Homeschool Halloween

I have had a lot of questions the last couple months about our schooling methods, what we do during our school day and how it all works ...

This week has been a really fun week for us so we decided to show you some of the ways we do school!

I want to start by saying this is not a PSA on Homeschool, we fully believe that every family has the right to choose how they want to educate their children .. we have chosen to educate our children this way and it works well for us.  What works for us may not work well for others ...

We do a hybrid of classical homeschool and unschooling ... we do a lot of reading, watching videos and movies, exploring topics, STEM challenges, experiments and learning through living (and yes, math and language arts workbooks).

Last summer my son and I made a list of all the topics we thought would be fun to learn about .. he chose some, like robotics and coding .. and I chose some, like learning the states in the US and the planets ... others fell into place because of holidays or certain events within the year.

We went through a calendar (yes, he and I did the planning together) and marked on what weeks we wanted to learn what topics (some topics are one week, some two and some three) .

Each day of the week is filled with activities, experiments, exploring, spelling words, math and language arts having to deal with that particular topic.

This last week was a fun week ... having to do with Halloween.

We studied the history of Halloween and all its monsters (difference between fiction and non fiction) and how Halloween is celebrated around the world.

We raced to see who could wrap the mummy the fastest (and then they toilet papered my living room!!) We made monsters and wrote stories about our monsters.
Made witch wands http://www.beadandcord.com/clipper/dana/diy-witch-costumes-13774/96868.htm and ate mummy dogs!

We learned about bats and spiders.
We used spiders rings to learn multiplication and division. Did a spider web STEM challenge. We learned about our skeletal system by singing and learning the major bones in our bodies and making a skin layer cake http://www.mymundaneandmiraculouslife.com/edible-skin-layer-cake/

We used Halloween candy to make graphs and do more multiplication, division and fractions.  We carved pumpkins while learning about the life cycle of a pumpkin and built STEM structures using pumpkin candies and tooth picks.

As a homeschooling mom I often wonder if the choices we have made for our family are the right choices, but then I see the progress my 3rd grader is making, reading at a level two grades higher than his own and doing math a grade higher .. I love that he loves to learn through the fun games and activities that we do. I love to see the wonder and amazement in his eyes as we learn and investigate things together!

Pub Style Veggie Chili

Another fantastic Meatless Monday!!

This one was so so good .. its packed full of super hearty veggies. My 8 year old son liked it so much, he didn't even know it was meatless (wink wink)!

This will definitely be one that stays on the family menu .... LOVED IT!

1/3 cup EVOO
2 cups fresh sliced mushroom
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrots
3/4 cup chopped bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp chili powder (more or less depending on how much heat you want)
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 1/8 tsp salt
3/4 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp dried basil
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes and juice
3 cups can drained black beans
1/4 cup veggie broth
3/4 tsp hot pepper sauce
2 cups water

Heat EVOO in a large skillet (or large pot for a one pot meal)
Cook and stir mushrooms, onion, carrots, bell pepper, celery, garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt, black pepper, basil and oregano until onion begins to soften. About 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes and liquid, black beans, veggie broth, hot pepper sauce and water.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer until veggies are tender. About 20 minutes.

ReUsed Carton Haunted Houses

In our house Halloween is the greatest time of year!!

We LOVE all things spooky .. witches, black cats, haunted houses, ghosts and ghost hunting, horror movies, zombies, and in my case, all things pumpkin!  

Halloween was so magical in my family as a child. Our whole extended family was together, albeit, there aren't a whole lot more than 20 of us.
We all dressed up, granny always as the green faced witch (she was such a great witch!), we ate chili (of course!) .. the adults had their wine and cheese .. there was a fire in the fireplace most years .. 10 conversations going for a table of 8 .. smells of food and drink and spice in such an abundance .. a neighborhood full of houses decorated .. crunchy red leaves all over the ground .. kids in costumes EVERYWHERE .. sitting down for dinner and having the door bell ring over and over ..
It was a time to get together, celebrate the fall harvest and have FUN!

That early LOVE for Halloween still exists ... times 4 ... in our house!

My son and I were looking for a quick and fun Halloween project to do ... here is what we found (original post found at www.choosecartons.com)

ReUsed Carton Haunted House:

Materials:

Recycled milk (juice) cartons (as many as you want to be in your little haunted house town)

Scissors or Exacto knife 

Paint or spray paint (any color you need)

Glue or tape 

Tissue paper or Cellophane

Flameless candle

To Make:

Set up and design your ReUsed Haunted House (or town)

Draw on your windows and doors

Cut out all your window and door holes. Cut off the bottom of any recycled cartons for a height difference

Paint or spray paint your house 

Let dry

Place cellophane on inside of windows and doors and tape on the inside walls

Decorate the outside of your house with stickers or drawings

Place over the top of your flameless candles and ...

Watch your haunted house glow!

Meat and Peel Homemade Applesauce

Are you one of those people that peels your apple before cutting it up into cute little slices for yourself or your kiddos ..... ?

STOP!!!!

You are throwing away the most nutrient part of the fruit!
Studies have shown that regular consumption of apples can reduce the risk of developing type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma (which we have in our family) and some cancers ...

The catch ...

Most of the nutrients are in the peel!!!

Apples, like many other fruits and vegetables have skins that are packed full of nutrients. The peel has six times the antioxident power than the meat of the apple.

Take away ... throw that peeler away and learn to love your fruits and veggies ... peel and all!

I actually hate peeling ... apples, potatoes, carrots ... they slip out of my hands and fall in the trash while I am trying to peel them, its messy and slimy .. so when I found a recipe that used the whole apple, no peeling involved, I was in!!

The recipe was no harder than a normal homemade applesauce (which we LOVE and make all the time) aside from the extra step of putting it in the food processor (to break down the soft peel).

Enjoy the flavor and nutrients of this "meat and peel" applesauce

10 servings
5 lbs of apples (we used a combination of Gala and Pink Ladies ... and a couple soft pears)
3/4 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice (we used orange juice)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Place apples, sugar, water and juice in large stock pot.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered, stir occasionally until apples are soft. About 25 minutes.

Remove from heat and let apples cool. Puree apples in food processor. Strain apples through a sieve if you need to remove larger pieces of skin (we did not ... all the peels were soft enough to puree nicely).

Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg. Serve, warm at room temp or refrigerate and serve cold.

Meatless Monday

Every Monday we will be adding super tasty meatless meals, snacks, treats and recipes that you can try and share with your friends and family!

Why go meatless?

By going meatless once a week you not only reduce your risk of cardio vascular disease, diabetes and obesity but you will also be reducing your carbon foot print.

Meatless and Your Health:
Studies have shown that eating a diet rich in fruits and veggies can lower your risk of heart disease and stroke by 5%.

Eating a diet with 2.5 more whole grains a day has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 21%.

Diets that are low in processed meats and high in plant based foods, can reduce your risk of type II Diabetes.  Eating a plant based diet can also decrease your calorie consumption, which helps you maintain a healthy weight, which is a key component to preventing and treating diabetes.

Plant based diets are higher in fiber (which is not found in animal products). Fiber contribute to fullness, which results in lower calorie intake and less overeating.

Going meatless encourages consumption of other plant based sources of protein like beans and peas. Beans and peas are associated with a lower intakes of saturated and total fat.  Beans and peas, also, are higher in fiber, protein, folate, zinc, iron, and magnesium.

Meatless and Your Wallet:
By reducing your risk of stroke, diabetes and heart disease you are also reducing your healthcare cost.  In 2008 heart disease, stroke and diabetes made up 75% of the 2 trillion dollars spent on medical care in this country.

You can save on your weekly budget by going meatless once a week.
Meat tends to be more expensive, in part because it requires more of an expense, such as feed and transportation.

Meatless and the Environment:
One of the greatest reasons we have changed to one meatless meal per week is the implications that it has on our environment.

It takes 1,850 gallons of water to raise 1 lb of beef and it only takes 39 gallons of water to grow 1 lb of veggies .... WOW!
Studies show that a vegetarian diet could reduce water consumption by 58% per person.

Meat production produces significantly more greenhouse gases veggies, including carbon monoxide, Methane and Nitrous Oxide (3 min sources of greenhouse gases).

By going meatless once a week you will also reduce your dependance on fuel. It takes 25 kilocalories of fossil fuel to produce 1 kilocalorie of a meat based protein, compared to 2.2 kilocalories of fossil fuel to produce 1 kilocalorie of a grain based rotten. Studies show that if we used the high level of grain produced and used to feed livestock, to feed people following a vegetarian diet , it would be enough to feed about 840 million people.

Ok ... Ok
Am I suggesting that you, your family and your little people become a full vegetarian or vegan?

No ...

If you feel so strongly about the issue that you want to become a vegetarian .... I am jealous and I say go for it!!

What I am suggesting here is that we all start small and do our part one day at a time ...

Cutting meat out of our diet one day a week is one small step that we can take in the direction towards making our family, our community and our planet healthier!!

Super Soft Homemade Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

What a great addition to your fall favorites!!
These pumpkin chocolate cookies are so soft a moist you won't want to stop eating them! We made them with some left over canned pumpkin that we had in the fridge :)
They make a great treat for the kiddos or a fun fall party ... I made a huge batch for my husbands college class just last night and they were devoured!!  And .... all of his classmates wanted the recipe! Yay!
So here it is ..... Enjoy!

1 cup canned pumpkin (we used leftovers from an already opened can in the refrigerator)
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup veg oil
1 egg (we used an organic egg)
2 cups all purpose flour (we used 1 cup of white flour and 1 cup of wheat flour)
2 tsp of baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp milk
1 tbl vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips

Mix together pumpkin, sugar, oil and egg.
In separate bowl mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
Dissolve baking soda in milk.
Pour baking soda mixture in dry mixture and stir together.
Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients.  Mix well.
Scoop tablespoon size balls onto greased baking sheet.
Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.