New School Year

We're three weeks into our homeschool year.  I've been way behind on my blogging (obviously).  I am going to try to get back into doing the Weekly Wrap Up posts, probably next week.  My camera is broken, so I have no pictures, and I'm sorry for that.  I know pictures make blog posts way more fun.  Eh.  My dearly devoted will read this anyway.  I think.

So this year has been going pretty well.  I would say it's our best kick off so far.  I chalk a lot of that up to my gaining experience and confidence.  Sadly, this doesn't mean I never question what we're doing.  I've had to hide myself away a little bit.  I have been hiding from Facebook ("Look, here's a picture of my kid going to school.  Yay!"  "My kid went to school and I went home and cried."  Either way, it's hard to look at when you're so obviously thumbing your nose at the whole system.).  I've been really trying to immerse myself in my family, and surround myself with people and information that supports our decision to homeschool.

Anyway, let's talk about the kids and their materials.  I know what you homeschoolers like:  curricula!

These are the materials everyone is using:
Apologia's Swimming Creatures of the 5th Day (finishing up from last year)
Apologia's Land Animals of the 6th Day
Story of the World, Book 2:  Middle Ages (our 2nd year for this.  Thankfully, I knew we couldn't complete it in one year and I don't feel like we're behind at all.)
Orchestra unit study
Lamb's Book of Art
Around the World coloring book
Abeka's Health, Safety, and Manners

Scrappy, age 9, 4th grade


Math-U-See Gamma (he started the year in lesson 11 and I am planning for him to move onto Delta after Christmas)
Steck-Vaughn's Language Arts Handbook, 4th grade
Wordly Wise 3000, book 1
IEW: Writing Structure and Style
Sequential Spelling

Funny, age 8, 3rd grade


Various Steck-Vaughn Early Math workbooks
Various grammar workbooks (right now using Writing Sentences from TCR)
IEW: Writing Structure and Style
Sequential Spelling


Goofy, age 7, 2nd grade

Various Steck-Vaughn Early Math workbooks
Various grammar workbooks (right now using Writing Sentences from TCR)

Silly, age 5, Kindergarten

Come on now.  I don't have a Kindergarten curriculum.  She's kid #4.  She just magically knows stuff!  Though, she does use a few things:
Bob books
Various Steck-Vaughn Early Math workbooks
Explode the Code

We also have a ton of supplemental materials.  Being part-time unschoolers, we have a house filled with all sorts of fun, educational things (and a well-loved library card).  Some of the highlights I'm looking forward to using this year:
Math Shark (handheld electronic math drill game)
Cooking Up Sentences board game
Math wrap-ups
Spellominoes


I also set a goal this year to take the kids on at least 20 field trips.  We went on 18 trips last year.  So far we've gone on 6 trips.  Once I get my new camera, I'll be back to posting more field trip posts with pictures.

Hola, Deliciousness!

Here's a recipe from the archives...


Mexican Mac & Cheese
adapted from Fast, Easy, Fresh


2 c. elbow mac
2 links fresh chorizo, removed from casings and browned/broken up
1/2 c. salsa verde (from a jar)
1 c. (packed) fresh cilantro leaves
3 c. (packed) shredded cheddar, plus 1 c. for sprinkling (4 c. total)
4 tsp. flour
1 c. 1% milk
3/4 c. heavy cream (don't see why you can't use all milk, but cream is tasty)
1/4 tsp. (scant) ground cloves
1 c. corn chips

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cook macaroni until al dente, about 6 minutes and drain.
Meanwhile, blend/process the salsa and cilantro until smooth. Toss 3 c. cheddar with the flour in a bowl to coat.
Bring milk, cream, and cloves to simmer in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add cheese mixture. Stir until cheese melts, a couple minutes. Mix in macaroni and cooked chorizo. Season with pepper, if you want.
Spread half of mac & cheese in 13x9 dish (spray first). Pour half of salsa mixture over top. Sprinkle with 1/2 c. cheese (more cheese!!!!). Top with remaining mac & cheese, and another layer of salsa. Sprinkle chips over (I used the little ones from the bottom of a bag), then top with remaining 1/2 c. cheese. Bake until heated through, about 10 minutes.

Chicken Soup with Cheese Ravioli

Here's a super easy, kid-friendly dish!  Yay!

I cooked my chicken in the crock pot with one quart of water for about 6 hours until it started to fall apart, and then shredded it.  You can skip that by starting with a rotisserie chicken.

Chicken Soup with Cheese Ravioli

1 whole cooked chicken, diced or shredded, however you like it
2 boxes chicken broth (or 1 box plus the broth from cooking your own chicken, if that's what you did)
1 onion, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
3-4 cloves garlic or 1-2 tsp. garlic powder (or more!)
pepper to taste
1 tsp. oregano
olive oil or butter
1 package cheese ravioletti (small ravioli), or ravioli/tortellini (I used a 9 oz. package of Buitoni brand ravioletti)

Saute onion, celery, and garlic (if using fresh) in oil or butter about 5-8 minutes, until onion is soft.  Add garlic powder (if using).  Stir in chicken and broth, and bring to a boil.  Add ravioletti, and cook according to package directions (3-5 minutes).  Season with pepper and oregano.  Eat!  If you want something more soupy, you probably want to add more broth.  It was close to being a stew, really, and we were happy with that.

We ate this with some really good garlic bread.  All of my kids LOVED this.

Menu Plan for the Week of 7/18

Well, I mostly stuck to last week's menu.  This is a new week.  I bought a ton of junk today at the store.  It's VBS week, and it's also going to be hot, which means trips to the pool.  Look, I'm not perfect, okay?

You might think it's pretty weird to post all the breakfast and lunch ideas, but it helps me.  So there.

MONDAY
B:  pb toast
L:  ham & cheese sandwiches, bananas
D:  buffalo chicken lasagna (I didn't make it last week, since I forgot to cook the chicken.  I bought a rotisserie chicken today.  No excuses.)

TUESDAY
B:  cereal (really, breakfast is such a nightmare for me.  I hate spending all my money on cereal, esp. since it doesn't fill anyone up.)
L:  out (running between church and the doctor's office)
D:  hot sausage sandwiches

WEDNESDAY
B:  cereal, yep, again
L:  mac & cheese OR leftover lasagna
D:  spaghetti (that's a lot of pasta.  Hm)

THURSDAY
B: yogurt
L: leftover spaghetti
D: summer squash casserole, beet bread, hot & sour pickles, cherries (yes, cleaning out the fridge!)

FRIDAY
B: granola bars (another useless breakfast, but we'll survive)
L: grilled cheese, pretzels, carrots
D: hot date with Hub!!

SATURDAY
B: eggs w/potatoes and veggies
L: at the in-laws' house
D: garlic shrimp, CSA veggies

SUNDAY
B: granola bars
L: leftovers
D: pizza

Menu Plan for the Week of 7/11

It's been about a year since I last posted a menu, and I admit, I've been very hit or miss about even planning one.   Hub announced today that our household is starting an austerity program.  That's code for "not spending money."  Like many people, I am going to start by shaving the food budget.  However, that doesn't mean sacrificing quality.  It means no more going out to eat or ordering take out.  Even Indian food.  WAH!

MONDAY
B: bagels
L: leftover pasta
D: brined pork chops, cauliflower, watermelon

TUESDAY
B: cereal
L: pb&j, carrots
D: chicken legs, baked potatoes, corn on the cob

WEDNESDAY
B: fruit
L: crock pot mac & cheese
D: pizza (church)

THURSDAY
B: toast
L: meatloaf, fruit
D: veggie fried rice

FRIDAY
B: yogurt
L: eggs, fruit
D: buffalo chicken lasagna

SATURDAY
B: pancakes, fruit
L: leftovers
D: steak, homemade fries, broccoli

SUNDAY
B: leftover pancakes
L: bacon & egg sandwiches on bagels
D:  Mom's house