Whooo's A Little Scientist?!

This months' zoo school topic was owls. We learned lots of owl facts, got to look at an owl feather and had an owl visitor. And though we didn't get to pet an owl, we did get to do something very cool: disect an own pellet! An owl pellet is the undigestable hair & bones that an owl eats and then later spits up. (Yes, I know that it sounds gross, but most of life has a yuck factor to it and we try to focus on the wow! more than the yuck! whenever we can. And these owl pellets came from a company that sanitizes them so there aren't any germs or bugs or anything.) You can take an owl pellet apart to find out what the owl has eaten. Kyrie was excited for this science project, and I was excited for her to have this scientific opportunity! Not only did Kyrie learn a lot during zoo school, but she came home eager to share what she had learned with Darren.

Our owl visitor! Isn't he cute?!

Kyrie with her owl pellet.

Carefully, she pulled apart the pellet and seperated the fur & bone.

Her first big discovery was this rodent skull. It was fully intact. She would find two more skulls, as well as several ribs, leg bones and vertebrae. She identified the bones on a chart and used that chart to figure out what the owl had eaten.

Kyrie inspects a leg bone using the magnifying glass.

Photo Booth

Lingering after lunch one day this past week, the kids had a blast playing photo booth! I snapped picture after picture and viewing each one made them giggle more as they tried to make sillier & sillier faces! I love these photos!

Cherry Bread

I have always enjoyed cooking, though it has often been more of a job than a beloved pasttime. As we have gotten busier, I have found that I really find a lot of relaxation & comfort during the time I spend in the kitchen. My days were once filled with diapers and naptimes, neverending childcare and an endless rotation of chores, of which preparing dinner often bacame. Now, the kids are better able to amuse themselves and help out around the house. We are running around town much of the week going to & from activities. More than ever I appreciate the times when we are at home and lingering in the kitchen preparing the perfect dish has become more joy than chore. It is the little things! Cooking comes very naturally to me, and I find that preparing ingredients, measuring, mixing, seasoning and working in the kitchen is often right where I want to be. And lets, be honest... I like to eat, too. I keep seeing a quote on-line that says, "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." Every time I see that quote, I think, "Oh, you poor things! If you think that's true then you are just not eating right!"

A few weeks ago, I got into my head that I wanted to find a recipe for cherry bread. Bob Evans restaurants offer a cherry bread seasonally that is amazing! I love it, and wanted to see if I could replicate the recipe at home. I looked on-line and found a few recipes for cherry bread and picked the one I wanted to try. I made a few additions to the original recipe, including adding a marachino-sugar glaze, and it turned out delicious! The flavor was spot-on! Howver, if you have had any of Bob Evans' bread you know that they are extremely moist and really more cake-like than bread-like. I was very careful not to overbake my loaf in hopes of getting that super-moist bread and it still didn't happen, which has me thinking that their bread recipe really is more of a cake recipe than a bread recipe. I may end up heading back to the kitchen to test this hypothesis if I can find a good cherry cake recipe.

I will go ahead and share the cherry bread recipe in case anyone would like to give it a try. If you are a fan of cherries and/or fruited breads then you will enjoy it.

1 c Sugar
1 c Milk
4 t Baking Powder
2 Eggs, beaten
1 t salt
2 c + 1 c all-purpose flour
2 T butter, melted

1/2 t almond extract

1/2 t vanilla extract
1 16-oz jar Maraschino cherries, drained and chopped (if making sugar glaze, reserve liquid)

1/2 c almonds, finely chopped (optional)

Optional glaze:

1 c sugar

1/3 c maraschino cherry liquid

In a mixing bowl: Add the sugar to the eggs and beat well. Alternating, mix in the 2 cups of sifted flour and milk.

In small bowl: Combine the 1 cup sifted flour, baking powder, and salt; Stir into batter.

Add cherries, extracts, nuts and melted butter. Mix well. Pour into 2 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake in a 350 oven for approx. 1 hour or when tops are golden and firm.

Remove from pans to cool. If adding glaze: while bread is still warm, poke the top several times with toothpick or fork. Mix sugar & liquid for glaze and then pour over the top. (I do this using a wire rack placed over a baking sheet. I will let the glaze set and then add more from the drippings on the baking sheet.)



Girl Scout Cookie Time

Kyrie continues to have a lot of fun with Girl Scouts! Right before Christmas we went to an indoor water park where she participated in an activity to earn a Daisy patch for her vest. The activity focused on being brave and safe. All the girls had fun doing the lesson with the instructor and then practiced being brave & safe at the water park that afternoon. Kyrie is very proud of every patch we add to her vest and has spent considerable time discussing each one and what it means. We are happy to support her and her troop on their Girl Scout journey!

Kyrie now has 4 'fun' patches: toy drive, food drive, holiday & water park.

Our little cookie champ!

And, of course, what Girl Scout journey would be complete without Girl Scout Cookies! This month, Kyrie will participate in her first GS Cookie Sale! She is excited and a little nervous, too. She has talked and set goals with her troop and its leaders. At home we have set personal goals and made a plan on how we can reach her goal. She decided she wants to try to sell 252 boxes. That is a pretty big goal for such a little girl, especially for her first sale, but we are being supportive and hope that with a plan and the help of our family & friends she will be successful. Our sale is from 1/14 until 1/31, and if you are reading this and interested in helping support Kyrie and her troop then please let me know!

Cookie selling will be a family affair with Degen pitching in, too!

Party Time at Chuck E. Cheese

Happy Birthday, Luke!

This picture was too cute not to share! Here are the kids with some of our best, play group pals celebrating a holiday birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. We always have fun with our friends, especially when tokens, pizza, games and birthday cake are involved! We will be heading back to CEC in just a few weeks for Degen's birthday party! (It may not be the most original party plan, but it is easy and the kids always have a good time!)

Hanukkah 2011

 

Learning about Hanukkah is part of our Winter Celebrations unit. We put out menorahs and dreidels with our Christmas decorations, so the kids are always excited for the day we celebrate Hanukkah. Yes, I know that it is an 8 day celebration, but we just do the last night so that we can say the prayers, light the candles and have a nice dinner with hot latkes.

Both kids enjoyed hearing the Hanukkah story during our homeschool lessons, and that night in the glow of the menorah's candles Kyrie did a great job retelling the story for all of us. Afterward, we played with the dreidel. Again, Kyrie did a great job remembering what each symbol meant and how to play.... Candy winnings were a great motivator. Though we are not Jewish, I am glad for this special family time celebrating the miracle of the holy oil.

Pretzel Hugs

Wondering what to do with our excess of Christmas candy, I turned to my new mini-love Pinterest! For those of you who do not know Pinterest is an on-line community of "bulletin boards." Bulletin boards are filled with pins, which are photos (hyperlinks) about just about anything you can think of: photos, books, crafts, recipes, etcetera. If ever I find a few free moments in my day it is a nice place to browse for all sorts of ideas and distractions.

I found several variations of this snack on Pinterest and thought it would be a fun activity to do with the kids and use up some of our Christmas candy. We made these for New Year's Eve, and the kids took their tasks pretty seriously. Their main job was to unwrap, but not eat the candy. They also helped fill the trays with pretzels and placed one piece of candy on each pretzel. Then I popped the trays into a 300 degree oven for 2 minutes, let them sit for 1 minute and topped with another pretzel. After they cooled, we all ate a few too many of this yummy salty & sweet combo!