Sunday, October 6, 2013
Friday, October 4, 2013
New Recipe Completes Challenge and Is Enjoyed At Hayride
The Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats Challenge, in cooperation with Scholastic.com, allowed us to create a new recipe to later be enjoyed at a hayride we were invited to.
This month's Challenge is "Creative Moments". As we were going to a hayride tonight, we needed something else to go along with the crackers and cheese we were taking. We found a recipe called Apple Berry Salsa with Cinnamon Chips. After lunch, the girls and I put this very simple, yet very good fruit salsa together, thus accomplishing two goals (completing October's first mission and fixing a dessert for the hayride). This salsa was a big hit at the party!
This month's Challenge is "Creative Moments". As we were going to a hayride tonight, we needed something else to go along with the crackers and cheese we were taking. We found a recipe called Apple Berry Salsa with Cinnamon Chips. After lunch, the girls and I put this very simple, yet very good fruit salsa together, thus accomplishing two goals (completing October's first mission and fixing a dessert for the hayride). This salsa was a big hit at the party!
More Detailed Recipe For
Apple Berry Salsa with Cinnamon Chips
Chips:
Cut flour tortillas into strips (we used kitchen scissors). Place them on a cookie or pizza pan, spray lightly with cooking spray, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (we keep this on hand at all times because the kids love it on toast: mix enough cinnamon into a cup of sugar to make it a dark, rich brown color). Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 8 - 10 minutes until nicely browned and crisp. Remove from oven, allow to cool, then store in an air-tight container or bag until needed.
Salsa:
Chop 2 apples (we peeled ours, you don't have to), 1 cup strawberries, and 1 kiwi (peeled). Combine in a large bowl.
In separate small bowl, zest an orange. Then cut that orange in half and squeeze juice into bowl with zest. Add to fruit.
Add 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 2 tablespoons apple jelly. Mix well. Cover bowl and put in refrigerator for at least 6 hours (can be made the night before, too). Serve with cinnamon chips.
And we had a fun time at the hayride, enjoying chili, hotdogs, chips, cookies, and our fruit salsa and cinnamon chips.
Funny, Touching Tribute From a Mom to Her 4 Sons Video
If you have a large family - we have 6 daughters, ages 31 down to 4 - you will appreciate this video of a mom dedicating her own version of "Nothing at All" (one of my favorite songs) to her 4 sons, who are in the video background. It'll make you laugh, but is a touching tribute to the reality of being a mom.
http://www.godvine.com/The-Hilarious-Mommy-Version-of-Nothing-At-All-Try-Not-to-Smile-to-This-One-4028.html
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Recycling Bread Bags
If you are like our family, we go through quite a few loaves of bread. While we love homemade bread, for sandwiches, I admit, the store-bought loaves are nicely uniform in slice and so I buy sandwich bread.
When you think of recycling the plastic bags that a loaf of bread comes in, you probably think of things like using those bags to bag up other things...used them for wet diapers when my kids were babies and we used clothe diapers, good for putting wet swimsuits in to carry back home after an afternoon at the lake, good to put your extra garden produce in to give to a neighbor, etc.
Here's another, radically different way to use those plastic bread sacks. Not a new idea because I remember doing this as a kid, but I haven't seen or heard anyone talking about it in a long time, either. Making refrigerator art out of them.
To help Kenna with her motor skills, we try to have her using scissors fairly often. Now, to use bread bags for this exercise, you must have Bunny Bread wrappers. I'm not necessarily saying Bunny Bread is the best bread out there, and yes I know those loaves are a little more expensive. Bear with me.
Bunny Bread comes with all these pictures of the Bunny Bread rabbit all over them. Today, Kenna and Maddy sat and cut all those pictures of the rabbit out of the wrapper (I cut in it in two and let each of them have half). They thought it was neat to get to cut up a bread wrapper (I didn't tell them what we were going to do with it) and Kenna got in extra motor skill exercise with her scissors.
Once the rabbit designs were cut out, I wiped down the front of my refrigerator with a damp rag. The girls then took those plastic rabbits and stuck them to the fridge, and using the damp rag, carefully rubbed over their cut-out to smooth out the wrinkles. That plastic clings to the refrigerator just like stickers. And will stay until removed (will easily remove).
So, in a matter of a few minutes, the girls got to cut out rabbits, got to stick them to the refrigerator, and will enjoy their work for a few days. Simple. Inexpensive. Fun.
Oh, and there's a science lesson there that process, too. Explore the "why" of what makes the plastic cling so well to the fridge.
Here's a look at their art display:
When you think of recycling the plastic bags that a loaf of bread comes in, you probably think of things like using those bags to bag up other things...used them for wet diapers when my kids were babies and we used clothe diapers, good for putting wet swimsuits in to carry back home after an afternoon at the lake, good to put your extra garden produce in to give to a neighbor, etc.
Here's another, radically different way to use those plastic bread sacks. Not a new idea because I remember doing this as a kid, but I haven't seen or heard anyone talking about it in a long time, either. Making refrigerator art out of them.
To help Kenna with her motor skills, we try to have her using scissors fairly often. Now, to use bread bags for this exercise, you must have Bunny Bread wrappers. I'm not necessarily saying Bunny Bread is the best bread out there, and yes I know those loaves are a little more expensive. Bear with me.
Bunny Bread comes with all these pictures of the Bunny Bread rabbit all over them. Today, Kenna and Maddy sat and cut all those pictures of the rabbit out of the wrapper (I cut in it in two and let each of them have half). They thought it was neat to get to cut up a bread wrapper (I didn't tell them what we were going to do with it) and Kenna got in extra motor skill exercise with her scissors.
Once the rabbit designs were cut out, I wiped down the front of my refrigerator with a damp rag. The girls then took those plastic rabbits and stuck them to the fridge, and using the damp rag, carefully rubbed over their cut-out to smooth out the wrinkles. That plastic clings to the refrigerator just like stickers. And will stay until removed (will easily remove).
So, in a matter of a few minutes, the girls got to cut out rabbits, got to stick them to the refrigerator, and will enjoy their work for a few days. Simple. Inexpensive. Fun.
Oh, and there's a science lesson there that process, too. Explore the "why" of what makes the plastic cling so well to the fridge.
Here's a look at their art display:
Alayna and Aaron came over this afternoon and brought a rented movie to watch with the girls. Now, I don't generally get too excited about movies. It's rare that Alan and I go see a movie. The girls go, but not really all that often.
"Epic" is one of those movies that you will want to purchase for your personal home movie library. It was great movie! Both Maddy and Kenna sat and watched the whole thing without moving.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Pizza Hut Book It! Program News
If you are homeschooling and you have not yet signed up as a homeschool participating in Pizza Hut's Book It! program, what are you waiting for?
Not only can your children earn free personal pan pizzas from Pizza Hut for reading, the program offers so much more! For teachers - and yes, home educators are welcome! - there are tools and ideas. For parents, there are fun project ideas.
In October, we get to access an online video story of Splat, narrated by the author, Jeff Kinney. Printable activities to go along with the story are also available.
http://www.bookitprogram.com/REDzone/100greatreadalouds.asp is a great list of the "Top 100 Great Read Aloud Books".
I am exited to have joined a teacher's club through Book-It! called "Teachers With Spark".
And as a parent who has been reading to my children since they were old enough to sit on my lap and reach for the pages, I also took a pledge at the Book It! site to read to my girls at least 20 minutes a day. Which is not hard to do...I have always read at least 2 books to them each day (each one gets to pick out a book).
Whether you homeschool or children or not, I hope that you are spending time reading to your child every day.
Not only can your children earn free personal pan pizzas from Pizza Hut for reading, the program offers so much more! For teachers - and yes, home educators are welcome! - there are tools and ideas. For parents, there are fun project ideas.
In October, we get to access an online video story of Splat, narrated by the author, Jeff Kinney. Printable activities to go along with the story are also available.
http://www.bookitprogram.com/REDzone/100greatreadalouds.asp is a great list of the "Top 100 Great Read Aloud Books".
I am exited to have joined a teacher's club through Book-It! called "Teachers With Spark".
And as a parent who has been reading to my children since they were old enough to sit on my lap and reach for the pages, I also took a pledge at the Book It! site to read to my girls at least 20 minutes a day. Which is not hard to do...I have always read at least 2 books to them each day (each one gets to pick out a book).
I love the fact that Pizza Hut believes that "Parents: You are your child's first teacher." Their own graphic shows just how many hours children spend in a public school and the hours they spend outside the classroom. I believe that not only is a parent a child's first teacher, but that the parent continues as a very influential teacher until their children become adults. Then the "teaching" changes over to an "advisory" role.
Whether you homeschool or children or not, I hope that you are spending time reading to your child every day.
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