School Days

Summertime Craft & Cooking Fun with Kids!

WE HAVE A WINNER!  I know, I fell off the wagon and ran late on this contest.  Sorry 'bout that.  Guess I've had a lot on my mind lately.  But, we have a winner and I am proud to say that Alice is the lucky recipient of Rae Grant's books Cooking Fun and Crafting Fun.  Oh boy, is she ever going to love 'em!  

Thank you all for entering.  Hey, if there is one thing I know for sure, the odds are pretty good that if you keep entering my contests, you are bound to win something because not many people know about my blog, so that definitely improves your odds of winning.  Unlike Ree who has a contest and 13,000+ comments.  I don't know how she does it.  She must have a blog magnet somewhere that I haven't found yet.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!  Alice, email me at susan@raisin-toast.com to claim your prize.  I'll need your address to ship them out to you.  Hope you love these books as much as I do.

Now that the kids are home and out of school for the summer, around here we are always looking for something fun to do with our kids.  I, personally, do not like them sitting in front of the computer, playing the Wii, or X-Box, all day long.  It is bad for their eyes and bad for their brain.  So, we limit their use of electronics and encourage our children to read and do other things that are better for them - like crafts, cooking, painting, playing outside, riding their bicycles and scooters, playing board games, and reading.  There is so much that they can do that does not require an electronic device or a computer, and I recently found 2 books that have encouraged my children to try something new and fun. 

I found 2 books by Rae Grant that I thought would be fun for the kids, and I was right.  The books are Crafting Fun and Cooking Fun, and what I found so interesting about these books is that they include crafts and recipes from days gone by.  I ran across some classic projects in the Crafting Fun book that reminded me of my own childhood and crafts that I would create from simple household materials.    There were a few that I had completely forgotten about until I opened up Rae's book.  Talk about a woman after my own heart, she has put together 2 books that you will love and will bring back a flood of memories from your own childhood.  Darn, I wish I had thought of this!  

Both books have fun illustrations and useful information.  In the Cooking Fun book, there is a listing of Weights and Measures that are easy for little ones to read and refer to when their cooking up something special.

Now where did she get this Hot Cocoa recipe?  Come on!  This was my family secret!  Or how about this Hot Milk and Honey for those nights you can't sleep.  Maybe Michael Jackson should have taken a clue from this instead of medications - ya think?  He was apparently suffering from insomnia.  I'm sure some Hot Cocoa or Hot Milk and Honey would have surely done the trick.

Or how about some of Grandma's Cinnamon Toast?  I love Raisin Toast, but man do I ever love Cinnamon Toast too!  Yum.  Especially with Hot Cocoa!!!

Turkey BLT anyone?  Tuna Salad?  Lunch time!

Easy Cheesy Broccoli Soup?  Hey, I like the Emergency Soup.  We have quite a few emergencies around here.

This one made me smile.  Potato Pancakes.  My mother makes these all the time.  Whenever we have leftover mashed potatoes (the real ones by the way), the next morning she'd say "You want some Potato Pancakes?"  You better believe it!  I love 'em!  Funny thing is, this is the first cookbook I've ever seen that has the recipe.  Or how about the Glazed Carrots?!!  My grandmother "Mama Lil" used to make these every holiday!  They were the only way I'd eat my carrots. 

Oh My Goodness!  Snickerdoodles!!!  My Favorite Cookies!  Lordy, this is great!

Looking through the Crafting Fun book, I ran across just as many memorable childhood projects as I did recipes in the Cooking Fun book, and this book is divided into seasonal sections.  What a great idea!

Do you remember taking a brown paper grocery bag and making book covers for your school books? I sure do! I would doodle all over them - to the dismay of my teachers.

How about a 2-stick diamond kite?  You don't have to fly kites only in the Spring.  If it's windy out, it's a great day for flying a kite!

Wanna make your own soap?  I used to make soap as a craft project and shape it into flowers and stars.  I sometimes used cookie cutters to shape my soap.  This is so much fun!

I remember pressing flowers, do you? They make great memories and also bookmarks!  I used to press flowers and then make them into bookmarks with that stuff you paint on top that makes it into a hard plastic coating.  What was that stuff?  I can't remember. 

Oh fun!  Pinwheels and Dangle Bead Bookmarks!  When I was little, I used to love to go to the grocery store with my mother, and there were always pinwheels at the register or in the children's isle.  I wanted one.  "Mommy, please buy me a pinwheel!  Please!"  Well, I eventually learned how to make my own and then instead of buying me pinwheels, my mother bought me packages of colored and origami paper, chopsticks, and crayons.  Of course, everything I did that was crafty involved a box of 64 Crayola Crayons.

How about a confetti blower for the 4th of July?  Or paper hats?  I used to make paper hats at my birthday parties. 

Well, with all this fun, wouldn't you like to have a set of these books for yourself?  I thought so!  Just answer this question in the comments for your chance to win the Cooking Fun and the Crafting Fun books.

What project or recipe do you remember from your own childhood?

Contest will end Monday night at 6pm.  Winner will be announced before noon on Tuesday. 

Good luck everyone and have a great 4th of July!

From Rae Grant, the Author:

What a wonderful post!!

Makes me happy! Can’t wait to read the comments.

May I suggest this?

In case you didn’t see it  I have a new blog :

http://craftingfunforkids.typepad.com/hatchings/

and this author website.

http://www.craftingfunforkids.com/

If you can mention those or link up to them that would be great.

I wish I could send you a batch of brownies but you have the recipe. Try it!!

I have a post on  ideas http://www.craftingfunforkids.com/

Happy 4th....

Most grateful too.
Rae

Highschool Yearbook Memories

Do you remember how exciting it was to get your yearbook towards the end of the school year?  I sure do.  It was always fun passing the yearbook around to my friends and having them sign my yearbook.  Now, my little girl is experiencing the same thing.  The fun.  The memories.  The friends.  The sports.  The football games. 

I homeschooled Sarah from preschool through 8th grade.  So, when 9th grade rolled around, we had to make a decision for her high school years.  It was a tough decision, but after Bob and I discussed it at length, we decided she should have the same high school experience and memories that we shared with our friends. 

My goodness, that braces smile.  How sweet is that!!!  I had the same problem in my 9th grade picture - braces.  I wasn't as brave as Sarah, though, with that big grin.  I clamped my lips shut and I looked absolutely ridiculous.  Sarah just looks beautiful if you ask me. 

This was Sarah's first year at public school and she has loved it - well, most of it anyway.  She is the social butterfly of her school.  I don't know if that is a good thing, but she is doing well.  She comes home all excited about her friends and classmates signing her first yearbook.  These are memories that she will look back on fondly.

She did have one bad experience with a boy in her school, but after we got that situation under control, everything has been fairly smooth going.  Put it this way, as smooth going as you can expect with a 15 year old.  There have been a few tests with less than stellar grades, and then there have been tests with 100%.  Some in the same class!  What's with that anyway?

Her grades have been good - A's and B's.  This semester, though, she may be getting a C in Geometry.  She has had a tough time in that class, but she is otherwise doing well.  We are very proud of her.  She makes every effort to stay after school for Geometry tutoring and it has been very helpful.  A lot of kids stay after for the tutoring sessions - so many in fact, that they have special buses that bring the children home so that we don't have to pick her up. 

We thought she might have a difficult time making new friends, but nope - Sarah seems to be friends with everyone.  Even Louie, the County Deputy who patrols the school is friends with Sarah and tells us that she is always surrounded by friends - in the halls, in the cafeteria, outside - everywhere.  He can hear her laughing in the next hallway. 

Sarah has made some wonderful memories this year.  From Powderpuff football to the Talent Show where she played her composition "Waterfall," she has been active in her school, and she hasn't been shy about it either.  I was shy in high school.  I was a worrier.  I had lots of friends, but I was very self-conscious, until I reached 16 and that's when I blossomed and had boys hangin' all over me. 

Of course, that's not what I want for Sarah.  I don't want the boys hangin' all over her.  I want her to get a great education, make friends, make memories, have fun, and enjoy the experience.

And, isn't that what high school is all about?

Word Collector ©

Yep, that's me, I'm a word collector.  I love words.  If I'm reading or writing, you can be sure I have a dictionary and a thesaurus close at hand.  It's what I do.  It's my thing.  Frustrating is having a lousy dictionary and thesaurus on my computer which is where I need it most, so I find myself seeking out my big, heavy books - you know, the real books, not the digital ones, to find my answers.  Not that that is a bad thing, I just like convenience, and if it isn't at my fingertips, it's not convenient.

In his book, “A Man of My Words” (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2003), professional linguist Richard Lederer, writes, “An old dictionary is like a whalebone corset, a button-hook, spats, or a wad of Confederate money --nice to have around but of little practical use. Unless you’re a collector, replace old dictionaries with ones published within the past 10 years at least.” Alarmed, I ran around the house looking for a current dictionary.  What I found, upon close examination, was my American Heritage Dictionary (4th edition, 2001): heavily creased spine, torn cover, stained pages, soiled plastic covering, and no missing pages - or at least I don't think any are missing.

So, last week I went trudging around the web looking for a superior alternative to the crap that was on my computer, and in my lap, and what I found was eReference.  I have always believed that I would never be the writer that I want to be, or the communicator that I strive to be without a better grasp of the English language.  It's the perfectionist in me.  It's the Mensa in me.  I always have been a word geek.

geek  (g*k)
n. Slang
1.
a.  A person regarded as foolish, inept, or clumsy.
b.  A person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept.
2.  A carnival performer whose show consists of bizarre acts, such as biting the head off a live chicken.
[Perhaps alteration of dialectal geck, fool, from Low German gek, from Middle Low German.]

Now to confess my very strange ways to the masses - I keep a word journal.  I collect words.  Whenever I read a really great word or hear it used verbally, I jot it down in my little leather-bound journal.  Then, I try to integrate it into my everyday speak and in my writing.  Many times I'll come across a word that I recognize and wonder why I don't use it more often.  So, even if I know what it means I'll jot it down to burn it into my brain.  (only to be forgotten by the next day because I'm getting older and those things happen).  Actually, now that I think about it, I wonder if I'm doing this because I'm afraid of losing my mind?  Maybe I've already lost my mind and just don't know it yet.  Well, I don't care, I'm going to collect my words regardless of how crazy it seems.

When I came across this eReference program I was happy to discover that it was the American Heritage Dictionary and the Roget's Thesaurus all wrapped up into one.  Oh, and it doesn't end there.  It has more goodies - for instance, if you are on the internet and you come across a preeminent word that you want to know its meaning, then all you have to do is highlight the word and click on the little A-Z icon on your desktop and right before your eyes is the definition and all sorts of other good information.  Pretty cool, eh? 

So, I would like to share this wonderful and glorious program with all of you.  All I need is for you to define the word "weisenheimer" in the comments below.  And, if you are really ambitious, how about also defining the word "dulcinea." 

This contest will end at 4pm Friday afternoon EST.  And, I will choose a winner at about 6pm EST.  There is no sponsor here, it's my gift to you because I love you all.  I love your comments.  I live for your validation.  I travail for your approval.  I indite for your pleasure.

The winner will receive an unexpurgated digital volume of the American Heritage Dictionary - Fourth Edition, and Roget's II, the New Thesaurus.  It is compatible with Windows and Mac.  That's because it's a smart program.

Now, get crackin'!  (Such a good choice of words, don't you think?)

Time's Up Everyone!  I hope you enjoyed this little contest for a computer goodie.  I like anything that makes me smarter - because to tell you to the truth, I seem to be needing more resources every day.

Okay, I have a winner.  I decided not to wait until 6pm because, well, I'm sick as a dog and so congested I could peel wallpaper with this stuff.  I know - gross. But I'm keepin' it lively here - and honest.  I've gone through about 4 boxes of tissues.  I do believe I need to empty the trash can sitting next to my pillow.  

And the winner is ..... drum roll please (but not to loud because I already have a headache)

 

And, when I count down the OMG thousands! of entries I had in this contest!  Woo!  I swear we almost crashed the servers over at TypePad! 

The winner is ....  (thank you for keeping that drum roll soft by the way)

KATHLEEN!  (and no, this is not "my" daughter Kathleen, as I already put this on her computer, so she's set) - this is another Kathleen, a wonderful Kathleen, how do I know these things?  Because she reads my blog you stinkers!  If you read my blog, you are branded as "wonderful" from the get go - especially if you comment.  hee hee.

CONGRATULATIONS KATHLEEN!  Email me at susan@raisin-toast.com and tell me what kind of computer you have (Windows or Mac) and I will send you instructions on downloading the program and activating it onto your computer.  Let me know if you have any trouble and I'll contact Houghton Mifflin and ask them "what's the deal?"  You shouldn't have any problems, though.  Oh Lord, I'm such a mess this week.