One of the hardest jobs we parents have is deciding what movies we allow our children to watch. We have tried to preview movies for the kids so we can determine if they're appropriate. Just because a movie is rated G doesn't mean my kids need to watch it, you know?
I found a movie review website that has helped make our job a little easier. It's called Kids in Mind and it has become my go-to resource when deciding if we'll take the kids to the movies. Or even if we'll rent a certain movie from Netflix.
Kids in Mind rates movies in three categories, sex & nudity, violence & gore, and profanity. Each category is given a score from 1 to 10. Then the site breaks down each category with specific examples (without giving away the storyline) so parents can determine if a movie is right for their children. It's very thorough and much more helpful than the MPAA's rating system which is very generic.
So the next time you're trying to decide what move to watch, check out Kids in Mind. It will take a lot of the guesswork out of your choice.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Cheesy Biscuit Bites
If you are looking for something other than crackers or bread to accompany your favorite soup, I've got the perfect recipe for you. These cheesy little biscuits are slightly crispy on the outside and flaky on the inside. My kids said they tasted like fluffy Cheez-its!
Here's what you need:
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
1 cup flour
1/4 teas salt
Dash of cayenne pepper
In a large bowl, combine the butter, cheese and Worcestershire sauce until well blended.
Stir in the flour, salt and cayenne pepper. Lightly grease your hands, then use them to form the dough into a ball. Okay, so that's not a ball. It's more like a mound. Place the dough mound onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.
Roll the dough out until it's about a quarter of an inch thick. Use a small cookie cutter to cut into cool shapes. Take the scraps of dough and re-roll. Cut out more shapes. Repeat until all the dough has been used. I got 24 small biscuits out of the dough.
Place the cut-outs onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
The cheese on the outside of the biscuits crisped up so nicely. The inside was buttery and flaky. It was hard to stop eating them....even after the soup was gone! These biscuits would make a great addition to a brunch table, too.
Here's what you need:
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
1 cup flour
1/4 teas salt
Dash of cayenne pepper
In a large bowl, combine the butter, cheese and Worcestershire sauce until well blended.
Stir in the flour, salt and cayenne pepper. Lightly grease your hands, then use them to form the dough into a ball. Okay, so that's not a ball. It's more like a mound. Place the dough mound onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.
Roll the dough out until it's about a quarter of an inch thick. Use a small cookie cutter to cut into cool shapes. Take the scraps of dough and re-roll. Cut out more shapes. Repeat until all the dough has been used. I got 24 small biscuits out of the dough.
Place the cut-outs onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
The cheese on the outside of the biscuits crisped up so nicely. The inside was buttery and flaky. It was hard to stop eating them....even after the soup was gone! These biscuits would make a great addition to a brunch table, too.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Our Journey into Homeschooling, Part Two
If you missed Part One, you can read it here.
Once we made the decision to homeschool, I felt free. Free to enjoy my kids. Free to spend time with my husband without worrying if I'd get all my papers graded for school. I finished the school year at our Christian school with a sense of hope instead of dread.
When I told my principal that I wouldn't be returning in the fall, he was completely supportive. He knew how much I had physically struggled that year, and he told me that he and his wife had spent a lot of time in prayer for me. I guess I looked pretty rundown (read "haggard" here)!
Not all of my colleagues were as supportive, though. I was warned not to let my children turn weird because they wouldn't be around other children all day long. As if there was ever the possibility that my kids wouldn't be weird! Have you met me and my husband? The children are doomed to weirdness no matter where they go to school! LOL! And I embrace their quirkiness. It's who they are.
There were some attempts at guilt trips by others because I was "quitting" the ministry, too. I had people tell me that I needed to rely more on God's strength instead of my own, that I shouldn't walk away from the school. My stock reply was that God had called me to teach my children, so those questioning my decision needed to talk to Him about it.
Our families backed us up 100%. My mom had taught kindergarten for over twenty years, so she was a valuable resource to me that first year. My brother and his wife decided to homeschool their 3 oldest children, too, so we were each other's cheerleaders.
I dove into preparations that summer. Charles trusted me to choose our curriculum and methods, and I was and still am deeply honored by his trust. I was determined to be the best homeschooling mom EVER! Ha ha! What lofty goals I had. I followed the lesson plans set forth by our curriculum rigidly. Each worksheet was filled out, every t was crossed.
That approach worked great for Mr. Lego. He loved everything about it. Of course, he's the child who sits down to read an encyclopedia for fun and can tell you exactly what he read. But I learned very, very quickly that the Princess wasn't a worksheet gal. She was (and still is) a visual and hands-on learner. She wanted to know why she had to learn something so she could decide if it was worth the effort.
I was forced to re-evaluate everything that first year, courtesy of the Princess. I took a more relaxed approach the following year, combining subjects and spending more time with hands-on learning like lapbooks and unit studies. I really loved seeing the light bulb come on in my darling daughter's head. Mr. Lego blossomed, too. He still liked his structure, but his creativity expanded. He asked me if school should be this fun! Ha ha!
Now we're getting ready to begin our fourth year. I can't believe how the time has flown! I'm so very, very thankful that I've been able to spend that time with my family. My husband eats lunch with us every day if he's not traveling for work. How many dads get that opportunity? Or moms, for that matter?
One of the greatest blessings of this journey has been getting to know my children. I am with them all the time, so I know what they know. We don't take a lot of tests, because I can evaluate their progress in other ways. More important than the academics, though, I know their hearts. They talk to me about anything and everything. I love our closeness! They are learning the value of working together as a family, and while they still engage in brotherly/sisterly disagreements, they have developed real love and friendship for each other. They might not admit it, though!
I'm by no means an expert on homeschooling but I have learned some valuable lessons along the way. Number one, I don't compare my children with others. They will learn and grow at their own pace. I will guide them and help them, but they're unique individuals created by God and I don't want them to be exactly like everyone else. Number two, I've learned that most parents - homeschoolers, Christian schoolers, public schoolers - want what is best for their kids. I'm not better than anyone because I homeschool. Homeschool parents who think and act that way annoy the fire out of me. Each family's choice is between them and God, not them and me.
We're just doing what we know is right and best for our family. And I'm so, so glad that God chose homeschooling for this family. I never pictured myself as a homeschool mom, but praise God, He did!
I should add that since we started homeschooling, three other families in our church have joined us. We now have our own little support group! Isn't God so good?
Once we made the decision to homeschool, I felt free. Free to enjoy my kids. Free to spend time with my husband without worrying if I'd get all my papers graded for school. I finished the school year at our Christian school with a sense of hope instead of dread.
When I told my principal that I wouldn't be returning in the fall, he was completely supportive. He knew how much I had physically struggled that year, and he told me that he and his wife had spent a lot of time in prayer for me. I guess I looked pretty rundown (read "haggard" here)!
Not all of my colleagues were as supportive, though. I was warned not to let my children turn weird because they wouldn't be around other children all day long. As if there was ever the possibility that my kids wouldn't be weird! Have you met me and my husband? The children are doomed to weirdness no matter where they go to school! LOL! And I embrace their quirkiness. It's who they are.
There were some attempts at guilt trips by others because I was "quitting" the ministry, too. I had people tell me that I needed to rely more on God's strength instead of my own, that I shouldn't walk away from the school. My stock reply was that God had called me to teach my children, so those questioning my decision needed to talk to Him about it.
Our families backed us up 100%. My mom had taught kindergarten for over twenty years, so she was a valuable resource to me that first year. My brother and his wife decided to homeschool their 3 oldest children, too, so we were each other's cheerleaders.
I dove into preparations that summer. Charles trusted me to choose our curriculum and methods, and I was and still am deeply honored by his trust. I was determined to be the best homeschooling mom EVER! Ha ha! What lofty goals I had. I followed the lesson plans set forth by our curriculum rigidly. Each worksheet was filled out, every t was crossed.
That approach worked great for Mr. Lego. He loved everything about it. Of course, he's the child who sits down to read an encyclopedia for fun and can tell you exactly what he read. But I learned very, very quickly that the Princess wasn't a worksheet gal. She was (and still is) a visual and hands-on learner. She wanted to know why she had to learn something so she could decide if it was worth the effort.
I was forced to re-evaluate everything that first year, courtesy of the Princess. I took a more relaxed approach the following year, combining subjects and spending more time with hands-on learning like lapbooks and unit studies. I really loved seeing the light bulb come on in my darling daughter's head. Mr. Lego blossomed, too. He still liked his structure, but his creativity expanded. He asked me if school should be this fun! Ha ha!
Now we're getting ready to begin our fourth year. I can't believe how the time has flown! I'm so very, very thankful that I've been able to spend that time with my family. My husband eats lunch with us every day if he's not traveling for work. How many dads get that opportunity? Or moms, for that matter?
One of the greatest blessings of this journey has been getting to know my children. I am with them all the time, so I know what they know. We don't take a lot of tests, because I can evaluate their progress in other ways. More important than the academics, though, I know their hearts. They talk to me about anything and everything. I love our closeness! They are learning the value of working together as a family, and while they still engage in brotherly/sisterly disagreements, they have developed real love and friendship for each other. They might not admit it, though!
I'm by no means an expert on homeschooling but I have learned some valuable lessons along the way. Number one, I don't compare my children with others. They will learn and grow at their own pace. I will guide them and help them, but they're unique individuals created by God and I don't want them to be exactly like everyone else. Number two, I've learned that most parents - homeschoolers, Christian schoolers, public schoolers - want what is best for their kids. I'm not better than anyone because I homeschool. Homeschool parents who think and act that way annoy the fire out of me. Each family's choice is between them and God, not them and me.
We're just doing what we know is right and best for our family. And I'm so, so glad that God chose homeschooling for this family. I never pictured myself as a homeschool mom, but praise God, He did!
I should add that since we started homeschooling, three other families in our church have joined us. We now have our own little support group! Isn't God so good?
Our Journey into Homeschooling, Part One
I always wanted to be a teacher. And I always loved history. So becoming a history teacher was just a natural decision. I majored in social studies education and minored in English, so I was qualified to teach both.
I taught in a Christian school in West Virginia for 4 years, then moved to South Carolina and taught there for a year. When Charles and I married, we moved to Alabama and I took a break from teaching until the children were preschool age. Our church's Christian school was looking for a history teacher and I was ready to re-enter the teaching world. It seemed like perfect timing.
The first year back was exciting. I loved being in the classroom. And my children were attending preschool on the same campus, so we carpooled. Hee hee! But I found out very quickly that teaching as a single woman and teaching as a married woman with two young children were entirely different. The extracurricular activities that I gladly volunteered for as a single teacher now ate away at my time with my family. The paper grading that didn't seem tedious when I was unmarried now consumed my spare time and left me with precious little for my own children. But I couldn't NOT give 100% as a teacher. I didn't do things halfway. And in the process my own children got very little of me.
Our days started out early. I had to be at school by 7:00 am for teacher's meeting (and I was there on time with few exceptions), so that meant we had to leave our house by 6:30 to give me time to drop off the kids before I headed to my building. I had to get them up before 6:00 every day (not an easy feat!) so they would have time to dress and eat. Most days they ate string cheese or poptarts in the van on the way to school. It was stressful, to say the least.
We got home from school around 3:30 each day. I was exhausted. The kids wanted me to pay attention to them, but I was too tired or I had papers to grade. And then they had homework. Yes, K-4 and K-5 students brought home homework nearly every night. It was a battle to get the Princess to read to me or do her worksheets. She simply didn't want anything to do with school when the school day was over. To top it off, my husband was working out of town quite a bit, so during the week I was a single mom trying to balance teaching and parenting. And failing miserably at it!
The kids argued ALL. THE. TIME. I was short-tempered with them and Charles. But I got all my school work done. My family suffered, but I was determined to be the best teacher ever.
The start of the second year was even worse. Mr. Lego got in trouble every day at school for talking or goofing off. He would finish his seatwork quickly, then try to entertain his 19 classmates to stave off his boredom. We were constantly trying to think of ways to motivate him to be good in school. Taking away privileges didn't work. Spanking him didn't work. Nothing. I mean, if he's bored, he's bored. I don't fault his teacher in any way. She had 20 students to deal with, many of whom needed her attention more than he did. It was so frustrating for me as a parent. I knew my child wasn't a troublemaker at heart. He just needed an outlet for his energy and creativity that he wasn't getting in a crowded classroom.
As each week went by, I was getting more cranky and tired. More arguing between the children. More stress and exhaustion. But I was going to see this through. Because I was a teacher. That's what I was called by God to do. If I quit, I would be a failure. That wasn't an option.
Then I got a medical diagnosis that changed everything. I was diagnosed with pernicious anemia and told that stress would make my symptoms worse. Really? Worse than the complete exhaustion I felt? Worse than the constant irritability I unleashed on my family? My doctor advised me to stop teaching. I balked. Teaching was my calling! How could I abandon it?
That's when the idea of homeschooling crept in. I say crept because it was a gradual process. Never once in all my years of training and teaching had I ever considered it. I was trained to be a classroom teacher. My goal was to reach students with the love of Jesus and help mold them into honorable, godly young people. I couldn't turn my back on those kids who needed me.
But the more I considered it, the more appealing homeschooling became. We wouldn't have to leave home at the crack of dawn. We could work at our own pace. We could spend time together as a family, learning instead of arguing. Still, there were doubts. I taught junior high and high school. My kids were going into K-5 and first grade, way below what I was used to. What if I messed them up academically? And don't forget, those students at the Christian school who needed me. (Sounds a lot like pride, doesn't it?)
Almost as if He had written in the sky, God showed me that I wasn't abandoning teaching if I homeschooled my children. I was simply shifting my focus from everyone else's kids to my own. They needed me, more so than the students about whom I was so concerned.
The moment I broached the subject of homeschooling with my husband, he was on board. When he wasn't on the road, he worked from home and he needed some quality time with the kids, too. More importantly, he needed his wife back. I had poured so much of myself into my students that there was virtually nothing left for him. It was unfair and wrong of me to put teaching before my husband and children. And there was no getting around it. I had done that very thing. I had let teaching replace my family as my top priority.
And so our decision to homeschool was made. But that's not the end of the story. I still had to tell my employer I wouldn't be returning next year. I'll post Part Two later.
I taught in a Christian school in West Virginia for 4 years, then moved to South Carolina and taught there for a year. When Charles and I married, we moved to Alabama and I took a break from teaching until the children were preschool age. Our church's Christian school was looking for a history teacher and I was ready to re-enter the teaching world. It seemed like perfect timing.
The first year back was exciting. I loved being in the classroom. And my children were attending preschool on the same campus, so we carpooled. Hee hee! But I found out very quickly that teaching as a single woman and teaching as a married woman with two young children were entirely different. The extracurricular activities that I gladly volunteered for as a single teacher now ate away at my time with my family. The paper grading that didn't seem tedious when I was unmarried now consumed my spare time and left me with precious little for my own children. But I couldn't NOT give 100% as a teacher. I didn't do things halfway. And in the process my own children got very little of me.
Our days started out early. I had to be at school by 7:00 am for teacher's meeting (and I was there on time with few exceptions), so that meant we had to leave our house by 6:30 to give me time to drop off the kids before I headed to my building. I had to get them up before 6:00 every day (not an easy feat!) so they would have time to dress and eat. Most days they ate string cheese or poptarts in the van on the way to school. It was stressful, to say the least.
We got home from school around 3:30 each day. I was exhausted. The kids wanted me to pay attention to them, but I was too tired or I had papers to grade. And then they had homework. Yes, K-4 and K-5 students brought home homework nearly every night. It was a battle to get the Princess to read to me or do her worksheets. She simply didn't want anything to do with school when the school day was over. To top it off, my husband was working out of town quite a bit, so during the week I was a single mom trying to balance teaching and parenting. And failing miserably at it!
The kids argued ALL. THE. TIME. I was short-tempered with them and Charles. But I got all my school work done. My family suffered, but I was determined to be the best teacher ever.
The start of the second year was even worse. Mr. Lego got in trouble every day at school for talking or goofing off. He would finish his seatwork quickly, then try to entertain his 19 classmates to stave off his boredom. We were constantly trying to think of ways to motivate him to be good in school. Taking away privileges didn't work. Spanking him didn't work. Nothing. I mean, if he's bored, he's bored. I don't fault his teacher in any way. She had 20 students to deal with, many of whom needed her attention more than he did. It was so frustrating for me as a parent. I knew my child wasn't a troublemaker at heart. He just needed an outlet for his energy and creativity that he wasn't getting in a crowded classroom.
As each week went by, I was getting more cranky and tired. More arguing between the children. More stress and exhaustion. But I was going to see this through. Because I was a teacher. That's what I was called by God to do. If I quit, I would be a failure. That wasn't an option.
Then I got a medical diagnosis that changed everything. I was diagnosed with pernicious anemia and told that stress would make my symptoms worse. Really? Worse than the complete exhaustion I felt? Worse than the constant irritability I unleashed on my family? My doctor advised me to stop teaching. I balked. Teaching was my calling! How could I abandon it?
That's when the idea of homeschooling crept in. I say crept because it was a gradual process. Never once in all my years of training and teaching had I ever considered it. I was trained to be a classroom teacher. My goal was to reach students with the love of Jesus and help mold them into honorable, godly young people. I couldn't turn my back on those kids who needed me.
But the more I considered it, the more appealing homeschooling became. We wouldn't have to leave home at the crack of dawn. We could work at our own pace. We could spend time together as a family, learning instead of arguing. Still, there were doubts. I taught junior high and high school. My kids were going into K-5 and first grade, way below what I was used to. What if I messed them up academically? And don't forget, those students at the Christian school who needed me. (Sounds a lot like pride, doesn't it?)
Almost as if He had written in the sky, God showed me that I wasn't abandoning teaching if I homeschooled my children. I was simply shifting my focus from everyone else's kids to my own. They needed me, more so than the students about whom I was so concerned.
The moment I broached the subject of homeschooling with my husband, he was on board. When he wasn't on the road, he worked from home and he needed some quality time with the kids, too. More importantly, he needed his wife back. I had poured so much of myself into my students that there was virtually nothing left for him. It was unfair and wrong of me to put teaching before my husband and children. And there was no getting around it. I had done that very thing. I had let teaching replace my family as my top priority.
And so our decision to homeschool was made. But that's not the end of the story. I still had to tell my employer I wouldn't be returning next year. I'll post Part Two later.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Back to School Breakfast Cookies
Back when I as teaching and the kids were in preschool, there were mornings that nothing went right. We had to be out the door by 6:30 am and getting those young'uns to eat was like pulling teeth sometimes. Often they ate string cheese or a poptart in the van on the way to school.
Now that we school at home, I still sometimes find that getting them to eat breakfast is a chore. So these breakfast cookies are perfect. They can be frozen and reheated as needed without a lot of fuss. They taste great and really fill a kid up. And a mom. Who wouldn't want to eat cookies for breakfast?
Here's what you need:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 teas vanilla
2 eggs
1/3 milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups quick oats
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 teas salt
1 teas cinnamon
2 teas baking soda
1 cup raisins or chocolate chips (guess which one I use)
In a large bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, sugar, honey and vanilla together until creamy. Beat in the eggs and milk.
In a small bowl, mix together the flours, oats, wheat germ, salt, cinnamon and baking soda. Add to the peanut butter mixture and mix well.
The dough will be stiff, so carefully stir in the chocolate chips or raisins. Use an ice cream scoop to form 12 mounds of dough on greased cookie sheets.
Use your hands to press them together, then flatten each one slightly with your palm.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Do not overbake or these will become crumbly. Cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes, then remove to cooling racks.
These are really, really BIG cookies. One is all it takes to fill you up. You're going to want a glass of milk handy, too.
You can make smaller cookies if you have younger kids. Just be sure to adjust the baking time.
To freeze, wrap each cookie individually in plastic wrap once they're completely cooled. Place in freezer bags. To reheat, wrap a cookie in a damp paper towel and microwave for 20-30 seconds or until warmed through.
For more delicious recipes, visit Blessed with Grace's Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.
Now that we school at home, I still sometimes find that getting them to eat breakfast is a chore. So these breakfast cookies are perfect. They can be frozen and reheated as needed without a lot of fuss. They taste great and really fill a kid up. And a mom. Who wouldn't want to eat cookies for breakfast?
Here's what you need:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 teas vanilla
2 eggs
1/3 milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups quick oats
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 teas salt
1 teas cinnamon
2 teas baking soda
1 cup raisins or chocolate chips (guess which one I use)
In a large bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, sugar, honey and vanilla together until creamy. Beat in the eggs and milk.
In a small bowl, mix together the flours, oats, wheat germ, salt, cinnamon and baking soda. Add to the peanut butter mixture and mix well.
The dough will be stiff, so carefully stir in the chocolate chips or raisins. Use an ice cream scoop to form 12 mounds of dough on greased cookie sheets.
Use your hands to press them together, then flatten each one slightly with your palm.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Do not overbake or these will become crumbly. Cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes, then remove to cooling racks.
These are really, really BIG cookies. One is all it takes to fill you up. You're going to want a glass of milk handy, too.
You can make smaller cookies if you have younger kids. Just be sure to adjust the baking time.
To freeze, wrap each cookie individually in plastic wrap once they're completely cooled. Place in freezer bags. To reheat, wrap a cookie in a damp paper towel and microwave for 20-30 seconds or until warmed through.
For more delicious recipes, visit Blessed with Grace's Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Menu Plan August 8-14
It's going to be another hot, busy week here in the Deep South. August is usually the hottest month here, but we've had 3 weeks of excessive heat warnings. I'm done with hot! Bring on fall weather!
Here's the plan for this week:
Sunday
Spaghetti and meatballs, homemade bread
Monday
Corn chowder, cheese biscuits
Tuesday
Chinese chicken, rice
Wednesday
Black bean quesadillas, corn
Thursday
Pizza
Friday
Philly cheesesteaks on flatbread
Saturday
Cooking out with friends
For more meal planning inspiration, visit Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday.
Here's the plan for this week:
Sunday
Spaghetti and meatballs, homemade bread
Monday
Corn chowder, cheese biscuits
Tuesday
Chinese chicken, rice
Wednesday
Black bean quesadillas, corn
Thursday
Pizza
Friday
Philly cheesesteaks on flatbread
Saturday
Cooking out with friends
For more meal planning inspiration, visit Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday.
Not Back to School Blog Hop Week 2
This week's Not Back to School Blog Hop is featuring school rooms. I love looking at other people's spaces and seeing if I can use any of their great ideas myself. So, if you're a homeschooler, join in! Let's share and learn from each other. Here are a few pics of our school room.
The kids' desks and bookshelf. Their desks are adjustable so we can use them as they grow.
My desk
The whiteboard! What would I do without it?
What the kids see from their vantage point.
The door leads out into our playroom, so recess is just a few steps away. There are also built-in bookshelves out there loaded down with books and games. Also, we have a bathroom right next to the school room, so bathroom breaks are quick, too.
For a more detailed post about our school room, click here.
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