Make Your Own Oil Lamp

I could have used this olive oil lamp during our power outage. See here for a tutorial to make your own(image at left), or go to Lehman's for the parts. 

According to Lehman's, "Olive oil is 99 percent pure renewable fuel, so it produces NO smoke or odor and can't aggravate allergies. Safe since it can't catch on fire if tipped over. Use any green, renewable fuel like olive oil, vegetable oil, or liquid fat or grease. "

Ace hardware carries inexpensive oil lamps, wicks, and lamp oil. We have one of these, but all I had on hand during the storm last week was canola oil. It didn't take well. Perhaps I needed to soak the wick because it burned down very quickly, or maybe it only works with proper lamp oil. I found my oil lamp for .50 cents at a thrift store.

Bottle oil lamps are a great way to recycle. I found these bottle wicks online.  These go in the mouth of a bottle, and a wick is threaded through the top. If you can find a short fat bottle, this could make a stable oil lamp.

Tutorial here

"Then Yeshua again spoke to them, saying, I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life." John.8:12

Judean clay oil lamps $17.95(with shipping) from the Holy Land.

By Candle Light

Living by candle light tonight. The Nor'easter knocked out our electricity. 25,000 people in my area are without electricity. I think it will be a while before we get ours back.

I haven't played cards in years, and we took this opportunity to teach my son Gin Rummy, or at least a version of it. I used to play this card game for hours with my grandmother and her friends in Florida - great memories.

The wind and rain continues to hammer us. My tea cup candle came in handy for walking around...nice little handle.

Understanding Latin America/Zebu Cattle

 Rod & Staff student reference printables for Chapter 3 Review referencing the reason for the use of Brahmin(Zebu) cattle in the Pacific lowlands, and their origin.

Horses, cattle, sheep and swine: Origin, history, improvement, description., 1888.

Tropical agriculture, 1916
A bit less wordy.

Picture from here, Cyclopedia of farm animals, 1911.


Printing instructions: Go to link, right click on picture, save(or view), and print.  It's very small at "view"; I had to increase size to 150% at "print preview".

Nor'Easter! and Some Free North Wind Homeschool Printables

Nor'Easter: "Nor'easters form along the East Coast of the United States, usually in the months between October and April, although nor'easters can form any time of the year.When a nor'easter starts forming in the Gulf of Mexico, moist air and high dew points feed into the developing storm. The storm will then reach the Atlantic Ocean and begin to strengthen. Some nor'easters will deepen rapidly in intensity, sometimes becoming as strong as moderate hurricanes by feeding on the warm waters of the Gulf Stream." ~ Wikipedia

A little wind, a little rain, a little flooding, but we are all right.

The North Wind Doth Blow musical score from the Nursery Lesson Book, 1889.

Printable full English Rhyme: The North Wind Doth Blow(printable page) from Choice Literature, 1912.

Fourth Grade Reader(Illustrated): The North Wind Doth Blow.

Second grade version, beautifully illustrated.
Popular Tales from the Norse(good for sixth grade)  The Lad who went to the North Wind.

German Nursery tale: The North Wind at Play from In the Child's World, 1908

Third grade reader: The Lad Who Went to the North Wind from Child Classics 1918

Recycling and Reusing: Old Sweaters Become Felted Crafts

A cute craft using felted wool sweaters. See tutorial here: Miniature Stocking Ornament From Sweater.

Making Liquid Soap

If you've ever tried to make liquid soap, it's not so easy. Down to Earth successfully made some liquid soap and shares the tutorial. My experiences were like her's before she found a good recipe. It can turn into a slimy mess without the benefit of a good recipe. Check it out here if you are feeling adventurous.

Free South America Children's Reader

I found this South America geography reader at Google books, and we have been reading it aloud in the evenings. It's general enough to still be relevant even though it is a vintage reader. It's also complementing our Rod & Staff Social Studies book, Understanding Latin America. We were reading about Cacao tonight which just happens to be in tomorrow's lesson about the lowlands. Nice pictures and maps throughout as well.

I especially liked the way they touched upon the differences of customs between the United States and Latin America with a wry sense of humor, pointing out that each of us could learn from each other. Subtle character lessons and the importance of learning about the world around us are transmitted which is always a nice bonus in a children's textbook.

South America: a geography reader
"Land and peoples" series
Author Isaiah Bowman
Publisher Rand, McNally & Company, 1915
Length 354 pages
Overview here.

Free and in public domain. We downloaded this book to a laptop for relaxed sofa reading, much more comfortable than sitting at the computer.

Free Printable Reading Comprehension Worksheets

We have use some of these for light days when we take a break from our regular curriculum. These printable reading comprehension exercises are for upper elementary through middle school. A change in pace every once in a while keeps things interesting and wakes up the brain.

Large selection from RHL school(includes contextual vocabulary)

Edhelper

Mr Nussbaum.com

ABC Teach

Pearson Education. Online, but could be printable.

Also selected short stories from these vintage leveled readers. Most have reading comprehension questions at the end, or make up your own with  Google Documents(free).

This is a helpful printable study strategy for increasing comprehension and retention. Good for middle school and up, but my eleven year old son uses this, so upper elementary can grasp it as well. Skim First, Answer Later: A Textbook Study Strategy. 

Using the SRQ3 Method: Increasing Your Information Retention(printable)

Also, check your library with a "reading comprehension" search. I found a good number of children's resources. I always have to remind myself to check with the library because I forget that they do carry textbooks and other educational resources.

Free Preschool/Kindergarten Alphabet and Number Reference Sheet

I made this reference sheet for my daughter today, and I thought I'd share it at Google Documents here. After you click through to the printable page, just go to your print preview and set at 100% portrait, and it will print out correctly(full sized, centered, and large print). I have this one taped to the wall next to the computer for when she works at her educational cd-roms.

Thanksgiving 2009

Many good recipes for Thanksgiving dinner and leftovers here.

Many free printables here at TeacherVision

Past Thanksgiving posts:

Free Thanksgiving ebook: Mary of Plymouth by James Otis

My Thanksgiving Meal Recipes from 2006

Free Thanksgiving Coloring Pages(DLTK)

Free Thanksgiving Coloring Pages(below)  Here is a sampling:


Vintage Children's Thanksgiving Poetry for Those in Colder Climates

Free Printable Vintage Thanksgiving Postcard Place Cards

Free Thanksgiving and Pilgrim Paintings and Artwork

Free Printable Vintage Children's Thanksgiving Poems and Stories

For my International friends: Thanksgiving, A North American Holiday

Homeschool Freebie: Boy's Adventure Novel Circa 1890

We haven't read this one, but did see it recommended for the seventh grade in this old children's resource bibliography.

Book overview from Google Books:
"The narrator travels in Mexico with a party including a Franciscan monk and an Indian youth, to find a lost race of Aztecs and a hidden treasure of gold, jewels and writings."

The Aztec treasure-house: a romance of contemporaneous antiquity
Author Thomas Allibone Janvier
Publisher Harper, 1890
Length 446 pages
Overview

Download it for free, and read it on your laptop, or other device.

Sweet Potato Bread Recipe

I make some sort of sweet bread at least once a week for the kiddos. Today, I made this sweet potato bread with my own recipe.

Two 1/2 cups of flour
Two tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
A dash of salt
One 28 ounce can of sweet potatoes(drained and mashed)
One egg
1/2 cup of oil
One cup milk

Mix all the dry ingredients, then add wet, mix well and pour into a greased bread pan. Bake about 40 minutes at 350 degrees. This was so easy, and came our moist and sweet. The sweet potatoes that I used were packed in corn syrup, so if you use unsweetened, you may need to add a little more sugar to this recipe.

Social Studies: China

Jimmie has many wonderful posts with pictures of her life in China, but this one of a country home outside the city was so interesting, a real slice of life, and typically(she's a homeschooling mom) didactic rather than just eye candy.

Hammock for Keys, Cell phone, Etc.

Zen Hammock at Etsy. Too clever!

Old Fashioned Gingerbread Men Recipe

These got a good taste rating from the kiddos today.

Old-Fashioned Gingerbread

* 1 3/4 cups plus 2 Tbsp flour
* 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
* 2 1/4 tsp ground ginger
* 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
* 1/4 tsp ground cloves
* Pinch of salt
* 5 Tbsp butter, softened at room temperature
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1 large egg
* 3/4 cup Grandma’s® Molasses
* 3/4 cup cold water

Read the rest here.

Energy Savers: Install a Timer and Use Off-Peak Power for Electric Water Heaters

Energy Savers: Install a Timer and Use Off-Peak Power for Electric Water Heaters

The Frugal Fashionista- 20 Ways to Save Money on Fashion and Clothing

This is a thorough post with great ideas! Click here.

In addition to the ideas shared at the above link, you can shop online via places like the bing.com(cash back) search engine, then pull together an outfit by using Polyvore's clipper from your toolbar. This clipper plucks items (price and location included) and saves it to your Polyvore site. You can then drag them into the style box to mix and match your own style. It's so much easier to window shop this way; you can see everything together, ponder, and reduce your chances of mistake buys. Some shopping sites provide helpful customer reviews for clothing items. I like to see everything I find online in one spot. It's also a good way to comparison shop.

Even if you shop thrift stores, Polyvore is a good tool for researching current fashion or style. I've gotten a few modest fashion ideas from style combinations that others have put together and shared at Polyvore. Veteran thrift store shoppers know that you have to work with what you find, so it helps to have some creative ideas filed away in memory.