Coconut Spice Sconelettes

Like their name? Me too! They are subtle and kind of like super easy, no brain 3-bite cinnamon scones. Perfect with afternoon tea.

They don't look like much, I am tired...but I am saving all my recipes here before I forget...life gets busy and kids seem to eat my recipe papers or they wander off...

It makes about 16

Ingredients

4 eggs

2 1/2 cups shredded coconut (unsweetened)

1/4c arrow root starch

2T coconut flour

1/4 cup molasses 

2T Maple syrup

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ginger

Mix it all together and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes (or until edges are golden brown). 

*Tip if batter seems a little runny ass 1tsp of  coconut flour and stir well and let it sit for a minute or two.

Too Sweet for Sugar Cocoa Chewy Drop Cookies

Due to candida over growth issues, and our desire to nourish our bodies, we don't "do" sugar. Finding ways to have treats with our dietary constrictions and long term health goals, well it is always an adventure! These cookies are sweetened with ripe bananas and 1 Tablespoon of maple syrup, chewey and filling - perfect rainy day treat.

We use toddler spoons for our cooking experiments!

Ingredients

3 ripe bananas

4 eggs

1 1/2 C unsweetened shredded coconut

 2 Tablespoons oil (melted, I used palm shortening melted)

2T cocoa powder

2/3 C arrow root starch

1/3 C coconut flour

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp baking soda

1T maple syrup

Directions

Whip bananas, almond extract, oil, and eggs in food processor or blender

In a mixing bowl combine coconut and dry ingredients

Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix well 

Spoon by the tablespoon onto a cookie sheet ***lined with parchment paper*** and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until cookie is firm to a tap and sides look slightly crisp. 

Banana NOatmeal Cookies

I miss oatmeal, since we started our gut healing re-boot in the spring we have stopped eating it. It really doesn't agree with AJ's tummy (or mine for that matter). This morning the kids wanted to have a tea party and I was craving oatmeal cookies...I think this concoction comes pretty close!

Ingredients
1 egg
4 Bananas
1/4 tsp Almond extract (5or 6 drops)
1/4 tsp Baking soda
1ish Tablespoon Cinnamon
Unsweetened Shredded coconut

Directions: in food processor mix *3* bananas with 2 cups of shredded coconut and 1 egg. Pulse until blended well.
Mix in other ingredients an combine well, **add final banana and chop coarsely **
(I just mixed with a fork).
Put on parchment paper line cookie sheet.

Bake at 350° for 20-25minutes until edges are golden brown.

Balalance

 

 

My lesson of this school year: baaaallaaaaalance. It's not always pretty. I have my goals for every child. I have so many fun and creative ways to meet those goals! I have the ideas, stories, and concepts I want to expose them to.

But on the flip side is the desire to balance it with genuine learning: playing. And not "educational playing", or "sneaky games that are teaching". But "go out, get dirty disagree and work it out with kindness, deep imaginative, dirty, all in PLAYING" the kind that is and leads to all other learning. 

I feel like our days are crammed and packed full, and in the center is this line I am tiptoeing on: exposing them to good books, connecting with them through games and activities, introducing them to the concepts and themes that are in-line with my hopes and goals for our school year.

I tiptoe along my plans, aiming at my goals... trying to  be sure I am making our school days as enriching as possible, scouring the library for a fun book to drive home the ideas and make the concepts more real to them. Honey Bee's aren't just little bugs that sting, but a real journey with "The Honeybee Man".

And then it falls flat (well that didn't, but other plans are quickly abandoned because there is 1 of me and 4 of them... or it isn't the right time of day). Or it isn't working and I feel like I am pulling a move PJ likes to do in her "dances", reeling off balance almost upside down trying to figure out what comes next.

I don't have the adorable toddler legs and Dora underwear to make it look cute. Some times the swinging of trying to find my balance between play, and meeting goals, getting stuff done, and being their Mom... well it makes me feel frustrated and cranky. Other times it's just too much for me. They're asking all their questions and wanting to read all the things and tackle all the projects NOW.

Home schooling is my favorite, I love the freedom. I love meeting my kids where they're at, finding ways to make it right for *them*. Always reaching find the balance of wanting them to know and learn the things they need to know, wanting them to grow strong righteous characters, and embracing the fact that they're all still so very little. Balancing my expectations too.

Up and down, tiptoeing through the day trying to figure out which end us up and what will be best for everyone.

It's a challenge!!!

Backyard Habitat Unit 1/ Day 4

Our Theme: Science and Nature Day!

This Day we headed to the park AJ was having a "seeky" morning and there was no way we could stay home with the disintegration at every turn. We headed out early while it was still cool.
 

We sketched and ate snacks. Pip started drawing PEOPLE for the first time ever. People with eyes, nose, mouth, hands, feet, legs, arms... she's 2!!

 We did "shows" and played and played!

 

 

 

and then we walked the 1.3 miles home with my Griswold Mobile of a stroller! The kids got Tired and I got to push 2 of them, wear 1 on my back, and play challenge games with which ever older kid was walking to encourage them to keep up their strength. :D

That was pretty much Science and Nature Day: we got outside!!!

Backyard Unit 1/ Day3

Our Theme Art and Music Day!

Reading

• Ribsy by Beverley Cleary
• Bible Reading
• The Living Clarinet: Mozart (we listened to CD and read a tiny bit about Mozart over lunch)

Investigation Activity
We started looking at elements of human habitats today! We built houses out of brown paler bags and construction paper and made "diorama's" of a human house, with water source, and food sources included.

Preschool/Kindergarten Literacy Activity

• A is for Aardvark p 90 of DC Animal Encyclopedia
•  A and 1 review and finger play
• ABC Animals by...I returned it to the library- pick one there a bajillion. :D 
•  we built a blanket fort and pretended to be puppies, alrighty!

A good day!

Backyard Unit Day 2

 Our Theme: Math and Life Skills Day!

• Ribsy by Beverley Cleary
• Bible Reading Genesis 3-4 (Egermier's Children's Story Book)
• One Small Square p. 10-11 (Core Curriculum)
• Read about Anteater on p. 95 of DK Animal encyclopedia 
•  Secrets Of  the Garden Food Chains and the Food Web in Our Backyard by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld (Core Curriculum)

Other books to enjoy together...
If All the Animals Came Inside by Eric Pinder
McDuff Comes Home by Rosemary Wells
Poems to Read to the Very Young by Eloise Wilkin
Check out your local library, there are so many sweet animal stories!

Investigation Activity

• Draw from One Small Square pages activity
• Look underneath and down low in your square can you find evidence of anyone living here? 

 Preschool/Kindergarten Literacy Activity 

• Our letter A (HOD finger play)
•  Number 1 (YouTube playlist **previewed, but adult supervision recommended**) 
• With our Math theme we played Memory with dominos.  
• StarFall "A" on the tablet, the toddlers had fun taking turns tapping the A.

Arts and Crafts
Coloring pages...Sesame Street ands farm animals, simple.

Elementary
Continued working on animal categories.

Back Yard Unit Day1

Okay here we go...Day 1
Our Theme: Literature Day!

• Reading: 1 Chapter of Ribsy
• Genesis 1&2 ( Egermier's p. 11)
• One Small Square p. 3-9 

Other Books to enjoy together:

• My Garden by Keven Henkes
• We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Helen Oxenbury
• Poems to Read to the Very Young by Eloise Wilken

Investigation Activity:
We headed outside and each picked ours square looking high, low, inside, and underneath for signs of life. We found spiders, beetles, worms, ants, we carefully pulled up some soil to observe inside our glass jar.

Pre-School/Kindergarten Literacy Activity
Our Letter of the week is "A" and our Number is "1"

•  read about Albatrosses on page 91 of our DK Animal Encylopedia
•  HOD finger Play for letter "A"
• Fine Motor Activity (Painters Tape Letter A to floor, have children decorate A's with Pom Poms, legos, or blocks while listening to Bible Story)
• Letter 1 Activity (I had children find "1" thing to show and tell me about)

Arts and Crafts
Preschool: 

•  *Have little ones decorate the Letter "A" while watching  The Letter A youtube PLAYLIST

 (my other playlists are very much a work in progress. *Also please note: youtube is not a child-friendly place. I previewed all the videos in my playlist to be sure they were safe and appropriate. Even so, **Careful supervision is recommended**)
 Elementary:

• Fill in Notebooking Animal Profile page for one animal we found that morning
• Begin decorating divider pages (if children enjoy that sort of thing, my kids live for "art" and drawing!)

Diving Into Habitats: Back yard! Unit 1 Intro

Here we go!
I thought I would share the curriculum I am building as it unfolds, this way I have a place where the whole journey is well documented and others can dive into habitats as well!
The great thing about this curriculum is that it is a launching point for lots of exploration. I am gathering my frame from the One Small Square books. I am also challenging us to think of the habitat from all angles and all areas of our square: up high, on top, down low, inside, underneath, down below. From that place I am looking for *all* the creatures we can find in the habitat. From there we can all draw our own unique finds of living books and well illustrated resources with that in mind.

This week was mostly an introduction to habitats.

• What is a habitat? (common elements for all creatures: shelter, food, water)
• What senses do you use to investigate a habitat? (introduction/review of 5 senses)
• When we discover a new animal in our habitat how do they see the world? Do they have a nose like us? Touch like us? Eat like us? See like us?  What do they do?
• We explore human habitats- up high, down low, inside, and outside.
• We explore the life cycle and food cycles in our gardens

 I am also hoping to take another gap year (a break from our history spiral) when my youngest (doing Pre-K right now) is in the K-2nd grade range. Eventually this curriculum has the potential to be a K-6th grade options, exciting stuff.

As it stands now this curriculum is ideal for Pre-K-2nd grade. 

Supplies
A binder for each student
Notebook page dividers (4-6 depending on how detailed you wish to be)
A magnifying glass for each student (Dollar Tree!)
Notebook paper
Pencils
Crayons
Glue sticks
Glass Jars
Flash Light
A cookie sheet 
Library Card

Notebooking Options

For my 1st grader I broke down her note book into the categories of
Mammal
Reptile
Amphibian
Bird
Insect
Plants
We used a page divider for each category and during rest and quiet times she worked at decorating each page with drawings and stickers of each divider.

For my Kindergartener- who is easily frustrated and has some sensory challenges- I used a more simple format:
Animals
Bugs (her preference, whatever)
Plants

Curriculum Core Book List (Links further down)

• One Small Square Backyard by Donald Silver
• DK Animal Encyclopedia
• Secrets of the Garden Food Chains and the Food a web in our Backyard by Kathleen Weidner Zoedeld
• Alphabet Art: With A-Z Animal Art and Fingerplays by Williamson Little Hands Series)
• Ed Emberley's Drawing Book of Animals (great sneaky hand writing and letter shape practice!) 

Week 1 Book List
One Small Square: Backyard  by Donald Silver (Core Curriculum, we own)

DK Animal Encyclopedia  (core curriculum, we own)

My Five Senses by Aliki (Library Loan)

Ribsy by Beverely Cleary (Audio Book, Library Loan)

Secrets of the Garden Food Chains and the Food Web in Our Backyard by Kathhleen Weidner Zoefeld

Were also Using Heart of Dakota's "Little Hands to Heaven" Pre-K/Kindergarten curriculum for Bible and part of our Alphabet Theme. I have another 2 year old in my care during the school week, and the Finger Play ideas and Bible related projects are awesome! We're reading through Egermier's Childrens Story Book daily in line with the HOD resources.

Other Resources I shared on another post.

Okay Onwards to
Backyard Unit W1/D1
Backyard Unit W1/D2
Backyard Unit W1/D3
http://mamaojoy.blogspot.com/2014/09/backyard-unit-1-week-1day3.html
Backyard Unit W1/D4
http://mamaojoy.blogspot.com/2014/09/backyard-habitat-unit-week-1day-4.html
Backyard W1/D5
http://mamaojoy.blogspot.com/2014/09/backyard-unit-week-1-day-5.html