Our indoor camping trip

This was such a success, Dash really enjoyed every part of it. I may have been one of the worst night sleeps for me though. If you have an air mattress use it! sleeping on the floor was uncomfortable, but for him I would do it all over again.   

 When I think of camping food, I think hot-dogs! I chose the sides based on what Dash loves.

We had hot-dogs for dinner: Since their was no open fire in which to roast them over I broiled them in the oven.

 For our hot-dogs I bought the natures promise, they makes a much healthier version of the hot-dog, and we all like them.
For the roll I go to Trader Joes. They make whole wheat rolls.
Sweet potato fries, was our side, if you don't feel like cutting up sweet potatoes, Trader Joes sell them frozen.
Corn for our veggie, you can buy organic frozen also from Trader Joes.

For our camping dessert what else could we have other then smores!
Once again I couldn't cook the marshmallows, so Dash assembled them, and I baked them in the oven till the marshmallows melted.

Honey Maid does not use high fructose corn syrup, and are a better choice of graham crackers then some of the other brands. We also used a dark chocolate instead of a milk chocolate. not that I am trying to say smores are healthy, but we tried to just make  few good choices in there.







We watched "Harriet the Spy" before bed, which was a really cute movie (it's also a book, once Dash is a little older I want him to read it, he, he hasn't really read  chapter books yet). Then it was lights out!

Let's appreciate teachers (ourselves included)

Teacher's appreciation week is upon us, and I have been thinking since I can't take the day off and really enjoy it, why not give myself a little break. As a stay at home mom and teacher breaks are far and few between, so I am going to hand the reins over to Dash for the day. I will also  give ideas for moms with younger kids and also teachers with a whole classroom.

Here is how I play my day to go:

Breakfast:
Have your child decide what they want to make and let them take over.

Ages 3-5  help them make either: a bowl of cereal,  english muffin, or a toaster waffle for you and the rest of the family (or to do on their own bring everyone a yogurt a piece of fruit and a spoon)

Ages 6-8 on their own have them make either: toast, cereal with banana cut into it, yogurt with granola, or some instant oatmeal for you and the rest of the family

Ages 9-12 on their own have them make either: eggs, fruit salad, or  bagel with cream cheese


Lesson plans:
Let your kids be the the teacher for the day. I am giving Dash a few days to decide what he wants to teach. This will give your child such confidence to feel they are teaching you something. This will also give them enthusiasm to be doing work (mostly because they won't realize they are still the ones learning). And last they will gain more respect for what you do everyday when they realize how much work it takes to come up with a lesson plan and serve meals everyday.

Ages 3-5 Let them teach you, Art (how to draw or paint something) Music (some new dance moves), Math (counting, how to write numbers, or simple addition and subtraction), English ( have them show you how to write the ABC's or your name) Science (have them show you a book with lots of  pictures about animals, planets, or some other topic they are interested in) History (have them act out their favorite story from history for you) Reading (if they can read have them read to you, if not let them pretend they are reading the story to you while they make up or recall whatever they think the story is about.

Ages 6-8 Math (have them explain to you adding, subtraction, fractions, or  number grouping) English (let them give you a story starter and you have to write the ending to it) Music (teach you new dance moves) Art (teach you some drawing, painting, or play-doh techniques) History (let them read or act out a story from history) Science (have them read or tell you about a subject they are very into animals, outer space, life cycle, plants whatever)

Ages 9-12 up Math (let them choose whatever from their math books to break it down and teach it to you, this will really show you how much they really do know and liste to you) English (let them give you a topic to write about and have them have written examples of what they are looking for) Music (experience the music they are into and have them tell you why they like it, and what they know about the genre) Art (have them put together a project with examples, and show you step by step how to duplicate their example) History (let them read or act out a favorite story from history) Science (have them read or tell you about a subject they are very into animals, outer space, life cycle, plants whatever) Reading (Let them choose something for you to read aloud, and  then have them ask you questions about what you just read).

Classroom: In a classroom setting have each child get a subject (maybe 3 will have art 4 will have math, 2 can do music, ect...). Then have them take it home their assignment and on April 5th have them bring in the lesson plan for that subject. Give each child like 10 minutes to teach on their subject, and explain how to do it to the class. If you have a lot of students use that whole week, each day after different students share till everyone has had a turn.


Lunch:
Have your child decide what they want to make and let them take over.

Ages 3-5 with some supervision, pb and j, ham and cheese, egg salad or tuna salad sandwiches (if the salads are pre-made)

Ages 6-8 with some supervision mac and cheese, grilled cheese, or alone  pb and j, turkey and cheese, egg salad or tuna salad sandwiches (if the salads are pre-made)

Ages 9-12 mac and cheese, grilled cheese, soup from a can, pb and j, turkey and cheese, egg salad or tuna salad sandwiches.

So how have you gotten a break? well at least you didn't have to lesson plan, and it's fun to see how much your children are retaining, and how much fun they have in school when they are the ones giving the lesson.

Poetry Month

It is poetry month! Or almost the end of poetry month(April is poetry month). I hope you all have been enjoying reading poetry. If you didn't know, well it's not to late you still have a week left! Dash and I only took out two poetry books, but their was plenty in them to read a few poems a day. On April 30th we plan to pick our favorites and then share them with each other. We will read them aloud and then talk about why we chose them. Poetry is really important as a learning tool, but also fun and rhythmic and the same time. Babies love it, even if they don't know what you are talking about they just enjoy the rhythm of your voice as you read it. For older children it's fun to learn to read things that rhyme and have a pattern. Poems are great for learning new vocabulary words. In poems, often to describe things  they use unique words, children will come across words they never read before. Poetry opens a world of metaphors and imagery. Most poems use images to compare things, or use one thing to stand for another. This can be funny, or sometimes confusing, either way it opens the field to let your child express what they think it means, or how they understand it. Poems can also help your child with writing skills, by broadening vocabulary, showing how to write descriptively, teaching how to use metaphors when describing something. Poems teach how to describe emotion and feelings. They teach how to rhyme, and are great when working on phonics and sounds.

Vocabulary exercises to try:
When you come across a word that is unfamiliar look it up in the dictionary, then try and use it correctly in a sentence.

Writing exercises to try: 
Practice writing rhyming sentences. If this seems too hard, try singing the song "down by the bay" and make up your own rhymes, or read "hickory, dickory, dock" and make up some rhymes for each number.
Write stories using  personification. If your child needs some inspiration try watching "Beauty and the Beast" or "Herby: Fully Loaded"

Write a list of metaphors. To get started think of some common ones we hear all the time, like, "my hands are as cold as ice" "time is money" "life is a roller coaster" "the store was a zoo"

For some book ideas Dash and I loved "A Child's Garden of Verses" by Robert Louis Stevenson or "Around the World in Eighty Poems" by James Perry

"A Child's Garden of Verses" by Robert Louis Stevenson is a really nice book. It's all about children. It has poems about their thoughts, imagination, and play.

"Around the World in Eighty Poems" by James Perry was very cultural. It gives you poem from all over the world. It lets you experience different styles of poetry, and fun pictures to go alone with the theme.

Life Cycles (Science Lesson Plan)

Spring is a great time to work on life cycles, because as we are out and about we see some of the stages (butterflies flying around, baby ducks at the pond, and neighborhood kittens). I plan to spend a full week on this lesson plan. I want to do the basics like humans and pets, but then I also want to throw in some not so familiar birds, bugs and reptiles. 

This can really be broken down however you want and in what ever order. I want to start with simply explaining a life cycle, by playing a game.

Game:  Explain to your child what a life cycle is (we also got a book on this so we may read that to begin). It starts when someone or something is born, it continues to them becoming adults, and then starts over once they have a little one of their own. Then play a match game. Match the baby with the correct parent.

Time line activity: Animals are not the only ones who have life cycles, we do too. Using pictures of yourself or someone you and your child know like a grandparent, show pictures of when that person was a baby, when they were your child's age, when they were a teen, when they were an adult, and once they had their own child. This is the human cycle with all it's stages.

Now it's time to discover some interesting animals. The animals that have more steps to their life cycle. Ask your child if they know of any. They may be able to think of butterflies, or maybe frogs, and that would be correct. I got some books from the library, I thought we would try to go through one a day. I have one on frogs, one on butterflies, one on chickens, and one on alligators. 

Book List: "What is a Life Cycle?" by Bobbie Kalman and Jacqueline Langille "Tadpole to Frog" by Lisa M. Herrington "The Alligator" by Sabrina Crewe "How a Caterpillar Grows Into a Butterfly" by Tanya Kant "From Egg to Chicken" by Anita Ganeri

Vocabulary Words: Here are some words they should learn and be able to either give the definition or use in a sentence.

Larva immature form of an insect that differs greatly from the adult form

Pupa, Cocoon, or Chrysalis the case in which a caterpillar turns into a butterfly

Tadpole young frogs that live in water and breath through gills

Amphibians animals that live in water and on land

Mature fully developed

Hatch to come out of an egg

Writing: Have your child write about each animals cycle, (I would only have them do like one a day) work on writing First, Next, Then, Finally or Last, papers.

Hands on: I don't know about you, but for me I learn and remember things by being able to see, and touch, and experience things. That is why for this lesson plan I am going to get our own caterpillars to take care of and observe. I found this at Toys R Us and also on Amazon 

http://www.amazon.com/Insect-Lore-Live-Butterfly-Garden/dp/B00000ISC5/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1429800090&sr=1-2&keywords=live+caterpillars

Fun reading: "My, Oh My- a Butterfly" by Tish Rabe "The Hungry Little Caterpillar" By Eric Carle "I Don't Want to Be a Frog" by Dev Petty

Art Projects: I saw a few I thought were cute on pinterest, so here are the links, check them out!

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/138767232240697521/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/1618549836212267/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/287597126177200309/

http://www.education.com/worksheet/article/life-science-learning-life-cycle/

Baby to Parent match game

Here are some pictures you can cut out and use for the  baby and parent match game.Pup

Cat

Kid

Fox

 Kitten

Dog

Puppy

Foal

Kit

Goat

Horse

Seal

If you feel your child is to advanced for this, or you want to challenge them. You can just use the names of the animals without the pictures.

Happy Earth Day!

 So we know earth day is about being more resourceful, recycling, and being mindful of the planet we live on, so lets use today to pick up some new habits.

Breakfast: Banana Bread. Did you know if your bananas are on the way out, you don't need to toss them, you can freeze them for different recipes. Over ripe bananas are the best to bake with because they are supper sweet!

Yard work: Bring the family outside to tidy up. With spring just getting here I am sure there are broken toys outside that were left out all winter, garbage that has blown into the yard, and maybe a little raking to be done. It is good to start your day getting up and moving. It makes sitting to do school work easier. Most mornings Dash and I will start with yoga and palates, to get our hearts pumping, and blood flowing to our brains. While we are working outside I also plan to use this time to figure out where we will be starting our garden.

Work books: I thought why not take class outside. As long as the weather permits, grab a blanket and your books and head outdoors. Enjoy a little nature, after all it's earth day.

Science: Read books and learn about the oxygen cycle. This will help your child realize why we need trees and should appreciate trees, and how amazing our planet is.

History: Why is there an earth day? How did it begin? Who started it? If your child is old enough write out a few questions like these, to have them research it  online. If not, do it together, write the questions out and surf together to find the answers.

Lunch: Left over dinner sandwiches. Don't let your left overs go to waste. If you made chicken or eggplant parmesan, maybe some meatballs, try putting it on bread for a new look. If you have chicken left over try making a chicken salad sandwich. Excess quinoa, turn it into a burger. If I make way to much of something, (soup, lasagna, stew, or pesto sauce) and I can't find a way to reinvent it, I find an airtight container and freeze it, take it out a month or so later, defrost it, and everyone enjoys it again, without me having to prepare too much.

Reading: For fun reading today, I have two books I would like to go through. Maybe I will have Dash read one and I will read on to him. "The Lorax" By Dr. Seuss, after all he speaks for the trees. I also saw and wanted to read "The Adventures of the Plastic Bottle" by Alison Inches. This book gives such a fun perspective, it follows the life of a bottle. This book can really give children such an insight into how recycling works.

Reducing and Reusing: With summer approaching, now is a good time for me to go through the closets and see what Dash has out grown. That way I can either put it in a clothing drop or give it to someone who may be able to get use out of it. The same with the toy box. What toys has he out grown or never seems to play with. It's easier to give things away when I know others will enjoy it.


Art Project: Save your old egg cartons and paper towel and toilet paper rolls! There are so many great projects out there using those materials. Today's art project we are going to paint with flowers. I have only don't this with sunflowers and it came out amazing (wish I had taken a picture), but this year I want to try it with dandelions, and whatever else we having growing around the yard. I will use my egg carton as my paint pallet. It holds my paint and makes it easy to dip onto.  Than use my flower to make splattered imprints onto the paper.


Snack: Rice Pudding or Bread Pudding. With these puddings you can use milk that is a few days old instead of throwing it away (old milk can also be used for recipes that call for buttermilk) and left over rice or bread (especially the ends which no one wants to eat). Since you are cooking it, no one can get sick, and the flavor is Delicious when you are all done.

Music: "One love" by Bob Marley  "Outdoors" By Jason Mraz "Circle of Life" Lion King

Dinner: Ham and Cheese Roll Ups with Salad.

Family time: First start off with letting Dash tell us what he learned today, and his feelings on the subject. I am the one who puts together the lesson plans, and decides our days together, so I love to hear his feed back. Then watch the Lorax movie together.

Waste Not Want Not Recipes

Waste not want not, was a common used phrase in my house growing up. Here are some things I have learned when it comes to not wasting foods.

This is Dash making Pancakes :)

Bananas get ripe quick. I was told by a chef once, that you want to separate the bunch.. When you keep them together they ripen faster. If your bananas are on the way out though, you don't need to toss them, you can freeze them for different recipes. Over ripe bananas are the best to bake with because they are supper sweet!

Banana Bread or Muffins

 I use this website for my recipe.

or try

Banana Nut Pancakes

Ingredients

1 1/2 C Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Egg
2 Tbs Butter
1 1/2 C Buttermilk (you can substitute this for milk that has soured)
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 Mashed Banana
1 C Chopped Walnuts

Directions

Mix together flour, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add egg buttermilk and melted butter. Stir in mashed banana and walnuts.

A trick I do with pancakes, it always try and make extra. I take the left overs and put them in a air tight Tupperware and put them in the freezer. Then on a morning when I am short on time I  take them out throw some in the toaster, and breakfast is served.

Eggplant or Chicken Parmesan 

Ingredients

2 C Milk
1 Egg
Bread Crumbs (you can make your own by using stale or unwanted bread)
Olive Oil
Eggplant or Chicken

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350 F. In a mixing bowl mix the egg wash, put the one egg in a bowl add milk and mix with a whisk (when I have no milk I use water). Pour bread crumbs on a plate. Skin and slice your eggplant, or cut your chicken thin, and put into egg wash. Next cover completely in bread crumbs, then lay on an oiled cookie sheet and bake until browned and crispy.

If you have some left over the following day make sandwiches for lunch, so good!

Often I find no one eats the bread ends. I hate to throw them out though, so I have learned to put them in the freezer and save them for  making croutons, bread crumbs or stuffing


Croutons

Take the bread out of the freezer and allow to defrost

Ingredients

Bread 

Olive Oil

Seasoning (rosemary, thyme, parsley, salt)

Pre-heat oven to 400 F. Chop your bread into crouton sized squares and lay on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with seasoning, and bake. You will need to turn them as you go, till you have crunchy croutons for a salad.

Bread Crumbs

Take the bread out of the freezer and allow to defrost

You do the same thing for bread crumbs as you did for croutons, only instead of cutting the bread you are going to want to put it in your food processor or bullet and chop it fine before putting it on the cookie sheet.

Stuffing 

Take the bread out of the freezer and allow to defrost

Ingredients

Bread 

1 clove Garlic

1/2 Onion

1 C Chicken stock (make your own)

Seasoning (rosemary, thyme, parsley, salt)

Chop bread and onion, mix in the seasonings, garlic,and chicken stock, and now you are ready to stuff a bird.

Chicken Stock/Broth

 Ingredients
Chicken bones
1 cloves garlic
1/2 Onion
Seasoning
Vegetables (optional)

You can make your own by taking chicken bones left from making a whole chicken, add some onion, garlic, and some seasoning, if you have some vegetables looking limp throw those in and let it cook in some boiling water till the bones turn milky white. Find a container (mason jars work great) and store in frig for as needed.

Chicken Salad

Ingredients

2 C Chicken (you can use the left over chicken from a previous chicken dinner, also save the bones to make your own stock)
3/4 C Celery
1/2 C Nuts (pecans or walnuts)
1/2 C Crasins
1/4 Of an Onion
1/2 Head of Lettuce

Directions
Chop up everything and put together like a salad, then make the dressing.

Dressing

1/3 C Mayo
1/8 C OJ
1/2 T Cider Vinegar
1 t Sugar
1/4 t Coriander
1/2 t Ginger
1/2 t Salt
1/4 t Pepper

Directions
Mix all together then pour over chopped salad.


Rice Pudding 

 I use one cup of milk for every cup of rice

3 C Rice (you can use left over rice from take out Chinese, or you cooked too much for dinner the night before)

3 C Milk (since this milk is being cooked you can use the milk that has past it's expiration date)

1 T Butter

1/2 C Sugar

1 t Vanilla Extract

Cinnamon

Directions
Put all ingredients except cinnamon in a pot on the stove. Cook till all the liquids are absorbed and the rice is soft. Then add cinnamon to taste.


Ham and Cheese Roll Up

This is the site I follow for my homemade bread

Ingredients

Ham (if I cook a whole ham I use the left over meat for this and the bone for lentil soup)
Cheddar Cheese
Mustard (optional)

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. After the dough is made roll it out. Spread a thin layer of mustard over all the dough, then cover in ham, and sprinkle generously with cheddar cheese. Roll up and place on a greased cookie sheet. Let this sit for a little bit on top of the warm oven so it can rise, then bake till the outside has browned.


Lentil Soup

Ingredients

2-3 cloves Garlic

1 1/2 Onions

1 bag of lentils

1 28 oz Can Tomato puree

Chicken stock

Ham bone and ham (when I make a whole ham I use the bone and whatever is left on the bones for this soup)

Directions
The night before I soak my lentils in a lot of chicken broth, or they will never cook. Next day, dice the onions, crush the garlic, and put all the ingredients into a crockpot. On low let this cook all day.

Springing into art

We did these projects different days. I find I can't handle the mess if we have too much going on, and Dash looses interest if I try to get to many projects done. 

Before starting this first project, we discussed what colors make us think of spring. Then we did our best using our paint pallet to mix colors that look like spring.

I love finger painting, and never think you can be to old to participate in this. So we both dipped our fingers in and got started.

After our fingerprints dried we used markers to make them into little animals.

We came up with a whole bunch.

I love it!

More spring colors! This is our modern art. We used those plastic eggs from Easter, to make this. We just dunked them into pant and used them like stampers. If you don't have any of those left overs you could really use a cup, or the rolls from the toilet paper or paper towels.  

This next project I found at Michael's craft store. I find they can have some really great prices on somethings, you just have to look. I found these little wooden bird houses for $1 each.

After they were painted and dried, we filled them with pumpkin seeds and sunflowers, and hung them outside.

  This project, we first went on a rock hunt for. Once we found decent sized rocks, we cleaned them up. After they dried we painted pictures. Mine is a Dinosaur hatching, Dash's is umm..... I think a spaceship and a dinosaur lol. We plan to use these to decorate our garden when we are all done getting our garden together.

Potato stampers! I had seen at one point people using potato stampers to make Christmas ornaments (we tried it out and loved it). So I thought why not try something else with potato stampers. This time using a butter knife I carved the potatoes a little to make them look like roses.

This was the out come. It was so much fun and colorful, and has us looking forward to some May flowers. 

Lessons using building blocks

A lesson plan built on building. I am sure if you have a boy you already have plenty of blocks. I know one of Dash's favorite things is to build with legos. We have been reviewing math and other subjects trying to get ready for the end of the year test. Reviewing is very boring, so I have been looking for a new way to present the information we have already gone over, in a new way. I wish I had found some of these ideas when I was first teaching it, but I figured I would share what I found with you all, and maybe you can use it. I will definitely be using this. I am planning on using this for a week straight and see where we are at the end of it. This is more for grade levels 1-3 (but I honestly think you could find ways to teach younger children too, using legos).

Math: This is what I found, these are some great worksheet pages for teaching whole and part, fractions, multiplication and division. I plan to use these for my reviewing.  Here is the website I found these on  http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2013/12/using-lego-build-math-concepts

Writing: Dash has improved a lot with his writing, but I am always looking for ways to keep him interested in writing without him feeling like it is some great chore. So I heard of people actually using legos to spark writing ideas. Using legos build three different scenes. They have to be a beginning, a middle, and an end. This will be the tricky part trying to get your child to follow through with an idea and show a connection. After they finish with their lego structure write down the story. Sometimes having a visual of their ideas will help them to remember what they wanted to say, and teach them how to make the connections between beginning, middle, and end.

History: For history what would be more appropriate then learning about famous monuments and buildings. We have been going through famous men and women, so why not do monuments and buildings now. You can buy or go to the library, and find some books on  different famous structures and start reading up.

Art/Engineering: After learning about how and why buildings are made I am sure your child will be interested in being an architect or engineer.  Have your child draw a picture of something they wish to build using graph paper. Once their drawing is complete try and have them replicate it with their legos.

Wacky Wednesday Lesson Plan

In the story "Wacky Wednesday" written by Dr. Seuss nothing is as it should be, you will see shoes in weird spots, a worm chasing a bird, someone walking their pet alligator... I thought this would be great fun for a lesson plan! I want to have our own Wacky Wednesday. Although I could glue shoes on the ceiling, and bananas on an apple tree, I don't think I want to get that crazy, instead how about having everything backwards!  

 Reverse day!

Morning routine: Let your kids wear their pj's all day, instead of getting up and getting dressed. 

On a normal day for us right before bed is quiet time, so we are going to do some reading. I think we will read "Wacky Wednesday".

Breakfast: I hope everyone is hungry for their... dinner? I am going to make sweet potato and spinach hash (this has been a breakfast food for us before so not too weird) with oven fried chicken legs (just a little strange). 

Family time: Most nights we use the time after dinner to play games. My husband probably will be at work by this time but we will play a board game just the two of us then (Battleship or Guess Who are great two person games that we don't usually play because there are three of us).

Free time: Normally once all the school work is done for the day I give Dash free time to choose an activity to play on his own. However this is no normal day so he gets to play first, work later. 

 Art/Art History: The first piece of art that comes to mind for a day like today would be "The Persistence of Memory" by Salvador Dali 

Some say this painting is a subconscious painting something that does not exist in this world but an image from a dream or dreams Dali had. Almost of images being added as his dreams created them.  Read some of the theories behind this painting, I found it so interesting. While you are reading aloud have your child flip through magazines and cut out clips of different things they see, and like, and put them together to form a picture. 

Snack: On a typical day this would be our lunch time, so we will have fruit salad, a little healthier, and more substantial.

Music: Some songs about being crazy, wild, and young. "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley "Wild Thing" by the Troggs  "Forever Young" by Rod Stewart "I'm So Excited" by The Pointer Sisters "Best Song Ever" by One Direction "Wake Me Up" by Avicii 

Writing: How would you react if you were the character in the story "Wacky Wednesday"

Lunch: Sloppy Joe's in romain lettuce wraps (instead of on bread, mixing it up just a little)

Work books: Finally it's time to get that work done, spelling, math, grammar, and reading comprehension.

Breakfast: One of my favorite things is breakfast for dinner, and I will be making Pig in a Poke

You have done it! You have made it through one wacky day! I hope you all enjoy this, please comment and let me know how yours turns out, or if you had any ideas to add.

A Day of Recipes From Start to Finish

These are the recipes used in the Wacky Wednesday lesson plan .

Dinner: Oven Fried Chicken 

Ingredients

1 Package of chicken legs, wings, or thighs

Olive Oil

1 1/2 C Flour

Your favorite poultry seasoning

(I always do garlic salt, celery salt, onion powder, thyme, parsley, rosemary and a little cayenne pepper) 

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 350 F.  Mix on a plate the flour with your seasonings. Rub your chicken all over with olive oil then roll in the flour mixture. As you go lay them on a cookie sheet. Once you have coated all of them place into the oven and cook until browned and crispy.


Side Dish: Sweet Potato hash

Ingredients

6 Sweet potatoes (the sweet potatoes I get are on the small side if they seem big do less)

1/2  Onion

2 cloves Garlic

Olive oil

1 C Fresh Spinach

1 tsp Salt

Directions

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 2 inch cubes. Heat olive oil in a large fry pan. Dice one medium sized onion and crush the garlic. Once the pan is hot put the potatoes onion and garlic in. Chop the spinach. Once the potatoes start to brown add the spinach and sprinkle the salt on. Keep flipping the potatoes till all is browned.

Snack: Tropical Fruit Salad 

Ingredients 

1 Banana 

1 Mango 

1 1/2 C Pineapple

1/3 C Shredded Coconut

(If you like papaya or guava add these also, they are so good for you, I just still haven't acquired a taste for them) 

Directions

Chop up all the fruits and place in a bowl then sprinkle on top with Coconut.

Lunch: Sloppy Joe's 

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs of ground meat (beef, turkey, or chicken, I have tried them all, and they are taste so good with this recipe)

1 C stock or broth (chicken, vegetable, or beef whatever is handy)

1/2 C Ketchup

2 Cloves of minced Garlic

2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce 

2 Tbs Sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar

Directions

I throw everything into my crockpot and let it cook for a few hours. If you don't have the time or a crockpot, just cook the meat in a fry pan till all browned, and make the sauce in a sauce pan on the stove. Once the sauce thickens add the meat. 

(I used romain lettuce instead of bread for Wacky Wednesday lesson plan)

Breakfast: Pig in a Poke (this may sound silly but it taste amazing)

Ingredients (This will only make one so I usually double or triple it)

8 Slices of Bacon or Sausage

3 Eggs

3/4 C Flour

3/4 C Milk

Pinch of Salt

Maple Syrup (optional)

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 425 F. Cook the bacon/sausage in an Iron fry pan on the stove (if you don't have use a regular fry pan). Mix eggs, milk, flour, and salt. Take the bacon/sausage out of the pan chop up. Pour the mixture into your iron fry pan (if you don't have the fry pan put it into a pie dish, and if you are doubling or tripling make sure to spread evenly to three different dishes) and add meat. Put it into the oven and bake 15-20 minutes. Before eating drizzle with maple syrup.  

I am not a big fan of breakfast meat, so I have even replaced the meat with some cooked apples and it's really good.

Spring Lesson Plans pt4 (colors!)

I was inspired to do colors for the lesson plan for next week. By looking outside the bright blue skies we have been having, the new green spring grasses that are growing, the warm yellow sun, and our Red tulips we just got, it's all just been inspiration. You may want to do all or just one. Through these lesson plans we will be able to cover most subjects, just change them as much as necessary to fit your child's grade level.

Blue Day  

 (Wear all blue)

Breakfast: Blueberry pancakes

Work books: Spelling, Grammar, and Math (use a blue colored pencil to complete school work, you may not want them to use this because you can't erase, but I thought it would make the work a little more fun and colorful)

Lunch:  blue tortilla chicken nachos

Recess: Hula Hoop or Jump Rope

Blue scavenger hunt!

Writing: Write a story about the day you woke up in an all blue world. Some children may be good writers once they have an idea, so try giving writing ideas.

Art/Art History: Paint all in blue just like Picasso did during his blue period. Read a little bit about him to your child as they work on their painting, you can find his life story online or you can find books at the library (you will definitely want to skim through this first his whole life story is not suitable for all ages)

Reading: Fun reading, for either your child to do on there own or you to do together. "Beyond The Land of Blue" by Ruth Olin and Judy Olin

Music: Listen to some blues (I love to have a lot of diversity when it comes to music, I don't want my kids to grow up only knowing what they play on the radio)

Green Day

(wear all green)

Breakfast Spinach omlet

Work books (use a green colored pencil to complete school work)

Lunch: Dinosaur chicken nuggets with cooked broccoli.

Recess:Go for a nature walk at your local park or neighborhood take pictures

Current Events/Writing: Write a paper about what it means to go green,, and write your own list of how you can be more green.

Read: Fun reading, for either your child to do on there own or you to do together. Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Art/Art History: Using pastels, let your child try and recreate Claude Monet's Japanese Footbridge  

Talk about what inspired Monet's painting then discus what inspires your child and what they like to do when they feel inspired. 

Music: Green Day (if you are not a fan there are a bunch of songs about the color green just type it into youtube)

Yellow Day 

Breakfast Sunny Side Eggs

Workbooks Spelling, Grammar, and Math (use a Yellow colored pencil to complete school work)

Lunch Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

Science/ Writing: Research the sun and write an essay on it.

Recess: Jacks or Marbles

Art/Art History: Have your child try and color with crayons or markers to make

Van Gogh's Sunflowers .

 While they are working read a little bit about his seven versions of Sunflowers.

Music: "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the waves 

"You Are My Sunshine" by Jimmie Davis

"Sunshine Song" by Jason Mraz

"Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers

"I can see clearly now" by  Bitty McLean

"Good Day Sunshine" by the Beatles

"My Girl" by Temptations

Reading: Fun reading, for either your child to do on there own or you to do together. 

"A Color of His Own" by Leo Lionni

 

Red Day

Breakfast Berry Bread 

Workbooks Spelling, Grammar, and Math (use a Red colored pencil to complete school work)

Lunch: Red baked potatoes

Recess: Tag or Hop Scotch

Reading: Fun reading, for either your child to do on there own or you to do together. 

"Red Stop, Green Go!" by P.D.  Easman and "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish" by Dr. Seuss 

Writing: Compare apples with oranges. Write a paper telling people why Red apples are better than Oranges.

Art/Art History: Have  your child make a Sculpture with red play-doh like the "Love" sculptor in NYC

Using your own word, something that means a lot to you.

While they are working read the history behind this sculptor its pretty interesting. 

Music: Patriotic Music or Classic Love Songs (couldn't decide what would be better so I figured the day of I would do whatever I'm in the mood for)