Penguin Unit Crafts!

We are wrapping up our January Penguin Unit. It was so fun.  Crafts do not have to be complicated for kids to love them. Here are some of the penguin crafts that were low on effort but high on creativity!

and

and this mosaic penguin was great for fine motor practice for the boys--cutting the paper into strips and then ripping the strips into the pieces we used for the mosaic was fun and therapeutic...

This last picture, I found on the internet. How cute is this? Someone took their Halloween pumpkin and turned it into a penguin. I definitely plan to borrow this creative idea for this coming Halloween:

I hope you enjoyed our Penguin Unit as much as we did.  I hope you will stop back by in February, when our learning units will be St. Valentine and COOKIES!

Happy Winter,

Katie

New Ice Skates

That first pair of new ice skates...The girls were so excited...

No more blue rental skates for me....I've got new white ones...

Charlotte, age 4

Audrey got a pair too. Having her own ice skates has now prompted her to have her birthday party in April at the ice skating rink, instead of at the house as originally planned...

Audrey, age 6

Do you remember your first pair of ice skates? Or that feeling that you were learning something special? May 2011 bring lots of special new memories to your family!

Got Penguins?

March of the Penguins (Widescreen Edition)




These  movies made for a great addition to our winter / penguins unit!  My boys who have special needs love TV; unfortunately (for them!) they live with a mother who can't stand TV.  We limit all the kids watching to one hour a day unless it is movie day. On movie day there is no TV and the movie is typically either a family favorite (Harry Potter, Sound of Music, etc) OR a movie that goes with our homeschool themes.

For Sean and Tim, I think watching the movies that go with and enhance our unit studies really help them to understand the material more and retain what we have been learning about.

After a week of penguin games and penguin books and penguin worksheets, a movie day with "March of the Penguins" and popcorn was a big hit!

A wonderful friend of mine (who is an elementary school teacher)  also shared some other great penguin unit ideas with me; including:

*make penguin masks, have everyone dress in black and white and waddle through the house having your own "March of the Penguins"
*eat goldfish crackers as a snack. Talk about penguins favorite food.
*There are 17 species of penguins. Choose your kids' top five and create a life size "march of the penguins" graph with butcher paper and attach to the wall. (The Emperor penguin is 46 inches tall; as tall as most first grader. It's neat to see kids compare themselves to these birds!)

What units did you do for January?

Katie's Kitchen: Best Superbowl Dip ever: Buffalo Chicken Dip

I made this last weekend and my family devoured it. It is fast and easy and uses only 5 ingredients!

Warning: it is very addictive!

In a large dutch oven, or oven proof pan, mix:
 2-- 8-ounce packages cream chese (softened) --put this in first...the other ingredients can go in in any order.
2 cups diced cooked chicken (I like using the tyson shredded chicken)
 1 cup Franks hot sauce **this recipe is spicy; for a more mild/kid-friendly version use only 1/2 cup hot sauce
 1 cup blue cheese dressing
 1 cup crumbled blue cheese.

Place cream cheese into deep dish. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes until hot. Stir.
Makes 12 servings.

**Ranch can be substituted for the blue cheese dressing; if using ranch, omit the blue cheese crumbles.

Serve with crackers, bread and celery sticks.

Equal opportunities

Timothy and Coach Teri

Timothy, one of my twins who has special needs, got the opportunity to try ice skating this month.  The girls take lessons weekly and turns out one of the coaches where they go has years of special olympics experience.  I am thrilled that Tim gets a chance to try something new.  If your homeschooler has special needs, be sure and seek out extra curricular activities for them. You may be surprised what you may find and/or who may be happy to work with your child!

Determination

learning something new...

Feature Friday: Old Friends and Crock Pot Recipes

Sorry this week's Feature Friday is a day late; could not get blogger to post last night and I therefore took that as a sign to get off the computer and spend time with the other people living in my house. Now that it is finished, sit back, read about three great new recipes and at the end, take my three things challenge!

This week's Feature Friday features a few recipes from an old school friend of mine, Leesa S.  Leesa and I went to grade school and high school together in a small town, and like old friends do, we lost touch after high school only to reconnect on Facebook this past year, after almost 25 years! That is, I think, what I do love about social media.. the ability to reconnect with old friends in addition to connecting with new ones...

I love Leesa's facebook posts because they are often filled with wonderful recipes that are not only delicious but perfect for the busy cook.  Here are a few she has shared (and they are all delicious!):

Crock Pot Orange Barbeque Pulled Pork Sandwiches:

Place 1 Boneless Pork Shoulder in Crock Pot. Top with 1 12 oz bottle barbeque sauce and juice from one orange. Cook on low 8 - 10 hours or high 4-6....Remove meat, shred w/fork, put back in crock pot and mix well to evenly coat meat with sauce. Serve on toasted hamburger buns and add miracle whip if desired.

Crock Pot Ribs:

Crock Pot Ribs.....Place 4 Pounds Beef Ribs in Crock Pot, Add 1 Chopped Large Onion, mix 1 Cup Barbeque Sauce, 1/4 cup Flour, 1/4 Cup Honey, and 1 Teaspoon Mustard and pour over ribs and onions. Place on low for 6 - 8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.


I also LOVED this chicken and dumplings recipe she sent me a few months ago (and so did my family):

Chicken and Dumplins:

Boil chicken. cool. debone. cut into bite size pieces. Return to chicken broth.
Dumplings:  1/4 c butter, 1 tsp salt, 1 1/2c flour, 1 beaten egg, 1/4c milk. Mix ingredients, roll out, cut into squares and drop into hot chicken broth.
Add one can cream of chicken soup to broth.

There are a couple things I love about Leesa's recipes. She doesn't make them overly complicated and therefore they easily fit into the character limit of a FB post.  Don't you hate it when you go to a kitchen blog and the recipes look really LONG and really complex? I find that most of my female friends with families have the same complaint: they WANT to put a hot meal on the table but feel they dont have the time. Leesa's recipes are great for the busy cook!

The other thing I love about Leesa's food posts are she often posts about  what she has cooked that day, and who she has given it to...the friend who just had a baby or the neighbor who isn't feeling well. It reminds me that food is a wonderful way to show our love for one another. In the bible, Jesus broke bread with his disciples...he didn't send them a quick text.  Food is a wonderful way to show people "I think you are important" or "I was thinking about you today".

I encourage you all to do three things this week.

1. Try one of Leesa's wonderful recipes.
2. Connect with an old friend you haven't talked to in a while
3. Make something for someone this week.

Blessings to you all,

Katie

My green journey

 As most of you know, this past year I decided to try and green our routine. In 2011, I have taken that a step further and started incorporating some minimalism into our home and lives.

Many of the green changes we have made (and when we started, we said we would try and do one a week) have stuck and now seem like habit:

• only buying organic produce/milk
• recycling...everything. (We went from a family who did not recycle to a family that recycles 3 bins/wk)
• using homemade organic cleaners
• raising chickens for our own organic eggs (we have 5 hens, 5 more ordered, and expect our first eggs in April)
• decreasing our consumerism and eliminating as many unnecessary purchases as possible

I am happy that my enthusiasm for recycling and wanting to improve how I think about the environment through adopting "green" ways to do things has rubbed off on the kids. (My husband has affectionately referred to them as the "recycle police".)

When 2011 started, I decided to take another step in this journey with minimalism.  Most people think minimalism is about doing without. On the contrary, it is about what you gain...SPACE, Organization, a home without clutter... I have been going shelf by shelf, drawer by drawer, room by room...

Of course, our routine is not all green...we do travel and with the flying comes alot of pollution. You can however offset your flying carbon emissions (click here ). This will come in handy, as we have a new trip planned which I am so excited about...more on that in my next post!

Are you greening your routine this year?

Power Foods and Fast & Easy Guacamole

Did you make a New Year's Resolution to eat healthier?  Try and incorporate some of  these power foods in your diet every week:

. http://www.hearthealthyonline.com/healthy-recipes/cooking-nutrition-tips/power-foods_ss1.html

I love it that dark chocolate made this list (Thank Goodness!). 

Avocado made the list. Living in the Southwest, I have about 100 recipes for guacamole and salsas, but this guacamole recipe is my family's favorite way to have it prepared, and luckily for me....the easiest.

FAST AND EASY GUACAMOLE

8 avocados (ripe but not too ripe)
kosher or celtic salt
juice of half a lemon (fresh, please!)
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Mash avocados with fork; keeping a chunky texture. squeeze juice of 1/2 a lemon over avocado. add 1 1/2 tsp salt (kosher or celtic), add pepper. mix with fork. serve with chips. Also a great side for tacos, skirt steak and grilled chicken.

From the bookshelf: January green unit

     My kids love the book The Adventures of an Aluminum Can. It is a great story about how aluminum is made and the journey a can takes after being recycled into different items. The Three R's  book is one of the better ones I have found for the price with regards to how much information it has.  I read it in segments to the kids, depending on what we are studying.

FAST AND EASY: Chicken Pot Pies

When it comes to chicken pot pies, a family favorite, I have a wonderful recipe from Fine Cooking that I use...when I have all day to make them. BUT, When I just have 30 minutes, here is the recipe I use.

FAST and EASY: CHICKEN POT PIES

2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1   10 3/4 oz can (regular size) cream of chicken soup
1 large can, or two reg. size cans of vegital/mixed vegetables (drained)
1 tsp garlic powder
salt/pepper to taste
2 frozen pie pastries (I use two premade frozen pie pastries for the bottoms and top my pies with the pilsbury roll out refridgerator pastry; they are circular so you do not have to roll them out, just lay on top and pinch the edges to seal.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix first 5 ingredients.  pour into pie pastry shells. top with refrigerated premade dough. seal edges. prick both pies with fork. bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown. How easy is that?

RE: The CHICKEN: you can buy the already cooked grilled chicken strips...just chop and add. or you can bake boneless/skinless chicken thighs, sprinkled with garlic salt,  at 350 until juices run clear... ( I do a large 3lb bag at a time and bake at 350 for 40 minutes, then check every 5 minutes until done.) The chicken can be cooked ahead of time. I reserve two cups worth for my chicken pot pies then save the rest for chicken tacos or fajitas the next day.

***for appearance, you can easily remove the pie pastry bottoms from the aluminum shallow shells they come in  and place in your own deeper decorative pie plates.

What "take all day recipes"  have you adapted to make them Fast and Easy?

Hot Spinach Dip

First, so sorry there was not a Feature Friday this past friday! The one planned for last week has been moved to this coming Friday. I'm not sure what happened to last week. One moment it was Monday and I had all kinds of time,  and the next, the week was already over! So, this coming Friday, Jan. 14th, Dee from http://www.deedeesdelights.blogspot.com/ will be sharing a great squash recipe with us, so please come back by for that!

So for this week, do you love that hot spinach and cheese dip you order at your favorite restaurant? Here is a great home version.  I serve mine with organic pita chips from our favorite grocer and a platter of fresh veggies, but you can also serve it with pretzel sticks or bread!

This particular recipe comes from a new cookbook I received called Everyday Food: From the kitchens of Martha Stewart Living--left side bar above-- I like this particular recipe because it uses less cheese than others, making it healthier, yet still tasting absolutely delicious.

HOT SPINACH DIP

Makes 3 cups/prep time 30 minutes/ total time 1 hour

ingredients:

2 tsps olive oil, plus more for baking dish

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 pounds spinach, washed well and coarsely chopped

1/2 cup milk (I use skim)

6 ouces cream chees, cut into pieces, softened (I use light cream cheese)

3 dashes worcestershire sauce

3 dashes hot-[pepper sauce, such as Tabasco

3/4 cup shredded mozarella cheese (3 ounces)

coarse salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. preheat oven to 425 degrees. Heat oil in a dutch oven, or large pot over medium heat. and onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally until lightly browned, 5-8 min.

2.  Add spinach in two additions, letting the first batch wilt before adding the next; cook until completely wilted, tossing frequently, 5-8 min. Transfer mixture to a colander; drain, pressing to release all excess liquid.

3.  In the same pot, bring milk just to a simmer. Add cream cheese and cook, whisking, until melted about 3 minutes.  Add spinach, Worcestershire sauce, hot-pepper sauce, and 1/4 cup mozarella; stir to combine.  Season with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a lightly oiled 1 1/2 quart baking dish; sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/2 cup mozarella.

4.  bake until bubbly and cheese is golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Serve hot.

**You can make this recipe--up to step 2, a day or two ahead. let spinach mixture cool, then refrigerate it in an airtight container before proceeding.

Social Studies: Melissa and Doug Puzzles

As most of you following my blog know, my oldest kids, my 10 yr old twins, have special needs. A great benefit to homeschooling them is being able to be creative with using their strengths to help them learn in a way that is enjoyable and gets the job done. This need not be clever or complicated. For example:


Tim loves puzzles. LOVES THEM. So this past week, we turned his love of puzzles into a way to help him work on a social studies lesson that involved maps and locating a few states on a map (currently: our home state and states where family live).

What better way than a USA floor puzzle? This one is great. 51 puzzle pieces that are great for little hands to manipulate. Made for the floor, but fits on the table just as nicely. Towards the end, he enlisted help from his sisters.

TIP: Be creative in working with your childs strengths to teach what needs to be taught, especially if they have special needs, but remember that a simple solution might be the best one!

**I was not asked to review this puzzle, nor did I receive any compensation. We just really liked it and wanted to pass it on!

a teachable moment...

We limited TV coverage following the tragedy here in AZ, as to not have the kids overwhelmed with the news coverage. Instead, what little they did overhear, we made the first teachable moment about prayer.

Prayer for Rep. Giffords and all those individuals and families affected. We made the second teachable moment "Be kind to each other". We need to be kind to each other.

If you find yourself in a disagreement with someone this week, respect their differing opinion, keep dialogue open, and be kind. Your children will learn their current and future conflict resolution skills from your example.

The best hope our youth have is for adults to take the time to teach them to be patient, tolerant and kind.

God bless,

Katie

Cutting the Fat: Getting the most of TIME

The simple truth is, we are only given a FINITE amount of time each day. No matter what our best intentions are, we are only given 24 hours, not a minute more, each and every day to accomplish what we plan.

Most plans, especially within a homeschool environment, do not always fail due to a lack of preparation, but fail because too much was planned (or should I say "tried to be packed in") for any given day. How do we stop setting ourselves up for these time failures and stress induced frenzies?

A good place to start is by listing your main priorities of your family/homeschool and how much time they take (these are your good time takers); then make a list of all those other things taking your time each day. These things may be good things too, just not important enough to make the priority list. Now the fun begins, find 3-5 things you can immediately cut from your schedule. You can do it.

Here's a few more suggestions to get the most out of your time in your homeschool day.

• Do not overschedule the kids outside the home for fear of needing multiple socialization opportunities; you cannot homeschool if you are never home. Pick the activities that are most worthy of your family's time and talent. It doesn't take very many lessons, sports teams, church activities and scouts multiplied over multiple kids to put your schedule on overload.
• Write out all your obligations on a calendar so you can see them a month at a time. Make sure there is ample "white space" on the calendar. If you must, block out "white space" at the beginning of the month and guard it as importantly as you do meetings and other committments.
• Limit distractions. TV off. Cell on vibrate. PC (unless being used for that particular subject) off. You cannot be in the moment if you are constantly plugged in. People deserve face time. Our family deserves uninterrupted face time. Schedule times during the day to check voicemail and return email and calls and manage your electronic correspondence in scheduled "chunks" of time.
• Limit blogging. I know, funny coming from a blogger, but the simple truth is if you are always writing about your life or reading about someone elses you are not LIVING your life. Schedule specific times a week to write your posts for your own blog. Schedule and limit amounts of time spent social networking and reading others.
• A word about blogs...There are AMAZING ones out there. Follow blogs that fill a need in your life. Does it bring you much needed comic relief? Does it provide useful information, ideas, links, or resources? Does it fill a need you have for encouragement? If so, then follow. If not, don't. Who has time to read about so and so's baby going through 10 diapers on a given day. I can see that in full color right in my own house. Blogs that are negative or contain negative family dramas written out for the world to see are not worthy of your time. Your time is your most precious resource. Pick who you follow wisely.
• Same with facebook. Do you go on FB "jut to check" and then get sucked into the world of cyberspace for the next hour? If so, your family is the one feeling the effects of your social schmoozing.
• Don't feel obligated to continue time takers that aren't working. A few months ago, I thought it was wonderful that I had applied for and gotten a free lance writing job with an online magazine. A good opportunity? Yes. A good use of my time? Not necessarily. When I spent some time to think about it, the online magazine was not what I had written on my priority list, so why should it merit being a priority time taker? It doesn't. The lesson learned? Just because an opportunity is a good opportunity, doesnt make it good for you at that particular time in your life.

2011 is the year I am getting serious about what is worthy of my finite time I am given. Make your priority list. Check it twice. What made your list? What are your good and your naughty time takers?

Little Seamstress

Audrey; learning to do cross stitch this year. Loves sewing with Mom.

Fast and Easy/Busy night staples

The New Year has started and with that, the new school semester. Do you have some "go to" items in your pantry that you can use to put a fast, nutritious and most importantly delicious meal on the table?

With the average drive through meal for a family of four being what, $20 or more (my guestimate), NOT having to do that will save you money over the course of the year. My 5 kids have activities 5 out of 7 days a week so over the years, I have added some fast and easy meal ideas to my reportoire.

Here are a few of the "go to" items I always keep in my kitchen and what I do with them.

1. Black Beans. Not only are they a great source of protein, they are also high in antioxidants and dietary fiber. And, unlike other canned vegetables that have little nutritional value, there is little nutritional difference in canned black beans and the ones you cook yourself.

My favorite "go to" meal with black beans is black bean and cheese quesadillas. They are ready start to finish in 5 minutes and my kids love them. and if you want a great black bean chili recipe click here.

2. Turkey chili. This one is not as healthy, but it is still fast and hearty. You can also get the beanless variety. This one served with low cal tortilla chips and topped with a handful of low-fat cheese makes the kids super happy and is also done start to finish in 5 minutes.

3. Hard boiled eggs. If I know I have an exceptionally busy couple days coming up I will boil a dozen eggs and keep in the fridge on hand for that time period. They are a nutritious and low fat snack in and of themselves but make a quick salad that much better and make throwing together a five minute tuna salad possible.

4. Pasta of Choice. Mix 2 cups of chopped fresh tomatoes, 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp salt (we use Celtic) and 1-2 tsp garlic. Toss to coat pasta. Healthy, Fast, and Delicious. If you have fresh basil to add....even better.

5. Quinoa. Quinoa is high in protein, making it a great diet staple for those who are eating a vegan diet. My kids love it as a "breakfast for dinner" night, cooked and served with fruit and a bit of brown sugar (like an oatmeal), but the recipes you can make with this health food are endless. (You should not eat Quinoa if you are on an oxalate-restricted diet). And did you know just one meatless day a week can save a typical family of four $250/yr? (source: Shift your Habit, by Elizabeth Rogers, p. 82)

There is also a great checklist for pantry staples by REAL SIMPLE.

What do you keep in your pantry for "go to" fast meals? I would love to read about them and try them on my next busy night!

Love, Katie

It's a New Year in your Homeschool

Happy New Year's Day.

I love New Year's Day and always have. I love the idea of everything starting new with a clean slate. This year, I am taking that to heart with my homeschool. It is the beginning of a new year and a new semester.

This year, I am not making resolutions...oh I could...all those oldie but goodes (especially be more organized) but I'm not. This year, I am using purposeful words to guide my homeschool efforts. What does this mean? Check out this article: www.simplehomeschool.net/new-years-resolutions-choosing-purposeful-words-for-your-family-in-2011/

(and if you are making resolutions this year, check out the great guest post over at www.wonderland-kitchen.blogspot.com by Nancy Jacobs from www.howtohomemaker.com.

Here are the purposeful words I have chosen this year to guide my homeschool (in no particular order):

Discover

Create

Explore

Pray

Advantage

Memory

Tradition

And here are the purposeful words I have chosen for my homeschoolers:

Brooke: Discovery

Charlotte: Direction

Audrey: Confidence

Tim: Love

Sean: Motivate

Make 2011 the best year in your homeschool yet. Don't try to do it all, but do what you can to the best of your ability with the talents God has given you. As a friend told me this week, "to take on more than the "all" you are already doing, is just crazy". But, for me, to do any of it with out some kind of a plan is crazier still.

So whether you are choosing purposeful words this year, or making resolutions and goals, I wish you the very best homeschool year. What are the purposeful words/goals you have set for your homeschool this year? Leave a comment and share them!

Katie