Blogging from A to Z Theme Reveal: Hobbies

Next week I will begin the Blogging from A to Z Challenge for the month of April. I have done the challenge in two years (2013 and 2017). This will be my third year.

During 2013, the theme was homeschooling. I chose one topic for each day and Sophia, Olivia, and I did activities related to the topic (e.g., Agriculture, Baking, Composer Study, Drama, Etiquette, Flower Arranging).

During 2017, I focused on going through my homeschooling files that I created from the time that Sophia and Olivia were in preschool. Some of the files were still relevant while others I decluttered and recycled in the process.

Each day during April, I picked one of the files to focus on - either doing a hands-on activity or sharing some information from one of the files. On the average, there were three different topics that I wrote about each day - all starting with the same letter.

This year, I will be focusing on hobbies that I have introduced to my daughters to through their childhood and teen years. Some were done as part of homeschooling, while others were areas that we explored because we were interested in the subject or activity. These are hobbies that anyone of any age could try as well.

I had wanted to do an A to Z of quilting blocks using fabric that I had on hand. In that way, I could go through the bins of fabric and keep what I wanted, donate what I no longer needed, and use some of it for making quilt blocks. That may be a topic that I do more casually throughout a year - taking two weeks at a time to create a block rather than a day.

Outdoor Mom's Journal - February 2016

Each month I'm doing the Outdoor Mom's Journal which is an idea from the Handbook of Nature Study website. Below are my answers to the monthly prompts.

During our outdoor time this week we went....to the barn, around the backyard, and to the mailbox. We were sick so spending time outdoors was at a minimum.

The most inspiring thing I experienced was...seeing cardinals at the feeder outside my bedroom window. I changed the type of birdseed this past week to one designed for cardinals. Sure enough, they started appearing. There are both males and females; and we are hoping that they nest here again this spring.

Cardinal and black-capped chickadee 

at my feeder.

Our outdoor time made us ask (or wonder about)...if the cardinals that I was seeing had lived here before.

I did some searching on the internet and found out that cardinals don't migrate; and tend to live within a .6 to 1.2 mile range from where they were born.

Northern cardinals establish small territories surrounding their nest. Males will chase other male cardinals and intruders away from their territory to protect the young.

They also live to be 15 years old. So, quite possibly, these are cardinals that have been here before or perhaps have been at neighboring farms. Now, I need to figure out how to make our farm the best one for the cardinals so that they will stay here and we can enjoy their beauty year-round.

In the garden, we are planning/planting/harvesting....I've acquired the little pond and fountain that my parents used to have on their deck. I remember my dad had some plants and a goldfish or two in there. When the season changed, he gave the goldfish to a neighbor.

This spring, I'm trying to think about the best place to put the pond in the ground. We have another one that is in the butterfly garden that I would like to get going again. The birds enjoyed having a source of water and would sit on the rocks and drink from the little waterfall.

I am reading...the Wildlife Habitat Education Program manual for the 4-H Wildlife Project Bowl. This is a 300+ page manual that describes the 16 ecoregions in the United States, the wildlife found in each ecoregion, and wildlife management practices. It's an interesting book packed with information.

I've enjoyed reading articles in the paper that reference some of the terminology and concepts in the manual. Had I not been reading this, I would not understand as well what the articles were referencing.

I am dreaming about…the bulbs that I planted this past fall and hoping that they will bloom this spring. I also am hoping that the roses and lilies that I transplanted from my parents' gardens will bloom here and that they made it through the winter.

A photo I would like to share...at our 4-H Wildlife Project Bowl meeting, I encouraged the youth to bring in natural items that they had collected that wanted to show and talk about with others on the team. There was a diversity of items including: insects, butterflies, antlers, shells, feathers, and even a taxidermied duckling.

A table filled with items from nature that

4-H youth shared with one another.

The stuffed animals were brought by two girls as part of the team mascot contest. Each team (junior and senior) will have a team mascot that they will have with them when they are at the regional meet next month.

Nature Photo of the Week - Week 41 - Sunshine

For the 41st Nature Photo of the Week theme, "Sunshine," I chose flowers that reminded me of sunshine and the sun.

These flowers were at Franconia Sculpture Park along the trail that goes through the park and leads to various sculptures.

Our 4-H Photography Club met again this month and spent about 1 1/2 hours walking through the park. Between taking photographs of the sculptures, I enjoyed looking at the natural areas of the park - seeing milkweed seeds on the grass pathways, sections of prairie, and a beautiful, clear sky.

We have been very fortunate these past two meetings to have such lovely days to spend outdoors taking photos. I am grateful for the parent who is leading these sessions. If they weren't set up, chances are we would not have been out exploring the sculpture park on this particular afternoon. I would have missed all the beautiful things I saw...plus the always-changing fall leaves which are in full splendor right now.

Nature Photo of the Week - Week 39 - Details

During the past week, it has been raining off and on. This morning, it was raining and when there was a break in the rain, we went to the apple orchard for a tour with our 4-H club.

This beautiful orange flower was in a container garden outside of their little shop.

The level of detail in this one flower amazes me. I look at all the petals and how beautifully they are arranged. The different size petals - from the tiniest ones in the center to largest ones on the outside of the flower - are all a vibrant shade of orange - a welcome color against the gray sky.

It seemed like this was a fitting photo for theme of the 39th week of the Nature Photo of the Week: Details.

Nature Photo of the Week - Week 36 - Stranger

This is a slight departure from the "normal" Nature Photo of the Week. For the 36th week, I chose the theme "Stranger."

Out of the photos I took this past week, this one from our first 4-H meeting of the year, shows how children - some strangers to one another and some friends who knew one another from last year - came together and had fun playing with a parachute.

Getting youth outside - whether they are 2 years old or 15 years old (the age ranges of the youth in our 4-H club and their younger siblings) - is so important to their health and well-being. The smiles, laughter, and fun they had together was worth the investment of the parachute.

Children who were once strangers easily became friends this week when they were having fun together playing outdoors in nature.

Nature Photo of the Week - Week 34 - Tradition

One of our favorite traditions during the summer is raising monarch butterflies. We have been doing this for many years now...since Sophia and Olivia were young girls.

This is the first monarch that we raised and released this season. It had rained the evening before and throughout the day. We gave this butterfly plenty of time to dry its wings and then waited for the rain to stop during the day before releasing it.

It seemed to enjoy these flowers a lot, and stayed there a long time. The vivid color of the monarch against the flowers made for an uplifting image on an otherwise dreary day.

This is the 34th picture for the Nature Photo of the Week. The theme was "Tradition."

Tutorial: Making Homemade Goat Cheese

One of the projects that Sophia did this summer was learn how to make goat cheese. We visited Poplar Hill Dairy Goat Farm this past March with the 4-H Club, and both she and Olivia liked the goat milk and cheese.

We were able to see the baby goats (kids) that had recently been born.

The babies enjoyed getting the attention and were eager to show us some of their tricks - like hanging their front legs out of the tubs they were in.

We were also able to see the barns where the older goats were living. They were divided by age and gender.

The ones that we spent the most time with were the dairy goats.

Despite being pretty chilly outdoors (we visited the farm in March), it was comfortably warm indoors.

So, after the visit and enjoying at home more goat cheese that we purchased at Poplar Hill Dairy Goat Farm, Sophia wanted to see if she could make her own goat cheese. We looked on Pinterest and found two recipes. One pin led to Serious Eats and included a recipe to make a basic soft goat cheese.

To make it, you need the following ingredients:

1 quart goat milk (not ulta-pasturized)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 1/2 lemons)
1/2 clove freshly grated garlic
A few pinches coarse salt
Herbs (optional and the choice used is what you prefer): Rosemary, parsley, fennel, dill, chives, herbs de Provence, and other non-herbs like dried apricots.

The first step was to squeeze the juice from the lemons.

Next, fill a medium saucepan with goat milk. Heat gradually until it reaches 180°F. Watch closely. It should take about 15 minutes.

Once it hits 180°F, remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice.

Let it stand until the milk starts to curdle, about 20 seconds. Don't expect curdles, like cottage cheese curdles.

Line a colander with several layers of cheesecloth. Place the colander over a large bowl to catch the whey drips.

Pour the milk into the colander. The instructions said to pull up and tie the four corners of the cheesecloth together and hang on the handle of a wooden spoon. However, Sophia didn't do this. She just let the whey drip through the cheesecloth.

When it was done (about 1 1/2 hours later), she tightened the cheesecloth to get the remaining whey out of the curds. There was quite a bit of whey by the time it finished dripping through the colander.

Transfer to a bowl and fold in salt, garlic, and flavors of your choice.

Serve on fresh bread, salads, or with fruit. The goat cheese can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, but after a few days, the consistency isn't as smooth and spreadable.

The second type of cheese Sophia made was ricotta. We found a recipe for it on a pin on Pinterest that led to the Huffington Post that could be made with their goat or cow milk.

To make this recipe, you need:

4 cups whole milk
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons distilled vinegar, fresh lemon or lime juice
1 green onion

Since Sophia had used lemon juice with the other recipe, we were interested in seeing if the vinegar affected the flavor.

The first step is to place the milk in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add the salt and heat over medium heat. Stir occasionally so the milk doesn't scorch. Heat milk to 180ºF to 190ºF (82ºC to 88ºC). If you don't have a thermometer, heat the milk until it foams at the sides of the pan and starts simmering, but doesn't boil.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the vinegar, lemon juice, or lime juice as well as the green onion. Stir only a couple of times. Almost immediately, curds will start to form.

Do not stir any more or the curds will be disturbed. Let the mixture stand for five minutes.

Line a medium colander with cheesecloth and carefully pour the milk mixture onto the cheesecloth. Let drain for 5-20 minutes to the desired consistency. Draining for five minutes will give you a moist and creamy cheese. Draining for 20 minutes will give you a drier ricotta.

Transfer the ricotta to a container and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for up to seven days.

Both cheeses turned out well. However, we probably would not make them again. The girls preferred the harder goat cheese that was at Poplar Hill Dairy Goat Farm versus the soft versions at home. For some reason, the cheese we made had a stronger "goat flavor" than what Sophia and Olivia preferred to eat.

That being said, this was an interesting project to do and helped Sophia learn the cheese-making process. She entered the photographs and description of the process she went through in the county fair for a 4-H project and received a blue ribbon. 

Lace Pottery Bowl - A DIY Homeschool Art Project

Olivia enjoys working with clay, and I happened to have some air-dry clay in my supply closet that I thought would be fun for her to use.

The first step to making a lace pottery bowl was to cut off a section of the clay and get it soft enough to roll out.

Then, Olivia rolled the clay out in a circular shape.

Next, she took a lace doily and pressed it into the clay using the rolling pin. She went over it many times so the impression would show up in the clay.

When she done, Olivia removed the doily from the clay.

The placed the clay into a shallow bowl that doubles as a small plate, and used a scissor to trim the edges.

She left the clay in the bowl so that it can harden in that shape. It will take 2-3 days for the air-dry clay to be dry.

When she is done, she will paint it with acrylic paint and seal it with Mod Podge. It is not a bowl that can be washed in the dishwasher. Rather, it will be something decorative that can hold items like jewelry.

(The idea for this project came from a pin on Pinterest that led to A Bit of Bees Knees.)

Watercolor Project on Pinterest - Saw It/Tried It!

Recently I've been looking on Pinterest for ideas for Sophia and Olivia for the upcoming 4-H county fair. One of the ideas I found was a watercolor painting that Olivia wanted to try. The original pin on Pinterest led to Artsonia.

Olivia's finished watercolor painting.

According to Artsonia, "American artist, Jasper Johns was the inspiration [for this art project]. He is known for his drawing and painting numbers in an abstracted way."

One of Jasper Johns' paintings.

 Photo source.

To do this project, Olivia first drew a spiral in pencil on her watercolor paper.

Drawing a spiral.

Then, she wrote the alphabet multiple times around the spiral, with the top of the letters touching the spiral. Some of the letters are close together, while others are spread out more.

Adding the letters.

The next step was to use watercolor paint to fill in the shapes that were part of the letter as well as that were created by the space between the letters.

Painting the spaces.

Olivia painted a variety of colors in random spots so they would be spread across the spiral.

Adding more color.

When the piece was dry, she took a thick Sharpie marker and outlined each letter and the spiral. It was amazing how much the defined, black line added to the picture.

The letters and spiral outlined with 

a black Sharpie marker.

Artsonia also noted that pieces done like this "look like stained glass. Rose windows, from the Renaissance period" were looked at so Olivia could compare and contrast her work with these antique windows.

Olivia thought the project a lot of work to do (this took many days for her to complete). However, the result was worth it. She is very happy with how it turned out.

Olivia with her finished painting.

She will be entering it into the "fine arts" category of the 4-H county fair.

S is for Schedule - A to Z April Challenge

This year has become quite busy and much more complicated than past years with additional activities, music lessons, and educational partnering/therapy with the local school. It seems as if homeschooling has been happening in more places that aren't home than in previous years.

Olivia painting a pot at the 4-H meeting in April.

I miss the days that had open space on the calendar...time to relax and enjoy the moments with Sophia and Olivia rather than watching them rush by. If anything, this year has taught me that there is value in being underscheduled rather than overscheduled.

Sophia enjoying doing spelling surrounded by the pets.

She has four of the five cats and both dogs

sitting by her.

As I'm looking towards the upcoming homeschool year, I am revisiting some of the beginning stages of education and scheduling. In the preschool, Kindergarten, and early-elementary school years, I followed a Waldorf approach.

We used to take nature walks regularly when 

Sophia and Olivia were younger.

I would like to begin doing this on a regular basis again.

This is a turkey vulture that we spotted sitting on a fence 

at the end of the road we live on.

Sophia took this picture of it.

The Waldorf philosophy has a strong belief in a schedule that has a rhythm to it. Children thrive when their schedule is predictable and there is a consistent rhythm - either day-to-day or week-to-week. When children's daily activities reflect the natural order of life with a rhythmic arrangement, they flourish.

Rhythm - or a predictable schedule - provides a series of fixed anchors for children to work around in their day and week.  Meal times, bed times, play times, work times - all are gently scheduled to provide a nurturing home and homeschooling environment.

So, generally, what does that look like? From a food perspective, there is a type of food that is eaten on a particular day of the week, according to the Table of Correspondences. For example:

Sunday - Wheat
Monday - Rice
Tuesday - Oats
Wednesday - Millet
Thursday - Rye
Friday - Barley
Saturday - Corn

For our family, it would something that's a key part of a meal - whether it be breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack. Perhaps for ease and consistency, having it be the focus of a snack rather than at each and/or every meal would be sufficient. For lunches, we could have a different bread that uses each grain of the day to accompany a salad.

Sophia hopes to be a baker or chef someday, so the grain of the day was something of particular interest to her.

Sophia making a cheeseburger casserole.

Another thing that I like about having a predictable schedule is that children (and adults) can look forward to activities that create a pleasant home environment and/or are mentally or spiritually enriching. These are once-a-week activities above and beyond the normal curriculum. For example:

Sunday - Cooking
Monday - Gardening (outdoor and/or indoor - depending on the season)
Tuesday - Painting
Wednesday - Bread Making
Thursday - Doing Handwork
Friday - Adventuring
Saturday - Doing Housework

Olivia used her binoculars on a walk we took on April 16th 

when we spotted tundra swans in a small pond 

in a neighbor's cornfield. 

The last area that I like is having a color of the day. This can be as simple as having placemats and napkins in  the featured color:

Sunday - White
Monday - Purple
Tuesday - Red
Wednesday - Yellow
Thursday - Orange
Friday - Green
Saturday - Blue

Taking it a step further - there could be a candle(s) on the table and/or a centerpiece that ties into the color. Some families and Waldorf schools incorporate food that is the color of the day into some of the meals.

Olivia liked the color of the day idea a lot. She's a very visual and artistic child, so this resonated with her in particular.

I'd like to begin doing this in June when we transition to our summer homeschooling schedule. Our schedule is lighter from June-August than it is from September-May, so it will be a good time to make modifications to our schedule and try some new simple ideas to make life more peaceful, predictable, and relaxed...a place to nourish all of our souls.

M is for Music - A to Z April Challenge

An important part of our homeschooling curriculum is music. In addition to composer studies in which we learn about six composers and six of their works (per composer) over a 36-week period, Sophia and Olivia also have learned to read and play music.

Sophia has played the piano since September 2010. She was 9 1/2 years old when she began learning to play the piano.

Sophia playing the piano for her grandma.

Once she could read the notes as well as understand note values and counting, she began playing the harp in June 2011. She was about 10 1/2 years old when she began learning to play the harp.

Sophia playing the harp.

Although she wanted to learn the violin shortly after that, I wanted her to have at least a full year of harp lessons. So, in November 2012 she began playing the violin. She was one month shy of her 12th birthday.

Sophia practicing the violin.

Olivia has played the piano since June 2011. She was 8 years old when she began learning to play the piano.

Olivia playing the piano.

She tried percussion in June 2012 - starting with the glockenspiel - however, the sound ended up being too loud for her. With sensory issues, as the months went by, she became more reluctant to play the instrument. With this one being the first out of 23 instruments she would have had to learn how to play within the percussion field, it was better she stopped learning percussion than having the experience be miserable.

So, Olivia is focusing her efforts exclusively on the piano which has provided her with an opportunity to concentrate her practicing on one instrument and gain more skill and comfort with playing.

What does the 2013-2014 school year hold for both the girls in terms of music? At this point, Sophia is deciding whether to learn another instrument (trombone or percussion) and/or continue piano since she now knows how to read music. Olivia is still thinking of continuing piano, but isn't sure whether she will be adding another instrument so she can play in orchestra or band.

Regardless, music will always play a critical role in our homeschooling curriculum. Living in a home filled with music is wonderful...and truly a gift that will last a lifetime.