MOVED

I am still getting traffic to this site. WE HAVE MOVED TO SUPERFUNMAMA.COM

The blog has moved to www.Superfunmama.com

Excuse the mess! The blog is currently being redesigned for the March 2013 relaunch!!!We are embarrassed by the mess and hope you'll return once we have a chance to tidy up a bit.

Kindergarten Quarter Learning

Super Fun Mama is getting ready to have a revamp. My daughter is now in kindergarten and we have been doing evening lessons for enrichment. The following is what we have been working on as well as our plans:
Monday Math Day:
*Math Stories using numbers (3 little pigs, story of the six swans, story of the seven ravens
*Pracice writing numbers
*Learning Roman Numerals
* Montessori Math on the Computer
*#Verses Waldorf Style
*Waldorf Math Gnomes
*Montesori Math Counting Game
*playdoh numbers
*beanbag number fun
*Even/odd
Reading/Writing
*letter art
*Nonmenclature
*Copy work
Sciencje
*studying mammals
studying sun movement
making a sun clock
studying mushrooms
Handwork
*waldorf drawing
wet felting
fingerknitting
knot baby
wet on welt watercoloring
Stories Zhana came up with

Teach Children Independence

This is just a copy from another blog I visit but I found it so exciting that I had to share! I believe teaching children to be independent is extremely important. This site has tasks for children to learn ages 3-18 to teach them to become more independent. I love this!!
http://www.scribd.com/doc/47284584/Teaching-your-Children-Independance
For some reason I can't get the link to work but copy and paste above and it will take you there.

The TomTen

We have been following We Folk Art Winter Curriculum a bit and they mention the book the Tomten. I don't have the book and didn't want to get out in the snow to go to the library. Good old Youtube has a reading of the book. We really liked it. It's a great book for Winter. So grab the kiddos on your lap and sit back for this wonderful little tale.

Snow Painting

A couple of days ago we had a snow day and decided to do snow painting. It is simple! Print out a picture. We like nature pictures. Have the child paint the picture using water colors. Then take salt and sprinkle all over. When it dries it looks like snow.

Catching Fireflies (Not the fantastic catalog that I drool all over)

 

  We had great fun catching fireflies (lightening bugs) and learning about them. I can't believe how good my daughter is at  catching them!

Nothing says childhood summers like catching fireflies.

Having a child is amazing because it gives adults an excuse to catch fireflies and not feel silly about it.

 

We spent quite a bit of time observing them closely.

  My daughter took this picture and it is one of my favorites. Is it a close up of the tail or something else?

We were lucky enough to have the neighborhood kids join us in catching fireflies.   Such fun in simple simplicity.

We read a our nighttime story with the fireflies close.  I told my daughter that if you let the fireflies go at the end of the night then the firefly fairy will reward you with a coin.  She was happy to let them go and I’m excited that I came up with an excuse to pretend a fairy visited her without having to wait for a tooth to fall out.

 

Big Thoughts for Little Thinkers

Looking for an Easter gift for your preschooler that delivers a message about Jesus instead of the Easter Bunny? I found these little books a few months ago but waited to review them until closer to Easter.  They are the most unique christian books for little one’s that I’ve come across.

Have you guys heard about the wonderful little series called Big Thoughts for Little Thinkers?  This series teaches little children ages four to eight about the Bible.  It isn’t just Bible stories but fundamental teachings that preschoolers can understand.  No kidding, I think I learned a few things!  The illustrations are a big hit with little kids.  I like that each page is based on scripture but reworded in a way that kids understand and are intrigued by.  I do think that elementary age children may like these books a bit more than preschoolers because some of this is some pretty heavy stuff.  What I like to do and recommend you do as well is introduce one page at a time, rather than try to read the entire book.  I will say that there are parts that bother my little girl.  It reads: “Everyone in the world has the same problem: we are all separated  from God and deserve to die because of our sin.”  This might be a little heavy for three year olds. 

The Trinity book explains to children that there is one God in three persons-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  I have to say that the Trinity is a hard concept to understand even as an adult.  This book explains, “There is only one God, but God is three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  They are all different from each other, but each one is God. This is called the Trinity.” 

The Scripture teaches children that the word of God is true.  It helps little ones to understand that the Bibl comes from a heavenly source, that Christ is the center, and that the Holy Spirit is needed to properly interpret the Bible.  It helps children to know that God speaks to them through the Bible. It helps children to understand the difference between the Old Testament and New Testament.  This is my favorite of the little books. 

The Mission is about sharing Jesus with other people.  A favorite part of the book is “so many people need Jesus but there are not many messengers.  God wants to use you to tell other people about Jesus and invite them to the party in heaven.  You can be one of God’s messengers! Isn’t it fun to help your mom bake a cake or help your dad fix the car? You can help God tell people the good news about Jesus.”  The book goes on to tell little ones how to be part of the mission such as using talents to show people how great God is, get kids to tell their friends about Jesus, pray for those who haven’t heard of Jesus, learning about missionaries, and so on.  It’s a great book to introduce mission work to little ones. 

The Gospel is about salvation.  Gracie talks directly to your child throughout the book and addresses fundamentals about God's unending love, how our sins separate us from God and how Jesus took the punishment for our sins so we can be reconciled with God.

If you want to learn more click here. They retail for $5.99 a book. 

Sunday Savings

Here's a coupon for anyone wanting to make some special gifts for Valentine's Day.



Click here and save on items for Home Depot such as a coupon for a free plant and more.

This Week’s Montessori Activities

Cutting: Here is another instance where the actual Montessori directions are too complicated, in my opinion.  I just have the scissors and cutting strips in a basket.  The strips have lines drawn on them-zigzag, curves, and straight.  I showed her to cut correctly.  She practices cutting and then carries the strips to the trashcan.  She’s a huge fan of this exercise. 

Color Box: See my original post at this link. She’s gotten bored with this and thinks it is too easy. 

Mystery Bag: I put 10 objects in a bag-rocks, pennies, shapes, and etc.  She reaches in, feels the objects, and describes how it feels.  See my original post on this here. 

Sorting Exercises: I mixed white and brown rice together.  She used tweezers to lift and separate them. 

Folding: I have found that burp cloths work really well for folding.  They already have the lines sewn in to practice folding.  For some reason, she really likes folding. 

Geometric Solids: I brought out some solid wooden geometric shapes.  I showed her how to feel the shapes.  Next, we put a scarf over the solids, she felt them underneath, and would announce with shape she was feeling. 

Smell Jars: I put different spices in small bottles, put a blindfold on her, and had her match the smells together. 

Tasting Bottles: I have two salt water, 2 sugar water, 2 tonic water, and 2 lemon waters sitting out.  She basically tastes and matches them on taste.

Washing Table: My daughter puts on her apron.  She fills a jug with water and puts half of it into a basin.  You are supposed to use a brush to clean the table but I always forget to use one so we just use a wash cloth.  She makes medium circular movements left to right starting at the top left corner of the table.  She wets the sponge.  She  wipes soapsuds top to bottom, left to right.  She then picks up a dray cloth and uses the same movements to dry it.  Then she returns all items back to their spot.  In Montessori, the child is supposed to place the items back each step but we don’t do this.  I think the main points still occur-she learns to independently wash a table, control of the hand, and sequence of actions. 

Setting a Table:I have a placemat made with outlines of objects to remind her of placement.  She does this three times a day. 

Sweeping: For my original post about sweeping please see here. 

Sandpaper Letters: We have been doing sandpaper letters. 

Insert Work: I made my own “metal” inserts.  If you do a search on my blog, you should be able to find them. 

Dressing Frames: I have an earlier post on how to make and use dressing frames if you do a search on my blog. 

 

 Mopping: Zhana did a little mopping work.  I simply showed her where to put her left hand around the handle with her thumb on top and her right hand under the left.  Then she mops left to right and then back to left.  She LOVES mopping.

A lot of the steps are missing in this post.  In most of the pictures we aren’t doing things perfectly.  I’m a mom with no Montessori training-who works out of the home-trying to supplement my daughter’s learning.  It works for us! If you are a mom who feels intimidated by all the required tools, steps, and perfections that it seems Montessori would demand, these posts are for you! Your child will still love it and learn from the exercises without all the perfection…

**My daughter has the same outfit on the last three posts.  I took pictures of activities for the last three posts all on the same day.  I just felt the need to point that out, lol***

Twister, Spatial Learning, and Manners

Gross Motor:

• We played Twister (we have hop scotch twister game if it looks strange, lol). 

   Reading:

• Letter N: Draw a line down and then add one hump.
  • Tune: “Farmer in the Dell”
    1. N says /n/        N says /n/   12 were the number of men N says /n/
  • Traced letter in name with finger.

Math:

• Number 9: Make a hoop and then a line, That’s the way to make a 9. 
• Focused on high, low, up, down, above, below, near, far
  • Sang the I’m in right, outright, upright, downright song

    Happy All The Time
    --Unknown
    I'm in-right, out-right, up-right, down-right
    happy all the time.
    I'm in-right, out-right, up-right, down-right
    happy all the time.
    Since Jesus Christ came in
    and cleansed my heart from sin,
    I'm in-right, out-right, up-right, down-right
    happy all the time

    • "in-right" -- point to chest
    • "out-right" -- point out
    • "up-right" -- point up
    • "down-right" -- point down
    • "happy" -- put fingers on either side of mouth and pull up into a smile
    • "Jesus Christ" -- raise hands and look up toward Heaven
    • "came in" -- point to chest with both hands
    • "cleansed" -- use hand to "wash" chest
• We played a game where I gave my daughter a scarf and she’d either wave it up high or down low depending on what I said.  Scarf play always makes learning more fun!
• Played a game where I hid a toy and she had to try and find it based on clues “higher, lower, near, or far”. 
• Pattern blocks: Need some without buying?Here is a link to some great ones.

Manners Work:

So, uh…you should look at some of my old posts bragging about my daughter’s manners.  I was so proud that she said thank you, your welcome, and excuse me so early.  Why did no one tell me what happens to a 3 1/2 year old child’s manners,lol? She really likes to talk about body functions…I’d love some advice on how to get her off this topic.  Seriously, I am down on my knees begging…for real,lol.  She talks about body functions at least every hour, 30 minutes, 20 minutes, 10 minutes.  I never thought I’d use the word “fart” on my blog but I’m just going to do it.  If it was a cute word it wouldn’t be so bad…but it isn’t.   For the time being, I don’t want to take her anywhere!!! I have started using the manners song more.  It is by Cathy Bollinger.  To order the song click here. 

What do you say when you need drink?
Please, may I?
What do you say when I've poured your milk?
Thank you very much.
What do you say when you don't want seconds?
No, thank you.
And when you've finished eating you say?
May I be excused?
Chorus:
We're talking 'bout manners, nice manners,
Manners make you feel good
Manners, nice manners.
Manners make you feel so good,
They make you feel so good.
They make you feel so good.
What do you say if you bump someone?
Excuse me.
What do you do if you have to sneeze?
Use a tissue please.
What do you say if I say thank you?
You're welcome.
And if you've got a mouthful of food?
Don't talk with your mouth full.
Chorus
What if I'm talking to someone else and you've got something to say?
You say "Excuse me."

I hope everyone is having a great day!

If You Love Me You Will Obey What I Command

• Bible Verse: John 14:15-If you love me, you will obey what I command.  To learn this, we sang the song shown in the video below.  Yes, that is a pancake mold.  When she heard the word ‘love’ she ran to the kitchen and found it because it is a heart shape, to go along with the song….. 

If you love me, If you love me,

You will obey

what I command

John 14:15

John 14:15

You will obey

what I command

Bible Song: Fishers of Men (Traditional)

The second song we sang was “Fishers of Men”.  Below is a youtube video that has the tune and a few of the words…

I will make you fishers of men, fishers of men, fishers of men (pretend to cast fishing pole)

I will make you fishers of men if you follow me (move hand over opposite shoulder)

If you follow me, if you follow me

I will make you fishers of men if you follow me.

Hear Christ calling “Come unto me”, “Come unto me”, “Come unto me” (Listen to ear, move hand over opposite shoulder)

Hear Christ calling “Come unto me. I will give you rest” (put hands to ear and “sleep”)

I will give you rest, I will give you rest.

Hear Christ calling “come unto me. I will give you rest”

Read you Bible, pray every day, pray every day, pray every day (make book, prayer hands)

Read you Bible, pray every day, then you’ll grow, grow, grow  (bend down and get taller)

Then you’ll grow, grow, grow. Then you’ll grow, grow, grow

Read you Bible, pray every day, then you’ll grow, grow, grow.

Neglect your bible, forget to pray, forget to pray, forget to pray

(make a book, prayer hands and shake head ‘no’)

Neglect your Bible, forget to pray then you’ll shrink, shrink, shrink (stand tall and “shrink down)

Then you’ll shrink, shrink, shrink. Then you’ll shrink, shrink, shrink.

Neglect your Bible, forget to pray, Then you’ll shrink, shrink, shrink.

Fishing For Letters

To go along with the fishing theme, we played fishing for letters.  I have a longer post about how to make and play this game here. 

Ideas from abcjesuslovesme.com

Perfect Pitch

One area that right brainers focus on is perfect pitch.  Linguists have found that children copy tone and pitch before they ever produce words.  Restak (2003) discovered that perfect pitch can be acquired by average children between three and five years of age when given appropriate training. Structural brain changes occur along with the development of perfect pitch and continue as musical talent matures (Restak 2003).

Rightbrainkids.com recommends the following activities with your children:

1. Introduce your child to the musical notes on the scale.
2. Use a perfectly tuned instrument (tuning forks work best).
3. Expose your child to many forms of classical music.

The Eguchi Method is used in Japan to teach perfect pitch to children.  Information about this method is taken from the geneveith here:

1. Play the three-note C major chord on a piano, and the child is instructed to raise a red flag. Do a few times daily.

2. After a couple of weeks, a second chord and flag are added.

3. Keep adding until all white cords have a color associated with them. 

4. Later, the child calls out the individual notes that make up the chord like red, do-mi-so. 

There are many different music learning programs out there.  Soon, I plan to present some information about the Suzuki method. 

Having “perfect pitch” isn’t really the point, for myself.  Otherwise it would just be a neat little trick.  I’m more concerned with helping her to develop relative pitch in the process.  She naturally matches pitches quite well and I just want to encourage it a bit in her.  So what I do is (and plan to add)…

1. Listening to a lot of classical music.  We already do this.

2. Suzuki CD’s to listen to.

3. Games that use rhythm using this online metronome-

4. Play this music game

5. We sing the scale-Do, re, mi….

6. Plan to purchase Piano for Preschoolers

If this topic interests you, you might find this link interesting. I think it explains the importance of music and the link to learning better than most websites. 

I would adore comments on this post.  In the past, I read quite a bit about the Suzuki and Yahama methods, but since my daughter was younger filed it away mentally as something to look at as she got older.  Preschool is a time, many start using these methods. I’d love some good links and additional information about this subject.  There aren’t Suzuki instructors close by and even if there was, we can’t afford it at this time.  I’d like to try and teach her at home.  Again, would LOVE comments. 

MY BODY BELONGS TO ME: Talking with Preschoolers about Sexual Abuse

For those of you who do not know, I am a therapist.  Many of the clients I see have been sexually abused.  As parents, we think that such a horrible offense could never happen to our children.  The fact is that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys experience sexual abuse.  Think for a minute about your child’s playgroup…statistics  tell us that a child in that playgroup is being sexually abused.  That adds a whole new perspective to it doesn’t it? Ninety-three percent of the abusers are not strangers but in the child’s “circle of trust”.  I can tell you that from the individuals I have counseled, many of them started being abused when they were preschool age.  You can not wait to talk to your children about sexual abuse-the time must be now.

I have found a wonderful little book that will aide you in talking to your children about sexual abuse called “My Body Belongs To Me”, written by Jill Starishevsky and illustrated by Sara Muller.   I personally own about 10 different books about sexual abuse, but this has quickly become my favorite. 

The writing is perfect for little ones with rhyming such as “Mom and Dad once told me I was their little gem, and if someone hurt me to always come to them.”  The illustrations feature an adorable child that looks to be about preschool age, making the story more appealing to the younger audience.  The child is gender neutral in the way they look, so this book can appeal to either a boy or girl.  What I like most about this book is that it doesn’t address sexual abuse metaphorically or hint around it-it just straight out says that someone tries to touch the child: “My uncle’s friend came over and sat down next to me, and touched me in that place that no one else can see.”  It also addresses that many sexual abusers attempt to keep their victim quiet, telling them it is a secret.  The child runs to her parents who tell them they are proud of her for telling and how brave she is.  Children need to hear this because many keep the secret out of fear parental reaction. 

I see most parents telling their children the names of their body parts…but so often that conversation doesn’t expand to telling the children that they have private parts that belong to them.  How is it that our children are taught their colors, alphabet, and how to read…but not how to protect themselves? So often, I’ve asked the parents of abused children if they talked to their children about sexual abuse and their responses are sometimes “I thought he was too young”, “I was a stay-at-home mom so I didn’t think there would be an opportunity for it to happen to her”, “I didn’t think she’d understand”, or “I was going to—I thought he needed to be a little older”.  PLEASE realize that your children could be at risk.   The abuser could be the person who watches your children in the church nursery, the neighbor who is always so friendly, the wonderful teacher, or another child on the playground.  Child abusers are groomers and manipulators-they know EXACTLY what to do to make your children trust them.  I urge you to prepare your little ones. 

Talking to young children about sexual abuse without a book or some kind of age appropriate tool is very difficult.  This book gives the perfect message you want to get across-your child has private parts, no one has the right to touch these areas, the abuser may ask to child to keep a secret, the child should run and tell a trusted adult,  the parents will think the child is brave for telling, and the child will feel good about telling. 

 

If you plan on purchasing a book for your child soon…perhaps you can hold off on another book about ABC’s, princesses, or trains…and get a book they need to hear. 

You can order this book for $14.95 at http://mybodybelongstome.com/cart/.

To view sample pages, please click here.  

Plan for This Week

*Much of plan based on abcjesuslovesme.com

Tuesday

• Sandpaper number 5: trace number to sandpaper. Cut out the number and glue to green board.
• Sandpaper letter G: trace a capital and lowercase letter onto the back of sandpaper. Cut the letters out and glue them to foam which has been glued to cardboard. Generally, consonants are mounted on pink cards and the vowels on blue ones.
• Play tangram game at http://www.apples4theteacher.com/tangrams.html or http://standards.nctm.org/document/eexamples/chap4/4.4/#applet
• Henry Mattise type collage
• Smell unplugged project

Wednesday

• Make a “G” poster. Paint with green, grey, or gold. Glue on items that start with G.
• Bible Story: 12 Spies in Canaan-Numbers 13-14: Comprehension Questions:
  Why were Caleb and Joshua not scared to go back to the Promised Land?
  Why were the other spies so scared to go back?
  What things frighten you?
  What can you do when you get frightened? (sing song, say memory verse, pray)
• Bible Song:  God Loves Kids 
  Tune: “Three Blind Mice”
  God loves kids (repeat 4x)
  He loves me more than I can know (cross arms over chest, point to self, point to head)
  I don’t know why He loves me so (shake head and shrug)
  I guess I’ll never, ever know (cross hands in front)
  Why God loves kids. (point up for God, cross arms over chest, point to self)
• Handprint tree and then glue on real leaves
• Waldorf Martinmass stuff at http://naturenest.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/martinmas-links-info-lanterns-poems-songs-stories/

Thursday

• Make a number 5 poster-Number:  5
  Put on a hat. Then take a dive. Make a big round tummy. Now that’s a five!
• Fine Motor Skill:Hide little beads in a large piece of Play Doh or putty.  Using their index finger, have your child find the beads.  Using their thumb is "cheating" and not working the weaker muscles.
• Character education poster-Thankful
• Indian dolls at http://jennwa.blogspot.com/2008/11/indian-dolls.html

·Friday song

• Tune:  Farmer in the Dell
  G says /g/
  G says /g/
  God gave them great big grapes
  G says /g/
• Put letters of name in order with extra letters added
• Make Leaf people
• Laura Numeroff activities
• Set up Autumn nature table

Saturday:

• Make Thanksgiving Lapbook (See 1+1+1=1)
• Felt turkey pattern sequencing like at Chasing Cherrios
• Felt slippers with a lot of mom’s help like at - http://rayreynolds.wordpress.com/2008/09/01/felt-slippers/

Have you Tickled Tut’s Toes or Caught Picasso’s Rooster?

Recently, I found two wonderful books that I am in love with.  They are both part of “Touch the Art” series by Julie Appel and Amy Guglielmo. 

The first, “Catch Picasso’s Rooster” features pictures of animals from the World’s Greatest Artists.  Some of the paintings included are The Rooster by Picasso, The Tabby by Rousseau, and Two Rats by Vincent van Gogh.

I am a huge fan of young children being exposed to great artists.  Exposure to art fosters imagination, creativity, and appreciation for beauty.  I believe imagination is one of the greatest gifts any person can be granted.  Thus, when I find books that expose children to masters of art, I get a wee bit excited. 

Now, having art books for children is a great idea…but children need a way to jump into the painting.  This book features touchable art such as stroking fur, tickling whiskers, or blowing feathers.  There is also a scratch and sniff page (so very cool to me)!

When I asked my 3 year old to give her thoughts about Catch Picasso’s Rooster  she said, “Yes, this is a good book.  It is fun and funny.”  Indeed, she giggled throughout the book. 

At the end of the book there is a section entitled Artifacts that give facts about the paintings and artists.  I have learned so much from these pages.  It’s great to have a children’s book that both preschoolers and their parents can learn from. 

Tickle Tut’s Toes is about historical art from Ancient Egypt such as wall paintings from tombs, mummy coffins, pyramids, and more.  Like the book reviewed above all of the art is touchable such as Nefertiti’s jewels, the gauze on a mummy, and ridged cardboard on a pyramid.  I don’t think Ancient Art could possibly have been introduced to preschoolers in a better way.  This book also has the artifacts section where parents and children can learn about the art featured in the book.  For example, did you know Tilapia were the symbol of rebirth, that Egyptians placed model boats inside coffins to carry the soul to the afterlife, or that crocodiles used to be mummified because they were considered holy? I didn’t but a book for preschoolers taught me. Yeah!

Both of these books are wonderfully sturdy board books that can easily handle rough care by a preschooler or even a few chews by a puppy, as we recently found out. 

The recommended age is 4-6, but my three year old loves them.  Most board books are too babyish for my daughter now, but I miss the sturdiness they brought.  I believe she would have enjoyed these books from at least age 2 (if not earlier) and will still be enjoying them for a few years to come. 

The books are sold in many stores or you can buy them online at Amazon.com. 

Er-u-di-tion

I am so pleased to tell you all about a wonderful game called Er-u-di-tion.  It helps preschoolers-school aged children learn to read.  Children learn the letters of the alphabet and eventually 284 sight words while moving through literacy land.  For every correct identification, they earn a bonus roll.  The first player to reach the library wins.

The game cards comprise up to 90% of beginner level reading material and over 50% of all English text. Er-u-di-tion helps children recognize these high frequency words, recognize phonetically irregular words, your children will learn definitions of the words, and most of all is actually fun!

Learning games have to look fun and appeal visually to children and this fun game does just that.  It reminds me a bit of candy land, which all children love! This game isn’t just for readers, but preschoolers learning the letters of the alphabet as well.  There are different sets of cards for the varying reading levels, meaning the whole family can play together. 

This is the perfect activity to teach little ones to read because it has easy set up, is fun, and does produce results.  I couldn’t be happier with this wonderful game.  I’m not the only one who loves this game as it has won several awards including Creative Child Magazine Game of the Year, Teacher’s Choice Award for the Classroom, National Parenting Center Seal of Approval, and Parent’s Choice Award. 

This is is definite hit at my house. I’m so pleased to hear my daughter begging for “just one more game” of er-u-di-tion, because I know it is helping her learn how to read. 

If you want to get your own game, it is $24.99 at http://www.sightwordsgame.com/

Happy Halloween

 

Super girl takes a ride on a horse to start the evening festivities. 

Digs through hay for candy

and had a great night gathering treats.  She’s a brave little superhero.  Whenever she saw scary costumes, she wasn’t fazed at all.  At one point there was someone dressed as a werewolf, who tried to scare her.  I screamed…but my little superhero simply asked, “Wolf, what is your name?”  At houses with scary music and costumes, she told people, “I like your face paint”.  What a brave little superhero I have. 

Spicy Chicken Soup Recipe

Recently, on my Annual Fall-To-Do List, I said that I wanted to find wonderful soup recipes.  Here is a great one I found. Yum!!

Catherine's Spicy Chicken Soup

Ingredients

• 2 quarts water
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 5 cubes chicken bouillon
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) jar chunky salsa
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans peeled and diced tomatoes
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 2 (16 ounce) cans chili beans, undrained
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream

Directions

1. In a large pot over medium heat, combine water, chicken, salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley, onion powder and bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 1 hour, or until chicken juices run clear. Remove chicken, reserve broth. Shred chicken.
2. In a large pot over medium heat, cook onion and garlic in olive oil until slightly browned. Stir in salsa, diced tomatoes, whole tomatoes, tomato soup, chili powder, corn, chili beans, sour cream, shredded chicken and 5 cups broth. Simmer 30 minutes.

This makes ALOT of soup.  My husband isn’t really a soup person but even he said it tastes really, really good.