HomeSchool Resources and TidBits (SpecNeeds)

"As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases." https://homeschoolspecneedstidbits.com/affiliate-disclosure/   Spooky Recipes for Halloween-Life Skills Halloween is a great time for serving creative and "gross" foods. Kids' parties and adult get-togethers can both benefit from some creepy food. From freaky finger foods to ghoulish drinks, you can serve up a memorable meal! Here are some spooky recipes for Halloween, from classy and fun to ghastly and delicious! Cheese and Deli Meats Cheese and deli meats may not be the scariest foods around, but you can cut these flat foods into Halloween-themed shapes, like ghosts, pumpkins and cats. The more orange the cheese, the better! Then layer them on crackers and add details with black olive slices for spooky hors d'oeuvres.                                       Mummies-in-a-Blanket Use your favorite pig-in-a-blanket recipe but wrap a full-sized hot dog with dough rather than the small weenies. Press pep

"As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases." https://homeschoolspecneedstidbits.com/affiliate-disclosure/ Spooky Recipes for Halloween Halloween is a great time for serving creative and "gross" foods. Kids' parties and adult get-togethers can both benefit from some creepy food. From freaky finger foods to ghoulish drinks, you can serve up a memorable meal! Here are some spooky recipes for Halloween, from classy and fun to ghastly and delicious! Cheese and Deli Meats Cheese and deli meats may not be the scariest foods around, but you can cut these flat foods into Halloween-themed shapes, like ghosts, pumpkins and cats. The more orange the cheese, the better! Then layer them on crackers and add details with black olive slices for spooky hors d'oeuvres. Mummies-in-a-Blanket Use your favorite pig-in-a-blanket recipe but wrap a full-sized hot dog with dough rather than the small weenies. Press peppercorns into the top of the dough for eyes. If you

" As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases." https://homeschoolspecneedstidbits.com/affiliate-disclosure/ 1. Overnight Oats 2. Avocado Toast 3. Waffle Taco brought to you by kroger.com/health I thought that these ideas were fabulous for crazy breakfast mornings, but what really caught my eye was that they were incredibly easy, nutritious and doable by an autistic teen, adult or young elementary student, depending on their abilities and challenges.  I love how yummy they look as well and most of the ingredients can be found in your fridge, freezer or pantry, Yay!! For this homeschool mom, these recipes were a win-win in my book. I hope that you all have a safe and successful year with your kiddoes.  Enjoy and most of all Have Fun!! ~ MomAdvocate

" As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases." https://homeschoolspecneedstidbits.com/affiliate-disclosure/   We have a few more weeks left of school and cannot wait! So proud of our son who just completed his SBAC testing(***SIGH***). It was definitely nerve wracking, but he has such an awesome special education teacher that helped him through each painstaking minute, moment and second of his test taking ordeal. Thankfully we were able to get it all done and so now we are just chilling and celebrating with a three-day-weekend of sorts, so that we can just exhale for a moment. For those of you that are still test taking, GOOD LUCK! We know how painstakingly stressful these days can be not only for the parents, but the students as well, especially students with special needs challenges, anxiety, tears, panic attacks, etc.     I am not sure where your stance is on state test taking is in general, but it is and has been a debate for YEARS, especially in the midst o

" As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases ." https://homeschoolspecneedstidbits.com/affiliate-disclosure/ "Being the mother and parent of a special needs child is NOT easy, but I know in my heart that I am doing God's Work. The only thing that I need to do as my son's mother and parent is be the best advocate I can be, To make sure that when I lay down my head for the last time I will know that I have done all that I can to make sure he can take care of himself. Other parents with atypical parents have NO idea what a typical day, month, year can be like for parents of special needs children. We are tough and do what needs to be done. "  By Mom Advocate

"As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases." https://homeschoolspecneedstidbits.com/affiliate-disclosure / This past weekend our governor pretty much "shut most everything down" with some new restrictions because of COVID-19 . These are his most hardcore restrictions yet. Unfortunately for us, in our state, the numbers are increasing sharply and are not going down. So we are going to be shut in for awhile. Now what can we do to keep ourselves sane during lock down ? Some things that come to mind are: 1.  Watching A Movie 2. Take a Nap 3. Exercise 4. Play a Game And last but certainly not least we can,  5. Read a Book Have an awesome day today and stay safe out there. Practice safe social distancing and please wear a mask.  By MomAdvocate

"As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases." https://homeschoolspecneedstidbits.com/affiliate-disclosure/   Six Ways to Save Money on the Main Course at Thanksgiving The main course will usually be the most expensive part of your Thanksgiving meal and planning ahead can help save money, no matter what you decided to serve as well as what your family prefers.  1. Talking Turkey Most families are more traditional and choose a turkey; however, there are a few important factors to consider. Do you want a whole bird or just the breast ?  If your family does not like dark meat, then a breast would be the best choice, especially since it is usually more expensive per pound than an entire turkey.   A bird with a bone in it will lose about one-third of its weight by the time you discard bones, giblets, fat and so on. This means a 12-pound bird will yield 8 pounds of food. This would be about 4 to 8 ounces of turkey per person, ensuring that you have enough

"As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases." https://homeschoolspecneedstidbits.com/affiliate-disclosure/ Chocolate Bread Pudding Ingredients: 4 cups heavy cream 5 oz. bittersweet chocolate 6 egg yolks  ( you can just use the entire egg including the whites ) ½ cup granulated sugar 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract Salt 9 cups cubed firm-textured white bread (1-inch cubes)-( Really any type of white bread will do ) Directions: 1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees F.   2. Bring the cream to a simmer in a heavy saucepan. Turn off the heat.  Put the chocolate in a large heat proof bowl, and pour in 1 cup of the warm cream.  Let stand, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate melts.  Stir the mixture until smooth. Pour in the remaining cream.   3. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and salt.  Slowly whisk in the chocolate mixture.  Strain through a fine strainer and skim off any froth.   4. Put the bread cubes in a

  How are you doing at saving your money during this pandemic? Have prices stayed the same where you are or slowly rising? Teaching your children about saving money is always a great thing and as they get older this concept is much more important since he or she will be utilizing this necessary daily living skill. There’s nothing more we want than to be able to efficiently manage our money. After all, the money that we want to manage is money that is oftentimes, hard earned. This is where a budget comes in. A budget should help you see where your money is going, get more utility out of every buck, and help you save some extra for future use.  The first smart secret to a budget is to set a goal. What do you want to achieve? Do you want to correctly appropriate your income into bills payments? Do you want to put an amount aside for a big purchase or a huge investment? By having a goal, you will be able to shape your budget to best serve your interests.  Secondly, you would want to take

  Visual Recipes Good Morning(Or Afternoon/Evening, depends on where you are)! I hope this finds you well, practicing safe distancing and trying new things to create more beautiful moments and inspirations with your family. I thought that this would be a great way to show what may come in handy during the early days of back to school or anytime. As well as a learning moment for your autistic child/teen/adult or someone that likes to visualize what each step looks like in a recipe( I do!). I like to see what the end game will look like after I complete a recipe. Sure it may not look exactly the same but worth it to at least try something different.  I hope you enjoy these recipes by Tasty! Recipes and more visual recipes from other food vloggers as well. They are so fun to watch from start to finish, but it is also a game changer when you can pause, rewind, slow down and really visualize what each step will look like.  If anything, this will be a great life skill for your autistic son o

Home cooking when you are in a rush can be really stressful if you try to do it all yourself. But if your children are special needs, this skill is invaluable to their well being and quality of life. So you need lots of patience and time blocks when it is time to enlist them into some cooking with visuals and great pictures. So that the recipes are easy to understand and are less likely to cause any type of emergency set back.  Safety First The most obvious issue, especially when it comes to special needs, is safety in the kitchen.  They should always wash their hands well before engaging in any meal preparation, have an apron to protect their clothes and a work station away from any hot oven or stove.  Invest in the Right Equipment Be sure to have kid-safe mixing bowls and measuring cups. Also consider getting a chopper with a plunger. All they have to do is put the food under it and press down with both hands. Make it FUN Teach them fun and interesting things a