Romantic Patio Valentines Dinner

Valentines day is on its way and what can be more romantic than having your very own patio dinner outside with candle light and the love of your life sitting next or across form you. Whether this day is just the two of you or the whole family remember to make it special. It doesn't take much, just look around your home for items you can put together to create a one of a kind experience for you and your honey. Here are some ideas using vintage lace dollies, paper hearts, a vintage table cloth, some pearl necklaces, candles of different sizes and colors, real or fake flowers, extra sheets to use as a backdrop or divider, different glassware, and some extra twinkle lights (christmas white lights are perfect).

 You don't have to do pink and red.  Use colors true to your personality. The important thing is that even if you can't go out to dinner or afford buying a bunch of items just for valentines day, you can be creative with what you do have and make a memory of the special day!

Suit Case Inspiration

 

I found these beautiful Lady Baltimore Vintage Suitcases at a yard sale the other day. Decided to us them as a side table night stand in my guest room. With the right accessories I think it turn out wonderful. To add height I placed them on a vintage shabby chic luggage rack. For  a touch of femininity I added some vintage dollies and tea cup. 

Preschool Letter of the Week - "B" is for...

This week our main focus is the letter B!  Using lots of ideas form Erica @ Confessions of a Homeschooler , plus a few neat ideas I came up with myself. Enjoy!

Size Sorting - Letter of the Week

Collage

 

Pom Pom Magnet Page - Letter of the Week



Plate craft found at the Dollar Store



 Making Mini Banana Bread Muffins

 

 

  

Bee Hive Craft

Paper Mache Balloon - Let dry over night

Glue Honeycomb Cereal to paper mached Balloon



Add Bees to string or fishing wire and attach at bottom of Hive



Materials needed:

• Honeycomb Cereal
• Balloon
• String
• Newspaper (cut in strips)
• Water
• Flour
• Glue (I used Elmers)
• Laminated Bee Pictures Here is the one I found on google

How to:

1. Blow up your balloon and tie the end to keep the air in
2. Tie a piece of string to the end so you can hang it from the ceiling or a light fixture (to dry and display)
3. Mix some water and flour in a bowl (this is to paper mache with, but you can use your own recipe) or click here to find one you like Paper Mache Recipes
4. Dip strips of paper in mixture and place on balloon until its completely covered. I only did one layer, but you can do more to make it firmer
5. Let dry over night.
6. Put some glue on the area you want to start with and add some honeycomb cereal.

Letter B Snack Ideas

1. Banana
2. Blueberries
3. Beets
4. Beans
5. Broccoli
6. Banana Bread
7. Bagels
8. Biscuits
9. Brussels Sprouts
10. Bacon

Letter B Sweet Treats

1. Banana Ice Cream
2. Brownies (homemade whole wheat, no white sugar)
3. Butterscotch Pudding
4. Banana Pudding
5. Butter Cookies

Letter B Books to Read

1. "My b Book" by Jane Belk Moncure
2. "Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?" by Bill Martin Jr / Eric Carle
3. "Ruby Lee A Bee the Bumble Bee A Bee of Possibility" by Dawn Matheson
4. "The Butterfly Alphabet Book" by Brian Cassie & Jerry Pallotta
5. "The Berenstain Bears' BIG Bedtime Book" by Berenstain
6. "The Butterfly Alphabet" by Kjell B. Sandved

Hands On - Sensory or Scavenger Hunt

Sensory Basket



B Books, Blocks, Bugs, Bee, Butterfly, Bear, Big B, Little b, Blue Buttons, Blue Blocks, Blue Dinosaurs, Blue car



Sensory Bin

 I let my little guy play with the honeycomb cereal and laminated bee's before we did our Beehive project. We also read this sweet book, "Ruby Lee the Bumble Bee A Bee of Possibility" by Dawn Matheson.
  

Apple Sauce Muffins

We made these kid-friendly muffins during our letter "A" week as a fun healthy snack. My mom used to make these when I was a kid, now my little munchkin enjoys them, and I hope your little ones do too!
 

Apple Sauce Muffins

 

Ingredients - See below for Recipe

 

 

Mix dry ingredients in bowl then set aside.

 

 

Mix wet ingredients in bowl then add to dry mixture.

 

 

Batter should be slightly lumpy

 

 

Grease muffin tin, then scoop batter until all 12 or 24 spots are full

(we used a mini muffin tin this time)

 

 

Bake @ 400* for about 20 minutes

 

 

Let them cool on a rack

 

 

Perfect size for this Preschooler

 

 

Tested & Approved

 

 

So good he had to stuff it!

 

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/3 cup oil or melted butter
• 1/4 cup unsweetened apple juice
• Raisins or Pecans (optional)

Directions

1. Mix dry ingredients in bowl (set aside)
2. Mix egg, applesauce, apple juice, honey, and oil (or butter)
3. Add wet mixture to dry mixture
4. Stir until batter is slightly lumpy
5. fold in raisins and pecans (optional)
6. Fill greased muffin tin (12 regular or 24 mini)
7. Bake @ 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden
8. Let cool and serve warm

Enjoy this healthy letter "A" snack

 

Family Fun Night - Letter A

This past week we started to incorporate "The Letter of the Week" curriculum by Erica @ Confessions of a homschooler. She suggests a family fun night at the end of each week, which I think is a great idea.
 
My plan is to make a yummy treat that starts with the letter of the week and then watch a family movie, play a game, or do something that starts with the letter as well.
 
This week, for the letter A, we made mini apple pies and homemade ice cream, and watched "Aristocats."
 




 

C helped mix the apples, sugar, flour, and spices.  Then we set them aside to prep the muffin tin with pie crust.

 

 

Roll out pie crust and use a cup to cut out circles for your muffin tin.

Fit pie crust into all 12 spots. Set scraps to the side.

 

 

Scoop filling into each pie crust

 

 

You may need to help your little top them off!

 

 

Place a dollop of butter on top of each mini pie.

 

 

Place scrapes on top of each pie (however you'd like to). Brush with some melted butter then add a sprinkling of sugar on top.

 

 

Bake in the oven @ 400' for about 20 minutes.

 

 

Until golden and Yummy!

 

 

 

Make your own homemade ice cream or add your favorite store-bought brand.

 

 

Here is the final product.

 

 

Tested and approved by my little man - A is for Apple Pie

 

 

Mini Apple Pie Recipe

 

Ingredients

 

• 4 cups of apples cut into small pieces
• 6 Tablespoons of flour
• 3/4 cups sugar (plus extra to sprinkle on top)
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon (heaping)
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
• 2-3 Tablespoons chilled butter cut into little dollops
• 1 Tablespoon melted butter (to brush on top)
• 1 box of chilled pie crust

 

Directions

 

*See above pictures

 

Other Letter A Family Fun Night Ideas (OR Family Outing for the Weekend)

• Play Super Why ABC Letter Game (perfect for preschoolers)
• Play Apples to Apples Junior (kids need to be a little older)
• Watch "Adventures of Tintin"
• Watch Disney's "Airplanes"
• Go on an "Adventure"
• Go to an Air Show (we live near an airbase that does this a few times a year and if the timing works out then great!)
• Look for Airplanes flying overhead while taking a family walk
• Tour a small local Airport (call to see if they do this in your area)
• Go to the zoo to look at the Animals and find all the ones that start with the letter A
• Fly paper Airplanes
• Make a model Airplane
• Start an Ant Farm
• Go to an Art Gallery or Art Show

*Plan something based on what your child is into!

 

What other activities do you have in mind for the letter A? Please share or let me know what you think!

 



Preschool - A is for...

This is my first official year of mostly following a curriculum for my 3 year old preschooler. We are actually following 2 curriculums flexibly plus extras.

I found this sight called http://www.abcjesuslovesme.com/ with a free curriculum in which we are following the schedule for the school year, along with what to introduce each week (letters, numbers, shapes, colors, bible story). This curriculum is pretty basic, no day to day plan, just what to introduce each week with every fourth week being a review week/catch up week (to cover whatever you didn't get to.

I believe a week is plenty for everything they suggest, but I am also incorporating the "Letter of the Week" curriculum by Erica @ http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/ which I absolutely love! She has so many ideas and a day to day plan, that an extra week to review and finish up anything we missed works out great for us.

I also incorporated some extra crafts and fun stuff that I came up with or found on pinterest for this weeks main focus of the letter A.

Hope you enjoy! =)

 

 C is supposed to be making a collage with the alligators on the blank A page, but decided to add them to his practice cut & paste page. His favorite thing to do is the "do a dot" page which is in blue (all 3 activities by Erica @ confessions of a homeschooler)

 

We made ants out of an egg carton. I let C pick the colors

 

After the paint dried we cut up a pipe cleaner and used it as the antenna and legs.

 

I made one too. Oh and don't forget the googly eyes. =)

 

 

The final product

 

Our letter "A" for Angry

Ok...so this was supposed to be an alligator, but C wanted to put the eyes on top rather than the side and my husband thought it was A for angry (so we'll go with that).

 

His letter projects for the week.

 

Found both on Pinterest and altered just a little, but here are the links:

 

Ant Project

 

Alligator Project

 

 

Here are a few more ideas on the letter A 

  

Letter A Snack Ideas

1. Apple Slices
2. Apple Sauce
3. Apple Sauce Muffins
4. Almonds
5. Almond butter on Toast or fruit
6. Apricots
7. Animal crackers
8. Artichokes
9. Avocado
10. Asparagus
11. Ants on a Log

Letter A Sweet Treats

1. Apple Pie 
2. Mini Apple Pies
3. Apple Tart
4. Apple Cobbler
5. Angel food cake
6. Apple fritters 

Books to Read "A"

• "Apples and How They Grow" by Laura Driscoll
• "My a Book" by Jane Belk
• "The Apple Pie Tree" by Zoe Hall
• "Angels Watching Over Me" by Lynn Hodges
• "A is for Zebra" by Mark Shulman
• "An Ant's Day Off" by Bonny Becker

 

 

Hands On - Sensory or Scavenger Hunt

 

This week I filled a basket with things that begin with the letter A or you could even make a list up and have your preschooler find the items on the list. Here is my basket:

 

Alligator, Big A, little a, Antlers, Apple, Army man, Airplane, Foam Ant, My "a" Book

 

 

 

Hope this information was helpful, please leave a comment and let us know what you thought of the post.

 

 

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Found this recipe on pinterest and so far these cookies have been a huge hit with my family. The recipe calls for coconut oil so there is no butter and no white sugar.

Mixing in the Coconut and Chocolate chips!

 

Yummy Goodness!!!

 

Almost ready to eat (if you haven't eaten some dough yet)!

 

Place on rack to cool.

 

Enjoy with some Hot Cocoa, Tea, or Coffee

They didn't last very long...trust me!

 

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup + 1 tablespoon Brown sugar (packed)
• 2 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 - 2 cups shredded coconut oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375' F. Spray your cookie sheet
2. Use a mixer to beat the coconut oil and brown sugar in a large bowl. Add the eggs and beat until fluffy. Add the vanilla
3. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder in another bowl.
4. Mix the flour mixture into the coconut mixture a little bit at a time until all the flour is incorporated. Add the chocolate chips and shredded coconut, mix well.
5. Drop small spoonfulls on to your baking sheet. Bake 8-9 minutes or until slightly browned around the edges. They are going to be really soft and chewy!
6. Let them rest on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring to your cooling rack and let cool completely. So Yummy....Enjoy!

Here is where I found these amazing cookies!
Thank you so much to The Well Traveled Wife! These cookies really are amazing! =)