News with Naylors

This year, I am trying to have Christ be the center of Christmas. We had a family night last night that helped us understand how various Christmas decorations/traditions all go back to Christ. There are 11 symbols, each with a description (use double sided printing) of how that symbol relates to Christ. Talk about each symbol and then go on a Scavenger Hunt! The clues are already done for you, simply print them and you're ready to go! Free Download:  Christmas Symbols This was easily one of our favorite family night's we've ever done. My boys really loved the scavenger hunt. Lots of laughing, running around and excitement! Here are a few of the hidden clues and a picture of my boys enjoying a Crinkle Cookie:

One of my favorite things we did last year was Grinch Night. I have always loved The Grinch (especially the cartoon version) since I was little, and I have been excited all year to do Grinch Night again this year. We upgraded our outfits a bit this year and found the CUTEST Grinch Pajamas from Hanna Andersson . My older two boys are wearing them in the photo below. Grinch Night is all about eating green, wearing green, and watching the Grinch. Merry Grinchmas! For Grinch night, you need to eat green food. If you want a savory meal, you could try these tomatillo enchiladas + cilantro lime rice + broccoli. You could make a green smoothie. But, our favorite thing to eat for Grinch Night are these green pancakes (from Yummy Toddler Food ). INGREDIENTS 2  small very ripe bananas (about  1 cup  mashed) 2  large eggs 1 cup  whole wheat flour  1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or other favorite milk) 2 cup s lightly packed baby spinach 1 ...

Last Saint Patrick's Day, I wanted to make something different that was "green". I found this recipe from Pinch of Yum and really enjoyed it. The recipe makes a bit of extra sauce,  and  we served it with cilantro lime rice and broccoli.  INGREDIENTS : For the Roasted Tomatillo Sauce: 15  medium-sized tomatillos , husks removed 3  jalapeno peppers , ribs and seeds removed 4  cloves garlic , peeled 1/2 cup  fresh packed cilantro 1 cup  chicken broth 1/2 cup  sour cream salt  to taste For the Enchiladas Verdes: 10  or so 8-inch tortillas  – corn or flour will work 12 ounce s shredded cheese  – Pepper Jack or Monterrey Jack are my favorites 1  lb. cooked chicken , shredded DIRECTIONS : Make the Sauce:  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place tomatillos and jalapeños on the baking sheet. Wrap peeled garlic in foil and add to baking sheet....

We just completed our fourteenth week of homeschool. You can view our  daily schedule  (including which curriculum we use for math and reading) by clicking the link. Below you'll find the art and science activities we did this week - focusing on Native Americans. MONDAY : Book: Tapenum's Day by Kate Waters Activity: Native American Costumes My boys were so excited about these outfits! They wore them all week. They are really easy to make. I bought a fleece sheet/blanket from Walmart and we cut out one large rectangle (loin cloth) and two thin and long rectangles (one for the belt and the other for the head piece). You put the bottom piece together as shown below..  For the head band, we talked about how the Native American's wrote in pictures instead of letters like we do today. We talked about the symbols and my boys practiced drawing them on their head piece. It was fun to hear their "story" of what they drew. It was mostly abou...

This bread is amazing. It tastes like fancy bread from a restaurant. I love how you don't need to knead the dough and it's really easy for kids to help make. We made this to go along with our Homeschool Pilgrim Theme. I found this recipe on Amber's Kitchen. In a plastic bowl combine: 1 teaspoon active dry yeast, 1 3/4 teaspoons salt 1 3/4 cups water (room temp or slightly warm) 3 cups flour Using a plastic or wooden spoon (avoid using metal) combine ingredients until a shaggy dough forms. Just mix it until there are no longer dry patches of flour. You do not need to let the yeast dissolve and you do not need to knead the dough! (🙌🏻Yessssss!) . . Cover the dough with plastic wrap and double cover it with a towel or lid. Let the dough sit at least 12 hours, or up to 24 hours. . . On a heavily floured surface, dump out your dough and form it into a ball, kneading lightly for a minute or two, adding in a little more flour if needed. (But not too much!) Place ...

We just completed our thirteenth week of homeschool. You can view our  daily schedule  (including which curriculum we use for math and reading) by clicking the link. Below you'll find the art and science activities we did this week - focusing on Pilgrims. MONDAY : Book: Pilgrim Cat by Carol Antoinette Peacock Activity: Then & Now Sorting Supplies:  Then & Now Sorting Cards I printed these cards from A Dab of Glue Will Do. We only used the ones that pertained specifically to the pilgrims and the activities we'll be doing this week. It was fun for the kids to see what people did back then. We also read "The Pilgrim Cat" and talked about why the Pilgrims left England and how they had to have a lot of faith to leave. It wasn't an easy trip and things took a lot longer back then. It's not like they could just turn on a light switch or go to the grocery store for food. They had to make their own candles, homes, quills and ink...

We just completed our twelfth week of homeschool. You can view our  daily schedule  (including which curriculum we use for math and reading) by clicking the link. Below you'll find the art and science activities we did this week - focusing on Rain & Clouds. MONDAY : Book: The Cloud Book by Tomie de Paola & Little Cloud by Eric Carle Activity: Cloud Art Supplies: Blue Card Stock, Cotton Balls, & Glue We read about the different types of clouds (cumulus - puffy clouds; stratus - flat sheet clouds; and cirrus - feathery clouds) and how rain comes from the clouds. We also read about how clouds look like different images in the sky. We each made our own cloud image with cotton balls and glue.  My four's idea (top) made a scene from one of our books and my six made a crocodile) TUESDAY :   Book: The Snowflake: A Water Cycle Story by Neil Waldman Activity: Water Cycle Experiment & Craft Supplies: Water Cycle Car...