Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

My Favorite Grilled Chicken Tip

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Grilled chicken used to be so blah to me. This is because I find it difficult, when grilling boneless chicken breasts, to pull them off the grill at that magic moment that they are fully cooked but not overdone. Dry and tough and stringy – I’m just not a fan of boneless chicken breasts anymore.

A couple years ago, we discovered the secret. We didn’t realize this was a secret, we just happened upon it and loved our new chicken and never looked back. Last May during Asa’s graduation celebration week when we have a full house of people, one of the meals we served was Grilled Chicken. Everyone loved it and the question was asked, “Matt, what’s your secret to making such good chicken breasts on the grill?”

His reply? Don’t use chicken breasts. Use boneless chicken thighs instead.

Aha!! And here everyone thought we were serving them the perfect grilled, tender, juicy, flavorful chicken breast.

How to Make Perfect Grilled ChickenYum

  1. Use boneless chicken thighs instead of breasts. This makes all the difference.
  2. Marinate the thighs in something delicious before grilling (suggestions below)
  3. As you can see from the picture below, I blackened the chicken more than I meant to – and the meat still turned out juicy and flavorful! This is because chicken thighs have more fat than chicken breasts so they are much harder to ruin.
  4. We usually cook boneless thighs for 10-15 minutes on each side, turning it from time to time.

My Favorite Grilled Chicken Tip
Ever since I figured out this grilled chicken tip, I’ve started using boneless thighs just about anytime a recipe calls for boneless breasts – whether I’m grilling or not. The fat in chicken is a healthy fat – all the more reason to enjoy chicken that actually tastes good. Goodbye, boneless chicken breasts. I don’t miss you.

Obviously, bone-in chicken is also amazing on the grill. It takes longer to cook, but if you have the time – it’s worth it. In a pinch (often), I’ve found that cooking boneless chicken thighs on the grill makes for a super quick meal that has become a family favorite! I think we can all agree that super quick meals make us all happy.

An Easy, Complete Grilled Chicken Meal

Monday evening Matt, Elias, and Malachi had soccer practice, Justus had guitar lessons, and I had yoga class. Before leaving, I quickly grilled some chicken. We all met up at home later and got out the Homemade Ranch Dressing, some shredded cheese, and a container of mixed greens. We chopped up the chicken and drooled all over our amazing salads. See how easy that was?

grilled chicken2

Fresh tomatoes would have been amazing in this salad had I had some in the house.

Beyond cutting this chicken up in a salad, I’ve found that it’s super easy to steam a few different veggies while the chicken is grilling. Then we have a pretty fancy looking and tasting meal without any fuss at all. Bonus: it’s nourishing too! (Why would I be posting this otherwise??)

Make Enough So You’ll Have Leftover Grilled Chicken

We ate almost every piece of the three packages I grilled that night (it’s hard to have leftovers in this house). But if possible, I recommend grilling extra chicken if you can. The leftovers taste amazing cold or rewarmed. Eat it as is, in a tortilla wrap, or in a salad.

Marinade Ideas for Your Grilled Chicken

I’ve discovered that you don’t have to marinate your meat very long before you grill. Several hours is better than 5 minutes – but honestly sometimes I forget (how shocking) and just brush on some sauce or dressing before throwing the chicken on the grill. Grilled chicken thighs are very forgiving.

Sometimes we grill a couple different kinds so guests can have options. We make this chicken almost weekly from March to November.

Have you tried grilled chicken thighs? What are your favorite marinades?

P.S. While proofreading this, I occasionally read the word “children” instead of “chicken” in my sentences. This made me giggle-cringe and here I am telling you about it. This post is about chicken. CHICKEN. I need a nap.

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Stainless Steel Mesh Strainer – 60% off Plus a Giveaway

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I remember when I was first switching out non-healthy with healthy back when I was learning about everything from real butter to Teflon to raw milk to stainless steel. A little overwhelming? Only since I needed to throw pretty much everything out of my kitchen and start over. No big deal.

I was just at the point of getting stainless steel pots and pans when my friend said, “Now you need to get rid of all those plastic utensils that leach chemicals into your food while you cook.” I thought I would cry. Was there no end to all I needed to replace?

I wish I would have relaxed a little (lot) more then. Switching to healthier cookware and real food was and is super important, but not worth freaking out over. Slowly but surely it’s all been replaced. It didn’t need to change overnight.

Now stainless steel has become a favorite in my kitchen. If it is stainless steel, I love it and know it is safe!

stainless steel strainer

I recently had the privilege of reviewing this ECALOO Stainless Steel Super Fine Mesh Strainer.

It is made well and super helpful for straining small pieces of food out of liquid. I am especially excited to have this on hand for the times I have once again created lumpy gravy! This will save Thanksgiving, no doubt.

stainless steel strainer2

What a great way to strain bacon bits out of grease or small bones out of broth. I’ve only had this in my kitchen for a couple of weeks, but I can tell it is going to be a utensil I reach for over and over!

5 of you have the chance to win one of these ECALOO Stainless Steel Super Fine Mesh Strainers! Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win. I’ll draw 5 random winners on Wednesday, April 6.

Do you love stainless steel?

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College Students Like Easter Egg Hunts Too

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This year might have been my favorite Easter yet. A great day of worship. A houseful of college students. A kitchen full of great food. Sunshine. It was a fabulous day overall.

gratituesday[2]

So here we are, celebrating Gratituesday on Wednesday – mostly because I don’t even know what day it is. If I was feeling energetic and especially clever, I’d wait and post this on Friday, April 1. You know – April Fool’s Day? Gratituesday on Friday…hahaha. Boy, that would have been a good one. {lamest prank ever}

Bare with me here. March tried to kill me. I don’t know when I’ve last had so many huge and wonderful events to take part in all during the same month. Weddings and tournaments and youth events and banquets and meetings and all of the rest of life trying to stay afloat during it all. It has been incredibly enjoyable – but the running!! The month ended with an Easter celebration. How fitting. How perfect. How necessary.

(Technically, the month is ending with a small getaway for Matt and me. We both need it and plan to rest and not talk to people – except each other – for 36 hours. Every time I think about it, I cry. That is how I show excitement right now. This translates to, “Laura needs to get away.” Bless my husband.)

So, Easter. We were on our way home from Kansas City on Saturday after another whirlwind event for our kids. I texted Asa and told him to invite whatever college friends he wanted to join us for Easter. We stopped at the store on the way into town to buy strawberries (because, of course) and white flour rolls (because have I told you about the month I’ve had?) so we could put an easy feast on the table for Easter. I had everything else I needed in the freezer. Sunday we pulled off a grand buffet with little effort (thank you spiral cut ham and frozen vegetables for being there when we needed you).

easter 20161

We ended the meal with a Brownie Sundae Bar, of which I failed to get a picture. Here, take a look at the ham and potato bar again:

easter 20162

Elias had mixed up a Bacon(less) Ranch Hashbrown Casserole before we left for Kansas City. 

Asa didn’t hold back on inviting friends. He filled our living room with several from his soccer team, plus some of our adopt-a-students joined us. There were 16 of us altogether. God made this meal practically effortless, and I just sat back and watched the fun while they ate.

easter 20163

Then the Easter Egg Hunt began.

Five of the college guys chose to be the “hiders of the eggs.” We have a big yard (with a lot of junk all around) – making for great hiding places. The other students, plus our younger boys were handed fancy Easter baskets (plastic Walmart bags) and headed out to hunt.

easter 20164

It was ridiculously fun to watch!

easter 20165

While all of the rest of the day had been my favorite so far, then my favorite favorite happened. The students made their way back to the front of our house where they started to visit.

easter 20166

They got the loot out of their eggs…

easter 20168

Then they began kicking a soccer ball around. In the meantime, I sat on the porch in the sunshine watching and taking it all in. My college son. His college friends. My husband and younger sons. In our yard. Hunting/hiding eggs. Talking. Kicking a ball. Laughing. Bliss.

easter 20169

Because of my exhaustion, I had been hesitant to invite anyone to join us this Easter. God gave me the green light, then He provided everything to fill the day with joy. He always knows what we need. He always provides.

And now, hallelujah, He’s provided a little getaway for my hubby and me. Think of me tomorrow while I’m sitting and not moving for many, many hours. (Elias told us we should Vlog our getaway experience. Matt told him it would be hour after hour of “Sitting,” “Still sitting,” “Sitting some more,” “Laying down now,” “Back to sitting,” “Ready to sleep…”) We sure do know how to party.

What is God providing for you right now? No matter if you’re going through the good stuff or the hard stuff, God is providing. Reflect and share!

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Too Many Emails? Here’s a Solution!

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Many of you have chosen to be a “daily newsletter subscriber.” That means that whenever I post something on my blog – which is just about every weekday – you get an email sharing that information. Love this? Great! You don’t need to change anything!

But for the rest of you? I continue to see people unsubscribe saying, “My inbox is too full!”

email-message-lite-plus-icon_zJNV9pUO_L

Oh how I hear you. I think we’re all at a place in our lives where we want a less cluttered email inbox. (I’d also like a less cluttered house and yard. Would someone please unsubscribe me from the constant flow of dirty dishes???)

While I completely understand people’s desire to see fewer emails, I really don’t want to lose you as a reader and subscriber! You mean a lot to me!

Here are some solutions to your “I get too many emails!” conundrum:

1. Subscribe to our Weekly Newsletter Instead

You’ll still get all the information I post here, but it all comes in one email on Monday afternoons. The only drawback to this is that sometimes I post something that is time sensitive and by the time you read about it on Monday, the deal has expired. That’s rare though, I and do my best to avoid this issue if I possibly can.

Want to switch from daily newsletter to weekly newsletter? Do that here.

2. Join our Heavenly Homemaker’s Savings Club

These emails go out roughly twice each week and they share the best money saving tips and deals I have found. You might want this newsletter in addition to the regular one, or you might want it instead of. Either way, you can count on this email to offer you great ways to save money in your healthy homemaking endeavors!

3. Join our Heavenly Homemaker’s Learning Zone

This one is specifically for those of you who are looking for educational resources for kids. Many of these resources are free!! I continue to have fun putting together Educational Learning Packets to share with members of the Learning Zone. (Right now if you subscribe you get free Springtime Activity Packets.) Again, you might want this one in addition to any of the other subscriptions. You make the call.

Love reading what I share at Heavenly Homemakers daily as it comes out? Continue reading directly on the blog here or subscribe to our daily newsletter!

I just wanted to catch you all up on all the options available. We aim to please!

What’s your preference? Does your inbox overwhelm you?

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MockMill Giveaway Winner!!

Suz: belauvibes@ – you win the Mockmill Grain Mill Giveaway from Pleasant Hill Grain! Email me and I’ll forward your info on for your prize!

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54-Ounces of Organic Virgin Coconut Oil – Just $11.94!

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I posted this a couple weeks ago, but (brace yourself) THE PRICE JUST GOT LOWER!!!! Get this while it’s available. We bought them out when I posted before, so I wouldn’t wait. Plus, you never know when the price will go up!

spectrum coconut oil

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Communication in Marriage: The Tale of Two French Fries

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I originally posted this in 2012. Since that time, Matt and I have spent quite a bit of time mentoring and counseling couples who are soon to be married. This is the story we always tell when we’re introducing the topic of communication. Since it’s so good for all of us to be reminded of this truth, I felt this story was worth posting for you again…

What French Fries Teach Us About Communication

Matt and I have some wonderful friends who once shared with us a fun story of something they learned within the first year of their marriage. This story has everything to do with french fries…but really nothing at all to do with french fries. Hang with me here.

I’ve taken a little bit of literary license here since I don’t know the exact details of how everything went for our friends, plus, I’m really just trying to make a point. Also, while telling this story, I’ll call our friends Gertrude and Hank, because shucks, thinking of fictitious names for our friends is just downright fun.

Gertrude and Hank were delighted to be newlyweds and as with all couples in love, they were eager to please each other in every way. As you can imagine, this desire to please each other was quite apparent when they dined together on french fries. Isn’t it always? I mean, this is the stuff Hallmark cards are made of.

Gertrude absolutely loves the fat, soggy type of french fries. Hank, on the other hand, much prefers the thin, crispy, crunchy french fries. And so, in this couple’s desire to show love and care for one another, each was sure to give the other the best, most tasty french fries.

Gertrude, because of her love of big, soggy fries, always placed the fattest, soggiest french fries on Hank’s plate. He cheerfully accepted them and sacrificially ate the plump potatoes, knowing that he would then be allowing his beloved to eat the choicest of fries – the thin, crispy, crunchy ones. Both Gertrude and Hank were thrilled to be pleasing one another by giving up what they knew to be the best of the fries.

And so it went for months, every time the couple ate french fries together.

Until finally, one day, Gertrude and Hank participated in a little bit of french fry communication. Somehow, the truth came out about each person’s french fry preference and their desire to give up what they each really wanted in order to please the other one. Lo and behold, in their effort to please each other, and in their failure to communicate, they had both been wrong in their assumption of what the other truly wanted. Thus, they had both been choking down french fries that neither of them really liked.

The End.

The moral of the story is that you and your spouse need to always be very up front about your french fry preferences. And also, you should communicate often about other, more important details in life and in your marriage. It is important to be selfless as you work to please your spouse, but for goodness sake, communicate.

Gertrude and Hank were doing what they thought was best for one other. They were both playing the martyr, sacrificing their own desires, in the name of love, for their spouse. But the end result was that no one was happy with their french fries. What a waste of good ketchup. 

Talk to your spouse. Be up front with your desires. And for the love (or not) of crispy french fries, always communicate.

P.S. Gertrude and Hank – you guys rock. Thank you for the way Jesus shines through your godly marriage.

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Low Sugar Chocolate Fudge Cookies

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I didn’t think I could make it happen. Why did I doubt? Cutting down the sugar in chocolate cookies is entirely possible and now we can all enjoy Low Sugar Chocolate Fudge Cookies!

low sugar chocolate cookies

Now, it doesn’t take much for me to think a treat is “plenty sweet” when, according to my boys, it is only “barely sweet” or “not even sweet.” But who was I to argue when Malachi grabbed the spoon to lick it off before it went into the dishwasher? I mean, it did look lickable.

Then when the cookies were done baking and all the boys wanted to try one, who was I to argue? I warned them. I told them the cookies might have more of a dark chocolate taste as opposed to a super sweet chocolate cookie they might be expecting.

You should have heard Malachi when he tried his first cookie. Actually, maybe you did. He was pretty loud. “Mmmm! Mom, these are so good! They taste like a brownie!” The brothers agreed.

Of course then I assumed maybe they’d be too sweet for me. I mean, if my boys thought they were great, that just might mean I’d go straight from one bite to migraine in a matter of minutes. Before trying one myself, I double checked, “Are they going to be too sweet for me? Are you sure I can eat these?” They assured me that the cookies weren’t too sweet, they just tasted good.

They were right.

This is how we know we have a winning recipe: when all the people eating it don’t realize or care that the sugar has been cut drastically and they just happily eat all the cookies like it’s just a “normal” treat.

As always I come back to the question: WHY IS THERE SO MUCH SUGAR IN ALL THE RECIPES???

Not only do we not need it, we don’t even need it. What I mean is: Our bodies don’t need the sugar overload AND treats don’t need as much sugar as we think they need in order to taste good. I’m learning that 1/2 cup of sugar is enough when a recipe calls for 1 1/2 or 2 cups. That’s a drastic cut in sugar without compromising taste.

This calls for a cup of coffee. What better way to celebrate the eating of Low Sugar Chocolate Fudge Cookies?

Low Sugar Chocolate Fudge CookiesYum

Low Sugar Chocolate Fudge Cookies
 
Save Print
Author:
Serves: 24-30
Ingredients
  • 1 cup melted butter
  • ½ cup sucanat or brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2⅓ cups whole wheat pastry flour (give or take)
Instructions
  1. Stir together melted butter, sucanat, and cocoa powder.
  2. Add eggs, baking powder, and vanilla, mixing well.
  3. Mix in flour until your dough has reached a nice consistency (moist but not runny).
  4. If you've added all the flour and the dough is still too runny, add a little more or chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour.
  5. Scoop 1" sized cookie dough balls onto a cookie sheet.
  6. Bake in a 350° oven for about 10 minutes.

Low Sugar Chocolate Fudge Cookies

Now of course you’ll want our other Low Sugar Cookie recipes:

You should also be very excited because I don’t think it will be difficult at all to tweak this a little bit and make Low Sugar Brownies. You can bet I’ll be working on that after these cookies are gone from my house which will likely be sometime in the next couple of minutes.

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Whole Wheat Stir-and-Pour Cinnamon Swirl Bread

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It would appear that there is a theme this week in the Stir-and-Pour Bread category. First, a Stir-and-Pour Pizza Crust, now a Stir and Pour Cinnamon Swirl Bread. Hey, I’m just trying to make your lives easier, one recipe at a time.

Stir and Pour Cinnamon Bread Recipe
Or in this case I guess I would have to say that it’s the same recipe over and over made with a few variations. This in and of itself keeps life easy because after a while, you’ll have the basic recipe memorized and the variations will come naturally.

So let’s review.Yum

Get to know this basic and incredibly easy Stir-and-Pour Sandwich Bread recipe. That recipe has forever changed my bread-making life and I will never (probably) knead bread again. Why would I when I can just stir and pour – then take a nap?

With this basic recipe, we’ve learned that we can make Stir-and-Pour Rolls and Stir-and-Pour Pizza Crust. Today we learn that we can make Stir-and-Pour Cinnamon Swirl Bread. If you want, you can add raisins to make Cinnamon Raisin Bread. Or you can add dried cranberries to make Cinnamon Cranberry Bread. Or you can add dried apples to make Cinnamon Apple Bread. Or you can add nuts to make Cinnamon Nut Bread.

Or you can add all of the above to make Cinnamon Apple Raisin Cranberry Nut Bread.

How happy are all of us right now that this recipe offers so many wonderful possibilities? We are all so, so happy.

You might notice that since originally posting the basic recipe, I have ditched the optional cream and egg. They are optional, after all. I’ve found after making the recipe so many times that the egg and cream didn’t make much difference so I skip those steps which cuts out a good 32 seconds in bread making time. Every 32 seconds counts.

Whole Wheat Stir-and-Pour Cinnamon Swirl Bread

5.0 from 1 reviews
Whole Wheat Stir-and-Pour Cinnamon Swirl Bread
 
Save Print
Author:
Serves: 1 loaf
Ingredients
  • 4 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground hard white wheat)
  • 2 teaspoons active rise yeast
  • 2 Tablespoons sucanat or sugar or honey
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 cups warm water
  • 3 Tablespoons sucanat or brown sugar mixed with 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
  1. Stir together flour, yeast, sucanat, salt, and water.
  2. Cover and allow it to sit for 30 minutes.
  3. Pour ⅓ of the mixture into a well-buttered loaf pan.
  4. Sprinkle ½ of the cinnamon/sugar mixture over the dough.
  5. Spread another ⅓ of the dough over the cinnamon/sugar layer.
  6. Sprinkle remaining ½ of the cinnamon/sugar mixture over the dough.
  7. Spread remaining dough over the top.
  8. Bake in a 350° for 50-60 minutes or until evenly browned.
  9. Allow it to sit in the pan for 15 minutes.
  10. Remove the loaf to let it cool completely before slicing.

As you can see, instead of actually swirling the cinnamon-sugar, we’re actually layering it. This method works great!

Whole Wheat Stir and Pour Cinnamon Swirl Bread

I am super excited about all these great Stir and Pour options! Have you tried any other variations you can let us know about?

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Mockmill Grain Mill Kitchen-Aid Attachment Giveaway!

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Who has a Kitchen Aid?

How nice are they?! I hear nothing but good about Kitchen Aids and guess who doesn’t have one? This girl.

No matter. I’ve gotten along just fine without one all these years and have plenty of other great kitchen appliances that make my life easier. But several months ago, Pleasant Hill Grain contacted me asking if I’d be interested in reviewing their Mockmill Grain Mill Attachment for a Kitchen Aid. I jumped on the idea knowing that many of you have Kitchen Aids and would want to know more about the grain mill attachment.

Enter: My friend Emily. She has a Kitchen Aid.

I gave her my Mockmill Grain Mill attachment in exchange for her experimentation and feedback on the product. How fun to bless a friend with a new toy and to bless you here to with a chance to win one!

Emily was very thorough in her experimentation. She tried both hard and soft wheat. She tested it against my flour that I grind with a Nutrimill. She did blind tests with her husband who didn’t know which flour was which. It was fun to read about her results!

mockmill grain mill

It sounds like overall, Emily liked the Mockmill.

There was a slight difference in the results of grain ground in a Nutrimill and grain ground in a Mockmill. The Mockmill grain was slightly more course – though barely noticeable – especially once stirred into a baked good. She noted that if you’re wanting to switch your family from white flour to whole wheat, you’d probably want to transition them slowly since going straight to whole wheat flour ground in a Mockmill is a pretty drastic change compared to white flour.

Emily read the instructions thoroughly before setting up the Mockmill so that she could use it correctly. She also was careful to clean it correctly – because there are right ways and wrong ways to do this and you never want to get water inside the body. As with anything, there is a learning curve to getting the Mockmill figured out, but it sounds like once you’ve read through the instructions and get used to setting this up and taking it apart, you can do it pretty easily.

Can’t eat wheat? No problem! The Mockmill also grinds non-oily grains, medium-sized beans, corn, and non-oily spices.

And now the fun part!

Pleasant Hill Grain is giving one of you a Mockmill Grain Mill!

If you have a Kitchen Aid and would like to win a free Mockmill Grain Mill, leave a comment here for a chance to win. Want additional chances?

  1. You must leave a comment on this blog post to be entered in the giveaway.
  2. Like Pleasant Hill Grain on Facebook and leave another comment on this post letting us know you did.
  3. Subscribe to our new Homemaker’s Savings Club and leave another comment on this post letting us know you did.

I’ll draw one random winner on Wednesday, March 30. Be sure to check out the Mockmill at Pleasant Hill Grain!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Free Spring Activity Packets – Make Learning Fun!

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I have an awful lot of fun putting together free activity packets for you, and it’s even more rewarding when I get emails like this one from Lindsay:

I wanted to say THANK YOU for the March activity packets that you put together. I have been a regular reader of yours for a couple of years, but have never looked into your Learning Zone until now. The Lord orchestrated it at just the right time too – I was needing a “boost” with my 1st grade daughter (6 yrs old). Homeschool has been like pulling teeth for a few months now – not sure why. I have been asking myself lately, “What can I do differently?”. And then I got your post/e-mail! Perfect! I printed out both packets and used the younger version for my 4-year-old son. We started them today and IT WAS FUN! Woo hoo!

Lindsay even sent pictures of her kids using the packets. I love this soooo much! She gave me permission to show off her kids to you here.

Fun Free March Activity Packets

March is about to go out like a lamb. (Or something like that. I think March got mixed up in Nebraska this year, but it’s still been a great one.) There’s still time to get your FREE March In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb Activity Packets. Click here to sign up and grab the freebies.

Now I have new Spring Activity Packets ready for you too!

Just like the March Packets, there is a Spring Activity Packet for both Pre-K and for K-5. You can download one or both. (I mean, they’re free, right?) They include fun springtime learning activities and a few coloring pages too. I like coloring pages for read-aloud time. I always found that my kids listened better when I was reading if they were doing something to occupy their hands! Plus, your kids can give away their colored pages to someone to offer them some springtime cheer!

Spring Activity Packet Pre-K FREEBIE!

Spring Activity Packet K-5 FREEBIE!

If you’re reading from the daily or weekly newsletter, the Learning Zone sign up form is likely not showing up. You can click here to sign up and grab the freebies!

I’m super excited to share that signing up for these freebies will connect you to our new Heavenly Homemaker’s Learning Zone. It’s free, of course. You can unsubscribe at any time, your info will never be shared or sold, and being on this list means that you’ll be the first to know of the other fun (yes, FUN!) educational tools we’re putting together!

P.S. If you are already subscribed to Heavenly Homemaker’s Learning Zone, you should have received an email yesterday giving you instant access to this freebie. Look in your inbox for the subject: New FREE Spring Activity Packets for You!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!