We’ve really been enjoying the warmer days and being able to get outside so much. We love watching the changes going on around us… God is so AWESOME and His wonders never cease to amaze… More
All-In-One Homeschool Portfolio Notebook Printables
I recently shared about the way I planned out our new homeschool year and included some FREE printables to go along with it… they have made life a little neater around here! Now I will share about the Homeschool Notebooks. We did use a similar system many years ago but I couldn’t find the post where I had shared them before so I decided to make a new post with some updates and some new printables.
You do not need to print these out but you can use them as a template for putting together your own notebooks or you can print them out and use them in binders… whatever works for you. We have done both of these in the past and I will try to post some pics of what our current notebooks look like once we get them put together.
Try color-coding your kids to make homeschool life a little simpler!
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2024 – 2025 Homeschool Planning
There are so many ways to go about planning out a school year but this is the easiest way I have found for me to do this as we don’t use any one site or curriculum. I am usually gathering materials and ideas throughout the year so I try to jot them down or put them in a special place until I am ready to sit down and plan out what we would like to use.
This year I used the ‘Arts of a Balanced Home Education’ List from Brightly Beaming Resources as a guide for helping me to plan… it went along well with a lot of the Charlotte Mason ideas I have been trying to implement in our routines.
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Our favorite seed and plant sites
We all know that I’ve been a bit hyper-focused on the garden situation here… I may have gone a wee bit overboard but that has not been confirmed yet.
I just recently made a couple of more orders for seeds and plants… there are so many things that I want to try and I’ve really been trying to limit myself to a few new things every month but sometimes there are deals that are just too good to pass up or things that are only in season at certain times. There are also a few items that we are waiting to be restocked so we have to grab them when they become available or we won’t get them at all… so much to keep track of. I like using the ‘Diary’ section of the Gardenate app to help me keep track of some of these things.
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Crazy Delicious Low-Carb Substitutions You Can Make Today!
Are you trying to eat healthier but having a hard time finding recipes? Well, there is a secret that we use here and that is that we often try to use our favorite recipes but we make substitutions to make them a bit healthier.
The other issue is that a lot of the foods that are marketed as ‘Low-Carb’ and ‘Keto’ are full of mysterious ingredients and SUPER EXPENSIVE. If you are trying to eat healthier then they shouldn’t be charging you more to fill you with more JUNK! Remember that just because the label says it is HEALTHY doesn’t really mean it is!
Many of the substitutions we make are things that can be found easily in the produce section or canned food aisle of any store or we can even grow a number of them in our gardens… that sounds better to me. If you can’t have your own garden then you can still shop for seasonal veggies to make substitutions with and you will save a bit of money… maybe you can even check out the local farmer’s market for fresher veggies?
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Easy Rice and Noodle Alternatives – Great for Cauliflower Rice and Spaghetti Squash
Have you noticed that those bags of frozen cauliflower rice seem to be shrinking while the price keeps increasing? We have noticed that it doesn’t go quite as far as it should which means we usually need more bags which means more money… some people just don’t understand how we can even stand to eat it but this recipe is so easy and it makes it so good!
Mr. Awesome was my worst critic when it first came to rice and noodle alternatives but I have found that he really likes them by reducing the moisture content and adding some familiar flavors.
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Favorite Homeschool Resources – March 2024
I’ll try to keep this short and sweet so you can have a chance to check out these great sites and products! I started a list of sites and resources for March as we came to them.
These are some of our favorite resources from this past month:
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Spinach and Bacon Smothered Chicken
This recipe is so good and it’s pretty easy to make as well. We usually like to use chicken thighs but chicken breast would work just fine. You can also bake the chicken and keep the creamed spinach on the side if you have picky eaters.
Garden Update March 2024
Whew! It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve actually sat down and checked in on the blog. We’ve been so busy… every time we think it couldn’t get any busier or any more exciting than it does and just when we think we might have a chance to rest a bit something else happens. We’ve also had some appointments, birthdays, and special dances thrown in too!
Little miss enjoying the wind and making shadow friends!
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Special Spring Meals and Recipe Links
If you haven’t checked out our Perpetual Meal Plan – Spring 2024 then you should do it NOW! It’s completely FREE and a lot of the recipes can be found right here on our blog. Plus we’ve got lots of ideas for those special meals that happen during March, April, and May. Hopefully, you will still have time to grab the items you need for the upcoming meals!
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Keto Fried Chicken Gizzards
Although I was southern-raised I don’t ever remember trying fried chicken gizzards until I moved to Florida and my brother brought home a few from the local gas station… I was hooked and needed more! I never thought about making them myself as it was easy enough to run to the gas station for a quick treat until it wasn’t.
I desperately craved these during my last three pregnancies… I might’ve been craving them before just not knowing what it was that I was craving. With Shyanne it was harder to get them because of COVID and I was so sick for most of the pregnancy that trying to make them myself was out of the question!
Fast forward to this past week when what did my little eye spy when cleaning out the fridge? Chicken gizzards! How they got there I have no clue but then the next day there were more… I think someone was trying to send me some hints.
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Easiest Laundry Hack to Keep The Laundry Monster at Bay
This is probably not a hack but more of a little tip to keep those laundry piles from getting out of control or to help get them back under control if they get a little crazy. I’ve seen some crazy laundry piles and they weren’t pretty. Thankfully we haven’t had those and if we have it’s been so long that I can’t remember.
The easiest way to tackle a mountain of dirty clothes is to just get them washed! Don’t worry about sorting or any of that nonsense… just fill the washer, add some soap, and wash. Granted there may be some items that don’t come out looking as good as they should but drastic circumstances call for drastic measures sometimes.
We don’t have a lot of ‘special care’ items and if we do then they are kept separate from our normal wash. Most of the clothes that we choose to keep around are the kind that can withstand anything… and if they do get messed up the kids can just use them as play clothes or we can use ours for days when we have some messy projects to tackle.
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Easy Sourdough Quiche
Our new Spring meal plan has quiche in the breakfast rotation. This is a wonderful dish that could be eaten at any time of day or for any occasion… maybe even an Easter or Mother’s Day brunch?
Mr. Awesome’s Mom, Granny, makes an amazing quiche and she wrote the recipe down for me but I was a little confused about the directions so I improvised and it turned out pretty good… he says it is very close to Granny’s. The original recipe calls for Bisquick which I don’t keep in my pantry but I do have plenty of sourdough so I used that instead and just adjusted ingredients until it ‘felt right’.
This has quickly become a favorite in our home! I believe her recipe says to sprinkle a little cheese in the bottom of the casserole before pouring everything in but we haven’t tried that. This is also great as leftovers and you may find that you need to make two of them to keep everyone happy! We do leave the mushrooms whole so that the pickier kids can pick them out pretty easily but you could chop them up. You can also add any other veggie or meat that you like.
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Getting Organized by Color Coding Your Kids!
I don’t know if I’ve ever shared this before but this seems to be something that a lot of people are just now figuring out. We’ve been using this system for a while now… even before I started blogging! A lot of these pictures are from a previous house that we lived in but they show the way we started out with our color code adventure and some of the organization that we had. This post was actually started almost 2 years ago… I’ve been trying to go through some of the posts that have been overlooked and forgotten about.
When you have a pile of kids like we do then things can get really crazy, really fast. That’s what happened to me when we added 3 kids to my 4 all at one time… complete CHAOS. Thankfully, I had the older kiddos pretty set with their routines and they were such a GREAT HELP with the younger ones but then when we added 2 more kids to the pile it got CRAZY again but thanks to this little ‘HACK’ it didn’t stay crazy for too long.
What did we change?
We assigned a ‘color’ to each child and then I tried to color coordinate most of their items with this chosen color. To start with I gave each kiddo a cup in their color. They kept these cups at the kitchen sink for water and such and they used that one cup all day. I already had these cups** so that was the colors we originally picked from. When the cups were washed they were put back in the little bin so we no longer had a billion cups lying all over the house.
Spring is in the air!
We can see the signs of Spring all around us as the fruit trees and bushes are starting to bloom, the birds are nesting, and our animals are having little ones. We can also see the pollen everywhere but it reminds us that everything is starting fresh and new for the year and it is kind of exciting.
One of the things that the kids always look forward to are these Empty Tomb Rolls at Easter. Since I’ve been studying more about the Holy Days vs Holidays I’m not sure how our Easter will look as I am really leaning more into a Passover celebration. These will still be great to help teach the kids about the resurrection while spending some quality time with them.
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Tongue on Fire
How many times have you let something slip out of your mouth and then instantly regretted it? It happens more often than I’d like it to and I have been praying a lot about it.
I’m not just talking about profanity but sometimes hurtful things or not-so-nice comments. Sometimes we can get a little carried away with gossip and say a little too much or sometimes we can get a little smart in the mouth… it might seem funny in the moment but it really isn’t always the best way we could’ve handled a situation.
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Loop Schedule Changes
It’s been a while since we’ve used Loop Scheduling in our homeschool but something needed to change as these kids have been dragging school on and on EVERY SINGLE DAY and it feels like I can’t get anything done. I decided to try a Loop Schedule so that we can FOCUS on the things that need to get completed as we are currently on WEEK 32 of our 2023-2024 school year and not close to being where we need to be to get FINISHED. <insert sad face>
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Douglas Talks – Bible Lessons for Kids
I always try to post links to things that we find helpful in our daily lives and this is one YouTube channel that we go back to a lot as my kids really enjoy listening to the lessons that they have.
Douglas Talks is a green puppet who loves explaining the Bible to kids in a fun and entertaining way. My kids can really relate to some of the stories that he tells and it really helps them to understand the message a lot better.
Check out Douglas Talks on YouTube!
They have a huge variety of videos on Bible topics like the 10 commandments, the Beatitudes, and holidays, plus many more. I recently discovered that they also have a website dedicated to this amazing little puppet.
I really enjoyed learning about the story behind the creation of Douglas Talks as well. Why don’t you check them out really quick and see what you think? You might just learn something too!
Check out the Douglas Talks Website!
Do or Do Not, There is no try
I think I need to make a plaque or something with this inscription because it really does seem to fit this season we are in around here. This can be applied to so many areas of our lives and to our parenting journeys… trust me I know about parenting challenges.
I hear these things so many times from my kids…
I tried but I couldn’t do it.
I did make changes in my attitude but no one noticed.
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Sabbath Day Resources
On our journey to learning more about the Biblical Feasts and Holy Days we can’t help but take some time to focus on the Sabbath Day. Many of us have heard of this one but some of us, myself included, haven’t ever really thought about how it should be observed. Well, let me tell you that I’ve been learning a lot and I’m trying to incorporate what I’ve learned into our lives but it has proven to be a bit more difficult than it should be.
The Sabbath is probably the hardest of all the 10 commandments to keep… I had never thought about it until lately but it’s true for most of us. God created the Sabbath day as a day of rest and too often we just look at it as a ‘day off’ or a ‘free day’ from our regular work but we will use it to ‘catch-up’ on projects that we need to get done… I’m so guilty of this!
Mark 2:27-28KJV
27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
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Tax Time!
It’s the time of year when a lot of people are getting their taxes completed and some have started receiving their refunds… and some may be paying in a bit.
There is always a question of where to best spend that extra money… if you were on the receiving end. While this is an older post a lot of the information still applies and I thought I’d share it again just in case someone might’ve needed some ideas.
God Bless!
What is Leap Year?
Did you know that the calendars we use today have not been the calendars that have always been in use? Calendars have been revised many times over the ages by various leaders, governments, and even the church! As a result, the number of days in a year has changed many different times. My kiddos have had some questions about Leap Year so I thought I’d share of of the answers that we’ve found.
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Why Do I Blog?
This is a question that I get asked pretty often and I even ask myself this from time to time. There isn’t any one size fits all answer to this but basically, I blog because I like to share with people. I started blogging because others encouraged me to share some of what our family was going through at the time. We had a lot going on as we had more than doubled our family in less than 3 years and we had begun homeschooling.
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WorldWatch News: Stream A Week Free!
Have you ever heard of a Gaikotsupandahoya? Well, neither had we until this morning when we saw it on the news… the WorldWatch News that is. This site offers ‘News For Students Produced By Christian Journalists‘ and it’s not just for kids! I really enjoy the stories as well and I rarely watch the news.
CHECK OUT THE STORY ABOUT THE GAIKOSUPANDAHOYAS HERE.
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Want your kids to eat healthier?
Vanessa from the UK got “brilliant results” with the Kids Cook Real Food redefining picky eating process, and she says, “That had to be the calmest, quietest meal we’ve had in years!!”
My kids have had their moments and sometimes I feel like I’ve pulled all the tricks out of my bag and need more to try.
I’ll keep this short, but you are running out of time to get in for day 1 of the No More Picky Eating Challenge: A Free 5-day Dinner Table Transformation to Banish Power Struggles in 30 Minutes a Day!
Continue reading “Want your kids to eat healthier?”
**Homeschool Giveaway ALERT!**
Are you on the lookout for top-notch homeschooling resources to make learning more effective and engaging for your kids? If yes, then you’re going to love NotebookingPages.com‘s Homeschool Giveaway on Wednesday, February 21st!
Starting Our Sabbath
So I’ve been talking about the Biblical Feasts and the Sabbath but have I actually been trying to put these things into action?
Yes, we have. We don’t have a perfect routine yet but we are trying to make an intentional effort to include the Sabbath into our weeks as well as making plans to include the Biblical Feasts into our yearly plans… even though we aren’t quite sure how that will look yet.
As far as the Sabbath goes, we have been doing it on Sundays. I know there is a lot of debate about Saturday or Sunday but for now, Sunday is what works for us. I also know that the Sabbath should begin at sundown the day before but we didn’t do that either although I may try to start that.
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Valentine’s Day: A Day To Celebrate or Not?
Hmm… I can imagine the sounds of thousands of sighs of relief if we all came together and decided not to celebrate Valentine’s Day anymore. While I do love a box of chocolates from my honey, it seems that EVERY holiday has gotten out of hand and become a big thing for the stores to PROMOTE but where exactly did Valentine’s Day come from?
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Stuffed Acorn Squash
With grocery prices skyrocketing around here, I’ve really been trying to shop for some of the cheaper produce even if we’ve never tried them before. Last week I picked up a couple of acorn squash… I mean we do like most squashes so I figured we would like them too.
I’m sure there are a ton of ways that these could be prepared but I just couldn’t pick a recipe so I went with something similar to what I’ve done with other squash before.
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Super Bowl Foods List
Has time gotten away from you already this year? Or maybe you were surprised by the fact that you are hosting a Super Bowl get-together… after people have already been invited? Yep, but that’s OK because we love our friends and family and we love spending time with them.
I didn’t realize that we were hosting a Super Bowl Party of the menu would have been included with our Winter Meal Plans but here are some quick and easy ideas to throw together for an impromptu get-together or a Super Bowl party:
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Passover Resources
I’ve been talking about these Biblical Feasts to anyone who will listen, whether they want to know about them or not because I’m so intrigued that I never knew about these BEFORE!!!
I have some resources listed in this blog post Holy Days vs Holidays but I wanted to post some more that were more related to Passover. I’m sure that I will be posting about the other Biblical Feasts as well but right now we are focused more on Passover as that is the one that is coming up first. I’m posting them here so I don’t lose them or forget about them… maybe they’ll help someone else but if not they will be here when I need them!
I really like watching Heavenly Minded Homeschool but recently I came across the Living with Eve YouTube channel and I LOVE IT!!! It may be because they have the CUTEST daughter who reminds me of our youngest but I do SERIOUSLY LOVE this channel!
Continue reading “Passover Resources”Special Prayer Request for World Cancer Day
Please keep a special family in your thoughts and prayers this weekend as their little one was just diagnosed with AML.
It reminds me of our diagnosis and brings back all those memories… we would never wish this on anyone but we hope that we can help them as they travel this path.
So please keep them, and all the families who have received a cancer diagnosis, in your thoughts and prayers as Sunday, February 4th, is also World Cancer Day. No one ever expects to be one of those affected by cancer until they are… please pray!
If you have any special prayer requests please leave your name in the comments and we will add you to our prayer list.
If you or someone you know has been recently diagnosed then you might find this list helpful… it was geared more towards having a young child but you may find some tips and ideas for patients of any age:
Groceries Gone Wild!
Oh my goodness! It’s the beginning of a new month and I just sat down to do my monthly orders plus place my weekly grocery order and I about fell off the kitchen stool when I saw the totals in my carts!
SERIOUSLY! I moved to the dining table so the fall wouldn’t be as bad and where I could settle in with a fresh cup of coffee and figure out what the ‘essentials’ also were and make sure to cut out the ‘extras’ which have already been pretty slim on my budget.
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Oily Chat – February
I haven’t really talked a lot about essential oils lately but they are still a big part of our lives. I had gotten away from the boxes that I used to receive from Simply Earth but I have signed up again as the quality of the oils I’ve been getting from other places just isn’t as good.
Loaded Cauliflower Casserole
This is our take on low-carb twice-baked potatoes… it has quickly become a family favorite! You could easily use potatoes in place of the cauliflower, if you please.
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Empty Tomb Rolls (aka Resurrection Rolls) and Resurrection Donut Idea
I found this recipe on Facebook a couple of years ago and my kids love to help make these. This has become an Easter tradition in our home. They are a good way to teach about the resurrection of Jesus at any time though!
You can find this recipe listed in our Perpetual Meal Plan – Spring 2024 along with some meal plans for other Spring holidays… 3 months’ worth of meals are all planned out!
There is also a Trim Healthy Mama version HERE. Continue reading “Empty Tomb Rolls (aka Resurrection Rolls) and Resurrection Donut Idea”
Pollywog's Place Blog 