[learn] candyland

If you visited the blog before (and thank you for doing so) you have seen the TwinBop posts that we did this past year with our girls.  Education was the main goal of TwinBop but it needed to be pretty.  

I spent an incredible amount of time finding worksheets, activities and fun ideas that coordinated not only with the lesson theme but with each other design wise.  Now I am just designing them myself. 

I've opened a shop on Etsy called Candy Land that contains pretty themed sets perfect for a morning or afternoon of summer learning fun.  They contain worksheets and play sets that you print yourself.  Lessons that my super smart husband has reviewed making sure they focus on higher learning skills for the preschooler  in your life.  (I suppose his Master in Education helps out with that.) 

What makes these different than your average lesson plan?  One, they are targeted towards ages 3-5 and are in line with the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy and Common Core Standards for Kindergarten.  Two, I've added in fun food ideas for each theme along with simple and inexpensive games. Three, they are pre-coordinated both theme and color wise equaling, you got it, pretty.  Learning during the summer just got a whole lot easier.  

Check out the shop and let me know what you think.  I'm adding more sets as often as I can and offering a little grand opening bonus if you are interested in purchasing a set or two.  Look for bonus pages on the blog soon!

[make] surplus veggies

Part of the reason that I've not been blogging as often is that I've been out in my garden so much more this year.  Between a wet spring and a hot summer, my veggies are coming on strong.  Some a little too strong.  My latest haul included loads of tomatoes currently on the stove boiling down.

But before the tomato boom, it was yellow squash and zucchini.  With spring onions and a few green peppers matured, I managed some wonderful squash relish inspired by Carolyn's post on Cooking for My Captain. I went monotone with the yellow squash, yellow bell pepper and sweet onion relish turning out wonderfully.

I attempted both sweet and dill pickles.  The sweet looked awfully pretty with the addition of peppers and onions, an idea from this pin.  I used my grandmothers old school recipe for the dill version (above).  Half vinegar, half water, a pinch of sugar and a pinch of salt.  Add fresh dill from the garden and slice the cucumbers a little thicker.

Now back to the garden and on to more green beans.