The Traveling Trees: November 19-25

In My Life This Week

Road trip! The plan was to meander up to the island on Wednesday for Thanksgiving, stopping here and there, but so much for well-laid plans...A winter storm was coming! (How ironic! A storm before Halloween and a storm before Thanksgiving - does that mean our next one is before Christmas? Hmmm...) So, we skipped school, packed up, put the outside "stuff" away (least it be buried until April), and hit the road. We quickly stopped at DeLorme - the map place - and saw Eartha, the largest globe anywhere, and LL Bean for more water bottles and to see the Christmas lights. The kids travel great! And any road trip without backseat bickering is ALWAYS a success!

Whatcha Makin' Wednesday?

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We never seem to do our bakin' and cookin' on WEDNESDAY, but several "somethings" get created every week. LOL In prep for Thanksgiving at my sister's house, we made a couple delish New England pumpkin pies.

Homeschool Happenings

Vacation! We packed our Bean backpacks with clothing, hiking odds and ends, and field guides, but NO SCHOOL BOOKS. This week was for hanging out with family and wandering through the woods!

Out-and-About

• Blue Spruce and the Trees helped the scout pack with church clean-up on Saturday then they built adorable sleighs with Santa and reindeer at Lowe's Build and Grow.
• White Pine's buddy "hung out" with him on Saturday and Sunday after the church clean-up, and then the kids from next door popped over too. I'm thankful that they finished raking the leaves off the yard for me!
• White Pine went over to another buddy's house to celebrate his birthday Sunday evening.
• Sugar Maple had Girl Scouts on Monday and another clarinet lesson on Tuesday.
• White Pine and Sugar Maple visited some friends for a couple of hours on Tuesday before we headed out to the island. 

What Worked/Didn't Work For Us

After 12 weeks of schooling, it was relaxing and re-energizing to have most of a week off. (We completed assignments on Monday.) Sometimes you just need a break from the books, although the learning marches on.

Questions/Thoughts

December CAN NOT be next week! Where did Autumn go?! I am glad that the snow has held off except for that weird pre-Halloween storm though.

Photo, Video, Link, or Quote to Share

Balsam Fir has been asking about getting a MOHAWK. He really doesn't have the kind of hair that works well for a MOHAWK - CURLY! - but why not? It's just hair, right? LOL I did keep the sides long enough to buzz everything down though if it doesn't work out! ((wink)) And he lost his very first tooth!

Linking up to These GREAT blog hops:

As Fall Marches On: November 12-18

And the Winner is...
Jenny from Academy of Thousand Oaks of my very first giveaway - My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking software. Congratulations! (Look for an e-mail soon with your prize information.)


In My Life This Week

Dirty, unorganized kid's bedrooms! Blue Spruce and I did a lot of purging and storing of clothing and toys, and have many bags of items to donate! ((wink)) Now, to tackle the utility room. I think I'm going to have to consume some A LOT of caffeine for that! LOL

But caffeine and purging will have to wait while poor Balsam Fir feels better. I thought the cold would pass him by, but nope! now it's his turn. And White Pine thinks he's next. This cold has made its rounds so hopefully it'll be gone soon.

Whatcha Makin' Wednesday
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Sourdough rolls! White Pine made some sourdough starter this past weekend and we enjoyed wonderful, tangy rolls. And making starter wasn't that difficult!

Sourdough Starter

2 1/4 t active dry yeast

16 oz warm water

2 cups all-purpose flour

In a GLASS BOWL, mix the yeast and water with a WOODEN SPOON. Let rest for 10 minutes. Add flour and mix. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let stand for 24 hours in a warm spot. Stir and recover and place back in warm spot. Stir for 2-3 more days until mixture bubbles and smells sour. Recover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Bubbly Sourdough Starter

To Replenish Starter: After using a portion of starter, replenish with equal amounts of flour and warm water. For example, if  you use 10 oz (1 1/4 c) of starter, add 1 1/4 c flour and 1 1/4 c warm water to remaining starter, stir well, cover, and let stand in warm place for 3-5 hours until bubbly. If not used at the end of one week, remove 1 cup of starter and replenish with 1 cup flour and 1 cup warm water, stir well, cover, and sit in warm place 3-5 hours until bubbly. Keep in refrigerator.

Sourdough Bread or Rolls

10 oz sourdough starter

5-6 oz warm water

1 3/4 t salt

4 c bread flour

3 T sugar

2 t active dry yeast

Place in bread machine pan in order listed. Select basic setting and crust color and start. OR follow your regular homemade bread kneading and double rising then bake as a loaf or 12 rolls.

Homeschooling Happenings

What excitement! THE CATALOG came in the mail this week. The Trees POURED over THE CATALOG excitedly, making lists, researching and making plans. Those plans went into effect immediately with White Pine sawing down a decrepit wooden trellis in the woods and repairing it for plant support. And there's discussion of digging up a large portion of the yard with a rototiller...What CATALOG? This one of course! LOL

Gurney's Seed and Plant Catalog

Did you see my entry on A Day in The Life: Fall edition? Check out what we did on Monday hour-by-hour here!

And don't miss our nature studies here! We studied the Eastern White Pine!

On Our Bookshelf

Out-and-About

• Grandpa and Nannie with cousin Noodle visited over the weekend, bringing their 9-month-old Collie puppy...who gnawed on White Pine's glasses. ((sigh))
• Sugar Maple, Balsam Fir and Noodle built "science labs" at Lowe's Build and Grow.
• The boys next door came over the "hang out".
• White Pine and Balsam Fir had scout meetings.
• ♫  Sugar Maple had a clarinet lesson. ♫
• Sugar Maple went to Kid's Book Club and Balsam Fir went to PJ Storytime at the library while White Pine volunteered.
• Sugar Maple had 2 basketball practices.

Our Favorite Thing This Week

Chee, our almost 27-week-old Americana-Barred Rock hen, laid her first egg! Our first egg from our flock of chickens that we incubated from eggs this past spring. Balsam Fir was SUPER excited and got to bring the egg inside. Now, who gets it for breakfast?!

Chee Laying in the Coop

Our First Egg!

Questions/Thoughts I Have

Do you have a favorite Christmas or holiday ORNAMENT-MAKING craft that you do with the kids?

Linking up to these WONDERFUL Blog Hops:

Go Away BIG, BAD Germs! : November 5 - 11

In My Life This Week
((sniffle)) ((sniffle)) A cold. ((shiver)) It's that time of year, isn't it? At least in our "neck of the woods"! Things were a bit slower this week as I tried to rest. ((cough))

(Psst! Don't forget to enter my FIRST EVER giveaway - My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software - if you haven't! I'm lovin' the software! A winner will be chosen through www.random.org on 11/18. Click here to enter!)

Oh, and I was nominated for the 2011 Homeschool Blog Awards! Please vote for me under #20 Nature/Field Trips here! Thanks! So exciting!

Whatcha Makin' Wednesday

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Sugar Maple made a family favorite this week: Toll house Cookie Bars.  Look at the chocolate! Yum!

Homeschool Happenings
Sugar Maple's friend C__ joined us the Maine Wildlife Park on Saturday. (We LOVE visiting the park in the late fall when it's less busy!) This park rehabilitates sick or hurt native animals then releases them back into their habitats IF they can survive. We saw white-tailed deer, an albino raccoon and porcupine, a moose, a tailless Mountain lion, a Canada Goose with a broken wing, red and gray foxes, 2 Black Bears, a Golden Eagle and Bald Eagle with damaged wings, a turkey vulture, a Peregrine Falcon, different species of owls, and watched a raven taking a water bath. It was a beautiful day at the park!

Sugar Maple, Balsam Fir and I continued on with their Apologia Astronomy studies. We finished up Venus this week and started Earth. The Trees spent a couple of CHILLY nights outside with Blue Spruce looking at Jupiter and a couple of it's moons through the telescope. Pretty cool stuff! And White Pine finished up Chapter 4 sections 2-4 in Earth Science on Plate Tectonics.

Did you see our first week of Thanksgiving studies? We didn't have as much time this week, but we wrapped up our "background info" and started our PAPER DOLL PLAY! Parts and lines were given out and the younger Trees started to make the set! This is going to be a FUN project...if we can pull it off. (Did I mention that I've never been in a play and I've only been to a couple?)

We got off on a tangent with American History, watching "Liberty Kids" and "Schoolhouse Rock" on the Boston Tea Party. Balsam Fir especially like the videos.

On the Bookshelf

Place We Went and People We Saw

White Pine "hung out" at his buddy T__'s house overnight.

White Pine helped a fellow Boy Scout with his Eagle project.

Sugar Maple had "girl time" with her friend C__.
Balsam Fir ran around with the boy's from next door.

All the "trees" had Scout meetings this week.
Sugar Maple went to the state house with her troop.

Sugar Maple had a Clarinet lesson.
White Pine and Blue Spruce headed off to MA for an overnight.

Our Favorite Thing This Week
The unseasonably HIGH temperatures! We saw 65 sunny degrees and spent hours and hours outside. (If only the sun didn't set at 4:20pm though!)

Helpful Homeschool Hint

Recycle! Reuse! Reduce! Repurpose! Look at these handy-dandy containers with handles! All from household cleaner containers! Just wash out the containers, cut out an opening (leaving the handle), and ta da! Perfect for markers, crayons and manipulatives! (Thanks MIL!)

What's Working/Not Working For Us
Extracurriculars! I'm on the search for another, NEW activity for the kids, something that we can do together that isn't MILES and MILES away.

Questions/Thoughts I Have
So, I've decided - I think! LOL - on a high school Biology curriculum for White Pine next year, but he DOES NOT want to do the dissections. Any suggestions for virtual labs? And is Biology LAB considered LAB without the dissections even if other (microscope) experiments are completed?

Photo(s), Video, Link, or Quote to Share

Our hens Sassy and Roadrunner decided
to fly up and roost on TOP of the playset!

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The First of the Season: October 29 - November 4

In My Life this Week
Snow!  I knew the snow was coming - it IS early November in Maine after all! LOL - and the first snowstorm of the season is exciting and beautiful, but I'm JUST-NOT-READY! We rushed about Friday getting the coop and run winterized and the outdoor toys put in the shed, and then on Saturday we finished picking up the table set and garden tools, relocated the shovels from last season, unburied the roof shovel in the garage, and searched in vain for windshield scrapers. The Snow Season has begun!

Did you notice? The kids have new blog names again! LOL We thought it would be neat to have nicknames that went with our blog name; something "nature". So, the kids picked out TREE names from our New England Audubon field guide. Meet White Pine (Jag), Sugar Maple (Sweet Tart) and Balsam Fir (Sprinter)! Dad is Blue Spruce and I'm - ready?! - Sweet Pepperbush. You aren't laughing at my nickname, are you?! ((wink)) 

Oh, and I also blogged about SPD. I kind of missed SPD Awareness Month in October for the most part, but I got it in JUST before November! LOL  Click here to read my post!

Whatcha Makin' Wednesdays
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Grandmother's Famous Cranberry Bread from Cranberry Thanksgiving! Check out my post with the recipe and our Thanksgiving studies here!

Homeschool Happenings
Every week can't go smoothly, right? We started off rocky, but we ended OK. I did see some of this from Balsam Fir:

Sugar Maple finished her letter to the editor for her first Girl Scout Juniors badge. It was sent into the newspaper on Monday (If you click on the images I *think* they get bigger for easier reading...) Imagine our DELIGHTED surprise when the newspaper called on Wednesday and said that they had chosen her letter to be in the editorials!

And White Pine finished up his first writing assignment in Saxon Grammar and Writing. (Although I typed this essay up for an example, White Pine will be typing additional writing assignments.)

White Pine and Sugar Maple received Blue Ribbons for their 4H posters and projects! And Balsam Fir got a participant ribbon (since kids his age aren't judged the same).

We spent a REALLY neat day at Norlands Living History Center on Thursday. We packed our LUNCH PAILS 1850s style and spent the day as students and farmers, learning and experiencing 19th century Maine. (I wish I had some neat photos to share, but SOMEONE forgot her camera. Hmm...)

And since most of the snow has melted away and we're feeling winter's approach, I decided to "skip" school today and head to the Audubon center. We walked along the 2 1/2 miles of wooded trails and estuary, exploring nature and enjoying each other's company.

On the Book Shelf

Places We Went and People We Saw
Hoops! Sugar Maple started basketball this week!
White Pine had a Boy Scout meeting.
C__ and C__ and the boys from next door popped over for some fun.
Halloween at the Rec Center!
Sugar Maple had a clarinet lesson.
The library - for LOTS of books, videos and puzzles!

Our Favorite Thing This Week
Snow! Um, not really! LOL

Helpful Homeschool Hint
See something you like in a catalog? Perhaps with some creativity you can make something similar with inexpensive materials! Flashcards, word walls, informational  placemats, games, and morning calendar activities can all be made at home.

What's Working/Not Working For Us
It was hard, but we gave our 3 roosters to someone else. Roosters tend to be aggressive as they "come of age" so we knew from the beginning they would be better off elsewhere. We found a home that will try to integrate them into their flock. We will miss Feathers, Ewok and Ugly!

Photo, Video, Link, or Quote to Share
Balsam Fir figured out a way to add figures over 10 with his fingers. Check him out on this video doing his Saxon addition drill sheet.

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