Feelin' British

The scone is a small British quick bread (or cake if recipe includes sugar) of Scottish origin. Scones are especially popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Canada, but are eaten in many other countries. They are usually made of wheat, barley or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent. The scone is a basic component of the cream tea or Devonshire tea.

Simple Scones

2 cups of flour  (use whatever comb. you desire. I used 1/2 c wheat and 1  1/2 c of white)

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 Tablespoons cold butter, chopped

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup sour cream

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

1 teaspoon additional sugar

Mix first 5 ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.  Add chopped butter and blend with pastry blender until it is the texture of coarse meal. Add in chocolate chips.

In a small bowl combine egg, vanilla, and sour cream.

Add to flour mixture and mix together until large clumps of dough form.

Then using your hands work the dough until a ball forms.

Place dough on a floured surface and pat unto a 8 inch circle.  Cut into 8 wedges.  Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of sugar.

Bake at 400*F for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

This is a wonderful basic scone recipe and there are many variations to it...

Dried cranberries and 1 teaspoon orange or lemon zest

Dried cherries and white chocolate chips

Blueberries and lemon zest

Hazelnuts and toffee chips

The options are endless.

Be Creative!

*recipe from allrecipes

Writing~ Little by Little

For the past six years I have avoided doing much writing with Jacob.  It just frustrated him beyond words.  He couldn't spell even the simplest words and would ask me how to spell each word as he wrote.  So I didn't push the issue of writing for a LONG time. Besides, most of the school day was focused on teaching him how to read that there wasn't much time left for anything else.  Well, now that he has reading a bit easier (at about a 2nd grade level), I have added in a small amount of writing. 

I decided that having him keep a journal would be a great, non-stressful alternative to getting him writing.  For right now I am just having him write a sentence or two about whatever comes to his mind.  I am hoping to expand this down the road and give him more complex writing assignments as he gets more comfortable with writing.  At the present time he is enjoying it and my youngest son decided he wanted to keep a journal too, so they are both putting down their thoughts each morning.

As we journey down this new avenue into the realm or writing, I hope he will find freedom to express his thoughts and use his vivid imagination  to make the pages come alive.

A Day at a Time

I don't know why I am so thick headed sometimes. 

In past years I have pushed, pulled, prodded, begged, pleaded and tried every form of motivation to help my dyslexic son get through his school days.

This year I have taken a different approach.

I have backed off on my intensity.  I have slowed down the approach.  The box checker in me is slowly being broken and molded into a more lenient teacher.

The result a happier student, less prone to whining, tears, anger and frustration.

On a whole are days are so much smoother.

In the eyes of educational mongers, he may not be doing enough. But, for us, at this time it is just right. 

One day he may do his whole math page. On other days it is only half the page. I have learned to base it on his current knowledge of the subject at hand.  Some days I can add in bits and pieces and he barely notices.  On others it is like a piled a mountain on top of his shoulders.

So, we are taking it one day at a time. 

He is learning...

at his pace, not mine!

Homeschool Seating Arrangements

Only at home can you have a 12-year-old and 3-year-old working side by side and have it work!

Recyclable Art

 

We have been a whirlwind of activity this week.  We are steadily (thankfully not frantically... yet) finishing up our 4-H projects. This year we did a project in recyclable art.  I was extremely happy with the results! 

Since they turned out so cute and were very manageable for my 10 and 12-year-old boys, I thought I would share this craft with you. 

Materials needed:

Clean coffee, soup or any metal recycled can

Stencil or template

Marker

Hammer and nail

Candle

Wire for hanging

Spray paint

Step one:

Using your stencil as a guide, place dots on the can.  We used a star and  just placed the dots around the template so that the shape of the star would be recognizable.  If your really talented, you can freehand it or have your children make their own design.

Step two:

Fill your clean can with water (leave room for expansion) and place in the freezer.  Freeze till solid.

Step three:

Lay a thick towel down on a hard surface. (We just used the kitchen table.)  Place your frozen can on the towel.  Take the hammer and using the nail piece holes in the can where you placed your dots.  This was super easy to do. Since the metal was cold it pierced really easy.  I'm pretty sure young children could do this very easily with the help of an adult.

Step four:

Let it melt and then dry it off really good.

Step five:

Spray paint. Let dry.  We applied about 2 coats.

Step six:

Run a wire handle through the top.  **Don't forget to punch holes for this while the can is frozen.  We did forget on one and it was pretty hard to get holes in after the can had thawed.

 

We were able to make every bit of ours from recycled materials.  We used paint from a previous project.  Wire that Joel's work place was throwing out. And candles using recycled glade candle holders and chunks of old pillar candles. 

The last thing I did was to put velcro (the very thin variety) on the inside bottom of the can and on the bottom of the candle so that the candle wouldn't slide from side to side.

And there you have it, a pretty luminary! I'm might just have to throw a bon fire party, so that I can hang these beauties up in one of our trees and watch them glow!

Just Like the Romans

We are studying the Roman Empire in Core 1 of our Sonlight Curriculum.  This is our second time studying it, but Jacob and Caleb were very young when Isaac and I went through it the first time.  To help the boys understand about the Roman culture we decided a feast would be in order.

Jacob got out the Usborne book and quickly found the page that showed what the Romans (the rich) would have eaten.  We decided against the pigs head or stuffed doormice!  Instead we went with cut up fruit and veges,  a big loaf of flat bread, which I whipped up before lunch, a bowl of cheese (not sure if they had cheese, but I figured we needed some protein), and a bowl of cut up doughnuts that the elderly neighbor lady dropped off that morning.  Isaac whipped up a pitcher of red kool-aid to stand in for the wine.  Jacob insisted we couldn't drink water- it had to be wine! 

Our goal was for Jacob and I to whip up some Honey Cakes like the Romans would have enjoyed.  But, we soon figured out we were out of honey. :(  So we made do with the doughnuts.  The Honey Cakes are still on the agenda though!

As soon as I get to the store for the honey, Jacob and I will be in the kitchen whippin' us up a batch!

Jacob spread a blanket on the floor and arranged the food just so.  Then we all just lounged around! No plates. No silverware. Just our hands and LOTS of fun!

New Year~ New Strategies

Once again this year I'm changing things up a little bit for Jacob.  I'm keeping what worked and ditching what didn't.  I spent last week making up a schedule for his phonics work for the following school year.  I gathered all my resources and went through them.  I combined  lessons that taught similar concepts and came up with a schedule that I think will work quite well.  Of course, I say that now, but I  may change my mind in a couple months!

Our first focus will be on syllables.  I am hoping that with a focus on breaking words apart it may help him sound out the bigger words that he is coming across in his reading. As we learn the rules for breaking words apart, we will place them into a notebook.  As we continue to add rules we will review and review and review the rules until they come easily to Jacob. I am hoping to provide him with a deeper understanding of how to break apart words into smaller more manageable pieces. 

For math, we are still using A beka, but we will be slowing down the pace.  I'm not going to worry about doing a lesson a day. We will move on only when I feel he is ready.  Right now we are focusing on adding, subtracting and multiplying of 3 to 4 digit numbers.  He is still making mistakes quite often on these, so we will be staying in this area for awhile. My goal is to get him to slow down and think clearly.  He often makes the mistake of carrying the wrong number or he multiplies wrong or forgets to borrow.  He has made improvements, but is still making the same mistakes if he tries to rush.

We are using One Minute Reader again this year and I am still very happy with this program.  We also are using some A Beka readers (grade 2) for now.  They seem to be a good fit for his reading level and we take turns picking which story he will read. 

Our first week has gone fairly smoothly, with only minor frustration, squirmyness, and noise making.  I am hoping that he will be able to keep on task better this year and I will be trying different strategies as the day progress.

School Days

 

We started school yesterday. 

Thanks to Jamie, posting her back to school pictures, I remembered to take my children outdoors for a mini photo shoot!  I took about 35 pictures. I figured no one would want to look at all 35, so here are my four of my favorites.

Isaac chose to climb a tree for his first day of school picture.

 

Jacob leaned up against the basketball post.

 

Caleb rested on top of his favorite rock.

 

And I stuck Lauren under one of the bushes in our backyard.

~May God bless us as we begin another year of learning and growing~

 

Organizing and Scheduling

Today is the day! I'm going to begin organizing and scheduling for this school year.  The organizing won't take horribly long, because I try to keep our school closet pretty organized. I just have some books to remove, some to add and a bit of picking up to do. I have a system and slowly I think my children are starting to catch on! :)  However, from the picture below you can see that they have left a few things askew!

Now their school boxes are another matter!  Today they will be cleaning those out, throwing away old papers and filing those they want to keep.  There will be some major organizing going on in those drawers.  They are full to the top and we can barely close them.  Momma just might have to get brutal!

 

My main goal in the organizing realm is to look through the new phonics and math books I purchased for the younger boys.  I will be setting up a new system for Jacob (my son with dyslexia) with his phonics and math.  I haven't got it all cemented yet.  It's just sort of floating around in my brain waiting to be laid out in a formal plan.  I will also be looking through Core 1 of Sonlight to see what we need to finish or if we can just skip what is left and move on to Core 2.  Isaac will continue with Core 5.

Isaac and I will be sitting down and filling out some scheduling blocks that I printed of from Donna Young.  I will be letting him choose what order he wants to do his school work.  As he finishes each subject for the day he will highlight it.  That way he and I can keep track of what he has done and what needs to be accomplished.  I am hoping to promote more independence in him.  Each year I have tried to teach him skills that will help him grow in his ability to study and learn successfully.  This year the focus will be on teaching him how to use his time wisely and to be more independent in his studying.

Well, now its time to tackle some organizing and scheduling because our first day is fast approaching...as a matter of fact it will be on MONDAY!  Sad to say I have waited to the end to tackle this, but tackle it I will!

Renewing My Joy

Today as I was talking to my friend who is new to homeschooling, I was thrilled to receive a bit of enlightenment from her.  She was explaining to me about some of the trials she has faced since pulling her children out of public school. As she continued to talk,  about the difficulties, joys and her goals for her children, I suddenly realized that at some point, some how I have lost  a bit of the joy of homeschooling.  My friend talked of helping her children enjoy learning. And of finding subjects that spark interest and a desire for learning for her boys.  She was full of joy and hope and possibilities.

These same things have always been so important to me. They have been goals of mine. I desire for my children to enjoy learning and if at all possible to LOVE it! Some where along this twisting road called homeschooling, I lost my vision for our school days.  I began to just focus on pushing through, getting it done, and along the way I lost the joy.

What a blessing to have a friend who helped to re-light my "homeschooling fire"!  I am ready to re-think our school days. I am ready to dig deeper into subjects that excite my children. I am ready to bring joy back into our learning. Truth be told, thanks to my friend, I am ready to teach again, to learn again, and to find joy in it!