Try a New Recipe Tuesday- October 15

It is Tuesday (almost!) and time for our little recipe sharing party!  :-)  My family and I enjoy seeing (and trying) all of your delicious recipes.

I am sharing my homemade Sloppy Joe recipe this week and have linked it below.  It always goes over well in our house and is easy to make.  I also love that I know exactly what goes in it.  :-)

Here are today's features:

Burger Dog at Coping with Frugality

Pork Fried Rice at The Vintage Housewife

Lime Ricotta Cookies at Honesty's Protegee

Pizza Salad Dinner at Cooking the Recipe

Fruity Quinoa Loaf from Jenn's Random Scraps

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a copy of "The Homemaker's Mentor," chock full of amazing files including lots of recipes!  :-)

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Homemade Sloppy Joes

Last week I made Sloppy Joes for my family.  They are SO good and it is surely a benefit when you make something from scratch and know that every ingredient is all-natural and that nothing artificial is added.  :-)

1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
3/4 cup ketchup
3 teaspoons brown sugar
ground black pepper to taste

Brown beef and drain.

Mix well all ingredients in small bowl and then add to beef and thoroughly mix.

Serve on buns.  Enjoy!  :-)

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for "The Homemaker's Mentor" CD, chock full of amazing files.

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 and Tuesday How to Party and the Tried and True Recipe Party and Kids and Mom in the Kitchen and Family Fun Friday and Clever Chicks Blog Hop andAll My Bloggy Friends and Hearts for Home Blog Hop and Foodie Friends Friday and Family Fun Friday and TGIF Linky Party and Food on Friday andHip Homeschool Moms, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home andGood Tastes Tuesday and Thriving Thursday

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Bow of Bronze Review- Homemaker's Mentor and 3 Giveaways!

I am happy to be on the Bow of Bronze Launch Team and reviewing "The Homemaker's Mentor."

I loved the idea of a product geared toward moms and their children. We were able to integrate much of what was in these files as part of our homeschooling day, as well as learning new recipes, household tips and even home crafts (which my daughter just loves!)  

My children are 15, 14, 11 1/2 and 9 1/2 (they like when I add the half part, lol!) and they helped me quite a bit with this review.

The Homemaker's Mentor is available in CD form and is packed with PDF files.  Packed is truly an understatement.  There are 33 files with over 100 audios, pictures and documents.  Everything necessary for teaching your children (or learning yourself) how to run a home is included: organizing, cooking, cleaning, sewing and more.  There are even files on natural remedies and first aid, which I believe is a must learn for all of my children.  My children enjoyed seeing the files on canning, as we do quite a bit around here.  They are also doing some canning with their 4H group.

If you sign up for the their newsletter, you'll get 5 free lessons!  :-)  For the launch, the CD is priced at $37 (regularly $47)

The Homemaker's Mentor is the result of 4 years of gathering recipes, stories and tips.  My children most enjoyed the files on the pizza, cookies and even making a quilt.  The Fall and Winter checklists came in handy for me this time of year.  :-)

Wholesome Childhood has given me TWO sets to give away!  A great big thanks to the Erksine family.  To enter, fill in the form below.

Entry-Form

Here is the third giveaway!  In celebration of the launch of the Homemaker's Mentor, they are giving away over $400 in prizes!  Click here to enter.

Click here to see what the other members of the Launch Team had to say about The Homemaker's Mentor and to enter their giveaways, as well!  :-)

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Field Trip Friday- October 11

It is time again for Field Trip Friday!  I love seeing all of the wonderful places that you visit with your families.  :-)  I am happy to be joining my friend Jen at Chestnut Grove Academy for her wonderful linkup.  Also co-hosting with me is Misty from Mimi's House.  Be sure to visit their blogs, as well!  :-)

Last week's posts were amazing!  There were ones about a historic home in Australia, roaming in Kansas, a bison ranch in Wyoming, a visit to an American Girl store, Assateague and the wild horses, having a campout, the treasures of a family vacation, lighthouses and apple picking and even a visit with Ben Franklin.  What incredible memories are being made with your children!

If you didn't get a chance to visit last week's posts, you can see them here.  You won't be disappointed!  :-)

I look forward to seeing what will be shared this week!


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TOS Review- George Washington: True Patriot from YWAM Publishing

Today I am reviewing George Washington: True Patriot from YWAM Publishing.

This book is in their Heroes of History series.

I also reviewed their Unit Study Curriculum Guide.

This engaging book has 19 chapters (146 pages).  It covers Washington's life from his early life until his death.  The focus of the book is on his role in the Revolution, the beginning of our nation and his presidency. The book starts, however, with a gripping scene from the American Revolution to grab the reader's attention and then goes 'back in time' to Washington's humble beginnings and is able to illustrate what in his life brought him to that point.

Does it idolize him or make him a god?  Certainly not.  The book does rightly portray Washington as intelligent, dedicated, strong and wise.  His shortcomings, like a poor decision made in the French and Indian War are also explored, and how he was profoundly affected by what happened that day.  It haunted him for years and he made sure that he learned from the mistake and never made it again.  So, perhaps that is a shortcoming, but learning from one's mistakes and being sure to never make them again to me is truly an attribute and positive example for the book's readers.

The book was written for ages 10 and up.  We used it as a family read aloud.

The Curriculum Guide included activities/supplemental materials and lesson ideas to incorporate creative writing, reading comprehension and history/geography.  It helps make the material in the book come alive for the children and provides lots of opportunities for hands-on learning.

The Curriculum Guide was divided into sections:

• Quotes
• Chapter Questions (great for comprehension!)
• Community Links
• Student Explorations (crafts and hands-on projects!)
• Related Themes (applying math, science)
• Social Studies (Vocabulary, Geography, places)
• Culminating Events
• Books and Resources

One of the suggestions in the Curriculum Guide is to take your children on related field trips.  We live outside of Philadelphia, so we have been able to visit many of the important sites in the War for Independence, as well as the founding of our nation.

During Valley Forge's Homeschool Day, for example, we were able to walk into Washington's headquarters and see his room and actual possessions.  It was an awe-inspiring experience, to say the least!  As they articulate in the Unit Study, to be able to see these important places in person, rather than just reading them in a book, makes it relevant and real for the children and brings to life everything they have read and learned.

You can easily see how you can do quite a bit in all subject areas with this Unit Study!  :-)

My children loved the book.  It kept their attention, was written in an informative, but casual style and had them really wanting to hear and learn more.  The different activities I chose from the Guide were fun and hands-on.  I plan on looking into the many other titles that YWAM has available.  The books retail for only $6.99 and the Unit Study Curriculum Guide is only $7.49.

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Hearts for Home Blog Hop- October 10

Welcome to the Hearts for Home Blog Hop!  I am thrilled to be a co-host with 20+ other awesome bloggers!     :-)


The most clicked on post from last week was:

How to Teach Kids to Fix Their Spelling at The Measured Mom

Three of my favorites (they were ALL wonderful) include:

My Gratitude Journal: A Book of Thanks for Kids

On our Montessori Shelves from Gift of Curiousity

25 Fun Fall Activities and Printables from Natural Beach Living

Were you featured this week?  If so, congratulations and help yourself to one of our "I was featured" buttons to display on your blog.

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.upsidedownhomeschooling.com/hearts-for-home/" title="Hearts for Home Blog Hop" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r505/upsidedownhomeschool/HFHFeature_zpse5060e68.jpg" alt="Hearts for Home Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

 

Are you ready to share your posts this week?  Let's go!  Use the form below to enter your links.  Posts can be anything that shows your heart is for your home: homeschooling, homemaking, parenting, marriage, faith, family, crafts, etc.  Please just kindly link back to this blog or display our Hearts for Home button in your post or on your sidebar.

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.upsidedownhomeschooling.com/hearts-for-home/" title="Hearts for Home Blog Hop" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r505/upsidedownhomeschool/HFH150_zpsf22ef64f.jpg" alt="Hearts for Home Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Happy Hopping!


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Bethany Beach Nature Center

One of the treasures we found while visiting Bethany Beach was their Nature Center.  Nestled off the side of what seems like a major thoroughfare is this literal oasis and sanctuary for wildlife and plants of all kinds.  The indoor center, housed in a restored turn of the century bungalow, has all kinds of hands-on exhibits, activities and learning centers.

After we took a look around indoors, the staff member handed us a scavenger hunt list, insect and water nets and off we were on the trail!

Linking up with: Judy H-J's Thoughts, Mama to 4 Blessings, Create with Joy, NOBH, Musings from a Stay at Home Mom, Tina's Wordless Wednesday,Judy @ CoffeeJitters and Wordless Wednesday at Wordless and  Living Well Wednesday, Modest Mom,  Homemaking Wednesdays and Crafty Spices, Look What We Did and Do Small Things With Love and Wordless Wednesday Bloggers and A Sorta Fairytale and Field Trip Friday

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