​​​​Autumn is just around the corner here in Northeast Georgia, and thankfully our last bit of summer finally got a break from those record-breaking June temperatures!  Many things we enjoy as a family does not necessarily include the commercialized pumpkin patches or small-town fall vendor-style festivals.  Our family gets excited year after year thinking of the delightful memories in store during this beautiful autumn season.  Bucket lists are a great way to organize all the fun fall activities you do not want to miss on a crisp, breezy fall day!

I hope you enjoy my list, and let me know your favorite things to do during this beautiful season by commenting below.  

Have you noticed how condiments can take your meal from healthy to unhealthy? Whether it's the unnecessary addition of sugar or soybean oil, many include ingredients such as added oils that are missing from the beautiful marketing on the front of the bottle or jar! Oils like soybean, canola, and other "seed" oils are highly oxidized oils with highly inflammatory effects on the entire body. The best options are organic, cold, and expeller-pressed coconut or avocado oils. Unlike seed oils, these healthy oils really do come from vegetables! 

This fresh homemade mayonnaise has no sugar, artificial ingredients, or soy. It tastes so delicious you will never go back too store-bought again.

Yields about a Pint

​Ingredients:
1 Large Egg (room temperature)
1 1/2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar or White Vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Granulated garlic
Kosher salt to taste
1 cup Avocado Oil

Optional ingredients to add or omit:
Paprika
Dill
Chives
Parsley

Directions:

1. Start by layering each ingredient as listed into a mason jar (eggs must be on the bottom).
2. Add the egg, vinegar, pinch of salt, Dijon mustard, and garlic.
3. Using an emulsion blender, blend the mixture for about 5-6 seconds.
4. Slowly add the avocado oil and blend for about 25-30 seconds.

​Who is ready for some breakfast? My English Muffin Egg Breakfast Sandwiches are a convenient make-ahead meal for your family. Make-ahead sandwiches are always a good idea for any family that is on the go!  Breakfast, in our little homeschool, is the most important part of our day.  If my kids do not eat a well-balanced meal, filling their tummies full of good protein and carbs, they stay in the kitchen all day begging for food.

Making these ahead and popping them in the freezer also makes them a handy and healthy grab and go breakfast. After you have baked the sandwiches allow them to cool. Individually wrap sandwiches in aluminum foil and place them in a freezer bag.  When you are ready to grab your sandwich from the freezer, remove the tin foil and wrap the sandwich in a paper towel, pop it in your microwave for 1-2 minutes, or until desired warmth.  ​

We are so excited about our new year of learning. I have joyfully anticipated days like these and can not believe I am now experiencing a slow-living life with my family. Some days aren’t easy, but are worth it when you have so many precious moments. Our family use various curriculums to help round out their learning. For Reading, Writing and Math, we are using Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool Kinder Writing, Kinder Math, McGuffey Primer-Sight Reading, McGuffey Primer-Eclectic Reading, and McGuffey Primer and Phonics). For Language Arts, Art, Music, Bible, and Science/Nature Study we use a rich Charlotte Mason-inspired curriculum by The Gentle + Classical called Gentle + Classical Primer and Gentle + Classical Nature Study Volume 1.

Easy Peasy All-In-One Homeschool

EP is a complete, free online Christian homeschool curriculum. It covers reading, writing, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, math, history/social studies/geography, science, Spanish, Bible, computer, music, art, PE/health, and logic. We like Easy Peasy for many reasons:

It aligns with our philosophy of what learning should look like, which is that we believe kids need hours of unstructured play each day to develop creativity and pursue their passions/interests, with Easy Peasy, we are finished before lunchtime each day.

It provides a Christian-based worldview, and it focuses on reading.

If a child can read well with comprehension, all learning will be more accessible! Easy Peasy helps us cover the required content and allows time for us to dig deeper into what our kids find interesting. ​

The Gentle + Classical Prime and Nature Study Volume I

The Gentle + Classical Primer provides a heavy Charlotte Mason influence combined with a classical education structured around units, which I love! The author, Erin Cox, also has the teacher guide, free to download, allowing you to view before purchasing.

This year we added an Easter Unit from the Gentle Classical Press, and we have thoroughly enjoyed spending some extra time digging into the Easter Story—spoiler: He did not stay in the tomb!

We made our Resurrection garden, and the kids enjoyed the learning experience! The unit was a gentle way of teaching our children about the events leading to Christ’s death, His resurrection and our gift of salvation.  Inside our garden is the empty tomb with the rolled away stone and flower seeds. Our tomb may be empty, but it will soon come to life!  The kids continue to learn from the garden when they observe changes happening around the tomb, which allows our family to stay committed to focus on growing our faith. 

​The teacher in me could not resist using my childhood chalkboard. One of my fondest childhood memories was awakening to this amazing gift on Christmas morning in 1984.  Pretending I was a school teacher, I would play for hours, and low and behold, nineteen years later, I became a high school teacher.

​The chalkboard and all the fun I spent as a kid playing school have come full circle now as we use it to homeschool our children. We updated the chalkboard using chalkboard paint and are very happy with the result. 

​We made a felt board a couple of weeks ago, and my kids are loving all the imaginative play! Felt boards are great for teaching math concepts, shapes, color sorting, and just all-around fun imaginative play. We recently added a few fun finds from Amazon focusing on community helpers and modes of transportation.   It took me around 30 minutes to create the board, and another 30 minutes to cut out all the weather shapes (which is still a work in progress) and has now turned into hours of fun, especially this morning when it rained until noon. 

Nothing says comfort food like Salisbury steaks! This is my family favorite version of the ever-popular TV Dinner classic from the Hungry Man, and putting my homemade twist on a bland and boring dish.  My recipe leaves out store bought soup mixes but includes a yummy gravy that is delicious served over mashed potatoes or cauliflower mash. This is the perfect easy winter meal that is inexpensive, tasty, family and kid-approved.

​Ingredients
Patties
1 lb Lean Grass-Fed Ground Beef
1/3 cup Italian Bread Crumbs
2 tsp Ketchup
1 tsp Mustard (I use yellow mustard)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp Granulated Garlic
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Dried Minced Onion
1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil or avocado oil
 
Gravy
2 tbsp of Brown Gravy Mix
2 cups hot Water
1 tsp Ketchup
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
 
Directions:

1. In a large bowl add the ground beef and all of the patty ingredients and combine using your hands until it is all well-incorporated.
2. Form the beef mixture into hamburger patties, set aside on a plate or cutting board.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
4. Cook patties on both sides until no longer pink. (about 4 minutes per side)
5. Lower temperature to low.
6. Whisk together brown gravy mix and water until well-blended.
7. Whisk in ketchup and Worcestershire and pour over patties in skillet.
8. Allow to simmer until gravy warms and thickens.

 
Optional: I also recommend sautéing onions in butter before cooking the patties for a nice addition to this meal.

Brrrrrrr! The weather here in Georgia is getting chilly, and starting homeschool after a long break can be difficult.  Winter doesn’t stop us from diving into fun activities that are full of learning opportunities.  Snow for us does not happen often, but we see our fair share of temperatures in the teens - yikes! What does continue every season is how much our trees change.  My kids loved learning about the leaves changing colors and watching them fall to the ground this past autumn.  Now they can continue studying the trees by creating winter tree art. The best part about this winter art activity is getting your kids outside to collect the materials! ​

We are heading to my parents' house for dinner on Christmas night.  The menu and shopping list are made and thank goodness I have the easy meals to prepare this year!  The menu typically does not change a whole lot each year. My dad prepares the prime rib roast, mom handles the gravy and green beans, my sister brings the salad and desserts, and I prepare the mashed potatoes. This year was a little different because I usually buy the store bought frozen dinner yeast rolls, but I wanted to make homemade yeast rolls for the first time and also incorporate my oldest child into the fun for a little home economics lesson. 

This past week we learned about our senses and how different things feel, smell, and touch. So what better way to incorporate all of our senses than to make homemade yeast rolls which were already needed for our Christmas dinner. We made the dough together once we got all of the ingredients out and measured each. She helped knead the dough as well. It rolled so many activities into one, science, motor skills, and sensory to name a few. She has always said she's the baker, I'm the mixer and daddy is the fixer.  I highly recommend making this with your children and as a little added tip - clean up as you go! 

Here are some of the learning activities involved in this activity:

• following directions
  
• reading a recipe (words have meaning)
  
• sequencing (first we do this, then that)
  
• fine motor skills (scooping, stirring, pouring)
  
• observation skills (what happens when we mix in the flour?)
  
• life skills (preparing food, cleaning kitchen, doing dishes)

If you make this recipe a head of time and your dough balls are frozen, simply pull them out the day of and they will thaw and rise while the last minute stuff gets done. 

Ingredients: 
1 cup boiling water
2 TBSP oil (avocado or canola)
1/4 cup of unsalted butter plus melted butter or brushing the tops of rolls before baking 
3 TBSP granulated sugar
1 package active dry yeast (not instant or rapid rise)
1 large egg, beaten
1 tsp kosher salt
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions: 

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
2. Add the sugar, oil, egg, salt, and half of the flour and mix until just combined.
3. Add one more cup of flour and mix until the flour is combined again.
4. Add between 1/2 of a cup to 1 whole cup of the remaining flour as needed until the dough comes together and is soft but not gooey. 
5. Spray the top with cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap.
6. Allow dough to rise in a warm place for one hour or until doubled.
7. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times until the dough is slightly smooth.
8. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turn to coat, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
9. Deflate the dough by gently pushing your fist in the center and folding the sides over. On a clean un-floured surface, pat the dough out into a rectangle. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces. 
10. Allow to rise about one hour more until doubled again.
11. Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes and brush melted butter over the tops when you take them out of the oven.
12. Serve hot.