Wordless Wednesday~Granddaughters are all sugar and spice

Ambreigh being both serious and playful

Gemma and Aubryn ~ sweet and beautiful

Cranberry Thanksgiving

Being that it is Thanksgiving week we decided our Five in a Row book choice would be

Cranberry Thanksgiving. Little did I know that the very state I live in produces the nations most cranberries. Wisconsin! It would have been awesome to visit a cranberry farm but unfortunately the harvest season had just barely ended when I began the book. (it will teach me to plan better!) But we enjoyed it anyway and here is a peek into our cranberry journey!

We watched an awesome youtube video showing the details involved in harvesting cranberries.We visited the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association website where we learned all about cranberries, their health benefits, recipes and printed off our little activity book with recipes, tidbits, and games, and coloring pages. But as usual, the most favorite of everything was when we popped into the kitchen to make some cranberry tea and cranberry bread.

Cranberry Bread

2 Cups flour

1 Cup sugar

1 1/2 teas. baking powder

1 teas. salt

1/2 teas. baking soda

1/4 Cup butter

1 egg, beaten

3/4 Cup milk

1 1/2 Cups cranberries

Mix well and bake at 350 for just over an hour or until toothpick comes out clean. We doubled this and the first loaf was gone in 10 minutes! (oh yes, we made Texas Rhode House Honey Cinnamon Butter the other day for our waffles and the kids were very liberal when they put it on their bread. But oh yum)

First we boiled the cranberries until they were soft. (8 cups water) Then we pressed them into our strainer to gather as much pulp as we could get out. Then we added the pulp back into the water we cooked them in. In went about 3/4 cup honey, 2 cinnamon sticks, and 2 cups of orange juice. We covered the pan and let it simmer about 10 minutes. It was really, really tasty.

We cannot forget about Molly's Pilgrim where we were reminded of how Thanksgiving is linked to the Jewish holiday Sukkos. We read the book and were lucky enough to even find a short

video of Molly's Pilgrim at our library. Both the book and movie were wonderful in that they provided many opportunities to talk about love, charity, and kindness. The girls had lots of fun with a new words they learned: Onomatopoeia and simile. I believe they totally understand each because not an hour has passed without one of them creating a 'sentence' using these literary devices!

Cranberry Thanksgiving takes place in the New England area which happens to be very rich in American History. We talked about 'why' those particular states are so called New England states which made our book even more interesting.

I think the second favorite activity was when they got to pour lemon juice over top of the baking soda in order to produce the 'bubbles' and learn exactly what those bubbles were. (carbon dioxide)

Wordless Wednesday~FALL or Autumn?

By the looks of things, I'd say FALL

The Homeschool Mother's Journal

In my life this week....WARNING-Don't park any vehicle bike, or toy behind mom's van as you run the risk of it getting ran over. (Mom has the habit of ONLY watching for children, not things as she backs out) And if you choose NOT to head this warning then please remind mom about the tree in the yard as she is backing out, she just might not see it because she is watching the truck (someone parked there when warned not to!) and probably won't give the tree a thought! Until.......

In our homeschool this week.... we completed Five in a Row's Papa Piccolo about 2 kittens who had no home until 'adopted' by Papa Piccolo. Going along with that we learned all about Italy, a little on Maro Polo, visited a homeschool shelter where we had fun baking up treats to take along, and visited youtube where we took a gondola ride down the 'streets' of Venice.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share.....Make sure that while you are teaching, nurturing, mothering, disciplining, educating, training, or whatever you may call it, to take in the moments you are sharing life with your children!

I am inspired by....my wonderful mother-in-law who shares her wisdom and advice with me.

Places we are going and people we are seeing...staying home and looking forward to a fun week reading Five in a Row's Cranberry Thanksgiving, cooking and baking with my kids as we look forward to a few days with my sister from Iowa. (Cinnamon, you should totally follow her up here too, we'd love to see you!)

My favorite thing this week was....Having one of my little girls look at the escalator in the mall and saying, "Hey look, there's a ride in the middle of the store, mom, can we go on it too, those other people are?" (The truth is out, I rarely get out of the house, and obviously, neither do my children!)

What's working/or not working for us....The weekly menu we've written up. We keep forgetting about it and continue to just 'wing' our dinner. What is working is the Subway nearby that tends to save me on my weakest days!

Questions/thoughts I have...Not so much my question but my husband's. "You mean you backed into the tree in OUR yard? I thought you were talking about when you were at piano lessons and you backed into their tree. But it was OUR tree. Did you forget it was there?"

Things I'm working on....In our homeschool I am preparing our Memoria Press Classical Studies lessons after finishing our current Five in a Row book. In our family we are keeping busy with the winterizing of our home as we prepare for another Wisconsin winter.

I'm reading....Cookbooks with my daughters as they choose their favorite recipes, share them with me, and then copy into their own cookbooks they are making.

I'm cooking....Frozen pizza for dinner today since it has long been our Sunday choice for a quick and easy meal after church! (Newman's Own Pepperoni is the best!)

I'm grateful for....My children, and for being able to spend each and everyday with them and the opportunity I have been blessed to watch them grow and learn.

I'm praying for....My children. That the Lord would always been in their lives leading them, directing them, blessing them, and giving them peace.

Favorite photo(s) to share....To pose, or not to pose, is the question!

Bedtime or reading time?

As time goes on bedtime around gets easier and easier, sweeter and sweeter! After family prayers each night it never fails that I get this question. "Mom, can we stay up and read for a little bit?" Obviously I say yes, but just for a little while. I snapped this picture the other night when in my opinion, my 'just for a little while' answer had already been and gone. My thought quickly went from, "don't get upset, get the camera!"

And how could I resist on another night a little angel sleeping in a most humorous position. I have to admit the hair across the face would make me crazy and surely wake me up!

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World

Daddy brought home several varieties of apples and we had fun choosing our favorite!

Unfortunately we weren't able to gather up real salt water from the ocean so we decided to gather some salt through a salt water experiment. Of course we didn't wait until the water was all evaporated to make the pie because no one in this house (including me) was patient enough to wait before we made the pie!

I think that the pie baking was the best part of the whole story!

(I think they enjoyed their travels) We had a fun time learning little tidbits of the countries while on our 'vacation.'

Mary had fun coloring in her apple pages and completing her ABC's around the apple!

Apples aren't just from Vermont! They are also from Washington, Oregon, and Michigan!

Nothing better than pizza two nights in a row!

My twins have been having so much fun in the kitchen lately. They've gathered up all my cookbooks, recipe magazines, and misc. recipes and have been building their own little cookbook of their favorite dishes. Not only have they been copying down recipes but inventing them too!! This week they made pizza twice. Chicken barbeque and ranch chicken broccoli. Both were very good. The recipes are below.

For one pizza that fits on cookie sheet (we doubled this)

Barbeque Chicken

2 T. yeast dissolved in 1 cup water

2 teas. olive oil

1/2 teas. salt

3 1/2 cups flour

MIx together the dough well and add 1 more cup flour to mixture as mixing. Let rise for 1 hour.

Punch dough down and knead for 2 minutes and press into greased baking sheet.

2 chicken breast, cooked and chopped

1-2 cups barbeque sauce

1/2 cup finely chopped onions (we used dried onions)

2 cups shredded cheese (parmesan and mozzarella are our favorites)

Spread some sauce on the dough, mix the rest with the chicken and onions and spread over dough. Sprinkle with parmesan and mozzarella cheese. Bake in 450 oven for 15 minutes.

Ranch Chicken and Broccoli

Same dough as listed above.

Chop in chopper about 2-3 cups fresh broccoli

2 cups chopped chicken

Ranch dressing or, in our case tonight we used random bottles we had in the fridge. We had 2 partial containers of Ranch and a partial container of Parmesan Caesar dressing. (It turned out to be a great combination)

2 cups shredded cheese

Make dough and set to rise. Then mix the chicken and broccoli in a bowl and add enough dressing just to coat and moisten the mixture. Spread dressing on dough then add toppings and cheese last. Bake as directed above. This was an extremely easy and fast pizza to make and it was a huge hit!! I think they preferred it over the barbeque.

Enjoy

Curriculum choices and the individuality of children

I thought this article was well written and informative as it speaks on curriculum choices and the personalities of our children. (see link below for full article)

When it comes to cooking, it seems that there are two kinds of people: those who follow the recipe exactly and those who tweak it.

Those who tend to stick to the recipe probably like the security of doing what they're told to do. Someone has already figured this out so I don't have to can be a comforting thought. But sometimes the recipe just doesn't fit your situation. Maybe the person who created the recipe has a passion for hot and spicy, while your family prefers mildly spicy. Maybe the recipe says to bake at 450 for 15 minutes, but you know that your oven struggles to keep a constant heat at that high of a temperature.


So most cooks learn to make adjustments. They might reduce the amount of cayenne pepper or leave out the tabasco sauce. They might add more minutes onto the baking time. Whatever adjustments they make, they tweak the recipe to better fit their families and their situations.


Curriculum is like a Recipe


Curriculum is a lot like a recipe. Whoever writes the curriculum is setting forth what he prefers; what worked in his situation. But just because the author presents it a certain way doesn't mean you have to use it exactly as is.


Maybe a certain curriculum moves a little too quickly for your child; you can adjust it to a slower pace. Maybe a curriculum doesn't include enough hands-on activities for your tastes; you can add some. Maybe you like everything about the curriculum except one little part; leave it out. Maybe a particular recommended "ingredient" isn't available in your location; substitute something similar.


Just as people who create recipes are dealing with ingredients, not your family's taste preferences or your finicky oven, so people who write curriculum are dealing with the material, not with your unique child. It's impossible to write a curriculum that will address the specific needs of every single child. That's where you come in.


As the parent-teacher, your focus needs to be on educating your child as a person. In fact, that premise is the foundation on which Charlotte Mason built her whole philosophy.


The central thought, or rather body of though, upon which I found, is the somewhat obvious fact that the child is a person with all the possibilities and powers included in personality.


So don't expect a one-size-fits-all curriculum to suit each unique personality in your family; it won't. But that's the beauty of homeschooling; you can make adjustments. Any time!


You have permission. It's your family. It's your child. You know him better than any curriculum writer ever could.


Teach the child; don't just teach the curriculum. ~full article can be found at Simply Charlotte Mason


This is why I LOVE homeschooling. I have so many different types of learners, personalities, and temperaments that there is NO way I could possibly try a one size fits all approach. Truly each child is different and having the ability to pick and choose what fits each child is key in preparing them for their special and unique walk that they will have to walk in this life. Other wise it's kind of like pushing a square peg into a round whole. It just doesn't work and trying to force upon a child something that 'we think' is a one size fits all curriculum will eventually bring frustration, unhappiness, boredom, etc. for all involved.

101 reasons why I homeschool #75

Babysitting Boy Style

I spent several hours today shopping and running errands in the 'city' and left one of my boys in charge. And I have to say that ever since I have had children old enough to tend the younger ones that my boys take the cake in the creative ways they've come up with in order to see that the littler ones are in 'safe keeping' and out of harms way. This is how my boy today tended to one of his little sisters while I was away. He and the other's were busy raking up leaves while at the same time making sure she was 'safe!' At least that's what they told me when I asked them why she was in the trailer! "We didn't want her to run off or get lost!"

They piled leaves and toys into the trailer that sits a bit too high off the ground for a young one to climb out of and yet smart enough to not want to jump from it!

She seemed perfectly content as far as I could tell but at the same time she was thrilled to be set free again by her mama!

She bolted the second her feet hit the ground!

A few more pictures of the creativity of my boys and their babysitting woes, I mean ways!

How about you moms. Do your older children find creative and not so creative ways when tending to younger siblings?

Scenes from October

Fall decorated cupcakes and hot cocoa offered after hours of wood splitting

One day of many days splitting wood

Hugs from big sis!

Quietly working on lessons!

Daddy finishing up on the roof repairs!

Looking sweet after sister fancied up her hair!