Forest Cottage - Homeschool Blogger

Reading Rainbow Off The Air!!!!

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:02:00 -0500

I pop onto Facebook ocassionally throughout the day when I get a few moments to check updates. Not only do I get posts from family and friends, but I also get postings from assorted sites such as NPR, Montessori for Everyone, Skip to My Lou, Time 4 Learning, The Homeschool Channel, Lesson Planet, UU World, updates from my Church for local events, and, you guessed it!, PBS. You can imagine how shocked I was Friday afternoon when I had a few moments free to check my news feed and right at the top of the page was a blurb from PBS thanking all of Reading Rainbow's supporters as it leaves the air.

I just sat there for a few moments as the article loaded (of course I wanted to know more. What happened?!) and thought about all of the wonderful books I saw on this show as a child that I hadn't even known existed. I always went right down to my small town library and asked for many of the books I saw on this show. (I think now my librarian must have had feelings of dread each time she saw me coming. LOL) I still know the song by heart and I must admit that I honestly thought this would be one of those few shows that would last forever not only because of the quality but how absolutely important learning how to love to read is! But alas, it's not to be. Reading Rainbow is one of the longest running children's program at 26 years, coming in behind only Sesame Street and Mister Rodgers Neighborhood.

Production on the show actually ended several years ago and viewers had declined. Through research, the focus is now on literacy and the core skills. Although learning to love reading is the first step to actually learning how it's no longer considered as important. They're both intertwined very close and it's sad that they're now being torn apart. Our public schools seem to be taking the track of learning is everything, but they're not really teaching our kids how to learn, let alone loveing to learn. Just because you know something doesn't mean that you have the knowledge or experience to actually use it in your life and sadly, it's that experience that is lacking from most schools in our country today. Dropping the arts, music, even recess in favor of phonics and other heavier areas of learning are going to lead to a serious detriment to our children's knowledge, experience and leadership qualities in the years to come. The logo says it all! "Opening Books ~ Opening Minds"

A Few Sites To Check Out

Wikipedia ~ Reading Rainbow's history.

PBS ~ the official Reading Rainbow site (that won't be around much longer so check it out while you still can)

IMDB ~ Reading Rainbow

Youtube ~ Reading Rainbow playlists

GPN Educational Media ~ Reading Rainbow

Canlearn.com ~ Reading Rainbow program descriptions and suggested activities

According to one of the comments left on the post on PBS's Facebook, "A world without a reading rainbow is sad world indeed." But you don't have to take my word for it.......

Up The Hill And Far Away

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 14:34:00 -0500

Today, Deedee was amusing herself by pulling all of the picture books off of one of the shelves and then paging through them. Thankfull she did the only with one shelf. We have a ton of picture books and there were enough of them pulled off as it was. I had been busy sewing a gift for a friend and trying to decide what sort of decorative stitch I should use to fix (as well as hide) a mistake so I was busy thumbing through a book as well. Deedee started chortling and giggling to herself in that infectious little way she has and then the next thing I knew she was shoving a book under my face.

It was a board book that I had picked up at the local dollar store last year. It was one of three little lift the flap books that were on various subjects such as the presidents, the United States, and the World. This one happened to be the one for the United States. On each set of pages there is a map of the US and a few of the states color coded with little flaps. She had opened to the page with Idaho on it. She was pointing it out to me and saying that we lived in that "building". And then she brought up my good friend Patti that used to live two doors down from me in our apartment building but had moved to a different unit at the beginning of this summer. (I miss her lots. It's not the same running up the hill across the complex as it was popping over next door).

So I was asked to point out the area we lived in and I did so. Deedee then told me how Patti had moved "up the hill" and now lived really far away. She deliberated on it a little further and then I heard her little chortle and here was the book under my nose once again and Deedee proudly saying "Pattie lives here!" and pointed all the way over to....... Delaware!

I just about died laughing.
it's really wonderful listening to little ones and realizing that they just have no concept of distances. In Deedee's mind she had condensed the breadth of our great county down to the much smaller, manageable size of our lovely little town. So Delaware was now only a few blocks away, and Grandpa & Grandma Scott now lived all the way down in Utah don't cha know (instead of only a couple of miles away).

So this started a fun session about maps, geography and distances. I pulled out the globe, all of our atlases, several National Geographic maps, rulers, manipulatives, etc.We opened up maps and measured them. We looked stuff up in atlases. We spun the globe, put a finger on a country and looked it up to learn more about it. We set up different amounts of manipulatives for different states and countries and then compared them. Deedee still doesn't really grasp just how big those distances actually are. She can count and even has a crude grasp of adding and subtraction but this is still just too big for her. But she still had lots of f un!

A Few Books We Looked At:

USA Lift-A Flap Book by Greenbriar International. This is the book that started it all. Unfortunately, I can find this nowhere online except for two copies on Amazon. There is no ISBN. ASIN is B002972OEC
Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton (great little book that's good for introductory map reading) This link is for a compilation of four of Burton's books into one volume titled Mike Mulligan and More
My Town by Rebecca Treays. This is a great Usborne book
As the Crow Flies ~ A First Book of Maps by Gail Hartmen
The Pocket Book of the World by Andrew Morton
National Geographic United States Atlas for Young Explorers
National Geographic Close-Up USA Map Series ~ OOP but certainly something to try and get your hands on. I got mine from another mom in my homeschool group. You might try Ebay. It's a large set but worth having. I only have 8 of the maps.
American Geogrphical Society Around the World Program ~ The original edition is OOP although a second edition was released in the 90's (which I've never seen). These little phamplet type books are awesome. Each book is of a different country or state (I have no idea how many were actually published but I have 24 volumes with the knowledge of at least several others I haven't acquiried). The cover looks like a map and the book itself has lots of info about the subject such as history, geography, sometimes language examples, black & white pictures etc. They originaly came with a sheet of full color picture stickers to be inserted into the book by the new owner and every once in a while you come across a volume that still has it's page of stickers not yet inserted into the book. Those are lots of fun. :) The sets also often came in boxes that could hold up to 6 volumes. I found mine originally at Salvation Army but they're on Ebay quite a bit. These are OOP but not super rare so while they're fun to have, keep in mind that some of them are no longer accurate and are not worth a ton of money so you shouldn't be finding yourself paying more than $3 a volume at the highest.

Cool Sites To Check Out

Google Earth ~ A really fun online programs that's pretty much a 3-D globe. Check out Geo Education for ways to incorporate Google Earth into your curriculum and lesson plans.
Homeschool Share ~ Just because you never know what you're going to find here. Try typing in a search for maps and see what it brings you. :)

Enchanted Learning World Geography
Montessori for Everyone has some cool stuff for geography, culture, etc. including fun continent kits and study kits.
Oh, and don't forget to check out Currclick for lots of great map resources as well as other digital curriculum! I dropped in quickly to see if there was anything I could use today. There wasn't but I did see several items I've added to my wishlist.

Something new from something old

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 15:47:00 -0500

It never hurts to be economical and frugal but it's especially important in these times. As you know, I have four beautiful rambunctious angelic little beings living with me that are extremely hard on their clothing. I love to sew and I often make clothes for my little ones, especially the girls. There is just too much clothing on the market that is just not appropriate for little girls, especially the girls the age that I have. The skirts are too short, the shirts have too many double entendres and sexual innuendos, pants are too tight, etc. And when I have found something decent, it has Hannah Montana all over it! Or some other licensed character.

Although I often hit the sales at the local fabric stores, I can't always find what I need or had in mind at a price I can afford. And then one day, I found a blog post talking about cutting a pair of baby pants out of an old shirt. I did more digging and found tons of sites where an adult sized shirt had been turned into something new for a little one. So can you guess what type of fabric I turned my mind to? You guessed it. Old shirts, skirts and dresses that I have been cutting down to make my girls' summer & winter wardrobes. Their winter flannel underclothing is coming from old flannel sheets! What I especially love is that I can hit my local Salvation Army and pick up an adult sized article of clothing for only $1.79. Depending on what I need it for and how I cut it, I can get a full outfit for Kitty or a dress for either of the girls. There is always a small amount of left over fabric that can be used for other stuff such as pockets or just a scrap bag for the kids to play with. I can't beat an article of clothing that is not only unique but affordable as well!

Here's a quick line up of a few I've either finished so far or is still on the cutting board (*= still in the works):

A raspberry w/ white floral print woman's sz L T-Shirt ~ complete sleeveless top and shorts for Kitty
*Blue shorts w/ white floral print that belong to my grandmother ~ A dress (with another plain blue t-shirt used as well)
A yellow sz 14/16 youth T-shirt ~ A dress for Kitty. The original sleeves turned into generous pockets on breast and skirt. (I added a fabric transfer on the breast pocket)
A yellow sz 12 youth T-shirt ~ A sleeveless top for Deedee (I added the fabric transfer)
*A long black T-shirt (perhaps actually a T-shirt dress for a girl?) with white sleeves for a layered look ~ two dresses and the white sleeves turned into a pair of leggings.
*A pair of white shorts with multicolored stripes that belonged to my grandmother & a lime green childs shirt ~ A dress for Deedee
A size X-LG purple T-shirt w/ 3/4 sleeves: A shirt & shorts for Deedee. The top was cut from the main body and the shorts were originally the sleeves. I had to add a panel around the top of the shorts because the crotch wasn't quite deep enough for my liking. The panel was taken from around the bottom of a pink sz. M woman's shirt. The rest of that shirt will be made into a dress with a black skirt (a sz X-LG Man's shirt).
*A babies outfit made from two identical pink & green striped Woman's T-shirts (two so I would have enough fabric for what I wanted to do).
A swimming suit! Yes. I made Deedee a tankini out of a sz 14/16 girls one piece bathing suit
*A sz 10/12 girls red sweater w/ pink, white and orange stripes on the sleeve cuffs + a sz 6/7 girls turtleneck with pink, white, orange and red stripes ~ A dress for Deedee with matching leggings. Should I use the sleeves from the sweater for the leggings or use the turtleneck sleeves and use the sweater sleaves on the turtleneck instead?
*An old quilted ankle length skirt that belonged to my grandmother ~ A robe for one of the girls
*A lined wool patchwork ankle length skirt ~ A robe for one of the girls
*A long ankle length multicolored skirt (this one has a heavy tapestry feel to it; it makes me think of something from the Andes with the patterns & colors on it) ~ a pinafore and maybe matching bolero for one of the girls (probably Deedee)
*A white maternity top that belonged to my mother (and I wore) ~ not sure yet, but something for Kitty.

These are pics of just a few items I've made. There would be more but the rather ancient digital camera I've been using has decided to bite the dust. :( The few outfits pictured correspond to the number on the afore mentoned list. I have even more still on the cutting board and some ideas still rolling around in my head. When my grandmother died, I was was blessed with several boxes of her clothing. They sat for well over a year before I even felt ready to go through them and now, I have a ton of stuff that can be cut down for the kidlets. At one time, my grandmother was a very generous size so the articles of clothing have plenty of fabric in them. I also have a couple of corduroy dresses that belonged to my husbands grandmother I plan on cutting down for the girls.

Because I've gotten so resourceful and frugal (both big words for me, I'm not usually this creative) the kiddos will have plenty of clothing this winter. Probably too much since it's so fun to make! LOL

Here's a list of some of the sites and tutorials that have been helpful and inspirational.

On Your Own, For Your Own ~ Favorite T shirt turned baby/toddler dress (Part of the inspiration for Kitty's yellow dress)
Luvinthemommyhood ~ Tutorials for Shirt Sleeves to Yoga Capris (adult) (part of the inspiration for the shorts of #7) and There's No Such Thing As Leftovers - The pants (an adorable pair of pants made from the sleeves of a man's dress shirt)
Snazzle Craft ~ Floral Shirt to Toddler Dress Recon (no pattern per se but it gives you ideas of what can be done!)
Rookie Moms ~ Make Some Easy Kids Pants
HubPages ~ Frugal Living Tips - Recycle Old Clothing (I like the idea of using a womans skirt with a childs top to make a dress)
Craftster ~ button shirt to toddler dress recon tutorial (I've got to do this. I have a couple of my grandfather's shirts I wish to use.) I found a similar dress My old shirt is her new dress! at Babycenter Community
Blueprints ~ tons of great tutorias including Adult Tee to Child's Dress Recon (this is the one that gave me the idea of tracing around articles of clothing the girls already have to help with the patterns; you can see that in #3 for the bodice), Easy Peasy Underneathy (toddler underpants from baby jamma bottoms) and Infant Pants from Sleeves (the other part of the inspiration for the shorts in #7) And tons of other great items to make!
Instructables ~ How to Turn Old Socks into Toddler Leggings (My best friend did a similar one with tube socks and just cutting off the toes, and hemming that bit letting the original cuffs hold up the now legging)
wikiHow ~ How to Make Leggings from Tights (This one isn't my original inspiration. I had seen it in a magazine but can't remember which one)
wikiHow ~ How to Make Socks out of an Old Pair of Tights (I haven't done this one. The girls wear out the toes of the their tights. Going through two plus girls does that to them!)

Now that I know I can actually do this, I've been having a blast assembling differnt articles of clothings and bits of scraps to make something new. I especially like using items that belonged to family members or close friends because they can bring a lot of memories to the fore when you see a special little one wearing them.

Raspberries!

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:36:00 -0500

Tuesdays are always a little busy and hectic for us. We have to get up early and plan enough time for a 20+ minute walk to James therapy appointment after which we hang around downtown for about 40 minutes before craft hour starts for the littles. Today, Carey just took the boys home after we stopped in at Salvation Army but I still had 20 minutes before the class started. We wandered over to the center anyway to wait in the shade and that is when the girls discovered that the raspberries were ready! There is a huge set of raspberry canes in the yard of the center that is very prolific every year. These are one of my favorite fruits but they are too expensive to buy very often. The girls went nuts picking them and they were especially cute sharing their berries back and forth. I think the canes must have been the thornless variety because the girls had no problems forcing themselves to the center of the patch and getting berries no one else had gotten to. Deedee called it her "castle" and they played in there for several minutes before the center opened.The feel of fresh berries in my hand and the bursting of the sun warmed juices in my mouth always bring back many happy (for the most part) memories.

When I was growing up, my grandparents had a good sized garden that included a whole patch of raspberries. One of my oldest memories is of eating them straight off of the canes, hot from the sun and the flavor just bursting in my mouth. Perhaps that is why I love them so much. I can remember another time one of my grandparents kittens had been attacked by some bald faced hornets and it had gotten pretty chewed up. Of course I designated myself as the caretaker but I still had to pick the berries for my grandmother so I would stuff the poor cat in a makeshift sling I had made and hauled it right along with me. LOL I can also remember grumbling because my grandmother had sent me down there with buckets to fill so she could put them up in jam or one of her preserves. Of course, the whole time I was grumbling about filling the buckets I was just as quickly stuffing my face! But oh, the jam. Raspberry jam has always been one of my most favorite things in the world and every year my grandmother would put up a huge batch of freezer jam. I would get myself in trouble because I would eat it by the spoonful. And I still do it! Sometimes, for a speciall treat. :) I no longer hide a container to eat whenever I felt like it. I discovered a few years ago my grandmother always made a few extra containers knowing that I would get into it and she still wanted to be sure there was enough for the winter. LOL

There are tons of great ways to enjoy raspberries other than straight off of the cane. I love piling a few cups of raspberries in a bowl with a bit of sugar and a dash of lemon juice to sit for a bit, at least an hour. It is awesome over vanilla ice cream (especially homemade) or pancakes or a spongecake etc.

Raspberry jam is also pretty easy to make, and it needs nothing fancy. Especially if you're just making a few pots to give as gifts. There's nothing so wonderful as receiving a pretty jar of ruby-hued jam with a pretty bow around the top. Christmas isn't so far off so keep that in mind! I have a super easy recipe that even a young child can help you with and they'll be so proud of themselves after their effort, especially if they're presenting it as gifts. It has a small list of ingredients and makes a small batch which is why it's so ideal for children to help with.

Easy Raspberry Jam

3 c raspberries
3 c sugar

Mash the berries in a saucepan and stir in the sugar. Bring it to a boil and then boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and beat for 6 minutes. Poor into your jars and allow it to cool. Remember to keep refrigerated if you're not canning it.

A raspberry cordial is also always nice. Who can forget when poor Anne Shirley served Diana Barry with currant wine instead of raspberry cordial! When I was a child, that was (and remains so) one of my favorite books so of course I had to try some!

Raspberry Cordial

1 lb 3 oz raspberries (It says frozen but I have used fresh. This sort of recipe can be fudged.)
1.25 c sugar (I use organic unrefined)
4 c boiling water
2 lemons (or equilavent juice, usually about 3 tbsp per lemon)

Combine the sugar & raspberries in a saucepan and cook for 20-25 minutes until the sugar has completely dissolved. Mash the mixture thoroughly and then poor through a sieve or cheese cloth to strain out the juice. Discard the pulp. Here is where a chinois sieve comes in handy if you have one. It is a long, conical mesh sieve that has a long usually wooden pestle. Some come with a stand and some just have a little hook so they will sit over your container. This is what I use. I combine the two steps into one by putting it into the sieve to mash it. Once in a while it looks cloudy so I might use a jelly bag to get out the last little bits. Add your lemon juice, stir thoroughly and then add your boiling water. Let it cool and then bottle. Must refrigerate!

Want more recipes like this? Look up The Anne of Green Gables Cook Book by Kate McDonald! It is out of print but you can usually find it pretty reasonably priced at most used book vendors including thriftbooks.com.

In deference to the hot weather, I have one more addition. Juice and yogurt pops are extremely easy to make and really good for you too (don't tell the kids though). If you can't find a popsicle mold, just use paper cups and wooden craft sticks (otherwise known as popsicle sticks, but don't buy the colored ones). Simply plop some berries in the bottom of your mold, pour in some juice until it's 3/4 full and put it in the freezer. If you're using paper cups, keep an eye on them and when the mixture is slushy add the sticks. Freezer for 2-4 hours or until frozen solid. Simply peel the paper away when it's time to serve.

Sunrise Yogurt Pops

18 oz. plain or vanilla yogurt
6 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate
6 c. fresh or frozen raspberries
2 bananas, peeled and sliced.
1/4 c honey (optional, I usually find it sweet enough)

Prepare your molds by putting 2-3 berries in the bottom of each one. Puree the rest of the berries, the oj, yogurt, honey and banana in the blender. (One hint here: If you don't want the seeds, puree your raspberries seperately in a blender or foley food mill and then mash through a sieve so you still get the juice and most of the pulp.) Pour the mixture into the molds until they're approximately 3/4 full and place in the freezer for several hours or overnight for a yummy breakfast treat. Not enough molds the amount that you made? You have yourself a lovely Sunrise Smoothie. :) This is one that I do with the kiddos a lot. If the mix is too thick for your liking, simply add a bit of milk, rice milk, soy milk, juice etc. until you get your desired consistency. And don't be afraid to mix and match the fruit and yogurts. There are a lot of lovely flavors out there that really come together for a great combination.

Want a layered look instead so it really looks like a sunrise? Split your yogurt roughly into thirds. Take 1/3 and spoon it evenly into your molds. Pop it into your freezer for about 20-30 minutes until it's solid enough to hold the next layer (do this with each layer). Combine your oj, 1/3 of your yogurt and the banana together. This is the second layer. Mix the other third of your yogurt with the raspberries for the third layer. When you're putting your layers in, make sure to leave adequate room for the next layer. It's ok if you have leftovers from each layer. Remember what I said about a smoothie? If you're not up for each layer freezing separetly, carefully pour each layer on top of the other. It will swirl together but it won't completely mix as long as you go slowly. This is where a thicker mixture comes in handy.

Up for a more labor intensive recipe? Check out Sophistimom's Fruity Creamy Swirly Yogurt Pops. Those look awesome. Highlights has fun Berry Yogurt Pops.

Babies Are Born Naked?

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:47:00 -0500

A lot of my friends are having babies this summer, so of course the kids have had a lot of questions. My little ones are all close enough together that even James was still pretty young when Kitty arrived and I didn't have home births as I would have wished so the kids don't really know much about it. Recently, they've had lots and lots of question and James has gotten big enough that we've had a much bigger discussions with although not a ton of details as yet. The big thing right now though is just babies. The kids wanted to know how they're born. That in itself is really hard to explain so I looked up a few videos of home births for them to watch. And I got the one question that I wasn't prepared for but just about had me rolling on the floor laughing.

The children were all intently watching a birth and while there was some comment on anatomy and stuff, there wasn't much. At least not as much as one would think from a bunch of children that still think it's yucky to kiss someone. And then Charles popped up with "Babies are born naked!?".

This correlated in with a similar question given by a three year old girl that happened recently. One of my friends was making an outfit for a little baby girl expected by another good friend any day now. The little girl comes up to her mother and stands watching her for a little while and then asks what color her (the baby) shirt will be. It took a couple of minutes for the mother to realize that her daughter wasn't talking about the outfit she was making. She wanted to know what color of shirt the baby was going to be wearing when she born! LOL

So, here are a couple of books that I have found helpful with my guys and explaining stuff.

There is also a set of books that is out of print that you can find relatively cheap on Amazon (I found my set at Salvation Army and paid only $0.50 for it) called The Life Cycle Library for Young People. There are four slim volumes and it goes into everything that deals with reproduction, not just your bodies anatomy. I like these books for that fact because it's really helped me answer some of the kids questions. It doesn't get super graphic if you're concerned about that. Most of it is black line drawings, some colored illustrations etc. The set was originally printed in 1969 so that should give you a good idea. The illustrations of a babies development especially game in handy, especially one drawing that compared the size of a fertilized cell to the point of a pencil. It really helped the children grasp just how little it was.

There are also a few other resources that I found helpful and the kids liked. Watch Me Grow by Stuart Campbell is a wonderful book of week by week baby development shown in a series of 3-D photos. There are also a few films that I found at the library.

National Geographic ~ In the Womb by DIlly Barlow.
National Geograhic ~ In the Womb - Multiples by Lorne Townend (we didn't actually view this one but thought you may be interested to know it's available.)
Nova ~ The Miracle of Life by David Ogden Stiers
From Conception to Birth by Jonathan Grupper

I'm not going to post vids of the births on here simply because there are different styles people prefer such as home birth vs. hospital birth vs. cesarean as well as those that would not wish their child to view a live birth in the first place. I would not be able to please everyone so I simply won't try. If you are interested in viewing some, go to Youtube and type in a search for "home birth", "babies birth" etc. There is one vid I am going to post however. It is a simplified time lapse 3-D animation of a birth that shows only the mothers skeletal system and baby in utero. This is the one I showed the kiddos first, after looking at illustrations, before watching real births. I also didn't get my hands on the previous listed films until after I'd shown the kiddos the home birth vids.