October Wrap Up

 

I say this each month but I can't believe October is already over.  No Halloween here today.  We are pretty much skipping it including the "Trunk or Treat" at church.  We will have a family game night which will include candy but otherwise today is like any other.  After a bit of grumbling and complaining the older kids have come to terms with it and seem to be looking forward to a night together as a family.  October in general has been super duper busy and I am glad to have a break from Soccer (practice 4x a week plus weekend games), Race Season, and Saddle Club Shows.  I love watching each of the children work hard and excel at things they love but there are seasons where it becomes overwhelming and fall is one of them.

Science is a subject we always have lots of fun with.  We are learning about Flying Creatures of The Fifth Day, through a curriculum from Apologia.  Today we learned about how birds use their wing and tail feathers to slow them down when they land.  We used umbrellas to simulate a bird landing.  We also learned about the "gooney bird" who God made to land on water and how when he lands on land, he does not have the ability to slow himself down and typically lands on his head and does several somersaults before stopping.  The kids enjoyed reading about this silly bird over and over. 

Not all of our science experiments turn out.  Another experiment this month was to get two identical bird feeders and fill them with two different types of bird food.  We watched to see what birds enjoyed the food and which they liked best.  We found out that the squirrels appeared to like to food more than the birds and that they are smart enough to chew through the twine and knock the bird feeders to the ground.  Part of learning is problem solving.  We intend to find a place to hang them where the squirrels can't get to them so easily and try try again.

 

Nature hikes and time outdoors in the leaves were definitely a highlight this month. We spent lots of time gathering nature for our nature boxes and to use in fun art and craft projects. The leaves were so vibrant and we took time to stop and enjoy God's creation. Mom even took a moment or two to be crafty and modge podged some of the beautiful leaves onto some jars to make into candle holders. Yes the originally idea came from pinterest...didn't say I was creative!

 

Bentley got to spend some time with a Reining Champion and Horse Trainer at a clinic.  Sammy was a reining horse in his previous life and Cal was able to give Bentley some pointers on reining.  She and Sammy were able to show off a bit and this mama sure was proud of both of them.   Bentley's trainer Kellie has literally been a God-sent and we are blessed with the many opportunities that she gives Bentley to learn and have fun with her riding.

Vaeh learned that watching Sesame Street while in this position sure is fun.  Then she rolls off on to the floor, with a big thud, jumps up and yells "I OK"!  It is a bit distracting during homeschool but a nice humor break for all of us!  Life would be so boring without this "cheese ball".


 Gracen learned that if you stand on your tippy toes on this push car you can reach the lock on the back door. If you balance carefully you can unlock it and then pull the handle. If you are really lucky and someone has forgotten to latch the lock on the top of the screen door, you can get out to the backyard to play in the leaves.  Needless to say these two little ones explore and learn right along with us.  There is never a dull moment around here!

Daddy learned that Bentley's hair makes cool flames on your undershirt when it is wet.  He may start a graphic design business with his newest discovery.  He is still looking for His Invention that will make us millions.  You never know this could be it!





 

Don't worry we did lots of Math, Spelling, Reading and Writing and a little history/geography as well this month.  Payton is reading Call of the Wild and Bentley is enjoying Anne of Green Gables.  We are still listening to Swiss Family Robinson on Books Should Be Free.   I continue to work hard to include Art Lessons at least weekly if not more and have found a website for Mark Kistler from PBS that helps teach the kids to draw, since I am artistically challenged.  I often join them because you are never to old to learn!  We are looking forward to studying about Thanksgiving and I have a Virtual Field Trip Planned to the Plimoth Plantation.  That's about it in a nutshell!

Make Ahead Meals Part 1 (cooking ahead for the holidays)

In My Christmas Wish post I shared that I am attempting to pre-make 20 freezer meals and 10 crock-pot meals for the month of December so that I have time to enjoy the Christmas Season with my kids and keep up with homeschool.  We are not getting too far ahead of ourselves.  We are still enjoying fall but just planning ahead for busier times.  Most meals I am making one to eat now and another to freeze.  In the past, I  have spent a day, or days in my case, on freezer meal prep but I just don't have a weekend to give it this time around (we are having far to much fun playing in the leaves).
The first few meals I will Share with you are Chicken Tator Bake, Turkey Pot Pie, and Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken.
Chicken Tator Bake (click the link for the recipe) is the grown up version of Tator Tot Casserole from Taste of Home and includes chicken instead of beef along with frozen veggies and a cream of chicken sauce.  The recipe posted online is for an 8x8 pan so I triple it to make two full 9x13's.  A 9x13 easily feeds our crew of seven plus leaves plenty for leftovers.  It has freezer directions on the recipe.  I thaw it completely before I bake it and we like our tator tots crispy so I bake it the whole time with the foil off.  A shortcut for cooking chicken for casseroles is to boil it for about 20 minutes in a large pot.  I cook up a 5lb family size bag of frozen chicken breasts and have lots of shredded chicken for casseroles etc.

*Freezer Tip 1...I have purchased lots of foil pans but find that after a few freezes and washes they start to fall apart.  I now line them with foil before filling them with yummy casserole.  It makes clean up much easier and they keep their shape and are able to be reused many more times.  It seemed so simple once I thought of it.
*Freezer Tip 2...Cover your casseroles with foil.  Label with a sharpie and be sure to include thawing and baking instructions.  As long as someone remembers to take the casserole out of the oven anyone can bake it because the instructions are right there.  No fumbling for recipes to figure it out.

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken (click the link for the recipe) is a recipe that I found on Pinterest and has become a family favorite.  I throw in my frozen chicken with the salsa mixture in the morning and then shred the chicken in the crockpot about halfway through the day and continue cooking.  I think that because I use the frozen chicken it turns out pretty runny so I add about a cup of quick brown rice about 30 minutes before I am ready to serve and it is perfect.  The rice adds yummy flavor and we wrap it in tortillas.  Very quick, easy and yummy!

*This recipe is perfect for that leftover turkey after Thanksgiving.  I like to purchase extra turkeys around Thanksgiving time, while they are on sale, and use the frozen cooked turkey in casseroles year round.  It is a very economical lean meat.  You can substitute store bought pie crusts if you like to make the recipe easier.  I have found that substituting other cream soups in this recipe do not work well.  I once took this recipe some to friends with cream of chicken instead of cream of potato and tasted it later and realized that it was very bland.  They probably think I am a horrible cook!

Turkey Pot Pies (makes 2 pies)
4 cups shredded Turkey (can substitute chicken)
2 cans cream of potato soup
4 cups frozen mixed vegetables
*Mix above ingredients in large bowl.  Divide into two pie plates.
2 top Pie Crusts
     Pie Crust (makes 2)
     3/4 cup shortening
     2 cups flour
     1/2 tsp salt
     5-7 Tbs cold water
     Cut shortening into the four and salt.  Add water slowly and mix.  Divide in half and roll
     out into 10-11 inch circles.
*Place pie crusts on top of your meat, soup, and vegetable mixture.  Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  This pot pie can be frozen before baking.  Bake frozen pie at 400 degrees for 30 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake another 60-75 minutes until the crust is brown.  I usually cover at least the outer edge of the crust with foil when baking for this long and remove the foil for the last 30 minutes of baking.

There's a few to get you started.  The top rack of my freezer is starting to fill up and it makes me smile!!



    

FALL IS...

FALL IS...

    Playing in the leaves until it gets to cold or dark, whichever comes first...

          Nature Hikes...

Fuzzy Socks...

                                                                   Riding...

A first WIN!..

Hot Chocolate during homeschool...

 

and Grandma's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake.

 

 



 



My Christmas Wish

I blog this dear friends so that maybe knowing that all of  you know, will help my dreams of the perfect Holiday come true, instead of the nightmare version that could very easily happen without the organization that it takes to orchestrate our way through my favorite beloved holiday...Christmas.

 I LOVE Christmas.  Our tree goes up the day after Thanksgiving.  We bake cookies, we make ornaments and fun Christmas crafts, we look at the lights, and we spend lots of quality and quantity time with family.  The kind of time where you get past the visiting and move on to the games, puzzles, and Christmas Movies all over Christmas goodies, hot chocolate and Anne's famous Christmas Tea.  This is the time slow down and enjoy those memories and traditions with family.
Such tranquil memories, until I think about the preparation that it takes to get there.  I find that this time each year I start thinking about making plans for Christmas, with the best of intentions, but typically I make plans to be organized and don't  follow through. The Christmas Season brings mayhem.  We have a gazillion presents to purchase. We frantically cook and clean and cook and clean some more.  We have to juggle schedules to get everyone to where they need to go.  We have to find babysitters so that we can shop and so that we can attend the Christmas Parties.  We cook and clean and cook and clean some more.  Then we wrap and wrap and wrap.  Time finally runs out and Christmas  arrives.  Oh yeah,  I almost forgot one SMALL detail...this year I am homeschooling five children through it all.  No pressure or anything to be that Superhero Homeschool Mom of the Year OR damage my children's education FOREVER (just kidding...a little dramatic flair just makes the post more exciting)! 
This year I have to make plans to be more organized and stick with them.  If I don't you may find me so overwhelmed that I am crying in the corner, with all five of my children running amuck, having to order Pizza every night for supper, and everyone getting socks and underwear from us this year because I don't have an ounce of creativity left in me.
So these are my plans to organize and simplify in order to enjoy this season.  I will try to blog on my progress and share my recipe's etc with you all.  If there are no more posts about this you know that my organization plan has probably failed miserably.
*1. In the rest of October and November, I plan to make 20 freezer meals and plan out 10 crock pot meals to cover the Month of December (so we don't have to eat Pizza every night). I know that we won't use all thirty in December but having some freezer/crock pot meals into January will make for a Happy New Year.   I will try to share many of my freezer recipes in another post.
*2.  I want to start shopping earlier this year and give more home made gifts.  Again I will share with you some homemade gift ideas in another post.

*3.  Instead of the 12,000 gifts our children received from us last year, many of which they don't care about anymore, our children will receive 3-4 quality gifts each.  After purchasing all of those gifts we watched an advent video series in Sunday School that talked about really scaling back Christmas and maybe not even giving gifts.  I don't think we can go that far...we already gave up Halloween, but I do think that we need to be more intentional about our gift giving.  We haven't decided yet if we are giving  four gifts something you want, something you need, something you wear, and something you read or give the Three Wise Men Gifts...Gold (the bigger gift they really want) frankincense (a Spiritual Gift), myrrh (something for their bodies...perfume, clothing or also perfect for my back up socks and underwear plan :)  You can read more about the Three Gift plan here.
*4. Another thought is to re purpose items from the past and make them new again.  Our oldest two have so much great stuff.  They were the first grandchildren on my side and well lets just say that first Christmas, we had to make more than one trip home WITH OUR TRUCK.  When they were little, both Monte and I worked lots of hours to provide them with all the stuff they could ever need (I type that sarcastically while shaking my head...we were so misguided).  Much of the stuff is still good it just needs a bit of TLC.  For example our oldest daughter had an old, but sturdy, rocker that needs to be recovered with maybe a black and pink Zebra print or something flashy and voila there is a gift that our two year old would absolutely LOVE.  Another great gift would be batteries.  Soooooooooooo many toys in our house would be new again with batteries.  We buy a couple of jumbo packs a month around here but we never have enough for everything.

*5.  Start Deep Cleaning Now.  Normal Monday house cleaning will continue but we will add on a few rooms of deep cleaning each week.  With so many children, our house never stays completely clean but deep cleaning lasts a long time.  Things like dusting ceiling fans, cleaning light fixtures, scrubbing and straightening cabinets etc.  My plan is to divide deep cleaning of the whole house into eight weeks and to finish before Christmas. 

So that's it in a nutshell.  I want to be present this year instead of focusing on all the presents.  I want to work ahead so that I can make and bake stuff with my kids and enjoy and celebrate the birth of Christ with my kids and focus of the joy instead of the chaos with my kids (and Monte of course).  They won't always remember the presents they got but they will remember the time that we spent together.  Picture being there to celebrate Christmas through the eyes of a one and a two year old and a six year old who is just discovering the meaning and the true joy of Jesus and traditions that Christmas holds. Imagine celebrating with the bustle and excitement of a house with five beautiful blessings.  That's my Christmas Wish...What's Yours? 

Stop Grumbling and Start Teaching

 

This morning I walked around the house grumbling at my children.  Even my older children were not getting ready for our morning without numerous reminders.  Chores were left undone or partially done and there were trails of clothes and toys scattered about.  These are the times when I forget how much I love being at home with all of them and I start to complain and grumble and raise my voice and become that mean mom that no one wants to be.  I did something that I don't do enough.  No, I didn't put them in jail, although I wanted to, instead I asked God for help.  I settled everyone in to chores and the start of school and I snuck off to my room.  I opened up my Bible, which I also don't do enough, and I read Proverbs 1-2 and this is what I found:

"My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding—
 indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
 He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.
Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path.
For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you."
Proverbs 2:1-11

God was telling me to listen to His words and cry out for understanding and I would find the knowledge of God.  God said that He will help me to understand what is just and what is fair and give me wisdom and knowledge that will be pleasant and calm by soul.  Yes!!!  That is just what I need.  God whispered "stop grumbling and start teaching...I will give you the wisdom that you need."

I went on to start school.  I decided that it was time to dive in to another character study.  We had finished with our study on obedience but had not started a new one.  Guess what was next... Diligence.  It was about doing things right the first time, finishing what we start, following instructions, concentrating on our tasks and not being lazy (modified from Character First).  Perfect.  Each child was able to come up with ways that we all could be more diligent around our house and we set a goal to memorize Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters."

Last but certainly not least, God hit me over the head with a ton of bricks just to drive the point home.  He sent a blog (The Better Mom) onto my facebook page that talked about grumbling being a sign of being without purpose.  Um somewhere along the way I forgot that I do have a purpose, and not just a small one.  I am raising up my children to be ready to serve God's Kingdom and that my friends is very important work.

Grandma's Zwieback, The Ultimate German Mennonite Comfort Food

My Grandpa and Grandma were two very special influences in my life.  They had what today would be considered a large family with six children.  There are many times I long to ask my Grandma how she did it all.  She passed away shortly after our second child was born but I know that she would have been overjoyed to know that the house she once lived in was again filled with the laughter and sounds of many children, her great grandchildren.   Before Grandpa passed away, we all made plans to meet up in heaven at a family picnic where he promised to have the grill ready and waiting for us to all be together again.    Just like always my Grandpa will love to hear what we have been up to and all the special details of our lives.  I can't wait to tell him...won't that  be a glorious day!
Zwieback were definitely a memory of Christmas' and special times at Grandma and Grandpa's house. The grandchildren would sit around an old spool in the laundry room and eat. I remember one Christmas in particular where my cousin Jeff kept "sneaking" into the kitchen for more and more and more zwieback. I am pretty sure that Grandma knew exactly what he was up to, she rarely missed a beat, but she pretended not to and that made it extra fun.
A while before my Grandmother went home to be with her Savior she spent a day teaching my sister and I how to bake zwieback.  Along with the zwieback, we made lots of special memories that day.  We ate lunch together and then got to work.  She shared with us that each lady at church had their own markings on the zwieback so they would know whose were whose. Hers was a three finger mark, which she strongly advised us to use.  Each time I make the zwieback I use her marks and think of her with a smile.

Grandma Wiens' Zwieback
Melt Together:
     2 C Milk Warm
     2/3C Butter
Dissolve Together:
     1 1/2 Pkg Yeast
     1/4 C Warm Water
     1 t Sugar
Combine all above ingredients and add:
     2 t Salt
     2 T Sugar
     6 C Flour
Mix and then let rise to double.  Pinch off small portions and place one ball of dough on top of the other (this is where you use three fingers) poke your fingers into the top ball of dough to get it to stick together.  Let the zwieback rise again 20-30 min and then bake at 375 degrees 18-20 minutes.

I have found that covering the zwieback with one of Grandma's hand embroidered tea towels while they rise, doubles the love and they just taste that much better.

Being a Teacher does NOT help me be a Better Homeschool Mom!

Bentley once saw a show on t.v. where a girl was homeschooled and she introduced her mom by saying "this is my mom...and my math teacher, my history teacher, my art teacher, my english teacher" etc. etc.  Bentley finds it funny because it is so true.  When you home school you are all those things.  Many friends tell me "well you can homeschool because you are a teacher."  Yes I do have formal training to teach through the eighth grade, but in actuality all of my experience lies in the field of Early Childhood a far cry from our oldest who is in fifth grade.  My training as a teacher is rarely helpful when it comes to homeschooling, except for the fact that people don't question my qualifications to teach my children at home.  Homeschooling goes against much of the formal training and mindset that I have.

As a teacher, you respect each other's fields and training.  I don't have an art degree so I don't teach art.  I can sing but am a far cry from a music teacher.  When it comes to math past the elementary years lets face it I stink.  I would NEVER teach middle school math (after I wrote this sentence I realized I do...every day).  As a homeschool mom I often feel grossly unqualified for my position.  I am confident that there are numerous homeschool moms that do a way better job than me and don't have a degree in anything remotely close to education.  The one thing that we all have in common is a deep desire to be there to watch and guide our children as they learn and we more often than not are learning right alongside of them.

Bentley Age 11

Yesterday I decided that it was time to step out of the box and teach...yes teach...art.  Not just do something crafty but actually put pencil to paper and draw something.  We have talked about, especially in the areas of art and music, signing out kids up for local classes and clubs but we later decided that this year we are not adding anything to our plates.  It challenges me to do something out of my comfort zone.  This was our first attempt at art and we all loved it. 



Payton Age 9

I found a wonderful blog from an Art Teacher on Pinterest who shares fun tips and tutorials and she showed how to draw pumpkins. The kids loved taking time to add in their own personal touches to complete their scenes.  They said at school this project would have taken weeks at only fifteen minutes of art per week.  We spent well over an hour in one sitting.  I also found a great show on Friday afternoons on our local PBS station where he teaches kids to draw.  I will set the DVR and give that a try next week.

Mommy Age to old to remember (seriously)
 

Mommy even joined in the fun.  It was quite relaxing, visiting while we worked and talking about ideas for our pictures.  The kids even figured out that by curving their lines a bit more at the top it made the stems look like they were more sunk down into the pumpkins.

 

One little person unfortunately had to miss out after being sent to the "principles office." I know it sometimes appears like all peace and tranquility around here but truly it is not. None of us are perfect, especially mom, and we all need the occasional time-out.

 

Another Area that has been truly hindered by my teaching background is my ability to let go and learn in unconventional ways.  Payton, nine needs to move lots and more often than not I get my teacher voice on and tell him to sit down and be quiet.  Today during math he was spinning around while figuring multiplication problems in his head and then would run back to his paper and quickly write down his answer before he forgot.  Instinct is that he is bothering others but if you look around he is the only one in the room besides me, who yes is distracted but should be able to handle a bit of action with five children in the home.  My years of education say that a classroom and learning look a certain way.  If I wanted it to look like that then my children should still be in the public school.

 

We are learning at home so that I can be there for those "aha moments" (sometimes they see mommy having those right along with them and they love it).  We are learning at home so that everyone can learn in their own way at their own pace.  We are learning at home so that we have more time to get to know Jesus and his teachings.  We are learning at home so that we can do things a different way.  This teacher mama has to step back and see that learning is happening everyday even though it doesn't always look like learning.  God may have not given me all of the talents that I think that I need to help my children be well rounded learners but He does give me the tools to help my children learn.  I will continue to pray for God to guide me and show me ways to teach and open my eyes to new ways of learning. 

 

September Wrap Up

I can't believe that October is here already.  The cool breeze blowing through open windows is a refreshing break from the heat of summer.  It's time for Chili and Cornbread and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake.  Fall Decor adorns the doors and walls and reminds us of holidays to come.  Its time to get out those adorable footie pajamas for the little people and extra blankets for those chili nights.  The babies are mesmerized by the fallen leaves crunching under their feet and the squirrels busying themselves for winter.  Fall is a time to breath in God's beauty and return to the familiar routines and rhythms of life.  It just feels good.
September brought lots of homeschool fun.  We learned about the parts of a bird and how to use a Kansas bird field guide.  We learned about identifying birds by their different markings and listening to their different calls.  We spent some time outside alone just quietly watching and listening.  Everyone especially enjoys watching and listening to a blue jay who has taken up residence in one of the trees in our front yard.  One of our neighbors has a chicken that is evidently "free range" and visits often in the morning.  Payton was able to correctly identify him as a White Leghorn Chicken.  His class was in charge of the Chickens last year at school and he was able to teach us a thing or two.  The same neighbor also has homing pigeons which we enjoy watching him release and then seeing them return home.  So much of our learning just involves being more observant and learning from what is happening around us.

 

 We attended the state fair where we had lots of hands on learning.You can read about in this post.






 
This Video is of our Fifty States and their Capitals Song that we sing daily as part of our geography study.  This is only the first three of eight verses.  Baby Steps right?  Watch both Gracen and Nevaeh.  She is dancing and he seems to be lip syncing along to the music (**If the video doesn't appear finish reading the post and scroll back up...it sometimes takes a bit to load).  This month we covered Maryland and Maine.
Bentley and Payton have been reading a book about Abraham Lincoln.  Bentley gave us an impromptu oral book report at dinner one night.  The boys were very interested in the stories and so Payton decided to read to book as well. I love how everyone is interested and involved in what the others are doing.  We all learn so much from each other.  I think that ability will take them far in life.

The Babies Continue loving learning alongside of the older children.  Vaeh loves books and spends lots of time "reading" just like the big kids.  She loves to Color at the table and is very content much of the morning.

Gracen often requires a bit more creativity such as some cheerios and a large spoon. Anything he thinks he is not supposed to have entertains him for long periods of time. Often there is a bit of banging involved but everyone is used to it and if extra concentration is needed they retreat to other rooms in the house. We have to be flexible around here.



Oh and I found this cool old desk at a garage sale for $20.  They were asking $30 but it was raining so when they saw me looking at it came down on their price right away.  It works perfectly to house our computer and printer and it matches our eclectic decor (just like everything else:). 
That's about it in a nutshell.  Yes we did math, grammar, writing, spelling etc. etc. but I think that's enough highlights for today.  We still love homeschooling and are reminded daily why it was a good choice for our family.  Adding in fall activities (racing, riding, and soccer) has definitely worn this mama out but I will tell you all about that in another post.  Enjoy the fall dear friends...before you know it Christmas will be upon us!