Whew. I’m coming up for air. It has been a crazy couple of weeks as we’ve been settling into a new routine. Our math books finally arrived and everything is in place to get back going 100%.
July and early August are usually more carefree days – full of free play, reading good books and birthday celebrating. So I think we all tend to buck the need to return to routine. I can’t really fault the kids since I made the unwise decision to start a novel midway through last week. The boys were overjoyed when I fell apart on Friday. {I’m really bad when a book gets too exciting.} I discovered that during this season of my life novels are best suited for vacation time or at least for once our routine is better established. The final two books in The Hunger Games trilogy will just have to wait a few weeks. Rich is betting that I don’t hold out that long… Hopefully his lack of faith in my {admittedly} paltry willpower will serve to get my competitive side going and hold out until Labor Day weekend. He’s amazing at helping me in that area! 🙂
Despite all of this, we are persevering in pursuing routine and getting back in the swing of having an order to our days…
This summer, we’ve been delving deep into the founding of our country and naturally, the boys were drawn to this book, because for young boys that is such a compelling question. I love books like this that have an engaging story, but also impart important content. Not only did we learn things about George Washington’s life, but we also learned about the process and delight in researching the fascinating answers to our questions.
Books and breakfast! What more could one ask for? After discovering that George Washington typically ate Hoe Cakes and hot tea for breakfast, we decided to make some of our own! I’m not sure if they had applesauce, but that is our pancake topping of choice and with all of the great deals on cherries, we threw in some of those too.
Because what is George Washington without the legend of his honesty in confessing to cutting down the cherry tree…
Since we read this book, we’ve discovered several other presidents who ate hoecakes too – making this a truly presidential breakfast! The boys were thrilled to make this connection.
For those that find the idea of a presidential breakfast intriguing, here’s our recipe:
Hoecakes
Ingredients
1 cup of cornmeal
1 cup of boiling water
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons of coconut oil (Ok, lard would be more historically accurate. But I just can’t do it.)
Directions:
1. Mix boiling water in with cornmeal and salt until thick batter is formed.
2. Allow it to cool for ten minutes, and then form patties.
3. Heat fat in skillet, and cook patties for a few minutes on each side.
Makes 8
woot! This made my day!
Just another note to let you know that the 6yo actually loved the book, and we made the recipe too! Thanks for the idea!
I went and got this book out of the library after reading your post, and it is AMAZING! What a great resource! My 5yo isn’t showing signs of being interested yet, but this is going to be great in the future. Thanks for letting us know!
I love incorporating foods from the books we are reading into our snacks and meals! The kids remember SO much of it that way. Good luck waiting to read the final two books. I think that you should devote Saturday to reading book 2. I’m sure your husband won’t mind if you only come out of your room for air and food a couple times. 😉
Ah, routine–what’s that?
I’m torn as to whether or not I’d like to get back to it myself, but I know it’s so good for the kids once we return. Enjoy your final days, my friend!
This is great! I will put this on my things-to-do list!
I love how you incorporate the books into real life! What a cute idea!!!
(And I am so with you on books- I finished the trilogy in a week- just couldn’t stop! BUT the first one is the best, so you won’t regret putting it off until you have time!)