Resurrection Rolls

Happy Easter!  He has risen!

Egee and I made Resurrection rolls this morning for Easter breakfast.  This is our first time making the cinnamon bun like treat.  I found the recipe posted by a friend on Pintrest, so we gave it try.

Recipe:  makes 8

Ingredients:

1/2 stick of butter (melted)
1 can of crescent rolls
8 marshmallows
cinnamon-sugar

Place the marshmallow in the melted butter and completely coat it.

Next, place the buttery marshmallow into the cinnamon-sugar mix and roll it around to cover it.

Now, place the cinnamon-sugar marshmallow on the crescent roll triangle.

Roll the marshmallow up into the dough.

Make sure the marshmallow is completely engulfed in the dough and roll into a ball shape.

Bake according the the instructions on the crescent roll can.  Ours said to bake at 350 F for 10 to 12 minutes.  The marshmallows still broke through the sealed dough.  They were suppose to dissolve and leave an empty center.  Egee said "Oh, well!  It just looks like the remains of the linen cloth that they wrapped Jesus in and he left it behind in the tomb when he arose!"

All though the marshmallows didn't completely dissolve, the rolls still tasted great!

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  John 3:16

Spending an Early Easter with Family

We spent the afternoon and evening at my parents' house today.  The children wanted to show off their resurrection eggs to their grandparents and dye Easter eggs.  It was a lovely day spending time with family.

Hard boiled eggs waiting to be dyed.

We decided to use Kool Aid to dye the eggs.  1 package + 2/3 c water.

Dyeing eggs

This is from the orange Kool-Aid packet

Egee's Easter Eggs

Little Man's Easter Eggs

Time to hunt Easter Eggs!

Even an "Easter Bunny" decided to join the fun!

Happy Easter!  Remember, the real reason for celebrating is Jesus.  He has risen!

Music Sandwiched In - Classical Guitarist Peter Fletcher

The children and I attended the bi-monthly Music Sandwiched In program on Wednesday.  We were treated to New York classical guitarist, Peter Fletcher. 

Now, not being familiar with classical guitarist, we did not realize how accomplished Mr. Fletcher was.  Watching Mr. Fletcher play the guitar is mesmerizing.  He makes the instrument sing!  One would not believe it was a guitar being played at times. 

The audience was absolutely taken into the pieces he performed.  The children were quite impressed.  They are use to hearing a guitar being strummed, but not played in the classical manner.  I believe they have a new appreciation for the instrument.

Mr. Fletcher played selections from Greek, Spanish, and Turkish influence, along with pieces from Bach, Couperin, Myers, and Mompou. 

Thank you, Spartanburg Philharmonic and Spartanburg County Library for bringing such talent to our community!

Time to Tumble!

Egee has been begging to take gymnastics or tumbling.  Her friend, Dancer, started taking tumbling lesson in the fall.  I have been putting Egee off for a few months.  Last week, Dancer's mom asked if Egee could go watch Dancer.  I allowed her to go and Egee loved the class.  She came back home and again started asking to take lessons.

I have pondered the idea enough and contacted the dance studio.  They had an opening in Dancer's class.  So, yesterday evening, Hubby took Egee to her first tumbling lesson.  (Little Man had a baseball game and I am Team Mom/Score keeper.)

Egee was so excited.  I don't think she really believed it was happening.

Hubby stayed and took a few pics and Dancer's mom sent me a few.  Egee had a blast and can't wait to go back.  I figure tumbling will help her with Aikido and give her some girl time. 

Here are some tumbling pics:

Getting ready for cart wheels

Ready to tumble!

Stretching

Jumping jacks

Easter Egg Fun

Yesterday, the children attended the Landrum Library home school program.  Ms. Nancy was a brave soul when she decided to have twenty-six children dye eggs!

All the children were excited to walk into a room filled with dyes, paints, glitter, glue, food coloring, stickers, etc.  Ten dozen eggs were ready to be turned into works of art.  Ms. Nancy explained each station that was set up.  All the children listened intently to instructions.  Then she said the magic words, "Get an egg and start decorating!"

The room was buzzing with ideas.  Children explaining to one another what they were doing.  Eggs being dipped, painted, glittered, stickered, decoupaged, etc.  Little fingers turning many different hues.  Mothers were busy holding finished eggs.

Everyone had a blast!  The children did a wonderful job and didn't make a mess.  The floor stayed clean of spills and the tables were relatively spared of paints, glue and egg dye. 

Everyone marveled over each others' eggs.  Thanks, Ms. Nancy for such a great day!

Celebrating Easter

This week, we are focusing on Easter in our studies.  I printed a small unit study on Easter, checked out a few library books and dvds, downloaded plans to make our own version of Resurrection Eggs, found a recipe for resurrection rolls, and we are going to library class later this week to dye eggs.  That is just the start, for I believe we will end up with other things added to the celebration.

Today, we kicked off our study with a dvd about Easter.  It was a very simple telling of the Easter Story and the children had to recall what we had already learned last week to fully understand it.  It is definitely not a dvd I would want to use by itself.

After the dvd, I read "Easter" by Jan Pienkowski.  Egee thought the book sounded funny.  It is written in old style language of King James Version.  The children are use to the more modern versions of bible stories.  Pienkowski does a tremendous job illustrating the book.  Both children enjoyed looking at the pictures.

Later in the afternoon (after we went to purchase plastic eggs), we made a homemade version of Resurrection Eggs.  I had looked at purchasing a set from the local Christian Supply, but stumbled upon a blog that showed how to make a homemade set.  I thought it would be fun to make our own.

I printed out the bible verses and the list of items we would need to gather.  The children liked going on a scavenger hunt in the house to find various items like a nail, rope, rocks, coins, etc.  As we cut out the various verses, I read the verse aloud and the children assembled the egg.  Tomorrow, we will go back and read the verses and tell the Easter story in our own words.

We will complete the unit study handouts tomorrow and Wednesday.  On Thursday, we will go to Landrum for library class and dye eggs using various techniques.  Later, we will make our rolls and maybe even tomb cookies!

I am really trying to dematerialize holidays with the children.  It has gotten easier now that we have been out of public schooling for a year and half.  The constant what are you going to get for X is diminishing.   However, I do see that retailers try to hook children in more and more. 

When did Easter become the second toy holiday?  As a child, I remember hoping to get some candy from the Easter Bunny.  The Easter Bunny didn't leave toys.  Easter was about church and family and yes, a chocolate bunny.  It was about having fun dying eggs and understanding what the eggs stood for.

My children have always dyed eggs.  They have received candy from the Easter Bunny and a small toy and toothbrush.  Nothing large is given and the candy is kept to a minimum.

Hopefully, by the end of the week the children will be able to tell the Easter story, using their resurrection eggs, to their grandparents.  And, they will be some of the few children out there that don't see Easter as a mini version of the next toy holiday that retailers are trying to promote.

Fish and Wildlife

Ms. Terri invited two men from the DNR Fish and Wildlife division to speak to the children during library class.  The children were very excited to learn about fish.

When we walked into the classroom, we saw that the men had set up an aquarium for the children to observe some local fish and other creatures.  All the children gravitated to the fish.  A few minutes later, they sat down to listen about the DNR.

The presentation consisted of what the DNR does, how and why fish are counted, what types of fish are found in the upstate, why fresh water fish are important, and local fishing sites.  The children were very responsive and enjoyed watching the fish in the aquarium during the presentation.  One fish was not happy being in the small tank and jumped out several times.  Of course, this amused the children.

After the presentation, the children gathered around the aquarium and learned about the fish in it.  They were told that even though some of the fish were small, they were adult fish.  They even got to see a young salamander and a crayfish. 

I think Little Man may be interested in a job at the DNR!

Cats on the Roof

My neighbors have two young cats.  We have been watching the duo grow up, since they first got them last summer.  Boots and Dodge are quite the entertainers.  Little Man spent much of the fall playing with the kittens and watching their mischievous adventures.  So, it really came as no surprise, when I saw them on the roof of their house.

Boots likes the chimney.

Observing the neighborhood.

Checking out the satellite.

Playing

Boots is trying to find the spot to get off the roof.

Dodge just realized that Boots has left her post.

Dodge plays it cool on the arbor.

They acted like this was just a normal part of the day, until it came time to come down.  Egee and I had to coax them to the grape arbor.  Boots wasn't so sure about jumping down, but Dodge leaped without a second thought.  Boots then followed her sister.  I'm sure it will not be the last time we see them on the roof!