Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Homeschool Hubbub: Update on the Year

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DID YOU KNOW IT’S ALREADY THE END OF MARCH?

Yes, I suppose you knew that.

I knew it too, but it sorta just hit me a few days ago that after March comes April and then it will be May and well…I can’t believe another school year is coming to an end. 

If you remember, last summer I posted a list of the books we would be reading through for school this year. Here’s how we’re doing by now:

History:  We’ve made our way through the first two Story of the World history books and we’re now reading about ships and how ships were made through history. (Ah, you’ve gotta love reading about those naughty pirates.)  (Well, you don’t gotta love it…but my boys sure love it.)

Science:   We are taking some time to study evolution vs. creation using the books I mentioned in this post…plus some DVDs we borrowed from a friend called Incredible Creatures that Defy Evolution. There are several books on the list we haven’t touched yet…partly because I took a detour to read these books and watch the DVDs about evolution. If we don’t finish all of the books on the list, we’ll read them through the summer or during the next school year.

Math:  I told the boys last week that as soon as they finish their math books…they’ll be done with math for the year. I do believe that was motivating, since Justus started doing five lessons a day…calculating that he could be done in two weeks if he did. Go Justus! Asa’s doing two lessons a day now on his, which is quite an accomplishment since his lessons take longer. Who am I to argue with extra math lessons? Why, with all that extra time on their hands, they’ll be able to fold more laundry.

Bible:  Since January, our Bible focus has been the book of John. Asa and Justus are participating in an event called Leadership Training for Christ (LTC). They’ve been working hard preparing writing projects, skits, puppet shows and sculptures. Most importantly, they are learning the book of John inside and out as they prepare for the Bible Bowl. We’ll head to Kansas City in April for the big gathering! 

Reading:  Elias completed his reading list a long time ago…leaving me forever hopping trying to give him books to read that are on his level. Justus’ books are a little harder to get through, but he’s plugging away. Reading is a little more challenging for him, but he works hard. Asa has finished many of his books too…his just take longer!

Malachi:  Well…some days I do some activities with him…sometimes I don’t. FUNNY how he’s learning anyway. I love that. I will tell you a little secret though:  I’ve been working for over a year on a curriculum for early learners called “Learn Your Letters…Learn to Serve”.  I’m trying so hard to finish it by summertime to make it available for YOU to use in the fall if you’d like…and I’d really like to use it with Malachi too. I think I can…I think I can…
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So, how’s your school year going? If you homeschool…what have you and your kids been up to? If you don’t homeschool…what have your kids been doing in school? I LOVE hearing about what everyone is learning and doing!!!

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Gardening 101: The Basics

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I’ve been asked by several of you if I would share more about what I know about gardening. As my friend Serenity put it, sort of a “Gardening for Dummies” series.

I’m happy to agree to this…as long as you realize that this series is also written by a Dummy. (that wood be me.)

I PROMISE you that my garden grows completely IN SPITE OF ME.

Here are a few things I’ll share with you to start of this series:

  • Some years are good years for some crops and some years are not. Whenever I have a poor crop of something, most everyone around me has had a poor year too. If you have a bad crop of something, you don’t need to feel like you failed. (And by all means, don’t give up entirely!)  Some years you’ll have so many green beans you’ll be paying others to take them off your hands…some years you’ll barely get enough for everyone in your family to have one bean on their plate at dinner. That’s normal. (Unless I’m the one whose not normal?)
  • Worms are good. You want worms in your garden.  I have been known to chatter excitedly to the worms I see when I’m digging around in my soil, wishing them a prosperous life of going forth and doing whatever good things God made them to do in my garden. Sometimes I’m tempted to lay my hands pinky on them and pray over them. Worms are good.
  • Bugs are bad. I do a different kind of “laying on of the hands” (and feet) when I see them. (I also talk to them, like I talk to the worms, but my words aren’t nearly the same.)
  • To help control bugs, if you want to try to have a chemical free garden, like I do….you can try to plant some merigolds here and there when you plant your seeds. Bugs don’t like merigolds…
  • Compost is great for your garden (and a great way to use produce waste from your kitchen)…the Happy Housewife has a wonderful tutorial here if you want to learn to start composting.
  • Plant your seeds like it says on the package. If it says to plant the seed after the last frost…don’t plant them before the last frost. If it says to plant them four feet apart, plant them four feet apart. You don’t want squash vines working their way into your green beans. Trust me (the dummeee), I should know.
  • If you can get your hands of them, heirloom seeds are best. They may not produce as well as hybrid (because hybrids have been genetically modified to produce like crazy), but they are better seeds. I usually have a mix of both in my garden. I’m hoping to work my way toward more heirlooms through the years.
  • Don’t plant potatoes beside tomatoes. They are both night shade vegetables (except a tomato is a fruit, but whatever) and for some reason they don’t do well together. As far as I know with the searching I’ve done, there are not others you need to be so careful about.
  • You can try starting seeds in the house (for tomatoes, broccoli, etc.), but if you don’t have a good source of light for them they usually get long and spindly very quickly (and non-transplantable). Starting seeds has never worked very well for me so I buy what I can from my 10 year old friend, Hannah, who has started a little “seed starts” business. Her mom has a good set up for her in their house, so Hannah’s already got tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli and other starts going. Yay Hannah…and yay me!
  • If you have enough garden space, it’s best to rotate your crops each year since each plant takes something different out of the soil.

This year we’re planting potatoes, peas, spinach, lettuce, broccoli, green beans, corn, spaghetti squash, tomatoes, bell peppers, chili peppers…and maybe another fun thing here or there. Here’s a (lovely) drawing of our garden plans for the year.

I’ll plan to show you all of our seeds and plants as they go into the soil. I’d love to hear any questions you might have that you’d like me to address in this series. Plus share with us here any great gardening tips you know of to get us started on the right foot!

 

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Gratituesday: Our Science Museum

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Have I ever told you about our science museum? (Yeah, okay it’s not OUR science museum…we just like to visit there.)  It’s only about 25 minutes away from us and it is an incredible hands-on museum filled with all kinds of scientific wonders. We bought a family membership so we can go visit whenever we are able to.

Once a month, the museum hosts a “homeschool day” inviting families to come participate in the planned lesson for the day. Our kids have learned about building bridges and heating a home efficiently and everything you could ever want to know about reptiles (and then some!). 

Before and after the program…the boys love to hang out in the great big room full on science exploration! 

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Here’a nice view of several of the tables filled with educational fun. 
Asa’s trying to re-create one of the shapes on the table with his tangrams.

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Here’s Elias doing…something cool…sorry I’m not as familiar with this activity. I think it has something to do with the speed of light? (Am I smarter than a first grader? Apparently not.)

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Have you EVER seen an Operation game as big as ths one? 
That poor patient has HUGE butterflies in his stomach. 
It’s okay though…Dr. Justus is taking care of it.

I’m so grateful that we have such a neat facility so close to us and that our boys love exploring there. I love all the great things they’ve learned and that the hard working folks there are so “homeschooler” friendly. We can’t wait to go back next month!

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What are you grateful for this Gratituesday? Read the details here, write about how God is working in your life and link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, please leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

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High Five Recipe: Popcorn Chicken

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Popcorn Chicken – One of our most popular High Five Recipes!

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Here’s what I always wondered as a little girl:

Why DID the chicken cross the road?  And how did he manage not to get hit en route? And if he just wanted to get to the other side, WHAT exactly was on the other side that he was so excited to get to? And why wasn’t he just at home where he was supposed to be? Where was his owner?  

Silly little chicken.

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Yes, I will be happy to continue to give you these little morsels of deep thoughts to ponder while you do your dishes.

Here’s the promised recipe for Popcorn Chicken. I don’t suppose the chicken ever suspected he’d be turned into delicious edible items such as this…

Popcorn ChickenYum

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High Five Recipe: Popcorn Chicken
 
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Author:
Ingredients
  • 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • ¾ cup whole wheat flour
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • butter
Instructions
  1. In a medium sized bowl, stir together flour, salt and garlic powder.
  2. Using kitchen shears, cut chicken breasts into tiny bite sized pieces.
  3. Toss chicken in flour mixture to coat well.
  4. Smear a thick layer of butter on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
  5. Pour coated chicken into dish, spreading so that they are in a single layer.
  6. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Stir chicken and bake another 10 minutes.

5 Simple Ingredients - Popcorn Chicken

This recipe really is as simple as it sounds. Make the chicken pieces as big or small as you like. Want more High Five Recipes like this one? You’ll find all of our real food, 5 ingredient recipes here!

You might be interested to know that when Matt and I visited west Africa in ’95, there were all kinds of animals crossing roads at all times of the day…and some of them were chickens. Indeed, it did look as if all they wanted to do was get to the other side. How ’bout that?

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Menu Plan for the Week

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With the hint of spring in the air…I’m having a very hard time wanting to make soup anymore. (In fact, I’m so excited about gardening and the idea of fresh veggies and trying new things, that last night for dinner I made parsnips AND beets for the same meal. Both of these were new to the kids. It’s a good thing Daddy grilled steak.  The beets were good…but I’ve gotta figure out something else to do with the parsnips.) 

I’m a little bit out of control. I need a little sunshine in my life. I am SO hungry for “summertime” foods like tortilla wraps and salads and cookouts. The next couple of days are supposed to be pretty decent. BUT, later in the week, we may even get snow.  I may need to trade in one of these meals for a big pot of potato soup. I LOVE potato soup. I just don’t want it anymore. I WANT SUNSHINE!!! (Be glad you can’t see me kicking my feet and swinging my arms in the air while I scream that.) 

Here’s my “I Wish It Was Springtime EVERYDAY” menu…

Sunday, March 22
Leftover breakfast cake, fruit
Lamb roast, carrots, potatoes, gravy
Tuna tortillas, “angeled” eggs, fruit salad

Monday, March 23
Whole wheat waffles
Grilled cheese sandwiches, guacamole dip with chips, carrot sticks
Easy chicken alfredo, tossed salad

Tuesday, March 24
Fried eggs on toast, oranges
Popcorn chicken, creamy cole slaw, fruit kabobs
Cheesy beef and rice, green beans

Wednesday, March 25
Apricot breakfast bars, pears
Creamy mac and cheese, steamed carrots
BBQ chicken, ranch potato wedges, peas

Thursday, March 26
Scrambled eggs, turkey sausage
Garlic butter shrimp, stir fried rice and veggies
Meatballs, baked potatoes, steamed broccoli and carrots

Friday, March 27
Applesauce bread, bananas
Pizza casserole, tossed salad
Bean and rice bowls, fresh pineapple

Saturday, March 28
Breakfast burritoes, clementines
Chicken and cheese quesadillas, carrot sticks, strawberry-peach slushies
Fish and chips, tossed salad

On the blogging menu this week:

And now…since I can’t have all the sunshine I want to have this week…I’m going to go pray for a contented heart. Rejoice in ALL circumstances. I can do that. I can DO that. I CAN….

Thanks for putting up with me. :)
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Join Organizing Junkie for more menu planning ideas.

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The little Green Project: Shorten Up the Showers

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We do our best to conserve water around here. Partly because we know it’s the right thing to do for the earth…and partly because it saves money on our water bill.

We’ve taught the boys to turn off the water while they’re brushing their teeth. We always have a full load of dishes in the dishwasher when we run it (crammed full…I might add). When I wash pots and pans by hand, I only put a little water with soap in the sink…really it doesn’t take very much. 

However…showers around here have been a problem.

Three out of four boys can take a shower on their own now. (hoo-rah!)  We usually say something like, “Okay guys go get your showers real quick!” 

Do you know what telling our boys to so something “real quick” looks like? It looks like…it’s kinda like…well…it’s slow.

There are distractions and fun things and “I can’t find any clean socks in my drawer” all along the way to take a shower. Then, once one of them is in the soothing warm water…all thoughts of doing anything “real quick” that were remaining go…down the drain.

It can take them sometimes three or four times as long as it takes me and it is my personal opinion that the mama’s shower should be the one that logistically takes the longest.

Is it just my boys? Do little girls do this too?

We finally made the “taking of the shower” routine into a race against the clock.  ANYTHING that is timed or “competitive” usually works for our kids. 

They now set a watch timer right before they hop into the shower and then see if they have “broken their shortest shower record” as soon as they hop out. 

This little plan is working so well for us…and I’m pretty sure the boys are still getting clean. 

Have you found any tricks to help your family learn to save water?  My boys We would all love to hear about it. 
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How about another little Green Project you have up your sleeve? Blog about anything you have going on or want to try that has to do with saving green, going green, making extra green, eating extra greens…anything at all that has anything at all to do with the color green! Link up here with us so that we can read about your little Green Project!

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How to Make Ricotta Cheese

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Here is the final post in my mini series “What I Can Squeeze out of Two Gallons of Milk”. If you recall…with two gallons of raw milk, I was able to make mozzarella cheese…fresh butter…and now…ricotta cheese! 

Ricotta cheese is made with the leftover whey from your cheese making process. It is SO easy. I am so amazed that after I’ve finished making mozzarella cheese…there’s still ricotta cheese lurking in the whey! (What smart person discovered that…I want to know?)

To make Ricotta Cheese:

Pour all of the whey left from making your mozzarella cheese into a large stock pot. Heat it to 170°. Try to keep it right around that tempurature for a minute or so…then remove it from the heat. It looks something like this:

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Yum

I apologize for the quality of this picture. It’s…yucky looking. That’s what happens when you stick your camera inside a pot of almost boiling whey. Look closely to TRY to see that the whey is bubbly with a thick layer of white froth on the top. Can you see it? Ah well…thanks for trying.

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Pour your bubbling whey into a strainer lined with a tea towel. (You will put something under your strainer to catch the liquid, right?)  Allow the liquid to strain through the tea towel. This takes a little manuevering because the ricotta starts to line the bottom of the tea towel and doesn’t allow the liquid to go through as easily.

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Use a spoon and scrape all the ricotta off of the tea towel.

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Place your ricotta cheese into a jar for storage. Stuffed Manicotti anyone?

So, what do you think? Not too hard, huh? 

What recipes do you like making with ricotta cheese?
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Here’s what I need you to do now. Tell me what you’d like for me to talk about next in the Feeding the Family series! Thanks!
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This post is linked to Frugal Fridays.

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Women With a Mission: Guest Post

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Please welcome our guest poster today, my friend Jill. She’s been a mentor to me for several years and I asked her to share her thoughts on ministry with you… 
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First, let me say thank you to Laura for giving me the opportunity to write for her blog. I have known Laura several  years. Our husbands were ministers together back in Security, Colorado. I counted her precious mother as my friend. She was a wonderful example to me. Laura was blessed with such a godly example of true womanhood. She is now carrying on her mother’s legacy of service.
 
Just a bit about myself before we begin since none of you know me. I have been married to the same guy for over 31 years. We have been blessed with 6 boys and 1 girl. We are in full time ministry here in Michigan. We have had 30 foster children over the years. Three of our children are grown and gone and have their own families now. We have 4 granddaughters and one grandson. 

The question then about “ministry” is near and dear to my heart. Laura started out this series by saying our husbands and children ARE our ministry.  That is probably the hardest concept for us Type A’s to wrap our brains around. If we fail at these two tasks we have lost. I have seen this concept abused. Some women feel that they can never reach out to others because it will get in the way of their main ministry. Their children in particular become everything to them, a kind of idol worship if you will. Their children and their children’s accomplishments define these moms. How very sad. Our children are given to us a gift and as a loan. Trust me, we only get them for a little while. Some of us have had the gut wrenching experience of having our children taken from us much too early. We have a limited time to instill a servants heart in these precious gifts called children.

My husband and I recently discussed once again my role outside the home. We are in full time ministry. I have been a stay at home mom now for 31 years. There is SO much I want to get done. We have an active ministry in the women’s shelter in town. There are so many ladies who need mentoring and the gospel shared with them. We have ladies in our congregation that need encouragement, they also need study of God’s word. I still have three boys left at home. We have been homeschooling now for years and years and you get the idea  :). I have only 5 years left to instill in these boys everything we hold to be true and dear to us. I get easily distracted. It is easy to hand them their work and then go off and study with some woman who “needs me”. Each time I have to be kicked in pants (figuratively) and focused once again to the task at hand.

We want our boys to have a servants heart,  so how do we balance that with the task of running the house and raising these boys? God  came up with a great solution. He  laid on my heart after one of the discussions with my hubby that I can still be an encouragement to the ladies through the internet. I could write a daily devotional about a particular scripture and its application for us*. What a great idea. I can still make a difference in the lives of the women I serve by reaching out to them through the blogosphere. What a great feeling to know that I am not neglecting my husband and children but still serving those along with my children I feel called to serve. 

Ladies, we want to raise Godly children that have a heart for serving. That is my passion. There are many creative ways to minister. These are just some of the ways that I have found to be a blessing. My hubby reminds me that in just 5 short years I will have all the time I want to minister outside of these walls. I already know that it is SO worth it to invest in your children. All of my older children are such a blessing. Each in their own way reaches out and serves those who need it. I will never regret all the years I have spent serving them. When I get home I just want to hear those sweet words of the Master, “Well done thy good and faithful servant.” 
 
God Bless each of you as you look to ways to “minister”.
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*I receive Jill’s email devotional thought in my inbox each weekday morning and find them to be so encouraging! If you would like to be included in this list, please email her (jill6758 at cablespeed.com)  You won’t be sorry!

Also…if you are involved in a ministry that does not take away from your important role as wife/mother…please email me (laura at heavenlyhomemakers.com). I’d love for you to share your great ministry ideas here!

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Billions and Billions of Years Ago…

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My boys have always found dinosaurs fascinating. I never really cared much for the creatures whose names end with “osauras” myself. I guess as a kid…I always figured…they’re dead. What else do I need to know?

As a parent, I have found that reading books about dinosaurs to my kids has been quite frustrating. I never knew how to “edit” the parts where the books talk about “billions and billions of years ago…” I’d always say something lame like, “Well, some scientists believe that dinosaurs lived billions of years ago, but the Bible teaches that the earth really hasn’t been around for billions of years….” And I’d ramble on a bit without having any really good concrete facts to share with my kids.

To which my kids would respond, “Uh-huh. Can you read the one about the T-Rex now?”

Yes, I was so enlightening to my children when it came to the truth about dinosaurs. 

The following books have been wonderful resources to help us understand the truth about dinosaurs…and about the “billions of years ago” stuff we face in many of the books we read… 

The Great Dinosaur Mystery and the Bible by Paul S. Taylor

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Life in the Great Ice Age by Michael and Bevery Oard

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What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs? by John Morris and Ken Ham

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Have you read any of these books? Or, have you found other resources that help you explain these truths to your kids (and to yourself)? I’d love to know what has worked for you!
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This post is linked to Works for me Wednesday.

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Gratituesday: Listen to the Silence

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Do you hear that? 

Ahhhh. Nothin’. Not a thing. I’m the only one home right now. (I’m writing this on Monday afternoon.)

Since it was such a beautiful day today, several of my friends and I met at the park with our kids to have a picnic and play. For once…my boys were not very interested in food…but more interested in playing in the sunshine. Whoa.

THEN, as we were packing up to go home…somehow all of my boys got farmed out to go play at their friend’s houses. ALL OF THEM. 

I came home by myself. ALL BY MYSELF. 

This so rarely happens…which is fine of course. I like being around my kids…usually and except for when they’re fighting. But oh the quietness around me right now is quite lovely.

On my way home…I stopped by our health food store and treated myself to a bottle of mineral water and a bottle of organic lemonade. I mixed them together and now, I’m sipping on a yummy,refreshing, fizzy glass of delightfulness. AND NO ONE IS ASKING FOR A DRINK OF IT. 

Later…when they come home…I’ll be so happy to see them and I might find it in my heart to share.

Oh, but for now, I am grateful for the rare quietness that I hear around me. It’s a blessing to be refreshed. 
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What are you grateful for this Gratituesday? Read the details here, write about what you’re thankful for, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, please leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

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