Two-Week Meal Plan (5.14-5.25)

Hi Guys!

One of the most stressful (and frustrating) events of the day for me is figuring out what I am going to prepare for dinner! Breakfast and lunch, surprisingly, do not stress me out. It's easy and it takes no future planning on my part. However, dinner always gets to me. No, I am not one of those moms/wives who can plan out each meal for weeks and weeks at a time. I know that I am not going to stick with anything longer than 2 weeks, so I don't even kid myself!:-) Truth is, I start to "taste" my food as I plan it and I just can't get the taste of things that far out. So, I live in the 2-week planning zone for dinner meals. 

Since one of my May's monthly goals is more meal planning,  I figured I would blog about it to keep track of my progress. (I almost planned until the end of the May, but again, the 2-week thing.)

Also, I have never prepared pork for my family (outside of breakfast meats in the morning.) I did not grow up eating pork and my mother never taught me how to cook it. Hence, I do not know how. Nonetheless, by husband likes it (sparingly) so I am going to attempt a tenderloin in the next couple of weeks. Wish me well!

If you see a recipe that interests you, leave a comment and I'll send you the link/info.

P.S.....I am a day late posting this, so we have the Ravioli last night for the dinner and everyone loved it.(My apologies!) The purple means its a CrockPot meal!

2-Week Meal Plan

Mon, May 13	Roasted Chicken & Mozzarella Ravioli Garden Salad & Garlic Bread
Tue, May 14	Lime Cilantro Flank Steak Southwest Potatoes & Roasted Corn
Wed, May 15	Milano Salmon w/ Basic Pesto Butter Steamed Cauliflower & Sweet Peas
Thu, May 16	Garlic Ranch Chicken Steamed Broccoli & Yellow Rice (Crescent Rolls)
Fri, May 17	Leftovers!
Sat, May 18	Pulled BBQ Chicken Country Green Beans & Mac n Cheese Texas Toast

Sun, May 19	Apple Cranberry Pork Tenderloin Steamed Cabbage & Sweet Corn (Hot Rolls)
Mon, May 20	Southwest White Chili (Cornbread)
Tue, May 21	Apricot Chicken Collards & Mashed Potatoes (Hot Rolls)
Wed, May 22	Chicken n Wild Rice Casserole (Crescent Rolls)
Thu, May 23	Marinated Chicken Black-Eyed Peas & Vegetable Medley (Cornbread)
Fri, May 24	Leftovers!
Sat, May 25	Romesco-Style Cod Artichoke Spinach Potatoes & Side Salad Breadsticks

Blessings, Joyice, The Writing Enhancer

Fun Summer Activities!

In preparation for the summer, I asked my boys, “what do you want do this summer?” Other than my oldest son screaming, “Disney World” I felt I was able to make all their desires come to past before we close out August. (Yay, for mommy!) We will do Disney though; we are just waiting for his brother to be a bit older—not this summer, for sure.

In order to keep me accountable (and to give you a few ideas) I am listing what they asked for and how I plan on making it happen. So here’s to our summer loaded with lots and lots of activities and fun. Wanna know the best part? Most of these are freebies and cheapies!

Hey Boys, “What do you want to do this summer?”

Go to the beach! (I think Myrtle Beach is in our future!)

Water, Water, Water (Local “spraygrounds” and water rings!)

Lego Land! (Nice discount if we arrive before May ends!)

Karate Lesson (we found an awesome deal--$10 for 10 classes!)

See animals we have never seen before! (We’re going on an animal safari!)

Visit the Children’s Museum (Gladly! It’s free on Tuesdays!)

Visit another state (Possibly Myrtle (SC), but we may just skip off to Alabama!)

Make homemade play dough (I’m thinking some Red, White, & Blue for the 4^th!)

Swim Lessons (We’re signed up for lessons at the local community center!)

See airplanes take off! (We have a local airport park we’re going to visit!)

Catch Lightning Bugs (Catching at the beach—knock out two birds in one stone!)

“Harvest” caterpillars to butterflies (we’re ordering our kit this month!)

Learn about frogs! (We are ordering a tadpole habitat to witness the life cycle!)

Grow vegetables (Home Depot, here we come!)

Ride a Horse (We are going to the local stables!)

Ride a Train (We’re off to Chattanooga for a train ride, All-Aboard!)

Go to the Movies ($1 movies at local Regal Theaters!)

Learn more in Science & Math (We’re headed to camp, a free one too!)

Go to the park/playground (always free, but I will find a really nice one!)

Go roller skating and bowling (free over the summer!)

Listen to music (Jazz Session downtown, and free!)

Go see the Braves (we always go on the 4^th!)

Go to an amusement park (Oh, yeah!)

Go to Kids’ Night Out (it’s a local event, here!)

For a bit of academia, I threw in a Reading Camp (only half a day) for my oldest son.

Hope you have a happy and safe summer, from my family to yours!

Blessings,

Joyice...The Writing Enhancer

Curriculum, Curriculum!

I am a homeschool newbie! So, naturally I  researched and researched until my fingers bled. My goal was simple: to find curriculum that I could teach and my sons could learn. As I searched, I wished there was one master list of various subjects that I could view. I found some lists here and there but nothing that was organized enough, in my opinion, to want to visit link after link. In an effort, to help out some new moms or moms who are just looking to switch, I created a list of curriculum you can refer to. It is not all inclusive, but it was a good start if you were as lost as I was! :-)

List includes curricula on the following subjects:

• Grammar & Writing
• Handwriting
• Bible/Character
• Reading/Phonics
• Spelling
• Math
• Science
• History/Geography/Social Studies

Also included are links on the following:

• Grade Kits
• Free Curricula 
• Latin
• Planning & Attendance
• Work From Home

DOWNLOAD CURRICULUM LIST, HERE!

Blessings, Joyice, The Writing Enhancer

May's Monthly Goals

Monthly Goals

One of my goals is to create a monthly goals list! I always write down items as I go throughout my day but I desired to organize it monthly at the beginning of each month and on purpose think about what I needed, what I needed to do, and what my family and community needed from me. In an effort, to at last set that goal, I have begun with May! In order to keep myself accountable, I will update this post in June on what I have accomplished in May. ~~~Be Inspired~~~

May

Personal:

·         Confirm a plan to daily (and throughout the day) meditate on the Word/become closer to God

·         Laminate and hang important scriptures and prayers in our new place

·         Exercise daily…even if it is only running around with my boys

Marriage:

·         Plan 2 date nights

·         Flirt (daily) with my husband, on purpose

Parenting:

·         Speak nicer to my kids (not always in “mommy mode”)

·         Go back to my “mommy morning song” when waking up the boys

·         Plan intentional daily fun for the boys and I (even if it only means a random pillow fight or jam session with the Fish)

·         Host some type of weekly family fun inside the house

·         Create a plan from “Bringing up Boys with Character” to institute in our daily lives

Homeschooling:

·         Come up with a new way for our “prayer circle”

·         Finishing creating Aesop units

·         Continue planning our summer studies

·         Introduce Chipmunk to the following: spelling of his last name, coin money, vowels, and long and short sounds

·         Re-create our “Morning Board” (it was ruined in our recent move) ;-(

·         Place my BJU order

·         Create a list of Scholastic books I need for our homeschool in preparation for their sale

Homemaking:

·         Create a schedule for my husband in the morning

·         Create a bathroom chart for Peanut (since he has his own bathroom now, we are stepping him up in the responsibility department)

·         Meal planning

·         Purchase some bath mats, for crying out loud

Finance:

·         Create a new budget to include summer activities, new monthly income and outgo

·         Create a plan to institute our “10-70-10-10” plan”

·         Consolidate student loans

Ministry/Friendships/Extended Family:

·         Send an email to check on my homeschool mom, friends

·         Create e-cards for the important moms in my life

·         Create a schedule for tutoring one of my friend’s daughter

·         Speak to my first lady about a homeschool ministry, maybe

Blogging/Online:

·         Update my blog and my site

·         Update my social media pages (still pondering about Twitter)

·         Write my guest post for HHSM

Consulting:

·         Update my site

·         Order my new materials

·         Enter my customer’s order

·         Update my senior consultant for May & July conventions

Blessings, Joyice, The Writing Enhancer

Lowercase Alphabet Tracing

 Hi Readers,

I have searched high and low to find a fun printable where my son could sharpen his lowercase letter formation. I desired to find something that helped him group similar letters together (since that is how he learned his uppercase letters), but there was NOTHING (I could find.)

 

Then, as I was at my girlfriend's house she said to me, "you know, you could just create what you are looking for!" Um, DUH! So, I did!  

So, if you have a learner like mine or you just desire lowercase practice only, you have come to the right place. Please download, print, and being tracing with your preschooler/kindergartener!

Please click HERE to download!

 Blessings,
Joyice
The Writing Enhancer

Honesty w/ Aesop!

Hi Readers,

I am a fan of  “A Well-TrainedMind" by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise. After reading the book, I decided to remix the way I taught reading to my first grader, Peanut. Since everything is (or can be) centered around reading, I wanted him to learn more than just a story or how to summarize. I wanted to add reading fluency, comprehension, lessons, Christian principles, illustrations, imagination, ideas, and create a love for reading.

I know that sounds like a heavy-duty list--but it worked!

My son and I were conversing more, he was using his imagination, applying his character and Scripture to every day life, and especially during our reading time. He thrived in reading and he was anxious to see what the next fable was about and figure out the moral..

As a homeschool mom, I am constantly searching for ways to combine two (or more) subjects together. In my quest to teach character, I discovered that Aesop covered many values I desired for my son to study and we could read at the same time! And thus, "Character w/ Aesop" was born! I am working behind the scenes to compile more studies together, but in the mean time I have one ready for you to download for free today!

I am not a theme-based guru, but I do appreciate them and they seem to work well with elementary-aged children, so I welcome them. A few weeks ago, we began the series with a unit in Honesty. We kicked the “reading text” to the curb and we started with some awesome fables from Aesop that, in my opinion, spoke well of being honest and expecting honesty from others. I added in some Scripture copywork so we could discuss what God expects from us in the area of honesty. It was very important for me to teach my son just how consistent God is. So, I added stories and Scriptures that taught Peanut how to be honest but also how to protect against being deceived.
​
The "Character with Aesop" unit study is designed for homeschoolers 1st-3rd grade in mind, but children K-5th could easily benefit. The series will teach students about character through the famous morals of Aesop, reading, and Scripture copywork. (Note: There is a non-Biblical version if you desire the study without the Scriptures.) 

How we did it: (This is listed on the "Directions" page of the unit download.)

Length: 2 weeks (1 fable per day, Monday-Thursday)

1. Read the Story

We alternated reading stories, so sometimes he read to me and I read to him. In the “You Read to Me…” book we always took turns with the colored paragraphs. P.S. I normally read the stories from “Aesop’s Fables” because the language is a bit harder.

2. Discuss the Moral or Lesson

This was a basic discussion about what the lesson meant. I wanted to see if he could figure out the lesson before we read it together at the bottom of the page. Then, I had him explain why the lesson shows honesty and how could it help/hurt others.

3. Narration

I had Peanut retell me the story in his own words. I prompted him with questions to assist in reinforcement. As he retold, I wrote down what he said I my “best handwriting” on handwriting paper. Then, I gave it to him and he read his narration. (I made sure he was satisfied with his summary.)

Peanut's retelling: Th Boy Who Cried Wolf

Peanut's retelling: Rooster and the Fox

4. Illustration 

Peanut drew and colored a picture of what the fable was about. He had to include the title of the story and the moral somewhere on his illustration. (We glued his illustration to the back of his handwriting paper and stored it in his Reading Notebook.)

This is one of my favorites of his! A perfect illustration of "The Rooster and the Fox!"



Peanut's version of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf!"

5. Record

Peanut recorded the fable, its author, and the date read of each fable after reading it.

6. Copywork (They are a part of the download!)

This was such an exciting way to teach reading.  He thought it as “so cool” to see the Bible applied to a simple story and he feel in love with ME doing the writing portion of his narrating. (Little does he know, I am merely modeling for him. He will have to do his own narration next year!)

Click HERE to download!

Stay Tuned!

I have more character w/ Aesop units coming on:  

• Being a Good Worker
• Friendship
• Safety
• Pride 

…And More!

Joyice Harris
"The Writing Enhancer"