Our Homeschool Plan for PreK-4 using Classical Conversations

As you know, our homeschooling journey has officially begun. Last year around this time I was contemplating enrolling Silas in a local preschool (read my post, A Whisper for Autumn, for the full story). I was at a fairly low point as a stay-at-home mom. The daily battles were at an all time high as I tried to juggle life with a one and three-year-old. I needed a break, and I made a rash decision. Well, the story ends with me UN-enrolling Silas from preschool before He ever started. God gracefully redirected me once I decided to consult him on the issue (as they say, I had put my cart before my horse!). My three-year old needed to connect with me, not to separate with me.

Coloring in the date in his Ninja attire.

At that point we still weren't sure how we would handle schooling, mainly because of my emotional state. Kevin and I committed to pray and research our options. Throughout the year God faithfully answered our prayers. He renewed my vision and passion for our home, and He brought just the right people into our lives to confirm our decision to homeschool.

Creating a pictograph of our family in his Taekwondo attire.

As far as curriculum, we decided to enroll Silas in a local Classical Conversations community this year for Prek-4. I would try to explain the program, but this post, Classical Conversations: An Introduction, does a much better job than I would. Silas attends his weekly classes on Tuesday mornings. Along with his Classical Conversations memory work for the week, I'm using Saxon Math K (purchased for $5 at a curriculum sale), Saxon Phonics K (borrowing from a friend), and Teach You Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (purchased used from Amazon). We're also memorizing Scripture, and we're about to dive the book of Proverbs as part of our character-building studies.

Learning about the letter "O."

We're in our second week of homeschooling, and so far it's gone smoothly. Our biggest challenge has been having a toddler to contend with during our focused homeschooling time- haha. Silas has shown an excitement for learning, which I pray continues.

Learning the seven continents (part of his CC memory work).

As for myself, I'll be honest and say that I was nervous right up until our first day. I lacked confidence in my ability to teach my children and was overcome with the fear of the unknown. I was afraid that I would not have enough emotional fortitude, patience, or discipline to make it work. It wasn't until we actually sat down and began schooling that an incredible sense of peace came over me. At this point, I can't see myself doing anything else. I feel equipped through the Holy Spirit to accomplish the task at hand. My prayer is that God continues to grant me patience and wisdom as I walk in obedience. 

Singing the parts of speech thanks to youtube.com (part of his CC memory work).

I am not naive to the fact that we will have bumps along the road, but we have set out with a fierce determination to be good stewards of the little minds and hearts that have been placed in our care.

Doing a science experiment with his CC Foundations class.

Some of the perks of homeschooling that I love already are the freedom, flexibility, and quality family time that we enjoy together. Not to mention the fact that I can gear each of my children's education to their own personalities and learning styles.

Giving a book report for his CC foundations class.

We covet your prayers as we set out on this journey!

I'll leave you with a few of my favorite posts on homeschooling from bloggers I love:

Homeschooling and Realistic Expectations
A Few Thought on WholeHearted Homeschooling
Homeschooling, Convictions, and Christian Welcome
Juggling Homeschool with Littles and Life

Silas' First Day of Preschool

Silas' first day of Preschool

Standing Tall

Silas wanted to take a picture of Liam and me.

Liam had a toddler moment and threw his chalkboard down.

Our Big Boy

On the way home from school.

Following His Lead

 I wanted to pop in this evening to give a bit of a heads up as to why there may be a little bit of a lull on the blog in the coming weeks. I "unofficially" began homeschooling Silas today, and he will "officially" start with Classical Conversations tomorrow morning. He loved his first "unofficial" day, and didn't want to stop! I'm sure that excitement will diminish in a few short weeks, but I'm soaking it up while I can. I'll be fumbling around trying to get a good routine down in the coming weeks, which I know will be vital to our success. I'm desperately working on being more disciplined and providing a little more structure to our days. On top of that, church ministries are kicking back up and Fall festivities are just around the corner (happy dance!) Needless to say, I will be pulled more in the direction of family and ministry in the coming weeks, which may leave my little spot on the internet a little dusty for a while.

Liam couldn't help but join in on the fun!

I had an absolute blast over the summer trying new recipes, learning more about my DSLR camera, and really sharpening my photography skills. I was blown away when some of my photos got accepted to Tastespotting, Foodgawker, and Healthy Aperature. It was the most fun I've had in a while. I also gave some extra attention to my blog's design and layout, which (GEEK ALERT!) is one of my favorite things to do. I joke with Kevin that when the boys are grown I want to join the Geek Squad at Best Buy so I don't have to hide my nerdiness anymore--Haha! And then there was my series on iPhone photography for Moms, which I totally enjoyed researching. I hope to continue on with the series once I gain my footing at home. I'm not sure how long that will be.

Blogging is such a huge outlet for me. Kevin and I both agree that blogging is a helpful way for me to be creative and to write, both of which keep my mind active and engaged. I attribute it to my sanity most days! I truly love my space here and all of you who read faithfully and encourage me along the way. I don't plan on closing shop anytime soon! I'm simply going to slow my pace a little. Just as in past seasons, I know that sometimes life requires a little more attention than usual, and I have a feeling that this season is one of those.

Following His Lead, 

General Tso's Chicken

If I'm not munching on Mexican food it's likely that you'll find me savoring a delicious Asian dish. Last week I tried a new Weight Watchers recipe for one of my favorite Asian dishes--General Tso's Chicken. I had my doubts about how this recipe would turn out, but I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. It was super simple to prepare and the whole family loved it (well, except for my picky eater, of course). Sometimes when I try a new recipe, even though it turns out delicious, if it was too time-consuming or if it required hard-to-find ingredients, I don't put it on our regular dinner rotation. Neither was the case with this recipe. It was just my style--quick and easy-- and I will gladly add it to our regular dinner rotation!

General Tso's Chicken
 (adapted from weightwatchers.com)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of chicken broth
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoon olive oil
2 medium scallions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound uncooked boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 cups cooked white rice

Instructions:

In a bowl, whisk together broth, cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and ginger. 

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallions, garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add chicken to skillet. Cook until chicken pieces are begin to brown, about 5 minutes.

Add sauce to the skillet and simmer until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through.

Serve chicken and sauce over rice.

This recipe makes 4 serving. Enjoy about 1 cup of chicken with sauce and 1/2 cup of rice for 8 Weight Watchers points plus values. 

10 Ways to Get out of a Dinner Rut :: Part 2

Today's post is part 2 of the 2-part series "10 Ways to Get out of a Dinner Rut." If you missed part 1, click here!

 

 6 :: Keep a Dinner Diary

This may sound a little funny, but it's an incredibly simple way to document not only what you have for dinner every night, but also to make notes on how you'd change the recipe next time or how your family enjoyed the meal. After a few weeks of documenting, your dinner diary will be a great resource for getting out of a dinner rut! (My dinner diary is pictured above picture)

7 :: Get Your Hands on a New Cookbook

I absolutely love cookbooks. I'm not a collector, but I would say that I have a fairly large cookbook collection going right now. The best part is that over 80 percent of my cookbooks were either free or really cheap! I love stopping by thrift stores or flea markets to hunt for unique cookbooks when I'm in need of a little inspiration. I'm also a Kindle owner, which means I have tons of free cookbooks at my fingertips. By searching Amazon's kindle library for "cooking" and then sorting your results using the "Price: Low to High" tag, you'll discover many new and interesting cookbooks that you can download with no cost to you. Now there's some inspiration! 

8 ::  Peruse Pinterest Boards

My friend Emily over at the Louisiana Bride blog did an awesome post a few weeks ago about using Pinterest to stay out of a meal planning rut. She does a great job explaining the in's and out's of using Pinterest to meal plan, so head over take a read!

9 :: Search a Hashtag on Instagram

My favorite social media outlet is Instagram. I'm a highly visual person so it didn't take long for me to dive in and begin documenting my life in pictures. When I started Weight Watchers last year I began using Instagram to take photos of what I was putting into my mouth as a way to track my points (sort of like a visual food diary!). Well, it turns out that I'm not the only one who loves Instagramming food! By using the Instagram "explore" menu, you can search hashtags (words or  phrases prefixed with the symbol #). My favorite ones to search are #weightwatchers, #dinnerisserved, and #favoritemeal. I can always gather interesting meal ideas with a quick search on Instagram!

10 :: Make Friends on the Plan to Eat Website

Several months ago I heard about the Plan to Eat website via Kat Lee of the Inspired to Action blog. Plan to Eat is a meal planning service that allows you to input or import your recipes, drag and drop recipes into a menu planner, access an automated shopping list based on your menu plan, and share recipes and menu plans with friends. Take a tour of the website here. When Kat announced that she would be hosting a Meal Planning Boot Camp to show how she uses the Plan to Eat website to meal plan in just 5 minutes (or less) each week, I decided to sign up for the free 30-day trial to see if it was something that would work for me. I fell in love with the service and have been using it ever since. I've befriended 58 folks on the website so far, which means that I have access to all of their recipes and menu plans. Plan to Eat saves me tons of time and keeps me motivated to feed my family well. I highly recommend the service!



 

10 Ways to Get out of a Dinner Rut :: Part 1

"What's for dinner?" I have a love-hate relationship with that question. On the one hand I enjoy cooking and feeding delicious meals to my family, but on the other hand, I often find myself at a loss for what to cook. Sometimes it feels like we eat the same things over and over and over again, which can be boring and uninspiring. When I feel uninspired it's hard to find the motivation to cook. This often leads to unnecessary trips through the drive through, which can be bad for the budget and the diet. When I see myself heading for a rut, there are several things that help to rekindle my excitement for menu planning, cooking, and serving delicious meals to my family. I hope you find these helpful to.

 1 :: Make a List of Family Favorites 

Start with the meals that you and your family actually like. Have everyone in the family give a list of at least three meals that they would like to see on a regular dinner rotation. Keep that list handy and add to it as new favorites arise. When you're planning your weekly menu. consult the list for ideas. I try to pick at least one family favorite every week. Seeing my family members excited about "what's for dinner" makes all my effort in the kitchen worthwhile.

2 :: Browse your Favorite Restaurant Menus

 

This is one of my favorite ways to gather new dinner ideas. Think about your family's favorite restaurants. Visit the websites of those restaurants and locate their online menus (most will have them available). Look through to see if anything sounds appealing. Once you've gathered some ideas, search online to see if you can find Copycat recipes or healthier versions of the recipes. With all of the food blogs and recipe sites available online, it's likely that you will have no trouble finding recipes comparable to your restaurant favorites.

3 :: Visit Visual Food Websites

 

I think the saying is true, "You eat with your eyes first." Beautiful pictures of food can spark cravings like nothing else.  Websites like Tastespotting, Foodgawker, and Healthy Aperture offer ever-growing collections of the best food photography from around the web, updated daily. Clicking the photos on any of the websites mentioned above will take you directly to the blog post or website where the recipe for that particular food is located. It's like a virtual buffet for your eyes!

4 :: Make a Desperate Plea on Facebook

 

This is probably the easiest way to get a flood of dinner ideas headed your way. People, in general, love to be helpful and give advice. A simple status update requesting new and exciting dinner ideas/recipes is a surefire way to get out of a dinner rut!

5 :: Incorporate Theme Nights

 

If you struggle with variety in your menu planning, giving each night of the week a theme may be a helpful solution for you. Some examples of themes include Meatless Monday, Italian Tuesday, Seafood Wednesday, Mexican Thursday, Pizza Friday, Slow Cooker Saturday, Soup & Sandwich Sunday, etc. I like to think of this method as a no-brainer method of menu planning. It sets you on a quick and easy path to a variety of weekly dinners.


Stay tuned for five more ideas later this week!

{Shared with Growing Home Blog's Teach me Tuesdays, Cornerstone Confessions' Titus 2 Tuesday, and Time-Warp Wife's Titus2day.}

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade with NuStevia™

Nothing says summer like a tall glass of fresh, homemade lemonade. If you haven't made any yet this summer, now is the time to get on that! I haven't always been a fan of lemonade, but soon after I got married I discovered that my husband makes the perfect homemade lemonade. I was hooked.

We haven't always been so calorie conscious when it comes to our beverages, so for years we stirred cups of sugar into our homemade lemonade. I was hesitant to make the switch to a zero-calorie sweetener because I really don't like the taste of artificial sweeteners. Soon after I started Weight Watchers my Mom introduced me to a new zero-calorie sweetener that she had discovered at Whole Foods called NuStevia™, an all natural herbal sweetener. She told me it was the perfect addition to a glass of lemon water. She bought me a box, and I discovered that lemons and NuStevia™ are indeed a match made in heaven. We've since substituted NuStevia™ for sugar in our lemonade recipe. We also use it in our coffee, smoothies, oatmeal, and grapefruit-ade! Unlike other Stevia products, it's non-bitter and doesn't leave an unpleasant aftertaste in your mouth. We love it!

Now for the recipe...

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade with NuStevia™

Ingredients

4 Medium Lemons (about 3/4 cup of juice)
12 packets of NuStevia™
6 Cups cold water

Instructions

Juice the lemons. I use a simple manual juicer. Combine the lemon juice, NuStevia™, and water in a pitcher and stir. Serve over crushed ice or add 1-2 cups of crushed ice to the pitcher before serving.  

Optional: place a few lemon slices in the pitcher for a beautiful garnish and added lemon flavor.

Divided between 6 tall glasses, this lemonade is zero Weight Watcher points plus per glass.

iHerb.com is the cheapest place I've been able to get NuStevia™. It is also a wonderful place to pick up other quality herbal supplements and all natural products. They offer free 1-3 day shipping on all orders over $40, and, if you're a first time customer you can use the code NUJ843 and get $10 off your first order!! Browse through the health links page while you're there. There's a lot to learn! And don't forget to add some NuStevia™ to your cart so you can make some tasty, fresh-squeezed lemonade! You won't be disappointed!

P.S. Before starting any herbal supplements, it's always important to check with your physician!