Teach Avalon

Need a fun summer time-filler?

2009-06-16T09:21:00.006-02:30

Kraft Canada has these forms online for children to use to create fun and silly stories. Print 'em off for a rainy day activity...

Also useful on the craft site are recipes for kids organized by age group and some road trip games.

The website also has a recipe finder, you punch in three ingredients you have and it spits out a few recipe ideas for you! Find it here on the home page, left hand side.

(Winona)

Be sure that your children each day have:

2009-06-16T09:17:00.002-02:30

Something or someone to love

Something to do

Something to think about

- Charlotte Mason

How do you teach your child to be a peacemaker?

2009-06-08T10:32:00.001-02:30

Tips for parenting that we can also apply to our own lives:

* Look for things in common, not differences.

* Try to agree, not disagree.

* Work toward common solutions where everyone wins, not where one person wins and others lose.

* Use love as a motivation, not anger or meanness.

For a Laugh

2009-06-04T19:52:00.000-02:30

Winona thought y'all would enjoy this:

An English Lesson!

2009-06-03T22:18:00.004-02:30

You think English is easy??? Try making sense of these:

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce .

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present ..

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row .

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

PS. - Why doesn't 'Buick' rhyme with 'quick'
Rochelle

Pan-Seared Shrimp with Garlic-Lemon Butter

2009-06-02T20:37:00.002-02:30

I thought it was about time some food joined this blog party! This recipe will probably take me longer to type than to make - Here we go!

The cooking times below are for 21-25 shrimp per pound (454g), adjust cooking times slightly according to size. Also a non-stick skillet will simplify cleanup but a traditional one will work fine.

Pan-Seared Shrimp With Garlic-Lemon Butter (serves 4)

Beat 3 tablespoons of softened butter with fork in small bowl until light and fluffy. Stir in 1 medium garlic clove, minced, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves(optional), and 1/8 teaspoon salt until combined. Set aside.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1-1/2 lbs shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon sugar

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over high heat until smoking. Meanwhile, toss shrimp, salt, pepper, and sugar in medium bowl. Add half of shrimp to pan in single layer and cook until spotty brown and edges turn pink, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat; using tongs, flip each shrimp and let stand until all but very center is opaque, about 30 seconds. Transfer shrimp to a large plate. Repeat with remaining tablespoon oil and shrimp; after second batch has stood off heat, return first batch to skillet and toss with garlic-lemon butter. Cover skillet and let stand until shrimp are cooked through, 1-2 minutes. Serve immediately. (We serve it over Basmati rice)

(Lynn)

Quote for the Day

2009-05-31T10:47:00.001-02:30

I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn. - Albert Einstein
(Winona)

31 Days of Prayer for Your Child

2009-05-28T11:02:00.002-02:30

I found this great little resource from "Deannas Blog" http://ldgermany.blogspot.com/
Great idea to print out and stick by your calender or your Bible. A different focus for each day of the month!

Can we ever send up too many prayers for our little darlings??

(Rochelle)

31 Days of Prayer for Your Child

1 salvation “Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory” (Isaiah 45:8, 2 Timothy 2:10).

2 growth in grace “I pray that they may ‘grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’” (2 Peter 3:18).

3 love “Grant, Lord, that my children may learn to ‘live a life of love,’ through the Spirit who dwells in them” (Ephesians 5:2, Galatians 5:22).

4 honesty and integrity ” May integrity and honesty be their virtue and their protection” (Psalm 25:21, NLT).

5 self-control ” Father, help my children not to be like many others around them, but let them be ‘alert and self-controlled’ in all they do” (1 Thessalonians 5:6)

6 a love for God’s Word ” May my children grow to find your Word ‘more precious than gold, than much pure gold; [and] sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb’” (Psalm 19:10).

7 justice ” God, help my children to love justice as you do and to ‘act justly’ in all they do” (Psalm 11:7, Micah 6:8).

8 mercy ” May my children always ‘be merciful, as [their] Father is merciful’” (Luke 6:36).

9 respect (for self, others, authority) ” Father, grant that my children may ’show proper respect to everyone,’ as your Word commands” (1 Peter 2:17a).

10 strong, Biblical self-esteem ” Help my children develop a strong self-esteem that is rooted in the realization that they are ‘God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus’” (Ephesians 2:10).

11 faithfulness “‘ Let love and faithfulness never leave [my children],’ but bind these twin virtues around their necks and write them on the tablet of their hearts” (Proverbs 3:3).

12 courage “May my children always ‘Be strong and courageous’ in their character and in their actions” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

13 purity “‘Create in [them] a pure heart, O God,’ and let their purity of heart be shown in their actions” (Psalm 51:10).

14 kindness “Lord, may my children ‘always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else’” (1 Thessalonians 5:15).

15 generosity “Grant that my children may ‘be generous and willing to share [and so] lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age’” (1 Timothy 6:18-19).

16 peace, peaceability “Father, let my children ‘make every effort to do what leads to peace’” (Romans 14:19).

17 joy ” May my children be filled ‘with the joy given by the Holy Spirit’” (1 Thessalonians 1:6).

18 perseverance ” Lord, teach my children perseverance in all they do, and help them especially to ‘run with perseverance the race marked out for [them]‘” (Hebrews 12:1).

19 humility ” God, please cultivate in my children the ability to ’show true humility toward all’” (Titus 3:2).

20 compassion ” Lord, please clothe my children with the virtue of compassion” (Colossians 3:12).

21 responsibility ” Grant that my children may learn responsibility, ‘for each one should carry his own load’” (Galatians 6:5).

22 contentment ” Father, teach my children ‘the secret of being content in any and every situation. . . . through him who gives [them] strength’” (Philippians 4:12-13).

23 faith ” I pray that faith will find root and grow in my children’s hearts, that by faith they may gain what has been promised to them” (Luke 17:5-6, Hebrews 11:1-40).

24 a servant heart ” God, please help my children develop servant hearts, that they may serve wholeheartedly, ‘as to the Lord, and not to men’” (Ephesians 6:7, KJV).

25 hope ” May the God of hope grant that my children may overflow with hope and hopefulness by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

26 the willingness and ability to work hard ” Teach my children, Lord, to value work and to work hard at everything they do, ‘as working for the Lord, not for men’” (Colossians 3:23).

27 a passion for God ” Lord, please instill in my children a soul that “followeth hard after thee,” a heart that clings passionately to you (Psalm 63:8, KJV).

28 self-discipline ” Father, I pray that my children may develop self-discipline, that they may acquire ‘a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair’” (Proverbs 1:3).

29 prayerfulness ” Grant, Lord, that my children’s lives may be marked by prayerfulness, that they may learn to ‘pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Ephesians 6:18).

30 gratitude ” Help my children to live lives that are always ‘overflowing with thankfulness,’ ‘always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ’” (Colossians 2:7, Ephesians 5:20).

31 a heart for missions ” Lord, please help my children to develop a heart for missions, a desire to see your glory declared among the nations, your marvelous deeds among all peoples” (Psalm 96:3).

Quote for the Day

2009-05-26T21:26:00.003-02:30

Architect Frank Lloyd Wright told how a lecture he received at the age of nine helped set his philosophy of life: An uncle, a stolid no-nonsense type, had taken him for a long walk across a snow-covered field. At the far side, his uncle told him to look back at their two sets of tracks.

"See, my boy," he said, "how your foot prints go aimlessly back and forth from those trees, to the cattle back to the fence and then over there where you where throwing sticks? But notice how MY path comes straight across, directly to my goal. You should never forget this lesson!"

And I never did," Wright said, grinning. "I determined right then not to miss most things in life, as my uncle had."

(Winona)

Family Tree Activity

2009-05-26T10:50:00.006-02:30

In the fall, my boys were reading a book that described a character's family tree tapestry that was intricately designed along an entire wall of the house. I wasn't sure about recreating ours in the same way ;) so we thought we'd make a smaller version as a book-related art project.

We spray painted spare picture frames (11x14) and then covered the cardboard insert with scrap fabric. (just glue it on). Then using felt cut outs, we created a leaf for each person on the tree and wrote on each the family member's name with puffy fabric paint (I did that part 'cause the writing was small). We hot glued the felt pieces to the 'tapestry' joining them with strands of string. Voila! These pics aren't great, but you get the idea... (Carman)