blueberry pancakes

One of our favorite family times on the weekends is breakfast. I've been using Scott's Mom's recipe for pancakes since I learned I could make my own pancakes without a box mix!! (I learned a lot over the years from her and my Mamaw.)

Nonnie's Pancakes

Combine the following altogether in a mixer and go

(Nonnie uses a blender):

4 Tbsp melted butter

4 Tbsp sugar (I use less)

2 eggs

2 cups milk

2 cups flour

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

The mix may be lumpy and that's ok. We like to add 3/4 cup blueberries sometimes.

Provide a small pitcher of juice for the kids to pour themselves. Ours love it.

This is a good time for our family devotions. Fill their minds and their tummies at the same time!

make fun of dinner: pizza

Stick your green beans upright in your bowl-formed rice pile.

Invite a friend.Make pizza in your own kitchen.I've been learning how to make pizza at home. Without a bread machine I wouldn't have even thought of it. I'd stick to delivery or buying crust from the grocery... (actually, we weren't eating much pizza last year anyway, with Sarah's eczema problems. Praise the Lord, she's healed.) Making my own bread intimidates me - - without my bread machine. The one I have came from a dear friend of my Mom who wasn't using it. (This is also where my pizza pans and toaster oven came from! God provides...) I like the Pizza Crust I recipe (following Marylyn's adjustments for making it in the bread machine) for making a 2-3 large crusts.Pizza Crust II recipe (following MrsSid's adjustments) makes a lot more dough for a variety of crust sizes/ thicknesses. I was able to get 3 large crusts and 6 small personal size pizzas for all the kids + cousins to make their own.Or save extra crusts for lunch another day. I like to use whole wheat flour for about a third of the flour called for in the recipe. I don't buy Pizza Sauce - - I make my own with a can of tomato sauce and a bit of oregano and garlic added. Or use Spaghetti Sauce like my sister-in-law. Meatballs (made ahead of time and frozen) are a nice quick addition. Of course, pepperoni is essential to some, veggies to another. That's what's fun about making it at home. Especially when Scott and I are having a date at home, without the kids.

more lapbooking

(Five in a Row has lead us to great literature and provided a springboard for studying all sorts of topics. After daily reading the book and doing some book-related work, we pull it all together in a "lapbook" on the last day. The kids made these when they were 6 and 4.)

We took How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World (Marjorie Priceman) further by doing a lapbook on Apples. (There are MANY activities about apples on the internet. Homeschoolshare and Home School Mom are a good place to start.) Cole's on Apples:

with the center Apple Prints flap up:Sarah's with center Apple Prints flap up: Virgina Lee Burton's books became our favorites. Cole's lapbook on Katy and the Big Snow:Sarah's on Katy:The kids take pride in making their own books. Cole comes up with specific ideas on how he would like the cover to look. The majority of Sarah's lapbooks didn't have an illustrated front cover because, being four, she could only engage for so long. She wanted to be involved, so I tried to be sensitive to her temperament and notice when things stopped being fun. She got what she could done, and that was good enough.

lapbooking

Lapbooking is a fun way to learn more through a great book. (pictured is Cole's lapbook for The Glorious Flight by Alice and Martin Provensen completed Jan. 2008)

Just beginning homeschooling, I knew I needed to read to the kids more, but was unsure where to start. I thumbed through Five in a Row (by Jane Lambert) at a homeschool resale store and knew it was exactly what I needed. FIAR has led me to books, most available at our library, to introduce not only great literature, but also history, science, social studies, art and math in a fun way.

Through the use of homeschoolshare, I found online resources that lead us to making lapbooks. Also, I found this site very helpful for how to put a lapbook together.

Through most of last year, we had some fun with My Father's World curriculum. Recently, the kids asked to go back to lapbooking; so we are. We have an exciting time learning while gathered around the table making a resourceful mess! FIAR was the only "curriculum" we were using when Cole learned to read.

Any topic can be used for a lapbook. I intend to make one for other important stuff- like the Alphabet and Numbers (to remind my Kindergartener which way the 'b' goes : ) shown here, and another for Manners, as described here. Fun stuff.

valentine mailbox

We made mailboxes for our Valentines at SonShine Club. Cole wanted a Spaceship (capri sun box):and Sarah ended up with a Purse (oatmeal container): The Purse idea came about on accident, after Cole contemplated making it a Rocket. (Once I suggested the straps, we thought it was becoming too "purse-like". Hey, great idea!) Sarah always jumps right in to decorating. I can't watch her work too closely, especially if I have an idea of the outcome in mind. But, it is hers, after all, and it should look like a 5 year old did it. (And this is the best thing about it... She has NO expectations to hinder her having a great time with art. I always love what she comes up with.) I added pom-poms to the bottom for stability and made sure the ribbon strap would be long enough... Shouldn't all Valentine mailboxes have a strap?

girl's skate

In between blasts of cold weather, we have enjoyed some warm weather skating outside. Sarah likes to race her momma. And, well... sometimes we skate inside, too.

Are we ever too old to want to skate in the house?

gingerbread cookies

Chase was very proud of himself! These are his first gingerbread cookies to roll out and shape himself. (Sarah and I made the dough using the recipe from our Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. We're going through butter and eggs like crazy around here!)

traced keys

We are working on illustrating our own letter books. For letter K, we traced keys.









A bunch of odd keys are fun to sort and classify, or just pretend with, and drawing with them is fun, too. (We use them for activities in Workjobs by Baratta-Lorton - a great book for early math).

One chose to spin the keys around the same hole (motion) and another defined the key with color inside (positive) and around (negative).

waxed leaves

Fall is my favorite season because of the colors.

We gathered up our favorite freshly fallen leaves in the yard. Wanting to keep them around a while, we followed instructions found here to wax our leaves. Added bonus: playing with the wax as it cools in the can.

sugared cranberries

We had fun making these this Thanksgiving!

sugared cranberries

from: Cooking Light, December 2003

Because of the contrast between the tart cranberries and sugary coating, the flavor of this snack pops in your mouth. The berries are steeped in hot sugar syrup to tame their tangy bite. When entertaining, serve these in place of nuts. For gift-giving, package in parchment-lined tins. Present with a small bottle of the reserved cranberry cooking syrup for the recipient to use as a cocktail mixer. If you can't find superfine sugar, make your own by processing granulated sugar in a food processor for a minute.

INGREDIENTS:
● 2 cups granulated sugar
● 2 cups water
● 2 cups fresh cranberries
● ¾ cup superfine sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Combine granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring mixture until sugar dissolves. Bring to a simmer; remove from heat. (Do not boil or the cranberries may pop when added.) Stir in cranberries; pour mixture into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Drain cranberries in a colander over a bowl, reserving steeping liquid, if desired. Place superfine sugar in a shallow dish. Add the cranberries, rolling to coat with sugar. Spread sugared cranberries in a single layer on a baking sheet; let stand at room temperature 1 hour or until dry.

Note: The steeping liquid clings to the berries and helps the sugar adhere. Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to a week. (Add to sweeten lemonade - yum!)