Our fourth day of Mexico! So far the kids have had a lot of fun and learned some great stuff about another culture that really isn't that far removed from us anymore and is becoming more entwined every day. Spanish is now one of the leading languages spoken in this country.
I had planned on doing this Fiesta tomorrow night since I thought it would b an appropriate end to the week. I was going to look at religion today and stuff. However, the wanted tamales for dinner tonight! So I switched them around. That's what's cool about homeschooling; you change it to fit your needs. Besides, in the end, I discovered that it was best this way anyway. I forgot that we're usually out of the house all afternoon on Thursdays! It's the weekly children's story hour at the local library and then craft hour done by a local organization for kids birth to age 6. These are both great, fun ways to ge tthe kids out of the house and let them have fun with other kids with no pressure. So, instead we looked at lots of books about Mexican cuisine this morning. We looked at pictures of prepared foods as well as lists of different ingredients that are used in Mexican cooking. Besides the more commonplace burritos and tacos most often seen in our country, there are the foods reserved for special occasions such as tamales, atole, mole, empanadas etc. These are all foods that are labor intensive which is why they were often made only for special ocassions.
We looked at a lot of vids, pictures and books about the cuisine. We smelled & tasted spices such as chile powder, garlic, and cinnamon. I even had a little cone of piloncillo which is a hard cone of pressed sugar (can be used as a sub for brown sugar). We talked about other foods used such as peppers (both hot and bell) and tomatoes. We talked about the desserts we might find there such flan, churros, fried icecream, tres leches cake (three milk ~ really good) etc. We learned the names to lots of different dishes such as enchilada, tostada, tamale, tortilla, quesadilla, burrito, taquito, carne asade. I also bought a few Mexican sodas and candies from the ethnic section of our grocery.
So, tonight we had authentic tamales made locally (it helps to have a brother-in-law whose family is not only Mexican but owns a very popular local restaurant), beans, rice and atole. I've had tamales and stuff before of course, but I've never had atole before so I was interested in trying that. I already have the ingredients so why not! I'm one of those people who will by a food if it looks or sounds interesting, even if she doesn't know what it is. So my kids have tried lots of interesting stuff because of that. We've even eaten cactus! For dessert, I made my own impression of Pan de Muertos, the special sweet egg-rich bread made at this time of the year. I made it more as a cake but kept the orance and anise flavorings. I made my own frosting and then decorated the cake to look like a skull. It was all really good.
The musings of my childrens journey in the wonders of love, life, and spirituality. Love, Live, Laugh, and Learn. That's what it's all about. Welcome and blessed be.
* Carey ~ Beloved husband that puts up with everything.
He's majoring in history, loves to read, play D&D and Mech Warriors.
* Ami ~ Me. Busy teacher and housewife. I love to spend
time with the kids, read, garden, cook, knit, sew, make my own soaps
and salves.
* James ~ Our oldest at five. He loves to build with blocks, enjoys the guitar, adores robots and believes he
can't live without his trucks (and skateboard).
* Charles ~ My little monkey! Our youngest son at four, he
is the most precious gift ever recieved on a birthday.
He's a wonderful, sunny little guy that's very inquisitive and artistic.
* Meradydd ~ Our oldest daughter at three.
An opinionated and exceedingly bossy little girl with a temper to match her copper hair.
My little fashion diva that loves shoes, furlies, & hair pretties.
* Kathrynn ~ Kitty is my 1 year old little angel. She's a beautiful, mellow little girl that's extremely patient but is also starting to show her claws.
Abraham Lincoln ~ You have a Bible and a library card what more could you possibly need? You prefer the Charlotte Mason Method of reading living books for everything: historical fiction, biographies, real histories, nature guides, etc. No soon-to-be-outdated textbooks for you. Visit my blog: Guilt Free Homeschooling Take this quiz!
