Winter

Name: Slow Cooker French Onion Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 3 h 30 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: 3 large white onions, sliced; 3 tablespoons butter; 2 tablespoons brown sugar; 4 cups beef broth; 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 1 clove garlic, minced; ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar; 1 tsp dried Thyme; 1 Bay leaf; french bread; 1 cup of shredded Mozzarella

10 Indoor Energy Burning Activities

by Ashley Mullen

Cooler weather is upon us here in Saskatchewan already. Our seasons are so messed up, we go from hot summer, to cool fall in a week. And then very quickly we end up in winter. It’s all summer, summer, summer, fall, winter, winter, winter, spring, and back to summer all over again. From one extreme to the next. Having indoor energy burning activities is a must for rainy days and cold winter days.

10 Indoor Energy Burning Activities

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Simon Says

This is a favorite kids game. It can be fun and easy for parents to bust some energy out of their kids simply by calling our “Simon says ____. ” You can have your kids hopping in place or crab walking around the dining room table.

Red Light, Green Light

If you have a good amount of space for your kids to move back and forth red light, green light is fun. We like to change it up a bit with crab walking, wiggling like a worm, etc. Different movements to burn energy.

Painter’s Tape Hop Scotch

Painter’s Tape doesn’t leave a sticky residue behind so you can use it on the floors. Make a Hop Scotch for them to hop through in between subjects or on the way to a different room.

Music

Just turning music on in my house is enough for my kids to bust a move and burn energy. Plus it can be a fun workout for moms too!

Twister Game

You might have to buy this one or make it with some paper plates. Its a fun way to spend a rainy afternoon.

Balloons

Blow up some balloons and knock them back and forth. Fun!

Hide and Seek

We have three floors. That is three floors of hiding spaces, two sets of stairs to go up and down. Lots of energy worn off before bed, or before sitting down to school.

Freeze Dance

While you have the music on and you’re dancing around hit pause for a second. Play a game of freeze dance, or maybe even freeze tag.

Yoga (for Kids)

My kids love(!) cosmic kids yoga. We all have our own yoga mats, spread them out across the living room and stretch together.

100 Things to Do This Winter with Your Family

by Ashley Mullen

Winter weather is upon us here in Saskatchewan, and in many other places in Canada. We’ll be living with months of snow and cold which has made us quite good at finding things to do outside and inside, so good that I have 100 things to do this winter with your family. I have included some things to do before Christmas, but the majority are for all winter long. Mainly, we’re just trying to keep active for winter and become couch potatoes in the cold.

100 Things to Do This Winter with Your Family

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Things to Do Outside

Skating
Down hill skiing
Cross county skiing
Tobogganing
Sledding
Snowball fight
Build a snowman
Snowman building contest
Hot Chocolate outside
Build an igloo
Go for a hike in the snow
Shovel driveway
Roll down a hill
Blow bubbles – in really cold temperatures they’ll freeze
Throwing boiling water outside – ADULTS only. Quickly take a cup of boiling water and throw it out the door in -30°C temperatures. It will turn to steam.
Water + food color + spray bottle = paint for snow
Go caroling
Decorate for the holidays
Make a wreath
Play pond (or rink) hockey
Make a volcano outside in the snow – similar to making a regular one, bury a plastic cup in the snow to contain the insides
Make a snow fort
Look for animal tracks
Go snowboarding
Nature walk
Snow angels
Measure snow fall
Ice fishing
Snowshoeing
Head to a tree farm for your Christmas tree
Wagon/Sleigh Ride
ATV Ride
Dog Walking
Dog sled ride
Ski-do rides
Catching snowflakes on your tongue
Collect pine cones

Things to Do Inside

Have a cup of hot chocolate
Play board games
Read a book
Watch a movie – read the book, then watch the movie
Movie Night with popcorn
Read alouds – we loved Charlotte’s Web and are loving Little Pear
Make hot chocolate from scratch
Make apple cider from scratch
Make a gingerbread house
Make Christmas cards
Make Valentine’s
Decorate your Christmas tree
Make homemade gifts
Make paper snowflakes
Have a Christmas sweater day
Make Christmas gift tags
Drink Eggnog (or as my kids call it “knock knock milk”)
Make Eggnog
Make sugar cookies
Make paper chains to decorate your house or child’s room
Write a letter to Santa
Make marshmallows for your chocolate, or just for snacking
Spend the day in your pajamas
Take a family portrait
Make a snowglobe
Indoor picnic
Do a puzzle
Shadow puppets
Skype with long distance family/friends
Paint by numbers
Borax snowflakes
Make paper snowflakes
Make caramel/candy apples
Make soup or chili
String popcorn for the tree
Make ornaments
Indoor gardening – herbs are great
Make white playdough with glitter in it for snow playdough
Try a new hobby
Balloon volleyball
Christmas / Winter Movie marathon – Elf, The Santa Clause series are some of our favorites
Make snow ice cream
Add a candy cane to your hot chocolate

Places to Go

Public Library
Musem
Science Centre
Human Society / SPCA to volunteer
A friend’s house
Grandparents’ house
Playground
Park
A book store
To the movies
To a play
To a coffee place – Starbucks
Donate old toys or books
Bowling
Go curling
Take cookies to someone
Go see Santa
Take a drive to look at Christmas lights
Take a class
Go to a hockey game

Snow Reaction in A Bag Science Experiment

by Ashley Mullen

Who knew that putting snow in a bag could make for a fun science experiment and give such a snow reaction. This is a great winter only kind of activity you definitely should try this winter.

Snow Reaction in A Bag Science Experiment

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Looking for something to do on a really cold day? How about grabbing a Ziploc bag and some snow for a science experiment. It really simple. All you need is a Ziploc bag, some snow, and an alka seltzer or two. If you bought some to make the lava lamps then you probably still have some on hand.

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What you need:

How to Create a Reaction in a Bag of Snow

Now if you are like me, you don’t want to go outside in the freezing -42C windchill, even if it is just to fill a bag with some snow. That’s why we have kids though right? To make them do it.

I drew a snowman face on our Ziploc bag, just to make it cuter. Fill it up with snow, but don’t pack it in tight, just fill it loosely. Before you seal the bag, add in a few alka seltzer.

I laid a thick towel over my table, just incase it exploded on us.

We watched it inflate over a period of about an hour. It slowly expanded as the snow melted and caused a reaction with the Alka Seltzer.

Alka-Seltzer is made of citric acid and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), which is a base. When the tablets are dry, the acid and base powders don’t mix, but as soon as they are immersed in water they mix and react to form carbon dioxide gas.

The same type of reaction is made when you are baking and you mix baking soda and vinegar together.

You can see just how much it expanded here:

After an hour, my kids stopped caring so we stopped. There was still one out of four tablets that wasn’t gone, so it would have continued as the snow melted. They gave it a solid hour which is pretty good.

Science Experiment E-Book

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While we had this going we watched an episode of Magic S chool Bus – season 1 episode 13 – Kicks Up a Storm. You can also find great science kits that dig deep into the science of weather if your kids are interested.

When the Homeschool Mom is Sick

by Ashley Mullen

What happens when the teacher is sick? In a public school, they call in a substitute teacher, but when you are a homeschool mom there is only you. What happens to your carefully planned out day?

While it helps to be prepared for the common cold, or to battle the flu.

When the Homeschool Mom is Sick

When you have finally succumbed to the germs that can be picked up anywhere, what happens to the homeschool day that you had planned out? Does it go out the window? Do you get through the plans with a box of Kleenex or a bucket at your feet?

It might just help to have plan in place, a Plan B if you will, for those days when you are sick and need to be able to have a slower day or two.

When homeschool mom is sick:

Watch educational movies or documentaries. Check out the Magic School Bus series on Netflix or DVD, they’ll be learning and entertained at the same time.

A reading day. Whether they are curling up with a pile book of their own, or you are all taking turns reading. You could also check out both audio books and e-audio books.

Arts and crafts day. Having a good arts and crafts supplies on-hand can make this much easier. Set out some supplies, those that aren’t going to cause too much mess. Pencils, crayons, markers, paper, but perhaps steer clear of scissors or glue.

A game day. Hull out the board games that have been gathering dust, or card games that haven’t been used in awhile and put them to use. Its a great way to entertain, and to practice skills.

Get out the workbooks/worksheets. Maybe you aren’t normally workbook users but having some on hand for sick days can be useful, or go online and print a few off.

Just take the day! Relax, and have a quiet day without worrying about homeschooling. It is not going to hurt, it might just give everyone the rest they need.

What do you do when you’re sick?

Slow Cooker French Onion Soup

by Ashley Mullen

Winter brings the hot soups that warm you from the inside out. French onion soup warms us from the inside out, fills us up with warm bread and cheese. It’s especially great for a budget friendly meal, or a day where you feel like eating lighter. If you are looking for something bit heavier you should check out our bacon cheeseburger soup.

This french onion soup is a great starter when having friends over for supper, or for a light meal before heading out.

Slow Cooker French Onion Soup

*This post may contain affiliate links, see my disclosure policy.*

What you need:

3 large white onions sliced
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 cups beef broth
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic minced
⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried Thyme
1 Bay leaf
french bread
1 cup of shredded Mozzarella

How to make slow cooker french onion soup:

First start, slice your onions, I like to slice mine into circles, but slice them however you’d like, slicing them thinly.

Melt your butter in a frying pan over medium heat, with your brown sugar. Toss in all your onions, cover, let them sit for 5 minutes. Then toss them, cover and sit for 5 minutes. Repeat for 20 minutes. You want your onions tender.

Once your onions are tender dump them, the melted butter, everything into your slow cooker.

Add in your beef broth, bay leave, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, thyme, and garlic to your slow cooker.

While you’re waiting on you soup to cook, slice your french bread, thick. Grate your cheese, we use mozzarella because we have it.

After 4-5 hours on low your french onion soup is cooked and ready to move on to the next step. Dishing it into ramekins.

Top with a slice of of the french bread, and grated cheese.

I placed our ramekins on a cookie sheet to make it easier for handling. Broil in your oven. If you use High, watch it closely! You want your cheese to melt and brown not burn.

These are also really good for saving them for later. Great for single serve heating up the next. And I always find soup so much better the next day, chili too.

I don’t feel guilty making a pot of crock pot french onion soup for myself once in awhile that I can reheat multiple times a week to have lunch for myself.

Slow Cooker French Onion Soup

Yield: 10

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Inactive Time: 3 hours

Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

3 large white onions, sliced
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 cups beef broth
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried Thyme
1 Bay leaf
french bread
1 cup of shredded Mozzarella

Instructions

In a large non-stick pan, cook onions, butter and brown sugar over medium low heat until golden and caramelized.
Empty the pan into the slow cooker along with remaining ingredients except bread and cheeses.
Cook on low for 4-5 hours.
Remove and discard bay leaf and ladle the soup into bowls. Top with bread slices and cheeses. Broil until cheese is melted and browned.

Nutrition Information:

Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g

Winter

10 Indoor Energy Burning Activities