Making Jam with the Girls-July 14th

During the summer we try to pack a lot of fun adventures in...but we also treasure those days spent at home. This particular day we were all grateful for a quiet day after I had spent 2 days helping at cub camp and the kids at playdates with friends and with grandma.

So today I took advantage of our quiet day and taught the girls how to make strawberry jam! We made a batch of freezer jam and a batch of cooked jam. They like the freezer jam style best, of course--much safer process! And it sure tastes good!

We also accomplished a second project...scrapbooking last year's schoolwork (i.e. putting the papers/cards/memorabilia together in 3-ring binders). I have a new organization system that I implemented after a class at Education Week last summer--and it worked! I bought a file drawer that I actually keep in the kitchen corner so that I can easily use it throughout each day. Among other things there is a file for each kiddo where I place the"keepers"--schoolwork and memorabilia that I think they will want to keep. Today I took a file out one at a time and Rachel and I put them into their binders. This was SO much less painless than my previous method of stacking all the papers in the cupboard in one big messy stack! It also helps that I had the help of my wonderful daughter--four hands sure make the work go faster!