Monday, April 23, 2012

Bubble Pizza

This is one of my favorite fun dinners.  It's from a Goose Berry Patch recipe book that I "borrowed" from my mom a few years ago.  I thought I gave her the cookbook back and almost panicked when I didn't have the recipe!  It's pretty simple, but I thought I'd record it just in case!

Bubble Pizza

3  7 1/2 oz. tubes refrigerated buttermilk biscuits, quartered
14  oz jar spaghetti sauce, divided
3c shredded mozarella cheese, divided
1 clove garlic, minced
Your choice of pizza toppings

Place biscuit pieces in a large mixing bowl; add half the spaghetti sauce, 2 cups cheese and garlic.  Mix until biscuit pieces are well coated; spread in a greased 13"x9" baking pan.  Pour remaining sauce on top; add any optional toppings.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese; bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.  

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Moments to Remember


My favorite homeschool moments this week:

1.  EM sending me the message "I love you" in Morse code.
2.  Listening to EM sing in the tree house while she did her math worksheet.
3.  Being the one with EM when she had BIG questions come up. 


Monday, April 16, 2012

Experimenting with Workboxes

I'm not the kind of person who enjoys having the same schedule everyday.  One day I'll be excited to start the day early and get a lot accomplished and another day I might want to stay in my pajamas until lunch time.  It hit me recently that this is not helpful to my kids or myself for that matter.  Since they didn't know what was expected of them at any given time, they complained or were shocked when I asked them to put away whatever they were enjoying to start school or chores. 

We've been using these chore charts for a few weeks now and they're working well.  I like that I can change the chores from day to day rather than week to week like our previous charts.  They always have the morning routine *chores*:  get dressed, brush teeth, make bed, pick up bedroom, brush hair.  I usually give them two or three little jobs as well. 

I've been doing a lot of reading about workboxes recently, I know I'm a little behind the trend, but I like the idea.  I've tried similar lists and piles for the kids, but workboxes seem much more organized.  I decided to give it a try using folders this week before making an investment in boxes.  Today went well, JR LOVED the idea of getting through his folders.  The kid thrives on competition and he was so excited each time he reached a new number.  EM got off to a rough start because I gave her Math right of the bat (not a great idea considering we usually do it together when LD is napping).  I think she'll do well too with a little tweaking of the schedule.  I'm glad to have a few weeks left of the school year to give the workboxes a dry run before laminating and mod-podging my summer away. 

Oh, on another note I bought this little e-book the other day and it has helped me remember to keep up with the basics!

Monday, April 9, 2012

Happy Easter

We enjoyed a beautiful Easter Sunday!  Resurrection morning services are always a little extra special with the joyful music and kids in their Easter best.  After church we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a lot of laughs and a LOT of great food! 









Saturday, March 31, 2012

Lilacs

This week I noticed that the lilac bushes were almost ready to bloom with their heavenly-fragranced purple flowers that grace my home with their delicious smell for a few weeks of the year.  The kids and I happened to be near the house I grew up in yesterday and it reminded me of the park I used to ride my bike to and pick lilacs to bring home to my mom.  I thought we could spare a few minutes to stop by and see if the lilac bushes still grew there. 

We drove past the house I lived in when I was EM's age and not much has changed.  The crab apple trees were in bloom in the front yard and so was the apple tree in the back.  The shutters were still green, I remember the day my dad painted them.  I could see the lilac bushes he planted in the back yard because they have grown so big.  We walked toward the park and saw the lilac bushes in bloom, so the kids and I picked as many as we could reach! 

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Owl Moon

Owl Moon isn't in the manual we own, but it is a Five in a Row book I wanted to read with the kids.  EM"s favorite animal is an owl, she often creates owl art and convinces her brothers to pretend they're owls with her.  We read the book together this week and did a cute little art project by turning pinecones into owls.  EM spent a few hours on hers and I was quite impressed with her imagination, as usual! JR finished quickly so he could get to non-craft related activites, but his turned out pretty cute too.