Great smoothies anytime!

    With school and co-op starting back up, as well as trying to grab spare moments here and there, to work on things for my shop, convenient foods are looking more and more appealing.  Or at least they would, if it weren't for the fact that it seems as if you have to make the choice between convenience, and everything else.  Such as, health, price, environmentally sound, and of course, taste!  However, I have found that you can have it all, if you put in a little initial effort. For example, I love smoothies, and they can be a very easy, quick treat if you freeze your fruit in smoothie size portions.

I get big bags of bananas, that are about to be over ripe, cheap, at the grocery store.  A lot of times there are organic bananas in the bag, so not only are you getting cheap bananas, your getting cheap organic bananas.  The only thing is, they have to be used right away.  I peel and break up two bananas per sandwich baggy, and then throw all the little bags in a big freezer bag, and freeze them.  When I want to make a smoothie, I grab a baggy out of the freezer, and I have just the amount I need.  I do this with other fruit too, such as mangoes. 
     So that's one convenient food that is healthy, economical, ecologically sound, and tastes great! 

     No, that's not a new fancy hair clip; it's a real live butterfly!  Anna has an amazing way with little creatures.

Monday's Moon

    This is a little on how we combine Waldorf and CM.  Anna practices her penmanship by writing a few lines of a verse or favorite poem (which is CM) in a Waldorf style main lesson book.  She writes on the lined sheet, and then illustrates what she has written on the blank sheet.  She absolutely loves her new Lyra colored pencils.  I thought the crayons might go to the way side with her, but she still uses them, even in conjunction with the pencils. 
    I enjoyed seeing how she chose to illustrate the poem she wrote today.  It goes like this:

The night was growing old,

    As she trudged through snow and sleet;

Her nose was long and cold,

 And her shoes were full of feet.

                  -Anonymous

First of all, I was a little surprised she chose this poem, and then, as you can see above, she drew a moon with feet.  In her finished picture, the moon is carrying a lantern, surrounded by snow flakes and rain.  I would have never pictured a walking moon, but that is one of the reasons I am glad that her poetry book is not illustrated, so that she is free to imagine what she will.



Best Laid Plans...

     After spending hours getting Five In A Row resources lined up, I don't think that's going to fly this year.  The twins really weren't that into it, and quite frankly, neither was I.  Most of the activities I found to go with it, were a little too much like busy work for me. I'll tolerate a little bit of busy work, if the kids are really into it, (lapbooks, for example) but I'll never force anyone to sit down and do a worksheet.  Abriel would much rather be doing this.

Or this.

     She always has some kind of elaborate game going on.  Currently it's a little world she and Anna have with their root children dolls. She likes stories being read to her, but after it's through, she'd much rather go and do her own thing, instead of doing an activity based on the book we just read.
     Samuel loves doing "school".  He likes practicing writing letters and counting anything and everything.  He thinks he needs to do school right along with Anna, and I think that was the problem with BFIAR. It wasn't school like enough for him.  When I brought out a coloring page for him and Abriel, he said, "I want to do school now, Mommy."  When I told him this was his school, he looked at me like I was nuts.  I think he's going through a highly curious period.  He smells everything, even people; this can be embarrassing.  He wants to know the how and the why of everything.  But... He is still very three.  His idea of school is sitting on my lap while we count his fingers and toes, or me helping him write the letter that he wants to learn that day, not a set "letter of the day".
     So, what has our first week of preschool looked like? 
     They listen pretty well to me reading the Bible in the morning, and some other of Anna's readings have caught their attention.  Abriel was very into the D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths.  We made play dough together and they had a play date with their nephew and niece.  They helped make muffins and go grocery shopping.  We went to our homeschool co-op on Thursday. They drew many colorful pictures with their new beeswax crayons.  We set up our small tent on the deck and played camping for a couple of days.  They caught lizards and butterflies, and most of all, played. 
    This is natural.  This is us living our lives, not trying fit into a prescribed schedule, or check off a list of what we should be doing.  I like this. 
    Sometimes our best laid plans don't turn out exactly like we thought, and some times that's just fine.

 

Peanut Butter and Banana Recipies

     I've been making a lot of muffins lately because they make a good breakfast when you know time is going to be an issue in the morning.  Since school has started, time is always an issue.
     I like to make a whole bunch at a time, and then freeze them.  You can't get more convenient than that.
      I recently came up with a new recipe for peanut butter banana muffins.  One of our favorite snacks this summer has been peanut butter banana smoothies, so I wanted a muffin that had a similar flavor.  They turned out good and moist, and pretty filling too, which is what I wanted.  Here's the recipe:

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

Preheat oven to 350*. Line muffin tin with paper liners.

In a large bowl, combine:

·         1 ¼ cups white whole wheat

·         ½ cup brown sugar

·         1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

Whisk until well combined.  I another bowl, mash  2 bananas. 

Then stir in and mix well:

·         1/3 cup peanut butter

·         2 tablespoons oil

·         1 egg

·         1 teaspoon vanilla

·         ¾ cup milk

Add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients and stir just until incorporated.

Fill muffin cups about two thirds full.  Bake 25 minutes. Makes 18 muffins.

 

And if you're wondering how they compare with the PB &B smoothies, here's the recipe for that:

 

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

Put in a blender:

• 2 frozen bananas
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 cup milk
• a couple of table spoons or so of peanut butter.

Blend until smooth.  Serves 3-4

 

 

Aroma Therapy Play-Dough

     Looking for a calming activity for your little ones to do?  Try mixing up a batch of lavender scented play-dough. The combination of lavender and the warmth of the freshly made play dough, makes for a very relaxing time.

Here's a good play dough recipe, that you can add essential oils to, to make any scent you wish.

 

• 1 cup flour
• ¼ cup salt
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 cup water
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• A few drops of food coloring (optional)
• A couple of drops of essential oil

Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium saucepan. Slowly add the water mixed with oil and dye and stir over medium heat until mixture thickens and starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. When cool enough to handle, kneed until smooth.

Farewell To Summer Camping Trip

     This camping trip was really for my birthday, but it coincided well with the end of our summer vacation.  I love being outside in late summer when the crickets are out in full force.  It reminds me of a book I read as a child, (maybe Charlotte's Web) where it describes the crickets as singing a farewell to summer song.  The weather has turned cooler here, and it's almost bitter-sweet. 

I spent most of the first day in a jacket, trying to get used to the cooler temperatures in the higher elevation.  Funny thing; I didn't realize this picture was taken, so when I first saw it on my camera, I thought, "Who is that?"  I guess I'm not used to seeing myself in profile.
      My sister and her family joined us later that day, and it was great visiting with her and spending time with my nieces and nephew, who change so much every time I see them.  Her older ones, because they are teenagers, and are growing up in light speed, and her younger ones, because they are toddlers, and grow up equally fast. 

Here she is with her little blond beauties.

We took lots of walks, while herding lots of little ones. 

Taking time to pick flowers,

Discover centipedes,

Or let a rubber lizard eat a few leaves.

The trail ended at a little lake, where the kids kicked off their shoes and got a little wet, even though that wasn't our intention.  But, kids and water are magnetically attracted.

Finished! Wool Farm Play Mat

    After months of work, (Not solid, and most of that, spent watching old TV shows on Netflix) the farm rug is finally done!!!

There's winding streams

A field of wheat

A pond for ducks

A green lawn

A garden with vegetables growing, and meandering paths.

     It has been backed with burlap, and the edges neatly bound with yarn. I couldn't find any information on the web on how to bind a rug.  Apparently most crafters don't bind their rugs, but use some kind of self adhesive cloth tape.  I couldn't see that working with this style of rug, and it needed a backing, as the underside was a mess, so I just copied what appeared to be done on my oriental rugs.  I am really pleased with how it turned out.

     This rug combines knitting, latch hooking, needlepoint, and embroidery.  I used over fifteen different yarns, all of them being wool, or a wool blend.  The surprising thing about this rug, was that it was actually very easy to make.  It was time consuming, and I have to admit there were times I thought this would sit in my closet, unfinished forever, but now that it's done, I almost miss working on it.

     Now I need animals!  I have a duck and a chicken, but I don't think that quite makes up a farm. 

Our Basic School Schedule for AO Year 3

         Every year I make up a new schedule for Anna's school.  This has been an invaluable tool, not only for me, but Anna as well, since she can look at it and see what comes next.  It helps for me to actually look at a spread sheet, and think about not only what Anna has to do that day, but our whole family, and how we all fit into the school schedule.  I put Bible first, since that is something we can all do together to start our day.  Next is something Anna can do mostly independently, because while she is doing her spelling or penmanship, I will use that time to read a story to the twins.  I am hoping that by having a little special time with them, they will transition better into coloring or doing little activity sheets, while I am helping Anna with her math. 

        Most of the AO readings will be done during the twins nap time. Here's hoping to get one more year of naps out of the twins!  I trimmed the AO schedule down a bit, to better fit our needs.  We are not reading Pilgrims Progress now, as I think this book will be better understood when she is older.  I also didn't schedule in American Tall Tales.  I don't see the need to read a whole book on tall tales.  The few culturally relevant ones, such as Johnny Appleseed, John Henry, and Paul Bunyan, can be easily read without being part of the school schedule. 

        The fun stuff is planned last, as that gives Anna something to look forward to.  Thursday is our co-op day, as well as Odyssey of the Mind.  That's enough for one day, but if I do need to get extra reading in, I can do then.

       P.S. I realize the word odyssey is misspelled in the schedule. I didn't notice it until I had already printed it out, so there it will remain.  Probably bugging me until I am forced to re-print it.

Familiar Walks

     Nine times out of ten, our nature walks are taken around a little lake that is close by. The word "lake" is a little misleading, since it's more like a large pond, but even with it's small size, and the same old trail that we've walked a hundred times before, we never fail to discover something new there.  That is what's great about having a familiar walk. 

You've seen the big picture so many times, that you pay more attention to the little things, that might otherwise go unnoticed. 

Things like an interesting caterpillar,

or a turtle sunning on a rock.

It might even be a duck with a weird hairdo,

or a heron, where there are usually just ducks.