An Excercise in Coordination

Elias in his studiousness.

Elias has shown a new interest in writing lately. He will sit at the table with a page of traceable A's with such intensity he notices nothing around him. He has always had times where he concentrates on something to the exclusion of all else and it is amazing to watch in a four year old. Elias has written a few letters here and there in the last year and a half (his name, Eva's), but never with much desire to improve or go further. He does love dot-to-dots and with a new book of dot-to-dots his coordination and desire to count have increased. The coordination has led him to want to trace; pictures, stencils and as a progression his letters. Most of the books I have seen for preschool children are about writing the ABC's as you learn them. We have picked up several of these books to have around, but have never really given them to Elias.

I have always believed that you shouldn't link writing and reading. They are two different skills and where many young children show an interest in both; it seems that for some (my brothers included) the desire to read is there until the pressure of writing comes in. With the stress of learning both they lose the momentum for either. Writing should be a task you learn years after reading and when you have the desire to "write" something; a letter, lists, etc. The more you have read and seen writing the easier it will be to reproduce. I am a bit surprised that Elias is showing an interest in writing and wonder how much I should encourage it. It can be a frustrating endeavor and as he gets older and becomes more coordinated it will be easier to learn. As such I print the traceable letters and let him write his name on papers, drawings and other works of art, but as is my normal way let him lead the way and start the projects. The resources are there and it is his choice to pursue them.

As a side note, typing is yet another skill set and rests somewhere in the middle of reading and writing. Elias has been typing words since gaining the coordination to hunt and peck. He loves to reproduce words he knows, but rarely ventures to create new ones. His word count goes up all the time and he reinforces it by typing it on a word program his dad created for him. Favorite words are the names of family and friends, activities that we as a family enjoy, such as camp, bike, swing etc. and like most kids; animals.

Versatile Polenta!

Polenta is such a wonderful substance! It is fantastic served in its mush state with sautéed veggies, cooled and shaped and then grilled for towers, layered for lasagna or baked in a tart pan for a pizza.

The other night I was looking for dinner inspiration and came across a polenta pizza. With a few changes to accommodate the items in my kitchen I came up with this flavorful pizza! I used goat cheese and spinach for the sauce with fresh tomato, kalamata olives, fresh basil and mozzarella to top it off. It was perfect served with a green salad. It was a definite hit with Craig and Sam.

Recipe:

1 1/2 cups polenta cornmeal
2 cups cold water
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
3.5 oz. goat cheese
1 c. packed spinach leaves
Toppings of your choice

Preheat oven to 375 deg. Oil 10 inch tart pan (I used one with a removable base). Combine polenta with water in sauce pan. Bring to a boil and then simmer, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Add grated parmesan cheese and cook a few more minutes. Add polenta to tart pan and spread evenly and up the edges. Bake until dry and crisp on the edges, about 30 minutes.

In a food processor puree the spinach and goat cheese. Spread this over the crust. Add your chosen toppings and bake until your cheese is melted. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with basil before serving.

Cooking the Kristin Way

I love food...it is a motivator and a hobby. Craig often joked when we first met that my family never talked about anything else. He was right, and now does the same thing. My brothers are both chefs and we often trade ideas and recipes, call to exclaim over a dinner we are eating and plan all our visits around what or where we will be eating. It is very common to hear "Do you remember the camping trip that *this* happened?" "Oh yeah, we made *this*...it was delicious."

With that stated, I figure that food blogs will occur more often than others. Numerous friends and family ask me to share recipes, print off a cookbook or call me for ideas on a regular basis and I am hoping I can just post here and send them to it.

My style of cooking is very relaxed...I tend to measure loosely, if at all, and the world would collapse if I didn't change something in a recipe. While cooking I try and lower the salt and sugar content, substitute whole wheat and almost never use anything bleached(i.e. white rice, all purpose flour etc.) Cooking by feel is the norm in my kitchen. As such a food blog might not be a "recipe"; just an idea with loose amounts. I will try and put in recipes with measurements and procedures, but hope that people will be adventurous!

So much for inspiration!

Quality sibling time!

Well, months later and no new posts! I have the best of intentions....Kristin "I meant to" Post. Thinking about this blog and what I would like to do with it was my midnight activity last night.

Previously, I had stated that I would copy over Craig's blog posts relevant to homeschooling or family matters. Instead, I am just providing a link in the side bar and plan on encouraging perusal of his site on occasion. Therefore, those of you who read both sides won't be duplicating and it will be unbearably obvious how little I post. On that note, my new goal is to post at least once a week.

In the past few months we have had two family birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and a couple of trips to the home town. It has been busy and fun with Elias and Eva both changing so much in that time span. Things have slowed down and we are attempting to organize, simplify and maintain some sort of routine around here. Craig and Sam are picking up the cycling. Elias wants to learn to ride the attachment tandem with his dad and do longer rides. Eva is crawling at super speeds and wishing her legs would just hold her up so she can walk.