camp counselor mode

All parents have now switched from teacher into camp counselor mode since kids are out of school, but still need something to do at home. Before the school work really picked up in quarantine, I found several fun, free printables for my kids to work on while I was trying to work . These may be a fun free activity for your kids on those rainy summer days that will pop up here and there. 

During quarantine, so many great artists made painting tutorials. I have seen several folks participate in this one. I have not done this yet with my kids, but plan to this summer. 

We all watched The Call of The Wild movie in March and loved it so my kids really enjoyed these Call of The Wild activities. 

Here is another great resource for kids free printables. 

I, probably like you, am concerned that my kids did not learn all that they needed to learn at the end of the year.  I found this article to be very helpful and plan to incorporate some of these concepts with my kids this summer. I also ordered this book for Graham and this book for Georgia just to help prevent the summer slide. I will only have them do one or two worksheets each day. I really think outdoor play is important and I like the idea of my kids taking on more chores and helping around the house this summer. 

I would love to hear of any ideas that you may have to help keep kids busy this summer while at home. 

pier 1 closing sale

About a month ago, I purchased this navy chest from Pier 1. I had no idea that they would be closing. We have several strange cutouts in our house. One cutout serves as our time-out spot:). The other cutout held a small chest where I literally stuffed all of our photos and the kids' crafts that I wanted to hang on to. I told myself, one day I will organize all of this. Well, when quarantine hit,  I really had no excuse not to organize it. I knew I needed a larger piece of furniture than what I currently had, but it could not be much larger. I also wanted it to have 3 drawers: one for Graham, one for Georgia and one for family photos.  Pier 1 is one of those stores that I sometimes forget about. I happened to be looking on their website and found this chest on super sale with free shipping. It was exactly what I was looking for and gave this spot the pop of color that it needed. 

Pier 1 has so many great items. I am so sad that they are having to close their doors. There are several items that I have my eyes on right now during their closing sale. 

this chair

these napkins

this floor lamp

these tumblers

these glasses

this garden stool

Happy almost Weekend! 

sheet pan nachos

We are starting to get a little bored with all of these dinners at home so last week I was inspired to try some new recipes to keep things interesting. I came across a recipe for sheet pan nachos. I modified it some, but they turned out great and were a hit. I served them with these yummy corn on the cob.

I added radishes, green onions and cilantro for extra tasty toppings. 

I seasoned the ground beef with this Rock Yo' Taco  seasoning

 that I picked up at Harris Teeter.

Have you found any new recipes during quarantine? I would love to hear of anything new I can try at my house.