Revolutionary War Study

Alexzander and Destiny are starting history this year be doing an in depth study of the Revolutionary War.
We use Story of the World for history, and I did not feel like it covered enough for this subject, so we are doing our own study.

We are starting the study by discussing the events that lead up to the war, this site has some great information on it, and we will be using it as a guideline for this portion of our study.

We are going to travel through the War using this simulation.

We will take some time to learn about some of the women who play important parts in the war, including a women who became a man so she could fight!

We will be completing this lapbook.

A couple fun activities we will be doing are using code and making invisible ink.

I will have them each pick a book about the war to read, and they will write a small paper about the book.

Other resources will be using -
Local library for books
DK Witness American Revolution
Youtube for videos on the subject

3rd Grade Required Reading

The new school year is fast approaching. I have been working away on getting everything ready.
We start our new year of school September 9th.

We prefer to have the kids read classic novels for their required reading class. I feel that classic novels help them expand their vocabulary, open their minds to the ways of the past, and show struggles we no longer face today, among many other things.

Amelia will be entering third grade this year. She will be reading the following books and book reviews on each book.  We are using this worksheet for each review.


Book list -
The Giving Tree
Adventures of Little Bear ( I do not recommend buying this amazon, I bought mine at a book store years ago, for very little. I would suggest looking at ebay for it. )
Adventures of Paddington Bear

Amelia is still what I would consider a fairly new reader, so I am keeping her list small. If she completes this list quickly, I will be having her read The Magic Tree House series, as she can.

4th Grade Required Reading

The new school year is fast approaching. I have been working away on getting everything ready.
We start our new year of school September 9th.

We prefer to have the kids read classic novels for their required reading class. I feel that classic novels help them expand their vocabulary, open their minds to the ways of the past, and show struggles we no longer face today, among many other things.

Kairi will be entering fourth grade this year, she has come a long way in her reading, but she still is a little behind most kids her age when it comes to reading. We are starting with some easier readers, and hoping to work our way up this year.

She will be reading the following books and book reviews on each book.  We are using this worksheet for each review.

Book list -
The Adventures of Grandfather Frog
The Adventures of Jerry Muskrat
The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver
( I would suggest looking for these books at half priced or on ebay )

The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh
Charlotte's Web

7th Grade Required Reading

The new school year is fast approaching. I have been working away on getting everything ready.
This week I finished all the required reading lists for the kids!

We prefer to have the kids read classic novels for their required reading class. I feel that classic novels help them expand their vocabulary, open their minds to the ways of the past, and show struggles we no longer face today, among many other things.

Destiny will be entering seventh grade this year. She will be reading the following books and submitting book reports on each book. Her book report skills are lacking a little, so I am going to have her work through this workbook first.

7th Grade Required Reading List

Anne of Green Gables Series
( she started this last year and is still working on it, she has already read the first two books )
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry

8th Grade Required Reading

The new school year is fast approaching. I have been working away on getting everything ready.
This week I finished all the required reading lists for the kids!

We prefer to have the kids read classic novels for their required reading class. I feel that classic novels help them expand their vocabulary, open their minds to the ways of the past, and show struggles we no longer face today, among many other things.

Alexzander will be entering eighth grade this year. He will be reading the following books and submitting book reports on each book. His book report skills are lacking a little, so I am going to have him work through this workbook first.

8th Grade Required Reading List


The Princess Bride  ( I bought my copy of this book on sale. You do not have to have this version, but I do want to say it is a beautiful copy of the book. There is a lot of artwork, and notes from the author. )


A Christmas Carol
The Giver Series
The Phantom of the Opera
Anne Frank : The Diary of a Young Girl

The Most Amazing Chocolate Cupcakes

My children love chocolate cupcakes, I have tried several different recipes over the years and I just had not found one that I really loved. So, I decided to come up with my own.


They are by far the best chocolate cupcake I have ever had, pair with your choice of frosting. We personally love peanut butter frosting with them.

Recipe

Ingredients -
3 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp of sea salt
1 cup of butter ( room temperature )
2 cups of raw sugar
4 large eggs ( room temperature )
1 tsp of pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk


Directions -
Preheat your oven to 350.

Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla together.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating until fully incorporated after each egg.
Add dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Add half of the flour mixture to the batter. Beat until incorporated
Add half of the milk, beat until incorporated
Add other half of flour mixture, beat until incorporated .
Add other half of mix, beat until incorporated. Do not over mix.

Using cupcake liners, fill each spot about 3/4 full.

Bake for 15 - 18 minutes.


Frosting recipe -
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 - 1/2 cup of heavy cream

Mix peanut butter, vanilla and butter until well combined.
Slowly add powdered sugar, and cream until you have desired thickness.
Whip for about five minutes to make it fluffy, it should form soft peaks.

Backyard Edibles - Dandelions

Spring is finally here, which is my favorite season when it comes to foraging. There are so many great things to eat, wildly growing right in your backyard!

I think my families all time favorite thing to forage for, is also the most widely available, easiest to identify, and grows in almost every yard out there, dandelions.



Dandelions are a powerhouse of nutrition, from root to flower every part is edible. They are loaded with vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

******Word of warning, dandelions do contain a natural latex, so if you have a latex allergy, do not consume without speaking to a doctor first.*******

Dandelion greens can be eaten raw or cooked. They are an excellent source of vitamin A, C, and K, they have a substantial amount of iron, calcium, magnesium, and potassium, and they contain a small amount of folate, vitamin E and B. They also are high in antioxidants.

The root is often dried and used in tea, but it can be eaten raw in its whole form. It is high in the carbohydrate inulin, which is a type of soluble fiber found in many plants that support the growth and maintenance of a healthy gut flora.

The flower tops are known to contain many of the same nutritional items as the green

Now that you know why you should be eating dandelions, you may be wondering how to add this free food to your diet. I am going to highlight two things we have done with them so far this year, as well as add a few recipes to the bottom of this post.

1. Make Jelly
- My kids adore dandelion jelly. It tastes so similar to honey! It is very simple to make as well.
We follow this recipe for our jelly.
                                                    

2. Make fritters
- These fritters were delicious. We made them two ways. The first batch was a simple batter, the second was a sweet batter. The first we tried with salt and pepper, and it tasted similar to a breaded mushroom, we also tried it dipped in dandelion jelly.
The second reminded me greatly of a funnel cake.



Simple batter -
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 egg
                                                                                          

Sweet batter -
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
cinnamon and ginger to taste


                                                 

We picked the large dandelions, again only needing the flower tops for this recipe. After washing, and patting them dry, I coated them well in the batter, and deep fried them in oil.
They were a huge hit! My daughter has asked me several times if I will make them again tomorrow for breakfast.
                                               




For more facts please visit -
https://www.nutrition-and-you.com/dandelion-herb.html

Other recipes to try -
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/222744/dandelion-greens-with-a-kick/
https://learningandyearning.com/dandelion-root-chai/
https://homespunseasonalliving.com/homemade-dandelion-bread/