A Little Spring

School Morning Breakfast

School morning breakfasts really need a makeover by this time in the year.  To keep the meal hearty and healthy, I usually don't mind whipping up a batch of muffins or pancakes on Sunday afternoon that we can slide in around the cereal mornings.  But during the holiday season, pre-cooked breakfasts even become difficult to come by.  One FAST pre-cook breakfast is WILDBERRY WAFFLES.  I purchase 2 packets of muffin mix (one strawberry and one blueberry), combine them in a bowl, add 1 and 1/2 cups milk or water (whichever the packet calls for), and mix.  I then pour about a cup and a half onto my waffle iron to cook.  It makes delicious waffles without needing eggs,oil and other homemade ingredients.  I put them in the refridgerator and give a quick toast in the toaster in the mornings.  YUM!  My kids love these things!  Thanks for letting me share!

Wildberry Waffles

2 packets of muffin mix

1 1/2 Cups milk

Mix and pour approx. 1 1/2 cups batter onto waffle iron. 

How to Make your Kids Enjoy Their Summer Reading - A Tutorial!

My kids are avid readers.  This is something I am very happy about as thier parents are too. BBBUUUUTTTT, assigned summer reading, well that is another story.  First of all, it's assigned.  Second of all, we would all rather be swimming. 

Out comes the "Reading Bubble"!  Yep, this is my living room and no it isn't a giant jelly fish.  The kids and I actually made this 4 or 5 years ago when I was trying to institute a regular quiet time.  It worked really well then and still works now.  You can only go inside if you are going to read.

 See.  Umm, sorry about the pic of the shirtless boy.  Please excuse.

 Even a tweener likes hanging out in it.  Actually, parents do too.

 BUBBLE ROOM TUTORIAL

1 plastic painters tarp (cheap)

2 rolls duct tape

1 fan (box or round)

1 kitchen trash bag

Construction

a. Fold the plastic tarp in half.

b. Use duct tape to seal around all edges. Just like you are making a pillow. (see pic below)

 c. Decide on where the door will be.  Place a length of duct tape vertical and horizantal to make an upside down letter "T".  (see first pic in post).  Note how the corners were reinforced.

d. Now cut through the center of the duct tape to open a tent=like door.  We also added a mail slot. (see first pic in post)

e. Take your trash bag and cut out the bottom so that your trashbag becomes a tube.  Measure the width of the trash bag.

f.  Use scissors and cut an opening through the duct tape that equals the width of the trash bag.

g.  Duct tape one end of the trash bag to the Bubble Room.

h.  Duct tape the other end of the trash bag to the fan.

Voila!

Project takes about 1 hour.  Younger kids can help hand your strips of duct tape.  Older kids can help place it.  If you don't have room for one this size, simply use scissors and cut the painter's tarp down in size before taping. 

It is really fun to watch the Bubble Room inflate as it looks like a hot air balloon filling.  Small holes  in your room will not matter and if they are large holes, patch them with duct tape.

Throw in pillows and beanbags this room is made for fun! 

Word of Caution:  This is essentually a large plastic bag.  Supervise children at all times when the room is inflated or uninflated.  Do not turn off the fan if people are still inside!

Make Me French Toast Til I Tell You To Stop!

My wonderful husband is known for his difficult mornings. They all began when he was a young child. His horrible mother would come wake him up, help pick out clothing and then had the nerve to ask (in her bright cheerful voice), "What would you like for breakfast?". Appalled that she would actually expect him to make a decision like that in the early morning hours, finally resulted in my future husband answering back, "Make me French Toast, til I tell you to stop and don't ask me again!"

Well, she did. She made French toast each morning for his breakfast for almost 8 years. Then one day, he told her to stop (I think this is because he was leaving for college or something).

This statement has become quite famous in our family. It is still mentioned around holidays and all the 13 grandchildren know of its story.

Luckily, my husband's grumpy morning self has mellowed with age as I am not sure I would have been able to see the humor in it! But I thought I would share my mother-in-law's famous french toast recipe with all of you just in case you have a grumpy morning child who doesn't want to be spoken to!

Make Me French Toast Til I Tell You To Stop Recipe
(make enough for 4 pieces of french toast)

3 eggs - lightly scrambled with a whisk
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons of sugar
4 pieces of sliced bread

Place skillet over medium heat and put in a pat of butter to start melting.















In bowl, whisk first 4 ingredients.





























Soak each piece of bread individually for about 3 seconds.














Place bread in skillet and cook about 3 minutes on each side. You may need to slightly pick up a corner to check for doneness, it should be golden brown. Serve hot with syrup.















Around my house, french toast is a Saturday morning affair. To dress it up, I also make strawberry syrup to go on top!

Strawberry Syrup

1 cup frozen or fresh strawberries (in summer I use fresh)
2 Tablespoons of sugar
1/4 cup water


First let me tell you that the proportions mentioned above do not have to be exact in order to make great strawberry syrup. I am sure that sometimes I have a little more of this and a little less of something else, but regardless, it always tastes delicious! Place strawberries in blender (if using fresh strawberries, you can skip this step and just slice them up. Place in pot over medium heat. Add sugar and water.






























Stir occasionally to make sure that it is not sticking. Syrup will come to a boil and slowly thicken. When it is to your desired thickness remove from heat and serve!



Because it snowed, we decided to have an extra healthy French toast recipe, made with Angel Food Cake instead of bread. We served it with the Strawberry Syrup and it was heaven! Just follow basic french toast recipe using store bought or homemade angel food cake insead.



































I am getting hungry just thinking about it!

Visit Organization Junkie for more wonderful recipes and menus!

He gives...

He tries to see it as just ...life...responsibility. The kind of responsibility you were warned about when all you could think about was life void of imposed curfews. Only you found that once you achieved this level of maturity, your own folly came at the end of a long list of tending to the needs of others.

He tends to two families. One he chose and the other he was born into. One in the depths of age and one in its prime. It isn't easy. Is it really even possible? That question doesn't really matter, doesn't need to even be asked, because it is his responsibility. There are no other choices. He can only hope that his absence at one dinner table to is appreciated at the other.

You can find him cleaning and preparing breakfast for one family, then cleaning milk from a spilled cereal bowl for the other family. Putting wool socks on old tired feet, then settling an argument between mother and daughter over what is appropriate attire for school. He reads short stories by Ferrell Sams under fluorescent lights, then calls out spelling words on a Thursday night . He helps one stand and walk on wobbly legs, and then teaches another how to swing a bat.

His siblings muse about how sad it is to see their father this way, but he doesn't have the luxury to take time and reminisce.

So I try not to complain when I pick up the water towel off the bathroom floor each morning; a new phenomenon that has only presented itself in the last few months. I try not to huff when he interrupts my thoughts and chores with his own. I try not to do a roll call from my own to-do list when he complains that I need to pick up his work clothes from the cleaners. I ignore it when he leaves his supper dishes on the table, something he expects his children not to do.

Because someone needs to care for him too.

Lord, please help me to fill his cup, so that he can in turn give more of himself to others.

P.A.T.H. - Teaching kids to Pray

If your family is anything like mine, you try to be a good parent and teach your kids great habits that will carry them through like. Praying is one such habit. The difficult part is trying to slowly transition from parent-prayed goodnight prayers to your child initiating prayer on their own. I was really feeling that my kids had hit a plateau and stopped "transitioning". We were stuck in our patterns..."Thank you God for mom and dad"...We needed another boost!

P - Praise

A - Apology

T - Thanks

H - Help (for others then yourself)

The kids and I took four poster boards and wrote one of the above words on each. We arranged them in order all around our backyard ( in order to spell PATH). Quietly and reverently, we walked and encircled a poster. Each person gave praise, apology, thanks or asked from help as we arrived at the designated poster. Do not forget to pull out your Bible and compare the Prayer Path to the Lord's Prayer!

What a difference this has made at bedtime prayers! Good luck and please let me know if you give this a try!

Dog Days of Summer - Children's Summer Activities

The best idea that I have ever had came to me about four years ago. My kids were 3 and 6 years old. Since I teach school, we are all home together each day and boredom was already setting in by July. I was also craving some alone time, but was too cheap to find a babysitter.

A good friend of mine owns and runs a dance studio, but like me, spends her summer days galavanting with the kiddos. We organized a kid swap over Happy Meals at the McDonald's playground. We each planned to take all four kids one day a week allowing each mom an entire FREE DAY. Sitting down with our schedules, the entire summer was planned around things like vacation, VBS and camps. Times were also scheduled. Kids arrive at 8:30 am and will leave around 5:00pm.

Theme days quickly developed and the kids would get so excited about them. We have had "Pirate Day", "Colonial Day", "Candy Day", etc. It wasn't long before my kids were helping plan our weekly theme day too (giving us other things to do during the week).

"The Dog Days of Summer" occured last week and I wanted to show you our FUN!

The day started with puppet making around our kitchen table. The puppets were to be dogs to be used later in the day for a puppet show.










The crafts were going so well, that the girls made puppy dog ears on some headbands while the boys went to ride bikes for a while. We then played "Doggie Doggie Who's Got your Bone" (pardon the grammar, but that is the name of the game). Did you play this in school? One person is the dog and sits in a chair with their eyes closed. There is a bone under the chair. Someone sneaks, steals the bone and sits on it then the doggie tries to guess who has it.

Our dogs were in on the act also. Wizzie got a walk through the neighborhood.










We had a few other neighborhood kids join in for the dog races! If you have a pool, you could have doggie paddle races!











We also made doggie biscuits. This proved to be a kid favorite also. By this time, my group of 4 had become 8 so I made them in 2 batches (girls and boys).











Doggie Biscuit Recipe
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup oats
2 tsp beef or chicken bouillon granules
1 egg
1/2 cup hot water
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Stir all together and roll out to about 1/2inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut into shapes. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

By this time, mom and kids were exhausted so we settled down to watch Benji (I found this DVD in the $5 bin at Walmart. It brought back a lot of memories).

I hope you have gotten a few ideas to try your own theme day. Have fun and don't be afraid to let the kids help plan it!

It is about LOVING not being RIGHT - The Indian Talking Stick

The smell of residual smoke is in the air. It is tense. Angry voices can be heard. Far off drums are beating. The sound of stone scraping against stone is heard where the grown men huddle. Younger men are eager. Older men are solemn. The ground seems to vibrate under scurrying feet. It is humid and difficult to breathe. Older women pack dishes and clothing into messy piles and rush them into the tent. Wishing they could say something, but knowing, now is not the time. Older children push smaller children into dark tents. Babies are hushed.

Boundaries have been crossed. All could be gone. In 5 minutes? In and hour? Tomorrow? An entire people could be gone, forgotten.

Fate arrives. Angry voices are yelling, screeching. Boastful young men beat on their chest. Weapons are shaken in the air. You don’t have to understand the Cherokee language to know war is at hand.

An old man reaches from a large bag and slowly pulls out the Talking Stick. Everyone knows what this means. In an almost instant, bodies sit; yelling turns to hot glares and weapons sit on folded legs.

Everyone knows the rules and is willing to abide by them. The person with the Talking Stick gets to speak first. They get to speak as long as they wish until they feel their point has been made. No else may speak, only listen, until the talking stick is handed off to the next. Time passes. Some yell when they speak, some become frustrated, some are calm, but all get an opportunity. The yelling slowly fades and weapons sitting in laps become something to pick and twiddle instead of an object to injure.

It is over and anti-climatic at the least. Days of endless talking have resulted in tribes shuffling down a dusty path. Some young are disappointed; they wanted to show their new found strength. The wise, though, are solemn and relieved; they go hug their families. They understand that life is about love, not about who is right.

The disaster has been averted. This time it worked. It doesn’t always work, but this time it did.

I need to think about this. Does the Indian Talking Stick need a place in my family? Jesus understands love. He was willing not to just comprise, but to give it all up for love. Even for people who were determined to be right.

Here is a cute craft tutorial that explains how to build an Indian Talking Stick.

Indians would make their own Taking Stick, decorating the talking stick to symbolize their life, accomplishments and strengths. This site gives some great ideas for embellishing the Talking Stick. Have your kids reflect on their accomplishments and strengths as they decorate. Your family could even add decorations as conflicts are resolved.

Thanks for visiting!

Book Review of Parenting with Love and Logic

I have been going through “Parenting with Love and Logic” for a while now. I must admit, when I first got the book, I was afraid it was going to be one of those feel good books or a new parenting trend that would be rendered useless in a couple of years. However, in this case I was pleasantly surprised.

“Parenting with Love and Logic” bases parenting around allowing your children the opportunity to make mistakes and then learn to deal with the consequences. As parents we are constantly directing (or re-directing), our children even in the minutia of daily life such as, “Put on a coat, it is cold outside” or “Tie your show before you fall”. Cline and Faye advocate giving your children information but then allowing them to make the choice. A typical example of their practice would be a parent informing the child that it is cold out and suggesting that they wear a jacket then allow the child to go outside or to school without the jacket if the child chooses. If the child gets cold, so be it. They will be more likely to remember or heed your warning next time.

My favorite aspects of the book are the example conversations that are given between parent and child to illustrate the author’s practice and advice. I found them to be practical and ‘real life”. I have employed several statements during family conversations that were used in the book. Topics and sample conversations are given on a variety of situations such as homework, whining, sibling rivalry, etc.

I highly recommend this book to any parent at any stage of parenting. The practices discussed here can be used with a toddler, grades-school child and teen. If you have read this book, let me know your thoughts on it too!!!

Study Skills

Well, 14 years of teaching high school biology makes me a bit of an expert. 'Tis the season of the dreaded exams before the fun of Christmas can really start! I thought I'd offer a few tips for those of you studying this week.

1. An organized student will usually make better grades than an unorganized student. How can you spend quality time studying if you cannot find the materials to study?! Several days before the exam, spend your time organizing your school work. Locate the notes you will need and put them in the order they were taught to you. Organize school work, previous quizzes and tests in the same manner. Use the study guide or exam review sheet and highlight areas in your class notes that you will need to focus on. Highlight quizzes, classwork and any other papers that you can use to help prepare you for the information. If you are missing notes due to an absence or because you lost them, ask a classmate for their work to copy. This is legal, because you are not trying to pass their work off as yours, you just need it to study .

2. Use the Review Sheet/Study guide to make a "To-Do" List of items to learn. This can be a great motivational tool for some students. It feels great to be able to check an item off and see their progress.

3. Sit down with your work when you are feeling focused. Begin reading through them, if there is any information that is not making sense to you, now is the time to pull out your textbook. Look up the exact information topic, read it and fill in the blank on your notes.

4. A great way to learn information is to illustrate it. This works fantastic for a subject like science. Do not worry about your artistic skills, that isn't the point. An example would be learning the 3 parts of the Cell Theory. Turn the parts into little pictures that remind you of the theory part. Your brain will have an easier time remembering the pictures than memorized words. If you are trying to learn a "process" trying drawing a diagram. Even some of our great scientists had to make models to illustrate what they were trying to learn such as Watson and Crick (discovered the structure of DNA).

5. You can rarely go wrong with flash cards/note cards.

6. Recopy your notes. It is very difficult to stay focused reading class notes. To keep yourself on track rewrite them or type them. This tactic in particular got me through my college classes.

7. Make analogies. My favorite teaching tool while studying the structure of a cell is to make analogies. Students would write down the cell part, its function(s), then compare that cell part to a job/place in a town. Such as the Golgi apparatus is like the post office. The post office packages items, sorts them, and ships. The Golgi apparatus does the same thing with proteins.

8. Make concept maps of your notes. The term "concept map" is known by a couple of different names, but trust me, if your child is 4th grade or higher, they have made one. They look like this.

9. DO NOT SIT DOWN FOR 3 HOURS AND READ YOUR BOOK! This is an extremely ineffective method of studying for a final exam and should not be used. Most textbooks are boring anyway. You will be spending your time learning information that you do not need to know. Reading your textbook is a lazy man's way to study. It takes very little brain work.

10. Ask your teacher for study suggestions. If anyone knows the subject, they do. They also know what's on the test and may be able to offer suggestions that will work best for that subject area.

10. Switch it up. Try all the methods above, don't just stop at one. Keep it fresh and your brain alive. Get at least 6 hours of sleep and eat a good breakfast. Don't worry, you'll be fine!