TIME TO TAKE OUT THE CROCKPOT!

It's that ttme of year again! Time to think about balancing the act of having great meals while trying to stay cool at the same time. It seems like only yesterday that we were going through the huge storm in October and went for 6 days without power.
One of my favorite ways to stay cool is to use a crockpot. I love these because you get it ready and forget about it. It will also stay warm if you have people that eat at different times.  It is also a good way to use a piece of meat that normally would be a little hard to eat and make it a lot tenderer. This is a great way to save money because you are able to buy cheaper cuts of meat.
My all time favorite still remains chilcken. It is such a versatile meat. There are so many ways to cook it.  Rinse off the chicken pieces pot them in the crockpot. Then you can either pour barbeque sauce or any other seasonings in the pot. Then put in a small amount of water. Close the lid and set the temperature and walk away .  On low it will only take abot 7 to 8 hours and on high it will be about 5 hours.
Summer is no time to stop being creative in the kitchen !

WHY EVERYDAY I AM HAPPIER THAT MY GRANDCHILDREN ARE HOMESCHOOLED

There is something that I am getting more and more aggravated about. Maybe if I keep talking about it someone will get the message and we will again have the PARENTS in charge of their child's education like we are told in the  CONSTITUTION.
Everyday the more I read the more upset I get. I suppose I should not be surprised but I am all of the time. It just keep getting more and more preposterous.
A mother (they say) took her daughter to a tanning place. From what I saw on the news there was no sign of a burn that I could see. Yet, this mother was arrested and might get jail time. Now, I have read about and seen pictures of children that we burned a bright red. They say the law does not allow them to apply sunscreen. Was their phone broken? Where was the teacher's common sense?
A teacher in Connecticut slaps a child yet they do nothing. If a parent slaps their child they are abusers. Teachers and administrators across the country are putting our precious children in self-contained rooms, screaming rooms and they are bullying and restraining our children. Yet a parent puts their child in a closet and it is front page news and the parent gets arrested!
If one parent reads this and understands what is happening then I will be happy.
Isn't a person who we entrust our children with supposed to protect them and make sure that they are safe? Just because someone says, they are a teacher or a caregiver does not give them the right to hurt our children. I, for one, believe that they should be held to the high standards that our children deserve, And if they do not make the right choices then they should have to suffer the consequenses just like everyone else. There is no excuse to make these behaviors okay.

STRAWBERRY SEASON IS OVER BLUEBERY SEASON IS BEGINNING

Strawberry season is all over here, so we are now waiting to be able to go and pick blueberries. Blueberries are the easiest, I believe to freeze. We usually pick a few containers of blueberries that are not overripe and not under ripe. We wash them in a colander under cold water. We then lay them out on a cookie sheet and let them dry. After they are dry we put the cookie sheet into the freezer. When they are hard like frozen peas you take them out and put them into freezer bags that seal shut. It is a good idea to put them into the amounts that you like to use in a recipe. They can be placed frozen into anything that will be baked, such as muffins or cakes.
We are continuing to use everything as a learning lesson. We talk about how they grow and show how easy it is to pick and preserve the blueberries. We do not intend to stop learning just because it is summer. The garden that we have planted is doing great! We already have flowers on our pepper plants. Last year our best plants were eggplant, tomatoes and peppers. We are off to a wonderful start.

RECAP ON HOMESCHOOLING CONVENTION & MORE !

Okay there is a lot of information to report. The Homeschooling Convention in Ct. last weekend was very informative.  They were so helpful and were ready to answer any questions we had. It really is getting more apparent everyday to me that there are more and more parents are choosing to homeschool their children. Everyday there are more horror stories.  All I want to say to parents and caregivers everywhere is to stay informed about your schools, their policies and how they deal with children. It is not enough to just be in the PTA,  you really need to have a conversation everyday with your child no matter what their age is. There might be something that happened that they do not think is wrong but it really is. 
At the convention there were over 100 booths. There were also many items to buy for homeschooling.  http://www.dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com/ and Mommy were there all afternoon. They were able to buy a beautiful laminated map of the United States with all their information to use when Bobo and Sissy get to that lesson. We have realized more than ever that all everyday activities can be made to adapt to your lesson for the day or week.
For example we go to the grocery store with a list, read it , count the items, look at the prices. We then help to pay and count the money. Then when we get  home we count as we put away the items how much we have etc. This is a math lesson, a reading lesson and a social lesson, (interacted with other adults and children). When I was on the Board of Education I pushed for this kind of education that crossed math with reading , science with math and so on. Our children learn more by actions than words the younger they are. 
So now I can get to my real news. Yesterday, I went to our local library book sale.  I love to read and their books are very reasonable and mostly like new. I ask every time I go there if they have any information for homeschooling. They also have a little area on the way out that they put free items in.  On my way out I glanced at the free piles. Something told me to look under the shelves. I saw a box that said Early World of Learning! I opened the box and could not believe what I was really looking at. It looked to be almost complete.The person next to me said what a great way to help children learn. I explained that Mommy was homeschooling and she said she knew a lot of parents that were also starting to do this. When I showed this to Mommy she said that these were great. It even had handbooks for teachers and parents. The books all had different themes.  There were flashcards, puzzles and cassettes. One of the books was about learning to tell time. This book was like the one I learned how to tell with when I was in school. Mommy also learned this way. The book had a clock with movable hands and explanations of different times during the day.   I really wish that I was able to thank this parent for donating this to the library. I am sure  that after we are done we will pass it on to another family.
Now we are getting ready for our READING EGGS LESSON for the day.

ON THE WAY TO A HOMESCHOOLING CONVENTION !!

Yeh! As I am writing this Mommy and her little sister http://www.dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com/ are on their way to a homeschooling convention. We are very lucky that it is only 10 minutes away thie year. The biggest problem will be parking! Mommy is going to get all of the information she is able to and share it on this blog. We are truly committed to making homeschooling  do well because it is the best for Bobo and Sissy. How can anyone argue with the results we are seeing already.

PLANTING OUR GARDEN AND MAKING A FRUIT SALAD

Mommy has been working on Reading Eggs Online with Bobo and Sissy everyday. They are learning words by putting sounds together. They already know the letters and their sounds but this is the next step.Sunday we went strawberry picking. We stopped at a farm stand store and bought more fruit. Blueberries, oranges,apples, a pineapple and 2 different kinds of grapes. We are working on the letter "F". We were walking around getting plants to put in our garden when Bobo spotted a few plants with a sign in front of them. Bobo told Mommy to look at the cucumbers! Wow! we are really seeing progress.
It has been raining everyday and we are hoping it stops so we can finish planting finally. This is truly rewarding in so many ways that we cannot really describe.
Saturday is The Miss Strawberry Contest. We will spend tomorrow making the costume. Hope we win first palce this year.

OUR HOME SCHOOLING DAY TRIP TO THE WEST HARTFORD CHILDREN'S MUSEUM!

We have been talking about animals alive and also about dinosaurs. Where we went the kids were able to brush off fossil bones, and look at some huge animated ones. Sissy was scared but Bobo was excited. On the last picture they are actually sitting on a huge turtle shell. There is a Turtle Town section where there are all different turtles to look at and read about. We are standing in the opening of a huge model of a whale that spouts water every 4 minutes.Bobo and Sissy were able to pet a chinchilla for the first time. The Wildlife Keeper was going to get a snake to touch when Sissy ran for the door. They learned so much today about what we have been learning about. We were able to take as much time as they wanted. We were able to answer all of their questions. There were other schools there but we had the benefit of learning on their speed.

Then we had no sooner walked in the door when they started begging to do their 2 lessons. with http://readingeggs.com/    an online learn to read program. Mommy is looking at other places to visit.

YEH! FINALLY A PICTURE OF MY ITALIAN EASTER RUM CAKE !

Here it is just like I promised. I really need to learn how to download a picture!Bobo and Sissy and I had a great time. We were very proud.

SISSY'S RECITAL AND UPDATE ON HOME SCHOOLING

It was amazing Saturday morning.This was Sissy's second year of dancing school! Last year she was scared and danced very little. This year the difference was apparent. There was more confidence and more ability, also. As usual I missed most of it because I get all teary eyed. It was wonderful to see my girls dance but being a grandmother is another story. There are not enough words to explain how proud I was of her , how proud I was of Bobo when he walked to Sissy and hugged her while he gave her flowers.

Every time I speak to anyone these days they are either homeschooling their children , their children are homeschooling their own children or they know someone who is. Just a few years ago this would seem strange to most people that you talk to. So, I started to wonder why so many parents have decided to home school their children. I didn't have to look far. Pick up any newspaper at anytime and you will get your answer. The schools today seem to make the news on a daily basis, although most of the time it isn't good news. I can say for sure that in the few weeks that Mommy has been homeschooling the children are happier and eager to learn. They ask us when they will have their lessons that day. When asked they do not really want to talk about school at all.

When children are home schooled there is a one to one education. This is incomparable to what they experience in school. To the parents or educators who say that a child should not be home schooled because they miss the social aspect, I would respectfully say that they are certainly misinformed. When we go out we work on our lessons every day. We count out money and pay our bill. We go places during the day that are less crowded because most children are in school. There is also scouts when they get older, and parks and recreation classes. All one has to day is take the time to look. Mommy is very happy with her decision.

TOMORROW IS SISSY'S DANCE RECITAL!!

Tomorrow, actually later today Sissy will be in her second dance recital. Bobo has his flowers already. The whole family is once again involved. This is a huge celebration, our family uses any reason to have a party. The deli platter is ordered, the cake is ordered. I know a lot of people may think we are crazy but, we think this is a great way for Sissy to love dancing and realize that it is a way to express yourself. Mommy and her sisters as well as I took dancing lessons from an early age and my parents still talk about how all of the other girls got up after pretending to sleep except my friend and me. I guess that was a warning of things to come. I still like to talk!
The kind of adult that we will be is formed at a young age. It truly is a good thing to learn to not be afraid to dance, speak, etc in public. This year I, (Nana), will be getting Sissy ready because Mommy had to have surgery. It will be bring back memories when Mommy danced to Put On A Happy Face, Auntie Lala danced to Annie, red wig and all! http://dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com/  Mommy's little sister danced to I Want To Sway, Sway,Sway, with a teddy bear outfit. I will post pictures of the cake and the platter as soon as I can.