Rejuvenate: Planting Seedlings and Thoughts on Unschooling

A quick pic on the iphone that I took yesterday while planting seeds with my little loves.  This past month we have had two snow storms blow through, which is very rare for our area.  Having my husband home from work and playing in the snow with the kids was a blast, but now I am ready for spring!  Suddenly this week the sun came out, it warmed right up to 75 degrees, the chickens started laying, and the peach trees bloomed! The goats' udders are filling with milk and babies will be here soon.  I can feel spring coming and my soul feels reinvigorated!  We started planting seedlings yesterday in peat pots so we can nurture them until we are sure the danger of spring frost has passed.  My two-year-old loved filling the peat pots, he's at that wonder-filled age where he loves helping with household chores and tasks.  It warms my heart when I see how proud he is that he helped with something important on our homestead.  My 7-year-old decided while we were planting that he wants to take photos of the seeds sprouting every day and put together a flip-book that looks like a time lapse photo. What a great idea!  

One of the things I love most about homeschooling and "unschooling" is that my children often come up with their own, independent projects and I can use those as a springboard to teach them something or just watch them learn, grow, and create on their own and be there if they have questions or need me to help them find materials.  It is tremendously humbling to watch other human beings learn and explore, especially young children.  I feel that most of the time, especially in a traditional school setting, children's explorations and learning experiences are channeled and directed, even down to the minute details, by the overseeing adults.  To the point of stifling curiosity, creativity, and imagination altogether.  Homeschooling has taught me to be open to everything and not to push my wants, opinions, and priorities on my children.  I am an observer, watching the learning unfold.  I have certainly learned as much from them and from this experience as they have from me.  It's funny, I look at my two younger ones who are 5 months and 2 years and I think about the massive amount of learning that occurs in those early years.  It happens with encouragement and support from parents, certainly, but no set curriculum.  Then suddenly children reach school age and it's this mad dash to find the "right way" of teaching them and there are hundreds of methods for approaching every activity and subject and thousands of professionals with opinions on one method or the other.  What I have learned from my children is there is no "right method" for anything.  Some things will be right for one child and all wrong for the other.  They are unique beings with different ways of learning, seeing, and thinking.  They have different interests and goals.  While it may not be convenient for parents or educators or even possible in certain settings, flexibility and independence is the only way to support true learning.  Being fluid and noticing the learning styles and the needs of each child.  Knowing when to step back and just let it happen.  Think about how we learn as adults, once we're out of the school system, if we want to know about something or we have an interest we look it up, we read about it, we pursue it.  Maybe we even enroll in a class, I'm not saying there isn't value to that.  Because when you WANT to know about something and you are passionate about it that is different than being forced to learn about it.  I don't take credit for my children's learning or even like the label "teacher."  They are the ones doing the work.  Just a few weeks ago I watched my son put together a compass by himself.  I'll admit, I wanted to be part of what he was doing and I asked if I could help but he said "no, I've got this mom."  He chose this activity himself, read about compasses, followed the directions for making one, busily working and stopping to ask me for "a glass of water" and a "piece of tape" and then going right back to his project.  When he was done he proudly showed me the working compass he had created and gave a mini-lecture to his siblings and me about how compasses work, the four directions, magnetic north, etc.  All of this he did on his own, with vigor and passion, because he wasn't being forced and his process wasn't being intruded upon. So, even though I do have to step in and direct some of our activities in small ways, this is the type of learning that I want to take up the bulk of our time.  Self-directed life learning.  It was such a foreign concept to me in the beginning because I needed to shift my perspective.  The more I have started to view everything we do every day as learning or "school" the easier it has become for me.  I've been asked how many hours a day we "do school" for.  That has become an impossible question to answer.  While we are awake we are learning, everything we do during the day is an opportunity for learning.  Lessons are not lectures but discussions with mom and dad about the world and topics that the kids want to know about, usually a question from one of the children is a catalyst for these discussions and the kids ask us very insightful questions.  The Olympics are happening right now and we have started learning in both conventional and unconventional ways about the countries of the world.  What we've been watching on TV, seeing different athletes, flags, etc. mingles with discussions about world cultures and governments, print outs of maps, and games where the children race to label the countries.  It's a beautiful mess but we are learning!

One of the things I am most excited about this year is that both our school-age children are starting their own businesses.  Through this endeavor they will use math, they will write things, they will read things, they will learn basic business skills and practice decision-making, critical thinking, and creative thinking.  They will interact face to face with people (both children and adults) and see the real life results of their work.  They have both decided they want to save for their own computers, so they have a lot of work ahead of them!  They have already created their business plans, worked on their branding and marketing strategies, put the framework of their businesses into place, decided on pricing, set goals for themselves, and thought about their company ethos and ways that they can give back to the community and the world when their businesses are successful. Within the framework of their businesses they are learning many other things about the natural world as well as many practical life skills.  I do plan on sharing more about this in depth in another blog post as I am very excited about what the kids are learning on this adventure!

Well, I really just meant to post a picture of us planting seeds and express my excitement about spring, but started thinking about homeschooling.  So there you have it, a little insight into our way of learning and "schooling" around here.  And like I said, there's no one way for everyone (every child or every family) so this is not meant to judge the way other families are homeschooling or the choice made by other families to send their children to public or private school.  Just my musings about our family and our lifestyle. ;)

*Note: I generally dislike labels, but sometimes they are useful and while searching for like-minded parents and professionals at the beginning of our homeschool journey I came across the term "unschooling."  It is the label that most closely reflects our educational philosophy and what we are doing with our children.  If you've never heard the term and are curious about it, here are some resources:

Life Learning Magazine
http://www.lifelearningmagazine.com/index.htm

Wikipedia: Unschooling
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unschooling

John Holt: What is Unschooling?
http://www.holtgws.com/whatisunschoolin.html

The Beginner's Guide to Unschooling:
http://zenhabits.net/unschool/


Books:
Teach Your Own

The Unschooling Handbook

Unschooling Rules

Radical Unschooling


A pretty comprehensive list of unschooling books on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Unschooling-Books/lm/R3RHR7NL0UN1NW






  

Barefaced and Beautiful - Giving Up Makeup for My Daughter's Sake

I wear makeup.  I don't know the statistics here, but I'd venture to say that most adult women do wear makeup, if not on a daily basis, then at least from time to time.  I don't wear it as often these days, and I've never worn much makeup, but when you are naturally blonde and have virtually transparent eyelashes, a little mascara is nice sometimes.  When I was 8 years old I became involved in community theater, wearing full stage makeup for performances.  Naturally, I enjoyed looking "grown up" at that age and by the time I was 12 or 13 I was wearing makeup every day to school.  I've never thought much about it.  Other girls my age were also wearing makeup.  By the time I reached high school pretty much every girl was.  Of course, as we grow up, almost every image of a woman that we see in a magazine or on television is of a woman wearing makeup, and nowadays they're most likely airbrushed as well.  And then we have studies, such as this one, (paid for by major makeup industry tycoons BTW) telling us that wearing makeup "increases people’s perceptions of a woman’s likability, her competence and (provided she does not overdo it) her trustworthiness,"  this is "according to a new study, which also confirmed what is obvious: that cosmetics boost a woman’s attractiveness."  Why should women have to change their appearance in order to be successful and appear "competent," while men have never had to do so?  And why is it "obvious" that makeup makes women more attractive?  I guess maybe more attractive by the general public's standards, but it makes me sad.  

The other day I was putting on mascara in the bathroom and my 5 year old daughter walked in and asked what I was doing.  Without thinking I said, "making myself pretty for Daddy."  Oh how I wished I could swallow those words.  As soon as they were out of my mouth and I heard them aloud I knew that was not at all what I wanted my daughter to hear.  I immediately started to back pedal saying "but you know, Daddy always tells me I'm prettier without make up."  Which is true, my husband always tells me that I don't need makeup.  But it's kind of an addiction, isn't it?  My daughter then says, "well then why are you doing that?"  Silence.  I don't know.  Why was I doing it?  Why do I do it?  Why do I put eyeliner and mascara on before I go out in public?  Why? I'd never thought about it before and now some serious thinking ensued.  I guess because it's part of my routine, and part of how I've come to see myself in my mind's eye.  My image of my true self is the one that is "done up."  But that's not me.  That's not my true self.  I'm just used to seeing myself that way.  Does it make me feel more confident and attractive?  Yes, actually.  Because I've spent decades having that positively reinforced.    

What I know is this.  I have a young daughter.  About to turn 6.  She is a very unique little girl. She largely cares nothing at all about popular culture, TV, models, pop stars or any of that silly nonsense.  I dread the day when that might start to change.  I relish watching her roll in fields of clover, skip through the yard to feed the chickens, play in the mud....it's not that she hasn't started receiving some of these pop-culture messages about how girls are "supposed" to behave and look.  I mean we can't shelter her from life, and those messages are everywhere - from seemingly harmless television shows, to the toy aisle at Target.  It's just that she chooses not to care or be influenced by it.  I am scared that could change.  I want her to be true to herself, and to value her intelligence, wit, humor, creativity, and uniqueness over physical beauty.  I want her to be proud of being different and having unique interests, and I want her to have a positive image of herself and her body.  I realize that I am her number one example of that.

I recently came across another survey, this one conducted on behalf of the Renfew Center, which is a non-profit that works to prevent, treat, and research eating disorders,  in which 65% of the survey participants started wearing makeup at the tender ages of 8-13 years old.  The survey found that at least one in five young girls had negative feelings associated with not wearing makeup.  Many girls surveyed felt it was most acceptable to go barefaced to the pool or beach but least acceptable to show up at a friend's house or school without makeup on.  

I can imagine my sweet little girl, maybe as few as 2 years in the future feeling like she can't leave the house without mascara, because mom doesn't and her peers don't.  Wanting to make herself "pretty" for her dad or her first crush.  My heart sinks.  She is so beautiful, inside and out.  I don't ever want her to feel like she needs to change herself.  And so I've come to a difficult decision.  Should I give up makeup for the sake of my daughter?  I kind of think I have to.  It seems like a silly thing, but it's actually pretty difficult.  Women out there, can you imagine quitting makeup cold turkey?  Completely revolutionizing your own self image?  Admit it, if you wear it, it has more hold over you than you realize.  It's even a little scary.  I know there will be special occasions for which I may don the mascara, but for now I think I'll try going barefaced.  My daughter may still wear makeup someday, I can't predict that now, but I know it won't be because she saw that I could never leave the house without it.  I want her to know she can be barefaced and beautiful.  I want her to understand, even though it's a cliche, that it's what's on the inside that makes her truly beautiful anyway.

Musings on Our Unconventional Life

I have so many thoughts bouncing around in my head today, I just have to take a minute to write some of them down.  A friend posted this article on Facebook this afternoon: Have American Parents Got it All Backwards?  I'd rather not paraphrase, so go ahead and hop over there and give it a read or some of my rambling won't make as much sense!  In very broad terms it got me thinking about how we have so much backwards, not just parenting choices.  I am constantly confounded and bewildered by what the mainstream assumptions are as far as what choices are "good" and "normal" concerning pregnancy, birth, food, education, and the list goes on.  I'm not saying that I'm better than anyone else, and I'm certainly far from perfect.  We don't need anymore "mommy guilt" than we all already have.  But I do have strong beliefs, and my husband and I are navigating the waters of life and parenthood together and finding that we are quite unconventional when it comes to...well, most things.

I didn't really learn anything new from reading the above article - I already agree with most of what the author has said, and I believe that we (Americans) do many, many things backwards in our society, usually in the name of doing what is "right" or "safe" or "politically correct."  I also already knew that many other cultures birth, raise, feed and educate their children in wildly different ways from us and that many of the children raised in those cultures are healthier and happier for it.

When you move away from what is considered mainstream in your parenting decisions it's hard (especially in public) to not sometimes feel judged (as in "do you see what she is letting her child do??").  Other observers might even try to step in and fill the parenting role that they perceive you being inadequate at filling!  Just recently my children were playing on a staircase.  My husband and I were standing at the bottom and this woman swooped in and said "No, no, no, you three get down from there!  You are going to hurt yourselves!  Do you see what they are doing?"  My kids all stopped playing abruptly and gave my husband and me bewildered looks as just moments before they had asked if they could play on the stairs and we said "sure, why not?"  I look at the well-meaning intruder and say "Wow, you're a little intense.  We do see them.  We gave them permission to play on the stairs."  "Well, as long as you're watching them...."  They are our children, we take care of them without your assistance every day of their lives, and we are perfectly capable of making decisions regarding their safety and supervision, thanks.  For that matter, the children need to be able to learn to decide what their own limits are and they are generally quite astute at assessing what they are capable of doing safely and what is unsafe or risky.  Sometimes they take the risk, and that's part of learning and living.

So here's my confession:  Our children are allowed to ride their bikes around the neighborhood unsupervised, play in the yard and care for our animals unsupervised, complete households tasks and chores without their hands being held, choose what they want to learn about and take charge of their own educations, play in the dirt, play in the water, make messes, make mistakes, play outside all day long on a "school day" if they want and not do a lick of "book work," climb fences, climb trees, skateboard, take risks,  decide what to spend their money on, decide what they want to read, make new friends, fall down, wash dishes, make their own meals, experiment, ask questions, get frustrated, get bored, and at the end of the day, despite their independence from us in so many ways, we still have a family bed.

They don't always do these things on their own...but they can if they choose to.  They can also ask for help.  When they become interested in a certain subject or have a specific question for us, we listen and we facilitate.  We provide them with resources, inspiration, and encouragement.  When they want to tell us something or ask us something we don't brush them off, we listen.  It is the foundation of our home (un)school philosophy.  We have to be available all day, every day, to listen.  To answer questions, to look things up, to engage with them and be honest with them.

Even though our 5 year old daughter still shares our bed and needs plenty of time to be loved and treated like a child (because she is one), she is also the most independent child I have ever met.  Every day she waters all the plants in our large garden, harvests ripe vegetables, reports back to us on the state of the plants, what bugs she saw, what looks healthy and what doesn't, collects the chicken eggs, feeds and waters the chickens, goats, and her indoor rabbit, and the list goes on.  She adores helping to cook, bake, and clean with us.  She helps care for her baby brother and never gives me a hard time when I ask for her help or a for a favor.  She is always eager to help, has an amazing work ethic, and boundless curiosity!

Our 7 year old son likes to play video games and we don't stand in the way of this.  He also loves to ride his bike and play baseball.  He has amazing hand-eye coordination and a mind-boggling memory.  He is incredibly intuitive and is always reading peoples' emotions and body language with uncanny accuracy.  Despite his love for gaming, computers, and all things electronic he is still a social butterfly!  He makes new friends all the time and easily adapts to new social situations regardless of the age of his counterparts.  He is fascinated by weather, science, and math.  He hesitates to try new things, but once he gets a little taste of confidence he takes off.  We know this about him, so we know the right way to provide positive reinforcement when introducing new concepts to him.

Our 19 month old in no way lives in the shadows of his brother and sister.  He has a huge personality!  He is also extremely independent and we let him be independent!  He plays in the yard, with the animals, gets dirty, gets wet, problem solves, and has a blast.  Feeds himself with utensils and has for ages, but also still breastfeeds.  He drinks from a cup, builds things, communicates with us extremely well despite having very little vocabulary, and is the most cuddly, loving, and affectionate baby.  He is allowed to explore, secure in the knowledge that he has our unwavering love and support.

We are trying to raise children who are free-thinkers, independent, down-to-earth, self sufficient, passionate, curious, caring, grounded in reality, but wildly imaginative.

I still haven't figured out how to accomplish all of this, but I know that we have to move far, far away from what is mainstream and forge our own path for our family.  It's the only way (for us) to survive and thrive in this backwards world we live in.  If giving birth to my children in my living room, owning dairy goats, learning to hunt so our family can have wild harvested animal protein, growing vegetables, taking charge of our family's health by practicing herbalism and alternative medicine, not vaccinating our children or animals, unschooling,  practicing extended breastfeeding, sharing a bed with our kids, and striving for complete self-sufficiency for our family makes my husband and me "strange", then so be it.  It is what it is and we are who we are.  Every day we learn new things, every day we get closer to our goals, and every day we open new doors to understanding the world and the universe and our place in it.  It's a fun, frustrating, awe-inspiring journey.  Sometimes I feel hesitant to share with people some of the more "unique" aspects of our family and then I wonder, what am I ashamed of?  The things that might make others think we are crazy are the same things that I think make us who we are!  I love our family and I love our unconventional life.

"People can save the world by the way they think and by the way they behave and what they hold to be important." ~ Cindy Lauper 

Hatching Fertile Chicken Eggs

  

This year was our first foray into hatching fertile eggs.  We don't have a rooster right now and we also don't have any hens that have ever shown even the slightest inclination of broodiness, so while a broody hen is your best bet for hatching we decided to go against Mother Nature this one time and purchase an incubator.  With the intent of mimicking nature as much as possible and making this delicate process a little easier on us, we also purchased an automatic egg turner and a fan to circulate air in the incubator.  Originally I tried to purchase the Brinsea Octagon with the turning cradle after reading many glowing reviews, but there was a screw up with the order and my eggs arrived before the incubator!  I panicked, ordered the Hova-Bator Genesis on Amazon with overnight shipping and cancelled the Brinsea.

There are some rare breeds that I had been dying to get my hands on - Cream Legbars, Welsummers, and Black Copper Marans.  I ordered 14 Cream Legbar hatching eggs, 5 Welsummers, and 5 Black Copper Marans.  Our Legbar's are 2nd generation out of Greenfire Farms stock.  I'll write a later post with details about these beautiful breeds, but for now I'll just mention that CL's lay gorgeous blue eggs, Welsummers lay dark brown speckled eggs, and BCM's lay DARK brown, sometimes almost black eggs.  A colorful egg basket is definitely in our future!

We decided on the dry method for hatching our eggs.  Most of the guidance I got from the following post: http://paraguinparadise.netfirms.com/Dry%20Incubation.htm

To start, we set up our incubator and let it come up to a consistent temp.  Some places I read to let it stay at 100 degrees F for 24 hours, some places I read to have it up to temp for 1 week before setting eggs.  We had time constraints, so a few hours of steady temps was good enough for me.  I should note that for a few days while our eggs were waiting to go into the incubator I kept them in a cool room and rotated them several times a day.  Before you set them in the incubator it is imperative that you place them in a carton, large end up, for 24 hours so that the air cell can settle prior to setting.

Finally into the incubator they went!  Temp was at 100F, humidity at about 45%.  Every day I checked the humidity several times.  When it fell into the 20's I cracked the incubator open a bit and added water to bring it back up into the 40's.

On day 7 we candled the eggs.  The dark eggs from the Welsummers and the Marans were almost impossible to candle at this stage.  The Legbar eggs were glorious though.  Beautiful red veins running through them.  We were so excited!  It looked like almost all the eggs were developing.

It is worthwhile to say here that there are many, many reasons why eggs can stop developing or not hatch out.  For your own fertile eggs from your backyard a 50-80% hatch rate is considered good.  For shipped eggs a 30-50% hatch rate is to be expected.  Eggs that are shipped get jostled about in the mail, exposed to unpredictable temperatures, etc.  That said, when you stop and think practically about eggs hatching in the wild....ok you need heat, humidity, and turning.  The mother hen spends weeks collecting eggs before she sits on them.  So the fertile eggs are probably going to be ok for a week or even two before they get set, if you are mindful of storing them in optimal conditions.  The mother hen also turns her eggs many, sometimes up to 50, times a day, so if anything hand turning or having an egg turner produced less movement than eggs would have in the "wild" so don't worry about moving them!  She (mama hen) also has to get up from time to time to eat and use the bathroom so don't panic too much about opening the incubator every few days.

We replaced all the eggs after candling.  Since it was our first time we were not confident diagnosing infertile eggs or those with arrested development.  There were no cracks or anything that would cause the eggs to spoil and explode, so there was no harm in continuing to incubate them all.

On day 18 we prepared for "lockdown."  This is the period where the eggs are removed from the turner, the humidity is bumped up, and the eggs are left undisturbed to hatch.  Most will hatch on day 21.  Some may be early bloomers, some may be late.  It depends a lot on the heat and humidity in the incubator among other factors.  Before lockdown we candled again.  Several eggs appeared obviously empty at this point.  Those were infertile eggs.  Several appeared to have something going on but definitely not enough of a dark area to be a fully developed chick.  The eggs that had developed fully were almost completely dark when candled, with just a small light area at the narrow end of the egg (the air cell).

We still replaced them all just to see what would happen.  I added water to the incubator and plugged the vent holes to bring our humidity up to 65%.

Then we waited.

On day 20 the kids came running down the stairs saying "Mom!  There's cheeping!!"  Sure enough, we had an early bird. :)

Cogburn was our first to hatch.  He is a one-eyed Cream Legbar rooster.  The convenient thing about Legbars is that they can be sexed at birth, which is very rare among chicken breeds.  Most commercial hatcheries have a trained vent sexing expert and even they can't get it right all the time.  Legbar roosters have an easy to distinguish white spot on the top of their heads, whereas the hens have a dark chipmunk stripe down their back.  Besides missing an eye, Cogburn has a crooked beak.  We were concerned he would not be able to eat on his own, but he is doing great!!  Many people would have killed him at birth for his defects, but instead we gave him a cool name and he has become our farm mascot.  If his birth defects are not infringing on his overall health and quality of life, I don't see why he can't live out a happy life in our backyard farm.  We just won't use him for breeding or anything like that.

Later that evening we had a little Welsummer hatch out as well.

The next day, day 21, we had the greatest number of eggs hatch.  6 more eggs - 2 Legbars and 4 Welsummers.  On day 22 we had a single Black Copper Maran hatch and another Legbar pip.  We carefully watched the pipped egg but nothing happened....

26 hours went by and still no progress.  I decided to take matters into my own hands.  Normally you should not interfere with the natural hatching process.  You can tear the membrane and cause the chicks to bleed to death.  If they don't push themselves out of their shells it can also affect the strength of their legs.  Some people believe that if the chick cannot get out of its shell without assistance that it shouldn't be helped and should be left to die (which it eventually will, from exhaustion).  I figured since this little guy had at least pipped (that's when they break a tiny hole in the shell to breathe - usually they then proceed to "unzip" around the girth of the shell and release themselves) that he deserved some assistance.

First I candled the remaining eggs.  I replaced the ones that seemed to have developed chicks in them and discarded 7 which were clearly empty.  Then I candled the pipped shell.  I could see the chick breathing inside the shell.  In what my husband has now dubbed the Eggsarean or E-Section, Tiny Tim was helped out of his shell after several hours of effort on his part and mine.  I will chronicle this experience in another post!  The end result is that we had another Cream Legbar rooster who was healthy and happy and has quickly caught up with the other chicks.

7 eggs remained in the incubator.  Nothing for days.  I did the float test.  They seemed viable.  We waited....and waited....nothing.  After 2 extra weeks of waiting, just to be sure, we discarded the eggs.  There are many reasons why those chicks died before hatching and never pipped, but we'll never be sure.

All in all we ended up with 10 baby chicks.  4 Cream Legbars, 5 Welsummers, and 1 Black Copper Maran.  By breed that was a 100% hatch rate on the Welsummers, a 28.5% hatch rate on the Cream Legbars, and a 20% hatch rate on the Black Copper Marans.  For the Legbars we have 3 roosters and 1 hen.  For the Welsummers I think we have 4 hens and 1 rooster.  The Maran can't be sexed just by looking so we'll wait for maturity and HOPE we get a hen!

The babies are growing FAST!  They are 4 weeks old now and in a couple of weeks they will move to their outdoor home.  It might astonish some that we have been keeping them in our guest bedroom, but honestly they are much less messy than some sources would have you believe!  We haven't had a single shaving outside the brooder.  They do tend to make a mess of their waterer, so you do have to clean that out and refill it frequently, but other than that they have required very little fuss. :)  We housed them in a large, deep rubbermaid tub with pine shavings, a feeder, waterer, and a heat lamp with a stand my husband built.  All in all the cost of the brooder set up was about $40.

Here is one (of many) short home videos of a hatching chick!

Here they are in the brooder!  More pictures coming soon!

Happy Birthday

"Before about 1915, boyhood was seen by most grown-ups as a state of natural savagery.  A boy of ten or twelve had more in common with wild Indians than he did with his own parents.  He probably even had more in common with his dog.  Later he would change, of course.  He would undergo a spiritual metamorphosis as striking as the physical one his sister went through.  From it he would emerge thinking like a man.  But now, and for some years to come, he was going to think like a savage.  That automatically placed him in a state of war with civilization, as represented by his parents and his sister."    -Noel Perrin from The American Boy's Handy Book

Today we are celebrating our little man turning 7 years old.  Peter, every day you bring me joy and challenges, and every day I strive to embrace those things that are in your nature as a wild and wonderful little boy.  

Happy birthday, with love, 

Mom

Handmade Waldorf Dolls

Sharing a few pictures of my most recent handmades-organic waldorf dolls: Skylark Morning and Ruby Rainbow.  I made these for my daughter's 5th birthday, which is coming up in a few weeks.  Both dolls are made from 100% organic cotton knit and are stuffed with organic wool, organic brown rice, organic buckwheat hull, and organic lavender.  Their hair is made from wool felt.  These were so much fun to make!  I have searched everywhere for a waldorf-style doll that is an actual baby doll, the same size as a real baby, and weighted like a real baby.  I couldn't find what I wanted, so as is my usual solution I decided to make it myself!  I drew the pattern for the dolls by hand and I am working on getting a tutorial up very soon!

Spring Equinox Photo Essay

Happy first day of spring!  Here are a few photos of our day.

Spring Equinox watercolor paper lanterns 

Wood Sorrel Mojitos 

My sweet girl 

Happy Hens

Painting 

Dandies! 

Lizard running from the camera! 

Plum trees in bloom 

Last year's green bean poles 

Wintered-over garlic looking good in the garden 

Apples trees in bloom 

Shelling peanuts 

Pug love 

Sun Bread

One of the books we are reading this month (we homeschool) is Sun Bread by Elisa Kleven.  In the story it is a cold, dreary winter and everyone in the town is wishing the sun would come back out.  The baker decides to make a giant, warm, delicious sun-shaped bread that draws all the townspeople to her bakery, warms their hearts and tummies and even makes the spring sun shine again.  It is a perfect story for this time of year. I purchased the book with the intent of reading it and baking sun bread with the kids and I didn't even realize the book includes a tasty recipe for 'sun bread' inside the back cover!  Here are a few photos of the kids baking sun bread (with my help).  I think that the braided egg bread recipe I posted several years back would also work well for this, and you could even add a few extra eggs if you want the dough to be more yellow like the sun!  You can purchase the book here.

Sun Bread Recipe adapted from Sun Bread by Elisa Kleven: Ingredients: 3 eggs 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 stick butter 6 tsp. active dry yeast  3 Tbsp. sugar 3 Tbsp. warm milk 1 egg yolk + 1 Tbsp. water (for brushing before baking) 1. In a large mixing bowl combine: 3 eggs (lightly beaten) 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 1 stick butter, melted. 2. In a small bowl combine: 6 tsp. active dry yeast 3 Tbsp. lukewarm milk (105-115 degrees) 3 Tbsp. sugar Let stand until yeast is activated and mixture is foamy (5-10 minutes). 3. Add the yeast mixture to flour mixture and incorporate with hands (let the kids get their hands dirty, this is the fun part!).  Let little hands take turns kneading the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes. 4. Place dough in greased bowl, cover with a slightly damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place for about an hour or until doubled in size.  *Tip!  if your house is cold or drafty let your dough rise in the oven (no drafts in there!) OR turn your oven on to 400 F for ONE MINUTE then turn off and let your dough rise in the slightly warmed oven.  Kinda speeds up the process! 5. Punch down dough, knead again for a few minutes, then separate into two portions. 6. Shape one portion into a ball and flatten with your palm.  This is the sun's face.  Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Pull a small portion off the 2nd ball of dough and roll into a circle to make the nose.  Attach to the sun's face (use a little water if it isn't sticking enough).  Divide the rest into several small portions for the kids to shape into "snails" and triangles and help them attach these to the outside of the sun.  Create the eyes and mouth of the sun.  I used a turkey baster (of all things) to make deep holes for the eyes and a sharp paring knife to cut a deep "smile."  They have to be deep enough that they won't close up while baking! 7. Cover the sun and let it rise again for another hour. 8. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix egg yolk with water and brush over the top of your "sun" for a nice, shiny, dark crust. 9. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Enjoy!   This is especially fun to make when winter is transitioning into spring and everyone is excited about the sun, flowers, and trees returning!  It would also be neat as a summer solstice project!

Dutch Oven Popcorn

For Christmas my husband bought me a couple of cast iron skillets and a dutch oven.  I have quickly come to realize that there isn't much that can't be cooked given these two basic items (why do I own thirteen other pots and pans??).  I have now cooked everything from chicken and potatoes, to beef bourgignon, to popcorn in my dutch oven.  For those who think dutch oven = outdoor cooking over a campfire, think again!  Although I am excited about someday using it to cook over the campfire, so far I have used it exclusively indoors on the stove and in the oven.  The recipe that follows would actually be really fun over the campfire, but is equally accessible indoors any day of the week.

Popcorn.  Snack staple of America.  This seemingly harmless food when prepared the way most Americans cook it (in the microwaveable baggies from the store) actually has a slew of harmful chemicals in it.  Here I've been buying my children the "natural" popcorn without the butter flavor and thinking we were safe from artificial flavors (diacetyl) and never even realizing that the mechanism that makes those bags pop the corn has been exposing us and our popcorn to a multitude of other harmful substances that I hadn't even thought of!  From the blog The Healthy Apron: "According the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the steam from microwave popcorn contains nearly four dozen chemicals."  Read a very informative post on the subject here and here.


For information about diacetyl and how most major popcorn manufacturers have now removed this harmful substance from their products (thank goodness) click here.

So how do we avoid being assaulted by PFCAs, PFOA, C8, and a number of other unnatural substances?  Well, a start would be popping corn the old fashioned way, which is both fun and VERY easy. 

Dutch Oven Popcorn:

What you need:

* A dutch oven
* Popcorn kernels
* Olive oil
* Sea Salt (optional)
* Butter (optional)

Cover the bottom of your dutch oven with olive oil and place over medium heat.  Throw in a couple kernels of corn and wait.  When the corn pops you know the oil is hot enough.  Be careful when checking for popping-I stuck my nose in the pot and one kernel popped right in my face splashing me with hot oil!  Remove popped kernels and replace with about 2/3 cup of un-popped corn (to cover the bottom of your dutch oven).  Vent a tiny bit to allow steam to escape (if you vent too much you will have popping corn hopping out of your dutch oven and all over your kitchen!).  Listen (and sneak a peek every now and then) to your popping corn.  After about 5-10 minutes your dutch oven will be full of fluffy popcorn, the popping will slow down, and you will know to take it off the heat.  Carefully transfer popped corn to a bowl, drizzle with melted butter, and sprinkle with sea salt.

Before you pop your corn in canola.....I will be writing a future post on why I no longer cook in canola oil or vegetable oil but instead prefer butter, olive oil, or tropical plant oils.  But in the meantime I highly recommend the book Nourishing Traditions: the cookbook that challenges politically correct nutrition and the diet dictocrats by Sally Fallon.

Must have microwaveable corn?  A friend of mine microwaves her popcorn by placing un-popped kernels in a brown paper lunch sack with a drizzle of olive oil and some sea salt, staples it shut with a single staple (this is so little metal that it won't cause problems with the microwave) and pops it as you would store-bought popcorn.

Chicken Burgers Packed with Hidden Veggies!

These were a HUGE hit today with my kids and the kids I nanny for.  The best part is they are packed with hidden veggies. My husband was home for lunch this afternoon and also thought they were delicious. :)


Adapted from Superfood for Babies & Children by: Annabel Karmel

BURGERS:

1/2 cup washed and finely chopped white and light green parts of a leek

2 medium carrots, peeled and grated

1 large zucchini, grated

1 1/2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

6 boneless, skinless, chicken breast tenders, chopped

1 apple, peeled, cored, and grated

1 chicken stock cube, finely crumbled

1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

COATING:

All purpose flour

2 eggs lightly beaten

Bread crumbs

Vegetable oil for frying

Meunster cheese slices

buns

Saute leek, carrots, and zucchini in the 1 1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil for 3-5 minutes.  Remove from heat and mix with remaining raw ingredients.  Process in a food processor in batches.  Form into burgers (makes about 10 4-5" burgers) using flour coated hands.  Coat in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs.  Saute in vegetable oil until golden and cooked through about 4-5 minutes per side.  Top with muenster cheese and put on a bun.  Serve with fries, some fresh fruit, or a small side salad.

Apple Banana "Cupcakes" with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

What a crazy week!  My son turned four and we had three separate celebrations.  One on his actual birthday, one at his school, and then a big party with family friends on the weekend (followed the next day by MY birthday)!  It's been exhausting!  I have several food-related posts and recipes I want to share from his birthday celebrations and I'm going to kick this off with these delicious Apple Banana Cupcakes.  I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com (here's the link), I seem to be finding a lot of good recipes there lately! These are kind of like a cupcake/muffin hybrid.  I think it's really the frosting that makes them cupcakes, and the frosting is to die for!  My inspiration for the frosting came from this recipe and you can find my version below.

Apple Banana Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2/3 cup shortening (I used butter)
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I omitted this because I didn't have it on hand)
• 1/4 cup buttermilk (I used powdered buttermilk during the mixing of the dry ingredients and an extra 1/4 cup milk later on)
• 1 cup ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 apples - peeled, cored and shredded

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour 24 muffin cups, or use paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and buttermilk. Beat in the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Fold in the mashed bananas and shredded apples. Fill each muffin cup half full.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

    

   Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

   Ingredients

   • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
   • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
   • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
   • 1 tablespoon honey
   • 2-4 tablespoons powdered sugar (to desired sweetness)
   • Dash milk if needed for desired consistency

   Directions

   1. Melt butter and allow to cool.
   2. In your stand mixer bowl, combine cream cheese, butter, and brown sugar. Beat at speed 4-6. When mixture starts to stiffen, stop mixer and add honey.
   3. Continue to beat and add powdered sugar one tablespoon at a time until light and fluffy. 
   4. Spoon into ziploc bag with your spatula and cut the corner off bag.  Pipe onto cupcakes.  If you have pastry bags available of course that would work too!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   
   

Gingerbread Pancakes

Yesterday morning my kids requested pancakes for breakfast.  I was mixing together ingredients and decided I wanted to do something a little special with our pancake batter.  So I threw in some ginger and cinnamon and...yum!  Gingerbread pancakes!  The kids loved them.

Ingredients:

4 tbsp. powdered buttermilk

1 tbsp. sugar or honey

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. bakind soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup milk

1 egg slightly beaten

2 tbsp. melted butter

Mix dry ingredients, add wet ingredients.  Mix until combined.  Pour by the 1/4 cup onto 350 degree griddle.  Flip and serve.

These got Izzy's seal of approval!