Happy Birthday, Nicholas!

Happy Birthday to Nicholas,

Lover of youth group girls

Daddies,
Siblings,


And grandparents.

Always on the go!

Risk-taker...
Creative thinker...
All around happy guy...

(Mostly)

And now a big six-year-old boy!

A B See!

I wanted to share some of links for inspiration I've found while Nicholas and I have been wending our way through Fairytale Land, learning the first three letters of the alphabet. They aren't even necessarily things I've made or done, just beautiful and inspiring!

Aa
Fairy Tale: Star Money
Book: The Falling Stars ill. by Eugene Sopko
The A is found in the star, and is also the sound we make when we see great beauty: "Ah!"
A Star Money transparency
Star Money beanbags on Etsy
Star Baby on Etsy
Felt Star Crown from BellaLuna Toys
Kinderkram Falling Stars mobile- We actually have this one. This is my favorite fairy tale in the world!

Bb
Fairy Tale: Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Book: Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Jan Brett
The B is the shape of the bear.
A wooden playset on Etsy
Another playset; this one is felt and wood.
Three Bears felted balls
Lots of ideas in this Goldilocks and the Three Bears unit
A lovely Three Bears party

Cc
Fairy Tale: Puss in Boots
The C is the curl of the cat's back.
An audio recording
Sweet little cat rattle
Cat and babies
Travel Kitties on Flickr!
Sleeping kitty from clay

Main Lesson Book

Michael's narration and illustration of the Susan Constant and how she carried Englishman to North America on King James's command to find gold.

Michael's definitions and illustrations of the three types of rock.

Katie Grace's multiplication wheel for factors of 3.

And factors of 4.

And factors of 2. She's really been enjoying these!

One was the only wheel with curves.

Michael's diagram of the layers of the earth.

Two Recipes

Here are two recipes we enjoyed this week that I promised to post.

Soft Pretzels (from Creative Resources for Early Childhood)

Mix 1 1/2 cups of warm water, an envelope of yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons if you have loose yeast), and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Set it aside for five minutes.

Pour 1 tsp salt and 4 cups of flour into a bowl.

Add the yeast mixture to make a dough.

Form shapes with the dough. Brush on some egg and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake at 425 degrees for 12 minutes.





And Spinach-Ricotta Skillet Lasagna from All You Magazine:

Mix 1 cup shredded mozzarella, 1/2 cup grated parmasan, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, pepper to taste and a pinch of nutmeg.

In a separate bowl, whisk 1 1/2 cups ricotta with 1 large egg and 10 oz of frozen chopped spinach that has been thawed and squeezed dry. Season with salt and pepper.

Spread 1/3 of a jar of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a large, heavy skillet. Arrange 2 sheets of no-bake lasagna noodles on top. Spread 1/2 the spinach mixture on the pasta and then scatter 1/2 of the mozzarella mixture on top. Top with 2 more pasta sheets, then spread with 1/3 of the sauce. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the mozzarella mixture. Place another 2 sheets of pasta on top and pour over the remaining sauce. Break remaining sheets of pasta into large pieces to fill in around the edges of the skillet.

Dollop the remaining spinach mixture on top and sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese mixture. Transfer to stovetop and cook, covered, over medium low hear until the top is firm, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside, covered, for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Meatless, delicious, and a great way to get kids to eat spinach!

Making soft pretzels

Yum!

Starcatching

This week we're focusing on the fairy tale Star Money. Nicholas went searching for the letter A among the stars.

And of course, Daniel wanted in on the action as well.