Eighth Grade Required Reading

 The new school year is fast approaching. I have been working away on getting everything ready.
We will start our new year of school September 14th.

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 eighth grade and she requested to be able to read old fairy tales and mythology books. She will be writing reports after each book. Her reading list is below.

Grimm's Fairy Tales

Han Christian Andersen Tales

Mythology - Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes 

Celtic Tales

Nordic Tales

Fourth Grade Required Reading

 The new school year is fast approaching. I have been working away on getting everything ready.
We will start our new year of school September 14th.

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 fourth grade this year. Below is the list of books she will be reading for her required reading, along with some worksheets and activities we will be doing with them.

Black Beauty

We will be purchasing and completing this unit study.

Charlotte's Web 

We will be using these worksheets.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

We will be making candy together after reading this book.
We will also be doing this worksheet.

The Secret Garden

We will be completing this unit study.

The Wind in the Willows


We will be completing these worksheets.

Peter Pan

We will be using some of these worksheets.

The Adventures of Peter Cottontail 

We will be doing this book review page.

Fifth Grade Required Reading

The new school year is fast approaching. I have been working away on getting everything ready.
We will start our new year of school September 14th.

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 fifth grade this year. She will be reading The Little House in the Prairie series.
She will be doing activities that go along with the series.

I will be using this site for the activities we will be doing. We will also be doing different recipes from that time era. Including ( but not limited to ) the following recipes -

https://littlehouseontheprairie.com/little-house-on-the-prairie-johnny-cake-recipe/

https://www.marissawrites.com/2013/05/little-house-maple-candy.html



Other books we will be using her reading course include -

https://www.amazon.com/Little-House-Guidebook-Nonfiction/dp/0061255122/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=little+house+guidebook&qid=1598926190&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/Lauras-Album-Remembrance-Scrapbook-Nonfiction/dp/0062459341/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=laura+album&qid=1598926213&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/Ingalls-Wilder-Collection-1867-1957-1837905/dp/1566190517/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=laura+a+family+collection&qid=1598926238&sr=8-1

Backyard Edibles - Lilac

I only found out last year that one of my favorite flowers, the Lilac, is also edible. I absolutely adore the smell and the look of lilac. So when I found out that they can be eaten as well, I knew I wanted to try them.

I know some people throw them in salads raw, I personally do not like them that way. They have a bitter, slightly floral flavor. However the other recipes I am going to share, I can tell you that everyone in my family has enjoyed.

The first thing we made was lilac jelly. We go through a lot of jelly in my house, and since we do not like buying anything with high fructose, being able to make a lot of jelly here at home has been great.
The jelly has a sweet, slightly floral flavor. We all really enjoy it.



We also made Lilac butter cookies. These were fantastic with a cup of coffee! Imagine a shortbread cookie with a slight floral lemony flavor. This is a recipe we will be trying again for sure!



The last thing we made with them was lilac infused honey. It is heavenly, all the wonderful sweetness of honey, with an added floral punch. I love using it when baking or just for eating. It is wonderful to use on a bagel in the morning.



We did not try all the fun recipes I wanted to this year, but I am saving more to try and share next year! I am thoroughly enjoying learning and sharing about all the wonderful things you can eat, that many people have growing freely right in their yards!

Backyard Edibles - Dandelions ( part 3 )

We have been really enjoying all the delicious things we have been making dandelions this spring. They are such a versatile plant and so readily available to those that want to use them. We are coming to the end of the current dandelion season here in Iowa, and we never did get to try all the yummy things we wanted to make, so next year will be bring more posts about the wonderful dandelion.

Over the years we have tried -
Dandelion Jelly
Dandelion Fritters
Dandelion Bread
Dandelion Honey Butter
Dandelion Lemonade
Dandelion Syrup
Dandelion Shortbread Cookies
Fried Dandelion Greens

My kids like the baked stuff and jelly, they were not a fan of the greens. I liked everything. I still have many more things I plan on making with dandelions, but time does not always allow me to make a lot of new things.

The last thing we tried this year was dandelion shortbread cookies. They are amazing in the morning with a little but of the honey butter spread on top. I enjoy them with my morning coffee.
I love shortbread anyway, and these have a lemony, honey taste. Super delicious, and highly recommended.

To see my other posts about dandelion, please click the links below -
Part 1
Part 2

Backyard Edibles - Dandelions ( part 2 )

Branching off last spring's post, I would like to talk a little bit more about dandelions. With all the shut downs going on right now, learning how to forage, and get use out of the plants growing freely right in your back yard is very beneficial!

Dandelions are such an easy thing for the beginning forager to work with, every part of the dandelion is edible, and they are truly a powerhouse plant when it comes to nutrition. Seriously, it is hard to willingly grow a plant that is better for you than the dandelion.

The flower is an excellent source of vitamin A, C, and K. They can be cooked or eaten raw. The greens have a substation amount of minerals, including iron, and potassium. The root is a great source of fiber, among other things. You can learn more about the nutrition of dandelions here.

Our favorite way to use dandelions is in jelly. It tastes so much like a lemony honey. We love using it on toast, muffins, and cornbread.

One new recipe we tried this year was dandelion honey butter. I love this stuff. At first my kids were a little reluctant to try it because the flower petals are visible in the butter, but once they tasted it, every single one of the kids liked it. This is one we will keep making each year!

We also made dandelion lemonade. My kids really enjoyed this recipe, and it was very simple to make. I bought a large mason jar at walmart for making it in, which looks awesome, and stores really well in the fridge.

The recipe calls for honey, we did a mix of honey and sugar because I was a little low on honey at the time we made it. We also added a little extra sweetener and lemon to the recipe, to get it to the flavor we all liked. We added violet blooms to it as well.




We will be making a few more things with dandelions this year, so be watching for part three!

Surviving the Corona Shutdowns

I am sure that all parents out there right now will understand where this post is coming from. We are living in some crazy times right now, kids are stressed, parents are stressed, things feel overwhelming.

Some days I feel like we are thriving, we have loads of fun, make crafts, get all our normal school done for the day plus extra, we take family walks, watch lots of  movies, and our new normal does not seem so overwhelming and scary.

I put together a boredom basket for the kids. It is filled with painting supplies, pompoms, gems, construction paper, playdough, and more. It has been a life saver, they have played with it a bunch. It has been great for the cold days we have had lately.




We have done a lot of baking, Destiny dyed her hair red, we have painted lots of pictures, read lots of books, I have been working on scrapbooks,  and I have been making ear savers for health care workers and medically needy people.




Other days I feel like I am barely surviving. The kids are crazy, there are so many tears, so much fighting, and nothing seems like it goes right. By the end of the day my nerves are completely fried, and I am desperate for quiet. I long for the days of being able to take my book down to my local coffee shop, curl up in the corner booth, and drink coffee while reading. I miss my friends, I miss church, and one those days, it just feel so heavy.

Even though I know that all families are sitting in the same boat, and I know that I am not in this alone, some days feels incredibly isolating.

I know that all this will pass eventually, and I can't wait till it does. I miss my normal life!