State-by-State Scrapbook :: Tennessee
“V is for Volunteer.
It’s important for you to know
when help is needed anywhere,
Tennesseans are sure to go.“
.: Tennessee by Captain :.
*The links to the worksheets used for these notebook pages can be found here, and here is the link to all of our State-by-State Study posts.
{pretty, happy, funny, real}
~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. ~
{pretty}
Hot Cocoa and looking for Constellations on Columbus Day
Trying to paint while holding a baby who wants to grab EVERYTHING is tough!
B is for Blanket :: A No Sew Fleece Tie Blanket Tutorial
Initially I wasn’t going to have Snuggles (help) make a blanket like the girls did during B week, but when we were checking out our brand new (!!!) Jo-Ann Craft Store and noticed the Beaver themed fabric we couldn’t resist! The girls still love their blankets and with winter coming our little Snuggles could really use his own warm snuggly blanket anyways. As we were headed to the check-out, fabric in hand, Rose kept saying “My blanket-uh?!” while pointing to the fabric aisles… Since it’s going to be a few years before she does the Alphabet Path I think I might need to surprise her with her own blanket for either her birthday or Christmas… I need to go back and look for some pretty rose covered fleece!
Supplies:
Two pieces of Fleece Fabric – One Print and One Solid: (We made the “Child Size.”)
- Toddler/Crib Size: 1 1/2 yards of each piece of fleece
- Child Size 1 3/4 yards of each piece
- Teen/Adult Size 2 yards of each piece
Ruler or tape measure (We used a Fiskars 3-Inch-by-18-Inch Clear Acrylic Quilting Ruler.)
Sharp Scissors (We used a Fiskars Rotary Cutter. SO much faster!)
Optional: Cutting Mat if you are using the rotary cutter. (I used a 12×18 Inch Self Healing Mat, though any size that is large enough to do a 7-Inch strip will work.)
Directions:
STEP 1: Lay both pieces of fabric on the floor with the WRONG sides touching. (The right sides will be facing out so you can see them.) Cutting both pieces of fabric at the same time, carefully trim away any of the seam edges while making sure the edges of both fabrics match up.
STEP 2: Once your edges are straight, cut a 7″x7″ Square from each of the 4 corners, once again cutting both pieces of fabric at the same time.
STEP 3: Using either scissors or a rotary cutter, cut 1 ” wide and 7″ deep strips around all four sides of the blanket, again cutting both pieces of fabric at the same time.
STEP 4: Once all of your fringe is cut, start tying hand knots. I tied this blanket using a square knot. Make sure not to skip any strips! (Alternate method: If you’d like your fringe to alternate colors along the edge, you can tie every other one, flip the blanket, then go back through and tie the remaining fringe.)
Keeping Track and Making Progress {Daily Planners and Checklists for the School Year}
Since I prefer designing our own curriculum each year, rather than purchasing a boxed curriculum conveniently complete with lesson plans and syllabi, I usually try and create my own plans and checklists. Each year has been different. When the older boys were younger, and using lots of workbooks, I would fill a page divider in their binders with all of their worksheets for the week. As they finished the assignments they would move them to another page divider for all their “completed” work. Some years we just used individual lesson planners to schedule and record our work. (That didn’t work too well, though I wouldn’t mind giving it another try now that they are older.) The last couple years, I’ve been making checklists, inspired mostly by Sarah at Amongst Lovely Things. Checklists have been perfect for us!
Here is a peek at the checklists I made the kids this last school year, in addition to our History Unit Study Checklists. (Note: I always try and leave Friday free for attending Mass and catching up on any unfinished school work and projects.)
Sarah has generously shared her modifiable documents over at her blog. I created my own documents with tables in Microsoft Word, using the same idea and colors. (They were perfect picks after all: Orange for Fall, Red for Christmas, Purple for Lent, and Green for Spring!)
For Snuggles I am also making a checklist for each letter of the Alphabet, as I finalize our plans. So far I have only made the checklists for the letters A-C:
Using a 40% off (all Martha Stewart!) coupon, I purchased some Martha Stewart Office Supplies at Staples this fall. I choose a pretty Black Damask three-ringed binder to hold the checklists.
I placed the “Family Work Checklists” in the front of the binder, followed by a section for each of the kids, using five Blue Paper Dividers.
At the back of the the “Family Work” Section I have printed pages for recording all of our extra Literature Read-Alouds. The page pictured above is the record for our October Read-Alouds… I’m still working on reading The Telmaj to the kids, and in the meantime they have already listened to four other audio books! Yes, we are an audio book loving family! I’m just not fast enough for the kids… 🙂
I also made generic weekly checklists for each child so they have a general idea of what they need to accomplish each week. I’m not updating them with the actual assignments and lesson numbers (that just takes too much time with this many kids) but so far these have also been really helpful. On Monday morning I post the checklists on the pantry door in the kitchen. That way, when they ask for extra privileges (i.e. watch a video, play a Wii game, etc) I can glance at their weekly checklist to see if they are caught up on their schoolwork before giving an answer. At the end of the week I go over the checklist with each child, and update our Color-Coded Checklists in my binder. Now I just need to come up with something similar for chores! 😉
While I’m on the subject of planning, some of you have been asking about my daily planners and calendars… Even though I have tried using my computer and phone apps to get organized, I always fall back on my printed calendars and day planners.
I’ve already blogged about our Favorite Catholic Calendars. This year, in addition to our wall calendar and Saints Calendar/Planner (which sits next to my computer to easily reference feast days and plan our celebrations), I am using two other Day Planners.
The first is my Half Sized Catholic Daily Planner. It fits perfectly in my purse, and it’s what I use for scheduling and keeping track of all of our appointments and activities that take us out of the home.
I also was given a copy of the Holy Simplicity Planner. I’ve been using this Full Size planner to jot down notes each week, plan our menus, and record some of our weekly accomplishments that aren’t accounted for on our checklists (i.e. various science experiments, feast day celebrations, etc.).
Note: The Tan Saints Calendar and the Catholic Daily Planner include the feast days for both the Extraordinary AND New Church calendars! The Holy Simplicity Planner is based exclusively on an [UPDATE: older version – not the current Traditional Calendar] of the Extraordinary Church calendar. [UPDATE: I am no longer using the Holy Simplicity Planner, and will not be using it agin in the future.]
My favorite part of this planner was the Weekly Planning Sheet which is found in the Reproducible Section in the back. I may change my mind, but for now I’m posting it inside my broom closet in the kitchen… It was either there, or on my laundry room freezer, and lately I’ve been sweeping multiple times each day, and spending very little time doing laundry… [UPDATE: I wasn’t consistent with using these either, and had the most luck with the above color-coded checklists I made for myself. LOVED those and will be making them for the 2013-2014 school year too.]
Anyhow, I’m still working on updating our old daily schedule, which has been quite challenging. If only there were a few more hours in the day! I’ll be sure to share it with you all if I ever do figure it out.
be not so much a task perfectly completed
as the accomplishment of the will of God.”
My Daybook :: October 8, 2012
Outside my window…the older kids just came back inside from drinking hot cocoa and searching for the various constellations. It’s our Columbus Day tradition! Since it got too late for the little ones, I think we may have to do it again later this week, on the the actual anniversary, October 12th.
I am thinking…
about how pretty it looks out there on the porch! Since Hubby had the day off work, he spent it painting the front deck railing. He then went on to re-paint the pillars and the trim around the front door. I can’t believe the difference… It looks so nice and clean!
I am thankful…
that I am able to walk! Being the klutz that I am, I fell (again!) in the garden Friday evening, rolling/twisting my ankle. (The same ankle that I tend to injure on an annual basis!) I’m still limping around, but thankful I didn’t need my crutches for long.
Learning all the time…
Despite the holiday I still printed out the children’s new individual checklists for this week. After taking the last two Tuesdays “off” for field trips, I decided they needed to work on their school work today. They were all more than happy to get going on the new week.
Celebrating the liturgical year…
We celebrated the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary yesterday by attending morning Mass, and then praying our family Rosary before bed.
Rose was just as cute as can be, sitting next to me on the couch as I nursed the baby, placing her roses (the ones that arrived in the mail the week I found out that I was expecting her!) in the basket for each Our Father and Hail Mary.
From the kitchen…
Blueberry Buckle with vanilla Bean ice cream for dessert, courtesy of Snuggles and the his A to Z Recipes. Ummmmmm… It was the Best!
I am working on…
a post about my binder and checklists for all of you that have asked. Hopefully I can finish it up in the next couple days.
I am creating…
a fun craft for B week. I’ll be posting about it soon, if it turns out. If not, just forget I mentioned it! 😉
I am going…
to go get my hair cut in the morning. It’s definitely time!
I am hoping…
that these colds that everyone seems to be fighting don’t last long.
I am reading…
Will you Bless Me? to Snuggles, along with Bible stories, focusing on Bethlehem’s Blessing. I can’t wait to show you the picture Snuggles illustrated to go with his Bible narration. It is beautiful!
I am praying…
for this sweet little girl, and a number of other online friends.
Pondering these words…
from St. Louise de Marillac, that I happened to run across somewhere online:
I am listening…
to the clicking of the keyboard in a very quiet home. Everyone else is asleep, and I probably should be too!
Around the house…
a basket on the counter in attempt to control the clutter/piles that manage to appear every day…
One of my favorite things…
baby milestones! Our little Bud took a few steps following the rosary on Sunday night, while hanging on to the edge of the train table. I have a feeling he is going to be walking soon!
Other than my hair appointment in the morning, I am hoping to spend most of this week at home, at least until Friday when we’ll head to town for Mass, errands, and a 9-month check-up for the baby.
State-by-State Baking :: Banana Berry Pancakes with Real Vermont Maple Syrup
The state of Vermont was the 14th State to join the Union. For this state, the girls read M is for Maple Syrup: A Vermont Alphabet and then completed their Notebook Pages.
for sap to make maple syrup for you and me!”
We usually just buy our maple syrup at Costco (Kirkland Brand) but for this state we decided to try something new and order some real VERMONT maple syrup. After our taste test, everyone agreed that the Vermont syrup (we tried the Hidden Springs Grade B) was the best – full of flavor simply amazing!
with Real Vermont Maple Syrup
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 small ripe bananas
- 1 1/4 cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 1 cup fresh strawberries (or frozen sliced strawberries, thawed and drained)
- butter (or cooking spray)
- Vermont maple syrup
State-by-State Baking :: Kentucky Fried Chicken
It was summertime by the time we got around to “baking” something for Kentucky, the 15th state in our State-by-State Study… Since Hubby was out of town at the time, and we had spent the day in town, we decided to just keep it simple and pick up some Kentucky Fried Chicken for a late lunch/early dinner. Other than having some of the chicken at potlucks over the years, my kids didn’t remember the last time we had ordered to-go at Kentucky Fried Chicken. I actually think it was way back when Captain was a baby. Anyhow, they really enjoyed the treat!
but it may make you think of three.
Think original recipe or extra crispy
and you’ll think KFC.“
by Twinkle Toes (L) and Chiquita (R)
State-by-State Scrapbook :: Vermont
On the banks of two rivers, sitting pretty,
Montpelier is our capital city.“
.: Vermont by Captain :.
.: Vermont by Rascal :.
*The links to the worksheets used for these notebook pages can be found here, and here is the link to all of our State-by-State Study posts.
State-by-State Scrapbook :: Kentucky
and though it looks the color blue
up close the grass is green.“
.: Kentucky by Captain :.
.: Kentucky by Rascal :.
*The links to the worksheets used for these notebook pages can be found here, and here is the link to all of our State-by-State Study posts.
State-by-State Baking :: Rhode Island Johnnycakes
Earlier this year (during our last school year), for the state of Rhode Island, the 13th State to join the Union, the girls read R is for Rhode Island Red: A Rhode Island Alphabet and then completed their Notebook Pages.
by Twinkle Toes (L) and Chiquita (R)
“Pilgrim women were the first to make a Rhode Island dish called johnnycakes, which are fried cornmeal cakes, something like pancakes. They were originally called “journey cakes” because they were small and easily portable.”
We used a recipe from Felicity’s Cookbook: A Peek at Dining in the Past with Meals you can Cook Today. The girls had just completed a Felicity Lap Book after all!
Look up and see Independent Man
standing way up high,
watching over all Rhode Island
with clear and trusty eye.“
adapted from Felicity’s Cookbook
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 cup milk
- Butter to grease skillet
- Favorite syrup
- Bring the water and the butter to a boil.
- While that happens mix the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
- Pour the boiling water and butter into the mixing bowl. Add the milk and stir the batter until it is well mixed.
- Grease the skillet with butter and heat over medium-low heat.
- Drop 6 spoonfuls of batter into the pan. Let the cakes cook about 5 minutes, until they are golden brown.
- Use the spatula to turn over the cakes. Cook for another 5 minutes, or so, until they are golden brown.
- Serve with syrup.
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| Flipping Pancakes for the First Time – Very exciting! |
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| Okay, fine… I’ll put the camera down! 😉 |
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