• CC Week 9
    Classical Conversations,  Homeschool

    Classical Conversations Cycle 2 Week 9

    We got to go to our local children’s science center this week. To be honest, I wasn’t actually thinking in advance about how well their “Space” section fit in with what we were covering in CC, but it sure worked out perfectly! It was very cool to see the relative size of the planets on a larger scale and see lots of facts about them, the sun and the stars. It was just an excellent tie-in to the science grammar we’re covering in CC . . . reinforcing and adding to those memory pegs! Science Grammar Our cup overrunneth with ways to expand on this week’s Science Grammar! I’ll keep…

  • Organizing Paperwork
    Home Management

    Organizing Paperwork

    Some time last year, I got SO tired of my counters always looking like this: The amount of paperwork that comes into this house is just insane! I try to follow all the paperwork management rules: touch it once if possible, immediately toss whatever we don’t need, etc. but there is just a certain amount of paperwork that we need to hang onto, either for a short while or for the long-haul. After thinking it over for a little while, I decided to create a system of file folders and to use one of the doors closest to the counter that is usually the “Hot Spot” for all this paperwork…

  • Menu Plan Header
    Menu Plan

    Menu Plan 10/28/2013

    Just your average crazy week around here coming up! A reminder – if it’s marked as “NEW” we haven’t tried it before. Assuming things go according to plan (snort!) this week, you can check back over the weekend for a review of the ones that we enjoyed and plan to make again. Monday Gluten Free Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Muffins Salmon Patties Pot Roast, Parmesan Cabbage (NEW), Roasted Carrots Tuesday Leftovers from GF Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Muffins Flat Bread Sandwiches or Wraps Slow Cooker Quinoa Chicken and Chili (NEW!) Wednesday Baked Oatmeal, Mini Quiches Hummus, GF Pita, Carrots, Apples and Bananas Fall Festival at Church Thursdsay Leftover Baked Oatmeal Gluten Free Tortillas (NEW), Refried…

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  • Week in review
    Week in Review

    Week in Review

    Wow! We had a great week this past week, but it sure blew by in a hurry! On Friday, my husband, a friend, and a passel of kids headed to the Maker Faire in Atlanta. A Maker Faire, if you don’t know (and I’d never even heard of a Maker Faire at this time last year), is Fair . . .  for “Makers.”  So glad I could clear that up for you. No, seriously, “Makers” are people who make things. It’s about that simple. It might be techy stuff or it might be crafty or artsy stuff (robot sculptures, anyone?), but it’s about all those folks coming together to share…

  • classical conversations music itunes
    Classical Conversations

    Creating Classical Conversations Playlists in iTunes

    As more and more of us switch to some sort of smart phone or tablet, there are more of us who would like to have our CC music on these gadgets.  I’ve talked to several moms this year who would like some guidance on how to organize their CC music on iTunes, or who would like to create weekly playlists of the songs that apply to that week so they can concentrate their review. The following is how I keep my music organized. There may be better ways to do it, and I am ALWAYS open to suggestions. So, if you’ve got any thoughts or suggestions, please leave them in…

  • 3-Ingredient-dinner
    Entree,  Recipes

    3 Ingredient Dinner in a Flash

    Okay, so you know how there are those days were absolutely nothing goes as planned and suddenly you look up and realize that in order to actually feed your family before it’s time to put the kiddos to bed that you really should have started dinner an hour ago? What? That never happens to you? Well, it happens to me. All.the.time. Waaaay more than I care to admit, actually. So, I won’t. I’ll just tell you that this is one of those recipes that you can throw together in a pinch with ingredients you tend to have around and no one will really know that you cannot manage your time…

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  • Skip Counting
    Classical Conversations

    Classical Conversations Cycle 2 Week 8

    We’re back from our Fall Break and going strong. Or rather, we’re working our way up to “going strong.” It takes a week or so to get back in the swing of things. But the cycle of CC waits for no man, so we’d better get our act together. The break for the winter holidays will be quickly upon us. Math I created a little skip counting “booklet” that we used in class. You are welcome to download it by clicking on the image to the right. The idea is that the child works their way from the “1” block, which has the most information to the “7” block, which…

  • Laundry Organization
    Home Management

    Laundry Organization and Child Labor

    There are days when I think it would be SO much easier if I just did all the picking up and cleaning, table setting and clearing, and general chore duties around here myself. If I went that route, there would be the following advantages: It would be done. It would be done like I want it to be done. It would be done when I want it to be done. I can’t bark orders/nag incessantly at myself. On the other hand, the following things occur to me that outweigh my desire to just get things done now, quickly, and well: My children are capable . . . often of MUCH…

  • Menu Plan Monday
    Menu Plan

    Menu Plan 10/22/2013

    Whew, last week was hectic! We made a few changes to the menu along the way. I tried a cauliflower crust pizza on Saturday night.  That was NOT a winner of a recipe for us, so I won’t be including it here! You can thank me later. I’m going to start posting reviews of the new recipes that we try, so I’ll mark here the ones that are new, just so that you’ll know that they’re not something we’ve tried before. If you want to check back on Saturday or Sunday, I’ll post a review of what we thought . . . and whether they’ll be showing up on the…

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  • Halloween Wall Gallery
    DIY,  Halloween,  Holidays,  Home Decor

    Easy Halloween Decorating Ideas

    So . . . this will, under absolutely no circumstances, become a home decor blog. Why? Because that is not my gift. I enjoy well appointed homes, and on occasion I do something around mine that I think is almost not embarrassing, but it’s only on occasion and only ALMOST not embarrassing. Fall, though, I LOVE! And, honestly, I’m not sure you can really go wrong with Fall decor in general.  I also really, really enjoy fun Halloween decor. Halloween isn’t my favorite holiday, but I do truly enjoy the festive feeling of dressing up, and, especially in our current neighborhood, I get very excited about the community spirit of…

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