Monday was Addi’s turn in the kitchen. She picked to make bowtie noodles from scratch. The cookbook we used is from Usborne and called Start to Cook. It has tons of great information to help kids learn their way around the kitchen. I can’t recommend it enough!

I rolled the pasta dough out and she did the cutting and shaping of the noodles. It was SO cute. We had some teeny tiny bowties and some super huge bowties.

For the sauce, we adapted a Pesto cream sauce recipe from The Prairie Homestead Cookbook. I basically made the recipe (doubled) without pesto. It was delicious and really hit the spot.

I know I said it before, but it is SO fun to see the look of pride on the kids’ faces when they have finished a meal. It has also made them more willing to try things that they may not typically eat. Am I the only one with kids that don’t like sauce on their noodles?

This meal was a lot of work, but the best meals are. Addi has decided she wants it to be her meal for the foreseeable future so that she can get really good at kneading the dough.

Harper keeps insisting on cupcakes for her meal.. so I’m not sure what we’re gonna do with her. haha!

All of my kids love helping in the kitchen. I love allowing them to help whenever possible. My mom used to have us plan and cook a meal each week when we were younger. She taught me a lot of skills, and I’m so grateful for that.

I figured that the big girls were old enough to start doing more than just measuring and pouring ingredients in the mixer. I asked if they’d like to plan a meal. I’m not home for dinner as often with my work schedule, so they will be switching weeks. This week, Chloe chose to do spaghetti. She also wanted garlic bread, strawberries, apples, and celery on the side.

My mom taught me to make sauce from scratch. I’m not sure why homemade spaghetti sauce is always so mind blowing to people, but it is. haha! I set the ingredients out for Chloe and told her what each of them was. Aside from carrying the heavy pot for noodles and measuring how much sugar went into the sauce, I was hands off. Chloe prepared all of it with a little guidance! She put the seasonings in (I don’t measure that..) and opened the cans of tomato sauce. I was really proud.

It was a lot of fun to have one-on-one time with her like this. She wanted to smell every spice. she’s always been really curious. Giving her opportunities to explore is always beneficial for her.

Next week, Addi chose to do bowtie noodles from scratch! We are going to make homemade Alfredo sauce to go with them. My mouth is already watering.

There are so many people who say that they don’t know how to cook. I don’t want my kids to grow up saying that. I want them to feel confident in the kitchen and enjoy cooking.

Also, I feel like I need to say that I would absolutely do this if I had boys as well. EVERYONE should know how to cook. I really want to encourage you to get your kids in the kitchen with you. I think you’ll be surprised at how much they love it.

Our little town does so many free activities through the summer. There is a tiny park near our house that we frequently walk to. We are super lucky that they do a lot of events at this particular park. The girls and I walk there a lot, and will be hitting up all of the activities all summer until we move!

They do a theme each week. This week, it was “under the sea” and they made little aquariums out of food. I was so proud of Harper for not trying to eat the gummy fish. (She can’t have gummies thanks to a spacer in her mouth.)

Our library also does a TON of fun, free activities also. When we move, we’ll live closer to the library and be able to walk to and from those easier. Perhaps.. country roads and walking make me nervous.

Tons of reading is still happening in our house, too! Our real goals for the summer: spend as much time outside as we can, read, and HAVE FUN!

How is your summer going?

Our summer reading program started yesterday.

Last week, I found the perfect bookshelves on Facebook marketplace. We have two of these pretty blue shelves. It was perfect timing. The girls ran around the house to find where all of our books were stuffed. It was so fun to hear their delight as they found old favorites. We are big fans of reading.

Harper can’t read quite yet, but she LOVES to have books read to her. Addi volunteered to read out loud to her, and it was the sweetest thing. She is such an expressive reader.

This morning, before my feet hit the floor, Chloe came running in asking if she could set a timer to start reading. Um, yes please. A quiet start to the morning? Sign me up every day.

It has been SO funny to see parents talking about the increase in their grocery bill since their kids have been home for the summer. No change here. ha! Summer is wonderful and we are HERE. FOR. IT. Homeschooling is stinking hard and so much work, but also worth it.

I really want to focus on reading this summer. Since one of the girls was diagnosed with dyslexia, she has made HUGE strides this year. I don’t want to lose that momentum. They both have grown tremendously and love reading.

If you have a local library, I really encourage you to check and see if they have any kind of summer reading program. It’s extra incentive to get your kids reading this summer!