Cheap Pizza (among other things)
This recipe was a hit at our home tonight. Now, I've made homemade pizza before, and it's pretty much been a hit or miss experience. Sometimes, on a good day, I would get the crust rolled out so it was fairly even, get the right amount of sauce, and a good balance of cheese and toppings. However, one problem was consistent: regardless of how well everything else would go, the middle of the pizza would inevitably be soggy. Well, duhhhh...the lightbulb finally went off. Make several smaller crusts, prebake them, and let those of us with different tastes (two of us like olives and onions as opposed to the family favorite, pepperoni) have our own pizza. Excellent idea, I must say...and not more soggy middles. I used the "Make Ahead Pizza Crust" recipe, which everyone commented positively on...good taste, good texture, not too crispy, not too puffy. Ahhh, I love it when a recipe experiment turns out well. :-)
We also really like the Quick Sugar Cookies recipe from this website. I've never really been a fan of sugar cookies myself...probably because I had never tasted homemade ones. You know the ones I'm talking about here...they come in a plastic roll and you slice and bake. Blech. Anyway, I decided to test the recipe above on a day when we were all desperate for something sugary. Nearly everyone likes them. I have one child who still prefers chocolate chip over the sugar cookies, but she does enjoy them if she gets to decorate them with colored sugar, sprinkles, or nonpareils. We went all out last night and even decorated with piped frosting. Fun, fun, fun.
I'm waiting for a good time to try out the Lemon Bars. They sound absolutely delightful, but I'm afraid I'd be the only one eating them.
School starts around here tomorrow. It will be nice to have a daily break from the constant doorbell-ringing of neighborhood kids. The kids had such a great time playing together for several hours the other day while their friends were busy doing other things. I almost forgot that they can enjoy each others' company when they need to. Anyway, I think we'll be using this coming week to get a gentle start back into homeschooling. It's not that the learning ever stops, it's just we're more focused during the school year.
I've been reading blogs in the For Real Learning Blog Ring and came across Trinity Prep School's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective New School Years" meme. I especially liked the advice from a veteran homeschool mom at The Common Room. This gem (in #7) particularly struck me:
She also discussed how she keeps records in a way that helps them keep track of what has been done, what is left, and in such a way that you aren't constantly needing to rewrite daily or weekly plans because someone was sick, it was a beautiful day outide, or grandma decided to pop in for a visit. So, is my binder still neat and tidy, keeping track of what everyone is working on at once? You betcha! I decided to adopt this record-keeping method, with books listed, chapter breakdowns, weekly lessons to accomplish, etc. with a space next to them to mark off. At the top of each subject is the times per week we will aim for work in the given subject. You can see a similar system here. It actually look much nicer and tidier than my 3 -week 2-page spread for 4 students. :-) Plus, it lays out the whole year, instead of the 12-week term that I initially started with.
Oh, and while we're on the school topic, I did transform our 2nd floor bonus room into another learning space. What I did was get 18" wide white masonite shelves and heavy-duty brackets. DH screwed them into the wall studs so they would be sturdy enough for leaning on and holding books, supplies, and such. The kids are really pleased with having an area to do drawing, artwork, writing, and building with mega-blocks. I, of course, finished the area out with the necessary accoutrements: a new set of a zillion colored markers, new pencils and pens, pencil holders, a nifty looking desk light, and a kewl stackable paper-holder thingamajig. So, now we have a place where we can actually find the watercolor paper, construction paper, white copy paper, and lined looseleaf paper. Yee-haw. I also brought up the Montessori materials that I had made for the younger set and placed them neatly on a shelf nearby. I bought two white stackable cube-things that have middle dividers, so I'll be able to have a section for each school-aged child to keep his or her things (books they are using/reading, binders, etc.). I'd still like a small table and chairs for the two little ones, but it isn't urgent...at least, not yet.
This recipe was a hit at our home tonight. Now, I've made homemade pizza before, and it's pretty much been a hit or miss experience. Sometimes, on a good day, I would get the crust rolled out so it was fairly even, get the right amount of sauce, and a good balance of cheese and toppings. However, one problem was consistent: regardless of how well everything else would go, the middle of the pizza would inevitably be soggy. Well, duhhhh...the lightbulb finally went off. Make several smaller crusts, prebake them, and let those of us with different tastes (two of us like olives and onions as opposed to the family favorite, pepperoni) have our own pizza. Excellent idea, I must say...and not more soggy middles. I used the "Make Ahead Pizza Crust" recipe, which everyone commented positively on...good taste, good texture, not too crispy, not too puffy. Ahhh, I love it when a recipe experiment turns out well. :-)
We also really like the Quick Sugar Cookies recipe from this website. I've never really been a fan of sugar cookies myself...probably because I had never tasted homemade ones. You know the ones I'm talking about here...they come in a plastic roll and you slice and bake. Blech. Anyway, I decided to test the recipe above on a day when we were all desperate for something sugary. Nearly everyone likes them. I have one child who still prefers chocolate chip over the sugar cookies, but she does enjoy them if she gets to decorate them with colored sugar, sprinkles, or nonpareils. We went all out last night and even decorated with piped frosting. Fun, fun, fun.
I'm waiting for a good time to try out the Lemon Bars. They sound absolutely delightful, but I'm afraid I'd be the only one eating them.
School starts around here tomorrow. It will be nice to have a daily break from the constant doorbell-ringing of neighborhood kids. The kids had such a great time playing together for several hours the other day while their friends were busy doing other things. I almost forgot that they can enjoy each others' company when they need to. Anyway, I think we'll be using this coming week to get a gentle start back into homeschooling. It's not that the learning ever stops, it's just we're more focused during the school year.
I've been reading blogs in the For Real Learning Blog Ring and came across Trinity Prep School's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective New School Years" meme. I especially liked the advice from a veteran homeschool mom at The Common Room. This gem (in #7) particularly struck me:
You can curl up on the couch with a good history book and your sweet children
and read together and talk about it and you will have covered as much ground in
literature, critical thinking, vocabulary, and history in half an hour as a public schooled child does in a week. You may not have pen and paper work to show for it, but the work of the mind happens in the mind, and it is what happens in the mind and heart that constitutes education.
She also discussed how she keeps records in a way that helps them keep track of what has been done, what is left, and in such a way that you aren't constantly needing to rewrite daily or weekly plans because someone was sick, it was a beautiful day outide, or grandma decided to pop in for a visit. So, is my binder still neat and tidy, keeping track of what everyone is working on at once? You betcha! I decided to adopt this record-keeping method, with books listed, chapter breakdowns, weekly lessons to accomplish, etc. with a space next to them to mark off. At the top of each subject is the times per week we will aim for work in the given subject. You can see a similar system here. It actually look much nicer and tidier than my 3 -week 2-page spread for 4 students. :-) Plus, it lays out the whole year, instead of the 12-week term that I initially started with.
Oh, and while we're on the school topic, I did transform our 2nd floor bonus room into another learning space. What I did was get 18" wide white masonite shelves and heavy-duty brackets. DH screwed them into the wall studs so they would be sturdy enough for leaning on and holding books, supplies, and such. The kids are really pleased with having an area to do drawing, artwork, writing, and building with mega-blocks. I, of course, finished the area out with the necessary accoutrements: a new set of a zillion colored markers, new pencils and pens, pencil holders, a nifty looking desk light, and a kewl stackable paper-holder thingamajig. So, now we have a place where we can actually find the watercolor paper, construction paper, white copy paper, and lined looseleaf paper. Yee-haw. I also brought up the Montessori materials that I had made for the younger set and placed them neatly on a shelf nearby. I bought two white stackable cube-things that have middle dividers, so I'll be able to have a section for each school-aged child to keep his or her things (books they are using/reading, binders, etc.). I'd still like a small table and chairs for the two little ones, but it isn't urgent...at least, not yet.
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