Here’s a wonderful little printable store kit for kids that I found online. There’s a cover, receipts, coupons, price tags and more. Neat! I’m printing it out now for Jack and Anna, who have been making money and selling things all morning. I also printed out this money from Donna Young. The million dollar bills are especially fun.
Original post by Alicia
With ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) Day coming up on April 25, it’s good to include two wartime biscuits.
Crispy Cracknels
1 cup flour 1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt 1 c coconut (medium not fine)
60 g butter 1 c white sugar
1 large egg
optional topping (see below)
Mix flour, baking powder, salt, butter and whizz well in food processor.
Add sugar, then process til just mixed.
Add coconut and pulse to just mix through.
Then mix in egg til dough clumps.
With floured hands, roll dough into sausage-shaped log approx. 2.5 cm thick and slice into little discs.
Press the discs flat onto a greased oven tray.
Top with optional topping.
Choose from: finely chopped crystallised ginger; mixed peel; chocolate chips; chopped nuts; 100s+1000s. At Christmas, green and red glace cherries look great.
Bake at 160°C for 10-12 minutes.
They tend to puff up then sink when they come out of the oven.
Rest for 2 minutes on the tray before removing […]
Original post by banquet
William at track.
Easter Sunday
Jamming
Original post by unbridledlearning
well, we have spent our first week in florida (we’re here for 3!)
there was lots of swimming, eating, walking and playing. on sunday we walked to Lincoln Road. They have farmers markets all along the walkway and so we had brunch and then got fruit. Most of the restaurants on lincoln road have outdoor seating. the place we ate at, Raphaels, had outdoor tables. ours even had a sofa! it was fun. we came back, put the fruit away, had lunch and then walked to the beach.
the water gets deep very fast and it was quite choppy so we didnt go in the water so much. just to fill up buckets and get feet wet. but we dug and collected rocks and played with little dinosaurs and threw sand in the sea. on the way home we attempted to fly our kites but there was not enough wind. the last […]
Original post by happychildhood
Tomorrow is April Fools! This is a completely serious plan, however.
Carbon’s School
Carbon is doing really well with his numbers all of a sudden, so I need to order him the next workbook for math (1-100 comes next, then it’s the beginning of addition). I also have some new books out from the library of math activities, so I’ll skim those and pick a few things to do this month. Handwriting continues to get better, and is just plugging away in some workbooks. Carbon is interested in a drawing course - any recommendations for something laid back and appropriate for preschoolers? The Bob books are at my Costco right now, so I’m going to buy those for his reading practice. We’re still writing our own little primers also. And the Easter bunny brought him Charlotte’s Web, so that is our read aloud right now. For geography we are leaving Europe and heading […]
Original post by learningumbrella
“Nana!!” Lucy cried as she ran across the platform to greet her grandparents. “Grandpa!!”
“Hello Poppet” Said her Grandpa in his booming voice.
“Hullo Lucy” said
“Hi Jane and Dave” Judy said politely. She had met Lucy’s grandparents the year before, when they had come to visit in Canada.
“How much you two have grown since last year! Children do grow so quickly”Nana laughed.
“Hello Mum and Dad.”said Mama casually.
The usal kind of greeting followed from Judy’s parents and Lucy’s dad.
On the metro, Luycy chattered on and on about their trip around Europe; from Lund to Geneva, Paris to Brussels, to what they had done already in Amsterdam.
They got of at Wibautstraat metro station.
” It’s all very well,” whispered Nana to Mama. “But I don’t really remember her talking in big chunks like that before, Lucy I mean. She was always the shy one”
“Nana! I’ve got something to show you!” Lucy tugged at her Grandmother’s […]
Original post by Tigger
Here’s pictures of Victoria’s first fully completed lapbook.
I think she did such a wonderful job.
Cover:
First pages inside:
Closer view (flower poem, flower quote):
Right side, parts of a flower, leaf, plant:
Flip of front page (worm poem written by Victoria, flower quote, poetry stickers that say sweet sentences, mini book of pictures of all of the flowers/plants she has or plans to have–I forgot to photograph that!):
Page 2 view:
Plant vs. animal cells:
Rose photo and pocket of her seeds:
There are little extra touches, quotes, stickers and notes all over. We’re going to finish her Amelia Earhart lapbook and the Freedom Quilt lapbook today and then she’s super excited about getting to do one on cells next. We accidentally found some pics of cancer cells and immune cells and she thinks they’re the coolest things ever.
Original post by Alicia
In the craziness of a weekend of family togetherness, with two of my three sisters visiting - one with husband and kids, one with just her kids - I almost forgot. Thirteen years ago today, Kevin and I got married in a small ceremony in the living room of my grandmother’s new house. Thirteen years!
I love you, Kevin. Here’s to thirteen more!
Original post by carrie
Daryl bought Victoria a packet of Pirate Grammar on ebay and she’s been zipping through it. Anna tried it and announced that she wanted “No more 4th grade pirate grammar!”.
After further discussion, it was determined that she’d appreciate either pioneer girl grammar or princess grammar.
Daryl, being a sweet man, made up a whole slew of Pioneer Girl grammar pages for her. She’s still asleep but we’ll see how they fare. I think she’s still probably doing 4th grade level because that’s what Daryl has fresh in his mind, but she’s up for the challenge! <G>
I’m still sick but lots has been going on that I want to share soon. I’ll try to post pics of Victoria’s final version of her garden lapbook (fabulous!), maple syrup tapping yesterday and more. Right now I’m going to rest with a baby.
Original post by Alicia
You know, we’ve lived out in the country for about three years now… and sometimes it seems like a long time. But sometimes I can tell it hasn’t been nearly long enough for me to be anything but clueless about many commonplace living-in-the-country-having-animals kinds of things.
Like having your horse’s teeth floated.
I went to bed Friday night I feeling like I had just paid someone $90. to torture our new horse for an hour.
We had Blaze’s teeth floated.
It was awful…
I’m thinking maybe it’s better to just let Blaze’s teeth have points, rather than ever do THAT again.
If you’ve never seen it done, here’s how it works. The farrier (or vet) brings a bucket full of nasty looking equipment. He also brings a helper. He gives your horse a shot of tranquilizer (”just a little because he’s thin” - our farrier is from Argentina so this is said with a very heavy, but musical, Spanish accent) […]
Original post by woodstone
GB and I are going on a BIG field trip!
We’re headn’ to Florida!
When I was a young teenager I made the bestest friends of my life. So we are going to visit them. I am SO excited! We’ll see them in only FIVE hours!!
We’re going to try to make it as educational as possible for GB, since he had to come…. as if I’m dragging the poor kid….LOL! But you know, when they don’t go to a school, they are at your side constantly. And my ’side’ is going to Florida, and so is he! Woo hoo!!
I’ve been told that the internet connection is on the fritz, so I probably won’t be able to blog while I’m there. But I’ll post lots of pics when I get back…… As if you all would expect anything less, right?
So, yeah, it’s currently 43 degrees and drizzly. I’m heading to mid-eighties. What a […]
Original post by Robin
Willa at In a Spacious Place has a beautiful post titled Parenting as a Creative Art. I don’t have time to talk about it now, but I love what she has to say about parenthood. There is a lot of nourishment there — intellectually and emotionally. It was a good way to start the day.
We enjoyed our “lights out time” last night, mentioned in my last post. We had an electricity-free evening, except that we kept the furnace and fridge on. John, the kids and I had a great time playing Pictionary by candlelight.
Happy Monday!
Original post by tribeofautodidacts
I have to say, this week’s Unplug Your Kids project ROCKS! (Insert groans here.) Honestly, I’ve always loved rocks - and every time I’m outdoors, I stoop over to pick up a handful, or sit by the stream and pick out the pretties. So I knew that this week’s project would be all fun for me.
On Wednesday we headed out to the park to count birds for Celebrate Urban Birds and to collect some rocks from our favorite local rock-collecting stream. The kids both enjoyed picking rocks…
and BabyGirl even enjoyed licking rocks.
We came home with a nice pan full of rocks, plus an extra stack of biggies on the side.
On Thursday, JediBoy wanted to paint the rocks. I helped him go at it with our washable tempera - a fun idea if your kids are more into process than product, because in […]
Original post by piseco
We got a little Xerox laminator from Staples several years ago. I think Ani was 3 or 4 when we got it. I love that thing. It is so much fun to laminate stuff.
The last few times we went to Staples to get the laminating sleeves they didn’t have any in the size and type we needed. So I had not been able to laminate anything properly in quite some time and had settled for the type that is more like contact paper than the heat seal laminating sleeves.
I had to laminate some stuff for Cameron’s next level of language arts since we’ll be starting that soon so I decided I’d just order the laminating sleeves from Staples and have them delivered. It occurred to me to check Costco on-line and sure enough they had them (and just about half price with free shipping for […]
Original post by CamianAcademy
I just watched the movie An Inconvenient Truth with my family and it was really good. It’s about global warming, and all the things it’s doing to our earth, and how to stop it. I hope that whoever is reading this will watch that movie, and help to stop the global warming.
Original post by taekwondochick
Pickin’ chickins bock bock bock…Pickin’ chickins…bock bockity bock…
Guess what we did today?
The crew consists of 3 Black Sex Link, 3 Red Sex Link, Ameraucana and 3 Barred Rocks.* Each of my 4H crew can choose a group to call their own. Come fair time if they are all similar they can show as a group of 3 and if not, then show just the best. (That’s my public rational anyway) Each are very good to excellent layers and are dual purpose (lay or fry chickie bwahhahaha!)
The turkins are selling nearly as fast as they arrive. Fortunately we have practice every night this week so it will not be a bother to check in for new arrivals. That will be about our limit–at least until I do some more measuring & calculating.
One thing I need to note for next time. The chicks were fed from red feeders at the store (mostly). […]
Original post by stephanieinar
I have several of them, and you know I still don’t know what I am doing sometimes. I really love the ideas that I am reading about though and it is fun lol. This month I have been reading some books by Ruth Beechick, and I really like her style alot. I still really like Charlotte Mason as well too. I just found her set of books used for a very decent price. So I am really hoping that I will get a chance to read some of them. One book that I have read this past month has been really encouraging for me. Help for the Harried Homeschooler, it has delightful ideas and tips. She is a very interesting writer.
Blessings from acraisydaisy
Original post by acraisydaisy
Myers-Briggs Personality Types (Free Test)
INFPs are introspective, private, creative and highly idealistic individuals that have a constant desire to be on a meaningful path. They are driven by their values and seek peace. Empathetic and compassionate, they want to help others and humanity as a whole. INFPs are imaginitive, artistic and often have a talent for language and writing. They can also be described as easygoing, selfless, guarded, adaptable, patient and loyal.
ht: my fellow dreamer, Michelle
Original post by lapazfarm
I’ve been noting all the wonderful discussions going on at Willa’s and Melissa’s and other blogs. I’m sorry but for some reason I can’t seem to link right now. Still need to work bugs out here that mysteriously appeared while I was out for Lent. Anyway, I’m going through one of those phases where I don’t seem to have time to philosophize about anything. I feel like I get up in the morning with too little sleep and run, run, run all day and still seem to have things undone on my to do list.
Just a run down of the day so far:
Woke at 5:24 to hear Hannah and Will get up to go to the teen mass. Couldn’t go back to sleep. Had awful headache; I think it was the cloudy weather moving in. So I just laid in bed, too tired […]
Original post by dumboxacademy
Something has been niggling for a long time and I think I will try to articulate it. Despite the widespread discussions of the value of introducing children to good (or even classic) literature, to art, to nature, and even to Latin, when homeschoolers discuss math, the thoughts turn away from beauty and focus on utility. Maybe I’m hanging out in the wrong circles, but I haven’t seen much discussion of the beauty of mathematics and how we teach our children to appreciate that. Even those who advocate the living math approach don’t talk in much depth about either the beauty or the fun of it. I sometimes get the impression they find this just a more palatable way of learning what they still consider a utilitarian subject. If you ever meet any mathematicians, you will find that utility is about as important to them as it is to philosophers or […]
Original post by jove
We tend to do “Unit Studies” in a fairly relaxed way. Our units are usually not designed by me, though I do help the kids choose books, and we read them together. I also read about topics of interest so I can discuss them reasonably intelligently, and offer suggestions, information, and guidance. I guess this is similar to the Collaborative Learning style of unschooling Cindy writes about or Angela’s concept of Guided Unschooling
Lately, Sarah and I have been reading about the World War II era and delving into historical novels about Nazi occupied Europe.
We just finished Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, a Newbery Award winning novel about the Danish resistance. I loved this book. I was blown away by the story of Denmark’s resistance to the Nazis, which was new to me. Sarah and I read more about it here.
Denmark’s story is different from that of many other Nazi-occupied […]
Original post by tribeofautodidacts
As regular readers will know, my family has some “special” diet requirements. We are gluten-free for the kids. As if that isn’t hard enough, we are tomato, pork, and dairy-free for me. There are some other restrictions/goals for our food, but those are the big ones.
I’ve been finding the daily task of “what’s for dinner?” fairly onerous recently, and I thought that if kept track of what I was making for my blog, it might be a bit more interesting. For me, anyway. You may be completely bored reading menu plans, and if that is the case, I do apologize. I’ll get back to homeschooling, parenting, and book reviews soon, I promise! Oh, and crafts - what else is this blog about? Well, now it’s probably going to start being about food too.
This week’s menu plan:
Monday: Deviled Eggs with Tossed Green Salad and corn chips
Because I had tons of hardboiled eggs in the frige, and some […]
Original post by learningumbrella
Although no longer an academic, I still work in the sector so I subscribe to the Chronicle of Higher Education. They have some blogs now and one of them has a very interesting proposal for a college. Part II lays out the curriculum in detail. I think it makes sense without Part I, but you might like that, too. Here’s the overarching idea. She is imagining her “perfect college”:
The school would combine the ideas of my cynically rational, somewhat hard-hearted husband, with the lofty ideals I hold about what makes a human being “educated” and what makes knowledge worth pursuing. My husband and I agreed that every college graduate should know enough about numbers to understand a Wall Street Journal discussion about subprime mortgages (and to negotiate with a lender); enough about writing to produce an essay using correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, paragraph development, and rational argumentation; and possess enough […]
Original post by jove
You remember my post about balancing the egg on the equinox, right?
Well, I had no idea that I would start a three-way ‘discussion’.
The conversation went like this:
This was from Christy at Ramsey Central Homeschool:
Okay you two— This is my take on the egg thing…
Number one: Equinox has no bearing on the ‘balance’
Number two: The balance I think, is because the yolk settles in the
bottomwhen they are in the carton. That makes it easier to balance.
Number three: When I balanced it, I did two hands and gently balanced
thenbounced it off my fingertips…until it balanced. And, I DID NOT USE
SALT JENNIFER!!! LOLOLOL! So, there you go! That is my two cents!
This was Jennifer’s (Toad Haven) response:
Supposedly you can shake it up and break the yolk up so that the yolk can
fall lower in the egg and lower the center of balance which will make […]
Original post by Robin
I recently purchased a textbook about my state’s history. Homeschooled students in my state are required to learn state history at some point in grades 6- 12. This text is very well done and is absolutely beautiful. It appears that the publisher currently has twenty-six different state history textbooks completed. You can view the different textbooks that are available here: Gibbs Smith, Publisher.
Original post by Annette