Attack of the Bubble Wands

This post is part of a series about ONE THING that we did in our homeschool this week that I loved.

See Listening Map, K. Edwards

Our Second Week of School is in the books! This week, my One Thing is the music appreciation activity we did on the Finale of the William Tell Overture, by Gioachino Rossetti.

Using the materials found at ClassicsForKids as a guide, first I told the story of the life of Rossini, then of Guillaume Tell. I had pictures of a flute and an English horn, and we did some eyes-closed imagining of pastoral countrysides in the mountains. Then I introduced the listening map.

Cue the music! We pretended to be the breeze, birds, and butterflies in the first section, dancing with abandon. At the call-to-arms of the trumpet fanfare, we grabbed our swords (bubble wands) and prepared to fight occupying soldiers. Needless to say, we were victorious, on the floor, and laughing when it was all over.

They asked to do it again. So we did.

And it is on the list of things to show Daddy this weekend!


Lesson: Music Appreciation
Age/Grade: K-2
Time: 20 Minutes
Materials: Guide from Classic for Kids has all the links and printables + tons of ideas.
http://www.classicsforkids.com/teachers/lessonplans/#rossini

Lent Prayer Chain

[Draft: I will write more about our prayer chain and family Lenten observances, but for now, please make use of my prayer chain documents if you like. Blessings upon you this lent!]

I printed the activity charts on different construction paper, 9 x 12 trimmed to 8 1/2 x 12 so that it fit in my printer. Dark blue = Ash Wednesday and all Fridays, Purple = M-Th, Light Blue = Saturdays and Holy Week M-Th, White = Sundays, Gold = Easter. You need to laminate the top banner, and hole-punch at top and bottom.

I stapled the chains. You may glue if you wish.

Et voilá!

In the morning we read the one for the current day but leave it on. We do our night prayers around the chain and tear off that day's link.

Here is the doc. Use and share as you like!

Lent Prayer Chain

Pax!

What to do when you have a hankering for apples and cheese cake, but it needs to be something you can share? A recent MOPS meeting was the perfect opportunity to bake up this goodness. Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Apple Crumble

Lisa-Marie Duffield

Yield: 24 Apple Cheesecake Crumble Bars

Ingredients:

Crisp Crust and Topping:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups regular oatmeal
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 6 ounces butter, melted

Cheesecake Layer:

• 1 (8-ounce) package softened cream cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 large egg

Apple Topping:

·         3/4 cup light brown sugar

·         1/4 cup all-purpose flour

·         1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling

·         6 medium apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

·         1 lemon, zested and juiced, or equivalent lemon juice

Preparation:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13x9-inch glass pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, oats, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and nuts. Stir in butter until finely crumbled. Pat 3 cups of mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking pan, pressing to make an even layer. (Reserve at least 1 cup for topping.) Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely. 
3. Meanwhile, make the cheesecake filling by beating together cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, vanilla and egg until smooth. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over partially baked and cooled crust. 
4. Sprinkle apples with the juice of 1 lemon and stir. Gently spread the other ingredients over the apples. Stir evenly to coat the apples. Spread apple topping evenly over cream cheese mixture and sprinkle with reserved crust mixture.
5. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until apple filling is bubbly and topping is golden. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before cutting into 24 bars and serving.

French Club Curriculum

The following are the primary materials that we are using for our French Club learning this year:

1. L'Art de dire

L'Art de dire is available from nallenart.com
"For pre-readers and/or beginners in grades Kindergarten-3. A great introduction to learning French. Detailed lesson plans, reproducible teaching aids and a totally oral approach make this program ideal for teaching French to children who are not yet ready to learn to read in French."

I chose this curriculum for our family with French club in mind because it seems like it will be a good way for families to learn together at a gentle pace without any traditional study. It is easy to supplement with games, songs and daily repetition.

2. Play and Learn French

Play and Learn French is available at Amazon.com

We use this for some extra vocabulary in between L'Art de dire lessons. It is good for introducing parents to phrases and games that they can use to help create a French environment for immersion-style learning at home. I think it makes a good supplement to other learning materials or for those parents who already speak at least intermediate-level French. It would not function well as a stand-alone learning tool.

3. Yadeeda/Alan Le Lait

The French Songs of Alan Le Lait are available through Amazon.com

His main website is http://www.yadeeda.com/

The songs can also be watched on YouTube!

4. YouTube

The world of language learning is at your fingertips in YouTube, and below I have linked to my playlists for French Club.

But Be Warned!

There are ads on YouTube before many of the videos, and it is not advisable to leave your children watching a playlist unless you are handy to skip the ads as they begin to play. Even on children's content, the ads are not always appropriate for younger viewers.

Français en famille
This playlist is added to each week with a few videos to help reinforce what we did at French club. Listen often, even in the background.

Français: chansons enfants
French songs, nursery rhymes, ear worms. Great for listening to at breakfast or while mom and dad get dinner ready!

Français: dessins animés
When you are feeling brave, offer cartoons - in French!


Bienvenue au club Français!

This week begins another brand new adventure: French Club. Check out the tab at the top of the blog for posts relating to French club and keep up with our weekly progress!

Choo-Choo Cheese Snack Crakers

These Snacks are a delicious treat for train-loving kids and adults, but of course other shapes will do just as well. These are a good substitute for store-bought cheese crackers. The texture of store-bought ones are nearly impossible to replicate at home, but these are just as tasty. Enjoy!

Choo Choo Cheese Snack Crackers

1 cup All-Purpose flour

1 cup Quick Oats
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter
8 oz grated cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, Monterey jack or any combo)
1/2 cup cold water
Train cookie cutter, or similar (optional)

Tips: Have the oven pre-heated and all supplies ready to go before you pull the butter out of the refrigerator. If you work quickly you can then go from 0 to Crackers in 15 minutes.

 

1.      First pre-heat the oven to 350°. In the bowl of your mixer, stir salt into flour and oats.

2.      Cut the butter into 8-10 chunks and mix with flour and oats on medium speed until blended and crumbly. Then add grated cheese a handful at a time.
3.      While mixing, add water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough can form a ball. You want the dough as dry as possible without being flaky.
4.      Form into a ball and flatten out with your hands. Flour well and roll out to 1/8 inch. Flour both sides when finished.
5.      Cut the crackers into shapes. I use a train but any cookie cutters do fine. Pull out shapes and place on the first tray and get it in the oven. Then cut the remaining into random shapes by criss-crossing with a knife or pizza cutter. Do not re-roll. If you just want squares or rectangles you can skip the cutter all together, even cutting right on the tray.
6.      Place on un-greased cookie sheets (about three) and bake one at a time, putting the other trays in the refrigerator to wait.
Bake at 350° for 9-12 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from trays immediately. Store in an air-tight container, unless all are consumed immediately!

Summer Baking: Summer-Style Banana Oat Bread

Hot

Hot. Hot. Hottie, Hot, Hot.

*!#@ Hot.

I know it is July, so this is to be expected, but it sure puts a crimp in my baking style. A couple of summers ago, it was so hot that I decided to forgo all attempts at baking or any oven usage at all. That method left us desperate for all things baked by the time cooler weather rolled around, however.

Since then I have been more creative at making the most of oven time inspired by a few simple principles: 1. Shortest oven times possible; 2. Shortest time spent near oven; 3. Make the best use of nighttime; 4. Revival of the Summer kitchen - outside.

What follows are a few suggestions based on these principles - and please share your own ideas in the comments!

Summer Baking Tips and Ideas

1. Instead of thick-crust pizza, make multiple pans of thin crust at the same time for shorter baking times.
2. Cookie bars. Have a favorite cookie recipe? Make it as a bar, spreading it into a pan (I always grease pan first. A little shortening will not cause you to have a heart attack.)
3. Spread it out. If you usually make something in one size pan, try a larger, flatter one, or a cookie sheet. This is the trick for Spinach Artichoke dip, plus the cheese gets a little crusty just like I like it!
4. Crock pots and toasters can help you heat up only the space you need.
5. Take it out! Plug that crockpot in outside on the porch and keep the heat all the way out! Or when hot things come out of the oven, leave them to cool in the shade outside (covered with a thin cotton towel to protect from critters). Set up tv trays on the back porch and move your hot dishes (with a lid of course!) outside to serve from.
6. Make it in muffins. This works for the standard items like cakes or even cookie batter, but meatloaf muffins and any casserole you can think of does wonderfully well in muffin format, too.

Summer-Style Banana Oat Bread

So, for your summer pleasure, I would like to share my delicious recipe for Summer-Style Banana Oat Bread. This recipe "Winters" by baking for an hour in two loaf pans. Yes, an hour with the oven on in the middle of July when the temps are 100° ? Yeah, I don't think so. So I spread it out into muffins and a large dish and shazam! 20 minutes.

Something else that gives this recipe a special touch is the orange blossom water. This little ingredient gives just the right hint of exotic to an already yummy treat.

“Where do I get orange blossom water?”

You’ll want to look for this wherever international foods are sold. It is the magic ingredient to real Belgian crêpes and can be used to add a gentle fruity hint to many Mediterranean and North African foods. And once you have a bottle there are many creative uses for it, like crêpes, Victorian martinis (add several drops with gin and vermouth), Ramos gin fiz, Crème brulée, as an herbal fragrance to whipped cream, meringues, buttercream frosting, pie crust, tiramisu, other sweet things, try it in your coffee or espresso or hot tea (Thank-you Tunisia!). The possibilities are vast!

If you really must, substitute each 1/2 tsp orange blossom water with1 to 2 drops orange oil plus water to make 1/2 tsp OR 2 to 3 tsp orange liqueur such as Triple Sec.

In the recipe which follows, you could deprive yourself completely and splash in a little water or skim milk instead. But be prepared for the consequences:

Wha?? No Orange Blossom Water?

How could you do this to me?

No! I can't go on!

Don't make me invoke Clause 374 of the Shadow Proclamation.
 (theft of an artefact of great cultural value
legitimises the use of lethal force to ensure the artefact’s recovery)

SO, Consider yourself warned! Try the Orange Blossom Water!

Happy Hot Baking, Y'all!

Summer-Style Banana Oat Bread

Makes 12 muffins and a 1 1/2 inch x 9x13 loaf.

Easy to halve if you only want one or the other.



Banana Breads are like a Pro-Life movement for bananas,
since only Yellow bananas are permitted to live in this house.



 Ingredients

 1 cup shortening
 2 cup white sugar
 4 eggs
 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 2 cup all-purpose flour
 2 cup quick or whole oats
 2 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
 1 teaspoon salt
 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
 4 cups mashed bananas
 4 teaspoon orange blossom water
 

 Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper cups and grease and flour one 9x13 inch glass baking dish and set aside.
2. Stir together the dry ingredients and set aside: flour, oatmeal, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and pecans.
3. In a mixer, cream together the shortening and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla, beat until fluffy.
4. Add dry ingredients. Layer on the bananas and pour in the orange blossom water. Mix until just blended.
5. Ladle 1/2 cup per muffin tin, then pour the rest into prepared dish. Put both into the oven at the same time. Bake for 15-18 minutes for the muffins (until evenly golden) and another 5 minutes for the dish. Let each set for five minutes in pan and then carefully remove to finish cooling. Sometimes it can be difficult to get the large loaf out of the dish without the bread breaking. Make sure you grease and flour the pan. I also recommend cutting it in half and using a large spatula or two to assist.