State-by-State Baking :: North Carolina Dogwood Bark

by | Jun 6, 2012 | , | 2 Comments

We are off to an “End of the Year” celebration this morning, and then we’ll be having friends over for the afternoon.   I don’t have much time, but thought I’d hop online for a few minutes and finish up the posts for one more state.

The state of North Carolina, the 12th State to join the Union, became a state on November 21, 1789.   As usual, the girls read T is for Tar Heel: A North Carolina Alphabet and then completed their Notebook Pages. 

North Carolina Notebooking Pages
by Twinkle Toes (L) and Chiquita (R)


“Now, D is for the Dogwood,
flowers gentle pink and white.
From mountains to city streets,
in spring a showy delight.”
Since we made this recipe during the Easter Season, we decided to try and find something to create for the Dogwood (which is the state flower for North Carolina) recalling the legend of the dogwood tree:
It is said at the time of the Crucifixion, the dogwood was comparable in size to the oak tree and other monarchs of the forest. Because of its firmness and strength it was selected as the timber for the Cross, but to be put to such a cruel use greatly distressed the tree. Sensing this, the crucified Jesus in His gentle pity for the sorrow and suffering of all said to it: “Because of your sorrow and pity for My sufferings, never again will the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used as a gibbet. Henceforth it will be slender, bent and twisted and its blossoms will be in the form of a cross — two long and two short petals. In the center of the outer edge of each petal there will be nail prints — brown with rust and stained with red — and in the center of the flower will be a crown of thorns, and all who see this will remember. 

I happened to find a recipe for White & Dark Chocolate Dogwood Bark which we adapted for our state recipe!  I’ll have to try and remember to add this recipe to Catholic Cuisine next Easter.

North Carolina Dogwood Bark

Ingredients:

3 cups pecan halves
6 ounces white chocolate
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees . Toast the pecans on a baking sheet in the preheated oven for 8 minutes. remove the nuts from the oven and set aside to cool at room temperature until needed.

Melt both chocolates in microwave, or in a double boiler over medium heat.  Allow chocolate to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes.

Add the pecans to the bowl of melted semisweet chocolate. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the pecans until combined.

Pour the chocolate pecan mixture onto a nonstick baking sheet with sides and use a rubber spatula to spread evenly. Drizzle the white chocolate, one tablespoon at a time, over the entire surface of the chocolate pecan mixture.

Use a rubber spatula to spread and blend the white chocolate into the surface of the chocolate pecan mixture creating a marbleized effect (be careful not to overblend which would diminish the marbleized effect). Allow the mixture to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the bark is hard, about 1 hour.

Remove the baking sheet from the refrigerator and transfer the bark to a cutting board. Use a cook’s knife to cut the bark into irregular pieces.  (The girls just used there hands to break the bark into pieces.)

  Refrigerate in a tightly sealed plastic container until ready to use.

**Oh,  and be sure to let the kids each have a couple pieces after dinner and then package the rest to give away to neighbors or friends… This stuff is very dangerous to have just sitting in the fridge!**
Resources we used for this State Study:

T is for Tar Heel Teacher’s Guide (pdf)

Other Posts of Interest: 

State-by-State Scrapbook
State-by-State Scrapbook :: North Carolina

State-by-State Scrapbook :: North Carolina

by | Jun 6, 2012 | , | 1 Comment

“T stands for Tar Heel,
a title that we’re all proud of.
Our flag, our ancestors, “good people,”
 we honor the history we love.”

I’m still working on catching up with the kids State-by-State study.  At this point, as we finish up our 2011-2013 school year, the kids have all completed 20 states.   Not quite half, but we are making progress. I have high hopes that we will be able to finish the remaining 30 by next summer, since we won’t be adding on to our home, or having another new baby this Christmas.  Excuses, excuses. 😉  

Even though it has taken time to fit the State Study in to our busy schedule, we all think it has been worth the extra effort!  The girls have been having so much fun with their baking, and the boys love flipping through their albums and looking back at all of their little illustrations for each state.  

.: North Carolina by Captain :.
Captain’s pages for North Carolina ~ photo taken March 9, 2011

.: North Carolina by Rascal :.



*The links to the worksheets used for these notebook pages can be found here.

The American Revolution Unit Study and Lap Book

by | Jun 5, 2012 | , | 7 Comments

The American Revolution Unit Study and Lap Book

I've had this post in my draft folder since January and I am finally getting around to posting...  Sometimes I feel like it is harder to round up all my pictures and find the extra time to actually blog about our projects, than it is to do them!  😉 

Anyhow, as I've mentioned before, this year we have been making Lap Books to go along with each of our six Unit Studies for American History. Our third Unit was based on The American Revolution. While the girls were working on their Josefina Lap Books (that post is still in my drafts folder too), the boys were busy making their own Lap Books with printable mini books from The American Revolution (Time Travelers History Study Series) CD-Rom.

Resources and Books for Unit Three:

You can find links to all the books we used for this unit here, or you can print our complete Unit Three Plans/Booklist here.

My children have been especially enjoying The Childhood of Famous Americans Series.  Unfortunately our library doesn't carry any of them, but I've put in some requests and have been slowly building our personal collection with the help of Amazon's 4-for-3 specials.

Timeline Entries:

I asked the boys to choose 5-10 from the list to add to their History Through the Ages Record of Time timeline book during this unit.  You can read more about our Timeline books here:  Lap Booking {and Timeline} Questions Answered

A few timeline entries by Captain

A few timeline entries by Rascal

American Revolution Lap Book

We are just loving the Time Travelers CD's for creating our lap books for each unit.   It's so nice to have all the printables in one spot, all ready to go, and the quality/detail is awesome!

THE FRONT COVER

The boys actually colored the covers to these lap books 4 years ago, when I first purchased the CD-rom for the lap book!   At the time I realized it was a little too advanced for them and saved it for later.   They were very excited to pull out their old illustrations and finally complete this lap book!! 

INSIDE VIEW #1

The red center page/flap addition contains the following three mini books: 

Important Documents

Each of the "important documents" is folded accordion style and placed in the "Doc Pocket."

God's Hand in Providence

Looks like I need to add the word "many" to Rascal's Personal Spelling Lists! 🙂

Minuteman "Pop-up"

Paul Revere by Rascal

Paul Revere by Captain

On the Left Flap:

George vs. George

Tea Troubles

1st Continental Congress vs. 2nd Continental Congress

On the Right Flap:

Whig vs. Tory

Liberty Bell "Pop-up"

Monarchy vs. Republic

INSIDE VIEW #2

Bad News in Boston (with Overlay)  andSoldiers of the Revolution

INSIDE VIEW #3

The Center of Actual Lap Book Folder contains the Pie Book of "Acts"...

(before they taped them together to create the "Pie" book)

... and Women of the War. 

The back of each flap has all the "People to Know."

Including:  Baron von Steuben, Patrick Henry, Nathan Hale, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, and James Madison

Inside each frame the boys include some Biography Facts, Contributions to the Revolution, Character Traits, and a Quote.  I've been amazed to hear them rattle off all sorts of facts about these men.  They have been learning SO much!! 

The boys finished this unit quite awhile ago and are currently putting the finishing touches on their Unit 4 Lap Book, before our summer break, which begins next week!  With a new baby this year, we just weren't able to complete all six units as I had planned.   At least I have my History plans for the fall semester all ready to go! 😉

Young Hunters Day 2012

by | Jun 4, 2012 | | 6 Comments

Five years ago we started attending Young Hunters Day, an annual event that is sponsored by our local Hunters Association. The first year Hubby took just our oldest two boys, in 2009 and 2010 we all went (you can see pictures from 2009 and 2010 in the archives), and last year I stayed home with the little ones.  

This year Hubby ended up having to work, so I decided that it couldn’t be too hard to take all the kids on my own. I had sent an email out to a bunch of friends hoping that some of them would be able to make it as well, and said a prayer that it wouldn’t rain. The weather was beautiful and my kids had so much fun this year with so many of their friends!

I realized on the way that I forgot my camera, but my little point and shoot happened to be in my purse and I was able to take some pictures before the battery died. I also should have packed sunblock and a hat for the baby. We were prepared for rain, but not for so much sun! I thought I did a great job at keeping Bud in the shade, but despite my efforts his white little head still ended up pink. (He’s all set for next time… I just found him a “Turtlel-y Cute” bucket hat for summer!)

As usual the children were able to participate in archery, trap shooting, laser shooting, fishing, pelt identification, and tomahawk throwing, with safety emphasized of course. Every child present could win one of the many raffle prizes and a yummy BBQ lunch was provided as well. Here are a few pictures from this year:

~ Archery Shooting ~

Twinkle Toes aimed for, and hit, the cougar.  I told her she reminded me of Susan from the Chronicles of Narnia, with her bow and (nearly) perfect aim.  😉  She was pleased! 

Even though the event is for children ages 5-16, Rose insisted on waiting in line for a turn with the bow and arrows, and she wasn’t disappointed! 



~ Trap Shooting ~

I was amazed that the boys were actually hitting the clay targets as they flew threw the air! While I was watching, Captain hit one out of three and Rascal hit two out of three. (It’s hard to see in the picture, but the clay disk is that little speck right above the middle(ish) cloud.)

~ Tomahawk Throwing ~

“String” (as I heard him called) got very excited when Rascal hit the target with the Tomahawk!

“So, are you two Mountain Women?” asked String.

And even our little Snuggles decided to give it a try!
~ Pelt Identification ~ 


~ Raffle Prizes ~ 

At the end of the day there is a raffle. Each child receives a ticket and when their name gets called they get to go into the building to choose their prize. (No parents allowed!)  I always love seeing what each child chooses on their own. This year Captain picked out a headlamp, Rascal picked a camping chair, Twinkle Toes picked a new slip in slide, Chiquita picked a (very girly) baseball glove and ball, Snuggles picked a combo prize with a kite, badminton, and a really neat “balloon helicopter,” and Rose was SUPER EXCITED to finally have her VERY OWN sleeping bag, and looked so excited carrying it out of the building!   My little camera was dead by this point, but I somehow managed to figure out how to take a picture of them all with their prizes using my cell phone! 🙂

Afterwards we headed to the park for our local Catholic Homeschool Group’s End of the School Year Fiesta.  It was a pretty busy day, but filled with fun and friends! 

Locks of Love

by | Jun 2, 2012 | | 16 Comments

We are so proud of our little Chiquita!

As of today she is officially a hair donor, just like her momma.

{pretty, happy, funny, real} Memorial Day 2012

by | May 31, 2012 | , | 15 Comments

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. ~

{pretty}

Seven very pretty girls on Memorial Day…  It was so nice to spend some time with my friend Trina and her family (she just had baby #9!) while they were in town for the weekend.   Our little Twinkle Toes was very excited to see her godparents, and we especially loved being able to spend some time with our goddaughter!

{happy}
They were all very happy when the boys finally got the fire going so we could roast marshmallows!

{funny}

Looking a little more closely at this picture, which I had just snapped quickly before enjoying “just one” s’more, made me realize that Hubby wasn’t kidding when he said “let me know if I didn’t get all the grass off of that marshmallow”… Nice! 



I took the kids and our sweet goddaughter (who just had a birthday!) out for ice cream at a little local ice cream parlor.  The “single scoop” cones for $1.50 were nearly as big as Rose’s head!

{real}

The kids had so much fun playing The Settlers of Catan together with their godsister!  (We have the add-on extension so that 5-6 people can play at the same time.)  It was a REAL close game, with Captain winning by just one turn.

Also quite real was the increase on the scale after a weekend of eating out and celebrating Pentecost (though I did pass on the cake!) and Memorial Day. Hopefully after another day or two of eating healthy and exercising I will be back down to last Friday’s weight, which had been a new post-partum low since December, and not blow it again next weekend! 

Visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more pictures of contentment

End of School Year Teacher Appreciation Gifts

by | May 31, 2012 | , , , | 8 Comments

Even though my children will be continuing through the summer on a few subjects (Math, Science, and maybe some History/Geography) all of their other classes are coming to an end for the school year, before we move on to Golf Camp, Swimming Lessons, and all sorts of other summertime fun!

This year was our first year participating in a homeschool charter school.  I was hesitant to join in the fall, but it truly was an answer to prayer and ended up being such a huge blessing for our family.   In addition to using our “allotment” to pay for hockey, piano lessons, most of our consumables, and even printer ink, we had the best teacher coming to our home once a week for four hours (one hour for each of the children enrolled) to help.  Cynthia was amazing.  My little ones would climb up and sit on her lap while she listened to the girls practice reading aloud, she worked with all of them wherever I needed her help (Writing With Ease, First Language Lessons, Spelling, Math, etc), greatly increased my children’s confidence in writing/journaling, and even helped us plant a garden!   Over the year she became a dear friend, and I always enjoy our Wednesday morning visits.  
Since today was her last day for this school year we decided to make her gifts from each of her “students.”  I found all sorts of fun ideas online and thought I’d share the ones the kids decided to make for her this year, along with their handmade thank you cards.  I also picked up all the supplies for them to make gifts for their other teacher too!  😉 
Potted Plant 
with printable tag from Living Locurto 
from Captain

Printable Thanks “a latte” Gift Card Holder 
inspired by eighteen25
from Rascal
Enjoy Summer Carry All 
inspired by Thoughtfully Simple
from Twinkle Toes
Summer Cup 
inspired by Lisa Storms
from Chiquita
Do you have any special gift ideas for teachers?  I’d love to hear about them! 

Watching the Solar Eclipse {May 20, 2012}

by | May 31, 2012 | , , | 4 Comments

Watching the Solar Eclipse
6:34 pm  (Wishing my camera would capture the full “Ring of Fire” and not just the bottom edge)
6:35 pm – Another attempt…
6:36 pm – Looks more like an eyeball, instead of an eclipse! 
7 shots taken locally by a friend –  This is what we saw through the special glasses.
Made me wish I had a better lens and filter for taking pictures of the sun! It was awesome!! 

Baby’s First Food

by | May 29, 2012 | | 12 Comments

Bud wanted to try a piece of that cake on Pentecost Sunday so badly that I asked one of the kids to bring me a jar of baby food from the kitchen… It was time to let Bud try some solid foods!  He just didn’t want to wait until 6 months, like Rose.  I’m hoping to have the chance to start experimenting with making our own baby food, but for now I picked up some Earth’s Best First Fruits and Vegetables.

My sweet little Bud!  (5 months and 1 week old)
I just can’t get enough of his cute little smiles! 
Bud’s 1st Bite of Baby Food – Earth Best First Bananas
2nd Bite… He did not want to let go of that spoon! 
“Mom, may I have another bite of banana, please?”
I’d say they were a hit!  Don’t you think?
Photo Credit: Captain

Celebrating Pentecost, the Birthday of the Church :: 2012 Edition

by | May 28, 2012 | | 10 Comments

Holy Spirit, come and shine 
On our souls with beams divine 
Issuing from your radiance bright. 
Come, O Father of the poor, 
Ever bounteous of your store, 
Come, our heart’s unfailing light.
Come, Consoler, kindest, best, 
Come our bosom’s dearest guest, 
Sweet refreshment, sweet repose. 
Rest in labor, coolness sweet, 
Tempering the burning heat, 
Truest comfort of our woes.

O divinest light, impart 
Unto every faithful heart 
Plenteous streams from love’s bright flood. 
But for your blest Deity,
Nothing pure in man could be; 
Nothing harmless, nothing good.

Wash away each sinful stain; 
Gently shed your gracious rain 
On the dry and fruitless soul. 
Heal each wound and bend each will, 
Warm our hearts benumbed and chill, 
All our wayward steps control.

Unto all your faithful just, 
Who in you confide and trust, 
Deign the sevenfold gift to send. 
Grant us virtue’s blest increase, 
Grant a death of hope and peace, 
Grant the joys that never end. 
Amen. Alleluia! 

Happy Pentecost Sunday!

Young Hunters Day 2012

Young Hunters Day 2012

by | Jun 4, 2012 | | 6 Comments

Five years ago we started attending Young Hunters Day, an annual event that is sponsored by our local Hunters Association. The first year Hubby took just our oldest two boys, in 2009 and 2010 we all went (you can see pictures from 2009 and 2010 in the archives), and...

{pretty, happy, funny, real} Memorial Day 2012

{pretty, happy, funny, real} Memorial Day 2012

by | May 31, 2012 | , | 15 Comments

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. ~{pretty}Seven very pretty girls on Memorial Day...  It was so nice to spend some time with my friend Trina and her family (she just had baby #9!) while they were in town for the weekend.   Our little...

Baby’s First Food

Baby’s First Food

by | May 29, 2012 | | 12 Comments

Bud wanted to try a piece of that cake on Pentecost Sunday so badly that I asked one of the kids to bring me a jar of baby food from the kitchen... It was time to let Bud try some solid foods!  He just didn't want to wait until 6 months, like Rose.  I'm...

Prayer of Mothers

Father in heaven, grant me the grace to appreciate the dignity which you have conferred on me. Let me realize that not even the Angels have been blessed with such a privilege—to share in your creative miracle and bring new Saints to heaven. Make me a good mother to all my children after the example of Mary, the Mother of your Son. Through the intercession of Jesus and Mary I ask your continued blessings on my family. Let us all be dedicated to your service on earth and attain the eternal happiness of your kingdom in heaven. Amen.


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Hi! I'm Jessica, a Roman Catholic wife and home educating mother to our nine children. I was home educated myself, along with my eleven younger siblings. I have a special devotion to St. Therese, through whom I have been given much help and many blessings--the beautiful "Shower of Roses" that she has sent my way! Here I will record a few of the blessings I treasure. Please remember that what you see here is just a little glimpse at our lives, so please say a prayer for us, as we continue to strive for holiness.

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