Kai On Pai ~ thecatinthetree

My New Health Blog

2012-08-27T06:52:00.001-04:00

This is just a quick update to say that I've started a new health, nutrition and fitness blog, which you can find HERE.

Hope to see you there!

Gearing up for Back-to-School, MFWK update

2012-08-20T17:30:00.000-04:00

Since my last post, we let My Father's World K fall to the wayside. We really struggled with getting back into the rhythm and groove of things after our overseas move, which, among other distractions, included leaving our special homeschooling space. Once we were down to doing school maybe once a week, I decided that we weren't getting as much out of it as we could, and that there was no point in forcing it. I realized that there will be plenty of time in the future when we will have to do school, and that at this point we're still ahead of the game. My advice to anyone contemplating doing MFWK with a 4 year old (or even a 5 year old!) would be to wait. Even if you think your child is ready. Even if you're excited about the curriculum.When we first started, Miss K knew her alphabet, the letter sounds, and could sound out 3-4 letter words. I had fallen in love with the MFWK curriculum, and I thought that in another year the material would be too easy for her. I definitely don't regret starting with her before she turned 5. If you've seen my MFW posts, you know that we've had a really great time with it! However, we've also had a great time unschooling over the past six months. We've focused more on simply having fun rather than on a structured learning time, and that obviously isn't to say that we haven't been learning anything. The girls have been studying nature and architecture (well, okay, they called it "building snail playgrounds"). Miss K has been studying math on her own volition, as well as creating her own copywork. We've been learning Spanish. We even took a 5km trip to outer space a few weeks ago. (Now that would have gone well with our Moon unit!) Through play, I've discovered that unit studies will probably be a good match for us in the future. I can also say with confidence that the material in MFWK will not be too easy for Miss K once we get back to it later this fall, and I may even push it back another full year since we have a lot of other stuff going on.
For instance...
I'm also going back to school! But more on that later. Yes, I'm going to leave you hanging. I have to get to bed. For now, I'll just leave you with a picture of the snail playground...

...and a map of our solar system

You are here!

O-o-octopus!

2012-01-18T10:13:00.001-05:00

We started O-o-octopus before we left, and finished it in Estonia about a month later. We had much more fun with this one, though it was still a bit hectic with the trip and holidays (and slightly disorganized with our supplies and so on). After the long break, it was a little tough getting back into the swing of things, but we're getting there.
The highlight of the octopus unit was definitely discovering the Indonesian Mimic Octopus! Wow!! I never learned about anything like this in school! Stumbling on amazing things like this and learning new things is such a huge part of why I love homeschooling!

We made our own underwater scenes with "finger octopi":

Miss K's masterpiece

...and Miss H's...

Ze artists at work!

Singing the "Short Vowel Song"

When I told Miss K that we are moving on to our next letter and unit today, she exclaimed, "What!? But we just started o-o-octopus! Why was it so short?!" I was able to console her by explaining that the next unit is W-w-water, so technically, we could keep exploring octopuses. We're looking forward to water, though, especially with all this snow on the ground! We even started our new week with a physics lesson, otherwise known as... sledding! :)

D-d-dinosaur

2012-01-18T09:31:00.000-05:00

We finished the D-d-dinosaur unit in November, and then got a little off track in December with preparations for our trip to Estonia. All in all, we weren't too inspired by the dinosaur unit, but Miss K did manage one nice stegosaurus drawing.

Wordless Wednesday: Fall Pleasures

2011-11-16T09:33:00.000-05:00

Wordless Wednesday: Guess Which One is Organic

2011-11-09T07:54:00.000-05:00

Raw-velation

2011-11-07T20:31:00.000-05:00

I jumped back on the 28 Day Transition to Raw program this Halloween. I haven't been following the program exactly this time around, which, as a lifetime member of the community (love that!), I do not think is necessary. I have a good idea of the recipes that I like and that work for me, and I can pick and choose what to make depending on what is in my fridge or what's fresh at the store. I am excited to see the extras we will get this time around with Thanksgiving falling into the mix. It's so nice having the forums and ongoing support of the friends I have made there.

Last night I made a modified Raw Zucchinigetti, to which I added some raw olives. I think I need to start making larger portions... I love that Miss H gobbles up a lot of the raw dishes I make and often turns her nose up at cooked vegetables. When we had lunch at the co-op the other day, Miss K scarfed up a veggie pad thai (and picked out the veggies) while Miss H was happy as a clam with the raw cole slaw and "potato" salad that she picked out from Blossom Raw Food Cuisine.

Raw Zucchinigetti with olives

Today I started out with a large glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and a maté latte (okay, not completely raw with the addition of some hazelnut mylk). For lunch I ate half a watermelon. It's definitely the end of the season for melons, but there might still be a few pretty good ones at our Kroger. I'm going to miss these melon mono meals in the winter!

I'm going to miss this lunch in the winter

On another note, it's been really interesting to see the drama and controversy happening in the raw food world. I stumbled on some videos about other raw food 'programs' on YouTube a few days ago, and I've been watching a lot about 80-10-10 (80% carb, 10% protein, 10% fat), essentially a high carb, low fat raw vegan diet that involves eating a LOT of fruit and apparently little else. At first I thought it sounded pretty crazy to eat 30 bananas a day, but the more I listen, the more I start to see a lot of validity to getting most of one's calories from pure, fresh fruit. At this point, however, I am not yet inclined to make a smoothie out of a kilogram (2.2lbs) of dates and water.
Of course, I am just scratching the surface and so I might be missing something, but as with most things, I think there needs to be a balance. From my own experience, eating fresh, raw, whole foods is a lot better (and easier) than relying on dense "gourmet" raw meals that consist primarily of nuts and seeds. Well, I'm not finished with this topic yet, but I suppose I have rambled on enough for one day... :)

I'll just leave you with a photo of tonight's dinner.

Raw "stir fry"

Go Raw Cookie & Chip Review

2011-11-07T13:21:00.000-05:00

I'm back on the Garden Diet this month, and I finally made it into Roanoke to pick up some groceries and supplies from our Natural Foods Co-op. I knew they had been doing some remodeling and rearranging (looking good, guys!), but it looks like they have also expanded their raw food selection. I noticed these organic raw cookies and crisps from Go Raw that I had not seen before, and had to try them. I've learned that, when it comes to eating raw foods, my weakest point is when I am hungry and don't feel like doing a lot of food prep; that's when I'm most likely to grab a piece of bread or some cookies or whatever prepared snack item I find in the pantry. These seemed like such a great healthy snack-y item to have on hand for those "emergencies". I was tempted by the Ginger Snaps and Carrot Cake flavors, but finally settled on the Lemon Super Cookies and the Spirulina Super Chips.

Oh. My. Goodness. These crunchy tidbits are so simple, yet so tasty. Perfectly sweet. At a generous average of 20 pieces per serving (160 calories for those of you who care about that sort of thing), they are very satisfying! There are 3 servings in each 3 oz. bag. The online price is $5.49/bag (or 12 bags for $51.49), and I got them for $4.79 at our co-op. I cannot wait to try the other flavors! Masala Chai, anyone?

This picture does not do these cookies justice ...

The main ingredients of the cookies include organic coconut, sesame seeds, and dates. All seeds are sprouted prior to being dehydrated to maximize nutrition and digestibility. Go Raw products are all organic, vegan, certified gluten free, nut free and kosher. They are low in sodium and rich in potassium, omega-3 and -6.

Freeland Foods is a family owned company based in California. The Go Raw line includes the Super Chips/ Super Cookies, granola bars, flax crackers, sprouted seeds, granola, and even chocolate bars. (I will note here that a few of their products do contain raw agave nectar and cacao, for those of you avoiding those ingredients.)

Watch this video to learn more about Freeland Foods and how they make their raw food products:

Shop online at www.GoRaw.com
and check them out on Facebook!

This review was not endorsed in any way by Freeland Foods; I purchased the product with my own money and did not receive any compensation for my review. I wrote this review simply because I think the company and their products rock!

T-t-turtle

2011-11-07T10:14:00.000-05:00

I can't believe how quickly we are going through the units! We already into week 7. Miss K is excited to get another vowel as we start "Us (senses)" today!

Our words to remember for the T-t-turtle unit were: "I don't quit; I persevere". We got to talk about this a lot when we were cleaning up the living room one day and it seemed to take forever. Afterward, we discussed Galatians 6:9 and how, because we persevered, we go to reap the harvest of enjoying a nice clean room. Someone on the My Father's World discussion group shared this Kids of Integrity website, which has character-building lessons for kids that feature Bible-based discussions plus crafts, games, and object lessons from science, nature. I pulled several stories from there to add to our discussion as well and will definitely be pulling more helps from there in the future! I love how much I am learning through all this, too!

Miss K working on her picture cards

Sea turtle craft

The finished turtles (before the dog ate them)

It seemed like we were running around a lot this past week! I had to take the car into town for some maintenance on Thursday, so we brought school with us to keep us busy while we waited. One of the guys working there asked us, "Are you sure you don't want a ride to the mall or something?" I guess they offer a shuttle service for their clients...

Does it look like we need the mall for entertainment? :)

(Some of) the books we used this week:

Turtles & Snails by Jeunesse Gallimard

Where the Big Fish Are by Jonathan London (perseverance)

Box Turtle at Silver Pond Lane by Susan Korman

One Tiny Turtle by Nicola Davies

Disney Animation Collection 4: Tortoise & The Hare (video)

N-n-nest

2011-11-05T15:23:00.000-04:00

I've gotten a little behind in blogging about school. I've again been feeling a little overwhelmed with everything (even after dropping one of my own classes!) and could use a break from everything but My Father's World. The weeks pass so quickly and I have been a little unprepared in the way of library trips and getting the books for our book basket. When I do get the books ahead of time, Miss K begs me to read them even though we're not ready to start the next unit :) As usual, here are some photos of what we were up to

Animal homes chart

Tactile letter activity (Miss K pretended she was building a nest)

My mom found this nest when she was visiting this spring.

A color, cut & paste page we found online

I'm not sure what site that printable was on, but I discovered some great customizable worksheets like this one at Twisty Noodle:

While not entirely related to nests, we had a nice surprise in the beginning of our N-n-nest week when this pretty little Vireo flew into the house! I think it may have sensed that I wasn't going to eat it, and it was quite content to sit on my finger (although it did not like the flash from the camera).

Books we used:

Our Nest by Reeve Lindbergh

Flap Your Wings by P.D. Eastman

My 'n' Book by Jane Belk Moncure

The Magic School Bus Flies from the Nest byJoanna Cole

Home for a Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown

Bird Nests by Helen Frost

Burrows, Nests & Lairs: Animal Architects by Ada Spada

Kashi TLC Peanutty Dark Chocolate Layered Granola Bars Review

2011-11-04T10:02:00.000-04:00

I grew up eating Kashi products, and have enjoyed watching the company evolve over the years; they've come a long way from the Breakfast Pilaf they were making 25 years ago! As a Moms Meet blogger, I was recently selected to sample Kashi TLC Peanutty Dark Chocolate Layered Granola Bars with my mom's group.

In all honesty, I found the chocolate layer a little... gummy. I'd prefer it darker and fudgier. They were a big hit with the kids, though, especially in the beginning! Each Kashi ®TLC ® Peanutty Dark Chocolate Layered Granola Bar has 7 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein, so they're great for stashing in the glove compartment for when the kids start getting cranky during car rides. My mom's group loved them, too, and they gave them high marks all around. These bars are not vegan, so I personally will not be purchasing them in the future.

I also received a box of Ripe Strawberry Cereal Bars, which contain 3 grams of fiber and 11g of whole grains in each serving. The kids and I were not as fond of these... I think the Kashi bars are all okay, but I really prefer their cereals.

In addition to the granola bars, I also received a box of Kashi ® Cinnamon Harvest ® Cereal. bite-sized organic whole-wheat biscuits (think Shredded Wheat), lightly sweetened and baked with real organic cinnamon.

Each serving supplies over 20 percent of your daily fiber requirements and over 2/3 of your daily recommended whole grain intake. This cereal is so good!! I was pleasantly surprised to read the ingredient list, too. I knew that Kashi’s products are natural, minimally processed, and free of highly refined sugars, artificial additives, and unnatural preservatives, so of course, I didn't expect to find anything awful in there, but I also wasn't expecting a total of FOUR ingredients! Awesome! I can't wait to try the other flavors!

Kashi ® TLC ® Peanutty Dark Chocolate Layered Granola Bars retail for $3.89. Find them at most major grocery stores nationwide.

Find Kashi online at Kashi.com and on their Facebook page. By the way, Kashi has a really great interactive website with tons of information about their products and ways to connect!

Disclaimer: I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms MeetSM program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms MeetSM blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.

Wordless Wednesday: Another Moon

2011-11-02T16:37:00.000-04:00

A-a-apple!

2011-10-17T13:34:00.003-04:00

Apple picking!

Taste test

We went to pick apples at a local orchard a couple of times. The first time was actually before the a-a-apple unit (and my camera died after snapping these two pictures). We went through those apples pretty quickly, and decided to go a second time a couple of days ago since we happened to be in the area again. The girls were not fond of all the fruit flies and the vinegary smell from decomposing apples, but they did enjoy sampling the apples from different trees. We made some apple fruit leather, but mostly have just snacked on them as is. Miss K is very interested in making baked apples, but that is still on our to-do list.

Apple prints!

We pulled out the Funny Brushes for this one.

Fruits of the Spirit

Another apple tree craft

More Cuisenaire rod fun...

I didn't get many action shots this week since, as mentioned, I kept picking up my camera only to find that the batteries were dead. Not pictured: learning about fractions (cutting apples in halves & quarters), physics (do apples float? & bobbing for apples). It's interesting watching Miss K work with the Cuisenaire rods and see her make connections between the different sizes and colors.

Book list:

My Apple (First Step Science) Kay Davies

Ten Red Apples (Bartholomew & George) Virginia Miller

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World (Dragonfly Books) Marjorie Priceman

3 in 1: A Picture of God Joanne Marxhausen

Frame the Alphabet DEAL!

2011-10-12T08:19:00.004-04:00

I've had my eye on these beautiful alphabet frames for some time now. I'm excited to share this deal for a custom piece from Frame the Alphabet for 55% off (PLUS, you get a gift certificate for $75 off your next purchase)! At this rate, you can buy one as a Christmas gift, and then treat yourself to something pretty. You deserve it! :) HURRY, because the deal ends on Friday, October 14!!

Get up to an 11 letter framed art piece for only $60 (retails for $134.99)! PLUS, when you purchase this deal you will also receive an exclusive FREE $75 gift certificate for a future purchase at Frame the Alphabet. This deal is a major steal, so get it before it's gone!

Frame the Alphabet is a modern way to personalize a name or inspirational word using letters of the alphabet. Each letter is represented in a unique way from a different perspective. You will receive a gift certificate (emailed to you from Frame the Alphabet at the conclusion of the deal) that allows you to customize your own framed art by choosing from one-of-a-kind photographs of up to 11 letters taken all over the country in their natural surroundings. You will design your work of art by going to http://www.framethealphabet.com/ once you receive your coupon from the shop owner. Also, you will have various shipping options to choose from and must pay shipping rates directly on the Frame the Alphabet site. Upon delivery of your frame, you will also receive the FREE $75 gift certificate to use on your next purchase. Create a unique, personalized gift that is sure to be cherished for years to come.

~~Frame Dimensions: 39.5 inches in length x 15.5 inches in height x 1 inch in depth~~

~~Each shipped frame includes a $75 gift certificate for future purchase~~

~~Can upgrade at checkout on http://www.framethealphabet.com/ to a deluxe frame for an additional $20~~

*Deal ends on Friday, October 14th at 11:59pm MST
*Deal open to US & Canada orders only
*Expect to receive your gift certificate/code for this $60 deal via email approximately 48 hours from the conclusion of this deal

~~Click HERE to get the deal!!!~~

Wordless Wednesday: Dress Up

2011-10-12T01:59:00.000-04:00

L-l-leaf!

2011-10-05T14:26:00.001-04:00

Yes, we got a little messy with this one...

Wordless Wednesday: Autumn Sensory Box

2011-10-05T12:46:00.005-04:00

Going for "Ann Voskamp" here :)

M-m-moon!

2011-09-26T19:03:00.002-04:00

We finished our M-m-moon unit today. We had a lot of fun with this one! I did get one "Not ANOTHER moon book!?" from Miss K (and we didn't even get to read all the books in our book basket!). We got a little ahead of ourselves and went apple picking. Lots of pictures this week!

Playing Memory with the ABC Game Cards
(I really wish I had laminated these!)

Miss K working on the letter "M"
in the Cuisinaire Rods Alphabet Book

Exploring moon phases with Newman-O's
(They had to name the moon phase before eating it)

We decided to map out the distance between the Earth, moon and sun. Fortunately we got a long enough break from the rain to do this! We made a 4'4" sun out of construction paper, a 1/2" earth, and a 1/8" moon. We placed the earth and moon 14" apart and then took the project to the street. I think I may have gotten more out of this project than Miss K did; it was really interesting to contemplate the sizes and distances involved. We took our earth and moon up the road and measured out 461 feet. This was not really an exact science, but by the time we got to the sun's location, we had gotten pretty good at working together to measure out the 20 foot increments.

Our sun, earth and moon

Starting point!

...and 461 feet later...

The girls' favorite discovery was that the sun made a good kite....

"The earth and moon go around the sun, around the sun, around the sun!"

I later asked Miss K what she thought about the project and how it made her feel. She told me that when we are on the earth she feels big, but when we are in outer space, she feels very tiny.

We read a couple books about space travel (Floating in Space (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) and Man on the Moon). Miss K, of course, wanted to know when we could go to outer space. David made some "space suits" for the girls out of an extra sleeping pad. They had a great time playing "Outer Space Penguins to the Moon"...

We learned about the moons of the other planets in our solar system and put some glow-in-the-dark planets up on our bedroom wall:

Doing this reminded me of the hospital scene in Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium where the nurse asks Eric what he is doing standing on the chair, and Eric replies, "I am making sure he has enough space!" (Great movie, by the way, for anyone who hasn't seen it!)

For book day we read Happy Birthday, Moon and then painted a scene from the book. Here is Miss K working on hers:

Work in progress!

And her finished masterpiece! I really like how it turned out!

Miss K's finished painting

I couldn't resist.. I made one, too:

Mommy's masterpiece

And finally, we explored how the craters on the moon are formed:

It would have been nice to use plaster for this, but we just used flour.

M-m-moon reading list:

Floating in Space (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) by Franklyn M. Branley

Man on the Moon by Anastasio Suen

Happy Birthday, Moon by Frank Asch

Mooncake by Frank Asch

Why Does the Moon Change Shape? by Melissa Stewart

Sun, Moon, and Stars by Mary Hoffman & Jane Ray

I See Myself by Vicki Cobb (discussion about how light reflects & simple experiments)

Moons by Anne Weisbacher

and of course...

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

By the way, Goodnight Moon Story Adventures is a cute addition to this unit. I downloaded it from Currclick for $0.50. It includes study on the letter M and number 2 (and the concept of pairs), dictation, copywork, narration and nature study.

A-a-apple Song

2011-09-22T10:50:00.000-04:00

...my two year old doing Kindergarten. I should be doing my own schoolwork now, but I'm having much more fun with Kindergarten!

Rawr!

2011-09-16T23:14:00.001-04:00

Breakfast: Blended Cantaloupe Juice

After a few days of eating cooked foods (and feeling somewhat miserable for it), I've decided to continue with the raw foods. I'm having such a hard time getting back into it, though, for some reason after having a few cooked meals. I'm surprised how hard I've struggled with it for the past 4 days, but today I think I am getting back on track.

At this point I'm picking and choosing from my favorite recipes from the 21 day cleanse and just trying to stay as raw as I can. A couple of people have told me that I am crazy for doing this sort of thing (cleansing/fasting/eating raw food) and "denying myself all pleasures"to perhaps live a few extra months or years. Why do it if it is such a struggle?

The simple answer to that is: "Because it makes me feel good!" I definitely don't think that I am denying myself all pleasures. If anything, I am giving myself a gift! After eating raw foods for three weeks, I felt amazing- light, energized, happy.

Lunch: Raw Apple Pie

The hardest part of eating raw has been having to prepare two meals. The kids aren't quite as eager to eat many of the raw meals (yet, muahahaha). Miss H leans more towards the raw foods and does share my green smoothies and seems to enjoy crunching on raw veggies more than sandwiches, but Miss K wants cheese and bread (and could probably live off of Vegenaise on bread).

Today I started the day off with a blended cantaloupe juice, snacked on a salad in the early afternoon (and a few bites of the kids' fried potatoes). For lunch I had some raw apple pie. I sort of skipped dinner since I had to go do a magic show. I wasn't too hungry when I got home, but ended up having some leftover salad after all. My stomach is definitely feeling better than it has the past few days. I'm looking forward to watermelon juice in the morning!

S-s-sun!

2011-09-14T12:36:00.009-04:00

I really like how we are getting eased in to MFWK. This morning Miss K told me that the "A-a-apple" song is her favorite song, and she has been singing different versions of it all day. Halfway through the S-s-sun unit, we decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and make these sun prints:

We also made a sun dial this week (and discovered a couple days later that it does not work when the sky is overcast).

Our sun dial, made w/clay from the lake!

Checking the time..

We made some crafts...

Toilet paper tube suns

Miss K's sun painting

For book day, we read Moonbear's Shadow. We wanted to act out the story outside in the sun, but it was overcast and chilly, so we used a bear and a desk lamp and put on a puppet show instead. We then listed the ways Moonbear tried to get rid of his shadow, and Miss K drew out two of the ways.

Books we used for the Sun unit

How Moonbear tried to get rid of his shadow

Wordless Wednesday: More Butterflies!

2011-09-14T08:52:00.001-04:00

Day 21

2011-09-11T21:59:00.006-04:00

Raw Macadamia-Mango Ambrosia

I hope this post comes out at least somewhat coherently; I'm exhausted from this weekend, but wanted to get something posted, since today was the last day of the 21 Day Raw Food Cleanse! I'm a little sad and a little excited. I hate to admit that I fell off the wagon right at the end, but I did. I packed a bunch of raw foods for our camping trip this weekend (including this raw butternut squash salad that I haven't made in ages), but I still ended up snacking on the vegan quesadillas I had made for the kids. I had a bowl of oatmeal this morning after my fruit salad, and I also had a cup of coffee; there's nothing quite like a hot cup of coffee early in the morning after a slightly chilly night in a tent. I feel like I didn't get much "real" exercise in yesterday, either, although I did hike up and down a bunch of stairs at Natural Bridge (once lugging a sleeping Miss H). (Pictures of the trip are to follow.)

I wasn't very scientific about my progress during the past three weeks, so I'm not sure how much change there has actually been. I feel good, and I enjoyed the cleanse. I think I have lost about 3 pounds, but I'm not sure how much has been converted to muscle. I probably could have taken more advantage of the journaling and reading assignments, but I think it could have been stressful to 'force' myself to complete everything. Overall, I am satisfied with what I did do in and with the 21 day cleanse, and will probably do it again in the future. I am stoked to have the resources from the program and to be able to refer back to them when I want. I'd have to say that I would absolutely recommend this program to pretty much anyone interested in improving his or her health, or anyone wanting to explore a vegan/vegetarian/raw food diet.

So, here I am "before" (this was about 2 days into the cleanse):

And "after":

Not bad, eh? ;)

Raw Celery Soup #rawfood

2011-09-08T11:35:00.000-04:00

I just had a big bowlful of this raw celery-avocado soup for an early lunch. For some reason I don't gravitate towards celery that much (I buy it and it ends up sitting in the fridge and getting old), but I found this combination of celery, avocado, and lemon so fresh and tasty that I have to file this recipe under "keepers".

Only a few more days of the cleanse to go! I am still debating whether to continue with the 28 Day Raw Food program right after this. What do you think?

Wordless Wednesday: Raw Falafel Wrap #rawfood

2011-09-07T06:14:00.001-04:00