Posted by Cindy on August 25, 2008
The green and orange peppers are finally coming on the garden. Freezing them is such a snap that I can have a whole bucket done in about 15 minutes. Wash, cut off the tops, take the seeds out, slice, parboil for three minutes, place in ice water, dry and freeze in ziptop bags. It’s that easy!
We took a trip last week to the local orchard to stock up on peaches and apples that had been graded out. (They’re much cheaper that way!) Again, freezing is easy. Wash, peel, cut in slices, sprinkle a little sugar over the peaches or dip apples in water with a little lemon juice, place in ziptop bags and freeze.
All of these things can be used in a recipe just as you would use them if they were fresh. They aren’t great, however, for thawing and eating plain.
I promised a couple of ladies that I would share recipes throughout the year using things I’ve canned or frozen. Here’s a fried corn dish we had at supper last week.
Ingredients
- fresh or frozen corn cut off the cob
- fresh or frozen green pepper, chopped
- fresh yellow squash, chopped
- fresh or frozen onion, chopped
- butter
Melt butter in a frying pan. Saute all veggies until crisp-tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Yummy!
Posted by Cindy on August 22, 2008
One week down, 35 to go!
On the first day (as has been her custom since she was a Kindergartener) Mahayla dressed up.
Caleb chose the opposite attire for his first day back.
And Eli….Well, I think this sums up what we can expect from him this year.
Posted by Cindy on August 21, 2008
Melissa and her family came to visit us this past weekend!! We’ve been friends for nearly ten years, but have lived an hour and a half away from each other for six of those years now. Thank the Lord for internet and email service! 
) We share so many similarities from curriculum choices to food sensitivities to a love of nature that it’s no wonder our friendship flourishes even at a distance.
Here are a few pictures from the much enjoyed visit. Come back soon!!
Posted by Cindy on August 20, 2008
Our first Fine Arts Tuesday has come and gone. What a lovely day it was!
We will soon be listening to Peggy’s Violin: A Butterfly in Time (which is a wonderful story of the life of a violin, by the way!) Woven into the story are several classical music pieces by famous composers. One of the first is “Canon” by Pachelbel. Before heading downstairs for our artist tea, we listened to “Canon” on the computer. The kids were very excited to know this piece was played at my wedding!
Then we headed downstairs for some peppermint tea and cookies.
We did a picture study of “Lilacs in a Vase” by Manet. After a brief biography session, we used the idea from Discovering Great Artists to create melted crayon still-life paintings.
Caleb chose to do a still-life of red hot peppers in a vase, while Mahayla found some clover in the yard.
They had fun, but we had to continually stop painting to re-warm the crayons in the oven since we don’t own a warming tray. (Don’t use a good muffin tin – it will never be the same again!)
We didn’t do a morning nature walk this week because our Creation Club met in the afternoon. Here are a few pictures from the wildflower walk and journaling time.
I can’t wait to keep you posted on our Tuesday learning! I think Tuesdays will turn out to my favorite day of the homeschool week – never mind the kids!
Posted by Cindy on August 19, 2008
Welcome to the Charlotte Mason Carnival Back To School Planning Bash!
This has turned out to be such an exciting and busy carnival that I feel like some sort of festive music should be playing - like you might hear on a merry-go-round. ) I just know you’re going to enjoy post after post of planning and organizing wisdom. In fact, you may want to have a pad of paper and pencil ready to jot down all the wonderful ideas you’ll come across! Don’t get overwhelmed, though. One idea at a time……
Daily Schedules and Curriculum Choices
Erin from Delighting in His Richness tells us how her plans are coming along in Ready, Set…Still Working on the Set Part.
Kris from Musing Mom gives us a glimpse into her day in Our Schedule for Next Year.
Makita from Twinkling Stars Family School shows us her detailed plans in Our 2008/09 School Plans.
Kathy from Piney Woods Homeschool tells us how she plans practically using the Ambleside curriculum in Scheduling CM.
Barb from Harmony Art Mom gives us some planning ideas for older children in Our Plan for High School: Tapestry of Grace ala Charlotte Mason.
DeeDee from Doing Things Anglo/American Style shows us how she is easing into a CM lifestyle in Wanna Be Charlotte Mason Homeschooler.
Tiffany from Homeschool Nature Study lays out how she plans to begin implementing some serious CM plans this year in Charlotte Mason Back to School Planning Bash.
Amada from Manifold Musings of a Missionary Mom takes us through her planning in What to Teach?
Sandy from Falling Like Rain reminds us that not everyone is cheerfully planning and preparing for a new school year. She gives some great advice in Homeschool Fatigue.
Jimmie from One Child Policy Homeschool has been evaluating her homeschool in Some Homeschool Goal Setting.
Dawn from My4Sweetums has also been setting some goals for the year in Charlotte Mason Planning Bash.
Elizabeth from In the Heart of My Home shares her fall term plans in Sneak Preview – What’s New for the Fall Term at Serendipity.
Tammy from Adventures on Beck’s Bounty shows us how she plans her lessons in Planning at Beck’s Bounty.
Keri from Sunny shows us how she goes about planning in A New School Year.
Swylv from Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life answers several planning questions in Back to School Edition Submission.
Sonya from Simply Charlotte Mason shares how she makes time for larger projects in A Project Week Idea.
Sheri from On the Right Track talks about how she planned for fun learning in Summer Session Success.
Rebecca from Home Sweet Homeschool gives us a peek into how she plans using the Ambleside Online curriculum in Week-at-a-glance.
Schoolroom and Other Organizing Ideas
Candace from His Mercy is New gives us a couple of great ideas in Our Bulletin Board and Prayer Door.
Melissa from In the Sparrow’s Nest has organized all the toddler toys and big kid manipulatives in Busy Bookshelf.
Barb from Harmony Art Mom share a simple organizing trick in Need Some Inspiration: Try an Idea Portfolio. Also be sure to glean ideas for organizing an art study area in Our Van Gogh Wall. I couldn’t resist adding one more of Barb’s wonderful organizing tips in Keeping Your Art Supplies at the Ready.
Cindy from On Our Journey Westward (that’s me!) hopes to encourage you that the schoolroom can at least make you smile one time a year (before the children enter the room or area for the first time) in An Organized Schoolroom.
Leslie from Pockets of the Future shares an organizing tip about printer ink in A Key Homeschooling, Homesteading, Self-Sufficiency Item You Can Buy in Bulk.
Plans for Particular Subjects
Candace from His Mercy is New has a fun plan for Fine Arts Friday at her house this year. Along the same lines, be sure to check out her post about their Music Appreciation Time.
Kysha from Love’s School tells us about her new approach to spelling plans in My Rambles On Spelling.
Mama Squirrel from Dewey’s Treehouse shows us the fine arts side of her second grade plans in Crayon’s Grade Two: What’s Left? (Art, Music, This and That).
Mary Beth at Cheaper By the Half Dozen has reminded us that adding fine arts into our curriculum is not only important, but easy in Picture Study the Charlotte Mason Way. Be sure to see the second part of this idea at More Picture Study Tips.
Leila at Fredom Academy has started what sounds like a very fun group. You can read about it in a Charlotte Mason Co-op.
Lindafay from Higher Up and Further In offers her plans for CM-style testing in Year 4 Exams – Term 3.
Keri from Sunny shows us how she incorporated history in History with Story of the World.
DeeDee from Doing Things Anglo/American Style has a great idea for those wonderful read alouds in The End – Finally!
Andrea from Kids and Nature shows us how she plans to use the zoo in her homeschool this year in A New Approach to the Zoo.
Ritsumei from Baby Steps shares how she does nature study with preschoolers in Munchkin Nature Study.
Rachael from Homeschooling Kiwi Style takes us through a year’s worth of picture study in Monet and the Impressionist Picture Study Plan.
Lisa from House of Many Blessings shows how she spices up school in Artist Study and a Little Bit of Fun.
Amy from Growing Fruit…Part 2 shares how she includes literature along with math in Living Math Books.
Jenny from Chartwell Academy and Pook’s Hill Nursery has a fun idea for using postcards to enhance a wall timeline in Postcards from the Edge of Educational Tourism.
Melissa from In the Sparrow’s Nest gives a great overview of how and why to include nature study as part of your curriculum planning in Carving Out Time for Nature Walks.
Cindy from On Our Journey Westward (that’s me, again!) offers her plan for artist, composer and nature study in Setting Aside Time for the Good Stuff.
Thank you so much for visiting and/or participating! Remember, everyone enjoys positive comments (even me.) ) If you like someone’s ideas, let them know!
Thanks to Jimmie and Swylv for some of the pictures for the carnival!
Let’s continue with another super year of the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival. Keep submitting those great posts! Our outstanding leader, Barb, will be hosting the next carnival on September 2nd!
