Crockpot Recipes

I never cooked with a crockpot before I had kids. In fact, I didn't even own one... but I soon discovered how great the crockpot is.. especially if you're going on an outing with your kids during the day, you can prepare the crockpot in the morning and "voila!" your dinner is ready when you get home!

Here is my favorite crockpot cookbook. "Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook" by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann. Easy recipes, simple directions and yummy food!! I give it five stars!

Toddler Teaching Tools

You don't have to wait for your child to go to kindergarten before developing your child's reading skills. There are resources in your local bookstore, like Borders or Barnes & Noble to begin teaching your child basic reading and writing skills. Your child can be as young as 2 years old. Here are a few examples:

Kumon is a fantastic workbook that encourages children to write through tracing. "Mastering basic pencil skills builds a firm foundation for writing letters and numbers . . . a fun introduction to using pencils." The following are sample pages:

It's a fun, non-frustrating way to learn and build a foundation for writing letters and numbers. The workbooks also focus on coloring, number games, telling time, drawing, and much more. My son loves his Kumon books because the colorful images of sailboats, trains, candy and swimming make sitting and writing more like storytelling and play!

Another great resource is the Brain Quest series. Brain Quest asks many fun, practical questions that encourage your child to engage in conversation, sharpening language development, communication skills and social interaction. The following are a few sample questions:

What is Max eating for breakfast?
What is he drawing?
What activities do you see the kids doing at school?

"Brain Quest creates an atmosphere where children strive to do well and take pride in demonstrating what they know."

"Questions are intended to start a dialogue, not to test or drill."

This particular set comes with Max the monkey, a fun toy that is used to answer questions by pointing with it, adding to the fun in learning.

Gardener of Souls

I recently got back into my hobby of gardening.. I love how flowers and plants add life and interests to our backyard. When it comes to gardening, choosing your favorite plants and planting them is fairly easy... but maintaining and cultivating the garden takes effort and careful attention.

I love this parallel that Sally Clarkson (from the book "Mission of Motherhood") makes about gardening and mothering:

"If our gardens need cultivating to grow well, our children need that attention much more. Seeds of excellence and grace must be planted and tended. The weeds of selfishness and bad attitudes must be plucked. The plot must be protected so that the wild storms and prevailing winds of culture will not damage the fruit. In addition, wise food for thought and the finest of art, music, literature, hospitality, and creativity must be fed to fertilize the soul so that the child may grow fruitful and productive...

There is such a vast potential of spiritual, emotional, and intellectual aptitude hidden in each of my children's personalities. Becoming a gardener of each of them is like planting and tending the unique flowers and plants suited to the soil and climate of each child's heart and mind. To neglect this kind of cultivation can only have negative consequences in their lives."

Homemade Playdoh

My neighbor gave me a recipe for homemade playdoh from teachnet.com and I made it with my daughter yesterday. Homemade playdoh is GREAT for various reasons:

-it is safe and edible (especially good for little ones that put everything in their mouth)
-it's a fun activity to do with your children... you can even teach math while you're making it!
-you can get really creative with the colors (like using one of these neon food coloring- pic below)
-the texture of homemade playdoh is very amusing and entertaining... even you'll get hooked!
-it's great to give as gifts for other kids and families
-it gets a little messy but it's SO easy to make!

Below are the simple recipe and instructions.. Hope you have fun!!

RECIPE

1 cup flour
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon oil
1/4 cup salt
food coloring

Mix all ingredients, adding food coloring last. Stir over medium heat until smooth. Remove from pan and knead until blended smooth. Place in plastic bag or airtight container when cooled.
Will last for a long time.

Be Anxious for Nothing

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,
let your requests be known to God."
Philippians 4:6

Jon Courson's Application Commentary for this verse says:
"The way to remain in the place of rejoicing, the way to avoid being caught up in extravagance of any sort is to remain in prayer. In this context, prayer refers to communicating with God, while supplication speaks of making specific requests to Him. Both are to be done with a spirit of thanksgiving for the abundance with which the Lord has already blessed us both materially and spiritually (Psalm 68:19)."

Celebrating Independence Day

Happy Birthday America!

I was researching on-line to see how I can introduce my toddler to Independence Day and teach her the history of our country in very simple and fun ways... Below are some websites I found with great activity ideas:

Toddler Homeschool
Explaining Fourth of July to children
Pledge of Allegiance for Preschoolers
Finger Plays
Games
Having a Parade
Make a poster

Clever Toddler Activities
Independence Day Crafts
Patriotic Photo Frame
Independence Day Door Hanging
Independence Day Streamers
Fourth of July Fruit Salad

Mission of Motherhood

If your desire is to be the godly woman and mother that God has created you to be..... pick up and read "The Mission of Motherhood" by Sally Clarkson. This is a beautiful book that is filled with wisdom, knowledge and guides to help you understand what His word says about parenting and motherhood.