Recipe for Success

OK, Home Education Week participants. Here’s my recipe—Crockpot Spaghetti Monteray.

1 10-oz pkg frozen spinach
1 lb spaghetti
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
2-1/2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar or mozzarella are my choices)
1 can French fried onions
1 egg
¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Pepper

Bring water to boil and cook spaghetti and spinach. Drain and place in a large mixing bowl, along with remaining ingredients. You’ll need to reserve ½ cup shredded cheese and a handful of French fried onions for the topping. Mix well and place in your crockpot. Cook 4-5 hrs on low setting. ½ hr prior to serving, turn crockpot temperature to high and top with the reserved cheese and French fried onions. Delicious served with bread and a tossed salad.

And now, my recipe for our homeschooling day.

• Feed the beggar (aka as Cat) and fish (aka beggars)
• Refreshing shower, preferably in peace ;-)
• Spend time with God in devotions and prayer
• Often DS6 joins me midway thru devotions and reads his Bible book as well
• Healthy breakfast, including whole grain products and fresh fruit
• Preferably begin school by 10
• Be willing to move to a different part of the house—our outdoors—as desired (and as weather permits!)
• Lots of reading together and snuggling during the day
• Stimulating book discussions
• Lunch and wiggle breaks when appropriate
• Depending on the day’s agenda, we either stay in or go out for activities

We don’t follow a strict schedule, and we’re definitely open to last-minute change, or calls from Poppa (next door) to come look at something cool or come help with some interesting project that he’s involved in. After all, there’s lots of time to learn the things we need to know.

Some curriculum materials we use: Sonlight, Math-U-See, Singapore Math, Miquon Math, Explode the Code, Keys to…..[various math areas] and Good Language, Daily Language Review, Jump In, Wordsmith Apprentice, HWT, Critical Thinking Skills. Upcoming additions/changes for the next school year will include SOS Elementary Spanish, “Use It! Or Lose It” (daily language problems), and “Latin Everywhere, Everyday.” There might be more but I’m forgetting for the moment ;-)