Indian Pudding

K has to give a speech in history this fall for our co-op. Since her assigned date is close to Thanksgiving, we chose to have her present some information regarding the first Thanksgiving as opposed to modern-day Thanksgiving. She will be focusing on food, so we chose to cook a dish which could have been served during the original feast.

After searching the web and a few colonial cook-books, we settled on Indian pudding. This would have probably been what they ate for dessert instead of the traditional pumpkin pie. We found a basic recipe to try this rainy afternoon, and it just came out of the oven.

My thoughts on the dish are that it tastes basic and earthy in a good way. The two main flavors are cornmeal and molasses, with no added spices (those would be added by the colonists later in the 1700s).

Indian Pudding -- Not much to look at

 K qualified her opinion of it by stating, "They didn't have much back then." She seems to understand that they didn't even have what we would consider the basics. I am not sure the kids in her class will appreciate the taste. K is unsure of it, but AJ likes it. As for me, I think it is fun to taste something the pilgrims could have shared with the Wampanoag people during that historic time.

First Steps

For the past couple of weeks, S has been looking like he is about to start walking. He has taken a few steps here and there (including four while I was trying to fill in my ballot), but he usually gives up after one step. Crawling is so much easier. Today, he was holding a broom, and it must have given him just the right amount of balance as he took several steps in a row. I watched incredulously as he kept walking. I know that any day now, he will just take off. My little baby is growing up.

Six Already?

We celebrated AJ's birthday this month. Timo was away for his actual birthday, so we held his party the following weekend. This year, he was able to invite more kids since he has had more of an opportunity to make friends through the co-op. It was great seeing so many kids come to celebrate with my (not-so) little guy.

AJ wanted a knight-themed party, so we purchased plates, cups, plastic blow-up swords, sheilds, and masks before the party. Then, I decorated some chocolate cupcakes with crowns, sheilds, and swords to match the theme.

I have to take a moment to thank my wonderful hubby for taking the kids out of the house so I could have the uninterrupted time to get these done. They took a lot longer than they probably should have, but my birthday boy was happy with the end results. I tried to put some creativity into the sheilds, placing Lego pieces, a puzzle piece, a car, a swing, a cape, and a slide on the sheilds instead of the usual symbols.

AJ seemed to have a ton of fun playing with his friends at his party. I don't know how much of his sixth birthday he will remember, but you never know what kids will recall. If he can look back with a smile, I will count it as a success.

Science Class

I have been teaching a science class at our home school co-op this semester. The kids are around AJ's age, and I struggled with what topic to teach them. I finally settled on energy. That topic encompasses so much, and it would provide a platform from which to jump into physics at a later date.

I don't know how much they are learning, but I have definitely put forth effort in creating a hands-on learning experience.

 

We started off with just an introduction to energy. We talked about distance, force, and work. Then we moved into the definition of energy: the ability to do work. From there, we moved into potential and kinetic energy, discussing elastic potential and gravitational potential energy. We then shifted our focus and discussed how energy is changed from one form to another and what we can do with it. We built a simple flywheel generator with a couple of motors and a bicycle tire to generate electricity to turn a propeller. This was a great visual for the kids to see and (hopefully) understand how windmills and turbines work. We also built a simple solar toy car. Then, it was time to build our own batteries using household items.

 

I explained that all that was needed was two different metals and an acid. I realize that there are alkaline batteries, but I didn't want to get into that. We used copper and zinc as our metals, and the kids each built their own potato battery and lemon battery.

I then showed them how to build a voltaic cell. They each helped with one layer.  We used zinc washers, copper pennies, and vinegar-soaked paper towel circles for this one. Unfortunately, our voltaic cell was the only battery which generated enough voltage and current to light our LED. I did bring along a multimeter to measure the output of their other batteries, though, and every one of the children built a functioning food-based battery.

 

Voltaic Cell

The following week, we used specially-formulated play-dough to build circuits. I showed them how to put LEDs in series and parallel, and they definitely enjoyed the wow-factor that this produced.


LEDs in parallel

After that, I let them loose to create their own circuits. AJ built a submarine, one girl built a bunny, and another girl built a cat. It was so much fun to witness their creativity. AJ's submarine boasted three lights, and this project allowed me to discuss short circuits and why their LEDs wouldn't light if they did not put them in the circuit right.

This week, we plan on continuing the circuit fun, and I also plan on reviewing what we learned so far this fall. Although I was a bit intimidated at first, I am happy I took on this task. While the kids have been learning about science, I have been learning about teaching. This should assist me as I continue in my quest to educate my children at home.

Renewing my Mind

The kids and I have been doing a lot of memory work in home school this fall. So far, without even really planning this in the beginning, we have memorized six poems together as well as several memory verses.
We attended a family retreat in early September where they challenged us to memorize chapters of the Bible rather than select verses. The idea was to get the entire context of the verses rather than just pulling them out at random. We chose Philippians 4 for various reasons, and we have been working our way through the chapter ever since.
We were also encouraged to put the verses to rhythm or song, and, after some deliberation and many rejected tunes, we settled on a classical piece. We sing the verses every school day, and S has come to recognize the tune. He will "dance" to it when we sing it, and he always receives it with a big smile on his face.
I have found myself singing the verses at odd times throughout the day, and I occasionally hear the kids doing so as well. I have even found myself thinking of the verses at night as I try to go to sleep. Usually, my mind races with everything that has happened that day as well as what we plan to accomplish the following day. When the verses run through my head instead, I find I have a much easier time falling asleep.
Memorizing this passage with the kids has positively influenced our lives. I look forward to completing this passage and tackling the next one. It is so much easier to meditate on His words day and night when they are such a built-in part of our daily lives.

I Want to Remember

I've heard homeschooling compared to a black hole. Everything gets sucked in. This is definitely true in my life as well. My days are spent schooling, cleaning, cooking, caring for my kids, and running errands. That doesn't leave much time for anything else, especially blogging.

In the midst of this chaos and busyness, there are parts of life I want to remember. I am afraid that if I don't write them down, I will forget. Like when H puts on several pair of underwear at a time, or how S dances and claps his hands when AJ plays "Grand Old Flag" on the piano and sings to it. I want to remember that H is the first one to help if I am doing anything in the kitchen. It doesn't take long before I hear the chair scooting across the floor as he pushes it from the dining room into the kitchen, saying, "I want to help, Mommy."

I want to remember K dancing to "Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam" as I try to sing S to sleep, even though she should be in bed herself. And H breaking out in poem when he sees the moon... "The moon has a face like the clock in the hall, She shines on thieves on the garden wall." I don't want to forget S crawling toward me, saying, "Mamamamamama," or his proclamation of wanting to nurse, "Nu nu nu nu nu." I want to remember K crawling into bed with S when he starts crying, trying to calm him by snuggling with him. And H standing with his legs apart and his arms out, trying to "trap" people from passing by, even though he weighs only about 5 or 6 pounds more than S. He is so feisty and full of passion.

I want to remember AJ crawling around on the floor, trying to get S to chase him, and succeeding in getting him to laugh. And AJ playing the Demo song on the piano and galloping around the fireplace as part of his "dance" to the music. And AJ telling me the best part of co-op is science because he has me as his teacher. And H telling me he is happy with me right after I told him I am not happy with him. Then his asking if I am happy with him after he has obeyed and the hug that ensues.

I want to remember H talking about the air show for weeks and AJ riding his new bike around the cul-de-sac, singing "God Bless the USA." I want to remember their spontaneous patriotism in the Safeway parking lot on Columbus Day when the flags were flying. They burst into the national anthem and all sang their heart out.

I want to remember K glancing up at me as I enter the dance studio toward the end of her class, and how she is obviously distracted by my presence as I see her looking at me instead of focusing on the task at hand. I want to remember how she loves to read past her bedtime, and how she devours books. I want to remember that AJ turned his light back on to do his sentence workbook when he should have been trying to go to sleep.

So, while many of my posts are for others to learn what is going on in our lives or to record the unique experiences we have encountered, this one is for me. I want to look back and smile as I remember these fleeting days. Because time does indeed fly by quickly.

Summertime

This summer has flown by. I can't believe that we are already starting school again with the kids. Our crazy schedule started the week Timo was in Sweden. The following week, I came down with a week-long stomach bug. Our first round of company arrived the first day I felt decent after being sick.
We had a wonderful time with them. He was Timo's childhood best friend, and it had been five years since our families had seen one another. That means that AJ was just a baby when we saw them last. K was only two.

Two days after they left, we were on our way to Chicago to visit my family. We all gathered at a hotel there, and we struggled to catch up with everyone in our multitude during the all-too-short 5-day vacation.

Our next round of visitors was set to arrive two days after we returned from Chicago, but flight delays translated into an arrival the following day. These were two of my wonderful friends visiting all the way from Sweden. What a wonderful time we had. I shared many cultural experiences with them as well as taking them out into the hot, dry climate around here -- so much different than Sweden!

I was sad to see them leave, but the following weekend, my parents arrived for a short visit. They brought my grandmother's hope chest and two of my grandfather's paintings, all precious possesions more because of the sentimental value than the intrinsic value. It was great to see them again, even though we had just visited in Chicago. Since there were fewer people around, I felt we had more time together during their short stay than we had during the 5 days in the Windy City.

After my parents left, I settled down to try to get into a routine and prepare for the upcoming schoolyear. I love having company, but it is nice to be just our family again.

Peach Preserves



My first batch of peach jam

My in-laws recently visited and brought us about 20 lbs of peaches. I love fresh peaches, and I was drooling over these. However, our family can only eat so many before they start to go bad. I have always wanted to try my hand at making preserves, but I was always intimidated by the process. With so many peaches, I decided it was now or never.

I knew I needed jars, pectin, and some basic tools, so I took advantage of a rare solo trip to WallyWorld to peruse their selection of canning supplies. Fortunately, a nice older lady shopped nearby and willingly answered some of my questions. She was so sweet, and I came home with everything I needed to get started.







My second batch of jam included vanilla,
organic agave nectar, cinnamon, and cloves

My first batch of peach jam tasted so good that my jam-detesting daughter devoured almost a whole jar with the help of her brothers right off the bat. I had doubled the recipe but forgot to double the pectin, so it was thin. That didn't stop my kids from indulging. They finished all four jars within the week. My next batch was proportioned correctly, and they helped polish off a jar of that as well.


Processing the jam



My third batch included some frozen organic strawberries I had purchased at half-price with good intentions, but no concrete plans. Given my children's history in jam-eating, I didn't even fully process two of the jars since I knew I could put them in the fridge and finish them before the three-week devour-by date arrived. I was right. I made it today, and the first jar is almost gone.

Strawberry Peach Jam

If I had known how easy the process really is, I would have tried this a long time ago. For now, my family is enjoying Mom's new hobby. Now excuse me, I need to go buy more peaches.

Homemade Xylophone

K was required to build an instrument for her Prims group. She thought of making a simple drum out of paper and cardboard, but I encouraged her to step it up a notch. That is when she suggested a xylophone.

I looked online and found some simple instructions using readily available materials. Timo bought the pipe and wood at a local home improvement store, and I found the foam at Hobby Lobby.

Grant it, K had some help on this project. I did not expect her to be able to cut the pipe. She did help cut the foam and assemble the whole instrument, though.

K sawing some hard foam. We ended up using something else, but this was good experience in measuring and cutting.

K playing her new instrument

Top view of the xylophone

I am happy with the way the xylophone turned out. Not only do we have an instrument that she can actually keep and play, but I hope K learned that if it is worth doing, it is worth doing well.

A.J.'s Story

A.J. wrote a story at church this week. He has no experience with spelling, and this is the first time he has written a story. I am proud of his being willing to write without being afraid of misspelling a word.

Translation: I went to Hobby Lobby and got a rocket and get to fly it at Farmor and Farfar's house and it is going to be really cool.

At least, that's what I think it says. :)

Easter Day 2012

S in his Sunday best

Easter morning held extraordinary promise. The kids woke up to find their jelly bean jars sitting at their places at the breakfast table. We made it to the early service at church, and I even had started the roast in the crock pot early that morning. Our refrigerator held a tremendous number of dyed hard-boiled eggs, and our front yard beckoned me to utilize its hiding places for the egg-hunt.


 
After church, we drove home where I hurried to get the rest of dinner going in order to enjoy a mid-day meal. While the food was in the oven, I hid the eggs. Then, I rallied my troops and sent them out to hunt for the hidden eggs. They excitedly ran around the yard, filling their baskets with eggs. H needed a little help, so I eventually guided him to the proximity of the evasive eggs. Toward the end of the hunt, we experienced some unhappiness due to certain eggs not being found by the proper person, but that passed, and we enjoyed an Easter dinner as a family. The rest of the afternoon was spent on unplanned activities.

One of the marbled eggs waiting to be found

H reaching for an egg

H opening an egg. He spilled jelly beans all over the ground.

AJ looking across the yard

K finding an egg



Things I Never Thought I Would Say Before I had Kids

Why is there a sock on a piece of toast?

Get those toys out of my measuring cup!

More Easter Traditions

On Good Friday, the kids and I baked Resurrection Rolls. The simple ingredients provide a hands-on explanation to children about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. A marshmallow represents His body, which is dipped in melted butter and cinnamon and sugar. These represent the oils and spices that were used on Jesus' body before burial. The crescent roll dough represents the tomb where he was buried. After baking, the marshmallow has melted, leaving an empty "tomb".

I had seen these made before, but this is the first year we used them as part of our Easter education. The children all enjoyed them, and I think I will keep them as a yearly tradition in our family.

We also boiled and dyed more eggs in preparation for the Easter egg hunt. I had seen instructions online detailing how to marbleize eggs, and I was "dyeing" to try it (excuse the pun). I didn't want to get too messy, so I only used three colors as the base and one to create the marbleized effect. I thought they turned out looking pretty cool, and I plan on doing this in future years.

Easter Eggs

We took yesterday off from school. I wanted to focus a little on Easter and share in some Easter-related activities with my kiddos. I boiled 31 eggs in the morning, and we dyed all but the four that cracked during the boiling process or due to mishandling by a certain two-year-old. This provided my kids with nine eggs each to dye.

K dissolved the tablets in vinegar, and we added water. Then the kids gathered around the table to add color to the egg-shell palates. They worked well together, and they seemed to really enjoy the process.

One of the best parts of the process was that they wanted to eat some of the eggs when they were done. This gives me hope that we won't have a fridge full of hard-boiled eggs that no one will eat. We are down to 19 eggs, and we haven't even held a hunt, yet.  

Homeschool Headlamp

We have been studying batteries in science class, and this week, we talked about how a switch works. One of the projects/experiments was to build a headlamp with an on/off switch. We experienced issues with the switch not staying on without being held in place. Our battery pack also gave us some problems. The batteries did not want to stay together, providing a connection only when being held tightly. Our result was a lamp that only worked when being held on both sides -- hardly practical for spelunking. However, the kids enjoyed building it, and they learned in the process. Because of this, the project was ultimately a success.

Spring Hike

Add caption

The weather turned absolutely gorgeous last week, and I was anxiously eyeing the monument for a little exercise with my kiddos. Finally, after a full week of school and some housecleaning, I felt we could head up the hill for a hike. We chose the self-guided nature trail, and the kids learned to identify juniper, pinion pine, sage brush, yucca, and green ephedra. We also saw a rabbit's burrow and some sandstone strata. S got fussy, so we had to cut our walk short, but I promised we would return another day.
I loved that we turned our outing into another learning experience. There is a wealth of information waiting to be discovered and absorbed into eager minds. It's fun when those minds belong to my children.

Jellybean Jars

I saw this link online about a Lent activity for kids using jelly beans and jars. Each color represents something different, and they have an opportunity to earn one of each color each day. White represents the grace of God, and it cannot be earned. On Easter they will find the remainder of their jars filled with white jelly beans.

I thought this would be a great activity to do with my kids over the next few weeks, so yesterday, I bought a couple of bags of jellybeans and some small canning jars. We sorted the jellybeans by color, and the kids were very curious as to how they could earn jellybeans for their own jars. Today, they went out of their way to model the appropriate behavior for each color, earning jellybeans for forgiveness, kindness, sacrifice, and more.

Although we started this craft a tad late in the season, I am looking forward to the discussions and behavior this activity will inspire.

Some Familiar Faces

Earlier this month, Timo and I walked into the school room to discover some familiar faces had been drawn on our whiteboard. AJ had decided to draw (from left to right) Hamm, Jessie, Buzz, Woody, and Zurg. I thought it was great that he was able to draw the characters from his favorite movies on his own.

Swedish Semlor



One of the semlor I baked. I forgot to put the powdered sugar on top
before I took the picture. 

 Since we no longer live in Sweden, I found it necessary to bake my own semlor this year for Fat Tuesday. Semlor are a blend of traditional Scandinavian flavors, combining a cardamom bun, almond paste, and whipped cream in a decadent dessert. I found this recipe online, and I decided it was as good as any. Having never baked semlor before, and having only eaten them a couple of times, I was nervous about the result. All things considered, I think they turned out great. I shared some with the only Swede I know in town, and he was impressed. My family enjoyed them, too, and that is what matters most.

Liturgical Ballet

K's ballet teacher put together a liturgical ballet performance last Saturday. K was the youngest dancer, but she didn't let that intimidate her. Upon arrival, she changed into her dress and dance shoes and waited patiently for her turn.

K's dance was second on the program, and she began by reciting the 23rd Psalm. She then danced to "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" before taking her bow and exiting the stage. Due to a mistake on my part, we missed filming the whole performance, but I do know that I couldn't stop smiling proudly the whole time.

I think it is great that she was able to get up in front of a group of people with no fear. It is a skill that will carry her far in life.

Birthday Cards

This year I received several home-made birthday cards. One was from my neighbor, but the rest were from my kiddos. My neighbor invited my older two over to make cards for me a couple of days before my birthday. Then, K decided to make an additional card on her own. These really are the best cards to get.



"Happy Birthday, Mommy. You are queen, and you are beautiful."




"Happy Birthday, Mommy! We hope you have a wonderful birthday. We want to play I Spy with you sometime soon. We love you." 



The card K made with our neighbor.

The inside of K's card.

The card from my neighbor.

Inside the card

AJ's card

Inside AJ's card

The back of AJ's card

The back of our neighbor's and K's cards