Baked September

Although today is the first day of autumn, and yesterday it was 100 degrees in our little patch of western Kentucky, our family has embraced the rhythm of fall for several weeks now. Spontaneous travel is done for at least a while, and Pip and I have found our way back to many school year activities. Chris is back in the studio full time, and we're starting to talk about Halloween and birthdays and the holidays beyond.

This dinner happened by accident. It was a concoction of reduced-price veggies and a manager's special kielbasa (read: items that better be used today). It turned out to be a balanced marriage of fresh summer flavors and comforting cool-weather foods. It was so easy. And inexpensive. And pretty. And all it left was a single dish plus a cutting board and knife to clean.

I layered the following ingredients in a 9x13 glass baking dish, covered with foil, and baked at 400 degrees for 50 minutes. 

2 large potatoes, cubed

3 small zucchinis, sliced

3 medium carrots, sliced

1 1/2 cups mushroom caps and stems

1 kielbasa, sliced

1/2 a purple onion, sliced in rings

drizzle of olive oil

generous sprinkle of Italian seasoning

light sprinkle of kosher salt

I called it "Baked September" because it felt like a bridge between summer and fall, much like our September seems to be. I offered a salad and some sliced tomatoes on the side, but no one took me up on it. We all just got second helpings of this instead.

Don't Toss Those Plastic Lids

Every day, I make efforts to throw away as little as possible. If something can be re-purposed or recycled, I'd much rather do that than send it to the landfill.

I have recently found a useful destination for plastic lids!

West Broadway Elementary School in Madisonville, Ky, collects plastic lids of all kinds. When they have enough of them, those lids are shipped to a company that turns them into fixtures of the students' choice for the school; I have visited recently and I've seen a bench and a trash can created from their efforts. 

You do not have to have a child in school there to contribute to their collection. They would appreciate your contribution. They take plastic lids from all kinds of bottles and jars, including but not limited to milk, juice, water, and peanut butter. Call the office at 270-825-6036 for details.

This leads me to think that other schools and organizations in other places do the same thing. No matter where you're located, please consider finding a place that will reuse those lids!

5 Reasons I Adore Our Center for the Arts

The Fall 2017 Season at the Glema Mahr Center for the Arts--a beautiful performing arts venue in Madisonville, Kentucky--has been announced. There are eleven scheduled performances, and it's a great season lineup!

There's so much more to the Glema than one sees in the brochure, though. In addition to the amazing talents that are brought to our little city, here are five reasons I adore the Glema.

- They support community theater.
Twice a year, the Glema hosts community productions. In recent years, one has been a musical and one has not; there have been comedies, dramas, and dinner theater settings. And, not only do we get great theater, but we also get the fun of recognizing some of the performers.

- They host local high school productions.
I remember staging high school drama club productions in the gym, in the cafeteria, and in the lobby. We certainly made memories to last a lifetime, but the year we got into that auditorium... well, I can't speak for the audience, but for those of us on stage, it was magical. I've had the pleasure of attending the last few high school productions here, and I've been impressed by the dedication of the students and the quality of their performances.

Along those same lines, the Glema is also utilized by a variety of local organizations for band and choral concerts, dance recitals, graduations, presentations, conferences, workshops, and more.

- Education is a priority.
Periodically throughout the school year, daytime shows geared for young audiences are available for school groups to attend. In the past couple of years, these have included a variety of subjects from a bright and cheerful version of Alice in Wonderland to a heart-wrenching rendition of John Henry, and from a modern dance spectacle to Julius Caesar. These events are open to homeschooling families as well, and admission is less than a typical evening performance. I have shared how we utilize the fine arts center in our homeschool before; if you're interested, you can read that here.

Their Summer Arts Academy allows students ages kindergarten through high school--along with their peers--to learn more about many aspects of the stage, from auditions and rehearsals to choreography, costuming, and performance. Their time on campus--two weeks for middle and high school students and one week for elementary school students--culminates with a full stage production that is free and open to the public. The cost of the day camp is affordable, and tuition assistance is available.

- Ticket prices are affordable.
After living in bigger cities like Nashville and Atlanta, I was bowled over when I saw ticket prices for some of the shows at the Glema. Five dollars? Really?! Of course, admission to some performances is more (I think I've seen up to $40 myself), but there are many shows in the $5-$20 range, and discounts are frequently available for children, students, seniors, and groups. Side note: I know I've said it before, but I think tickets to a live performance make a great, clutter-free gift that comes with bonus memories to last a lifetime.

- It's not just for performing arts.
There's an expansive gallery in the front of the building that is open during their regular business hours. There is no permanent collection, but rather a rotating display. Sometimes the artists are local--including an annual student show sponsored by a local civic organization--and sometimes they're not. Admission is free.

Honestly, I could go on and on. I love this place. My family frequents the Glema, and if you're in the area, I encourage you to check out all that this beautiful facility and its wonderful people have to offer. If you're not sure where to start, visit their website--or, better yet, stop by the box office--to learn more about the Fall 2017 lineup!

Podcast: Classics for Kids

Last week, I was introduced to Classics for Kids, a service of Cincinnati Public Radio. A fellow homeschooling mom shared the link with me and said she was using it to teach her kiddos about composers this year. I said I would look it up, and I am sure glad that I did!

One composer is featured each month. There are four 6-minute episodes about that composer, each rich in information and set to samples of his music.

Additionally, the website has a printable worksheet about each composer; multiple ways to look up composers (alphabetically, by country, by period, or on a timeline); several online games such as note naming, rhythm matching, and music composition; lesson plans and resources for more information; and loads more.

This is an engaging--and free--resource if you want to introduce classical music into your home or homeschool. Pip really enjoys it, and I do too!

Homeschooling Second Grade

At long last, I have gathered up the basic materials Pip and I are going to use this year for second grade. For fall, anyway. As always, we'll re-evaluate as we go. There are some online resources we'll utilize, too, but here's the core of our education bookshelf.

- First Steps in Music Theory, Improve Your Theory!, and Improve Your Aural! to accompany music lessons

- Liberty's Kids DVD, The American Revolution for Kids, and Professor Noggin's American Revolution game

- Learning Language Arts Through Literature, The Red Book

- 13 Artists Children Should Know

- Singapore Math Primary Mathematics 1B (to be followed by 2A)

- Science in the Ancient World

- Handbook of Nature Study

Here's a closer look at the Learning Language Arts Through Literature curriculum; it utilizes a handful of its own readers and then an array of other children's books.

In addition to what we do at home, and our once-a-week co-op, Pip will sing in a children's choir, continue music lessons, and stay in gymnastics class. We've also found out that our local 4-H chapter, previously open to 4th-12th graders, is offering a new club for younger students, so we're going to check that out.

Second grade is looking like a lot of fun!

It's About Time

I used to arrive on time for things. Early, even. I knew that if I was cutting it close on time, I would be frazzled, no matter where I was going. I valued my time, and I assumed everyone else did, too. The old adage that "if you're on time, you're late," resonated heavily with me.

Then, I became a mom, and along with my new role I became perpetually late. Whether it was a result of not getting enough sleep, or underestimating how long it would take to get a baby/then toddler/then child ready to get out the door, or seemingly urgent things that occurred right as we were trying to leave the house, it became a daily struggle. 

From the beginning, I had the luxury of working from home, and I have always had the pleasure of educating at home, so it's not like we were rolling into school or jobs late. But story time at the library, play dates, classes, birthday parties, you name it: late, late, late, late, late.

Despite the stress that lateness caused me, I never got that groove back. Even now, almost eight years into my parenthood journey, Pip and I arrive nearly everywhere squealing in sideways, at the last minute. Or two minutes late. Or more. It stresses me out every time. Rushing into her gymnastics class as the students are already starting their warm-up equals stress. Running to the car to head to co-op when I know the announcements are already starting equals stress. Knowing we might miss a game or activity because we didn't get ourselves together in time to be present at the beginning of a party equals stress.

Well, we recently and accidentally arrived at one of our commitments early. It was not lost on me how calm we both were and how much we enjoyed the event. So the next day, I decided we'd shoot for early arrival for another commitment. We made it, and it was great. And so we did it again. And again. Our calm, easy arrivals were setting the tone for our entire experience. And it was wonderfully pleasant.

I don't know why I'm just realizing this now, after so many years, but being early is worth it to me. I am determined to arrive early, going forward, as often as is possible. Not only will that lend itself to calmer days for us now, but I hope it will instill in Pip the same respect for time--hers and other people's--that I felt as a teen and a young adult, and that I'm rediscovering now.

Easy Summer Veggie (and Sausage) Dinner

Fresh zucchini and squash are abundant in our region right now, and I was gifted some of this delicious produce this week. Tossed together with a few items I had in my kitchen already, they made an easy and hearty meal!

First I washed, sliced, and quartered one large zucchini and one large squash and spread them in a glass 9x13 baking dish. I washed and cubed a couple of medium potatoes and added them to the mix. I sliced a precooked kielbasa and scattered it over the top. Then I drizzled the entire dish with olive oil and sprinkled with kosher salt and an Italian herb seasoning mix. I covered with foil and baked at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Next time I will wait to add the sausage at the last 15 or 20 minutes, as it plumped up a little more than I would have preferred. But the house smelled great while it was cooking, and it tasted wonderful! We'll enjoy this simple one-dish dinner again.