Teaching Tuesday--St. Patrick's Day

Wow, March is busy!  I can't believe St. Patrick's Day is less than a week away and then Easter is less than a week after that.  On top of it, I'm hostessing a Mary Kay party, going to a scrapbook event, traveling with two kids, playing in a softball tournament, and juggling hair cuts and 3 month old pictures, all before the month's end.  This year has flown by.

How did last week's alphabet review go?  If your little on is anything like mine, you're finding that they could use more time to work on these letters.  So keep reviewing and let's have some St. Patrick's Day fun this week.  We checked out a Sesame Street video this week from the library.  It's called "Learning about Letters."  It's really good.

I'm learning so much about St. Patrick's Day that I never knew.  When I was growing up, St. Patrick's Day was all about "green" food and pinching the boys.  There's so much more to the holiday.  History, tradition, culture.

I've ordered a bunch of books from the library and I'm picking them up later this morning.  I can't wait to see what my little guy thinks.  I'm sure the stories will be flowing out of him when Daddy gets home.  I'll be sure to update after we've had a chance to look through a few of these books.

There's also lots of internet sites you can check out for everything from history lessons to craft activities surrounding the holiday.  Depending on the age of your child (or your own interest in the topic), you can find quite a variety of resources.  These are just a few:

www.history.com/minisites/stpatricksday

www.holidays.kaboose.com/patrick-history.html

www.wilstar.com/holidays/partick.html

www.aurther.k12.il..us/arthurgs/stpthunt.html

Hope this helps and you have fun exploring the holiday with your kids.

St Patrick's Day Fun-- Part 1

In preparation for St. Patrick's Day, I thought I'd post a few ideas this week that you can do in your own home, either next Monday or adapted to use throughout the year.  So who's up for a little dessert?

Shamrock Shakes

2 cups milk

2 scoops of lime sherbet

2 ripe bananas

Blend together.

Couldn't be easier, right?  Hum... makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

Menu Monday

Here's what going on at our house this week.

Monday:

Scrambled Eggs, fruit, milk

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, salad, juice

Pea soup, homemade bread,

Tuesday:

Creamy Apple Oatmeal, milk

Tuna sandwiches, fruit, juice

Potluck: Chile Relleno Casserole

Wednesday:

Cereal and fruit, milk

Egg salad sandwiches, salad, juice

Brushetta Chicken Bake, salad

Thursday:

Yogurt, cottage cheese, milk

Leftovers, juice

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Friday:

Scrambled eggs, milk

Egg salad sandwiches, Tricuits, juice

Gingerbread waffles, bacon, 

Saturday:

Potluck: Monkey bread

Tuna sandwiches, fruit, juice

Black Bean Soup, homemade bread

Sunday:

Cereal and fruit, milk

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, carrots and dip, juice

Leftovers

Frugal Friday

Just a few tips for stretching your budget:

1. We buy only 7% fat ground beef and it can get expensive.  When I'm making casseroles, I cut the meat nearly in half.  Sloppy joes, shepard's pie, hamburger helper, any casseroles that call for 1 lb of meat, get 1/2 lb. of meat.  Our family doesn't even miss it.

2. We cut juice.  When I mix juice concentrate, I add 4 containers of water, rather than 3 containers.  I cut it further when I serve it to my son.

3. Add beans to your salads.  It adds protein to your meal and cuts back on some of the more expensive, perishable fresh produce.

4. Make a turkey.  We have ours in the freezer from Thanksgiving sales.  Use every last scrap of that turkey.  Make enchiladas, soup, casseroles, etc.  We get tons of meals out of this.

Around the Home Thursday

I've been trying to gather information on what snacks my kids should be eating and how often they should be eating.  My husband and I are having a debate about whether or not our son should be having a snack after his nap, even though it's close to dinner.  And it got me thinking about how monotonous our snacks have become.  We seem to eat the same stuff all the time and I've been looking for new ideas.  This is what I've discovered. 

1. Between the ages of 1-5, children should be getting  5-9 servings of fruits and veggies in a single day.  What constitutes a serving?  The serving size should be about the size of a child's fist.  So as they grow, so does their serving size.  This helps me a lot.  I hear those visuals "The size of a deck of cards."  That never makes sense to me.  Now I can sit a deck of cards next to my hand and see they are the same, but the hand comes with me.  Maybe my serving sizes will be more accurate now as well.

2. Allow grazing.  Preschoolers should be eating up to 10 small "meals" a day.  Now these aren't 4 course meals, but a little something here and there.  Grazing allows them to all the nutrients they need through out the day.  It keeps their metabolism and blood sugar steady.  A fun idea I read was to make grazing trays.  For children 1-2 years old, fill ice cube trays with snacks. For older children, fill muffin tins. Things like raisins, eggs, apples, bananas, oranges, strawberries, carrots, broccoli, etc.  Provide 1-2 dipping sauces such as guacamole, hummas, salsa, yogurt, peanut butter, etc.  Make it available to them throughout the day.

3. Educate them early on about healthy choices.  The more you expose them to healthy snacks and educate them, the more likely they are to continue these healthy habits later on in life.  The snacks and foods they are exposed to now will train their taste buds for the future.  The reverse is true as well.  Eating junk food at an early age will train their taste buds as well.

4. Make nutrition fun for them.  Provide them with "apple wheels" and "broccoli trees."  See nutrition through 2 year old eyes.

5. Never use food to bride or appease your child.  This connects food with emotions.  Emotional eating can become a lifelong problem.

Here are some great snack ideas that I've come across.  Feel free to comment with any additional ideas you've tried.

frozen bananas on stick, dripped in yogurt

baked chips

granola bars

sunflower seeds

raisins

fig newtons

frozen fruit bars

frozen grapes

fudsicles

fruit juice (in moderation)

fruit shakes

Trisuits

Wheat Thins

light popcorn

nuts

homemade popsicles