Home Schooling Summary for Last Week

 Last week we had 2 themes directed by the kiddos interest. First was spiders and spider webs. We talked about why spiders are different from other insects and that they are called "arachnids".  We made  some spider webs with glue on foil. It was supposed to peel off once it dried, but they did not work. Maybe we were using the wrong kind of glue?

 Then we made a HUGE web of our own in the doorway. That was big hit.

The kids let their imaginations run wild with that one.

We recently discovered the "Magic School Bus" show on Netflix. Our library also has many of the books.  MSB has spurred lots of science discussions. We read the book and talked about electricity one day.

 Then we played with balloons and hair and talked about electrons. It was fun for all.

Recommended Reading: Extra Yarn

Extra Yarn is well, I'll just say it, a picture book. It is a story for kids.  According to Amazon it is for children ages 4-8. I beg to differ and think that must be a typo; ages 4-80 would be more correct. I have had this on my "To Read" list for some time and I'm glad that my local library finally procured it for me. The illustrations are beautiful and the story is about knitting and a do-gooder, both wonderful topics. I promise it will make you smile.

Summary: Extra Yarn, winner of a Caldecott Honor and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, as well as a New York Times bestseller, is the story of how a young girl and her box of magical yarn transform a community.

Reuse Recipes: Thinnings

Beets always require a lot of thinning since each "seed" is actually a cluster. I like to let mine get fairly large before thinning them so that I can use the greens for other things.  I also had to thin my kale, collards, cabbage, and onions in the last couple weeks. That has left me with a lot of "thinnings" to make creative use of.  Of course each reuse for thinnings depends on what the thinnings are, but here are some ideas:

1. Beet and onion thinnings + Egg and Swiss = Provincial Style Omelet.
This idea was sparked by the splendid book that I reviewed a few weeks ago.  I sauteed it in "very good olive oil" and cracked two fresh eggs from the neighbors chickens on top. Then decided to add some swiss cheese. The swiss was overkill. I should have just stuck with some romano or parmesan lightly grated over top.

2. Baby cabbage leaves + teaspoon of mayo + tablespoon of bread and butter pickles, all chopped up = delicious coleslaw
I made this at least twice. It was so yummy for lunch. I just HAD to thin my cabbages a couple times.

Cabbage thinnings

3. Golden potatoes + kale thinnings + collard thinnings + cilantro, chopped and fried together = delicious dinner for sensitive tummies (Daddy was having a reaction to too much dairy - so we were being careful)... Sorry I forgot to photograph this and the next yummies



4. Cabbage leaves plus equal parts plain yogurt and mayo on top 2 fish sticks in a tortilla shell = speedy and delicious fish tacos!

Garden Progress: Strawberries, Tomatillos, and Ground Cherries

A friend from church was moving away this past week and dug out some of her strawberry plants for me to take home. I decided to add about 2 feet by 20 feet to the existing (South facing) side landscaping to accommodate the new strawberries, as well as my ground cherry and tomatillo starts. They are looking good so far.  Another friend from church gave me a giant bucket of aged horse manure, which was super exciting for gardening purposes. I mixed that in with these plantings.

Ground cherry starts and onions in front

New garden space along south landscaping

Sew Special: More hats and some mittens too

I realise that mittens are completely irrelevant at this time of year, but I like to be prepared okay? After testing out the Oliver and S hat pattern last week, I decided to finally buy the whole book of Lisette's accessory patterns (a birthday present):

Oliver + S Little Things to Sew: 20 Classic Accessories and Toys for Children

Among the many lovely things to sew in this book is a mitten pattern that promises to be easier for little hands to get into. Brother M has trouble finding the thumb hole in most mittens so I thought these would be great.. and Ta-Da  - They are! Another wonderful Lisette pattern with clear well-written instructions. 

Mittens made from an old felted sweater

M is unsure about the value of mittens for playing in the sand box - notice the new hat!

New hat and mittens

Sister A chose this fabric for her mittens 

Home Schooling Summary for last week

Last week we talked about building and camping. Fort building, as suggested in The Giant Encyclopedia of Circle Time and Group Activities for Children 3 to 6, was the main event. We built this fort/tent under the kitchen table. Everyone was enthusiastic about it. Brother M was relegated to his own side though, while the girls clustered together.  Cousin J wisely decided to observe from the entrance way with me.

We started a system of chores and allowance in January of this year. This is the first time that I have remembered to take pictures of the pay day.  The America's Cheapest Family (awesome book on frugality) system really inspired me and so we decided to try it.  Instead of being task-based (like "make bed" or "empty dishwasher") it is focused more loosely on blocks of time. There are 4 categories: Morning chores, Schoolwork, Daily Chores, and Bedtime.  They get a smiley for that time frame based on whether they completed their assignment and whether they had a good attitude about it. For Christmas the kiddos received their banks (found here) with the sections: Spending, Savings, and Tithing. Once a week (usually Monday) we tally up the "smileys" (points) and dole out the money. Our chore chart is very similar to the one you can download here. Daughter A gets 10 cents per smiley and Brother M gets 5 cents (we created an "under 3" category so that he would not feel left out). It is a great way for them to learn about managing their money from an early age. Daddy explains about the types of coins and how to add them up. He goes through it with them each week.

A's artistic/crafty side has been taking off in recent weeks. She conceptualizes and executes her designs all by herself. She drew lines around the word "Rocket" here to show movement.  She loves to write "cards" for people and this one has two holes cut so that she could tie the ribbon into it:

She also made this 3D rainbow- colored, cut-out, and glued all by herself. Having most of the art supplies in the kids craft cupboard I think has helped her be free to make things independently.

This is a picture of "Tinkerbell" wearing her leaf costume. Again, she brought in the leaves from outside and said, "I'm going to make fairy clothes with these." I did not understand what she meant, but said okay and went on with making dinner. About 10 minutes later she showed me what she had done:

So proud of her!

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Reading	X	X	Bob books	X	Bob Books
Writing	X	Letter tracing practice	X	Phonics spelling and writing	X
Math	X	Mazes	X	Connect the numbers counting	X
Science	Garden	X	Fort building	X	X
History/Geography	X	X	X	X	X

Recommended Reading: A House of Many Ways

I recently finished A House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones. 

Summary: Charmain Baker is in over her head. Looking after Great-Uncle William's tiny cottage while he's ill should have been easy. But Great-Uncle William is better known as the Royal Wizard Norland, and his house bends space and time. Its single door leads to any number of places—the bedrooms, the kitchen, the caves under the mountains, the past, and the Royal Mansion, to name just a few.

By opening that door, Charmain has become responsible for not only the house, but for an extremely magical stray dog, a muddled young apprentice wizard, and a box of the king's most treasured documents. She has encountered a terrifying beast called a lubbock, irritated a clan of small blue creatures, and wound up smack in the middle of an urgent search. The king and his daughter are desperate to find the lost, fabled Elfgift—so desperate that they've even called in an intimidating sorceress named Sophie to help. And where Sophie is, can the Wizard Howl and fire demon Calcifer be far behind?Of course, with that magical family involved, there's bound to be chaos—and unexpected revelations.No one will be more surprised than Charmain by what Howl and Sophie discover.

I enjoyed this light hearted story and will recommend it to my kiddos when they get older. It was very imaginative albeit a bit predictable in terms of the plot.  I did not realize until writing this post that it is actually the third book in a series that starts with Howl's Moving Castle. Silly me. I guess that means it is the type of series that can be read out of order and still make sense!