Shhhhh, we're pretending!

In honor of the Autumn Equinox this week, I decided that in spite of the weather here in North Florida (90 degrees) we are going to pretend it's Fall!

The very first thing I did was to print off the free Autumn/Fall thematic Unit from SchooExpress.com.  I will have to tweak it somewhat so that the girls can enjoy it too.  Since we had several errands to run today, I used the time in the car to discuss the difference between the Autumn/Fall Equinox and the Winter Solstice.

The next thing I did was to get out some fall decorations.  I need something visual to tell me it's fall because unfortunately, the weather is NOT going to tell me!  Since our yard is overflowing with acorns, I asked the girls to go and find as many as they could.  All I needed was a new candle and here's what we came up with....

The candle is a little big, but when it burns down some, I think it will be perfect.  You might recall that my decorations last year looked something like this....

Yes, it's there, amongst all the homework disaster from last year.  Below is an up close shot.

Not very appealing is it?  I like the one we put together today much, much better!  Don't you?

Next, I browsed through a cookbook I bought while in Tennessee.  I chose Taco Stew!  It was pretty simple.  Here is the recipe.  I doubled it.

Taco Stew

1 lb ground beef
1 med. onion, chopped
1 can (10.75 oz) tomato soup
1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn
1 can (15 oz) chili beans
1 can (16 oz) tomatoes with chiles
1 pkg. (1.25 oz) taco seasoning mix
1 cup water

In a skillet, brown beef and onion; drain fat and rinse.  Add remaining ingredients.  Bring mixture to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes.  Serve with tortilla chips or corn bread and shredded Monterrey jack cheese.

Fresh, homemade cornbread....yummmm!

And this is what was left...

So how are you celebrating the beginning of Fall?

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