Fun Nativities for Kids

Do you have one of those Nativity sets that your kids are NOT allowed to touch? I do, not so much that it is expensive but that it has already been broken several times and repaired (the poor shepherd lost his foot again this year). I've always wanted to have a nativity that my kids could play with and handle, so here are some great ideas for just that! A Printable Nativity (you can print the colored one, or the coloring book version one and let your kids decorate it themselves, thats what we did). If you knit you could make this adorable soft knitted nativity (I'm in the midst of making this, it probably won't get finished this Christmas). How about a gingerbread nativity! Like...

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Make It Monday: Homemade Mac and Cheese!

Mac and Cheese is one of those great comfort foods, that warms your insides on a cold day! The benefits to making your own from scratch are that you can avoid the sodium and preservatives that the boxed brands have. You can also glam it up a bit by using different types of cheeses for different flavors. This recipe is the bare minimum technique for making a creamy mac and cheese sauce. Ingredients: 1 lb macaroni (elbows or penne works) 2 cups grated cheese (sharp cheddar for traditional, you can use any flavor you like). 1/4 grated Parmesan cheese 2 c milk (whole makes it creamy) 2 T butter 2 T flour Recipe: Fill large pot with water and prepare pasta, to a little under done about 6-7...

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What We Did This Week: Space!

This week our theme was Space! I have to say it was one of the boy's favorites from the first half of the year. As usual we got some books from the library, our two favorite books were: I can read about Planets, by Darrow Schecter Space Shuttles, by Gregory L. Vogt My kids are pretty young, 5 and 3 so we tried to keep it simple. We learned about planets and did some coloring worksheets from Allkidsnetwork.com, and we used a string to learn about orbit, I'll explain below! On the day we learned about the space shuttle, we painted a picture of a rocket with sparkly stars! Lately, instead of getting W to practice writing his ABC's I've been getting him to write out words that are part of...

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Make it Monday! Fajita Seasoning Mix

Image courtesy of busycooks.about.com 2 teaspoons chili powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/4 teaspoon cumin 1/2 t dried oregano (optional). a pinch of red pepper flakes (for some heat, also optional) If you like a really thick sauce you can add 1 T cornstarch to the mix. You can also prepare a large batch of this ahead of time. This recipe is so versatile! My friend's daughter had a food allergy to garlic when she was small, all you have to do is omit the garlic powder! You also avoid the preservatives and sodium that are in most store bought seasoning packages. You can use it for...

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School Magnet Board

You can thank Pinterest once again for this idea! This is our "school board".  It is a place that we can display our work for the week, without having to stick things to the wall! I purchased an oil drip pan from a local auto parts store, it was about $10. Basically it is like a great big cookie sheet! I mounted it to the wall with some 3M Command Damage free hanging strips. They are like Velcro, one part sticks to the wall, one to the board and you Velcro it to the wall! We just grabbed some magnets that were on the fridge, but I am hoping to make some with the boy's initials on them. They think it's great and they get to show Daddy all the things they did that day when he gets home...

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Tom The Thankful Turkey!

 Here is a cute Thanksgiving craft that gets your kids thinking about the things they are thankful for! Once again you can thank Pinterest for this one! Check out Crafts for All Season's blog for the original post and instructions!  Here are our turkey feet! Thankful feathers. My kindergartner wrote out his thankful feathers on his own! Do you like making seasonal crafts with your ki...

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Pinterest

Have you heard about Pinterest? It is such a great resource for ideas and inspiration! It is a virtual cork board where you can "pin" pictures of of neat things you fin on the internet. The pictures link back to the original websites and others can check out the original ideas. The running joke is that most people waste so much time browsing the website and pinning that they never actually do anything that they pin! I have completed several projects from my "pins". Here are some pins that I have completed: Prayer Pail Letter Animals Letter Matching Ice Cream cones Crayon Rolls Super hero Cape from old T Shirt And here is one I am going to use next week for school when we do our...

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Make It Monday: Creamy Chicken and Peppers

I've been on a "sugar diet" during the week and the other day I wanted something to indulge in. I searched around for something I could make with the chicken I had taken out for supper. This recipe is so yummy and creamy and a great dinner indulgence. Ingredients:3-4 boneless skinless chicken breast 1 T Italian seasoning 1 large onion chopped 2 bell peppers (red, yellow or orange) 2-3 cloves of garlic chopped salt and pepper 1 can diced tomatoes 6-8 oz. cream cheese Parmesan cheese grated mozzarella for topping 2 T olive oil for cooking chicken Pre heat oven to 375F. Heat 1T olive oil in a skillet and brown the chicken on both sides, do not cook all the way through. Place chicken...

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Make It Monday (on Tuesday!): Laundry Soap

Here is my version of homemade laundry detergent! It's so simple and very frugal! This is the recipe that I use (it's stuck on the inside of one of my cupboards: You can find washing soda at most smaller grocery stores, the baking soda and borax you can find at big name stores like Wal Mart. I use any bar of soap that I can find, if you want unscented or a certain smell, choose your favorite soap! You can also customize this recipe to use a vegan soap. Grate the bar of soap with a cheese grater. Then I put all the ingredients together in my food processor and give it a whirl! Use 1 T per load, and store in an airtight container....

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What We Did This Week: Fire Safety and Armor of God

This was our first week of doing a routine for school. We learned about fire safety this week. We used some ideas from Confessions of a Homeschooler's Fire Safety post. It was great! Using candles, a spray bottle, a cup and a lighter we discussed what fire needs to "live". We showed what happened when you the the HEAT away by spraying the fire with water. We looked at what happens when the FUEL is gone (let the candle burn down to the bottom and it burns out). We also looked at what happens when AIR is taken away from a flame, it goes out! The kids thought it was really neat to watch the flame extinguish when the cup was over the candle. We also made a map of our house and talked...

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General Canning Guidelines

People tend to think that canning and preserving your own food is difficult, when in reality it is quite simple. Depending on what you are preserving there are a few specifics (canning fruit is different than making jam) but for the most part there are some simple rules to follow. Here is how I do it! Tip 1: Keep it HOT! Keeping your food, jars and lids hot prevents any bacteria from getting into your food. Tip 2: Work in Large Batches Although canning isn't difficult it is time consuming. Working with large batches of food makes the process quicker. Peeling, cutting and preparing is what takes the longest. Tip 3: Use good equipment Buying good canning jars (or inheriting them) is an...

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Recipe Collection: Southwest Veggie Dip

Recently I was enjoying some of my favourite store bought veggie dip, it was spicy it was smokey... it had chicken fat as one of the ingredients!? I almost gagged when I read through the ingredient list. How disappointing! I was craving some of that very dip yesterday, so I decided to try and make my own version of it and here it is! Spicy Southwest Veggie Dip: 1/2 container (8 oz.) Sour cream 1-2 T mayo (this is optional, some people steer clear of mayo) 1/4 onion minced 1 T garlic Powder (use less if you don't like a strong garlic taste) 1 t Paprika 1t Cumin 1 t parsley or cilantro 1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes salt to taste Combine all ingredients and let rest for about 1 hour,...

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Crayon Rainbow

You might have seen these around on the Internet, I saw it first on Pinterest. We got our instructions for it from Pink and Green Mama, she's pretty crafty and great! Here's what we did! You'll need: 2-3 boxes of crayons 1 large canvas hot glue and glue gun blow dryer We lined up the crayons in a rainbow (ROY GBIV!) and then hot glued them to the canvas (oops that one's sideways!) I figured taking it outside was best for clean up and messes. This part takes the longest. Hold your blow dryer about 2-3 inches away and wait! It's starting...  Look at it go!! Once it starts it really goes! Ours is much more blended than some I've seen.  W holding the...

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