visiting rocky ridge farm

last weekend we took a very delightful trip to Laura Ingalls Wilder Days in mansfield missouri. it was such a blessing in so many ways. B really enjoyed dressing the part of young laura ingalls and i had fun sewing the prairie dress (except when i couldn't find the directions for the bonnet and had to make it up as i went along, and when the pleats on the pantaloons didn't come out right, and the pattern made a simple dress waaaaay more complicated than need be...other than that, i really enjoyed getting back to the sewing machine). ;o) but i digress...

...while B was busy imagining the life of a 9 year old girl in a covered wagon, i was so pleased to learn more about the woman/farmer/wife/author she became. i have been enjoying two new books that i purchased at the gift shop: On the Way Home: The Diary of a Trip from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri, in 1894 and Laura Ingalls Wilder: Farm Journalist. both of these books reveal the true character of a woman who faced and overcame many hardships. a woman whose determination and courage are the epitome of the american pioneering spirit.

barefoot country girl!

B as laura ingalls

"The Little House Books are stories of long ago...the way we live and your schools are much different now. So many changes have made living and learning easier. But the real things haven't changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful: to be happy with simple pleasures and to be cheerful and have courage when things go wrong."

~Laura Ingalls Wilder

standing before the judges. she was very brave!

and to this mama's eye, she was the cutest prairie girl around! *smile*

making friends with one of the other "lauras"

B made friends with a girl just her age at the contest and it was a highlight of the trip! together they played, chatted, and twirled their dresses while they waited through the long procession of laura and almanzo look-alikes. they had decided to become pen pals, but sadly, she slipped away with her grandpa afterwards before addresses could be exchanged.

B in her prairie dress, apron, bonnet, and pantaloons. however, she ditched the stockings and shoes and went barefoot for the look alike contest.

B and grammy waiting for the play to begin in the outdoor theater

the ingalls family portrayed by the ozark moutain players

in the presentation of "Laura's Memories"

we visited the grave site of almanzo and laura ingalls wilder.

stepping back in time

i loved this little window

B sitting on the porch of the rock house

the three of us, my mom, B and i, standing in front of the rock house,

it was a really special time for just the girls to be together.

i know we will treasure the memories of this trip!

rocky ridge farm, mansfield, missouri

"When I look around the farm now and see the smooth, green, rolling meadows and pastures, the good fields of corn and wheat and oats; when I see the orchard and strawberry field like huge bouquets in the spring or full of fruit later in the season; when I see the grape vines hanging full of lucious grapes, I can hardly bring back to mind the rough, rocky, brushy, ugly place that we first called Rocky Ridge Farm. The name given it then serves to remind us of the battles we have fought and won and gives a touch of sentiment and an added value to the place.

"In conclusion, I am going to quote from a little gift book which my wife sent out to a few friends last Christmas:

'Just come and visit Rocky Ridge,

Please grant us our request,

We'll give you all a jolly time-

Welome the coming; speed the parting guest.' "

A.J. Wilder, July 22, 1911

everyday gift: celebrating an american treasure, laura ingalls wilder

the gourd project continues

when it all began, i had no idea where it would lead. B and i reading a story about slaves seeking freedom by following the stars north: the big dipper or the drinking gourd. a friend had some old gourds she had dried for bird houses and she graciously shared one with us so we could cut it open and see how a water dipper might be made. B planted the seeds in dixie cups and watered them faithfully. she planted the sprouts in the ground and they have rewarded her in a big way! she now has visions of selling gourds at the farmer's market, making bird houses, and wonders if you can roast and eat the seeds like pumpkin seeds...the learning goes on, from history to botany to economics to bird house construction to cooking!

if anyone ever wonders, THIS is why i love homeschooling: the curiosity and wonder that lead to learning. we have gazed at the stars and imagined what it might have been like to travel at night using the stars as a map, hiding in fear of being returned to slavery. we have tasted a drink of cool water from a gourd that we hollowed ourselves. we have watched the miracle of sprouting seeds that turn into a gigantic vine laden with dozens of baby gourds. and we ponder the possibilities of the future.

flowering vine with baby gourd

tendrils reaching and climbing

vines on the wren house

B with her baby

everyday gift: growing and learning

lessons from Little House on the Prairie

this historic stone house makes the perfect setting for the park district classes about Little House on the Prairie. it was built in 1860, about the same time that laura ingalls was living out the pioneer adventures she wrote about in her books. B has had a wonderful time with the
projects they have done: making butter, molasses snow candy (with snow saved in the freezer from this winter!), and soap. and then learning to do laundry... the old fashioned way! she thought it was great fun, although i suspect she would tire of it really soon if was not a game!

a cake of homemade soap

Wash on Monday

Iron on Tuesday

Mend on Wednesday

Churn on Thursday

Bake on Saturday

Rest on Sunday

laundry day

putting the clothes through the wringer

B carrying water for laundry day




scrubbing on the wash board

swing your partner!

the kids had a great time learning some dance steps

and imagining pa playing his fiddle!

everyday gift: living history lessons

nesting

B ran in the house with big news! she had discovered a robin's nest in the lilac bush...and there are eggs! oh, i love such excitement over the discovery of beauty in God's creation. there is nothing that compares to the blue of a robin's egg. i am amazed every time see them.

mama robin watched with concern from the cherry tree as i photographed the nest. she returned shortly after i walked away and seemed satisfied that her babies were safe. she really is an attentive mother. i am in awe of her patience while sitting on that nest. and when the eggs hatch, mama never rests, but is constantly feeding those little peeping beaks! i know the feeling! :o)


B is keeping a bird notebook. she is anxious to add the robin with photos from our own special robins. i must say, she does a thorough job of researching; reading books from the library, finding pictures on line, carefully coloring the birds to be realistic. she really is a joy to teach!

for the past 6 years, or so, we have had a pair of robins nesting under our deck. it is in an ideal spot for us to observe and we watch for the building process to begin each spring. this year, i couldn't figure out why they weren't collecting straw and wool from the sheep pen for this years nest. they were hanging around in the maple tree next to the deck as usual. yesterday, the reason became clear: they are re-using last year's nest! i didn't know they ever did that, but there she was, sitting on that old nest. through the slats in the deck above we can peek into the nest. 3 eggs this year.

everyday gift: blue robin eggs

B's green thumb

do you remember this? we hollowed out a dried gourd to make a drinking gourd and decided to plant the seeds. we knew that they were a little bit old and might not sprout, but decided to give it a try anyway. well several weeks passed and all we got were a few grass sprouts. B had such a good attitude and was just pleased that something green had come from her efforts. so she continued to care for and water her baby grass. and it is a good thing she did. had we given up on those cups of dirt we would have missed out on this:

the gourd seeds finally sprouted! i guess seeds are like people...they are just a little slower when they get older. :o)

we have a total of 3 sprouts so far. and i have a feeling that we will have a large gourd harvest this year. we might have to go into the gourd bird house business! one thing leads to another...

everyday gift: new sprouts

a few more project pictures

i have just a few more projects pictures to post from our february study of the civil war and some of the historical figures of the time. both of these books, Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt and Follow the Drinking Gourd are excellent and touching books. our study was a gentle introduction to the civil war and the difficult topic of slavery in our country's history.

clara stitched a map into her quilt as a secret way to direct slaves who were running to freedom in the north. B and i made a reproduction of the quilt using cut paper.

the drinking gourd in the sky leads north to freedom!

here is our gourd, old and dried. mark helped us out by sawing the side off. B scooped out the insides and sanded it, inside and out. thank you, chris, for the gourd!


B painting our drinking gourd with a color we mixed to look like a natural gourd color. B decided against adding any other type of embellishment.

well, one thing leads to another...what do you do when you find yourself with a handful of seeds from the inside of your gourd? you plant them, of course! the seeds may be too old to sprout, but it is worth a try! i once read that ancient seeds found in a jar in the egyptian pyramids actually grew, so, who knows?

we are now following another trail from this book. we are learning about the constellations, especially the north star.

everyday gift: the rabbit trails of learning

creating the ark of the covenant

during our Bible time, we have been studying moses and the exodus from egypt. what incredible stories of God's power and faithfulness. i often wonder how the israelites could grumble and complain after the amazing miracles God performed on their behalf...and then i hear myself grumbling...and i understand that i have the same sinful genes in my heart!

.

Veritas Bible Cards, our stack of Bible references,

B's ten commandments, and the ark of covenant.

B's project: the ark of the covenant, a jar of manna,

B and i both hope we can taste manna in heaven someday! :o),

the ten commandment tablets, and aaron's flowering staff.

(amazing what you can do with a can of gold spray paint and sculpty clay!)

.

as an artist, i love to read about the making of the ark and the tabernacle. God loves beauty! he cares about creating works that are not just practical, but are aesthetically pleasing. in exodus 35 it tells us that "he has filled him [the craftsman] with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts - to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze...." i only have to look around and see taht all the world is filled with beauty. God is the ultimate artist. we are created in His image, with the desire to build, create, design, and appreciate beauty! as i sketch in my journal, weave a cloth, or just arrange flowers on our dining table, i am reflecting God's creative spirit. i pray that my small efforts would glorify God.

.

everyday gift: my desire to create affirmed in scripture

happy birthday, abe!

we turned the page on january and talked about our school plans for february when B noticed that the calendar failed to note Abraham Lincoln's birthday! she quickly corrected the omission!

we started the month with a Five in a Row unit study of the book Who Owns the Sun? what a great book. i can hardly read it without choking up. in the story a young boy asks his father a series of questions. he explains to his son how the sun and stars, wind and rain are too great and can not be owned by any man, but shine and blow and fall on all the earth. but he can not explain how a man can be owned. "Mr. Finley may own my body, but I have a heart and I have a mind, and he can never own these. Inside of me, I'm too powerful to be owned by anyone. Inside, I am like the sun." this is such a powerful story and was, remarkably, written by a 14 year old girl. it was a beautiful introduction to our study of abraham lincoln and the civil war.

we choose mississippi as our location for the story and learned about cotton and the cotton gin. we are doing experiments with simple machines and also reading the biography of sojourner truth. have i mentioned how much i love using Five in a Row as our curriculum? i can think of no better way to explore such a variety of topics using the very best children's books and connecting them in such a meaningful way. i am very grateful to the author, jane lambert for sharing such incredible lessons in her books.




here are some of the books we have been reading this week: Abraham Lincoln by ingri and edgar parin d'aulaire, Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books by kay winters, True Stories About Abraham Lincoln by ruth belov gross, Lincoln: A Photobiography by russel freedman, The Gettysburg Address by abraham lincoln, illustrated by michael mccurdy, Lincoln's Own Yarns and Stories edited by col. a. mcclure (pictured), and Abraham Lincoln by james daugherty (pictured).

abe's stovepipe hat

ingredients for a log cabin: small empty milk carton, pretzels,

peanut butter, graham crackers, and rolos

B presents her log cabin

everyday gift: freedom!

a tale from milkweed meadow

when B disappears for awhile and all is quiet, you can be sure she is up to something...usually something good! yesterday afternoon B decided to write a story. maybe it was the new Five in a Row book we started this week that was written by a 14 year old girl that inspired her or maybe it was jo in Little Women who is always writing dramatic plays! whatever it was, her imagination was unleashed and when she was done she had printed her story and presented it to me tied with a ribbon. what a girl.



Once upon a time, there was three little mice called Squeaky, Scrabble, and Shim, and they lived in Milkweed Meadow in a small rose bush....

she ended the episode with a promise, "to be continued..." i can't wait to see what will happen next! and i don't just mean in the story...i mean in the life of my girl who wants to grow up and be an equestrian -veterinarian- artist- farmer-knitter- zoo keeper- weaver- baker- author. ;o)

.

everyday gift: a budding young author

exodus crackers

"Then Moses said to the people, "Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you,... You shall tell your son on that day, 'it is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'" Exodus 13:3, 7, 8

we are studying the veritas press Bible card #20: the exodus. so i decided that for the occasion, we should bake some unleavened bread. i did a quick search of my cook books and the best i could come up with was a cracker recipe from the king arthur flour baker's companion. no jewish matzo, but the crackers used no leavening. we used a combination of flours that we had on hand: all purpose, whole wheat, and corn flour and seasoned them with garlic powder, thyme, and salt (kosher, of course!).

i do love the old testament full of such incredible events which give deeper meaning and insight into the new testament. i love how history sheds such prophetic light on Jesus, like the passover. it is nothing short of miraculous to find all of history, prophecy, and the complete Word of God woven together in such a seamless perfect story. i love knowing that i will never find the end of learning in God's Word. and it is an incredible privilege to share the wonder of it all with my children.

everyday gift: remembering how God has led me out of slavery, too.

sharing read alouds

raspberry tea for two, fancy pirouette cookies, and few good books

currently we have 4 books going, a few more than usual: Tirzah, about a young jewish girl and the exodus from egypt; Marcella: A Raggedy Ann Story, a book from grammy; Little Women; and Black Beauty to go with our history of the horse unit study.

one of my favorite parts of being a mom and a home school teacher has been reading aloud to my kids. from the very beginning i read to them. yes, before C was even born, i read some sweet rhyming and rhythmic books aloud in the direction of my stomach. (well, studies show the babe in the womb can hear!) *smile* of course the ones that came after got plenty of reading time before birth as i was reading to their older brother daily.

i have such warm memories of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Good Night Moon. of course, we moved up in the literary world with Stellaluna and Miss Twiggly's Tree, and then graduated to chapter books. i can't tell you how many times i have read Charlotte's Web. for awhile i was on the look out for books of boy interest like The Mouse and Motorcycle, The Sign of the Beaver, and My Side of the Mountain (which i should mention, B also enjoyed heartily). now, with the boys at school and B my primary listener, i am all about girl books (and i should say, the boys sometimes listen in on those, too!). we have read The Princess and the Goblin, Little House in the the Big Woods, The Doll People, and Thimble Summer, just to name a few. i have shared favorites from my childhood, relishing the memories they brought. and i have met many new favorites that i missed as a child.

there is nothing quite like snuggling up on the couch with an exciting book and your kids scrambling for your lap or the best spot to see the illustrations. someday, i know, i will miss those voices begging for one more chapter...

everyday gift: sharing read alouds