Moments to Remember ~ Classroom Anywhere!

Moments to Remember was developed as a simple way to look back on our week as homeschoolers and find photos that encompass the memories we want to remember. 

The week may have been tough, there may have been more bumps than smiles, but in the end these are the moments that keep us going, the ones we need to remember.

      

We had lessons OUTSIDE today! 

It wasn't too humid yet and the kids enjoyed the change of scenery. 

Who says we have to learn indoors all the time?

Kids in the Kitchen ~ Mini Pizzas

Miniature Ham Pizzas

Yes, we are on a pizza kick. LOL We just had some left over ingredients from our pizza balls, so we decided to make miniature pizzas today. Super easy, kid friendly and delish!

Ingredients:

     *1 english muffin per child, cut in half 

     *About 1/2 jar of pizza sauce

     *Several slices deli ham, chopped into 1-inch pieces

     *1-2 C. shredded mozzarella cheese. 

You can add any kind of topping you'd like with any kind of cheese you like. I would've added onion and green bell pepper finely chopped, but my kids don't like those toppings. I've made these pizzas with hamburger buns before, however, my favorite is the english muffin. You could probably use regular bread too. I'll have to try that sometime.   *Grin* 

     

Directions:

     *Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

     *Cut apart the english muffins. One muffin makes 2 pizzas.

     *Spread pizza sauce onto each english muffin half.

     *Sprinkle cheese over sauce. 

     *Spread ham pieces over cheese. 

     *Cover with more cheese. We like ours super cheesy! 

     *Bake in oven for about 10-13 minutes. 

     *Let cool for a couple of minutes.

     *Enjoy!

Add some fruit and/or veggie on the side with a glass of milk and you have yourself a complete meal. 

Happy creating!

Kids in the Kitchen ~ Pizza Balls

  

PIZZA BALLS

I've seen this recipe float around Face Book several times. I finally decided that I wanted to try it out. We were going to do this for Adelle's birthday dinner last night, but it didn't work out so I decided to let the kids make it for lunch today.

Ingredients:
3 cans biscuits (10 ct)
60 peperoni slices (2 per biscuit)
1 Block of cheese (we used an 8 oz block)
1 Beaten egg
Garlic powder
Italian seasoning
1 Jar pizza sauce

Directions:
1. Slice the cheese into about 30 pieces.

  

2. Flatten & stretch each biscuit.

3. Stack one pepperoni on top the biscuit, then a cheese square on top of that, then another slice of pepperoni... as pictured above. It's very simple. 

4. Gather the edges of the biscuit on top of the pepperoni stack and pinch to secure. 

       

       

5. Line the rolls in a greased 9x13 pan. Brush the top of biscuits with the beaten egg. 

6. Sprinkle italian seasoning, garlic powder and parm cheese on top. 

        

 

7. Bake at 425 degrees for 18-20 minutes. 

8. Serve with pizza sauce for dipping.

     

This is a real treat and is a good substitute for when your budget doesn't allow for a pizza from the pizza shop. It is super easy... so easy I bet Adelle could do it by herself next time. :-)

Happy snacking!

   

Moments to Remember - Not Alone

Moments to Remember was developed as a simple way to look back on our week as homeschoolers and find photos that encompass the memories we want to remember. 

The week may have been tough, there may have been more bumps than smiles, but in the end these are the moments that keep us going, the ones we need to remember.

In talking to another homeschool mom yesterday, I learned that we are not the only family that has taken a relaxed approach to the school year resulting in taking our lessons into the month of June. It's just good to know that we are not alone; that we share similar experiences as other homeschool moms. 

The Homeschool Mother's Journal #6

*IN OUR HOME SCHOOL THIS WEEK..... We are really just playing catch up. We have 170 lessons in this curriculum and we're on 134. We just might be working our way right up to the next grade. 

*I AM GRATEFUL FOR...... God has shown so much mercy and grace towards me. He is patient and kind. I am forever grateful for His unconditional love, forgiveness and the rest that we can find in Him. 

*IN MY LIFE THIS WEEK.... I am desperate for God to fill me with the Holy Spirit and for God to exchange my stone cold heart for a heart of flesh that is pliable in His hands.

*WHAT'S WORKING/NOT WORKING FOR US..... I really think that we have struggled so much this school year because this curriculum is not right for us. It really did not make learning very fun. We are going with something different next year for sure!

*MY FAVORITE THING THIS WEEK WAS.......  I really cherish the prayer/devotion time I get to have with my children. I have neglected this for a while and we started doing it again this week. It warms my heart so much to hear my children pray. I now see how vitally important it is to take this time. I am learning that issues of the heart are far more important than academics.

*SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK....... "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances." Ezekiel 36:25-27

A Tough Year

Whew! What a school year we have had! We started out doing alright... we had a routine set and was following it pretty good. We have even made some new friends in our home school support group. This adventure got tough when I decided to help my BFF (I wrote about it a tiny bit in my last post). I think I honestly bit off more than I could chew. Getting both children out the door by 7am every morning, trying to home school at someone else's house, not being able to do any house work until the evening or on the weekend makes for a stressful Mama here. Maybe I'm just lazy (or not in shape or whatever), but I am constantly exhausted.  We have 170 lessons in this curriculum and we are only on lesson 113. Really?!? (Maybe I'm just a perfectionist.)  Being able to stay on task in our school work has been very challenging... for me. I'm finding myself trying to catch up on missed sleep, missed prayer and I'm struggling to find a good attitude.  I have tried taking school work back home to work on during the weekends some, but that hasn't exactly worked out. I'm not wanting to supervise the work and the kids are just too distracted having everyone else home. 

It's time for a new plan! 

We are generally done with all our lessons by lunch time. So the new catch-up plan now is to do some extra work in the afternoons. This IS necessary because if we don't get caught up, Adelle will still be working on K5 lessons in the First Grade!

If I had to grade myself, I'd give myself a big D. I don't think that I have necessarily failed.  I have managed to hang in there and though our progress is S L O W, we are still progressing.

A note to my BFF:  I love you and I am still here for you. I WILL stick this out to the end.  (((HUGS)))

Yes, We Are Still Homeschooling

While I have fallen short in keeping up with this blog, I have managed to keep going with our homeschooling. Our routine has gotten a little hairy, but we are trudging on. A couple of months ago, I decided to help my best friend out and started to homeschool her little boy in her home (right along with Adelle and Jonathan). I store our essential supplies, ones we use on a daily basis, at her house and transport supplies we need for special projects. My BFF lives in the next town over. It takes about 25-30 minutes to get to to her house from ours, so the 3 of us are out the door by 7am. This has taken some adjustment... mostly on my part. Of course, not being at my own house, I've had to readjust my cleaning routine (which I'm still working on, esp the laundry). I must admit that I fight exhaustion continually. However, this post isn't about venting all my woes. I wanted to catch up on where we are in our homeschooling. 

PHONICS

Adelle has learned how to read 3-4 letter single-vowel words and is learning what sentences are. Jonathan is sitting in on her lessons so he knows all the letter names and sounds. He even knows the vowels from the consonants! He spaces off when it comes to blending letter sounds.

MATH

Adelle has learned so much in math that I cannot begin to type it all here. She is learning the value of coins. She can count to 100 and recognizes numbers all the way up to 60. She has begun addition lessons and knows how to read o'clock times on the analog clock (1:00, 2:00, etc...).  Jonathan can count to 100 too and recognizes numbers up to 60. He can even tell you what "family" a number belongs in.

WRITING

Adelle has learned how to write almost all lowercase letters (minus about 3) in cursive and even a few single-vowel words. She can write numbers 0-10 as well. Jonathan is still pre-writing, but he was eager to try to trace numbers earlier this week and he did very well staying on the lines. 

BIBLE

They're having way too much fun learning new Bible songs (My God is so Big, Father Abraham, The B-I-B-L-E, etc...).  They have learned about 8 memory verses and they are also learning about different Bible characters. This week we've been talking about the prophet Elijah. 

PIANO

Adelle is learning the piano very fast. She has learned quarter, half and whole notes. She has learned the meanings of forte, piano, treble clef and bass clef. She is learning the note names and how to play alternating left hand to right hand. Her newest lesson is learning the C-scale (for all of you musical people out there). She will learn a couple of Christmas songs over these next couple of weeks too. 

Can you sense my pride in these kids?? Both of them amaze me ALL THE TIME!