3 yo G will turn 4 next month. He's enjoying calling himself a preschooler, even though his preschool days are still very play-oriented. We haven't picked up a single workbook yet. We haven't touched a phonics lesson or a math manipulative. Many of the ways he enjoys spending his time are teaching him new things, without me buying a curriculum or planning lessons.
One of G's favorite activities is color-by-number pictures. He has a Fisher Price coloring book that is filled with color-by-number pictures. Several times a day, he has us decode the color-key on the picture for him. He can't read the word "yellow" but he can follow the key if we color the word for him. He finds all the 3's and colors them yellow. It's a simple activity, but he's learning to match colors, recognize and name them, and recognize the numbers. He knows the numbers 1-5 by sight now and can name them. He's also learning better hand-eye coordination as he tries to color each picture more carefully than the last one.
A surprising activity that I wouldn't have expected G to excel at is actually word searches. Several of our coloring/activity books have simple word searches with 5-10 words hidden in their large-font puzzles. G can't read, but he can recognize, name, and search for the first letter of a word. When he finds the letter "P" for the word "pirate", I tell him if that is the right "P" or if he should keep searching. When he finds the right letter, I circle the word for him. Yes, this activity takes more of my time, but he's learning his letters, and he's learning to search the puzzle systematically. Often when he finds me watching TV in the evening, he'll climb up onto the couch beside me and ask me to do a word search with him.
Of course, we also have some educational videos G enjoys watching, and we continue to read to him. This week, I actually pulled Before Five In A Row off my shelf and read "We're Going On A Bear Hunt" to him. I'll continue to casually use Before Five In A Row with him. I don't feel the need to do it every single school day, but I do enjoy using it occasionally to engage him in the story.
I have plans to do some Letter of the Week activities with him, but I haven't started them yet. I did print out some pre-writing practice sheets from the internet and whenever he feels the urge to "do school", I hand him another sheet. He needed this step to develop his pencil control before we began practicing actual letters. I didn't realize how badly he needed it until I saw his first few attempts at tracing lines and circles. But he's improving, and he actually managed to follow the lines on the last worksheet he traced. We only do these as he feels an interest.
I've started most of my students in Kindergarten during the Fall after they turned 5. For most of my kids, that made them 5.5 by the time they started Kindergarten. Only two of them were 5.25 or less. G won't be 5 until next September. At this point, I don't plan to start him in Kindergarten next Fall. I don't think he's going to be ready. I'm not going to rush him through preschool or into Kindergarten.
Our preschool will be more structured next school year, with more workbooks and story times with Mom, but for now we're sticking with the play-centered educational activities. He can build with duplos and Lincoln Logs, play with puzzles, look at books, and watch Leap Frog DVDs. We'll color-by-number, do word searches together, and eventually teach him how to do dot-to-dots. It's a messy way to learn, but he's only 4 (well, next month).
After home educating his 6 older siblings, I no longer feel the need to push my 4 year old with math workbooks, handwriting workbooks and phonics lessons. He's learning just fine through play, at the moment. It fascinates me to watch him seek out more challenging activities for himself, driven by his own desire to learn and grow. There's plenty of time for workbooks and formal lessons later.
Rediscovering the power of play,
April E.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Adapting Family Recipes: Scalloped Corn
I am guilty. I ruthlessly adapt family recipes to suit my tastes and preferences. I do it with my mother's recipes, and I do it with my mother-in-law's recipes. But I'm a little more likely to do it with my mother-in-law's recipes, as I just prefer more spice and seasoning in my food than she used. Now, my kids are trained to prefer more seasoning, as well.
I'm not sure if Steve's family appreciated it when I started bringing the traditional scalloped corn to family holidays "April-style" or not. But Steve's Mom kept asking me to bring it, so I guess she didn't mind too much.
It's been awhile since I made it, but last night I decided to use some of the cream style corn in our pantry and make it. As I was preparing it, my way, I thought it would be fun to share my Mother-in-law's recipe, and my variations on it.
Janice's Scalloped Corn 1960's Style
1 can (15 oz.) cream style corn
1 cup saltine cracker crumbs
1 cup milk
1 egg
Mix all ingredients together in a greased casserole dish.
Bake at 325 (in preheated oven) for 50-60 minutes, though it usually took longer.
Test with a knife in center of dish. It is done when the knife emerges mostly dry and the top is evenly puffed.
My mother-in-law usually tripled this and prepared it in a 5 quart deep square Corningware casserole dish. It created a deep, puffy, mushy pudding when she was done, and the only seasoning was the salt on the saltine crackers.
April's 21st Century Scalloped Corn
2 cans (15 oz. each) cream style corn
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
2 eggs
2 cups milk
2 cups saltine cracker crumbs (or 1 cup crackers and 1 cup old-fashioned oats)
onion powder, season to taste
black pepper, season to taste
Mix all ingredients together in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350* in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes. Scalloped Corn is ready when edges are golden brown, top is evenly puffed and crispy, and knife emerges from center mostly dry.
I preferred cooking this in the shallower 9x13 pan because it cooked faster and developed a nice crispy crust on it. I also preferred the texture of adding in a can of whole kernel corn, and I definitely preferred that it have a savory onion and pepper flavor to balance out the sweetness of the corn. To be honest, my children prefer it my way, at least the ones who will eat it. Some of my kids just do NOT like the mush-factor of scalloped veggies, though mine is less mushy than the original recipe. Steve likes it my way, but I'm sure he'd eat his mother's original recipe just as happily.
Do you have any family recipes that you've tweaked to suit your preferences?
April E.
I'm not sure if Steve's family appreciated it when I started bringing the traditional scalloped corn to family holidays "April-style" or not. But Steve's Mom kept asking me to bring it, so I guess she didn't mind too much.
It's been awhile since I made it, but last night I decided to use some of the cream style corn in our pantry and make it. As I was preparing it, my way, I thought it would be fun to share my Mother-in-law's recipe, and my variations on it.
Janice's Scalloped Corn 1960's Style
1 can (15 oz.) cream style corn
1 cup saltine cracker crumbs
1 cup milk
1 egg
Mix all ingredients together in a greased casserole dish.
Bake at 325 (in preheated oven) for 50-60 minutes, though it usually took longer.
Test with a knife in center of dish. It is done when the knife emerges mostly dry and the top is evenly puffed.
My mother-in-law usually tripled this and prepared it in a 5 quart deep square Corningware casserole dish. It created a deep, puffy, mushy pudding when she was done, and the only seasoning was the salt on the saltine crackers.
April's 21st Century Scalloped Corn
2 cans (15 oz. each) cream style corn
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
2 eggs
2 cups milk
2 cups saltine cracker crumbs (or 1 cup crackers and 1 cup old-fashioned oats)
onion powder, season to taste
black pepper, season to taste
Mix all ingredients together in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350* in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes. Scalloped Corn is ready when edges are golden brown, top is evenly puffed and crispy, and knife emerges from center mostly dry.
I preferred cooking this in the shallower 9x13 pan because it cooked faster and developed a nice crispy crust on it. I also preferred the texture of adding in a can of whole kernel corn, and I definitely preferred that it have a savory onion and pepper flavor to balance out the sweetness of the corn. To be honest, my children prefer it my way, at least the ones who will eat it. Some of my kids just do NOT like the mush-factor of scalloped veggies, though mine is less mushy than the original recipe. Steve likes it my way, but I'm sure he'd eat his mother's original recipe just as happily.
Do you have any family recipes that you've tweaked to suit your preferences?
April E.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
2012-2013 Homeschool Plans
We're in our 3rd week of this school year, and so far things are going well. I've already made some changes, though. I had thought I'd include M and L in Tapestry of Grace with J and C, but it wasn't such a hit the first two weeks. I talked it over with Steve and told him Tapestry might be a bit easier for me with them, but that they would probably enjoy Five In A Row more. I loved using Five In A Row with my older 3 children when we first began homeschooling. So Steve told me to return to using Five In A Row with M and L this year. I had used it last year but I wasn't diligent enough in getting the lessons covered with them, so I am committing to doing better this year, and they promised not to complain about hearing the same book each weekday. This was our first week with Five In A Row.
A -- 12th Grade
Saxon Advanced Math
Classical Astronomy
College Composition 1 at community college
College Intro to Lit next semester
Economics (1/2 credit)
Personal Finance (Dave Ramsey's high school curriculum)
Studio Arts 2
US History
US Government (1/2 credit)
R -- 10th Grade
Saxon Geometry
Apologia Chemistry
English 2 (Progeny Press guides and Total Language Plus guides)
Abeka World History
BJU Geography
Personal Finance (Dave Ramsey)
Spanish 1
C -- 8th Grade
Saxon Pre-Algebra
Apologia Physical Science
Tapestry of Grace history and language arts
Spelling Power, Editor-in-Chief to supplement TOG LA
Typing with software
How To Be Your Own Selfish Pig (worldview book)
Fallacy Detective (logic book)
Writing (finish WriteShop Jr. we tested and do Story Starters)
J -- 6th Grade
Saxon 65 Math
Science (finish Apologia Astronomy, then It Couldn't Just Happen creation science book)
Tapestry of Grace (history and literature)
Easy Grammar 5 and Spelling Power
Handwriting D (A Reason For Writing)
Writing (finish WriteShop Jr. we tested and do Story Starters)
M -- 3rd Grade
Horizons 3 Math
Apologia Science (Flying Creatures first)
Handwriting Transition (A Reason For Writing)
Spelling Power
WriteShop and Story Starters
Five In A Row unit studies
L -- 1st Grade
Horizons 1 Math
Ordinary Parents Guide To Teaching Reading, Explode the Code books, Bob books
Christian Liberty Nature Reader Kindergarten (later in year when reading improves)
A Reason For Writing Handwriting (finish A, start B)
Five In A Row
G -- preschool
cheap workbooks and free printables for handwriting and math skills
lots of puzzles and coloring and listening to books
continue introducing alphabet
Before Five In A Row
Hopefully we'll have a productive school year, stay on track, and even with taking a baby break in March/April, we should finish school at the very end of May (if all goes as planned.)
April E.
A -- 12th Grade
Saxon Advanced Math
Classical Astronomy
College Composition 1 at community college
College Intro to Lit next semester
Economics (1/2 credit)
Personal Finance (Dave Ramsey's high school curriculum)
Studio Arts 2
US History
US Government (1/2 credit)
R -- 10th Grade
Saxon Geometry
Apologia Chemistry
English 2 (Progeny Press guides and Total Language Plus guides)
Abeka World History
BJU Geography
Personal Finance (Dave Ramsey)
Spanish 1
C -- 8th Grade
Saxon Pre-Algebra
Apologia Physical Science
Tapestry of Grace history and language arts
Spelling Power, Editor-in-Chief to supplement TOG LA
Typing with software
How To Be Your Own Selfish Pig (worldview book)
Fallacy Detective (logic book)
Writing (finish WriteShop Jr. we tested and do Story Starters)
J -- 6th Grade
Saxon 65 Math
Science (finish Apologia Astronomy, then It Couldn't Just Happen creation science book)
Tapestry of Grace (history and literature)
Easy Grammar 5 and Spelling Power
Handwriting D (A Reason For Writing)
Writing (finish WriteShop Jr. we tested and do Story Starters)
M -- 3rd Grade
Horizons 3 Math
Apologia Science (Flying Creatures first)
Handwriting Transition (A Reason For Writing)
Spelling Power
WriteShop and Story Starters
Five In A Row unit studies
L -- 1st Grade
Horizons 1 Math
Ordinary Parents Guide To Teaching Reading, Explode the Code books, Bob books
Christian Liberty Nature Reader Kindergarten (later in year when reading improves)
A Reason For Writing Handwriting (finish A, start B)
Five In A Row
G -- preschool
cheap workbooks and free printables for handwriting and math skills
lots of puzzles and coloring and listening to books
continue introducing alphabet
Before Five In A Row
Hopefully we'll have a productive school year, stay on track, and even with taking a baby break in March/April, we should finish school at the very end of May (if all goes as planned.)
April E.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Craving cornbread, anyone?
Facebook can be dangerous, as can pinterest. You're just sitting there, minding your own business, reading everyone else's business ... and then you get hit by a photo of something delicious. That happened to me on Monday. I was just reading everyone else's business, when suddenly a photo of steaming hot cornbread in a cast iron pan was staring me in the face. Then I wanted some nice hot cornbread sitting in front of me for real! I already had Monday's supper under control, but I decided Tuesday's meal had to include cornbread. You can't ignore a craving like that when you're 11 weeks pregnant and some foods still don't sound good to you.
Tuesday I did indeed prepare home made chicken noodle soup with mashed potatoes (some of my family eat their chicken noodle soup over mashed potatoes) and of course, cornbread. I pulled out my friend LeeAnne's (from Dairy Berries blog and Swede Farm Dairy) cornbread recipe because it is simple and delicious! It's close to the sweet and cakey cornbread my Mom used to make, but better when cooked in my 12 inch cast iron skillet! Plus, it's already large-family sized, so I don't need to double it ... yet. If I'd wanted more than two leftover pieces today, I should have doubled it.
I was rapturizing over my hot, buttered cornbread yesterday evening, because that's what you do when you satisfy a pregnancy craving. (Like my new word, rapturizing?) Then I found myself just WISHING that this was my own recipe so I could blog it, or that I'd tweaked it in some way to make it my own. But, alas, I hadn't. So I asked my friend LeeAnne (who I've known online for 13 years, and have met in person twice) if I could pretty please, with sugar on top, blog her recipe and link back to her. I also suggested she could blog it on her Dairy Berries blog and pair it up with one of her goat milk products, so I could just link to her post. But she's backlogged on dairy posts, so she gave me permission to blog the recipe instead.
{If that goat milk comment has you wondering, no I didn't use goat milk in this recipe. LeeAnne might, but I only have 2% store-bought cow's milk at my house. I did use my own farm-fresh eggs, though.)
So now that you're wondering what's so special about this recipe, I'd better hurry up and share it. But first you have to understand that my Mom used to make cakey cornbread when I was growing up. As an adult, I started out using boxed mix cornbreads and they were always dry, not very sweet, and dense ... not cake-like. They were good but I always felt I needed to pour my soup or beans over them to moisten them. I tried finding a recipe that was similar to Mom's but didn't settle on one I liked.
Mom told me her cornbread was really more of a johnny cake, so I asked my Mom once if she had the recipe still and she tried to find one for me, but the two she came up with included vinegar or cream of tartar. That just didn't sound right to me. I tried a honey recipe, and didn't care for it. Then LeeAnne shared her recipe, and I tried it. It was very close to my Mom's old recipe, though maybe a bit more cornmeal and with a crispy crust from the cast iron pan. I loved it, and I've been using it ever since.
And now, LeeAnne's Cornbread Recipe
Preheat oven to 375* F
Mix Together In A Large Bowl:
1.5 cups cornmeal
2 cups flour (white or whole wheat)
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. baking powder
1.5 tsp. salt
At this point, put 5 Tbsp. butter into your 12 inch cast iron skillet or a 9x13 pan. Put the pan in the oven to melt the butter.
Add to Dry Mix:
2 cups milk
2 well beaten eggs
5 Tbsp. melted butter (pour the melted butter from the pan into the batter, then spread the remaining butter around the pan to grease it)
Mix well, then pour back into the buttered pan, we always use my 12 inch cast iron skillet.
Bake at 375* for 20 - 30 minutes.
Last night I checked the cornbread at 22 minutes and it was definitely done, with browned edges and just starting to have a golden-brown finish on the top of the cornbread. We sliced it into 16 wedges and everyone loved it! It's been quite awhile since I made cornbread, but from the family's response, I definitely need to make it more often.
We usually make it with supper, but LeeAnne's family has been known to make it for breakfast, too. I like having a leftover piece for breakfast, but I haven't yet made it specifically for breakfast.
Enjoy!
April E.
Tuesday I did indeed prepare home made chicken noodle soup with mashed potatoes (some of my family eat their chicken noodle soup over mashed potatoes) and of course, cornbread. I pulled out my friend LeeAnne's (from Dairy Berries blog and Swede Farm Dairy) cornbread recipe because it is simple and delicious! It's close to the sweet and cakey cornbread my Mom used to make, but better when cooked in my 12 inch cast iron skillet! Plus, it's already large-family sized, so I don't need to double it ... yet. If I'd wanted more than two leftover pieces today, I should have doubled it.
I was rapturizing over my hot, buttered cornbread yesterday evening, because that's what you do when you satisfy a pregnancy craving. (Like my new word, rapturizing?) Then I found myself just WISHING that this was my own recipe so I could blog it, or that I'd tweaked it in some way to make it my own. But, alas, I hadn't. So I asked my friend LeeAnne (who I've known online for 13 years, and have met in person twice) if I could pretty please, with sugar on top, blog her recipe and link back to her. I also suggested she could blog it on her Dairy Berries blog and pair it up with one of her goat milk products, so I could just link to her post. But she's backlogged on dairy posts, so she gave me permission to blog the recipe instead.
{If that goat milk comment has you wondering, no I didn't use goat milk in this recipe. LeeAnne might, but I only have 2% store-bought cow's milk at my house. I did use my own farm-fresh eggs, though.)
So now that you're wondering what's so special about this recipe, I'd better hurry up and share it. But first you have to understand that my Mom used to make cakey cornbread when I was growing up. As an adult, I started out using boxed mix cornbreads and they were always dry, not very sweet, and dense ... not cake-like. They were good but I always felt I needed to pour my soup or beans over them to moisten them. I tried finding a recipe that was similar to Mom's but didn't settle on one I liked.
Mom told me her cornbread was really more of a johnny cake, so I asked my Mom once if she had the recipe still and she tried to find one for me, but the two she came up with included vinegar or cream of tartar. That just didn't sound right to me. I tried a honey recipe, and didn't care for it. Then LeeAnne shared her recipe, and I tried it. It was very close to my Mom's old recipe, though maybe a bit more cornmeal and with a crispy crust from the cast iron pan. I loved it, and I've been using it ever since.
And now, LeeAnne's Cornbread Recipe
Preheat oven to 375* F
Mix Together In A Large Bowl:
1.5 cups cornmeal
2 cups flour (white or whole wheat)
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. baking powder
1.5 tsp. salt
At this point, put 5 Tbsp. butter into your 12 inch cast iron skillet or a 9x13 pan. Put the pan in the oven to melt the butter.
Add to Dry Mix:
2 cups milk
2 well beaten eggs
5 Tbsp. melted butter (pour the melted butter from the pan into the batter, then spread the remaining butter around the pan to grease it)
Mix well, then pour back into the buttered pan, we always use my 12 inch cast iron skillet.
Bake at 375* for 20 - 30 minutes.
Last night I checked the cornbread at 22 minutes and it was definitely done, with browned edges and just starting to have a golden-brown finish on the top of the cornbread. We sliced it into 16 wedges and everyone loved it! It's been quite awhile since I made cornbread, but from the family's response, I definitely need to make it more often.
We usually make it with supper, but LeeAnne's family has been known to make it for breakfast, too. I like having a leftover piece for breakfast, but I haven't yet made it specifically for breakfast.
Enjoy!
April E.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Review: Full Disclosure by Dee Henderson
Author: Dee Henderson
Publisher: Bethany House
Releasing: October 2, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7642-1089-1
I was very excited to be able to read an Advanced Reader Copy of Dee Henderson's latest novel, Full Disclosure. She has been one of my favorite authors for years. I've read her books several different times, and I've recommended them to others, as well. I couldn't resist the chance to be one of the first to read her newest novel.
One of the first things I discovered as I began to read Full Disclosure was a familiar setting. Paul Falcon is an FBI agent, and his friends and colleagues all had some very familiar names. Several of the O'Malley family members were popping up in the very first chapters. At first I was a bit confused, as it was obvious that these were the O'Malleys, but not all the last names matched. I was trying not to be bothered by that oddity, when the book gave me a surprising plot turn that explained the differences.
Paul Falcon may be an FBI agent, and next-in-line to lead a wealthy and powerful family, but he's looking to settle down and find a wife. He stumbles across Ann Silver, a cop who brings him an important lead on one of his most difficult cases, and finds himself very intrigued by her. As he begins to ask about her, and seek to get to know her, he finds surprises waiting around every corner. Not only is Ann a cop, she's one of the best murder cops in the midwest. Not only is she well-respected and highly-connected, but she's also a published author who has fictionalized the stories of her friends' lives, per their request (thus the name differences).
The more that Paul knows about Ann, the more interested he is. Ann is a mystery, a puzzle, and full of secrets. Ann and Paul find their lives (and their work) entwined together as the story unfolds, but can their friendship move past the secrets into a deeper relationship?
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Full Disclosure. I love the way Dee Henderson develops her characters, and fills her stories with suspense, faith, and romance. Full Disclosure is a satisfying addition to Dee Henderson's previous novels, tying together characters from the O'Malley series and the Uncommon Heroes series.
You can read more about the novel and view the book trailer at http://fulldisclosurenovel.com/. You can also interact with Dee Henderson at the Full Disclosure facebook page, and enter to win a signed copy of the book when it releases on October 2, 2012. Don't miss out on this great book from Dee Henderson!
An Advanced Reader Copy of Full Disclosure was provided free to me for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review and these opinions are my own.
April E.