Carnival of Homeschooling-Memorial Day Edition

Check out the latest Carnival of Homeschooling:

Origami Fest

I'm planning an Origami theme night in the next couple of weeks. Here are some really cool origami links to try:

Origami Fest Family Fun magazine article that gave me this idea originally. Lots of cute food and activity ideas.

Easy Origami I love this site! It has tons of easy designs but here is the coolest part. It has a diagram of each origami but ALSO an animated step by step version. I showed it to my kids who thought that was just awesome!

Storytelling Origami or Storigami A cool way to introduce origami to younger children

Origami Resource Center This site even has Star Wars origami (it's a little more advanced)

There are so many more sites out there, but these I think are the best because of the limited amount of load time and ads.

What's Growing?

Flowers...









Cabbage and Lettuce...












Tomatoes, Beans, Peppers, Zucchini and Summer Squash...

New Recipe Links

I've been trying out tons of new recipes the past few weeks- some for fun, some for necessity (to trim our budget).

Here are some links to try:

Watermelon Limeade Oh, my this is some kind of good drink!

Lentil Brown Rice Casserole Everyone really liked this. Very inexpensive and healthy. We decided it would be a little tastier with some ground turkey or ham mixed in.

Pinto Bean Curry I've been introducing curry to the kids. This was very mild and the kids all liked it...JP and I didn't think it was very flavorful.

Chapati great video on how to make chapatis. They were very successful using this as a guide.

End of the Line Ham Casserole This took a whole lot of cooking time but it turned out like really good scalloped potatoes, not like those ones from the box.

We also tried a Curried Red Snapper recipe (substituting whiting filets) and a Curried Lentil Medley (a lentil and zucchini type stew).

Here are a couple I am wanting to try soon:

Cheeseburger Macaroni Check out the cheese sauce

Red Kidney Bean Curry

Hodge Podge

My hummingbird nest that sits outside my kitchen window. I learned from a friend that it is a female because male hummingbirds have nothing to do with the nest. So I think I'll call her Ruby (since she is a ruby throated hummingbird, anyway)









I haven't found my groove for craft time yet. We did learn how to make paper beads. The kids spent some time working on their own projects...friendship bracelets and Tera sewed some little "quilts" by hand.





I'm still working on theme nights too...another off the cuff week. "P" night this time, I can't seem to get away from the alphabet. It was picnic, popcorn, pink watermelon icee, Pinocchio night. They had fun, so there you go!

Down at the Dump...I mean, Landfill

We took a fieldtrip to the landfill this last week. The first thing we learned was that this was not a dump, but a landfill. Dumps are illegal in Tennessee. A landfill is a more eco-friendly way of disposing of trash. They dig holes in the ground that are then lined with plastic to prevent leakage into the soil. The mounds of garbage are piled about 15 feet deep, then covered with a layer of earth before they repeat the process. Then, when a certain area is full they cap it off by covering it with a layer of earth. They install pipes to release the methane build up. This landfill is preparing to use the methane as a renewable energy. The landfill is the highest point in our county other than the mountains. Also, the certain cell that is being filled has lasted longer than they thought because people are reducing, reusing and recycling.

Recycling bins, the incinerator used for wood debris, and plastic being laid down for a new cell at the landfill to prevent leechate (sp?) from leaking into the soil.





Crazy fun in the car!





Turkey Vultures and a landfill cell being filled in.




A hands-on demonstration of the different pollutants and their effect on wildlife. Poor Fred the sponge.







All kinds of relays and hands-on activities (litter pick up, compost discovery, and recycle relay)







Again, we had a great tour guide who made the day very fun and educational, too!

First Week of Summer-Crafts and "C" Night

Ever since Daniel saw the Ukrainian flutist at Dollywood do this...it's been a part of his daily instrument practice.

Tera went with a friend to go paint pottery. After the sticker shock, we settled for a small inexpensive tile that she decorated for her Daddy. (shhh...it's a Father's Day surprise)




For our craft times, I really wasn't prepared so I've been winging it. Tip: Don't pick two drawing projects back to back. We did drawing a dog earlier this week and then I pick how to draw a peacock. Tera's turned out fairly well, but it was too much for Daniel--he didn't finish and I didn't make him. The best part was the kids learned how to sew on a button---so well, in fact that their shirt would probably be ripped in half if it were torn off. One day they entertained themselves making paper boxes and stars.

Thursday was theme night---I was winging it again so I came up with "C" night. It was simple-chocolate cake in a mug and Clue Jr. Sometimes we try too hard, when the simple things are what kids enjoy most.

Today, JP took Daniel to the Grand Opening for a new business that specializes in bows and arrows. Daniel has had a fascination with these since probably toddlerhood. He makes his own bows but we have held off buying him one, because we wanted to make sure he was mature enough for that responsibility. And...we don't have a yard that would be safe to shoot around. But...this new shop has a target range set up in back for $5 a day or $40 a year per person. So...now this may become an actuality for him. I'm so glad! They let him try out a bow today and JP said he did really well. There were demonstrations and food. Daniel (Jamocha Jack) had a Mountain Dew, JP told him not to tell me (tongue in cheek) so when I asked Daniel if he had something to eat he acted all coy. It was really cute. Especially, since he only had a few sips before JP said he started feeling sick.