Books, Review, Homeschooling, Story Telling, Poetry, Library

Spring Bs (Birds, Buds, Butterflies & Bees) 12 Week Curriculum
(Preschool-Kindergarten / Ages 4-6)
CLICK HERE FOR PDF

Spring Bs is now available! I hope you enjoy the Spring unit in our Preschool/Kindergarten curriculum collection.

Please Note: When it comes to the FAIRY TALES... I recommend parents review and choose a version that they feel comfortable sharing with their children. Every family has a different tolerance for the "Grimm" factor in fairy tales.

If you are working on the unit and would like to include the button on the blog... here it is. You can copy and save it to your computer or just copy the text below and paste it on your page.

Several weeks ago we added a new sponsor to our site... just in time for the holiday season, although you don't need a reason to visit her shop! The shop is Nicole's Homemade Treats, with Nicole being the candy maker extraordinaire. In her own words:

Nicole's Homemade Treats is an LLC operating out of NY. Everything is prepared in my fully licensed kitchen. My treats are prepared in small batches, to preserve the taste and quality of the product, and to ensure that there is no waste. I make only all natural, preservative free products, and use as many organic ingredients as possible. My products may not have the shelf life of store bought products, no worries! They won't last very long!

We waited to introduce Nicole's Homemade Treats because we first wanted to sample her candy. (Oh, the things we endure for our readers.)

A few days ago we received one of Nicole's samplers. All I can say is, oh Yum! Actually, that's not all I can say. I can also say mmmmm, and delicious, and WOW. Every nibble we took was wonderful. The ingredients all tasted so fresh, especially the nuts. The caramel was smooth and creamy and the chocolates were perfect. The real moment of truth, however, was when I tried her Pecan Cluster pictured above. Pecan Clusters are one of my favorite candies and when tasting hers, it was going up against years of collective sampling!

I am pleased to say, it was wonderful! Nicole claims they are large enough to share with others, and that is true. Each one is a full quarter pound! I would like to say I shared it... my thighs would like to say I shared it, but I didn't. Through the course of the day I consumed the whole thing!

Anyway... with a clear conscience and a resolution to share my next Pecan Cluster with a friend, we highly encourage everyone to bop on over to Nicole's shop and take a look around. Honestly, no calories are consumed by just looking! The candies are perfect for gift giving or hording :) Welcome, Nicole. You truly are a wonderful candy maker! 

Curiosity prompts me to ask... which candies look the absolutely yummiest to you?

We have been working on a Geology Unit for the past 8 weeks or so. I let the kids take turns choosing science projects, this was Bug's request. Science is the subject that I feel comfortable letting the kids call most of the shots but I have used Evan-Moore's Geology Guide as a reference point for myself and kids enjoyed most of the listed activities, including the making the mini-books. We also added in lots of books and dvds from the library. As kind of our grand finale to the unit, and the main reason I think Bug wanted to do a geology unit, we made a kitchen volcano... a science fair classic. Now, I'm not totally sure how much the homemade volcano really ties in scientifically with a true volcano... but it does look cool.

First we whipped up a batch of our basic salt dough. I added some food coloring to give it a gray/brown rocky color. Bug and Fairy built the volcano up around the sides of a small Dixie cup on a piece of tin foil. Once the form was complete, we dried the volcano in a 250 degree oven for several hours and then let it sit over night.

The following day we were ready for the eruption. I tried following the book's recommended baking soda/cream of tater wrapped in tissue paper directions... but it didn't work. The vinegar just wasn't getting through the tissue paper. So I ended up just adding a couple Tablespoons of baking soda directly into the cup. Then each kiddo took turns pour the vinegar/food coloring mixture into the volcano.

Each kiddo got a chance to make the volcano erupt. We used a different color each time just for fun. In the end this was really a quick project and not nearly as messy as it seems. Everything was contained on one tray.

Few things can make a gnome get a rumbly in his tumbly faster than the smell of fresh mushrooms sauteing in a frying pan. Axle thinks Britta should add mushrooms to just about everything she makes. Because Britta shares his love for mushrooms, she's willing to cook them as long as he collects them. Of course, occasionally she has to put her foot down and say no to his gastronomic suggestions. Like the time Axel insisted she put mushrooms in their berry pudding! Preposterous!

There is definitely a skill to mushroom hunting, a skill handed down from generation to generation. Knowing where to look, and being able to distinguish the edibles from the poisonous varities is an important ability. Axel is the Thicket's expert on mushrooms, and because of that, it is his duty to take the young folk out into the woods, and teach them how to hunt mushrooms safely. It is definitly a skill worth learning, as any gnome's tummy well tell you!

Making mushrooms for your gnomes is easy peasy. Make 1 or make dozens. All will be appreciated by your gnome friends.

Materials:
paints
unfinished wooden knobs

Paint the stems.

Paint the caps.

Add detail.

Done!  

This week our focus was on wooly things. We of course love them wooly things! Pelle's New Suit is one of our favorite books. I think the kids know it by heart.

For a little field trip for the kids (ahmm... yeah, it was for the kids not me ;) ) we visited a not too far away spinning shop, The Spinning Loft. So much fiber, so little time.

The kids were fascinated with the wheels and couldn't understand why I just didn't buy one on the spot. Like I need more temptation... but I did resist... for now. Fairy fell in love with the Ladybug wheel and Bug liked the little Victoria. Funny but they really do have opinions on the matter. I'm leaning between the Majacraft Pioneer or the Kromski Fantasia myself. I have big birthday wishes.

We did leave with a bag of fiber and a new drop spindle for the kids to use. Fairy took to it like most crafty things, like a fish to water.

And I thought I would share a few wooly things I've been working on this week.

Here is a single ply, 110 yard skein of alpaca  yarn I just finished on my Ashford drop spindle. The amazingly soft fiber is from North Star Alpacas. I definitely saw some improvement in this skein.

And I tested out dyeing roving with easter egg tablets. It turned out amazing! I can't wait to start spinning it.

Week Five - Pelle's New Suit

This week we are working on Week Five of our Harvest Time unit. I will be posting a weekly update to give everyone a space to chat about the program. If you would like more information about the program you can learn more and download the free homeschooling curriculum on our Harvest Time page. All of the directions for the art projects, recipes and activities are included in the curriculum guide. If your family is participating in the Harvest Time curriculum either for homeschooling or after school enrichment we would love to hear about it! Please leave a comment in this post in regards to your experiences with Harvest Time’s Week Five activities. You are welcome, and highly encouraged to leave links to your Harvest Time’s Week Five blog posts or pictures in the comment section of this post.

Harvest Time Week Five
Primary Book: Pelle's New Suit,
Enrichment Book: How We Use Wool,
Activities: Weaving Project
Field Trip Idea: Yarn Shop,
Art: House of Cards,
Poem: Johnny Appleseed Song,
Flower Fairies: Kingcup Fairy & Coloring Page

Links from Our first time completing the Unit...
Weaving Project

If your family is working on the Harvest Time curriculum either full time or just for some family fun enrichment, you are welcome to add the Harvest Time button on your website. You can save the button to you computer and upload as a photo to your site (you may want to link it back to the Main Harvest Time Page http://weefolkart.com/content/harvest-time-preschoolkindergarten-curriculum) or just copy the green text below and add it to you site.