Tasting the Past

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Although I generally try not to hold by son back too much, I have tried to keep him from working ahead in our Classical Conversations work, so that he can be fully engaged each week as we encounter new material. But the kid is a sponge. And unbeknownst to me, he had worked ahead and memorized the Presidents (or at least gotten pretty far along), before I could stop him.

With the upcoming presidential election, there is an added element of interest, with questions like, “How long till we know who is President?” And “So I guess there were no debates when Washington became President, because there weren’t 2 parties yet.” For the State elections I took him with me to watch me fill out the ballot, so he could see how the process works. The fact that his uncle was running for office gave us another reason to focus on politics. Unfortunately, we learned that people running for office can be ruthless and cruel; but that too has been part of the learning process.

My son has been pretty interested in George Washington, since he was the first President, so this past week I decided to make Marth Washington’s Ginger Cookies. We got the recipe from a Constitution Island cookbook, when my sister and I were homeschooled in New York. We used to work as volunteers at the island, working with groups of school kids who would come in for field trips. We would make the cookies, and serve them on the boat, on the way over to the island.

It’s always a beautiful thing when you can experience the past – whether by seeing it’s historical markers in person, or even tasting a piece of years gone by. There’s a reason this recipe has stood the test of time. I highly recommend it!

* Martha Washington’s Ginger Cookie Recipe *

(Makes 100 cookies)

3/4 cup soft butter
3/4 cup lard (I just do all butter, no lard)
2 3/4 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup dark molasses

  • Mix first 5 ingredients together; beat well.

4 cups sifted flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. each ginger, cinnamon & ground cloves

  • Stir dry ingredients to combine. Add dry to wet ingredients until well mixed. Dough will be soft. Chill briefly.
  • Roll into 1-inch balls, roll in granulated sugar and press into balls with the bottom of a glass.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 9-10 minutes.
  • Note: I sometimes half this recipe because of the quantity of cookies… but I usually end up regretting it.

Letter to China

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This writing exercise was pretty straight forward: write a letter to someone who’s never been to your home – from either another country or even another world! My son picked China. I love the details he included in what he wrote 🙂

Sequoia Scavenger Hunt

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Recently we visited Big Trees Park in Arnold, home to the Sequoias, the biggest trees in the world. I knew I wanted to do some nature observation for our school work, but I wanted it to be lively and fun. What better way to take in all the sights with small boys than a scavenger hunt?

Off we set to hike the park with Granny, looking for the items on the the list. Because of the cooler temperature and rains there were no butterflies to be found – the only item we couldn’t check off the list. But we did spot quite a few squirrels and birds not on the list. What fun, and what a joy to know that while we learn, we are also making beautiful memories with our children.

Making a Compass

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One of the joys of homeschooling has been the discovery that my son loves geography. I have been trying to incorporate as much as I can, in order to give him a broad foundation for understanding how to read maps. Classical Conversations recommended the Legends & Leagues Geography Curriculum for 1st grade. I bought Mr Tardy Goes From Here To There, and the Legends & Leagues Workbook, which have been a great supplement to our other geography curriculum.

One of the activities we did recently was to make our own compass. I had no idea how easy it would be! All we needed was a sewing needle, a magnet, a bowl of water and a small piece of paper. With just a few simple items, we were able to determine North, South, East and West. Now the concept of the magnetism of the poles is something my son has a better grasp of, because he has seen it in action, firsthand. And we got the added bonus of being able to experience the wonder of science together in the process!

(Free Compass Tutorial)

Alexander Calder-Style Mobile

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For our Homespun Art projects I try to use various sources, so that we get exposed to a broad range of approaches. For this project, we used the book 9 Famous Artists Your Children Will Love.

Because we are studying abstract art in Classical Conversations right now, I tried to find an abstract artist who brought another dimension to what we’ve already studied. Because of the 3-D nature of mobiles, this project was perfect! First we read about the artist, then we skipped to the back of the book to the section with art projects for kids, based on each artist. I lucked out on this project, because I already had a mobile frame out in the garage, which I’d used to hang photos over my son’s cradle when he was a baby.

We went online and looked at pictures of Alexander Calder’s mobiles, then talked about the shapes, patterns and the sense of balance he used in his art. We then decided which colors and shapes we wanted, and set to cutting them out of our construction paper. Whala! A study of an abstract artist made fun!

Fun In France

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For Foreign Language we are starting out with a mix of exposure to various languages. That being said, throughout the school year we will maintain a focus on Spanish, working through the Usborne Spanish Dictionary for Beginners. I love the pictures in this book, the simple categories groups of words are broken down into, and the online audible tools you can use to make sure you are using correct pronunciation.

But in order to keep things fun, we are also working through Words For The World, which covers the various families of major languages in the world, starting with the romance languages, in France. For our French study, we took 2 weeks to read the chapter on France, and incorporated other subjects for emphasis. We read about the significance of food and baking in French culture, then went to a real French Patisserie and ate Brioche and Croissants (yum!). For Science, we took a break from reading about famous black American scientists, and read about Louis Pasteur, the French scientist who discovered germs and created vaccines. For Art we studied Rousseau, the post-abstract French painter.

Next week we will make Coq Au Vin, which is French comfort food, and perfect for the Fall season. And if we are feeling particularly adventurous, we may even have some escargots (a family favorite)! As always, I try to ground these fun activities in reading and exploration about the subject. look online, go to the library, and let your curiosity lead the way!

Baseball Game Tally Sheet

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Before the school year started we bought tickets to go see the Giants play in San Francisco. It just so happened that it landed on our first official week of school, through Visions in Education, the charter we are a part of. But hey, this is one of the many reasons we decided to homeschool, so off we went to the game!

This year I am using McGraw Hill Math, which is the common core curriculum used by the state. I have used it enough now to see why so many people don’t like it, but for 1st grade it’s working out alright. I looked through the year of lessons and saw the section “Tally Sheets.” How perfect would it be for our son to keep score at the game with a tally sheet, and get his math done at the same time?

Since my husband is the resident baseball and graphic design expert, I employed his services in the making of the tally sheet. We also brought along the chapter work for tally sheets from the math workbook, to do together in the car on the way to and from the city. What fun!

Write Your Own Fun

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For our writing exercises, I try to always have my son write out a few sentences to describe what he is learning. For Bible, he write out verses or explains definitions of words. For Science, he writes a few sentences and draws a picture, etc. For reading, I have him write a few sentences about the chapter he read that day, and draw a picture, Pretty straightforward.

But I really want us to work on the discipline of writing as well. So I got a book that looked like it would be fun to work through, called Write Your Own Story Book. We are trying to work through the book in order of assignment, one per week. So far we have written stories about a detective in a strange museum, a parachuter who almost gets hurt (but not quite), a shy opera singer who wants a medal, and a letter to a boy in China, who has never been to America.

My son says he wants to be an author when he grows up, so I figure we should work on our writing 🙂

Homespun Homeschool Week #5

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Week 5 of homeschool: we did fingerprint art, wrote a character-story about a shy opera singer, saw cuttlefish, penguins and much more at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, tested rates at which various liquids freeze, learned about France then went to a French patisserie, made abstract puddle art, spotted otters, starfish and hermit crabs in the wild, made historical pop-up pages and saw California Historical Landmark # 1!