First Class of O'Keeffe Flowers

I was very excited for today's 4th grade arts and crafts class. 

I'm not formally trained in the arts but am very willing to learn in order to bring variety to my craft oriented class. Today I was originally scheduled to teach the 4th grade class, however, due to the art teacher chaperoning the junior high for their Academic day, I also taught this same lesson to the 3rd grade.

As I stated, I'm not formally trained but thanks to Pinterest art resources are readily available. At the website The Art of Education, I found this free lesson plan which focuses on getting students to draw big referencing the works of Georgia O'Keeffe. The lesson plan provides the materials needed, step by step instructions and some sample pictures of projects completed by students. 

Yesterday, I started prepping by cutting sheets of 9 x 13 watercolor paper into 9 x 9 inch squares. The left over strip I cut it into 4 x 4 squares that I would have the students use for drawing "test" flowers. I also took the time to make some of my own sample flowers to share with the them. I figured this would give them more options helping them to be creative while making their own flowers. 

This morning I took a trip to my local library in order to take out a few books on Georgia O'Keeffe so I could show the students samples of her work. Sadly, our local library was not very well equipped with books on the arts. I did find this one book on Georgia O'Keeffe in the children's section of the library. Thankfully it did have a few of her flower pieces. 

Because of the library's limited resources on the artist and her work, I also looked for books showcasing flowers in great detail. Fortunately, I was able to find this one book in the "flower/plant life" section of the library.

I started the class by telling the students a little bit about Georgia O'Keeffe and then showed a few of her works. I explained that our project would be to produce a flower that would take up the majority or entire 9 x 9 piece of paper and that they would be able to watercolor paint their flowers. At the mention of "watercolor", the students grew more excited. I showed them the sample flowers I made along with possible flower suggestions from the library book and that was enough, they were off creating. Of course, I didn't let them start on the 9 x 9 paper. Each student drew a sample of the flower they would create on a piece of the 4 x 4 scrap paper. This way they would get a feeling of how it felt to draw their flower and have a point of reference when they went to their final piece. Once all the students completed their "test" sample, I took one and showed them how this specific flower would translate when drawn bigger on the 9 x 9 paper. I think this step really helped them visualize how they needed to magnify their flowers for the final projects. 

As you can see, most of the students finished the pencil drawing of their flower and over half of them moved on to the next step of tracing their pencil lines with black Sharpie.
Our next class they'll finish the outlining and move on to the painting portion of the project. With how excited the 4th grade class was with this project, I have a feeling they will complete these during our next class period. When completed, their creations will be displayed in the hallway for a few weeks.

The 3rd grade also did well on this project with most of them getting to the outlining stage too. 

What a great class today!!
As always, thanks for stopping by!

Easter and "The Jesus Story"

For the last 3 Easter seasons, our family has been involved in our church's production of "The Jesus Story" - a play showing the ministry, death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Although the involvement has been primarily on the part of Dave and myself, this year Emily decided to take a part in the ministry too. 

I'm not a forefront person when it comes to these type of productions. I prefer to be in the background. So, my "position" has been in the area of backstage small props. Of course, it only seemed natural to have Emily join us as a part of that crew. Although very willing to help in small props, after the second performance of the play, Emily told me that next year she did not want to be backstage but out on  stage as a part of the crowd. I was in no way disappointed with her desire to go from backstage to on stage but I admit I was surprised.

Other than school programs, where the kids practice during school time, Emily has shown no desire to be a part of any program. Her last "formal" program was a Christmas program at our church, and although she enjoyed being in it, she told me she wouldn't be doing it again because there are just too many practices. I've learned with Emily not to push her. When it comes to sports, programs, activities, we've always been of the thinking to have the kids try it once  and then let them make the decision regarding the next time. So, yes, I was suprised at her declaration of wanting to be "in" the play next year.  And, yes, I did inform her that it would involve practices she would need to attend. 

As the following week of performances occurred, Emily continued to tell me of her plans for next year. Our last two performance were going to be the next Thursday and Good Friday. When I was cleaning up from our perfomance the Sunday prior, Emily came running to me all excited saying she was going to be in the play. Of course, I said "next year" because I've only heard her tell me this now a thousand times. She replied "no, Good Friday". I was like "what?" Well, Emily expressed her desire to a dear friend who knowing Emily saw how much she wanted to be a part of the crowd and was going to see about making it happen this year. What was supposed to be a possible Friday performance turned into Thursday and Friday performances and let me tell you Emily was over the moon. 

Of course, she asked me a million questions about details before that first performance but once she was in that make-up chair she was no longer thinking about me. 

Thankfully she had friends who were already in the play that could guide her throughout the scenes she was invloved in. I can't tell you how much my heart swelled when I caught my first glimpse of her from the sidestage. This is my girl! She is a part of a huge ministry telling the Good News of Jesus. There is nothing like that moment when a parent sees their child serving their Savior. 

Well, Emily loved being a part of the onstage crowd and is making plans for next year and just so you know she is "okay" with all the practices she will have to be a part of. 

It is so amazing to be a part of a ministry for the furthering of the Kingdom of God but it is even more amazing when your children desire to be a part of it too. Matthew did his part selling DVD's of one of this season's early performances. 

Of course, the biggest "thank you" goes to Emily's Aunt Debbie (my sister friend) who saw the desire and excitement of a young lady and did what she could to make her desire a reality! 

Our little girl has come so far and nothing makes it more special than seeing her want to walk the path that God has for her. 

This Easter season has meant so much with the growing of our kid's in their faith. Our prayer is that God will continue to touch their hearts and move them in the direction He desires for them. 

As always, thanks for stopping by! 

No-Bake Tomato Skillet Lasagna

After over a month of on again off again cooking, tonight I started a week's worth of "homemade" dinners. 

This recipe is from Betty Crocker and can be obtained here. Although the recipe is very easy to make,  I did have trouble finding one of the main ingredients required.

The recipe calls for a pouch of Progresso Recipe Starters fire roasted tomato cooking sauce. Now, I know this product existed because I remember purchasing a can of it once before along with this can of their basil sauce. I went to my main food store and it wasn't there. Although they did have sauce pouches they didn't have the fire roasted tomato sauce so I knew the product line still existed but concluded they were no longer being packaged in can form. So, off I headed to two other stores with no luck. Finally, my fourth trip to another food store this morning resulted in sweet success. Oh, and I did buy two packages just in case. 

The other issue I had is not being able to find mafalda (mini lasagna) noodles so I don't think I would really call this recipe a skillet "lasagna". When it comes to pasta products, I've been trying to change over to gluten free items as they have become more available. Both Barilla and Ronzoni are producing gluten free "pasta" products and they are reasonable priced. For this meal, I used Ronzoni Gluten Free Rotini. 

The final result was a very easy and yummy meal. I didn't even have to ask if it was liked by the family because their plates told that story - they were completely empty!  I would consider that a 4 thumbs up for this meal.

Try this recipe and let me know what you think.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Change is in the Air

Change always comes to our home with the arrival of spring. Cleaning out cupboards, closets, rooms, etc., it is one of the most fulfilling times as I love clearing out clutter and organizing. 

Having this "cleaning" mindset, I've been thinking of what to do concerning our family blog. 

When I started this blog almost 6 years ago, its purpose was to keep our out of town families up to date on the happenings of our family. With the passing of time, our lives have changed so the blog has changed. Over the last few years beside family information I've been sharing recipes, craft projects, personal changes, God moments, etc. Even more recently I've been including projects from an arts and crafts class I've been voluntarily teaching at the kid's school.
For the last month, I've been trying to decide if it is all too much! Too much information, too much to do resulting in not being able to be consistent, too much to read? Mulling all this over I've come to the realization that I miss writing and sharing all that is happening in our lives. I'm excited about the recipes I've been "testing" on the family, the crafts I've been teaching, the changes and events that our family has been experiencing, so I want to share.
I'm hoping in the near future to get together with a more computer savvy person and find a blog format where I can create specific "menus" allowing readers to choose the posts they are most interested in (recipes, family life, arts & crafts projects, etc.). However, in the meantime, I'll be writing, posting and labeling which will help with selecting reading options.
Change is a good thing and I look forward to what will come our way! I hope you will continue to join me on our life's journey as we live, love and laugh (notice the name change of the blog from "the busiest place on earth"). Oh and please bear with me as I go backwards for a little while and post items and events that occurred during my short "hiatus" as I contemplated this blog and the need for change.
As always, thanks for stopping by! 

A Hearty Success!

I have to tell you it is so nice to have another new family approved recipe! 

Yesterday, I showed Matt the 3 new dinner recipes I had shopped for this week and told him he could select tonight's dinner. Matt chose Spicy Sausage Pasta which I found at the website Kevin and Amanda.

The recipe is so very easy to follow. I only made 3 changes. Instead of heavy cream, I used light cream in order to cut some of the calories. Also, I didn't add the scallions mainly because I forgot to buy them but it was probably for the best as Matt is not a big fan of onions and I already included the onion required in the recipe. Lastly, I chose to use gluten few penne pasta. Barilla now has a variety of gluten free pasta choices (penne, elbow, etc.) and I have to say it is one of the best tasting gluten free options I've sampled. 

The only thing I would do differently is cook the sausage (I used Hillshire's turkey kielbasa) a little longer to get a nice browning to it and a little more caramelizing of the onions. Other than that, it is a keeper!

Everyone here gave it a thumbs up! Try it for yourself and let me know what you think.

As always, thanks for stopping by!