Getting Ready for Fall

Busy...

It's been a month today since my last update.  Super busy, even moreso than usual.  We've had so much to do.  I've been getting ready for fall and for the upcoming holidays of God.  I bought most of the kids' fall and winter clothes and am in the process of getting them all washed and put away.  I've been clearing out stuff we don't need, and I'm trying to get to a point of doing some fall cleaning.  Jaden also took the longest single break from grammar and spelling ever, and so we've recently added that back in, and I'm working with both Trust and Liv more on things like getting Trusten ready to read and planning more math stuff with him. On and on the list goes!

An update on the eggs Jaden William was incubating:  Since he didn't use a thermometer, as I predicted the eggs came to naught.  Maybe he'll buy a thermometer and try again.

A Fun Visit...

We went to visit our friend Lisa a few weeks ago, and Jaden worked a bit on Paul's and Lisa's earthbag home, applying mud.  He also helped Lisa put together a rock hanging.  Lisa had been collecting rocks she'd found with holes.  I'd given her three myself.  They organized the rocks from largest to smallest and strung them on a rope to use as a decorative piece hanging outside.  Trust and Liv helped make peanut butter balls while we were there.  And of course, just as they do with our chickens here at home, they played with our friends' chickens while there.

Trust and Liv holding friends' chickens

Trust and Liv adding ingredients for peanut butter balls

Lisa, Will, Trust, and Liv organizing rocks; finished product hanging outside

  
Work with Daddy...

 Jaden William went with Nathan to work two different days of one week.  He learned some new things and enjoyed a break away from his younger siblings, and Trust and Liv enjoyed a break from JW, too.  Some snapshots of what happened when he was away:

Elizabeth enjoying her bath.  She's such a sweet, happy baby!

Trust and Liv sitting on front porch in the morning sun, watching the chickens range

Liv hiding in Jade's bag (that Liv has borrowed for her blocks) and Trusten coming up to hug her when he saw me taking a picture of her. 

Trust and Liv sitting on counter ready for breakfast-making

Trust and Liv playing peacefully together in the sandbox

 South African Currency...

 Jaden William received a surprise (to him, not me) package in the mail from my dear friend Nellie's adult daughter Tasha from South Africa.  More foreign currency to inspect and learn about!  They have their own cents (not the same value as our U.S. cents) and then rands.  Their top-valued coin is the 5 rand piece, which is currently equal 61cents U.S. Their lowest paper currency is ten rands, and the bigger bills were color-copied for Jaden to see.  The top one shown—200 rands—is about $24.41 US dollars.

10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, 1 rand, 2 rands, and 5 rands coins (I forgot to picture the back picture that is on them all).

On the right, a 10 rand bill front and back; on left copies of what larger bills look like

Thanks again to Nellie and Tash.  Tasha took time to neatly fit the coins in little pockets and make notes.

Fall and Winter Clothes...

The kids are very excited about their new fall and winter clothes.  I've still got to get some shoes and get Elizabeth some socks and maybe Trusten a couple more pairs of pants.  Trusten will have the most clothes, though most of them are hand-me-downs from Jaden.  The dress shirts handed down are like new and some of the other stuff is in excellent condition. I got him a brand new sweater, too, and there's one other new and never worn shirt, and he's got a new coat that Nathan bought for him two years ago that will just fit him this year.  I had to get Elizabeth mostly new clothes, though I do have some one-piece suits that were Liv's that I'll likely use for her to sleep in. 

Miss Liv's clothes (shirts, pants and leggings, dress, and socks) and hair clips

Miss Elizabeth's clothes, got to get her some leggings or tights to go under the sweater dress

Trusten's clothes (minus a couple shirts, plus I need to buy him more pants)

Jaden William's clothes, including a corduroy jacket that I agreed to get if he paid half.  He, like I, loves corduroy, and so most of his pants this year are that way, and he loves those soft flannel shirts, too. 

Two more shirts for Jade.  All the others have monkey shirts.  He wanted a penguin shirt.

 SkyView...

 Jade loves the Skyview app for iPhone (and iPod), and I think it's pretty neat, too, so I installed it as well.  He and I have gone out to look at the stars at night.  We've also tried to locate the International Space Station.  It's supposedly bright enough to see during the day...whenever it's in view.  The thing travels at an average of 17,000 miles an hour.  For comparison, the moon orbits the earth at about 2,288 miles per hour.  The app tells when it should be viewable again in our location, and we've tried it a few times by setting an alarm a few minutes ahead of time, but each time we've failed to see it because of the trees blocking our view, I believe.  We need to go to an open field.  Maybe if we went up to our first pasture on the hill we'd have better luck.  You also only have a very short time frame where you can see it before it is gone from sight again, because of the high speed at which it's traveling.

These were screenshots I snapped within just a few minutes time frame during one of our attempts to see it.  All those trees obscured our view of it.

 A Street Through Time...

 A Street Through Time continues to be a big hit.  The kids and I all love it.  Since my last post we've covered "Roman Times," "Barbarians," the "Viking Invaders," "Medieval Town," and "Plague Strikes."

Each time period has a two-page spread, summary, info and finding questions around the perimeters, and terms/labels all over the pages.  This one shows Roman Times.

The Stone Age hunters was the first thing on the scene, and the same scene or "street" is depicted throughout the ages. 

I wanted to give a better glimpse of what A Street Through Time is all about.  This is definitely a favorite, and I highly recommend it to others.  I tell the kids more about the different terms, and we have some fun discussions.  Both the boys really love it.  The book is Trusten's, so when he leaves he will take it with him.  We've stopped for a bit so that they have time to watch videos on the different time periods to learn more.  William especially requested to learn more about he plague.  So far he has watched a video on the plague and the first third of a video on the Stone Age era when people were transitioning from being hunter-gathers to being farmers.

Stories From the Stone Age 1/3

The Bubonic Plague (History Channel) Playlist

Reading...

I decided to start taking snapshots of the stuff we read each day, so from now on I think I'll do that.  I just haven't decided whether to continue my recent exclusive use of my iPhone for pictures or not.  They're not as good quality; some of them are terrible.  But it's handy, because I use iCloud now, and so my photos are automatically sent to all my devices via Photostream.  No connecting a camera and uploading the pics.

This is a few days' worth of my new habit.  The Smurfs?  Well, those are Trusten's, and he holds one while Liv holds the other during our group reading time, and the kids all think it's pretty funny to include them in the pictures with the books and periodicals.

 

 We had to catch up on magazines, because we skipped a month reading them.  I read a daily Proverbs chapter to all the kids still, but I'm currently reading Leviticus only to Jaden William.  We'd be finished with it by now, except he hasn't been here this week.  Oh, one of Trusten's Weekly Readers had some rhymes for school rules where he had to fill in a blank to make a rhyme.  He did really well and enjoyed it.  I try to incorporate all the rhyming stuff I can for him, because he loves it so much! 

 Sea Star Breakfast...

 We read more about sea stars in one of our magazines, and so the next day I made sea stars out of my much-loved fruit, grain, and seed bar recipe:

 I made them all with five arms, though they were all unique. 

 Jaden William is with my parents helping out with the White County, AR fair this week.  My dad is the fairgrounds manager, and both my parents are on the fair board.  We will meet them halfway on the first day of next week to pick him back up.  So the next post will detail what he did and learned while there and what the others did while he was gone.

Before closing, here are some miscellaneous photos:

Jaden William took this picture of Liv

Tomato/Tobacco hornworm, I think.  Haven't looked up to see what kind of moth it turns into.

Elizabeth getting around on the floor quite nicely ("Army" crawl)

Jaden and McKenzie with iPod

Until next time...

Wasp Life Cycle, Chickens, Raccoons, and More

Chickens...

One of the most important things in the kids' life now are the chickens.  Jaden especially loves chickens, and Liv loves holding them, too.  We're waiting to see any day now whether some eggs Jade has in his incubator hatch.  Our friends Paul and Lisa gave him an incubator that they were given and didn't want, so he didn't have to build or buy one.  The only problem is that there is no thermometer on there, so I'm really not sure whether he will have success with this first batch.  And the eggs he got?  Well, one of our chickens was already laying on them for a few days before he took (stole) them. 

I was lying down with the baby and Liv one day last week and did not realize that Jaden was taking a shower with one of the chickens (Little Rooster), until after he got out and came to inform me.  He even shampooed the poor thing!  He said he was fine with it.  Now this is after he called a woman on an online video we watched several weeks ago and idiot for swimming in her pool with her chicken that she described as her soulmate.  Nathan says he thinks she rather inspired him.  Ha!  Jade protested and said that if the chicken pooped in the shower, at least it would go down the drain.  He carries chickens around all the time, though, and he says they will let you know when they need to go.

Jade with Little Rooster eating muffin crumbs; Jade's egg incubator in background

Jaden with Little Hen, their favorite chicken of all

Wasps...

One of the really cool highlights for us last week was when Jaden uncovered all stages of a wasp's life cycle:

Left: larval beginnings; Right: The in-between state

Almost mature

Not quite ready, but Jade interfered with nature

Science Kit...

Another peak at Jade's science kit activities, something which I forgot to post last time:

It's amazing how big those little specks get after adding water!  A good lesson in hydration/dehydration/rehydration

Gifts from Kenya...

We got a gift package from our beloved brothers and sisters in Christ with whom we're spiritually close, from Kenya, and along with it Jaden's latest letter from his friend Young. Sadly some of the things were broken, despite their careful packaging, but that's where a lesson in gluing came in, and I fixed the broken things as well as I could, and we still very much love and enjoy the gifts.  Some of the gifts were for me and some for Jaden.

The things at left were in perfect condition.  The things at right show the before and after the gluing (but before the marking touchups).  We thought it was neat that the one gift is in the shape of Kenya.  It and the two cats are Jaden's, and he proudly displays them on his dresser.

Arkansas...

We did our Arkansas study using the same three books I listed in my previous post.  I also made them gelatin treats in the shape of Arkansas, as I did before for Missouri. 

Arkansas gelatin treat. The kids think these are good.

Reading and More...

We read about raccoons.  We read Raccoons by the National Geographic Society and the chapter on raccoons in Alive in the Wild by Cahalane, et al. We have also read and talked a lot more lately about the human body. 

Jade is doing all right in math.  There are some things he does really well, and the other things I help him through it all, until he gets it down by himself.  Trusten is still doing well with reading, though we've missed a few days lately.  He's finished with the Get Ready for the Code workbook.  The next one to start is Get Set.... 

My old iPhone now functions as an iPod for Trust and Liv for educational games (and picture-taking and voice-recording).  Liv loves taking pictures.  Hmmm...wonder from whom she gets that.

We have all really enjoyed reading A Street Through Time.  Trusten didn't think he'd like it, but he does, and Jaden really loves it, too.  I think it's so neat!  This is definitely a high recommendation!  We've only read three spreads so far:  Stone Age, First Farmers, and Iron Age. 

I love that we have a good copy of Clorinda now, and I've read that a few times now.  I also received Clorinda Takes Flight, which I read, and we enjoyed.  Today we finally received Clorinda Plays Baseball, and we look forward to reading it.

Awesome books!  Clorinda was first enjoyed by Jaden and me several years ago, but it was a cereal box copy that is now not in good shape.

  Youtube Videos Watched...

 Raccoons observed and as pets  
 

 Chicken Anatomy  (missing middle part, unfortunately)
 

Some Random Pictures...

Spearmint on the bank of our front yard with some brown-eyed Susan (growing beside each other, just like the stuff near the river I posted last time)

Some random pictures of Jade, and Liv in our creek, on our road, and across the road

A small family grave site and historical marker telling about the homestead.  This is in front of one of our favorite spots to swim on Roaring River

A Sabbath afternoon swim in Roaring River (different location than one mentioned above)

L: Nathan, Will, Trust, and Liv; R: Liz and I.  I swam after Nathan swam for awhile, and then he took Liz.

Jaden William had his first-ever dental visit, and the above pictures show the fun part.  He had one small cavity, and his x-ray showed that he's missing a permanent tooth.

L: Will, Trust, and Liv showing off their plants....uh, I don't know what it is, yet, but I DID find out what a different plant is called now (not pictured).

Wild potato vine with ants crawling on it.  I talked to Liv about the ants upon her questioning what they were doing there.  I told her they probably would like to get inside the flowers to get to the sweet nectar.

Trusten's wheelbarrow that Jaden borrowed (with permission, as he was kind that day) full of mud and dry grass for making bricks. 

Jaden William showing off his new hairstyle, modeled after his favorite fictional book character, Tintin

Until next time...

Missouri Study and New Plant Ids

The week before last we read a lot about the state in which we live, Missouri.  We learned about many of the cities, Missouri history, folklore, fun facts, well-known plants and animals (flora and fauna), and more.  I also made fruit-juice-sweetened gelatin for the kids.  It was the first time I have ever done this for them.  I do not buy Jell-O or other similar brands, because they contain pork gelatin and artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives, as well as GM corn syrup.  I used my Missouri-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the gelatin into Missouri shapes, which the kids really loved.

Missouri-shaped gelatin treat and the boys' fabric U.S. map

Up-to-date information about Missouri

Missouri legends and lore, including the story about Jesse James

Some Missouri flora and fauna

Missouri farming

St. Louis history and facts

More about Missouri

Trusten placing the arch sticker on the state of Missouri

We used American Heritage New Pictorial Encyclopedic Guide to the United States, Vol. 8, which is outdated but still had much useful information.  We also used the up-to-date The Young People's Atlas of the United States. And for Trusten's better participation, I used Sticker Atlas of the United States.

Youtube videos watched:

MO Conservation Playlist: Wildlife of Missouri

Our Playlist: History of Mark Twain and History of St. Louis Arch

Our Playlist:  History of Jesse James

We also read some about the caves and springs in Missouri. Missouri is known as "the cave state" and has more caves than any other U.S. state, except for Tennessee.  I'm currently planning our week for the Feast of Tabernacles, which we'll be keeping here, and we're planning to visit at least one cave around here (not yet chosen) that we've not yet visited.  Jaden still remembers the caves we visited during the FOT in the year of 2009 when we visited the Lake of the Ozarks area in Missouri.  We'll also be doing some fun things in Arkansas during the FOT this year, and I'll talk about our Arkansas study in my next blog post.

We id'ed two more plants that grow around here.  One morning I went out to see our garden (which is now non-existent), and I noticed some vines and white flowers on the ground adjacent to the garden spot.  The flowers instantly reminded me of morning glories.  I picked one and went inside to see whether I could get a positive identification on it.  Sure enough, it is in the morning glory family.  It's called wild potato vine, and it's an edible.  I've since seen a lot of it around here, and it seems to be flourishing despite the drought conditions.  This plant has not been so abundant around our property and the surrounding area in the past few years, as I would have surely noticed it.  I've noticed this same thing about a lot of species.  Some so scarce, some so abundant.

To the right is the flower I picked that morning when I came inside to research it on my iPad; to the left is Trusten in front of another wild potato vine plant along the roadside during one of our walks.

Wild potato vine (Ipomoea pandurata):

In dry soils, in fields or on roadsides, look for the large white morning-glory (up to three inches long and about as wide) with a reddish-purple “eye” in the center. Arising from a deep vertical root, this perennial vine with alternate leaves, entwines itself over other vegetation.
The leaf-blades are thin, heart-shaped, occasionally fiddle-shaped (pandurate), three to six inches long. The sepals are ridged, which distinguishes it from other morning-glories.
Another distinguishing characteristic is its root. Sometimes called Man-of-the-Earth, this morning-glory has an enlarged starchy root that can be several feet long and weigh up to thirty pounds. It is said that American Indians roasted pieces of the root for food–but be wary about trying that, because the fresh root is a purgative.
Wild Potato Vine is widely distributed and blooms from May through September. It is a host for the sweet potato weevil, and can be a troublesome weed. It is a member of the Morning-glory Family, Convolvulaceae.

Edible Parts

    • Root

Uses
The root can be cooked. The young ones are best, they become very acrid as they get old.
The roots can be up to 75cm long and 12cm in diameter and can weigh 7 kilos.
Roots weighing 10 kilos or more are not unknown. They are best if given a long roasting. Roasted roots taste like sweet potato but with some bitterness.
The tuber can be baked or boiled like a potato. The taste can be described as a sweet potato that is somewhat bitter. Caution should be taken as some roots have more of a bitter taste than others and ought to be boiled in “several changes of water.”

Native Uses
American Indians poulticed root for rheumatism, “hard tumors”. Root tea used as a diuretic, laxative, and expectorant, for coughs, asthma, beginning stages of tuberculosis; “blood purifier”; powdered plant used in tea for headaches, indigestion.

Warning: The roots when left uncooked have purgative (laxative) properties

Bug Repellant
An infusion of the plant has been used for soaking sweet potatoes in order to keep away bugs and moles.

(Source: Emergency Outdoors: http://blog.emergencyoutdoors.com/edible-wild-plants-wild-potato-vine-ipomoea-pandurata/)

Another plant we id'ed is spearmint, which grows wild all over the place in this area:

Brown-eyed Susan on the left; spearmint in middle and on right

That was a gorgeous brown-eyed Susan plant that was near all spearmint I photographed, so I just had to share it, too!  We have both black-eyed Susan and brown-eyed Susan around here.  The latter has smaller flowers but is much taller in stature.  These plants were photographed near the bank of Roaring River near Eagle Rock, MO.

Spearmint (Mentha spicata):

Spearmint is an aromatic herb found in European cuisine since Roman times. It is native to Central Europe but it is now found throughout North America, where it was introduced by North America's earliest immigrants in the late 1500's. In those dangerous times it was used to prevent and treat scurvy, due to its high vitamin C content.
Mint has an interesting history in Europe. Roman legend has it that the wife of Pluto was jealous of a young nymph named Minthes and so turned her into a plant. Although Pluto was unable to transform her back, he gave her a delightful aroma that we now recognize as Mint.

Medicinal uses:
 
When made into a tea or infusion, Spearmint can relieve a wide range of ailments, including nausea, hiccups, flatulence and motion sickness. It has also been found to help with the more severe symptoms of IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and to act as a diuretic for sufferers of urinary complaints.
Spearmint has long been used for a variety of stomach and bowel complaints, as it tends to increase bile production in the stomach and aid digestion. This is the historical reason for the after-dinner mint!
Another popular use for Spearmint is for expectant mothers, as a mild remedy for nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. It has also been used to treat hirsutism in women – an imbalance of testosterone that manifests in an abnormal, masculine hair growth.

[Food flavoring:]

Spearmint is a very popular world wide flavor of chewing gum, across all brands. The flavor is extracted directly from the spearmint plants. It is also used as a flavoring in all sorts of toothpaste, candy, and shaving creams.
Spearmint appears in cuisine all around the world. Various types of mint are found in Asian and European cuisine, as well as a host of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.


The leaves of the spearmint plant are where the flavor and the herbal ingredients reside. They must be cut before the plant flowers, at which point they will lose their flavor. For medicinal purposes an oil is made from the leaves, but many herbologists also recommend making a tea.

(Source: Herbal Remedies:  http://www.herbalremedypro.com/spearmint.htm)

In my next post I'll talk about our Arkansas study, chickens, and raccoons.

Until next time...