Tuesday, March 31, 2015

USA study: Iowa

State facts:
     1.  The Red Delicious apple was developed in Madison County in the 1860s.
     2.  The world's largest cereal company, Quaker Oats, is in Cedar Rapids.
     3.  Almost 90% of Iowa's land is used for farming.



Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express
by Margaret Wetterer


Snowflake Bentley
by Jacqueline Martin


Iowa
by Reshma Sapre


H is for Hawkeye
by Patricia Pierce



Eating Red Delicious apples.



Saturday, March 28, 2015

Homemade applesauce


Look at all those apples!!!  Yummy!!  
These are my Fuji apples I got from Azure Standard.

I will only use Fuji or Gala apples to make my applesauce.  Why?  Well, to my family, they are the best tasting apples!!  I don't even have to add sugar!


This year I made my applesauce without peeling my apples.  Best decision EVER!!!!!!

All I did was core them.  Then I put them in the food processor.  I dumped the processed apples in a stockpot and heated them up.  I also added cinnamon to taste during this step.


I then went about packing them in quart jars and putting them in the oven on warm.  I did not put the lids and bands on them.





Here they hung out until I was ready to can.  I did all of my apples this way (18 quarts in all)!  Then I heated my water to boiling after I washed it.  I processed my jars for 25 minutes in a hot water bath.

So yummy and not near as much headache as peeling all those apples!!


Blessings!!


Thursday, March 26, 2015

Presidents Study: Theodore Roosevelt books and crafts




The Camping Trip That Changed America
by Barb Rosenstock


To Dare Mighty Things
by Doreen Rappaport


Amazing President Theodore Roosevelt
by Mary Wade



Blessings!!

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

USA study: Illinois

State facts:
     1.  World's largest catsup bottle is in Collinsville, measuring 170 ft.
     2.  The world's first and biggest Ferris Wheel was at the Chicago's World's Fair in 1893.
     3.  John Deere  invented the steel plow in 1837.
     4.  The first Dairy Queen opened in Joliet in 1940.
     5.  The 1st deep dish pizza was created in Chicago in 1943.

Two Days in May
by Harriet Peck Taylor


L is for Lincoln
by Kathy-jo Wargin


The Christmas Tree Ship
by Jeanette Winter


Ruth Law Thrills a Nation
by Don Brown



Playing with John Deere tractors.

Blessings!!


Thursday, March 19, 2015

Presidents Study: William McKinley books and crafts




William McKinley
by Paul Joseph


William McKinley
by Mike Venzia


William McKinley's wife was known for having seizures.  He used to cover her head with a white handkerchief when she had one to keep her from embarrassing herself.  I find this quite odd, considering our little Ezra had seizures, and I would have never done that to him.


Blessings!!

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Mystery of History Volume 2 Lessons 82-84

Lesson 82  The Inkas of South America


sun craft





Lesson 83  The Ottoman Turks Take Constantinople 


Pippo the Fool

by Tracey Fern



Lesson 84  Johannes Gutenberg Invents the Printing Press 

Who in the World was the secretive printer:  Johannes Gutenburg
by Robert Beckman

Blessings!!

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

USA study: Indiana

State facts:
     Indiana is the leading grower of popcorn in the US.
     The 1st professional league game of baseball was played on May 4, 1871 in Fort Wayne.
     The 1st Indy 500 was on May 30, 1911.


Johnny Appleseed
by Steven Kellogg



H is for Hoosier
by Cynthia Reynolds


A Place called Freedom
by Scott Sanders


The Floating House
by Scott Sanders


Girl of Limberlost DVD



We made a race car out of an empty toilet paper roll.  I used the end of the roll and marked out 4 wheels.  He painted his car red and his wheels black.  Then, I used paper brads and attached the wheels to the toilet roll using a hole punch.  He wanted his name and and the number 8 put on it.  What boy doesn't like race cars!  If you make the brads lose enough, the wheels will spin.




The last thing we did was some fun with ramps!  I had him get some of his Duplo blocks out and we built them at different heights and marked how far the car went with masking tape.  He had a blast!!



Blessings!!


Thursday, March 12, 2015

Presidents Study: Benjamin Harrison books and crafts




Benjamin Harrison
by Paul Joseph

Benjamin Harrison
by Mike Venzia


     We learned that Benjamin Harrison was the President that had electric put into the White House.  Everyone was so scared to touch the switches, that they hired an electrician to turn them on and off!

Blessings!!

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Mystery of History Volume 2 Lessons 79-81

Lesson 79   Geoffrey Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales

For this lesson we read this book:

Chanticleer and the Fox
by Barbara Cooney

Lesson 80 John Huss

John Huss was known for singing hymns as he was dying.  So, for this lesson we sang some of the hymns we have been learning this year.


Lesson 81  The Life and DEATH OF JOAN OF ARC

For this lesson we watched the DVD by Nest Entertainment.

Joan of Arc (Animated Hero Classics)


Blessings!!

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

USA study: West Virginia

State facts:
          1.  Golden Delicious apples were 1st grown in Clay County.
          2.  There is a law that you can legally take home road kill and eat if as long as you report it within 24 hours.
          3.  Chuck Yeager was the first person to travel faster than the speed of sound  in 1947.



The Great Bridge-Building Contest
by Bo Zaunders



M is for Mountain State
by Mary Ann McCabe Riehle


When I was Young in the Mountains
by Cynthia Rylant

For some reason I misplaced the picture of Conner eating a golden delicious apple!  Just imagine that here!!



Blessings!!

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Presidents Study: Grover Cleveland books and crafts




Grover Cleveland
by Mike Venzia

Grover Cleveland
by Paul Joseph

HERE is a copy of the artwork I had him design.  Grover Cleveland was the first president to get married in the White House, and the first president to serve 2 non-consecutive terms.


Blessings!!


Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Mystery of History Volume 2 Lessons 76-78

Lesson 76  The Black Death of Europe

For this lesson we did the activity that you can find HERE.  

Lesson 77  The Ming Dynasty of China and the Forbidden City

We made this Imperial Court Hat.  You can find out more info on this and the printable HERE.




You can also make court robes.  You can find the printable and info HERE.


Lesson 78  JOHN WYCLIFFE, “MORNING STAR OF THE
REFORMATION



He made this string art for the "morningstar."



Blessings!!

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

USA study: Virginia

State facts:
          1.  The 1st known recipe for ketchup came from a Virginia cookbook from 1824.
          2.  1st permanant English colony was settled in Jamestown in 1607.
          3.  In the 1700s, the pirate Black Beard, buried treasure along the eastern coast.



Nettie's Trip South
by Ann Turner



Tanya's Reunion
by Valerie Flournoy


O is for Old Dominion
by Pamela Edwards


Virginia
by Jan Mader



The Relatives Came
by Cynthia Rylant


The Promise Quilt
by Candice Ransom


The Blue Hill Meadows
by Cynthia Rylant


Pioneer Children of Appalachia
by Joan Anderson

Pirate hat!


Blessings!!