Alice in Wonderland

Molly had a great time performing as Tweedle Dee in Pumpkin Theatre's performance of Alice In Wonderland. She was fantastic!

Raise and Release

Every spring we order tiny caterpillars from Insect Lore and raise them into butterflies. They start out in a little clear jar where they feast on some strange Caterpillar concoction. They are usually 1/4 to 1/2 inch long when we get them, and within a week or so are about 2 inches long. When they are ready they attach themselves to the lid of the jar, hang upside down, and form a chrysalis. At this point we transfer them to our large butterfly habitat, which is like a big mesh cylinder. In another week or so they emerge from their chrysalis, hang upside down for a few hours strengthening their wings,and Ta Da! beautiful butterflies. The ones we "raise" are painted ladies. This has become a yearly tradition, since Molly was maybe 3 or 4 years old. This year Sophia and Benny kept a butterfly journal, each day we would measure the caterpillars and they would draw any changes they observed. You can feed them sugar water and supply them with flowers for a few days, but they should be released sooner than later. One year, we had the butterflies on the front porch inside the mesh cage for a couple of hours before we were ready to release them. All the local birds must have been watching from the trees, because when we did let them go, we were dive bombed! One butterfly got eaten , but the others escaped, at least until they were out of sight of us, which is what's important here, after all, you didn't raise these butterflies to be a tasty meal for the birds did you? My kids think every painted lady butterfly they see in the yard is one of theirs that they raised.

Now I know we could probably get some caterpillars from the yard and try to raise them ourselves, but I would have to research what kind of food they would need. How would I know what kind of Caterpillar it was, and therefore what food it needed? Sounds like a good homeschool project, huh? Maybe next year :)

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

This place is too awesome to miss. I can't believe it took us this long to get there. The Hall of Dinosaurs was Benny's favorite. We all loved all the mammals, the gems, the sea life, the whole place is amazing!

Not too crowded (weekday), and lots of metered parking, in fact we parked right out front.

Field Trip Bonanza

Ok, so I am so very tired. So. Very. Tired. It always happens this way, this time of year. There are just too many good things out there for homeschoolers. I mean too many like if I told you a giant has a hearty appetite :) Yesterday we had our Roots and Shoots club meeting Today we went to the Aquarium, then we went to Molly's drama practice for her role in Alice in Wonderland. Tomorrow we are going to listen to a holocaust survivor speak, Thursday we have Classics Club, Friday thankfully Specials Day is cancelled, but Friday evening we have our astronomy club meeting. Every week is like this. Museums, concerts, zoos, on and on. And we turn tons of stuff down! Now I'm not really complaining, fact is, I love it this way, and yes, this is my choice. I just think its funny that the public's perception of homeschooling fixates on the word HOME, like the kids are secluded and isolated. Not so, not so!

Perfect Pancakes

I mix up this pancake mix and store it in the fridge. We eat a lot of pancakes, and this will last about a month's worth.
3 Cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking soda
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups whole wheat or oat flour
1 cup seven whole grain cereal
1 cup cornmeal
4 tablespoons wheat germ

Store all in airtight container and store in the fridge.
to use for pancakes:
1 egg
1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream or milk (we like sour cream the best, its the thickest, makes really fat pancakes)
1/2 cup pancake mix
I usually triple this recipe.

Granola

This recipe is for granola to be used in granola bar recipe below, or for plain snacking. From FamilyFun

3 Cups rolled oats (can use mixture of oats, wheat, rye or barley flakes)
1/3 cup unprocessed coarse bran
1/3 cup sesame seeds
1/3 cup raw hulled sunflower seeds
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup., or a mixture of the two
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
2 cups mixture of dried fruit (cherries, apricots etc)1/2 cup toasted wheat germ

Preheat oven to 350
Spread the oats, bran and seeds on shallow pan and bake for 15 min or until golden brown. Meanwhile, put the honey, nuts and spices in a large bowl. Stir in the hot grain mixture when its ready. Return the mixture to the pan, spreading out evenly. Toast in the oven, turning occasionally, until its evenly browned about 10 min. Granola burns easily so watch it. Toss the mixture with the dried fruit and wheat germ. Cool completely, store in plastic bag or container, makes 9 cups.

Peanut Butter Granola Bars

These bars are really yummy. The recipe is from the FamilyFun Cookbook.

3/4 Cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 Cup plus 2 tablespoons honey
2 Cups granola (sometimes I make my own, I'll post that recipe later, otherwise buy prepared granola)
1 Cup old fashioned oatmeal
1 Cup raisins or other dried fruit
1/2 Cup sunflower seeds
1/2 Cup chopped nuts (I usually omit this)
2 eggs lightly beaten
2 Cups crispy rice cereal

Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 13 by 9 by 2 inch baking pan. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the peanut butter and honey together. Let cool. In a large bowl, mix the granola, oatmeal, raisins, sunflower seeds and nuts. Stir in the peanut butter and honey mixture to coat. Slowly mix in the eggs. Gently stir in the rice cereal. Press the mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until lightly browned on the edges. Cool and cut into squares. Store in refrigerator.

Sometimes I omit the sunflower seeds, and add in one cup of chocolate chips.