New Year’s Treats: Simple Turtles
December 31, 2009 by Marsha
When I think of New Year’s Eve, I think back to my childhood where we’d have another family (or two) over and party at home. We’d ring in the new year with board games, laughter and LOTS of snacks.
Since Christmas required an abundance of cooking, I say we hit the easy button when it comes to New Year’s Eve snacks!
My family has always loved this quick recipe for Simple Turtles. We love it for its simplicity, few ingredients and kid-friendly steps.
INGREDIENTS:
- tiny pretzel twists
- Rolo candies, unwrapped
- pecan halves
1 pretzel twist + 1 Rolo + 1 pecan half = 1 treat
1. Heat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Place pretzels on a cookie sheet. You may wish to line it with parchment paper or a light coating of cooking spray.
3. Place 1 Rolo atop each pretzel.
4. Put in 300 degree oven for 3-4 minutes, or until candy is soft (but still keeps its shape).
5. Remove from oven and immediately press pecan half on top of each candied twist. Make sure children are careful as the pan will still be hot!
(If you don’t care for pecan halves or would rather have a more colorful treat, you can smoosh it down with peanut M&Ms instead!)
6. Cool completely before removing from the pan. If you are compelled to not eat all of the turtles in one sitting, leftovers may be stored in an airtight container. I recommend layering with wax paper to keep them from sticking together.
HAPPY NEW YEAR, Y’ALL! May God bless you abundantly!
Marsha is proud to be the Mrs. to David for over 13 years. They have been homeschooling their rowdy boys in the Lone Star State for the past 6 years. When she’s feeling like a slacker, you can find her drinking coffee, reading a book and writing at her blog — and sometimes all at the same time! You can find Marsha at Other Such Happenings.
Marsha’s Chicken Parmesan
October 8, 2009 by Marsha
I am a huge fan of quick cooking, especially since a very good idea (for other people) like Once a Month Cooking (aka Freezer Meals ) usually don’t bode well for me.
The following is a recipe for Parmesan Chicken… it’s my quick and not-authentic-but-still-yummy version of Chicken Parmigiana.
PARMESAN CHICKEN
* 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
* 2 eggs
* 3/4 c. Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
* 1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese (fresh or the kind in the green can)
* butter
* spaghetti sauce
* mozzarella cheese, shredded
1. Place individual piece of chicken in a plastic baggie and use a meat mallet to flatten to approximately 1/4 inch thickness. Tenderizes the chicken and makes it uniform in size for quick, even cooking. Cut each flattened chicken breast in half.
2. Mix seasoned bread crumbs and parmesan cheese in a medium bowl.
3. Mix eggs in a separate medium bowl.
4. Heat pan and add a few pats of butter.
5. Dip chicken in crumb mixture, egg and then back in crumb mixture.
6. Pan fry in butter until chicken is cooked thoroughly and coating is golden brown. Be sure to add a little more butter to the pan right before you flip the chicken– it keeps the coating tasty and golden on both sides.
7. Remove from pan, add 1 Tablespoon (or more) of sauce to each piece of chicken, and top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
Serves 3-4 (depending on hunger and size of stomachs)
Prep and Cook time: 20 minutes
Marsha is proud to be the Mrs. to David for over 12 years. They have been homeschooling their rowdy boys in the Lone Star State for the past 5 years. When she’s feeling like a slacker, you can find her drinking coffee, reading a book and writing at her blog — and sometimes all at the same time! You can find Marsha at Our Homeschool and Other Such Happenings.
Digital Design Divas Desired
October 1, 2009 by Marsha
Do you have a desire to make the written world a beautiful place? Are you searching for a way to showcase your talents as a digital designer?
We just might have the perfect place for you to showcase your talents!
HOTM is in need of a digital designer to assist in the development of a new project that will debut December 1, 2009. We will provide the text and photos, while you utilize your skill and creativity to add your own personal flair to this quarterly publication.
- Experience in Photoshop, PaintShop Pro or similar graphic design program is required.
- We anticipate this quarterly production to be approximately 20 pages in length.
While this is a non-paid position, you will receive full design and layout credit and many other benefits that come from being a member of the HOTM team.
If you are interested, please send us an email at the.amies@heartofthemattermagazine.com.
We know there is someone out there that is looking for a way to use the talents God has given them…and we could use that talent.
Summer Reading Programs
June 19, 2009 by Marsha
June is the time of year when many local libraries and other bookstores offer Summer Reading Programs. If school is out for summer in your house, these programs can put some oomph and education into your lazy summer days. If you happen to be a year-round homeschooler (like yours truly), it’s also a great way to add a little spice and motivation to your school day!
My boys registered with our local library’s program yesterday and have already been able to mark off 2 hours of reading on their forms. Once they reach 10 hours of reading (either reading by themselves, to a sibling or even listening to an audio book), they will be able to attend a special pizza party at the end of July. They also receive prizes like a free book, kid’s meal at a local restaurant and even admission to a skating rink.
To help you get started in this exciting reading adventure, here is a list of Summer Reading Programs that may be in your area. Be sure to check out the details and rules of your particular reading program as they usually require registration. Also, they may require a certain number of books to be read rather than reading for a particular length of time. If there are any Programs that I might have missed, please let me know so l can add them to the list. And don’t forget to check your local public library!
Fazoli’s Friendly Reader Program
Half Price Books and Cici’s Pizza
Multiplex/Showcase Cinema’s Bookworm Wednesdays
Marsha is proud to be the Mrs. to David for over 12 years. They have been homeschooling their rowdy boys in the Lone Star State for the past 5 years. When she’s feeling like a slacker, you can find her drinking coffee, reading a book and writing at her blog — and sometimes all at the same time! You can find Marsha at Our Homeschool and Other Such Happenings.
Summer school isn’t so bad
June 8, 2009 by Marsha
School is out for summer! At least it is for the local schools and the majority of my homeschooling friends. Yours truly, however, will be plugging along throughout the upcoming hot, sweaty months! Can I get a hurrah?
*chirp chirp*
I didn’t think so.
If all goes according to schedule, we will finish up our “year” just in time for our annual off-season family vacation at the end of September. Yup, you read that correctly– September!
One of the many benefits of homeschooling is being able to choose the type of schedule that works best for your family. Many follow the traditional September through May calendar. Others have school all year long with a one week break thrown in every 6 weeks– and perhaps even the entire month of December off. Since I am about as trendy as my husband’s work schedule is predictable (he works for the airlines and only knows his schedule a month at a time), we school every day that we can and take breaks whenever something fun (or necessary) presents itself.
The downside to my kind of scheduling (ahem, besides the whole finishing in September thing!) is that it is very easy to always feel behind. I am positive that many of you can relate to this feeling, no matter what type of schedule you use. But why do we feel like that when we have made the requisite calendars and charted our goals appropriately? While I can’t answer for everyone else, I can speak for myself when I say that my problem lies with pride and comparison.
It kind of hurts the old pride when we school year-round on purpose, but others may view us as just being lazy and not getting it done. Y’know, like people who claim to homeschool but they aren’t really teaching their children anything. After all, if we were schooling instead of playing video games and eating ice cream all day, we wouldn’t still be in school when it’s already June (or July or August), would we? I also get myself in trouble when I look at how little Johnny is in 2nd grade and already doing quadruple digit division… whereas my 2nd grader is just learning his times tables. Maybe I am failing my kids? Ugh, we are so behind! Maybe if we have school 6 days a week and then add night school to 3 of those days– then we will be where we should be?!
All of these crazy thoughts are simply distractions and discouragement from staying the course and not enjoying this journey of homeschooling. I can get over the ridiculous comparisons and be confident in our schedule because of several things:
-I’ve prayed about it.
-I have a plan and goals that were already decided upon (ahem, last September).
-My husband and I are in agreement.
-We remain diligent, even in the face of discouragement and temptation (like being invited for the third time in a week to go to the lake or beach– it’s all about balance!).
So for all of you year-round homeschoolers out there, stay the course and do not be discouraged! Don’t fall into the trap of comparison and don’t let your pride be wounded because other people don’t understand why your family keeps a different schedule.
And for those of you that keep a traditional schedule, don’t forget that even though we are still hitting the books, you can still invite us to do fun things with you (oh please, oh please, oh please!). One of the biggest perks of going year round is that we can take advantage of opportunities to spend time and do things with our friends. And when it’s the end of September and you are already a couple weeks into your new school year, don’t be hatin’ me just because I’m lounging on an uncrowded beach somewhere. I’m just sayin’… count yourself invited!
Marsha is proud to be the Mrs. to David for over 12 years. They have been homeschooling their rowdy boys in the Lone Star State for the past 5 years. When she’s feeling like a slacker, you can find her drinking coffee, reading a book and writing at her blog — and sometimes all at the same time! You can find Marsha at Our Homeschool and Other Such Happenings.
I Triple Dog Dare You
May 30, 2009 by Marsha
I’ve got a newsflash for y’all. My boys are starting to grow up! Bit by bit and before I even realized it, they went from newborn baby blobs to crawling critters, from walkers to runners to riding their bikes, reading and even making me breakfast!
Perhaps you mommy’s of teenagers would cringe a little, but this mommy of the under 10 set is currently reveling in the delightful deliciousness of a breakfast that someone else prepared and served me! A previously frozen sausage kolache and a big ole glass of milk never tasted so good! (Now if I could just trust them enough to make me a latte…)
Truth be told, I have not always been so apt at training my young’uns to be self sufficient and useful! This is especially true with my poor guinea pig of a first child. He was supremely pampered in that I did almost everything for him… be it brushing his teeth, changing his clothes, washing his hair, or buckling him into his carseat… on and on the list goes. Eventually, I turned into a little robot on automatic pilot doing things for him that, quite frankly, he could do for himself!
It took a dear friend to bring me to my senses. Since she knew I was a defensive type of person (read: stubborn and proud and difficult), she worded her thoughts in a very clever manner. She said, “Marsha, I challenge you to let him put his own pants on.”
What?! You think that little 3yo is capable of such a demanding task? (I know… I know! I laugh at my old self now…)
Anyhow, my ever so sly friend used that word challenge. Uh… that’s like saying I triple-dog-dare-you. It’s a throwdown when you use that word. Bring it, girlfriend! There was absolutely no way I was going to fail this challenge even if it killed me.
But it didn’t kill me (or my boys)!
In fact, it was SO easy. It’s amazing how a child can live up to your expectations, whether they be high ones or low ones (like mine apparently had been). Not only could that boy put on his own pants the right way (aka not backwards), but he could also put his shirt on (sometimes backwards) as well as his socks (fortunately, there is no right foot/left foot with socks– too bad there’s an upside down– drat!).
**Cue the choir** I had a thought: If he can dress himself, what else can he do???
Oh the possibilities were endless! For a brief moment, I pictured myself living in the lap of luxury as he waited on me hand and foot. But then I pictured him saying You just had us kids so we could be your slaves! Okay, that wasn’t going to work. The last thing I need is for my kid to be bratty like I was when I was a teenager little kid!
Fast forward almost 7 years and a couple kids later. I am still needing the occasional challenge from my friend– challenging me to allow my kids to do certain things that they are fully capable of doing, if only I would let them.
Sometimes it would be as simple as letting them fix their own drinks at lunchtime or putting their clean clothes away. Other times it would be a bit more challenging like figuring out how to play DVDs with the bzillions of surround sound speakers blaring correctly.
This should also be applied to our homeschool. While we all want our kids to be independent learners down the road, what are we doing now to reach that goal? A breakthrough moment for me was to make a simple chart with the week’s lesson plans for each child. When they actually saw what would be required of them for the week, they began to take charge of their individual lessons and forged ahead with that extra page of math or the reading assignment for the day (or even the whole week). Talk about encouraging!
Some things that should be obvious (like the whole pants thing) are not always obvious to me– I can be as dense as a leftover fruitcake in July! That is why I truly appreciate feedback from good friends (both in real life and in the blogosphere).
Do any of you veteran mommies or home educators have any challenges that you’d like to issue? Have you had any simple “Aha!” revelations that you can share with your friends? I triple-dog-dare you to speak up. (Oh yes I did!) Not only might your friend benefit in some of your been-there-done-that wisdom, but you might find yourself positively challenged in return!
Marsha is proud to be the Mrs. to David for over 12 years. They have been homeschooling their rowdy boys in the Lone Star State for over 5 years. When she’s feeling like a slacker, you can find her drinking coffee, reading a book and writing at her blog — and sometimes all at the same time! You can find Marsha at Our Homeschool and Other Such Happenings.
Time to Take Five
May 16, 2009 by Marsha
All too often as a homeschooling mom, I am rushing about trying to get school done. Likewise, it seems that some days my boys are not rushing about with their work, but trying to get school completely undone! I know y’all can relate– even you mommy’s of girls!
I’m ashamed to admit it, but this is what is heard a little too often from the mouth of yours truly:
-Hurry up!
-Come on, FOCUS!
-Okay, now do this and as soon as you are finished, move on to the next assignment.
-Quickly!
-Quit dawdling! You are wasting time.
-That is a time waster. Why are you just sitting there? Get a move on! Your math is not sitting outside the window!
Yup, I’m a regular cheerleader. The leader of the pep squad.
I don’t know about y’all, but if someone were telling me that all day long, it wouldn’t exactly be the magical words that suddenly made me more productive or quicker or joyful!
One day I was talking to my friend who teaches at a small private school. We were discussing schedules and the inevitable dawdling that occurs with some children. Okay, all children! What stuck out to me the most in our discussion was the large number of breaks that the students were allowed to take.
It never occurred to me that my kids might need a break (even a small one) after doing one measly little page of addition. Or doing one page of handwriting. After all, we just started and *I’m* not tired or bored yet.
Sure they don’t need a break after only 30 minutes of staying on task, but there sure are perks to giving them one anyway– namely, better attitudes, less dawdling and staying more focused in the post-break period!
My favorite is the 5-minute break. It is juuusst right– not too long and not too short. Let me list for you some of the beauteous benefits of the aforementioned 5 minute break:
- Kids of the wiggly variety can go potty and do 20 jumping jacks and stand on one leg while trying to count to 30– preferably not at the exact same time. (And you thought multi-tasking was just for mom’s!)
- I can get a refill on my coffee, which requires both sugar and creamer, thankyouverymuch.
- Five minutes is enough to check e-mail or maybe fold some laundry…
… or maybe not.
- It is enough time for someone (else) to go check the mail, take out the trash or pick up the blocks/puzzle pieces/bzillion cars on the floor.
- Apparently, it is also enough time to brush your teeth when you should’ve brushed them 2 hours ago!
One of my very dear and very precious children who shall remain nameless is my constant dawdler. It is something he struggles with on a daily basis. This break of cinco minutes has been a fabulous tool to help keep him focused. If he completes his task in a timely manner, he is rewarded with a break. If he does not complete the assignment because he is simply not staying on task, then this much anticipated break is taken away. I’m sorry, but you took so long to do this that you ended up working right through your break! OR No time for a break right now, but you can take one as soon as you are finished with this page.
Now, these breaks are not set on paper because honestly, that would just be another thing to get OFF schedule with… Rather, they are usually tossed about at my discretion– as a reward, as an incentive or just because *I* need a few minutes to get something done.
I’m telling y’all, this has completely saved me from a breakdown some days. A breakdown that not even the grande-est white chocolate mocha could’ve saved me from! And lest I forget my dear boys, it has saved them from a non-stop morning of drudgery schoolwork with no end in sight… at least in their minds.
So, dear friends, you are now allowed to move freely about the school day and throw out those 5-minute breaks willy-nilly. Like a lemonade stand in the heat of summer, a break (even if it is really short) can hit the spot for both you and your kids!
Marsha is proud to be the Mrs. to David for over 12 years. They have been homeschooling their rowdy boys in the Lone Star State for over 5 years. When she’s feeling like a slacker, you can find her drinking coffee, reading a book and writing at her blog — and sometimes all at the same time! You can find Marsha at Our Homeschool and Other Such Happenings.
A Little Goes a Long Way
March 25, 2009 by Marsha
Sometimes I drive myself crazy wondering if any of our homeschooling lessons are actually going to stick. Will my kids really remember the scientific method or this history lesson by the time next week rolls around? Will they even remember any of it tomorrow?!
I think it is safe to say that I am not the only homeschooling parent that has struggled with these thoughts at one time or another. As a home educator, one of my goals is to make learning both interesting and memorable for my boys. The struggle, however, is turning these goals into reality.
Yes, I do realize that my children will not remember everything that they’ve been taught and that I shouldn’t stress out over it. I also know that learning is a process, a journey, a bucket… Oh wait, the mind is a bucket to be filled (or something like that)… building blocks, one step at a time, instill the love of learning… you and I both get the drift. Regardless of all that, I DO want them to remember SOME of their learning!
The good news is that it doesn’t take a grand production or hours of meticulous planning to make a lasting impression! When it comes to learning, a little thing can go a very long way.
For example, we are currently learning about a family’s journey on a wagon train to settle a frontier town. Consequently, we’re talking about a prairie schooner, as opposed to the boat kind of schooner. Schooner, schooner, schooner… This word is definitely not in our normal vocabulary, but it is fun to say (or is it just me and my nerdiness rearing its ugly head?) and makes quite a positive impression on the “outside” world.
An interesting fact about prairie schooners is that they were only 4′ x 12′. At first my boys thought it was plenty of room for the 2,000 mile journey on the Oregon Trail (with half of that going through mountains). But then we taped it off in the driveway…
Whoa schooner! It’s not quite as big as they thought it would be, especially if you have to make room for supplies*. Talk about making me thankful for my big house (and cars and electricity and running water and my bed and my bathtub)!
It only took a few minutes to tape off that schooner in the driveway. Those well spent minutes helped to cement the information in my children’s minds and also opened up their imaginations to a time and place in history.
One of the things that I love most about homeschooling is being able to seize these opportunities to make history (or any subject) real, applicable and memorable for my kids!
Quite frankly, most of my “good” ideas are completely swiped from my clever friends. Is there anything that you have recently learned in your homeschool that has really stuck with you or your kids? Did you incorporate something that helped to concrete the information or idea in your child’s mind? Share your great ideas with us in the comments section! Speaking of comments, we now have the ability to reply to each other’s comments in the comments section– perfect for interactive discussions!
*If you or your adventurous children are interested in exploring the topic, I highly recommend the book “Going West!” by Carol Johmann and Elizabeth Rieth. This history book is filled with facts, stories, illustrations and hands-on activities that are actually do-able.
Marsha is proud to be the Mrs. to David for over 12 years. They have been homeschooling their rowdy boys in the Lone Star State for over 5 years. When she’s feeling like a slacker, you can find her drinking coffee, reading a book and writing at her blog — and sometimes all at the same time! You can find Marsha at Our Homeschool and Other Such Happenings.
Easter Giveaway
March 24, 2009 by Marsha
Denise M. is the winner of this giveaway– CONGRATS!
Now that Spring is finally here (even if it doesn’t quite feel like it in some parts of the country), we begin to see signs of new life all around us. The budding trees and greening grass also remind me that Easter will soon be here. Easter– Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection– is the only reason that WE have new life. Out of all the lessons that we teach our children, this is the most important!
Two of my favorite resources in sharing the gospel message with my children (and their friends) are Resurrection Eggs and a wonderful book called The Tale of Three Trees.
Easter comes alive in children’s hands with the memorable objects inside each of the twelve colorful plastic eggs. The different memory-grabbing objects take Jesus’ journey to the cross and beyond right into children’s hearts. Now with a revised bilingual booklet in simple language, discover how the anticipation, surprise, and experience of Resurrection Eggs® has brought the truth of Easter to children around the globe.
Once upon a mountaintop, three little trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to become when they grew up… So begins this enchanting American folktale about three trees whose wishes come true in a surprising way.
To help you share the truth of Easter with your family, we would like to give away one set of Resurrection Eggs and the book The Tale of Three Trees (hardback). To enter, leave a comment telling us about one of your family Easter traditions– be it serious or silly, current or from way-back-when! Contest will close at 10pm on Wednesday, April 1st.
We don’t really have any Easter traditions at our house. With my husband’s work schedule, we never know if he’ll be home or even if we’ll be home instead of visiting with family. The only thing that we are sure to do every year is go to church. I can’t think of a better place to celebrate Jesus’ great sacrifice and wondrous resurrection than God’s house!
Marsha is proud to be the Mrs. to David for over 12 years. They have been homeschooling their rowdy boys in the Lone Star State for over 5 years. When she’s feeling like a slacker, you can find her drinking coffee, reading a book and writing at her blog — and sometimes all at the same time! You can find Marsha at Our Homeschool and Other Such Happenings.
Sometimes it’s okay to be a QUITTER
February 23, 2009 by Marsha
Is there a particular subject that you dread on a regular basis? What about your child?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard it said: Winners never quit and quitters never win.
Well, I am here to tell you that is not always true!
Here we are halfway through our school year (well, almost halfway.. let’s say we are more at 3/8ths and leave it at that), and I am already completely unhappy! Not with my kids (what a relief!) and not with our school schedule, but with our spelling and writing curriculum.
It is the death of me, y’all. I can’t stand it, my kids can’t stand it, and this one particularly well-thought-of and recommended creative writing resource has been known to bring one of my children to tears. It’s one thing if I am the one to bring my child to tears since I can at least soothe it with an apology, hug and maybe a cookie- but a book? A piece of paper? An assignment to do that to my boy?! No way am I putting up with that!
So we QUIT. Walked out. Said adios, ciao and vale!
We dropped those programs like a hot potato… even though we only did 5 weeks of work in them. Even though I paid good money and bought them new, for crying out loud! And even though I am a firm believer in finishing what you start.
Once I realized that this just wasn’t working for us, I gave myself permission to just stop right where we were. The whole point of schooling of any kind is to learn. The only thing we were learning was that our spelling was a bunch of busywork and that the creative writing was completely ruining an otherwise perfect school day.
Is there a particular subject that you dread on a regular basis? What about your child? Reevaluate your day and your coursework. You might find that there is something that is simply not compatible with your teaching style or your child’s learning style. Or perhaps it’s just not getting the job done. Why continue with a program that is supposed to teach your child something when there is zero improvement over the course of several months? Or maybe there is some improvement but it is at the cost of tears, frustration, whining, and a completely negative view of learning– and that’s not counting how your child is feeling!
Ahhh… there is sweet freedom in quitting! I’m not talking about quitting an entire subject like spelling or math, but having the freedom to find programs and books that DO work for your child and for you. I challenge you to stop, take a step back, look at your school day with fresh eyes and be a quitter if you have to!
Marsha is proud to be the Mrs. to David for over 12 years. They have been homeschooling their rowdy boys in the Lone Star State for the past 5 years. When she’s feeling like a slacker, you can find her drinking coffee, reading a book and writing at her blog — and sometimes all at the same time! You can find Marsha at Our Homeschool and Other Such Happenings.
