic" - I think I will have him pick up some McDonald's.  If it is rainy . . then we will just have a picnic at home with either Taco Bell or McDonald's :-)

Sunday - It is Father's Day! Several months ago I made panned Fried pork chops, corn, and homemade mac and cheese - Darryl said THAT is what he wanted for special meals so that is what I will make along with some biscuits.  I think for dessert we will have fresh strawberry shortcake and I'll make some vanilla ice cream.

Monday - I have a recipe from a friend for some Awesome stuffed, twice baked potatoes so that is the plan.  A Salad and some rolls will round it out for the night.

Tuesday We'll have something with chicken - whether it be Oven BBQ'ed or grilled along with some rice or potatoes and a canned veggie - I'm scrapbooking all day so I don't want anything difficult

Wednesday - The kids and I are on our own. Some Mac and Cheese for them and I will pick up something frozen for me :-)

Thursday - Dinner will probably be a Little Ceaser's Pizza - I have a hair appointment at like 4:30, people are going to be here all day working on our porch . . . .we'll see what unfolds :-)

Friday -Weather permitting, we are going to a local fair downtown so I would imagine we will get some "fair" food or grab something on the way home.

Saturday - so today, I decided to prepare a fun snack feast for my husband and I for after the kids go to bed.  I didn't really want to spend money on eating out, since that is what we will be doing for the next few days, so instead I am going to make a couple new ideas and a couple of old ideas.  The new are: A new take on Shrimp Cocktail and a Greek Salad on a Stick that I saw on a Food Network Show.  I will also make bacon crescent wraps, and nachos.  Then I saw a Coconut Creme Fruit dip on Pinterest that looks awesome so we'll do that with some fruit (which I can then take leftovers of that with us!)  For dessert, just nuetella dip and crackers - again, something I can pack and take with us to snack on.

Lots of fun food!!!  I may just do store bought cookies this week and maybe make a strawberry pie I haven't made in a long time (It is strawberry season after all!!) 

Our "Uncamping" weekend

We decided that since we weren't actually going to go camping this past weekend, we would still have some fun family fun time.

It started on Friday.  Because we were supposed to be camping, I was not babysitting.  I was going to let them know that plans had changed but I found out before we cancelled that the kids were going to the Grandparents for a few days so I knew grandma would be excited.  This gave me a day with just my boys.  My plan was simple - go to Dairy Queen for Lunch (my favorite "fun" place) and then to my favorite local park just down the road.  The playscape is awesome and now the boys are old enough that they can run and play without me needing to be right beside them.

We had burgers for dinner on the grill - Darryl was teaching the boys how to make the patties and then how to season them.  Yes, the burgers were a little saltier than normal :-)

On Saturday we decided to go to a local zoo we had never been to before called Potter Park Zoo.  We were not disappointed and I would have to say that it is now my favorite zoo!

 There were peacocks everywhere - they just roamed free throughout the entire zoo - we even saw a few on rooftops :-)

 The boys loved getting to ride this little train.  The best part of the ride?  A REAL train went by right next to them as they road the toy train.

 After leaving the Zoo we went out to dinner at a favorite Italian place before heading home.  Josh felt pretty special; he wanted pizza so we let him order a small cheese pizza for himself.  Little things that make kids happy, right?

This is a sure sign of a good day - Nate sound asleep.  He fell asleep on the way home and never woke up even when I put him in his PJ's and laid him in bed.  His poor little legs were so tired after traipsing through the zoo!

Finally, Sunday was filled with a concert!

Darryl's group, Alive!, had a spot at a local festival so we headed downtown to watch the group perform.  The boys and I wandered past all of the (great smelling) food booths and found one that sold fresh squeezed lemonade (which was fabulous) before heading back to sit in the sun to listen to the group.  After the concert we headed home but, as promised to the boys, stopped at our favorite little ice cream place for a treat.  The boys love their ice cream cones!! (Especially Josh!!).

Despite not camping, we really had a fun weekend and are actually starting to feel better.  We had talked about doing some backyard camping on Saturday night but after the day at the zoo, the boys were very tired and Darryl and were ready to sleep in the A/C :-) 

Too Cute Not To Toot!

Don't hate me for starting out with a Christmas Ornament but the well is almost dry for new ideas so I'm taking what I can get!!  This idea comes from Simply Cute Creations.  These would make great gifts and, since Hobby Lobby brings out Christmas decor in . .. July . .. you can get them done early!

My mind has been taken up with camping and "new outside ideas" to use all summer.  I love this idea of a yard twister game from eucharisteo.  The kids would have a blast with this one.

Learning 4 Kids 
gives an awesome idea . . .or should I say ideas . . .for a backyard water park.  I might have to pick up some cheap pools to do something like this during this summer. 

This is a really cute craft from Craft Goodies.  I'm not sure if it is something we will try this summer or if I will file it for next spring when the boys are just a tad bit older.

That's it for today!