Simply Made Sunday-Chocolate dipped peanut butter Ritz Bits crackers

This week Mark made a treat for us all by himself. We were experimenting to see what special goody Mark could make for Thanksgiving.

This is definetly a winner!!
You need:
a box of peanut butter Ritz Bits
light cocoa candy melts
green candy melts
a star cake decorating tip
2 ziploc bags

Mark melted the chocolate melts according to the package directions in the microwave.

Melt for 1 min. at half power and then stir. Repeat this process for 30 seconds at half power until completely melted, stirring between each microwaving.

Dunk your Ritz Bits into the chocolate, covering the crackers completely.

He placed his on the shiny side of parchment paper so they can easily peel off after they have hardened.

He then got out the green candy melts and the cake decorating tip.

He used a different, easier technique to melt the green melts.

Because we didn't need a lot of melts, he simply put them in a secure ziploc bag and then placed the bag and melts in the hottest tap water.

It only takes a few minutes for them to melt.

It's fun to squeeze out the lumps and make sure all the candy is melted.

We then put the cake decorating tip into the corner of another ziploc bag and added the green melts to this bag, squeezing the candy out of a hole cut in the corner of the ziploc.

He then added decoration to this yummy, yummy treat.

Grace and Kimmy were very jealous that Mark got to do this on his own, but I like to let different kids do things by themselves some of the time.

Mark was sooooo proud, it was worth the whining of the younger kids.

Now Mark will have his own treat to bring to Thanksgiving dinner at Grandma's house.

Of course, this batch is long gone, but I think I will have him use orange and yellow and red melts for the Thanksgiving tray. That will make them look very autumnal!!

What my children are reading-Nov-14

It is that time of year when our reading turns toward Thanksgiving, turkeys and autumn. Our favorite books of the week are below. I also added a carousel widget at the bottom of this post of some of our other books from this week.

I am a Bunny

One of our all-time favorite picture book for my preschoolers--a wonderful picture book, illustrated by Richard Scarry. It is perfect to help preschoolers learn about the seasons.
This First Thanksgiving Day

My kids just loved this book. It is written in rhyming verse and gently tells about life for the Pilgrims and the Native Americans as they celebrate the first Thanksgiving. The illustrations are wonderful and the 3 and 4 year old have enjoyed looking at this on their own over and over.
"12 tables groaning
beneath a harvest spread--
Wampanoag and Pilgrim friends
together will break bread.
Joined under one sky
with one prayer to say--
a prayer of thanks for all they have
this first Thanksgiving Day." This First Thanksgiving Day

One Tough Turkey

The kids loved this story about how the turkeys tricked the pilgrims on the first Thanksgiving---getting away with their lives, so that the Pilgrims had to eat squash instead of turkey.....Luke (4) especially liked this one--he laughed and laughed

Make sure to check out what others have been reading this week at Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns.

Happy 14th Birthday, Laura!!

We love you, Laura! We are so proud of the beautiful young lady you are becoming, inside and out!

Looking at the Sky on Friday-A November Sky

This is the evening sky on November 12 in the hills of Madison County New York.

I grabbed the camera and my husband,

and had him drive me up into the hills.

We weren't disappointed!

Check out all the Looking at the Sky photos here, and why don't you play along!

We Made It!--Indian Corn Craft

We are quite behind on our crafting as of late, but we did manage to make these cute indian corn decorations this week. I saw the idea last week at Two Hearts Together. I added a little more detail and a story to incorporate the big learners that I have in the house.

We used:

real indian corn

yellow and green construction paper

glue

a template found here
Thanksgiving Bible verses from here

scissors

We also incorportated the reading of my new favorite Thanksgiving book: P is for Pilgrim.
"Across the Atlantic Ocean,

a lone ship on a vast sea.

Ablaze with new hope,

all praying to be free." from P is for Pilgrim

"From the lives of our early settlers, who established the foundations for American freedoms and ideals, to today's celebrations, "P is for Pilgrim" colorfully examines the history and lore of Thanksgiving. This alphabet book pairs each letter with a short poem and a sidebar that provides further information about the ideas presented in the verses." Amazon review

I also love the illustrations in this book.

The Bible verses we used are from Christian Preschool Printables, one of my favorite resourses.

First Gracie and Luke removed the kernels from the corncob.

This was quite a time consumming task for the two of them, resulting in Gracie becoming a little hungry.

Luke stuck with this for longer than I thought he would. It is great work for those little finger muscles.

Kim and Luke both practiced their carefully dotting of the glue, and then applied an indian corn kernel to their "cob."

While the little kids worked on the corn, Mark and Grace traced and cut out the husk part of the craft out of green construction paper.

They then put a suitable Thanksgiving Bible verse on the husk.

Mark choose to cut out the verse and glue it to the husk, while Gracie wrote her verse.

I think they turned out very nice--and are now proudly displayed in our Thanksgiving craft montage area.

Check out all of this weeks We Made It crafts at Ramblings of a Crazy Woman.

It's time to sign up for Holy Heroes Advent Adventure

It is time to sign up for the Holy Heroes Advent Adventure.

This years Advent Adventure is going to focus on the Jesse Tree.

"The Jesse Tree helps you follow the revelation to the Jews, leading up to the birth of the Messiah--through tracing Jesus' family tree. You learn so much about God's plan for our salvation when you do"

This is a totally free Advent program, and Holy Heroes offers the following explaination of this program: " You’ll see short videos, listen to short audio selections, download coloring pictures, word searches and games, take quizzes to see what you’ve learned, and more. Great for your children from the youngest to the oldest (and you, too)."

My family had a wonderful time taking part in the Holy Heroes Summer Faith Adventure.

This was a week long "at home" vacation Bible school. If you click on the link above it will take you to my post of the 5th day of the program, but if you scroll down to the bottom of the post you can see the fun from days 1-4!

Make sure to sign up for this years Advent Adventure now, so you won't miss any of the fun.

Sign up here and then watch your e-mail to join in the fun.

Remember and pray....

When I See an Eagle

Marie Frankson

When I see an eagle,

I see a great nation which has been founded on the principles of

equality and freedom for all.

When I see an eagle,

I see our flag flying high.

I see happy children playing and smiling and laughing and singing.

When I see an eagle,

I see a melting pot of blacks and Hispanics, Italians and Indians, Native American and Irish which make up our country.

When I see an eagle,

I see no more bondage,no more terrorism, ethnocentrism, racism, and hate.

When I see an eagle,

I see our troops fighting for what is right, fighting to keep us free.

When I see an eagle,

I see America standing tall and strong and proud behind her servicemen and women.

When I see an eagle,

I salute and say a silent prayer of thanks for the troops who protect us.

Look at these lovely children

They are not feverish....
they are not crying....
they are not coughing and

and they are not wheezing....

the big kids are back to school after 2 weeks.....

I think we may have made it through the swine flu!!

Thank you for all the prayers!!!!

Win a Free Kindle!!

I just entered a contest to win a free Kindle from Noobie (worth $259!) and I wanted you to have a chance to win one too!
All you need to do to enter is to click the link below or copy and paste it into your favorite Internet browser:
http://www.noobie.com/kindle-giveaway?ref=548728418
Be sure to read the email you get from Noobie after you register. You'll get your own unique link that you can use to earn even more entries in the drawing!

The Scarecrow's Dance-by Jane Yolen

"The Scarecrow has always stood tall and straight, watching over the corn. Then one magical autumn night, he begins to stir. Free from his post, the scarecrow skips through the fields and leaps past the barn, dancing under the moon. But when he hears a young boy's prayer for the farm, the scarecrow comes to understand where he belongs, and what he -- only he -- can do.
From award winners Jane Yolen and Bagram Ibatoulline, this is a moving tale about questioning your place and discovering yourself."

The illustrations and beautiful rhyming text has made this a favorite of the kids and adults alike.

The little ones have been looking through this on their own, enjoying the illustrations, and the big kids are having fun reading this over and over.

"He shrugged his shoulders,

And a grin

Just like a corn row,

And as thin.

Broke out along

His painted face.

He gave a leap--

And left his place."

This will an autumn favorite from now on.....

What My Children are Reading- Nov 7

We have been read alot since the kids have been sick, and our main theme has been "scarecrows".

All the books shown above are just lovely and are on our favorite list, but the most favored is

Waltz of the Scarecrows.

It is about a little girl staying with her grandparents on their farm during the summer. She is surprised when they start making scarecrows for the corn field out to a ball-gown and hat, coat and tails.

We learn in the story how this tradition began and why it is still being carried out on all the farms in the area.

My 3 and 4 year olds loved this story, but it also held the attention of my 8 and 9 year old---and I have to say, it is also one of my favorites.

Check out what others were reading this week at Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns.

This is what "little houses" were made for....

Little Houses @ Yahoo! Video

Thanks Marilyn!

H1N1 update from the front lines

Well,

after 5 hours,

beginning at the doc's,

we then headed for x-rays,

then picked up two other sick kids that the doc wanted to check on,

returned to the doctor to find out results,

we have:

Amy with pheumonia and a secondary viral infection unrelated to swine flu (lots of meds and nebulizing), Daniel with an "awful" ear infection and an "awful" sinus infection(lots of meds),

Mark has a non-productive flu cough, (concerning and needs nebulizing until cough free),

Grace has a wheeze (needs nebulizing until cough free) ....

This is only with 4 of the kids seen today,

at least one more needs the doc tomorrow!

Holy Cross Boys' soccer team wins the championship!!

Congratulations to the Holy Cross boys' 2009 soccer team in their win against Messiah Academy to win the North Country Athletic Assoc. championship!

They finished the season with a remarkable 7-0-2 record.

Check out the local papers article about the boys great season.

Here is my own goalie, Danny, as he douses Coach V. after the game.

Dan was named to the league all-star team and defender the goal in this championship win perfectly!!

Ghostline's Lucky 13th Birthday Contest

CarolinaPad recently sent me a selection of their great Ghostline products.

This is the description that CarolinaPad has about the Ghostline line of products on their website.

"Ghostline® patented display, poster, and presentation boards have faint grid lines that guide the user, but seem to disappear at a distance. Ghostline products are for students of all ages, allowing them to keep science math, history, or other class projects neat. Teachers can also use this product for teaching aids, student progress charts, and customized calendars, maps, and graphs"

I have wonderful plans for making a reusable calendar for circle time using these product for our homeschool-preschool time, but the swineflu has gotten the better of us, and I haven't had a chance to finish this project.

Although we are having a delay with our project, I didn't want to miss the opportunity to let you know about the Ghostline’s 13th Birthday--Lucky 13 Birthday Contest. This contest will give13 lucky classrooms a year’s supply of Ghostline products, worth an estimated retail value of $500.

All you have to do is tell CarolinaPad why you love Ghostline products and how it makes life easier for you and your students. You can enter the contest at this link.
The contest ends on November 30.

Holy Cross Girls' soccer team wins the Championship!!

Way to go girls!!!!

Even the swine flu couldn't stop you!!

You are all champions in every sense of the word!!

Make sure to check out todays newpaper article about the great win!

H1N1 update...

Fever-yes

awful cough-yes

body aches-yes

headaches-yes

stomach aches-yes

hives-yes (don't know why)

mouth sores-yes

general whining and crying-yes

We are still swine-ing....