Book in a Bag

Anders brings home a book to read each day from his Kindergarten class (well, 4 out of 5 days). It comes in a plastic bag with the form for us to sign off on that he's read it. So they call it Book-in-a-Bag. It's all very clever.

I'm not sure that they've actually gotten to learning to read in the class yet--I know they're still working on learning to write the letters toward the end of the alphabet. So, it's meant for the parents to read it to the child at this point mainly, with the child starting to read with you and eventually they'll read on their own. Anders has mainly been reading with us (we'll help with the bigger words, but he reads most of it), but he's been able to do some of it on his own.

Today his book that was sent home was called "Snow." It went like this:
Page 1 - Title Page: Snow by Lisa Trumbauer, with a picture of some flowers in bloom surrounded by snow
Page 2 - a picture of a boy making a snowball, "Snow on my hands."
Page 3 - a picture of a girl on a sled with snowy boots pointing toward the camera, "Snow on my feet."
Page 4 - snow blanketed on sand dunes, "Snow on the sand."
Page 5 - people and cars on a snow city street, "Snow on the street."
Page 6 - a home with a snow-covered roof and yard, "Snow on the house."
Page 7 - an evergreen seedling poking through the snow, "Snow on the tree."
Page 8 - a boy sitting in snow, "Cold snow all over me."

Anders got through it pretty much on his own. He's doing well and enjoying reading, too. After he finished, Nils (who will be 3 next week) wanted to read it. And he did. Whether he actually recognized the words after watching Anders read them, or if he just remembered what each page said from the picture (the likely case), he totally remembered each word on every page (with the exception of the last page starting with "Cold" instead of "Snow" which also threw Anders off at first). Maybe I place too much emphasis on education, but I'm a bit proud of them both. I guess Nils' preschool time at home is working out just fine.

Slow-Cooker Lasagna

I'm a big fan of slow-cooker meals. Anything I can make up (potentially ahead of time) and let the crock pot take care of the rest of the details is a great meal in my book. This one came out of Kraft Food's Food & Family magazine. Here's my version:

1 lb. ground beef (I use slightly less than a pound of ground turkey)
1 jar (26oz) spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
1 container (15oz) ricotta cheese (I've only made it with cottage cheese, since that's what we have in the house)
1 pkg (7oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (I forget the conversion for dried flakes--try 1 Tbsp, adjust according to your tastes)
6 lasagna noodles, uncooked

1. Brown meat (no reason not to add some onion if you like), drain
2. Stir in spaghetti sauce and water with meat
3. In a separate bowl mix ricotta, 1 1/2 cups of the Mozzarella, 2 Tbsp of the Parmesan, the egg and parsley
4. Layer (lasagna is Italian for layers--your language lesson for today) in the slow cooker:

• 1 cup meat sauce
• 3 noodles (break to fit)
• half the cheese mixture
• 2 cups meat sauce
• 3 noodles
• half the cheese mixture
• the rest of the meat sauce

5. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours or until liquid is absorbed.
6. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.

It's been enjoyed by our family every time it's been made--and they don't usually eat lasagna.

Carving Time

Our neighbor gave us some extra pumpkins for the boys this week. We decided instead of carving them to try something different. I grabbed a screwdriver and made a few strategic holes in the pumpkins. Then we brought out our tub of Mr. Potato Head parts. The fun part is that the can keep playing with them. They often end up with parts in odd places, but they enjoy it.

And if you're not roasting the pumpkin seeds afterward for a great snack, you're really missing out.

And A Pile to Jump In

It's amazing how many hours of entertainment can be provided by a rake (and an autumnal tree).

Reading

Last night in our bedtime routine, Anders read the first 18 pages of Go Do, Go! I don't think they're at that point in Kindergarten yet of reading books, but he's able to do 3-letter words very well. We practice in the bathtub (they have foam letters that stick to the side); he requests it most times.

Having an English education major for my undergraduate degree, reading is important to me, of course. We read to the boys at the beginning of their rest time and before they go to bed at night. So they're learning their alphabet and reading skills a little early. Other things have been a priority, too (like bike riding and manners), but they don't seem to pick up on those as quickly. I guess they'll come. Parenthood has been a good lesson in building patience. Development is never on my terms.

Educational TV

Nils (my almost 3-year old) is watching SuperWhy on PBS as I type (I occasionally let him watch a couple PBS shows). He's identifying the letters before they're said on the show and even connecting what letters make what sounds. We've been working on that for a while, and it's good to see that he's getting it. I think some of the shows on PBS have helped--not that I advocate for letting kids watch TV all the time, but limited usage of the right shows do have an impact. Of course, without parental involvement it doesn't come together as well. Now that our 5-year old is off at Kindergarten, I don't get to see the fruits of my work with him as readily, so it's nice to see it coming along with Nils. At it's a good reminder to keep doing the work (and give him those moments to watch PBS kids once in a while--hey, if nothing else, its a half hour to get some cleaning done).

5-Minute Bread

There are several recipes (all about the same out there) for 5-minute bread. It's an easy recipe that you make up the dough, refrigerate it and then pull of a chunk to bake when you need it. The dough doesn't require any kneading, so it really is a simple recipe. Quick and easy and nothing beats the taste of fresh, homemade bread.

Here's the link from The Splendid Table. And another link for essentially the same recipe (where I found it at first).

Cheesy Chili Lentils

So we're trying to eat healthfully while on a budget. It's not usually easy to make meals that fall in those categories while being something the boys will eat. I came up with this recipe on a whim the other day. It turned out pretty well. My wife wanted me to write it down because she liked it. It was simple, too. I did it in the slow cooker so it could finish while I did other things. Of course, I didn't measure things out, so I'm guessing on amounts here.

1 1/2 c. lentils

1 1/2 c. water (add more as needed--the usual ratio is 1 c lentils to 1 1/2 c water)

1 can diced tomatoes (I used a can of chili-ready tomatoes from Aldi)

1/2 c. diced onion (as desired)

seasonings--chili powder, garlic powder, cayenne powder, cumin, oregano (whatever you like in your chili)

Add any other chili items you might have on hand: peppers, black olives (my kids like them at least), corn, etc. I stayed away from beans and meat since I was trying to go cheap and the lentils had protein anyway.

Place everything in a slow cooker on low for a couple hours at least.

Serve topped with cheese (I used a shredded Mexican mixture from Aldi) and cornbread (I made the recipe on the corn meal container).

Taco Lasagna

I made up this recipe last week (I'm sure there are real recipe versions of it out there) to use up some leftovers from a taco night a few days earlier.

Grab 1 package of tortillas and any taco-type foods you have on hand.

I used a stoneware pie pan to cook it in. Anything that's about the same diameter as a tortilla shell will do.

I started by spooning some enchilada sauce onto the bottom of the pan (salsa could also be used) to help keep the food from sticking.

Place one tortilla shell in the pan. Begin layering.

Here's how I did mine:

tortilla shell

taco meat & cheese

tortilla shell

refried beans & enchilada sauce

tortilla shell

mexican style tomatoes & corn

tortilla shell

enchilada sauce, black olives & cheese on top

Bake at 350 for about a half hour (until the cheese on top is melted nicely).

If desired, top with lettuce, sour cream, avocado slices, etc.

You can really make this however you desire. It turned out nicely and the whole family enjoyed it.

Money, Budgets and Wrapping Paper

In Anders' folder in his backpack today his teacher sent home a packet with information on a fundraiser the school is going to be doing. I think it's to raise money for things that the budget doesn't cover--I didn't see any clear explanation in much of what I skimmed through. Our budget doesn't have room for $15 tubs of cookie dough right now. And if we could afford that, I think I'd rather just give money toward whatever project is needed, if it's something I'd support.

Pretty much anymore, the kids aren't really allowed to go out and sell things. It mostly falls in the parents lap. And if I were going to be selling things, well then, I guess we'd have a second income right now. Even if the kids were encouraged to go out and take ownership, I don't think a Kindergarten can really understand why and what they're doing.

So unless someone needs to renew a magazine subscription or is really interested in some Christmas wrapping paper or frozen garlic bread, we'll probably be sending the order form back blank. At least this year.