Just a few pictures of a soon to be 5 year old!

It's the last day of July!  Next month I'll have a 5 year old...no more pre-schoolers in this house.  Can I really believe it?!  The time has flown by, it really has.  Here are just a few pictures of our beautiful girl.  Stay tuned, in about 10 days, we'll be having a "Fancy Nancy Spa Party" for our little 5 year old, and several of her friends.  It's going to be so much fun...

The last day of dance class this summer. Thanks to Lauren Freitas for the time she took with our girls.  Thanks Wickham family for loaning us the dance outfit for Sissi, since the one that Aunt Kate mailed, never did show up :(

My little shop keeper.  She's using some of our plastic bins that we brought over with us as a store counter to sell us 'cookies'...they're really her wooden Melissa and Doug cookies that we brought with us.

Her hair has grown out again, after the cutting fiasco of December 2010.  We just love using www.princesshairstyles.com

The finished product with her favorite "big" bow, from the Bartons.

A couple of cute shots of her on the beach.

So much personality!  Love her so much!  Happy Birthday Big Girl!

Yogurt, Ricotta, and Paneer

Hopefully, you've already read my blog post on how to pastuerize your raw milk.  Now, you're ready to make something out of it!

Yogurt
If you want to make yogurt, it really is super easy.  I have a cooler and I put warm water in the bottom of it.  Then, I pour the milk into a separate, plastic container, that will fit in the bottom of the cooler and not displace all of the water.  Into the milk, I add a bit of mtinde, maybe a tablespoon or two, depending on how much milk you have in your container.  If you aren't in Tanzania, you would put in a bit of a plain, active yogurt or a culture.  You then put the lid on your container, then the lid on the cooler, and you walk away.  Seriously, I leave it overnight.

In the morning, you have fresh yogurt!  There are so many options now....

Add some vanilla, or honey, or some other sugar option
Add some fresh fruit and mix it up
Use it in a smoothie or any recipe that calls for yogurt
Eat it with granola

Ricotta
After I pastuerize the milk and skim off the cream, I drop in about 3 or 4 splashes of vinegar.  This will curdle the milk.  Let it sit for about 3 hours or so.  Then, I use some cheesecloth and line a wire colander.  I put the colander over a bowl to catch the whey.  I pour the contents of the pot, into the colandar.  The chunks of ricotta will stay in the cheesecloth and the whey will drain through to the bottom, in the bowl.

I then go for a 2nd batch.  Put all the whey back in your pot and put a lid on it and leave it over night.  In the morning, I then set up the cheesecloth and colander again, pour the contents of the pot back through and get a whole other round of ricotta.  The whey at this point can be used for other things.  I usually just pour it over my dog's food :), it's high in protein!

The ricotta can be salted, or left plain.  You can store it in the fridge; but, if you aren't going to use it in the next few days, freeze it.  It thaws very well and can be used in most any Italian dish you might like!

Paneer
This is very, very similar to the ricotta...except, that when you add the vinegar, you bring the milk back up to a boil.  Not a rolling boil mind you, just to the point where you think it's going to boil.  Then turn it off and let it cool for several hours.  When it's room temperature again, set up your colander with cheesecloth, and the bowl beneath it to catch the whey.  Pour out the contents of your pot into the colander.  The cheese will be glossier and stick together more.  I usually add some salt, garlic, basil, oregano, etc....then form it into a little cheese round and refrigerate.  This is great for dinner parties, for a snack on a cracker, or to use in a recipe!

Hope you enjoyed these milk recipes....any other questions, ideas?  Let me know!

A Tea Basket

One of the hardest things I've had to deal with here, is making our house feel like a home.

We left so many of our personal belongings, like pictures, knick knacks, books, furniture, etc. in storage back in the US.  What we brought with us, for 2 years in Africa, was 23 pieces of luggage and/or plastic bins.  In this amount we fit most of my kitchen stuff, sheets, towels, clothes and shoes for 5 people, books and toys for the children, homeschool materials, gifts for birthdays and Christmas, vitamins, bathroom stuff, and the list goes on.

We have tried very hard while we've been here to buy simple, basic stuff that will last us for our tenure in Dar.  We question everything we purchase, trying to be frugal and to also not buy so much that we can't sell it, or give it away when we leave.

There are often times that I miss my conveniences and my "pretty" stuff.  I'm being totally honest here.

While in Dodoma, I think I have mentioned that we shared many a cup of tea and coffee.  Here, in Dar, we hardly ever have tea and coffee, even though we very much enjoy it.  I started wondering...why is that?  It's not just the heat.  I finally hit the nail on the head...the reason was, that it wasn't convenient.  So many things here take so much longer than they should; but, I can control how long it takes me to make a cup of tea, and set it up so that it's easier for me.  Enter, the tea basket!

Wendy had a similar basket, and so all you had to do was heat up your water, grab your cup and the basket, and everyone could make their own cup of tea, or coffee, or hot chocolate.  So simple, and yet I had to see it in action to make it a reality in my home.

I already had the basket, it was in the pantry with odds and ends in it...like ziplocs of nuts and chips and crackers, half eaten.  I cleaned it out, put those snacks in re-purposed, plastic cookie containers, and I had a tea basket.  Then I grabbed a plastic leftover container to put the tea in and old glass jars from sauces that I had kept, to put in the sugar and Nido (powdered milk).  I found salt and pepper shakers at Game (it's like a super small Walmart, we have the only one in the country here in Dar) for the cinnamon and cocoa, they are hiding behind the purple spoon cup.  Finally, I decided to take the plunge and buy an electric kettle.  I actually have a tea pot at home, in storage, so we've been using a cooking pot here to boil water.  The tea kettle was such an answer to prayer.  I hesitated, went back and forth, not wanting to spend the money; but, finally Indy said, "We're still here another year. Do you think we'll use it?  Then it's worth it."  So, we bought one and it's been great.  NOW, we have tea (and coffee or hot chocolate) everyday.  You can see Indy's French Press, that he bought last fall on his HOPAC trip to South Africa, behind the kettle.

Have you ever re-purposed anything?  Like baskets or plastic bins?  I have a few more examples to share...but, that will be for another day!

Review - What's in the Bible

While we were in Dodoma, we got to learn more about, and watch, some of the videos in the new series "What's in the Bible."

We specifically got to watch Episodes 5 and 6 which covered Israel's first Kings (Saul, David, and Solomon) and then dealt with "A Nation Divided" into Israel and Judah.

Seriously, these videos were so creative, so upbeat, and so educational.  We all laughed and gave each other that "knowing look" several times.  Even, and especially, the adults.

The shows are mainly made up of puppets and drawings, with voices done by Phil Vischer, the creator of Veggie Tales.  The premise is that Buck Denver, a reporter (also a puppet), is trying to do a show about what's in the Bible.  He and Phil Vischer (the real person), play off of each other, a pirate puppet, a couple of British Safari brothers, the "Sunday School Lady", and several other minor characters.  They show maps, timelines, give background history, do felt boards, and in every way teach the chronological story of Israel and their relationship to God.  One of our favorite parts was the "Bentley Brothers," two very Elvis like singers, complete in their blue lounge suits and big hair, singing very silly and creative songs about Saul, Elijah, and the order of the Kings.  It was such a neat way to do it, not just snippets of Bible stories with no context, which is the way we usually do things in Sunday School and when reading to young ones.  It really reminded me of our Tapestry of Grace curriculum.  I really, really enjoyed it.  Our kids did too, as they've mentioned it every day since we've left Dodoma.  Guess what's going on our Amazon Wish List for Christmas? :)

Pick one up, I think you'll really enjoy it!  If you already have them, tell me what you think.

Here's the link to order the videos, or to find out more.
http://www.whatsinthebible.com/refer/?coupon_code=PKLCMR%20&tellapal.id=dd441fe6-faca-48ab-8164-cfb22489c468&e=stampclan%40msn.com&f=Alisha&l=Stamp&dist_src=facebook_js

Review - Explode the Code

Another program that I found while doing pre-school with my second child, was "Get Ready for the Code" and "Explode the Code."  They are an absolutely excellent introduction to phonics and basic letter writing, and reading!

My oldest, Krypto, started with book 3 of the "Explode the Code" series.  He was already reading when I found the series and just needed to shore up his phonics rules.  I had him complete the series, up through Book 8.  We just did 2 pages a day, super easy.

For my second child, we started with the "Get Ready for the Code" series, Books A-C.  They start off by teaching you each letter, the sound it makes, and how to write it.  Gwangi is now in Book 4 of the "Explode the Code" series and should finish up all the books this coming school year, which will be the 2nd grade for him.

A page from the beginning of "Explode the Code" Book 4.

Another page from Book 4.

Sissi began the "Get Ready for the Code" series this year, around the holidays.  She is about half way through Book B and will be in Kindergarten this next school year.

I have bought these books from Rainbow Resource, for the most part.  Though, I'm sure you could find them through other homeschool resources.  I also know that there is an online version of the workbooks that keeps track of your child's progress and reviews something more if they are struggling, or continues more quickly if they get a concept right away.  I like this idea; but, really prefer the handwriting practice and mobility that we get with a workbook.  I hope that one of the choices works for you and your family.

Milk - A How to Guide...

Here, in Tanzania, we are blessed to have a great source of farm fresh milk....and, most importantly, it's at a super reasonable price.  We pay less than a $1 per liter!  The Amish milk that I purchased in the US was much more expensive.

We get our milk on Mondays, from one of the gentleman at the school, that also has a farm in his free time.

We get 4 liters each week, delivered to us in 2 liter Coca-Cola bottles.

These bottle aren't totally full.  That's because I had already pastuerized them, skimmed the cream, and used a bit in a recipe when I took the picture.

The first thing that I do is pour the milk into two large pots, ones that I would usually use for a soup or a roast.  I put them to heat on the oven.  I do have a thermometer; but, I'll be honest, I usually just eyeball it each week, as to when it's done.  I am a low-vat pastuerizer.  What that means is, I try to only heat the milk to about 120-150 F instead of up to over 200 F, or higher, as is the case with ultra-pastuerization.  The difference is, that the lower temperatures will kill the bacteria; but, will not kill all of the natural pro-biotics found in the milk. I can tell when the milk is about this hot by seeing the top of it start to get a glossy film, or layer on it.  This is the cream rising to the top of the milk.

Once I have it at this temperature, I turn the heat off and leave it to set for about an hour or more, covered on the stove.  It will come back to room temperature naturally that way.  I then skim off the top layer of cream to make butter, Laura Ingalls style.  I put it in an old jar and shake, shake, shake it, until it's butter.  You have to then "wash" your butter.  Pour in some clean water and rinse the butter, drain off the water.  You'll do this several time until the water comes away mostly clear.  You can then salt it, or use it as it is.

If I don't have to time to make butter right away, I will put it in the fridge for later.  You can always shake up your cream at a later time.

Now, what to do with all that milk!  We usually drink about half of it, or use it in recipes, or on cereal.  The rest, I make into other things....yogurt, ricotta, paneer....  But, that will be a post for next week.  Enjoy your fresh milk!

1 Year Anniversary

It's been a year.  Seriously...  Can you believe it!?!

We arrived in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on July 20th of 2011.  My first thoughts were "Man, it's hot and sweaty in this airport" and "What's that smell?"... come to find out, it WAS a bit warm and sweaty as I've talked to others about that day, and the smell, well, it was burning trash!

It's been a long year, to be sure.  Lots of growing and changing for all of us!  Thanks so much to the Ness family for hosting us and helping us to acclimate a bit to life in Tanzania.  Also, lots of thanks to the Devaisher family for running us all over town in those early days, to Jane and Amy for all the emails and advice, and so many others that welcomed us into the HOPAC and AG family with open arms.

On the US side of the ocean, thanks to the Boyd and Eiland family for getting us, and all those pieces of luggage, to the airport on the 18th.  Thanks to all the friends and family that hosted us as we traveled around saying goodbye and hugging on everyone before we left.  It started with the Bartons in Colorado Springs putting us up for 2 weeks while Indy retired from the Air Force, all the way to the Pryslaks, Eilands, and Boyds that took care of us in DC.  I can't thank my parents and Indy's family enough for all they've done for us either during those in between weeks.

What have I learned in this year....hmmmm...how can I sum it all up into just a short thing, a simple catch phrase.  Here's one, go listen to Twila Paris' "God is in Control" on YouTube...

1 - Family shot at the Boyd's house, just a couple of days before we got on the airplane to head to Tanzania!

Did you listen to it?  I hope so! Was it the older version, the one that I knew back in the 90's?  I just love this song.  It speaks to me on such a personal and deep level.  The message is simple, it's true, and I need to hear it on a regular basis.  Whether I'm concerned because of illness, bad tempers, the heat, no water, no electricity, financial concerns, HE has always come through and I have not been forsaken.  I have grown in my character, I have grown more dependent on HIS will, HIS plan for me, HIS truth.  I will not be deceived into worrying that He doesn't care for me or my family's needs.  I hope that you find that truth in your own life.  That you will NOT be shaken in your faith or in this truth.  Because it IS true, God is in Control!

Just in case you couldn't find it :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FiEB6mNpNU

Review - Rod and Staff Workbooks

Another very basic and easy (read no prep work for Mom) to use pre-school and Kindergarten resource are the Rod and Staff series of workbooks.  They can be purchased as a set, for about $20, through Rainbow Resource or many other homeschool websites.

I didn't discover the Rod and Staff series until my second child was doing pre-school.  We started with the "A" book and I bought an additional coloring book for the "B" Bible book that we could do together with his older brother.  We would read the story, they would color the picture in their coloring book, and we would work on the memory verse and review all of the previous ones that we had learned.  By the end of the year, they both knew almost every memory verse in the book.  They were about 4 and 6 at the time.

Gwangi completed the series through the "E" book, and at that time, he began 1st grade.

I now know that they've extended the series, and from what I've seen of them at the NC Homeschool Convention last year, they look great!  I had already purchased another A-E set for Sissi to begin when we moved to Tanzania, and so didn't pick up the extra books.  At times, I wish that I had.

This past year, Sissi completed A, C and almost completed D.  WOW, she's not even 5 yet.  We'll do "B" again this year, all together.  I have 3 coloring books this time around, and we'll all memorize the verses again.

1 - The inside of the "D" workbook..."Do it Carefully"

You can see the previous page (on the left, below the cut out from the stop light craft) has some matching of words, there is cutting and pasting, matching colors, writing names and numbers...it covers it all!

2 - The "B" coloring book corresponds to the "Bible Stories to Read" book.

You can also see the cover of the "Do it Carefully" workbook.

Enjoy!

Menu Monday and a Recipe

It's been a few weeks since I've shared some of our menu choices, so, thought I would take a moment and update everyone! .... And, while I'm at it, share one of the latest "good" recipes I've discovered.

Enjoy!

Monday - Spaghetti and Meatballs with salad
Tuesday - Fish Tacos
Wednesday - German Schnitzel with Noodles
Thursday - Chicken Noodle Soup
Friday - Mexican Night at Verna's
Saturday - Brown Sugar Chicken over Rice
Sunday - Leftovers

Monday - Ziti Pasta with salad
Tuesday - Sandwich Night
Wednesday - Lentil Quiche (stay tuned for the recipe in a moment)
Thursday - Corn and Bacon Chowder with Dumplings (we're at the end of our corn season...so, the corn recipes won't be quite as prevalent)
Friday - Pizza Night
Saturday - Italian Meatloaf
Sunday - Leftovers

Monday - Chicken Pot Pie
Tuesday - Fish with a Coconut Sauce, Rice and Beans
Wednesday - 4th of July at the Ellis' - my contribution was deviled eggs and chips
Thursday - French Dip Sandwiches with Broccoli, Potato, and Cheddar Cheese Soup
Friday - Delectable Marinade Chicken over leftover Rice and Beans with Mchicha (local spinach)
Saturday - Fried Rice with bacon and veggies
Sunday - Leftovers

Monday - Pizza
Tuesday - Canneloni with Boerwors sauce and garlic bread with tomatoes, garlic, onions, balsamic vinegar
Wednesday - Aussie Chicken with steamed broccoli
Thursday - Soup Night
Friday - Mexican Night at Verna's
Saturday - Saturday Movie Night at the Stamps...Potluck style
Sunday - Frittata

Now...the recipe for the Lentil Quiche....

Remember, I never really stick with a recipe; but, I got the original idea from www.allrecipes.com.  You can do a search there on Lentil Quiche to find the original.

Chopped Onion
Pressed Garlic
Olive Oil
Lentils
Water
Chopped Broccoli
Chopped Tomatoes (and any other veggies you have on hand)
4 Eggs
1 Cup of Milk
Salt, Pepper, Italian Seasoning
Cheddar Cheese
BACON :)

First, I put the onions, garlic, olive oil, and bacon in a pie dish and put them in the oven, at 375 F, to cook for about 15 minutes.

I then took a frying pan and put the lentils in some water and set them to steam for a bit.  When the lentils seemed to be done, in about 15 minutes or so, I drained most of the water and put the broccoli on top to steam a bit as well.

I then added the lentils, broccoli, and tomatoes to the dish with the onion, garlic, and bacon (after taking a moment to tear up the bacon into bite size bits.)  I also threw in some chopped up carrots and zucchini that I had on hand.  You can use whatever veggies you have to supplement and chunk up the dish.

On top of this, I put the seasonings, about a cup of milk, the 4 eggs and the shredded cheddar cheese.  I then put it back in the oven for about 45 minutes.

It was firm at this time, and I left it on the counter for a few minutes to cool before serving it to the children.  It was a hit, all around!

Borrowing Breakfast from a Friend

A friend of mine, Danielle, posts some pretty good recipes :)...  Today, I borrowed one for breakfast for my family.  Of course, I made my usual changes; but, it turned out great and the family really liked it.  Took less than 5 minutes to have it in the oven, too.  I made mango/banana/pineapple smoothies while we waited for it to cook.  Oh, the smell in my kitchen this morning, yummy!

1 - This is called a Dutch Baby, and it was puffy, buttery, and very much like a pancake

Here is what I did with the recipe.

Put some butter in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish and turn the oven on to 425 F.  

The butter will melt while you combine the rest of the ingredients.

Start with 6 eggs, use a whisk and beat them up for several minutes...my arm was about numb after 3 minutes of this beating.

Add to that 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1 1/2 cups of milk, a pinch of salt, a bit of sugar, a splash of vanilla, and some cinnamon.

Pour the batter into the melted butter and put it in the oven to cook for about 15 minutes.

It will rise up, right out of the pan.

Next time I will back off on the butter, there was a bit much...

We covered it with some Lyle's Gold Maple Syrup...oh, it was good, and there were no leftovers!

Enjoy!

Have you ever tried this...?

Thank you, Beth Moore!

Yes, I am on the final week of her Esther Bible Study...my first Beth Moore study ever!

Today, we had an exercise, one I had never tried before...and it was really profound.  We were to fill in the blanks of parts of Psalm 30 (1-3, 11-12), with our own personal experience.

I've always loved the Psalms, and the Proverbs, and have related to them; but, have never thought to "personalize" the wording before.  Maybe you might enjoy and benefit from trying the same thing, and praising God for what He's done for you?!

Here is the original, and then I'll share with you two of the re-writes that I did.

Psalm 30:1-3, 11-12

I will exalt you, O Lord, for you have lifted me up
and did not let my enemies gloat over me O Lord my God,
I called to You for help and You healed me,
O Lord, You brought me up from the grave; you spared me from the pit.

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness
that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give you praise forever.

--This first one was just about my life, in general...

I will exalt you, O Lord, for you have given me purpose
and did not let my enemies gloat over me O Lord my God,
I called to you for help and You made the path evident and answered my prayers,
O Lord, You brought me up from the grave; you spared me from being lost and walking in my own way.

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gratefulness for all that you've done,
that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give you praise forever.

--This second one was about my homeschool journey...

I will exalt you, O Lord, for you have made me to enjoy my job
and did not let my enemies gloat over me O Lord my God,
I called to you for help and You gave me ideas, creativity, and a new drive each morning,
O Lord, You brought me up from the grave; you spared me, and my children, from my own errors, my temper, and my failures.

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy and love for my children, new each day,
that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give you praise forever.

Weekly Wrap Up and a Review

We've been busy this week with the Petersons, and yet have still been able to fit in some fun Summer School activities.  What has everyone else been up to?  Read on to see some of the fun we've had...

1 - We started a new read aloud this week, "Charlotte's Web."  I purchased the lapbook components from Confessions of a Homeschooler for $2.  We loved doing the "Treasure Island" lapbook that she created, so figured this one would be just as much fun!  You can see it here - http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/blog/2012/04/charlottes-web-unit-study.html

2 - Sissi is coloring one of our cover pages, and you can see the timeline that we started for the book.  First event was Wilbur being saved by Fern and then moving to Zuckerman's farm.  The lapbook from Confessions of a Homeschooler has worksheets to help children write about and discuss characters and story plots, craft ideas, and all kinds of typical lapbook components.  She has them prepared for 10 Children's Classics.  Maybe you can find one that you'd enjoy doing with your children?

3 - Gwangi spent part of his allowance this week to buy a $3 bow and arrow with knife set, all plastic of course.

4 - He needed a quiver to keep his arrows safe, so we made one out of a toilet paper tube, some craft paper, a hole punch, and some yarn that I had brought with us for crafts such as this.

5 - Krypto loves to play war games, so he created one, along with all of the troop movements and rules, for a battle between Zanzibar and Pemba...Using a Tanzania road map that we bought at the grocery store.

6 - Sissi decided that she wanted to give a speech, so she cut out one of the worksheets from the "Charlotte's Web" lapbook, and wrote in "cursive" what she would say in her speech.  Her "practice" session was quite humorous.  We're really not at all sure what the topic was; but, she introduced her self at the beginning and asked at the end if there were any questions...good first and last steps, right?

7 - For art, we're finishing up DaVinci... here again, we used a kit from Confessions of a Homeschooler, this time it was free!

http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/blog/2011/06/worlds-greatest-artists-unit-study.html

8 - She recommended that we print off a coloring page of the "Mona Lisa" for them to paint, rather than starting from scratch. That worked well for us.

9 - Sissi really enjoyed this project.  She said that the "Mona Lisa" is her favorite painting now.  The "Artist Series" from Confessions of a Homeschooler recommends the book to read for each of 8 artists, questions to ask your student about the art that they are viewing, project ideas to keep them involved, and several lapbook components per artist.

10 - All of the kids working.

11 - Sissi's finished project.

12 - Gwangi's didn't turn out so well, only because he got impatient and rather than letting the paint dry, he tried to color her face in, and the black paint from her hair got smudged.  Lesson learned; but, he didn't want to finish it after it was "ruined" in his mind. :(

13 - Krypto's finished product.  He really enjoyed this one as well, fun was had, all around!

We've used many of the programs that Confessions of a Homeschooler has created.  Her prices are super low, her creativity level is high, and the age ranges for her products are right on.  We've enjoyed the following items from her website - http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/

Free Preschool Printables
Expedition Earth Geography
Road Trip USA
Greatest Artists Series
Treasure Island Lapbook
Charlotte's Web Lapbook

I hope you can find something there to enjoy as well.  Even if you don't homeschool, maybe you can choose something fun to do as an "extra" with your child!

Afternoon at White Sands with the Petersons

There is a new family that has come to Dar, the Petersons.  Bob is here to teach some of the Science courses at HOPAC for the next two years, I think Biology and Physics.  They arrived last week, on the 4th of July, and it's been a busy time for all of us ever since then.  I think we've seen each other every day since their arrival, except for one; but, if you asked our kids, it isn't enough...they keep asking to spend more time with each other.  SO, I guess that's good, they've made some great new friends!

Thought I would take a few pictures today of our outing to White Sands Hotel and Beach.  It was their first "fun" outing, as it's been mostly business, errands, and getting them established locally for the past week.

My boys, Krypto and Gwangi

The pool and restaurant area at White Sands Hotel

Sissi and her friend, Kalei, running on the beach at White Sands

Bob and his girl, Addy

My girl, dancing and singing in the water

Sissi and Kalei building a sand castle

Krypto, running to his Mommy :)

Gwangi and Caleb Peterson

Bob, relaxing for just a second, by the side of the pool.  He was quite the hit with the three little girls!

Review - Kumon Workbooks

Kumon workbooks have been one of the fun highlights of our homeschool experience.

For the homeschool mom, you just can't beat them in price, ease of use, and the ability to hold our child's interest for extended periods of time.  I have been using Kumon workbooks for 6 years....and still use them today, with all three of my kids!

When they were all young, in the 3-4 year old range, most of school for them was Kumon.  We did the ABC books, the Number books, we learned how to cut, how to paste, and how to hold our pencil and do mazes with Kumon workbooks.  Each day we would pick 3 or 4 of them, do a couple of pages, and move on.  It was quick ("school" at this age shouldn't last for more than about 20 minutes a day), easy, and required absolutely no prep work from Mommy.  The rest of the day was spent with me reading out loud to them, working on puzzles, going on outings, playing, and having fun.

As they got older, Kindergarten and 1st grade, we would add in some of the harder craft books, the Number Games, and some of the Word books.  We haven't tried any of the math books, as we've moved into our primary math curriculum at that time.

I have a rising 4th grader and I think he is now done with the Kumon books.  This past year, he completed their highest level crafting book and did some of their money workbooks.  It has served us all very well.

The best way to purchase them is probably through Amazon.  They are pretty much always in the "Buy 3, Get 1 Free" department.  Enjoy!

Just a few of the Kumon workbooks that Sissi, our pre-schooler, used this past school year.

A few of the books that were in Gwangi's workbox.  He used these to "fill in the time" when Mommy was busy with another child, and he needed to wait.

The inside of Sissi's "Uppercase Letters" book.  You can see that she's already over half way through this particular book.

A couple of weeks of Summer School

I'm so glad that the Lord is working on my flexibility.  I really needed the work done on my character!

Seriously though, I planned so much for summer school, and I wasn't sure that I would really be "OK" if we didn't do it all.  I wondered if I would push us too much.  I'm happy to say, that over the past month, we've probably done as many days of school as we haven't....maybe even less.  That, for me, is a big step!

Krypto has also been reading up a storm, pretty much a book or more a day...and not short books either.  He read the first book in the Percy Jackson series, "The Lightning Thief," between breakfast and lunch...and in that time he had a violin lesson, too.  I had pre-read it, because I was concerned about the content and it being above his "maturity" level....well, thank you for the Focus on the Family website. They have reviews and comprehension questions for a plethora of books.  We got to have a great discussion about the gods and our Father God, about worship, about kids relating to their parents, all over our dinner.

Here are some pictures of things we have done over the past couple of weeks.  I'm also thrilled to say that we're enjoying it.  It hasn't felt like too much at all.  It's been just the right amount to keep us on our toes, amidst all of the other activities that we call "life."

We were finishing up learning about Michelangelo, for our artist series, and one of our projects was to paint upside down....like he did on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.  We taped our papers on the underside of the dining room table.  Gwangi made a dinosaur scene.

Krypto made an ocean scene, complete with shells, sharks, and squids.

Sissi made flowers, squids, dinosaurs, and many other things.

Kind of like the Sistine Chapel :).

We also did carving and sculpture works out of soap bars.

It was fun using a medium other than paint for our artist studies.

Finishing up reading "Treasure Island," our next book will be "Charlotte's Web"

Completing our lapbook for "Treasure Island"

Working on our lapbook for Michelangelo

Sissi cutting our Michelangelo pictures for the lapbook.  We had the Pieta, David, the Sistine Chapel, God Creating Adam, and the Pieta Rondanini to recognize and write about for our book.

Putting it all together and doing the review.

For some reason, I never took any pictures of the countries we studied.  I think we've only done 3 though in the past 3 weeks, Russia, the United Kingdom, and France.  

Through all of this, we're still doing our math review books and music lessons as well, so the piano and violin are alive and well!

Have you been doing anything fun to keep your kids excited to learn this summer?  Share with us...not that we have time to do more; but, I love new ideas!