Not Back to School Blog Hop Week 4

This week's theme is a Day in the Life. We're supposed to share what our average homeschool day looks like. Since we started school last week, we're still working out the kinks, but here's our general schedule.

We always start off the day with prayer and Bible study. This year we're studying the book of Proverbs. The children are keeping a notebook of our study, writing down and explaining each verse as we go. We began with Proverbs 1:8 - "My son, hear the instruction of thy father and forsake not the law of thy mother." Could there be a better verse for homeschooling?

Next comes language arts. We're using First Language Lessons, which I love! This curriculum uses a gentle, repetitive approach to teaching grammar and punctuation. It's perfect for my kids, especially the Princess. She is retaining the lessons very well, so I'm pleased.

After grammar, we do a spelling lesson or handwriting, sometimes both. Then comes math. So far we've done some review and I've been surprised by how much both children have remembered. Yay!

We are using Apologia's Exploring Creation with Astronomy and so far the children are enjoying it. We use a notebook for this, too. I highlight definitions and people that the kids need to know, then they copy these into their notebook.


This year we started The Mystery of History Vol. I. The daily readings are concise but informative. Each child is keeping a timeline in their notebooks using figures I purchased from Homeschool in the Woods. They color in the figures, then we cut them out and glue them in the appropriate spot on the timeline. They are really liking this activity. So far most of our events are things they're already familiar with - Creation, the Fall of man, the Flood, the Tower of Babel. I can't wait until we get further in and they see how all of history works together to accomplish God's purposes. Can you tell I love history?

Of course, scattered throughout these subjects are break time, sometimes a snack time, and hands-on activities or art projects relating to their studies. Sometimes we even have a guest student show up - our dog Alexandra (Xandra for short).


When our lessons are done, I read aloud to them. We started the Little House on the Prairie series last year and are finishing that up. I haven't decided what read-alouds we'll do after that.

Usually we have everything done by lunchtime. The children don't like to go back to school after lunch, so they will work diligently to get everything done before. It really helps to have our afternoons free. We can go to the library, the store, or even complete projects around the house.

Some days everything goes smoothly. Some days we take more breaks than usual! It's not flawless and we're learning as we go, like everyone else. But I love the flexibility of homeschooling and the one-on-one time I get to spend with my children every day.

If you're a homeschooler, head over The Heart of the Matter Online and share a day in your life with us! Have a great week!

Buffalo Blue Cheese Burgers

Charles loves anything with blue cheese. I'm not really a fan. So when he's on the road, he eats out (at the company's expense) and frequently orders blue cheese burgers or salads.

He found a great recipe in a grilling book to try when we had friends over. Some of them love blue cheese too, so it was the perfect time to try it. All who ate the burgers raved about them.

Here's what you'll need:

2 lbs ground beef
1/2 teas. celery seed
2 TBSP minced onion
1 TBSP minced garlic
1/2 cup to 1 cup blue cheese
1/4 cup mild hot sauce

Using your hands, mix all the ingredients but the hot sauce. Shape into 8 patties.


Grill for about 5 to 7 minutes on each side, basting with the hot sauce. When you take the burgers off the grill, give them one more brushing with the sauce. Garnish with your favorite burger toppings.

I'm sorry I don't have a picture of the finished burgers, but they were scarfed up quickly.

Beef and Broccoli Stir-fry

I came across this recipe years ago in a cooking magazine. It's a wonderful version of the Beef and Broccoli from your local Chinese take-out place. Even better, in my opinion.

Make the stir-fry sauce first. It will thicken up nicely as it sits.

You'll need:

1/2 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce (I used low sodium)
2 TBSP brown sugar
1 TBSP corn starch
1 teas ground ginger

Whisk the ingredients together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for one minute. Remove from heat.

Now here's what you'll need for the rest of the stir fry:

2 TBSP cornstarch
2 TBSP water
1/2 teas garlic powder
1 lb round steak, cut into thin strips
4 cups broccoli florets
1 small onion, sliced
oil for frying

In a bowl, combine the cornstarch, water, and garlic powder until smooth. Add the steak strips and toss to coat.


In a large skillet, heat about 1 TBSP oil. Fry the steak strips until done. Remove from the skillet and keep warm.


Add a little more oil to the pan if necessary, then toss in the broccoli and onions. Stir-fry until tender.


Return the beef to the pan and pour the stir-fry sauce over all. Heat through. Serve over rice.

Homemade Soft Pretzels = Yum!

This is our fourth year of homeschooling, and I realized that we didn't have any first day of school traditions other than taking pictures. So this year we started what I hope will become a tradition - making homemade soft pretzels! The kids chose a variety of letters and shapes to pattern their pretzels after and we all had a marvelous time!

Plus this recipe is so simple, you must try it. The pretzels are soft and buttery with a hint of crunch on the outside. Once you eat one, you won't want to stop!

Here's what you need:

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 TBSP sugar
2 1/4 teas yeast
1 tsp salt
4 cups flour (you can use half wheat if you wish)
2 TBSP melted butter
coarse salt

In a large bowl, mix the water, sugar and yeast. Let proof for a few minutes until puffed up. Then add the flour and salt. Knead together with a mixer or your hands. Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour.


Divide the dough into 16 balls. I do this by dividing the dough in half first. Then I divide each of those portions into half. I keep dividing the portions of dough into halves until I have 16 chunks of dough that are roughly the same size. Does that make sense?


Roll each ball into a thin, long rope. Twist into pretzel shapes or whatever shapes you want. Get creative! Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt. Let these rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.



Bake at 425 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. Brush with butter again while warm.


If you'd like a sweet pretzel instead of salty, use cinnamon sugar instead of salt. But be warned, you'll really have a hard time not eating the whole batch.

CSN Stores Giveaway!

I was recently contacted by CSN Stores to host a giveaway on my blog. If you haven't heard of CSN Stores, now is your chance to check them out! They have amazing online stores where you can find everything from cookware to lights to furniture!

The lucky winner of this giveaway will receive a $50 gift certificate to use at the CSN Store of his/her choice! Wow! I had the opportunity earlier this year to review a product from their Cookware.com store and was very pleased with the quality and shipping.

With Christmas just around the corner (only 130 days, folks!), $50 could come in handy for a gift for that special person or even for treating yourself!

To enter the giveaway, head over to CSN Stores and take a look around. Come back here and leave a comment, telling me which store or product you like the most. It will be hard, I know!

That's it! You don't have to follow my blog to enter or blog or tweet about the giveaway. Just leave a comment.

The giveaway will end at 11:59 pm on Tuesday, August 24. I will randomly pick a winner on Wednesday. Please make sure I have a way to get in touch with you so if you win, I can contact you. The winner has 48 hours after notification to get back to me. If I don't hear from the winner by that time, I'll pick a new winner.

Good luck, y'all!

Menu Plan Monday August 15-21

Baby, it's hot outside! We just had our 39th straight day of 90-degree plus temperatures here in the Deep South! Is it hot where you live, too?

Here's the menu plan for the week:

Sunday
Grilled chicken, potatoes

Monday
Lentil and rice burritos, corn

Tuesday
Beef and broccoli stir-fry, rice

Wednesday
Baked egg rolls

Thursday
Pancakes and bacon

Friday
Chicken and rice soup

Saturday
Spinach and cheese stuffed shells (I'm going to halve this recipe for us)

I'm also planning to make homemade pretzels for our first day back to school, some no-bake granola bars and Chocolate Banana Pops so we have plenty of snacks on hand. I have to have plenty of snacks on hand this week since we'll be working so hard in school!

For more yummy menu ideas, visit Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday. You'll find tons of inspiration and recipes to jumpstart your own menu planning.

Not Back to School Blog Hop Week 3

This week's Not Back to School Blog Hop features our students. Because after all, none of us would be doing this homeschooling thing if it weren't for them.

I have two students. A boy and girl. As different as night and day!


Mr. Lego is nine years old and is in the fourth grade. He was my precious preemie. You can read more about his story here.


He has always loved to read and learn. Most of the subjects we study come easy to him. I know if I give him an assignment, it will get done and get done well. Right now his favorite subjects are math and science.


His other interests include Legos, Super Mario Wii games, writing and drawing cartoon books, and playing with his friends. He is currently sporting a red cast on his arm due to an elbow fracture.


The Princess came along 17 months later. She's eight and in the third grade. From the beginning of her education, she has wanted to know why she has to learn something. Then she can determine if it's worth the effort. Getting her to read was difficult, to say the least. After all, couldn't I just read everything to her?


The topic that really sparked her interest in reading was dinosaurs. Oh, she's very girly and loves to dress up in princess clothes. But dinosaurs just really grabbed her attention. Suddenly she wanted to read everything she could about dinosaurs. Whoo hoo! Her favorite subject is science and her least favorite is math.

Tomorrow we start our fourth year of homeschooling. What a blessing it's been to our family.

If you'd like to introduce your own students, head over to Heart of the Matter Online and link up with the blog hop!