A Look at the Garden and More

Don't forget about the Victoria Botkin Curriculum Advice giveaway here.

Lots happening around Chambleeville this week.  I am determined to get back to a school routine as the last three weeks have seen so many interruptions.   We'll see how that goes as Lauren and her three little ones are here for most of the week.  Her asthma is not doing well right now.  The house they moved into has some mold problems which are causing havoc with her asthma.  She will be here as much as possible until they are able to move somewhere else.  In addition to losing a house to a tornado and having trouble with her asthma, Lauren also has a pseudo-tumor in her brain that we are pretty sure was caused by steroid use....which unfortunately has been necessary through the years for her asthma.  We knew that there were/are side effects to using the steroids, but when you are faced with a choice between breathing today and possible problems later, you choose to breathe today!  The pseudo-tumor can be treated with medication, but that means she needs to wean the baby....which during the upside-down time which is their life is difficult to handle.  She may wind up opting for a spinal tap to remove some spinal fluid which is one option for the condition.  

Aaron and Kaelan also have a piano recital tomorrow evening. So they will continue to polish up their pieces today and tomorrow.  I think they are quite ready and I will be glad for them to move on to some other pieces!!  The Irish Washer Woman runs through my head all. day. long!  ; )  However, I am so very thankful for the progress they have made and am thankful that they enjoy playing the piano and the violin.

Here's a look at a few of the garden areas around here.

Raised beds with tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, lettuce, peas, leeks and okra.

Orka and tomatoes

Cucumbers

Cucumbers and onions

Two kinds of lettuce

Tomatoes

Green peas have blossoms

This mixed squash bed WILL be weeded today, boys!

Some newly planted tomatoes and basil

Our older blueberry bushes are full of berries and are almost bent over with the weight.

Lots more berries like these will be great for the freezer, canner or dehydrator.

We've planted green peas, lettuce, a variety of tomatoes and peppers, a variety of squashes, cucumbers, leeks, okra, parsley, cilantro, chives and have added many new herbs.  In addition to our sage, thyme, spearmint, peppermint, oregano and lemon balm we've added apple mint, lemon mint, chocolate mint, rosemary, lavander, stevia, more chives and..... I can't even remember!!  Jordan has some more tilling to do as we have about 30 pepper plants to be planted, more basil and some more squash as well.

We've also been busy dehydrating a 50 pound bag of sweet onions that I purchased for $10.  It's been really easy to do, except for the tears!  Thankfully, once they start warming up in the dehydrator the teary effect is gone.

Now to get all these little people rounded up for some table time activities.  Do you think I'll make it?  I'm beginning to wonder, myself!!  If you don't hear from me tomorrow, send help....please!

This strawberry bed has been producing, but we have to keep the birds out of it!

Linking up with the HOMESTEAD BARN HOP

Linking up with Smockityhere

Anatomy from a Creationist Point of View

Some of my husband's co-workers have let him know that I have been remiss in sharing with my readers the wonderful work that is going on with The American Family Association and The Homeschool Channel. The men and women in the production department have been working extremely hard creating some wonderful resources that will be a tremendous asset to your family and to your homeschool.

One of these great resources that has recently been released is The Body of Evidence, an 8 DVD series on human anatomy taught by Dr. David Minton of Answers in Genesis.  Dr. Minton taught for years at one of the chief medical schools in the mid-west and gives lectures across the country relating to anatomy from a creationist point of view.   This series was filmed locally in conjunction with Answers in Genesis.  My husband put in long hours getting this work out and my son worked on the set during filming.  One of our sweet young friends "stars" as one of Dr. Menton's students.

This series comes with a hefty study guide.  Paired up with Master Books' Body by Design by Alan L. Gillen and Princeton Review's Anatomy Coloring Workbook  by I. Edward Alcamo, Ph. D., this would be a great anatomy course for your high school student.  It also would be great for you to watch as you teach your younger children about God's most amazing creation....the human body.

You can view a trailer of this series at the above link and if you order The Body of Evidence
or any of the other fabulous resources available from the AFA Store   use this code ANITA64 in the coupon code at the checkout  to receive 10% off of your order.  Really!!  You get 10% of your order!  Great for you and great for The Homeschool Channel.  I will be putting a permanent link up in my sidebar so you can easily get the code if you need it.  And please, share this information with your friends!  I will be doing some reviews of items at the AFA store in the future and can't wait to share some great resources with you.  I know you will love them!

Preparedness Challenge

Check out what others are doing at
homesteadrevival.blogspot.com

This week for the preparedness challenge, my family:

-made enough granola to last about 3 weeks

This canister holds two gallons.

-bought extra boxes of borax and washing soda to keep on hand to make laundry detergent
-bought extra bleach, toilet paper, epsom salts, vinegar and baking soda
-filled used water bottles with tap water and a few drops of bleach to replace what we used last weekend when we didn't have water
-made and froze about 5 pounds of cultured butter
-made about 5 quarts of  cultured butter milk
-learned how to make yogurt cheese and ricotta
-dried 2 pounds of mushrooms

One quart jar of mushrooms

-made 8 pints of applesauce

-organized and inventoried our food storage that is not in the kitchen
-ordered math curriculum for my 6 year old for the next 3 years ; )
-bought a dozen pint size canning jars
-bought lots of freezer bags, plastic wrap and aluminum foil
-got three more icing buckets from Kroger---I would love to have about 40....I need 34 more!!
-made another 4 x 12 raised bed
-researched pigs......and chickens.....some more. Just need to bite the bullet and do it!
-replaced a blueberry bush

Read Aloud

Do you read to your children?   Do you share great stories of adventure?  Do you read stories to your children that encourage them to live lives that glorify God?  Do you read the Bible to your children?

Reading aloud to my children is  a big part of our day.  I generally have a historical fiction and a biography that I am reading to the children in addition to our daily chapter in Proverbs and Psalms.  Caedmon and Jackson get extra time as we snuggle on the couch to read picture books together.

I found this sweet poem that depicts a child's view of what happens when mother reads aloud and thought I would share with you today.  If you are not reading aloud to your children I encourage you to do so.  I have so many precious memories of time spent with my children and a good book.

When Mother Reads Aloud
  Anonymous


When Mother reads aloud, the past
     Seems real as every day;
I hear the tramp of armies vast,
I see the spears and lances cast,
     I join the trilling fray;
Brave knights and ladies fair and proud
I meet when Mother reads aloud.


When Mother reads aloud, far lands
     Seem very near and true;
I cross the desert's gleaming sands,
Or hunt the jungle's prowling bands,
     Or sail the ocean blue.
Far heights, whose peaks the cold mists shroud,
I scale, when Mother reads aloud.


When Mother reads aloud, I long
     for noble deeds to do--
To help the right, redress the wrong;
It seems so easy to be strong,
     So simple to be true.
Oh, thick and fast the visions crowd
My eyes, when Mother reads aloud.
     


Now the little boys have removed the cushions from the couch and are preparing a nice, cozy spot on the floor for our time of reading together.  Grab a book and join us!!  Do you have a favorite book that you have shared with your children?  A book that has inspired you?  A book that has blessed your family?  I would love to hear about it!!

Experiential Learning

We were recently studying about the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  We each read a book or two, I read one out loud to all the children, we looked at maps, we looked at cookbooks, and we watched the National Geographic movie about the expedition (it's really great if you see it at an IMAX theater which we did a few years ago).  One little reproducible book we had contained a few recipes for the children to make.  They made rafts out of sunflower butter, large pretzels and Fruit Roll Ups...this was a huge mess, but they enjoyed eating it.

Kaelan's assignment was to prepare a Mississippi Mud Pie.  I purchased the needed ingredients and she worked on it by herself.   The end result was a beautiful creation.

However, as I looked at the pie I noticed she had used a pie crust from the freezer.  The recipe called for crushed graham crackers and butter to form the pie crust.  Kaelan had simply crushed the graham crackers in the bottom of the pie crust and put the other ingredients on top!  We laughed as we scraped the pie from the unbaked pie shell.  It was still a nice treat, but Kaelan learned an invaluable lesson:  always read through the recipe completely before starting and if you are not sure ASK questions!

 I have also been doing some experiential learning.   I have been learning how to make soap!  It has been great fun, but there have been a few flops.   One recipe just uses lye, goat milk and lard.  It made up very quickly, but was very crumbly and didn't suds up very well.  I used it to make my laundry detergent!

Here are some of the better soaps that we have been making.

Wintermint soap balls--a combination of wintergreen and peppermint essential oils

More wintermint soap balls

A peppermint turtle with peppermint oil and dried mint from my garden....a little whacky looking!

In the back are oatmeal spice and oatmeal lavendar bars.

More soap balls

Lavender soap balls and coffee soap bars for the kitchen

Beautiful honey goat milk bars

An army of peppermint turtles and frogs

oatmeal spice and oatmeal lavendar...both made with fresh goat milk

Yesterday I decided to try a soapmaking method using the crock pot.  Like Kaelan, I need to make sure I read the directions carefully before I start.  While I absolutely love the way the soap looks, I do NOT love the way it smells.  The darker soap is a goat milk and honey bar which you can see the bars I made without the crock pot are actually honey colored.  I think the heated soap mixture may have actually burned the soap in the crock pot.  It did make a nice creamy lather, though, when I was cleaning out the pot.

Oatmeal lavender goat milk soap on the left
Honey goat milk soap in the right

The lighter soap is another batch of oatmeal lavender goat milk.  This time I heated up the oils, but didn't put it in the crock pot.  It was doing some weird things as I was processing it.  I do like the color and texture, so we will see how it turns out.  

I love this mold...Soap will need trimming, though.

The bars look like fudge brownies!

Oatmeal lavender flowers

Love the color!

Experiential learning....a lot of it is just trying something out and then trying it out again until you get it right!