Happy May Day

The girls made May baskets for their favorite neighbors!

Great Grandma Angela's Spaghetti Sauce

For Christmas, my sister Kim passed this recipe along to me!  I'm so glad to have it!  I can just imagine my Great Grandma Angela standing in her kitchen on the levee...

Great Grandma Angela's Spaghetti Sauce

1 1/2 tsp oregano
2 tsp sweet basil
3 dashes of pepper
2 bay leaves
3-4 dashes garlic salt
28 oz peeled tomatoes
1# Italian sausage
1# meatballs
1#bracciola
2 6 oz cans tomato paste
14.5 oz can pear shaped tomatoes

Brown all the meat in a 4 qt sauce pan.  Chop the tomatoes, you want them coarsely chopped.  Add them to the browned meat.  Add one can of water to each can of tomato paste.  Add herbs and stir.  Simmer at least one half hour, stirring often.  Freezes well.

**Here are some changes I made:  I used .75# bracciola,  .5# bulk meatball meat, and 1# Italian sausage.  It was still really meaty.  Next time I'm going to add a 28 oz can pureed tomatoes, and increase the spices accordingly.  The sauce is a little meaty for my palate***

This sauce is so good!  It made enough for our family of 4 to make a pan of baked ziti for dinner, put a pan of baked ziti in the freezer for the future, two freezer bags full of sauce (3 cups each), and another smaller freezer bag (2 cups).

Just for fun, here are the kids on our walk to Cosetta's (the Italian market where we bought our supplies)

Farm School - Raptors

This was our final Farm School class for a while (we need to crack down and finish our academics.  Only 6 weeks of school left before the BIG standardized test and Summer vacation.  Hooray!).

Millie is very interested in raptors, and knows quite a bit about them.  We've read numerous books and visited the raptor center, so to keep this class interesting we had to do something new. 

We started out reading a passage from The Handbook Of Nature Study.

We made bird feeders out of toilet paper tubes, peanut butter, and seeds.  Of course this part of class didn't have anything to do with raptors (neither does the next activity), but it was still fun.  The kids got to see birds attempt to eat seeds off these slightly awkward feeders.  The birds had to hang upside down from the branch! 

We went on a nature walk look for bird nests.  We saw the nests of a Baltimore Oriole (which is a different design than we'd ever seen before.  It hangs down from the tree) and Crow.  I found (on the ground, don't worry!  I didn't take someones home)  a nest that we think belonged to a finch of some sort. 

Next we hopped into the car and drove by two eagles nests!  This picture doesn't do it justice.  Grandpa has nice binoculars, so we were able to see the eagle, up close and personal!  So cool. 

Before we left, Grandpa and Millie started working on an American Kestrel house.  They didn't finish before we left, but were able to finish it the next day when Millie went down to the farm (again!). 

And, last but not least, here's Elise sitting in a tree chair.  :)

March NHBA - The Candymakers

The National Homeschool Book Award is one of my coolest homeschool discoveries yet!  Well, I didn't discover it myself (obviously), it's been around for quite a while.  This was the first month that we participated.  The March selection was The Candymakers, by Wendy Mass. 

This book is about four 12 year olds who win the opportunity to compete in an annual candy making competition.  The story is told from each child's perspective, revealing surprises and mystery.  Millie was completely engaged throughout the entire story!

One of the local homeschool moms coordinates a book club revolving around the National Homeschool Book Award pick each month.  They meet at a local location that somehow reflects the book, there's a class, and a snack. 

For this book, we met at the Como Conservatory (a place similar to "The Tropical Room" from the book).  The kids had a chance to sample different flavors (100% cocoa, miracle fruit, etc) that might be used for making candy.  Then, the kids went on a behind the scenes tour of the Conservatory and did a scavenger hunt.  They were able to see where cinnamon comes from, see cocoa beans growing on a tree, sugar cane, pineapples, etc.  Millie had a blast, and learned so much.  It was great for her to connect the real world to the book!

Before we left, Millie and her friend sat down for a slice of chocolate pizza (a very popular lunch item from the book). 

Farm School - Tree Study

I'm running a little behind on my blogging!  We did our Tree Study two Thursdays ago!

Here's what we did:

I read excerpts from pages 618-622 from The Handbook Of Nature Study to Millie.  She learned about the parts of the tree, what purpose they each serve, how the roots are formed under the tree, how the tree grows, how they eat, etc.  I learned a lot from this reading, too :)

We went on a nature walk down by the creek with Grandma and Grandpa.  Grandpa showed Millie what tree rings look like, and how to identify various trees (oak, maple, box elder).  We clipped twigs from each tree to bring home and identify using a key later, but we never got around to it.  They are currently in a vase on our window sill.   

Part way through our walk, Millie stopped to draw a cool tree, and identify its parts. 

Millie collected lots of cool stuff on our walk!  It was an absolutely fantastic March day!

Our tree nature study was inspired by The Handbook Of Nature Study blog.

2nd Grade, 3rd Quarter Review

We've completed second grade, 3rd quarter.  You know what that means?  We're in the final stretch of our first year of homeschooling.  In less than 3 months, Millie will officially be a 3rd grader!  Wow.  We are going to homeschool next year for sure.  On Saturday someone asked her how she likes homeschooling, she responded "Homeschooling rocks!"  He he. 

Here's what we've been up to this quarter:

Reading - Millie has been spending more time reading out loud, and it's been helping  a lot.  I can tell if we've gone a few days without reading out loud, because she seems out of practice. 

Grammar - We're still loving English 2 from BJU Press.  Millie learned about using a thesaurus, writing instructions using a time-order chart, verbs in past and present tense, special verbs, homophones, poetry; writing a couplet, rhyming poem, and a shape poem.

Spelling - Eh.  This needs improvement.  Simply using a spelling list isn't cutting it.  This area will need improvement for next year, big time.

Literature - During 3rd quarter we read Mr. Popper's Penguins, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and we started (and are still working on) The Candymakers. 

Writing - I discovered (and borrowed) Read Write Now.  Millie and I both love it!  Her printing is improving, and so is her drawing!  I'm glad we got to try it before buying it as part of her curriculum next year.

Math - She's still plugging away at Saxon 2.  We still both love it. 

History - We spend this quarter learning about ancient Greece and Rome.  It was not quite as exciting as the dawn of time, or Ancient Egypt, but it was still pretty fun.  We made a knuckle bones game out of clay, read a lot of Greek myths, made up our own Olympics at home, watched a film about Pompeii (which freaked Millie out), and did quite a few activities from History Pockets, and read a lot of books.

Science - She learned about airplanes and boats, animals from Antarctica, started (but failed at) a Triops tank (we'll try this again tonight.  We still have some eggs left),. studied raptors, inside the earth, and weather.  I finally started doing nature study with her!  We are doing Farms School every Thursday, and spending more time outdoors, observing nature.  She took two classes at Kroening, one about squirrels and the other about outdoor survival.  When people ask her what her favorite subject is, she says "Science!"  Yay!

Fine arts - She's progressing nicely at piano, practicing (almost) daily and having a weekly lesson at the St. Paul Conservatory of Music.  We watched a ballet at the Landmark Center (there was a funny photographer there, and we ended up in the paper!), and she attended an art class where she learned about Giuseppe Arcimboldo  and made a portrait of a bird out of different beans and rice. 

Phy ed - She did a lot of ice skating, also tried kick sledding, swimming, hikes, and walks. 

Out And About - We did much better with getting out at least twice per week. With her homeschool group, we went to The Works museum, Wells Fargo Winter Skate, the Raptor Center, Eagles Nest, hosted a Valentines party, and went to the planetarium.  We also had several play dates and trips with friends to museums. 

I think that covers everything!  We've been very busy, and having a lot of fun!

1000 Gifts - Leslie Style. #'s 201-300

Inspired by Ann Voskamps book One Thousand Gifts, I've started working on my personal list of one thousand things I'm grateful for (there are so many things!).  Numbers 1-200 were published in earlier posts.  Here are numbers 201-300:

201) The sound of eggs hitting a hot pan
202) Taking pictures
203) The color green
204) The way pop fizzes up on my face
205) The way Millies face gets covered with ice cream when eating a cone
206) Watching the girls make random friends wherever we go
207) Celebrating birthdays
208) Our birthday breakfast tradition
209) Discovering awesome new parks
210) Random phone calls from Bud
211) Paddington the bear
212) Fireflies
213) S'mores
214) Bonfires
215) Shopping by myself
216) Roald Dahl
217) Beatrix Potter
218) School supply sales
219) Trying new recipes that everyone likes
220) The smell of workbooks
221) Taking family bike rides when Bud pulls the trailor
222) Sending Millie off to farm camp
223) Goal setting
224) Little Debbie cakes
225) Listening to the lyrics of the girls made-up songs
226) Hearing their sweet voices singing
227) Driving in the car with the window down when it's crisp outside, while drinking/smelling coffee
228) Having a stable income
229) Silly celebrations
230) Feeling fall in the air
231) Looking at a sky FULL of stars
232) Spending all day reading
233) Family vacations
234) September 1-December 31
235) When Millie chooses to read instead of watch TV
236) Watching Bud and the girls play in the sand all day
237) Rowboat rides
238) The Christmas Point store in Brainerd
239) Monopoly
240) That my parents let me explore what I was interested in when I was little
241) Fossils
242) Meeting new friends
243) Elise's sing-song voice when she's trying to sound like a grown up
244) That Elise likes singing "opera"
245) Watching Bud and Millie playing legos on the floor
246) Coloring with pastels
247) Finishing my to-do list
248) Smelly markers
249) Watching Millie learn
250) Seeing Millie improve on topics she's been struggling with
251) Fall colors
252) Getting the mail
253) Bringing out the fall decorations
254) Watching the girls play dress up
255) The smell of autumn scented candles
256) Our annual costume planning "party" at JoAnn Fabrics
257) Bakers Square pie
258) Indian Summer
259) Soaking up the last rays of sun before the cold sets in
260) When Bud takes the girls, leaving me alone for a day
261) Long, fulfilling ladies nights out
262) Darts
263) Bar pizza
264) Christmas planning
265) Cooking spooky foods for dinner
266) Freezer cooking
267) The smell of freshly carved pumpkins with a candle burning inside
268) Babies
269) Making progress on sewing projects
270) The smell of M&M's
271) My new perfect sandwich bread recipe
272)  B Movies
273) Being able to see the lit up "1" on the First National Bank Building
274) The smell of rain
275) The smell of pine needles
276) Ice carvings
277) Playdates with friends
278) A man and his dog
279) Murals on ceilings in old buildings
280) Christmas movies
281) The crunch of snow under my feet
282) Giant snowflakes
283) Homemade hot cocoa
284) Sledding
285) The smell of old churches
286) Farm school
287) Learning along side Millie
288) Preschool curriculum planning
289) Sitting awake when the whole house is sleeping
290) Feeling warm wind on my skin after winter
291) Finding the perfect gift for someone
292) The Winter farmers market
293) Live music
294) Reminiscing
295) Browsing summer camp catalogs
296) The smell of horse breath
297) The softness of horse noses
298) Learning about Native American history
299) Texting
300) Mad Men