Home-school Mondays Using what interests them

I write this as Pumpkin pictured above is recovering from pneumonia so it will be short. Every parent knows that bribery can be a great motivator. Some have mixed feelings about using it. I was the same way. My kids were just going to do what I asked of them because I asked it. LOL. Yeah that worked so well.

I like to use 'earned time' for getting tasks done. For example my eldest daughter who is 9 has a hard time staying focused in her studies. I write out the weeks lesson plans ahead of time. She gets to mark off the subjects completed for visual satisfaction and for every page completed front and back she earns 2 minutes of computer game time. So far this is working, for how long is any one's guess. Her rewards have changed over the years as we have schooled. Use what interests them and you will have success!

Cooking with the kids (recipe included)

With a little patience you can cook with your kids. Just make sure that you have age appropriate tasks for them and there will be nothing but smiles (and some good memories).

I was craving some Green Bean casserole so that is what we made. For this you really need to have fresh green beans. I tried it once with canned and then swore I would never make it again! Don't be afraid of fresh food. I know it is easier to pick up the cans of veggies at the market but really it is cheaper if you do it yourself. For example: These greens need to be cleaned (ends snapped off) and halved. Right above them for $2 more there they were already done. No thank you. I have three kids and a husband to feed. I can do the work myself.

So now that you have your green beans you are going to need some assistants.


Here are mine. So cute!

Now at first I was going to have red here help snap the ends off the green beans but that proved too difficult for her. So I snapped them off. I showed her how to properly use a knife and she cut them into halves. Her 2 year old sister here got the halves and put them in the measuring cup and later the coliander. They had a blast and so did I. We then dragged a chair over to the sink and they each got a turn washing the green beans. Red got a pot to boil the green beans in and we set the timer for 10 minutes. In that time we cleaned our mess and then put the scraps in a bowl for the compost pile out back ( I still need to make it though ). Check your green beans maybe at 6 minutes to see of they are fork tender. As soon as they are, drain. Ready to eat or in our case use in our recipe.

Green Bean Casserole (can also be made the day ahead and reheated, i'll tell you that later)

Time: LOL You are cooking with kids. It'll take longer but taste better.

Ingredients:
2 cans (10 3/4 ounce ea) of Condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 Cup Milk
2 tsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp black pepper. Taste better with freshly ground pepper corns
8 cups cooked green beans (we did that above)
2 2/3 cups Frenches Fried Onions

Time to put it all together!

Put the soup, milk, soy sauce, black pepper, beans and 1 1/3 cups onions in a 3 QT casserole dish. If you are making this a day ahead omit the onions.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 miutes or until it is bubbling. Stir the mixture and top with remaining onions. I like to put them on the outside perimeter on the dish. Again if you are making this a day ahead omit the onions

Bake for another 5 minutes or until the onions are a golden brown. I had the assistants watch through the oven door and 'tell' me when it was done. I still set the time though because with littl ones you never know who will hit who first. I would end up forgetting that I was cooking. Bad I know.

Now you are done! This is a great recipe to do together. With homeschool and my own buisness
it can get hard to carve out the time. Planning ahead, even if it is that morining and only for that day helps. I like to set goals of what I would like to accomplish for the day rather than a To Do List. Just a play on words that makes a difference with me.

Okay now for if you make this dish a day ahead.....

You have just taken it out of the oven. I like to put it on my wire cookie rack to cool. Let cool to room temp. Cover will alum. foil and put in fridge.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Take alum. foil off . Now stir in those 1 1/3 cups of onions. Replace alum. foil losely over your casserole dish. This will help keep the heat in. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until bubbling. This way you know it is heated through. To cut down on cooking time you can set it for 15 mintues and at your halfway mark, stir it. When bubbling, add the remaining onions. Cook for additional 5 minutes or until they are golden brown. I almost think it tastes better this way.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. It really looks like a lot of work went into it when in reality it didn't. It is great for a homeschool lesson. Little ones can count the green beans, use them for addition, subtraction. They can also sort from big to small and group like ones together. Older ones can use them for muliplication and divison. They can also use the measuring cup. Sneak the lessons in whenever you can. Cooking is a great way to do it.Here is peanut mixing the ingredients before we add the green beans. She is an expert at this. :)

An apology

I have been lacking in posts lately. I hope to be able to post at least 3 times a week.

This last week has been challenging. This last Sunday my 4 year old swallowed a connect four piece, still pending on if it will come out without surgery. There was an ambulance ride were I was able to reconfirm that yes, I do get severely motion sick. At least the gurney was large enough for my daughter and myself when we got to the ER.Then my husband caught a stomach bug and we were back in the emergency room ( without the ambulance ride) for dehydration. I am sure that the hospital is in love with our insurance company. Just wanted you who read to know I am not purposely flaking on posting and that next week shall be better. Until then, I have two sale sections set up in my store. One is 40% off and the other is 50% off. Check them out here.

New in shop

A Key fob for the handyman (or woman) in your life. You can purchase it at my Etsy shop. I will be listing a new one everyday until I have them all listed. Some that I have are soccer, princess, several polka dot ones, baseball/softball, over the hill, and other measuring tape ones with different backgrounds. If you are local to me then you can find them for sale at Ramona Locksmith located behind the Chevron station on Main Street. You may even find my hubby behind the desk.


Here is my hubby. LOL I love the picture they did.

Christmas hints

So today I shamelessly sent my husband an email with items I would like for Christmas, the links to the items and the information he would need to check out! I know shameless. What can I say...

The first item is this gorgeous rustic, you know you will feel good just holding it, mug!

You can find all of their great items on Etsy at KC Pottery . Honestly I think I could just decorate my house with what they have to offer. Here is hoping.

And now next on my list is jewelry. What girl does not love jewelry and if you are like me and like something that looks vintage and timeless you will not find a better place to look then Etsy.

I love traditional, classic, simple yet completely feminine items. So it is no wonder that I had a hard time deciding which ones exactly I liked from The Vintage Diva's shop. It was however the white roses that won me out. I can wear those during winter and summer and with anything and they are so so gorgeous! Once again keeping my fingers crossed that hubby will get them for me!