Aug. 15, 2008 - Crispy Crouton Recipe
I have been trying to stay busy while a new modem is on its way and my washing machine cleans all of the vomit and diarrhea out of the crib sheets. It has surely been a busy first week of school! ( The girls are recovering from a bout of a stomach bug :( ) I wanted to share a recipe for homemade croutons that are delicious on a summer veggie salad. My salads these days have lettuce, fresh, raw broccoli, crisp, cold carrot slices, juicy chunks of yellow tomatoes out of my mom’s organic garden, quartered pieces of peeled cucumber of the aforementioned garden, a hard boiled egg, and a raspberry vinegrette. One of my favorite, not so healthy, toppings are French’s Fried Onions. YUM! The only problem is that I have to sneak and eat my salad or Lily and Rachel are constantly picking parts of my salad as I eat. Not a bad problem to have, just annoying. J Croutons: 3 slices bread, cubed (I used homemade and I suggest using thick slices not the thin heels) ¼ cup butter ½ tsp dill or parsley ½ tsp garlic powder 2 TBS parmesan cheese *In a microwave safe dish, melt the butter. Add the spices (I also added salt) and cheese. Stir well then add the bread cubes. Microwave on high for 2 minutes and then stir. Microwave for another minute or two. (I noticed that the thin slices became stale and chewy and the thicker chunks of bread were perfect. ) I have my Aunt Meme to thank for this recipe. J (Before I microwaved the bread cubes.)
Aug. 15, 2008 - Painting with Marbles
I was flipping through a great idea book today, 365 Ways to a Smarter Preschooler, and found this idea called Ping-Pong Art. I adapted the activity to incorporate marbles instead of ping-pong balls. Here are the steps.
Gather your supplies:
- plain white paper
- tempera paint
- Q-tips to mix
- marbles
- baking pan or jelly roll pan
- small containers for paint
- spoons for dipping marbles out of paint
Cut your paper to fit the pan if necessary.
Collect the kids and cover them with paint smocks. It may look like a clean craft but the kids always pluck the marbles out with their fingers and then smear the paint on their shirts. (Ask me how I know 
.)
Set up a drying station for your masterpieces. I used inverted paper plates on the counter. It kept the pieces up off the counter and then we just reused them at supper.
Ok, now you are ready to ge the paint out. It really does help to be completely set up before the kids start painting.
I had Sam mix four colors in the small Crystal Light tubs and use Q-tips to mix them well. Popscicle sticks would have worked just as well. Drop a marble into each tub of paint and turn it over in the paint. Using a spoon, scoop a marble out of the paint and drop into the pan,that you covered in paper first. The kids tried one marble at a time and then several all at once to accomplish several designs.
This activity appealed to Lily and Katie the most, the 3 and 5 year olds.
Katie saying "eew" as she plucked the marble out of her pan. :)
Sam working on his piece.
Hope this helps someone else do some crafting with their kids!
Aug. 14, 2008 - New Digi-Scrap Pages
I have tried to use my cut off from the internet to catch up on non-blogging activites. I know I posted a few of our pictures from our first day already but here are the two digi-scrap pages for our Live to Learn yearbook. I love using Photoshop Elements! I try and learn a new tool each time I design a page. My favorite way to use the program is to open up a document at 12x12 size with a 300 pixels and RGB color. Then I either use a background that came with Photoshop or I use one I have downloaded for free off the internet. I haven’t succumbed to the purchase of cute digital kits but I know the day is coming. Then I use frames, over in the Create section, and size them how I want them. I drag my pictures into the frames and then resize them if necessary. To complete each framed picture I add a drop shadow, one of the 8 always works for me. I like to keep my pages simple so I can get back to spending time with my family. When I am in the mood for deep, detailed page spreads I go somewhere else, aka not my home, and digi-scrap for a few hours uninterrupted. By the way, I am a two page spread kind of girl. I like to open a scrapbook and have a two page spread relate to each other. I plan on having Shutterfly print a digital scrapbook for me in the Spring for around $50-$60. Last year I printed a 12x12 and I think I might enjoy the size of an 8x8 better. We’ll see what I choose this Spring. I only print one for our whole family and if the kids want to take one with them for their future families they can print one later. This has become a frugal way for me to scrapbook and preserve our memories.
Aug. 14, 2008 - Blogging Interruptis
I must have had an internet connection addiction. It seems so clear in hindsight. The day I lost my internet connection I was only mildly panicked, sure that John, my hero, could fix it by night fall. Alas, I went to bed without checking my email or reading my blog feeds on night 1. I woke up the next morning and purposely stayed off the computer until afternoon rest time and prayed for a quick connection, piggy backing off a neighbors wireless connection. I said all the proper praises to my God, who loves me even in the small things, and uploaded all our first day of school pictures and blogged about my day. Unfortunately, that was the last of a clear connection for days to come. I could feel the anxiety rising in me as I had many emails left unchecked and unanswered. People probably wondered where I had gone. Of course no one called me, except Jennifer J , to check on my well being after being off Facebook for 4 days in a row. My beloved tried so hard to reconnect me, but after 6 plus hours fiddling, unplugging, twisting, praying, and generally trying to keep his cool, he called AT&T. Their diagnostician, in the Philippians, concluded that our modem had gone bad. Again. So now I wait for a new modem that will ease my stress level at the end of the day and connect me to your world. And yes, I admit that I have an internet blogging addiction. J Just so no one worries about my soul, I do make sure my house is clean, my children are educated, dressed and fed, the bread is made for the day, my chores are done, dinner is in the crock pot, my quiet time has been first, and that my children aren’t standing over me with big solemn eyes begging for my attention. So there, I love to read all of your blogs and to add to mine own in a form of therapy that only the internet can provide.
Aug. 11, 2008 - A Glimpse into our Homeschool Day
Day one of our new year will hopefully be a precursor of our days to come. I spent much of yesterday and this morning in prayer that our days would be fluid, without screaming fits or complaining attitudes, and meaningful. I love to teach my children and I hope that they can see the benefit of what I am teaching them, but on the days when they don’t understand it is my prayer that they can trust me and be obedient. Now a glimpse into our home school day. It is afternoon rest time at our house right now and I am still in amazement that our morning was so smooth. I turned PBS off on the TV at 9am, a little later than I had hoped but I was feeling lazy and wanted to check my email and my feeds. Everyone helped themselves to breakfast and spent the rest of the next 30 minutes doing their Morning Chores. Austin LOVES this routine. I forget how important it is to him that he knows what to expect and that his day has predictability. He tackled all his Morning Chores with a pleasant attitude and a diligence I am proud of. We began our day with a fun warm-up. Katie and Lily had one tub of finger paint and a note card with “A a” on it. Katie also had a few sight words she practiced in paint. Rachel sat in her high chair and played with her foam letter cubes, ok so she really threw them and giggled. J The boys each thumbed through a children’s dictionary looking for nouns that began with the letter A. I asked them to find 10 each. I intend to review these new words every morning as part of our warm up this week. After our warm-up, I had the three girls head upstairs to the playroom for 30 minutes. Austin chose to read for the next 30 minutes and Sam read Matthew chapter 13 to me while I folded laundry. I couldn’t believe Austin was choosing to read. That is his biggest struggle and he doesn’t usually read willingly. He loves to be read to but not on his own. Praise the Lord! I took my favorite aspect of the Charlotte Mason methodology today and took the kids on a nature walk after their first 30 minutes activity Everyone loved being outside and exploring with the magnifying glass. Rachel tottered along behind us and resisted being carried. She is so stubborn and independent. We inspected all the neighbors flowering bushes, the cobwebs in the crook of the tree trunks and raced across the yard to get back home again. I was so grateful the outside temperature was under 80*. We came in and had a short snack that consisted of a spoonful of peanut butter with chocolate chips on a spoon. This gave everyone the energy to move on to our next activity. Katie worked on her phonics with me for 30 minutes, while the boys wrote in their journals. The two little girls played upstairs again. While lunch was cooking the little girls got some momma time and we snuggled and read two books. I feel like everyone got the attention they craved based on the lack of complaining and whining. I am hopeful that our mornings can look like this for a few months and then we will readjust to our winter schedule. Austin, peering into the center of a cobweb!
Aug. 9, 2008 - Family Picture
Here is one of the few pictures we have of our whole family. I don't count the hospital pictures. ;)
We had a delightful lunch at my mom's house this past Sunday and I made them all get together and be photgraphed. Why is it that no one wants to gather for pictures but then they all love to see pictures of themselves. I am finding it much harder to photograph my family now that we are at 5 kids.
Austin only looks at the camera twice a year and never in a group and the other kids tend to look off at some random bird in the background or in this case, Katie saw something on the ground she just needed to look at!
At least I have one picture to remember our family at this stage of their lives.
Aug. 8, 2008 - Price Per Pound
I just got home from grocery shopping trip at Ingles. I thought I would share my deals. They also always have a double coupon policy, with a few rules, and the occasional triple coupon week.
I picked up 11 pounds of chicken breast tenders, boneless, skinless, at $1.98 per pound. I found this a great price for chicken. I am used to paying $2.25- $2.50 per pound lately.
They also had country style pork ribs on sale for $1.48 per pound. I picked up a package that was 8.5 pounds. These are great in the crock pot with BBQ sauce on top and a baked potato on the side. YUM!
My last deal was 3 Pork Roasts, Boston Butt Boneless, for $1.98/ lb. Once again if I find meat on sale for less than $2 I am so pleased. Here is a great recipe for this cut of meat. We also like this cooked in the crock pot with garlic, salt, and a little liquid like chicken stock. Then at the end of the day, shred it and add BBQ sauce and buns.
Does anyone have a vacuum food sealer? What all do you use it for? Can someone tell my mother that I want the one from Sam's Club for Christmas? 
Aug. 8, 2008 - 2 Katie Digi-Scrap Pages
I finished two more pages this week for our Live to Learn yearbook. I designed a simple two page spread on Katie, my new Kindergartener. It is amazing how fast they grow up and Katie is turning into a beautiful, sweet tempered child with a servant's heart.
Aug. 6, 2008 - Wednesday Book Pile:Digital Scrap Style
I have begun our 2008-2009 Live to Learn Yearbook. This past year was my first try at digital scrapbooking and I used dozens of my digital prints to create our annual. I had a fabulous time assembling the pages and designing but I felt pressured to recreate a years worth of memories in a short period of time.
This year I am vowing to digi-scrap each 2 page spread as I take pictures. I know when I take pictures and review them, whether or not I want to immortalize them in an annual. I "see" them on a scrapbook page shortly after I take the pictures. 
So for today's Wednesday's book pile I scrapped Rachel. Grandma Joyce and Daddy both spent time reading to her tonight. When she wants to read shes say the word "book" and then bangs the book against your leg until you sit down and read it to her.
These scrapbook pages are courtesy of Photoshop Elements and Mommy Design (me ).
Aug. 6, 2008 - Check out this blog . . .
I want to thank Rachel, a MOMYS friend, for telling me about this awesome blog. It is Filling My Freezer Here is a link to one of her entries that is so inspiring and motivational as I lead my life as a mother and a believer in Jesus.
Here is a teaser from that entry:
I believe cheerful frugality and contentment go hand in hand. If we are content with what we have then it will be easy for us to cheerfully be frugal. We won’t care that we can’t buy a Starbucks because we are content with the coffee pot God has provided for us at home. Make sense?
She also has lots of freezer meal ideas and tips. I can't wait to check out the Sweet and Sour Pork Recipe and the Chicken Parisienne Recipe.
Aug. 5, 2008 - Freezer Meals X 14
Yesterday, with help from two awesome helpers, I made 14 freezer meals. I am trying to fill my freezer up and make my Fall a bit easier. It makes my days run so much smoother if I don't have to stress about what to cook at 4pm everyday. I will stick to my monthly menu and include half freezer meals and half easy meals, like grilled cheese and a fruit salad.
Here is my list of meals made.
- Meatballs in Tomato Sauce (5 meals)
- Poppyseed Chicken (2)
- Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole (4)
- Italian Meatballs (3)
I froze all the casseroles, except the poppyseed ones and the meatballs, in a baking dishes lined with foil. After they were frozen solid I lifted the casserole in the foil out of the dish. If you struggle to lift the dish out of the pan, just run hot water on the bottom and the sides of the dish.
Then I wrapped them in foil again, day dreamed about this really cool vacuum food sealer at Sam's Club, labeled the foil package with a name and a date and off to my freezer they went. When I want to cook one of these foil wrapped casseroles I will unwrap the frozen meal and place in the dish I used originally. This keeps my dishes clean and ready to use any time and not tied up in the freezer for several weeks or months.
This casserole was first wrapped in saran wrap then foil.
Here are three of the meatballs in tomato sauce. I made sure to form the foil around the frozen casserole so I could easily tell which dish it belonged to.
Here is my freezer in desparate need of a defrost but it gives you an idea of our bounty. Anyone want ot have a baby so I can make you dinnner?! See the ice cream tub on one of the lower shelves, it's not ice cream any more. I bought a big bag of hot dogs at Sam's Club and stacked the uncooked ones in here so I can pull them out as needed and not have a frozen block of hotdogs. They fit perfect standing up on end.
These 14 meals are not alone though. I have 10 pounds of cooked ground beef in meal sized freezer bags, 2 freezer bags of the poppyseed chicken casserole, bags of uncooked chicken breasts in marinades, blocks of butter from Sam's Club, uncooked meatloaf dishes, a ham I picked up inexpensively at Easter, and several meal sized bags off stew meat for beef stew. I also have some cooked beans for chili that I made at home and bags full of the heals of our store boght bread to make bread crumbs as needed. I need to add some pork roasts and beef roasts when I find them on sale. I hope to buy more ground beef on sale, less than $2.25/lb, and cook it in meal sized freezer bags as well. I love to add ground beef to our chili, taco soup, spaghetti, pizza, mac and cheese, and calzones. Bacon freezes well too, either cooked or raw.
As a side note did you know that bacon can be cooked in the oven. I lay the strips in a large oven safe pan and bake at 425* until done maybe 15 minutes?, I don't remember how long. Just check it every 5 mintues or so and you'll be able to see it is done. No splatters all over the kitchen and no dangerous grease filled skillet on the stove top.
Here are some of the recipes:
Meatballs in tomato sauce
2# ground beef uncooked
1/2 cup raw rice
1 egg
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbs dried minced onion
1 small can tomato soup
1 large can tomato soup
1/4 cup milk
1. Set aside 2/3 of the small can of tomato soup, the large can and the milk. Mix everything else well. Form into meatballs and line a large pan or two medium sized pans.
2. Mix the 2/3 of the small can of soup, the large can and the milk in a separate bowl. Pour this over the meatballs.
3. Freeze. When ready to bake, thaw completely and bake at 350* covered for 1 hour. If you forget to thaw it, bake covered at 350* for alot longer. :) Maybe 1 1/2 hours, just check it for doneness.
4.This size recipe makes a very large dish or 2 regular sized meals for my family of 7. We love this over pasta.
Chicken and Wild Rice
5 cups cooked wild rice
2 small cans cream of mushroom soup
8 oz sour cream
2 TBS lemon juice
3 cups cooked chicken
1. Spread 2.5 cups of the cooked rice on the bottom of your large pan.
2. Mix the soup, sour cream and the lemon juice ina separate bowl. Pour half this mixture on top of the rice.
3. Add the chicken and then layer more soup mixture on top. The final layer is rice.
4. Freeze. Thaw completely and then add a layer of bread crumbs or stuffing on top with melted butter for added interest. Bake at 350* for 45 uncovered. This makes 2 family sized portions or one large meal.
Poppyseed Chicken
(Amanda V. this recipe may sound very familiar! Thanks for contributing to the church cookbook. :))
4 chicken breast, cooked and cubed
1 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1. Mix all ingredients together and pour into a casserole dish or a freezer bag. When you are ready to bake, thaw, pour into a baking dish if needed and add crushed ritz crackers,melted butter, and 1 TBS poppy seeds to the top. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes uncovered. Serve over cooked rice or pasta.
This makes a decent family sized portion.
For the italian meatballs I added a few eggs, bread crumbs, italian seasoning and salt to several pounds of raw ground beef. I formed into meatballs and froze them uncooked. It helps to freeze on a cookie sheet and then transfer the hard frozen balls to a freezer bag.
Update to this entry:
I added up the total for all these meals and it amounted to about $85. Each meal, which will feed 7 people with at least one extra meal, totals up to $5. I will have to add pasta to the meatballs recipe and rice to the poppyseed chicken recipe but those are staples I keep on hand and purchase at very low prices. I calculated that it will cost under $1 per person per meal, not including the leftovers that John can take to work the next day. :)
Aug. 4, 2008 - Homeschool Funny
You know you are a relaxed, eclectic homeschooler when . . .
Austin and I were having a conversation about college and college football. I told him that if he wants to be a college football player he will have to keep his grades up because you don't play if you don't make the grade. Well, he turned to me and asked "what are grades?" ! I promise he did not know what I was talking about.
I couldn't believe my 9 yo had no idea and I had to actually explain that some people take a test to see how much they have learned from their lessons. The grade is what percentage they got right. :)
It makes me chuckle even right now. In our home, we don't take tests. I suppose it is because I am right there when they are learning and my "class size" is so low. :) If they are struggling with a new math lesson we go ever it again and learn it a new way. I might pull out something visual and tactile for him to "see" the problem or I might have John explain it his way. But overall, there are no grades less than 100%, because I just don't move on in the lessons until he gets it. Austin's pace is slow but his learning and comprehension is thorough.
Aug. 2, 2008 - How I made dinner last night :)
Ok, so I made enchiladas for my family and a big pot of brown rice. I thought I would share how I made it, hopefully it won't be as hard for your family though.
Wednesday night, I had Sam preheat the oven to 350* and begin to unwrap the meatloaf he and I mega froze earlier this week. As he unwrapped the last layer of saran wrap the biggest storm of the week rolled in and knocked our power out for 2 hours.
So, back in the fridge went to meatloaf and we made roasted potatoes and carrots in foil packs on the grill. Yum, with lots of garlic, olive oil and salt.
Thursday night another milder storm blew through and the power only went out for 2 minutes and the meatloaf was saved from another night in the fridge.
Friday night, I knew I wanted something Mexican style for dinner so I decided on enchiladas, kid style. Only problem was that I was completely out of ground beef! I usually stock up in 10 #-20 #s so I was shocked that I had run low and didn't even know it. I spied the leftover meatloaf,ok this is where I have to ask you to keep this quiet from John and the kids , and decided to doctor it up for dinner. I chopped up the pieces of meatloaf into small ground beefy chunks and added a good shake of taco seasoning to hide the italian flavor of the meatloaf. I also found a small container of refried beans in the freezer that I thawed and heated through with the meat.
Ok, so I then spooned a generous helping of the meat/bean mixture into a tortilla,sprinkled some cheese on top, added a dash of pureed salsa (because the kids won't eat chunks) and rolled it all up and place it into a big pan. Don't forget to spread a small amount of salsa in the bottom of the pan so the enchiladas don't stick.
Follow through with this pattern until the pan is full and then cover with more salsa and cheese. I baked it covered until the cheese was melted on top, about 30 minutes. Serve with brown rice.
I found this link on how to prepare brown rice the healthiest way and I tried it too. I couldn't taste a huge difference but it didn't hurt anything to try it out. It involves soaking the rice before you cook it.
That's my budget conscious way of preparing dinner and working around the mishaps in life. How do you save the day when cooking or stretching your budget?
Aug. 1, 2008 - Our study on the 4 Gospels
I have finished assembling the boys' binders including the checklists for reading the 4 Gospels in the Bible. My plan is for them to read or be read to through these 4 books by Christmas. I have been researching websites that we can learn from and I thought I would share where they were.
This site has short video animation to teach about the book of Luke. It seems geared for the kids to explore independently or with a parent nearby.
This site has information on how to have a Bible Study with your kids. Tips like :
Ask Questions
Ask questions about what you just read. Let your child narrate back to you. You will be able to tell how much he understood. Encourage the children to answer in complete sentences.
The Word Does not Return Void!
Keep in mind that devotions don't have to be a super spiritual to be spiritual moments. The word does not return void! You are planting seeds and it may take time to see results.
Keep Little Hands Busy
Various Bible coloring books are available. Or you can encourage your child to draw what you are reading about on plain paper with crayons or colored pencils. I made felt boards by sewing two different colors of felt together with a piece of cardboard between the layers to add stiffness. The children used these to make pictures on the felt during times when I wanted to keep them quiet. Purchase precut felt squares and cut them down to fit into the large zipping baggies. Cut the excess felt from each square into various shapes. Cut the cardboard about 1/2" smaller than the felt squares. Sew a straight stitch about 1/4" from the edge. If you don't sew, you can use a hot glue gun, following safety precautions. Store them in a large baggie.
Here are outlines of the book of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John.
Jul. 31, 2008 - A Memory Game
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot-- or just from blogland-- anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.
Jul. 31, 2008 - The Weight Loss Reveal
I know, I know who talks about their weight, much less shares pictures. Well, I don't care, I am too excited and I want to share.
May 2007, I had a beautiful baby girl,Rachel, and she weighed a whopping 5 pounds 7 ounces. Considering my largest baby was 9 lbs 3 oz she was so tiny to us. The problem with her weight was that my weight gain of 45 lbs looked terrible. If she had been at least 10 pounds I could have said that at least 25% of my weight had been her. Not so for me this time!
So any way, I have lost all 45 pounds! It took me 13 months and now at almost 15 months it is still off. I hope to lose 5-10 more pounds after she is done nursing. I share all this to give someone else hope if they have gained an absurd amount of baby weight.
My tips are these:
- drink lots of water
- eat as many fresh fruits and veggies as you can
- stay out of fast food
restaurantsbuildings (can you really call them a restaurant?) - Always eat breakfast, I eat either steel cut oats or shredded wheat cereal
- don't deny yourself the sweets you want, just eat a much smaller portion
- park further out in the parking lots as you go shopping ( for those of you who know me in real life it really is because of weight loss not because I can't park my huge van )
- and don't forget to drink more water!
Jul. 30, 2008 - How Grandma got here . . .
I thought I would share the novel way Grandma Joyce got here for her visit. My uncle is a great pilot and he must have a great friend, because his friend let him borrow his plane to fly Grandma up here.
They had an uneventful trip and the boys got a chance to climb up into the copilot seat before it began to storm. I even crawled up in there,skirt and all to see what a pilot sees. Lots of gadgets,lights and buttons! The boys were thrilled to have such a chance. The private part of the airport is so much more relaxed and the kids really had a chance to explore an airplane with out any metal detectors or long lines. Some time in the future when we can get the weather to cooperate, the kids will take a short ride in the skies.
Here are some of our pictures from yesterday.
The family one is missing Rachel, she was inside the building with my mom. My uncle is on the far left and my grandma is on the far right and my family is smack in the middle. :)
What a way to travel!
Austin
Jul. 30, 2008 - Wednesday Book Pile
Today's books were read by Grandma Joyce with the littles all snuggled around her and on top of her!
Jul. 30, 2008 - The Love Between the Generations
My grandma Joyce is here for a week and a half to visit with my family. It is such a special time for us, as she lives in south Florida and can't travel as easily as she used to. She arrived yesterday afternoon and has been settling in just great. She has adored the toddler snuggles, the preschooler tugs on her pant leg, the requests to watch the girly dances, the requests for just one more book and the begging to stay up one more minute with Grandma Joyce!
My kids love her. Lily especially has a bond with my grandma. She remembers her from her December visit and now follows grandma around like a puppy. Bless her heart, grandma can't even go to the bathroom without someone wanting to know if she is done yet! It is so sweet to see my kids love this woman I have loved my entire life. She has always been there for me and now I get the opportunity to be there for her.
We have a week and a half to make lots of new memories and talk about the old memories. I'm not sure if we will do something big or not, normal suits grandma just fine. She likes to be there to helps us cook and to watch the kids learn at the kitchen table. We are so blessed to have Grandma Joyce here, thank you Aunt Terry and Uncle Bill for sharing her with us.
Here are some pictures we have taken so far.
Jul. 28, 2008 - Organizing our Homeschool Stuff
I know the word "stuff" isn't the best verbage to utilize in a manuscript such as this one, but I was at odds with my brain to deduce another word equally as descriptive as "stuff".
Anyway, I have spent these last few weeks organizinng our papers, puzzles, binders, textbooks ( yes, we do have a textbook or two ), calendars, library book lists, phonics readers and my own brain. I have typed up all the checklists for the boys and hope to hole punch them tomorrow. My goal is to have them check off the assignments as they finish them at their own pace. I want them to gain more independence for their schedules. I also have some goals and lessons that I want them to learn. I don't want May to come around and find that we never really delved into the Word or that the boys didn't write a single sentence all year long.
On a side note, I haven't forced or even really assigned writing to my boys. They have not been ready to express themselves like that and I don't think young kids, especially boys, need that pressure. I was hoping that my theory of wait until they are ready would work and don't you know that they are ready! Every morning each big kid writes in their journal after breakfast. Katie draws and dictates her story and the boys draw and write tons. It is amazing to see them writing. I can't wait to see how much they mature this year in their writing. I am relieved to know that they see a need for writing and I hope that they both learn to love reading soon.
So, back to organizing, here is a 4 drawer cart we bought several years ago at Home Depot. It has a white melamine top, not smooth like a countertop, and has 4 wire basket drawers. Three are deep and one is shallow. For now we have the library books and the small globe on top of this cart and the kids have their everyday books and notebooks in the drawers.
It may not look like a lot and it isn't. We have the craft/laundry room full of crafts and puzzles and the bookshelves are all over the house. I like keeping my home streamlined and efficient. As long as everthing has a place, our day goes smoothly.
