In Good Hands

We were originally considering keeping our little darling home this year for home schooling until the school was willing to put her into advanced classes (around 2-4 grade). We reconsidered when we learned a little more about one of the teachers. She is so sweet to the kids, very organized and well, just has her act together. Although I was a little tentative at first about how much time was being wasted in the classroom on non-learning activities, I am so happy that we decided to keep her in school. She is beginning to bring home some advanced homework and all of the "non-learning" activities are the parts that she reports about when I pick her up. It is then that she is learning coping and dealing social skills that I just can't teach her at home. I am glad now, even though I know she is not learning at her highest potential yet, because (like I originally guessed) a big part of what children learn in school has nothing to do with textbooks or worksheets. Her teacher is well equipped to monitor and guide those activities as well. Our little kindergartner is indeed in good hands.

Eeek! Spiders!

Last night I spent several hours putting chocolate covered sunflower seeds on mini nutter butters that I spent an hour covering in chocolate, which were on top of several chocolate mini-cupcakes that I added pumpkin and dried blueberries to so that they'd be under 80 calories and still taste delicious and have the same crunch that you hear/feel when you step on a spider. You see, today was "S" day at the kindergarten that my daughter attends. I thought it would be a cute snack to help reinforce the letter S for the kids. What kind of crazy, lunatic mom spends that much time spider cupcakes that the kids will devour in under a minute? I guess this kind. If I can't deny it I might as well own it.

Wanna make your own spider cupcakes? Here's what you do. Mix a boxed cake mix with 15 oz of pumpkin and 1/3 cup of water. Pour it into cupcake tins that are lined with papers. When they're done (check with toothpick), remove and let cool. Top them with a little orange frosting to make the spiders stick then top the frosting with a chocolate covered nutter butter (I used candyquick - I LOVE that stuff). Then decorate with chocolate covered sunflower seeds to make them resemble spiders. A word to the wise though. At 8 legs and 2 eyes that makes 10 seeds a cupcake. So for a class of 24 plus the teacher that makes 250 sunflower seeds. I made 30 then gave up. This made enough for another 24 undecorated cupcakes that I took to the school's office to hopefully butter them up for the next time my daughter is tardy that they might just rush her along and go on about their day.

My Little Bikers

Some girlfriends and I got the kiddos together for an afternoon of bike riding the other day. It was cute to see them playing so well together on their various levels of bikes, trikes and scooters. There were no casualties and minimal whining which always makes for a better day with friends. I think that applies whether they're 5 or 50.