Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Learning Traditional Cooking and Health

Our family has been on a journey to relearn the cooking arts of years ago, primarily for our health.  So much of our foods today are GMO, hybrids, chemicals, and overall, harmful to our bodies!  It is not how God created us!  There are quite a few resources that we enjoy, to help us through the "common" thoughts on food.

One of the greatest ones we have found is a website called GNOWFGLINS, which stands for "God's Natural, Organic, Whole Foods, Grown Locally, In Season."   They are offering 5 free videos if you sign up  for a free mini-membership. You can check it out here.

Another great source of information is Sally Fallon's book "Nourishing Tradition." This book is as much of an education as it a cookbook!!!

What resources have YOU found beneficial?  I'd love to hear about them!

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Ornaments - January - March

I am part of an incredible group of ladies that encourage each other, help and support one another, and have fun :)  Each month some of us exchange homemade ornaments.  Some months we have themes, and other months we exchange whatever our heart desires.  This has been a great way for me to work on Christmas ornaments throughout the year, rather than trying to do lots of things all at once.  Here are the ornaments I have made thus far.

January:

February:


March:

I was also in a Spring exchange, where I made this set of 6 coasters and case:


Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Geography - India

We only spent a week on India, but what a yummy time :)

Day 1:
Stamped our passports
Found India on the wall map
Colored pictures of the map and flag
Read about children in India from Children Just Like Me
Looked at some different words

Day 2:
Learned about monsoons, including reading Monsoon and Monsoon Afternoon and watching this video and this video and this video

Day 3:
Learned about the Taj Mahal
http://www.thehistoryhub.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Taj-Mahal.jpg

Completed this Taj Mahal puzzle

Day 4:
Learned about the Pongal Festival, including watching this video 
Made Inlay Jewel Mosiacs

Food: Lassi, Ahm Phul, Tandoori Chicken Legs with Raita, Cauliflower and Pea Curry, Masala Chai, Murgh Kari (Chicken Curry), Basmati Rice





Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Geography - Israel

Shalom! and welcome to our week studying Israel!  As always, we thoroughly enjoyed the week!  Five days were devoted to exploring this country rich in its heritage.

We started off by marking our passports.  I LOVE that part!  Then we found Israel on our wall map.  Once that was complete, we watched some videos, including one centered around the capital, and one on the Jordan River.  We also learned about Canaan dogs and almonds.  To complete the day, we learned what our names in Hebrew would look like.  My name is שאנון

Tuesday of the week, we started by watching a video about the Biblical Zoo.  We also watched videos about the Dead Sea.  The Dugong, Bethlehem, and salt were all focuses of the day.  The fact that everything floats in the Dead Sea absolutely fascinated the children.  This in turn became a fun experiment.... How much salt would it take to float different items around the house :)

Wednesday we started the time with listening to lyre music.  So lovely and calming!  Then we took a look at the Mount of Olives, the Mediterranean Monk Seal, Tel Aviv and olives.

Thursday our studies were regarding Nazereth, the Negev Desert, camels, cobras, and honey.

Friday we learned about Hanukkah. With the research done, we turned our attention to crafts and food (my FAVORITE part, hehehe).  For our craft, we made Mosaic Stepping Stones.  We had bought the kits from AC Moore when they were on sale.      





For our Israeli meal, we made Israeli Spice Chicken, Potato Latkes, and Israeli Salad, with Flourless Chocolate Cake for Dessert.



For the Israeli Salad, we mixed chopped cucumbers, tomatoes and green onions with some olive oil and a touch of salt.

Geography - Italy

Italian food is one of my favorite cuisines, along with Latin American, and Thai, so I was extremely excited to learn more about this country!  We spent three weeks learning and tasting Italy :)

Week 1:
Stamped our passports
Found Italy on the map
Colored a map, flag, and paper doll in traditional Italian clothing
Learned simple words in Italian, like buongiorno, ciao, grazie
Watched videos of the National Anthem, Colosseum, and Sistine Chapel
We also watched videos of how to make spaghetti bolognese and pizza
Studied Marsican brown bears
Food: Pizza Margherita, Spaghetti and meatballs with homemade pasta (not authentic due to having to make them gluten free), and Pana Cotta




Week 2:
Studied the Alpine Ibex and Apennine Wolf
Watched videos of Verona and Leaning Tower of Pisa
Watched food videos of Ravioli, Minestrone Soup, and Olive oil 
Food: Ravioli and Italian Lemon Cheesecake


Week 3:
Studied the lynx, the Golden Eagle, and Great Cormorant
Watched videos of Saffron Farming, Mount Etna, Mount Vesuvius, Mount Stromboli, and Pompeii
Watched food videos of gelato and Cannoli
Built a volcano
Food: Gnocchi with Spinach and Gorgonzola Cream Sauce, Flourless Chocolate and Hazelnut Cake, Chicken Marsala, Caprese Salad, Stromboli, and Gelato




Geography - Germany

Germany was one of our favorite countries to learn about!  Considering hubby had been deployed there a couple of times, he was able to give us some first hand insight.  We actually spent three weeks studying about Germany.  It is one of the countries I would LOVE to visit some day!

Week 1
Stamped our passports
Colored pages of the map of Germany, flag, Coat of Arms, and traditional clothing
Watched videos on making Pfeffernusse and Homemade soft pretzels
Watched videos on The Sanssouci Park, German Shepherds, and Neuschwanstein Castle
Food: Schnitzel with Tomatoes and Mushroom Sauce, Macaroni Salad, Asparagus and Bavarian Cheesecake


Week 2:
Worked on counting to ten in German
Colored pages of german clothing and the Marksburg Castle
Watched videos about wolves and white storks
Watched videos about Berlin, Schloss Charlottenburg, and lebkuchen
Food: Apple Strudel, Frankfurters and Sauerkraut, Boiled Beef with Horseradish Sauce, and Potato Dumplings


Week 3:
Watched videos about Port of Hamburg, Lichtenstein Castle, Germany's Christmas Market, and the Black Forest
Watched food videos of the German hamburger, Spaetzle, Marzipan, and Black Forest Cake
Made a Cuckoo Clock Craft
Made a Framed Pressed Flowers craft
Food: German hamburger, Warm Potato Salad, Slow Cooker Sauerbraten, and Black Forest Cake






Geography - Netherlands/Holland

We did this unit in four days, as well.

Monday:
Filled in our passports
Mapping activity
Flag and map

Tuesday:
Looked at various animals found in the Netherlands
Windmill Coloring page
Windmill Origami craft

Wednesday:
Looked at traditional clothing
Talked about tulips
Discussed wearing wooden shoes
http://www.mccullagh.org/db9/d30-2/wooden-shoes.jpg

Thursday:
Shell decorating
Finished our lap books

Food: Dutch Egg and Cheese, Hutspot, and Cauliflower in Cheese Sauce

Geography - Norway

Last year, for Geography, we studied various countries in Europe.  For some reason, I did not get all of our countries we studied posted here on my blog.  Recently, I have been asked if I would go back and add some of those countries. I am going to do my best to recap some of those countries, but please understand it has been awhile since we actually studied them :/

We studied Norway over a week time.  Like some of the other countries, we used My Father's World curriculum, Confessions of a Homeschooler's curriculum, and other websites to try to get a decent look at the country.

Day 1:
Stamped our passports
Located Norway on the wall map
Completed our John 3:16 page
Colored a map and flag page
Completed the Coat of Arms

Day 2:
Read facts regarding Norway
Colored pictures of the traditional clothing
Looked at common words and phrases
Looked at numbers 0 to 10 in Norwegian

Day 3:
Worked on animal pages, including of the European elk, Brown bear, Eurasian lynx, and wolf
European Elk - video
Brown Bear - video
Eurasian Lynx - video
Wolf - video

Day 4:
Norway Paper Quilt
Norwegian Christmas Ornament

This is NOT one of ours - just an example.

Food: Seafood Salad, Roasted Mushroom Salad, Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes, and Rice Cream



More Food: Chicken Salad and Orange-Horseradish Chicken Salad


American Girl - Samantha

The Samantha series was SOOOO much fun to work with!  K10 and I had a great time doing our various activities.

Week 1:
Read book
Worked on sampler (K10 is still not done this activity - she is finding embroidery and cross stitch quite tedious)

Week 2:
Read book
Wrote a speech
Made a glass paperweight
Food: Strawberries with cream, ham slices, cheese omelets saratoga potatoes, blueberry muffins, and hot cocoa





Week 3:
Read book
Made paper snowflakes
Decorated trinket box
Made a pinecone wreath



Week 4:
Read book
Embroidered handkerchiefs
Made a fancy fan
Tea Party: Apple Brown Betty, Cream Cheese and Walnut Sandwiches, Chicken Salad Sandwiches, and Lemonade

Week 5:
Read book
Painted a picture
Made a pressed-flower bookmark
Made a seashell picture frame


Week 6:
Read book
Made name cards
Made valentines
Made a May basket
Formal Dinner:
   1st course: 
       Cream of Carrot Soup
   2nd course: 
       Roasted Beef Tenderloin
       Mashed Potatoes
       Fresh Green Beans
       Corn Oysters
   3rd course:
       French Salad
   4th course
       Ice Cream Snowballs

May Basket

 Dressed and ready for our formal dinner

One of the name cards

Carrot Soup

Twice Baked potato Casserole


Beef Tenderloin


Corn Oysters

Plate of yummy food - with Blue Cheese Butter on the Tenderloin

French Salad

Ice Cream Snowballs (Vanilla ice cream with coconut over it)