Weekly Menu

What's Cookin'?

Usually if I can get dinners in order then the other meals fall into place or sort of coast into working... sort of :).  After being gone all weekend and being sick for 2 weeks it feels nice to actually be thinking about meals! Albertsons had some sales a bit ago on Sanderson chicken so you'll see mostly chicken meals.  I only have 1 pound of stew meat until the end of the month so I'll be very stingy with that!  I was able to get free-range organic eggs for $1.75/dozen.  I couldn't be more thrilled - really!

Breakfasts:

- Muffins (pumpkin or savory from the freezer)
- Cottage cheese/fruit
- Eggs: scrambled with toast and cream cheese
- Eggs: egg salad on toast and applesauce
- Eggs: breakfast casserole
- Bean/cheese melts
- Honey Goodness Breakfast Bars (for St. Francis de Sales on Thursday)(this may be for snack instead)

Lunches:

- chicken sandwiches with mayo and Bubbies live sauerkraut [I'm trying Laura's overnight no knead recipe tonight/tomorrow]
- cereal (yes, we had cereal today for lunch and it was such a treat! Cascadian Farm Fruit and Nut Granola ) and fresh apples with some healthy pumpkin cookies from the freezer.
- Bean/cheese melts
- Taquitos or echiladas (depends on whether I have some frozen corn tortillas or if I'm making flour ones).

Snacks:
- Trail mix (raisins, almonds, chocolate chips )
- Cottage cheese/fruit
- Muffins
- Animal Crackers (made from scratch - already on cooling rack)
- Crackers and cream cheese (crackers from scratch)
- Celery and carrot sticks with dip related to St. Paul's Conversion (I know it's a stretch, but they are treats for horses and oral tradition and paintings have St. Paul falling off of his horse).  If I'm really feeling productive or looking for something to fill my time (not!) we might make horseshoe-shaped pretzels or bread sticks or even cookies.


Dinners:

- Chicken sandwich spread on mini-pitas; oranges; cupcakes (white cupcakes with cream cheese frosting decorated like lamb faces for St. Agnes' feast day - a 4th century martyr who died in 304 under Diocletian)
- Chicken Spaghetti
- Tortilla soup
- Chili (with 1/2 lb of that precious stew meat and rice added in to stretch it more); corn bread
- Chicken pot pie or baked chicken and rice
- Beef stew with lots of potatoes and carrots
- Quiche
- Bean burritos


Things to get prepped ahead:

- Beans (already in crock pot!)
- Soak tortillas and make ahead
- Crackers
- Pre-cook other 1/2 stew meat when I make the beef stew.
- Hard boil eggs [wash a bunch of eggs ahead of time if not washed]
- Bread
- Soak/dehydrate almonds (already in dehydrator!)
- Crack a bunch of pecans...

Okay, I am so bummed!  Tonight was going to be the chicken sandwich spread on mini pitas.  Store-bought pitas.  A break.  An easy dinner.  The reason why I've been able to take time to think and post this menu. Well, the ones I got, that I thought were safe, have L-cysteine.  Argh! (envision Charlie Brown saying it!).  Now I need to hurry up and make some (or probably naan bread) and it's already dinner time!









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Winter Picture Books on Sale at Amazon!

What's Schoolin'?

Here are some deals currently on Amazon.  I just love picture books!  I don't think children ever get too old for picture books! [Actually, I just checked out several picture books for our study of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales! :) ].  Enjoy!

20th Anniversary Edition of The Mitten by J. Brett; this hardcover is 38% off:
 


Snowmen at Night (Hardcover) is 32% off:



 Over and Under the Snow (hardcover) is 32% off:



 The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter's Wonder (hardcover) is 32% off:



 Snowflakes in Photographs is 21% off:



 Snow (hardcover) by Cynthia Rylant is 32% off (I haven't read this book in particular but I love C. Rylant books and use them in my writing classes - even with older students!):






Any referral fees generated from affiliate links help to support our homeschool.

Letting Go... of Books

What's Cookin'?

Here is a great tutorial for homemade mozzarella from Cultures of Health.
http://www.culturesforhealth.com/30-minute-mozzarella-cheese-recipe

What's Schoolin'?

Does it sound totally ridiculous that I actually got teary-eyed when I first pulled out all of my picture books to sort through into keep/sell piles?  It hit me that I can easily say how my in-laws need to down-size and let go of what impedes their current needs, yet I hold tightly to something as insignificant in the scheme of salvation as some picture books!  So, yes, I got a little teary-eyed, gave myself a mental shake and what-for, and set to the task.

Here is a picture of the contents of 1 of the 2 shelves I sorted (and my ubiquitous coffee mug - adrenal crutch!).  Somehow the "keep" pile keeps getting higher and higher!

I feel like I'm letting go of a professional stage and past, but don't really have a new 'professional' stage or niche to fall into at this point in life (but I need one!).  I'm not sure whether to stay where my old strength was or to branch out into the new.  Work with building elementary curricula and support materials; or move into high school curricula/support... or even something out of my 'professional profession' (I like making up words and phrases!) - something really new like physical items to sell or the real food movement... I'm sort of like a meandering teenager who is not sure what to do with his/her life... but needs to do something.  Anyway, enough of the philosophical ramblings :).

What's Going:
Amelia Bedelia, Berenstein Bears, Clifford, easy readers, easy chapter books, even a Jan Brett book (!), seasonal books, etc, etc.  I culled over 100 books!!

What's Staying:
All of my Spanish picture books, anything that had an inscription or was a gift to one of the children, books I use for writing workshop lessons or personal narrative lessons, books that I remember specifically reading with the girls when they were little, books with topics youngest has yet to really delve into (like more complicated picture books for any of the habitats/biomes or the Magic School Bus Earth Science ones), books that I used for really cool lessons, and copies of books that I had when I was a little girl (not the actual books, just the same titles).  It could use another culling... 

How would you cull out your picture books?  Do you dare?  Are you ready?  I wasn't ready, but I dared, and now I'm glad I did :).

Here is a picture of somewhat sorted piles:

Top 12 Montessori Posts in 2012

Being an eclectic living blog, not every post is about school.  Of those about school, not every post is about Montessori... or are they??  Just how DOES Montessori look for a mixed aged group of 11, 15 (almost 16!), and 17 year olds??

Even what looks like regular curriculum has a Montessori aspect in our school: our daughters are involved in the choices and are actively engaged in directing their learning.  Right now, middle dd is in a sensitive period for driver's ed (seriously, she's excited about it right now, but just like other things, if we let this time slide by without meeting her readiness then her willingness and excitement will be gone)... time goes by waaay too quickly!  I still remember her enthusiasm for the bead bar works (sigh).

Another high school example: we are headed back to Teaching Textbooks for the rest of Algebra 1 because we tried Life of Fred and it is not a match for dd.  So, on the surface it looks like just a curriculum choice.  The Montessori slant is that dd was very involved in that decision as we explored and defined her learning style and needs.  No, I'm not thrilled to be buying back the same set that I just sold several months ago to get the new curriculum (Life of Fred) that didn't work out; however, it's just what we need to do to have dd's prepared environment for Math right now.

That said, these are the most popular posts that have a definite Montessori focus :).  Enjoy!

Hands down the most popular Montessori post was this one in which I shared my 3-Part Card Template.  What wonderful works have you all made with these?

3-Part Card Template:

Prime Numbers:

Antartica:





Detective Adjective Game:

Adjective Extensions: 

Fractions:





Montessori Globes:

Regions of Texas:

Binomial and Trinomial video links:





Plate Tectonics:

General Geography Works:

Violin 3-Part Cards: 

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The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle

What's Schoolin'?



Here are sample files for The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle.

Spider Lapbooking Booklets ($2):
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzY-sfWD2RgpNnJudXdIb3JIN28

Sequencing 3-Part Cards ($3):
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzY-sfWD2RgpMHdZclpmUmxfTjQ

Parts of a Spider 3-Part Cards ($2):
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzY-sfWD2RgpU1puMjdhX2VWVG8




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Lit-Mont Learning Resources Sample Files

What's Schoolin'?

Here are 2 sample files from my humble little online shop Lit-Mont Learning Resources...

The concept is to merge Montessori-style 3-Part Cards with children's literature.  I absolutely love literature. I absolutely love Montessori.  Why not combine the two??  This concept can work in regular classrooms to support literature even if it is not a Montessori environment.  This concept can expand an existing Montessori environment to support literature.  Either teaching style/learning environment wins!

I've waited and waited (4 years!) for "perfection" before offering any of these files for sale.  Meanwhile, children are getting older and outgrowing the phase in which they would benefit.  So, setting my perfection aside, I'm going to try to figure out some way to get them online so children in home, public, and private schools can enjoy using these support materials.

This file is for sequence cards that go along with Mercer Mayer's Just Me and My Dad.  Cost is $3 and can be payed via Paypal using the donation button at the top of the sidebar.  Once paid I will send you the pdf file without the 'sample' watermark.  If you need it sent to an e-mail other than the one that shows up in paypal, you can put it in the paypal comments or e-mail me.
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzY-sfWD2RgpQkEtcVpaUEtSVlU

This really simple file is for Parts of a Tree.  The cost is only $1 (mainly because I'm not happy with some of the shading)!
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzY-sfWD2RgpSTBqUENPYlh4UTA

If there is enough interest I would LOVE to make more of these and it would be worth my clipart subscription to know that people are enjoying these materials.  My children had already outgrown this phase when I started making them :( but with over 20 years teaching experience and Reading background I feel confident that these will add to any learning environment.

I also have files for some other Mercer Mayer books and several Eric Carle books.



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Bath Time!

[For the goat, that is!]

Boy, this would fit right in with Erdkinder, I think :).  The older girls were giving oldest dd's 4-H goat a bath a while back.  He is so tame (usually!) and takes it much better than our big dog does.  We'll see how he does at showtime.  I just had to share these pictures :).


I haven't decided how this will fit in on her transcript; probably animal science.  She spends about 2 hours every day taking care of the goat (feeding, walking - yes, down the street! - trimming his hooves, brushing, drenching with dewormer medicine, and of course: bathing).  That doesn't even include shopping for feed, researching and learning about goats, workshops, etc.  She also keeps records, measures him, keeps track of expenses, and photographs him.  She will most likely submit her annual 4-H Record Book in the Goat category this year.  It would take less time if he didn't have emotional issues and only eats with her standing next to him!  She can't just feed him and leave.  She has to feed him and keep him company while he eats.  He gets upset if he doesn't get his way and paws at her to take him for walks (he use to jiggle the collar hanging from the gate but now she puts it on him as soon as she gets in so he found another way to ask).

He likes hanging out in the pasture with the dogs while the children are playing volleyball or playing with the dogs.  He jumps and runs and forages.  He has to stay on a leash held by dd, though, because he's a jumper and can get over the 4 ft fence (you know, the grass is always greener...).  She can't even leash him to a post to play volleyball because he goes nuts to get next to her and can hurt himself.  So... she has to have him next to her while she plays volleyball!  He doesn't mind the dogs, even when the little one tries to get him to play with her.