Learning With My Boys

2 Year Old Pocahontas Toddler Photos

Pocahontas this fall… but it’s too cold to go outside this year.

We had been watching Disney Pocahontas this fall so she was excited to she herself as the “Pretty Princess”.

Laying in the leaves.

Pretty and long hair!

Below she is Pocahontas 1 year apart in each photo…

Family Teen Halloween Festivities

The kids are growing up so we tried some more activities geared toward teens this year!

Campfire

Fall Foods

Hot Cocoa & Apple Cider

Carmel Apples (red, green, yellow apples) with mini chocolate chips, chopped nuts, and sprinkles

Roasted Hot Dogs

S’mores

Chili with cheese, crackers and corn chips

Homemade Chili Recipe

Ingredients:

Chili Brick
2 lb. ground beef
3 cans of kidney beans
1 can tomato soup
1 Cup water

Directions:

Brown the beef and drain.
Mix all of the ingredients in a big pot and bring to boil.
Lower heat and simmer until chili brick is dissolved, at least an hour, stirring occasionally.

Pumpkin Carving

Candy vs. Chocolate

This was one of the kids favorite activities this year!

Storm Trunk -or- Treat

Goodnight Moon Tot School

One of the favorite books for all of my toddlers over the years has been “Goodnight Moon”. The simple rhyming and repetition is calming for my little ones.

Abeka Curriculum

I was able to incorporate several of our Abeka nursery lessons into this unit as well. Following are some of the specific books with links that are used in this Farm Tot School Unit:

Goodnight Moon Sensory Tub

Color: Red

Shape: Crescent

Number: 2

Letter: M (moon)

Abeka Language Development card 1
Abeka Nursery Arts & Crafts pg. 1 & 55

“In the great green room”

“There was a telephone”

Abeka Language Development card 65
Abeka Learning Numbers with Button Bear pg. 101

“And a red balloon”

S reviewed his colors by coloring the balloons on page 2 of this download the color that I told him. Then I cut it out and folded it into a book.

“And a picture of—”

“The cow jumping over the moon”

I got this printable from Homeschool Creations. I added a craft stick to them so I could make the cow jump over the moon.

“And there were three little bears sitting on chairs”

I cut out the bears and chairs for S to sort them by size. Then she wanted them to have a “bowl of mush” too.

“And two little kittens”

I printed the 2 Little Kittens printable for her to color.

“And a pair of mittens”

Abeka Language Development pg. 144

“And a little toy house”

“And a young mouse”

Abeka Language Development card 51
Abeka Child Art for 2’s pg. 53
Abeka Summer Fun with Amber Lamb pg. 35

“And a comb and a brush”

“and a bowl full of mush”

“And a quiet old lady who was whispering “hush””

“Goodnight room”

I printed the Goodnight Room Coloring Page for S.

“Goodnight moon”

“Goodnight cow jumping over the moon”

Abeka Arts & Crafts with Button Bear pg. 25

“Goodnight light”

Abeka Language Development card 25
Abeka Child Art for 2’s pg. 25

“And the red balloon”

“Goodnight bears”

Abeka Language Development card 10

“Goodnight chairs”

“Goodnight kittens”

Abeka Language Development card 15

I found this 3 Little Kittens for her to match mittens with the kittens.

“And goodnight mittens”

“Goodnight clocks”

Here is the Hickory, Dickory, Dock coloring page.

“And goodnight socks”

“Goodnight little house”

Abeka Language Development card 34
Abeka Learning Numbers with Button Bear pg. 17
Abeka Nursery Arts & Crafts pg. 177

“And goodnight mouse”

“Goodnight comb And goodnight brush”

“Goodnight nobody”

Abeka Language Development card 33
Abeka Summer Fun with Amber Lamb pg. 59
Abeka Learning Numbers with Button Bear pg. 29

“Goodnight mush”

“And goodnight to the old lady whispering “hush””

Abeka Language Development pg. 153

“Goodnight stars”

“Goodnight air”

Draw moon and stars with a white crayon and paint water colors over it.

“Goodnight noises everywhere.”

Abeka Language Development card 52

Chewy Sugar Cookies

Cookie Ingredients:

1 Cup Butter
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1//2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cookie Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray cookie sheet with nonstick spray
Cream together the butter and sugar.
Add the egg and mix well.
Stir in the flour, baking powder, salt and vanilla.
Form dough into a large ball and place in a bowl to refrigerate for a hour.
Roll the cookie dough onto a floured surface about 1/4 inch thick.
Cut out the dough with cookie cutters and place them on the pan.
Bake for 8-10 minutes.
Cool and add the buttercream.

Buttercream Ingredients:

1 cup butter
1 cup Crisco
4 cups powdered sugar (2 lbs)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon milk (if thick)

Buttercream Directions:

Cream together the butter and Crisco with a mixer.
Slowly add in 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time.
Add the vanilla, if it seems too thick you can add a bit of milk.
Color with yellow food coloring.

6 Month Old Cinderella Baby Photos

She’s 6 months old… Time flies! We did Cinderella with pumpkins this October photo session.

She loves to be on her tummy, making it easier for me to get some cute pictures at this stage!

Such gorgeous eyes!

2 Year Old Cinderella Toddler Photo

Gorgeous Girl!

Pumpkin Season

“Bippity Boppity Boo”

CHEESE

Below she is Cinderella 1 year apart in each photo…

Cousin Fall Forest Photos

We went to the backyard forest for these pictures. These three girls are cousins; we decided to take the pictures for as a Christmas gift for the grandparents.

We did get a couple smiles from the tiny one.

The picnic table was a fun addition to our photoshoot.

Little Miss Storm wasn’t interested in cooperating with her smiles today.

Snow White Disney Dinner

The Little One has been watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs lately, so I decided to have a German Snow White themed dinner for family movie night!

Appetizer: Bavarian Pretzels

Dough Ingredients:

3 tea Instant dry yeast
1 ½ Cup Warm Water (100-110 degrees)
2 TBS granulated sugar
4 Cup all-purpose flour
1 tea salt

Crust Ingredients:

1 Cup water
2 tea baking soda
Coarse Sea Salt
¼ Cup Butter

Instructions:

Combine yeast and warm water and sugar.
Add in flour and salt (knead or use mixer).
Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a tea towel, and place in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven 425, grease baking sheet.
Divide dough into 8 equal parts. Roll each part into 24 inch rope to form the pretzel.
In a shallow bowl, combine the water and baking soda. Submerge each pretzel in water and place on the baking sheet.
Sprinkle with sea salt and let sit for 10 minutes.
Bake for 12 minutes then brush with melted butter.
Serve with cheese sauce.

Entrée: Gulaschsuppe (soup)

Ingredients:

2 T. olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 lb beef, cubed into bite sized pieces
2 T. balsamic vinegar
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
6 med thin skinned potatoes, peeled and cubed into bite sized pieces
32 oz beef broth
Water
3 bay leaves
1 T. paprika
6 oz. tomato paste

Instructions:

Cook onion, carrots, celery and garlic in olive oil until the onion is caramelized.
Scrape pot and add beef, browning well.
Scrape the pot again and add the wine and balsamic vinegar, let it simmer on low until the wine has almost entirely evaporated.
Add broth, bay leaves and paprika, and let simmer for about an hour to tenderize the beef.
Add potato cubes and enough water to cover plus about 1 inch above, and bring to boil.
When potatoes are tender, add tomato paste, lower to a simmer and let cook for about another 15 minutes.

Fruit: Apple Dumplings

(I got this idea from the Disney Princess Cookbook.)

Dough Ingredients:

1.5 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
6 TBSP of cold butter
1/2 cup of milk

Filling Dough Ingredients:

2 peeled apple (cut into quarters)
1 TBSP butter (cut into quarters)
3 TBSP of brown sugar
1/4 cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

Syrup Ingredients:

1 cup of hot water
½ cup packed brown sugar
2 TBSP melted butter

Instructions:

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9inch square baking pan.
2. To make the dough, mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl. Cut 3 tablespoons of butter into small pieces.
3. Use your hands to knead the butter and flour together.
4. Stir in the milk.
5. Flour a surface and knead the dough until it holds together and dust the top with flour. Roll out into a 12 inch square.
6. Cut the dough into four equal squares and place two quarters of apple in each square.
7. Place 1 quarter tablespoon butter one quarter in each square.
8. In a small bowl, mix together 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg. Spoon equal amounts of mixture in each square.
9. Gather three corners of dumpling together and pinch together. Put all four in the baking dish an inch apart.
10. Combine hot water, the remaining brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons of butter, melted. Stir and pour over the dumplings in the pan.
11. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.
12. Spoon more syrup over the top, and serve warm.

Vegi: Crispy Potato Bake

Ingredients:

6 russet potatoes, thinly sliced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons rosemary
1 teaspoon thyme
¼ cup real bacon bits

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375F.
Use a mandolin or sharp knife to make thin, equal slices of your potatoes and onions – about 1/8″ thick is ideal.
Grease a round casserole dish.
Use a spiral pattern , arrange the sliced potatoes in your baking dish.
Insert the sliced onions an equal distance apart amongst the sliced potatoes.
Place the butter in a microwave-safe dish and microwave for 330 seconds until completely melted. Stir in the olive oil and then pour the mixture over the casserole.
Sprinkle on your seasoning and bacon bits.
Cover with tinfoil and bake for 45 minutes.
Remove the tinfoil and continue baking for 15 minutes to crisp up the potatoes and bacon.

Dessert: Poison Apple Pie

(I got the idea for my Poison Apple Pie from A Magical Kingdom Called Home Blog.)

Ingredients:

4 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and diced
14oz can whole cranberries
Juice from one lemon
2 tsp pie spice
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Two pie crusts
Egg wash

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425°. Line pie plate with one pie crust and set aside. Pour lemon juice over diced apples and stir to prevent browning.
In a medium saucepan, bring cranberries, one cup of apples, sugar, water, and pie spice to a boil over medium heat. Then lower heat and simmer 10-15 minutes.
Remove from heat and add remaining apples. Let filling cool while preparing the crust.
Lay second pie crust on working area. Using a picture reference and a knife, free hand the Poison Apple face to the pie crust. Paint the crust with egg wash.
Turn pie filling into pastry lines pie plate and then carefully place crust on top. Fold and pinch pie crusts together. Cover edges with aluminum foil or pie crust protector shield.
Bake for 30 minutes, remove crust shield and bake for additional 15 minutes.

Drink: Evil Queen’s Punch

Ingredients:

2 envelopes lemon-lime Kool-Aid
10 cups water
2 cups sugar
46 ounce can of pineapple juice
1 quart lime sherbet
2 liters lemon-lime soda

Instructions:

Combine the Kool-Aid, sugar, water, and pineapple juice. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
When ready to serve, scoop lime sherbet into a punch bowl.
Pour the kool-aid and juice combo over the Sherbet. Follow this up with lemon-lime soda.
Serve immediately.