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Respiratory Tree Tees and Periodic Table Paper Bag Puppets
We have been completely indoors for a week now due to hazardous air quality from nearby wildfires. The kids have really missed their usual outdoor play. Fortunately, the air quality has been improving… slowly. We took advantage of this unique opportunity to talk about the elements in our air and what makes our current air so bad. I explained about carbon monoxide and particulate matter and the dangers in breathing too much of these things and we crafted. Specifically I made respiratory tree tees for them and we made periodic table paper bag puppets together. I made a simple drawing of our airways in pencil, outlined the final picture with…
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DIY Coloring Pennant Banner
Recently, we celebrated DH’s birthday. The kids usually enjoy helping me to decorate and to create something special for him. This year, we made a custom pennant banner together. I created a template, printed it out, and the kids went to town with their crayons and oil pastels. They love using oil pastels as the colors are so vibrant and they were all very proud to see their work on display. Attached is the free template which includes all the letters of the alphabet as well as numbers 0-9 that you can use to customize any birthday or celebration for that matter. This printable really has so many options and…
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Labor Day
Happy Labor Day! I hope everyone has enjoyed their long weekend thus far. Our family is having a small casual barbecue with simple foods (my husband’s beef barbecue, corn on the cob, and watermelon). I also usually like to create a few printables for the kids to help them remember why we celebrate each holiday and to also get them excited for the unique occasion. This year, I made a labor day mini-book, a few labor day coloring pages, cut outs to construct popsicle stick workers, and in response to my son’s request… some writing pages with community helper vehicles. These are all free to download here for personal, single…
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Kindergarten Sight Words
My daughter started Kindergarten this week and she was so excited despite all the changes due to COVID. We attended a drive by to meet her teacher from a safe distance and she received some new learning materials for the year. Among her items were a list of sixty sight words. Yesterday we practiced writing them on rocks and then hid them for her to find with her siblings. She always loves a good competition. I also created a set of unicorn flash cards to help her learn her sight words. I went ahead and made a dinosaur set too in case some of her peers weren’t as much into…
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Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
This is my daughter’s favorite dish and one that our family enjoys at least three times a month. I used to make homemade spaghetti sauce very complicated with tons of diced vegetables and herbs but there were too many competing flavors. I also used to use stewed tomatoes which my kids kept on picking out. I have since simplified my recipe into something everyone loves. Ingredients: 1 pound ground beef 1/2 pound ground sausage 28 oz can Italian crushed tomatoes 28 oz can tomato sauce 2 Tbsp brown sugar 1 Tbsp dried basil salt to taste olive oil 1 pound spaghetti noodles fresh basil parmesan cheese Directions: Brown ground beef…
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Simple Beef Stew
Sometimes the best foods are made when you don’t have all the ingredients you are used to and you have to improvise. That is how I came to this wonderful and easy recipe! I have made beef stew countless times with beef broth, onion soup mix, and a can of cream of mushroom soup. However, one day, I had none of these items but I had a great cut of beef chuck, fresh carrots, potatoes, celery, and Worcestershire sauce, and this new favorite recipe with way less processed ingredients was born. Ingredients: 3 pounds beef chuck (cubed) 6 carrots (peeled and sliced) 1 onion (diced) 8 potatoes (peeled and diced)…
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Crock Pot Minestrone Soup
With the abundance of fresh tomatoes, zucchini, and basil we have been enjoying this summer (thanks to my super gardener father), this recipe was a no brainer. Made with ease in your slow cooker, this nutrition packed one pot meal is sure to please. My kids all had seconds and my son even listed minestrone soup as his favorite food on the poster he made for his first day of school. Ingredients: 32 oz vegetable broth 16 oz dried mixed beans 6 carrots (peeled and diced small) 1 onion (diced small) 2 cloves garlic (I just drop the whole cloves in without mincing) 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning 2 medium zucchini…
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Back to School Coloring Pages
Coloring is a wonderful activity to help your kids relax, have fun, and be creative while developing fine motor coordination and focus. I usually like to have some coloring pages printed out and ready for my kids to work on in the mornings after breakfast. It gives their busy minds and bodies something to do for 30 minutes to sometimes an hour, giving me the opportunity to clean up from breakfast and… maybe even have another cup of coffee. This is a set I just made for my kids who are excited to start school soon. I kept it simple with some fun words. My kids enjoyed filling the windows…
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Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
This is a lunchtime favorite for my kids. I grew up on Campbell’s chicken noodle soup but this is a thousand times better plus it is not so salty and is made with ease in the slow cooker requiring very few ingredients. The only work is having to chop all your fresh vegetables but they will taste so good. I also like to chop the carrots into pumpkin shapes for fall and hearts for special days or sometimes just because. Ingredients: 1 whole raw chicken (skin, bones and all… just don’t forget to take out the bag of giblets) 32 oz container of chicken broth 2 pounds carrots (cut into…
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Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
A delicious, healthy, and easy breakfast to start your family’s day and all it requires is less than five minutes of prep work the night before. Ingredients: 1 cups steel cut oats (we get ours in a huge bag from Costco) 2 cups whole milk 2 cups apple cider 3 apples diced 1/4 cup brown sugar (you can use less if you don’t like it as sweet) 2 tsp ground cinnamon a splash of vanilla (I also buy the huge bottle from Costco as I bake a lot) a pinch of salt Do yourself a favor and buy slow cooker liners for this as the oatmeal really sticks to your…
