What I'm Cooking
Crockpot Beef Fajitas.
Pumpkin Molasses Cookies, for small group. The very essence of fall.
Apple Cider Donut Muffins. I don't know why people bother to call them "donut muffins," since you really don't get a donut texture without frying. But they were delicious anyway, even with whole wheat flour. I only sugared the tops, not the whole muffin, to save on sugar intake AND mess.
Crockpot Cheesy Spaghetti. My kids prefer plain old spaghetti, but I find this to be much more flavorful and filling.
Hawaiian burgers and sweet potato fries. The pineapple teriyaki sauce is quite delicious. I cooked everything up in a cast-iron skillet instead of on the grill.
What I'm Reading
I'm using my nursing-the-baby hours to pre-read literature aimed slightly above Levi's current reading level, to determine when he'll be old enough to read them. The problem isn't reading level itself, but content -- he's a sensitive soul, especially to anything scary; also, at this point I screen pretty carefully for how characters speak to one another. He doesn't need any examples of unkindness to emulate. All of the following are on the Mensa Excellence in Reading list for 4th-6th grade. (He finished the K-3rd list in the spring.)
The Mysterious Benedict Society trilogy. I blazed through all three of these in less than a week. Written towards middle-schoolers, approximately, but extremely clever and entertaining. Levi is reading the first one now. (Actually, I misspoke above: this one is NOT on the Mensa list, but comes highly recommended in gifted circles.)
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. This isn't scary but has some themes that I don't think Levi would understand, just from lack of real-world experience. I have the sequel on hold for myself, though.
The House of Dies Drear. Not a bad story, and a happy ending, but it's basically a Civil War ghost story. Since the last time he encountered a skeleton in a book (that wasn't supposed to be scary at all) he abandoned it entirely, we'll wait a while on this one.
The Dark is Rising series. The first one is mildly scary but I think Levi could handle it. However, I'm into the fourth book now, and they jumped in intensity quite a bit from the first to the second. The whole series is on the Mensa list, so I'll probably hold off on giving him the first until I feel he can handle the whole series.
Weekly Snapshots: The Three Youngers
Crockpot Beef Fajitas.
Pumpkin Molasses Cookies, for small group. The very essence of fall.
Apple Cider Donut Muffins. I don't know why people bother to call them "donut muffins," since you really don't get a donut texture without frying. But they were delicious anyway, even with whole wheat flour. I only sugared the tops, not the whole muffin, to save on sugar intake AND mess.
Crockpot Cheesy Spaghetti. My kids prefer plain old spaghetti, but I find this to be much more flavorful and filling.
Hawaiian burgers and sweet potato fries. The pineapple teriyaki sauce is quite delicious. I cooked everything up in a cast-iron skillet instead of on the grill.
What I'm Reading
I'm using my nursing-the-baby hours to pre-read literature aimed slightly above Levi's current reading level, to determine when he'll be old enough to read them. The problem isn't reading level itself, but content -- he's a sensitive soul, especially to anything scary; also, at this point I screen pretty carefully for how characters speak to one another. He doesn't need any examples of unkindness to emulate. All of the following are on the Mensa Excellence in Reading list for 4th-6th grade. (He finished the K-3rd list in the spring.)
The Mysterious Benedict Society trilogy. I blazed through all three of these in less than a week. Written towards middle-schoolers, approximately, but extremely clever and entertaining. Levi is reading the first one now. (Actually, I misspoke above: this one is NOT on the Mensa list, but comes highly recommended in gifted circles.)
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. This isn't scary but has some themes that I don't think Levi would understand, just from lack of real-world experience. I have the sequel on hold for myself, though.
The House of Dies Drear. Not a bad story, and a happy ending, but it's basically a Civil War ghost story. Since the last time he encountered a skeleton in a book (that wasn't supposed to be scary at all) he abandoned it entirely, we'll wait a while on this one.
The Dark is Rising series. The first one is mildly scary but I think Levi could handle it. However, I'm into the fourth book now, and they jumped in intensity quite a bit from the first to the second. The whole series is on the Mensa list, so I'll probably hold off on giving him the first until I feel he can handle the whole series.
Weekly Snapshots: The Three Youngers
Silas learning to walk and play the violin at the same time, at his weekly group lesson.
Silas reading Frog and Toad out loud to himself. He's been reading non-stop this week,
but if he wants to be read to, he'll suddenly close the book and announce he can't read.
Toby in his "instruction hat," pretending to be Corporal Farrel with his barrel from Drummer Hoff.
Sweet Calvin gazing adoringly at Silas. He loves to "talk" to all his brothers.
So fun to see Silas walk and play with his violin. That takes some coordination!
ReplyDelete