Dawn K Homeschool

Since the school year started, I have been implementing a weekly dinner menu to make the days run more smoothly.  It has helped!  You can download the form I use  here .  I prefer the 1-Week Menu with Grocery List.  I clip this to my refrigerator once it is compiled by using a magnetic clip.  Check out her blog while you are there! Before creating my menu, I look through my freezer, refrigerator and pantry to see what I can use up.  Then, I look through my index card file box which holds recipes which are placed behind dividers.  My categories are: soups/stews sandwiches breakfast casseroles Italian Mexican beef chicken pork fish I typically try to choose a meal from seven different categories though this often depends on what I have on hand.  I then write the meals on the left-hand column and any items I need on the right-hand column.  I then add anything else we are in need of. I like having the menu with me when I am at the grocery store because I can tweak my menu, for if I see som

And, the winner is Stacey Jeannete!  Please email me your mailing address! While in the Shenandoah Valley, we finally visited the  Green Valley Book Fair .  I had so much fun looking at all the children's books; many were titles I had never seen before.  For about $50, I received the following history, artist and composer books which I know we will enjoy. I also bought several fun books for Ben including Poptropica and Club Penguin items along with The Great Christmas Kidnapping Caper (Audiobook on CD)  and The Modern Story Book (CD and book set) . For Nathan, I bought  The Secret History of Giants  and  Eragon's Guide to Alagaesia .  My husband picked out a landscape painting book for him.  His favorite from us is  The Name of this Book is Secret (Audio CD by Pseudonymous Bosch) . So, I bought an extra The Name of this Book is Secret audio CD to give away on my blog.  If you would like this unabridged audio book, just leave a comment on this post, and I will choose a name at

We took the chicks out for a little fresh air and sunshine yesterday. The soaked it in!

I bought a styrofoam incubator years ago at a yard sale for $5.00. I finally had a chance to use it when a friend gave us four fertilized eggs. So, I found the box in the garage, dusted it off, set it up and hoped for the best. It worked! For 19 days, I flipped the eggs two-three times each day. On the 20th day, I added water to the extra reservoir and waited. The next day, I noticed a tiny chip off the egg (I learned this is called peeping). Within 24 hours, three eggs (named by the boys Charles, Cheep-Cheep and Peetey) had hatched with little Luna bringing up the rear.