amandaspace1330

This week I started school with the kids. I wanted to get into a bit of a rhythm before baby arrives. For Anastasia's first week of kindergarten I used ideas from another blog: http://kindergartensmiles.blogspot.com/2015/06/starting-centers-first-week-of-school.html. Ana enjoyed the activities that we used for table time. I started Tristan on his math, language, handwriting, geography and history/art curricula, more on those later. This week we did an archaeology unit to jump start our history of the world. This was fun and merged history, science and language activities. Our main text was The Usborne Young Scientist Archaeology. I used the Teacher Created Materials Thematic Unit on Archaeology for reproducible activities and  hands-on ideas. Tristan completed multiple worksheets, an Archaeology word web, and created a piece of pottery out of clay. I hope to get an Artifact box put together this weekend, as a follow-up activity. We also enjoyed these books during the week's...

The calendar turned to August, and I began to think about school. I know we will be off to an interesting start since baby will come right as we begin, but that can't be helped. I am still  excited about second grade and kindergarten this upcoming school-year. We have been enjoying lots of reading and math review this summer. Tristan loves geography and we are still pacing with memorizing our state capitals. All of the kids have enjoyed little doses of Song School Latin this summer, and sporadic piano lessons. Tristan is learning so much Spanish using Rosetta stone. So the learning continues. We have also enjoyed so much fun time! End of July-August we haven't travelled, but we've celebrated birthdays, visited Philly Zoo, Played Putt-Putt and enjoyed other spur of the moment outings. We owe a big thank-you to Coventry Parlor for one such spur of the moment outing. Last week they offered free ice-cream to WCU Alumni/Students and their families. We enjoy ice cream! And C...

About 3 weeks back, Jason and I watched the movie Chariots of Fire. The story of Scottish Olympic runner/missionary to China, Eric Liddell. The movie was very well-done, but it left me wanting to know the whole story. Chariots of Fire focuses on Eric Liddell's journey to the 1924 Olympics, and that's the story. His missionary career to follow is given honorable mention, but the film is about running in the Olympics. I wanted to know more about his life as a missionary, so off the Library website I went. I have since listened to Something Greater than Gold, by Janet and Geoff Benge. Their Heroes Then and Now Series is awesome and I enjoyed listening to this book on CD in the car with the kids. I also checked out the book For the Glory: Eric Liddell's Journey from Olympic Champion to Modern Martyr, by Duncan Hamilton. I am not sure I will get through this biography, but I am enjoying it. Mr. Hamilton writes the story assuming his reader has viewed the film Chariots of Fire...

Baby Pickering has not arrived yet! The birthday cake this post is about is mine! Jason and kids allowed me to make my own birthday cake this year. It's good for me to bake when I'm getting close to due date, call it nesting. Anyway, I made a vegan vanilla/chocolate swirl cake with my favorite chocolate frosting. I topped it with chocolate covered strawberries. It was super rich, and yummy and put out my cake light for sure! Perhaps we will still have some when baby arrives, and we can eat it in celebration of his birth also. Only time will tell... Recipe for Dark Chocolate Frosting: (From TidyMom.net ) 1/2 Cup +1 Tbsp boiling water 1/2 Cup + 1 Tbsp Cocoa powder 2 1/4 Cup unsalted butter (4 1/2 sticks) 2 Cup powdered sugar 1/4 tsp salt 1 1/2 lbs semisweet chocolate melted and cooled Combine cocoa and water till dissolved Beat butter sugar and salt reduce speed to low, add melted semisweet beat in cocoa mixture Frosting is very soft, not decora...