Making Homemade Feeders for the Birds

My daughters and I made a variety of homemade feeders and seed mix for the birds this summer. We have enjoyed watching a variety of birds eat at the feeders: nuthatches, blue jays, black-capped chickadees, downy woodpeckers, gray catbirds, house sparrows, and purple finches.

These recipes are easy and fun to make; and watching the birds provides entertainment, enjoyment, and educational value for people of all ages...especially children.

Peanut Butter Bird Seed Balls

Peanut Butter Bird Seed Balls 

before they were placed in the freezer.

Ingredients:

2 cups bread crumbs
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup flour (use whole wheat if possible)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1 cup unsalted nuts
4-5 chopped apples
1 cup raisins
1 8 oz. jar chunky peanut butter
1 cup bird seed
1 c. suet

Directions:

Mix ingredients well. If necessary you can add additional suet or even bacon drippings if it is too crumbly. Shape into balls. Freeze.

These can be placed in a mesh bag and hung outside on a tree limb for the birds to enjoy. Otherwise, do as we did: place them on top of birdseed in an open feeder.

Popcorn Bird Treat

Popcorn Bird Treat before was placed in mesh bags.

Ingredients:

Peanut Butter
7 cups popcorn (no salt or butter)
Blanched peanuts, Craisens, raisins, and/or dried blueberries
Egg shells
Cracked corn
Black oil sunflower seed

Directions:

Mix all together and put in a mesh bag. Hang in the tree for the birds to enjoy.

Hanging the feeder filled with popcorn, fruit, and 

other goodies for the birds.

Suet and Meal Worm Log Feeder

Log - about 2 feet long that is dry
Eye screw
Drill with various size drill bits
Suet
Dried meal worms
Twine or heavy yarn

Place eye screw in one end of the log. Using a drill and various size drill bits, place many holes in the log that are about 1/2 deep.

Drilling holes in the log.

Fill with suet and dried meal worms.

Placing suet in one of the holes.

Put twine or heavy yarn through the eye screw and hang onto a tree branch. Make sure the branch is thick enough to support the feeder.

Two birds at the feeders.

As a side note, within one minute of coming indoors from hanging the log feeder in the tree, a black-capped chickadee found it. From that point on, there were many bird visitors of different types (mostly chickadees, nuthatches, and woodpeckers).

Crescent Pepperoni Roll Ups

Recently I saw a pin for Crescent Pepperoni Roll Ups on Plain Chicken. This was so easy to make and everyone liked it. It definitely will be one of the recipes I can use when I'm time-pressed and need to make a simple dinner.

Crescent Pepperoni Roll Ups we made.

Ingredients:
1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
40 slices turkey pepperoni (we used regular pepperoni)
4 pieces of mozzarella string cheese, cut in half
garlic powder
pizza sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Unroll crescent rolls and separate into 8 triangles. Place 5 slices of pepperoni on each crescent roll. Top pepperoni with string cheese half and roll up. Sprinkle crescent rolls with garlic powder. Place rolls on baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with a side of warm pizza sauce.

Bringing Literature Alive: Catherine Called Birdy

During the summer, we read Catherine, Called Birdy for the book club that I was coordinating for a group of girls. At the meeting, we focused on activities that related to Catherine, Called Birdy which was set in 1290. We did activities that were related to that time period as well as ones that were mentioned in the book (e.g., journal making/keeping).

Book/Journal Making

We made a couple different small books/journals. One was made from a brown bag that could be carried. It is tied shut at the top which the girls liked. They used a variety of ribbons to make their ties. I saw a pin for the idea on Pinterest. The pin led to instructions on The Examiner.

Making a journal from a brown paper bag and copy paper.

The girls decorated the outside with markers and stickers.

We discussed the difference between a journal and diary. (A journal is much more personal than a diary. A journal contains feelings, emotions, problems, assurances and is used to examine one’s life. Diary writing is a daily activity whereas journal writing can be done whenever the writer feels the need to write.)

This was a small book that was made with 

two rectangular sheets of paper.

The girls both enjoyed making this type of book.

Another book the girls made used two rectangular sheets of paper. Some girls choose the same colors while others chose different colors. The idea came from a pin on Pinterest that led to Artists Helping Children.

Birdy Bingo

We played Birdy Bingo where each of the spots on the board had a medieval theme picture. The girls all enjoyed this game...especially since there were prizes!

Playing Birdy Bingo.

Bird Ornament

We cut out and created bird ornaments. There is a pin that led to Make: Craft that has a PDF file with the bird images.

Sophia and another book club participant making bird ornaments.

Catapults

We created and used catapults that we made from popsicle sticks and clothespins. We tested them out using different size pompoms and paper to see how far they would travel.

I got the idea from a pin on Pinterest. There were no instructions for the catapult, but it was easy enough to figure out how to make it.

Watercolor Painting

I saw a pin on Pinterest with an image of cute birds that were done with watercolor paints and Sharpies.

The girls doing a watercolor painting of birds.

Elivie's Studio showed how the artist created images of birds using the paints and markers.

Olivia adding details to her bird painting.

This was one of the favorite activities of the morning.

Beekeeping

A few times in the book bees, beeswax, and honey were mentioned. We looked at pictures from beehives and of beekeeping; smelled and touched beeswax; and looked at some beekeeping equipment (hat, coverall/suit, and smoker).

Wool and Sheep

One of the tasks that Catherine did was spin wool.

Looking at cotton and comparing it to sheep wool.

We looked at wool from a sheep and tried carding wool. The wool was compared to raw cotton that was shown and could be touched. The cotton was from a field in Alabama.

Olivia carding wool with another book club participant.

Food Sampling

We ate some food that was mentioned in the book; and is the most readily-obtainable and familiar to the children these days. We enjoyed a variety of nuts, cheeses, honey, apples (plain and dried), ginger wafers, and apple tart. We even had pickled herring on crackers!

All of the girls tried the herring at the same time.

Their reactions were quite interesting to the taste.

Sophia's reaction after seeing 

some of the other girls' reaction to trying herring.

There were many foods less common today that were mentioned as well – such as pigs’ stomachs to eels – but these probably wouldn’t have been well received by the children. The recipes for the ginger wafers and apple tart are below.

Apple Tart (Serves 6-8)

This recipe is from a pin I saw on Pinterest. It led to Maman's Apple Tart. It was okay...but we probably would not make it again.

Apple tart.

INGREDIENTS

1 1⁄4 cups flour
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 1⁄2" cubes and chilled
3 tbsp. vegetable shortening
2 tbsp. milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 large Golden Delicious, Empire, or Cortland apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 8–12 wedges
2 tbsp. apricot preserves or jam

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 1 tbsp. sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add 3 tbsp. butter and the shortening and, using your fingers, rub into flour mixture to form coarse pea-size pieces. Add milk and egg and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Bring dough together with your hands. Transfer dough to a 9" glass pie plate and, using lightly floured fingers, press dough into bottom and sides; refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. Arrange apple wedges side by side on bottom of pie plate like the spokes of a wheel, pushing gently into the dough as you go. Halve remaining apples and put in middle of tart. Sprinkle apples with remaining sugar and dot with the remaining chilled butter. Bake until the crust is golden, about 45 minutes. Using a pastry brush, brush apricot preserves over the tart and bake for 10 minutes more. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Ginger Wafers

I found the recipe for the ginger wafers on Pinterest. This is the pin with the image of the cookies. They didn't exactly turn out like the pin because I didn't frost them. Like the apple tart, it was okay. We have a ginger cookie that we all prefer that has three different types of ginger (dried, candied, and fresh).

INGREDIENTS

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons white sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, and then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 Tbsp. of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.

3. Bake for 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on a baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Optional Glaze:

1/4 tsp. vanilla
1-1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted (add a little more if needed)
3-5 tsp. milk, as needed

Combine ingredients only using 3 tsp. of milk; add more a little at a time as needed to get a drizzling consistency.

Book Tie-In

After we were home, we read Marguerite Makes a Book. I saw the pin for the book on Pinterest. The girls enjoyed listening to it, and hearing the connections to what they did and ate. For example, parsley was used to create a green-color for paint.

Learning about Rosh Hashanah + Honey Cake Recipe

Part of this year's homeschooling goals is to learn about different holidays and celebrations - religious and cultural ones throughout the world. Today marks Rosh Hashanah - one of the High Holy Days of the Jewish faith.

We read two books about Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (which occurs later this month):

=> On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur - by Kathy Goldberg Fishman

=> Celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur with Honey, Prayers, and the Shofar - by Deborah Heiligman and Rabbi Shira Stern

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year. According to On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, "Rosh Hashanah is not the new year in terms of months...it is the new year for how we think and act."

What we enjoyed reading and learning about is the special traditions associated with this holiday. One of the things that families do is light holiday candles before they eat the New Year's meal. People pray for a new year of joy, good health, and peace.

There are many items that are round that are part of Rosh Hashanah, most notably apples and raisin-filled challah (a type of bread). They are round like the cycle of the year is round.

Hand-embroidered apple on a quilt I made.

Honey also is a part of the meal. Apples and/or challah can be dipped in honey. This symbolizes the hope that the new year will be sweet - as sweet as honey and challah, apples, and honey taste.

Olivia and Sophia trying to find the queen bee

in a glass-enclosed frame at the 

2012 Minnesota State Fair.

People go to synagogue to pray and listen to the shofar (a curved horn of a ram). In the afternoon, they visit a river, lake, or other body of water. They take either lint from their pockets or bits of crumbs and toss it into the water. This represents the bad deeds and thoughts of the past year. As they float away, people promise to try to do better in the new year.

The girls watching fish swimming in the St. Croix River

on their first day of homeschool for the 2013-14 year.

Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), people think about the good things that they should do during the upcoming year. Money is put in a tzedakah box which is given to rabbis so they an help people who are in need.

Quarters - real and rubbings.

Besides reading about Rosh Hashanah today, the girls made a recipe that was in Celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur with Honey, Prayers, and the Shofar: Rabbi Shira's Honey Cake. This is a delicious cake that is rich with spices and honey. It has a similar texture to a sponge cake.

A piece of Rabbi Shira's Honey Cake that the girls made

for Rosh Hashanah.

Ingredients

5 eggs

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup oil

3/4 cup honey

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 3/4 cups self-rising flour

Confectioner's sugar

Slivered almonds, lightly toasted (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Separate egg whites and egg yolks. Beat egg whites with a mixer until they look stiff. Slowly add sugar to egg whites with mixer at lowest speed. Add egg yolks and oil to egg-white mixture with a whisk. Be gentle. Keep stirring.

Add honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and flour using a wooden spoon. Remember to be gentle. Stir until all the flour is absorbed.

Pour batter into a 10-inch pan sprayed with vegetable oil and then lightly dusted with flour. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out gooey, the cake's not done yet. Try not to open the door of the oven until you think the time is up. 

Cool in pan for 15 minutes. Loosen the edges and bottom of the cake with a long knife. Turn the cake onto a rack.

Once the cake is completely cool, place it on a plate. To make it look pretty, shake confectioner's sugar on top. Sprinkled with the almonds, if you like.

Recipes for a Labor Day Meal

We tried a variety of new recipes for Labor Day this year. This is a result of doing an online homeschooling planning session during August. Part of the task was to look at the rhythm of the year - which includes holidays and special celebrations.

I went through my recipes as well as looked on Pinterest for ideas for some ideas for a Labor Day meal. Below are the recipes and pictures of what we made.

For our main meal, we ate later in the day...about 2:00 p.m. We had brats, hot dogs, baked beans, honey sweet corn, and an orange-lemonade drink. For dessert, we had peach melba mountain. The last three items were all new recipes.

Peach Melba Mountain I made for Labor Day.

For dinner, we weren't very hungry so we just had some crackers and cheese. We also had caramel apple grapes and homemade peach ice cream for dessert. The recipes for these items are below.

Honey Sweet Corn

Honey Sweet Corn.

This recipe is from Taste of Home magazine. (I found a pin for it on Pinterest as well.) It's very easy to make and everyone enjoyed it. The honey does not add a lot of flavor. In fact, we weren't able to taste it. Perhaps it did add a hint of sweetness, though, to the corn.

6 medium ears sweet corn
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon honey
Ground pepper and salt

Place corn in a Dutch oven or stockpot; cover with water. Bring to a boil; cover and cook for 5-10 minutes or until tender. Drain. In a small bowl, combine butter and honey; brush over corn. Sprinkled with salt and pepper, if desired.

Orange-Lemonade 

Orange-Lemonade.

Holidays Central has a variety of recipes for Labor Day. (This is the pin on Pinterest.) One that I wanted to try was the beverage. My grandma used to make orange-lemonade from fresh oranges and lemons. I still prefer my grandma's version, but this recipe was so easy to make.

The only modification that I made to the recipe was that I didn't include the grated lemon peel or orange peel. If the girls saw the peels floating in their beverage, they wouldn't have drank it.

1 1/4 cup water + 3 cups water, divided
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon grated orange peel

Bring 1 1/4 cup water and sugar to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Allow to cool and then pour into a pitcher.

Stir in lemon juice, orange juice, grated lemon peel, and grated orange peel. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Stir in 3 cups of water and serve over ice.

Peach Melba Mountain

Peach Melba Mountain.

Made from angel food cake, whipped topping, 

peaches, and strawberries.

I've wanted to try this recipe for seven years now...it's from the May/June 2006 issue of Country Woman. (I also have a pin of it on Pinterest.) The three-layer angel food cake has lots of fresh fruit and whipped topping between each layer, so the final cake ends up being very tall.

Instead of raspberries, I used strawberries, and I didn't include any almonds in the recipe - either in the topping or as decoration.

The recipe calls for letting it chill for 30 minutes before serving. Since we were going to be eating only a small part of the cake, I chose to remove a section, do the layering with the whipped topping and fruit, and immediately serve it. By chilling it for 30 minutes, it could give the cake a bit more stability and ease for cutting. Otherwise, it is a wobbly cake (because of the height) and difficult to cut into thin slices.

1 package (16 ounces) angel food cake mix
1 package (3 ounces) peach or orange gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 carton (12 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 cup sliced almonds, toasted, divided
3 cups sliced peeled fresh peaches
3 cups fresh raspberries

Prepare and bake cake according to package directions, using an ungreased 10-in. tube pan (also known as an angel food cake pan). Immediately invert pan; cool completely, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, dissolve gelatin in boiling water; cool. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and extract until fluffy. Gradually beat in gelatin. Fold in whipped topping and 3/4 cup almonds. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Run a knife around side and center tube of pan. Remove cake.

Cut cake into three horizontal layers. Place bottom layer on a serving plate; spread with a third of the cream mixture. Top with 1 cup of peaches and 1 cup of raspberries. Repeat layers.

Adding the fruit layer.

Sprinkle with remaining almonds. Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 12-14 servings.

Nutritional Facts: 1 serving (1 slice) equals 336 calories, 13 g fat (8 g saturated fat), 18 mg cholesterol, 301 mg sodium, 47 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 7 g protein.

Caramel Apple Grapes

Caramel Apple Grapes.

I saw a pin for caramel apple grapes on Pinterest. The pin led to a recipe on On The Kitchen Life of a Navy Wife. I was intrigued by this one because it said that the grapes end up tasting just like caramel apples. None of us thought they tasted like caramel apples, but they were delicious nonetheless.

They are easy to make. One thing we learned was that it was best to allow some of the caramel to drip off of the grape before putting it in the peanuts. We also didn't have enough toothpicks on hand, so we just used a few toothpicks to dip the grapes and them removed them when we were done.

1 cup caramel bits
2 tablespoons heavy cream
handful of seedless green grapes
1 cup salted peanuts, crushed
toothpicks

Poke toothpicks into the tops of each grape; set aside. In a small pot over medium-low heat, combine the caramel bits and cream. Stir until melted. Reduce heat to lowest setting just to keep warm.

Place the peanuts in a shallow dish and dip the grapes into the caramel sauce and then roll in the crushed nuts. Place on a plate to set. Repeat until all the grapes are used.

Peach Cheesecake Ice Cream

Peach Cheesecake Ice Cream.

I've been holding onto this recipe for years (since 2007), and I'm so glad that we finally tried it! (I also pinned it on Pinterest.) This is an incredibly rich and flavorful ice cream. You do not need to eat a lot to enjoy it.

We followed the recipe closely with the exception of the last part that talks about dividing the peaches and adding them to each batch. The ice cream maker we have was large enough to hold the entire recipe, so we could add the peaches all at once.

We also were unable to find peach nectar. So, we substituted mango nectar and guava nectar - 1/4 cup each to equal the 1/2 cup that was noted in the recipe.

1 cup milk
1-1/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons sugar, divided
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, cubed
1/2 cup peach nectar
4 teaspoons lemon juice
4 medium peaches, peeled and chopped or 1-1/2 cups frozen sliced peaches, chopped

In a small saucepan, heat milk to 175°; stir in 1-1/4 cups sugar until dissolved. Whisk a small amount into the egg yolks. Return all to the pan, whisking constantly. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture reaches at least 160° and coats the back of a metal spoon.

Remove from the heat. Cool quickly by placing pan in a bowl of ice water; stir for 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.

In a blender, combine the cream, vanilla and cream cheese; cover and process until smooth. Add to cooled milk mixture. Stir in peach nectar and lemon juice. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. (Note: we refrigerated the mixture for three hours.)

Fill cylinder of ice cream freezer two-thirds full; freeze according to manufacturer's directions. Place peaches in a bowl; sprinkle with remaining sugar. Set aside, stirring several times. Drain and discard juice from peaches. Add some of the peaches to each batch of ice cream during the last 5 minutes of freezing.

Refrigerate remaining mixture and peaches until ready to freeze. Transfer ice cream to a freezer container; freeze for 2-4 hours before serving. May be frozen for up to 2 months.

Yield: 2 quarts.

The ice cream is loaded with fresh peaches.

I enjoyed making a variety of new recipes. Sophia helped me with the ice cream and caramel apple grapes which made being in the kitchen on a holiday even that much better!

Homeschool Planning for 2013-14

Since early-August I've been planning the 2013-14 homeschool year. I registered for an online class called "Sketching it Out :: A Four Week Planning Session" led by Lisa Boisvert Mackenzie.

Originally, it was a four-week planning session. However, it has since expanded to eight weeks. The original participants went through the four-week planning process; and then could choose to begin again. This has been helpful to re-visit some of the earlier topics covered and fill in sections that I didn't have time to address during the first process.

At any rate, the focus of the class was an exploring the rhythm of the year in the context of planning a homeschool year. We began by getting a planner. I had several on hand, so I picked a small, maroon 3-ring binder. I added a pencil case and lined paper.

3-ring binder for academic work,

tabbed dividers, and a pencil case.

I also added some information I printed out from Lisa's website and links; some of the ideas from conversations on the Yahoo group set up for the class; and other ideas from the internet that focused on creating rhythm in the home and within homeschooling.

I began pinning ideas on Pinterest for different subjects:
=> Waldorf Rhythm, Routines, and Meal Times
=> Waldorf-Inspired Home

The next step was to create a school calendar. For us, that means a yearly calendar since I consider homeschooling more of a learning lifestyle than a set period of days when the girls learn. That being said, there is a "start date" and "end date" of the more "formal" homeschooling. This year, that is September 3rd and May 30th respectively.

School calendar.

Normally, we go on a "not back to school" trip the day after Labor Day for a few days. This year, however, we will not be going on a trip. Instead, we will do a "not back to school picnic" on September 3rd - the day after Labor Day.

Also on the calendar are days that there are no school or a holiday. This year on holidays we will focus on activities related to the holiday rather than doing traditional school work.

The calendar also shows birthdays and anniversaries (e.g., Adoption Days); breaks; and when we start and end the time period where we focus more on alternative ways to learn (e.g., 4-H, county fair, state fair).

Wheel of the Year.

Next, I looked at the different holidays that we will be celebrating and learning about this year; and found pins on Pinterest for them. We will be celebrating additional holidays and special days (e.g., New Year' Day, Mother's Day), but these are the core ones that had quite a few ideas that I wanted to remember.

JANUARY
=> Epiphany
=> Tu B'Shevat
=> Chinese New Year

FEBRUARY
=> Brigid's Day
=> Candlemas
=> Groundhog's Day
=> Valentine's Day

MARCH
=> Mardi Gras
=> Lent
=> St. Patrick's Day
=> Spring Equinox

APRIL
=> Passover
=> Easter

MAY
=> May Day
=> Memorial Day

JUNE
=> Pentecost or Whitsun
=> Summer Solstice
=> St. John's Tide

JULY
=> Fourth of July

AUGUST
=> Lammas

SEPTEMBER
=> Labor Day
=> Autumn Equinox
=> Rosh Hashana
=> Michaelmas

OCTOBER
=> Yom Kippur
=> Halloween

NOVEMBER
=> All Saints Day
=> All Souls Day
=> Martinmas
=> Adoption Day Celebrations
=> Chanukah
=> Thanksgiving

DECEMBER
=> Advent
=> St. Nicholas Day
=> St. Lucia Day
=> Las Posadas
=> Winter Solstice
=> Christmas Eve and Day
=> 12 Days After Christmas
=> New Years Eve

Monthly activities on a circular calendar.

I created a wheel of the year after I found a pin that I liked. using a free PDF pattern from Daily Colours.

Then I looked at the weekly rhythm that I would like to start doing this year. Some of the ideas are based on Rudolph Steiner's beliefs and/or what some families using a Waldorf methodology/lifestyle follow (e.g., color of the day, grain of the day) while others are what works best for our family.

Rhythm of the week.

I noted the color of the day, grain of the day, activity of the day that involves Sophia and Olivia, and an activity of the day for me. Some of the activities that I do, the girls can help (e.g., Soup Day), but most are personal things that I want or need to get done.

SUNDAY
=> White
=> Wheat
=> Bread Making
=> Renew the Spirit

MONDAY
=> Violet
=> Rice
=> Music
=> Errands

TUESDAY
=> Red
=> Oats
=> Art and Painting
=> Mending

WEDNESDAY
=> Orange
=> Millet
=> Writing
=> Yard Work

THURSDAY
=> Yellow
=> Rye
=> Nature
=> Wash and dry bedding + towels

FRIDAY
=> Green
=> Barley
=> Adventuring (field trips, visit my mom, volunteering at the nursing home)
=> Soup Day

SATURDAY
=> Blue
=> Corn
=> Handiwork (e.g., sewing, embroidery, crocheting, knitting)
=> Menu Planning (also includes cleaning out the refrigerator)

Daily activities on a circular weekly calendar.

Once the color of the days were set, I thought that the best way to implement that was by having them be a part of the meal. For example, it may be the color coasters, place mats, tablecloth, table runner, and/or candles that we use.

I also looked on Pinterest for ideas for food that incorporates the different grains. I was surprised at the lack of recipes for millet. Apparently it's an under-rated grain.

I also made a rhythm of the week wheel. Daily Colours (the website mentioned above) has a free PDF pattern. However, I ended up using only the back and pointer. The colors on Wednesday and Thursday were the reverse of what I wanted to do in my family. (I prefer the flow of red-orange-yellow-green rather than red-yellow-orange-green since it follows the look of a rainbow.)

So, I made the circle and divided it into seven sections. I wrote the daily information into each section, and then colored in each part with the appropriate Prismacolor colored pencil.

One of the other things I did that ties into both the monthly holidays and special days; and the weekly grains was go through a binder that I have with lots of recipes that I would like to try. The recipes were divided by type (e.g., appetizer, main dish, bread, vegetables). This did not lend itself well to easily finding recipes.

To address this challenge, I went through all the recipes and pulled out ones that I'd like to try during a particular month, at a specific holiday/special occasion, or that included the grain of the day.

After the recipes were divided, I put each grouping into a plastic sheet protector. In this way, I can easily find recipes that use peaches, for example, since they are in the August sheet protector. (This is the month that peaches are readily available in Minnesota.)

The next step for me was to figure out what to teach on a daily basis. Honestly, this is where I got stuck for well over a week. The girls each have some work left to do from the 2012-13 school year. Since they enjoyed what they were doing, I wanted to continue with it into this year. There were other subjects or activities that I let go in favor of new ones that we will be adding this year.

The other challenge is that funds are quite limited this year. That means there is no extra money to purchase curriculum that I would like to try. Rather, I went through the resources I have on hand as well as look at free resources online to create the curriculum for the 2013-14 homeschool year.

A page from Sonlight's curriculum.

This is the one that Sophia will be finishing this year.

Already, there is quite a bit done on this particular week.

As I have done in the past, I look at the girls' interests, skill levels, educational levels, and learning styles. Although both girls have a strong interest in reading and literature, Sophia has done particularly well with Sonlight's curriculum.

Page from Sonlight's science curriculum schedule.

Thankfully, Sonlight includes so much into one level of of curriculum, that it can be stretched out into 1 1/2 - sometimes 2 years. In Sophia's case, she will complete what she started last year by January 2014. At that point, she will move onto Ambleside Online since it's a free curriculum and follows Charlotte Mason's educational philosophy.

Page of Ambleside Online's schedule for Olivia.

Olivia will be starting with Ambleside Online in September. Since she is working with the local elementary school to receive assistance with some learning, auditory processing, and short-term memory issues, some of her subjects are covered in a way that works well for her: through workbooks.

This is quite a different path than both a Waldorf and Charlotte Mason approach, however, for Olivia it works well. The workbooks are supplemented by "living books" from the library which gives her some quality reading on subjects addressed in the workbooks.

She also will be doing Beyond Five in a Row. During the first semester, she'll be working on four books (two fiction and two non-fiction). There are a wide variety of hands-on activities for her to which she is looking forward to doing.

One of the pages in the planning binder.

There are three of these per week - 

each row has a different subject.

In addition, the girls each have a variety of subjects that they learn about during the year:

A to Z Book (Olivia is creating a book about different subjects that begin with each letter of the alphabet)
Art
Character Education
Foreign Language (French for Olivia; Spanish for Sophia)
Grammar
Handwriting (standard for Olivia and Spencerian for Sophia)
Holidays
Journaling
Latin/Greek (Sophia only)
Literature (listen to 1 Newberry award book per month)
Math
Music (piano for Olivia; piano, harp, and violin for Sophia)
Nature Journaling
Physical Education (sports, equine vaulting, dog training, dog agility training - not all at the same time)
Poetry
Religion
Science
Service/Volunteering
Social Studies (includes geography and history)
Speech Therapy (Olivia only)
Spelling
Typing
U.S. Geography
Vocabulary
Writing
4-H

Another page with more subjects

that the girls will study in the 2013-14 school year.

Using free printable sheets from Donna Young's website, I did a plan for these subjects as well as using Sonlight's, Ambleside Online's, and Beyond Five in a Row's schedules for 9 weeks. This will take us to November 2nd. At that time, I will complete another 9 weeks of planning based on what has and hasn't been completed. I have the schedule for the academic portion of the girls' year in a purple 3-ring binder. There are tabbed-dividers that separate the plans by week.

One of the many types of planning sheets 

available from the Donna Young website.

The last component of planning for the upcoming home- and homeschooling year including creating a larger binder with non-academic subjects and home management items.

Binder with non-academic subjects and 

home management items.

Organized Home has many free printables that will be invaluable this year in terms of keeping organized. The tabbed sections in the white 3-ring binder include:

- Contact numbers - includes emergency numbers, frequently-used numbers, and a list of birthdays/anniversaries

- Menu planning - this has a plan for theme dinners when things get a bit more hectic and we don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, or making meals for various school subjects (e.g., meals that focus on different states, meals from Beyond Five in a Row).

Some of the meal themes dovetail nicely with the grain of the day. For example, on Monday the grain is rice so I chose "Asian Night" as the theme. On Saturday, the grain is corn so I thought "Mexican Night" might fit well. Here is the weekly plan:

Sunday - Sunday Dinner - meat with potatoes and carrots. The leftover meat can be used for sandwiches during the week. Have a very light meal in the evening if anyone is hungry (e.g., cheese, crackers, fruit).

Monday - Asian Night

Tuesday - Crockpot Night

Wednesday - Pasta Night

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - Soup Night with Fresh Bread

Saturday - Mexican Night

I've also included several printables from Organized Home in this section including weekly and monthly meal planners.

Shopping List - Copies of a shopping list. One will be posted in the kitchen to add to each week. In this way, when we run out of something it can be immediately added to the list.

Food Inventories - There are sheets for the freezer, pantry, and larder. The larder, in our case, is part of a closet that holds heavier canned goods (e.g., peaches, pears, tomatoes, applesauce) as well as the top shelves of a built-in bookcase that hold lighter canned goods (e.g., jams, jellies, salsa).

Recipe Locations - There are pages that have the name of favorite recipes, the cookbook/source, page number, and comments.

Monthly Rhythm - This is my chart that has five columns: month, mood, symbols/color, activities, celebrations.

One of the pages that has the monthly rhythm.

This page still needs to be retyped 

so that it includes the hand-written information.

Monthly Sections - I have a tabbed section for each month. It starts with August right now because that's the current month. Once this month passes, it will go to the back of the monthly section so that September is first.

Each section has a list of the holidays and when they are in 2013-2014. I've also included some ideas, instructions, and information that relates to some of the holidays. Following that is the plastic page protector that has the recipes for the month.

This is December's section. 

The first part has a list of holidays and

the second part has a sheet protector filled with recipes

that can be made for the month's holidays and celebrations.

Seasonal Chores - Organized Home has a free printable that has a fall and winter checklist; and spring and summer checklist.

Weekly Rhythms - This is the typed version of the daily color, grain, learning activity, and home activity. There also are daily to-do sheets from Organized Home.

Weekly rhythm.

Grain Sections - The next seven tabbed sections are labeled with the grain of the day - starting with wheat and ending with corn.

Protector sheet with

a variety of recipes using rice.

Patterns for Meal Time Accessories - I printed out some ideas for making tables look welcoming and pretty. There also are patterns to create napkins and place mats.

Blessings - There are some blessings I've collected that I would like to print out on cards made from watercolor paper that the girls painted.

One of the meal blessings in the binder.

Daily Rhythms - This section is a reminder of what I would like my daily rhythm to look like:

Wake up before the girls and:
- Get dressed
- Let the dogs out, take them for a walk, and feed them
- Make hot chocolate
- Write in my journal
- Start the laundry (if needed)
- Review the meals for the day, and take out anything that needs to be thawed
- Prepare breakfast

I'd like to play a board or card game with the girls each day. Integrating an element of play into each day is a goal I'd like to work on during 2013-14.

The next section focuses on family values. In terms of family values, I'd like to have the following words describe my home: contentment, love, acceptance, comfort, spiritual, truthful, generosity, helpfulness, exploring, learning, togetherness, openness, happiness, caring, compassion, wonder/discovery, reflective, excitement, enthusiasm, gratitude, and service.

The last section focuses on a family mission statement. I have a rough draft of one; and would like to work on finalizing that during 2013-14.

I also included several daily to-do lists from Organized Home. These will come in handy - especially during November-January when there is a lot to be done on a daily basis.

Daily Chores - This section has ideas for keeping a home clean. I have a proposed schedule for daily cleaning that I am interested in seeing if it will work or not this year. It is:

Sunday: Bedrooms
Monday: Mudroom
Tuesday: Offices
Wednesday: Bathrooms
Thursday: Dining Room
Friday: Living and Family Rooms
Saturday: Kitchen

Following that are more comprehensive daily chore lists that I pinned from Cedar Ring Mama. At some point during Autumn 2013, these would be nice to review and adapt to my home.

First Aid Inventory and Medicine - Organized Home has a inventory sheet for first aid supplies. I also would like to list everyone's current medications they are taking.

Bills -  There are forms on Organized Home that are for each month. The top half has lines, and the bottom part has the name of the bills, date they are due, and the amount owed. There also are important dates and a monthly calendar on each sheet.

Social/Support/Craft Groups - This section will have information about any groups that the girls and I are participating in and/or leading. Once the groups begin in September, this section will have more things in it and may be sub-divided for each group.

So, what happened to the maroon binder? It has information that I still want to read, think about, and integrate into our daily lives and homeshool. This will be an ongoing resource that I can refer to, add to, and adapt the 2013-14 homeschool plan by as I make my way through the information.

Information about handiwork in the maroon binder.

I am very grateful to have taken this online class. It will add a dimension to our lives and to homeschooling that was not fully developed or - in some respects - completely absent. The plan is definitely a work in progress as I see what feels right for our family and what doesn't feel like a good fit.