I love on-line learning for my kids. There are so many sites that can make learning extra fun. I found one this morning that was all about puzzles and geography. Here is a link where your child can put together an on-line puzzle of the United States!
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/mappuzzle/us-puzzle.html
There is also an option on this link where you can choose for them to do the puzzle based on the capitals instead of the states. If your child is learning state capitals in school right now, this is a great learning tool. This same link has available a Europe puzzle, Africa, China Provinces, World continents, Asia, Canada, and several others. Don't be afraid to allow your child to get on the computer! There is so much learning to be done there! Have fun!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Needing Some Serious Inspiration?
Have you ever read a book that just sets you on fire and not only inspires you beyond where you thought you could be inspired, but that changes the course of your life? I cannot say enough about "Kisses from Katie" and I'm not even done reading it. It is truly an incredible book. Imagine at 16 getting an inkling to go to Africa, and then a few years later going there for 6 weeks with your mom, and then going back for a year, and then at 19 wanting to make it your home and going back for good? Oh and by the way, adopting 14 daughters along the way and providing schooling to hundreds that otherwise would have no means to get it? Meet Katie Davis. This girl is legit and just released this book last year. Her journey started in 2007 so it is still fresh for her and she is still in the thick of it. This girl had the American dream going for her, but she felt a strong calling to Africa and landed in Uganda where poverty is extremely thick. She simply couldn't turn away when she found children dying in straw huts because both parents had passed away from HIV, finding the children with no food, no clothes, no one to take care of them. So she took them in and made them her own. And then those daughters caught on and kept finding more girls in the exact same situation they were in, and begged Katie to adopt them too. She couldn't say no. Even though they had scabies and ringworm, both highly contacgious, she couldn't say no. And remember - SHE IS 19!!! This book gives you an inside,detailed, daily look of what it means to answer the call and go. I could go on and on but I don't want to spoil it for you. I highly recommend this book. I think I may be getting closer to a dream my husband and I have always had but haven't felt led to act on yet - international adoption. You can't read this book and not feel moved. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
2 Recipes, Crafts, and Kids in the Kitchen!
2 easy meals - one of them naturally gluten free and one used gluten free bread crumbs to make it GF, so you can just use real bread crumbs if gluten doesn't make you feel CRUMMY! Ha! Get it? :)
Meatloaf- Kids Loved It!: (I made the meatloaf prior to dinner and stuck it in the fridge til I was ready to cook it - you could do this in the morning before leaving for work)
Ingredients: 1 lb ground beef, 1/2 cup GF bread crumbs, 2 T dried minced onions, 1 T dijon mustard, 1 T worcestershire sauce, 1 large egg, 1/2 dried basil, 1/2 t salt, 1/4 t pepper
Glaze: 1 8 oz can tomato sauce, 1 T brown sugar, 1 T worcestershire sauce
Preheat oven to 350. Grease meatloaf (loaf) pan. Using hands combine all ingredients except glaze in bowl. Combine all glaze ingredients and add half of mixture to meatloaf and mix in. Press meatloaf mix in pan. Add other half of glaze to top of meatloaf. Bake 45 minutes to an hour. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Ham
Ingredients: 1 4 lb bone in ham, 1/4 C dijon mustard, 1/4 C maple syrup, 8 garlic cloves.
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly score surface of ham using a sharp knife and place on rack in a baking pan. Whisk mustard into maple syrup until blended. Brush ham with mixture. Press garlic cloves into top and side of ham. Bake 60 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 140 when inserted into center of ham without touching bone. Remove and let stand covered with foil 30 minutes. Slice thinly.
This is such an easy recipe. I made it with steamed green beans. I melted butter (microwave - fast!) and mixed it with chopped garlic and poured that over the green beans. I also baked sweet potatoes. Literally poke holes in potatoes and stick them in the oven. They come out so amazing. And salad - mixed greens, toasted pine nuts, sliced strawberries, and a little balsamic vinagrette. YUM.
So . . . do you have this steamer? We steam all of our veggies and it is so easy. I am including a picture and if you don't already have one I highly recommend it! Just stick it in a pot. It will almost reach the bottom, and fill the gap between the pot and the steamer with water. Put the veggies in the steamer, and cover the pot. Boil the water and veggies will be steamed within 10 minutes. Piece of cake! Here is the pic:
Craft Time!
OK so enough about cooking. I made a couple of things this week that I was excited about . . . so I had to show you the pics. :) You can find all of the instructions for these on pinterest, but if you'd like instructions let me know! Here are the pics!
Valentines Time!
I did this little baking project with my 5 and 2 year old yesterday and they could both do it. Fantastic! I don't know about you but it is hard to find ways for my 2 year old to help in the kitchen. There are onlyt 3 ingredients needed . . . square pretzels (made some for myeslf with delicious gluten free pretzels), hersheys hugs, and valentines m&ms. Place hugs on pretzels, place on baking sheet, and bake at 200 for 3 - 4 minutes. Then add m&m. The 2 year old could unwrap hugs, place on pretzels, and place m&ms on top. If you need an activity today on this chilly day - there you go! The m&ms are probably at a discount today! I got this idea off pinterest (of course), and here are pics of my kids making them:
Meatloaf- Kids Loved It!: (I made the meatloaf prior to dinner and stuck it in the fridge til I was ready to cook it - you could do this in the morning before leaving for work)
Ingredients: 1 lb ground beef, 1/2 cup GF bread crumbs, 2 T dried minced onions, 1 T dijon mustard, 1 T worcestershire sauce, 1 large egg, 1/2 dried basil, 1/2 t salt, 1/4 t pepper
Glaze: 1 8 oz can tomato sauce, 1 T brown sugar, 1 T worcestershire sauce
Preheat oven to 350. Grease meatloaf (loaf) pan. Using hands combine all ingredients except glaze in bowl. Combine all glaze ingredients and add half of mixture to meatloaf and mix in. Press meatloaf mix in pan. Add other half of glaze to top of meatloaf. Bake 45 minutes to an hour. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Ham
Ingredients: 1 4 lb bone in ham, 1/4 C dijon mustard, 1/4 C maple syrup, 8 garlic cloves.
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly score surface of ham using a sharp knife and place on rack in a baking pan. Whisk mustard into maple syrup until blended. Brush ham with mixture. Press garlic cloves into top and side of ham. Bake 60 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 140 when inserted into center of ham without touching bone. Remove and let stand covered with foil 30 minutes. Slice thinly.
This is such an easy recipe. I made it with steamed green beans. I melted butter (microwave - fast!) and mixed it with chopped garlic and poured that over the green beans. I also baked sweet potatoes. Literally poke holes in potatoes and stick them in the oven. They come out so amazing. And salad - mixed greens, toasted pine nuts, sliced strawberries, and a little balsamic vinagrette. YUM.
So . . . do you have this steamer? We steam all of our veggies and it is so easy. I am including a picture and if you don't already have one I highly recommend it! Just stick it in a pot. It will almost reach the bottom, and fill the gap between the pot and the steamer with water. Put the veggies in the steamer, and cover the pot. Boil the water and veggies will be steamed within 10 minutes. Piece of cake! Here is the pic:
Craft Time!
OK so enough about cooking. I made a couple of things this week that I was excited about . . . so I had to show you the pics. :) You can find all of the instructions for these on pinterest, but if you'd like instructions let me know! Here are the pics!
Valentines Time!
I did this little baking project with my 5 and 2 year old yesterday and they could both do it. Fantastic! I don't know about you but it is hard to find ways for my 2 year old to help in the kitchen. There are onlyt 3 ingredients needed . . . square pretzels (made some for myeslf with delicious gluten free pretzels), hersheys hugs, and valentines m&ms. Place hugs on pretzels, place on baking sheet, and bake at 200 for 3 - 4 minutes. Then add m&m. The 2 year old could unwrap hugs, place on pretzels, and place m&ms on top. If you need an activity today on this chilly day - there you go! The m&ms are probably at a discount today! I got this idea off pinterest (of course), and here are pics of my kids making them:
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Easy Garlic Chicken and Some Meal Tips!
One of the things that I have been searching pinterest for is easy (but delicious of course) recipes! I found one the other day called Easy Garlic Chicken and tried it last week. None of my meals are gourmet because it seems the fancier it is, the more my children complain about it, and this one is about as basic as you get. Ingredients: 4 boneless chicken breasts, 4 garlic cloves- minced, 4 T brown sugar, and 3 t olive oil.
Preheat oven to 500 and grease a baking dish. Saute garlic with oil til tender. Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar. Place chicken breasts in prepared dish and cover with garlic and brown sugar mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bake 15 - 30 minutes.
Several of you asked for recipes your children will actually eat. Here are a few principles I live by in my home where there are 3 children ages 7, 5 and 2. (In full disclosure these were not the same principles when we had 1 child.)
1. Don't make a separate meal for them. Put a little of everything on their plate.
2. Don't allow complaining about the food. Make it a house rule. They don't have to eat it, but they aren't allowed to complain about it either. If they need to step away from the table until they are ready to stop complaining then do that.
3. Give them the choice of whether they want to eat it. In our house, if they don't eat it, they don't get dessert (offer an easy dessert that they really like - in my house one likes popsicles and the other M&Ms), but no biggy if they choose not to eat the food. So important to create a positive experience around food, and let them have as much control as possible as it makes sense.
4. Have meals that they really like often. We have tacos every week. It is one night I really look forward to because everyone is happy, there is no frowning, and everyone gets dessert. Happy!!
5. Find sides that they tend to like and have it often. A favorite in our house is chopped up, peeled, russet potatoes sauteed in just a couple tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil with a little salt mixed in. (A 10 pound bag is 3 dollars and it lasts for at least 6 meals!) It takes about 45 minutes to get them nice and brown, but I just do a bunch of other things while they are cooking. The kids get extremely excited when they see this on their plate.
6. Be consistent and persistent, but not overly aggressive about what you are asking them to eat. My 7 year old wouldn't eat anything up to about 3 or 4, and now will pretty much eat anything, even if he doesn't like it. There is hope!
7. Don't stress too much over getting them their veggies, fruits, etc. One of the best pieces of advice my mother-in-law gave me was just that. She never ate veggies growing up because she didn't like them, and didn't make her kids eat them either. Today everyone is totally healthy. There is only so much you can do!
8. Keep the meals as basic as possible. I don't eat dairy so we don't do casseroles or things with lots of ingredients. We usually have a meat (tons of variations for preparing stand alone meant so we don't get bored). Then I usually add a stand alone fruit to the plate - like grapes, apples, raspberries, etc. There is some side with it that is easy, like rice or potatoes or risotto or black beans. I keep these sides on hand so they are always accessible. Finally we will have a veggie - usually corn or green beans since they are the most likely to be eaten.
9. Finally, don't feed them later when they are hungry because they didn't eat their food. This will teach them that it's fine not to eat because they will just get something else later.
I hope this is helpful! Our menu for this week: Monday - leftover superbowl food with risotto; Tuesday - Chicken tacos and black beans; Wednesday - breakfast - YAY; Thursday - meatloaf with broiled cauliflour (is that how you spell that?), salad and potatoes. I don't plan for Friday through Sunday because we are usually out and about.
Preheat oven to 500 and grease a baking dish. Saute garlic with oil til tender. Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar. Place chicken breasts in prepared dish and cover with garlic and brown sugar mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bake 15 - 30 minutes.
Several of you asked for recipes your children will actually eat. Here are a few principles I live by in my home where there are 3 children ages 7, 5 and 2. (In full disclosure these were not the same principles when we had 1 child.)
1. Don't make a separate meal for them. Put a little of everything on their plate.
2. Don't allow complaining about the food. Make it a house rule. They don't have to eat it, but they aren't allowed to complain about it either. If they need to step away from the table until they are ready to stop complaining then do that.
3. Give them the choice of whether they want to eat it. In our house, if they don't eat it, they don't get dessert (offer an easy dessert that they really like - in my house one likes popsicles and the other M&Ms), but no biggy if they choose not to eat the food. So important to create a positive experience around food, and let them have as much control as possible as it makes sense.
4. Have meals that they really like often. We have tacos every week. It is one night I really look forward to because everyone is happy, there is no frowning, and everyone gets dessert. Happy!!
5. Find sides that they tend to like and have it often. A favorite in our house is chopped up, peeled, russet potatoes sauteed in just a couple tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil with a little salt mixed in. (A 10 pound bag is 3 dollars and it lasts for at least 6 meals!) It takes about 45 minutes to get them nice and brown, but I just do a bunch of other things while they are cooking. The kids get extremely excited when they see this on their plate.
6. Be consistent and persistent, but not overly aggressive about what you are asking them to eat. My 7 year old wouldn't eat anything up to about 3 or 4, and now will pretty much eat anything, even if he doesn't like it. There is hope!
7. Don't stress too much over getting them their veggies, fruits, etc. One of the best pieces of advice my mother-in-law gave me was just that. She never ate veggies growing up because she didn't like them, and didn't make her kids eat them either. Today everyone is totally healthy. There is only so much you can do!
8. Keep the meals as basic as possible. I don't eat dairy so we don't do casseroles or things with lots of ingredients. We usually have a meat (tons of variations for preparing stand alone meant so we don't get bored). Then I usually add a stand alone fruit to the plate - like grapes, apples, raspberries, etc. There is some side with it that is easy, like rice or potatoes or risotto or black beans. I keep these sides on hand so they are always accessible. Finally we will have a veggie - usually corn or green beans since they are the most likely to be eaten.
9. Finally, don't feed them later when they are hungry because they didn't eat their food. This will teach them that it's fine not to eat because they will just get something else later.
I hope this is helpful! Our menu for this week: Monday - leftover superbowl food with risotto; Tuesday - Chicken tacos and black beans; Wednesday - breakfast - YAY; Thursday - meatloaf with broiled cauliflour (is that how you spell that?), salad and potatoes. I don't plan for Friday through Sunday because we are usually out and about.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Update on Weekly Readings
So last week I wrote that we would be trying to tackle 3 days at a time from the chronological Bible that we are going through (it's a daily reading Bible), but we (the small group reading together) blew past that and we got through 6 days, which means today we started on October 24. If you are reading with us, I'd really like to encourage you to get the same Bible we are reading from - "The Daily Bible, In Chronological Order 365 Daily Readings, NIV". Today I added the verses we are reading from October 24th, but after today I will type the day and then any insights I had. If you'd like to continue just getting the verses because you don't have that particular Bible, let me know and I'd be happy to include verses! I just don't want to type them if no one is using them. Here is a picture of the Bible:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)