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Archives for February 2013

Life With a 4 Year Old Is Never Dull

February 19, 2013 By: amyswandering4 Comments

I’ve read several posts recently about being real on our blogs.
It seems to be THE hot topic amongst homeschool moms right now.

{because…REALLY…we don’t sit around talking about Socialization}

Sometimes we must come across like members of a Stepford society.

I know that I have not done a good job sharing my daily life with you. I post lots of wonderful resources, and possibly have even left you with the idea that we actually use most of them. The truth is that I just love to research & share. 😀

It is evident from looking at my blog that I am a Christian. But what you can’t see (because I haven’t shown you) is how much God’s love for me penetrates down into my very marrow, or how it affects every decision I make. I have not shown that side of my life because it is harder to put into words. I am ashamed of that because what I really want to offer to you tired homeschool mamas is grace and peace, not just more fun printables to clutter your already busy days. Don’t worry- the printables will keep coming, but hang on cuz we are going deeper!

For your entertainment, and to show you that we are far from the homeschool “ideal”, here are bits of the conversation I had with Sweetpea(4) last night while looking through her favorite animal picture book:

We went over the names of several animals, including a chipmunk which was deemed So Adorable!!!, but she just couldn’t remember the skunk.
In her mind it is a Stinkmunk.

Sweetpea: Aww, a monkey.
Me: It says it’s a chimpanze.
Sweetpea: No, it’s a monkey.
Me: A chimpanzee is a kind of monkey.
Sweetpea:NoooOOO! (tapping finger in book) I can tell it’s a monkey!!

Sweetpea: What is that?
Me: A centipede
Sweetpea: What?!? A centiPEE?
Me: No, a centiPEDE
Sweetpea: (said dreamily) *sigh* SantaPee … I love him

There you have it – my kid makes up her own animal names, thinks the word Pee is hilarious, and believes in Santa (even though we’ve told her he’s not real).

p.s. I have no desire to be the homeschool ideal. Those people are boring! 😉
I do want to be more transparent though, so don’t say you weren’t warned!

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Homeschool for Free: Art

February 18, 2013 By: amyswandering5 Comments

free art curriculum

This list has free Art curriculum for all ages. Use these lessons to get creative with your kiddos!

Updated 08/12/22

KinderArt

Blick Art Lessons

Meet the Masters

Awesome Artists

Khan Academy Art History

Smithsonian Learning Lab

Deep Space Sparkle

Performing Arts in Art

Teach Art at Home

Mrs. Brown’s Art Class

Curkovic Art Units

Art Appreciation for Kids

NGA Learning Reasources

You might also like:


Another Year of Homeschool Crafts

See all of my Homeschool for FREE! posts

Free Homeschool Art Curriculum

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Valentine Funschool

February 13, 2013 By: amyswanderingcomment

valentine funschool

We will be doing some of these fun activities on Valentine’s Day.

How are you spending the day?

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Save on Chicken with Zaycon

February 7, 2013 By: amyswanderingcomment

 

zaycon chicken 3

Have you heard of Zaycon Foods?

My mom introduced me to this company a couple of years ago & I am thankful!

They bring fresh meat straight from the farm to the consumer at low prices.

The chicken is absolutely delicious – fresh boneless, skinless breasts with no added hormones, additives, or artificial ingredients. It is also missing that funky raw-chicken smell that usually accompanies packages from the store.

It is so tender and juicy that no knife is required. We ran out once and my husband immediately noticed when I served  grocery store chicken.

The best part? It is only $1.89 a lb!! Note that it is a bulk purchase, but you can easily split with another family. There are several other foods available too, like lean ground beef, premium bacon, salmon, and old fashioned ham.

Here’s how it works:

  • Sign up for  Zaycon email notifications
  • You will receive an email when there is a food event in your area
  • Place your order & pay online – act quickly because they sell out
  • Print out your receipt to take with you for pick up
  • You will get a reminder email a few days before the event – don’t forget because it is only on one day for a couple of hours!
  • Pick up is soooo easy! My event is in a church parking lot. I drive up, tell them my name & (maybe) show my receipt, and they load my purchase into my van after thoughtfully laying down a plastic sheet. It takes less than a minute.

I thought you might like to see what an order of chicken looks like, and how I get it ready for the freezer. My photography skills are almost non-existent,
but maybe you can figure it out. 🙂

Supplies:

  • cutting board
  • sharp knife
  • freezer bags
  • Ziploc Perfect Portions Bags (optional)

Your 40 lbs. of chicken will come in a heavy-duty, wax-coated box.

zaycon chicken 7

I like to set up an assembly line in this order –> box of chicken, cutting board, freezer bags (opened w/top folded down), box lid (for holding filled bags)

zaycon chicken 1

The chicken is in 3-4 smaller bags, inside of one large sealed bag. The breasts are butterflied & have a small amount of fat that needs to be trimmed.

zaycon chicken 2

It is tempting to just start dividing up whole breasts and tossing bags into the freezer, but I know that I would regret that later. 30-45 minutes is all it takes to trim the fat and cut up the meat. I leave mine big so I can use them however
I want, but you could go ahead and cut them into tenders or nuggets.
Be sure to label!

There are always little bits & pieces mixed in with the fat sections that can be cut off and saved. I toss them all into a small freezer bag and use them in chicken pot pie, casseroles, soup, or Chinese food.

*Optional* I recently discovered these Ziploc Perfect Portions Bags. They are perfect for those of you who are squeamish about raw chicken. You put your hand inside, pick up your chicken, and turn the bag inside out. I use them because my chicken doesn’t freeze together in one huge lump, allowing me to take out just one portion if I want. (I didn’t use these in the pictures.)

zaycon chicken 3

My (not so) hard work usually results in 12-15 bags of chicken. I am feeding a family of 7, so you might have several more bags if you have a smaller family.

After all my bags are filled, I fold each one over, squeeze out the air, and seal.

zaycon chicken 4

I store these in my deep freeze in one of two ways: piled in the box lid,  or in two plastic baskets that I got at the dollar store.

zaycon chicken 5

Don’t forget about dinner after all that work!! My gang would not be happy if we had all that yumminess & didn’t eat it right away.
I usually marinate some chicken in Italian dressing and toss it on the grill.

zaycon chicken 6

So there you go, an easy and inexpensive way to serve your family healthy food!

Since you will want to share about this food with everyone once you taste it, Zaycon has a referral program. You will earn a $1 credit each time your friend makes a purchase if they first sign up through your link.

*I am not affiliated with Zaycon Foods in any way other than being a very satisfied customer. This post contains my referral link –
I hope you love them as much as we do!!

FHF-FL

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This ~n~ That

February 4, 2013 By: amyswanderingcomment

Enjoy some of the great links I have stumbled upon lately!

It is beautiful, this love story between a mom and her newborn daughter.

If your goods deeds have nothing to do with the finished work of Jesus, they are just Religious Crap. (not a word I use, but is sometimes applicable!)
“If you can’t convince a maimed Christian that Jesus has justified him, then how can you convince an economically challenged stranger that God holds them in His hand?”

I love this list of One Hundred Things to share before she’s a bride.

Some recipes I want to try:

  • Cooking bacon in water??
  • Morning Glory Muffins
  • Long Boy Burgers
  • Crockpot Lime-Cilantro Chicken Tacos
  • Cheesy Cauliflower “Tater Tots”
  • Dorito Kale Chips
  • Snickerdoodle Bars

I added some new Pinterest boards:

  • Stitch It
  • Felt It
  • Draw It
  • Color It
  • Blog Planners
  • Crafts for Girls

Follow me on Pinterest or Facebook for more great links!

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