weaving practice

For Christmas, LE got a weaving loom and we have tried multiple times to weave, but it is not an easy task for little hands.  Mimi suggested the girls should get a pot holder loom.  That was the missing link.  They are now working on turning their potholders into a purse by sewing the two together.
We are going to a family reunion this weekend and the girls want to make potholders to sell in the family auction.

wordless Wednesday - new daily job

Top Ten - home school must haves

I cannot limit this list to 10!!

1. books - We cannot go a day without a read-aloud, quiet reading time, Bible reading, and Daddy reading Hank the Cow Dog before bed.
2. computer/internet - I am always searching pinterest for new ideas for the classroom, lesson plans, organization, recipes and now home ideas.
3. map pencils - the girls preferred medium for drawing, which is a daily activity in our home.
4. our classroom space (I have no idea how people hs at their kitchen table)
5. library card - we use the library card for our history and science read-alouds.  Our present science regimend is to read a non-fiction science book, dictate about what we read and then illustrate a picture.  For this age, it has been working very well.  I have not found a science curriculum that has appealed to me yet.
6. lesson plans- Ben helped me to create a spreadsheet that I print out each week with the girls plans for each day.  There is no way I could stay on track without those plans.
7. daily checklist - Ben also created the girl's daily checklist for every day of the week.  They have become so self-sufficient in many of their subjects.  I can give them a check list before I head to class and come back and they have completed several of their assignments without anyone having to remind them.  I fill the checklist out at the beginning of the week with all of their assignments and they mark off their lists when they complete it.
8. Weekly folders - I found pocket folders which are spiral-ringed together.  At the beginning of the week I place all of their assignments along with their daily checklists in each day's pockets.  No last minute running upstairs to scan and print pages and everything is gathered for them to work on at their own pace and in whatever order they want to do their work.
9. Antique school desk - I love the girl's desk, it is still my favorite part of the classroom.
10. trampoline - Any time the girls get fidgety or I need 10 minutes I send them to the backyard to jump.  I am so grateful to a friend who called us when her neighbor was getting rid of theirs.
honorable mentions- easel and dry erase markers - Without fail, Bella draws us a picture every morning and a daily message, R2's naptime - no explanation needed, finished basket - where finished work is placed for me to look over, support of Daddy Richards and his ability to work from home.

a boy and his dog

garden zucchini

If you are on pinterest, you have seen all of my recent pins on zucchini.  We have one zucchini plant and I already cannot keep up with how much it is producing.
This weekend, we made what I shall call OMG zucchini bread.  It was the best bread I have ever made. I used coconut oil for oil and I am not sure if that changed the flavor any.  I think next time I will try honey to replace the white sugar.
For lunch, I made zucchini cakes.  I would compare them to crab cakes.  Ben, Bella and I really liked them, LE made herself a pb and j sandwich.  She has at least tried everything I have made if it comes from the garden.  I served the cakes with ranch dressing, but I was wondering if they would be good with marinara sauce.  I also substituted Italian bread crumbs for the panko crumbs, just b/c that was what I had on hand.  I think the Italian flavor probably changed the flavor considerably.
I made recipes with this one zucchini.
Cucumbers and the cherry tomatoes are ready to picked and it is crazy how much more flavor a home-grown tomato has than the store bought.  LE will eat them from the garden, but will not touch the store bought ones.

Pocahontas and Belle on a wild adventure

OK, so its just the backyard, under a trampoline, but an adventure is what you make of it.

chopsticks

I made Erica's Moo Goo Gai Pan this past week.  I thought I would spice dinner up a bit by letting the girls eat with chopsticks.  LE had it (she doesn't eat rice), but Bella ended up with a spoon (she loves rice).

wordless Wednesday - water in the face

room of his own

On Mother's Day weekend, Ben tackled a couple of my honey-do wishes.  I have been wanting to move the guest bed out of R2's room and into the office.  He recently moved my uber-computer that I use for blogging into the classroom and I no longer have use of my office desk (trying to sell BTW).  This freed up some space in the office for the bed, now we can have guests come stay with us and R2 not have to sleep in the pack and play in our room.  I wish we had done it sooner. He loves the floor space.  

It was also a wish of the girls.  R2 loves to play in their room and they complain that he makes messes that he doesn't clean up (true) and their toys are too small and he puts them in his mouth (not true, but I guess it only takes once).  We took the kitchen out of their room and put it in his room b/c that is his fave thing to play with. Now I catch the girls playing in his room, which he loves.

field day 2012

Guess what two girls were on the winning team for our home school field day?  Yep, the dynamo-duo.  I could not believe it; there team was made up of some of the smallest/youngest kids in the entire group (up to age 12).
It also made me so proud when the team Mom told me she was impressed with how the girls cheered on their fellow teammates and participated so whole-heartedly.  Way to go, Yellow Team!