Super-Easy Freezie Pops

Yesterday here in Minnesota, we were under an "Excessive Heat" Warning (which, being interpreted, means that our temps exceeded 90 degrees). So in order to help my kids cope with temperatures they're not quite used to (and bribe my 4-year-old to take a nice, long nap), I made them these Fruit & Yogurt Smoothie Pops. Easiest thing I've ever made for them. The whole process took me less than 5 minutes, and they completely froze and were ready to eat by the end of nap time. If you're into "real foods," these are for you. If you just want something simple and tasty, these are for you too. 

My ingredients (as called for) - I didn't use quite
as much spinach - maybe 5 or 6 leaves?
But he didn't notice. :-) 

Ingredients in the blender (can anyone tell what
I forgot to add?)

After blending everything

For my "pops" I just used dixie cups and
craft sticks from the Dollar Tree

This is just to help you know that, while we try to be healthy, we are also still normal people who need the occasional ice cream Snickers bar too.

The End Results?

Checking it out

Happiness

Note: This smoothie pop was apparently so good and filled my son up so much that he told his VBS teacher last night that he "didn't need" the popsicle she offered him during snack time. No I didn't tell him he couldn't have treats - usually this child is so treat-deprived that he'll eat as much sugar as he can get outside of the home. :-) I guess these were just that good. Hope you can all enjoy them too! Let us know what your kids think. 

Megan

for the Sisterhood

Children's Author Highlight Series

(c) Microsoft

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents." -- Emily Buchwald

I have seen this quote floating around Pinterest lately, and it has gotten me thinking about how much time we spend reading in our home, and how we could step it up in this area.  I plan to saturate our summer with books - of all sorts!  I have built into our summer schedule time for Bible reading, picture book reading, chapter book reading, fiction reading, non-fiction reading, silent reading, solo reading, group reading ... you get the idea. :)

I plan to highlight one of our favorite children's authors every Monday here at the Sisterhood - and hopefully this might inspire some of you to read more with your children, frequent your local public library this summer, create great memories with your children, and develop great readers in your own home.

Watch Monday for the first Children's Author Highlight - one of our current favorites!

Summer Faves: Fruit Salsa and a Novel

(c) Microsoft Office 2012

So far, I am relishing this time of year like never before. Not only am I enjoying the beautifully warm weather, but I'm loving having a  child who is finally old enough to just run around outside for hours - granted, with supervision. This by no means describes a daily routine for me, but we have had plenty of opportunities for me to sit outside on our porch swing while he plays outside. And I've used the opportunities to get in some more reading - back to a summer reading program at long last (contented sigh).


I do have quite the list of books that I'm working through at this point, covering everything from biographies, to Christian growth books, to mystery fiction, to political non-fiction, to Christian historical fiction, to sports biographies (yes, because I love my husband), to just about everything else in between. However, I must also squeeze in my annual reading of one of my all-time favorite novels: Celia Garth. 

A yearly, favorite read:
Celia Garth, by Gwen Bristow

I don't know why it is I chose to make this my yearly summer read, but it might have something to do with the fact that it is set in colonial revolutionary Charleston, SC - a place that, in my mind, exudes sunshine, palm trees, fountains of sparkling water, and gorgeous beach-front property. If that doesn't say "summer," I don't know what does. Of course the novel hardly mentions any of the above items; but it does do a fantastic job of capturing both the descriptive beauty and tension of life in 1770s Charleston. I love it. I don't know that I could call it a deep read or even a life-changing read; but what I will tell you is that it involves mystery, action, tension, history, romance, wit, and sass. So, if you want something light and enjoyable, but intriguing and thrilling, help yourself to this piece of literary verve. (And the good news is that, after many years of being "out of print," Celia Garth is back on the paperback shelves - a much cheaper alternative to the first-edition-hardback-only copies I saved up for.)

To go along with some of these airier reading times, I'd also like to share a favorite summer recipe that I recently acquired from a good friend and tried out on our church's youth group - who ate up every last bit of this treat (not sure if it was because it was so good or because they're just teens). So here's a simple recipe for Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Tortilla Chips.


FRUIT SALSA:

• Fruit - I usually use strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, and peaches. Others have used bananas (added right before serving), apples, and pineapples as well. 
• Lemon Juice

Dice fruit into small cubes (as small as possible, given your kitchen tools). Mix together in a large bowl with 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice per 3-4 lbs. of fruit. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving (if possible). 

CINNAMON TORTILLA CHIPS: 

• 1 package of flour tortillas (I usually get the medium sized ones - do NOT use corn tortillas, as these will not work)
• 1-2 sticks of butter, melted
• Cinnamon sugar sprinkle (if you need to make use the ratio of 1 tsp. cinnamon per 1 cup of sugar). 

Using a pizza cutter, slice flour tortillas into 8 triangles a piece and place onto a baking sheet. Wipe the tops of the tortillas with the melted butter, and then sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 6-7 minutes a batch (the first batch usually takes a little longer) - just don't let them get too brown. Let cool on a paper bag (or something similar) for a few minutes before storing (letting them "air out" will keep them from getting "chewy" during storage).

These chips are not only great with the fruit salsa, but they make a super-tasty garnish on all kinds of summer treats - ice cream, cobblers, pies, etc. They're also rather tasty all by themselves (or with a little bit of honey drizzled on them). So find your favorite way to snack with them, grab a good book, and enjoy!

Kids' Summer Strategy

An Older Child's Set of Punch Cards

Summer Break contains so much potential for kids, and every year I strive to make the most of the time we have together.  This summer I have created a series of punch cards for each of my children.  The goals that we are trying to accomplish through this system are the following:

1. Control the time our children spend wrapped up in technology- based entertainment.
2. Have a visual representation of how our children spend their time.
3. Give a fun incentive to make progress in several areas of our children's development.

BRIEF OVERVIEW
Each child has four color-coded punch cards as follows:

• Reading (Orange)
• Music (Yellow)
• Exercise (Blue)
• Tech Time (Green)

When a Reading, Music, or Exercise Punch Card becomes full of punches, the child earns a Tech Time Punch Card.  When the Tech Time Punch Card is full, the child is out of tech time.  My children also have Bible verses to memorize each week, academic lessons online to accomplish, cooking and baking to learn, and standard household chores to maintain, but I chose not to include those activities in the punch card system for simplicity's sake.  We also sprinkle our schedule with trips to a park or the library, and we try to take breaks for fun games and activities we can do together.

Punch Cards Neatly Stored in a File Box

I store the punch cards in a 3x5 card file box with a divider for each child, dividers for extra cards in the back, and a hole punch in the front.

PUNCH CARD DETAILS
Reading
Older Kid Version: Each "Reading Punch Card" has places for 5 punches, with each punch representing 100 pages that they have read.  So, once they have read 500 pages, they have completed a "Reading Punch Card" and may turn it in for a "Tech Time Punch Card."

Younger Kid Version: Each "Reading Punch Card" has places for 7 punches, with each punch representing a book that has been read to them.  So, once they have had 7 books read to them, they have completed a "Reading Punch Card" and may turn it in for a "Tech Time Punch Card."

A Younger Child's Set of Punch Cards

Music
Older Kid Version: Each "Music Punch Card" has places for 6 punches, each punch representing 1/2 hour of practice time.  Once they have practiced for 3 hours, they have completed a "Music Punch Card" and may turn it in for a "Tech Time Punch Card."

Younger Kid Version: Each "Music Punch Card" has places for 6 punches, each punch representing a music activity.  Once they have done 6 music activities, they have completed a "Music Punch Card" and may turn it in for a "Tech Time Punch Card."  Music activities consist of learning a new song, spending time doing listening games, rhythm games, pitch matching, etc.

Exercise
Older Kid Version: Each "Exercise Punch Card" has places for 6 punches, each punch representing 1/2 hour of exercise time.  Walking, running, bike riding, or playing basketball are examples of what fills exercise time.  Once they have exercised for 3 hours, they have completed an "Exercise Punch Card" and may turn it in for a "Tech Time Punch Card."

Younger Kid Version: Each "Exercise Punch Card" has places for 6 punches, each punch representing 1 exercise-based activity.  Taking a walk or a bike ride are examples of what qualifies for an exercise activity.  Once they have gone on 6 walks/bike rides, they have completed an "Exercise Punch Card" and may turn it in for a "Tech Time Punch Card."

Tech Time
Older Kid Version: Each "Tech Time Punch Card" has places for 4 punches, each punch representing 1/2 hour of time spent on technology based entertainment (ie. Wii, computer, tv/movies).  So, each of these "Tech Time Cards" represents 2 hours of time spent interacting with technology.  I figured it would take approximately 12 hours a week to earn 6 hours of tech time a week: twice as much time doing other valuable activities to earn some fun time that isn't readily available during the school year.

Younger Kid Version: Each "Tech Time Punch Card" has places for 6 punches, each representing a children's show on Netflix (ie. Curious George, Busy Town Mysteries, etc).  So, once the children have completed a reading, music, or exercise punch card, they have earned some time watching Netflix.

The PDF version of these punch cards is available to our readers for FREE upon request.  We just need you to e-mail us at albright.sisterhood@gmail.com to request a copy for your own printing. I hope this is a help to any of you moms looking for a summer strategy! 

Family Badges: Postive Reinforcement Your Children Will Love

I have often stopped to listen to myself as I've talked with my children and wondered, "Do they ever get discouraged at how often I say 'no' to them?"  I understand how important it is to teach them how not to act, talk, and respond, but I've also come to realize that approving an action, word, or response when it is the right one can be just as effective, if not more so.  As Christians, my husband and I strive to teach our children what God has asked us to teach them according to His Word - and this is hard work!  Only by God's grace can our children absorb these truths and practice them someday with a heart motivated out of love and not fear or obligation.  But what about all of those other character traits that they need to learn? (ie. finishing a job, learning a new skill, cleaning up after oneself, working as a team, or teaching a younger sibling/friend a new skill)  These are pretty valuable character traits, and I'm embarrassed to say that I was at the grand age of 18 before I learned some of these (when I entered my first college dormitory!).

As I worked through these concepts in my mind, I came across an article that Family Fun magazine (Disney) wrote on a program they've been running called "Badges of Fun."  Some of you may have seen their promotion of this program last summer and for those of you who have not, you can view it here.  It is a tool they developed to help families spend more time together creating, learning, and growing together.  I loved the concept and decided to "tailor make" our badges to fit our family's values, while keeping their ages in mind.  My kids were 1, 3, and 5 last summer, and even though they were young, they enjoyed earning the badges that my husband and I had come up with to fit our little family.  And what, you might be wondering, was the purpose of our Family Badges?  Well, we wanted to teach our children character traits and skills they can perform for the rest of their lives while encouraging them to choose the right way to behave (even though we knew these things weren't ultimately going to change their hearts).  Needless to say, it kept all of us busy throughout the summer.

This is how we presented the Family Badges to the kids.  For the first time the children participated in one of our badge categories, they earned the official badge.  Each time they performed another "badge behavior," we added a little ribbon to the original badge, allowing them to continue earning rewards.  The following are the badge categories we used:

• Music Badge - they had to learn a new song
• Cleaning Badge - they had to help with a "big person" chore
• Exploring Badge - they had to discover something they didn't know, like a new bug or fact about our world
• Helping Badge - they had to DO something for someone without being asked
• Art Badge - create something "artistic"
• Building Badge
• Saving Money Badge
• Cooking Badge
• Listening Badge
• Crafting Badge

There are so many categories that we didn't cover, so maybe this coming summer we'll use a new set of badges.  Or if we can't make it until next summer, we may do a winter version with indoor activities.

My husband and I would periodically have "award ceremonies" and present the kids with the badges or ribbons they had earned over the weeks prior to that ceremony.  We loved watching the kids get excited about earning a new badge, doing something they had not yet tried, but most of all watching their character begin to develop.  It was such a fun summer activity for all of us, and I think we all enjoyed being able to say, "YES! Let's go do something new today!"