our homeschool recipe

I wrote this homeschool recipe last week for this amazing and awe-inspiring homeschooling blog- Homeschool. Style. Bytes. This is a blog that celebrates modern day homeschooling and always reminds me of how amazing it is to have the opportunity to provide a home education for my children.

Here is our homeschool recipe.

seed:: flower:: gift

We are currently enjoying the flowers we planted from seed back in the spring. Sophia had the idea to plant a flower garden. I was so fixated on vegetables, herbs and edibles- the practical and useful side of life- that I forgot about the beauty that could be experienced as well.

She chose to plant zinnia, forget-me-nots, amaranthus, four o'clocks and morning glory, all of the vintage heirloom variety.

They are all in full bloom. We have a beautiful, wild, garden filled with colorful flowers now. She even cut a handful of flowers to give as a gift to her ballet teacher yesterday.

It has been so satisfying to watch her see her idea through to it's completion: seed to flower to gift.

unedited

There are so many things that I love about this set of photos.

I love that Elias is wearing his underwear in them. I love that I can't get my children to look at the camera. I love that they can't stop eating cherries while I manage to maintain my smile. I love that by the end they are all laughing at me.

summer math

Sophia spent two days this week collecting shells at two different lakes in the area.


She collected them and kept them in a few mason jars for a bit. Then she washed the shells. Then she decided to let them sit in the sun for a bit. Then she decided it was time to spread them out to dry. After dumping them all out on the deck, she decided to count them all.

All in all she collected 342 shells. Yes, that's three hundred and forty-two shells. She counted them one-by-one and other than a few interruptions from her brothers, I'm pretty sure her estimate is fairly accurate.

This is whatI like to call summer math.

some days

Some days are just meant for lounging in the backyard with your sister sipping iced coffee while you watch your children splash in a kiddie pool and eat cherries to their hearts content on the deck with cousins.

These sort of days are oh-so good.

blue, blue berries: two recipes

We ended last week by completing our last class of summer swim lessons on Friday and by celebrating with a trip to our favorite orchard for some blueberry picking.

Nothing says well done like giving children the chance to be pulled by tractor to the top of a steep hill covered with blueberry bushes for as far as the eye can see and turned loose to frolic, pick and eat until everyone's mouths and fingertips are stained the bluest of blues.

There are only a few things one needs to make for a successful blueberry picking experience:
A large tractor to tow you up the hill to reach the best bushes. Sunglasses and/or hats to keep the sun from blinding you while you try to choose the plumpest, darkest-blue blueberries. Sturdy pails attached by rope to even the youngest berry picker's neck. A small pocket to hold car keys. A camera ready at any given moment to capture little blueberry picking moments. A little room in your belly for eating berries straight from the bush. Good company.

All of the above were experienced in abundance on Friday afternoon.

There is one other must when it comes to blueberry picking: a good plan to use up all the blueberries you spent the afternoon picking. We picked nearly twelve pounds. We needed more than one plan!

Here are my two favorite ways to use blueberries. I cannot tell you how many times I have made both of these recipes and the results are great every time.

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Blueberry Pancakes

1 cup flour
2 t baking powder
1 T sugar
1 T coconut oil (melted)
1 egg
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Mix dry ingredients in bowl and whisk together. Add melted coconut oil, egg and milk and whisk by hand until well blended. Allow to sit for 2-3 minutes. Spoon batter onto hot griddle that has been greased with coconut oil. When bubbles appear, drops blueberries one-by-one onto each pancakes and allow to set for another minute. Flip pancake and cook other side. Add butter and maple syrup.

Enjoy large amounts of these with your children and spouse. Be sure to make children say please before asking for another pancake. The gluttony needs to at least be set off with some really good manners.

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Blueberry Crisp

1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1 t cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
1/2 butter, softened
4 cups blueberries
pinch of cornstarch

Mix brown sugar, flour, oats, spices and butter until well-blended and crumbly. Add blueberries to baking dish and sprinkle with cornstarch. Mix a bit. Add topping by crumbling until every square inch of berry is covered by crisp topping.

Bake at 375' for about 30 minutes.

Enjoy with real vanilla ice cream. Be sure to place napkin on lap and avoid wearing white while eating this dessert. Those blueberries do stain and who has time for stain removal when there are so many blueberries to be eaten?

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fruits of our labor

For those of you not living in New England, I'm sure you've heard by now that the weather has been a bit unseasonable around here for the last month or so. It's like a dark cloud of gloom filled with booming thunder and chilly rain has settled above us and get its kicks by floating right over our neighborhood, town and state right at about the time when our children are getting their sandals on to go play outside. The meaning of the phrase raining on your parade has been deeply understood around here lately.

It's been a bit dissapointing to realize that June, my all-time favorite month of the year, was literally and figuratively a wash this year. Even Nicolas, our newly-turned six year old, has expressed his thoughts on this bizarre stretch of cloudy, wet weather recently:

Nicolas: "Mom, why has it been raining so much lately?"
All-Wise Mother (Me): "I don't know Nicolas, that's just the what we've been sent these days."
Nicolas: "What? Does God think I'm a vampire or something (a statement made in regards to the dark, gloomy weather)!!

But I have moved on and am loving this new phase of sun and warmth that we have been given. It feels so good to have my face in the sun. So in honor of the sun's return, I wanted to post a little garden update. I think that our humble little raised beds have fared rather well despite the lack of sun and the overabundance of rain. Here is a little before-and-after look:

before: seeds planted, vegetables being mapped out and lots of fingers getting crossed

after: lots of green, healthy plants and an overwhelming sigh of relief

side note: so much more lettuce and baby greens than we ever expected which translates into daily salads and lots of lettuce for stuffing into summer sandwiches!

I'm happy with our little garden and so proud of all of the hard work and patience that went into our little edible backyard project. The fruit of our labor has been very tasty and satisfying.