Riggstown Road Archives - Busy Moms Helper

Gluten-Free Cherry Cobbler

May 12, 2016 by Lynn Driver

Hello, Mamas! How would you like to treat your families and yourselves to a dish of ooey-gooey goodness? It only takes a few minutes to whip up this GLUTEN-FREE CHERRY COBBLER!

I’m Lynn, and I share my favorite tips for moms here and over at Riggstown Road. This cobbler recipe is definitely a favorite, especially now that it’s gluten free.

Three people in my family have had to eliminate gluten from their diets. If you have dealt with this issue, then you know how frustrating it can be. You or your loved ones often miss out on the goodies that those around you are enjoying. Of course, you can find gluten-free versions of most things, but they are often expensive and ~~gross~~ less tasty. So, you end up making a lot of things from scratch, but that can be complicated and time-consuming. But not this recipe. This recipe is easy.

Cherry cobbler has always been a favorite in my family. It’s been my mother’s go-to dessert for as long as I can remember. It is delicious, and like I said–easy! I’ve adapted and tweaked it to make it gluten-free while keeping the taste and simplicity. This way, my WHOLE family can still enjoy it. Trust me, yours will, too.

Gluten-Free Cherry Cobbler

Ingredients

1 stick butter (8 Tbsp.)
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup one-to-one gluten-free baking flour (*See note.)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
1 can cherry pie filling (at least 21 oz.)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. While oven is preheating, put stick of butter in a 9 x 11 inch glass baking dish and place in oven for butter to melt. Meanwhile, thoroughly combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add milk and mix well to make a batter. Remove dish from oven when butter has melted. Pour batter into baking dish. Pour cherry pie filling over batter, distributing evenly. Be sure to scrape every bit out of can. 😉 Bake for about 40 minutes, til golden brown. Cool for at least 15 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature.

https://busymomshelper.com/gluten-free-cherry-cobbler/

*Note: I have found that the BEST flour to use for this recipe is Bob’s Red Mill one-to-one Baking Flour (in the blue and white package.) It is easy to find in the gluten-free section of Wal-Mart, Food Lion, and other large grocery stores. If you use, for example, all-purpose gluten-free flour, you will not get the same results.

This recipe is perfect for serving warm, right after dinner, but it’s also excellent for taking to covered dish gatherings. Pretty enough for the dining room table, but travels well enough for the picnic table. It’s also the perfect treat to go with your afternoon coffee. Or morning. Or whenever. 😉

I’m sure you’ll love it as much as I do!

Also try these GLUTEN FREE RECIPES:

Big Breakfast for Busy Families

Sugar Cookie Pizza – Gluten Free!

Zero Cost Headband

April 12, 2016 by Lynn Driver

What’s better than free? Free, easy, and adorable! This ZERO COST Headband for your little one is all three.

I’m Lynn, and I’m a busy mom just like you. And I’m on a budget. So…I like to save time and money. I love little projects like this headband that are quick and inexpensive, but still give me the cute look I’m after for my kiddos or my home. I have fun sharing those ideas here and at Riggstown Road!

Now that winter is winding down, you might just be cleaning out your closets and drawers, weeding out those winter necessities and making room for spring wardrobes. You probably have some winter tights or stockings that your little girl wore for the winter that she won’t be able to wear next year, or even some of your own that you are no longer using. Instead of trashing them, turn ’em into some adorable headbands for your little ones.

All you need are a pair of clean, stretchy tights or stockings, whatever embellishments you happen to have on hand, some scissors, and your handy-dandy hot glue gun. I had these cute flowers in my craft stash, saved from a gorgeously-wrapped gift someone gave us. (They were part of the wrapping.)

MATERIALS:

stockings
scissors
embellishment
hot glue gun & glue

DIRECTIONS:

Cut one leg off the stockings.
Cut the leg open.
Cut the open leg of the stocking in half, then in half again.
Take one of the four pieces, and roll it.
Measure according to your child’s head, and trim some off if necessary.
Form a circle, and insert one end of the roll into the other end, like in the pic above.
Secure with hot glue on the inside, inconspicuously.
Add your flowers or other embellishments with hot glue.

Just let the glue dry and you’re done!

All you need now is a sweet little model like this one. 😉

Be sure to check out these other money-saving tips and freebies!

$1/1-Minute Salsa

Free Sunshine Printable

Sunshine Printable

March 12, 2016 by Lynn Driver

Need a little sunshine?

I’ve got some for you today in the form of a free SUNSHINE PRINTABLE! 🙂

Lynn here, from Riggstown Road, and nothing motivates me more than sunshine. Whether I’m doing house work, yard work, or school work, it just makes everything a little happier, ya know?

Speaking of school work, I teach my children at home, and they luuuuuv art projects. I decided I wanted to do a project with them and share it with you. I told the girls I wanted a painting of sunshine and asked for a volunteer. Taking the paint out equals immediate interest. 😉

My daughter, Elizabeth, chose to do this project and she painted the brightest, happiest sunshine I’ve ever seen, using her choice of colors and style, and I LOVE how it turned out. (In her words, it had to be perfectly imperfect. Wonder where she gets ideas like that?) I took the simple little painting and added some simple little words to it and created this printable art.

I love how it’s something we did together. And I love that it’s sunshine. Didn’t I mention that I am partial to sunshine? And, just like the real thing, I love how this printable version can brighten your day by brightening your space. Add it to your spring vignettes, or hang it on your own little “sunshine’s” wall. You’re sure to smile every time you look at it…at least I do. 🙂 I like the white space, but if you trim it off, the graphic is designed to fit nicely into a 5×7 frame. Perfect for someone’s desktop!

To get the free printable, click here: YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE FREE PRINTABLE

(*Printable is for personal use only.)

Be sure to share where you plan to add our little bit of sunshine to your home. My students would love to know! And if you’re feeling inspired, pull out the paints and create some one-of-a-kind artwork with your little artists. 😉

Want more easy wall art, ideas, or printables? Check out these posts:

Using Décor to Make Each Child Feel Special

Printable Chalkboard Art

Printable Menu Planner

Sweet Rewards

February 12, 2016 by Lynn Driver

Here’s a simple idea you can use this Valentine’s Week (or anytime!) to encourage your kids to “be sweet.” How about offering a few little SWEET REWARDS as incentives?

I’m Lynn, and I blog about my home and family at Riggstown Road. It’s important to me to try to cultivate good attitudes and character traits in my children. Easy little tricks like sweet rewards help me do that in a fun way.

My kids know that there will not always be a tangible reward for doing the right thing. In fact, sometimes in real life, we are even persecuted for doing the right thing. They need to know and understand this. On the other hand, even we as adults enjoy it when something good we do gets noticed. Bonus at work anyone? Get a thank you card in the mail lately? As parents, we spend a lot of time preventing and correcting bad behavior (and rightly so.) But sometimes, an effective way of doing that can be to point out the good behavior. For the most part, I use predictable rewards and consequences. But I have found that sometimes, great motivation comes from those spontaneous, unexpected rewards. Ok, enough with the disclaimers. Now on to the sweet stuff…

Y’all probably know by now that I like simple things- simple recipes, simple projects, and simple solutions. Well, this little incentive idea is perfectly sweet and simple. Seriously, all you have to do is stop by the store and get a bag of chocolate kisses (or your kids’ favorite treat) and hide them. 😉 {I rarely just hand my kids candy, so this is a big deal for me!} First, I would spend a few minutes at bedtime or breakfast reading and talking about 1 Corinthians 13 (Love is patient, love is kind…) Then, be on the lookout, and whenever you catch a child doing something sweet (i.e. showing love), give them a “kiss” and tell them why. Don’t be surprised if you see an increase in sweet gestures on their part! Make this a fun tradition for Valentine’s Day or week. It’ll be rewarding- for you and them!

Sometimes the simplest things…can be the sweetest!

Interested in more parenting tips and ideas? Get the details on a simple sanity-saving Consequence Chart HERE…

and go HERE to read about one of my favorite tools to use for children and chores!

The Sock Basket

January 12, 2016 by Lynn Driver

Moms encounter all kinds of little dilemmas every day, and sometimes the simplest solutions are the best solutions- like this laundry room Sock Basket.

It’s that time again, when everyone is making resolutions for the new year, and getting organized is usually pretty high on everybody’s list- including mine! I’m Lynn, here from Riggstown Road to share one of my all-time-favorite (and simplest) tips with you: the sock basket, and two ways to use it.

In my house, there are 6 people, who each have two feet, and that means that in winter we use a dozen socks a day. Now, they don’t take up all that much space in the laundry, but what does happen in the laundry is…they get lost. More specifically, it’s usually one sock out of a pair that gets lost. It is one of the great mysteries of life how two matching socks go into the laundry hamper, but only one comes out of the dryer. :/ That leaves us with a collection of single socks, which we either cram into a drawer where they get lost and take up space, or we toss them in the trash- only to find their match a day or week later.

So, I decided to start saving all those random socks in one place, and it’s so handy.

Here is alternative #1: Keep a basket or bucket in your laundry room, labeled “socks.” It doesn’t have to be cute, but it helps. 😉 When laundry is being folded & put away, and there are several random socks in the stack, (because there always are…) just toss them into the sock basket and once a week or so, look through the basket and match up any pairs. When the mates reappear, you’ll be glad you didn’t trash those random singles. If you’re family is like mine, there always seems to be a sock shortage!

And here is option #2: When you empty the dryer, keep all the socks in a basket saved especially for socks. Let your little ones match them up. It’s a great skill for preschoolers to practice and/or a perfect chore to assign to your school-aged kiddos, because busy moms need good helpers! Then they can deliver all the socks they’ve matched up to their owners, and leave all the rest right in the sock basket ’til next time.

When a sock shortage occurs, you can direct the kids to the sock basket. Maybe they will find the one they need! If not, they will at least find socks!

Bonus: The sock basket comes in handy when the kids want to make sock puppets or doll clothes, and when mom needs a really good dust cloth.

If you recognized the chalkboard pennant label on my basket, I borrowed it from the EASY CHALKBOARD BANNER you can find in this post:

Be sure to check out all the great organization tips here at Busy Mom’s Helper!

Kid-Friendly Christmas Cake Topper

December 21, 2015 by Lynn Driver

Merry Christmas, Mamas! Today I’m sharing a Kid-Friendly Christmas Cake-Topper that you and your kiddos can enjoy making, just in time for the special day!

I’m Lynn, from Riggstown Road, and if your life is anything like mine, you have some enthusiastic little helpers when it comes to baking Christmas goodies. So it’s nice when the things we’re making are easy for little hands. (Side-note: At this point, my helpers are becoming better at this stuff than I am. And I am totally ok with that.) 😉 This cake-topper is easy enough for your preschoolers to participate in, fun enough for your older kids to enjoy, and special enough for all of them to feel proud of.

All you need are 3 simple ingredients to create a winter wonderland of trees on top of your favorite cake.

INGREDIENTS

1 box ice cream SUGAR CONES
1 container fluffy WHITE ICING
1 container sparkling white sugar SPRINKLES

DIRECTIONS

Prepare your cake with white icing.
Carefully cut some of the cones to different sizes for different sized trees. (I used a tomato slicing knife.)
Let kids spread icing on the cones, covering completely.
Help kids gently place the “trees” in the “snow” on top of the cake.
Kids can sprinkle the sugar crystals all over the trees and the top of the cake to create “ice” crystals.

Now stand back and admire the prettiness!

Cute enough for company, and trust me, this is waaay easier than decorating cookies!

As you can see, we weren’t too concerned with the rest of our (delicious) cake, but I loved it in all its messy glory. I called it a snow-covered mountain, but the girls were a little unsure about that. They seemed more impressed with their trees. I think sprinkling the sugar was the part that was the most fun for them. It was the, ahem, icing on the cake. 😉

I hope your kids enjoy it, too.

20 Alternatives to TV for Kids

November 21, 2015 by Lynn Driver

I’m a list person. It’s how I keep my sanity. 🙂 I loved making this list of 20 Alternatives to TV for Kids!

Happy Thanksgiving from Riggstown Road, moms! I’m Lynn, and I love coming over to BMH to share some ideas with you, like these things your kids can do when they think there is nothing to do. I’m sure that, like me, you count your children at the top of your list when you count your blessings. I also know that life with kids can get pretty chaotic…like those times when your children insist they have absolutely nothing to do (moping and whining notwithstanding) while YOU are busy with so much to do! TV is such an easy and oh-so-convenient time-filler, but wouldn’t it be nice to have some alternatives to TV to fall back on?

But it’s hard for you to think of suggestions when you have the baby on your hip and dinner on the stove. I have learned (the hard way) that right in the middle of a thing is not the best time to come up with a plan. It’s best to be prepared ahead of time. So, keep these ideas handy and whenever you think of a new one, add it to the list!

ALTERNATIVES to TV for KIDS:

Do some memory work. (Learn a scripture, a poem, or those pesky times tables.)
Use flash cards to quiz a sibling.
Radio dramas/ Audio books. (These are amazing. You can purchase cd’s or listen online.)
Extra chores that we don’t get to every day (um, week.) (I have a list for that!)
Do a fun creative writing assignment.
Use craft supplies to make something fun. (Keep a craft bucket filled with kid-friendly supplies.)
Go on a scavenger hunt in the yard.
Speaking of the yard, Play Outside!
Help a neighbor.
Play a board game.
Read. (Be prepared to tell me about it!)
Dump out the toy box and rediscover things.
Help mom in the kitchen.
Play a board game.
Help dad by raking leaves.
Jump into newly raked pile of leaves and start over.
Clean out the car. (You get to keep all the change you find!)
Draw and/or color. (Buying fresh, new coloring books now & then is a worthy investment.)
Build with Legos or Lincoln Logs. (Make it a competition!)
Research something you’re interested in, and report on it at dinner.

Now, obviously, some of these activities sound like more fun than others. I usually start by suggesting the most appealing things first. If the whining continues, I suggest (or require) the more academic or chore-like activities. It’s a “complain at your own risk” sort of deal. 🙂 Also, those times when there seems to be a surplus of time are the perfect opportunity to get some of those neglected or forgotten things done.

Even though I limited this list to 20 to keep the post from being too long, there really are endless possibilities. I would love to hear some of your ideas, so I can add them to my list!

(And…check out this post for another sanity-saving idea for moms.)

Make Your Own Indian Corn

October 21, 2015 by Lynn Driver

With my favorite holiday fast-approaching, I’m feeling festive. You, too? Then you’re gonna love this! I’m showing you how to Make Your Own Indian Corn!

I’m Lynn, over from Riggstown Road to share an easy little DIY, or maybe I should I say D-Y-E. 😉 Making Indian corn is not only a fun, kid-friendly fall activity, it’s also pretty much a one-step process. (My kind o’ project!)

It all started when I saw some POPCORN on sale one day, and I just thought it was so pretty. (Call me crazy. I’m so very visual that I notice things like that all the time. Wonder if that’s why I can’t sing? Because I’m so much more visual than auditory? Anyway…)

I thought about how pretty it would be as part of my fall décor, and then I thought how pretty it would be if it were INDIAN CORN, which is just gorgeous. I decided to transform it.

Besides it’s lovely colors, Indian corn has a connection to history, which I think makes everything more fun. Real Indian corn really was made into flour and corn meal by the Pilgrims and Indians we so often talk about at Thanksgiving. What a perfect time for some research with the kids!

Nowadays, you can buy Indian corn in bundles at the supermarket, or even order the seeds, OR you can make your own autumn-colored kernels like I did.

SUPPLIES:

Popcorn kernels (unpopped, of course)
White vinegar
Food Coloring (especially red, green, and blue)

DIRECTIONS:

Divide the kernels into jars
Add vinegar to each jar, enough to cover kernels.
Drop a good amount of food coloring into each jar.
Let sit for a while, until you’re happy with the intensity of the color.
Drain the vinegar out of jars, and pour kernels onto pans lined with paper towels.
Spread kernels out and allow to dry 24-48 hours.

NOTES:

This stuff is messy, so protect surfaces accordingly. And be prepared to have colorful fingers. 🙂

But the results are so worth it!

To get brown, I combined red and green food coloring. I used a lot of drops to get deep colors, like the blue.

When they were all dry, I combined the brown and blue ones (my favorite) with the natural popcorn kernels. You can look at real Indian corn for inspiration, and make color combinations that you love.

There are a million ways to use this colorful corn. To see what I made with my d-y-e-d Indian corn, visit me at Riggstown Road!

Tin Pumpcans

September 15, 2015 by Lynn Driver

Yes, I know I spelled it wrong. I couldn’t resist. And even though it’s not official on the calendar yet, I have to say it: Happy Fall Y’all! I’m kicking off the season with these DIY TIN PUMPCANS.

I’m Lynn, and I’m excited to be visiting from Riggstown Road with a fun little fall project. I’m a busy mom, and a thrifty one, too, so I love how this décor only took about five minutes and was virtually free! If you have any canned food in your pantry, you have just about all you need to make some cute Tin Pumpcans.

I got to thinking the other day, how a tin can would make a cute, rustic pumpkin. I thought I’d paint it orange, since I love orange pumpkins and fall colors in all their glory {#fallismyfavorite} but then I realized that (1) a creamy neutral color would add a touch of sophistication, (2) it would look good with my neutral color scheme, and (3) I already had a can of ivory spray paint.

I went outside and found some nice, round sticks to use for the stalks. I broke them to get the length I wanted. I already had a bag of moss in my craft stash.

I wanted a large pumpkin, so I bought the biggest can of vegetables I could find… 6 lb. 10 oz. (If you’re not ready to use this much corn or beans at once, transfer them to a freezer bag, and save for later.) I also used a smaller can I had on hand for a small pumpkin.

Total cost: $0 !!! OK, I did buy the big can of corn. But. I figure that I bought the corn, which we will eat, and I got the can it was in for free. 😉SUPPLIES

Tin cans with lids
Spray paint
Moss
Small sticks
Hot glue gun (and glue sticks)

DIRECTIONS

Open cans using a can opener that will leave SMOOTH edges. (I use a hand-held Pampered Chef can opener.) Set contents aside.
Remove label; wash and dry can and lid.
Paint the can and lid and allow to dry.
Use hot glue to add moss to lid, leaving an empty spot for stalk.
Add glue to center of lid, and press stick firmly into glue, continuing to press for a minute or so.
Place lids back on cans, and you’ve got pumpkins!

Arrange on a tray with the rest of the moss, and you’ve got an instant fall centerpiece!

What better way to use the cans from all that veggie soup you’re going to making on these chilly fall days?

And shhh, don’t tell the kids, but the inside makes a perfect place to store fall treats. 😉

Big Breakfast for Busy Families

August 19, 2015 by Lynn Driver

Looking for an easy but hearty breakfast for busy mornings? Here’s my idea of a Big Breakfast for Busy Families!

We call it breakfast casserole, and everyone in my family loves it. (That’s seven people, y’all.) I’m Lynn, from Riggstown Road, here to share my go-to recipe for feeding a crowd, since it’s a good way to stretch ingredients, and it doesn’t require me to stand in the kitchen all morning! That makes it the perfect big breakfast for busy families. And did I mention everybody loves it?

This meal is done in about 20 minutes, start to finish (most of that is oven time,) but if you want to speed it up for school mornings, brown the sausage the night before OR make the whole thing a day ahead and refrigerate. Individual slices heat up nicely in a few seconds in the microwave. That leaves more time for the important things busy families have to do, like…looking for missing shoes!

This recipe is the best way I know for a family to feel they’ve had a nice, big breakfast, with a minimal amount of time or work for the cook. And it’s a little more special than a plate of scrambled eggs. 😉 I love being about to make something special with things I already have on hand, and these simple ingredients are things I usually have.

Big Breakfast for Busy Families

Ingredients

10 large eggs
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup Milk
1 lb. Jimmy Dean sausage
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 T. butter
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Grease a 9 x 13 glass baking dish with butter. Set aside.
Brown sausage in a skillet.
Pour sausage into baking dish, including any drippings.
Whisk together eggs, milk, garlic powder, pepper, and salt (I use 1 tsp. salt.)
Pour egg mixture over sausage.
Sprinkle cheese over egg mixture.
Bake 12-15 minutes. (Knife inserted should come out clean.)

https://busymomshelper.com/big-breakfast-for-busy-families/

This breakfast casserole is yummy and filling just the way it is, but you can fancy it up a little by adding a layer of sautéed onions, peppers, mushrooms, and spinach over the sausage. For a meatier version, double the amount of sausage. It works just fine. For a vegetarian option, just leave out the sausage and use those veggies as the base. Either way, it’s delicious. And as an added bonus…it’s gluten free!

Let me know when you try it!

More yummy breakfast recipes…

DIY Chalkboard Banner

July 15, 2015 by Lynn Driver

Hey, ladies! It’s Lynn, from Riggstown Road, with a simple little summer project for you. Best of all, this DIY Chalkboard Banner is something you can use all year ’round!

Y’all probably know by now that I love projects that are easy and ~~cheap~~ affordable. I made this adorable banner for less than $2.00 and I can use it over and over again. That’s one of the nice things about chalkboards: they are erasable. To make this banner, I used my favorite trick for no-paint, low-cost chalkboard material; it’s poster board! With a few minutes and a few supplies that you probably already have on hand, you can make one, too.

SUPPLIES

1 piece black poster board
1 roll jute twine (or other string)
1 hole puncher
scissors
pencil
measuring tape / yardstick / meter stick
ruler

DIRECTIONS

Use measuring tape (or yard/meter stick) to divide the poster board into three equal sections (horizontally.)
Measure and cut each section into evenly-sized triangles. (Smaller ruler is easier for this.)
Punch two holes in each triangle.
String the triangles using your choice of material. I love jute twine!

Now all that’s left to do is decide what message you want to write. Plain ol’ chalk works just fine. Whether it’s HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CONGRATULATIONS, or simply SUMMERTIME, you can easily change your message with a regular chalkboard eraser. I wrote “family” on these and then erased and rewrote it differently and it worked perfectly. In fact, it makes the banner look more authentically chalkboardish.

How easy is that? Busy moms don’t always have hours to spend on projects, and thrifty moms don’t always have the budget to buy everything ready-made. And it’s a shame to only be able to use something once. I love this banner because it can be used for every occasion! Not only can you easily change the writing when you need to, you can add more pieces (or take some away) by sliding them on or off. Aaaand if you want to get really fancy, just use curvy-edged craft scissors instead of regular ones.

I wish everything was that easy. Don’t you?

I’d love to hear your simple summer project ideas!

Consequence Chart for Moms and Kids

June 12, 2015 by Lynn Driver

Hey, ladies! It’s Lynn, back today to share something with you that has been so helpful for me: a Consequence Chart for Moms and Kids. It’s really very simple but will go a long way toward saving a busy mom’s sanity!

As parents, we have to handle all kinds of situations with our children, and discipline is just part of our job. Using this tool will help you know what to do in those frazzled moments when you don’t know what to do! This handy little consequence chart will cut down on frustration for moms and kids.

When my oldest kids were young (and my youngest were even younger), I found that I got frustrated trying to decide what to do about each little incident that occurred. I don’t know about you, but sometimes it’s hard for me to think of a creative, effective consequence for a behavior while several other things are going on around me (and possibly several other children are needing my attention, as well.) I wanted the punishment to fit the crime, if you will, and to be well thought out and (here’s a biggie) consistent. It was hard to achieve all those things with just knee-jerk reaction discipline. Even when I thought of a really good idea, I didn’t always remember it when the time came that I needed it.

Enter the handy-dandy little consequence chart. I decided I needed a plan. I am a planner and a list-maker, so I put those things together to decide how I would handle misbehavior. I first ordered a chart similar to this from a curriculum company I liked, but later made my own and liked it better.

It’s the best 15 minutes I’ve ever invested, and it’s free! Here are the simple steps to making your own Consequence Chart:

Whenever you notice a behavior you want to address, jot it down.
Think about what you believe would be an appropriate consequence for that behavior, and for the age of your child(ren). Discuss these with Dad and make sure you agree. (Get creative- use your favorite parenting book for tips!)
List the misbehaviors and their corresponding consequences on some diy graph paper. (I used pencil to fill in the blanks, to allow for tweaking later.
Hang the chart in a place of importance (the fridge, of course.)
Gather your kids and explain the if-then nature of your chart. (If they are old enough, give them a chance to voice questions or concerns.)

*The chart shown is for illustration purposes only.

When the next situation occurs, you and your child can “take a trip to the chart” to see what needs to happen. Speaking from experience, this cuts down on stress for mom while helping kids have a clear understanding of expectations. You can also add things to the list when you notice something that needs to be addressed, and change consequences that don’t seem to be effective, thus the pencil. (Just be sure the kids understand the changes you’ve made.) This simple little chart has been a real life-saver for me over at Riggstown Road, where I’m always on the lookout for creative ways to do things.

Gluten-Free Cherry Cobbler

Also try these GLUTEN FREE RECIPES:

Zero Cost Headband

Sunshine Printable

Sweet Rewards

The Sock Basket

Kid-Friendly Christmas Cake Topper

20 Alternatives to TV for Kids

Make Your Own Indian Corn

Tin Pumpcans

Big Breakfast for Busy Families

More yummy breakfast recipes…

DIY Chalkboard Banner

SUPPLIES

DIRECTIONS

I’d love to hear your simple summer project ideas!

Consequence Chart for Moms and Kids

I’d love to hear your ideas on what to do when you don’t know what to do, too!

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