Letter of the Week { Mm }

I must say, all these worksheets sure do take a while to put together, but I am managing to presently stay the course.

I can't tell you how many times I have started lengthy projects only never to finish them.

The main pack:

Part Two:

Part Three:

Yep, so that's it again for another week.

Keep smiling, even when you don't want to.  It's much easier than having to try and explain the hard stuff to people who don't really want to know.

Week 11 Catch Up

Week 11 is now done and dusted.  Yay!!

We've been super busy making more progress in the writing department.  We've done a lot of work on outlining and draft work in the form of notebooking, but now it was time to start working on those Final Drafts - hence a typed up essay.  It did take about 3 weeks { 3 sittings per week } to get this particular project completed from beginning to end, but hey, precept upon precept, line upon line.

Essentially, we're using an old 1923 History school text book - since it lends itself exceptionally well to the oultining process.  Each section is conveniently divided up into manageable topics with which to outline and write a couple of paragraphs.  Once the whole chapter has been notebooked, usually with hand drawn pictures as well, we then go back to typing up their writing, fixing their grammar and spelling as necessary.

Here is Hannah's { 7 } essay on Thomas Wolsey.

In other news Charlotte { 5 } has now finished Book 1 of Rod and Staff Math.

And I still throw activities in there like this one as well.

Just wanted to document the transition to the writing and Charlottes Math to date.

I hope you are having awesome educational success at your home too.

Thanks for visiting.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Today I am sharing my Slow Cooker Beef Stew recipe.

{ Slow Cooker Beef Stew }

Just serve with a fancy toast like Helgas Wholemeal and real butter.

Ingredients:

Beef { 500 grams }

1 litre of beef stock

4 medium potatoes

1 green capsicum

5 small carrots

4 small stalks of celery

some cilantro

some shallots

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon parsley

4 heaped tablespoons corn flour

Place on low heat on slow for 6 hours with occasional stirrings and sniffings of the divine smell that will melt your taste buds with desire.

Of course, feel free to substitute the flavors with your own favorite flavorings.

What it looks like when you have all the ingredients in your slow cooker at the beginning.

Happy stew cooking!

Letter of the Week { Dd }

This week we have the Letter { Dd } for download.

Just click on each picture to download each particular section.

It comes in 3 parts.

The main pack:

Part Two: 

Part Three:

Yep, so that's it for the Letter { Dd }.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Imagine having a Chicken Noodle Soup like this, accompanied with a home made artisan rustic and crusty bread.

You know you want some winter comfort food.  We all do, so you are in excellent company!

So delicious.

So nutritious.

Simply divine.

Let your mouth start salivating while I tell you how EASY this was to put together.

To make the Chicken Noodle Soup you will need a Slow Cooker - cook on high for 4 hours - and:

{ Ingredients }

3 Chicken breasts
1 litre chicken stock
1 cup corn
1 cup peas
1 green capsicum
4 stalks celery
4 carrots
1 head of broccoliWhen the meat is cooked - about 3 hours in - pull it out and shred it, and put it back in.

Add 250 grams of short angel hair

to be added half an hour before the very end with 2 cups of water.

And that is it my friends.  Just do the occasional stir and you will be all set to go.

It will feed about 8 people.

Now........ we are going to NEED some good old artisan rustic home made bread to go with it too.

This one is pretty easy as well.  A little time consuming overall - you know, with the wait times in between while the bread does all its rising, but it is worth the wait.

To make the bread you will need:

{ Ingredients }

3 cups of bread flour

1 cup of plain flour

1 tablespoon of yeast

1 tablespoon of sugar

410 mls of warm water

Use a plastic bowl.  For some reason it will rise better than if it was in a glass bowl - that has been my experience.

Mix by hand or spatula, cover with plastic wrap.

After one hour come and give it a gentle tap down, pick it up and roll into a ball again and cover again.  Use water, not extra flour on your hands. Don't over handle it.  Just a 10 second handle will be enough.

After the second hour repeat.

After the third hour repeat.

Pre-heat your oven at 200 Celsius about 20 mins before this last stage.

At the 4th hour you are going to prep your baking tray.  Try and aim for a flat pan - there's something about the thermal physics with that one.  I lined mine with olive oil and put on some wholemeal flour.  Just something to make it not stick there.

Now prep your dough.  Very carefully tip her out onto the tray.  You don't really want to bump or touch her much.  Put some sesame seeds on the top, then sprinkle some wholemeal flour { others usually use more finer flours } over the remaining exposed dough.  When it cooks it will give it that flour feel at the end.  Use a sharp knife to criss-cross across the top.

Pop her into the over and wait at least 40 mins.  Add some water underneath in a tin - that will give you a good crust.  Just have a look every now and then.  You can always check to see if she is cooked by sticking a kebab stick in the middle - and if it comes out clean - she's done.  I usually wait till she is nicely golden brown before I check.

{ Serving the children }

Generous servings of bread and butter { real butter }.   Everyone is forbidden to use anything less.  Butter is divine, nutritious, and the most amazing fat that can be paired with a decent bread.

With compliments like, 'My mum is a master chef' and about the bread, 'This is divine.'  You can't go wrong, I'm telling you.

Yeah, so there you have it.

I imagine winter will bring this dish around many times.

Thanks so much for visiting.

Letter of the Week { Hh }

This week we have the letter { Hh } for download.

Just click on each picture to download that particular section.

It comes in 3 parts.

The main pack:

Part Two:

Part Three:

I hope these are helpful.

Thanks so much for visiting.

Working on Writing

This week we traveled out to pick up some writing workbooks to add in to the mix.  At this point I am going to toggle them in on alternate weeks with the Greek/Latin Root Words that we are already using.

First up, I got this particular book for Chloe.  I aimed it at a lower level to make it easier.  I didn't want anything that would make it difficult.  I want to look to getting her more skill sets with confidence minus any tears.

Inside the 10 units they cover:

Recounts

Descriptions

Narratives

Expositions

Reports

Procedures

Poetry

Discussions

Explanations

& Reviews

It was well priced at: $ 16.95

For Phebe and Hannah I got them a copy each of the following book.  Once again I also dropped the age limit and went for a lower grade level to ensure an easy route.  I want the skill sets without any struggles.

Inside it covers 8 units:

Recount

Description

Poetry

Exposition

Report

Procedure

Narrative

& Discussion

Like the previous book, these were also $16.95 each as well.

Yes, so if you are looking for any Australian writing curriculum, these might be something that you'd also be interested in.

Thanks so much for visiting.

Suggestions on Primary History

Suggestions on Primary History.

1. Have the purpose and outline of the story well in hand before presenting it, and let your presentation be independent of the book. The outline of your story should be very carefully prepared.

2. Avoid complex details. Tell story vividly. “The educational value of these stories does not depend upon literal accuracy.”

3. The sequence of events and their relations are more important than dates. “A long time ago” means more to a child than 1492.

4. Lay special stress on ethical teaching; cut down wars and military campaigns as much as possible.

5. Go slowly. Haste is a poor policy. A teacher may sometimes devote weeks to a single character to advantage. Do not cram facts indiscriminately into children’s minds.

6. Do not repeat stories to the same children from year to year.

Letter of the Week { Gg }

This week we have the Letter { Gg }.

Just click on each graphic to download that particular section.

The main pack:

Part Two:

 Part Three:

I hope these are helpful.

Thanks so much for visiting.