Last Tee-Ball Game of the Season

B's last tee-ball game was tonight, and he is already talking about playing again next year!  The boy loves playing ball!  When the game was over, all of the kids lined up out on the field and received a medal.  He was very proud of his medal.

The medals were awarded by the man who heads up the tee-ball portion of the rec department.  While he had all the kids out on the field he asked them what Sunday was expecting to get Mother's Day as the answer.  B called out, "Church!"  It made me so proud.  I love that kid!

I am so glad that he enjoys playing t-ball and that he is looking forward to playing again.

Last Day of Pre-K

I can't believe it, but B has finished his first year of 'real' school.  I am SO proud of all he has accomplished this school year, and I know he will do GREAT things in Kindergarten next year.  So, here he is on the last day of school.

He is so grown!  He has learned so much.  He is reading more sight words than I can count and is just starting to sound out some words.  He LOVES math and is already doing some simple addition in his head.  He has completely fallen in love with reading books (or having books read to him) and can't go to sleep for his nap or at night without looking at a pile of books first!

B, I love you so much, I love being your teacher, and I am looking forward to ALL the AMAZING things you will accomplish in Kindergarten!

Strawberry Patch 2014

The kids and I made a visit to the strawberry patch this morning accompanied by my mom.  It was a quick trip, but we left with a good amount of strawberries and some delicious homemade strawberry ice cream.  And I would have to say that this has been the worse picture-taking expedition for my family to date.  I mean, this is just sad.

I am pleased to have gotten a good picture of the kids with JuJu.  I have the insert from my ice cream maker in the freezer, and I have big plans to make strawberry ice cream for the Hubs's birthday tomorrow.

T-ball Snacks

My turn for t-ball snacks was last week, and I just couldn't bring myself to provide a plain old box of crackers and juice boxes.  Not that there is anything wrong with just going to the store on the way to the game (which I am sure I will end up doing at some point in the future), but this time I wanted to 'cute' it up a little bit.  So I played on the team colors and picked up some blue bags for about ten cents a piece at Wal-Mart.  I let B pick a snack, but I also wanted to include something healthy, so I picked up some of those suckable applesauce packets.  And to continue the blue theme, I went with the blue Kool-Aid juice boxes. 

I dug through my old teacher stuff, found my white paint pen, and wrote "Go Dodgers" on each bag.  I stuffed each bag with an individual serving of Shamu and Friends cheese crackers and an applesauce packet.  Then I put the juice boxes on ice so they would be cold when the kids went to drink them.  It drives me nuts when the kids are given hot drinks--gross! 

 

The kids seemed to like getting a treat bag at the end of the game, and B sure was proud of getting to provide the snacks for the game.

What's On the Tank? {The Core}

Since visiting the Classical Conversations community with B earlier this month, I have taken a real interest in learning more about classical education.  I knew from the first homeschool conference I attended that giving my children a classical education was the route I would choose for our home school environment.  I have not been disappointed thus far with our Memoria Press curriculum, and I am really looking forward to getting involved in the CC community next school year.

While at the CC Open House, one of the mom's shared with me that she had read The Core by Leigh Bortins the founder of CC.  I was able to get it pretty quickly through inter-library loan, and I'm almost finished with it.  I have learned so much about classical education that makes me love it even more!  And I have gotten some great ideas that I have already used in my school day with the kids.

 

This has been a very informative and enjoyable read.  If you are already homeschooling, are interested in homeschooling, or just want to know more about homeschooling, you should grab this book and read it.  It's a fast read, and I promise you will enjoy it!

Pinterest Recipe Thursday {Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Chicken and Sour Cream Mini Biscuits}

Let me just start by saying, both of these recipes will be staples at our house from now on.  They are ridiculously easy and delicious!!  I had pinned both of these recipes eons ago and finally got around to testing the chicken one last week.  The biscuits I had made several months ago and thought they would go well with this meal.

Sweet Baby Ray's Crock Pot Chicken

1 bottle Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce (I used original.)
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tsp red pepper flakes (I only used about 1/4 tsp.)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
4-6 chicken breasts (frozen is fine!!)

Combine the first five ingredients in a bowl.  Place the chicken in the crock pot.  Pour the sauce over the chicken and cook on Low for 4-6 hours.  Enjoy!  Here is the link for the site I pinned.

I love a crock pot recipe where I can use the chicken still frozen because I am notorious for forgetting to thaw meat!  Next time I make this (and believe me, there will be a next time) I will probably completely omit the red pepper flakes.  To me, the BBQ sauce had enough kick on its own.  But if you love heat, go for it.  It was a bit too much for me and my kids.

I didn't get a good picture of the chicken after it was cook because we dug in, but here is one of it a couple of hours into the cooking process.  Yummo!

I served this chicken with The Lady's Mac and Cheese from Paula Deen's The Lady and Sons cookbook, green peas (although I wish I had had some limas on hand), and Sour Cream Mini Biscuits.  It was a home run meal as far as I am concerned.

Sour Cream Mini Biscuits

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sour cream
2 cups self-rising flour

Combine the ingredients in a mixer.  The dough may be a little dry, but it's ok.  Roll a rounded tablespoon of dough into a ball and drop it into the cup of a greased mini muffin tin.  Bake at 450 for 10-12 or until golden brown.  Here is the link to the original pin.

I love using my Pampered Chef small scoop for these.  It makes rolling them into balls easier.  You can get about 40 mini biscuits from this recipe.  It is such an easy way to add a bread to your meal--which is not something I do often, but it's nice every now and then.

I really wish I had snapped a picture of the whole meal because it was seriously yummy, but alas, I was so engrossed in eating the deliciousness that I completely forgot.  I hope you will give these a try.  Enjoy!

Pre-K Update 5

It has been several weeks since I did an update on how Pre-K is going with B.  He has made so much improvement, especially with his handwriting, since we started in September.  I just can't believe how far he has come!

He is learning lots of Scripture, and there are several that he can say if I just give him the Scripture reference.  The fact that he is able to write God's Word upon his heart at such an early age makes me so happy.  And C has learned several of these Scriptures as well, which is just as thrilling.  He can say the Pledge of the Allegiance to the Flag (as can C which is adorable), he knows his full address, can name the four seasons and the four cardinal directions, and he learned the five vowels and their sounds this week.

He can read about 60 sight words and can read them when I use them in sentences such as, "He can go and play.  Where can she help?  We can jump and run.  I see all the big and little pigs."  For the past 6 weeks, we worked on the letters W, R, U, E, K, and L.  We read several books and did some fun crafts.

We finished up a study of the six different animal groups (mammals, reptiles, fish, birds, amphibians, and insects) and make kites for the letter K.

We have four more weeks of school, and then we will be done for the summer.  B is registered to attend the Classical Conversations community in a nearby town, and I am super excited about adding this to our homeschool activities.