History Movies - Story of the World

For history, we have used a combination of Veritas Press' history cards and Susan Wise Bauer's Story of the World. The two flow together nicely with just a little re-arranging. One thing which is fun and (usually) educational is to watch movies (documentaries, historical fiction, etc.) to go along with each time period. Sometimes it's a challenge finding movies which are both interesting and appropriate for the maturity level of the child - there just aren't too many kid-friendly animated versions of Beowulf out there, but I found one. Between your local library and a service like Netflix, you can find quite a few resources.  

Mommy Lawyer Angela has put together a wonderful chapter-by-chapter list of movies and videos to supplement Story of the World which is available to download.  You can get more suggestions at The Well-Trained Mind forums, and at the Mothering.com forums here and here.

Granola

Granola is easy to make, yummy, and good for you, too. I got this recipe from my mother-in-law, and my boys love it. Eat it with milk or sprinkle on top of yogurt. Throw in some nuts and chocolate chips and it makes a good trail mix, too. Put it in a cup, though - it doesn't clump up. You can customize this recipe to your family's taste.

Barb's Granola

Mix in a large bowl:
6 cups rolled oats (old-fashioned, not quick)
3 cups Grapenuts (we use store brand)

And as many as you like of the following, between 1/2 and 1 1/2 cups each:
shredded coconut (we use unsweetened)
sesame seeds
sunflower seeds
sliced or slivered almonds
raisins or dried fruit bits
sunflower seeds
ground flax seed meal
wheat germ

Combine, heat, and pour over the ingredients: (I microwave on high for about 2 minutes but you can heat in a pan.)
1/2 cup olive oil (or coconut oil)
3/4 cup honey
1 T vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract (optional)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt

Stir well and spread out in two 9x13 pans (or one large sheet pan). Bake  @ 350 degrees for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Let cool, and enjoy!

The Mommy Blawger at Home

I've been meaning to start this blog for quite some time. I even have quite a bit of content drafted. See, I have lovely template all ready to go, links on the side bar and everything, but no posts. The problem is that I am a) a procrastinator and b) a perfectionist. I've been trying to write (in my head) the perfect introductory post, and it's just not coming together. So instead, I'm just going to start posting and worry about explanations later.