A Rhubarb-Apple-Blueberry Crisp for Dessert

Posted on May 17, 2012 by admin

Fresh Rhubarb, canned apples, and frozen blueberries

If the children are napping a bit longer than expected, I often have a few spare minutes to whip together a dessert. This particular type of dessert lends itself well to a child’s help, too.

What goes in the bottom?

  • chopped rhubarb (2-3 stalks)
  • sliced apples (from the jar)
  • 1/4-1/2 cup frozen blueberries

What goes on top?

  • approx. 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • dash of cinnamon
  • 1/2-1 stick of butter mixed into the above dry ingredients either by child’s fingers or mom’s pastry knife.

*Please remember that I do not measure anything, so these are estimates!

Posted in Recipes | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

When to harvest Horehound

Posted on May 15, 2012 by admin

We harvested Horehound today. It is recommended that Horehound be harvested while it is in bloom. This is contrary to when many other herbs are harvested, which is usually before flower shoots are sent up. Here you can see the small flowers of the Horehound plant. They remind me of Lemon Balm.

We harvested the top half of our plants, cutting the stem just above a joint with one leaf on each side (Think of basil here!).

Once the Horehound has dried out, we will make Horehound candy and cough drops!

Posted in The Rolling Acres Farm | Tagged , | Leave a comment

When to harvest Thyme and Lemon Balm

Posted on May 12, 2012 by admin

I do so love harvesting herbs! Today we harvested thyme and lemon balm, since I did not have a huge amount of either herb.

Lemon Balm:  Here, too, the time to harvest is when the plant is lush and before it flowers. You may remove up to half the plant. I like to cut the stem just above a joint with one leaf on each side. This seems to make it easier for a new batch of fresh foliage to emerge for a later harvest in the summer. 

Thyme: The time to harvest thyme is when the plant is lush and before it flowers. You remove the top third of the plant as shown below.

I like to cut the thyme just below the freshest growth.

 

#1 bunching lemon balm to hang-dry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lemon Balm: Hang-dry. Thyme: air dry.

Posted in The Rolling Acres Farm | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Primary and Intermediate Language Lessons

Posted on May 11, 2012 by admin

A wonderful discovery! A friend from my  homeschool co-op lent me these books to review, and I immediately fell in love with them!
Primary Language Lessons is a reprinted copy of the original 1911 edition and is recommended for children ages 7-9. The youngest students can begin with this series with Primary Language Lessons by using its picture studies to create oral compositions that can be recited aloud. The student’s own sentences can later be used for copy-work practice. In addition, the poems found in this book are treasure troves of rhyme. 

Intermediate Language Lessons is a reprinted copy of the original 1914 edition and is recommended for children ages 9-12. This book takes the same approach as the first, but it includes longer literary and poetic passages, introducing the student to even more elegant language.

Both books incorporate handwriting, copy-work, dictation, narration, composition, poetry, picture study, and grammar! Most exciting is that both books include elegant language, not simplifying sentences to the point that students of these ages are only exposed to very simple English words and sentences.

Posted in Homeschool Ideas | Leave a comment

Chocolate Chip Cookies are Easy!

Posted on May 9, 2012 by admin

What goes in?

  • 1 stick of melted butter
  • 1 cup of flour with 1/2 t. baking soda and 1/4 t. salt mixed in
  • 1 cup of brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup of chocolate chips
  • 1 splash of vanilla

That’s easy to remember, right?

How to mix?

  • While your butter is melting in a cast-iron skillet, mix your flour, salt, and baking soda. Set to the side.
  • In a bowl, add the sugar.
  • Pour melted butter over the sugar.
  • Stir until sugar is well-mixed.
  • Add 1/2 of the flour mixture. Stir well.
  • Add the egg and stir well.
  • Add the vanilla and the rest of the flour mixture, stirring well.
  • Stir in the chocolate chips.

I usually spoon the cookie dough onto cookie trays right away, but you can place your dough in the refrigerator for a while. This will allow you to make plumper and rounder cookies.

Posted in Recipes | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Harvesting Mint from the Garden means Mint Tea to Enjoy in the cool season

Posted on May 8, 2012 by admin

Today, we harvested Peppermint from the garden! The time to harvest mint in the spring is before it sends up shoots of blooms. This is very similar to harvesting basil if you are familiar with that herb. When the time is right, you simply cut the top half of the plant off just above a pair of leaves. This is the first harvest. You will be able to harvest the mint again during the summer before it blooms. Then, you should allow the plants the chance to bloom in the fall.

I will be hang-drying this bunch and the second bunch from today for teas later in the year. The next harvest will be used for candy along with the horehound.

Posted in The Rolling Acres Farm | Leave a comment

Transplanting Tomato Seedlings into Larger Pots

Posted on May 8, 2012 by admin

Today, we transplanted our 3-inch tall tomato seedlings into larger pots. It is only one more week until our last frost date, but we have found that tomatoes are tricky business up on the mountain. This means we take could care to ensure our tomato plants are hardy and large before they are planted in the garden. The nights are simply too cool to risk the big transplant too soon.

How did we do it?

We took the little seedlings out one at a time and placed each in a single pot with about 1/4 cup of compost at the bottom. We filled in around the seedling with dirt from the garden. This will hopefully supply the nutrients needed to caste the seedling into a quick growth spurt.

TIP: Don’t buy new trays and pots every year. Just save the ones you collect as you purchase plants from a local nursery or as you purchase trays for starting seeds. You can wash these trays and pots each year with vinegar and hot water. Let them dry in the sunshine on a warm day and voila! They are ready to use again, they are sanitized, and you did not need to spend more money.

Posted in The Rolling Acres Farm | Leave a comment

Finding a Chrysalis in your Garden: A Time for Scientific Inquiry

Posted on May 1, 2012 by admin

As we work in the garden, we are bound for great adventures and admirable discoveries! Today we found a chrysalis, most likely the pupa of some kind of moth. #1 was with me when we made the discovery, so we gathered it up and placed it in the insect collection box.  We are now watching and waiting with butterfly-moth identification guide at the ready! #1 keeps looking at her butterfly-moth guide to try and find the pupa we have!

So many scientific opportunities in the garden this time of year!

Posted in Homeschool Ideas | 2 Comments

Lettuce from the Garden, a special treat

Posted on April 29, 2012 by admin

It is certainly spring and summer vegetables are not too far away when we begin to harvest lettuce for our first salads of the season! You do not need much space to have enough lettuce for your salads for weeks! I have green leafy lettuce planted in a 1.5′ x 2′ rectangle and romaine lettuce planted in the same size of space. We use the cut and grow again method. What is this? Once the lettuce is 4″ tall, we cut down to 1″ just what we need for dinner. I work my way around the rectangle throughout the week. By the time I am at the end, there is usually more to cut in the oldest section. This can last for about 4-6 weeks.

To continue having lettuce throughout the summer, we plant little lettuce rectangles in succession and in different places around the garden. Usually every 3-4 weeks I throw out some more seed! This ensures fresh lettuce and money saved at the grocer!

Posted in The Rolling Acres Farm | Leave a comment

Homeschool Co-op Field Trip: Blandy Experimental Farm

Posted on April 24, 2012 by admin

For our last field trip this year, we all met at Blandy Experimental Farm. The younger students did the Mammals class, while the older students did the Snake Savvy Course. My children were all in the mammals class, and we enjoyed learning about the “evidence” left behind by mammals, so we know they are present. We listened to sounds of animals, we felt animal fur, we looked at animal tracks, and we talked about “scat”, the scientific name for excrement left by an animal. After learning a bit and painting the feet you see to the left, we went on a nature hike to find the evidence of mammals. This was an excellent way to finish off the year and to remind our students of the first six weeks of science on animal life.

For parents who would like to continue with science throughout the summer, Blandy offers some wonderful options, including 4-5 day summer camps for only $100. These camps are open to homeschoolers!

*The picture to the left is of my children’s footprint molds. Here you can see two coyote feet and a woodchuck foot. The children were not particular about colors as you can see, too.

Posted in Homeschool Ideas | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment