Growing Grass

Summer Wrap-Up

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Fri, 23 Aug 2013 13:00:00 +0000

We have had an incredibly busy end to our summer! Fair, camping, family visiting, visiting family, etc. It has been a lot of fun yet we are excited to see it coming to a close. Time to settle into new routines and school days soon.

Here is a quick look at many of our adventures.

Back to School Planning

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Tue, 20 Aug 2013 17:36:00 +0000

It is that time of year when many are either in the midst of planning or already beginning school for the fall. I love this time of year as I consider goals and ideas for myself and my children, spiritually, academically, and physically.

This year my mom blessed me with a day of planning alone at her new cabin. It was a welcome relief to plan and organize without constant interruption. I still have a ways to go before we will be completely ready for our upcoming year, but it is great getting headed in that direction.

Happy Father's Day!

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 11:00:00 +0000

More Life

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:27:00 +0000

Springtime is so full of all kinds of life! We have been excitedly adding animals to our humble farm and decided to add a few more. Goats and ducks have been added to the menagerie. Already we love having them here. What a joy seeing God's greatness in the design of each of these creatures!

Chicken Tractor

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Thu, 30 May 2013 14:50:00 +0000

When my husband first mentioned a chicken tractor, over 5 years ago, I laughed. It sounded so funny! After much research and discovery I have come to appreciate the idea of a mobile chicken coop that helps knock down weeds and bugs, fertilizes, protects the chickens and prevents any one area from being inundated with nitrogen.

I studied many designs and decided on one I wanted to build for my chickens. The picture above is my own chicken tractor in its Beta form. I hope to finish it by adding a gravity-fed waterer and I still need to finish out the nesting area.

So far the chickens love it!

Homesteading

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:20:00 +0000

A dream of ours is finally being realized! It's true. We have wanted to have a small acreage that we could work as a hobby farm since we were married (that will be 14 years this summer). Finally this desire is becoming a reality. Though the land is small it is just enough for us to start pursuing some of the crazy plans we have been dreaming of for so many years.

The beginnings...

Pigs for kids to show at fair through 4-H (as well as one for us to put in the freezer)

Chickens for farm fresh eggs

Geodesic dome greenhouse to set up an aquaponics veggie garden

More to come as we learn and grow in new ways. Praising God for this provision!

Kitchen Chores Chart

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 21:06:00 +0000

Life is settling down and routines have returned to expected norms, albeit with holiday interruptions. As the head chef in the kitchen most meals I have found myself becoming more and more disgruntled with the lack of assistance. Time to revisit our Kitchen Duties chart.

This simple chart was something I created a little over a year ago and used for a period of time. It is a huge help! My assistants, ages 4-9, know exactly what is expected of them and who is responsible for which assignment. In the past they actually looked forward to being assigned the different roles.

Each position is given a title and duties that would loosely be performed by those positions in any restaurant or dining venue. This is a quick rundown of the general descriptions of each. (You can view the specific tasks we perform in our home on the photo of my chores chart. We use clothespins with the kids' names to keep track of resposibilities.)

Sous Chef- The second in command. Sous is French for "under", and the sous chef works directly under the command of the head chef often directing a portion of the kitchen activity and food prep.

Host/Hostess- The personal representation of the overall hospitality of the staff of the restaurant. It is the job of the hostess to ensure that the dinner seating is prepared and guests are made comfortable.

Maitre D'- Also considered a host/hostess position. This term comes from the French maître d’hôtel which means "master of the hotel". This role is defined much like the host/hostess role above and serves in a similar capacity.

(Omni)bus Boy/Girl- Generally the clean-up crew. This originally came from the term Omnibus Boy meaning "providing many things at once" boy. It is expected for the Busboy/girl to be available to perform many needed tasks with their primary focus being clearing dishes and garbage.

In our home these tasks are performed during the evening meal and rotated daily. This allows my children to work each position and with each other in the various roles. There are two children in the kitchen with me at any given time - sous chef & host; maitre d' & busboy- based on the ways we have divided the various roles. While this still involves a certain amount of assistance from the head chef, the help is greatly appreciated and the skills learned will last a lifetime (I hope =).

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The Barber Who Wanted to Pray- By R. C. Sproul

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 23:50:00 +0000

This delightful children's book is a wonderful story of an important figure in church history, Martin Luther, and an interaction that is reported as having taken place between Luther and a local barber. The barber asks Luther to describe how to pray more effectually. In a letter back to the barber Luther outlines some simple ideas to pursue while considering prayer.

In this beautifully illustrated account, the author, R. C. Sproul, uses an engaging manner of addressing children in the matter of prayer. It is an excellent tool for any parent interested in encouraging their own child to pray and how to pray with meaning.

With young children myself (ages 4-9), the subject of prayer has been a recent interest in our own home. I am thankful to have on hand a resource that will challenge us in our understanding of prayer and some pointers of how to grow in these areas.

For more information regarding this book please visit Crossway Books or for others like it see http://www.crossway.org/blog.

{This book was received as part of the Crossway Book Review Program. All opinions are my own.}

School Interrupted-Life on the Move

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:34:00 +0000

Over the last 6 months, since I previously posted, a lot in life has changed. Our family moved again, twice, making that 3 moves in 18 months. A lot to say the least! We are finally settled, for a while anyway, and I felt it was time to start back to the regular routine.

During this time one of my biggest challenges has been school. My role as wife, mother, and primary educator became severely redirected when moving boxes invaded and nothing was at a status quo. Over these months I have struggled with feeling that life was running me instead of me directing life. But as I reflect on these past months, and all that was happening, I am so thankful for the Lord working in mighty ways. These are some of the rich blessings we have to celebrate as a family:

Health and Safety- Amidst packing, moving many miles to a new environment, and many new encounters the Lord has kept us healthy and safe.

House Provisions- We moved across the country to live in a temporary home that was gratefully provided for us. It allowed us the time needed to find another home, that while still temporary, is very comfortable and a great place for us to be currently.

Friends- It is never easy to leave behind friends, but again the Lord has given us so many new connections that we are thrilled to have a growing number of dear friends.

Proximity to Family- We are very thankful for a new closeness to family. Everyone lives 3 hours or more away, but we are able to see each other more frequently than before.

Church- Through much prayer the Lord directed us toward a Church family that we are excited to be a part of and look forward to getting to know more. Very thankful for Truth being taught.

Activity- While it may seem silly to have this as a praise when life can be so busy, we are thankful for the wealth of activities available to us all, both in homeschooling and the community. Being near the mountains again is a personal blessing to me =)

This is only the quick list of items as I sit here and think, but it is a good reminder that while I may feel I am running through my days the Lord is sustaining in mighty ways. I can surrender the little nagging feeling I have of school being delayed, or temporarily stalled, to a Great God and instead praise His name for the miracles He is working all around and in me during these times. The school bell we can hear ringing from our newest home is not intended for me. My children will learn where and when they need to through God's providence.

Picture Study- A Charlotte Mason Approach

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Fri, 13 May 2011 18:57:00 +0000

Winslow Homer - Waiting for Dad

While there are many things in our homeschool day that I orient around a classical education, I truly appreciate a large part of the Charlotte Mason (CM) philosophy and practices in home academics. Some time back I decided to purchase the Dover Publications Art Cards to put to use in a CM picture study manner. I have been meaning to post about these cards and how I prepared them for some time, and when I read the two most recent posts from Simply Charlotte Mason, I was encouraged to share. (If you are not familiar with picture study, please, please take the time to learn how simple and meaningful this is. Go here and here to start.)

When I ordered my art cards from Dover I loved the way they had information about each card in the books. I knew I wanted to make an "art library" using the cards, but I wasn't willing to give up the overviews of the artists while discarding the cover and leftovers of the book. So, I decided to cut out and save the parts that I could use.

My intentions were to create photo albums with the cards. I pasted the overview information to an insert for the back cover of my album and added specific information to the reverse side of the images. Then I combined all the cards and the information in 4X6" photo albums. Now I have an easy reference for finding images by artist or artistic style. While these small prints don't show the detail of a larger image, I am glad to have them available and for a reasonable price.

Now let's do some picture study!Frank Benson - Sunlight

Memory Building

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:51:00 +0000

Last fall I had the privilege of gaining and sharing a wealth of information with a group of homeschool moms led by a Master Homeschool Teacher. (I call her a "Master" teacher based on her years of experience schooling both her own children as well as others.) From this time I gleaned many useful ideas that I have enjoyed implementing in my own school. Here is one of them...

Mental Memory Building

My objective with this activity is to encourage memory skills, directional awareness, attentiveness and color recognition. Each is a basic skill that is used in all areas of life and especially academics. I use this with all my kids at different levels of difficulty.

For the materials, we use what we have on hand, LEGO DUPLO, stored in the cooler you see in the photos =). We play it as a game and the kids love to do it, but they also let me know when they are done. Mental activities can be taxing, so move along when they are ready.

To start I select a series of blocks, usually 3 blocks in 2 colors, and set them in a line.

I allow my child to look at the blocks for a period of 1 second per block before hiding them and asking them to recreate the series I had with the blocks placed in front of them. When they announce they are done, we compare their blocks to mine to see if they remembered correctly. We casually dismiss errors and praise both hard work and correct answers.

After the child has shown they can easily get 3 blocks I move to 4 blocks in 2 colors, 4 blocks in 3 colors and finally 4 blocks in 4 colors. We keep adding to this until they are worn out or the level of difficulty is too great.

For my older boys I have found that creating a line alone is too simple, so I add more blocks and start moving in different planes.
This challenge can continue to grow as much as desired by the parent and child. My kids have found it is fun to test their siblings.
The best part is when they get to challenge you!
A great tool even for adults to build basic mental memory skills.

For a system available for purchase that uses this type of training, Audiblox, is a brand I am aware of although I have not used it myself and cannot give an opinion regarding it. On their site you can find a number of videos clips that demonstrate these ideas, and their use for learning disabled students.

The Organized Home Schooler

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 23:06:00 +0000

Though there are days the above title can feel like an oxymoron, there is hope. In this inspiring book by Vicki Caruana help abounds. Each chapter is a mix of encouragement and checklists to order your life and school while building off the solid foundation of God’s Word. The author addresses all areas of concern from abstract issues such as heart matters and time management to the basic physical concerns of organizing paperwork, supplies and materials.

This book has been a welcome addition to my own library. It is an encouragement for me now and will remain on my shelf as a guide when reevaluating in years to come. I especially appreciate Mrs. Caruana’s reference to Scripture as our source for orderliness and work ethic reminding me that all that I do needs to be done to the glory of God. The checklists fit my personal style of completing tasks, though the book is written to be a source of reference for all types of personalities.

Mrs. Caruana’s insight comes from her own experiences as a former public school educator and a homeschooling mother of two. She frequently speaks at homeschool conventions and shares through workshops and her online blog, Apples & Chalkdust. For more information regarding this book or others like it please visit http://www.crossway.org/blog.

{This book was received as part of the Crossway Book Review Program. All opinions are my own.}

Christmas Wrap-Up

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 00:24:00 +0000

Now that the New Year is here, I decided I should take some time to wrap up our Christmas Around the World posts. While in America most of us have begun putting away our holiday regalia, in Siberia and elsewhere the holiday season has just begun. So here's the rest of what we learned this Christmas....We can still have a fruitful year even if our wheat didn't grow 6 to 8 inches. We were amazed how quickly it grew at all.My version of the Croatian Licitar Heart is neither dough nor edible, but it does have a "mirror" of aluminum foil to reflect the soul.Babuska may be a legend in parts of Russia (La Befana in Italy), but a good friend in Siberia has never heard stories of her. She does make a cute ornament, though.

And for the food...Bolivian Bunuelos- These are a more Puerto Rican style, but I look forward to trying authentic Bolivian Bunuelos someday.Puerto Rican Pasteles- Not sure the masa I made out of pumpkin, green bananas, plantains, potatoes and yucca was quite right, but the filling was delicious. Again, I'd love to try authentic pasteles in the future.Tanzanian Green Beans & Potatoes- A yummy version of potato salad that I will have to make again, though next time I may go for smaller veggies.
Philippino Pancit Bihon- An excellent recipe and a crowd pleaser. This may become a regular at our house.Croatian Braid Bread- So good! This tangy, sweet bread is a treat I hope to make more in the future. It is wonderful breakfast bread.
Russian Tea & Cakes- Excellent and a favorite even before this Christmas, albeit not Siberian necessarily. Alex sent us some favored Siberian salads that we will have to try soon.American Green Bean Casserole- It wouldn't be the holidays without it, right?

Hope all had (or are having) a wonderful holiday season. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000

While studying about Siberian Christmas we found this fun animation of the Christmas story.

We also learned that Christmas Eve dinner in Siberia is often a meal with 12 parts or dishes. These twelve items represent the 12 Apostles during the Holy Supper. Supper is served on Christmas Eve after the first star appears in the sky. I especially like finding that "After dinner, no dishes are washed and the Christmas presents are opened". I believe this is something we will have to do after our Christmas Around the World meal.

As a child myself I remember my mom sharing "Russian Tea" with us. I have found that indeed the instant tea, made with Tang, is based off a traditional tea made in Russia. Here is a yummy-looking recipe I hope to use with my family.

Russian Spice Tea - Christmas Holiday favorite
Ingredients:

3 lemons	2 quarts weak tea
3 oranges	2 tbsp. whole cloves
1 pt. pineapple juice	2 c. sugar

Preparation: Squeeze juice from the lemons and oranges. Pour some boiling water over the cloves and let stand for 10 minutes. Strain the juice and cloves. Add sugar and mix well. Add the tea and heat to boiling. Serve hot.

On this same site is a recipe for Russian Tea Cakes, very similar to Mexican Wedding Cookies. I think we will have to have some of these to go with our tea.

Oh my, our Christmas Around the World celebration is going to be quite festive and yummy. I hope I am able to pull it all together. Check back soon to see what all we put together. I hope to have a menu finalized in the coming days and will post it as soon as I do.

Links:
Russian American Christmas

Christmas in Siberia

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 17:21:00 +0000

As we move away from Croatia our schedule is getting busier with Christmas preparations of our own, but we wanted to take the time to look at a few more countries, so today we will focus on a region in Russia, Siberia. As most people imagine, this part of the world can get incredibly cold during this time of year, but I have enjoyed reading about the way they bundle up and face the cold as they go on with daily life.

Christmas occurs in Siberia on January 6th as the Russian Orthodox refused to follow the Gregorian calendar and instead use the Julian to determine the date of the holiday. Because of this Christmas comes after the celebration of the New Year which is often the bigger celebration of the two. Christmas was also outlawed during a time in Soviet reign and this has had an effect on the traditions that have lasted to today.

One story we enjoyed hearing from Siberia was the folktale of Babushka, grandmother, and the role she plays in the gift-giving. It is the story that the three wise men asked Babushka to join them on their way to Baby Jesus. She refused and regretted it later. So, today she offers gifts to all the good children in place of the gifts she missed giving to the Christ-child.

Also in Siberia we found the Santa Claus is represented instead by Dedushka Moroz, Grandfather Frost, and his grandaughter, Snegurochka. These two show up on New Year's Eve to offer gifts of candy to the children.

Links:
Russian Crafts
Russian Christmas

Praying for the work of Alex and Yulia in Siberia. Learn more from them at Transform Siberia.

Christmas in Croatia- Cont.

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Though I haven't had time yet to make and photograph the ornament for our Christmas Around the World Tree, I am planning to base it off this Croatian traditional ornament, the Licitar Heart. These hearts are given during many special celebrations in Croatia as a symbol of love. They are often edible, though I don't think mine will be.

For our meal I am hopeful our wheat that we planted on the 13th will have grown some, and we will place it in the middle of Bozic Pletenica, a braided bread wreath. A great-looking recipe can be found here.

I also hope to make Croatian Knedle (Potato Plum Dumplings) using the recipe found here. I may be a bit overambitious on all this food, but do hope to have as much of it done ahead of time as possible. We'll see.

Christmas in Croatia

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 19:00:00 +0000

Next we wanted to take a look at Christmas in Croatia. This country has many long-standing Christmas traditions that date back to the 9th Century when Christianity was first introduced here. As in most other countries, homes are decorated with all kinds of festive items including a nativity. A variety of greenery is used, holly, ivy, evergreen boughs, etc., and in more recent years Christmas trees have also become a part of the holiday home.

On December 13th, St. Lucy's Day, many homes place wheat seeds in a saucer of water to begin to germinate. The growth of the wheat is considered a measure of next year's fortune. A tall, stalk of green wheat by Christmas Eve suggests a fruitful year ahead. Straw is also placed around the home and under the tablecloth as a sign of fertility and Christ's birth in a manger.

We'll be continuing to learn more about Croatian Christmas and be back soon to share what we learn.

Links:
Christmas Around the World
Holiday Traditions
Christmas in Croatia
100 Years in America

Christmas in the Philippines- Cont.

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000

The kids and I had fun focusing on the Philippines and creating our own simple version of a parol. For these stars, we used colored vellum that allows light to shine through them. With them hanging in the window they make bright, cheery sun-catchers. I also made a miniature parol for hanging on our Christmas Around the World Tree.

Here is a recipe for Pancit Bihon shared by our friend, Naomi, in Mandaluyong City, Philippines. We look forward to making this for our Christmas Around the World Dinner planned for a couple weeks from now.

Pancit Bihon
1 8 oz. package pancit bihon noodles (or angel hair pasta)
1 cooked chicken breast, shredded (can also use pork)
1 pound shrimp (optional)
2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1/4 cabbage, sliced into strips
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, sliced into thin strips two inches long
3 stalks celery, sliced into thin strips two inches long
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Teaspoon oyster sauce (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
5 wedges of lemon
Soak the pancit bihon noodles in warm tap water to soften for 10 minutes.
Grease a large pan or wok with oil. Saute garlic and onions.
Add the chicken broth, the shredded chicken breast and all the vegetables until cooked.
Mix in the pancit bihon noodles and add the soy sauce, cook for about 5 minutes or until
the noodles are soft. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve hot with lemon wedges on the side.
Serves 6 as main dish.
Serves 10 as side dish.

Christmas in the Philippines

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Moving on from Africa we focused our studies on the chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean, the Philippines. Christmas is a big deal here! As we saw in South America a large percentage of this nation has Catholic influences. (They also have a Misa de Gallo, known as Simbag Gabi in Tagalog). Celebration of the holiday season begins back in September. Yes, in September, when people begin decorating and start a daily countdown from 100 days. This is even broadcast on the nightly news.

Many homes decorate on the inside as much as they can afford to with Christmas trees and a Nativity. The most important decoration in a Filipino Christmas is the parol. This star lantern can be hand-crafted by the family, but is also available commercially.

Gift-giving is an central part of Christmas in the Philippines with gifts often exchanged amongst family, friends, acquaintances, and co-workers. The biggest celebration takes place at midnight on December 24th. During this time, Buena Noche, gifts are shared and a large meal enjoyed.

Caroling takes place throughout the region by those seeking to gain money or food. Performances can also be planned as a way to raise support for charitable work. We enjoyed listening to this Christmas song done by a school in the Philippines.

We'll be back soon to share a little more of what we learned about this region of the world.

Links:
Christmas in the Philippines
Parols

Special thanks to Naomi for sharing all she is learning in the Philippines. Praying for you and your family.

Christmas in Tanzania- Cont.

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 21:36:00 +0000

Here are the results of our study of Tanzania. For our craft we focused on creating Cut Paper Collages of Christmas scenes. This is a few of the kids works, though they had so much fun with it, they have made many of them to decorate the house.

I also finished the ornament to represent Tanzania on the World Christmas tree- an African-style angel.

Christmas in Tanzania

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 15:09:00 +0000

Continuing with our studies of Christmas Around the World we zoom over to Tanzania today to look at an African country. This country has a population that is largely Muslim, so Christmas is not as prominent as it is in other parts of the world. On a whole the nation is poorer than most as well, so we learned children often receive a set of cloths as their main gift (possibly the only clothes they will receive all year). Knowing that Christmas is simpler here makes me look at our American Christmas through different eyes. What a wealth of things we have for ourselves even when we think the budget is a bit tight. It is good to be reminded of the need around the world for simple things that we take for granted.

Our craft for today is roughly based off the book The Night Before Christmas by Rachel Isadora. This book is a retelling of the well-known poem by Clement Moore with beautiful artwork depicting an African setting. It is done in a cut-paper collage format that we will be duplicating with our own Christmas images. This is a great way for us to incorporate our paper-fold-and-cut snowflakes for this holiday season. Be back tomorrow to share our results.

For links used in reference today go to:
Christmas in Africa
Christmas in Tanzania

Praying for Mavuno Village and their work in Tanzania.

Christmas in Puerto Rico

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 16:19:00 +0000

Now we travel to Puerto Rico in our Christmas Around the World studies. A Puerto Rican Christmas has similar traditions to Bolivia with many of the influences coming from Spanish descent and Catholic history.

Holiday celebrations begin after Thanksgiving and last until January 6, El Día de los Tres Reyes Magos (Three Kings Day). Most of the festivities center around music, such as parrandas (caroling), where groups of friends travel the neighborhoods waking up "unsuspecting" neighbors with singing. The group is welcomed with parties and further singing through the night. Here is a well-known song I thought fitting to share.

Many Puerto Ricans do their big feast on Christmas Eve and also attend La Misa de Gallo. After a week of celebrating and bringing in the new year, the children prepare for Three Kings Day by placing a box with grass under their beds for the kings' camels and in return receive gifts. For our Christmas Around the World tree we created a star (again from the ornament dough) to represent los Tres Reyes Magos who followed the star to Bethlehem in search of Christ.

Links I referenced:
A Puerto Rican Christmas
Welcome to Puerto Rico
Christmas Traditions of Puerto Rico

Christmas in Bolivia- Cont.

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 16:52:00 +0000

Here are the results of some of our Bolivian Christmas studies. The felt gallo is for adding to our Christmas Around the World tree.

The pesebre created with the ornament dough recipe from my previous post. (These were created by my children, ages 8 and under). The background is a woven cloth brought from Bolivia to me by my sister and brother-in-law.

For further study of Bolivia we will be endeavoring to make some treats that may be found in Bolivian homes around the holidays. Here are a couple links to recipes for special candies, Turrones, and puff pastry, Buñuelos.

Christmas in Bolivia

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 17:06:00 +0000

For our first country we focused on Bolivia as a representation of South American culture. We listened to a few villancicos de Navidad (Christmas carols) and found this one to share.

We read that many Bolivian homes have a pesebre (nativity) as their centerpiece. To make our own pesebre we are using the following recipe and molding the pieces:

Clay Christmas Ornaments
Mix together in a large bowl.
4 c flour
1 c salt
1 tsp alum
1 1/2 c water
If the dough is too dry, work in another Tablespoon of water. Roll dough to 1/8" and cut with cookie cutters, or mold dough into figures no more than 1/2" thick.
Bake ornaments at 250 degrees Fahrenheit on an ungreased cookie sheet for about 30 min. Turn over and bake another 1 1/2 hr until dry and hard. Remove and cool.
Sand with fine sandpaper and paint. Seal with clear acrylic or shellac.

We also found that many Bolivians attend La Misa Del Gallo (Mass of the Rooster). This name is based on the legend that the rooster may have been the first animal to announce the birth of Jesus. To remember all the countries we are studying this year we have started a felt tree. Each country will be represented by an ornament we place on the tree. For Bolivia we have chosen to make and add a rooster. For now I will share this wonderful rooster I found online. Soon I hope to have pictures of our own work to share.

For more links and sites I have referenced go to:
Bolivia Bella
Christmas Traditions in Spain and Latin America

The Ornament Recipe is loosely based on a recipe found in Feed Me I'm Yours by Vicki Lansky.

Christmas Around the World

noreply@blogger.com (KLow) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 16:36:00 +0000

Christmas is such a busy time in our home, that I decided to take a relaxed approach to our home school day. Our plan for the next month is to continue with math and reading, while for other subject areas, we will be completing a unit study on Christmas around the world. As there would be no way to cover the cultural traditions of most of the countries, we have chosen to focus our studies on countries that have a more personal meaning to our family. In the upcoming days I will be organizing my thoughts and ideas here, so feel free to glean any helpful ideas that would benefit your own home. (And if you have any ideas to share with us, please feel free to leave a comment. We love to learn.)