Home to 4 Kiddos

Monday, February 18, 2013

Try a New Recipe Tuesday- February 19

This week, Kiddo #4 wanted to try a new recipe. She chose brownies. These were SO good. I mean really, really good. :-) (and they have whole wheat flour in them, which makes them just a little bit healthy, right? lol.)

She also decided that she wants to start her own bakery (not someday, now.)

:-)

Whole Wheat Brownies (adapted from Sesame Street Yummy Cookies cookbook)

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8-inch square pan. Stir the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the sugar; stir for 4 minutes or until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cocoa. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well blended.

Stir in the flour mixture until blended.

Stir in the chocolate chips. Spread the batter in the pan.

Bake for 16-20 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean.

Enjoy! (we certainly did!)

Memoir Monday- February 18

Wednesday marked the beginning of Lent, the season leading up to Easter. I try to make it a special time for my children, a bit different from the "ordinary." I want them to understand, in their own way, what it means to journey with Christ toward Easter, whether that be through personal sacrifice or acts of charity toward others.

In our church bulletin, the following was said about Ash Wednesday:

ASH WEDNESDAY
The ashes we use are the burnt palms from last year's
celebration of Passion (Palm) Sunday.
We begin our Lenten journey aware of where we are going.
We want to enter into the Passion, Death and Resurrection of
Jesus for us more fully.
That is the purpose of our journey. It is why we mark our
heads with his cross.
It is why we fast today and abstain from meat.
Our Lenten program is not an effort to save ourselves.
We have been saved by His sacrifice.
Our self-denial helps us, in the darkness that surrounds us,
to prepare ourselves to receive his light.
For this is a journey to the Easter font,
where we will renew the promises of our Baptism,
remembering that in dying with him in the waters of Baptism,
we are re-born with him to everlasting life.
This year's journey begins today

One of the special things we do is our "Kind Words Cross." Every time one of the kiddos says something kind, they put an Easter Lily on the cross. It is my hope, that by Easter Sunday, the cross will filled with lillies and be a beautiful reminder of the Resurrection. Also, the word "repent" will be changed to "rejoice." :-

I hope these first few days of Lent have been meaningful for you and your family. I will share more of our special Lenten activities during the week.

Linking up with: On, in and around Mondays in addition to Wisdom Wednesday, Living Well Wednesday, Mom's Monday Mingle, Monday Mingle, Modest Mom, Crazy Mama, Homemaking Wednesdays and Raising Mighty Arrows and Titus 2sday and Clever Chicks Blog Hop and Memoir Monday and Mondays with Countrified Hicks and Create with Joy

Friday, February 15, 2013

Homeschool Mother's Journal/Weekly Wrap-up February 15

I have not written in a few days. Nothing is wrong, just the demands of homeschooling and enjoying Valentine's Day with my family. :-) I am finding it harder and harder to keep up with a daily blogging schedule.

In my life/homeschool this week: On Monday, Kiddo #4 had her sewing class. She made an outfit for her beloved "Pigie." It is so darn cute! Her skills never cease to amaze me. :-)

On Monday, we also dove a bit more into an "interest-led" educational approach. I bought 4 pieces of posterboard and told the kiddos that they could research any topic they wished, but they were to illustrate and describe it on their posters. It was no surprise what each child picked, but they truly loved doing the project (which was the whole point!) :-)

At the time of these photos, the posters were still not completely finished (my printer needed more toner, lol!), but Kiddo #4 chose pigs

Kiddo #2 chose the football playoffs of several years ago

Kiddo #3 chose the circus

and Kiddo #1 chose fighter jets

Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty uneventful school days, with the kiddos finishing their posters and working on their subjects such as Algebra and Chemistry. Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. We do a lot of special activities to mark the season and to prepare ourselves for Easter. I will devote a post to this on Monday. I hope you enjoy it.

Thursday was Valentine's Day. Kiddo #4 and I were surprised with a special treat from my hubby-- we each got roses and chocolate! :-) Kiddos #1 and 3 also made chocolate strawberries and my dad gave me some chocolate covered pretzels (yummy!). Kiddo #4 made her now legendary "Cocoa Crackles" (you can see the recipe here from Try a New Recipe Tuesday" since her was her Pigie's 2nd birthday. :-)

My husband took the children and I out to dinner and surprised us with some news. It is definitely bittersweet. This is something that he has done since he was 17 years old and for all but about a year and a half of our marriage. I was 17 when I met my "soldier boy," who was home on leave from Germany, so it will definitely take some getting used to. I am so enormously proud of him. It is no surprise that the troops under his leadership are devastated at the news. Of course, I won't miss the long periods of time that we weren't with him, or the year he was at war, or the 12 of 14 Father's Days that he wasn't able to share with the kids, but there is a pride, identity, strength and fortitude that comes with being a military wife and family....I well up again as I type this.

Since I am so late getting this out, I am able to share that hubby and I took the kids to the circus on Friday for a Valentine's Day gift. It was, by far, the best circus performance we have ever attended. We were mesmerized the whole time. Of course, Kiddo #3 was thrilled with the elephants. :-)

The circus programs came with clown glasses, lol!

We took the kids to a downtown diner for lunch. It was a great day. :-)

I hope your week went well. Have a great weekend! :-)

Linking up today with: Homeschool Mother's Journal, Weekly Wrap-Up, NOBH, Show-Off Friday, Learn and Link and It's a Wrap, Friendship Friday and Friday Connection

TOS Review- Classical Academic Press

This week, I am posting my review of "God's Great Covenant: A Bible Course for Children" Old Testament 1- Genesis to Ruth.

I had never heard of Classical Academic Press before being asked to review their product. I found out that they also sell material in the areas of Logic, Latin, Spanish, Greek, French and Poetry.

Upon receiving the products, I was interested to see how the Old Testament could be presented to children in a way that was interesting and relevant to them.

From CAP's literature: "God has a big story to tell. From beginning to end His Word is action-packed and suspense filled while, at the same time, it's the greatest love story ever written. The aim of the God's Great Covenant Bible curriculum is to relate the Biblical narrative to elementary-aged children in a simple, unified way that emphasizes God's faithfulness through the ages."

The program is a four-year series for students beginning as early as second grade. There are two texts teaching the Old Testament and two teaching the New Testament.

I received the God's Great Covenant Old Testament 1 Bundle, which included a Student Edition, Teacher's Edition and an audio download of Bible stories being read aloud.

These items can all be previewed and purchased from their website:

God's Great Covenant, OT 1: A Bible Course for Children $22.95
God's Great Covenant, OT 1: Teacher's Edition $24.95
God's Great Covenant, OT 1: Audio Files $9.95

All of the above bundled together (in additon to a OT timeline and map set) $79.95

We liked that the stories were written in a format that was interesting, suspenseful and using vocabulary/ideas that the children would be able to understand. Through these chapters and activities, the people in the Bible became real for my kids, along with their struggles, faith, and relationship with God.

The activities/worksheets offered a variety of activities including crossword puzzles and word finds, which are always popular in my house. :-) We were very pleased with these materials and look forward to delving further into them.

Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Review Crew, I received this product at no cost to me in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Try a New Recipe Tuesday- February 12

It is time for another great week of recipes! :-) I have so much enjoyed all of the recipes that have been shared. I'm sorry if I haven't had a chance to comment on each and every submission (I am trying!)

This week, my daughter wanted to bake some cookies. She found an old cookbook (Sesame Street Yummy Cookies) she had from when she was little and we adapted a recipe from it.

Cocoa Crackles
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (one stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease cookie sheets.
Stir together the all-purpose flour, the whole wheat flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla; beat until well blended. Add the flour mixture, beat just until blended.

Place the powdered sugar in a shallow bowl. roll heaping teaspoonfuls of the dough into balls or spheres. Roll the balls in the powdered sugar until they are coated. Place two inches apart on the baking sheet.

Bake for about 11 minutes or until they are set and no longer shiny. Cool the cookies on the cookie sheets for 2 minutes and then remove to racks to cool completely.

These are SO good! I hope you will enjoy them as much as my family did! :-)

Linking up with the Gathering Spot, Kids in the Kitchen, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Mighty Arrows,Addicted to Recipes, Homemaking Wednesdays, Living Well Wednesday,NOBH, Judy H-J's Thoughts, Wisdom Wednesday , Favorite Things, Modest Mom, Full Plate Thursday and Melt in your Mouth Monday and Show Off Friday and Tuesday's Table and Look What We Did and Titus 2sday, Mom's Monday Mingle, Monday Mingle, Crafty Spices, Better Mom,Create with Joy, Thursday's Treasures, Tasty Thursdays and Wonderful Food Wednesday and Mondays with Countrified Hicks

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Homeschool Mother's Journal/Weekly Wrap-up February 8

This is a bit late (actually, really late) getting written/posted.

In my life/homeschool this week:

On Monday, Kiddo #4 finished yet another sewing project. She made herself a polar bear. The skills and eye for detail and creativity she has at her age really astonish me.

Kiddo #1 also did a pretty neat science experiment. You can see photos of it here. I also posted about our weekend in my Memoir Monday post, which you can see here.

The highlight of the day on Tuesday was bowling with some friends. Our league hasn't started back up yet, but the kids enjoy trying to keep up their skills in between. :-)

Since it was Tuesday, I also posted my "Try a New Recipe Tuesday" linkup, which is growing in popularity. :-) You can see my recipe for homemade bouillon and onion soup mix in addition to all of the other recipes shared here.

Wednesday was a get down to the books day, with much getting done. Kiddos #3 and 4 have completely mastered 2 digit by 2 digit multiplication. On to 3 x 3 next week! Wow! It is amazing how Kiddo #4, when exposed to her brother's work (which is 2 years above her), is learning it, too. That has to be one of the biggest benefits of homeschooling-- you are not limited to an age label or forced to sit through the presentation of material that you already know because of the limitations of "teaching to the middle of the class." There is no limit and no labels in homeschool. They go at their own pace, however "advanced" or "not" it may be. :-)

Another wonderful benefit is teaching what is applicable on that day. For example, on Thursday, Kiddo #4 was writing in her journal (which she does faithfully multiple times a day) and asked about the spelling of a word. Thus, a lesson ensued with the differences between "there, their and they're." When it is relevant and applicable to them and their needs, they will *want* to learn and remember it. :-)

Kiddos 1 and 2 had their online class, which they are enjoying. (and there's nothing like lounging and learning simultaneously! lol)

We also had our afternoon classes at church. With my 5th graders, I spoke about the true meaning of St. Valentine's Day, we made a John 3:16 Valentine craft

and we discussed Lent, as it starts next week. Yegads! :-) Kiddos 1 and 2 volunteered as helpers, as they do every week, assisting with attendance and other tasks.

And there's nothing like playing a game with dad when he comes home from work.

A uneventful day of schoolwork was on Friday. We wrapped up St. Valentine's Day chocolates for the kids' great-grandmothers. (my husband is blessed to have both of his grandmothers still living) and I went to the post office and got them sent off. I hope they'll enjoy them.

I hope everyone has a good weekend. I am so glad that I was able to get this post done, finally! :-)

Linking up today with: Homeschool Mother's Journal, Weekly Wrap-Up, NOBH, Show-Off Friday, Learn and Link and It's a Wrap, Friendship Friday and Friday Connection

TOS Review-Apologia Zoology 1

When the opportunity presented itself that I could review Apologia's Zoology 1: Flying Creatures, I was so excited! I love Apologia's materials and have used them extensively with my children.

Zoology 1 proved no different than their other subject areas that we have studied. There is so much activity and variety in this textbook. ($39.00) It is bright and full of beautiful illustrations and is written with a style that keeps the student interested and engaged. It reads like a living book, yet has the depth of a textbook.

The experiments and hands-on activity suggestions are easy on the parent/teacher, yet are fun and educational for the student.

Also beneficial are the multiple opportunities for the child to narrate back what they have learned. We definitely retain what we can put into words and this solidifies the information for the student.

The Junior Notebooking Journal ($24.00) is a wonderful supplement to the text. Geared toward those who are just mastering cursive handwriting (there is the regular Notebooking Journal for older students), the journal guides the student in having a personal keepsake of their studies with lapbooking activities, writings, drawings and experiments. My children love pulling out their notebooking journals!

Did you know that a Short-tailed Shearwater flies 5,000 miles without stopping? I didn't. :-) I also didn't know that a Bar-headed goose flies above the "death zone" elevation of 25,000 feet where humans cannot survive. There is so much more covered in this book, that we are looking forward to continuing with our study.