Read about Knights 

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table - Roger Lancelyn Green

Adam of the Road - Elizabeth Janet Gray

The Door in the Wall - Marguerite De Angeli

The Bravest Knight - Mercer Mayer

The Knight and the Dragon - Tomie DePaola

Saint George and the Dragon - Margaret Hodges. Click HERE for a unit study to go with this book.

Study Knights

Knights & Armor: A Fun Study! - Ebook mini unit study with lapbook templates. Only $1 from CurrClick!

Knights and Castles Thematic Unit - From Teacher Created Resources.

Middle Ages Lapbook - From In the Hands of a Child. Gr. 5-12

Knights Lapbook - Free lapbook from Homeschool Share.

Sir Cumference Math Unit Studies - Free lapbooks from Homeschool Share

Act Like a Knight

The Battle Book: Warfare By Duct Tape - Ebook with instructions and patterns for making shields, helmets, and  weapons from basic materials and duct tape. Great father & son activity!

{Free} Knightly Activities, Crafts, & Printables

Of course, I found lots of great knight themed activities at ActivityVillage. Here are links to specific pages:

Knight coloring pages - Beautifully detailed pictures of "real" knights, not cartoons.

Castle coloring pages - Can't have knights without castles.

Dragons - And, of course, what good is a knight without a dragon to slay? Main theme page for dragons.

Knight Themed Paper - Unlined and lined for handwriting practice, copywork, or writing letters.

Knight Costumes

Chess for Kids - Teach your kids how to play chess with these step-by-step visual instructions. You can even print out a paper chess board and pieces.

Shields, Knights and Heraldry - Free software for kids to make their own shield (coat of arms). No downloads.

Paper Mache Knight's Shield

There is lots of cute stuff at Busy Bee Kids Crafts, including mazes and word searches. Here's a sampling:

Knight's Chore Chart

Knight's Code of Chivalry - Two cards per sheet.

Knight and Medieval coloring pages - More cartoonish with a few realistic pages.

Easy Catapult - Make it from craft sticks, clothespins, and a plastic spoon.

Cereal Castle - Let them play with their food to make this castle out of cereal squares.

The Versatile Blogger Award

versatile: embracing a variety of subjects, fields, or skills

Aww...My first blogger award. Thank you, Kerri at Oh Mann! for awarding me The Versatile Blogger Award! You can read about her life with her Canadian and their two boys...

On to the "rules" of this award:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award
2. Answer 10 questions
3. Pass it along to 7 blogs you've recently discovered and enjoy
4. Leave your recipients a note, telling them about the award

The 10 Questions...

1. Why did you create this blog?

I wanted to be able to share with other women but, as an introvert and busy mom of five boys, I don't keep up with "real life" friendships well. No chatting over coffee or shopping trips for me. And I wanted an outlet, something just for ME. I've always liked to write and blogging ties it all together.

2. What kinds of blogs do you follow?

Like-minded moms, typically moms of boys, who have similar parenting styles and faith beliefs. 

3. Favorite make-up brand?

Physicians' Formula mineral makeup, mostly

4. Favorite clothing brand?

No allegiances to brands, but I do prefer natural fibers and good quality at discount prices. 

5. Indispensable makeup product?

Physicians' Formula mineral wear foundation

6. Favorite color?

Right now...turquoise/aqua. And gray. Almost always, cool colors, blues/greens.
 

7. Favorite perfume?

I don't wear perfume, it gives me headaches. Prefer natural scents, like essential oils, in lotions and soaps.

8. Favorite film?

If I ever got to watch anything other than action movies or comedies, I might be able to answer this one better...Pride & Prejudice, maybe. I can't seem to think of any other movies at the moment.

9. What country would you like to visit and why?

I've always wanted to go to Ireland because it was so green and lush-looking. And I love their accents. :)

10. Would you rather forget to put mascara on one eye or forget blush on one side of your face?

Mascara since I don't wear it consistently anyway. Definitely need blush for some color.

I'd like to pass this award on to some deserving Momma bloggers:

Raising A Handful
The Blessings of Modern Domestication
Life In Between the Lines
Musings of a Real Housewife
Let's Talk About Boys
Boy Crazy
Comfort and Conversation

Post Christmas Toy Review - Skip Hop Dunck

Since I have five boys and more toys than they really need, I have to put more effort into coming up with great gift ideas for them. I prefer classic, durable toys with open-ended play value. It should be able to hold up well to typical boy handling and make it through more than one child. I could definitely do without batteries, characters, and cheap plastic. Now that we are a few weeks past Christmas, I thought I would review some of the gifts I chose for our boys and let you know how they were received and how they have held up so far.

M2 is crazy about bath time. When I turn the water on, he smiles from ear to ear and stands on his tip-toes, trying to reach down into the tub to touch that pure liquid fun. Once babies reach about 9-10 months, bath time usually becomes FUN time. So, when I was looking for Christmas gifts for M2, bath toys were at the top of my list. I had been giving the hobbits plastic kids' cups from restaurants to play with in the tub because we don't use them for drinking at home. M2 was fine with those and never would have known the difference, honestly. But when I saw these, I thought they were adorable and practical. 

The classic bath time rubber ducky has been reinvented. I love the fresh colors and modern look of the Skip Hop Dunck bath toys. They are made of plastic, of course, are stackable, and dishwasher-safe. They float and the tail and beak are spouts for pouring. I found that adding a little water helps them float better. I love that there are three ducks! That means that M2 can have one for each hand and I still have one to use for rinsing his hair. No more trying to get him to share with Momma. He likes to play with these outside of the tub too.

I will be adding the Skip Hop Dunck set to my gift-giving list for first birthdays. The whole line of Skip Hop products is super cute and now I'm considering getting the spout cover and a couple of backpacks for LJ and to use for M2 instead of a diaper bag .

    

Old-Fashion Beef Stew

In all of my 38 years, I cannot remember ever making beef stew from scratch. Not once. I'm not sure why, maybe I thought it was too difficult or time-consuming or beef was too expensive or unhealthy or something. I was really in the mood for it this week, so I chose this recipe because it was an old-fashion beef stew. Nothing fancy. I adapted it a little, even substituting more beef broth for the red wine. I also only used 2 1/2 lbs of beef and 1 onion, so I added extra carrots and potatoes. It turned out delicious. Just like comfort food is supposed to taste.

Beef Stew

3 lbs boneless chuck roast, cut into 2" pieces (I just bought stew meat)
3 Tbsp canola oil
2 tsp kosher or sea salt
1 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
2 yellow onions, cut into 1" chunks
1/4 c unbleached flour
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 c unsalted beef broth, separated (see original recipe if using red wine)
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried thyme
4 carrots, peeled, cut into 1/2-1" slices
2 stalks celery, cut into 1/2-1" slices
3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" chunks

Heat a large heavy pot over medium-high heat; add canola oil. When it begins to smoke slightly, add beef and brown very well. Do in batches if necessary. Add the salt and pepper as the beef browns. Once browned, remove the beef with a slotted spoon; set aside.

Add onions to pot and saute for about 5 minutes, until softened. Reduce heat to medium-low and add flour, whisking to reduce lumps. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add 1 cup broth and deglaze pan, scraping any brown bits off the bottom of pan. The flour will start to thicken the broth as it comes to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes, and then add remaining broth, bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, and beef. Bring back to a gentle simmer, cover and cook on very low for about 1 hour.

Add potatoes, carrots, and celery; simmer covered for another 30 minutes or until the meat and veggies are tender. Taste and adjust seasoning. Turn off heat and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Curriculum Review - A World of Adventure

We are in our 11th year of homeschooling and, by now, you know that I have tried many different curriculums. When son #3 joined us in our daily lessons, I began to feel the strain of juggling multiple grades and subjects. It wasn't too bad at first because I focus primarily on teaching phonics and basic math skills during K-1st grades. But this year it changed.

Last spring, I was looking for something different for NG because what we had been doing wasn't a good fit for him. I found Learning Adventures, "a home-based publishing company that provides unit study curriculum guides and accessories." They are chronological history-based unit studies. The last time we used a unit study as our main curriculum, M1 was in 1st grade and it was KONOS. It didn't last long because it was too much work for me. There isn't as much online about Learning Adventures as, say, Truthquest or Mystery of History, but I did find several excellent reviews. It is almost a complete curriculum with all subjects (Bible, language arts, literature, science, social studies, and fine arts) except math. I ordered their first volume, A World of Adventure, and as soon as I received it, I loved it and couldn't wait to see what NG thought of it. The best thing about it for me is that it is scripted and I don't have to spend much time planning. I used to avoid that but I'm all about making things easier these days. It also has a nice blend of living books and hands-on activity. It comes as a hole-punched, loose-leaf packet and you put it in your own binder.

My initial plan was to use it with NG for 6th grade and let Isaac sit in during the read alouds and add some books at his level because the curriculum is geared toward grades 4-8. We took almost half of this year to finish up the rest of our American history {I'll admit, there were some bumpy spots that made it take longer than it should}. Then I broke out AWOA, which begins with Ancient Egypt, and it started off well, until we got to the point where he was to read the book, The Golden Goblet. NG read one chapter and proclaimed that he did not like the book and did not want to read it. Now, there are things that I will make my children do whether they like it or not and others that I will reconsider. When it comes to reading literature, I would prefer it to be pleasurable for my boys. I decided to find an alternate book for him and to skip the discussion questions and activities that centered on The Golden Goblet. Fortunately, I found A Place in the Sun {in the clearance section at Books-A-Million}. It is also about a young boy in Egypt, but it is shorter and an easier read. Remember that the curriculum is a tool; don't be afraid to change what isn't working.

It is also at this point that I discovered that Learning Adventures recently released supplements for Little Adventurers in grades K-3. IB really needed to be more involved but I just didn't have the time and energy to come up with age appropriate activities. So, of course, I ordered the first two units that are available now and I decided to get the AWOA student pages for NG also. They contain the Language Arts exercises that NG would have had to rewrite on his own. The packet is a bit expensive at $20, but as much as my boys hate to write, I didn't mind paying it to save myself some frustration. I will also be supplementing with Easy Grammar where I feel it's necessary. We started using these this week and so far, so good. The Little Adventurers supplements have lots of suggestions for varying abilities, so you can tailor it to fit your child. I have been skipping through it, picking out things to catch Isaac up to where we are. Monday, we'll start working together at the same place.

To sum this long post up...we like A World of Adventure and recommend it to homeschoolers who want a change from the textbook/workbook method, those with boys {although girls will like it too}, and for those Mommas and kids who are suffering from burnout and need to have fun learning together. I hope to be posting more about this curriculum regarding how I'm planning it, extra resources we're using, and what we're doing.

Special note to those of you who may be considering purchasing this curriculum: I am not affiliated with Learning Adventures, but I would like to be able to continue through the whole series if it works out for us. The issue is that they only have three out of the five projected volumes completed and how you choose to get yours determines if they can afford to finish them. Read more.