The Westward HO! Scrapbook

This is a video tour of the scrapbook we made for our Westward HO! unit study. Be sure to pause the playlist before starting the video.



Video created by Rachel and Anna

The Music:

Oh Susanna!
traditional
fiddle: Rachel
guitar: Emily
mandolin: Anna

Buffalo Gals
traditional
fiddle: Anna
guitar: Emily

Stopping By Woods, Day 3

This morning we looked at our snowflake project and found a glorious sight! We hung them in a sunny window and have enjoyed them all day. They sparkle beautifully!

We also made snowman bagels: take half a bagel (found some on sale yesterday!) and toast it. Smear with cream cheese. Insert a baby carrot into the hole for a nose. Use raisins (or if you're a REALLY fun mommy, chocolate chips!) for eyes and mouth.

We read Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats. No, it doesn't have a thing to do with snow, but we read The Snowy Day by him yesterday and I own two more of his books. And we read Footprints in the Snow by Cynthia Benjamin, which is a Scholastic reader. Normally I don't enjoy reading readers aloud, but this one is nice because it's all about home. I have a board book called The Four Seasons, so we read that one and discussed the seasons. Actually, Ab read some lines - her reading is moving right along! And today we talked about the art in Stopping by Woods.

It's been a busy day for me - cleaned house this morning, threw in some schoolwork mid-morning, cooked lunch, went to clean a house with Emily, went to walk, came back and finished up school with Ab. Our family is playing a couple of places this weekend, so they still have some more practicing to do tonight and it's Family Fun Night at church. Think I'll go lie down now......

Shakespeare and Snow....

have nothing to do with each other! But that's what we're learning about in school this week!

We started our Shakespeare reading yesterday with The Taming of the Shrew. I decided that I would read a paragraph or two or three at a time and Abby would narrate it back to me while I wrote it down. Carrie typed it all out and I checked her spelling and punctuation. She printed out a copy and Thomas illustrated that page. It will probably take a us a couple of more days to finish this story. I'll comb-bind the stories when we're finished.

Yesterday we started rowing Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. We read The Snowy Day and a few A.A. Milne poems to go with our story. It's fun to read these poems to Thomas and Abby because they laugh so much while I'm reading. Today we read a few more poems and a great go-along, Tracks in the Snow by Wong Herbert Yee. It's a poem, too, about a little girl walking in the snow in her yard. We are in the process of making borax snowflakes (I'll post a pic if they turn out). I have a few more books and projects to enjoy this week as go-alongs with this book, which is one of my favorites.

I picked up my photos at Wally-world today and now I'm off to finish putting together our Westward Ho! scrapbook. I'll post some pictures of it later.....

Jalapeno Chicken Casserole

My family is not a huge fan of casseroles, but they really like this one.

Jalapeno Chicken Casserole

1 (10 ounce) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained well
2 Tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 green onions, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped (I use pickled ones and they work fine)
1 (10 ounce) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (12 ounce) pkg. nacho cheese tortilla chips, crushed
6 cups cooked, chopped chicken
1 cup shredded cheese

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion, green onion, and jalapeno; saute until tender. Remove skillet from heat; stir in spinach, soup, sour cream, and ground cumin. Layer half each of tortilla chips, chicken, spinach mixture, and 1/3 of the cheese in a lightly greased 13x9 baking dish. Repeat layers, ending with spinach mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes; sprinkle evenly with remaining cheese and bake 10 minutes more or until cheese is melted.

For Today (February 16, 2009)

Outside my window....

The sun is shining! It promises to be a nice day!

I am thinking...

about how God always provides for us, even though we don't deserve it.

I am thankful for...

the opportunities God gives to our family, to serve other people and to learn new things, to have new experiences, and to enjoy the things He provides.

From the learning rooms....

We've finished Westward Ho! except for making the scrapbook, which I'm planning to do today. We're going back to our regular school work this week. I'm reading A Child's History of the World to Thomas and Carrie and reading/drawing one animal per week from one of Bill Gothard's Character Sketch books, and reading The Way Things Work for science while the weather is so cold. I'm planning to start reading Lambs' Tales from Shakespeare and Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare to Abby (6), Thomas (9), and Carrie (12) this week. Since Abby enjoys narration and Thomas enjoys drawing, I thought it might be fun to make Shakespeare story books. I might look in The Ultimate Lap Book Handbook and find a cool book to make.
Abby is going to be rowing Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening and Katy and the Big Snow for the next few weeks and I have a basket of interesting books to read to her and some fun projects. I haven't mentioned Emily (16) and Anna (14) - they are plugging away at biology, chemistry, algebra I and II and American history. And really enjoying their Institute for Excellence in Writing course - right now they are writing from pictures, which is fun for them.

From the kitchen...

This week we're making egg rolls one day using a "recipe" (really just a list of ingredients) from an Asian friend. Yesterday we had Jalapeno Chicken Casserole, which is everyone's favorite - I'll post the recipe later. And one day I'm planning to make Chicken Minestrone.

I am creating...

still working on my cross stitch for the front of an apron.

I am hoping....

for a quiet, uneventful week at HOME.

I am hearing....

My husband making coffee and talking to Emily, who is also reading. Anna next to me on the laptop because we have a glitch with the family computer and it won't pick up the email. Carrie, working on a scrapbook. Abby and Thomas in the back of the house playing something quietly.

Around the house...

I'm planning to straighten closets and drawers over the course of the week.

One of my favorite things...

Coffee on Monday morning.

A few plans for the rest of the week...

Not too much happening this week. (Don't fall off your chair in shock!lol)

Here is a picture thought from Valentine's Day I'm sharing....

Brownie Soddy

Today we made a brownie soddy. First, we mixed up two envelopes of brownie mix. We added nuts (rocks) and coconut (grass) and baked them. After they cooled, I cut them into rectangles. Then the kids stacked them to resemble a soddy using some homemade icing for glue. We smeared icing on a piece of cardstock for the roof. Cute, huh?

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I got flowers from my hubby AND a beautiful Amish-made rocker from my family for Valentines! It's so pretty, I couldn't help showing it off!