Multiplication Flash Cards

Oh those multiplication facts. One of the banes of my existence and a pain in my (and my mothers) patutti. We did flash cards every morning before school, while we were waiting anywhere, and before bed. I think they finally clicked in high school. Ish.

Anyway, I see myself in all the kiddos at my school struggling with long multiplication because they still struggle with the basics. There are quite a few downloadable flash cards out there, and even flash cards for purchase but they are pretty big, and take a lot of space an paper. I made it my mission to get 16 cards on a page. Back to back that was 32 problems from one piece of card stock.

I got a surprising response of requests for the document on Facebook so I'm going to try to share it here as a continually accessible resource. 

Here is the word document.

Here is the PDF.

Make sure you print them at full size. Yes, you know the margins are set outside the printable area. Yes. You want to leave them that way. 

I like hole punching them and using a binder ring aka book ring to hold them together (this way you can easily shuffle.) Curly wrapping ribbon works well too, it's slick and flexible enough. 

Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Yum- egg free

You know that time when you decided to combine three or so things you saw on Pinterest? For something the next morning. And you really weren't sure how it was going to work out. But then you totally nailed it!

For reals, not the mockery meme. 

Meet my easily transportable chocolate pumpkin dessert. So I'm still working on the name. 

Graham cracker crust in the bottom of shallow mason jars. I baked the crust in the jars. 

The whole mission behind this one was egg free. Graham crackers and both puddings are egg free! Score!

I cooked up the chocolate pudding and before it set, I spooned a layer on top of the crust. This is a very rich dessert. A little goes a long way. Why did I do stove top chocolate pudding? Because that's what Aunt Maggie makes. It's tradition. (It's also Gleuten Free, where instant is not.) Pumpkin spice was not available to me in stovetop.

So then I made the pumpkin spice pudding and before IT set I spooned a layer on top of the chocolate pudding. Once again a little goes a long way and you really want to save room for whipped cream and garnish. 

Next I made whipped cream in the kitchen aid mixer with the whisk attachment. About half the small carton of whipping cream. A pour of vanilla and powdered sugar til it tastes right. Whip it. Whip it real good. Until it's aaaaaaalmost starting to turn buttery. This will help it keep it's shape and not collapse. I wish I had whipped mine a bit more. This is why I did not use a can of whipped cream. 

Dallop your "whipped -real good-cream." (Giggle with me as I just noticed auto correct made dallop Fallopian. I'll go fix it.)

Use a vegetable peeler to shave the skinny side of a Hershey's milk chocolate bar. Celebrate the triumph of some if the shavings turning to beautiful curls. Put the lids on them, then stick them in the fridge to chill until you're ready to conveniently transport them to your shindig. 

Livin' the Life

Ahhhhh. It's fall in Moscow! That was a good ahhhhh as fall in Moscow is a beautiful thing.

For those of you not familiar with these parts it might help you to know that the Moscow in Idaho is pronounced with the long "o" vowel sound at the end so that it rhymes with Idaho. Anyway, we have hard fake wood floors on a cement foundation. My feet needed squishy slippers and it's just about cool enough too!

I was thinking of my slipper felting crew the "Twisted Sisters" back in Kansas the whole time I worked on them! Pardon the lint. They were felted with a load of towels haha. My next fall projec was a fall print skirt! This was what I texted my sister to check on the length. Pardon the boxes and such. We're in between stages, and let's face it, creative projects take priority. 

For my skirts, I have formulated a hybrid of all my favorite features from various patterns. I use the waistband (-interfacing) and pockets from this pattern. 

I use the skirt body from this online tutorial. (Front panel=waist/2+10 rounded to 25. Back panels=waist/2+5.5 rounded to 20) It made the most effective use of my fabric. (1.5 yds main fabric, .5 yds pocket and waist lining plus extra) Two yards is about the right amount for this project. Next time wee small ones ask when they're to use math I encourage you to reference this. 

This skirt was great for Mondays golf outing. Luke plays and I walk with him. As we go by tee boxes I collect the colorful broken bits. Like some people collect sea shells at the ocean! 

I'm also getting pretty good at removing the pin (flag) at the appropriate time. Since everyone in Fresno has been enjoying the Big Big Big Fresno Fair, I made up some of those blue ribbon winning snickerdoodles I used to make when I was 9 and we have been enjoying devouring them at an alarming rate. 

You know you're helping with primary math when all you see here is "array" and "multiplication." Today I got locked IN our apartment. We knew it was sketchy and I knew as soon as I flipped it I was stuck. 

The handy man came, went through the window and they figured out a teeeeemporary solution. They said "we'll order the part and next time this happens we'll switch it out." 

....Wait. Next time?!?!?

One of the greatest things about this region?! Bomb.com onions. They're firm and flavorful and yum. 

Meet my mushroom, onion, provolone burger. I made the patties with minced onion, garlic and spinach. A grab of salt and pepper. A pour of Worcestershire sauce. Some paprika. 

Om nom nom nom. Sooooo good. Seriously. 

Also seriously, this local honey from the Entomology family! Spoonful a day-ing. Can't wait to reap the rewards in lesser allergies! (For reals. This works. We did it in Colorado.)

After the amazing burgers tonight? Bike ride. Sunset. Sigh. My muscles burned the way the should when you haven't ridden in a gazillion years, but no but bruises no achey spots. That bike fitting really seriously did the trick. 

Are we living the life or what?

When God Winks

WWow! What a day! My friend Mary always says "When God winks."

I feel like he must be winking an awful lot today!

The students didn't have school today or tomorrow. I asked my principal if I might attend the teacher inservice  on my time and he said yes! They were great sessions and I enjoyed being there during that time to also kind of get to know the teachers at my school a bit more. They are pretty awesome! I'm really going to learn a lot from working with them. I went to one workshop on math differentiation and another on working with students who have ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder, as they said the term is now.) I know my friend Chris has an adorable son who also has autism. I just read a fantastic book

In which the main character has Asperger's Syndrome (encompassed by ASD) who I found myself identifying strongly with.  I also know that when you have met one person with ASD you have met one person with ASD. IE: All are unique individuals with unique experiences. Beyond that my "rule name for everything loving" self is having some trouble getting around it. We were connected with Autism Internet Module as a resource. It was a good start. 

This afternoon I went to my bike fitting! Wow! What a difference! In about an hour and a half T-Jay made more tweaks on my bike than I knew existed. It's especially neat because he helps you understand why things are and explains what he's doing. He put my bike on a stationary attatchment. (We have one at home, but it's currently packed.) First thing he swapped out the seat based on information I gave him about bruises and the two other seats I've used. 

This original seat from a way back when Christmas is what was on it because I had no idea what to do. He tweaked the handles and immediately I was holding them with all of my fingers. I didn't even notice I hadn't been! He raised the seat and my legs extended correctly. He angled the brakes and raised the handle bar. Each time T-Jay pointed out how this would impact healthy bike riding. The best part!?! My leg muscles got sore from being able to ride so long and I'm not one bit "saddle sore!"  On that note, I learned there is such thing as a leather saddle for your bike! The leather molds to your behind! T-Jay says I probably want to graduate into that one. It's spendy. I rode my bike this evening but left it there for a tune up. Somehow the wheel got bent. Not in the three moves, I'm sure. (Sarcasm.)

Another cool thing is that because T-Jay teaches Math and Science through biking and Physics on Ice he knows a lot of people I need to meet. When I called Wednesday to make an appointment with a graduate studies advisor, I said I couldn't meet today because I had a bike fitting. He said, "With T-Jay? Tell him I say hi! We play softball together." Go figure. I even met him in the shop today and was introduced!

So right from the awesome bike fitting I went to the local yarn shop where I met a knitting group!  They are a hoot and a half! I'm so excited to add them to my collection of knitting companions! Knitting groups are a wonderful creature! They are also great at solving problems! I, for some reason, though to ask where I could find super local honey for my allergies. Wouldn't you know it, one of the ladies husbands is an entomology professor and they have bees. And honey. Seriously people! Only at knitting groups! It's a beautiful thing. 

Tomorrow I meet with the Graduate Studies Advisor to help me decide what the heck I'm going to decide to learn! Say a prayer!